A/N: I love this episode, because it shows how an normal man can solve a problem that not even the doctor was able to solve. that the Doctor didn't always have the answers, and sometimes he needed help from ordinary, every heroes.
Chapter Eight: An Ordinary hero
"'Peter Alan Tyler, my dad. The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th September 1954. I wasn't old enough to remember when he died. '1987, 7th of November. Do you remember what I told you? The day that Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke got married. He was always having adventures. Oh, he would have loved to have seen you now.' That's what Mum always says. So, I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"
Since the game station we had been to several different planets, asteroids and times. After each adventure, while Rose was sleeping, the Doctor and I would spend time in the library in our own time pocket. The Doctor teaching me about alien races, or we just spent the time reading together. When we wanted to relax, the Doctor would tell me stories of his previous adventures, and I was thinking about telling him more about my first life - but I was scared how he would react to learning my complete story and not just the bits and pieces I had told him.
Sometimes, the Doctor would go off and do some repairs to the TARDIS which I had learnt meant he wanted to be alone to think. When he was doing that, I would disappear to the work out room to practise my magical control. I focused mostly on shields, healing and Apparation since they were likely to be the skills that I would need the most often. I would also spend this time making sure that my fighting skills and fitness levels didn't drop, although I didn't have to work on stamina exercises as much as I normally would, what with all the running we did while on adventures.
Rose had been on board the TARDIS now for two months and the Doctor had asked where she wanted to visit next. They didn't know I was there, listening to what they were saying since I was stood out of sight in the corridor.
"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?" The Doctor asked with his arms crossed.
"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of times or something, then never mind, just leave it." Rose said turning away from the Doctor.
"No, I can do anything. I'm just more worried about you." The Doctor explained.
"I want to see him." Rose responded as I came around the corner. The Doctor looked at me a moment, silently asking if I was okay with this. The TARDIS must have told him I was here. After a moment's hesitation, I nodded.
"Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." The Doctor said, hitting some buttons on the console.
The Doctor took us to see mum and dad get married. I remember this the first time around, I had been 'officially' living with them for four months, been their adopted daughter for three. Jackie had dressed me up in this light purple dress and had me be one of her bridesmaids. I had stood at her side during the ceremony, where dad got her name wrong because he had been too busy staring in wonder at Jackie. I had so wanted to giggle, but I didn't.
The Doctor held my hand, as I sat at the back of the church, watching them get married for the second time. Rose had sat on his other side, staring transfixed as this was her first memory of her father.
The Doctor led us back to the TARDIS and Rose said something I really wish she hadn't. It was hard enough seeing him on the day he got married, I don't think I could stand to see the day he died again.
"Mum said that he died so close to home. It was a hit and run driver, never found out who. He was dead when the ambulance got there, and only Annamae was there for him. Sometimes, mum wishes that she didn't have to be there alone, watching her dad die at only seven years old." Rose said looking to me.
I was facing away from her, staring at the console with a tortured expression. Of all the people I had known who died, Pete's probably hit me the hardest because he was the one to save me when I was at my lowest and gave me a home. He was the first person who truly filled the father role – something that not even Sirius or Arthur could claim. And his death was pointless, without cause or reason: just chance. The Doctor was stood next to me, he could see my expression but Rose couldn't.
"I want to be that someone," Rose said in a small voice.
"Annamae?" The Doctor asked, keeping his tone soft.
"Will it affect the time line? If someone's there." I asked him, the pain hidden from my voice even if I had yet to sooth my expression.
"No." The Doctor answered after a moment. "He wasn't alone to begin with, a second person to hold his hand won't change anything."
"Okay." I nodded, straightening out my expression.
"November the 7th?" The Doctor asked Rose, spinning around the console.
"1987." Rose agreed.
When the TARDIS landed, I took hold of the Doctor's hand, needing his support. This was the worst day of my new life, and I wasn't sure how reliving it was going to affect me.
"It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day." Rose said, looking around outside the TARDIS. The sky was blue, a few clouds drifting by, exactly as I remembered it.
"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked, hesitating a moment before leading them to Jordan Road where my dad had died.
"Yeah." Rose said, trying to put on a brave face and hide how terrified she was.
"This is it. Jordan Road." Rose breathed shakily as we stood on the opposite side of the road to where dad would pull up. "He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase."
As Rose was talking, dad's green van drove around the corner and parked up on the side of the road.
"He got out of his car." Rose said, as Pete did so. "And opened the door to get Anna."
"Oh, God. This is it." Rose breathed, as he stepped back, allowing the younger me to step out of the van and onto the road. Pete was stood back, near the middle of his side of the road so he could close the door. My grip on the Doctor's hand tightened just moments before a beige car came racing around the corner.
"DAD." My younger version shouted, but it was too late. The car drove straight into the side of my dad, the driver shields his face with his arms and keeps going. Leaving Pete, the broken vase and a crying girl in the middle of the road.
"Go to them, quick." The Doctor said to Rose who stood frozen.
"Daddy, please don't leave me." my younger self was kneeling at dad's side, tears pouring unchecked down her cheeks as she grasped his hands.
"I love you, my baby girl." Dad said weakly, trying to offer her a comforting smile despite the amount of pain he was in. "I'm sorry I… I couldn't give you all my years…"
Rose turned and fled the scene, the Doctor and I following. She didn't go far, just around the next corner. But even as we got too far away to hear what dad said next, I still remembered his words:
"You look after your mum and sister for me? Tell them how much I love them. I'm sorry. His words had faded, and been weak but I had held enough dying people in my arms over my lives to work out what he said. It had taken me a few weeks to get used to his loss, but in the end, it was his last words that helped me get to grips with it. He's not been able to give me all his years, but he had been able to give me a few years and that was enough. I'd lost three fathers in my time, but loosing Pete was bitter sweet because I'd actually had the opportunity to get to know him as the man he truly was.
"It's too late now. By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead." Rose said, looking around the corner. "He can't die on his own. Can I try again?" Rose looked at the Doctor with tears in his eyes.
The Doctor knew he shouldn't, but he caved under Rose's pleads and brought them back ten minutes.
"Right, that's the first version of us." The Doctor said, as I leant against the wall. I had seen this twice; I didn't want to see it again. "It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Not counting the fact that Annamae's here three times. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs away and we follow, then go to your dad."
"I can't do this." Rose muttered, as Pete got out of his car.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." The Doctor soothed. Rose suddenly darted forward, towards Pete.
"Rose! No!" the Doctor and I shouted, but we weren't fast enough to grab her.
Rose dashed past her earlier self, and pushed her father out of the path of the beige car. The vase rolled towards young Annamae's feet, unbroken. The earlier, Doctor, Rose and me vanished while the young and present Annamae both grasped their heads in pain. The younger one was able to shake it off quickly, but the Doctor had to support me as we walked towards were Rose was helping her dad to his feet.
"I did it. I saved your life." Rose breathed.
"Blimey, did you see the speed of it? Did you get his number?" Pete asked, trying to get over his shock of nearly dying.
"I really did it. Oh, my God, look at you. You're alive! That car was going to kill you."
"Give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't going to walk under it, was I?" Pete muttered offended, as Annamae darted forward. Pete bent down and picked her up in a hug.
"I'm Rose." Rose introduced, trying to calm herself down.
"That's a coincidence. That's my daughter's name. Not this one. This is Anna. But my other daughter" Pete rambled.
"That's a great name. Good choice. Well done." Rose said beaming away.
"Right, I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to." Pete said, slightly uncomfortable as Annamae tightened her grip on him.
She had buried her head in his shoulder, trying to calm herself down. She knew her father was supposed to have died just then and that there was nothing that could be done about it. The fact that this blond girl, who had similarities to Jackie, had saved him was worrying her. His time was limited now, and Pete would still die since his name hadn't left the list.
"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?" Rose blurted.
"Yeah, are you going?" Pete asked.
"Yeah."
"You and your friend's need a lift?" he nodded to where the Doctor and I were stood silent. I was still leaning quiet heavily on the Doctor, but the Doctor had shifted me slightly so it looked like we were together and didn't want to let the other go, as opposed to looking like I was injured and needed support to walk.
Pete led them all back to the flat, not letting Annamae go. It was the flat we had lived in before we moved the week following Pete's death. This was only a two-bedroom flat, and they were paying quite a bit for it because of the large kitchen. Just before dad had died, we had picked out a three-bedroom flat with a smaller kitchen. Mum said it was a necessary sacrifice.
"Right, there we go." Pete said unlocking the door and leading us into the small flat. "Sorry about the mess, we're moving out next week." Pete put Annamae down who reluctantly released her father. "If you want a cup of tea, the kitchens just down there, milk is in the fridge. Well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside. I always thought if someone invented a window sill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yogurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things. I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me for a minute. Got to go and change." Pete said, heading to his room.
Annamae shifted so she was stood away from me, and I was glad. I didn't want to accidently brush up against her and make this entire situation worse nor could I move away from her since I was still leaning against the Doctor for support and he hadn't moved from the doorway to the living room.
"All the stuff mum kept. His stuff." Rose looked around the living room, oblivious to mine and the Doctor's tension. "She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she'd had a bit too much to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be. Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot. Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call them. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He was so clever. Solar power. Mum said he was going to do this. Now he can." Rose noticed the Doctor's hard stare then and fell silent.
"Is that why you wanted to come? Because I had a time machine?" the Doctor asked crossly.
"It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it."
"I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you." The Doctor spat angrily.
"So, it's okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?" Rose asked angrily.
"I know what I'm doing, you don't. Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point." The Doctor snapped.
"But he's alive!" Rose said back, frustrated.
"My entire planet died. My whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?" the Doctor demanded angrily. I winced slightly as memories entered my mind. Two sets of memories: what was meant to happen this day and what was actually happening; I was seeing this argument from two points of views, and that was just not helping my head.
"But it's not like I've changed history. Not much. I mean he's never going to be a world leader. He's not going to start World War Three or anything." Rose protested.
"Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive." The Doctor snapped frustrated as he felt Annamae lean more heavily on him causing a spark of concern to rise behind his anger. She was pale, and barely staying on her feet and she hadn't said anything. She had demonstrated knowledge of time, and the understanding that some things couldn't be changed. The fact that she wasn't saying anything now was very disconcerting. Especially with how he and Rose were arguing. She wasn't one to yell in anger, instead expressing her fury with a cold tone or, if you were friendly, with the more devastating look and tone of disappointment.
"What, would you rather him dead?"
"I'm not saying that."
"No, I get it! For once, you're not the most important man in my life."
"Let's see how you get on without me, then." The Doctor reached his breaking point, "Give me the key. The TARDIS key. If I'm so insignificant, give it me back." The Doctor held out his free hand. He had given Rose the key about a month back after she demonstrated that perhaps he could trust her with it after all.
"All right then, I will." Rose responded getting her key and giving it to the Doctor.
"You've got what you wanted, so that's goodbye, then." The Doctor said, turning and leaving the flat, helping me walk out since I was having trouble focusing on the world around me.
I didn't understand why I was being affected so much. My magic had always made me sensitive to things in my past life, it seemed in this life, it had made me sensitive to emotions and time since there wasn't any magic to feel and I had spent time being exposed to the vortex. They would have to test that theory when this was all over. But even if I had become more sensitive to such things, why was it causing me physical weakness and disorientation?
"You don't scare me. I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute, or you'll hang around outside the TARDIS waiting for me. And I'll make you wait a long time!" Rose shouted after us.
The Doctor made it down the stairs of the flat when I cried out and my legs gave out. The Doctor lowered me gentle to the floor instead of letting me hit it hard.
"Annamae!" He called in worry as blood started pouring from my nose.
"Doctor, it's wrong. It's so wrong." I told him with a whimper.
"Annamae, I know it hurts but I need you to focus on me." The Doctor said, gentle placing his hands against her temple realising what the problem might be. He carefully projected feelings of calm around Annamae, blocking out anything else. After a minute of surrounding her senses in this way the blood stopped and she opened her eyes which had fallen closed in pain.
"Doctor, we need to fix it. Pete should have died." I said quietly, my voice breaking.
"I know, I can feel it too." The Doctor nodded his acknowledgment. "Why can you feel it so strongly?" he asked helping Annamae to her feet so they could get back to the TARDIS but he continued projecting his presence to help Annamae remain in control. He had seen this sort of reaction before from some of the more sensitive Time Lords. They could all feel disturbances in time, but there were a few who were connected so closely with the flow that they suffered physical weakness and melodies from it. Such sensitive Time Lords normally ended up working with the TARDIS's because they could form a strong connection with them. He had never seen or heard of another species reacting with the same sensitivity – although it would explain why the TARDIS accepted Annamae so easily.
"Before, in my first life… My magic was very sensitive to the magic of the world. And in this world, I was sensitive to emotions. It's why I rarely use my magic; it's changed and adapted and I didn't have a safe place to explore how that change would affect my casting beyond making it harder. I think being in the Vortex, being in the TARDIS which is a machine of time, has also made me sensitive to time." I explained, glad that the Doctor didn't completely withdraw his calm presence from my mind so that I could focus and take the majority of my own weight as I started reinforcing my battered mental defences.
I would have to spend time when this was over making sure everything was in order and doubling up my defences. I wasn't sure what good that would do when faced with the fact that this was something from within me, but it might help me cope in the event of something like this happening again. Although, this issue with time would become an even bigger issue if my connection to death started flaring up because then I'd be fighting on two fronts and I didn't know how to protect my mind from one, let alone two when my shields were weekend against death.
"Right. It would make sense. The TARDIS is flowing with time energy, and if you absorbed that like background radiation…" The Doctor nodded. When they got to the TARDIS the Doctor paused and looked up for a moment, feeling something watching him.
He unlocked the door to find an empty police telephone box. The TARDIS was missing.
"Rose!" the Doctor breathed, realising what had happened.
With the adrenaline pumping due to Rose being in danger, I was able to run beside the Doctor, leading the way to the church where I knew Pete would be heading next. As we turned the corner on to the street with the church, I noticed that most of the guests were milling around outside, including the bride.
"Rose! Get in the Church!" the Doctor shouted as a large bat like creature appeared in the sky.
"Get in the Church!" the Doctor and I shouted together. The Doctor dived for Rose, while I grabbed an elderly man and pushed him to the ground, stopping the beast from getting either of them.
"Get in the church!" I scrambled to my feet before pushing the man I'd save towards the door. With him safe, I started ushering guests inside.
"Oh, my God. What are they? What are they?" the bride breathed, stopping at the doors.
"Inside!" the Doctor ordered, pushing Rose, dad and mum with the baby inside the church.
The Doctor finally got everyone left alive inside the church and slammed the doors on the creatures.
"They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else? Go and check the other doors! Move!" the Doctor ordered, catching me as my legs finally collapsed again.
The Doctor had withdrawn his presence when we had started running because he needed the physical contact in order to project like that after the damage that his mind had suffered when he suddenly and violently lost contact with the minds of his people. He helped me down onto one of the pews while Jackie confronted him.
"What's happening? What are they? What are they?" Jackie demanded hysterically.
"There's been an accident in time. A wound in time. They're like bacteria, taking advantage." The Doctor explained, quickly running a scan on Annamae to make sure she was going to be okay for a little while as he dealt with the hysterics and ensured everyone was okay. Dealing with the hysterics wasn't something he enjoyed doing, and most of his bodies wasn't great at it, which was why he typically left it to his companions but with Annamae out of order he had no choice. Social niceties weren't easy to deal with while also dealing with whatever dangerous life-threatening event or world threatening event was happening.
"What do you mean, time? What're you jabbering on about, time?" Jackie said, confused. My younger self was holding Rose, while Mickey clung to her side.
"Oh, I might've known you'd argue. Jackie, I'm sick of you complaining."
"How do you know my name?"
"I haven't got time for this." The Doctor straightened and faced Jackie head on.
"I've never met you in my life!"
"No, and you never will unless I sort this out. Now, if you don't mind, I've waited a long time to say this: Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go and check the doors!" The Doctor pointed to the side.
"Yes, sir." Jackie muttered and ran off to do as she was ordered.
"I should have done that ages ago." The Doctor said to me. I smiled weakly, glad the Doctor still had his sense of humour despite the crisis. He had butted heads with mom the few times we had visited Earth but he hadn't really snapped back at her because she was concerned for her daughters' safety and was still getting used to the idea of aliens. In this instance, they didn't have the luxury of pandering to her whims, nor did she have the excuse of being worried about her daughters since she didn't know it was her daughters involved.
"My dad was out there." the groom – Stuart – said.
"You can mourn him later. Right now, we've got to concentrate on keeping ourselves alive." The Doctor said, trying to be comforting despite his rush.
"My dad had…" Stuart tried to say, but the Doctor cut him off.
"There's nothing I can do for him."
"No, I know. But he had this phone thing. I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice." He handed the brick over to the Doctor and hit diel. Even from my place on the bench I could hear what it was saying:
{"Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you."}
"That's the very first phone call. Alexander Graham Bell. I don't think the telephone's going to be much use." The Doctor said, giving the phone back.
"But someone must have called the police." Stuart responded.
"Police can't help you now. No one can. Nothing in this universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilise the wound. By consuming everything inside." The Doctor said darkly.
"Is this because…?" Rose couldn't say it, so she changed her statement. "Is this my fault?"
The Doctor looked darkly at her a moment before going off to check the doors. Using the walls as support I followed him into the vestry where he stood for a moment looking out the windows. My dad was checking the doors in here. I didn't know how much more my mind could take before my body started suffering to the point of organ failure – but with the rate of deaths I could feel I didn't think it would be long. Whatever those creatures are, there was a lot of them and they were very efficient.
"There's smoke coming up from the city but no sirens. I don't think it's just us. I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world." Dad said quietly as the beige car appeared. "Was that a car?" dad looked suddenly out the window.
"It's not important. Don't worry about it." The Doctor waved him off, moving to take my weight as I collapsed against him. He helped me walk back to the main part of the church where there was somewhere for me sit and rest. "You should be resting." He scolded.
"Doctor, the world. There's so little life left." I told him brokenly. I had felt it, as those creatures erased people from existence. I couldn't shield or protect myself from it, not with the fault in time.
"I know, and I'm sorry." The Doctor said softly. "I'll find a way of fixing this." The Doctor promised. "But you need to rest."
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I drifted slightly on the pew I was sat on. I wasn't really aware of my surroundings until I felt the younger me come up next to me with baby Rose. She sat the baby carrier on the pew next to me and then sat on its other side.
"Where'd Mickey go?" I asked, trying to bring life back into my voice, but I could feel how this was affecting me. I was tired, could barely focus and the pain was shooting through my head like a really bad migraine. I was hoping that the bleeding didn't start again.
"He ran off. Mum's gone to get him." Annamae responded.
"How you feeling?" I asked, hopping that the time distortion wasn't impacting little me.
I had stopped acknowledging the secondary memories for now. I would go through them when we got out of here. God, I was going to have three different memories of this day. I prayed that we weren't going to start making a habit of doing things that resulted in me remembering multiple versions of the same events because that would be confusing.
"Okay, I have a headache, but nothing I'm not used to. You have it far worse because you're from the wrong time." little me explained.
"Yeah," I looked down to Rose who was sleeping in her cot. "You'll like the future. You'll meet an amazing man." I told little me as the Doctor approached.
"Everything okay?" he asked, sitting on my other side and allowing me to lean against him.
"Yeah." I smiled at him tiredly. He could see that I wasn't okay, but I was still there with him, and at the minute, that was what counted.
"Annamae, I need to see to Mickey." Jackie appeared. "You…" she looked to the Doctor. "You look after them." and then she disappeared again.
"Well, I never thought that would happen." The Doctor muttered.
"She knows you're trying to help." Little me said, smiling.
"She'll trust you completely, one day." I agreed as Rose walked up to us.
"Jackie gave her to me to look after. How times change." The Doctor explained, motioning to little Rose.
"I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken." Rose said, looking to where Mickey and Jackie were stood.
"No." the Doctor said sharply as Rose made to touch the baby. "Don't touch the baby. You're both the same person. That's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happening, not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes them stronger. The paradox might let them in."
"Can't do anything right, can I?" Rose asked sullenly.
"Since you ask, no. So, don't touch the baby." The Doctor said sharply. I lent a little bit heavier against his side in reproach.
"I'm not stupid."
"All right, I'm sorry. I wasn't really going to leave you on your own." The Doctor sighed, looking down on me to make sure I was still okay and coping.
"I know." Rose muttered.
"But between us, I haven't got a plan. No idea. No way out." The Doctor explained, looking sadly towards the rest of the people in the church.
"You'll think of something." Rose said encouragingly.
"The entire Earth's been sterilised. This, and other places like it, are all that's left of the human race. We might hold out for a while, but nothing can stop those creatures. They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing I can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from happening. My people would have stopped this. But they're all gone. And now I'm going the same way."
"If I'd realised." Rose muttered.
"Just tell me you're sorry." The Doctor sighed, giving in and forgiving her.
"I am. I'm sorry." Rose muttered.
"Doctor, there's something warm in your pocket." I muttered, feeling it against my shoulder but not having the strength to move away.
The Doctor gentle lifted me into a sitting position and reached into his pocket. Whatever it was he found was so hot he dropped it on the floor.
"It's the TARDIS key!" the Doctor took off his jacket and knelt to pick it up. "It's telling me it's still connected to the TARDIS."
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"The inside of my ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use this to bring it back. And once I've got my ship back, then I can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anybody got a battery?" The Doctor was stood at the front of the church, explaining his plan to everyone.
"This one big enough?" Stuart asked holding up his mobile phone.
"Fantastic." The Doctor smiled.
"Good old dad. There you go."
"Just need to do a bit of charging up and then we can bring everyone back." The Doctor said, using his sonic screwdriver on the battery. Jackie had collected Rose from her basinet and was sitting with Annamae who was still avoiding trying to be too close to me, while Pete and Rose were sat behind me having a quiet chat.
"You, er, you never said why you came here in the first place. If I had a time machine, I wouldn't have thought 1987 was anything special. Not round here, anyway."
"We just ended up here." Rose lied.
"Lucky for me, eh? If you hadn't been there to save me."
"That was just a coincidence. That was just really good luck. It's amazing."
"So, in the future, are me and her indoors still together?"
"Yeah." Rose muttered.
"Are you still living with us?"
"Yep."
"And Annamae, she still at home?"
"Sometimes. She has her own flat, but she still stays around when we need her." Rose explained.
"Am I a good dad?"
"You, you told me a bedtime story every night when I was small. You were always there. You never missed one. And er, you took us for picnics in the country every Saturday. You never let us down. You were there for us all the time. Someone I could really rely on."
"That's not me." Pete frowned, seeing through the lie. He didn't even do that for Annamae, and she had officially been his daughter for nearly a year. He doubted that he would change as Rose got older. Something was wrong.
"Right, no one touches that key. Have you got that? Don't touch it. Anyone touches that key, it'll be, well, zap. Just leave it be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here. All of us. Stuart, Sarah you're going to get married, just like I said." The Doctor said brightly, as the TARDIS started fading in and out of existence.
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"When time gets sorted out…" Rose trailed off. She had moved forward so she was sitting on the same pew as me and the Doctor.
"Everybody here forgets what happened. And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed."
"You mean I'll still be alive, though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life, why I didn't mean anything." Pete said, obviously having heard what was said.
"It doesn't work like that." The Doctor disagreed at once.
"Rubbish. I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all of this has happened."
"This is my fault." Rose was the one to disagreed this time, her voice chocked slightly in her grief.
"No, love. I'm your dad. It's my job for it to be my fault."
"Her dad? How are you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh, that's disgusting." Jackie must have come over because she was stood over them, holding baby Rose while Annamae stood behind her. Mickey was with one of the bride's maids.
"Jacks, listen. This is Rose." Pete said, standing up to face his angry wife.
"Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second-hand name? How many are there? Do you call them all Rose?"
"Oh, for God's sake, look. It's the same Rose!" Pete took the baby from Jackie and gave her to Rose.
"Rose! No!" the Doctor snatched her away, but it was too late. I cried out in pain as one of the creatures appeared inside the church.
"Everyone, behind me!" The Doctor ordered, standing with his arms wide to shield the people. I pulled myself to my feet as the wedding party moved behind the Doctor.
"I'm the oldest person in this room." The Doctor said stepping forward and allowing the beast to eat him.
"DOCTOR!" I cried out.
In my grief, my magic responded shooting a ball of electricity at the creature which sent it flying back into the TARDIS. The key stopped glowing and dropped to the floor as the beast was disintegrated. But I had over exerted myself, I could feel the blood falling from my eyes, nose and ears. I stumbled forward and fell next to the key.
"ANNA!" Rose shouted and knelt at my side, tears falling from her eyes.
"Anna?" dad asked, "As in Annamae?"
"Mum, listen please? She doesn't have a lot of time." my younger copy said. "That's Rose, your Rose from the future. And the girl she's me, from the future."
"But that's…" mum said, weakly, kneeling next to me as well.
"Mum, Dad," I smiled weakly, fighting to keep my eyes open long enough to reassure my family.
"Anna, what's wrong?" Rose asked, her hand's hovering over me in worry.
"I'm dying." I told her bluntly, I didn't have the time or strength to be gentle.
"No, you can't be." Jackie and Rose denied together.
"I'm sorry." I smiled weakly at them. I noticed dad get up and move over to the window for a moment before returning to my side.
"He must really care for you two." Dad said, using a cloth to wipe some of the blood away from my face.
"Dad, don't." I muttered weakly, realising what he was about to do. I grabbed his wrist, but my grip was weak and I knew that he could easily dislodge me. He had figured it out.
"He didn't want you to go through it again, not if there was another way. Now there isn't. And I can't let you die, sweetheart. Whatever's wrong with you, it's because of these thing's isn't it?" he demanded to know.
"Dad… please…" I whispered, tears mixing with the blood. I knew that he had to die to fix everything but this would be the third time I would be seeing his death and I would remember them all when time was fixed.
"What are you talking about?" Rose asked confused.
"The car that should have killed me, love. It's here. The Doctor worked it out way back, but he, er, he tried to protect me. Still, he's not in charge anymore. I am." Dad said, pulling on his jacket.
"But you can't." Rose denied, while mum looked confused.
"Who am I, love?"
"My daddy." Rose muttered through her tears.
"I'm meant to be dead, Jackie. You're going to get rid of me at last." Dad said, looking at mum.
"Don't say that." Mum shook her head in denial.
"For once in your life, trust me. It's got to be done. You've got to survive, because you've got to bring up our daughters. I never read you those bedtime stories. I never took you on those picnics. I was never there for you." Dad said, standing.
"You would have been."
"But I can do this for you. I can be a proper dad to you now." Dad said, trying to be strong.
"But it's not fair."
"I've had all these extra hours. No one else in the world has ever had that. And on top of that, I got to see you, both of you. And you're beautiful. How lucky am I, eh? So, come on, do as your dad says. You going to be there for me, love? Thanks for saving me." he kissed Rose on the forehead before running from the church. Little me ran to the doorway, and waited. The moment I felt some of my strength returning, she departed, running for where dad was.
The Doctor appeared in the same place he had disappeared, and spoke to Rose before coming and kneeling next to me. I was still weak and the Doctor had to help me to my feet, but even than my knees gave out on me when I felt my dad die for a final time.
"I've got you," The Doctor said quietly, picking me up bridal style. "Let's get you back to the TARDIs, and to the medical room."
"I thought I'd lost you." I told the Doctor, resting my head on the Doctor's shoulder and trying to hold back the tears. I had lost my father twice that day, and lost the Doctor for a very short time. That combined with the mental battering I had taken left me feeling emotionally compromised as well as physically weak from how close to death I had been only moments before.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor apologised.
I must have zoned out, because the next thing I noticed was the comforting warmth of the Tardis as the Doctor approached his home. He ended up not needing to unlock the door since it silently opened for them. The Doctor glanced around the console room for a moment, before he decided to place me on the chair that was off to the side instead of taking me to my room or the medical room. Likely because he knew me well enough to know that I would want to see Rose before I would allow him to treat me.
The Doctor moved the Tardis to across the road from the church, so he could retrieve Rose without leaving me alone for very long. In the short amount of time the Doctor was gone, I was gathering up my strength, which was slowly starting to return to me know that the Tear in Time had been fixed.
"Rose." I forced myself up, while the Doctor headed to the console in order to get them into the Vortex.
He kept a close eye on my movements, not liking the fact that I had stood up without support despite how drained I was. The Doctor had whipped most of the blood from my face, but there were still flecks of it here and there and I looked far too pale to be healthy. Despite all that, I didn't like being weak in front of my sister who had spent so much of her life depending on me to be strong. And she had just seen their father die, and nearly seen me die, right now she needed to know that I was okay so that she could relax and deal with the emotions that were likely surging through her.
I pulled Rose into a hug because the physical contact would do more to comfort her then words. Pulling back, I placed a supporting hand on her shoulder. "Go, have a shower. Gets some sleep. We'll visit mum again before heading off." I promised her.
"Okay." Rose muttered and trudged down the corridors. To emotionally drain to try and argue with me and so used to following my directions that she didn't question it.
"Let's get you to the medical room. Need to make sure there's no damage." The Doctor said, gently looping an arm around my waist when I swayed on the spot.
I was still weak and tired from the stress of everything, but the longer we spent in the TARDIS, the more my strength and energy returned to me. I guessed a good night's sleep and some food would probably be needed to help me recover fully. However, it would be nice to know the actual reason the appearance of the Reapers had affect me as strongly as they had on top of the death of all but a hundred and ninety-seven people (who had been able to barricade themselves into old buildings).