Just a short chapter to round of this little adventure, more will come soon...

Sands of Time

Part 10

Katy watched in silence as the Thracken were 'prepared' for mummification. She glanced at the Doctor as they were wrapped in white fabric bandages and saw that there was no emotion on his face. It was cold and empty. Katy gulped; she hadn't seen this side of the Doctor before. Jack noticed Katy's discomfort and placed his hand on her shoulder. Katy jumped slightly. She looked back at him and saw the steely resolve in his eyes as well. She knew it had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier to watch. She saw Bari struggling to get free from his bonds. She heard Kahotep weeping and she saw Menefer staring at her. He was still staring at her as the fabric was placed over his eyes. Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They were all placed in separate sarcophagi and buried in the sands outside of the temple.

After the Doctor had been sure that the Thracken were securely buried and bound he headed back to the Tardis. Jack had taken Katy to grab her clothing and then to the Tardis. They had left the Doctor as the last sarcophagus was dropped into the sand. Katy was still unsure of how she felt about it all, on one hand she knew that if they hadn't stopped them the human race would have been wiped out, on the other they were now defenceless anyway. Surely that was punishment enough? She looked up as the Doctor entered the Tardis, but avoiding his eyes. She had seen the ruthless side to him, and it scared her slightly. The Doctor noticed this and walked over to where she was leaning.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. Katy nodded her head, but refused to make eye contact. The Doctor sighed. "It had to be done, Katy."

"I believe you," she replied.

"I can relieve your guilt," he said after an awkward silence fell over the two of them. "Of being made to murder those men. I can remove the memory or I can help ease the guilt." Katy looked up at him and nodded. At this point she didn't know what she wanted. As much she didn't want her memories tampered with, she didn't want to live with what she had been forced to do. Even though she wasn't herself when she had done, it had still been her hands that released the beams. The Doctor placed his hands on her temples and closed her eyes. He had learnt to be careful about exposing his memories after meeting Madame de Pompadour. Katy closed her eyes as well.

"This may feel uncomfortable," The Doctor warned her. He found the memories of the murder and focused on them. The scenes ran through Katy's mind as she relived it. A tear ran down her cheeks. Then before she knew what was happening her mind went blank. Her eyes snapped open and she felt the Doctor remove his hands.

"What just happened?" she asked curiously. She had no idea what had just happened.

"I was just checking if the conditioning had caused any damage," The Doctor lied. "And it didn't, you're fine."

"Oh," Katy replied lamely. She shook her head as if to figure out what had happened. She looked over at Jack in question and he just nodded at her. The Doctor clapped his hands together.

"The big question is: where next?" He asked. "I think the future? Maybe a new planet?" Katy nodded and grinned. She still felt confused but she figured it was more to do with being out of synch than anything serious.

"Here we go then, hold onto something!"