A jovial mood had settled upon them as they walked back through the UNIT base of operations. Around them, soldiers and scientists who had been transported through time were recuperating and catching up with their colleagues, many of them phoning their friends and family too. Just to see if they were okay, to tell them that they loved them. None of them could go into any detail about what had happened to them. UNIT were already beginning the process of the largest clean up they'd ever had to undertake. Kate was practically wanting to tear her hair out just at the mere thought of it as she started ordering people about. She wasn't about to let people take a break now the trouble was over with. The job never ended, another piece of information her father had gifted her. She was annoyed at how right he was.

As they congregated in the central room, conversations were flowing freely as they discussed trivial topics that hadn't seemed so important a few days ago. It was nice to be able to properly get to know one another, learning small facts about the people they'd fought with. It was then that one of the larger screens on the wall flickered into life. For a moment, they worried that this was going to signal another conflict but, thankfully, it was simply the battle scarred face of Pol Kon Don, the Judoon captain now back in one of the spaceships they'd traveled in. The Twelfth Doctor, being the one who had roped them into this, thought it only right that he be the one who spoke to her.

"Crisis averted," the gruff figure barked, her yellow teeth on show.

"For now," came his response. "You know what this planet is like. They're always getting into trouble, one way or another."

Clara hit him playfully on the arm. "Can you try to not blend us into one large group? It's not everyone's fault that we make a target of ourselves to anyone who might be watching closely."

"I guess that's true. Why should I insult billions of people when it's normally a mischievous and curious person like you who causes all the trouble?"

"Do you want me to hit you in front of all of your friends? And I mean properly this time." she asked in a sickly sweet voice, swaying slightly. He didn't like it when her demeanour was the opposite to the meaning of her words; he had a hard enough time as it was reading people's true emotions without adding more complexities.

"You wouldn't dare," he responded in a low growl.

"Just you try and stop me."

"Dear god," Jack moaned. "I wouldn't mind the flirting if it wasn't for the hypocrisy of it all! After all the times you told me not to do it."

"He's simply better at it than you," River responded with a sly smile. "After so many years of doing it."

"I'd like to point out that I never once flirted," Ten said with a reproachful look and a shake of his head.

"Are you having a laugh?" Mickey blurted out incredulously.

"I'm being deadly serious. I never had time to flirty back in my day."

"Two words: Madame de Pompadour."

"That's technically three words," Ten shot back although a blush had crept onto his cheeks. He still often thought about that amazing woman, regardless of how much it hurt him to do so.

"...shut up," came Mickey's less than eloquent response.

"We weren't flirting!" Twelve told them in exasperation. "We were just...talking. Is that a crime now?"

"It is when you talk like that. I remember when you used to talk to me like that," River said wistfully. She caught Eleven's eye and began to grin. "Although...on second thought...I guess you can still talk to me like that." That particular incarnation of the Time Lord's eyes widened and his mouth suddenly stopped working.

"Stop torturing the poor man," Amy admonished. River just winked, not being able to say in front of him why she was even listening to the other woman. Yes, mom, she thought silently.

"Can we get back on track," Twelve suggested. "I tell you, this is why I don't keep so many of you around at one time. It just gets confusing and we always get sidetracked." He faced Pol Kon Don again. "You'll send my regards to the Architect, won't you?"

"We will inform her of this successful mission," the Judoon retorted. That was as good as he was going to get.

"I'll keep out of her rather large hair for a while, as a gesture of good will. She'll appreciate that, I reckon. And I am grateful for your involvement in this. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you. London would practically be rubble."

Nardole muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like "well, let's not forget us having to run through a battlefield to save London.". River glared at him and he smartly chose to keep his mouth shut.

"We owe you," Twelve continued to the alien on screen.

"Yes, you do," Pol Kon Don agreed. That worried him a bit. "Judoon services often require payment. An invoice has been sent to your ship. Please pay promptly." Before he could respond, the screen went black, signalling the end of that conversation and their mutual cooperation.

"I wouldn't which one she meant," he remarked, gesturing to the four Tardises off to one side. "That's going to be one big game of roulette, if there ever was one."

They were about to ponder that issue when a crash sounded by the wall. One of the desks was on the floor, papers and machines scattered around, along with Clive, who was moaning in pain. Strax was the one who helped him up, assisting him into a chair. His instincts as a nurse were obviously kicking in. They crowded around him, Twelve examining him closely. The man seemed dizzy and confused, opening and closing his eyes intermittently as he rubbed his sore head. He was definitely going to get a bruise.

"What happened?" Twelve asked in his usual straight to the point tone.

"He means to ask if you're okay," Clara amended, prompting him to roll his eyes, which got him close to another slap on the arm.

"I don't know what came over me," Clive answered in a tired voice. "One minute, I was just standing there, watching that rhino thing...and then, I was falling over. Quite embarrassing really."

Twelve's grim expression told Clara that it was more than just an embarrassing accident. "Clive Finch," he murmured.

"Why are you speaking like that? Have I done something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite. You saved us. Everyone standing here owes a great debt to you. We wouldn't have been able to get through the rift safely without you."

"It was...nothing. Really. I had no clue about it."

"But the rift is closed now. Those instances of time restoring itself are catching up to you, I think."

"Oh. So...I'm...going back?"

"Back to your proper time. 2004 from what I can remember you saying."

"Well, that's not too bad. I'll get to see my wife and kids again, won't I? I missed them. Don't worry - I won't tell them anything that happened here." He crossed his heart with a smile. "They'd just think that it was one of my wild theories if I did anyway."

"Yeah...that's probably for the best."

"I'm going to die when I get back, aren't I?" Clive said solemnly. Twelve looked at the floor, biting his lower lip. He always lost people. If that wasn't enough, the universe was showing people he had already lost without even knowing.

"Not straight away. You'll have time. I don't know for how long. Time to live, that's all that matters."

"Thank you, Doctor." Clive's lip was slightly trembling but he maintained his composure. "I never would have thought that I would be a part of your crazy existence. All of that time...researching it, piecing it all together. And I got to help you, just this once. I think I can live with that." He stretched his arm out to shake the Doctor's hand and, as they did so, he started to fade away slowly. He closed his eyes in peace and then he was gone. Transported through time as if he were a leaf in the wind. They all stood in silence as they looked at the Doctor, who was still in the same position from crouching next to him. Clara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Will he remember any of this when he gets back?" she dared to ask.

"No," he simply answered. "He can't. Those memories shouldn't have happened. Time has to be restored both physically and mentally in the end."

"He won't know that he got to have that adventure."

"And he won't know about his death. Maybe that's a blessing. I've had to go through that before. It doesn't make it any easier to accept." He smiled reassuringly at her, seeing all that compassion in her eyes. The abundance of emotions that made her who she was, defined her. He could see it in all of them. The human race had always been something so truly special. "But these sorts of things tend to work in mysterious ways. Maybe he'll have some rather vivid dreams of the time he travelled to a distant planet and saved the universe." When he winked at Clara, a large grin settled on her face, happy that Clive would hopefully get to experience it in some fashion or other.

"Will we forget about it too?" a shaky voice asked in the corner. Amy looked worse for wear as she slumped into her husband. But, as Rory began to suffer the invisible effects too, it was down to Brian to lead them to the closest seats. Eleven was by their side in a flash, a worried expression on his face. As Brian held his son's hand, the Doctor waved his sonic in their faces, just like his successor had done, getting the same results. He gave them a small smile as he pocketed the device away, caressing Amy's hand softly.

"It might work a bit differently for you," he suggested. "Because of the strange circumstances you were in before you came here."

"Hopefully," she said as her eyes started to flutter closed. She had just enough energy to open them again, staring at the Time Lord. "Because I don't want to forget my last adventure with my Raggedy Man, do I?" The Doctor could feel tears stinging his eyes as he looked at her. She reached her hand out to carefully wipe them away. "Now, we'll be having none of that."

"I'm losing you," he whispered. "I should be able to cry."

"You're not losing us. After this, you'll get in your magical box, pull down that lever, and pick us up from where you left us. You still have so much ahead of you."

"But I know that you're going to leave me one day."

Amy scoffed, taking a second to look at Rory, who was hugging Brian tightly. "You knew that already. From the moment I first took a step into the Tardis. We always have to stop travelling in the end. Sometimes because we choose to or because we have to. We were the latter case but that doesn't mean that you should be sad about it. You of all people should appreciate how special that time is with those we love. So...mister...you better make the most of it. Because I sure as hell did."

"I promise. I will cherish every second of it. Like I always did."

"Good. Then we won't have any problems, will we?"

"Any sneak previews?"

Amy glanced at River, who was watching the interaction with unshed tears in her eyes. She smiled at her daughter one last time, an unspoken instruction to carry on protecting the Doctor. No matter how idiotic he was being. "Spoilers," she whispered after a pause, a playful smile on her lips. "Just know that it was…will be...amazing."

Rory was trying to think of the right thing to say to his dad. He hadn't had to do this the first time. Brian had told him something about a letter that he had to write. He gathered that would be slightly easier than doing it face to face. He composed himself, gulping slightly. "You're going to be okay, aren't you?"

"I have been for a while now, son. Getting to see you again, regardless of how brief it was, was a happy experience, not a sad one."

"I know that you're going to be alone though. I hate thinking about that."

"That's where you're wrong. I've got people." He gestured to the figures around them. "Wilf and I will be in contact even more, I reckon." The man in question gave a small, uncertain wave as he tried to get a control on his emotions. "We might even go travelling together."

"That's if Sylvia lets me," Wilf spoke up. "She doesn't trust me on planes. She says they make me gassy. It's probably the food."

"And I have Anthony," Brian continued. "Your son. He'll visit me from time to time. I'll always have the kettle brewing so that I'm ready for him. Just know that I'll always look after him."

"We called him Anthony?"

His dad grimaced. "I probably shouldn't have told you that." He looked at the Doctor, who simply shook his head to tell him that they didn't need to worry.

"If they remember, the bootstrap paradox will sort itself out. Hopefully."

"We're going to be alright," Rory pressed on, holding his wife's hand. Their arms began to fade away and a tired sensation swept over their bodies. "We're going to have a good life. Maybe you'll be able to visit our old house one day. Old. It's strange because it's still yet to be new for us."

"Just be careful," Amy said, mainly to the Doctor. "I know what you get like if you lose someone. Remember that I give you permission to move on. And I know that you eventually do." She nodded her head in the direction of Clara, who looked at them with wide eyes. "You're so lucky to have so many people care for you. And you know what?"

"What?" the Doctor forced himself to ask.

"So were we." And then they were gone, taken away from the present to be replaced in their actual time. The Doctor sniffed loudly, unashamed at showing his emotions. Brian patted him on the back, the two of them united in their mutual sorrow.

"I think the anomalies have fixed themselves now," Malcolm said from one of the computers, having come back from helping a rather confused soldier. "We were monitoring the Silurian presence but they've just vanished too."

"Back to the future," Twelve muttered, looking at the same readings. "Waiting to be woken up once again, not knowing that they, for a small period of time, were actually able to work with the human race for once."

"All that progress we made," Sarah Jane commented. "Just gone in an instance."

"Oh, you don't know that!" Ten said with a smile. "I bet a few of them will now have wild thoughts of fighting with the 'apes' instead of against them. Maybe...just maybe...we laid the foundations of a future peace. So many possibilities. That's why this planet is so special. You act so grumpy and closed off most of the time but, deep down, you have the capacity to help people, and other races, in need."

"Speaking of…" Twelve said. He turned to look at Hayley, who wasn't prepared for the attention of the room to be focused on her so abruptly. "Any plans for the Zygon population? Now, more than ever, they needed a strong leader."

"Before we can even think about working with the humans in the open, a lot of things will have to change," she pointed out sadly. "Not only will they have to suddenly be accepting of aliens living with them, our population will have to become more united. It's going to be a challenge to bring so many colonies together."

"Oh, but who better to do that than you? You've got experience of how brilliant both species can be when they combine their efforts. It's possible that they just need to hear that more often."

"You could be right. But it'll take more than just me to convince them that we can be truly safe here."

"You'll have UNIT's backing," Kate told her. "We could do with employees like you. How about being our head of Zygon relations? You could do so much good with our resources."

"You want to hire me?"

"Who else would be better than you to help us work with Zygons?"

"I'll be happy to help too," Osgood added. "I have...um...experience...with them." The Doctor looked curiously at her, still unsure as to which Osgood she was. She gave him her best poker face, much to his dissatisfaction.

"I think we'll have to talk about this a bit more," Hayley said with a grin.

"That's all I wanted to hear," Kate responded. She leaned down to whisper into Malcolm's ear. "Get some employment forms ready. I can tell she's already hooked. No point in keeping her waiting."

"Right away, ma'am," the scientist said immediately, rushing to do that. He did stop to salute the Doctors one last time - Ten awkwardly smiled at him, Eleven promptly saluted him back, and Twelve just rolled his eyes but in a way that Malcolm knew was somewhat affectionate.

Over in the corner, the Curator was examining his Tardis. The blue paint was scorched quite badly from its two severe trips but he deemed that she was looking just as good as the day he stole her away from the Citadel. Or when she stole him, something she often tried to make clear. But when he looked at her now, he felt a strange pang of sadness. When he had opened that vault in the basement of his house, seeing the Tardis again and letting her fly like she was supposed to...he'd realised that it just wasn't fair to keep her locked away any longer. The only issue was that, whereas she was still able to go on thousands of adventures with a bit of tinkering here and there, his body simply wasn't up to that sort of strain anymore. The trials and tribulations of growing old even affected Time Lords after a while, even if he'd attempted to run from them for several decades now.

Jenny walked over to him, a curious look on her face as she spied him looking nostalgically at the time machine. She had her arms folded as she approached him, her eyes squinted in fascination and a playful smirk on her lips. He was so distracted, not paying any attention to what was going on around him, that she had to tap him on the shoulder to make him notice her presence. He jumped slightly in shock, his eyes even wider than usual.

"Oh, how embarrassing," he muttered, chastising himself, although he did let out a small chuckle.

"Lost in thought there, were you?" she asked as she leant on the Tardis. The number of stories she had heard about this box would defy belief. She'd always wanted to travel in it and now she had accomplished that dream. It just left her wanting more, as if it was some sort of severe addiction.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Maybe just for me. As your daughter, I'm genetically trained to pick up on your expressions. I call that one…'stoic pensive'. You do that one a lot."

"Now, I do like that. How very apt. Funny...despite all my years, I still get to find things amusing."

"It's because you're still a big kid despite everything," she joked, looking at him warmly. How often had she wondered what it would be like to just spend time with her dad, joke around with him, put the world and universe to rights?

The Curator playfully tapped his nose. "What's the point in growing up if you can't be a little childish from time to time. That's the secret to looking so fresh and rejuvenated all the time. As well as a rather luxurious skin care regime I picked up from the planet Untoptinan. A world of spas. In my youth, I would never have damaged my reputation by visiting but my aching bones nowadays make it rather...necessary."

"And because you actually like to be pampered."

"Let's keep that to ourselves, shall we?" he said with a wink.

"My lips are sealed." She looked at him with a bit more seriousness. "What were you thinking about before I rudely interrupted you?"

"Oh, nothing much, my dear. The tired old ramblings of a mad man. Nothing that would concern you."

"As your daughter, I also know when you're lying," she pointed out.

He let out a sigh. "I should have figured that out by now. I can't get anything past you."

"I'll let you off. Like you said, you're old. Your mind isn't what it used to be." She was worried when his smile dropped at her words.

"And that is the crux of the matter. Well, actually my mind is just as razor sharp as it has always been. It's my body that can't keep up anymore."

Jenny placed a hand on his arm, stroking the green tweed jacket he was wearing. "That's only natural. It's alright if you have to take it a bit slower once in a while. Nobody will use it against you."

"I'm afraid that I can't be flying across the universe like I want to be doing. It takes too much out of me."

"I thought you did perfectly fine before. You managed to fly us through the time rift without moaning too much. How many other millennials could say that? And I use that phrase to describe how many years you've probably been alive."

"You're very cheeky, do you know that?"

She just grinned. "Oh, yes. It's a part of my infectious charm."

"I feel sorry for the Tardis. That's why I was looking at her so forlornly. She doesn't deserve to be trapped under a townhouse in one tiny corner of the galaxy. The greatest ship that ever was and ever will be."

"Maybe she's getting on a bit like you." The Tardis let out a few disgruntled noises in response, telling Jenny what she thought about that. "Maybe not."

"No, she's as lively as ever. And she needs an even livelier captain at the wheel." The Curator took a hold of his daughter's hand and, when he removed his, she spotted something glimmering in her hand. A small silver key that seemed to fill her with a strange sense of warmth.

"No," she whispered. "I can't. All of the stories...they've always been about the Tardis and the Doctor! I can't mess with that."

"Oh, please! You're just as much the Doctor as I ever was. You want to run about the stars and visit every planet discovered and undiscovered. What better way is there to do just that than in the old girl herself?" By now, most of the others were looking over at them after she had blurted out her previous response. The other Doctors were especially interested in what was going on.

"Are you being serious?" Jenny asked in a small voice, her eyes beginning to glisten.

"I have never been more serious in my long life. Just make sure to visit once in a while."

"I will do. I promise. I really, really promise," she said as she wrapped him in a tight hug. He patted her on the back as he smiled at her eagerness. This was the right thing to do. He had to carry on the story some way and this was the perfect answer to that conundrum.

"If you're setting off," Jack piped up. "Do you mind giving me a lift to the next nearest space station? Somebody…" He paused to look at the Twelfth Doctor with narrowed eyes, who just shrugged unapologetically. "...gave away the nice spaceship I had so I could do with a ride."

"Of course. Maybe we can fit in a few adventures of our own before I drop you off. There's no point in me wasting such pleasant company." She was doing it to annoy her dad, they all knew that. Jack ran over, smirking at the Doctors as he did so.

"Jack," Ten said, elongating his name. "I want no funny business."

"You can trust me," he responded with his best puppy dog eyes.

"No, I really can't. Which is why I'm saying this in the first place."

To make him feel better, Jenny quickly ran up to the three Doctors and hugged them in turn. Twelve smiled down at her with warm eyes. "You be careful out there, you hear me? No getting captured by the Shadow Proclamation again."

"Are you ever careful?" Jenny quipped back.

"That's not the point."

"It is so the point," Clara said with a grin.

"Don't take her side!"

"I'm not going to take yours, am I?"

The Doctor was left to grumble something under his breath, which Clara would want explaining later. She couldn't let him get away with such bad behavior.

"I'll be as safe and cautious as you normally are," Jenny reassured him, which really wasn't a great reassurance for him. She stepped over to the Tardis, her Tardis, looking at it with excited eyes. "And you'll be able to repeat all the rules when we next bump into each other."

"I can't wait," he said sincerely.

"I have just realised that I've lost my way of getting home," the Curator pointed out.

"We can give you a lift," Mickey answered. "We have the van waiting outside."

"That sounds rather splendid. A van! How very human."

"Is there still no way of getting you to come back to UNIT?" Kate asked hopefully. "We really could do with your expertise."

"You know that we prefer the independent life," Martha responded with a sad smile, hating to turn her down. "And I reckon we have an angry Slitheen to deal with that has just been put back where I left it by the rift. Duty calls."

"Are you coming, Sarah Jane?" the Curator inquired as the woman in question was putting her jacket on, making sure everything was in her handbag, especially her sonic lipstick. "I would be delighted to have you round for a cup of tea and an assortment of biscuits."

"That does sound lovely," she answered. "But I have the car parked up and I can't be leaving it here. And I really do need to check up on Luke! He must be worried sick." As she started walking away with them, K9 trundling along by her feet, they could hear her add something on. "But I'm sure that he'd love to meet you. Maybe for a proper meal? You do do normal meals, right?" And then they were gone, after a few brief farewells and promises to see one another again soon. Maybe they could do a monthly meet-up, Graham suggested, hoping that it would take place closer to Yorkshire than London. The Doctors smiled sadly as one of the Tardises left, taking Jenny and Jack no one knew where. Trouble, they all knew. They had no doubt that they would end up hearing about their escapades after a while. They were looking forward to it.

River walked up to Twelve and Clara with a sad expression on her face, not wanting to say goodbye but knowing that, even if he didn't say so, she would feel like the odd one out if she stayed with them. She couldn't squash the pangs of jealousy when she looked at the couple but also understood that this was how the Doctor worked. If you weren't in his life for a certain period of time, no matter how much it hurt him, he eventually managed to move on. She was at least grateful for the fact that he had managed to find someone who could remotely live up to her high standards. Clara was a firecracker of a woman, she knew that, and River had the utmost faith in the younger woman to keep their Time Lord in check.

"So," she said, as she looked at his old yet handsome face. "This isn't the last time I'm going to see you." It was strange how their roles had reversed, him now being the one who had some sort of knowledge of what lay ahead in front of her. He was infuriatingly tight lipped about it, which she guessed was revenge for all the times she had acted in the same way.

"No. I'd say you have a few more adventures to go through. Just make sure to stretch them out a bit. I don't want to see you doing them all at once."

River laughed lightly even though her heart felt like it was breaking inside her chest. "Going the long way round. Your usual tactic. I'd say you were a bad influence but who am I to judge?"

"It's worked well for me so far."

"Ignoring the occasional bump in the road. The very frequent bumps in the road."

"They're the best parts," he said warmly.

"Of that, I have no doubt."

"River…" he began to say, his eyes drifting to the floor as he thought about what was fated to happen.

"No," she instantly said, placing a finger on his lips. "Don't start the goodbye just yet. I'm not beginning this conversation right now. Like you said, I have a few more trips to look forward to." She allowed herself to plant a tender kiss on his cheek. "This is just...see you later. Say it. For me. Promise me that this isn't the last time and I'll be able to leave without a heavy heart."

"...see you later, Professor Song."

"I look forward to it, Doctor." She turned to Clara, who had wanted to stay out of their private conversation. She knew how much they cared for another and didn't want to get in the way of that. She knew that was fairly hypocritical since she had professed her love to the married man but it was low down on the list of confusing things to happen when it came to the Doctor. "And you...look after him. He'll want to show off to impress you. Maybe give him one opportunity to do that before tightening the leash. When he gets cocky, he makes mistakes. Which is why he's always stumbling into disaster."

Clara surprised River by hugging her, the other woman temporarily stunned by the action. "Thank you," she whispered into River's ear. "I know this must be difficult but...thank you for letting me be with him."

"Trust me, dear, I wouldn't be letting you if I couldn't tell how completely besotted he is with you. He needs someone like that in his life, who can be there for him all the time. I was never that woman sadly. It's the way the universe works sometimes."

"I will be there for him. I promise. Unless he's being a prat. Then I deserve some time off."

"I'll allow you that." With one more grin, River inputted a code into her vortex manipulator and vanished in an instant, smoke blowing gently where she had been standing a second ago. The Doctor let out a long sigh, trying not to think about Darillium and the final goodbye that they faced. Clara held his hand to anchor him back to the present. He looked down at her affectionately before his eyes swept across the room, taking in the people that were still there.

"How do you think they're going to get home?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"They're your responsibility. That's the contract you signed," she shot back with a gleeful smile.

"I didn't sign any contract. Unless you took advantage of me during one of my five minute cat naps."

"I would never," she pouted, slightly aghast.

He wouldn't put it past her. "I'm just a glorified taxi driver."

"I am so going to get you one of those hats," Clara sang as she wrapped her arm around his, joining the others before they took them back to their normal lives.