We have the epilogue soon to come...

**

With a grunt, he turned and pressed both Tegan and he up against the side of the pyramid. She whimpered from the pressure. She could hear her friend whispering nonsense math terms, his eyes squeezed tight. Around them a light, like thousands of tiny fireflies, began to form. Tegan stared at the Joiba as his face began to turn into a mask of hatred. She thought she was looking at the Devil himself. He raised his hands.

"Doc-"

It was the last thing she said.

**

Time ceased to have meaning. She floated free, alone, except for those beautiful little fireflies, flittering about her body and the being that held her in his arms. The Doctor, she reminded herself; it's the Doctor. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember exactly what he looked like. The being that held her shape-shifted, changed every moment, with every breath. First an old man, then a hobo, a dandy, the curly man she remembered and then her cricketer; a large bear of a man, a small man, a slight man with curly hair, and then one with a mop, a dear man who reminded her of her uncle, a flop, a thin, striking man, a strong featured man, and then finally, a kindly, gentile man of indefinite age. They mixed and mingled, changing at will until it was clear that no one man, but one being held her closely, tightly yet tenderly.

The fireflies started to dissipate and she nearly wept at the loss of beauty. The tiredness had left her limbs, her legs and her arms. She felt no pain.

And then suddenly, she was in a dark place, alone but for the ever-changing being who held her. He put her on a surface. She couldn't tell what he was doing; it was all hazy, dark and cold. Cold was seeping back into her, but it was unlike Ares' presence.

"But" she breathed to no one. "I don't want this cold. It means I'll have to leave the warmth forever."

A filmy woman appeared at her elbow, kindly gazing at her with warmth and love. Tegan turned her head to meet the woman's gentle stare. "Where am I?"

"At a crossroads."

"What's that?"

"A place where you have to make a decision. You can be relieved of your burden or you can be returned to your pain."

"Pain?" Tegan frowned.

"Your soul has been wrenched from your body. A strong tie is holding it here, but it is a tie that can be easily broken, if you wish. You can be relieved of this burden of life and go on to your reward, whatever it may be, or you can return to your life, or your pain."

"I hardly call life a pain," she whispered.

"You wish to live? Your soul shall be returned to your body if you wish it."

"Of course, I wish it. It's not a decision at all"

The woman smiled, as if she had always known the answer. "Then embrace your tie, pull yourself to life."

Tegan reached out to hold that which bonded her to life. She found nothing but her friend. Her hands closed on the shifting, changing hand that touched her chest and she found herself hurtling down a tunnelthe heat grew warmer, the air sweeter

**

"Mmmm, roses"

The words sounded alien to her ears although her mouth had promoted them. They croaked to the enclosed space and sounded breathless, barely human, to her.

The Doctor was bending over her, his mouth centimeters from her own. Her neck was bent back almost painfully, angled. His hand was lightly resting on her chest, while the other was holding her brow, keeping her head well back. His eyes widened, and his mouth quickly turned up into a smile. "Tegan"

She frowned, because his voice sounded as harsh as hers was to her ears. Her eyesight was still clouded at the edges, but she could see that his eyes were wet, almost regretful. "Doctor?" she breathed, her voice rough. "Where are we?"

He began to laugh, his shoulders shaking quickly in time with his chuckles. She didn't know what she had said that was humorous, but he was smiling widely and laughing freely, like a child on Christmas. It amazed her to feel how weak she was. Knowing that, she supposed, he gently laid her body flat and put his head against her chest. After a moment, he lifted his head from her body and gave her one of the sweetest, widest smiles she had ever seen. "Normal, Tegan. It's beating normally, properly," he croaked.

She frowned, but turned her head to see Illiana and Victor standing quietly to the side. The mother's hands were gently resting on her son's shoulders. Tegan blinked and Illiana nodded. It was an understanding that occurred under Tegan's consciousness; she felt it prickling at her soul. "Thank you" she breathed.

The woman shook her head. "I merely formed the bridge, Tegan. It was you that made the decision."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned, still kneeling. He left his hand on Tegan's stomach, holding her hand as he tried to address the Joiba. "A soul bridge?" he asked. "Haldian took her soul?"

Illiana tapped Victor on his back to get the child to walk away. She then sat gently on the ground by Tegan's head, her legs tucked under her. After a sigh, she shook her head. "He didn't entirely take her soul. But he did remove it from her body for a short time. Because you already had activated the time lock and were in process of transporting here, he could not completely separate her. I merely had to find her through her attachment to this world, this life, and lay a footbridge."

Tegan could feel the Doctor's hand shake, minutely, on hers. "And the bonding of her body and soul?"

Illiana smiled. "Complete. Tegan made the decision, a firm one."

"Thank Rassilon," he muttered. He glanced back down at Tegan and smiled.

"The only thing she had to follow back" Illiana replied with a shake of her fair head. "Was you. I'm quite surprised."

Tegan frowned. "Why?"

"He's a Time Lord." Illiana gave her a nod and patted her shoulder tender. "Rest, Tegan. I shall be taking you and the Doctor back to a place of civilization. It is the least I could do for the help you gave us."

"But we didn't- we led him here"

"Oh, my dear child," Illiana replied with a tone that reminded Tegan of her mother. "He knew where we were all the time. There's nowhere on this planet I can be without him knowing. His blood flows through Victor's veins. But he cannot get in here, in my ship and neither could I. Only a Time sensitive could. But because he knew the Doctor was the only one to break through the barrier and get me to safety, he had to follow you, know where you were. And that gave me time to get here ahead of him and hide myself and Victor."

Tegan frowned and looked to the Doctor. He nodded. "Yes, I knew she was not inside her ship. I knew the lock was Time sensitive. I felt it when I neared it."

"Victor and I entered the lock from our point of safety as the Doctor tripped it," Illiana concluded gently.

As she began to fall asleep, she heard the rest of the conversation.

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his neck. "The barrier undid the damage to my cortex, I assume."

"Yes. And Tegan is righted as well."

Tegan tried to talk, but her voice failed her and she simply yawned. The Doctor squeezed her hand and gave her a nod. And then she fell asleep, lulled by the scent of roses.

**

The Doctor ducked to clear the low doorway.

"But I don't understand" she whispered. She rested quietly in his arms as he carried her through the ship. She hadn't originally thought the ship was that large. "How are we moving? Where are we going and why make that lock so that only you could open it?" The last two words were barely audible.

"I'll explain later," the Doctor pressed, quietly. "Rest now."

"I just feel a little tired"

"Your heart stopped for over three minutes, Tegan," he urged, giving her a glance that both pleaded and admonished.

"It would help me to sleep better."

"It's intellectual and emotional blackmail," he sighed. With a final turn, he found a small room with a simple cotton covered bed in a room of vibrant blues and greens. He gave a hum and laid her down on the surface. "If my guess is correct" he began, standing back, his hands slipping into his pockets as he gazed down at her. "Our travel should only take five hours or so."

"Then you have plenty of time to tell me a bedtime story," she argued, her voice weak.

She didn't know if it was her voice or the look on her face but he sighed as if put out and slowly sat on the edge of the bed. "What was your question again?"

"Why here?"

"They Mayans had a habit in their cities of building tombs on top of tombs. Apparently they built on top of Illiana's ship. How are we moving? Similar technology to Gallifreyan I expect; I'm not quite sure. We are inter and intradimensional in this ship. They don't have control of time, but they do have control of dimension travel. She has simply slipped into another spatial dimension to free us of the temple and then will slip us back through the spatial dimension change. It's all rather simple compared to absolute time travel in the vortex, you see"

Tegan yawned.

"Yes, well," he bit his lip and contemplated her. "I suppose that explanation can wait for another time. And I am in a rather accommodating mood"

"Why that lock?" she breathed. Her eyelids were getting heavy.

"A time lock?" the Doctor frowned. "That time lock was Gallifreyan in engineering. I would love to meet the Time Lord who put that together. It was rather personalized"

"You?" she asked, gently. "Could one of you have done it?"

He puffed a breath. "It's possible." Then with a smile, he shrugged. "As to why? She already explained that to you."

"And why did Haldian or Ares or whoever he istake my soul?"

His sudden frown chilled her a bit. "He wanted to stop me in my tracks. Other than that" His sigh was forced. "He just enjoys that sort of thing, Tegan."

She tried to make a joke, but sleep claimed her before she said a word.

**

It was morning when Illiana gently put them back to rights, as the Doctor put it. Morning, but still with partiers lining the streets. To Tegan, who was loathed to let the Doctor know she was indeed tired, it was like the massive gathering the morning after a party with a fair amount of the participants still drunk. She didn't have time to look behind her or say more of a goodbye than what she had muttered earlier. One moment she was asleep on the bed, the next moment she was standing in an empty garden near the center of the City with the Doctor's arm supporting her.

She blinked.

Music sounded from far away, there were beads on the ground next to flowers petals. A mask, an empty glass, a rosary, all the articles looked so very at home. Even her dress, although shortened, was still status quo for the festive atmosphere.

"Did we even leave here?" she asked, quietly.

"Yes wellit might seem otherwise" the Doctor returned. "But yes, the last few days have indeed occurred." He steered her down a street, stopped after a moment and switched direction, pulling her in an easterly direction. "I rather think Turlough will be worried."

"Turlough?" Tegan joked. She found that she was smiling as they entered another crowd. When she glanced up at the Doctor's tired and dirty face, she saw its twin lightening his features. For the first time in a long time, she felt happy. She slipped her arm around his waist, waiting for the shying away that usually came from her contact. It never happened. Something had indeed changed in her, in him, between them. But from seeing her smiling face reflected back at her from a shop window, she decided not to ask about it. He was happy, she was happy, for once in her life that was enough.

There were many questions she wanted to ask, many conversations she wanted to have, but right then was not the time. She would wait. The Doctor sped up his pace until they were nearly running for the TARDIS.