A/N: I don't think this chapter may have been quite what everyone was expecting… What can I say? I like to keep my audience on their toes. Also, I know this was kind of a long wait and I'm sorry for that. I've said this already, but my inspiration is coming and going so this chapter is not nearly as good as I wanted it to be.

I woke up with a gasp, my eyes flying open. Pain was shooting up from my calf and both my forearm and forehead were aching. I started to raise my arm and froze when I saw an IV sticking out of it. A panicked shriek fell past my lips and I looked around in confusion. The IV in my arm was attached to a plastic bag of liquid hanging on a pole by my bed. A bandage was wrapped around my right forearm and I could feel something wrapped around my calf as well. My left arm was bandaged as well but I could see a hint of redness at the ends of the bandages. On the left side of my bed was a monitor with wires sticking out of the sides and bottom. A few wires were connected to stickers taped to my chest and there was a clip on my forefinger.

A man's face suddenly appeared in my line of vision. It was the Doctor, in his twelfth incarnation, and his face was pale with worry. I cried out in surprise and scooted back a few inches on the bed.

"Diana!"

I was taken aback and stammered awkwardly for a few moments. "D-Doctor?"

The Time Lord suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, his face buried in my hair. His arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the bed slightly so I was pressed against his chest.

"Theta?"

"I'm so glad you're alright," he breathed.

I awkwardly rested my chin on his shoulder, not moving my arms so as not to disturb the equipment attached to me. "I-I thought you weren't into hugging this time around," I said slowly.

"I'm not." The Doctor pulled back and brought his hands up to cup my face. The pads of his thumbs rubbed lightly across my cheeks as his eyes crinkled with a sad, worried smile. "But you're finally awake after all this time."

I smiled at first, glad that the Doctor was pleased to see me, but then I realized exactly what he was saying. "What do you mean, 'after all this time'? How long have I been asleep?"

"Only about a week. But that's no matter. You're better now."

"You're very giddy," I noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't get used to it," he replied with a falsely serious face.

A door across the room suddenly squeaked open and I squeaked in surprise when none other than Martha Jones walked in. My jaw literally fell open when the woman flashed me a smile and walked over to stand beside my bed.

"Hi, Diana. How're you feeling?" she asked.

I looked at her in shock before looking to the Doctor. "But… She's… not your companion."

"The Doctor went looking for me," Martha explained. "He said that you'd appeared in the console room, unconscious and badly wounded and he needed help looking after you."

"I don't need help looking after my wife," the Doctor grumbled.

I smiled faintly and nudged the Doctor in the ribs with my elbow. "Girlfriend," I reminded him. "Also, you're being rude."

Martha smirked and shook her head. "I guess some things never change," she sighed. "Now, I need you to tell me how you're feeling. The vortex has already a lot helped with your healing process. After a week of care here in the TARDIS and some time in the vortex before that, you've healed very well."

"I have?"

The woman nodded and smiled. "Your burns are almost completely gone, the fracture in your wrist is one hundred percent healed, and your head is well on its way to being healed as well. The only thing left that poses a slight problem is the bullet wound in your calf."

A dozen questions were running through my mind. "W-What wounds do I have?" I asked. "I remember most of what happened, although the last few moments before I blacked out are a little fuzzy. And if I'm already mostly healed, then why do I have an IV in my arm?"

"The IV is pain medication," Martha answered. "Your injuries are bad enough to cause you very bad pain, so the IV is supposed to help. Is it working?"

I nodded and leaned back so I was resting against the Doctor's torso. He moved his hand to rest on the curve of my neck as it met my shoulder. I felt a little safer with him standing beside me and felt just a little more at ease.

"As for your injuries, there weren't very many but the ones you did sustain were serious. Your right arm, shoulder, and upper chest all had first degree burns from what the Doctor tells me was some sort electricity that the Master was able to generate."

"Yeah, something went wrong when he was brought back from the dead and it caused him to have super speed and super strength and generate electricity," I said softly, repressing a shudder.

The Doctor tightened his grip on my shoulder, reminding me that he was there if I needed him. I leaned my head to the side and rested my cheek against his hand as my eyes fluttered closed for a moment. She glanced down at the bed so the Doctor and I could have a moment, and then she continued speaking.

"Your right forearm was also fractured by some kind of blunt instrument, most likely a gun, as far as the Doctor and I can tell."

"It was a gun. A rifle, maybe. I-I don't know."

Martha nodded seriously. "That's okay. It's not important what type it was. Just knowing that it was in fact a gun is helpful," she informed me with a reassuring smile. "Now I don't want you to worry about your burns or the fracture in your arm because both have either healed completely or are almost healed."

"What about the other things?" I asked in a small, anxious voice. "The… bullet in my leg and the wound on my head?"

"The damage done to your skull wasn't too bad. I'm guessing you were hit with the gun there as well?" When I nodded, Martha hummed and looked down. "I thought as much. You most likely had a concussion since you were hit so forcefully, but the vortex seems to have fixed that. You still have a nasty bruise and your memories might be fuzzy at first, but otherwise there won't be any lasting damage."

"Because of that, I don't want you doing anything serious at all until you've regained your memories," the Doctor said in a lightly scolding tone. "The concussion seems to be gone, but just in case it isn't I want you to-"

"Uh, who here has the medical degree?" Martha interjected, her hip popped to the side with a hand resting on it and an eyebrow raised.

The Doctor lowered his head and mumbled, "You do."

"Good. Now like the Doctor said, your concussion seems to be gone. But again, we don't really know if the vortex's healing properties will fade or not. They most likely won't, but in case they do we don't want you doing anything too vigorous."

"Okay. I-I can do that." I trailed off, my thoughts returning to the one subject no one had addressed yet. "And the bullet wound?" I asked again.

Martha's face turned serious and suddenly, she couldn't look me in the eye. She cleared her throat once and swallowed. "Your leg muscle was seriously damaged. No major arteries were hit, which is a miracle in itself, but the muscle was very badly damaged. The bullet shot all the way through your leg, so the good news is that you don't have to worry about the wound healing with the bullet inside. The bad news is that it will take months for your leg to fully heal and if you continue to time jump, then it might make your injury worse and you may not heal properly. You could have a limp for the rest of your life if we don't take care of your leg."

My heart fell to my stomach and for a second, I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I simply stared at Martha in shock as I tried to process what she was telling me.

That's not right, I thought to myself. I've met my future self, my future selves, and none of them had limps. Maybe… Maybe Martha's wrong and I will walk properly again. After all, I have the time vortex on my side. And I have the Doctor. He'll never let this take away my ability to walk. He'll find a way. He always finds a way.

"Diana? Diana, can you talk to me please?" Martha asked.

I took a sharp breath and slowly brought my gaze up to meet Martha's eyes. For the longest time I didn't know what to say or ask, or even what to do. The Doctor gently squeezed my shoulder, probably hoping for a response of some kind, but I continued to stare wordlessly into Martha's eyes.

"Diana?" Martha repeated. "What are you thinking?"

"A-Are you sure?" I finally stammered.

"Yes. I've checked and double checked and triple checked everything. So has the Doctor."

"But… But I have the time vortex. It can heal me. And besides, I have you and the Doctor. Between the two of you, I'll be fine."

Martha exhaled slowly and glanced down. "Diana, it's not that simple."

"Of course it is. Besides, I've met my future self and she didn't have a limp."

"You know better than anyone that time can be rewritten," Martha said softly. "The thing is, you could go either way with this injury. You could completely heal and be perfectly fine or you might not heal properly and have a limp the rest of your life."

I bowed my head and stared wide-eyed at the bed. "But if I have a limp, how am I going to keep up with the Doctor? What if I can't do everything that I used to because of this?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we reach it," Martha answered.

After that, she refused to say anything else about my wounds or my possible limp. The next two days were spent Martha and the Doctor periodically checking up on me, although the Doctor rarely left my side unless he had to take care of personal business or the TARDIS. Martha tended to bring us meals and snacks throughout the day when she wasn't busy looking after me.

Because I was still weak and healing, the two doctors refused to let me leave my bed. But I wasn't unhappy or bored for a single moment. In fact, they were so determined to keep me busy and entertained that I hardly had time to think or worry about my injuries. The TARDIS had moved a large television to the medbay, where I was resting at the time, and even moved one of the Doctor's chalkboards and a small bookcase full of my all-time favorite stories. I had grown more tired than normal, so the Doctor had come up with a dozen different ideas to keep me awake. He had taken to reading to me, showing me some of his advanced math equations or science experiments, tried board games (which didn't end well), and had decided to take up sketching.

Martha often had to work around the Doctor's things strewn across the room, although the TARDIS had compensated by making the room big enough to fit everything. The Doctor initially complained about Martha ruining his sketches of me, but eventually stopped whining and sketched in silence whenever she came in to check on me.

I had originally thought that the Doctor would be too shy to share his new hobby, but learned that he was incredibly gifted with drawing and was also extremely arrogant about his new talent. He proudly showed off his sketches to Martha and I, pointing out how well he had done a particular spot of shading or how he had gotten my chin just right. After two days, Martha was ready to destroy the sketchbook and permanently throw the Time Lord out of the medbay.

But despite the crazy ideas the Doctor came up with to entertain me with, the constant poking and prodding from Martha's needles, and the fact that I couldn't even walk, I was truly enjoying myself and had managed to almost completely forget about the Master. Until my third conscious night in the TARDIS.

The drums were echoing in a never-ending loop and my entire world was spinning. I felt like I was falling through the vortex, that familiar weightless sensation weighing down in the pit of my stomach. I was desperately trying to grab onto something, anything that would keep me from falling. Then he began laughing.

"No," I whispered.

The maniacal laughing continued as I fell and the drums were still there, still pounding away inside my head. Then the vortex melted away into the body of the Master, his hands crackling with bright blue energy and his mouth pulled back in a manic grin. He raised his arms and advanced towards me.

"Diana," he called in a sing-song voice. "Oh, my precious Diana."

"No!" I screamed. I desperately tried to step back out of the Master's reach, but my feet were stuck to the floor and I couldn't move. "No! Don't touch me!"

His hands gripped me by the shoulders and began violently shaking me. I tried to throw my hands up to deflect him or to try and pull out of his grasp, but something was holding me back. I screamed again in terror as I recalled the kisses he had forced upon me, the way he had forced the drums into my head.

"No! No! Stop, please!" I shrieked. "Master, please, don't!"

I was jolted in the shoulders again, the Master's crazed expression haunting my vision for a moment before I awoke with a loud gasp. I shot up into a sitting position and grabbed at the person shaking me awake. My mind told me that although I was safe and sound in the TARDIS, the Master was there to force himself onto me again.

"Get off of me, get off!" I sobbed, weakly hitting at my supposed attacker.

My wrists were suddenly caught in a tight grip and I was shaken again. Two wide, impossibly sad, blue-gray eyes were staring at me and I knew right away that it wasn't the Master. A small, shaky sob fell past my lips and I threw myself into the Doctor's arms.

He let out a soft 'oof', but quickly closed his arms around me and pressed his lips to my forehead. Then he moved so his cheek was pressed against mine and I fit comfortably against his torso. I could feel the fingers of his right hand moving through my hair as I cried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

I sniffled and shook my head. "W-Why are you s-sorry?" I stammered, my voice coming out muffled in his coat.

"Because this is all my fault. If I had only made you stay back in the TARDIS, none of this would have happened. You wouldn't have been hurt, the Master wouldn't have…"

I pulled back just a few inches so I could see the Doctor's face and the guilt so plainly written there. Tears were still fresh and damp on my cheeks when I offered him a weak smile. His eyes ran across my face and seemed to grow wider with every second.

"It's not your fault," I whispered with a slightly runny nose. "I don't blame you. I blame him. We were only trying to help and he took advantage of us, of me…"

The Doctor lowered his eyes and glanced away, but I quickly tugged on his coat to make him look at me again. I wanted more than anything to make him understand that I didn't blame him, so I leaned forward and pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips. In an instant, the Master's laugh echoed in my ears and an image of his face flashed across my mind's eye.

"No!" I cried. I immediately turned away in shame and hid my face in my hands as the tears started flowing again. My shoulders began to quake with the effort of trying to hold the tears back. "I-I'm sorry. Theta, I'm sorry."

He pulled me back into his arms and held me close as I continued to cry softly. My body was pressed against the Time Lord's torso and his hands were running lightly up and down my arms. I shuddered and leaned forward so my curled up body was safely pressed against his. My head rested just above his right heart and the four beat rhythm, though still haunting from the memory of the Master's drums, were a familiar sound that I had known for many months.

"We will get past this together," the Doctor suddenly whispered. "The Master will never pull us apart. S-… He won't hurt you as long as I'm here and I will not leave your side for an instant."

I nuzzled my cheek against the Doctor's chest and sighed. "Promise?"

"I promise."

I let out another tiny sob and turned to bury my face in the Time Lord's neck. He whispered gentle, soothing words into my ear and ran his fingers through my hair until I fell asleep again. The Doctor's presence in my sleep kept me from having any more bad dreams that night.

When I woke up the next day, the Doctor had settled me back in my bed but had also fallen asleep in the chair next to me. His head was lolled to one side and he was snoring lightly. I slowly turned onto my side, being careful not to tug on my IV, and gazed at him for a few moments.

I started to close my eyes again when the door suddenly squeaked open and Martha stepped in. The Doctor grumbled incoherently, but didn't stir and continued to snore. I sat up to face Martha and flashed her a half smile.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked. "Any better?"

I glanced at the Doctor and nodded. "Yeah, a little," I answered.

"How's that IV working for you? Any pain?"

I shook my head and adjusted in the bed so I was leaning slightly against the pillows. "Hardly any pain. My leg's the only thing that really bothers me. I slept really well, thanks to the Doctor. Had a bad dream, but that's it really."

Martha nodded, obviously pleased and a little surprised with my response. "Good. The intake isn't very high, so it's good that you don't need a lot."

The Doctor suddenly jerked awake, his arms and legs flailing awkwardly as he flew into a proper sitting position. His eyes darted around the room before finally landing on me. I gave Martha a side glance and then offered the Doctor a reassuring smile.

"Theta? Are you… okay?" I asked slowly.

His wide, owl-like eyes blinked twice before he nodded. He ran a hand through his hair, making the ends stick up slightly, and cleared his throat as he composed himself. He blinked a few more times before finally settling into a comfortable position in the chair.

"I'm… good," he said gruffly. "Fantastic."

Martha quickly finished her check up and delivered the good news that my leg would most likely heal completely in a month at the latest. "The Doctor and I can help you with exercises for your leg to help strengthen it, but I don't want you walking until I say so or you'll only hurt yourself. Is that clear?"

I nodded excitedly. "Absolutely, Martha. Crystal clear."

"Good. I'll leave you two alone, then, while I start on lunch."

Martha had only just closed the door behind her when I let out a sob. The Doctor looked to me, alarmed and worried, and pushed himself out of his chair. His hands were suddenly on my face and brushing the hair away from my eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked quickly.

I nodded as tears began to fill my eyes. "Yeah, I just… I thought after what you and Martha had told me, I might never walk properly again and now I know I'm gonna be fine and we'll be fine and I'm just really, really happy."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you sure? Because your eyes are inflating and getting all water-y."

"No, stupid, these are happy tears," I assured the Time Lord with a laugh.

"You're taking this awfully hard. Are you sure you're alright?"

I roughly elbowed the Doctor in the side, narrowing my eyes at him. "Hey, you'd take it pretty hard if you were told that your leg might be messed up for the rest of your life," I scolded.

"I really wouldn't," he answered. "I'd just regenerate."

"Am I or am I not allowed to be emotional?"

The Doctor raised his hands in surrender. "Please. Let your hormones guide you if you insist on it," he mumbled.

I smiled and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, resting one hand on his chest over one of his hearts. "Thank you, Theta."

Martha and the Doctor switched between helping me with leg exercises, which ranged from stretches to wading in the pool. I was determined to heal quickly and work hard on my exercises so that my leg would be just a little stronger. I occasionally encouraged Martha's wrath because of my stubborn determination to continuously exercise, but ultimately got better with each day.

When I wasn't working on my exercises, I was spending time with the Doctor. He had taken to sketching me while I read or wrote in my journal. Since Martha didn't have to worry about my condition as much, she spent more time with us instead of poring over medical documents. The three of us were able to talk about old times, although I was a little out of the loop since I hadn't technically met Martha yet.

Since both doctors were uncomfortable about letting me travel while I was recovering, they only allowed me on light viewing trips to galaxies and stars. The trip would start with the Doctor carrying me to the console room, despite my protests, and setting me on the steps while he set the coordinates. Then Martha would come in with some popcorn as the TARDIS materialized. The Doctor would then extend the air shell before opening the TARDIS doors. Next he would pick me up off the steps and carry me to the doors so he could set me down on the floor. Then Martha and the Time Lord would settle on either side of me and we would stargaze together for hours on end.

I stirred after one long evening of stargazing, finding myself leaning against the Doctor with my head on his chest. He was braced against the door by his back with me nestled in between his legs. Martha seemed to have left long ago, although her popcorn bowl was still sitting by the other side of the doorway.

The Doctor exhaled softly through his nose, his eyes trained on the view of the stars. "Sleep well?" he wondered.

I rubbed my eyes under my glasses and blinked a few times. "Mm, yeah," I mumbled as I looked around. "When did I fall asleep?"

"An hour ago, maybe. Martha left to go to bed and I didn't want to wake you, so I just stayed."

I yawned and leaned forward to bury my face in the Doctor's coat. "Don't. Want. To move."

"So don't."

A familiar, comfortable warmth settled in my belly and I snuggled into the Doctor's chest with a tiny smile. He looked down at me for a moment before finally letting his arm settle around my waist. My smile widened immediately and I let my eyes slide closed again.

"Thank you, Theta," I breathed into his chest.

There was a second or two of silence before he asked, "For what?"

"Everything."

I woke again later on when I was jarred slightly. My eyes opened slightly and I could see the Doctor's chest and face barely illuminated in the light of the console room. I knew I was being carried, but couldn't comprehend much else because I was still mostly asleep.

"Theta?" I mumbled through a yawn.

"Go back to sleep, love," he answered in a gentle whisper.

I nodded wordlessly and nuzzled the Doctor's chest with my nose before settling into a light sleep. I was vaguely aware of when the Doctor set me down on something soft, my bed most likely, and instantly protested at the loss of contact when his arms began to slide away.

"No," I grumbled blearily, reaching blindly for his arm.

"Diana-"

"Don't go."

"Diana, you need your rest. It's best if I don't-"

I groaned in protest and tugged on his wrist. "Want you to stay," I yawned as I opened one eye.

"Diana-"

"Stay," I repeated as I turned onto my side, tugging the Doctor along because of my tight grip on his wrist.

The Doctor sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He leaned over me and slowly brushed his hand across my forehead to move my hair. I smiled fondly at him and leaned unashamedly into his touch. The gesture was quickly guiding me back to sleep and I could barely keep my eyes open.

As my head fell back into the pillow, a phrase slipped past my lips that I meant with every fiber of my being: "I love you." And then I was asleep, limp in the Doctor's arms and snoring lightly.

A/N: Just to clear everything up, 12 is from after he says goodbye to Clara but before Santa Clause shows up. Martha is from post 'The Last of the Time Lords' and she's already become a doctor. Overall, Diana is conscious for about a week and four days (if the timing means anything to you).

And I just want to clarify that the reason 12 might seem less rude with Diana is because he's known her and loved for s much longer than anyone else he comes into contact with. I think that his love for her just changes him enough to be less rude around her. At least, that's my reasoning.

Also, I would love to do more big finish chapters but it's often hard for me to write the dialogue out on some of the really long audios like 'Zagreus' and 'Master'. If anyone has access to any scripts or could help me with writing up dialogue, I would really appreciate the help.

Other than all that, please let me know what you guys thought! Reviews always get me more excited to write. And again, sorry for the long wait.