A/N: This will have a fairly long A/N at the end, but it talks about a lot of things dealing with this chapter and the future of this story and a spin-off. I think I may have come up with a compromise of sorts :)

~8~

The Name of the Doctor (Part 2)

The Whisper Men immediately released the Time Lords and Strax.

"The TARDIS can still hear me," River murmured, walking over to kneel beside J as he panted, Clara on his other side, her hand on his chest, over his one heart, as he held her hand to him, "Lucky thing, since your dear old dad is being so useless."

"Why did you open the door, sir?" Strax grunted, "I had them on the run."

"He didn't," Evy wheezed as the Doctor knelt beside her, helping her up, his arm around her, making sure she was alright, "None of us said his name," he took her face in his hands, using the Link to make sure she was ok, she just smiled at him, resting her forehead to his chest a moment as he held her.

"No, but I did," River smirked.

"Is everyone ok?" Evy looked over, squeezing the Doctor's arm.

He nodded, turning to them, "Is everyone alright? J...er, Captain? Clara?" he rushed over, checking J over, knowing Evy wanted to make sure their son was ok but was still a bit weary herself, "Are you ok son?"

"That was not a nice feeling," J winced, wiggling himself to shake it off.

"I know," he sighed, patting J on the shoulder, "I'm sorry," before he headed back to Evy.

"But uh," J swallowed, shooting Clara a little cheeky grin, "THIS," he squeezed her hand, still resting on his chest, still rubbing it to try and make him feel better, "Feels VERY nice."

Clara blushed furiously and pulled her hand away, only for J to grab it as she tried to move it and just held it.

"Thank you Clar," he smiled at her, kissing her knuckles.

Clara let out a breath at the sensation of the sweet gesture, "No problem," she breathed, standing up and helping him to his feet.

"Simeon," Evy glared at the man, not for attacking her but for attacking her son, "Do you have any idea what's in there?"

Simeon nodded, "For me, peace at last. For you and your family," he sneered the word, "Pain everlasting. Won't you invite us in?"

He stepped to the side as the Time Lords glared at him before J stepped over to the Doctor, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. The Doctor looked at him, the two men sharing a solemn nod, before they stepped forward, pushing the doors open further, allowing them all in.

It was the console room, but dark, covered in vines and plants, disused, torn apart really. They slowly followed the Time Lords up to the main floor, to see that the time rotor was gone, replaced with a brilliant and shining white light, energy tendrils swirling around it, at each point the tendrils connected was a light blue light, like a small ball of energy, the same color as Evy's sonic screwdriver. It was a swirling, writhing column in the middle of the room and they could hear the cloister bell ringing in the distance.

"What's that?" Clara breathed, staring at it…feeling…funny, like it was...dangerous yet...important...but made her feel uneasy as well.

"What were you expecting?" the Doctor asked, "Bodies? Bodies are boring. We've had loads of them. Nah, that's not what my tomb is for."

"But what is the light?" Vastra eyed it.

"It's beautiful," Jenny smiled.

"Should I destroy it?" Strax looked at them.

J rolled his eyes...and whacked Strax on the back of the head, making the Time Lords and Clara smile at that familiar action.

"Evy," Clara glanced at her, "Explain. What is that?"

"It's a time tunnel," she sighed, shifting as she looked at it, uneasy, "Time travel is dangerous Clara and it can be damaging as well. Every small alter in history makes a miniscule tear in the fabric of reality. Collectively over the years, the scar that forms…is a time tunnel, connecting each scar."

"That is the scar tissue of my journey through the Universe," the Doctor nodded, "My path through time and space, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore."

"What are the blue lights though?" Clara squinted.

"Me," Evy said, "The moments where our paths crossed, the moments I had a hand in too, the bigger they are means I was there as well," Clara saw quite a few of them, quite a lot were rather big.

The trio of Time Lords pulled out their sonics, flashing the tunnel.

"Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension?" the first Doctor asked.

"Do I have the right?" the fourth.

"That's the curse of the Time Lords, to see what must happen, even when it's a terrible thing to happen," the tenth Evy remarked.

"Daleks, Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us," the sixth Doctor.

"There are corners of the universe that have bred the most dangerous things," and the second.

"A crack like this is the result of a split in the skin of the world," the eleventh Evy added.

"You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic," the ninth Doctor.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm from Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous…" and the tenth.

"Our families, on Gallifrey, operated based on a system of matriarchs and patriarchs," and the ninth Evy as well.

"Hello, Stonehenge!" the eleventh Doctor spoke.

"Our own personal time tunnel," the Doctor eyed it, slipping his sonic back, "All the days,"

"It was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen," and the third.

"Even the ones that we, er," he winced, taking Evy's hand, "Even the ones that we haven't lived yet…" and fell to the ground, taking her with him.

"Doctor!" Clara shouted, "Evy!"

"Mum!" J rushed to their side, "Dad!"

"No, no," the Doctor moaned.

"This is why we shouldn't be here," Evy panted, "The paradoxes…"

"It's very bad," he looked over, gripping Evy's hand tightly, to see Simeon walking towards the tunnel, "No. No. No. What are you doing? Somebody stop him!"

"The Doctor's life is an open wound," Simeon laughed, "And an open wound can be entered."

"No," J shook his head, realizing what the man was going to do, standing, pointing the sonic threateningly at him, "It would destroy you."

"Not at all. It will kill me," he turned to them, "It will destroy him," he smirked at the Doctor, "And his Link," and then tilted his head at J, "And you as well. I can rewrite their every living moment. I can turn every one of his victories into defeats. Poison every friendship she has ever forged. Deliver pain to their every breath."

"It will burn you to a crisp. Once you step in you can't turn back. You will be scattered along the timelines like...like...like..." he started snapping his fingers, trying to think of the word.

"Confetti?" Clara supplied.

He pointed at her.

"It matters not," Simeon waved him off, "He thwarted me at every turn and led his Link to do the same. Now he will give me peace, as I take my revenge on every second of your lives. Goodbye. Goodbye, Time Lords!" he leaned back, falling right into the time tunnel, turning it red, as the Whisper Men faded away.

"AH!" J screamed as he fell to the ground, convulsing.

"What's wrong with him?" Clara gasped, scrambling to J's side, the Time Lords were already in pain, it was their timeline, but why was J in pain, "What's happening?!"

"He's being erased from time," Vastra stared, wide eyed, at her scanner.

"What?!"

Vastra turned it on the Time Lords, "Because they're being rewritten. Simeon is attacking their entire timeline. If he kills them...he'll never be born," she looked at J a moment, before the scanner beeped and she gasped, "The Doctor is dying all at once and Evy is feeling it…the Dalek Asylum. Androzani…"

Clara looked up from clutching J's hand, "What did you say? Did you say the Dalek Asylum?"

"Now they're dying in London, with us."

"It is done!" Simeon cheered as his image faded, the tunnel deepening in its red color, the blue spheres turning black.

"Oh, dear Goddess."

"What's wrong?" Jenny turned at her, alarmed.

"A Universe without the Doctor and Evy. There will be consequences. Jenny, with me," she ran out of the room with Strax and Jenny.

"The Dalek Asylum," Clara murmured in thought, looking at the Doctor and Evy even as she held J's hand, "You said it was me that saved you. How? Victorian London. How...how could I have been in Victorian London?"

"No," Evy whimpered, "Please, stop…"

"My life, my whole life is burning," the Doctor panted, clutching Evy's hand tighter, pulling her towards him as they clung to each other.

~8~

"What are you scanning for?" Jenny asked as she followed Vastra outside, seeing the woman scanning the sky.

"Local star systems," she replied.

"Why?" Strax frowned.

"Because they're disappearing!" she looked up to see the stars literally blinking out.

"Disappearing how?" Jenny gasped.

"The Doctor's timeline has been corrupted. His every victory reversed. Think how many lives he and Evy have saved. How many worlds. He and Evy saved your life when we met...Jenny?" she turned, only to see Jenny had vanished, "Please, Jenny, no! Oh God, oh please, no…"

Strax, who had fallen rather silent, looked up, glaring at her, "Reptile scum!" he cried, attacking her with a shovel, "You are an affront to Sontaran purity. Prepare to perish!"

"We're friends," Vastra leapt back, avoiding his blows, "Strax, your past is changing, but I swear, we are comrades!"

"Die, reptile!"

Vastra took a breath and raised a weapon to defend herself…when Strax vanished before her eyes.

"Strax! Strax!"

~8~

Clara stared at the red swirling mess that was the poisoned time tunnel, "I have to go in there."

"N…no…" J managed to get out, squeezing her hand so tightly it turned white, "Please…"

"Don't," the Doctor agreed.

She looked between the three of them, "But this is what I've already done," she shook her head, feeling strangely...calm...about it, "You've already seen me do it, this..." she nodded to herself, "This is an established event, it's a fixed point, it's already happened," and looked at the tunnel again, "It always will happen," she smiled, finally working something out, "I'm an Impossible Girl, and this is why."

"Whatever you're thinking of doing," a voice said and she looked up to see River standing at the side of the room, "Don't."

"If I step in there," she squeezed J's hand as another pain hit him, "What happens?"

"The time winds will tear you into a million pieces. A million versions of you, living and dying all over time and space, like echoes."

"But the echoes could save the Doctor, right?" she asked, tears in her eyes, "Save him and Evy. Save...save J?"

"But they won't be you. The real you will die. They'll just be copies."

"But they'll be real enough to save them. It's like my mum said. The soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe," she looked down at J, reaching out to brush a hand through his sticky-uppy hair…only to go through it, he was starting to fade away, "It's the only way to save him, isn't it?" she whispered the last question.

River gave her a sad smile, knowing she wasn't talking about the Doctor any longer but J, she nodded.

"The stars are going out!" Vastra shouted as she rushed in, "And Jenny and Strax are dead. There must be something we can do."

Clara just smiled at J, "It'll be alright Cap'n," she murmured, kissing his hand like he had hers and stood up, "Well, how about that? I'm soufflé girl after all."

"Clara…" Evy panted, "Don't…"

"I have to," she whispered, staring at the tunnel, "If you die…he will never have been born."

She didn't know what it was, but…something inside her ached at the thought of that man, that little boy. not existing. Something so painful that she felt like she couldn't breathe properly, like all the air was being sucked out of her, and...her heart hurt. She'd only met him, the older him, three times before now, but each and every time just made her feel closer to him, made her care for him even more and...she had to do this, for him.

Because he had to live to find his Link, he had to live a long, proper alien life, and have adventures and go flying about through space and time and find happiness like his parents had.

"If this works," she continued, inching towards the tunnel, "Get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then."

"Clara…" J reached for her, her heart breaking to have to walk away from him as he begged for her to stop, his voice so pleading she nearly gave in.

"In fact, you know what?" she looked back at them with a smile, "Run. Run, you clever boy, you impossible girl, and remember me."

"Clara!" J cried, his eyes wide, staring at her as she just gave him a small wave, tears in her eyes, silently crying but trying to be strong, as she stepped back into the time tunnel, her gaze on J.

The light turned white with specks of blue once more…

~8~

"I don't know where I am, I just know I'm running. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And always, there's the Doctor, and then there was Evy too, and their son. It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there's only one thing I remember. I have to save the Doctor and Evy. Always I'm running to save them again and again and again. Running to save him, to save his Link, and his son, to save his family. They always look different. But I always know it's them. Sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once, running every second just to find them. Just to save them. But they never hear me. Almost never. But I've always been there. Right from the very beginning. Right from the day he started running. I blew into this world on a leaf. I'm still blowing. I don't think I'll ever land..."

~8~

Clara spun around, seeing the sixth Doctor walk behind her, "Doctor!"

~8~

She stepped out into a hall as the fourth Doctor walked down it.

~8~

"Evy!" Clara ran into a patch of woods, seeing Evy, the eleventh Evy, fall to the ground, tripping, her eyes squeezed tight a moment before she disappeared in a flash of light, stone Angels around her.

~8~

She pounded on a glass window, seeing the seventh Doctor holding his umbrella as he dangled from an ice cliff by it, "Doctor!"

~8~

She jumped out of the way as the third Doctor drove past in his car, "Doctor!"

~8~

She banged on a glass window, seeing the ninth Evy kneeling before a white box, half leaning into it with a mess of wires sticking out as she tried to fix it, jumping back when she saw a man and a black woman run into the room, a large skeletal/scorpian thing chasing them.

~8~

And chased the second Doctor, in his fur coat, through a park, tripping…

~8~

She pounded on a glass floor, seeing the fifth Doctor floating there in the darkness, "Doctor?"

~8~

She stood solemnly in a crowd of people as she watched the tenth Evy being carried out of a small shuttle, blood coating the front of her dress, dried around her nose, a ginger woman running over to her.

~8~

She stepped around a corner, watching the eleventh Doctor walk away in a snowy alley, "Oi."

~8~

"Doctor?" she stepped up to an old man in a black coat, "Doctor?"

"Yes, what is it? What do you want?" he asked, the first Doctor.

"Sorry, but you're about to make a very big mistake. Don't steal that one, steal this one," she leaned against an uncamoflauged TARDIS, "The navigation system's knackered, but you'll have much more fun."

~8~

"I'm Clara Oswald. I'm an Impossible Girl. I was born to save the Time Lords."

~8~

The white light faded and they were standing there, the Doctor with his arms around Evy, hugging her close, his face buried in her hair, relieved they were alive, J standing in the middle of the room, dazed, staring at the time tunnel, as Vastra, Strax, and Jenny, now restored, stood to the side…

Before anyone could even speak, J let out a strangled cry of pain and fell to his knees.

"Captain!" Evy shouted, running over to him, recalling his request to be called Captain from now on and knowing, with Vastra and the others there, they couldn't call him by his Gallifreyan name.

"Son!" the Doctor dropped to his knees beside the boy.

"What is it?" Evy asked, looking at the Doctor as he scanned the man with the sonic but there was nothing physically wrong, "What's wrong?"

"Feels like I'm…" J swallowed, closing his eyes, tears in them, as he griped at the center of his chest with a hand, the other hand bracing himself on the floor, "Like I'm dying…like I'm being torn to pieces on the inside…like…"

"...a part of your soul just died?" Evy guessed quietly, a flash of empathy racing through her, there was only one time she'd ever felt that sort of pain as the one he was describing.

But it couldn't be! It was impossible!

J nodded, "It hurts mum…mummy it hurts…"

Evy felt tears in her eyes, J had never called her mummy before, only ever mum…

"Evy?" the Doctor looked at her, feeling like she'd worked it out, and he shook his head, he didn't understand.

She just moved in front of J, taking his face in her hands, "What was the last thing you saw?"

He blinked at her, his face scrunched in pain as he tried to fight past it, not knowing what it was, "What?"

"Tell me, it's important, the very last thing you saw..."

"Clara…" he swallowed, struggling to get it out, "Saying goodbye…she was crying…"

"You looked at her as she got in the tunnel? Right before she died…"

The Doctor's eyes widened, seeing what Evy had worked out, "But…that's impossible!"

"And she's an impossible girl," River's voice said from beside them, sounding sad and heartbroken to see J like that, but with a happy note to it as well.

"I don't understand," the Doctor shook his head, "How is that even possible?"

"She entered the time tunnel and was scattered into a million pieces," Evy had to agree.

"And when she lands, she'll be whole again," River finished, "She'll be an amalgamation of all her lives, remembering them all, being a part of them all…and she was a Time Lady first, and she was a Time Lady longer than any of her other lives. I think I'm proof that nothing is stronger that Time Lord DNA…"

"It can't be," the Doctor breathed, his eyes wide.

"Clara…" Evy looked at J, "Clara's your Link."

J shook his head, "She's human, she's…she's not a Time Lady. It doesn't work like that…argg!" he fell forward, onto his elbow.

River rushed forward, moving to kneel before him as well, "J please, listen to me…"

"I'd have known!" J insisted, scrunching his eyes shut, "I'd have known she was my Link, like dad did…"

"I didn't at first though," the Doctor reminded him.

"J she's your Link, please hear me!" River begged.

"She wasn't wearing a Perception Filter," J argued, "There's no fob watch. It's not possible."

"J!" River huffed, about to smack him at how he was just letting himself suffer when he should be saving his Link.

"Oh shut up Riv!" he snapped, wincing as he gripped his chest.

River's eyes widened, "You can hear me?" she breathed.

"I can always hear you Riv," he wheezed, feeling himself starting to shake, feeling even more pain creeping up, trying to push it back, to be strong like his dad was. He forced his eyes open, looking at River, tears in them though, making them all the more blue, "You are always here to me, I hear you, I see you."

"Then why didn't you speak to me?"

"It would hurt...too much."

"I believe I could have coped."

"It hurt me. Riv…I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be spaceman," she smiled, "There is a time to live and a time to sleep. I'm an echo, like Clara. Like all of us, in the end."

"You should've faded," he murmured.

"I couldn't leave you J, not alone, not till you found her."

"Who?"

"Clara," she smiled, "Your Link."

"How do you know she's my Link Riv?" if River knew, if she KNEW, he'd believe it. His parents...they would wish for the best, hope against hope for him to find her, River had always been more level-headed about it, realistic.

"J…you've spent your whole life running parallel to me, always popping up in the right order, always…except once…only once…" she smiled, "When you'd come from Trenzalore, to introduce me to your Link. To Clara."

He let out a breath, hunching over and crying out in pain.

"She's dying J," she put her hand on his as it curled into a fist on the floor, "YOU need to save her, you're the only one who can. You need to be strong J…she needs you."

J nodded, feeling that, and groaned, pushing himself to his feet, stumbling towards the time tunnel.

"You can't go in there!" Evy shouted, her and the Doctor rushing forward to stop him, not having been privy to his conversation with River but knowing he was speaking to someone.

"It's our time stream," the Doctor agreed, trying to grab his son, "For God's sake son!"

"And I'm a product of it," he struggled, he could feel it even more now, his Link needed him, she was in pain and scared, "I have to get her back!"

"Please…it killed Simeon!" Evy begged.

"Dad," J turned to his father, gripping his arms, "She's my Link," he breathed, knowing the man would understand, knowing his father would see that he couldn't hang on for very much longer, couldn't keep the pain back. His mother had hung on once, in Berlin, long enough to tell his uncle Rory what was wrong with her, he was pushing it as it was…but he needed her, he needed Clara in his arms to breathe again.

"Go get her boyo," the Doctor nodded, moving back to pull Evy as she struggled to stop their son.

"Good luck J," River called, tears in her eyes, "And goodbye spaceman."

He looked at her, knowing she'd only hung on this long to make sure he wouldn't be alone, "Goodbye timegirl."

And with that he leapt into the time tunnel.

~8~

"I don't know where I am. I don't know where I'm going or where I've been. I was born to save the Doctor, to save his Link and his son, but they're safe now. I'm an Impossible Girl, and my story is done."

~8~

Clara landed with a thud in a misty graveyard, sepia tones all around her, like Trenzalore but empty, even more eerie with the fog rolling past.

"Doctor?" she gasped, "Evy!" she looked around, she was alone, her worst fear ever, being lost, "Cap'n?" she tried, feeling like he should be there, like he had to be there, he was meant to be there, but he wasn't, "Please, please, I don't know where I am."

"Clara!" she heard J shouting, "You can hear me. I know you can. You've always been able to hear me…to understand me, no matter where I was or how old I was…I should have realized earlier, Clara I'm so sorry…"

"Sorry about what?" she sniffled, looking around for him, feeling a thudding in her chest as the sound of his voice, "I can't see you."

She needed to see him, she needed to. She had no idea where the fierce determination to see him, the desperate need, had come from but she needed to, badly.

"You're inside my parents' time stream," he told her, "In a way, everything around you is me. Everything they are has led to me…"

She gasped as figures began to run past her, men, women, the Doctor and Evy, the ones she'd seen throughout their lives…and then…there were other men, men she felt her heart zing at, J, other Js running around, other incarnations of him.

"I can see them. All their different faces, they're here."

"Those are their ghosts. Their pasts, everything good and bad about it."

Clara fell to the ground as the world around her shook, someone screaming, lightning flashing, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"I'm inside their time stream. It's collapsing in on itself."

"Well, get out then!"

He had to get out, he had to…if he died…because of her…she didn't know what she'd do…

"Not until I've got you," he said with a fierce determination.

"I don't even know who I am," she felt tears welling again, she was so confused, there were so many things in her head, so many people, all of them her, but all different, so many lives...which one was real? Which one was she?

"You're my Impossible Girl," he laughed, "An Impossible Girl of my very own, like mum is to dad and so much more than you realize Clar…"

She felt herself smile at that, "I like it when you call me Clar, Cap'n."

He gave a warm chuckle she could feel reverberate inside her, making her tingle, "I love it when you call me Cap'n. I'm sending you something. Not from my past or my parents', from yours. Look up. Look."

She looked up, seeing her leaf from Akhaten drifting down, "Our first date," she joked, recalling how they'd met, how they'd spoke, he'd bought her food and flirted just a bit...

"This is you, Clar. Everything you were or will be. Take it. You blew into the world on this leaf. Hold tight. It will take you home…"

She grabbed it and stumbled forward, looking for him, needing him…feeling like she couldn't breathe when…

"Clar!" J's voice shouted behind her, "Clara!" she spun around, watching as a light appeared, like a crack in time, "Come on. Come on, to me, now…"

And J appeared inside it, stepping out.

She felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of him, there was something…different about him…

'You can do it,' he held out his arms, 'I know you can.'

But that wasn't what shocked her…his lips weren't moving, she could hear him in her head!

"How are you doing that?" she breathed

"I can do it because it should be impossible," he said, out loud this time, the wide grin on his face making her start to smile as well, "And you're my Impossible Girl. How many times have you saved my parents, Clar? But this time…this time…let me save you. Do you trust me Clara?" he held out a hand.

"Yes," she nodded, walking towards him, tears in her eyes.

"I'm real, just like you're real," he looked at her with such a soft look in his eyes, "You're really real Clara, you're actually real…"

Clara just looked at him, her head swirling as she took his hand and stumbled into his arms, only then did her pulse slow, her tears dry, and her breath return to her. Who knew J could give such warm hugs? Well, she did she supposed, the younger him had a similar effect on her, not quite so powerful as this though.

"Clara," he breathed, inhaling her scent, squeezing her tighter, "My Clara," he kissed her head and she felt a shiver race through her.

It sounded so different now than when he had said it as a toddler, it made her feel warm and...fuzzy...

She pulled away a bit and looked up at him, staring at his baby blues, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Of its own accord her free hand lifted and came to rest on his cheek, her thumb stroking it, "I…I don't know why I'm doing that."

"Give it time," he whispered, lifting his hand to press hers to his cheek more, "You'll understand soon enough…" he trailed off, catching sight of someone just past her.

Clara turned to see a man in dark clothing standing there with his back to them, an old man, "Who's that?" she whispered, moving close to him, back from the man.

J wrapped his arm around her, holding her close, "No one who will hurt you," he whispered in her ear, "I won't let anyone hurt you Clar, ever. Let's go back," he tugged her.

"But who is he?"

"He's my dad," he swallowed, "There's only him and mum here, that's the point. Now let's get back."

"But I never saw that one. I saw all of them. Eleven faces, twice, your parents. The Doctor…the current one, he's the eleventh Doctor!"

"I said he was dad. I never said he was the Doctor."

"I don't understand."

"Our names, our real names, it doesn't matter what they are, the names we choose, like Evelyn or the Doctor or the Captain, it's like a promise we make," he looked at the man, "He's the one who broke the promise," he stiffened, "You stay away from her," he hissed at the man, knowing full well what the man was capable of.

Clara gasped, hearing him speaking in the language she'd sometimes heard the Doctor and Evy speak to LJ and each other in, it always felt familiar to her, but this time...this time...she could understand it…

And then…the stars exploded in her head and she swayed, collapsing into J's arms.

"Clara?" he gasped, catching her, "Clara? Clara!" he quickly picked her up, cradling her in his arms, "He is dad's secret," he whispered to Clara, a secret only a select few knew, him and his mum being two, the Doctor did NOT keep secrets from his family.

"What I did, I did without choice," the man spoke.

"So you say."

"In the name of peace and sanity."

"But not in the name of the Doctor!" he glared at the man, turning to walk away, the man turning to sadly watch him go.

The man…was the Doctor.

~8~

J sat beside Clara at her bed in the TARDIS, the girl curled up under the blankets, sleeping, her one hand in both of his as he just...waited for her to wake up. He knew she was ok, he could feel it, the reassurance of the Link, but he wanted her to wake up, he wanted to look into her gorgeous brown eyes...

God how could he have not known? How could he have fooled himself into thinking that it was just a lingering side-effect of knowing Clara as a baby that had led to the feelings that sprang up around her? He had NEVER ever acted the way he had around Clara, not with any girl in centuries...except Clara.

It should have been a sign, he should have realized that it was his instinct trying to tell him Clara was his Link. But he'd just pushed her away. His own quest to keep free, to not hurt his Link, and he'd done it anyway. Wasn't that just his luck though? Times like those he didn't like being the Doctor's son, when his luck came up in terrible doses. Jenny had been right, his sister, to tell him to open himself up, that what if his Link was human, trapped in a watch. He supposed it was almost the same thing.

He knew now what had happened, figured it out given the hints River had said about Clara's first life. He'd seen it in his mind, Clara's lives, all her lives, even her echo lives. It was why the realization that she was his Link hadn't hit him at first, because he and his parents had seen all of Clara, the human Clara, the original's, life, from the moment before she was born to the present, watching over her, watching her grow. He'd seen it all, just like the Link was meant to do, show you every moment of the other's life. He hadn't even realized when his mind had been downloaded with it, as he already knew it. But then...he got more, he got her past lives, her echo lives, her future lives.

River's words made sense now, Clara's first life ever, centuries, nearly a millennia ago, was as a Time Lady on Gallifrey, her first ever life in the Universe was as a Time Lady, and she'd remained one for centuries after. Every time she had stepped up to try and save all the past incarnations of his father before his ninth self, it had been HER, the Time Lady her, not just a mess of other echoes but the same her. Still on her first incarnation. That part of her life, it was such a big chunk, truly the largest piece of herself.

When she had broken up, a few shards had gone here and there, as humans, but the largest was her life as a Time Lady, and when she'd reformed, that was the piece more prevalent, that was the piece all the others gravitated around and reformed around. It was like...how the Racnoss ship was the center of the Earth, or how Lazarus's dormant DNA had been awoken. Clara's echo-DNA had been awoken by the time tunnel, made dominant. He didn't know what that meant for her though, what she would remember, which memories would surface. He didn't know, he had no way of knowing, as turbulent as the download had been for him, he knew Clara would have a double whammy of trying to deal with her own memories and his as well. And, it worried him, he'd fallen deeply for this Clara, the human her, despite his best efforts, and while she seemed to have similar personalities throughout all her lives, he loved THIS one's...he knew he'd come to love whatever her appeared, but...this her was special.

"Hey," he heard his mother, well not HIS mother, but still his mother, say as she entered, her and the Doctor coming to sit with him, "Are you alright Sigma?"

He nodded a moment before shaking his head, "How did you do it dad?" he looked at him, "When mum stopped that thing on Midnight? How did you just...sit there with her unconscious and not go out of your mind?"

"Well, I wasn't Linked then," the Doctor began, before Evy smacked him in the back of the head, "BUT!" he narrowed his eyes at her a moment, "When your mum was pregnant with you, when River attacked us in Berlin, I was terrified Sigma, I was, I admit it, but I had her in my arms and I had faith that my Link was stronger than anything, resilient, and she was," he smiled at Evy, kissing her gently.

"Clara will be fine," Evy reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "If you want, should we call um...us? You should be with them and..."

"No," he shook his head, "Clara will know who they are when things settle in, from my memories, but YOU'RE still HER Doctor and Evy. I just want her to feel secure when she wakes up."

They smiled at him, at how he was thinking of Clara first. They'd seen hints of it before in Sweetville, how focused he'd been on finding Clara and taking care of her, how adamant he'd been that Clara go with HIM and the Doctor instead of with anyone else, how protective he was of her and how considerate and observant. The boy had been so gone about her way back then and none of them had realized. They'd all just thought it was LJ's crush carrying over into him, none of them had even guessed that it might be some semblance of the Link trying to break through.

Evy was especially annoyed with herself for not noticing. She should have, she really should have. The way J acted around Clara...was JUST like how the Doctor had acted when he'd turned himself human. John Smith had been flustered around her, focused on her entirely, unable to help but feel drawn to her, not even noticing other women around her, wanting to just be with her, keep her with him. The way he looked at her...it was the same way J looked at Clara. And she knew, that had been when the Perception Filter she'd worn wouldn't work on a human version of the Doctor, it was a reaction of the lingering feelings of the Link in both the watch and John that had seen her for who she was, his Link or a woman who was perfect for him. She really should have seen it, so she blamed herself for this happening as well, for J having been in pain, if she'd just opened her eyes, opened her mind to the possibility of J's Link being out there, instead of believing it impossible, she'd have noticed, especially being one of the inspired, it was her thing to notice what others missed.

The Doctor smiled softly at her for her thoughts and kissed her temple, watching as J turned his attention back to Clara and they knew it was just the start. They appeared to have raised their boy into a charming, respectable, good man. He was genuine and caring and honorable and they always knew that one day he'd make a girl, his Link perhaps, very happy. And, they had to admit, they were actually rather pleased that girl was Clara, they had had companions in the past willing to die for them, but Clara...she had not only been willing to die what seemed like 1000 times over, but...she'd done it for J. They remembered that much through the pain they'd been in.

And that made her more than worthy in their book.

J stiffened as Clara's face started to scrunch, signaling her waking, "We'll leave you two alone," the Doctor whispered, taking Evy's hand and tugging her out despite her mental protests that she wanted to watch her baby interact with his Link for the first time, but the Doctor, in a surprisingly mature move, reminded her how special their own Linking was, how private when they'd finally been alone together, and had led her out of the room.

J reached out and gently stroked Clara's hair as her eyes fluttered open, looking right into the blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for the last few months, "Cap'n?"

He let out a breathy laugh at the name, pleased she seemed to remember him at least, "Hello Clar."

She felt her breath hitch in her throat to see him looking at her with a small smile on his face, a look in his eyes like...like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. She could feel her heart rate pick up and...

She blinked, sitting up more in her bed. She looked down and lifted her hand, the one not currently being held by J, to her chest, her eyes widening as she felt TWO hearts beating in there, "What happened?" she looked at him, alarmed.

"You don't remember?" he asked, feeling his hearts starting to break a bit.

"I...I was..." she looked down, unable to stand seeing the sorrow in his gaze, knowing her question had likely caused it, and closed her eyes, trying to think, "I was...we were in the TARDIS, there was a light, it turned red and then..." she breathed, starting to tense, feeling scared, "What happened to me?" her eyes snapped open, looking to him for answers.

His hearts truly broke this time, but more for the terrified look in her eyes, "You stepped into the time tunnel Clara. To save mum and dad."

"No," she said quickly, before she even realized she had.

He nodded, "You did, Simeon had entered and was tearing apart their timelines and you, you brave, stupid, impossible girl, followed after him to reverse it and..."

"Not that," she cut in.

"Not what?"

"I didn't...I didn't enter it for the Doctor and Evy."

He frowned, "Then what..."

She just squeezed his hand and gave him a look.

"You're giving me a look," he eyed her, trying to translate it.

"Yes," she laughed a bit, she had no idea what was going on, why she was only partially freaking out about now having two hearts and gaps in her memory, but holding his hand...was almost nicer than the hug, "Yes, I am."

"It's supposed to tell me something, isn't it?"

"Yes it is."

He stared at her a good long while, "Not getting it." but that was probably because he kept getting distracted by her eyes, she really was just as pretty as the baby him had thought.

She laughed, he really was thick at times, "I didn't step in the tunnel for them."

He blinked, feeling his hearts swelling, "You...you did it for me?"

She nodded, blushing as she looked away, embarrassed by that. She wasn't supposed to feel this way, she shouldn't, he was a Time Lord, he would find his Link one day, and...

She winced suddenly at the thought, her head pounding.

"Clar!" he moved beside her, sitting on the edge of the bed, moving his arms around her, "Clara what is it?"

She closed her eyes, losing her breath at the sensation of his arms around her, but her mind was racing...she could see a little girl, with brown hair and brown eyes, speaking to a woman she couldn't make out, sitting at what looked like a breakfast table, orange light shining in from the windows, asking the woman about Linking, the woman...her mother!...explaining the different types, how her 'uncle' Tir was her mother's sibling-Link, her saying she hoped hers would be romantic...

"Links..." she breathed, blinking as she opened her eyes and looked at him, "Am I...did we...I was looking in your eyes..."

He smiled, his hearts filling with hope again at how she'd remembered that part of Time Lord culture, "And they are gorgeous," he told her, tapping her nose, "We did. And you are," he smiled, shaking his head as he looked at her like he was completely in awe that she could exist, "You're my Link Clar, my impossible girl."

She reached up and touched his face, unable to help herself, "We Linked?"

"Mhmm," he nodded, smiling as he leaned into her touch, turning to kiss her palm before he took her hand and held it, "I..." he swallowed, "I know this must be really, really very startling for you and..."

"Oh it is," she cut in, "I'm sure in about a minute I'll be freaking out about it but right now I'm..." she cut off.

"You're?" he eyed her, he could feel it but...she was feeling so many things he couldn't be sure, her mind was racing too much for him to read it, not that he wanted to till he could explain what Linking meant completely to her. He got the feeling she'd only caught a snippet of it.

"Happy," she smiled, looking at him, "I'm really, REALLY happy that we Linked...whatever that means."

"I'm happy I Linked too," he nodded, "But I'm even more happy it's YOU."

"Really?" she blinked, feeling tears in her eyes.

"Oh yes," he grinned, "Clara, Linking...it's instant,it's a connection that unites a Time Lord and Lady's mind and emotions. Telepathy, feeling what the other feels physically, it represents compatibility throughout regenerations. That the Linked pair will always be there for each other and understand the other. It...it can go a few ways, lead to rivalries, or...or sibling-like feelings, or friendships, romance, or nothing at all at times. It's supposed to take time, for any sort of relationship to develop, and I don't want to pressure you but..." he paused, "I'm fairly certain I know how I feel about you, what...what sort of Link it is and..."

"Romantic," she cut in.

"Yeah," he winced, rubbing his neck at how she'd caught that, "I...I've never felt the way I do around other girls as I do with you Clar. I've never flirted the same way or wanted to hold them or even looked at them that way and it should have been a clue, I should have realized but..."

"But you're the Doctor's son and just a little bit oblivious?"

He laughed, pleased she seemed to be taking it so well at the moment, "Yeah, more than a bit though," he looked at her, taking a breath, "I care about you Clara," he squeezed her hand, "More than...more than anything," he didn't want to say loved, though he could feel it bubbling in him, that crush growing even more now that he could allow it to, but he didn't want to scare her, he didn't want to make her feel like it was forced or rushed, "I know it may seem sudden, but it's not, I've known you nearly my whole life. I've already seen your whole life, I already feel like I know you, and...I've always had a bit of a crush on you," he smiled, seeing her beam at that, "But...I know that it may take time for you to work out how you feel and that your end of the Link might go different than mine..."

"It didn't," she said quietly.

Everything he was saying...she felt too. That time tunnel, whatever it was that had happened to her, her memories were still all a jumble, but she remembered J. She remembered popping up at points in his life along with his parents', it was like she already knew what had happened in his life, like she already knew and not just from being around him as a baby. It would take time, she was sure, for it all to settle, for her to get her head on straight, but she felt comfortable around him, he was familiar and...it was like everything she'd felt around his other selves (though not quite like the fondness and protectiveness she felt around LJ) just increased how she felt about him now.

He looked at her sharply, "It didn't?"

"At least, I don't think it will," she smiled, "I've...had a bit of a crush on you too," she told him, feeling her heart...hearts (oh that would take some getting used to) flutter at the wide grin he shot her, "I um...it broke my heart to think of you Linking to someone, but I wouldn't have done anything," she promised quickly, "I just wanted you to be happy, so if you found your Link, I wouldn't have tried to com..."

"I am," he cut in, "You have no idea Clar," he lifted her hand, pressing the back of it to his chest, his hearts were racing, "I don't think I've EVER been this happy before."

It wasn't just the Link making him feel that, it was the fact that it existed. He had a Link, the impossible had happened, he found her, he had her, she was safe, and she was his, and she seemed to be ok with it...

"And..." she continued, "I think I've been dreaming of you," she told him, "Before I even met you."

She realized it now, that flash of blue that always appeared with her nightmares...it was the same blue as his eyes, it was the same comforting feeling she got around him.

"And I'm happy, freaking out, have no idea what's happening to me, but...I really am happy."

He looked at her softly, reaching up to touch her cheek, just looking into her eyes, his hearts swelling, "May I kiss you Clara?"

She sucked in a breath at that, at the look in his eyes, the so-soft look, the gaze that kept flickering down to her lips, not that she could argue differently on her end, "Do you remember what I told you when you asked me to be your companion on that submarine?"

He blinked, not quite sure what that had to do with anything, "To ask you when I was older."

"Because..."

He laughed, getting it now, "Because you doubted anyone could say no to me when I grew up."

"I'm not an exception," she winked.

He leaned in, and, ever so gently, kissed her, his hand moving to her cheek as she wound her arms around him...

Neither of them saw the Doctor or Evy peeking in from the doorway, eavesdropping on their son, with wide smiles on their faces.

~8~

"So...how exactly did this happen?" Clara asked as she sat before the trio of Time Lords in the med-bay, J insisting that they check to make sure she was ok from her time in the tunnel.

"According to Riv," J began, explaining it to her, "The time tunnel broke you into a million pieces."

"Right," she nodded, "I remember that..." she shifted uncomfortably, which made J move beside her on the small examination table and take her hand.

"You were a Time Lady originally, on Gallifrey..."

"Yes, you were the one who told me to take the TARDIS," the Doctor patted the doors as the TARDIS hummed.

Clara nodded, "The navigation was knackered," she murmured, vaguely recalling that, "How come I remember that?" she asked, it was weird, like...she remembered these bits and pieces, some more than others, "How did I remember any of it, like...like the dimensioning forces?"

The Time Lords were silent a moment, looking at each other, actually not having a real answer for that, "Maybe it's like Auntie Donna?" J suggested.

His parents nodded, "Donna was my companion," the Doctor explained to Clara, not knowing if she'd remember running into the ginger at some point from her time in the tunnel, but wanting to say it just in case, "She and Evy were involved in a meta-crisis, but before it happened, Donna kept hearing a heartbeat."

"It could be like that," Evy agreed, "The meta-crisis was so powerful a moment that the timelines converged on Donna and echoed the sound to her. Maybe the moment when you entered the time tunnel was so powerful it was all echoing back on you too, giving you memories of things from your life as a Time Lady, even if it hadn't quite happened yet. Like...it was such a big part of your lives, that those memories were able to slip through more than the others."

Clara looked down, it actually made sense, in a weird way she'd have to have J explain to her later, but she understood enough of it. It was like how she knew about the entropy of the pocket Universe, the buttons to push on the console to help Evy fly into it, how the Eye of Harmony worked, how she'd imagined a Dalek attacking the Time Lords before she'd even learned what they were when Evy had spoken of her time in the war on Hedgewick's World. It was why there were so many familiar things about the Time Lords and the TARDIS that she just hadn't been able to explain, like that book in the library that she remembered now, how she'd been able to read it despite it being in Gallifreyan, the TARDIS not having been THAT badly damaged. And now her dreams made sense as well, all those nightmares she'd had throughout her life, the flashes of red, the grass of Gallifrey, of orange, the sky, of silver, the leaves, the laser noises of the Daleks, and the blue, the blue of J's eyes. And the Untempered Schism, what she'd seen in the hologram room, the dream she'd had after when she'd asked Evy to take her home...the hologram room had two men standing behind her, but her dream...her dream had two women. She could somewhat remember it, being small, being taken to the Untempered Schism and looking into it, the women watching her, one woman with brown hair with a grey streak in it, the other much older with completely grey hair...she couldn't remember which child she was, knowing it was to either run away, go mad, or be inspired. That part was a bit fuzzy too...

But it all made sense now, even her fear made sense now, her fear of being lost, all those lives had come back to her, all of them running and lost and trying to find something.

She looked over at J as he squeezed her hand, and smiled, she'd never be lost or alone again, would she?

'Never ever,' he promised in her mind, kissing her hand.

She looked at him softly for that before trying something, 'Thank you,' she called to him in her head, not quite sure if it would reach him, not quite sure how that even worked.

It was weird, she felt like...she could think faster, she understood things better. Like all that talk of times converging and echoing and things, she understood it when she was pretty sure she'd have been lost before. She didn't quite know how the mental talking worked, but just...wanted to try. It was...intimate, like she and J shared a little bond, a private way to speak, that just...made them closer.

'You're very welcome,' he grinned at her.

She felt a flash of happiness rush through her, knowing it wasn't hers, but J's, that he was happy she'd been able to speak to him in his mind and let out a soft giggle at that, happy she'd made him happy, resting her head on his shoulder, J dropping his to hers as well, his temple rested on top of her head, his parents smiling softly at them.

They were just so sweet together.

"Do you remember anything about it?" the Doctor wondered, "From Gallifrey? Your family? Your name?"

Clara blinked, "A bit...it was just me," she scrunched her face, trying to recall more of her family, but it wasn't happening, she got the feeling she was an only child, like now, "My name..." she breathed, looking down in thought...before nodding, "I remember..."

"I'm Luna," Evy began, knowing that the belief to keep your name a secret was a very large part of Time Lord culture, it wasn't something you shared, except with your people, and given the war being over, even for Clara knowing they were Time Lords too, it would be difficult for her to share without gentle nudging. They wouldn't even really share with other Time Lords except for the fact that she was practically family, she was their son's Link.

"And I'm Theta," the Doctor added.

"Sigma," J told her.

Clara took a breath, "Clarana," she laughed, "Always Clar eh?" she nudged J.

"Which is just fantastic," he told her, he suspected her Time Lord name might have something to do with 'Clara' given how many of her different lives had that...her, Clara the governess, her Time Lady self, he even recalled quite a few of her other echo lives had that name as well, Clara, or Clarissa, or Clarice, all Clars, some were Oswins, Osmas, and other similar names, but the majority were Clars.

"What about...how old you were Clara?" Evy asked her gently, going back to her human name, knowing all the talk of Time Lords with her fractured and vague memories might be a bit overwhelming, "In that life?"

"326," she answered promptly, before wincing and rubbing her head as a flash of pain hit her.

It was like she could barely remember it, like she knew some things but others were just...distant. She remembered some of her other lives as well, mostly the events centered around the Doctor or Evy. She remembered her most recent human life much more than any others, probably because it was her original life, even if it wasn't her first life.

"You died in the war," J said quietly, squeezing her hand, recalling that moment of her time on Gallifrey.

He winced, it involved his father, in involved her saving him, like she'd gone through time to do. He'd been setting up the Moment to use, hiding it, thinking no one would look for it in the middle of a battlefield...the idiot. A Dalek had turned on him, he hadn't noticed, and fired, but another soldier had moved back, into the line of fire...and taken the hit for him, had died, Clara, and given him time to get away. In a way, he was almost relieved that was how she had died, that she hadn't been one of those living, one of those who had to endure the true end of the war, she'd died moments before it all happened.

Clara looked at him, feeling...guilt...that wasn't her own float through her, J's guilt, "What is it?" she looked at him, not wanting him to feel guilt, not knowing what he could possibly feel guilty about.

"I wasn't there," he murmured.

She just squeezed his hand, realizing he was sad he hadn't been there for her, hadn't been able to protect her...and then she blinked, seeing...something...in her mind. Her stepping into the time tunnel. She let out a breath, realizing he felt guilty about that as well, that if she hadn't stepped into it, she wouldn't have died in the war, she wouldn't have lived all those lives, had them all crowding around in her head, if not for her desire to help HIM.

'I wouldn't be your Link either,' she reminded him, looking at him till he looked at her in return, wanting to make sure he'd heard her. She smiled, 'It was worth it to call you mine.'

He smiled shaking his head at her, 'My Clara, my impossible girl.'

She beamed, 'My Cap'n.'

He laughed, kissing her forehead.

"You've lived a few other lives," the Doctor continued, smiling as he watched his son interact with his Link, already able to see the happiness just radiating off the boy, "Probably not, um, lasting, past 26," he added, it was too much of a coincidence, that 'Ozzy' and 'Lara' and 'Cara' as LJ would say, had all died at 26 and then her Time Lady self had died at 326, "That would make it your longest life, the biggest piece of the puzzle it seems."

"When you reformed in the tunnel," Evy added, "All the other pieces of you gravitated around that larger chunk, like how the planets form, you were Clara again, just...a Time Lady."

"I don't remember though," Clara frowned, "If that was such a big part of my life, why do I only remember a few things?"

"Because it was an echo life," J shrugged, "THIS life, these memories," he tapped her forehead, "They're YOUR memories. Physically, you're a Time Lady, mentally..."

"I'm a human," she said, actually...feeling rather sad about that. Evy was brilliant, as was River and the woman was only human plus, and now SHE was a Time Lady, a real proper Time Lady...and she wasn't all that clever.

"Oi," J nudged her, "You are brilliant," he smiled at her, "You're amazing in so many ways Clar, I honestly think you might be a better hacker than mum and Riv combined, you're even better with children than dad. And you're so clever and you learn so quickly and..."

She reached up to place a gentle finger on his lips, "Thanks."

"There's a chance your memories might resurface," Evy added, "You've only been out of the time tunnel a few hours, you've got quite a few lives to sort through in your head including, um..." she looked at J.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "352," he muttered, realizing that that was only 26 more years than how old Clara the Time Lady had been on Gallifrey, ironic wasn't it?

"352 years of the Captain's life to sort through too," Evy nodded, "It'll take a long while before they do."

"See," J smiled, "It's all there, all that knowledge, locked in that pretty little gorgeous head of yours, like..."

"Like a door you can keep closed," the Doctor supplied, thinking of Rory.

"So, one day, I might remember all of it," Clara looked at them.

They nodded, "Some things might be instinctive or, if you've been exposed to it long enough, familiar...like the TARDIS!" Evy gasped, "You were pulling levers and buttons Clara, I didn't even realize they were the right ones!"

"Yes, and you knew what the Eye of Harmony was and about the entropy," the Doctor agreed.

J blinked, "Do you think..."

"Oh yes," the Doctor nodded.

"Think what?" Clara looked at them, trying to get anything off J but he was just grinning like an idiot and hiding his thoughts.

Evy smiled, "Clara, how would you like to help us pilot the TARDIS?"

~8~

Clara slowly entered the console room, more than a bit wary of trying to fly the box given what happened the last time, and the box's natural dislike of her.

'Oh finally!' she heard someone shout, and gasped, spinning around but saw no one, 'I've been waiting for ages for this to happen. Was waiting? Would be waiting? Oh tenses!'

J laughed, "Clara...meet the TARDIS."

Clara's eyes widened, "I can hear you."

'Of course you can NOW,' the TARDIS remarked, sounding like she might be rolling her eyes...if she had eyes, 'Humans always seem to take too long to do things.'

"Always waste time when you don't have any," the Doctor called as he strode past them to the console, Evy with him, as though it were perfectly normal for the box to be talking.

"Rule 408," Evy grinned.

Clara just looked at J, "I can hear the TARDIS."

He laughed, "Yes you can."

"But that's impossible!" she exclaimed, a rush of information hitting her, "You can't take an eleven dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical…"

J laughed and this time HE was the one to put a finger to her lips, "Come on," he took her hand, leading her to the console, showing her the chip his mother had made, "One of mum's many inventions, lets the TARDIS talk, but only if there are only Time Lords here, doesn't work with humans around."

Clara frowned, "Was that why you didn't like me?" she asked the box, she really wanted to know, she wanted to have a good relationship with the box that was a home to J and his parents.

'No.'

She blinked, "Then what..."

'Sigma is your Link, you're his.'

"Yes..."

'You HURT him.'

Clara gasped, "What?!" she looked at J, alarmed, "When did I hurt him? How? What did I do?"

J laughed at her franticness, putting his arm around her, "It's alright Clar, neither of us had control over it and..."

"When?" she cut in, giving him a look, lifting her eyebrow, which only made him smile instead of cower like the Doctor might have done.

"The second you stepped into the tunnel, you became a Time Lady...and died, while I was looking at you."

"And the Link..." she gasped, recalling what Evy had said about the downsides of it, "Oh..." she looked at the TARDIS, reaching out to rest a hand on the rotor, smiling softly at the box, unable to be angry with the machine for not liking her, she was just protecting J and cross about what would happen to him, but the TARDIS had always protected her too, despite that, because the box had likely seen who she was to him, "I'm sorry I hurt him," she told the box, not apologizing to J, knowing they really had no control or even knowledge that it would happen, unlike the box seemed to have, "I promise though," she smiled, crossing both her hearts (something else that would take some getting used to), "Cross my hearts, that I won't ever do it again."

'Apology accepted,' the TARDIS agreed.

Clara beamed at that, looking down at a control, when she spotted something that made her heart...s (that really would take some getting used to) stop. Her bracelet, the purple and red and blue and gold strands that LJ had given her, "Oh my God," she gasped, "What about LJ?" she looked at them frantic as their eyes widened, seeming to realize what she had.

How would that work? How could she still travel around LJ if...if she was Linked to his older self? The baby could Link to her, and if he did it would disrupt the entire causal nexus!

She blinked, not quite sure where that had come from, but going with it, shaking it off to her lingering Time Lady thoughts. It was still a valid point, LJ couldn't Link to her, not as a baby, it would throw off J's entire life, all the events he knew and didn't know would change because of it. He clearly hadn't known she was a Time Lady, meaning his younger self hadn't, hadn't known she was his Link either...but...how?

Unless...unless she stopped travelling with the Doctor and Evy? Had they told LJ that she'd died? Kept her in the shadows so he never saw her again? She felt her hearts (got it that time!) ping at the thought of the boy being told she'd died, even as a toddler he was still attached to her. And...she got the vague sense in her mind that J had spoken to someone about her, claimed she'd been around a while longer, around his younger self. So...how? And what did that mean for her and J, she...she wanted to spend time with him, get to know him more, beyond her knowledge of his long life and what she felt inside about him, she...she wanted to be with him, but...the thought of leaving the Doctor and Evy and LJ tugged on her too...

"That...is a good question," the Doctor nodded, looking between J and Evy, "Any ideas?"

Evy rolled her eyes, patting his shoulder, "You're forgetting who you're talking to dear."

He laughed, "The Queen of Backup Plans," he wound his arms around her, squeezing her.

"What are you thinking mum?" J asked, lazily draping his arm around Clara's shoulders, just beaming that he could do it, his hearts fluttering as she leaned more on him.

"Isn't it obvious?" she looked at them.

Clara laughed, "Now YOU'RE forgetting who you're talking to," she nudged J, "The Kings of Oblivious."

"Oi!" the Doctor and J cried, both of them pouting, making their Links laugh.

"Perception Filter," Evy said.

J's hearts sunk, "What?" he breathed, tensing.

Clara looked at him, concerned, and then back at Evy, "What do you mean?" she couldn't help but shift uneasily at that, recalling what Evy had said about the use of them, and even a bit of her own knowledge leaking through, not wanting J to suffer that.

"Not a high-level one," she reassured them, "A very low one," she looked at J, "Your younger self's mind won't be as developed or sensitive to them, it can be a very low-level one, not enough for him to not notice you," she promised Clara, "But...enough where he won't Link to you, won't sense you as a Time Lady."

"You mean...lie to him?" Clara frowned, she didn't like that. J had clearly spent centuries thinking he was alone, it didn't sit right with her that the baby would grow up to think he was alone. Couldn't they just tell him that much? Give him some hope?

"She's right," J nodded, looking at Clara, sensing her thoughts, "I can't know who you are," he sighed, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, "Even if it means condemning myself to think I'm alone, the things I did, the way I acted, I did because of what I knew, and I didn't know about you Clar, we have to maintain the timelines."

She pouted this time, and he smiled, kissing her forehead, knowing that the kiss they'd shared before had been their emotions getting the best of them. It had been the most amazing (hearts stopping, earth shattering) kiss of his life (his parents had obviously lied about how incredible the first kiss with your Link was), but they both wanted to take it slow. He had to smile though when Clara smiled at the gesture, making his parents beam at the familiar action. It seemed the roles were a bit reversed there, Clara seemed quite the pouter as well.

Evy's eyes narrowed in thought a moment, it was...odd, it really was, just how similar Clara and J were to her and the Doctor, eerily similar now that she thought about it. She and Clara were impossible girls, sometimes good at backup plans, able to keep up with their men, talk circles round them, keep them under control, get the best of them and make them blush...wipe their faces off when they made a mess or pin them down their their 'eyebrows fo doom'...knew when the other was upset and just how to calm them. Both had been the Link of the men, hidden in plain sight, the men unaware of who they were to them (even if Clara also was unaware). Both had nearly died and revealed themselves in the process, their Link Linking to them in a sudden move meant to save their lives. But also...they both loved their boys more than anything, wanted what would make their Link happy. She had seen it on Hedgewick's world, Clara's expression when she'd told her about J Linking. The girl was fond of LJ but had a crush on J, she knew, and she'd seen it in her face, how she was sad about the Link but also...there was a determination there, and so she'd snuck a tiny peek into Clara's mind, to see the girl promising to keep away and not come between J and his Link, to not confuse his feelings, JUST like she had done with the Doctor's last self and Rose. It really was strange how much like them Clara and J were, how parallel their stories ran, but in a rather good way, because she knew the Doctor was happier than ever and now J would be too.

She shook her head when she realized J was speaking to her, "Sorry what?"

J laughed, "And you make fun of dad," he joked, "The Filter," he shifted, still not liking the thought of it, "It would be low enough where I would still sense her right?" if he could just be sure of THAT...

"Of course," she nodded, "You're old enough, your brain's more developed, and you'll be aware it's there and be able to see past it, not that it'll take much effort. You'd already be Linked so the Filter is really more preventative for LJ."

"So...what do we do?" Clara asked, "How do we put one on me?"

"Well, mine were necklaces," she gestured at her own necklace.

J crinkled his nose, "No, it should be something she always wears," J murmured, "Something she won't forget to wear around him or that could be tugged off when I reach my grabby stage..."

Clara looked down, the light of the rotor catching on her mother's ring, "What about this?" she held her hand up, "The only time I've ever taken it off since mum...died, was in Akhaten."

They nodded, that would work, "May I?" Evy held out a hand.

Clara took a breath and pulled it off, handing it over as Evy turned to the console, flashing the ring with her sonic and opening a small panel with some odds and ends in it, working on putting the Filter on the ring.

The Doctor paused in going to help to spin back to them, "That means Clara will be around LJ," he said, pointing at Clara.

"Yes," J nodded.

He blinked, "But she's YOUR Link."

"Yes?" he repeated, more of a question now.

"Shouldn't she be with YOU," he couldn't imagine Evy being far away from him for too long, the 200 years apart had nearly killed him.

Clara shifted, something in her felt...wrong...to leave the Time Lords, to stop travelling with them. She'd stepped into the time tunnel to protect them, to protect J, it seemed it had carried over. She'd been born to save them, how could she if she was travelling with J? But how could she stay away from J knowing he was her Link as well?

J though just smiled, as though he knew Clara would still be around, well, he would, he'd seen her around as a child, "You only see her on Wednesdays," he shrugged, "Still leaves quite a few hours open in her schedule," he winked at Clara, sensing how she felt about 'abandoning' his parents and his younger self.

She beamed at that, shaking her head at J and his understanding, he was so wonderful, "You've both got time machines you know," she reminded the Doctor.

"Yeah," J nodded, though he secretly wasn't thrilled about it, about having his Link away from him, about not being with her every moment, protecting her, being there for her...in a way, he still would be, as his younger self, and...he knew which adventures would be really dangerous so he could come and be with her, he knew she'd be alright, she'd survived it when he'd been a child...rather well and remarkably now that he thought about it...and, he knew when she'd leave, hoping against hope that it meant her leaving them would be her starting her real travels with him, "It'll be like five minutes for me," he paused in thought, "Literally, mum taught me how to pilot and..."

"Ha!" Evy pointed at the Doctor triumphantly, "Even our son thinks I'm a better pilot!" she cheered as the Doctor rolled his eyes playfully at her as she walked back to them, "Here we are," she held out the ring to Clara, "Try it."

Clara took a breath and put it back on, looking at J.

"Beautiful," was all he said, smiling at her, it was like she wasn't even wearing a Filter, he could still feel the Link, still sense her, still see her. She was gorgeous.

Clara blushed at that.

"I've added a secondary setting to it," Evy added, "A higher setting, just in case," she added quickly, seeing them both look at her, alarmed, "In case we run into YOU," she looked at J, "Before you've Linked to her."

J blinked and nodded, that made sense, he was older and he knew he'd be popping up with River at times. He winced, knowing it would be hard for Clara to be around a 'younger' him and not have him know who she was. She squeezed his hand at that, but his mother was right. The secondary setting would be helpful in keeping THAT him from Linking to her too early.

'Now,' the TARDIS cut in, and they nearly laughed hearing the box go from exasperation that they'd taken SO long to get to that point to excitement, 'Where are we going?!'

J laughed, "I've got just the place," he smiled at Clara, "I have a very close friend who would LOVE to meet my Link," he looked at his parents as they smiled, realizing exactly who that friend was. They all got to work, piloting the box, J with Clara beside him, his arm around her waist, watching as she hesitantly began to pull levers and hit switches and push buttons, him pointing out one or two for her, all as they flew the box, quite smoothly, to Luna University, just before the Graduation Ceremony was to begin.

J took Clara's hand and pulled her out of the box with a laugh as his parents waited, smiling as they watched them go, remaining there as they knew their older selves were probably there and not wanting to cause too much of a paradox by heading out. They looked at the TARDIS, ready to get the box set to go when the kids came back, pick up LJ again now that it was all safe...only for the alarms to go off, the lights flashing red. They looked at each other and ran to the monitor, seeing a blip, an alarm...coming from Trenzalore...

To be continued in...Past Meets Future!

A/N: The title listed here is just for the 50th Anniversary 2-chapter adventure for this story. I'll be posting it as a separate story (hopefully before Christmas, idk the exact date), then add the Christmas special to THIS story, with the title for the Series 8 story at the end of THAT chapter :) Lol, I think 10 may have a hearts-attack seeing, not just his older self, but his Link, his son (older or younger, not sure if LJ should be there if it's that dangerous) AND his son's Link...poor him lol :)

I realized just now that about half of this chapter is original lol :) I hope you liked the TARDIS's reason for disliking Clara, and that the twists and everything was justified and explainable/believable. I'm not sure how the 50th will pick up, but I felt like this was a good, vague place to end the story. I can say that TAOSAT's next chapter will likely be River meeting Clara the Link, since it'll be C-Clara :) Now, about that...

Onto the longer note that will talk about Clara, my decisions/reasonings for her, some thoughts on the OC possibility of J's Link, the future of this story with her/J, the spin-off, and my compromise for the Clara/OC debate (which WILL give you an OC too). (followed by a thank you to readers!)

My decisions/reasonings: I'm not going to repeat my explanation of how Clara is a Time Lady, I think I might have explained it in detail in the story, so just to touch on key points. Since it's a fanfiction, I feel I can interpret the events of the show in some ways that the show might not have intended, if it's believable (which I hope it was), that Clara's first Time Lady self was the one we saw helping all the Doctors (before the war happened) and so, was her longest life. I didn't want to make her suddenly a Time Lady out of nowhere so I've been hinting at her past for a while, with how she recognizes things from the TARDIS, her dreams, her connection to LJ and J. I doubt that in the actual show she will be a Time Lady as they made such a big thing about the Doctor being the last, but since Evy is here and LJ/J, he's already not the last. I hope it was explained in a justified and believable way. Clara shattered, but each piece of her was the size of 26 years, except for her 326 year old Time Lady self. Merging back, I saw it more like a swirl of pieces that ended up gravitating towards the larger chunk and reforming, it's still Clara as she looks the same, but Time Lady biology. She won't suddenly be smart or know things, it'll be a slow progression, but eventually she'll reach that point, NOT suddenly, NOT magically though, things just leak through little by little. And NOT just her Time Lady life, but other lives too.

Clara will NOT become an uber smart, powerful, Time Lady. She does have her past self's memories, but as they said it will take a VERY long time for them to fully come out given all the other human memories in her head. J (and the Doctor/Evy) will help her in her quest of unlocking them but it'll be slow. Mostly, right now, she might have a better idea of how to fly the TARDIS and maybe understand more about science, but for the most part she'll still be Clara, just with a Time Lady biology to her. That'll be a journey for her to take as well.

I had two ways the story could go, either Clara as his Link or an OC as his Link, so it was REALLY hard to write the chapters where it wasn't hinting too much one way or the other. I tried to keep it balanced where if Clara was his Link then her dreams and feelings were her past as a Time Lady and those memories surfacing or she wasn't and an OC would be then all her feelings/dreams could be explained as 'the timelines converging on her' and sort of echoing her lives back at her, giving her tiny hints to her memories of her life as a Time Lady but with her still human. I hope I managed to keep it balanced and explainable either way.

Clara vs. OC: I know that (probably) half of you are thrilled J's Link is Clara. The other half are probably disappointed it's not an OC or think it's a copout, and if you do, I'm sorry I let you down :( I tried to make it have a justified logic behind her being a Time Lady. And this was just the way the characters were taking it. I blame LJ, he was just so adorable and attached to Clara he pulled a 'Porridge moment' and refused to let Clara be anyone else's but his even in the future (he really IS a clingy baby). My thoughts about the Clara/OC debate is that...it can be argued that Clara was 'human' and 'became a Time Lady' and the same could be said for if J just randomly found his Link if his parents looked THAT hard for other Time Lords, his Link was most likely locked in a fob watch and whoever the OC might have been would have been 'human' when he met her and 'become a Time Lady' too, same event, different characters. I also didn't want to do the fob watch thing as it's been done quite a lot so I wanted this new and interesting way to explain Clara being a Time Lady.

Clara's future in this story: I want to give Clara some challenges, which means the J we see popping up in Series 8 will likely be with River, and at that point in his timeline, doesn't know Clara is his Link (and won't because of the second setting on the Perception Filter, gotta love Evy and her backup plans eh?). It'll be hard for her to be around him knowing he's her Link and him not knowing that about her (another parallel to Evy). I will have THIS J popping up so she gets a bit of love, maybe during 1 adventure. In this main series we won't see much of J/Clara (if it helps the non-J/Clara shippers), that would be reserved for the spin-off. I do hope that it was believable them having a little kiss, they literally HAVE known each other all their lives. J almost literally for Clara, having seen her entire life and knowing her since he was a baby, and Clara because I could see the time tunnel showing her more of J's life as well. The main series though will mostly be Clara hanging around with LJ and protecting him.

BIG NOTE: As Clara Linked to J, she will NOT have romantic feelings for his baby self (that would be wrong). To her, they are almost like different people. J is her Link, LJ (like River mentions in the Library about the Doctor)...isn't quite J yet. She'll feel more protective of him (as he has to survive to get to J) and she'll always feel safer around him (much like she already did), but she will NOT be in love with LJ. She'll feel the Link is there in LJ, but she loves J. It's almost like how Evy said if there was someone like the Doctor exact in every way, she'd still only love the Doctor, similar with J except LJ isn't exact, he's not J, not to her. She sees him as the past of her Link, but NOT her Link. If that makes sense. Evy once said, when 5 and 10 were in the same spot that she felt the Link divide, but I feel she mostly saw him as a past Doctor but not HER Doctor. As long as LJ doesn't Link to Clara till he reaches that point in J's life, Clara and LJ will NOT have any sort of relationship like that. (It's just wrong).

To continue, the spin-off: I will be writing a spin-off of J and Clara, though I'm not sure when it'll be up (hopefully soon). It might possibly titled 'The Captain and his Impossible Girl' (eh, not sure, maybe Captain Impossible? No...Captain Who? hmmm...open to suggestions lol). This series will really look at Clara trying to figure out who she is. Her memories are all really jumbled and it'll be up to J to help lead her down the path of being a Time Lady, teaching her about things she's forgotten, and being there for her when it gets to be too much. Remember, she still has to deal with memories of the war, dealing with what it means to be Linked, and so many more things on her path towards really remembering her Time Lady self. Which leads into the next note about the OC-possibility...

My compromise on the OC: I feel like having Clara be J's Link is a happy medium for both the J/Clara (Jara? Clay?) shippers and the ones who preferred an OC...because once Clara regenerates, she'll basically be like an OC who only has Clara's name to her. She'll be a new character with a new personality and a new appearance and I can make up whatever history for her as a Time Lady to fit to that, she'd really just have Clara's name. So, in a way, it's a win-win, we get Clara first then an OC :) Idk when she'll regenerate, I can't see her doing it till J regenerates (like his parents) but you never know :) I might, depending how the show goes, have her regenerate whenever Clara leaves the show, to really begin her journey with J, which would be like an OC at that point. So we'll get Clara at the start, then an OC/OCs for the rest of it :) ...if that makes sense?

Now that that's taken care of (SO sorry it was that long!)...

Thank you!: I really want to thank all of you, really, my biggest thanks to anyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favorited/looked at this story. It means the world to me to know it's being read and I'm really glad I was able to write something people enjoy. I hope I continue to do you guys proud with this story and Evy and the Doctor and LJ/J in the future :) I love you guys!

Some notes on reviews...

Evy just might die first yup. That was really the ONLY way I could see them being able to take the Doctor out, is him being devastated by the loss of Evy. We'll have to see though, see if the writers come up with some uber-Moffat twist that will help get around Trenzalore :)

Yup, there was one version of Clara that appeared to be a Time Lady (assumed though not specifically stated). I used that idea that the Clara's we see from her first self through the Doctor's (what seemed like) 7th incarnation were all the same Clara, her first incarnation. That's the good thing about fanfiction, you can tweak and interpret things :) So it created a larger chunk that became Clara's more prominent piece of herself. So she's a Time Lady again, but we'll have to wait and see what that means for her :)

No problem! I love responding to reviews/questions :) I'm not sure if he used up his extra regenerations when he poured the energy into his hand. I think he'd still have his remaining lives, I feel like, he was using the hand as a sort of...lightning rod, like it channeled the energy instead of the force of it changing him, being directed elsewhere let it heal him and stop as soon as he was completely fine so he was able to keep a lid on the rest of that energy and not use it all up. I sort of feel like, with the hand being Time Lord, and having ALL the regeneration energy in it, being touched by a human wouldn't have been enough to turn it nearly entirely human. So, in a way, it makes sense if the hand didn't get ALL the energy but just a tiny portion, which meant Donna's DNA and energy was there in a greater quantity than the regeneration energy and it just used Donna to turn the hand into a human Doctor. If that makes sense? Lol :)

That's a cute video :) I'm mostly following the actual show though, so until they say what his name is, I'm going to go with Theta :) I don't think a comic book published (especially) in America (or a book that (I think) isn't associated with the BBC) can really claim to know the Doctor's name and be correct. That and the fact that the video's title even has a question mark in it so it can't claim it's really his name either. The mathematical statement found in the Tomb of Rassilon could just be a joking shout out to it, I think they've done things like that in the past. I think the Doctors would have reacted to it if it was their name :) But that's great that there's more theories about his name out there :)