This story is a continuation of my story The Price of Eternity. It focuses on the Tenth Doctors son David and his family. While a good read on it's own, if you have not read chapters 67-74 of that story, you will not know these original characters. The Doctor and Rose are featured in it as well. I hope you enjoy it. I appreciate all reviews. Thanks, Neminiwrites

Time Lords Legacy

A fan fiction by Valerie Jones

Chapter 1

David's hands trembled as he read the note. Lori was crying softly and trying to control her emotions.

They took her, his sweet innocent girl, for sale and profit. They took her because of her Time Lord heritage. Someone, in some dark smoky hall, had let slip to the wrong deviant that there was a family of Time Lords on this planet. The rarest, most powerful species in the universe, was a valuable prize in many ways. But only someone with no brains at all would dare. Time Lord vengeance was legendary. Whole species had paid the price for crossing them. Well, most of them. One had made it clear he was different. His father, The Doctor.

Unlike his father, David did not believe in the sanctity of all life. He would not ask them to reconsider their actions. The human half of him knew scum was scum, and as his fury grew there would be no pity, and no second chances. Anyone who would do this, to any child, needed to be eliminated with purpose. When he found who took his child he would kill them in the most hideous way possible. Then leave the bodies someplace permanent and public to serve as an example to anyone who even thought for an instant, that this would be an easy way to make a quick buck.

David looked into his wife's pleading red eyes. She had found the note in the child's bed.

WE HAVE HER. SHE WILL LIVE ONLY IF YOU DO NOT PERSUE US. SHE IS ALMOST AS VALUABLE IN PIECES AS WHOLE. WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. DON'T EVEN TRY.

He dropped the note and put his arms around Lori. She broke down and sobbed a ragged breath. He was strong for her even though his hearts were breaking. "Lori, don't worry love. I will get her back. It will be ok."

"What are you going to do?" she said trembling. "They said not to pursue them or they will kill her."

He smiled a little to allay her fear. "They also think they know who I am. A stupid mistake. If they are capable of that one, they will make more." He looked into her frightened eyes. "Do you trust me?"

A stupid question she thought. "Of course I do. Just, please be careful. I'm sure they'd be pleased to have you both. "

He nodded his head, "I'll be careful." He held his hand to her cheek, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He needed to prepare her for a part of his plan she would not like at all.

"Lori, do you remember me telling you about regeneration? How at the moment of death a Time Lord can regenerate into a new form and face?"

Lori looked at him with confusion at the turn of the topic. "Yes" she said cautiously.

He looked down at the floor, "I need a new face so they will not recognize me. So that I can get close to them."

What he was planning to do suddenly dawned on her. She was furious. "NO! Absolutely not! I am not going to lose my daughter and my husband."

His face contorted in frustration, "You're not going to lose anyone! I will still be the same person on the inside, but the outside will be different. I need to be very different. Bastards like this do not take chances, and they are not easily fooled. I can't leave her safety in the hands of someone else. I have to go after her, and they know what I look like." Lori knew he was right, but was terrified of what was to happen. David looked at her with understanding. Wrapping his hands around her face he kissed her softly, "I will still be the same inside. I will have all my memories and I will always love you."

He grinned and winked trying to sooth her fears, "Are there any special requests? Skin color? Eye color?" His hot breath whispered in her ear, "Maybe the length of my….."

"David!" she blushed.

"What? I was going to say hair." He grinned. Her eyes stared in disbelief and then looked down.

"What are you thinking, at a time like this?" He lifted her chin to look at him.

"I was thinking I could get you to smile and blush." She smiled back, a little of her fear smoothing out for a moment.

He could see she was a bit less afraid. Lori stepped away from him and turned her back. "Are you sure you can? You've never done it before. It's a terrible risk."

He went to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her neck. "Yes, I'm sure I can do it. I know because, well, I actually met myself when I was a kid." Lori turned to look at him disbelieving. "It's a long story, but short version is, at 8 years old, all Gallifreyans go to an initiation of sorts. Father would not let me go. My parents had almost lost my sister when it was her turn, and they would not take me. I was devastated. But late one night I awoke to a hooded figure in my room who told me if I still wanted to try he would take me."

"I don't know why I trusted him, but I did. He taught me what I needed to know and took me to Gallifrey. It was terrifying and painful. If it weren't for the sisters on Karn I might have died. Complications from being half human. He brought me home only moments after we had left, so my parents would be none the wiser. Or, so I thought. Of course dad knew. He took one look at me the next morning, dragged me into the Tardis and gave me such a lecture. I was grounded for months. I don't think he ever told mom. I don't know how, but the hooded stranger was myself in a future incarnation. A paradox loop that will sort itself out in time… I hope." He gave a long sigh remembering.

"How will you do it?" Lori said quietly.

He bowed his head, "It must be a fatal blow, and I would hope for quick and painless." He grinned and then became serious. "I must go after her as soon as possible." He stopped and held her tight, "Will you help me?"

She turned around to stare at him. "You want me to kill you? I can't do that, I just can't!"

He grimaced and shook his head, not sure he could do it alone. The survival instinct was very strong in him. Suicide would be difficult. "I understand."

She looked in his eyes searching for another way. "Can't you speak with your dad? He would be furious if he knew what you are doing. There must be some other way. Why can't you go back in time and catch them before it even happens?" She had fallen in love with this face and she was going to fight for it.

"Lori I can't. You can't go back on someone's personal time line. And dad would want to join in the hunt. They know his face too. He can't afford to lose a life like I can, I won't let him." Lori knew she could not stop him with their daughters life at stake.

He went to a locked drawer and pulled out a laser pistol. He gazed at it, trying to get the courage to pull the trigger. He put the muzzle in his side to go through both hearts at once.

She ran to him, her arms around him, kissing him passionately. "I love you David."

"I love you too Lori". When the kiss ended, as he looked into her eyes, she pulled the trigger.

He fell to the floor looking at her with wide eyes and a smile, "Thank you my love. Now step back, and don't touch me no matter what." His eyes glazed over as his body began to glow. The brightness of the pulsing golden light was difficult to look at, but Lori wanted to see this face for a long as possible. Flames flew from his hands and face and then consumed his body. The air pressure in the room began to rise and she felt it compress her skin. Building to a point she was afraid the windows would blow out. He began to scream. Lori squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears to try to block the hideous sound. When it stopped, she looked back slowly, afraid of what she might see.

On the charred floor laid a man of 30 something in torn clothes, slightly taller and more muscular than the sinewy grace of the man she knew. He had long locks of strawberry blond hair and vivid blue eyes, a large nose, a nicely trimmed red beard and mustache, full lips and high cheekbones. He was not what she would immediately call handsome, but he had a raw attraction that was hard to ignore.

It was clear he was as weak as a kitten. She dropped to his side and gingerly reached out her hand to touch him. He moaned as he tried to move and she quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. His eyes focused on her and he smiled. "It's all right. You can touch me now." She stared at him in wonder, her hand ventured out again, feeling the unexpected softness of his beard. His eyes looked into hers with concern. "It's ok Lori, it's still me. How do I look? Not too ugly I hope. I was trying to go for intimidating, but I'm afraid it came out a bit Nordic."

She helped him to his feet and he went to the mirror on the wall. Staring at the image in front of him with disbelief, "Great merciful Gallifrey." He began to sway and Lori grabbed his arm to steady him. "I'm afraid I will need a few hours sleep to recover. I'm a bit weak and my brain feels like scrambled eggs." He noticed with some worry that she hadn't said anything. "Help me get to the couch." She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled him forward, bracing him on her hip.

They staggered to the couch and he collapsed on it. David looked at the worry in her eyes, "Lori, It's still me. Talk to me, please." She had tears in her eyes and tried to speak, but was overwhelmed with everything that had happened. Lori couldn't look at him anymore and turned away. She started to rise and he grabbed her arm, pulling her to his face for a kiss. Lori put her hand on his chest to push back. To her, she would be kissing a stranger. "Please", he begged in a deep voice she didn't recognize. "Please kiss me."

Everything in her mind and body rejected this man. The natural fear, and loyalty she had for her husband, rebelled at her being in the arms of a stranger, let alone kiss him. "Please Lori, I love you. Please trust me." He whimpered softly. Lori looked into his sky blue eyes, so different than the chocolate brown she adored.

Then, she saw it. A flicker of recognition deep in his eyes that pulled her forward. Her eyes still open, she leaned in to place her lips ever so gently on his. As they touched she closed her eyes and felt the rush of emotion that could only be from his soul meeting hers. She pressed against him, deepening the kiss and holding on to that feeling as it grew. Her heart swelled, knowing it was true. He was the same man inside.

Lori pulled away again, staring at his tattered shirt, trying to analyze her feelings. "I know it's you. I can feel that it's you." She looked into the unfamiliar face trying to join the two ragged ends of the man she loved into the one image in front of her. "I'm sorry", she whispered, "It's going to take a little time for me to adjust."

He looked down at the floor unhappy with her response, but understanding it. "It'll be ok Lori. I promise. You take all the time you need. I love you now as I loved you the day I met you, falling out of a jeep." His head drooped forward and he fell asleep. Lori laid his head down on a pillow and put his legs up on the couch, covering him with a blanket. A soft mist of golden light puffed from his lips and floated in the air for a few moments before it disappeared.

She sat on the edge of the couch and just stared at him. It had been so easy to forget he wasn't human. In the five years of their marriage the only difference between him and any other man, was his hearts beat, body temperature, and his highly intelligent mind. But outwardly he could pass anyone on the street without notice. Strange to now be so roughly introduced to the alien he was after all these years. She thought of her daughter. How were they going to explain this to her?

Helen Rose had been born at the New Phoenix hospital, several weeks early, in an otherwise normal pregnancy. If hearing her recite the periodic table while still inside Lori's body could be called normal. The hospital doctors treated her as a preemie, but she was aware of her surroundings and almost rolling over by the time they were discharged from the hospital. Her dual heartbeat caused something of a stir to the uninitiated. Lori was glad her OB GYN arrived in time to smooth things out with the hospital staff. He knew her and her husband's profile completely and quickly covered up the alien anomaly as a rare genetic disorder.

The staff accepted his story and she was born after 5 hours of labor. Rose was at her side the entire time. She'd had a bad time delivering David and insisted on the hospital for Helen. Her mother in law had given her a neural blocker for the labor pains. Wow, what a difference that had made. Rose said no one should have a baby without it. The device made her delivery as painless, stressless and simple as possible for both of them.

Helen had been daddy's girl from the moment he held her. She could walk, talk, read and wrap her father around her finger at the age of 9 weeks. Her rate of growth was incredible to watch. At four years old she was the equivalent of a twenty something. Her unique advanced intellect should help her to cope with what was happening to her. She may even be able to find her own way home. Getting out of bad situations was a family trait if the stories Rose had told her were true. The monsters who had taken her would not expect her to be able to think and react like an adult.

Lori comforted herself with these thoughts. All the while terrified of what could happen. She looked down at the man who was now her husband. Could she love him as before? Lori felt a wave of pain and tears as she realized the man she married was gone forever. She leaned against him and closed her eyes trying to make contact with the man she loved. To her surprise he was there as he'd always been. A gentle presence in her mind that filled her with comfort and peace. She took a ragged sigh and opened her eyes. He was there. He was there.

Lori was startled from her thoughts by a loud knock at the door. Terror gripped her for a moment thinking the monsters were back, until she realized they would not knock. "Lori! David! Open the door it's me Alice! Is everything alright?" Lori's adrenaline and relief was enough to make her weak and unable to stand.

"Come in Alice. We're in the study." Alice quickly opened the door and ran to the room. The first thing she saw was the charred floor in the shape of a body. Then Lori's tear stained face. Then the strange man on the couch.

"Lori what's happened?", Alice said cautiously as she saw the pistol on the floor.

Lori looked up but could hardly get the words out as it all came crashing back. "They have my baby Alice." Alice went pale with the words, trying to focus on Lori.

"Who has your baby?" Lori handed Alice the kidnappers note. She hesitated as David didn't want his father to know, but it was too late to try and hide anything from Alice. Alice read the note carefully several times. Her face contorted in first concern, then pain, then rage. When she looked up Lori was gently arranging the blanket that covered the man on the couch, her silent tears dripping down on it.

"By the gods, Lori." A puff of golden glitter came from the man on the couch and Alice realized who he was. Her goofy brother had done something terrible to himself without consulting her. He always was an act first and think later kind of guy. She knew what he had done as a child of 8. Stupid idiot to trust a stranger and do what he did. Of course she and father had known the moment he returned. The three of them, and to a much lesser extent mom, had a familial psychic connection. Always aware of each others state of being.

Alice was in her office when she felt the wave of nausea and anxiety hit. She left the hospital and headed for David and Lori's with a fear and tension she'd never known. Now she understood why, but needed to know the how. "Lori," she said gently, "What is his plan, that he could do something so drastic?"

Lori looked up at her sister in law emotionally numb from the stress. "He intends on going after her himself. He can't leave it in someone else's hands, and he didn't want your father involved."

As she ended her sentence the phone hummed. Alice looked at it, knowing who it was. "Let me handle father." Alice thought a moment before she answered. "Hello father, it's Alice." There was silence for a moment,

"Alice? What's going on? Where's David?"

Alice lightened her voice to calm her father, "Everything is fine father. David took a bad fall and I just dragged his sorry butt home from the hospital. He hit the ground hard and almost regenerated, but it stopped. I have him mildly sedated to keep him from doing more harm until he heals. Do you want to talk to Lori?"

She looked over her shoulder to where Lori was listening intently. "You're sure he's all right?" The Time Lords voice was filled with concern and disbelief.

"Yes. He just needs a day or two of rest and he'll be fine."

Her father was no fool and knew it was worse than she was saying. "We're coming right over in the Tardis. Your mother is having kittens, and I can't get her to calm down."

Alice was near panic though her voice was soft and controlled, "Oh father, trust me. Lori doesn't need a houseful of people to entertain when he will just be sleeping it off. I'm going to stay for a while to be sure anyway."

There was a pause, and the sound of arguing in the background. "Your mother insists on coming."

Alice smiled, "Let me talk to her father, I'll take the heat for you."

The sounds of an exchange as he sighed and her mothers voice came on. "Alice? It's mum. Don't give me any guff. What's going on over there?"

Alice tried not to sound too patronizing. "Hi mother. Please don't worry. David is just fine. He took a fall and has a slight concussion and a cracked collar bone, but he should be up and about in a day or two. Lori is going to have her hands full. You know what a lousy patient he is, and he won't appreciate being babied. Let the man rest and I'll make him call you when he gets up."

Alice crossed her fingers hoping her mother would buy her story. After a few moments pause, her mother answered. "Well, you're the Doctor. You know, a real one." The background had the faint voice of an incensed Time Lord in it. "Oi! I am a real one too!" Rose ignored him. "You'll let us know if he needs anything?"

Alice let out her breath when she knew it had worked. She said gently, "Of course mother. I'm going to stay for a while today to keep an eye on him and I promise to call if his condition changes in any way."

"Ok dear. Give Lori a hug for me. She must be in a right state."

Alice grinned. She hadn't gotten away with a fib this big since she was a kid. "I will, see you later. Love to father. Bye."

Alice turned to Lori, "That was close. We almost had two very upset parents parked in your home for the duration." David let out another puff of glittering breath and Alice shook her head, coming to sit next to Lori on the couch, giving her a hug. "How are you doing Lori? It's a lot to deal with I know. I'm here to help."

Lori looked at Alice through barely controlled tears. "I'm so glad you were here to talk to them. I would have spilled my guts in an instant."

Lori sighed and tried to smile, but just couldn't keep up the pretense. "How long do you think he will be like this?"

"Well, it kinda depends. Each Time Lord is different in how their bodies react. Some regenerations take days to get over, some in a few seconds. It depends on the amount of stress they are under when they…..die" Alice said the word so quietly that she could hardly be heard. It hit her at that moment that the baby brother she'd always known and loved was gone.

Regeneration wasn't just an abstract idea anymore. Oh, she understood that he was still there inside, but despite what he might have said to Lori, he would be different in some ways. Many of his mannerisms will change. His sense of himself, his dress, his attitudes will not be the same. The gruff exterior may be a shadowing of the changes to come. He will need new skills to go on the quest he had set for himself, and the man who returned may not be as recognizable as she hoped.

A soft groan came from the couch and their attention was riveted to him. David pulled himself up and sat with his head in his hands. Burping rather loudly as more golden glitter escaped him. "I feel like I've been hit by a bus and dragged ten miles."

Alice had no sympathy, "Serves you right doing something so stupid." He only vaguely recognized the voice. Looking up he saw the face of his sister staring at him like daggers. "Why didn't you at least talk to me about this before you did it, so I could run interference for you? Father called of course. If I hadn't come just in time to talk him down, he be here right now tearing you a new one."

David looked down at the floor with his painful head in his hands, realizing she was right, but not about to back down. "I don't have time for a family reunion. I have to find my daughter before they cut her into small pieces or worse. How about that? Good enough reason for you? I'm not a child and I don't need your permission."

David tried to stand, but didn't get far before he sank back down. Alice grinned, "You have regeneration sickness. You're not going anywhere for a while."

Lori got up from the couch, "I'll go make us some coffee. Can I get you something to eat David?"

"NO!" He regretted shouting the moment he saw the hurt look on Lori's face. David stood up, his pain and weakness suddenly leaving him. "I'm so sorry love. Please forgive me. Coffee would be fine, but I can't eat right now, ok?" He kissed her gently and she smiled. "I'll be right back."

Alice was startled by David's raw responses. Was it the regeneration sickness, or his new personality? She decided to test it. As Lori left the room, she grabbed David's arm and shook him. "What's the matter with you? Stop acting like a gorilla. Lori's under enough pressure losing her daughter and her husband in the same day."

David opened his mouth to argue with her, but reconsidered. "She hasn't lost anyone yet. I will bring my child home, but to do it I need to be…. more than I was." He stopped and looked at her. "Alice…Alice, if you could feel what I do right now. Like I could take on the entire universe."

He burped again and the cloud of golden light appeared to startle him. "What the hell is that?"

Alice smiled, "Residual regeneration energy." She sighed leaning back and getting comfortable, "You'll be able to continue to use it for the first 24 hours or so. Ok genius, what's your plan?"

"Hold on. I want to hear this too." Lori came in the room with the tray of coffee, cups, and a plate of David's favorite cookies. She poured out three cups and sat down in the chair to listen.