Last of Their Kind

by ThyWanderer

Worn down from years of strife as the last of her kind, Madison once believed happiness was far from reach. Everything begins to change when she meets a man called the Doctor. As secrets and sorrows are shared between them, the pair finds comfort together amidst the stars. Madison can only hope that this time things will be different, even if the universe has other plans for her.

33. Chapter 33

Hello again. I hope everyone has been doing well this past week. I know things have been difficult for many. Here's to hoping that things will get better.

There was also the recent scare that the site was going to be shut down. I'm glad to see that the site's mods are still around and working on new updates. Though with this scare, I might still upload this story to AO3. Just in case.

So, please, enjoy the chapter! I hope it's good. Very nervous on what everyone thinks of it.

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Chapter 33

The trip in the TARDIS was a wild one. Different from any other times Madison had experienced. The ship kept quaking and groaning, wheezing with every movement of the time rotor and with a loud chime sounding off somewhere deep within the ship itself. Sparks were flying everywhere, coming from the console and the walls themselves. A fire started briefly at one point under the glass floor, and she could feel the distress coming from the TARDIS. The old girl was having a very hard time trying to travel.

"Hang in there, old girl! I know we can make it!" the Doctor shouted over the noise of the TARDIS's wild flight. He kept rushing around the console, trying his best to steer the ship. "We just have to break through that first barrier and we can make it!"

"Doctor, what's wrong? What's happening to the TARDIS?" Madison yelled as she hung onto one of the railings for dear life.

"Nothing major! Don't worry! I have it completely under control!" The Doctor was flung back into one of the two captain's chairs, stumbling back up to his feet and falling into the console then. "We're breaking through some restrictions that usually keep a TARDIS from causing a paradox."

"Should we try another way?" Madison offered as she stumbled over to the console.

"No! No, it has to be this way!" The Doctor hit a lever, making the ship jolt to the side. There was a massive burst from the level below them.

The ship gave one more mighty rock to the side, flinging Madison with a yelp. She felt strong arms wrap around her before she fell hard to the ground. Things settled around then and she blinked. Under her was the Doctor who had apparently used his body to break her fall. He grinned lightly at her.

"See? Complete control," he said brightly. He moved then, helping her up from the floor. He held onto her hand tightly as he walked over to the console and looked at the monitor. She noticed that the console screen was different as well. It was not stuck in one place but rather hung on a bar that could rotate around the entire console. The Doctor's demeanour changed almost instantly. A storm started to brew within his eyes as his expression became closed off. It wasn't anger, though. No, it was not the Oncoming Storm. It was something else entirely. Though she couldn't place it.

"Did we make it?" she asked him, trying to turn his focus away from his internal storm. "Is it safe for me to leave now?"

"Of course." He was all smiles again, but she knew it was forced. He clapped his hands together with fake excitement as he headed for the door. "Come along, cowgirl!"

"No, wait, Doctor, you shouldn't go out there," she said, hurrying off after him. What was he thinking? He knew that his other self would be nearby. If he ran into his other face . . . just what would happen? She knew it was a paradox, but just how bad of a reaction to time would it cause?

When she stepped out of the TARDIS to follow after the Doctor, she gazed around to see they were back on the spaceship from the 51st century. Everything was the same as she remembered. Though without seeing the Doctor she knew it worried her. It was too quiet. She looked around where the older Doctor had parked them, seeing the future TARDIS for the first time. It was surprising to see that the exterior had changed as well. It was much sleeker looking, more polished with its blue. There was also a new addition to one of the doors. While one still had the 'pull to open' sign, there was another round one that had Saint John's Ambulance written on it. Her eyes shifted over then, seeing the TARDIS from her current time a few feet to the left of the other. At the same time, she could feel both TARDISs' presence in her mind. Both felt uneasy being next to each other. It was strange then how she could hear the two ships communicating. It was like a melody the two were singing together. It . . . Her eyes went wide as she realised it was the very same melody she had heard while the Siren was in her.

"Ho-oh! Look at this mess," came the Doctor's voice. Madison turned back around, seeing the Doctor inspecting the jumbled mess around the ship's consoles. He picked up a part, frowning as he turned it around in his hands before tossing it over his shoulder. "They've really had some cowboys in here." She laughed softly, causing him to turn around and raise a brow at her. "What's so funny?"

"You had said the very same thing when we first arrived here. Remember?" she replied.

"Actually, no. I don't remember much about this day. For certain reasons," he told her, turning around to walk up to the console and beginning to fiddle with it.

She walked over to him, staring at him curiously. "You don't remember? How long has it been since this day for you?"

"Oh, you know . . . not that long," he answered absently, waving a hand in dismissal. "I wouldn't remember this day anyway. Time Lord genetics. It stops me from remembering when I run into myself. Keeps paradoxes from happening . . . I'll only remember the painful stuff." There it was again. That flash of pain in his eyes.

She wanted to question him more, but she didn't want to pry. Instead, she worried about him still being here. "You said you ran into yourself? Doctor, that isn't safe. You should go before . . . well, before yourself shows up."

"Ah, don't worry. I've had run-ins with other faces loads of times. It's never turned out wrong . . . For the most part." He looked at her then, giving a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay. Just trust me."

He grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. She felt his thumb caressing the back of her hand in loving circles. She couldn't help but feel more at ease then, knowing that through all this time he still had the same habit.

There came a noise then, alerting them to someone's presence.

"Rose! Mickey!" she heard a voice calling. Her Doctor's voice. From the other room that she knew the fireplace would be. He sounded in a mixed state of annoyance and frantic. "Every time. Every time! It's rule one. Don't wander off. I tell them, I do. Agh! I don't have time for this! Need to find Madison." He came into the room then. Running more like it. He seemed to be in a great rush. But he soon halted when he saw Madison standing next to . . . well, his future self. Madison felt instant relief in seeing him. She thought she would never see his face again.

"Madison! There you are! I was scared there for a moment thinking you were . . .," said the Doctor with the pinstripe suit, starting to walk toward her but then froze when he finally seemed to realise who was standing next to her.

"Thinking you had lost her? Is that what you were thinking? Because I think your mind was rather preoccupied," said the other Doctor in a strict tone. Madison glanced between the two, seeing the tension in the Doctor beside her and the bewilderment from the Doctor by the room with the fireplace. This was going to get very confusing now. She decided, there and then, to think of the Doctor she was with as 'present' and the other as 'future'. It was the best way to keep things straight in her mind.

The two Doctors stared at each other. Her Doctor with a furrowed brow of puzzlement while the future Doctor gave his past self a cold stare. The present Doctor reached into his jacket, pulling out his sonic. At the same time, the future Doctor let go of her hand and did the same. In sync, the two held their screwdrivers up. Madison noticed the future Doctor's screwdriver was different. It was bronze, longer, and had a green tip to it. Then, he gave it a flick of the wrist and it extended to be even longer with the metal pieces that had been closed around the tip opening up like a claw. The other Doctor looked at the screwdriver and then back to the future Doctor before sliding a button on his screwdriver to extend the blue tip upwards. Though it still wasn't as long as the green-tipped one.

"Compensating?" remarked the present Doctor.

This comment seemed to make the future Doctor puzzled as he frowned. "For what?"

"Regeneration. It's a lottery." The Doctor smirked as he placed his sonic screwdriver back into his inner pinstripe jacket.

The future Doctor flipped his screwdriver in hand before placing his own sonic away into his tweed jacket. "Oh, he's cool. Isn't he cool? 'I'm the Doctor and I'm all cool. Oops, I wearing sandshoes!'" He pointed to the chucks the other Doctor wore, making the other frown.

"What are you doing here? I'm busy."

"Oh, busy. I see. Busy he says." The future Doctor stormed over to his past self, getting right up into the other's face. "So busy that you rush away from Maddie, leaving her alone and trapped back in France, not even thinking about what would happen to her. Then, so busy again, you go swanning back in here like you didn't just snog another woman." The future Doctor glared angrily then, speaking in a lower tone. "So busy that you didn't think there would be consequences for that?" Blinking, the present Doctor appeared stunned as his future self took a step back then. "Wipe that lipstick off your mouth."

Madison watched as her Doctor blinked again before rubbing the back of his hand on his lips. He glanced at his hand, seeing the light pink colour of lipstick. He then hurriedly wiped away the rest from his mouth. She watched this in stunned silence. She felt her heart plummet, twisting in pain. Did . . . did he really . . . ? Did her Doctor . . . The lipstick was there to prove it so she knew it was true. She just did not want to believe it. Maybe . . . maybe it was a mistake. Maybe the woman was the only one to kiss him. However, judging by the guilty expression on his face and the glance he sent her way, she knew it was not a one-participant kiss. The future Doctor said 'snog' . . . did that mean . . . She felt her heart weep as it hit her with a force. The Doctor had kissed another woman on purpose. She tried rationalising it in her mind. Tried to think of a reason this was. Tried to excuse the action. Tried to not feel hurt by it until she had a moment to talk with him. But she felt her mind was somewhat muddled at the moment.

"It wasn't like that," muttered the Doctor.

"Call it whatever you want," the other Doctor said, turning around to walk back over to Madison and hold onto her hand tightly as he faced his past self. "I'm here to clean up your mess."

"I don't need you here," growled the Doctor.

"I'm not here for you. I'm here for her." The future Doctor wrapped an arm suddenly around Madison's waist, pulling her close to him. This startled her, making her look at him in question, confused by this gesture. He then held a cheery smile suddenly that seemed rather off. It reminded her of the time he had smiled while Cassandra had been torn to pieces. "Now then! Let's get started shall we?"

Madison stumbled as he pulled her away with him swiftly, going towards another opening to a branching corridor. It didn't feel right to have a Doctor she didn't know touching her like this. What if it upset the current Doctor she was with? Wouldn't that be considered being unfaithful to him? She also wanted to protest rushing off like this. Nothing about this seemed right to her. It didn't help that she was still hurt from finding out about . . . the kiss. But she pushed that out of her mind and made a mental note to discuss it with the Doctor, her Doctor, later. There had to be a reason for the kiss and she wanted to know it before jumping to conclusions. The more pressing matter now was the future Doctor seeming to want to stick around when clearly he shouldn't be here.

"Doctor, maybe you being here isn't a good idea," she whispered to him. She came to a stop alongside him as they just entered the corridor. She blinked in shock when seeing a large white horse, with reins and a saddle on, standing in their way. The horse neighed and in the corner of her eye she could see the future Doctor's face light up.

"Arthur!" he exclaimed, letting go of Madison to bounce over to the horse. "Good to see you again old chap." He patted the horse's neck in greeting, earning himself a neigh and nod from the horse. "Oh, yes, I know. It's been a very strange day for you." The horse snorted. "No apples on me I'm afraid. We'll have to find them somewhere else."

"Well . . . Don't see that every day," Madison heard the other Doctor mutter.

"Suppose anything is possible on a day like this," she said in agreement, glancing over at him. She saw him smile at her. She couldn't bring herself to smile back.

"Time to go! We have companions to find!" exclaimed the future Doctor. Madison felt herself being yanked forward as he grabbed her hand and dragged her along once again. He held so tightly to her hand she was unable to get away. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the other Doctor giving an angry frown.

Eventually, she was able to keep pace with the future Doctor. Looking at him briefly, she could see that storm in his eyes again. He was still troubled. She hoped that maybe she could help him in some way, though she wasn't certain how she could even manage that when she wasn't familiar with this face of his. Was there something going on in his time that was plaguing him? Or was it really seeing his old face that bothered him so much? Seeing the future Doctor surely seemed to be troubling the present Doctor as he had a stormy demeanour about him. She heard the clipping of hooves on metal then, making her peek around the Doctors' shoulders to see the horse, Arthur, now following them.

"You need to get off this ship. You're creating a paradox by being here," the present Doctor finally spoke, sounding gruff.

"Oh, yes, but time will compensate. You and I both know that," countered the future Doctor.

"All right, fine. I don't want you here."

"You know, I really don't care what you want." The tweed Doctor's hand around Madison's tightened. She saw the tension in the two of them and it made her uncomfortable. She quickly cleared her throat.

"So, what are we doing next, Doctor, and, um, Doctor? Have you found out the reason for the fireplace yet? And how did the horse get on the ship?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"I don't know. Why is there a horse on the ship since you've done this already?" the Doctor said, throwing his future self a hard glance.

"I won't remember everything about this day. Something that you should know, obviously," retorted the future Doctor.

Madison sighed as both threw each other sharp glares. Oh, dear. This was a massive case of self-hatred if she ever did see. How ever were they going to manage if the two of them were at each other's throats the entire time? She spotted it then, some stable doors in the middle of the wall along the corridor. Huh.

"I think I know where Arthur came from," she said, managing to get her hand out of the Doctor's tight hold as she stepped towards the doors. She went to push them open.

"No!" exclaimed the future Doctor, throwing himself in front of the door. "No, I'm not having you set another foot outside of this ship. Not after already being stuck there for a week."

"A week?" breathed the other Doctor. He looked at Madison in alarm. "You were trapped in Paris for a week?"

"It was nine days, actually. I stayed under Reinette's bed for most of it," Madison explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. If I'd known . . .," he said, appearing regretful. He stepped forward, reaching a hand up to touch her face.

"Yes, yes, we know, you were careless. But I corrected your mistake." The future Doctor pulled her away then, holding her around the waist as he shot his past self a look. He then turned to Madison, cupping her face. His expression that of concern as he gazed at her. "No more portals for you. Okay?" He kissed her forehead then, making her blush as he gave her a fond smile. He then directed her towards the corridor again, leading her away from the stable door.

"Oi! We need to investigate this if we're going to figure out what's happening," said the Doctor.

"We'll figure it out soon enough. But if you want to go fawning over Madame de Pompadour, then by all means, be my guest," the Doctor in tweed rebutted crossly, glaring at his past self again. His grip around Madison's waist tightened as she felt a stab at her heart. He . . . He had kissed . . .

"All the portals are of Reinette's time? You . . . You had met Reinette in her future?" she asked, looking toward her Doctor.

"She was close to twenty when I saw her again," he explained quietly, as he looked at the stable doors. She could tell he wasn't meeting her gaze on purpose. Reinette as an adult. It felt strange to Madison to think the portals were moving along, showing Reinette grow up. Just hours ago Madison had seen little seven-year-old Reinette crying about her departure. Now Reinette was all grown up. A sad pang went through Madison then as she regretted losing so much time with the little child she had seen. And even worse, the Doctor had kissed Reinette when he had met her again. Madison had a bitter taste in her mouth then as she tried to push down her pain.

"Now then! Let's go find Rose and Mickey," said the future Doctor abruptly, snapping her out of her turmoiled thoughts. He guided her down the hall alongside him, still keeping an arm wrapped around her waist as they walked. He leaned close to her then, whispering in her ear, "I know. I'm sorry. Just don't think about it. It's going to be alright." He kissed the side of her head and for once she didn't care enough to be bothered by it.

They kept walking down the different corridors. No one spoke as they walked. Only the sound came from Arthur's hooves on the metal floor. The future Doctor refused to let go of her as they walked. He had either an arm around her waist or her hand in a vice grip. She was bothered by it, but she tried her best to ignore this. She glanced over her shoulder briefly, seeing the other Doctor walking along with a soured frown and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pinstripe trousers. She was worried about what he was feeling from all of this. It was obviously an unpleasant time for him. It was for her as well. She wished they could get some time alone soon so they could talk. They really needed to at this point.

There came voices from down the corridor. Madison recognised them as Rose and Mickey talking. Moving out of the future Doctor's grip, she went quickly down the hall and around the corner to see Rose and Mickey staring at a mirror. Though, when Madison looked again, she saw it was a two-way mirror with someone on the other side. Though clearly, the person did not see either Rose or Mickey staring at them. It was a luxuriant room, with rich rugs, vases, chairs, tables, and other such things. The floors were made of marble, telling Madison it must be within a grand home. Maybe even a palace. The person they were watching was a man wearing a posh outfit, seen yelling at a few other men dressed in servant clothing.

"Blimey, look at this guy! Who does he think he is?" Mickey said, frowning as he watched the man through the mirror.

"Louis XV, King of France," Madison said to them. "At least, I assume as much given what the time portals are for."

"About time you showed up," Rose teased Madison. "You've been missing out on all the fun." Madison could not help but return the smile Rose gave her. She had missed Rose and Mickey in that week she had been absent. Even if for them it had been only a moment.

"Rose Tyler! Mickey Smith! Ha!" came the loud, merry voice of the future Doctor. Madison looked over just in time to see his massive grin and bright eyes of glee. Given that she saw his current companions, it made her wonder just how long it's been since he had seen Rose and Mickey. Madison watched in amusement as the Doctor in tweed suddenly reached forward, grabbing Mickey first and giving the young man kisses on each cheek. He then did the same to Rose. Both companions blinked, stunned. Though Mickey had made a face when being kissed.

"Who the hell are you?" Mickey demanded.

The Doctor gave a spin, holding out his hands while grinning away. "The Doctor. Hello! I'm a bit out of the way, from the future, thought I'd pop in and see the old crew. Don't mind me, I'll be gone before long. Now then, what do we have here?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, giving the mirror in front a scan. He flicked it up, making it extend. "Two-way mirror, 1745, February 25, with Louis XV in the room, that puts it," he closed up his screwdriver, tossing it back and forth between his hands, "at the night of the Yew Tree Ball in the Palace of Versailles. This means we should most likely avoid this one. Don't want to mess up history now do we?" He placed his sonic back into his inner tweed pocket, smiling as he saw the dumbfounded expressions of Rose and Mickey.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rose asked the moment the present Doctor came around the corner.

"Who's the idiot with the bow tie?" Mickey asked, making the future Doctor pout.

"He's . . . me. From the future," answered the Doctor, rubbing at his earlobe. "It's . . . complicated."

"What, seriously?" Rose looked to the future Doctor then, looking him up and down carefully. An uncomfortable look crossed her face then. "When you say future . . . How long has it been since you left us?"

"Left you? Oh, no, it wasn't anything like that," the future Doctor replied quickly. He gave the girl a kind smile. "I can't tell you much of what happened, but I can say that you are very happy where you're at now. Cross my hearts." Using both hands he made the gesture over his chest. Rose seemed uncertain about this but willing to believe him as she nodded.

"You're really going with the tweed and bow tie for your new look?" Mickey said then, looking the future Doctor up and down, beginning to snicker.

"Oi! Don't dis the bow tie! Bow ties are cool," retorted the Doctor as he gave his bow tie a little adjustment.

Mickey's snickers turned into laughter. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"Can we focus?" the present Doctor spoke up then when noticing his future face opening his mouth to rant. "We've got time portals scattered all throughout this ship, all leading to Reinette's life at different points, a clockwork man picking a fight with me, and—" He was interrupted when Arthur the horse came around the corner and gave a loud neigh. He gave the horse a side glance. "-and now we've got a horse hanging around." He looked at the horse. "I told you, I'm not your mother." The horse snorted and nipped at his jacket.

"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey questioned.

"Mickey, what's pre-revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective," the Doctor responded rather rudely. Madison hit him lightly on his arm.

"Oi. Rude," she scolded him quietly.

"Oh. That is rude. I see what everyone meant now. Hmm," mumbled the future Doctor, frowning in thought. He then shook his head, snapping his attention back to the room beyond the mirror. "Though I hate to admit it, Sandshoes is right. We should really be focused now."

"They're not sandshoes," grumbled the Doctor.

"I could call you 'Skinny' instead. Really, it is skinny. That is proper skinny. It's like a special effect. Ha! I've got it, Matchstick man!"

"Boys," Madison said sternly, seeing how the two of them were going to start at it again, "can we focus? Reinette just entered the room." She pointed to the mirror in front of them. The two Doctors, Rose, and Mickey all stared as a beautiful woman walked into the room. The woman had silky blonde hair that was styled into a tight pin-up and was wearing an elegant dress that made her beauty even more breathtaking. Madison could tell it was Reinette almost right away as the eyes still held that sophisticated slyness to them. Reinette could be seen giving the French King a deep curtsy before walking over to him. The two circled each other for a moment, seeming to be making rather flirtatious comments.

"Who's she?" Mickey asked.

"She's the one the time windows are following," answered the future Doctor. "Jeanne Antoinette Poisson. Also known as Madame de Pompadour."

"Known to her friends as Reinette," said the other Doctor. "One of the most accomplished women who ever lived." Madison briefly glanced at him, seeing how he gazed into the room. There was that keen eye of enthusiasm as he watched Reinette. Just as it always was, that keen excitement he had with historical things and people. Normally she would be happy to see him so thrilled. But now, knowing what he had done with Reinette, it only made Madison feel queasy.

"This is the night she becomes announced as the new mistress to the King," said the future Doctor. "She'll soon get her place in court, her own title, rooms in the palace, and all the fixings in between from there." Madison looked down at their hands as he grabbed hers suddenly. She met his eyes then, seeing him nod in understanding. She wasn't certain how to feel about this. It was strange being comforted by the same man she was upset with. Different face or not.

"Why not queen?" Rose asked curiously.

"He's already got himself a queen," answered the present Doctor.

"Which Miss Poisson and the Queen become very good friends," added the future Doctor.

"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey responded in disbelief.

"France. It's a different planet," said the present Doctor. They watched as the King left and Reinette remained behind. The woman walked over to the mirror they were seeing through, fixing her dress and making certain her hair was fine.

"So why is future man here?" Mickey asked suddenly, looking to the future Doctor then. "What, does something go wrong and you're here to stop it?"

"I can't interfere with my own timeline. Those are strict rules put into place. Unless, of course, I know that I'm meant to be there, even if I don't remember it, so then that makes my interference a part of the timeline," answered the future Doctor briskly.

"How can you know you're supposed to be here if you don't remember it? And why can't you remember?" Mickey continued to question.

"Time Lord genetics. Makes it so if you run into your future self, the past self forgets most of it until after they've experienced it again in the future," the other Doctor explained, rubbing at his earlobe. "But there can be some vague remembrance. Mostly if there's an excessively poignant emotion felt during the time." The Doctor turned to his future self then with a heavy frown. "Which makes me wonder, you said you were for Madison. Why?"

"If you haven't figured that out by now, then you really are thick," the future Doctor replied coldly, glaring at his old self. Rose and Mickey gave each other looks of shock, raising their brows at the sudden demeanour change in the future Doctor.

Madison winced, wishing she could figure out how to stop this from happening. Something caught her eye then. She looked over and saw Reinette turning around and appearing scared. There was another person in the room, in the corner and with their back to Reinette. It appeared to be a tall woman, with a red dress, and long powdered wig. Then the figure turned and showed Reinette their masked face. Madison gasped.

"Doctor! Reinette's in trouble!" she exclaimed as she rushed to the mirror and pushed on it. She knew it had to be a doorway of some kind. As luck would have it, it moved to the side and allowed her to get into the room with Reinette. "Stay away from her!" Madison yelled at the figure, knowing it was a robot of some kind. She jumped in front of Reinette, blocking the robot's path toward the woman. The robot lifted an arm then, making a blade come forth as it marched towards her.

"No, you don't!"

"Get away from her!"

Madison looked over as both Doctors shouted and came into the room. The present Doctor held a long, silver gun in his hands (the same one that Madison had noticed Mickey and Rose holding) and pointed it at the figure. The future Doctor rushed over to her, trying to drag her back towards the spaceship while Rose and Mickey came into the room as well.

"I told you, no time windows," the future Doctor growled while his past self sprayed down the robotic figure with some sort of frozen foam.

"I will not stand by while someone is in danger," Madison argued, immediately agitated with him but trying her best not to let it show. She jerked her arm out of his hold, going back over to Reinette. The woman stared at her as though she were a ghost. Madison gave the woman a kind smile. "Hello, sweetie. It's been a while."

Reinette gasped. "Madison! Oh, but I had thought you must have perished all those years ago." She walked over to Madison, grabbing both of her hands and holding them tightly. Reinette gave the brightest smile. "It is truly wonderful to see you again. And it seems, like that of the Doctor, you do not age at all." Reinette touched Madison's face, admiring it. "How impolite of you."

Madison laughed, shaking her head. "And you have aged beautifully. I can't believe you used to be that same little girl all those years ago."

The two looked over then when hearing a loud creaking and ticking coming from the figure the Doctor had sprayed down. The Doctor tossed over the silver gun back to Mickey after finishing his work. Madison stayed in front of Reinette, blocking the robot's view from the woman the best she could. Rose and Mickey stood off to the side, seeming wary of the robot. The future Doctor . . . Madison glanced over, seeing him standing close by her and Reinette. He held a dark expression as his eyes bore into the robot. Under his breath, she could hear him muttering 'oh, I remember you now'.

"You better hurry talking to it. It's going to turn back on soon and kill everyone here," the future Doctor muttered to his past self.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," the other Doctor grumbled. He then straightened as the robot lifted and pointed its blade at his neck. "Right, okay, need to hurry. Who are you? Identify yourself." The robot tilted its head, not making a sound. The Doctor turned to Reinette then. "Order it to answer me."

"Why should it listen to me?" Reinette replied to the expected request.

"Because it needs you for some reason. A reason that I'm really trying to remember," said the future Doctor, banging on his forehead in frustration with an open palm.

"It worked when you were a child." The present Doctor walked over to Reinette, leaning in close to whisper. Madison heard him clearly. "Let's see if you've still got it."

Straightening in posture, Reinette stared steadily at the robotic figure and said, "Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."

They watched as the robot seemed to stare at them for a moment before slowly lowering its arm. It then spoke in a grainy female voice, "I am Repair Droid 7."

"And what happened to the ship, then?" asked the Doctor as he stood beside Reinette, hands in the pockets of his pinstripe jacket. "There was a lot of damage."

"Ion storm. Eighty-two percent systems failure," answered the droid.

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?"

"We did not have the parts."

"What's happened to the crew? Where are they?"

"We did not have the parts."

"But, you found parts, didn't you?" said the future Doctor suddenly. He walked away from Madison and Reinette, snapping his fingers as he pointed at the droid. "'Cause that ship is running at full power. To the max. Pumping away all that energy, it couldn't do that without the right parts. So, my question: where did you get all those parts? You haven't moved at all. There's no sign that the crew left and then came back. No sign of . . . Oh." There was sudden alarm on the Doctor's face.

"Oh?" the other Doctor asked, frowning at his counterpart.

"Oh." The future Doctor gave his past self a firm nod.

The past Doctor blinked and his mouth made an 'o' in realisation. "Oh."

"What? What is it? What's 'oh'?" Rose asked the two.

"They didn't have the parts, so they . . . improvised," the future Doctor explained.

"Fifty or more crew members . . . That's a lot of parts to use," muttered the other Doctor. Both gave each other grim glances.

"No . . . they didn't," Madison breathed, starting to feel sick as she knew what they were saying.

"Rose, Mickey, tells us what you two found," the future Doctor, pointing to the companions now.

"We . . . found a camera with an eye in it. And . . . there was a heart wired into machinery," Rose told them, hesitating as she spoke.

"The crew? They used the crew?" Mickey asked, making a face of disgust.

"It's just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can with whatever it can find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu," said the present Doctor quietly as he stared at the robot. "What did you say the flight deck smelled of?"

"Someone cooking," Rose mumbled, looking pale by now.

"Flesh, plus heat. Barbecue."

Madison had to cover her mouth as she turned away from everyone else and went back through the mirror and into the spaceship. The smell. The smell was still around in the ship even now. She knew that smell had been familiar. She just didn't want to believe it. She had been too naïve to believe it was possible. But she should have recognised it right away for she had smelled it during a few horrific occasions during her lifetime.

"It's okay. I know," came a soothing voice. She looked over to see the Doctor. The future Doctor. He came over to where she was leaning against the wall, rubbing at her back, trying to soothe her. She gulped down the bitter acidic taste from her mouth, nodding that she was fine. She moved to go back through the mirror, but the Doctor stopped her, holding an arm around her waist and keeping her close. "Best not," he whispered.

"Why?" she questioned, feeling disgruntled that he wouldn't let her help. That was all he had been doing this entire day, always keeping her stuck to his side. As if he were afraid she was going to break. "I'm not a child. I can handle this. I only had a moment of weakness."

"I know, but . . ." He seemed at a loss, unable to excuse his behaviour. There was great conflict seen within his eyes. His free hand twitched by his side, almost like a nervous tick.

Madison turned her attention away from him when she heard Reinette shouting within the palace room. Just as she went through the mirror she saw the Repair Droid lift its arms and tapped something on its wrist. It then vanished in a waving light, something that she recognised as a teleport. Oh, how she hated teleportation. It was nothing but a headache. As she heard her Doctor telling Rose and Mickey to get after the robot, Madison went over to Reinette.

"I heard you shouting. Are you all right?" Madison asked her.

"It said we were the same. But I'm nothing of the sort. I would never have . . ." Reinette seemed to struggle with her words, looking disgusted and unnerved.

"Knowing it used the crew for parts, I'm assuming it's targeting you for the same reason?" Madison watched as Reinette nodded weakly. She then took Reinette's hands into hers. "Then remember all those years ago? It was scanning your brain. It probably wants your mind for a computer program, a, ah, machine part, or something. Something that it once had and now it thinks your brain can replace it. The robot only believes you're the same because your mind is so powerful. That's all. Other than that, yes, you are nothing alike. I promise you that." Madison then gave her hands a soft squeeze. "And I can promise you this as well. No matter what, I will not allow them to take your mind. I will protect you. I swear."

Appearing comforted, Reinette gave a small smile and nod. "Thank you." She brought up a hand, touching Madison's cheek. "But you have always been my guardian, haven't you?"

"It's what I do best." Madison gave Reinette a wink, earning herself a brighter smile.

The Doctor came over to them then, looking urgent. "Madison, I need you to take Bow Tie here and go after Mickey and Rose. Knowing them, they're gonna need help."

"What about you?" Madison asked.

"I need to stay here with Reinette. I have to find out why they're after Reinette and what they're looking for. They keep saying 'incomplete'—"

"-so you need to search her mind to see when she'll be 'complete'. I understand." Madison nodded as she knew it had to do something with Reinette's mind. Possibly because of the woman's intelligence. Or possibly because of something else entirely. But she knew the Doctor would find it. She trusted him. "Just be careful and quick. We don't know what those repair bots are capable of."

She turned and started for the mirrored doorway, only to pause as she saw the future Doctor staring hard at Reinette and his past self. There was something in his eyes then. Something she couldn't quite . . . No, she was wrong. She did recognise the look in his eye. It was a sign of heavy regret and guilt. His jaw was tight as he seemed to wish to say something. But he turned his head away, walking back through the mirror. She went after him, making the mirror turn and close behind her. She glanced back through the two-way window, seeing the other Doctor in the room and pressing his fingers to Reinette's head.

"Is something wrong?" Madison asked the Doctor in tweed, seeing how he was wringing his hands together again.

He turned and gave her a large smile. "No. Of course not. Let's get after Mickey and Rose. I haven't seen them in a while and I'd love to catch up." He grabbed her hand then, leading her down the corridor.

She knew he was lying, but she didn't want to press him for answers. So she merely followed him down the hall, keeping quiet as she tried contemplating why exactly he was still here. It did not make any sense to her. It felt as though he were merely tagging along. Not really doing anything. He said he recalled needing to be here, but could he not remember for what exactly? Maybe he was simply waiting for the memory to come back. Or . . . maybe it was something else that she had been having suspicions of since the beginning.

"Wait," he hissed, making her stop as he came up to a corner of the corridor. He peeked around to another hallway, narrowing his eyes at what he saw. She moved carefully around him, looking over his shoulder to see different Repair Droids dragging away a limp Rose and Mickey. The two were completely unconscious with their heads rolled to the sides as they were being dragged. The Doctor suddenly pushed Madison back as one of the robots looked back in their direction. "We need to move," he whispered into her ear.

She agreed, following him quickly as they held hands and ran back down the corridor as they heard the sound of the tick-tocking droids coming after them. The Doctor suddenly pushed her towards an open room, making her see it was a cupboard of some kind with different spare parts and mechanical things. The Doctor then slammed a hand down on a control panel beside the door, making a metal wall slide shut and locking them in the small dark space. He then sonicked the door, keeping it closed tightly. Her breath wavered as she heard the tick-tocks come closer to where they were hiding. The Doctor pressed himself up to her then, backing her up against a wall, holding a hand over her mouth and hissing into her ear to hold her breath. Nodding, she did as she was told, keeping her breath in. She felt her lungs growing tight and her heart thump away. Body growing tense, she heard the tick-tocks just outside the door then. The Doctor pressed himself up closer to her. Her hand that was trapped between them felt his two hearts pounding fast. She glanced up at him, seeing him staring at the door with a stormy gaze. The way he looked in the dim lighting . . . she couldn't help but feel the fluttering within her stomach and a shiver down her spine. These feelings were ignored, however, as her lungs burned. She didn't know how long she could hold her breath. Underwater would be different. But on land, she was only able to go so long without air.

Soon, the sound went away and the Doctor let go of her.

"Okay, you can breathe now," he said, still keeping his voice quiet. She let out a shaky breath, glad to finally breathe again.

"We have to go after them. What if they use Rose and Mickey for parts," she whispered hastily, looking around the room then for any means of defence against the droids. "Is there something here we can use?"

"Hmm." The Doctor searched around as well, grinning when his eyes went over to a shelf filled with all sorts of bottles filled with liquids. "I know exactly what we can do." He started grabbing random bottles, pulling them off the shelf and sitting them on the floor. He crouched down then, starting to mix together the different coloured liquids, pouring them into different bottles.

"What are you making?" she asked curiously as she crouched down beside him.

"Anti-oil. I used to carry some around with me in case of moments like this. But I'm afraid I might have slipped from that habit." He was vigorously shaking one of the bottles as he grinned. "But not to worry. I know exactly how to make some. Won't take but a moment."

"What's anti-oil going to do?"

"Well . . . good question. Because that requires me getting close enough to the main droid to power him down but . . . hmm." He grinned mischievously at her. "I think I've got it."

XxXxXxXxXx

It was hard work crawling through an air vent, but Madison kept going without complaint. She knew she needed to get to where Rose and Mickey were. She only half listened to the Doctor's explanation of them being placed in the droid repair centre, which was surprisingly back in the same place the TARDISes were parked. Though all she really cared about was the main plan of action. The Doctor was meant to distract the droids while she snuck up around them and dumped the anti-oil on the main droid before powering down the rest with the red switch on the control panel. But if this was going to work at all was yet to be seen. She really hoped that it did or else Rose and Mickey might perish as 'parts' for the droids.

She came up to the end of the vent, carefully moving the slits of the cover to peak out. She was on the bottom vent close to the floor, so it was hard seeing much, but she could make out the basics of what was happening. She could see Rose and Mickey had been placed on some metal beds. Both of their wrists and ankles were locked into place by metal cuffs. The main droid (the one she recognised to be the same from little Reinette's room all those years ago) was standing over Rose and holding out its blade, ready to dissect her. Mickey was already awake and Rose seemed to be rising from her unconsciousness.

"Hello! Yes, hello!" she heard the voice of the Doctor, the future one that is. She tried her best to see him, but there were things on the floor and in the way. "Ooh, what do we have going on in here?"

"They're going to chop us up!" exclaimed Mickey.

"Yes, yes, obviously. They'll need new parts to replace the ones that are probably worn out already," replied the Doctor absently. "You know how fragile humans are. Their parts never last for long. Especially outside of the body. It must be frustrating for you lot." There was a sound of clapping hands. "Tell you what, I have a better idea. I know where you can find some parts that will last a while. Parts that will keep on ticking away, no stopping or burning up with the heat. Though it might overload your systems a bit. Might need to compensate for that one."

"Doctor, I don't think they're interested in other parts," came Rose's hissing retort.

"Oh, but they'll be interested in these parts," countered the Doctor knowingly. "Which these parts are, ta-da! Me!"

As Madison slowly lowered the grate in front of her, opening the vent, she looked around the room carefully. All of the droids had their full attention on the Doctor. Just as planned. Slowly, she crawled out from the vent, doing her best not to make any noise. Luckily for her, she was hidden behind a mess of parts and a small console.

"Two hearts, binary vascular system, a brain with processing power that you wouldn't believe; I've got the best parts you can have," the Doctor continued on, practically bragging from the sound of it. "So you can let those two go. Nothing they can really offer you. Couple of duds really."

"Oi!" Rose and Mickey said at the same time.

The Doctor ignored them. "So, what do we think? Good trade, eh?"

"You are not compatible," said the main droid.

"Not . . . Not compatible?" the Doctor responded, sounding greatly offended now. Madison peeked around from her hiding spot, seeing that indeed he was. "I'm not compatible? Yet these two are?"

"They are compatible. You are not," said the clockwork droid. The droids, all except the main one by Rose, stiffly marched over to the Doctor. Two were behind him, stopping him from running while the rest were in front and holding up their arms. The blades shot out, pointing straight at the Doctor's neck. Madison tensed as a rush of anger went through her. But she bit it down, keeping herself calm. She didn't need another repeat of what happened at the school. Instead, she moved quietly around from her hiding spot, sneaking around to get behind the main droid's back.

The Doctor held up his hands, looking at all of the droids warily. "Okay. Okay, I see. Since I'm no use, I'm being perceived as a threat now, am I?" A crooked smile was given to the droids, he glanced at them all carefully. "Though, if I can say one last thing, as a final right before you kill me, is that you lot need to learn to pay more attention. 'Cause, you never know what might be coming up behind you."

Madison knew this was her cue. She rushed around the bed Rose was strapped down to, lifted the mask and wig off of the main droid, and poured the anti-oil from the bottle the Doctor had mixed together. The red liquid cascaded down the clockwork droid's head, making the golden gears beneath the see-through plastic skin of the robot jerk and come to a halt. As the main droid ceased to move and function, the others turned towards her and advanced. Fortunately, the Doctor reacted fast, ducking from one of the droids that took a swipe at him. He then rolled across the floor in one swift motion, ending up by the console before hurriedly flipping a switch. All the droids then went limp, bending over as they too powered down. Everyone collectively let out sighs of relief, glad it was over. Getting up from the floor, the Doctor brushed himself off before walking over to Rose. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, getting her unlocked first.

"Thanks. Glad at least we can count on you two," Rose said, rubbing at her wrists.

"Yeah, at least you didn't abandon us. Where the hell is the other Doctor, huh?" Mickey asked as he too was being released from his bindings.

The Doctor's expression turned sour as he held his sonic tightly in his hand. "He's busy at the moment," he grumbled, sounding almost angry now.

Mickey gave a scoff. "'Busy'? Doing what?"

By this point, they began hearing loud singing. Someone was singing to themselves and making a loud racket as they were coming down the corridor. Madison recognised it was the other Doctor almost right away. But why was he singing? And why did he sound . . . so incoherent? She received her answer when he finally came into the room.

He slaughtered into the room, or rather stumbled in, as he appeared to be dancing to the song he was singing. His buttoned shirt was partly open as his necktie had been removed and placed around his head. He had on a pair of dark sunglasses and held a glass of wine in his hand. He continued to stumble around until he finally seemed to notice them standing there. A pout was given to them all as he adjusted himself and stood straighter. As he turned to face them all, the light of the room showed his face clearly. She could see something there on his cheek, close to the corner of his mouth, then completely on his mouth glistening in the dim light he stood under, and something else, a small bruise on his neck, that made Madison's heart stop. It was like time paused for a moment as she stared at him. She didn't even register the huffy exchange between the two Doctors or even with Mickey and Rose. Instead, Madison felt something snap in her as she slowly walked over to her Doctor.

"I was busy. I needed to find out why they were after Reinette," she heard her Doctor say as she finally comprehended the conversation he was having with his future self.

"Oh, what, by partying? Yes, I can see. So very 'busy'," said the future Doctor, sounding completely angry with his other self. "Tell me, did you have fun with Miss Poisson? You must have given the state of you."

"I was putting on an act. You know this. I needed to distract them so I could use the anti-oil." The Doctor took off his necktie from his head, starting to put it around his neck again. His sunglasses were then pushed up to rest against his head. "And besides, it wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like, Doctor? For I'd really like to know," Madison spoke up then, earning the attention of everyone in the room. Her trembling voice must have given away the turbulent emotions she was feeling at that moment. She continued to get closer to him, and he gulped and straightened up. He gazed at her; the trepidation and guilt as clear as day in his eyes. She could feel the gaze of the others on her as she stood face-to-face with the Doctor. She ignored the Doctor from the future, even though she could see him twisting his hands nervously together in the corner of her eye.

"Ah . . . I don't . . .," the present Doctor tried to answer her. He began rubbing at his earlobe. "Is something wrong, Maddie?"

"I want you to explain yourself. You've been gone . . . for hours. We left you behind, and I saw you checking over Reinette's mind. That shouldn't have taken that long. And now . . . you're coming in here, clearly inebriated, and don't," she raised a hand, stopping him from talking, "try to stand there and tell me it was all an act. I can smell the alcohol on your breath."

"I was just . . . Reinette invited me to the ball. She—she wanted to make the King jealous."

"Oh . . . I see." She swiped at his mouth and cheek. She held up her fingers to him then, allowing him to see the pink colour of lipstick. "And was this how you helped Reinette? Or," she yanked down his shirt collar more, jabbing at the love bite on his neck, "was this?" Seeing him standing frozen, hand dropping from his ear and staring back at her in uncertainty, she felt her temper rise. "Was the first kiss another way to 'help' her? Or was this you just 'acting'?"

"It wasn't like that," he said slowly. "I was just dancing—"

"Oh! Dancing! Ha!" She shuddered as her hands rested at her sides, each of them tightening into fists. "Yes, you certainly know your way with dancing. Is that how it always starts? You—You sweep women off their feet with a handful of dance moves and a display of compassion. Then, after you have 'danced' you go about finding yourself another dance partner."

"Oh, come on, it's not like that and you know it."

"What do I know, Doctor? Hmm? That you love to leave behind past friends and associates as if they are meaningless? You gallivant around with whomever you feel like, make them feel important, and they do everything in their power to impress you only for you to toss them aside like rubbish once they've had their use."

The Doctor looked angry then. "It's not like that—"

"Enough!" This outburst from her must have shocked him as he blinked in alarm and took a step back. She could see golden light in her vision but she ignored this. "It doesn't matter if that's not how you perceive the situation, because that's exactly how it is for everyone else. You jump from person to person, not even thinking about what that would do to someone when they get left behind. I thought perhaps it was simply departing from travels because of the lifespan difference, but now I see it's more than that. You clearly leave people behind to 'dance' with others as well."

"What? No, no, no. Hold on, hold on, it's not—"

She stepped back from him as he tried to reach for her. She held up a shaky hand, keeping him at bay. "Do not try to tell me that 'it's not like that' when all of us can see that it is." She dropped her hand, feeling her eyes burning from tears as they ran down her face. "I thought . . . I thought maybe I made myself clear. Maybe you understood that I could only . . . It was just you. Only you and no one else that could ever be." Letting out a derisive laugh, she shook her head. "I suppose I was a fool. I was nothing more than a causal dalliance after all."

The utter disappointment and regret on his face spoke everything to her. "I—"

She held up a hand again to stop him. "Don't. I'm done talking to you right now."

"You've said enough," she heard the future Doctor say in agreement. She stiffened as she felt his arm wrap around her waist and pull her in close to him. Her anger spiked again, and she yanked herself out of his hold.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled. She glared and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I haven't even started with you yet. All day you've been using me as a tool to get back at your past face. Some sort of twisted perversion of yours." Seeing his shocked expression, she gritted her teeth. "What, you truly thought that I would be ignorant of all your affections today? I knew from the start that you were only doing so to get back at yourself, for reasons I do not care to understand right now. So don't come anywhere near me for the rest of this day." She looked around the room, seeing everyone's stunned expressions. "In fact, no one will touch me or speak to me right now. I need time alone from everyone."

"Maddie—," the two Doctors spoke together.

She shot them both down with a single look. She then went to walk around the two Doctors, heading towards the corridor of the ship.

"Amy, wait, the Doctor said—," came Rory's voice then as the one TARDIS creaked open.

"I told him an hour. I gave him more than that. What if they're hurt?" came Amy's. Madison glanced over, seeing the future Doctor's TARDIS opening up and the two future companions standing there. Both of them blinked. She must have been a sight with her red eyes and tears running down her face. "Maddie? What's wrong? What's happened?" asked the ginger woman. Amy stepped out, glaring at the Doctor in tweed. "What did you do?"

Shaking her head, Madison did not feel as though she wanted to deal with this right now. So, she did the only thing she could think of at the moment and that was to run away. She took off at a full-on sprint, rushing out of the room. The others shouted for her, calling her name. This only caused her heart to ache more. She felt awful about her emotions getting the better of her. Ashamed of herself. In her shame and humiliation, she ran faster. Her tears fell harder. Her heart twisted and hurt. Her thoughts raced. The world around her blurred as she felt blind to it all. For all she cared about was putting as much distance between herself and the Doctor. She knew eventually she would have to face him again when she was calmer and could think clearly enough to have a more civil conversation with him. But for now, she only wished for a place to be alone and to cry her heart out.

She came across a tapestry. It hung in the middle of a wall in the corridor. It was marvellously made with all sorts of rich colours and patterns. A piece of art one might find in a palace. She knew the future Doctor did not want her through any more time windows, but she didn't care. If it meant getting some peace away from the others, she would take it. So she stepped through the doorway, pushing aside the tapestry as she did. There on the other side was a quiet room in the Palace of Versailles. A silent entertainment hall from the looks of it. She did not bother to look around in more detail. All she cared about was that she had peace with being alone. Finally, she could let out the soft sobs she had been holding back. She stood there, in the centre of the room, holding a hand over her mouth as she tried her best to keep quiet as she cried. A few hiccups escaped her as she quivered in place.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Madison tensed as she looked up and saw Reinette coming into the room with her. Reinette, dressed in a beautiful red gown, was much older than when they had last met. By Madison's guess . . . the woman would be in her thirties. It was then that Madison felt idiotic from coming into the room. Of course, Reinette would be somewhere nearby. It was her life the robots were following, after all.

"Madison. My dear, are you all right?" Reinette asked her, immediately concerned and walking over to Madison.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to find someplace to be alone," Madison replied, her voice thick from tears. Honestly, Reinette was the last person she wanted to see. That, and the Doctor. Future or past face.

"I find that being alone is not always the best medicine when it comes to heartache." Reinette came over to her, taking her hands gently. "What is troubling you? Please, tell me."

How could Madison tell her? How could she even possibly explain what turmoil she was going through? Especially when it had to do with Reinette's involvement when it came to the Doctor. It was not as though Madison blamed Reinette. The woman was not Madison's lover. The Doctor was. He made that choice. Though . . . "I'm troubled . . . because you and the Doctor have been sharing intimate kisses with one another."

Reinette blinked, clearly not expecting this. "Oh . . . Yes, I can see why that would trouble you." She let go of Madison's hands, making a brief gesture to follow her back into another, smaller, room. "If you are willing, I would like to discuss this. Please."

Madison's nerves were on edge, but she agreed nonetheless. She followed Reinette into the other room, seeing a clock by a wall ticking away, a piano to the side with a bench in front, a few other chairs around for resting, and a large window showing the night sky.

"Please, have a seat." Reinette waved a hand to an empty chair that was close to the piano.

Madison sat down slowly, watching as Reinette took her own seat at the piano. Everything just seemed to erupt out of her then. "Did he kiss you back? When you kissed him that first time . . . His future self sure made it seem like that happened, but . . . I need to hear it from you."

"Yes. He did. As you had said. It was . . . intimate."

A shaky breath left Madison then. She felt more hot tears trailing down her face as she turned her head away from Reinette. ". . . I see."

"Nothing came of it."

"That's not really the point of why I'm dismayed." Madison clasped her hands, trying to keep it together. She felt ready to break. She watched as Reinette's hand gently placed itself over hers. Madison did not lift her eyes to Reinette, too afraid of what she would see. "I know. You probably assume I'm merely jealous. But that's not even it. I'm distraught because . . . if he's willing to kiss someone with such passion, then it really does show that he doesn't truly love me. It means that I have given him my heart too soon, not waiting to know for certain that he did love me." She sighed. "Mother warned me of this. Said not to rush things before I knew for certain. Suppose I deserve this for not heeding that warning."

Reinette shook her head in concern. "Oh, Madison. The Doctor does not love me. The kiss, though it meant everything to me, I'm certain it meant nothing to him."

"You don't know the Doctor as I do. He doesn't just kiss people unless he means it."

"Maybe so. However, I know, with absolute certainty, that the Doctor does love you." Reinette grabbed Madison's chin then, lifting it up so their eyes could meet. "All those years ago, you told me of this wondrous man. A man called 'The Doctor'. He was your Doctor and you loved him with all your heart. Do you honestly believe that he could not feel the same for you?"

". . . I don't know. Sometimes I think he loves me. But then there are times when I'll tell him I love him and he can't even look at me afterwards." Madison pulled her chin out of Reinette's hold, though she did keep their gazes met. "Why did you kiss him, Reinette?"

"Other than the King himself, the Doctor is the only other man I love." Reinette gave a soft smile then. "You told me so many magical stories about him. How could I not fall in love with him?"

Madison groaned, shaking her head. "So it's my fault. Ha. Of course, it is."

"Do not regret telling me those stories. They have helped me through so much." Reinette patted Madison's hands again before letting go. "Again, though the kiss meant a great deal to me, it was nothing more than a brief moment of passion for the Doctor. Nothing there of true lasting thought."

"Then what did the second time mean? After he came back from the ball, I saw your lipstick on his face and the . . . the, um, m-mark on his neck."

"Oh!" Reinette laughed, grinning lightly. "I was merely using the Doctor then to make the King jealous. Nothing more. As for the mark on his neck, I do believe that was Beatrix becoming overly zealous again with guests." Reaching over, Reinette took Madison's hands into her own and gave them a soft caress. "I will admit, when I met the Doctor again for the third time after you were gone, I had truly believed you to be dead. If I had known you were alive . . . well, I certainly would have given it a second thought to kiss him." Her expression fell then to that of regret. "Perhaps I should have reflected more before kissing him in the first place. If I had known it would have put you through distress . . . I was foolish. So preposterous in my youth."

"I don't blame you, Reinette. You're not the one I'm dating. It's the Doctor I'm having trouble with." For the hundredth time that day, she sighed, removing her hands from Reinette. "I just don't understand. Why would he allow others to kiss him and do that sort of thing? Why would he go off to a party when he knew we were in trouble and needed help? He's . . . If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's acting like a teenager."

"Everyone may have moments of lacking judgement for their actions. It does not necessarily mean that he intended to cause you harm."

"I know . . . And now I've gone and lost my temper with him. I shouted at him. Him and his future self. They are most likely both disgusted with me."

"It is highly unlikely that the Doctor could ever feel such a way. Especially when it involves you." Reinette brushed a soft hand against Madison's cheek. "When I crossed into his mind, I witnessed the devotion he feels for you. You make him feel as though he is no longer alone within the cold universe. Such love he holds for you and you alone . . ."

"You . . . looked into his mind? You saw all that?" With a nod from Reinette, Madison gazed down at her lap. That was rare for a human to do, share a telepathic connection with another. It normally only happened if the human was born a telepath, or had a distant relative with telepathy that left behind some remnants of such abilities. Did Reinette hold such gifts? Or was it merely the sheer power of her intelligence that allowed such a feat? And . . . had Reinette truly seen such thoughts in the Doctor's mind?

"Maddie! Are you in here?"

Madison and Reinette stood up together when they heard a female voice echo in the other room. Madison recognised this voice to be Amy. And as she walked around the corner, she saw that it was indeed the red-haired woman. Madison wondered briefly why the future companion would be looking for her. But in seeing the worried expression it finally dawned on her what sort of relationship her future self may have with this young woman. Madison had not given it much thought until now. She had assumed she wasn't around much as it seemed that her future self was away doing other things. Perhaps she only visited the Doctor every once and a while? It was hard telling. Though . . . the future Doctor still certainly acted as though he held strong feelings for her.

"There you are," said Amy as she walked over to Madison. "Everyone's been looking for you." The woman pulled Madison into a quick hug before holding her at arms left, seeming to be looking her over. "Sorry he's being an idiot again. I swear, for a genius, he's the world's biggest moron sometimes. Are you okay?" Amy then blinked when seeing Reinette standing there. "Oh. You're that woman he mentioned . . . and the one who started all this mess."

Reinette raised a brow. "Shall I assume you're an acquaintance of the Doctor?"

"Not the one you know," Amy mumbled, seeming uncomfortable suddenly. There was movement with the tapestry behind her. Suddenly Rory came through from the other side. He held a mixture of nervousness and relief when spotting Madison.

"Great. Amy found you," he said as he walked over to them. Then he noticed Reinette. "Oh. You're . . . Madame de, ah . . . sorry I forgot the name already. But you're that woman he mentioned."

"Yeah, she's the one," said Amy.

"Right." Rory seemed to shake himself out of it for a moment before looking at Madison. "Glad we found you 'cause there's a mess happening back on the ship. The Doctor, the, um, the other one I mean, he figured out the reason why they're after her." He waved a hand to Reinette. "Apparently it's her age they're looking for. When she's thirty-seven they're gonna, well, you know. They're actually doing it right now back on the ship. The Doctor, the one we know, says we need to hurry."

"They're killing me now as we speak?" Reinette asked, sounding breathless as her voice hitched with fright.

"What? Oh, no, uh, sorry, that—that came out wrong. They're just . . . trying to kill you," Rory corrected himself. "For us, I mean. For you . . . how old are you now? I think you've still got a while until they show up."

"They will attack me when I am thirty-seven? Then I suppose that will allow me five years until then," said Reinette, seeming to be calming herself down. "How is even possible? How is it that you all know of the future?"

"We're from the future. Three thousand years in your future to be exact. We're currently on a spaceship, a ship which travels through space outside of Earth, that has these time windows to random moments of your life on display that the droids, these metal people, are using to try and take your head," Madison explained briskly. She saw the looks from Amy and Rory and she knew they were nervous about her being so blatant about her information. "She deserves to know the truth."

"If you say so," Amy replied with a shrug.

"Wouldn't that ruin time with her knowing though?" Rory wondered aloud.

"Not as long as we don't let her—Reinette, no!" Madison rushed over to Reinette just as the woman walked through the tapestry. Madison, Amy, and Rory all went with the woman as Reinette stepped onto the ship. They could see wide eyes on Reinette's face. The shock was clear as day across her face. Madison could only imagine what it must look like to the woman, seeing all the dark corridors, the wires and messes all around, and the sounds that the spaceship gave that were unlike anything from the 18th century.

"So this is your world," Reinette said to Madison, turning towards her. There came a scream then, followed by multiple more, making them all look towards the distant sound. "What was that?"

"Yeah, that would be the thing I mentioned," Rory told them.

"Those screams. Is that my future?" Reinette asked, appearing frightened now.

"Yeah," said Amy.

"Sorry," added Rory. There came footsteps from down the corridor and soon Rose and Mickey was rushing down towards them.

"The Doctor's got the auto link up. We can hear what's happening but we can't get through," Mickey told them all hurriedly.

"What's she doing out here? The Doctor will go mad if he sees," Rose said, looking at Amy and Rory for answers.

"I let her come through. She deserves to see what she's up against in her future," Madison said, quick to keep the peace as she didn't want an argument to start. She turned to Reinette then, grabbing the woman's hand and giving it a soft squeeze. "We're coming for you. In your future, just keep the droids distracted long enough for us to get through. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Reinette gave a small smile. "I know. You have always been my guardian. I know you won't let me down." She took in a steady breath. "Until then, I must take the slower path." She was startled when she heard herself shouting through the corridor. Her future self was calling out for help. "Th-that's my voice."

Madison gave Reinette's hand another squeeze. "Yes, it is. But that's a good sign. It means you're still alive. Just focus on that. Can you do that for me, sweetie?" She lifted a hand and brushed some hair away from Reinette's face, giving her a comforting smile.

Reinette's small smile returned. "Oh, how I have missed you calling me that." She took in a breath, steadying herself then. "I am ready. I will walk the slower path if it means that I can see you and the Doctor once more. The Doctor and you are both worth the monsters." She gave Madison's cheek a loving kiss before returning through the tapestry.

"We've got to go. There's a problem," Mickey said to them then.

"Mostly the Doctors. They're arguing up a storm," Rose sighed in frustration.

"Again?" Amy groaned, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Why am I not surprised," Rory muttered as they all rushed off together down the corridor.

"Maddie, are you alright? I know the Doctors have been idiots—," Rose began.

"I'm fine. We'll discuss this later. For now, let's focus on saving Reinette," Madison said, firm in keeping them all focused on what was needed of them now.

When they arrived at the room where the screams were coming from, Madison gave a quick look over towards the source of the noise. Apparently, it was another mirror. One which the people on the other side of the room could not see them. It was in the palace again, this time in the ballroom. There were guests of the palace that were dressed in their finest. Many with masks on. There must have been a party ongoing when the clockwork droids attacked. In the spaceship, she saw the two Doctors rushing around wildly and working together. Though they seemed to be cooperating easily, their words betrayed their actual feelings for one another as they were heard making angry retorts at each other. Madison could tell that each of them was mostly frustrated that what they were doing didn't seem to be working. She knew what the Doctor could get like when he was thwarted by something. And since he hated himself, taking it out on another face seemed to be the easiest option for him.

"Maddie, do you think you could talk some sense into them?" Amy said as she waved an exasperated hand toward the two Doctors.

"Trust me, I'm the last person they'll want to speak with," Madison sighed, already knowing that would just make the two even worse.

"If they're not gonna work together then how the hell are we supposed to stop them robots?" asked Mickey.

Madison turned to him and Rose then, asking, "Did he say anything? Anything at all that we might be able to do to help break through that mirror?"

"Yeah, he said we'd need a truck to smash through it," Mickey told her.

At that moment, she heard a horse's snort. She looked over, seeing Arthur down the corridor, pawing at the metal floor and seeming to be sniffing around. "Good thing we have something better," she said, turning around and sprinting for Arthur. She jumped onto the horse, adjusting herself into the saddle quickly as Arthur snorted and neighed in surprise for being grabbed.

"Wait!" Rose said, trying to get in front of Arthur to block Madison's path. "If you break through the Doctors said the doorways will close. You'll be trapped."

Madison heard Reinette's voice through the mirror. She was still alive . . . though for how much longer . . . Madison listened as the Doctors were still arguing, neither one of them seemed willing to work together. It was her fault. She caused the rift between them. Now it was time to correct her mistake. "It doesn't matter what happens to me. As long as I can save her, then I'll do whatever it takes," Madison spoke with full resolve. Wrapping the reins around her hands tightly, she jerked Arthur's head around and kicked him hard. She heard others shouting at her to stop. A mixture of voices. Some of them being the two Doctors. But she ignored this. Damn the consequences. She just needed to save Reinette.

Arthur bolted straight into the mirror and it came crashing down around the two of them as he took a mighty leap. There were screams as Arthur whinnied loudly. His hooves made galloping echoes throughout the ballroom as they landed on the titles. Madison had to steer Arthur around the people as they all screamed and ran to different corners of the room in fright. She made Arthur come to a halt just before Reinette, King Louis XV, and the different droids that had Reinette kneeled and their blades pointed at her neck. Madison glared at the clockwork men and women as she jumped down from Arthur. She patted the horse's neck before storming over to the droids.

"I'd take your hands off her now if I were you," Madison ordered the robots.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the King, turning to his mistress for answers.

"Oh. This is my lover, the King of France," Reinette introduced Madison to the King. "This is Madison. My guardian from when I was a child."

"Sorry for the intrusion," Madison replied, giving the King a brief glance before looking up towards the mirror, "and for the broken mirror." She turned her sole attention onto the clockwork droids then, giving each a heated gaze. "You can let her go now. I won't ask again."

"She is complete. She will—," the one main clockwork man began saying.

"Check again. Your doorway is sealed now," Madison interrupted, pointing to the mirror. She watched as the droids looked at the mirror and then back at her. The main droid started hitting at its wrist, trying to teleport away. "You're stuck here, just like me." The clockwork man lifted its arm then, pointing its blade at her neck. She didn't even flinch as she eyed the droid in sympathy. "You tried so hard to fix your ship. But what's the point of fixing it when you've got no crew? What was your plan after this, huh? Keep fixing and fixing, stuck in an endless cycle of never-ending repairs?" She lifted a hand, pushing back the mask to reveal the clockwork mechanisms under the wig. People around her gasped as she stared at it. "It's time to let go now. No more ship. No more repairs. Just let go and be at peace."

She watched as the clockwork mechanisms under the see-through shell slowly wound down. The arm moved away, lowering the blade from her neck as the droid seemed to be sadly accepting its fate. Its head tilted forward and the gears gradually came to a stop. The other droids bent over then, ceasing to be. One even fell over backwards, breaking apart with its golden gears scattered against the hard stone floor. Madison reached around the droid in front of her, holding out a hand to Reinette.

"It's okay, Reinette. The monsters are finally gone. No more nightmares," Madison assured the woman as she helped Reinette up from the floor.

"What's happened to them?" Reinette asked her, gazing at the droids anxiously.

"I think . . . with the link broken from their ship, they couldn't last. They've powered down. For good this time." Madison looked around the different guests, seeing them staring in fright and uncertainty at her and the droids that stayed frozen in place. She then looked at the broken mirror. Her stomach churned and her heart clenched. She hoped, in the end, that maybe the Doctor would forgive her. For more than breaking the mirror.

XxXxXxXxXx

It took some time to convince the King that everything was indeed fine and that the occurrence had really happened. Madison had to explain away the droids without giving away too much. She mostly kept to the same story she had told Reinette when the woman had been a child. That the droids and Madison were both from another world and that she was sent through the mirror to stop them. Simple as that. Though to explain how the King needed to have the droids buried away was another feat altogether. Luckily, the King agreed, in the end, to have his servants do away with the unworking droids. Madison was just glad that she helped keep something from the future away from the hands of the past. She did not want time to be altered in any way. Even if it was unlikely that anyone would know what to do with the clockwork men.

As the night settled, the party guests were gone, and the King's servants were busy cleaning up a mess, Madison stood within a quiet music room. The very same that she and Reinette had their heart-to-heart. A few years ago for Reinette, and only a few hours behind for Madison. She gazed out the large window, staring at the twinkling stars in the inky black night sky. Somewhere, out there through the darkness and about three thousand years in the future, was the Doctor. Both Doctors. Rose and Mickey. Amy and Rory, too, even if she didn't know them yet. All she could think about was how upset they all might be with her for acting so brash. She hadn't thought things through. How foolish of her. Would they be trying to open more time windows to come get her? Or would the Doctors be able to take their TARDISes now that they weren't locked into the events?

"Will the Doctor be coming for you soon?" she heard Reinette's voice ask. Madison turned her head, looking over her shoulder to see the woman walking into the room. Reinette held two wine glasses in hand, giving one to Madison as she came to stand in front of the window. "I recall his vessel from his memories. The TARDIS, correct?"

"Yes," Madison said quietly as she took a sip from her glass. "I think he'll come for me. Though knowing him and his driving . . . he'll be late." She chuckled, shaking her head at this thought.

"You're scared that he won't come for you. I can tell," Reinette commented as she sipped her wine and kept a steady gaze on Madison.

"I did act rather brash in my haste to save you. I have a problem not thinking things through when it comes to protecting others." Madison swirled her wine around in her glass as she stared at the red liquid. "If he wanted to, he could always leave me here for a while to learn my lesson in not listening to him."

"The Doctor would never leave behind his friends. Especially someone who he cares for so deeply."

There was such a strong assurance felt in Reinette's words that Madison didn't have the heart to argue against them. Instead, she took a long gulp from her wine as she gazed at the stars again. She thought of the Doctor once more. A part of her wanted to be hopeful and think of the Doctor as Reinette did. As someone who could never leave others behind. But the better part of her knew that the Doctor absolutely could and would leave people behind. Either on his own accord or by accident of unforeseen circumstances. If she was left behind . . . Madison knew it would be of her own fault. It was her doing that brought her to this moment and no one else's.

"There were many doors between my world and yours. Can you not use one of the others?" Reinette asked her then.

"I don't know. I don't think so. If the droids stopped working then I think Rose was right. All the doorways were closed. There's no more connection between the future and the past. Only the slow path to follow now," Madison explained, fiddling with the glass in her hands. "It's fine. I've walked the slow path before. I can always do it again. Though . . . it might be hard this time around as I'll have to avoid my past self." She gave a small laugh when seeing the confused look Reinette gave her. "Long story. I'll have to explain later."

"So, you plan on walking the slow path with me?"

Madison smiled lightly. "I suppose so. You're stuck with me I'm afraid. Hope I don't bore you too much."

Reinette smiled in return, though her expression spoke of quiet sadness. "I believe, I have something to show you that might change this plan of yours. Take my hand." Reinette held out her hand which Madison grabbed.

The woman then steered Madison out of the room and through the hallways of the palace. Eventually, they came into a grand room. A room which was a woman's by Madison's guess judging by the wardrobes of dresses and the vanity desk and mirror. Reinette led her back into another separate section of the room, one which held the large bed with lush pillows and covers. At the far wall of the room was a fireplace. Madison was surprised as she recognised the fireplace. It was the same one from Reinette's childhood room all these years ago.

"It's not a copy. It's the original," Reinette explained to Madison. "I had it moved here and was exact in every detail." Madison let go of Reinette's hand as she walked over to the fireplace.

"Why did you do that?" she asked the woman.

"I did this many years ago. In the hope that a door once opened may someday open again." Reinette came over to stand beside Madison as they both gazed at the fire within the fireplace. "One never quite knows when one needs one's doctor or guardian." Madison blinked and looked at Reinette while the woman smiled gently at her. "Do you think it will still work?"

"I don't know. I never even managed to get it to work the last time." Madison looked back to the fireplace, frowning in thought.

"Perhaps that can change. The clock is broken on this side this time. Maybe this will be the key to unlocking the door?"

Madison walked over to the fireplace, touching the mantel and rubbing her hand along the smooth stone. As she had done before, she touched everywhere she could along the fireplace. She mostly focused on the mantel as she knew this was where the Doctor had gotten it to work. Though the mantel was loose, she didn't see anything that would allow her to get the doorway to work. She even banged on it, but . . . nothing. She sighed, stepping back from the fireplace. "It was a nice thought, Reinette, but I don't think it will work. Not for me. I'm useless when it comes to mechanics."

"How were you able to travel back to his world last time?" asked Reinette.

"With this." Madison pulled out her mobile phone, showing it to Reinette. She found humour in Reinette's bewildered expression. "It's a communication device from the future. But its power is all drained at the moment. I won't be able to turn it on until I can get it charged. Which that won't happen for another . . . two hundred or so years." Madison stuffed the useless mobile back into her pocket. "Until then . . . I really am stuck."

"Then I suppose we will just have to wait for the Doctor. He is sure to come for you in no time." With a confident smile, Reinette nodded at Madison. "Follow me. I will get you somewhere more comfortable for the night until the Doctor's arrival. No more sleeping under beds. Tonight, you shall sleep as royalty." Reinette turned and left the room.

Madison stood there for a moment, gazing towards the empty doorway Reinette had gone through. Turning her eyes back to the fireplace, she stared at it for a moment longer. The firelight flickered, creating dancing shadows that wrapped and twisted around where she stood. Never had she felt so alone then this moment as she wrapped arms around herself. Her heart clenched as she slowly stepped away from the fireplace. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her posture and held her head high as she kept herself calm. Turning from the light, she walked back through the darkness of the room and towards what lay ahead for her.

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Again, I hope it was good. I was nervous writing this, afraid that it wouldn't be all that well written. Let me know what you think in a review. I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks again for sticking around with this story and giving it support. You all are amazing!