Author's Note: Absolutely love Seo in this first section. God, she's brave!

Don't blame Buffy too much for the Seo's World section of today's update. She's just really, really upset.

You might recognize the end of this chapter. It's one of the things that Seo mentions in "Happy Endings".

Enjoy!


Martha's World:

Jack knew there'd be a catch. There was always a catch.

When Seo showed up, in the bowels of the Valiant, to meet with him… he could tell that she'd been both blinded and deafened. That was obvious.

"What have you done to her?" Jack growled at the Master.

"Nothing permanent, Daddy-Freak," said the Master, with a beam, bouncing on his toes. "Never you fret! Just wanted to make sure you remembered what you really are."

Jack gritted his teeth. He'd seen the Master do this with the Doctor a number of times. Trying to prove to Jack that the Doctor only ever put up with Jack's wrongness out of the kindness of his hearts — that, in actuality, the Doctor couldn't stand being near him.

But when Seo got near, and was released from the guards' grips, she didn't flinch away from Jack or struggle to hide her discomfort. She just turned her head towards Jack, knowing exactly where he was based on some extra sense inside of her. And smiled.

"Hi, Jack," she said.

"Long time no see, kid," said Jack, even though she couldn't hear.

Then, purposely, determinedly, Seo walked right up to him, and threw her arms around him.

"It's all right," Seo said, without having any idea what he'd said to her, or even that he'd spoken. "I know what the Master wants me to do. But he's already lost the game." She beamed. "Because I'm too rubbishly made to feel any pain from you."

Jack laughed.

"It's a bit like… sticking a numb hand over a flame," Seo said, a thoughtful look on her face. "You can see it's burning. Smell it. Know it. Understand it. Witness the consequences of it. But there's no feeling whatsoever. No pain." She reflected. "I didn't even flee from vampires, when I was a baby. Same problem, I guess."

Jack was chained up too tight to hug her back. But he couldn't help but give a little chuckle at this.

"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry," said Seo, into his chest. "For making you run away from me. For everything with Bilis Manger and Abaddon. I know it was my fault. I don't understand how or why, but I'm sure I'll work that out, eventually. I'm just… sorry. For all of it."

Jack sighed. "One of these days, you have to stop blaming yourself for Owen's mistakes," he muttered.

Then remembered Owen dying, horribly, at the Master's hands. And felt a terrible sense of guilt and loss and pain eating him up from the inside.

"I don't blame you, you know, for running away and not wanting to deal with me, anymore," Seo informed him. "I'm a very frustrating person to be around." Her blind eyes twinkled. "I wouldn't want to deal with me, either."

Jack laughed, despite himself. "Always like dealing with you."

"I just want you to know," said Seo, stepping away from him, her head held high, "that I'm really glad you're not dead. From Abaddon. Or anything else, since."

Then, with one last smile at him, she spun on her heels, her head held high, and left.

The Master looked livid.

Jack grinned, after Seo. Amazed, as always, at just how brave and determined this girl was, even in the face of such torment and cruelty.

Impossible, brave little Seo.


The Master hadn't liked it. Not at all.

What was supposed to be a meeting that tore the two of them apart had made them both feel even better than they had before the Master had taken over!

Well.

Next time… the Master would be better prepared.


...xxx...


Seo's World:

The scream that rang through the house brought the Doctor racing to the living room. Where he discovered Buffy in shock and horror, frantically trying to save a clearly dead mum.

Dead for a while, looked like.

This was it. The fixed point in Joyce Summers' timeline.

"And it's happened before," the Doctor muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "Will keep happening, over and over and over again."

Buffy scrambled for the phone, calling 9-1-1. The whole scene playing out in front of the Doctor, almost surreal, as if running on automatic.

Buffy trying CPR. The paramedics arriving, attempting to revive her. Failing. Calling the death. Nothing could revive Joyce. She'd been dead too long.

"Too…" Buffy repeated, when she heard the news.

Then she turned on the Doctor — who'd been in the house. Who should have been by Joyce's side, when it had happened.

"You!" Buffy shouted, jumping at him.

The Doctor caught her by the arms. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so—"

She jerked her hands out of the Doctor's grasp, beating her fists against his chest. "You should have been there!" she shouted. "You should have been…" She sucked in a sharp breath, clinging to him. "Fix this! Make it better! Make her come back!"

"I can't," the Doctor said.

"You're the Doctor!" Buffy sobbed, into his chest. "You fix things! That's what you do!"

"But not this," the Doctor said.

They went to the hospital. Giles coming over to look after Seo. They found out there was nothing anyone could have done to save Joyce. Even if the Doctor had been at her side, when it had happened.

There'd been a complication with the surgery to remove the tumor.

"Joyce knew the risks of this kind of operation," the medical doctor at the hospital informed Buffy. "She knew this kind of thing might happen, as a result."

Buffy shot the Doctor a furious stare. Because he'd been the one who had refused to give her mum medical equipment and help from the future. Medical assistance that might be more reliable.

"I couldn't have stopped this," the Doctor told her. "Really. No matter what."

Buffy said nothing for a long moment. A very long moment.

"Then what's the point of you?" she breathed.


In the end, they'd had an argument. An argument that had broken into a fight.

"You couldn't have checked on her?" Buffy shouted. "You knew this could happen! You knew this was a risk! Why weren't you there?"

The Doctor didn't answer.

"I'll tell you why," snapped Buffy. "It's because you were in the TARDIS, again! You loved your ship more than Mom!"

That seemed to make the Doctor even sadder.

"Don't you care?" Buffy shouted. "Don't you feel anything? Is this even sinking in? You obsessed over a stupid broken time machine, and now Mom is dead, and… and… why?" She grabbed him up. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said.

"You should have fixed her!" Buffy continued. "You're fixing your ship — and that's not even a real person! Why couldn't you have fixed my mom? Why couldn't you have stopped this?"

There was no answer he could give to that question, and everyone knew it.

"I can't deal with this," Buffy admitted, letting him go. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just… go! Get out of here! Leave me alone!"

She'd meant leave her alone for a little while.

She hadn't realized, until he'd been gone for two days, that he might not have taken it that way.

But now, here she was. Mom being lowered into the ground. And she was all by herself. All alone. Just Buffy, with no help. Buffy, holding little Seo in her arms, as the casket was lowered.

"Gamma?" Seo asked.

It was the question Seo never stopped asking.

To everyone. Everywhere. Kept toddling around, trying to understand why people were so sad, and why everyone was gathered, here, together, when Grandma wasn't around.

"Grandma… isn't coming back," Tara whispered, when Seo approached her and the other Scoobies. "She's… gone away. Forever."

Seo frowned, not seeming to accept this. Then toddled off, to find someone else to ask.

"Where's Boyfriendish?" Xander whispered to the others.

"Buffy… kind of… accidentally… threw him out," Willow muttered.

They all grimaced.

Not really sure what to do. What to say.

As Buffy stood there. All alone. Even after the funeral. Standing by her mother's graveside. Just Buffy.

"Gamma?" asked Seo, toddling over and pulling on her mother's pant leg.

Buffy looked down at Seo.

Her daughter.

And felt the tears well up in her eyes. Felt every desperate fear and terror swelling within her. This beautiful little girl, who might be all that Buffy had left.

She picked Seo up, hugging her, tightly. Never wanting to let go.

"I love you," Buffy said, through tears. "Remember. Please remember. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."