A/N: Hallo to the paople. The chapter I'm pretty sure you've all been waiting on. Hope you enjoy.
As always, thank you all for the reviews.
Hugs and such.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Micah watched the Doctor tend to Saben, changing out his saline drip, checking his blood pressure, kidney function, liver function and the like, before adjusting his feed and changing his nappy. He wondered if the Doctor had had to do this before and if any one of those children had been his.
"Tell me things about you...things you think I ought to know." Micah prompted, looking up at the Doctor, who was tossing something or other in the bin.
"When I left home...I left angry and vengeful." The Doctor said, giving Saben his vaccinations.
"I don't doubt that. I would be angry if I had been forced to leave behind all I knew." Micah said, reassuring the Doctor.
"That didn't bother me. No, that couldn't bother me. I almost left that place, with you and the kids."
"Speaking of kids, how's that even possible...you're male...I'm male...I don't see this working." Micah said, playing with the pocket watch.
"I wasn't always male...well I was but we wanted kids so I forced a regeneration for the duration of each pregnancy. I never made it through the child birth, so I always morphed back to being a male." The Doctor explained, grabbing a seat.
"So when I begged you to leave?" Micah asked, trying to piece it all together.
"You'd wanted another. It was a month before the war...before we even knew there was danger and it usually took a while so I had no idea we'd succeeded. When I left it wasn't long before I died." The Doctor sounded regretful as he spoke.
"I see...you said you'd wanted us to leave...what stopped you from taking us?"
"You refused...said you needed the technology only Gallifrey could offer so you could help our youngest...he was very sick and you refused to leave before helping him."
"Weren't you a Doctor? I mean, I only assume you chose your name for a reason...so why would I be the one to have wanted to heal him? Couldn't you have done it?"Micah asked.
"No, I couldn't do a thing...he went mad when he was eight and I was never a mind Doctor. You promised him you could heal his mind but the war started before you'd finished your work and he started resenting us for not helping him...He was suffering and we couldn't do a damn thing to help."
"How long did I try to help?" Micah asked, horrified.
"Years...too many to count. Archie and Medic had grown and left by then and our youngest...well he wanted nothing to do with us, did he? No, he found it best to be on his own and by the time you'd found the remedy to help, he was long gone. That was actually the reason you wanted to try for another kid...you missed having children about." The Doctor explained, wiping at his eyes.
"Why did you carry them all?" Micah was curious now.
"You refused. Said it would be awkward to be a woman and have different bits. For the longest time you refused to have children because of that notion. You wanted me, you said, and I'm male and why should you want to change me to have something we shouldn't have to begin with. You finally gave in though. I had a way of wearing you down, and I have always loved children."
"But...every memory I have of you...every time I heard others speak of you...they never mentioned you being a woman." Micah said, looking curiously at the Doctor.
"They never saw me. Not really. Perception filter. You were adamant I wear one."
Micah smiled and looked at the Doctor. If the Doctor were to be believed, he had been one odd fellow.
"Do you think I was ashamed of you?" Micah asked and the Doctor shook his head.
"Never. You were proud to show me off...more than anything you were worried about my father."
"Do I even want to remember him?" Micah asked, leaning forward.
"I don't even want to remember him." The Doctor said, standing and putting an end to the conversation.
Even after that talk, Micah was still torn in what he should do and so with a resigned sigh, he stood and left the room, the Doctor watching him leave.
Micah was thinking about the pros and cons of his decision when he ran head first into Jack, who was making his way into the TARDIS to sit with his son.
"And hello to you!" Jack said, smile on his face at the flush that made its way to Micah's face.
"I'm sorry. I was thinking..." Micah said, stepping to the side to let Jack pass.
"I see that. Don't think too hard, you might fall off the railing." Jack teased and patted Micah on the back. "Everything'll be okay. Talk it over with your friends, they're here to help."
Micah nodded, knowing Jack was right. Ianto, Joshua and Jazz would be able to help him figure this out. More than likely Jazz would call him crazy and berate him for thinking his story was true and related to him, but he had to try...this was not a decision he could make on his own...no matter how badly he wished he could.
Walking around the hub he was surprised to see Tosh training Kayla on the computers, who looked less than happy to be there, and Owen was in the process of training Julie on safety and security when it came to handling alien gear. Micah shook his head fondly, they weren't allowed to take alien technology out of the hub without permission, but Julie didn't know this.
Looking up he smiled at his friends, Jazz and Joshua had sandwiched Ianto in between them and were trying to keep him put, for which he was not happy. It had been over two days since Ianto had seen Saben last and Ianto was getting antsy. He was sure Jack would tell him if something was wrong, but he desperately wanted to see his son.
"Get off me Jazz. I need to go check on my son." Ianto begged and Jazz shook her head.
"You need this time to just be you. When that baby gets around, no one will see you quite this awake again." Jazz said, smile plastered on her face.
"I promise you, nothing will happen to Saben. Jack's with him. Sit and catch up. We've not seen each other in seven years...please?" Joshua asked, feeling a bit upset at having to keep Ianto away. They'd promised Jack to keep Ianto busy until he was finished with a project he'd been working on and it was killing them to do this, but Jack had promised it would be well worth it.
Ianto's face fell as he gave into their demands. He desperately wanted to see his son but they were right. He'd seen Saben two day ago but it had been years of neglect for his friends and time to catch up was good.
"Can I...talk to you?" Micah asked, not really wanting to disturb their catching up, but he was desperate and he needed help.
"Yes Micah, but you must first pay the toll." Jazz said, face serious as she looked at him.
"And what's the toll?" Micah asked, straightening his shoulders and smiling back at Jazz.
"Three coffees, one with three creams, two sugars, one black, and another with one cream. Go now, servant, I wish for it soon."
Micah bowed low before going and doing as he was asked, smiling at Tosh and Kayla as he passed them. He wasn't great at making coffee but it was drinkable and at this moment that's what mattered.
Making four cups of coffee, since he was in the mood for a caffeine buzz, he made his way to the others. Handing each coffee to their respective person, Micah then took a seat and waited.
"What do you want to talk about honey?" Jazz asked, all seriousness.
"Jazz...I need you to be serious about this. I can't have you making fun...I'm conflicted enough without having to defend a stance I may not fully want..." Micah said and even Ianto was worried about the way he was speaking.
Micah sighed and took out his pocket watch and held it tightly. He was worried about what they'd say but he had to do this...he wanted help and these three would help him best.
Placing the pocket watch on the table he watched his friends gawk at it. It was quite beautiful.
"I've had that pocket watch for years..." Ianto arched a brow at Micah and shook his head.
"I don't doubt you've had this for years, but it's not a pocket watch, it's a stop watch." Ianto said and Micah looked shocked. He'd assumed it was a pocket watch, but he'd never opened it so he wouldn't have known for sure.
"How do you know?" Micah asked and Ianto pulled out his own stop watch. It was old and made of simple metals and it looked well loved.
"My granddad gave that to me. I can tell the difference immediately. That's besides the point. What's so special about your stopwatch?"
"It holds the essence of a time lord." Micah said and Jazz rolled her eyes.
"I told you your story would consume you." Jazz said, looking pointedly at Micah.
"Jack's told me about these. He saw it in action long ago...when we were taken by a time lord and killed...so many times...he was vicious." Ianto said, remembering things he wanted forgotten.
"Wait...so Time lords exist?" Jazz asked, baffled.
"The Doctor's a time lord...didn't you know this?" Joshua asked and Jazz shook her head. She honestly hadn't been paying much attention to these things...maybe she should have.
"It's my memories and my genealogy locked up in that and...I don't know what to do!" Micah said, looking at the stopwatch and sighing.
"Don't you want to know who you are?" Joshua asked and Micah shrugged.
"I don't know...I want to complete my work...I want to fix the impossible and I'm worried that when I open it, all the passion for my work will disappear. The Doctor eased my mind a bit, telling me about what I'd done before...and if he's telling the truth there's nothing to worry about but if he's lying...I don't know what to do." Micah said, reaching out to touch the watch only to pull his hand away as though he'd been scorched. A completely different life was sitting before him and he had no idea if he wanted it.
"What if that's part of your engrained personality?" Ianto asked and Micah looked up, shocked.
"What do you mean?" Micah asked and Joshua smiled, knowing what Ianto meant.
"I mean, what if this obsession you've had to fix the human mind is something you retained from who you were before!" Ianto explained and Micah thought it over. If that was the case then he'd be more than happy to remember...he was just worried.
"And besides, if you forget your passion we'll remind you. I'll be sure to bring it up in passing as many times as it takes for you to remember how much this means to you." Joshua said and Jazz nodded. She would do anything to see her friends happy.
"But what if I'm different...so much so that you don't know me anymore?" Micah asked. He loved his friends, more so than he loved his research and if he were to lose them...he wasn't sure how he'd deal then.
"We're stubborn enough to befriend you again, if it comes to that. We all befriended the Doctor and he was more of a bastard than he lets on. We won't say goodbye to you." Ianto said and Joshua nodded. He wouldn't let his friend slip between his fingers.
"What about you Jazz?" Micah asked and Jazz shrugged. She didn't know what she wanted to do but she knew she was worried. She didn't want to lose Micah, not for anyone in the world, but this seemed important to him and what kind of a friend would she be if she chose to ignore his wants in favor of her own.
"I'll be there for you from start to finish. I promise." Jazz said, smile on her face. She would be there for him, and she would do it willingly. It would hurt to have to relearn who her friend was, but people change all the time and she was sure Micah wouldn't change all that much.
"Thank you." Micah said, reaching for the watch and taking a deep breath. This was it...he was going to open the watch and remember.
"Go ahead." Ianto prompted and Micah looked up.
"What if the Doctor's wrong...what if I'm nothing special?" Micah asked, bringing up another fear he hadn't known he'd had.
"The Doctor's not wrong. Go on, I'd like to get to know you again." Joshua said, smiling brightly at his friend as Micah nodded and opened the watch.
A bout of golden light left the watch and made it's way into Micah and the others watched, fixated on the scene.
It was less than a minute later when Micah looked up at his friends with tears running down his face and a glorious smile that made him look years younger.
"It didn't rewrite my memories..." Micah said, smile brightening. "I still remember."
Ianto smiled brightly and stood up to congratulate his friend.
"I'm happy for you Micah." Ianto said, making his way around the table to hug Micah. "Another Time Lord huh?"
"Yes...another one." Micah confirmed, smiling and hugging Ianto back.
"What's your name?" Jazz asked and Joshua nodded, wanting to know this as well.
"I'm the Magician...but you can call me Magi...my Doctor always did."
"I want to stick to Micah..." Jazz said and they all laughed before a thought occurred to Micah.
"You said a time lord held you and Jack and killed you daily?"
"Yeah...it wasn't a fun time for us." Ianto said, cringing at the memory.
"Did he ever say why? I mean, I know it doesn't matter but..."
"He was sick, Micah. Mentally...he was broken." Ianto said, eyeing his friend.
"What was his name?" Micah prompted.
"The Master." Ianto said and watched Micah's eyes widen and his face lose all color.
"And what happened to him?" Micah asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.
"He...he died." Ianto said and watched Micah's eyes fill with tears.
"Are you okay?" Joshua asked, walking over to Micah only to have the time lord back away.
"I...I need to talk to my Doctor." He said, turning and running towards the TARDIS.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The Doctor was pacing and smiling. He'd felt Micah open the watch. He'd felt the presence of another time lord and he was waiting patiently for those doors to open.
Jack turned to look at the Doctor from his seat next to Saben and he had to smile. He'd rarely seen the Doctor look so impatient. He was ringing his hands and running from one end to the other of the medical bey. He was actually making Jack a bit dizzy if he were honest.
He didn't know what would happen when the doors opened. He didn't know what to expect but he knew the Doctor was waiting to see someone, his posture gave that away.
The Doctor continued to pace, oblivious to Jack's stair. He just wanted to see his Magician again, that was all he wanted. He hadn't seen another time lord since the Master, and that hadn't gone over very well.
Just the thought of the Master brought tears to his already sore eyes. He had hoped to help him, but it hadn't worked out quite the way he'd planned. The Master had been shot and he'd refused to regenerate...refused to be saved.
The door to the medical bey was thrown open and Micah stood there, tears falling from his eyes as he looked at the Doctor with so much sorrow.
"Tell me it's not true." Micah begged.
"Magi...I...what?" The Doctor was shocked into silence. He had no idea what this man was referring to.
"The Master...is he..."
"Yes!" The Doctor said, opening his arms to Micah who fell into those strong arms.
"I'd left remedies to help his mind." Micah said, so much anguish in his voice. "I'd found the remedies...I'd even gone so far as to force him into hiding...I tried to save him..."
"I know...I know you would have done anything to save him...I tried to help him, to coax him to me...to give him the remedies and ease his mind...he refused..." The Doctor said, tears spilling down his face at the memory of the Master dying in his arms.
"He can't be dead." Micah said, punching the Doctor's chest. He couldn't believe it...he refused to.
"I watched him die Magi...I watched him and...I'm sorry." The Doctor said and Micah shook his head, tears soaking the Doctor's coat.
Jack opened his mouth to say something when the door burst open and in came Ianto, a look of worry on his face.
"Micah...Are you okay? What did I say?" Ianto asked, walking slowly towards Micah, who clung tightly to the Doctor.
"This has nothing to do with you." Micah said, sounding so broken. Ianto looked over to Jack with questioning eyes and Jack mouthed 'The Master'. Ianto's eyes darkened a bit at that and he looked at his long time friend with a bit of disappointment.
"Why is the Master so special that the both of you would let the world burn for his sake?" Ianto asked, remembering the valiant and all the horrors of the year that never was.
The Doctor tightened his hold on Micah and looked at his two friends...the men who had died repeatedly so he could live...so Tish could live...so all those on the valiant could live and he sighed. He knew they had a right to know, but he wondered if they could ever forgive a broken man for their actions. With a resigned sigh, the Doctor answered.
"He was our son."