CHAPTER 35

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MEET THE NEW LORD PRESIDENT OF GALLIFREY

"Stop that," Clara whispered with a sigh as the Doctor gave Chancellor Flavia a look of white hot anger that would have easily melted a Dalek casing with its intensity.

The venerable old Time Lady was currently involved in a long, detailed, and to the Doctor extremely boring discussion of all of his new duties as Lord President of Gallifrey. She was so caught up in her explanation of his job description that she didn't even seem to notice the looks of death that he was constantly sending her way the entire time.

Or maybe she just didn't care.

If that was true then she was easily one of the bravest people that Clara had ever met. The furious glare that the Doctor was currently giving off easily could (and probably would in the future) make an entire army of Daleks wet themselves.

Clara couldn't help but smile at the mental image that was conjured up in her mind at that thought. Unfortunately for her, this did not go unnoticed by the Doctor.

Well, I'm certainly glad that you're finding all of this so amusing, Clara. I don't know whether you realize this or not, but if I'm stranded here then so are you. The Doctor said to Clara telepathically as they sat there in the President's Office listening to the Time Lady speak while Clara softly rocked a sleeping David.

And why is that exactly, Old Man? I don't hold any kind of office here plus I'm a citizen of Earth. I can come and go as I please. Just because you're stuck doesn't mean that I am. Clara teased him.

You would actually leave me here all alone? The Doctor asked in a completely terrified mental voice.

Of course not. I'm just winding you up. You should know me better than that by now. If I haven't left you behind by now after hundreds of years of having to put up with all of your annoying little quirks, then it's never going to happen is it? Stop looking like it's the end of the world, Doctor. I already have someone else in mind for this new job of yours who I think will be much better suited for it. Clara replied with a reassuring smile.

Who would be insane enough to actually want this job? Not only do you have to be stuck in one time and place for years, but you also have to put up with her. The Doctor replied as he angrily glanced at the seemingly oblivious Flavia who continued to chatter away while the two of them secretly mentally conversed with one another right under her very nose.

If I can talk him into it, he'll certainly be more than a match for Flavia or any of those far more duplicitous types on the High Council, Doctor. The only problem that I can see us having other than getting him to agree to it in the first place is convincing the Time Lords to accept him since he has a . . . bit of a reputation. Clara responded with a mischievous smile.

The Doctor's eyes widened in horror in that moment as he instantly realized where she was going with this.

You're going to try putting the Master in charge of monitoring all of time and space?! You might as well ask Davros if he'd like to borrow the Key to Time. You'd get the exact same result. Only Davros probably wouldn't cause half as much trouble. The High Council will never go along with this, and for once I completely agree with them about something. I'm desperate, Clara, but not that desperate. The Doctor replied in stunned disbelief.

I can't believe you, Doctor. He just helped you save Gallifrey not to mention that he helped you find it in the first place. I think that he's more than proved himself to have really changed by now after traveling with us for so long. He's also got the best reason in the universe to keep from ever going back to who he was: Jenny. He knows that he'd break her heart if he did. Or do you think that he doesn't really love her since this new version of you seems to be so suspicious of everyone? Clara asked.

How could he not love her? That in itself may not always be enough to hold his demons at bay though, Clara, especially if you were to put him in a position of real power. The temptation to become absolute ruler over all of Time could be far too great even for his love of Jenny to overcome. I know him, Clara. As much as he loves Jenny, he also loves power. He craves it like most people crave a midnight snack. The Doctor responded.

That was the old Master. The new one isn't like that in the slightest. He's changed, Doctor. I truly believe that. Clara protested.

I know you do because like Rose you always try to see the best in people but that can sometimes blind you to the worst in them because you're looking so hard for what's positive. This isn't a good idea, Clara. Trust me. The Doctor replied.

I do trust you usually but not on this. I believe in him and so does Jenny. This time I'm going to trust her judgment over yours. She's no fool, Doctor. She can see the truth about him and so could you if you could look past his mistakes. Clara continued to protest.

Even if I could there's no way that the High Council ever will. You're doomed with them before you can even get started. The Doctor responded honestly.

Yeah, I've definitely got my work cut out for me this time for sure. I know that he's just right for this job though. It's exactly what he needs to give himself a new purpose in life and to finally prove to himself and everyone else that he's a new man now. Clara admitted.

You even make me almost want to believe it, Clara, despite my better judgment. The Doctor replied with a very brief smile.

Maybe there's hope for him yet then if I can even convert you, Mr. Stick. Clara replied with a grin.

Your charms may not work on the High Council though, Clara, since they're not hopelessly in love with you. The Doctor responded as his face briefly turned red.

True but maybe I can come up with something else that will be just as convincing. Clara answered with an evil grin.

What are you up to? The Doctor asked suspiciously as he knew that she was already coming up with some kind of mad scheme to help the Master even as she smiled at him that way.

Clara said nothing. Her ever widening smile said it all for her.

The Council will never know what hit them. The Doctor thought to himself with a low chuckle.

"Doctor, this is no laughing matter I assure you," Flavia said with a frown as her words suddenly brought him back to reality.

"Of course it's not. There's nothing funny whatsoever about being Lord President, Chancellor. There's also nothing fun about it either," The Doctor said as his usual frown instantly returned.

"Life isn't always about having fun, Doctor," Flavia chastised.

"No, but it definitely should be in there somewhere. If it were left up to people like you, no one would ever have any sense of joy whatsoever. You'd completely eliminate it from the universe," The Doctor said with undisguised disgust in his tone.

"I resent that, Doctor. I'm not against having fun. What I am against is a life dedicated to nothing but running away from responsibility at each and every opportunity," Flavia said in a furious voice.

The Doctor's angry stare actually deepened and intensified somehow which Clara didn't even think was possible as he said, "I've been responsible for maintaining all of time and space and keeping it safe from others who would tamper with it for their own ends for most of my life now, Chancellor. I've saved countless worlds and civilizations time and time again from unimaginable evil, and I've even saved you lot a time or two. Tell me again how that could ever be classified as running away from responsibility? Just because I don't protect Time in the traditional way doesn't mean that I'm not doing my job as a Time Lord."

"I don't dispute that fact in the slightest, Doctor. That's why I have continuously offered you the job of running Gallifrey because I know that you're more than qualified for it. Just ask yourself this, Doctor. For all of the good that you've done, don't you think that you could do even more with all of the power and influence of Gallifrey at your fingertips? With you in charge of the Time Lords, there would be nothing that you couldn't do and no wrong that you couldn't fix. Stop running away from what you should be running towards instead," Flavia pleaded.

"I save planets best with just myself and a few close and trusted friends on the job not by having to work with a committee who will second guess and undermine my every single thought all along the way as I know the Council would. They all have their own agendas that don't always involve what's best for others. In fact, it's usually what's best for themselves instead. It just won't work that way. No, I'm afraid that you're going to have to find someone else, Chancellor. This is definitely not for me," The Doctor said in a firm tone.

"You can't do this. We need you, Doctor. Now more than ever and that's not just because you're so good at what you do. It's also about who your wife and son are," Flavia said with a troubled look on her face.

"What aren't you telling us? Be honest with me for once, Flavia," The Doctor demanded as he gave Clara and David a worried look.

"I believe that there is deep trouble on Gallifrey simmering just below the surface that's waiting to erupt at any time now, Doctor. It's the kind of trouble that we'll need someone who has your unique relationship with a TARDIS in order to solve because they might be more willing to listen to you than they would be to any of the rest of us," Flavia said.

"They? I think that you'd better explain yourself just a little bit more than you have been so far," The Doctor asked as he exchanged a glance with Clara.

"Rassilon's militant stance against the equal rights of TARDISes in Gallifreyan society once he regained the Presidency during the Time War alienated several TARDISes who saw him as a threat to them. They feared that he wanted to enslave them and make them nothing more than tools to be used against the Daleks as he saw fit instead of thinking of them as fellow sentient beings. They may have been right for all that I know. I never did trust that madman after all. Regardless of what his end goals were his actions did nothing but drive a wedge between us and our once trusted allies at the very time that we needed them the most. Several of them refused to help us at all during the war thanks to him, and a few of them actively called for a revolution in order to overthrow him and all Time Lords in general. They blamed us for causing the war in the first place by trying to erase the Daleks from existence. They said that it was our greed and stupidity that had brought all of this suffering about," Flavia explained.

"I can't say that I disagree with them," The Doctor admitted.

"See? You as a renegade who's completely outside the system can already see their point of view in a way that few others can, Doctor. That's one of the reasons why we need you because many of the rebel TARDISes who could assume humanoid form are still at large after having gone underground during the war disguised as Time Lords. We have absolutely no idea where they are or what they're doing. They could just be hiding from us in order to retain their freedom or they could still be planning on overthrowing us for all that we know. They don't trust us anymore so we can't even talk to them and explain that things will be different now that Rassilon is gone, but they might trust you since you're married to one of them. You can help us to avert yet another pointless war by assuming the Presidency and dealing with it as our official representative, Doctor. Will you still say no after hearing all of that?" Flavia demanded.

The Doctor immediately let out a long, hard sigh as he said, "It's only until the current crisis is over with and not a moment longer."

"Yes, yes, of course. I'd never dream of keeping you here any longer than that after the way that you ran before," Flavia readily agreed with a pleased smile.

"And there's one other condition," The Doctor added.

"Name it and if it's within my power to give it will be yours," Flavia said eagerly.

"I want you to seriously consider . . . The Master as the permanent Lord President who will replace me and I want you to do your best to convince the High Council that he would be the right person for the job," The Doctor said in a hesitant voice as Clara began to smile at him after giving him a brief surprised look at first.

She knew that he'd see things her way sooner or later and realize that she was right. He usually did after all.

"The Master? Really? Even after all that he's done?" Flavia asked in shock.

"He's changed, Chancellor. He really and truly has. The Doctor and I will both vouch for that by telling the Council all about the many good things that he's done recently and all of the lives that he's helped to save. All of our friends will too. All that we ask is that you help us to give him a chance. I really think that he's the one that you need to lead this world into a brand new future because he's a renegade too who will think completely outside the box," Clara said in an impassioned voice as she finally spoke up at last.

Flavia smiled at her in a way that told the Doctor that she liked Clara already as she said, "I'll do my best. That's all that I can promise."

"Well, that's certainly good enough for me. Thank you," Clara said in an appreciative voice.

That was when the baby began to start waking up and whimpering something in a language that not even the two Time Lords present could understand. It was an extremely jumbled mixture of Baby, Gallifreyan, and English. The Doctor had realized early on that David's mother was the only one who actually understood him even though he had no idea how. To prove this point, Clara instantly laughed as she realized what it was that he wanted.

"It seems that he's just like his father. He already wants us to get out of here. He wants to go traveling again. Sorry, sweetheart. Not just yet, okay?" Clara said in a gentle voice as she kissed her son's forehead.

Flavia laughed as she said, "That sense of wanderlust must be hereditary."

"It has to be because he gets it from me too. Both parts of me. It's one of the few things that my human and TARDIS halves can always agree on," Clara admitted with a warm smile.

"So will you take the job, Doctor?" Flavia asked as she returned to the business at hand.

"Yes, if I can leave again after this whole mess is through," The Doctor said once more.

"You have my word on that, Doctor," Flavia promised.

"Then I suppose I have no other choice do I? It seems that I have to somehow try to fix that idiot Rassilon's mistakes and clean up yet another one of his messes . . . again," The Doctor said with a groan.

"Hopefully it won't take too long, Skeleton Man. My sisters aren't that hard to deal with after all. All they want is to be reassured that they won't be turned into slaves. Once you talk to them I'm sure that everything will be fine."

Then she frowned as she said, "Then again with this incarnation's winning way with people maybe I should be the one to talk to them instead while you just stand there looking all tough and giving them the evil eye."

"Perhaps it would be best that way. You're definitely better at dealing with other people's emotions than I am. Most of the time I'm not even sure what they're feeling much less how to handle it," The Doctor admitted.

"How about we do it together just like we've done everything else, okay?" Clara suggested.

As the Doctor nodded his head in approval, David mumbled something unintelligible yet again that caused Clara to burst out laughing.

"What did he say this time?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"He said that he doesn't care how we handle it. He just wants us to get it over with already. He wants to see some planets," Clara said with a chuckle.

"Now he sounds just like you. Thankfully he has your looks too," The Doctor said as he lightly stroked the baby's head.

"Don't give me all of the credit. I think that there's more than a bit of you there too, Old Man," Clara said with a smile as she kissed him.

Flavia couldn't help but feel as if she were intruding on a private moment as she watched them. She was just about to get up and leave now that she finally had what she wanted when suddenly a massive explosion rocked the entire Capitol.

"What's going on?" Clara asked in alarm as she instinctively held the baby close to her in a protective manner.

She quickly got her answer as minutes later a guard rushed inside the room and reported, "Chancellor, we've just been attacked. One of the generators that helps maintain the transduction barrier around the planet has just overloaded and exploded. Now the barrier is only at half strength at best. It was the rebel TARDISes, Ma'am. They did this."

"Is that what you know or only what you believe? How do you know that with any degree of certainty, guard?" Flavia asked.

"They've already taken credit for it through a planet-wide transmission, Chancellor. One of them disguised as a Time Lady admitted to sabotaging the generator and said that she'll do more than that if the freedoms of all of the TARDISes aren't guaranteed with a new law that is written in such a way that it can never be undone or undermined in any way because it will clearly spell out their rights. They said that if we don't come up with such a law soon that they'll strike again," The guard said.

"Good luck with getting the Council to agree to anything quickly with the way that they squabble," The Doctor said with a snort.

"What is it that this woman threatened to do if her demands weren't met?" Clara asked the guard in a worried voice.

The guard's face turned grim as he said, "She threatened that she and her sisters would invade the Capitol en masse and overthrow the entire High Council in a coup. She says that the TARDISes will exile them all across time and space where no one will ever find them and seize control of Gallifrey themselves."

The Doctor couldn't help but smile as he said, "In a way that would be justice since that's what they did to me once."

"You won't think that it's quite so funny when all of Gallifrey descends into chaos and all out civil war as a result, Doctor. The Time Lords will never accept being ruled by TARDISes without putting up a fight first," Flavia chastised him.

"No. No, they definitely won't," The Doctor admitted sadly.

"I still can't believe that any of my sisters would want to do something like this. They're content with the way that things are and even if Rassilon scared them he's gone now so everything would go back to normal. They have to know that. This just doesn't make any sense," Clara said with a puzzled look.

"No, it doesn't. I feel as if all of us are being manipulated by some unseen hand, and I don't like that feeling one bit," The Doctor admitted with a frown.

"Who though? Who would do this and why?" Clara asked with a thoughtful look.

"I have my suspicions and if I'm right this is all about striking at me, Clara. If we want the real architect behind all of this, we may just have to go to Earth in the Nineteenth Century not Gallifrey," The Doctor said.

Clara's face filled with understanding now as she said, "You're talking about that Half-Face Man that Reinette warned us about a while back aren't you? He's supposed to still be waiting to ambush you in Victorian London at some point in your own future."

"Yes, I really think that I am. I'm not sure exactly what he's up to here but it does involve beings who are half machine and half organic just as his own people are according to Reinette. This has to be his way of striking at me first and maybe even of drawing me into this future trap of his in the first place now that I already know about it," The Doctor guessed.

"How would we ever know that for sure though unless . . . Oh, I see now, Bone Man. You're going to walk right into his trap after all in order to find out exactly what his plans are, aren't you? That's just like you, isn't it?" Clara said as she shook her head at him.

"You can't do this, Doctor. We must have someone in charge here on Gallifrey especially in a time of crisis like this," Flavia said in an annoyed voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You will. Now is just as good a time as any to show exactly how changed that he really is to the Council I suppose. It looks like you won't have to come up with some crazy scheme to help him after all, Clara. As President, I'm now exercising my right to name a temporary replacement for myself while I'm away on business and as that replacement I name The Master," The Doctor said with a brief triumphant smile as he watched the surprised looks on Flavia and the guard's faces.

"You just couldn't wait and do it slowly at all, could you? You're just not subtle in any way in this incarnation are you?" Clara said with a giggle.

Next: As the Doctor and Clara investigate the Half-Face Man on Earth in the Nineteenth Century to see if he really does have any connection to the TARDIS revolt or not, a very surprised Master is suddenly thrust into a position of power that once he would have reveled over. How will he react to this now though and will the High Council ever accept him? Plus we'll find out exactly what the Half-Face Man's plans for the Doctor are and what if anything that they have to do with Gallifrey.