"Hold my hand, I feel the ghost coming. Help me stand, I can see the sky falling."
Time passes for the Time Lord, and he counts his lucky stars each and every moment. For he has seen the time lines, he knows that there were too many points where he could have lost his love, his Bad Wolf.
But those have passed.
He can see their time lines entwined, stretched out for eternity, and has from the moment of their union.
They travel the stars, with friends and family as well as without, and loose track of the years but for milestones that should be noted. A hundredth birthday, a hundred years of traveling, a hundred years of marriage.
But the Time Lord knows the end is near for the man he is now, can feel it on the wind, has heard it voiced by friend and stranger alike. Still he carries on, hoping to delay, wondering if there will be another hundred years for the man he is now to spend with the woman he loves ….
"Don't forget we still need to go back and have dinner with Sarah Jane and Luke." Rose reminded the Doctor as she lounged on the jumpseat, enjoying their quiet moment while he did maintenance and she read. "We last saw her five years ago."
"I thought we had to go back for Mickey and Martha?" He replied from under the console.
"That too, but it's only been a couple years since we've seen them," Rose replied, turning the page of her novel.
"Blimey, how long has it been since we've visited Jenny, then?" He said, resurfacing from beneath the console with a streak of grease on his cheek. He didn't have on his blazer or tie, his sleeves were rolled up, and despite the decades of seeing him naked he still seemed more so like this than he had in the actual state.
For the first decade after they'd taken a couple weeks to recover from the loss of Donna and the Meta Crisis, they'd been in one of two states: Fully dressed or naked. The TARDIS conveniently took that ten year span to never need to be tinkered with, bringing them only where they wanted to go and never deviating. It was after that that they returned for their daughter and Tim, both finding it overly comical that they were greeted with such warmth and enthusiasm when to them it had only been a couple days.
"For us? It's only been a few months," Rose said, remembering how little they were willing to part with her after that decade long honeymoon. "But she's informed me that our frequency of visits is prohibiting her from making friends aside from River."
"We don't see her that often," The Doctor huffed, reaching to straighten the tie that wasn't there and only fiddled with his collar.
"We don't," Rose hummed in agreement. "But to avoid paradoxes we've landed nearly ever other day for her first year of school. And we can't keep pulling her out of school for years on end or she'll never remember anything."
"She never complains about that," The Doctor said firmly, pointing the tool in his hand at Rose for emphasis. "Especially when we happen to pick up Tim for a bit. See, she has a friend other than River." He said, returning his attention to the console.
Rose merely peered at him over her book.
For a Time Lord with a big Time Lord brain, he was utterly clueless when it came to the obvious. Especially when it involved their daughter and her huge infatuation for their part-time companion.
Her phone rang, and she stood from her seat and walked to where it rested on the console. "Donna." She said, and the Doctor immediately resurfaced with a look of worry as he had every time they would get a call from her over the last century. "Hi, stranger." Rose smiled as she answered her phone.
"Get your ass to Earth, Blondie, and make sure Spaceman's with you. I'm getting married!"
~DWDWDW~
Donna Noble had introduced Shawn, a kind, quiet man who she said she'd met through Wilf and had not stopped talking about him from the moment they walked into the house. Sylvia, as she always did, made a point to ignore both the guests by suddenly becoming insanely busy with anything and everything that would keep her away. Wilf would sit nearby, smiling between his granddaughter and her two best friends in the universe.
But the Doctor noted that Wilf was not quite so sincere in his normal repertoire, his grin thin and weak, his eyes gazing off as if he was thinking of something else entirely.
And perhaps that was probably because now they were talking about wedding colors. Why did that even matter, wedding colors? What was the point? You stand in an alley, say a few words in front of some friends, and be done with it. Humans and their insane, pointless, wonderful rituals. Needing to ensure that the dresses worn by those who support the bride match the ties of those who stand with the groom, as well as the cake, the napkins, the flowers, and anything else that could possible have a color.
Had Rose ever wanted any of this? She didn't look particular sad or wistful as she listened to Donna prattle on and on about nothing of great importance. She was giddy, he could feel it through their bond, happy for their friend. Stray thoughts of doing this with Jenny fluttered here and there, but why she thought Tim, a mere human (okay, fine, not mere. Pretty remarkable, honestly), should be the one marrying their daughter in her fantasy of the future. Why did it matter?
He sighed, smiling fondly at his bond mate. Wife, as he knew she preferred to be called, and he could at least stick to that since he wasn't going to wear a wedding ring unless absolutely necessary. He'd kept one in his pockets, engraved like Rose's, in case their dangerous adventures proved easier when a visible symbol of their union was seen. Only happened once. Well, twice, well there was that incident with Lady Christina de Souza. Flirty, that woman. Rose had been overseeing the bus extraction, making sure things were going well, reporting to him over their bond and he back to her. He and Christina had been flirting (at least that's what Rose said, though he claims it was merely conversing) in French as they walked the dessert when she asked him about his companion. A hand slipped into the pocket, ring put in place. "Oh, you mean my wife, Rose?" Didn't exactly stop her from giving him a kiss, but then again she kissed Rose too, so he wasn't sure what to think of that. Briefly considered introducing her to Jack then thought better of it.
A nudge disturbed his thoughts, and he glanced at Rose fully prepared to see a reprimanding glare because he thought of that adventure again when he realized she was actually paying attention to Donna. Now that he was looking at her, concentrating, he realized the mental signature that was bumping his mind wasn't hers, wasn't even human.
Ood Sigma.
And it sounded desperate.
"Sweetheart," he said, interrupting the conversation she was having with Donna, and by the look on their friend's face, the timing was rude. "I need to run out a moment." He smiled. "I'm being summoned."
Rose's brow knitted together in that really adorable way that hadn't gotten old at all. "Okay," She said out loud. "By who?" She asked as he waved to Donna and stepped outside.
"Ood Sigma." He replied as he glanced up and down the street as he crossed the road to the TARDIS. "He's calling me back to the Ood sphere. Not sure why."
"Be safe." She had said, adding his real name and causing him to pause half way opening the doors of the TARDIS. She didn't use it all the time, mostly as the ultimate term of endearment. When they parted ways for a bit like they were now, when he had given her a great enough scare or was overwhelmed by him in some way, when they …. Yeah, he liked that one best.
He took the TARDIS to the Ood sphere, trying not to dwell, recalling something that happened about a decade or so ago now.
A trip to Mars with Tim and Jenny in tow that had been quickly abandoned when he recalled the fixed point about to happen and wanted to get as far away from it as possible. He hated leaving them to die, but it had to be done.
"Sometimes death has to happen, Stormboy." Tim had said as he sat by the Doctor's feet while the Time Lord did maintenance to distract his mind. Wife and daughter were deep in the TARDIS somewhere, and it was just the two of them as he closed his bond off to Rose so they could each have privacy. "Sometimes … you gotta die so someone else will live." Tim had said, and the way he said it got the Doctor's attention. He'd sat up, looking his young companion in the eye and understood what he was saying. "Like a guy might be just trying to help, and he gets in the way."
"When?" The Doctor asked sharply.
Tim shrugged. "Dunno. I see aliens with spaghetti mouths, an old dude, Sax … Sacrifice, and then it's like I 'hear' four knocks." Tim had shrugged. "It's all I know. Sorry."
The Doctor nodded. "Don't tell Rose." He had said, sealing the memory of what Tim said away from her. It was wrong, but she had already heard what Carmen had said, and it left her on edge for a few years after that.
Blocking the memory from Rose had the added bonus of making him forget for the most part as well, but the way that Tim described the aliens in his vision made the Doctor think Ood against his better judgment. And here he was, heading to the Oodsphere, and he wasn't sure why.
He stepped outside in the snow, already missing the feel of Rose's mind brushing strongly against his as he looked at Ood Sigma waiting for him a few feet away.
"Ood Sigma!" He said with a wide grin. "Been a while, hasn't it? Blimey, nearly a hundred years from my end. You said my song was changing, and oh did it ever. Got married, did a few times actually, but only one really counted. Don't worry, same woman. Well, same woman and once there was a third party involved but he was quickly informed it meant nothing. Good thing we're good mates, didn't stop him from sulking. His boyfriend wasn't amused by the story. Anyway, you don't need to hear any of that. So, why the summons?"
"You will come with me." Ood Sigma said in that strangely polite tone.
"Straight to the point then," The Doctor said.
"We'd been trying to reach you, we have only just succeeded."
"Ah," he said as she followed Ood Sigma through the snow to a city carved in the stone and ice. "Magnificent!" The Doctor smiled broadly, nudging Ood Sigma who didn't seem pleased. But then again, when did an Ood ever look pleased with anything? "Oh, come on. That is splendid. You've achieved all this in how long?"
"One hundred years." Ood Sigma replied.
"Really?" The Doctor asked, taken aback. "Huh, not often I actually reunite with someone linearly. Wait until I tell Rose, she's going to be so … wait. One hundred years? One century?" he asked, and Ood Sigma nodded once. "Well then we've got a problem. 'Cause all this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the 21st century. Something's accelerating your species.
"And the Mind of the Ood is troubled." Ood Sigma agreed.
"Why, what's happening?"
"Every night, Doctor. Every night we have bad dreams."
~DWDWDW~
"Thought I'd bring you out a cuppa." Rose said as she came up to Wilf who sat in a chair by himself in the living room. She'd been in the kitchen with Donna and her friends, women who Rose felt entirely out of touch with. While they were all, for the most part, single or divorced, Rose had been married for so long she'd forgotten what it was like to be unattached. And because she still looked like she was in her early twenties, having the same look-out of marriage as someone who'd been in it for fifty-years or more wasn't gaining her any brownie points.
So when a big pot of tea had been made, Rose used the offer of a cup to Wilf as a means of escape, especially after she thought she heard him chattering to himself not that long before.
"Thank you, Dear." He said with a smile, and when a loud, bistros laugh ran out from the kitchen, it turned sympathetic. He then gestured to the Sofa with his head.
Rose accepted to offer of a seat.
"I'm too old for that nonsense." She said with a long glance to the kitchen before smiling at Wilf.
He scoffed. "Not even older than Donna." He said as he took a sip.
Rose smirked. "I'm about four times Donna's age." She said, taking a sip of her own tea.
He laughed, shaking his head. Then he stiffened, stared at the television like he'd seen a ghost. Rose glanced over, but didn't see anything except an advertisement for Christmas things.
"Oh," She said, perking up a bit. "Didn't realize when we landed. What's the date?" She asked Wilf.
"December twenty-fourth." He replied, and Rose paled. "Oh, is that not good?"
"2010?" She asked, and he nodded. "Well, so long as I don't go anywhere near North America, should be fine." She took another sip of tea. "But I didn't bring anything. Not for Donna, or for you. That's why all this is taking place here, innit? She's here for the holidays. Asked her friends to come by so we could all chat as a wedding party."
"She called you." He reminded her. "Didn't she give you the date?"
Rose shrugged. "Gave that bit to the Doctor." She replied.
"Ah," Was all Wilf had a chance to say before the front door of the Noble house was thrown open, shut hard, and the Doctor walked in with what was quite obviously a put on smile.
Rose hadn't realized he'd returned from the Ood Sphere.
"Rose, Sweetheart," he said, sounding almost relieved, trying to put his hands in his pockets with a nonchalance that didn't seem honest.
"What happened?" She asked, sensing the walls he'd put up, which only made her worry more.
"Something's come up." He said slowly. "Someone we'd have never have expected to see again." He added, but that had been so many people it wasn't really much of a hint.
"I can leave the room if you two need to have a conversation," Wilf offered, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.
"No, it's alright, you don't need to do that." Rose reassured, looking from him to the Doctor then gestured for him to sit beside her.
He nodded once, glancing in the kitchen before coming around and sitting beside her. He put his arm around the back of the sofa, playing with the curl to Rose's hair. It seemed to calm him, she noticed. The way that he'd tug until it was nearly straight then watched as he let it go and it bounced back. He did this a couple times before he slowly let what he saw and heard at the Ood Sphere trickle through.
The Master, Wilf, a couple Rose didn't know but thought she recognized at least half of, and the Master's wife.
"Lucy," The Doctor reminded her before showing her more. How he showed the elder Ood what had happened, and then the elder in turn showing him someone, a woman, plucking the Master's ring from pyre after they left. How the Ood warned them that the Master was part of a greater plot when he tried to flee, how when he did he spotted his fellow Time Lord. Half formed, burning his own life energy away, leaping into the air like a super hero. He was guilty as he showed her that he closed himself off to her before he chased after him.
The Master had strange powers now, adding more to the superhero like behavior he showed with the whole jumping bit. He had missed twice before striking the Doctor in the chest with some kind of energy from his hands. She got a inkling of how much it had hurt, but she showed her how they both collapsed.
Through their recovery that had spoken like they were still Theta and Koschei, the old friends they had been so long ago. Rose had felt the same spark of affection the Doctor had in their moment of reconnection before it turned more bitter. And even still, it was there, always would be, deep inside. Then the Master had shown the Doctor the noise in his mind, and this time the Doctor heard it. Someone was calling to the Master, but before they could sort it out, the Master was taken, and the Doctor was knocked out while trying to stop him.
"How do you feel?" Rose asked him kindly.
"Alright. Headache's not too bad."
When Rose slapped the Doctor across the face, it startled Wilf, and even caused a but of commotion from the kitchen where Donna and the rest of her wedding party were chattering away.
"I deserved that," The Doctor said.
"What did you do?" Wilf asked, sounding baffled.
"Acted reckless." Rose bit out.
"Oh," Wilf said, failing to hide the smirk pulling at his lips and hiding it behind his mug.
"I wasn't about to stop and grab you when I already knew time was precious." The Doctor argued calmly. "And you saw, he wasn't really trying to hurt me."
Rose wasn't too sure about that, especially with the hint of nervousness and the worried glint in the Doctor's eye.
"So what do you intend to do now?" Rose asked the Doctor.
"You know what." He said, looking at her meaningfully. "And you know what I'm going to ask of you."
"And you know what I'm going to say to that."
"Must never be any mystery to your marriage if you always know what the other's gonna do." Wilf teased, and the Doctor and Rose both snickered. "Maybe you can solve this one for me." He said, setting his mug down and reaching for something under the side table. He pulled out a book, handing it over to the Doctor. "Donna got me this, thought I might like it but didn't know why." He stood up, said he'd be back, and went upstairs.
Rose felt the cold shock that hit the Doctor as he looked over the book.
"I knew I saw that face before." She said when she remembered spotting the book earlier.
"Good ol' Donna." The Doctor said affectionately despite his undercurrent of worry. He glanced up toward the kitchen just as Donna laughed. "She doesn't remember much of her journey but there you have it, the part of her that was the Doctor-Donna still coming through."
Rose's heart stuttered, "Her mind, will it?"
"No," The Doctor shook his head. "No, I imagine it was something set in motion before she forgot. Like Bad Wolf, the DoctorDonna would have resonated in more ways than one." His affection faded, his eyes glancing down at the book. "But what does our Mister Naismith have to do with our old friend?" He said more to himself than anything.
"Perhaps you should go find out." Rose said softly, and the Doctor looked up in surprise. She didn't need to put her hand on his to speak to him, but it was still somewhat habitual even after all these decades. "If the Master is here, then there's alien activity. Donna needs someone here to shield her from it however possible."
"There are safe guards in place." The Doctor reminded her, and she grinned.
"I know, but I feel like, I dunno, like this is something you should do on your own." She said. "Or at least without me."
"Dad!" She heard Sylvia call out. "Where're you hiding? Donna's friends are about to leave soon, and if you think you can hide in there and watch the telly all day, you're mistaken. Come on, I need help in the kitchen and we all know Donna's useless."
"Oi," Donna cried out.
"How about you take Wilf with you?" Rose suggested, surprising both the men as she spotted Wilf half trying to hid behind the banister of the stairs as he came back down them.
"Rose, you know who we're dealing with. You know he's dangerous."
"Can't be any more dangerous than Sylvia in the kitchen with Donna around." Wilf countered, coming into the room as Sylvia gave another shout for him.
"Nothing says he has to leave the TARDIS." She reminded him.
The Doctor stood, going stiff as Sylvia stopped and stared at him.
"When did you come back?" She asked harshly.
"I was just leaving." He said, pointing toward the front door.
Wilf got up, hustling to follow the Doctor.
"You are not going with him." Sylvia said incredulously as Wilf slipped on his shoes and grabbed his jacket. An argument between father and daughter started up, fading as she chased after him while he followed the Doctor.
A moment later, Donna came out, looking baffled. "Didn't I just hear my Mum?" She asked.
"Yeah, she went outside with your Gramps." Rose said, not adding any more to it.
"Oh," Donna said, a little disappointed before perking up. "I left the pictures of my new dress in the glove compartment of my car, mind running out and getting them for me?" Donna asked as she produced a set of car keys from her pocket and handed them to Rose. "Was gonna ask Mum, but I don't know why. She wouldn't have done it anyway."
"Sure," Rose said, grabbing the keys and passing an irritated Sylvia on her way out the door.
She rounded over to Donna's car, heading to the passenger side while glancing to where the TARDIS would be. The Doctor closed off from her again, which didn't surprise her, she supposed. Not when she knew he'd be reckless and wouldn't want her to know of the pain or the close calls.
She dug through the glove compartment, having found the dress photos and smiling at how they were relatively the same style that Donna wore before but with a few changes to the details.
Rose was so focused on the images that she gasped as she turned and nearly collided with a woman in white standing in the Noble's driveway.
"It was wise of you to send Wilfred with the Doctor," She said. "You have done well to look after him, but it's a soldier he needs now, not a wolf."
Rose stared. "Didn't realize it was something that needed to happen."
"You saw time," The woman said. "All that is, was, and will be. You saw this, too. You knew what was to come and that is why your instincts are telling you to stay here."
"And Wilf had to go, because?"
"He is meant to take arms at the Doctor's side." She took a minute to really study Rose. "He may die."
Rose's stomach twisted, but she managed a smirk. "Hundred an' twenty-seven isn't a terrible age to live to." She said.
The woman seemed to peer into Rose's soul. "You have a romantic love for the Doctor stronger than I have ever seen." She said, partially in awe, but also factually.
Rose looked at her, really took her in. "And my daughter has your eyes." She said.
The woman smiled. "I bet she does."
Rose blinked, and the woman was gone.
~DWDWDW~
He wasn't sure what to make of all this, but he knew he was right where he belonged. Before Rose, sweet heart that she was, brought him a cup of tea Wilf had been having a conversation with someone he didn't know. And she was on the telly. He'd heard of strange things like that happening on a street in London back in the day. Just whispered rumors not long before the Queen's coronation, but he didn't really believe it was anything more than silly superstition. Yet there was a woman on the telly, chatting away with him, telling him that the time would come for him to take arms, and to keep it all from the Doctor.
So now he stood inside the space ship box, casually moving the small, never used hand gun from his back pocket to his jacket, keeping it wrapped in the handkerchief he'd always had it in so it wouldn't appear quite so conspicuous.
The Doctor ran about the round thing in the middle, hardly paying him any mind as he nattered on about this and that, tracking and tracing, and saving the world, Wilf was sure.
The Doctor finally stopped, having spotted Wilf standing at the top of the ramp and simply gazing around. "Ah, right, yes. Bigger on the inside. Do you like it?" He asked.
Wilf figured he'd may as well be honest. "I thought it'd be cleaner."
"Cleaner?" The Doctor scoffed, looking horribly offended. "I could take you back home right now." His grin at the end was what gave away that he wasn't serious, and as much as he'd tried to cover it up, Wilf caught it.
"Don't think your missus would like that." He said.
"No, she wouldn't." The Doctor said with a half cringe, looking all the world like that would be the worst idea. Worse than, say, going after someone who sounded like a right nutter. An alien nutter, likely.
"Doctor," he said after a moment. He thought that maybe he should tell him about the dreams, about the laughing man that reminded him a bit too much of that Prime Minister that only lasted a few days a couple years back. The Doctor looked up from what ever he was doing, looking at Wilf expectantly. "Nothing." He said, putting on a smile. "It's just an honor, being here, seeing all this." He said, gesturing around the console room. "Even if it isn't clean."
The Doctor grinned, wide and honest, and it gave body to the one Wilf forced on. The Doctor strode toward him, hand extended for a shake Wilf gladly took.
"Welcome aboard."
~DWDWDW~
Time ticked away. The slow path. The daunting path. One where Donna's mother pointedly ignored Rose, and she in turn did her best to stay out of the way and watch over Donna as requested. She glanced at the clock, knowing without time sense exactly how much time had passed since the Doctor took Wilf with him to the TARDIS.
1 hour, 42 minutes, 54 seconds. 55, 56, 57….
"I'm sure Granddad will be fine." She heard Donna try to reason with her mother. "I'm fine. I'd have still been with 'im if it hadn't been for those bloody things Lance tried to kill me with. Gave me a right headache. Sorta getting one now just thinking of it."
1 hour, 44 minutes, 13 seconds. 14, 15, 16 ….
"Seriously, though. Reminds me a bit of what happened right before the wedding. Or was it after. Rose, do you remember when that really bad headache started? The one that made the Doctor run those tests?"
"Not sure." Sure replied, because she had no idea what memories the Meta Crisis formed in Donna's head before he gave way.
1 hour, 45 minutes, 57 seconds. 58, 59 ….
A cup broke in the kitchen. "Mum, Shawn? What's happening? Rose?"
She darted up from her spot on the couch and ran to the kitchen. Donna was backed into the corner of the counter, Sylvia and Shawn having some sort of convulsion that only seemed to be affecting their heads. Whipping side to side so fast that they couldn't be seen.
Donna slowly reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone.
"Doctor!" Rose mentally screamed, reaching and clawing for their connection. "What is happening?" She demanded to know, hoping he would at least allow himself to hear and reply to her while he seemed to bloke any and all of his emotions.
Rose blinked, then had to close her eyes and lean back against the counter as the panicked, angry rush came over her before she could almost see what he did.
"The human race was always your favorite, Doctor." The Master said as he walked in front of her mate. "But there is no human race. There is only the Master race."
She opened her eyes and there before her was the Master. Two of them, wearing Sylvia and Shawn's clothes, and Donna clutching her head in agony.
"Keep Donna safe." The Doctor said to her, brushing her mind in a loving caresses before closing himself off from her so tightly she could barely feel his mental hum. He hadn't don this in decades, closed himself off like this. It had been after Carmen had told him of his pending death. When they returned from the planet, and were once more on the TARDIS, she had momentarily thought it had been about Christina. But she'd been with him long enough, knew him too well, and figured out that maybe he was simply not ready to go. Didn't want to change bodies, feared being one closer to his final regeneration.
And if he was dealing with the Master, and this is what cropped up ….
It had been a very long time since the wolf side of her made an appearance, but that didn't mean it was weak.
She lunged at the one in Sylvia's clothes, over powering it and slamming it's head hard against the counter top, only half hoping she hadn't hurt Sylvia in the process. She lunged at the one who had been Shawn, and he caught her wrists. So she head butted him, hard, hearing his nose crack before she kicked him in groin. Just as he looked up at her, eyes filled with rage, she hit him in a pressure point and he collapsed on the floor.
She turned to Donna, finding her slumped on the floor, passed out. Snatching the cell phone from the floor, she was partly relieved to see she was breathing.
And she'd only made it part way through dialing Wilf's number before she passed out.
Selecting Wilf's name from the list, Rose hit the call button before moving to the back door and locking it.
It rang nearly half a dozen times before it stopped mid ring.
"And who are you?" The Master's smooth voice asked, confusion and intrigue all mixed together.
It gave Rose pause as she moved to the front door.
"What have you done with the Doctor?" She countered, sensing his own pause on the other end.
"You're still alive." He said in disbelief.
"Last I checked," Rose said as she flipped the lock on the front door, peeking out the windows to see the streets empty.
"And still you. Miss Smith." The Master purred and taunted.
At that, Rose smirked. "That's Missus Smith, thank you."
"Oh, ho, ho, he married a human. How so very You." She knew he was talking to the Doctor, but couldn't hear any response.
"May I speak to my husband?" She asked calmly.
"He's a little … tied up at the moment." He said, and she heard the sound of something ripping, and a grunt from the Doctor in the background.
"That's better," She heard the Doctor in the background. "Hello. But honestly, do you really think I'd leave my best friend without any defense? And Rose, well, she's my bestest-best friend, or what have you. She's the best defense there is. And don't worry, Sweet Heart," He seemed to yell out. "Your Best mates will be fine, too."
"Oh, Sweetheart, how sweet." The Master said, his voice sounding nearly sickened by the term of endearment. "I wonder though, Sweetheart, who your best mates are? The freak, I know. He can't die, hardly makes him human. Kinda like … oh! Oh, well, isn't that just a revelation! You aren't human, are you? What freaky things did our dear old Doctor do to you, huh?" He said it in a leering way that made Rose snarl.
"Take a guess, Koschei." She said, finding the name odd on her tongue. Not like the name of her husband, any of his names, no matter how alien. It felt oddly wrong, and yet strangely right like calling a close friend by their full name while having only really known them by the abbreviation or nickname.
"Let's make a deal then, shall we? I'll leave you and the Doctor's 'best mate' alone, and you stay out of all this."
"Never knew you to be one to make deals."
"I sense you'll be quite counter productive to anything I have planned. Until I need to deal with you, I'd prefer not to."
"I think that could be a suitable arrangement," Rose said as she noted a few people coming out of their homes, moving to the end of their driveways. It was obvious everyone had been converted, except for a handful of people. "Just be warned, when that time comes I will not make things easy for you."
"Hard to get and likes it rough." The Master said. "Wish I'd met you before he did." The call disconnected, and Rose went back to the kitchen to get Donna and make her more comfortable.
~DWDWDW~
"She must have been special." The Master said as he hung up on Rose, and the Doctor started to wish that maybe he hadn't shut himself off so much from her.
He wanted to know what she did, feel what she felt, let her know what was going on through his mind. He knew it was for the best, because if they got caught up in conversation, the Master would notice. And if he did, the Doctor didn't know what he might have done to Rose's mind when he got to her.
"She is." The Doctor amended, and the Master smirked, head moving in silent chuckle.
"Where's your TARDIS?" He asked the Doctor in a near casual way.
It reminded him so much of when they were boys, their earlier conversation still moving around in the forefront of the Doctor's mind. Those memories of being kids together, of being friends long before what ever consumed the Master took place. Even after that, because it's not like it happened right away. At least not until they were out of the Academy.
But it had been so long, so very, very long that the Doctor no longer remembered when his first and oldest friend had changed so much.
"You could be so wonderful." He said thoughtfully.
"Where is it." The Master insisted.
But the Doctor couldn't let it go. "You're a genius. You're stone-cold brilliant. You are, I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful." He noted that the Master didn't seem so cocky or arrogant at the moment, so he continued. "With a mind like that, we could travel the stars."
"The three of us? Happy family, me, you, and your mate?" He said with a half hearted taunt.
"It would be our honor." The Doctor said honestly. "'Cause you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."
"Would it stop, then?" The Master asked. "The noise in my head?"
"I can help." He would, too. He wasn't sure how, but he would.
"I don't know what I'd be without that noise." The Master admitted, and it made the Doctor's hearts ache to see the truth behind that.
"Wonder what I'd be without you," he countered, and it didn't have to be said why. Memories of those days when it was just the two of them because there was no one else had been dredged up enough.
Master sniffled, a light smile pulling on his lips. "Yeah."
"What does he mean?" Wilf asked from where he was tied up opposite of the Doctor. "What noise?"
The Master's moment of contentment vanished, and he turned to Wilf and told him the story.
"I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me," He concluded his tale of the untempered schism. "The never ending drums. Listen to it." He said, turning to the Doctor from where he sat in the grand desk chair. "Listen."
"Then let's find it, you and me." The Doctor offered. At this moment of utter calm, at the possibility of seeing his once best friend emerge from this Time Lord once again, he left his wife out of it. He thought of Rose, she was there in his mind along with the very dampened feel of her, but she was there. He knew the rules still applied that were set so long ago, but was the Master really a companion?
"Except," The Master stood, breaking the Doctor out of his musings. He watched as he came around the desk slowly, realization dawning over his features. "Oh! Oh, wait a minute. Oh yes. Oh, that's good." He turned back to the Doctor, his smile growing. "The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh … oh, yes!" He laughed, and the Doctor watched as the Master's life force flickered, caught the horrified look on Wilf's face when the Master's skull was reveal for a moment. The Master dropped, clutching at his once more fleshed covered head.
"The gate wasn't enough." The Doctor said regretfully. "You're still dying."
"This body was born out of death," The Master retorted as he got to his feet. "All it can do is die. But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said 'the end of time'."
"I said something is returning." The Doctor corrected. "I was shown a prophecy, that's why I need your help."
"You don't need me. You have a companion until that mate of yours fades away. All you're being right now is a sentimental fool where I," The Master laughed, hands out away from his sides. "What if I'm part of the prophecy? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals, I could find the source." He strode slowly toward him. "Oh, Doctor, that's what your prophecy was: me." The Master slapped him, but he didn't flinch. "Where's the TARDIS."
"Just stop, think." The Doctor asked of him.
The Master looked a solider who still wore his helmet. "Kill him," he said, gesturing to Wilf. "I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead." He put his cards on the table, and as he moved to stand at the side of the soldier who pointed the gun at Wilf who vehemently asked the Doctor to not say a word. "I'll kill him right now." The Master warned once more.
And the Doctor barely stopped the smirk. "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid." He taunted his friend, watching the confusion come over the Master before he replaced it with frustration. "You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"
"Like what?" The Master huffed.
"That guard is one inch too tall." The Doctor said, maybe just a little too smug considering he was still strapped down.
The Master turned in time to be hit with the butt of the rifle,knocking him out.
The Solider took of his helmet, revealing himself to be Rossiter, the Vinvocci man whom the Doctor stripped of his shimmer and revealed as alien to the humans.
"Oh my god, I hit him!" Rossiter said, looking down at the limp body of the Master at his feet. "I've never his anyone in my life.
Addams, Rossiter's partner, ran into the room and worked to untie Wilf. "Well, come on." She growled at Rossiter. "We need to get out of here, fast."
"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf cried with joy as Addams worked on his bindings.
"That's Cacti," The Doctor corrected.
"That's racist." Rossiter said, and all the Doctor could do for the moment was snicker.
~DWDWDW~
She peered out the window again, noting the Masters were still standing in wait, none having moved from where they stopped when she and the original came to an agreement all so long ago. Rose moved to kneel beside Donna, brushing hair from her forehead in an effort to get an idea as to whether or not her mind was burning. Donna's steady breathing was a good sign, and the fact that those who used to be Sylvia and Shawn were currently locked in the shed out back eased Rose's worry that maybe she'd wake up only to fall into agony once more.
With a huff, Rose plopped on the floor and hugged her knees. Her body was tense with the need to fight, knowing her husband was in trouble, having felt his mind drift further away from her not that long ago. She had to protect Donna, she understood that. It was more important for her to be here and ensure she didn't burn from the inside than to confront the Master when she knew the Doctor could likely handle him better.
She dug the heel of her hands in her eyes. The Doctor was really the only person she had to worry about. He implied that Jack was going to be immune to the problem at hand, though she wondered if the Doctor considered Mickey's presence on this Earth once again. Likely not. He was thinking of Tim, she was sure. He probably wanted to remind her that they'd taken Tim off world to spend some time with Jenny at their daughter's request. A small adventure for their friend in celebration of him getting his first novel picked up by a small publisher with Jenny as his guide to the alien world she wanted him to see.
Did the Master know about her? Likely not, and it was better that he didn't. But the Doctor, she knew from the stories he would tell, often had a hard time separating the man who was once his friend from the one who now wanted to destroy him. One well played emotion of sentiment from the Master, and the Doctor may try and see the good, beg his friend back.
"His greatest strength is also his greatest weakness," The Woman's voice startled Rose, shot her head up to see the white dressed lady standing before her. "His hearts."
"That it is." Rose said, meeting the woman's brown eyes. Eyes like her husband's, ancient and all knowing, warm and full of deep sadness. "He's about to do something reckless, isn't he?" She asked the woman point blank.
"In order to save the world? Yes." She nodded once. "They are returning."
"Who?" Rose asked.
"Those who should never know of you, Bad Wolf. You are special, you created yourself for him. Keep hidden, and know there is a chance you may both make it through this day yet."
"Will I see you again?" She asked the woman.
"No." She replied bluntly.
"Then I want to say thank you." Rose said sincerely.
"For?"
"Him." She said simply, and the woman smiled.
Rose blinked, and she was gone.
She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against her knees, focusing on ticking of the clock in the living room, the only sound among the silence. She didn't count the seconds, knew it was past that point, and simply tried not to think at all except the odd thought of her daughter, friends, or mate.
"Rose," The Doctor's voice and presence caressed her mind, and she gasped at the Maelstrom of emotions that bled through. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry, but …."
And then he shared with her everything. How she was right about him trying once again to gain his friend back. How he noted the alien in hiding.
"Worst … rescue … ever!" He showed her their escape. The teleport. Making the ship go dark so the aliens couldn't run from the situation.
"You don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"
"I'm older than you," The Doctor had told Wilf as they had their moment.
Wilf chuckled. "Suppose, but can't be by much. Your wife is, what, a hundred something? Can't be much older than that."
"I'm 1006."
"What? Can't be that big of an age gap between you two. You look so young. Really, though?"
"Yeah."
"900 years," Wilf had said, "We must look like insects to you."
"I think you look like giants."
She'd seen their exchange about the gun Wilf smuggled out, the Doctor pointing out how Wilf didn't use it.
"I'd be proud." The Doctor had told him.
"Of what?"
"If you were my dad."
Her eyes prickled with tears at seeing such an honest, raw moment. The Noble family was going to be tied to them forever, seared into their hearts for the rest of time as an extended family, and she couldn't be happier about it.
But the joy and warmth faded fast as she glimpsed the Master's broadcast. She didn't get what a white point star was, but she understood why it was dangerous. She could feel the fear and worry rising as she sensed the Doctor's fear for Earth.
Fear over the Time Lord's returning.
"I'm sorry, Rose." He said again. "I'm so, so sorry. But I need to stop them. Need to figure out a way. And I … we … that's to say."
"I love you," She said with his name, sending him all the proof she could. "And all this? I wouldn't have missed it for the world. So go save it, and make sure there's a place for Jenny to bring Tim back to."
He sent her love back, so much it broke her heart as he closed off their bond again. She felt him stronger and stronger against her mind, like he was returning to Earth.
Pain crashed over her enough that she screamed out, feeling almost like every single bone in her body was breaking. It was the Doctor, what ever happened, he lost control over sealing their bond for a split moment, and all the pain he felt hit her before it disappeared after no more than a couple seconds.
She attempted to catch her breath as she panted like she'd done something more than sit on the floor. Hands in her hair, she closed her eyes and concentrated all she could on those she and the Doctor would be leaving behind if this would be the end.
Emergency program two would take the TARDIS to wherever she was in time and space. The doors would open, and when she stepped inside the message the two of them recorded together would play for their daughter. It would give their final goodbyes, remind her that they loved her, and the TARDIS would become hers as she was almost as bonded with it as they were.
She tried to remember that the end couldn't be so close, not with so many moments still left to happen, that time being rewritten at this point would cause reaper-bringing paradoxes. But if the world ended, then that wouldn't matter.
The Earth rumbled like an Earth quake, and the sunshine outside was replaced with a dark, red shadow. She stood, running outside and noting that those who had been the Master were back to themselves, staring up at the sky above. Rose craned her head, seeing a large red planet she'd never laid eyes on before over eclipsing the sun.
She moved backward a few steps before running to where she'd locked Sylvia and Shawn, hearing them pound on the shed door. Rose gripped the pad lock, giving it a tug and taking the hinge right off the structure with bruising force.
Sylvia stepped out. "Where's Donna?" She asked desperately.
"Safe inside, where you two should be. Now move." She ordered, pushing both of them toward the house before looking up at the sky.
"Always wanted to see your planet, Love." She said to herself. "Didn't think I ever would. Especially not like this." She watched it for a moment, sensed it coming closer, causing her fight instinct to prickle wildly as her flight instinct begged to be heard.
She went back inside to make sure Donna stayed sleeping, knowing now there was nothing more for her to do. The fate of the world, perhaps more, was in the Doctor's hands and his alone.
For the first time in over a century, she was helpless.
~DWDWDW~
It had to be her, didn't it? She had to be one of the dissenters standing behind bloody Rassilon. The moment he met her tear filled eyes, he felt shame. Because he was better than this: a man holding a gun, wondering which Time Lord he should kill. She knew that, too. She was the reason he was better than this. And she made him wonder what his wife would have thought if she saw him like this. He remembered what she'd been like when he threatened to kill the last Dalek, but that had been so long ago. Not like it mattered, he knew. No matter how much either of them changed, when it came down to it, she'd still be puzzled by his actions.
He held the eye of the only woman in the Universe aside from Rose that could remind him who he was with just a look, and watched as she shifted her gaze to something. Something behind him, the Master? No, the … oh. Oh, yes! That's how this would work.
He turned around, met the Master's sad but understanding gaze. "Get out of the way." He said firmly, and that sadness vanished from the Master before he dived out of the way just as the Doctor pulled the trigger, breaking the link created through the white point star, smiling to himself as he watched it go up in flames.
"The link if broken," He said as he turned to face the Time Lords. "Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell."
"You will die with me, Doctor." Rassilon sneered, raising his gauntlet covered hand.
"I know." He accepted, thinking of Rose as Rassilon pointed the gauntlet at him. I'm sorry. He thought again, feeling no need to send it to her after already apologizing so much. It would be better if she didn't know it was coming, so she wouldn't be scared.
"Get out of the way," He heard the Master repeat his words, and the Doctor obeyed without thought.
He watched as the Master used his life force to shoot energy at Rassilon, striking him in the chest and causing him to stagger backward.
"You did this to me!" The Master raged. "All of my life, you made me." He continued to fire from one hand then the next. "One, two, three, four." It became a blur, a whirl wind, with white light blinding him. At some point, he felt himself lose his footing, his back colliding with the floor covered in broken glass from where he came through the dome.
And then it was over.
The Doctor groaned as he rolled on to his side. "I'm alive." He said when he realized how much pain he was in, the hum of Rose's quieted mind against his. "I'm alive," he said with a bit of a laugh this time, sitting up.
He heard four knocks.
Really, he should have known it wouldn't have been the Master. It was too obvious. Tim, Carmen, the Ood, the all said four knocks, not four beats. The Doctor turned his head, and there was Wilf standing in one of the two radiation chambers, waving innocently.
The Doctor could hear the hum of the nuclear bolt left open by the Master, knew what would happen if he didn't let Wilf out. Knowing what would happen if he did.
"Rose." He said out loud as well as through their bond.
"Yes," She said back, her voice and echo in his head.
He closed his eyes. "Our life for someone else's?"
"Always." She said without question, and his lips twitched with a smirk.
He didn't close his bond off, not yet. He wanted to be enveloped in her love and affection for as long as he could.
He walked into the other booth without preamble. Maybe it was her bravery fueling him, because he was sure that without it he wouldn't be so calm.
He looked to Wilf on the other side of the glass that separated them. "One touch of the controls, and this half floods." He told Wilf, the young man's eyes going wide in his old looking face. "I'll absorb it all, and you'll walk away, right as rain." The Doctor laughed. "And I will never know if I'll say that phrase again."
"What do you mean?" Wilf asked.
"I'll change, with luck. I'll be a different man when this is over." He took a deep breath, understanding the Wilf wouldn't. "I'll die."
"No, no, no, please don't." Wilf shook is head. "Just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor, I've had my time." He tried to sway the Time Lord, but he only smiled. He sent love back to Rose, his wife and partner for so very long, and then closed off the bond.
"Wilfred, it's my honor." He pressed the button, and the burning pain overwhelmed him. He collapsed against the floor, clutching at himself, feeling the urge to vomit but knowing his body wouldn't let him.
It passed as the humming of the machine died off.
"Hello?" Wilfred asked in a shaky voice.
"Hi," The Doctor choked out..
"Still with us?"
"For now." The Doctor said, putting his hand on the door to steady himself only to have it give way. "Oh, now it opens." He used the control panel to pull himself up, then stepped out, feeling unsteady on his feet.
"There then," Said Wilf, a forced grin looking too fake with his worried eyes. "Safe and sound. Mind you, you're in a hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there." He said, gesturing to the Doctor's face.
He reached up and touched the cuts as he felt the hot heat of change begin to simmer below the surface. He pushed it back.
It wasn't time.
There were people he had to see first.
Things needed to be said.
A wife he needed with him just in case.
A/N: One more chapter to go.
Thank you all the readers, favoriters, followers, and reviewers. You are all super amazing.
Infinities Lover, Queen Tatoonie, Christian Chick, EmmaKathy, Loca8892, Wumertil, hotsasukefan, annabethfan15, debygobel, DoctorWand, DuShuZhi, Ryann Bennett, Nayru Von Karma, and Missfantasyfreak, THANK YOU ALL. I love hearing your reactions, especially since we've run out of space to predict. Well, except for the next story.
I know you all hoped Donna would have kept all her memories, but at least this way she'd always be a part of their lives. And the Meta Crisis ... well, sorry, but not really. I like that he was there for a canon Rose who couldn't stay, but he was made very differently this go around.
May post the next a little early, we'll see. But no later than Friday for the stunning conclusion.