I HAVE RETURNED AND I AM AAAALLIIIIVEE! *avoids being shot* oh my gosh I can't believe how long its been since I've updated this fic but no worries! My muses have returned full force and free time means I have more time to write WOOT! I have also decided that I am not going to be ending this as soon as I thought I was (I have grown to like Matt Smith but David Tennant will always be my favourite!) and I already have many crazy ideas for Loki and the 11th Doctor! SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS LONGER CHAPTER AS MY EXTREME APOLOGIES AND PLEASE REVIEW! I'm already starting on the next few chapters so updates shouldn't have weeks (and months) between them *hides in shame* ENJOY!

Time Leap

Chapter Thirty Seven

All too soon it seemed time to say goodbye to River. Months had passed in the TARDIS since the Doctor's proposal and they had decided it was time to leave River. The decision hadn't been easy, especially since they knew what would happen when they next met, however the pair had made sure their final day together had been a mind blowing trip. The Doctor had done as he promised and showed her the stars. However Loki spared him the solemn idea of leaving a tearful River with his screwdriver. In fact she reminded him that for their wedding she would be invited along, and although it pained her to think so, with the exception of Donna and Rose.

Loki had embraced the brunette haired archaeologist a little tearfully, complaining that something was in her eye while said woman merely laughed despite her own tears. She had watched her and the Doctor embrace, and then she was gone. The TARDIS doors shut and vanished leaving River stood on the doorstep of a house they had bought for her without her knowledge. And the two Time Lords were once again alone.

"Oh! It's Easter!" Loki clapped her hands happily as she dragged the Doctor into yet another chocolate shop.

The Doctor sighed with a grumble, "now I remember why I don't like Sundays..." but he couldn't help but smile warmly at her as she looked torn between an Easter egg and Easter chocolate bunny. It had been a week since they had left River but like always they were coping. It had been their choice after all...besides; his eyes glanced down at their clasped hands, a golden ring on Loki's fourth finger. In true human fashion, he had been and bought her an engagement ring but to add a little Gallifreyan flair to it, he had had a few chosen Gallifreyan words inscribed onto the inside of the band. 'Timeless Love.' She had loved it and the two had spent a rather intimate day cooped up in the TARDIS...much to the Time Machine's ire. It was because of said Time Machine that they were wandering the streets of London, munching a chocolate egg between them.

Loki sighed as she noticed the Doctor messing with some mechanism he had randomly pieced together, its parts whirring and buzzing excitedly.

"We're supposed to be relaxing! She told us to and you know the TARDIS gets annoyed when you don't listen to her."

"What she doesn't know wont hurt her," the Doctor replied smugly, directing her onto a London bus randomly and leaving her to pay for their bus fare.

Sitting down, the Doctor offered a piece of the chocolate egg to a woman sat beside them, "happy Easter!" he grinned as Loki fought the urge to hit him for offering away their chocolate.

The woman in question seemed a little odd to her, dressed all in black and clearly looking uncomfortable and not just because she was sat next to them, her eyes shifting to police cars outside the bus. Loki munched on her chocolate in silent curiosity as the bus drove off only for the Doctor's little machine to start whirring into life.

"What did you do now?" she rolled her eyes exasperated.

"Nothing!" he whined, "you always blame me...oh! But whatever it is, is getting this little thing all excited! Just look at it!" he pointed enthusiastically at the small spinning dish much to Loki's amusement.

Men were so easily amused with their little gadgets...this coming from the woman content with her Easter egg. All of a sudden as they entered a tunnel the bus began to shake violently, the lights flickering before a final jolt almost sent the occupants flying.

"Ow, ow, ow," Loki muttered as she rubbed her sore head with a wince before noting sadly that her chocolate egg had vanished.

"Is everyone okay?" the Doctor pulled himself up, looking round worriedly before helping Loki to her feet.

"No, I lost my Easter egg!"

"I'll get you another when we get back."

Get back? Only now did Loki notice that London was no longer around them. If it wasn't the glaring sun above, the vast expanses of sand should have been enough of a clue. With a shudder the Doctor couldn't help but think it looked a lot like the place they had stumbled across those two ghosts and nightmarish holograms. As if sensing this Loki's hand found his and squeezed it comfortingly, a smile on her face as she looked at the panicking passengers.

"Well now!" she shouted to get their attention, "I suggest we all calm down and think about this logically!"

"We're in the middle of a desert! A second ago we were in London, how is that even possible?" one of them cried.

"Ah...I see your point," she rubbed the back of her head with a nervous chuckle.

Looking over the state of the bus, Loki couldn't help but whistle at the almost completely destroyed roof of the double-decker bus. As the Doctor explained how the bus had acted like a Faraday cage, protecting them from the wormhole that was rippling tauntingly behind them, the bus driver got slightly ahead of himself and strode towards it.

"Wait, you really don't want to do that!" Loki barely finished before he walked into the wormhole, screaming as he burned into nothing but a skeleton, vanishing through the other side.

Loki cringed and threw up her hands, looking back at the Doctor who shared a similar expression, "why do they never listen?"

"That's what I always ask myself..." he muttered before climbing back into the bus with the others, pulling Loki with him.

"So much for relaxation, next time I'm driving the TARDIS!"

"We'll discuss this after we get back to Earth."

The black dressed woman rolled her eyes with a sigh, "really, you both sound like a squabbling, married couple."

"Close," Loki couldn't help but grin as she showed off her golden band, the Doctor also unable to stop his smile from widening as he wrapped his arms round her.

"Right then! I think we should acquaint ourselves while we're here, and I'll try to think of a way to get back."

Listening to the introductions going round the bus, Loki in particular paid most attention to the couple, Carmen seeming to have low level psychic abilities, and the other being the woman they had been sat next to, Christina.

"A fellow thief I see," she chimed almost too happily, Christina blinking several times.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you don't," Loki tapped her nose, "your secret is safe with me!"

However something Carmen was saying drew their attention.

"Something, something is coming. Riding on the wind and shining."

"What is it?" asked the Doctor curiously, his eyes on the older woman only.

"Death...Death is coming," she intoned.

Unable to stop a shiver at her words, the white haired Time Lady looked out of the bus, silently wondering if there was a connection between the place they were stranded in, and the planet she and the Doctor had visited. She must have been deep in thought because she felt the Doctor tugging on her hand, pulling her from the bus.

"Come on! Let's go have a look around. Barclay, Nathan, I want those tyres dug out by the time we get back!" the Doctor yelled back however they weren't alone as Christina tailed them.

"Don't think you're wandering off on your own without me."

Loki blinked, "am I not even here?"

Proceeding down the sandy dunes hand in hand with the Doctor, Loki ignored the prattling of Christina and the Doctor and was instead, intently watching the horizon for something. Something that soon became apparent...and shiny.

"As much as I hate to interrupt," Loki lied, "there seems to be something shiny over there."

The Doctor stared at the oncoming storm, "well its definitely a storm, not necessarily sand though," he replied to Christina's unsaid words before suddenly pulling Loki backwards, heading for the bus again, "and its moving fast!"

"I feel like a dog on a leash," the tired Time Lady sighed.

As soon as they returned to the bus, Loki sat down to wave a hand in her face in an effort to cool down while the Doctor busied sonic-ing yet another phone. If he kept this up he could be running his own phone company. Loki chuckled as he accidentally rang up a pizza takeaway and she couldn't help but shout that she wanted a pepperoni pizza. He shot her a look before dialling again, this time getting hold of UNIT. They waited in silence as the phone was passed around before an excited man's voice reached them loud and clear.

"Sounds like you have an avid fan," Loki snickered.

"Shhh!" he waved a finger at her, "now I need you to measure the wormhole for me."

He was cut off as the man named Malcolm began rambling about his own measurements and of course impressing the Doctor with how he had gauged the size of the wormhole by inverting the image. Loki huffed, she could have done that and he wouldn't have gotten so excited.

"Malcolm you're my new best friend."

"And you mine, sir!"

As he hung up he caught the look Loki was sending him with an arched eyebrow, "what?"

Once again on the sandy dunes, the Doctor took a photo of the oncoming storm, Loki was once again fanning her face with a groan.

"This is unbearable! Is it too much to ask for a breeze?"

"Did you two hear that?" Christina suddenly asked.

"Busy," the Doctor replied with, clearly signalling he hadn't and Loki was too busy dying from heat stroke.

However as she turned around to find a strange fly, humanoid creature pointing what she guessed was a gun, Loki elbowed the Doctor to grab his attention.

"Oh..."

The fly man clicked and made noises at them - or what Christina could make out - the Doctor replied in the same language much to the thief's surprise. Loki then also added her part to the conversation before the alien made a strange choking noise.

"What did she say?" Christina muttered.

The Doctor chuckled, "she said we crashed."

What he failed to translate was how she had added that Christina had been the reason they had crashed to which the alien had seemingly found amusing.

Escorted to their crashed ship even Loki found herself staring at it in awe. It would have been a beautiful ship in the air, it was almost a pity it had crashed. Christina however did not seem in the slightest happy about being tortured in a 'nice' space ship. Luckily after a brief misunderstanding the Tritovores believed the Gallifreyan pair. Managing to get some power back to the ship, the Doctor launched a probe to find out just where they were and what was going on in the storm.

"The Scorpion Nebula, we're on the planet Helios," he answered as a hologram rose up showing the planet however Loki noticed something out of place even before he mentioned the amount of inhabitants there were meant to be.

A picture of a beautiful city also rose up that even Christina couldn't help but admire, "it's beautiful. You two see this all the time?"

"Yep," Loki answered, "although there not always this pretty."

Christina arched an eyebrow, "you said you were a Lord," she looked at the Doctor, "a Lord of what exactly."

"Time," he answered, "we come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're an alien?"

"Yeah but you don't have to kiss me either," he answered.

"That's my privilege," Loki snickered.

"You too?" she looked at Loki in surprise, "but you both look human."

"You look Time Lord."

He trailed off at this, looking at her as painful memories obviously surfaced. Loki's hand found its way to his arm with a pat. It was never easy to think about just how alike humans and Time Lords were, maybe that was why the pair were always fighting for the humans.

"Well then all we need to do is find that city and get help," Christina offered.

Loki slowly shook her head, "something tells me its not that simple...hasn't anyone noticed for a planet of 100 billion people," all eyes turned on her, "it's awfully quiet."

The Doctor scooped up some hand in his hand, "the entire city, wildlife, buildings, water...people...reduced to sand in a year."

Christina's eyes widening before she cringed and ran her fingers through her hair, "I have sand in my hair...eugh! I have dead people in my hair!"

As soon as the phone went off in the Doctor's pocket they knew it was bad news. According to Malcolm the wormhole was around 4 miles in diameter and was getting bigger, and to make matters worse as the phone rang again it seemed the bus had run out of petrol. Loki wondered if it was possible to get any worse...but as the results of the probe reaching the storm arrived she knew it had hit rock bottom. It wasn't a storm but in fact a huge swarm of stingray like creatures, huge in size, flying in perfect formation and incredible speeds. As Christina asked how they could pass through the wormhole they had created, it became obvious after looking at their metal exoskeleton. In a strange way Loki found they looked beautiful, deadly, but beautiful.

"I want one," she couldn't help but mutter to the Doctor's amusement.

"It's eaten an entire planet, is coming to kill us and turn the Earth to sand...and you want one?" Christina almost gaped at her.

"Hell yeah!"

Finding out the reason the Tritovores had crashed, they headed to a huge shaft that ran straight through the ship and of course right at the bottom was the much needed crystal that would get them off the planet. As the Doctor and Loki headed off to try and get the access tunnels open from the main cockpit, they soon found Christina unresponsive to their calls. Rushing back it was to find said woman diving into the shaft, attached to her ropes that the Doctor managed to slow just before she reached the security shield that would have electrocuted her.

"Press the big red button!" Loki called down to her, the dark haired woman doing as she was told before continuing in her descent.

"Take it slow!" the Doctor warned before rifling through her bag as he told her about their travels through space and time.

That's when he found a golden cup that obviously didn't belong to her.

"You're a thief, Lady Christina."

Loki rolled her eyes, "how long did that take you to figure out?"

Of course as soon as she reached the bottom of the shaft that was when more chaos broke out. The reason the ship had crashed was due to one of the stingray creatures flying into the ship and as Christina raced back up the shaft, it followed. Luckily she tripped the security shield again halting its process. As the Tritovore took the crystal, clicking in his own dialect, the Doctor grinned.

"Isn't she just!"

Rushing back to the main cockpit, they tried to persuade the two to come with them back to the bus. However one of the creatures fell through and ate the two Tritovores with little resistance.

"Run! There's nothing we can do!" the Doctor yelled, pushing the two out through the corridors.

Running like mad once again towards the bus, Malcolm tried to talk to the Doctor over the phone but said Time Lord quickly hung up. Skidding to a halt outside the bus, the Doctor handed Loki two of the clamps to which she quickly fastened to the wheels of the bus before being tossed the yellow crystal.

"Present," he grinned.
"You're the sweetest," she kissed his cheek before darting onto the bus, the two following quickly before the Doctor hastened to fasten the last main part to the steering wheel of the bus.

On redial, he contacted Malcolm, getting him ready to close the wormhole as soon as they were through however Loki did not like the sound of the UNIT woman with him. She wouldn't be surprised if they tried to close the wormhole before they got through!

"It's not compatible!" the Doctor growled as the wheel refused to turn, "I need something non-corrosive, malleable...gold."

"Here use this!" Barclay held out his supposedly gold Rolex.

"I said gold."

"It is."

Loki patted his shoulder comfortingly, "they saw you coming, mate."

"Christina," the Doctor shot said woman a look who shook her head.

"There must be something else!"

Looking down at her hand, the white haired Time Lady toyed with the ring the Doctor had given her. It was gold after all.

"Doctor," she held up the ring with a small smile, his eyes widening slightly, "small sacrifice so we don't die and to save the Earth...again."

He took the ring slowly but smiled and slipped it back onto her finger with a kiss, "no Loki, not ever."

Christina looked between the two before around the bus with a solemn sigh, holding out the golden cup to him.

"Be careful with it..."

"I will..." before he battered it with a hammer.

A moment later they were in the air and not a moment too soon as the swarm was upon them.

"Go!" Loki yelled from her perch on the Doctor's lap.

"Hold on!" he yelled as he put his foot down, the bus flying through the air and into the wormhole.

Within seconds they were back in London, the night having barely changed since they had left but it was too early to celebrate as three of the creatures also made it through. Below UNIT let loose their weapons whilst Loki dialled Malcolm.

"I'm busy!" he yelled through the other hand before hanging up to the Doctor's astonishment.

Chuckling, Loki dialled again, "Malcolm! This is Loki speaking, you need to close that wormhole right now!"

"Miss Loki? Oh what an honour!"
"Malcolm!"

"Oh yes, quite right, but how? Nothing's working!"

"Crank up the signal by...500 Bernards!" she almost yelled in exasperation.

He did so and much to their relief the wormhole closed behind them. More cheers went up as the three creatures were shot down. Everyone was cheering as they landed.

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina grinned however before she could try anything Loki had turned and kissed the Doctor much to the amusement of the passengers.

"I wish you drove the TARDIS more like that," she chuckled before the Doctor rolled his eyes but couldn't stop grinning as he opened the bus doors.

As everyone disembarked, the two Time Lords headed to meet the leader of the UNIT team and Malcolm who hugged the two excitedly.

"I love you two! I love you two!"

"Aww," Loki hugged him back while the Doctor merely grinned.

With the TARDIS delivered to them, the pair stopped outside it, the Doctor looking ready to hug the blue box while Christina ran over.

"Well then, shall we go?"

However the look the Doctor gave her said it all. Loki knew that he didn't want to drag anymore companions into his messes and to lose them. Christina looked shocked as the police arrested her and walked her away. And then Carmen walked past to deliver a message that sent shivers down Loki's spine.

"You be careful, because your song is ending, sir. It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then Doctor... oh, but then...he will knock four times," before she looked at Loki, "and you Miss Loki...when he returns you will have to make a choice, a terrible choice to leave everything behind or there will be dire consequences."

As she walked away, the Doctor's hand found Loki's and gripped it tightly to which she returned. She did not like that foreboding message as much as he did. The mood changed slightly as he flourished his sonic screwdriver to free Christina who ran off with the flying bus, but Loki knew that like herself, Carmen's haunting words would be in their minds for quite some time.

Sorry if the ending seemed a bit rushed but I'm dying to get onto the next two episodes and then reveal my wicked plan! Also do not be confused as to where those strange hooded people from the other chapter have gone, all will be revealed later...MUCH LATER! PLEASE REVIEW!