Clara sometimes asks me if I dream. "Of course I dream," I tell her. "Everybody dreams." "But what do you dream about," she'll ask. "The same thing everybody dreams about," I tell her. "I dream about where I'm going." She always laughs at that. "But you're not going anywhere, you're just wandering about." That's not true. Not anymore. I have a new destination. My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's...

"Oh, it's good to be wearing clothes again," said Clara as they clambered out of the TARDIS, now properly dressed for the cold Trenzalore climate. "That's so much better, don't you think?"

The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the air. "Now, what do we make of this place? It's two o'clock in the afternoon. Must be very short days here," he said, observing the night sky. Then he pointed to the clock tower in the town square. "The message is coming from that tower."

"Doctor, that woman is walking over to us," said Clara.

The Doctor didn't look up. "Oh? Oh, right, okay, here's the plan, we're a couple from the next town. My name's probably Hank or Rock, something like that."

"Or Daisy?" teased Clara.

"Shut up," groused the Doctor as the stranger approached. "Hello, good to meet you! Nice snow." He turned to grin merrily at the woman...then his face fell.

"Hello, Doctor," said the woman, batting her long eyelashes at him.

She had long brown hair pinned up on top of her head, beneath a black straw hat with fake berries and leaves. She was dressed in a dark plum, Victorian-esque coat and skirt combination, with a very familiar broach pinned to her throat. She carried an umbrella, and had red painted lips and glimmering blue eyes.

"So…a woman this time? Didn't see that coming."

The woman smirked.

"Doctor? Do you two...know each other?" Clara asked cautiously.

"Know her? We grew up together," the Doctor said. He was having trouble staying composed.

"You might say we're old friends," the woman added in a warm Scottish accent. "Well, the Doctor would say we're worst enemies. You always did have a flair for dramatics, dear."

"Best enemies," corrected the Doctor.

"Ah, yes, best enemies," said the woman. "My mistake."

"How...how are you even here right now?" the Doctor asked. "It's been three hundred years since you were sent back to Gallifrey, in my timeline."

"Three hundred years? Really? Poor thing. You must have missed me terribly," the woman teased him gently.

"Damn right I did, now tell me," the Doctor said.

The woman laughed. "Much more honest with yourself this time, eh, my dear? Fine. The cracks in the universe. Gallifrey's bleeding through. The Time Lords were able to open them just wide enough to send a person through."

"But why? Why you?" the Doctor couldn't help but ask.

"They figured if anyone could convince you to help them, it was me, especially given our...complicated history." She winked at Clara.

Clara gave a small gasp.

"And I have your next round of regenerations right here," said the woman, holding up a glass ball of glowing, fiery energy. "But first, we have work to do. The Time Lords want back in, and we both know that can't happen."

"The Time Lords are the ones sending the signal," said the Doctor. "But what's it say?"

"Why, Theta, I thought you would have able to guess," said the woman. "The first question. The oldest question in the universe. The question you've been running from all your life: 'Doctor who?'"

The Doctor swallowed. "Ah. And you're going to try to convince to give up my name, are you?"

"No," said the woman, stepping forward.

The Doctor's hearts were beating faster than they had in three hundred years. "Then why did you come?"

The woman simply took his hand. "Because it's time for change, Doctor. Time for me to stand with you."

The Doctor slowly smiled. He squeezed her hand. "That's just what I've always wanted."

"Then Merry Christmas." The woman smiled.

"I'm sorry…who is this woman?"

The woman finally turned to look at Clara. "I have been called the Master in the past. Though in this regeneration…I'm rather partial to 'Missy.'"

The Doctor smiled, looking her over. "I think I like it too." He cupped her face and kissed her softly.

It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going. Where I've always been going...

Home. The long way around.