A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I've been fighting an inner battle with myself for the past few days about whether or not I should do what I've been thinking for this chapter. Anyway, very nearly finished this story. You people have been FANTASTIC. Please let me know what you think of this one, it was the most difficult to write out of all the chapters so far. And I've decided to keep Pond's name as Pond so things don't get too complicated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
"Hello! Did you miss me?"
...
There was silence in the room, and he felt his smile faltering. Say something. Anything.
He looked at Rose; the expression on her face was unreadable, but her eyes were studying him anxiously, as though looking for something. He wondered what she'd find.
The Metacrisis Doctor looked resigned and determined all at once, still holding Rose's hand tightly. He probably wasn't doing it to hurt him intentionally, but he still felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. Pond the Time Lord cleared his throat, doing what he did best. He talked.
"Alright then! We're dealing with the Leanaí, and that is really, very not good. So! First things first- any idea how to stop them?"
More silence. He wanted to scream.
"No? Well, that's great. Fortunately for you, I'm still very good, and I might have a plan. So I need you to-"
"Is it really you?"
Rose had finally spoken, her large eyes focused on him.
He felt the urge to smile despite himself. No one could stop him while he was in the middle of a rant. No one. Except for her.
"It's really me." He confirmed. "I'm the Doctor." He regretted the truth in those words.
Rose looked at the man standing in front of her. Pond. She refused to think of him as anything else. But she knew he was telling the truth- simply because something in his eyes had changed. They had lost the lightness, the spark of life. His eyes were older, they had seen too much. His eyes showed his real age. She swallowed, her head reeling. She shook her head, smiling weakly. "Hello."
He smiled at her- a real smile this time. "Hello."
The Metacrisis Doctor cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable. "So, the Leanaí.." He encouraged.
Pond blinked, looking momentarily surprised, before jumping back into action. "Right! So when I fell out of the Time Vortex, I ended up here again- I think I'm making a habit of this- and the Leanaí followed. Although when they were chasing me in the other universe, they made themselves sound very solid and very scary. Because they love the chase."
Rose shook her head, frowning. "Sorry, but- the Leanaí were here weeks before you got here. That's why the Doctor was gone, he was checking it out." She squeezed his hand, as though she had just remembered he was there.
"I fell here." Pond said, speaking quickly. "The Leanaí forced themselves through. Probably did awful things to the walls of the universe while they were at it. But they couldn't pinpoint an exact time to arrive- they came to the right universe alright, got the times a bit mixed up though."
"That's why they made themselves noticed." The Metacrisis Doctor took over. "They could have stayed hidden here for years, we never would've noticed them. But they made themselves visible to scanners, because they thought the Doctor would come looking for trouble."
"Which you did." Rose said, her eyebrow raised, looking at the skinny man beside her.
He grinned brilliantly for a moment, before Pond- she still couldn't get used to calling him the Doctor- spoke again.
"But when they saw that the person who discovered them wasn't the Doctor, or their expectation of the Doctor, they blew up the place." He said, piecing things together. Everything that had happened the past few weeks when he was human were beginning to make sense now. Everything was connected.
"Why would they do that?" Rose wondered aloud. "They didn't have to."
"Out of spite." Pond answered simply, shrugging.
"See Rose, the Leanaí are brilliant." Her own Doctor cut him off, speaking just as quickly. Rose wondered vaguely how long it would take for her to get a headache from this. "They really are. But they have the personality of children. They couldn't catch the Doctor that first try so they threw a temper tantrum. Blew up a village." His face darkened.
"But you got everyone out." Rose said proudly.
"Oh, yes." He agreed. His eyes had lost the dark look and he was smiling at her again.
The Time Lord watched the two of them together and felt the same wave of sadness crashing through him. He was proud too, of course, because he saw how well they worked together. She always said the right thing. With just a few words she could have a broken man smiling again. She had done that for him countless times. She had made him better.
And now she had made his other self better, too.
But what would he, the Doctor, Pond, whatever people wanted to call him, what would he have once everything got sorted out here and he went back to the other universe? Rose was not going to come with him, he knew that. Anyone could see how happy she was here, with him.
He shook his head, fighting the thoughts away. He needed to get rid of the Leanaí before he could even think about feeling sorry for himself. This was his own fault, anyway. He had brought these monsters to this world. It was his fault that Rose had had to be without her Doctor for weeks in the first place, thinking he was dead. For a moment, the guilt almost crushed him.
"Pond?"
"Huh?" He snapped out of his trance, blinking. Rose was looking at him strangely. He wondered how long she had been calling him before he had heard her. "Sorry, what?"
"Spaceman." The other Doctor muttered, shaking his head. He was holding something in his hand. A small, metal box.
"This is what I used to force the Leanaí to retreat, back in the alleyway. Found it in the- well, the bomb site." He said carefully. "I think this is what they used to travel here."
"And this is what we can use to send them back." Pond finished with a smile.
He turned to Rose, looking at her intensely. "Call Pete. Tell him to evacuate everyone from the building. We're going to Torchwood."
...
Rose hung up the phone, letting out a sigh. The phone call to Pete had been complicated at best, and she wasn't sure he knew exactly what was going on. But he had agreed to close down Torchwood temporarily. They would have the place to themselves. She walked back out to the corridor, seeing the man in the blue suit that she loved so much leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought. She shook her head. Everything still seemed so unreal to her. She had gotten him back, after having finally lost hope. He was back. And so was the other Doctor. Pond, she corrected herself sternly. He's Pond. Your Doctor is standing right in front of you.
He must have sensed her standing nearby, because he opened his eyes and flashed her a small smile. "How'd it go?" He asked softly.
She shrugged. "Alright. He's a bit confused, though."
The Doctor nodded, still looking at her carefully. "And you?"
She smiled. "Bit shocked, but I'm good." She looked up at him. "I missed you."
She didn't think that she had let him know enough, just how much she had missed him, how hard it had been, especially with everyone around her telling her to give up.
He reached out to her and she fell against him, hugging him tightly. Then she pulled back, her nose wrinkled. "You still smell like burning."
"Well, the explosion was only a couple of hours ago for me" He reminded her. "And I don't really think I have time to get changed."
Just as he spoke, Pond walked out of his room. He had changed out of the muddy tshirt and jeans he had been wearing, and into the clothes he had been found with on the first day, bowtie and all.
"Never mind." Her Doctor said, sounding miffed.
"What?" Pond replied indignantly. "Have to look good while saving the world. Come along, then!"
They ran out of the flat and into the street, none of them knowing just how much things were about to change.
...
As Rose fumbled with her keys to Torchwood's main door, she could hear Pond and the Doctor making petty remarks about eachother behind her back. Almost like brothers, she thought with a smile.
"You stink." Pond said, waving his hand in front of his face.
"I was just in a bomb blast!" The Doctor replied, sounding annoyed.
"That was weeks ago."
"That was hours ago, dumbo."
"Oh, you're so Donna."
Rose cleared her throat loudly, pointing towards the open door. "We don't have time." She said, although she couldn't hide the amusement in her voice.
...
"Can I just ask why you're wearing a bowtie?"
They were in the lab downstairs in the Torchwood Institute, all three of them working frantically on the computers trying to figure out how to operate the small metal box in front of them, and the two Doctors were still having digs at eachother.
"Because it's cool." Pond muttered irritably. It sounded like he had to answer that question a lot.
"It's minging."
"Shut it! That's Donna talking. Argh, why won't this work?" Pond stood up from the small desk he was working at, his hands messing up his hair frantically.
They were running out of time, Rose knew. Both Doctors were beginning to panic, and that was probably the reason they kept having a go at eachother.
Pond stood still, breathing heavily, his hands on his head, staring at the metal box. Why was it that something so simple was causing him so much trouble? He'd give anything to have his sonic with him now. It was probably on board the TARDIS. Now that he had all his Time Lord senses back, he knew he could find the TARDIS again, but that would take time, and it was time they didn't have. He knew the Leanaí would've figured out the other Doctor's little trick by now, realized that he couldn't open it. They would be looking for him again. He couldn't let them touch Rose- he would never forgive himself. He chanced a glance in her direction. She was on a computer at the far side of the room, her brow furrowed in concentration. He needed to keep her safe.
He suddenly noticed the other Doctor staring at him, and looked away again. He didn't know what else to do, so he sat down, his mind spinning. How long did they have? Twenty minutes? Ten? Five? If they didn't figure out this box soon, they were doomed.
"HA!" Rose's shout of exhilaration shocked him out of his stupor.
He looked up just in time to see her shoot out the door and hear her boots stamping down the hall. He and the other Doctor exchanged clueless looks, but didn't have time to do anything else before she came rushing back into the room holding a thin silver device, an enormous grin on her face.
The other Doctor jumped out of his chair, his facial expression identical to Rose's.
"Scanner!" They both yelled together.
Pond didn't know what was going on, and he didn't like it. He stood up slowly, looking from Rose to the other Doctor, waiting for it to dawn on him. When it didn't, he had to admit defeat.
"What..?" He said in a confused voice.
"It's.. here, take it." Rose said, thrusting the device at him.
He caught it between his hands, inspecting it carefully. Then he looked up, surprise on his face. "This looks like a sonic!" He exclaimed.
Rose nodded, grinning. "It works pretty much the same way."
"Well.." The other Doctor butted in. "It works the same way in that it can scan things and suss out alien tech. Rubbish at opening doors, though."
"But this can work!" Pond said, his smile growing. "Oh, yes!"
He looked up at Rose again and it took all he had not to run over and kiss her.
He took the box in his hand and scanned it quickly, before plugging the small tool into the computer. His eyes ran across the screen quickly, the smile spreading ever wider on his face.
"We can use the technology to make them disappear." He said. "This box was used to protect them while they crossed the universes. Since they don't have anything really holding them together, if they had crossed universes unprotected they would have been scattered into atoms. This device" He said, holding it up. "Is a shield. If we reverse the technology, their shield will be broken. They will be gone."
"Gone where?" Rose questioned, her breathing a little erratic from the sudden adrenaline rushed.
"Nowhere." Her Doctor said from over her shoulder. He, too had been reading the screen. "They'll be atoms in the air. They'll have lost their protection."
"Not a bad way to go." Pond said quietly. "Painless. Quick."
Everyone in the room knew Pond was trying to ease the guilt he would inevitably feel by destroying the Leanaí. They all knew it needed to be done, but they also knew he tried so hard to never take lives.
Rose smiled softly, looking at him. "Still the same man." She said.
He looked at her, a strange expression on his face. "Nothing's really changed." He said.
Before Rose had time to figure out what that meant, he was speaking again. "Right, doing this- sending them back- is going to cause a bit of a disturbance. Imagine an earthquake. No, that was a rubbish comparison. Actually, no, that was pretty accurate. You might want to ring Jackie and tell her to mind her.. china, or whatever. Or Tony. Yes, tell her to mind Tony. We know what happens when he gets shaken up."
He was babbling again, which was never good news. He was probably nervous. Rose took his advice and pulled out her mobile.
"Mum? I need you to- no, Tony, get off the phone! Get Mum. ... I don't know the password, you just made it up there. Tony, this is important! Does Mum know you're using the phone?"
She disappeared down the hallway again, sounding irritated.
Pond had to smile. It was alright. She would be fine. She would be able to go back to the same, so-very-domestic life that she had before he had come and messed it up again. He realized that he was alone in the room with the Metacrisis Doctor, and felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. They were, more or less, the same man. And he was pretty sure the Doctor knew what he was thinking.
"You said you loved her. In the alley." He heard the Doctor's voice and wanted to weep. Yes, he had thought something like that had happened. "You said you loved her."
Pond was quiet for a moment, debating whether or not to simply ignore the man. Eventually he decided to wave it off.
"Did I?" He said, trying to sound both surprised and like he didn't care at the same time. "Oh, human emotions, you know."
The other Doctor was quiet, but Pond could still feel his eyes on him. He let out a sigh, turning around. It was no use. Of course he knew, he felt it himself.
"What?" Pond said tiredly.
He was surprised to see no anger or jealousy in the partly human man's eyes. He looked only understanding, almost sympathetic. This was certainly not the same man he had left on that beach in Norway, full of blood and revenge. Rose had made him better.
"You fell in love with her again." The Doctor said in a level voice.
It was a statement more than a question, but Pond answered anyway, shaking his head. No use in lying, quite literally, to himself.
"I never stopped." He admitted shakily. "You know- you've felt it too. How could that ever end?"
It felt strange, admitting how he really felt. In this body he rarely spoke about how he was feeling, kept it bottled up. Even Amy Pond, who he trusted completely and loved like family didn't know much about him. Maybe even spending such a short time with Rose had done him some good.
The Doctor stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at him silently, his hair even messier than usual. The cuts on his face and in his suit made him remember when he had regenerated. Rose had been the person he had wanted to see before he had to go. He knew it would never truly be over with her.
The Doctor's stare was making even him uncomfortable. He turned back to the computer, attatching wires to the metal box that was causing all this hassle, trying to forget the conversation he had just had.
"Is there anyone else?" The Doctor said behind him.
Pond froze. He hadn't been expecting that question. For a split second, he thought of River. She loved him, he knew that. But..
He shook his head, still not looking at the man who had asked the question.
"There'll never be another Rose Tyler."
The other Doctor made a sort of noise of agreement, and Pond heard him begin to walk away. But something had snapped in him now. He felt cheated, cheated out of a life he would have loved. He tended to have a good grip of keeping his emotions at bay in this body, but this time, he just didn't want to.
"I drew the short straw, you know." He said angrily. "Yes, I get all of time and space, every star that ever was and ever will be. But you get her."
There was silence. Then... "I know. I'm sorry."
Pond kept quiet. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over. There was no point in arguing about it anymore, because he had pulled the short straw, and that was what he would always have. Whereas his clone would have a life with Rose. His anger threatened to boil over him again, but just as it reached breaking point, it stopped.
No.
He read the screen again and again, each time begging it to say something different. But every time, the readings were the same.
Oh, no, no, no.
Instantly, he regretted everything he had said or even thought about the Metacrisis and Rose. He didn't care. He didn't care how lonely he was himself as long as she was happy.
Please, no.
He whipped around in his seat and grabbed the scanner, pulling it out of the computer. Then he stood up, scanning the Metacrisis Doctor, begging for a miracle. The other Doctor's expression was confused and flustered.
"What are y-"
"Shush!" Pond yelled, shoving the scanner back into the computer.
His heart sank as he re-read the readings. He felt sick.
And then everything happened at once.
The alarm went off inside the buildings, indicating something new had entered Torchwood. But the doors stayed shut and the cameras showed nothing, which only meant it was the Leanaí.
Rose shouted in alarm, and Pond heard her footsteps running back up the corridor.
The metal box began sparking from the pressure of the computer, the wires, the scanner and being in a different universe. Pond knew it would stop working soon.
The Doctor was looking at Pond, his eyes wide. "What? What is it, tell me!"
He wished with all his heart that he had stayed human, because he would never forgive himself for the next sentence he uttered.
"That box protected you from the blast. If we reverse the technology, the shield will fall and you will die."