Harold Saxon
River and J walked down a road in the middle of London, moving to sit on a pedestrian zone, just…waiting. Well, J was waiting, River was fidgeting, "Any time you care to tell me why we're here…" she began, glancing at him.
He was unusually silent, his expression solemn as she'd ever seen it, which wasn't quite very solemn, but still pretty serious.
"Have you ever heard of a man called Harold Saxon in your research Riv?" he asked instead.
She frowned, nodding slowly, "He was Prime Minister once, but…he got shot on the Bridge of the Valiant after he ordered the assassination of the American President," she paused, "Evy was there, she was the first 'casualty.'"
J sighed, "Look over there," he nodded at a large screen playing the news.
It was the day of the election for Prime Minster, the man, Harold Saxon himself striding up to a podium, waving to his supporters as the votes were in the process of being cast.
"Ok…" River said slowly, still not quite sure what that had to do with anything, "What about him?"
"His name isn't really Harold Saxon," he told her, "He's not even human. He's been on Earth for 18 months so far, watching dad and mum, setting traps for them," he looked at her, "He's a Time Lord Riv."
River's eyes widened, "Oh my god!" and she turned to stare at the man as he wound an arm around a young woman's waist, kissing her, "Is she a…"
"No," he cut in, "Human," he agreed, "100 percent. Her name's Lucy."
River nodded, "So who is he then?" River frowned, "Why haven't we seen him with your parents? This is," she checked her watch, "They'd be on their last incarnations yes? Shouldn't he be there with them in the future?"
"He died Riv, remember?" he looked at her, "You just said that he was shot in the Valiant."
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, and I also said your mother was a casualty too, didn't I? Didn't he just regenerate?"
He shook his head sadly, "No, he…he really did die Riv."
"Oh," River let out a breath, linking her arm through his, squeezing, "I'm sorry J. I know that you and your parents were looking for your people for so long and…"
"It's not just that Riv," he cut in, "That man…he's called the Master."
River's eyes widened at that, that particular name she HAD heard before, "Well…is that good then? That he was stopped?"
She'd found reference to the man through her research of the Doctor and Evy, how he was the Doctor's self-proclaimed arch enemy, his sworn adversary. He and the Doctor had waged battle after battle across the stars, the man was just…completely insane!
"Not as much as you'd think," he murmured, "He's not JUST the Master, he's not just Harold Saxon," he looked up at the man, "He's my uncle Riv. He's my mum's brother. My Uncle Terrin."
"You're kidding me," River shook her head, before smacking him on the chest, "J!"
"Ow, Riv!" he pouted, turning to her and rubbing his chest, "What was that for!?
"Are you being serious right now?" River stared at him.
"Yes Riv," he rolled his eyes, "That man," he glanced back at the screen, "Is my insane uncle."
"Well…what do we do?" River asked, "Do…do we stop him or something?"
"We can't," he shrugged, before wincing, "I mean…I can't. It's complicated Riv."
"And I'm clever J," she rolled her own eyes at him, "Explain."
"He'll enslave the world, but mum and dad will reverse all that, so it's like it never happened. Technically…we COULD stop him now, we could go after him, get him out of the picture before mum and dad return from the end of the Universe later and find out about him. It wouldn't be too hard if all he does was never done."
"Ok…" River nodded slowly, managing to follow.
"But we can't."
"Why not?"
"Because what he does…" he looked at her, "It's what starts mum and dad on the road to Linking. Mum…she got shot, you read about it. But…she got shot saving Uncle Terrin, she regenerated in front of dad, she revealed she was a Time Lady. THAT was what started dad on letting her stay with him, on helping him heal. If…if that never happens, if they never try to stop him or go after him, if…" he swallowed, "If mum doesn't die…they'll never be Linked when they are and…I wouldn't exist."
River let out a breath at that, realizing exactly why this was so hard for him. To know all the evils the man would do, all he was capable of, and…not be able to do a thing about it because it was your own personal history in jeopardy…it was hard.
"I'm so sorry J," she squeezed his arm.
"It's...it's not so bad," he shrugged, "I mean, mum and dad save the world again right?"
She looked at him though, knowing that it was more than that that was bothering him, there was more to it, more to him taking her there to watch the man get elected Prime Minister, "But they didn't save him, did they?"
He rubbed his head, "No. They...almost did but, in the end, he just chose not to regenerate. And then he came back but...he was lost on Gallifrey."
River frowned but didn't ask more about it, she could tell, from how he kept looking up at the monitors, that this was hard enough for him to know what was coming for his uncle than to have to ask him to explain how he could be lost on Gallifrey when they planet was time locked away.
"I...sometimes I come and see him," J continued, "Not...not SEE him, like I don't just walk up and hug him and things. But...I like coming here sometimes, during the 18 months he's been on earth and just...take a look, watch him for a second or two. I mean, I know he'll do...such terrible things Riv but..."
"But he's family," she finished, "I get it J. I did some..." she let out a breath, "Very bad things to your mum and dad and my parents forgave me, 'cos I'm family. And that's what we do."
He smiled at her, "Yeah. I just...I was born knowing that Gallifrey was lost. I accepted that. I knew my people were gone, and then...to find out that, before I was even born, even when Gallifrey was gone, that my Uncle survived, and not just Uncle Rory or Uncle Jack but my real...my REAL uncle. To learn that and then realize he was lost twice?" he shook his head, "I never got to meet him."
"So you come here to try and make up for that," River realized, "You just want to see him, to know he's real."
"And...it gives me hope," he admitted, "If HE could survive, then...maybe..."
"Maybe others did too," she nodded, working it out.
"Yeah."
River smiled, she'd always held the belief in school that there was no way his people could have survived, that it was impossible and only an impossible person could make it, like Evy. Like her brother apparently. Clearly impossibility ran in the family, she thought. But...Evy and Terrin couldn't be the only impossible people around. Whenever she'd bring it up to J, when they would seriously talk about it, he'd later argue that he liked to believe in impossible things, as many as he could, including that there were others out there.
She smiled a bit, she'd stopped arguing against him, stopped stating that no one else has survived. Because, well, she knew what the future would hold for her best friend. They'd graduated some time ago and there was a rather lovely young woman that she knew would brighten up his future infinitely.
"I'm glad you took me here to see him J," River murmured, "I know how important family is to you, and to meet your actual uncle," even though they hadn't actually MET him...the man would probably kill them, "It means a lot to me."
He grinned, moving to put his arm around her, "Well of course I took you Riv, you're my best friend, my Timegirl."
She laughed, "Well come on then Spaceman," she stood, pulling him to his feet, "This half-Time Lord is starving!"
He laughed as well, the two of them turning to walk down the street, missing the enormous cheers behind them as the new Prime Minister was announced.
A/N: Probably one of the shorter chapters I've done, but I wanted it to be really impactful, and I doubt J could stay there very long with him being a Time Lord, even if he used a perception filter. The Master would probably know that, at that point, the Doctor couldn't be there and would have gotten suspicious. I liked the idea of J seeing the Master as more than just the villain, but his uncle, his mother's brother. Because, in the end, that was who he proved himself to be :)
