Title: The Ultimate Betrayal
Author: Gillian Taylor
Rating: PG
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Romana
Summary: When the foundations of his ninth life are shattered, what is left?
Spoilers: Dalek, The Long Game, and 'Someone to Watch Over Me'
Disclaimer: Don't own them. I just like playing with them...a lot.
Archive: Sure, just let me know.

A/N: So, blame WMR on this one. She wanted a sequel to 'Someone To Watch Over Me' and lo and behold, here it is. :) However, as a warning, Romana does not come across as a very nice character in this. Thanks to my lovely betas wendymr and nnwest.

A/N2: I recommend reading Someone To Watch Over Me first, prior to reading through this story, but I think that you would be able to pick up the gist of the story without reading it.

The Ultimate Betrayal
By Gillian Taylor

'Little by little, it draws near.
Little by little, it's coming here.
Little by little, hear it sigh.
Little by little, the end is nigh.'

From a Traditional Gallifreyan Nursery Rhyme

It was inevitable that the machinery would begin to fail. There were other considerations, other needs, that were far more important than a single masking generator. However, had the Lady President known what was to come once the generator failed, she would have moved it to the highest priority.

It started with a trickle. Phantom memories teased the edge of his consciousness like half-heard whispered conversations in a crowded room. He had thought it inevitable. He had been alone in his mind for so long, eventually he would start hearing them again. His people. His planet. The Time Lords. Gallifrey.

However, they were false. Even though the pain of the War had begun to fade, he knew that that was something he would be unlikely to overcome. He was the last. He touched his brow with a single finger, wincing at the memories.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, interrupting his thoughts.

The Doctor blinked. "Oh, Rose." He grinned suddenly, dismissing his earlier expression with ease. "Where would you like to go today?"

He knew that she suspected something was wrong, but she said nothing. He silently thanked her, for this was one subject that he did not wish to discuss. She knew, oh she knew, how he felt. She had heard him cry out in the night from the memories of destroying his home world. However, during the day the subject was taboo.

"Surprise me," she suggested.

His grin widened. There was one planet that he had never taken her to, one that had been one of his favourites in his past lives. Perhaps the tranquil setting would help diminish the haunting whispers of his people. "You asked for it." He set the coordinates and hit the dematerialisation switch with gusto. The TARDIS groaned into flight, the temporal rotor casting a bluish glow over his face to lend it a faintly sinister appearance.

When the rotor stopped, Rose looked at him curiously. "So, where are we?"

He gestured toward the doors. "Go see for yourself."

She smiled and all but ran toward the double doors. When she opened them, it revealed rolling green hills, a brilliant blue sky, and a set of ruins in the distance. "It's beautiful," she breathed.

"Welcome to the Eye of Orion - the most beautiful planet in the cosmos," the Doctor said. He was close enough to her that his breath ruffled her hair. "Guaranteed no running or megalomaniacs to stop." They both needed a rest, especially after facing the Jagrafess and dealing with Adam's stupidity.

"Really?" Rose arched an eyebrow. "Y'mean, it's like a holiday?"

"Sure, why not? Can't go runnin' from spot to spot without a break now an' then."

She blinked. "Who are you, and what have you done to my Doctor?"

"Oi! I can relax," he protested.

"I'll believe it when I see it," she retorted.

"All right then. I'll show you." He pushed her gently through the doors and reached down to entwine their fingers. "One day off comin' up."

The generator sparked.
He had to admit that, though only a few hours had passed since their arrival on the Eye of Orion, he was already getting edgy. This incarnation was not meant for staying still, mostly because staying still meant it gave his memories time to come to the forefront. He would start thinking, which would lead to remembering, which would lead to pain. The Doctor's mind twinged with the phantom pains of senses long since lapsed into disuse.

He turned toward Rose to ask her a question just as what had once been a trickle became a stream. Flashes of voices echoed in his mind, fond recollections and hints of Gallifrey tickled his senses, and he felt that if he were to but close his eyes they would be there. His people. Gallifrey.

"Doctor? Doctor!" Rose's frantic voice cut through the sensations and he blinked up at her. Somehow, he had ended up on the ground.

"I'm...fine." He rubbed his temple ruefully as he sat up with her help.

"Like hell you are. What just happened?" Rose demanded, letting her hand linger on his shoulder.

He could not dodge the question. Knowing his companion, she would never let it rest. "I heard them," he heard himself whisper as if from a distance.

"Heard who?"

"My people. In here." He tapped the side of his head. "I felt somethin' earlier, but I thought it was just phantom pains. It comes and goes, but for a mo' it was strong enough to overwhelm me."

"Could they be alive? Maybe it's some sort of, I dunno, cloaking device. Like the Romulans from Star Trek or somethin'? An' now you're hearin' them 'cause they brought it down?" she suggested hopefully.

The Doctor shook his head, a flash of pain in his eyes. "No. I saw them die, Rose. I watched them die. I can't...no, it's not possible."

"Then what's happenin' to you?"

His expression grew grim. "I might be goin' mad. It was only a matter of time, y'know."

Rose frowned. "I don't believe it. C'mon, let's get back to the TARDIS."

The voices swelled for a moment, causing him to wince. "Yeah, all right. We can at least get to the medbay."

She helped him to his feet, wrapping her arm around his torso in support. "'Kay. Let's go."

The generator failed.
They had barely entered the TARDIS when the stream became a torrential downpour. Long disused senses sparked in unaccustomed strength and his mouth opened in a silent scream. He felt Rose touch his shoulder, but her concerned words were lost amongst the babble of thousands of voices. They should not exist. They did not exist. Gallifrey was gone.

His tortured mind could take no more and he slumped, unconscious, in Rose's arms.

Behind them, the doors swung shut and the temporal rotor began to move. The TARDIS was in flight, yet no one was at the controls.

Weariness hung over her slender frame like a cloak as she settled behind the desk with a soft sigh. The daily pressures of running a government amongst her other, more personal, considerations were starting to take their toll. Life, she sometimes thought, had been far easier before the War and before her choice to hide themselves away from their enemies. She winced slightly at the thought. Enemies. She was counting the Doctor amongst them, yet who was to blame for that? No one but herself.

She rubbed two fingers against the bridge of her nose and focused her attention on the door as it opened to reveal her Castellan. Ashkenventraulindan lifted his hand in greeting, though his smile faded slightly at her expression. "Romana, what is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, Ashken. It's just been one of those days. What is it?"

"The Council has requested a meeting in a few hours to go over the agenda for next week's ceremonies. There is also something else..." His voice trailed off as he seemed to search for the proper words to continue. "The masking generator has failed."

That caught her attention as the Council meeting had not. "What?" she asked, her tone dropping to a horrified whisper. There was little doubt in her mind that the Doctor could hear them now. She had not planned on this. It wasn't time yet, and she had thought that time might never come.

"The Doctor can hear us again," Ashken said, his amiable smile fading. "He will not be pleased."

Romanadvoratrelundar snorted. "Of course he won't. Even when I knew him, before he..." She shook her head. "There is a reason he has been called 'the Oncoming Storm'. We must expect him. There is little doubt that he will be coming here as soon as he is able."

"Romana..."

"No." She cut him off. "I don't need a lecture from you, Ashken. I know what I have done. And I must deal with the consequences."

Ashken sighed. "As you wish, Madam President. I will inform you when he arrives." With a brief nod, he left the office to leave her to her thoughts.

Romana dropped her head to her hands. "I can do this," she told herself firmly, as if by saying the words she could convince herself of their truth. However, she knew that she was lying to herself.

The sound started low, gaining in strength as the fabric of reality was torn asunder. She lifted her head, her eyes widening as she recognised the unmistakable groan of a Type 40 TARDIS' materialisation sequence. Romana swallowed nervously as she stood and rushed toward the door. She had to get to it. She had to face... Her steps faltered. No, she did not rush. She did not hurry. She was the President of Gallifrey. There was no reason to quicken her pace. It did not matter if the Doctor hated her for her actions. None of it mattered. She would greet him graciously, welcome him home, and calmly accept his anger. She had her reasons. She did not need his forgiveness or acceptance of them.

She walked at a careful pace through the halls of the Citadel, ignoring the bits of rubble that were still strewn about from the Dalek bombardment. It was a point of contention between herself and Ashken, but there were far more important considerations than aesthetics. When she reached the centre of the Panopticon, her eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar features of the blue police box that she had once spent some of the best years of her life within. She drew in a steeling breath as she strode across the chamber, her shoes clicking against the marble flooring.

From behind her, she could hear the tell-tale clump-clump of the Citadel guards as they came to investigate the unauthorised landing. It never failed, even though he had thought his home was destroyed, he still caused a ruckus when he arrived. She raised her hand to knock. However, before she could do so, the doors swung open seemingly of their own accord. A rather stressed-looking blonde peered out at her, standing protectively in front of the prone form of the Doctor's current incarnation. "Who're you?" the girl demanded.

"Romanadvoratrelundar, Lord President of Gallifrey." She introduced herself, bowing slightly from the waist. "What's wrong with the Doctor?" She made to push her way past the girl, but she was immediately blocked.

"Gallifrey? That's impossible. You're supposed to be dead! An' even if you were from Gallifrey, I'm not lettin' you near him."

"Move aside, girl," Romana instructed. "If anyone'd know what's wrong with him, it would be me." The newly arrived guards moved to force their way into the TARDIS.

"I'm not 'girl.' My name's Rose. An' you can just stay outside the TARDIS. The combined hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get in here, an' I suspect that if I close these doors you won't be able to either." Before the confrontation could downgrade further, the Doctor groaned. Abandoning her post at the door, Rose hurried to his side. "Doctor?"

Unnoticed, at least for the moment, Romana and the guards entered the TARDIS. The guards made to secure the craft while Romana moved to her one-time friend's side.

The Doctor opened his eyes, giving Rose a reassuring smile before he noticed the other woman leaning over him. "You can't...you're dead. You're supposed to be dead."

"Hello, Doctor," Romana greeted him. Stay steady, she reminded herself. Stay cold. He had wanted to destroy the world.

He shook his head in shock, wincing as his muscles protested the movement. "You...masked yourselves?" She could only admire his intellect and that his first conclusion was the correct one. "You let me think that I had killed you. You let me think that I was the last Time Lord." His eyes began to burn in anger.

"Romana!" Ashken interrupted the exchange as he darted into the TARDIS. "The...oh. Doctor."

"What is it, Ashken?" Romana asked, ignoring the glares that both the Doctor and Rose were giving her.

"The Council is demanding an explanation for the unannounced arrival," Ashken explained. "I can tell them to wait..."

"I'll speak to them shortly. Until that time, Doctor, please avail yourself of the medical facilities. I am sure that the shock of learning of our existence has affected you poorly. I will speak with you later." Romana made to leave, but her arm was grasped in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Romana, you..."

"I will talk to you later, Doctor. Guard Captain Idain, secure the TARDIS. Ashken escort the Doctor and his companion to the medical quarters," the President ordered. "Release me, Doctor. We will speak again." The Guard Captain's hand moved toward his staser, and the Doctor reluctantly released his grip.

"We will speak again, Romana. And you owe me an explanation."

"I owe you nothing," Romana replied, and left the TARDIS, holding her head high.

To be continued...