TITLE: Distantly in Love
AUTHORS: Gillian Taylor(Dark Aegis) & NNWest
DISCLAIMER: Don't own them. We just like playing with them...a lot.
Chapter Twenty-five
The TARDIS doors swung open to admit a blast of cold air, a fair amount of snow and the four travellers. The time ship seemed to protest as they shook off the rapidly melting flakes and left small puddles of water on the decking.
Anxious to get away from the frozen planet, Jack dashed up the ramp to the console followed closely by the Doctor. Checking the scanners, he was displeased to note they had company. "The TARDIS is tracking another ship making temporal orbit," he announced.
"The Agency?" Rose asked in a worried voice.
"Who else? I knew they'd figure it out. Looks like we found you just in time," Jack told his sister.
"We should get out of here." The Time Lord initiated the flight sequence. With a familiar wheezing groan, the TARDIS entered the vortex.
Emily had been looking around the room in amazement. Her expression turned worried as the conversation penetrated her awe. "If they've come this close, are the Sevateem in danger? Wouldn't they be the next logical target?"
"Sevateem?" The Doctor's expression darkened as he turned to face the anthropologist.
"Yes. They're the tribe I was studying when the Time Agency took an interest in one of my papers." Emily was slightly shaken by the impression of immense age within the man's eyes and she briefly wondered just how her brother had become associated with him: a man who was unaffected by freezing temperatures and who piloted this, quite frankly, unbelievable ship.
"Why the Sevateem?"
"One of their sacred objects is purported to have an extraordinary influence on or link to time. The warriors of the tribe guard a lonely hillock, but there's nothing there. From all appearances, I would have said it was mythical until the Time Agency took an interest.
"You know the Sevateem, Doctor?" As Emily asked the question, something connected in her mind. "You're the Doctor? The 'Evil One?'" Her tone was one of plain disbelief.
Jack raised an eyebrow. His voice was dry with a hint of amusement as he repeated, "The 'Evil One?'"
Rose suppressed a mirthful grin. The image of the Doctor with devil's horns was not one to come to her readily.
"Nobody's perfect," the Doctor responded a bit defensively. "But that's overstating things a little."
"I must say they've certainly done you no justice with the iconography. Can't see the likeness at all."
"Iconography?" Rose asked, nearly tripping over the word. She was grinning, still unable to chase away the image in her mind.
"Oh yes, there's a carving," Emily enthusiastically replied.
Wishing to change the topic of conversation, the Doctor prompted, "So, back to this object."
"Oh right, as I was saying I didn't even believe the Matrix existed until-"
The Doctor's stomach dropped at the word. "Matrix?" he cut her off. "It's called the Matrix?"
Emily nodded. She opened her mouth to add more, but she never got the chance to speak.
"Oh no. They didn't," the Doctor said mostly to himself, a look of dread on his face.
Seeing the Time Lord's expression, a sense of worry crept over Rose. "Doctor, what is it? Who didn't do what?"
He didn't answer as he raced to set the coordinates for Ampelle. In an instant Jack was lending a hand, automatically doing his part to get the ship ready to go.
"Tell us what's going on, Doctor," Jack rumbled. Something had the Doctor seriously distressed. Jack had learned early in his travels with the Time Lord that anything that spooked the Doctor was usually very bad.
Speaking quickly, his hands flying frantically over the control console, the Doctor answered, "During the War, the Time Lords got pretty desperate - hiding agents and technology anywhere they thought their enemies wouldn't find them: pocket universes, primitive planets, things like that."
"So, you think this Matrix is a Time Lord artifact?" Jack asked in astonishment.
"Almost certain," he confirmed.
"And now the Agency's got wind of it."
"Yeah, but...what is it?" Rose queried.
The Doctor offered her a little smile. However, the expression did not reach his eyes. "The entirety of my people's knowledge in one neat package."
Jack gave a low whistle, impressed. "That'd bring 'em out of the woodwork and it seems it has - in force." The secrets of the race that produced the TARDIS, that produced someone like the Doctor, the Time Agency would be very interested in something like that. "We can't let them get it."
"So glad you agree." With a flick of a switch, he set the TARDIS in motion.
Chapter Twenty-six
The forests of Ampelle were awash with the colours of fall. Gold, maroon, orange, and muted green combined in a dizzying display that was only emphasized by the setting sun. Despite the multi-hued world around her and the dead leaves beneath her feet, Leela's steps were swift and silent as she moved through the forest. The tracks of the dinabeast had led her on a merry chase; however she knew that her prey was tiring. Her lips stretched into a smile as she thought of the meal that they would have that night. It was only proper that the Tale Fire be complimented by such a delicacy as dinabeast after all.
She paused at the edge of a clearing, her sharp eyes easily picking out the crouched shape of the creature between the long blades of grass. Hefting her spear, she took note of the wind direction and pulled back. In the grass, the dinabeast's ears twitched as it became aware of its danger. A new sound, however, distracted it from its impending death. The noise started low - a high pitched wheezing that grew louder as if the fabric of reality were being torn.
Leela threw the spear and watched with satisfaction as it flew true through the air...to come to a shuddering stop, pinned against an object that had not been there before. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she took in the all too familiar features of a blue police box. The spear still vibrated from the force of her throw, stuck against a sign that declared the box as 'free for public use.'
"Doctor?" she whispered incredulously, stepping out from the concealing foliage.
One of the double doors swung open with a fondly recalled squeak and a strange man looked out. Leela boldly stood her ground as the man turned his head and took in the spear with slightly widened eyes. "Looks like the natives are restless." That was, of course, when he took notice of Leela. "Hi, I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He offered the stunning brunette one of his patented mega-watt grins. His grin faltered when he noticed the slight swell of her stomach, a sure indication of pregnancy.
Before Leela could introduce herself, a female voice spoke irritably from behind Jack. "Oi! Jack, get out of the doorway. You're blocking progress."
"We've got company," Jack warned her, but he obligingly stepped outside once he ascertained that the native woman was not a threat.
The next to step out of the TARDIS was a young woman who looked at Leela in shock. "Ah, hello."
Leela had had enough. "Where is the Doctor?" she demanded, fixing Jack with a steely gaze.
"The Doctor?" Jack repeated dumbly. "You know the Doctor?"
The man in question was frozen in the doorway to the TARDIS, his eyes wide as he took in the familiar features before him. He had thought she had been on Gallifrey, destroyed with the rest of his people at the end of the War. "You're alive!" He had not dared to believe that anyone had survived the destruction of his homeworld.
Staring hard into the Time Lord's eyes, a shock of recognition rumbled through her. "As are you, Doctor!"
The dying light cast deepening shadows over the reunion. The Doctor's face seemed etched in dark and light save for the expression in his eyes. Despair and joy intermingled in a combination that merely hinted at the emotional storm that he held within. With a soft breath, a tiny fraction of that storm lifted allowing the joy to assume dominance. A tear pricked at the edge of his vision as he stepped forward, wanting - no, needing - to feel the warm, solid form of his former companion. She was alive, and perhaps in that he could find hope once again.
Leela searched his eyes, finding and accepting the need reflected in them. There was nothing sexual about his look, nothing improper, nothing dangerous. Instead she knew he needed to hold her in his arms so he could finally accept with all his soul that she still lived. To be truthful, at least to herself, she could admit that she needed the same. The Doctor was alive! She nodded slightly and that was all the permission the Time Lord needed. He stepped forward, gathering the shorter woman into his embrace. "Thank Rassilon," he whispered as a single tear escaped his control to trace a wandering trail down his face.
Rose shifted her feet in an uneasy movement, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the depth of emotion being released in the simple hug before her. Part of her was overjoyed that the Doctor had found someone he had thought he had lost while another, far more petty, part was jealous. She leaned slightly into Jack, needing to feel his solid strength as the Doctor seemed to lose and regain his before her.
Jack slid a comforting arm around Rose's waist as Emily finally exited the TARDIS. Emily Harkness' eyes widened as she took in the emotional reunion, the spear stuck to the side of the blue box, and the rather lost expressions on both her brother's and Rose's faces. Sighing slightly at their forlorn appearances, she tried to determine just who it was that the Doctor was greeting so enthusiastically. As if her attempt were some type of signal, the Doctor released the woman from his grip and stepped away from her, a wide grin on his face.
"Gee, Doctor, I never knew you were into leather-clad women before. Rose take notes." Jack attempted to lighten the mood with a joke, but all he earned was an elbow from Rose and an exasperated look from both his sister and the Doctor.
Pointedly ignoring him, the Doctor turned towards Leela. "Leela, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. Leela of the Sevateem tribe, this is Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, and Emily Harkness."
Leela saluted them in the manner of her people, a pleased grin playing about her face as she spotted her friend amongst them. "Emily, I am pleased to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too, Leela." Emily smiled, returning the salute.
"Please accept the hospitality of the Sevateem tribe tonight and join us at the Tale Fire. There is much to discuss, and it is better to share your tale once rather than repeat yourselves to the rest of the tribe."
"Agreed." The Doctor nodded, but not before his attention was captured by the spear stuck to the side of his ship. "Leela, how many times have I told you not to throw sharp objects around the TARDIS?" He shook his head with a fond smile, not at all angry, as he walked to the TARDIS to firmly grasp one end of the weapon. With a sharp tug, the spear came free and he handed it back to his old friend.
"It is your fault for landing between the dinabeast and my spear, Doctor."
"There's no need to be technical about it," the Doctor complained in an aggrieved tone.
"Andred will be pleased to see you, Doctor," Leela told him as they walked through the forest towards the Sevateem encampment. "He had feared that he was the last of the Gallifreyan people."
The Time Lord's steps faltered at the news. "Andred lives? He's here? I don't sense him."
"That is due to the artifact. It is shielded. Andred says it is to protect it from 'undue interest.' Romana sent Andred and I here with the Matrix to hide it in the hopes of rebuilding the timeline once the war was over." The Sevateem woman's eyes filled with sorrow at the memory. "We knew that Romana's plan had failed, but we remain on guard. It is the least we can do."
His own expression echoed Leela's as he nodded. "Thank you." The Doctor fell back to walk with his current companions, his hand automatically reaching out to grasp Rose's hand. The revelations of the past hour, from learning that a piece of the Matrix survived to Leela and Andred's miraculous survival, had left him feeling as if he were in the middle of a vortex of emotions. He alternated between joy, despair, anticipation, anger, and worry in a cacophony of sensation that made him feel dizzy. Only the touch of Rose's hand was able to anchor him in the storm and he gently tightened his grip in silent thanks for her understanding.
"You okay?" Jack asked, placing a comforting hand on the Doctor's shoulder. The former Time Agent moved closer to the other man, hoping that his physical presence would help.
The Doctor smiled sadly as he stepped over a fallen log. "Sort of, yeah." He seemed unwilling to elaborate, but he made no move to separate himself from the comfort offered by both Rose and Jack.
Rose blinked back reflexive tears at the sadness in the Time Lord's voice. He had been spun to dizzying heights of joy only to fall again from the memories of the War. It wasn't fair, but she would be the first to admit that nothing about life - especially the Doctor's life - was fair. He had spent so long believing that he was alone in the universe that she wondered if he even knew how to accept that he was no longer the last Gallifreyan. Of course, the Doctor had them, but she could see the homesickness in his surprisingly unguarded eyes. She longed to kiss away that despair, but she restrained herself to the only comfort that she could offer at this point in time. She held his hand, and she hoped that that was enough.
Emily Harkness had left the trio alone, moving to join Leela as they walked through the forest. A small smile played about her face as she thought about her brother. Growing up, Jack had come home every week with a new 'love.' He had casually fallen in and out of lust throughout his life and now, Emily realised, her brother had truly done it. He had fallen in love. Not with the man or woman of his dreams, but with both. "About time, too," she muttered as she dodged a bush.
Leela shot her a questioning look, but when Emily did not expound on the thought she shrugged and continued to lead them through the brush. The group walked in silence through the darkening forest, interrupted only by birdsong and the crunch of the leaves beneath their feet. Full dark had descended by the time they topped the hill that had hidden the Sevateem encampment from their view. Dozens of tents were scattered about the clearing, punctuated by the light of several small campfires. A bonfire was being erected in the center circle of the camp and through the flickering light of the flames the shadowy forms of Leela's tribe danced.
Jack let out a low, impressed whistle. "Nice. I've always loved a good campout. Especially when I get to share it with three gorgeous people."
The Sevateem woman turned towards Emily and observed, "Your brother speaks like an animal in heat."
Emily laughed. "I've been saying that for years."
"Hey!" Jack protested as Rose and the Doctor chuckled for what seemed to be the first time since Cancun.
Leela smiled. "I will introduce you to the Chief. Andred should be in his company." Her steps sped up as she led them down the embankment in an unconscious reaction to Andred's name.
She led them to one of the larger tents near the outside of the main bonfire. "Chief Hakim?" she called. "I bring visitors."
A gravelly voice bade her enter. "Come in, Leela, and introduce me to them." The Chief was revealed to be a wrinkled old man wrapped in furs. He smiled brightly at the newcomers as he gestured towards the furs laid on the ground for them to settle themselves. "Emily, I am pleased to see you again. You are most welcome back to our fire."
Emily saluted the man, a pleased smile on her face. "Thank you, Chief."
"Now, who else have you brought to me, child?" Hakim asked, his keen eyes taking in the appearance of the trio. The darker of the two men seemed familiar somehow, and he blinked away a hazy image of a curly haired man with a long scarf.
"Chief Hakim, this is the Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Jack Harkness. Doctor, Rose, Jack, this is the leader of my tribe."
"Doctor? The Doctor?" Hakim blinked again, chasing away the image of the 'Evil One.' "You have changed."
"It happens." The Doctor shrugged. "But introductions aside, there is much we need to discuss."
"You are all welcome to our fire," Hakim said formally before he smiled. "Please tell me your tale, and I will see what the Sevateem can do to aid you."
Before the Doctor could reply a new voice interrupted the conversation. "Leela!" Andred pushed through the flaps that covered the entrance to the tent. "I had a vision of another Gallifreyan! I guess..." His voice died as he took in the tableau before him, his eyes focused upon the black leather-clad man before him.
Leela stood, her posture proud as she announced in a smug voice, "The Doctor lives."
Andred's jaw dropped in reaction.
"That just doesn't get old, does it?" Jack observed in an aside to Rose who elbowed him in response.
Chapter Twenty-seven
In the distance, flashes of lightening heralded an approaching storm. Despite the promise of the deluge to come, the normal night sounds of the Sevateem forest were strangely muted. The tall, slender woman watched the dark forest carefully for any sign of movement that did not belong. She had assumed the night watch while the Tale Fire burned brightly behind her, and the soft murmur of the voices of the tribe punctuated the beating of her heart.
She tensed when she felt another's presence behind her, but the familiar touch on her shoulder immediately caused her to relax. Andred moved next to her, his lean form tense as he watched the forest with wary eyes.
"The night is troubled," Leela observed. Only the clenching and unclenching of her fingers around the spear's shaft betrayed her unease.
Andred frowned, for he had long ago learned that Leela's interpretation of the normal sounds of her forests tended to agree with his premonitions. "Oh?"
"The jubjub bird's call is quiet, as if it fears to draw attention to itself. The dintari do not howl, despite the full moon overhead. It is as if the forest is waiting for trouble to come, yet I see and hear nothing out of place. Andred, do you...sense anything different?"
He shook his head. "No. I only feel that the danger has not yet passed."
Leela's expression grew troubled. "Then the Doctor will be taken to the Matrix before dawn tomorrow. We cannot wait for full light to remove the artifact from its chamber."
"Agreed." He paused for a moment, his own expression vaguely worried as he considered the conundrum posed by the Doctor. "Leela, does the Doctor seem...different to you?"
"He is always different." The Sevateem woman shrugged. "I long ago decided against trying to understand him. He merely is."
"No, I don't mean that. He just...his relationship with his companions. Does it not seem unusual?" Andred's brow furrowed as he tried to explain. He had never before seen a Time Lord with such a 'unique' relationship with non-Gallifreyans before. Indeed, on Gallifrey it was seen as beneath a Time Lord to cavort with aliens in any manner. Though, he still had the Doctor to thank for introducing him to Leela.
"He is in love," Leela replied. "There is nothing unusual about it. It is the way of life."
"He's a Time Lord," Andred said, as if that explained his objection. He had never been as bound in matters of the heart as Time Lords had. It was one of many reasons that he was glad that he had been but a Citadel guard and not a graduate of one of the academies.
Leela turned towards him, her own expression faintly amused. "And Time Lords do not love? You know that is not true just as well as I."
"It's just...different."
"He is the Doctor. He has never followed the expected path." She was unconcerned by that fact.
Sighing softly, Andred tried to dismiss his unease. He had the suspicion that if the Council were still around, the Doctor would have much to answer for.
The flames twitched and flickered with the gentle breeze that blew through the camp. Despite the warmth of the fire, or perhaps in spite of it, the Doctor felt chilled. His eyes were distant as he followed the patterns of shadow and light the fire traced against the tents. How many, he wondered, would be hurt in the days to come? How many more deaths and injuries would he have to carry upon his already encumbered shoulders?
The Sevateem people, despite being warriors, were no match for the Time Agency. Though they would protect the Matrix with their lives, he feared that nothing positive could come of their upcoming confrontation. It was no longer a matter of 'if' the agency would come, but a matter of 'when.' A soft sigh escaped his lips at the grim thought and he heartily wished that he could correct his own past mistakes without fear of reprisal from the Reapers. If only he had not talked to the Agent on Alpha Cent. If only he had never taken the TARDIS to Cancun. Jack, Rose, Leela, Andred, Emily, and the Sevateem would not be in danger. Jack would not have been tortured. Life would be as it once was, safe - at least as safe as it had ever been - from the exploitation of the Time Agency. His expression was bleak as the flames began to wither.
He had failed.
"Doctor?" Rose's voice was tentative as she approached the leather-clad Time Lord.
He barely acknowledged her presence beyond a faint grunt. The Doctor felt her hand rest for a moment upon his shoulder before she sat down next to him, curling her feet underneath her in a position that would make a Yogi proud.
"Want to talk about it?" she offered, turning to look at him. His face seemed to be etched in granite, but his eyes were haunted with shadows.
He did not answer for a long moment, but when he did it was not in answer to her question but to pose one of his own. "Why did you decide to come with me?"
Rose blinked in shock. "What?"
"On Earth, after the Autons. Why did you decide to come with me? I know it's not because of my looks." He cocked a cheeky grin, but it did not reach his eyes.
"How do you know?" she asked, a slight smile playing about her lips. "I came 'cause I wanted to. You needed me, and, well, I needed you too. Travellin' like this, it's like Christmas every day. Ya never know where you're going to end up, what you're going to see, or who you're goin' to meet. Even when we're in danger, or there's some bad guy who wants to rule the world. It doesn't matter. It's still Christmas 'cause I'm with you and Jack."
The Doctor's hearts skipped a beat or two at her words, and he turned to face her with an astonished expression upon his face. "You think I'm like Christmas?"
"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head. It's big enough as it is." Rose grinned, punching him lightly in the shoulder.
"Oi!" He protested, but his smile now reached his eyes.
"That's better." Rose laughed quietly, before leaning her head against his shoulder. Entwining her fingers between his, she released a contented sigh as she stared into the flames.
"Thank you," the Doctor whispered, his breath lightly ruffling her hair.
"For what?" she asked, unwilling to move from her position against him.
"For coming with me. I've said it before, but I'm so glad that I met you, Rose Tyler."
It might have been her imagination, but she thought she felt the Doctor press a kiss against her hair. "Me too."
A comfortable silence stretched between them as they watched the shadows lengthen as the fire dimmed. The darkness encroached upon their position, but both were too content to bother to move let alone add more fuel to the fire. It was into the silence that Rose spoke, "Doctor, who's Leela? I mean, besides a warrior of the Sevateem. Who is she to you?"
"A memory of other times. We traveled together for a while, a long time ago now. Not so long for her, but at least a few hundred years for me," the Doctor began, staring into the distance. "In some ways, it was better back then. The Council, the Time Lords, Gallifrey...they were always just a hop in the TARDIS away even though I tended to avoid visiting. I fancied myself a rebel back then. Even when they gave me the Presidency, I didn't care." He laughed quietly, bitterly as he thought of how naive he had once been. The memories of nearly a thousand years of rebellion, ridicule, exploitation, and destruction tumbled about his head in a never ending circle. "I hadn't destroyed the world."
Rose's worried eyes peered up at the Doctor, slipping her other hand around his torso in a half hug. "Doctor..." she whispered, but he seemed to be beyond hearing. He was living in a memory, a memory of times past that he could never reclaim.
"I was a kid. Mucking about in time and space, laughing off the protests of the other Time Lords. I was above all that. I was the Doctor. Saving the world one day, destroying it the next. And look at me now. Here I am, doing it all over again. Condemning Jack, you, Leela, the Sevateem, the universe to the schemes of the Time Agency all because I wanted to help."
"Doctor, stop it," Rose commanded, her tone sharp against the peak of his despair. "Listen to me."
"Rose..." he started.
"No, listen to me. You're not to blame. It's not your fault. How could you have known? You're not God, Doctor."
The Time Lord opened his mouth to argue, but Rose's hand, still entwined with his own, touched his lips in silent encouragement to remain quiet.
"You're not. You're the Doctor, a Gallifreyan, a Time Lord, but not God. You can't shoulder all this guilt, it's not right, an' it's not yours to shoulder." Rose's eyes gleamed in the firelight, shimmering with unshed tears.
"If not me, who?"
"The Time Agency. They started this mess, Doctor. Not you. You, Jack, and I're going to stop it. 'Cause that's what we do. We save the world, an' you know what? We save each other too. So you're not allowed to blame yourself, yeah?" When he did not respond, she pressed, "Yeah?"
"Yeah," the word was a sigh upon his lips. "Rose?"
"Hmmm?"
"What would I do without you?"
"You won't ever have to find out," Rose promised. And they both smiled into the fire, content in the knowledge that for now that was nothing but the truth.
The tiny mammal moved slowly from its den, nose twitching as it sniffed the air for predators. Sensing no danger, the jubari crept further from safety. It moved carefully through the foliage, barely making more noise than a breath of wind as it passed by the large blue box. The relative silence of the forest was suddenly broken as a strange wind rushed through the clearing, flattening the grasses which provided the jubari cover. The creature's eyes widened in fear as it bolted for the safety of its hole.
The jubari never made it.
The TARDIS' meadow had gained a new occupant - a silver, oblong shape that glowed faintly from the vortex energies through which it had just passed. The wind stilled, leaving behind only a memory of its passing in the flattened grass of the clearing. The forest was hushed, as if waiting upon bated breath. A low noise echoed through the meadow, heralding the appearance of a golden slit in the side of the ship. The opening slowly widened, spilling golden light upon the once darkened field.
"Set up a guard around Harkness' ship," Danninger commanded as he stepped out of the Time Agency vessel. "We attack at dawn."
"And if they resist?" Klein asked, following upon the other Agent's heels.
"They die."