CHAPTER 51
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MY, MY, HOW YOU'VE CHANGED, MR. POND! PART 3
"YOU ARE THE DOCTOR. YOU MUST BE . . . !" A Dalek started to shout as he suddenly came into the main Dalek Control Room and found the Doctor hunched over a computer console.
The Doctor never even looked up as he continued to rapidly search through the contents of the Dalek Net with his sonic screwdriver. He really didn't need to after all.
Before the Dalek could even begin to wonder why the Doctor refused to panic (much less finish his own sentence), he was instantly blown apart by a perfect shot that went right through his eyestalk. He then swiftly joined the rest of his brethren that were currently lying all over the floor after they had futilely attempted to stop the Doctor from entering earlier.
"Good shot. I see some things never change no matter what happens to the timelines," Jack said as he smiled at Jenny proudly.
Jenny's face turned red and she gave him a nervous smile back as she said, "And yet Dad is always telling me to give up guns for some reason. I bet right now he's glad I didn't though."
"And you'd quickly lose that bet. I'd much rather you started using a sonic screwdriver instead," The Doctor said with a frown without once looking up from the computer.
"And I'd rather her start dressing more like me instead of wearing that same old soldier's outfit all of the time but that's never going to happen either. You have to learn to accept her for who she is sometime, Raggedy Man," Amy said with a grin.
"Uh, uh! You are not having Jenny wear one of your super short mini-skirts, Red. Over my dead body," Clara's avatar said in a disapproving tone.
"Now I'm getting told how to raise my own daughter by a woman who doesn't even officially exist in this universe. I can't believe that things are actually getting even weirder somehow," Amy said in an irritated voice.
Despite everything Jenny couldn't help but smile. Her mothers were fighting over her again. Listening to them almost made this place feel like home to her.
Almost.
"Jen, it's going to be alright," Clara's avatar said in a gentle tone as the disembodied consciousness saw the sad, lost look in Jenny's eyes through the cameras that were scattered all through the room.
Amy quickly joined her as she said to Jenny with a reassuring smile, "Virtual Girl is actually right for once, sweetie. We're going to fix everything in no time just like we always do, and then you'll be right back in the world that you know again before you know it. I promise."
"Yeah," Jenny said in a half-hearted voice as she briefly looked at Jack sadly.
"Jen, you need to stop worrying about me. If this isn't the way that things are supposed to be, then you've got to fix it no matter what. There's no telling what damage might be done to Time if things stay this way. I'm no expert like the Doc but I've seen enough to know that it could be very bad for everyone if things aren't set back on the right track again soon," Jack said as he put her arms around her and pulled her close to him.
To her surprise, having Jack hold her didn't feel strange or uncomfortable at all. She immediately rested her head on his chest as if she had been doing it for years and closed her eyes as she struggled to find some kind of inner peace there in his arms.
"Why does the universe have to be so cruel sometimes? I've gone for so long without being able to find anyone special and been so frustrated about that even if I wouldn't admit it to anyone. Then I finally find you only to wind up losing you again. I'm not even sure that this would have worked out or not for this version of me because I'm not the Jenny that you know, but it certainly seems right so far. I wish . . . I wish I could have had more time to see how it would have all worked out," Jenny said in a voice filled with pain.
Then she sighed and reluctantly pulled away from Jack as she said, "This isn't right. Here I am going on and on about myself when half of the people I love don't even exist anymore. I just . . . I just need to get this done as soon as possible and stop thinking about what might have been."
Jack smiled at her warmly now as he said, "You shouldn't give up so easily, Jen. Just because your Jack isn't with you right now doesn't mean that things will always be that way. If he's anything like me, he'll notice just how wonderful that you really are sooner or later . . . if he hasn't already of course. If it's really meant to be, sooner or later the universe will find a way to bring us back together again."
"Do you really believe that?" Jenny asked him with a small smile.
"I've certainly seen stranger things happen, Jen. Most of them while I was with your Dad," Jack said with a huge smile.
"Finally! I've found at least part of the information that I've been looking for at last. It's just in time too. I'm not sure how much longer I could have listened to that," The Doctor said with an irritated look.
"Hey! I thought that was very romantic what Jack just said," Amy said with a frown.
"It's okay, Mum. He's like this in my universe too. I'm sure my version of Dad would have a hearts attack if he knew about me and Jack being married here," Jenny said with a grin.
She didn't even realize that she was holding Jack's hand now.
"He should already be used to it by now. You've been married for almost a year in this reality," Amy said as she looked at the Doctor in disapproval.
"It wasn't her relationship with Jack that I was referring to even though I still can't quite believe that it was him of all people that she wound up with because she could do so much better. Much, much better," The Doctor said with a snort.
"Hey, I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not good enough for her, Doc. I was just lucky I guess," Jack said with a smirk.
"Don't say that. That's not even a little bit true and you know it," Jenny said in a furious voice that made Jack smile in response.
"Apologize to Jen right now, Doctor. You've upset her," Amy demanded.
The Doctor looked at her quizzically now as he said, "Apologize for what? I already said that their marriage wasn't what I was referring to before. No, I was getting sickened by Jack's little speech about the universe bringing them back together again if it was meant to be. He shouldn't give Jenny false hope like that because that's definitely not going to happen. It sounds like something only an idiot would believe."
"So you don't think it's possible for a couple to be meant to be together no matter what, Old Man?" Clara's avatar asked curiously.
"No, I've seen far too much that says exactly the opposite. The universe doesn't care about true love, Clara. That's a human concept. The universe doesn't care about anything . . . or anyone," The Doctor said in a sudden sad voice.
"Doc, Rose is happy where she is. I'm sure of it," Jack said as he guessed what the Doctor was referring to right away.
The Doctor nodded as he said, "You're probably right. I'm glad one of us is. The point is that she didn't wind up with me. Not this me anyway."
"Did you ever consider the fact that maybe that's because things worked out like they should, Old Man? Maybe Rose was supposed to be with that particular version of you. You told me how the Metacrisis was created once and correct me if I'm wrong here but it almost sounded like he was specifically made for her. Or do you really think all of those things that happened to create him came about completely by chance? Knowing you I wouldn't doubt it if you engineered the whole thing yourself somehow so that Rose would have someone that she could grow old alongside," Clara's avatar said.
The Doctor frowned as he said, "Well, if I did then I certainly botched it didn't I? I wound up hurting my best friend and probably completely ruined her life in the process."
"No, that's not true. Donna's fine in my universe, Dad. She's happy now and traveling with us again," Jenny reassured him.
"What's really bothering you, Doctor? It's not Rose is it?" Amy asked him with a knowing look.
The Doctor's eyes lit up with anger now as he said, "Rose is just the latest example in my life of exactly how much the universe doesn't care. Now it's happening all over again, Amelia. In this other reality, I actually had a family again and was married to a woman who sounds like she was perfect for me, and the Daleks took that all away just like they took Donna and Rose away from me. Just like they always do everything. They keep on surviving and being reborn over and over again no matter what I do to try to stop them, and I just keep losing everything. They're right in what they always say to me you know? They are superior to me."
"You're going to fix this though, Doctor. You'll return everything to normal again, and it'll be just like it never even happened," Amy said with a reassuring smile.
The Doctor shook his head as he said, "For you maybe but not for me."
"What's that supposed to mean? Why for me but not for you?" Amy said with a suspicious look.
The Doctor became silent as Clara's avatar answered her instead and said, "He found out exactly what the Daleks changed to keep you from being reunited with Rory again, but he can't find out what they did that kept me from being born. That's been stored in a separate place from the rest of the Net. They really, really didn't ever want me coming back again."
"You could still find it though if you tried long enough, right?" Amy asked as she began to look so sorry for Clara.
"I have tried, Red. I've been trying ever since I realized that Time had suddenly been changed on me. I can't find it anywhere and I'm actually in the computer. That's alright though. As long as you and Rory are reunited again, that should fix most of what's been changed anyway. I don't mind so much for myself that I've been erased but I wish . . . Susie doesn't deserve to have never existed. She shouldn't have to pay for it just because I was showing off for the Doctor," Clara's avatar said in a devastated voice.
"You were showing off for me? So you were trying to impress me then?" The Doctor said with a slight smile.
"Of course I was. It was the first time that you had ever set aside your massive ego long enough to actually let me come up with my own plan for once, and I went all the way to show you that I was just as good as you are. In fact, I went way too far. I completely and totally humiliated the Daleks just to show you that I was just as good at being the Doctor as you are. That made this all too personal for them, Old Man, and they made sure that I paid for it," Clara's avatar said in a sad voice.
"You ultimately did it all for my benefit though. You just admitted it yourself," The Doctor said with a smug smile.
"Well, someone certainly thinks highly of themselves don't they? You can just wipe that arrogant look off your face right now, Mr. Grim. It doesn't suit you a bit," Clara's avatar said with a faint chuckle.
"Apparently you fell for me hard to go to that much trouble for me though," The Doctor said as his smile grew even wider.
"You wish. I was just trying to prove that I actually had a brain of my own and that you're not the only clever one out there saving the universe. It was more that than it was anything else. You know you're not half as impressive as you think you are, Stick Man. Too bad you can't harness that massive ego of yours. You'd have the Daleks beat in no time just by the power of all of that hot air alone," Clara's avatar said with obvious glee in her voice.
"Is it always this much fun when we argue?" The Doctor asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, this is nothing. I haven't even started to rip into you yet," Clara's avatar said with a full laugh now.
"Yes, I can definitely see why I married you now," The Doctor said with a mad grin.
"Ok, when did we go from full on depression to all out shameless flirting?" Amy said with a deep frown.
"I know. He's even worse about that with her than he is with you," Jack said with an amused smile.
"This is what they do though. I've seen it happen over and over again. When they're down, they always pick each other back up again somehow and are stronger than ever. What gets me is that she doesn't even have a body anymore and he barely knows a thing about her and yet he's still flirting with her. I love it," Jenny said happily.
"What can I say, Jen? When you've got it, you've got it? Don't hate me because I'm so adorkable, Red," Clara's avatar said with a chuckle.
"That's not even a word," The Doctor admonished her with a fake frown as he pretended not to be enjoying himself immensely and failed miserably at it.
"Yes, it is. That's totally a word, Stick Man, and it describes me perfectly. I'm absolutely adorable and more than just a little bit dorky at times, and I don't care who knows it," Clara's avatar said with undisguised joy.
"And you talk about my ego being massive," The Doctor said with an amused smile.
"It's not ego if it's true though is it?" Clara's avatar shot back causing the Doctor to actually properly laugh for once.
"Look at him. He looks happier than I've ever seen him before. They really do belong together," Amy said sadly as she watched the Doctor's face grow more and more animated by the moment.
"And Rory does that same thing to you, Mum. Believe me. You belong with him not Dad," Jenny reassured her in a gentle voice.
"So, Old Man, ready to keep on looking now? I won't hear any more of this defeatist talk from you will I?" Clara's avatar asked in a stern voice.
"No, Boss," The Doctor said as he saluted.
"Good, now I think I may just have a clue where the information on me might be stored if you've stopped holding your little pity party for yourself for the moment," Clara's avatar said in a no nonsense tone.
"I thought you just said that you looked everywhere for it though," Amy pointed out.
"I also pointed out that I'm in the computer too. Pay attention, Legs. That means that wherever it is that it isn't connected to the Dalek Net, and I happen to know that the Dalek Emperor has his own separate network. Get what I'm saying now?" Clara's avatar asked in a smug tone.
"You really are just as full of yourself as he is, aren't you?" Amy said shaking her head.
Then she suddenly smiled as she said, "I bet I really love you don't I?"
"Of course. How could you not? We're just like sisters. We ruthlessly insult each other and everything," Clara's avatar said with laughter.
"Sounds good," Amy said with a warm smile.
"It's the best," Clara's avatar said in a fond tone.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go break into the Dalek Emperor's personal command room," The Doctor said without hesitation as he began to rapidly walk towards the nearest exit.
"Yeah, that's right. It's just another day at the office, Old Man. Nothing to it at all," Clara's avatar mocked him in a chipper tone.
"He can have every Dalek on Skaro in there but it still won't matter, Clara. Nothing will stop me from bringing you back again. They're not going to win. Not this time," The Doctor said in a determined voice.
"They never win, Doctor. Why do you think they're so afraid of you? It's because sooner or later it's always you that wins in the end. No matter what they do it's you that they still can't kill no matter how many Daleks that they keep throwing at you. Whole legions of them come and go and yet it's still the same stubborn, daft old man standing against them every time. It's you that always beats them, Doctor, even if it doesn't always seem like it. Remember that," Clara's avatar said in a voice filled with faith.
"Now I know why I call you the Impossible Girl. You almost make me believe that I can do anything," The Doctor said in a voice filled with admiration as he rapidly raced towards the Dalek Emperor's chambers with the others desperately trying to keep up behind him.
"You're the Doctor. Of course you can. It's kind of in the job description," Clara's avatar said with a smile in her tone.
"YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!" A Dalek voice shouted out as an entire army of Daleks suddenly appeared to block them from going any further.
"Sorry, too busy to stop and chat now," The Doctor said anxiously as he used his sonic screwdriver to cause several of the Daleks to turn around and start firing on the others while he slipped right through the quickly ensuing chaos that soon followed.
The others somehow managed to follow him and stay on his trail despite the massive inferno that had just started up behind them as a result of the Daleks fighting one another. Jenny couldn't help but admire her father's perseverance. She was a trained soldier bred for warfare from birth, and even she could barely keep up with him now. He was definitely the unstoppable force that the Daleks had always called him at that moment as he continued to race on ahead of them while quickly and efficiently dealing with each new Dalek force that came along without even once having to so much as slow down.
This was exactly the kind of relationship that she wanted with someone. Was it really so much to ask for?
Within moments, the Doctor had soon entered the Dalek Emperor's main quarters, and the others could already hear him fighting with the Emperor himself as soon as he did so. Suddenly painful, agonizing screams came from inside that shook Jenny to her very core because she had no idea who was making them. Her hearts immediately dropped and she began to increase her pace as she struggled to get in there and help her father against whatever he had found there before it was too late.
If it wasn't already that is.
"Dad!" Jenny screamed in horror as she heard even more screaming suddenly coming from just ahead of her.
Then her jaw dropped as she finally entered the room to find what was left of the Dalek Emperor and a small army of elite Dalek bodyguards strewn all over the room while her father searched through his computer with his sonic. He acted completely normal as if nothing had even happened and didn't seem to be so much as breathing hard.
"Like I said, it was just another day at the office for General Grumpy," Clara's avatar said happily.
"Does she ever stop coming up with stupid little nicknames for everyone?" Amy said with a sigh.
"Nope and I never will, Carrot Top," Clara's avatar said without missing a beat.
"I've found it! Now I know both events that the Daleks changed in order to create this reality. We have to fix them back as soon as possible before this reality starts to completely fall apart," The Doctor said in a worried voice as he suddenly raced past the others on a mad trek back to the TARDIS.
"I really don't like the way that you said the word 'completely', Raggedy Man," Amy said as she quickly raced after him.
"Clara and Rory must have been far more important to the integrity of the universe than even Jenny knew because this universe is starting to come apart at the seams without them," The Doctor said as he pointed to several cracks in time and space that were starting to open up all around them.
"They're just like the cracks in my bedroom wall," Amy realized in a surprised voice.
"Yes, they're exactly the same because the Web of Time is starting to come apart all around us due to the massive paradox that the Daleks just created by not allowing Rory to return. According to Jenny we met Rory again around the same time that the TARDIS exploded thanks to the Silence and created the cracks in the first place when it almost destroyed the universe. Now that's never happened at all and the cracks that you saw were never created at all and yet we've already seen them. Time is becoming completely unraveled as a result," The Doctor explained while he ran.
"So that's where things went wrong? We didn't go see this Pandorica thingy whatever it is?" Amy asked as she tried to keep up.
"Yes, because we never received a certain painting from Vincent with the exact coordinates for the Pandorica on it. The Daleks intercepted it and stopped it from reaching me. That was the first point in time that they changed. Killing Clara's mother just hours before she would have saved her father from being hit by that car was the other," The Doctor said with a disgusted look on his face.
"They killed my mother?" Clara's avatar said in a horrified voice.
"Yes, I'm sorry. We'll stop that from ever happening at all soon enough though," The Doctor reassured her.
"Now I'm actually glad that you turned them all into tinfoil. It was much more than they ever deserved," Clara said in a devastated tone.
"Soon it will never have happened at all and the original you won't even remember it," The Doctor reassured her as he drew within sight of the TARDIS.
"Lucky her that she doesn't ever have to feel like this," Clara's avatar said in a voice filled with guilt.
"AND NOW MY REVENGE ON YOU IS FINALLY COMPLETE AT LAST, CLARA OSWALD. YOU AND YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE THAT YOU EVER LOVED BEING COMPLETELY DESTROYED. REMEMBER THIS FEELING AS YOU ARE FINALLY COMPLETELY WIPED FROM THE UNIVERSE FOREVER," The voice of the Dalek Emperor suddenly said from all around them.
"Doctor, that wasn't the real Emperor. It was a double. He's still around here somewhere!" Clara's avatar shouted in fear as her voice started rapidly fading away.
"Clara?" The Doctor said in a sickened voice as he realized that she was being swiftly erased from the Dalek Net.
"Run . . . Run, you clever boy, and . . . always remember that I love you," Clara's avatar said just before her voice finally faded away completely.
"Clara," The Doctor said in a voice that was completely devoid of all emotion.
Jenny couldn't help but start openly weeping in that moment because her father sounded as if someone had just ripped all of the life out of him at once.
"AND NOW THE LAST TRACES OF CLARA OSWALD ARE GONE COMPLETELY. ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW TO FINALLY REMOVE HER MEMORY FROM THE UNIVERSE FOREVER IS TO FINISH EXTERMINATING ALL OF YOU. EXTERMINATE THEM!" The voice of the Dalek Emperor commanded.
"EXTERMINATE!" A chorus of Dalek voices shouted in unison as they raced towards the Doctor and the others with their gun sticks blazing in fury.
Even worse was the fact that the cracks in time and space were increasing more and more by the moment and had begun to appear everywhere at once. They were even swallowing several of the oncoming Dalek horde whole while they raced towards them.
Then things got even worse somehow as Amy suddenly screamed in pain and called out, "Doctor!"
"No!" The Doctor screamed in horror as Amy was completely disintegrated right before his eyes.
"This can't be real. It can't. We were just about to win again like usual. This can't be the way it all winds up. It can't," Jenny said in stunned disbelief as Jack put a comforting arm around her.
"NOW DO YOU SEE, DOCTOR? IT WAS A TRAP ALL ALONG AND I WANTED CLARA OSWALD TO FINALLY ENTER OBLIVION AT LAST REALIZING THAT. THIS IS THE FINAL END OF ALL OF YOU. WITNESS THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE DALEKS, DOCTOR!" The voice of the Dalek Emperor boasted from all around them as more and more of his Daleks continued to keep coming by the moment.
That was when the Doctor turned to Jenny and Jack and said in a grave voice, "There are too many of them. Someone is going to have to stay here and hold them off so that the TARDIS can escape."
Jack nodded as he said with a brief look of regret back at Jenny, "Of course, Doc. Who better than the man who can't die? That should give even the Daleks a bit of a challenge shouldn't it? You go ahead and bring them all back again. I'll make sure that you have a huge head start."
"No," The Doctor said in a flat, lifeless voice as he started to fight off the first of the Dalek horde all by himself as soon as they drew within firing range.
"What?" Jack asked in surprise.
"You go with Jenny and protect her while she returns history back to its proper course again. I know that you'll keep her safe if the Daleks manage to get through me. She's our only hope now, Jack," The Doctor said in an empty voice.
"Dad, no! I can't lose you too! I've already lost everyone else. Not you too. You have to come with us!" Jenny begged.
"Jenny, I've fought them longer than anyone. I know their every trick and exactly how they'll react to every situation. Who better to hold them here than me? Besides I'm not about to let them get away with what they've just done. Not this time. It all ends here. It's long past time that they start losing for a change," The Doctor said in a hard voice that instantly told Jenny that there was no changing his mind.
Jenny nodded and then said, 'I will undo all of this somehow. I promise, Dad. I won't let this be the last that I see of you."
"Good bye, Jenny," The Doctor said in a voice filled with sorrow as he completely shocked Jenny by actually giving her a massive hug.
That was when she began to start crying because she knew that he didn't expect to ever see her again.
"Jack," The Doctor said as he saluted Jack and gave him a brief smile.
"Doctor," Jack said with a solemn look on his face as he saluted him back.
"I'll be seeing you again, Dad. Count on it," Jenny suddenly said in a strong voice as she willed herself to stop crying just before she and Jack began to run towards the TARDIS hand in hand.
Jenny immediately dematerialized the TARDIS and headed off to the coordinates that the Doctor had briefly shared with her telepathically just as she took off. She was determined that it was not going to be her last communication with him.
"Jen, I'm sorry," Jack said as he gave her a tender kiss.
"Don't be. I'm going to make it all right again. Soon none of this will have ever happened," Jenny said as to her surprise she found herself eagerly returning his kiss without even thinking about it.
Jack briefly smiled as he said, "Any other time I'd be overjoyed by what you just did."
"Yes, well . . .You're really not such a bad kisser. I could definitely get used to that sort of thing," Jenny said in a slightly embarrassed voice as she smiled at him.
Then her smile immediately faded and her face turned hard as she headed towards the house of Vincent Van Gogh just moments before the Daleks had altered history. At that very moment meanwhile, a completely invisible Dalek task force was rapidly approaching the house in order to destroy the painting that Van Gogh had made of the TARDIS exploding before the Doctor could ever see it. Even they knew better than to exterminate Van Gogh due to the impact that he had on universal history though so they had made themselves completely unable to be seen by him.
They were certain that they were just about to reach the painting and dispose of it without anyone ever having known about it, but they were about to be proven so very wrong.
"Not this time," Jenny said as she suddenly appeared in-between the Daleks and the house wearing Jack's Vortex Manipulator and using one of her father's old gadgets that allowed her to still see the Daleks.
Then moving faster than she ever had in her life while she used every bit of her knowledge and skill as a soldier she rapidly blew each and every one of the Daleks apart in the blink of an eye. They hadn't even had time to get a single shot off.
"Ashes to ashes," Jenny said in an emotionless voice as she swiftly turned what was left of the Daleks to dust with the disintegration setting on her gun.
"Alright, you're officially starting to scare me now, Jen," Jack said with a shudder.
Jenny now smiled once again making Jack feel relieved as she said, "I'm starting to scare myself. I'm . . . I'm just . . . It's all on me now. I can't screw this up."
"You won't. I promise," Jack reassured her as he followed her back to the TARDIS.
Jenny nodded and gave him yet another kiss as she squeezed his hand.
And even as the TARDIS left, on a deserted street in Blackpool sometime in the 1980s Ellie Ravenwood was walking all alone on her way to her job when she got the sudden sense that she was being watched. She immediately whirled around only to see no one there.
"Must have just been my nerves. Yeah, that's all it is," Ellie said to herself nervously as she started walking once more.
Then she immediately had that same feeling once more and suddenly stopped again. And yet once again when she turned around, she still saw no one standing there.
"Okay, I'm officially losing it now. Of course I am. I'm talking to myself. That pretty much makes it official doesn't it?" Ellie said in an emotional voice.
"Not necessarily. Lots of perfectly normal people talk to themselves," A young woman said from behind her.
Ellie immediately jumped and then smiled as soon as she saw Jenny standing there. Somehow she instinctively knew that Jenny wasn't there to bother her even if she couldn't say exactly why at the moment.
Jenny couldn't resist actually getting to meet the grandmother that she had never known after all and why not? She had just saved her life from an entire army of Daleks and had done it so quickly that Ellie had never even heard a sound. She deserved some kind of reward for that surely.
"You scared the life out of me," Ellie said with a chuckle.
"Sorry. I thought you knew that I was there. You kept turning around after all. Anyway don't worry about me. I'm just passing through," Jenny said as she gave her a warm smile.
"No, it's fine. I'm just all jittery today anyway for some reason. It's almost as if I know that something very important is going to happen today. Silly, huh?" Ellie said with a grin.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it is. Maybe you're about to meet someone very special," Jenny said with an enigmatic smile.
"You think so? I wish. I'm starting to think I'll never meet anyone to be honest," Ellie said even as she wondered why she was telling this complete stranger that.
"So did I once but I was wrong. Maybe you are too," Jenny said as her smile continued to brighten.
"I certainly hope so. Well, it was nice meeting you. I'm Ellie and you are?" Ellie asked as she started to walk away from her.
Jenny froze for a moment not having expected this at all as her mind went blank for a moment because she knew that she couldn't tell Ellie her real name. It probably wouldn't be a good idea after all since Time had been put through far too much lately as it was. She didn't want to risk creating yet another problem in the Space-Time Continuum quite so soon.
After an eternity, she finally said the first name that popped into her head, "Clara . . . I'm Clara."
Ellie's eyes lit up as she said, "Clara, that's a very pretty name. I like that."
"Thank you. So do I," Jenny said as she focused all of her concentration on keeping her face as unemotional as possible in that moment.
Did that really just happen? Had she really just been responsible for naming Clara?!
"Good bye, Clara. Have a good day," Ellie said as she finally headed off.
"Good bye, Gran. Have a good life," Jenny said after she got out of earshot.
Then her smile faded as she slowly walked back towards the TARDIS. She knew that Time had been fixed now after all. She could feel it as soon as she had disintegrated the last Dalek. Jack, the one that she had been married to, would no longer be there when she returned.
She took a deep breath though and continued forward anyway because there was always hope wasn't there? Maybe the current Jack might someday love her yet. Anything could happen. If she had learned anything today, she had certainly learned that.
The smile immediately returned to her face when she reached the TARDIS to find Susie and Ameila standing there with dazed looks on their faces. She could tell that they had no clue why they were there or what had just happened. Time had just been completely reformed around them and only Jenny had any memory of what had happened before.
"Jen? Is there a reason why we're suddenly in Blackpool when we were just on a completely different planet a minute ago? Did Mum want to see her Dad or something?" Susie asked as soon as she saw her.
Jenny immediately began laughing with joy now and didn't answer as she hugged her sister tightly and refused to let go.
"Huh? What's going on?" Susie asked Amelia in a shocked voice as she stared at Jenny as if she had just gone completely mad.
"Don't ask me. Maybe she's finally been around your mother too long, and it's turned her into an actual pudding brain who just loves mindlessly hugging people," Amelia quipped.
That was when Jenny suddenly pulled one of her arms away from Susie and quickly pulled Amelia into a group hug with them before she could even begin to pull away. Now Jenny was hugging both of her sisters so tightly that their faces were turning red, and she was loving every moment of it.
"J – Jen, A – Air! N – Need air!" Amelia said in a rapidly weakening voice.
Yeah, a Time Lord couldn't be strangled but that still didn't mean that she wanted to be completely smothered, did it?
Jenny finally let them go then and began kissing their cheeks as she said, "Susie, I won't ever ignore one of your bad feelings again. I promise. Oh, and from now on, you don't ever have to go anywhere that you don't want for any reason. Okay?"
"Uh, okay," Susie said with a confused look as she wondered what had suddenly gotten into her sister.
Then Jenny turned to Amelia and said, "And I'll make sure that you don't ever feel like everyone likes me better again. I'll go out of my way to do that. Alright?"
"Yeah, whatever you say. Just stop kissing me all over my face. Somebody might see you and think I've gone soft or something," Amelia said as she looked at Jenny with an almost frightened look.
"Can't have that can we?" Clara said from behind her with a chuckle.
"Clara," Jenny said in tears as she raced towards her and hugged her next.
"Better her than us," Amelia said to Susie who nodded vigorously.
"Okay, first we land back home for no apparent reason after mysteriously leaving the Doctor's vacation spot and now you're acting all Chin Boy-ish. What's going on, Jen?" Clara asked suspiciously.
"Oh, leave her alone. Obviously something timey wimey happened and that's why none of us remember anything. Jen's probably just had her brain scrambled by it or maybe Amelia's right and you've corrupted her with all your constant hugging, Shorty," Amy joked as she left the TARDIS.
"Mum!" Jenny screamed as she now raced to hug Amy tightly as well completely surprising her.
"Yeah, she's definitely lost it alright," Amelia said with an actual worried look.
"Don't be ridiculous, Amelia. She's just happy. What's wrong with showing a little emotion when you feel happy?" Rory said as he joined the others outside.
That was when he was almost knocked over as Jenny slammed into him and hugged him next.
"Okay, I have to admit that that is a bit weird," Rory said as he struggled to gently free himself from the over exuberant Jenny without hurting her.
"You think?" Amelia said with a smirk
"That's definitely a sign that she's been around you too much lately, Clara. I told you that too much constant hugging could start affecting the brain," The Doctor said as he gave Jenny a perplexed look while exiting the TARDIS.
She could tell that he was already trying to work out what had just happened and was wondering if she knew something about it.
Jenny quickly took her arms off of Rory and then walked up to her father and hugged him tightly making him instantly bristle all over. That was a far better feeling than what he felt next however when Jenny suddenly slapped him in the face!
"Don't you ever die on me, Dad. Do you hear me? Just don't!" Jenny said in a firm voice.
The Doctor scowled at Clara now while gingerly rubbing his face as he said, "That just confirms it for me. She's definitely been around you far too much lately, Clara."
"Yeah, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with having a completely unemotional robot for a Dad or anything, Old Man. No wonder she's trying to overcompensate," Clara teased him.
Jenny could swear that she briefly saw her father smile.
That was when she allowed herself to relax at last for the first time. Everything was finally completely back to normal again.
"I'm going to have to start spending more time with you before you start to forget who your Proper Mum is, Jen," Amy joked as she put her arms around Jenny while looking deeply into her eyes to see if she was okay or not.
"Believe me. I won't ever forget that, Mum. You don't have to fuss over me. Why don't you hug Amelia instead? She needs a hug sometimes," Jenny said as she tried to keep her promise to her sister.
"N – No! Believe me. I'm all hugged out lately. Honest," Amelia quickly said with an almost frightened look on her face.
"Oi, Spaceman! Would someone like to explain what just happened? One minute I was at the beach sunbathing and the next I'm stuck back in Clara's old stomping grounds fully clothed again with no memory at all of how I got here," Donna started complaining.
Jenny instantly started laughing relieved to see her once more as well but resisted the urge to hug her this time. She had gotten in enough trouble for that as it was.
"I've got an even better question for you, Doc? Why are there suddenly two of me here?" Jack said with a worried look on his face.
"What?" The Doctor said in complete surprise as he looked at Jenny suspiciously now.
"Uh, hello, Doc," Yet another Jack said with a sheepish smile as he exited the TARDIS alongside the first Jack while Lilith looked at them both in complete astonishment.
Then the other Jack looked at Jenny and smiled as she looked at him in shock. It was him. It was the Jack of the other world. He hadn't disappeared when Time reset itself after all.
How though? How and why?
Then she smiled as she said to him, "Looks like maybe you were right after all."
"Well, there's a first time for everything I suppose," Her Jack said as he continued to stare at her with a huge smile on his face.
The other Jack meanwhile couldn't help but wonder just what was going on and why this other Jack kept staring at Jenny like that. He'd better not be trying to hurt her if he knew what was good for him whoever he was.
Lilith now couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as she saw both Jacks looking at Jenny with such intense interest all of a sudden. What was going on here? Surely Jack didn't have feelings for Jenny.
No, of course not. That couldn't be it. He was just being protective of her that was all.
Right?
"Jenny, we have to talk," The Doctor said in a stern voice as he finally began putting things together at last.
Next: Jenny now suddenly has two Jacks in her life and isn't quite sure what to make of either one of them. Is the Jack from the other reality really who he seems to be and if so how did he get there? Is the original Jack just being protective of Jenny or is it something else? She might just find herself wishing that not having a boyfriend was her only problem especially if Lilith starts to get jealous. Oh, and we get to see Rayna and Koschei again because it's long past time that we checked in with them. They may just have a much welcome surprise bit of news to share with everyone.
