This chapter is dedicated to all of my readers, past, present, and future, who made this story possible. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
"So... I know you can't tell me everything," Lyssa started hesitantly, a few minutes later as they strolled down the corridor, hand in hand, to find the Ranger and Clara, "but... my future self..." She grimaced apologetically as the Doctor winced. "Sorry, I know, I just... is there anything you can tell me?" It had been a little unnerving to see her future self look so pale and pained, and to know almost nothing about what had happened. "Any sort of hint, even?"
He sighed, hand tightening a little around hers. "I can't answer that," he said slowly. "What happened there was... precarious. Balanced on the edge of a knife, and just the slightest bit of change could tilt it too far to something far worse."
She blinked. "Right. Well, that's comforting."
He stopped, turning to face her. "I wish I could tell you everything," he told her quietly. "You're my -" Lyssa tilted her head to the side curiously as a strange, lilting word came out of his mouth, untranslated by the TARDIS but soft and soothing and wrapping around her like a warm, gentle hug. He saw her confusion and smiled. "My... everything, I suppose," he huffed a laugh. "The one who I trust with all that I have - my TARDIS, my life, and one day, my name. It feels... wrong, that I can't tell you, that I can't warn you about every hardship you're going to face along the way." He paused. "What I can tell you is that no matter where or when you are, you are loved beyond measure, and no matter what, I will always come for you."
She managed a small smile, reaching one hand up to cup his cheek. "And I appreciate that, more than you know. And it really does help. It's a lot harder to be scared knowing that a tenacious Time Lord is on his way to save you."
He laughed a little. "To be honest, half the time you've already saved yourself by the time I show up, all I have to do is give you a ride home. Maybe help with the clean-up, a bit," he shrugged.
She laughed. "I'll take your word for that."
"Hey, Doctor! Lyssa! There you are!" the Ranger called, hurrying up to them, hand-in-hand with Clara, both with dirt smudges. "We've been looking for you for ages!"
Lyssa raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with the Doctor. "We only just left the main room, and have gone down two hallways. Where have you been looking?"
"Everywhere but here, apparently," Clara sighed. "Shouldn't have even been able to get lost down here, with everything clearly labeled, but we did it."
"So I might have gotten a little mixed up," the Ranger admitted. "In my defense..." Clara raised an eyebrow and he grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, okay, I have no defense."
"Well, if you need any help, the TARDIS is this way," Lyssa laughed, turning back towards the Main Hall. They passed a few other visitors as they made their way back to the TARDIS, including one oddly familiar-looking couple studying the painting of Arcadia that had her turning back to confirm she didn't know them.
"See someone you know?" the Ranger asked as they entered the TARDIS, and she nodded, letting the door fall shut behind her.
"Yeah. Thought I recognized someone." She shrugged. "He just looks like an actor from back in my old universe, that's all."
"So, where are we going?" Clara asked, leaning against the console as the Doctor warmed up the TARDIS."
He grinned, slamming down a lever and sending them off. "I haven't the faintest idea. Let's find out, shall we?"
xXx
"So, how are you feeling?" Lyssa asked, watching her friend with concern. "You look very, um..."
"Fat?" Vina suggested dryly.
"I was going to say 'pregnant and ready to be done with it,'" Lyssa corrected her primly, noting the heavy bags under her eyes.
"That too," Vina sighed. She grimaced, shifting in her seat and resting a hand atop her extremely rounded stomach. "I've started getting Braxton Hicks, and I'm about ready to find the person who first romanticized pregnancy and punch them in the face. This is not fun," she grumbled. "Not to mention I'm bored," she moaned. "I totally understand why we're not going on crazy adventures anymore, and I fully agree with it. Tiny one needs to be safe." She sighed. "But I swear, if the Doctor takes me to one more planet that is nothing but clouds and fluffy marshmallows I'm going to cry. And then he's going to get all worked up because I'm in distress and then no one's going to be happy."
Lyssa bit back a laugh. "I'm guessing that's happened several times now?"
The redhead drug a hand over her face before giving her a flat look. "I thought he was overprotective before, but he's worse now." She sighed, expression softening to something pensive. "I mean, I understand it, to some degree. He's lost everything once and managed to survive that. But now with me being so vulnerable - and with those stupid hunters trying to follow us everywhere - there's a risk that he could lose everything in one go again, and I don't know if anyone has the strength to survive that twice, including him. So I try to have grace."
Lyssa grimaced with understanding. If ever there was a walking bundle of trauma bundled up in a suitcoat, it'd be the Doctor. And the more she was learning about the Time War and her potential future there, the more it was starting to explain some of his actions - or reactions - around her. She couldn't even imagine how he'd react if she was pregnant on top of everything else while being hunted down by some evil maniacs who wanted to use her.
"But enough about me," Vina leaned forward, eyes taking on a mischievous tint through the screen. "What's new on your end? How's your Doctor doing?" Lyssa gave her a warning look but the redhead only laughed. "The last time we talked, you were about to go on a totally-not-a-date with Pinstripes. And now you're with Bowtie after a very special totally-not-a-date. And I want deets."
"We were dragged to his home planet on the day he lost it and he was forced to face his most traumatic memories and worst enemies," Lyssa said flatly. "So romantic."
"You supported him as he dealt with some of his most traumatic issues and helped him save his home planet," Vina countered. "As things go, I'd say it'd be harder to find a better way of showing your love for someone." She gave Lyssa a pointed look.
"One, of course I'm going to help him with that, any decent person would. Not to mention he's my best friend. Two, I am totally okay with someone just getting me flowers and staying far away from my worst memories," Lyssa informed her dryly. "I would find that very romantic, as opposed to digging up old memories that should stay buried."
"But if you had to do it wouldn't you rather do it with the Doctor by your side?" Vina fluttered her eyelashes at her.
"Has anyone ever told you you can be extremely aggravating?"
"On numerous occasions, why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just wondering."
"Fairy-girl, did you tell the Ranger he could have a dragon?" the Doctor interrupted, sticking his head in the library, eyes narrowed.
She froze. "What? Nooooo, I wouldn't do that," she shook her head with wide, innocent eyes. "Dragons are big and breathe fire, and there's no way we could safely keep one on the TARDIS, let alone give it all the attention it would need."
He huffed, coming further into the room with his arms crossed over his chest. "Good. Because for some reason he seems to be under the impression that you said I would take you all to see one."
She blinked. "Well, I did say that, actually."
"Lyssa!"
"Hey, seeing a dragon and keeping a dragon are two entirely different things," she defended herself. "And it would be really cool to see a dragon. I always wanted to see one when I was a little girl. And now I can!"
"I don't like dragons," he grumbled. "They're rude and greedy and easily offended."
"Please?" she asked softly, widening her eyes and giving him a pleading expression, Vina snickering quietly in the background. "My other childhood dream was to be a mermaid, but that one can't happen, even here."
He narrowed his eyes, expression looking like he was going through an intense internal struggle before giving in. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll see if I can find one. From a distance," he added firmly.
"Yay!" she cheered, clapping her hands together excitedly and giving him a beaming smile. "Thank you!"
He shook his head fondly before giving her a crooked smile. "Come find me when you're done here, the Ranger is practically vibrating, he's so excited."
"Oh, we've finished discussing almost everything we need to," Vina spoke up with a dangerous grin. "We were just talking about showing our love to people we care about very much."
Lyssa tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, wondering what she'd done to deserve this.
"It's a good topic," the Doctor agreed. "It's very important that loving someone goes beyond just words. Otherwise, it doesn't mean anything. Hello, again, Vina."
"Hello, bowtie!" Vina called. "I agree with you completely. On a completely unrelated note, how do you feel today?"
He bit back a laugh, eyes lit with a gentle warmth as he strolled over so that the could be seen by Vina. "The same as I do every day," he told her, resting a hand on Lyssa's shoulder.
"And how's that?" Vina prompted with glee, ignoring Lyssa's sigh.
He gave Lyssa a soft smile, reaching down to press a kiss against her forehead. "Loved."
xXx
"I am so excited, I've always wanted to see a dragon but my parents always said no," the Ranger whispered excitedly as they crept through the forest.
The Doctor huffed, lifting up a branch out of the way for Lyssa and Clara to walk under. "Now remember, this is a watch and leave only, absolutely no interaction with any lifeforms you may see here."
"So... just like all the other times, then?" Clara smirked. "There's no way this will go wrong."
"Oh, now you said it," he grumbled. "You jinxed it."
"As opposed to all the other times, when she said nothing and it went perfectly?" the Ranger raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smirk.
"Yes."
"Shh, I hear something up ahead!" Lyssa whispered, waving her hand in the air to draw their attention. The others hurried after her, stepping carefully to avoid any sticks or leaves as they ducked behind some large bushes to see a large clearing just beyond it. Instead of the various animal lifeforms she'd been expecting, there were people in it. A lot of people, of varying sizes. Battle-trained people, if the various swords and axes were any indication.
Definitely a variety of appearances though - two men, standing several feet taller than the rest, wore long robes and carried staffs with them. All the rest stood no higher than five foot at the tallest, and the smallest just over three and a half feet - though that one also had pointed ears, and bare feet covered in hair, and was the only one of the group lacking a beard, so he was likely a different species.
Hang on.
She whipped her head around. "Doctor?" she hissed.
He grimaced, not taking his eyes off the scene. "This... isn't quite where I intended to land us," he admitted quietly.
"Wait, I think I recognize this scene," the Ranger frowned.
"Two men who can only be wizards, thirteen dwarves, and someone who looks like an elf child but is clearly an adult?" Clara said dryly. "We read this book last month. But I thought it was just a fictional tale. An epic fantasy, or at least the prologue to one."
The Doctor sighed. "On Earth, yes. It is just a fantasy tale. But here?" He shook his head. "Here it is very real."
Lyssa returned her attention to the men in the clearing, studying them curiously as they conversed quietly, the dwarves fidgeting anxiously with their weapons. The wizard in brown, talking to what could only be Gandalf, looked strangely familiar. She squinted, wishing she could get a closer look at him - though even that wouldn't have helped, given his face was largely covered by a long bushy beard and his hat. But something about his eyes...
Her own eyes widened. "Doctor," she breathed, not missing how he stiffened at her tone. "Why does that man look like your past self? Your... seventh self?"
"Wait, what?" the Ranger whispered incredulously, leaning forward to take a closer look. "He does!" he exclaimed in delight. "We didn't see him long when we were grabbing him earlier, but now that you mention it I can totally see it! It looks like you just let your hair grow. And grow. And grow."
The Doctor sputtered. "The TARDIS needed to recuperate and I was going through a phase where I wanted to live in the forest and just happened to run into some people in need of help. I didn't exactly have access to a pair of clippers," he muttered defensively.
"Or a comb?" Lyssa pointed out, stifling a smile.
"It was a phase," he answered shortly.
"I think you have bird poop running down the side of your face."
"It was a phase!"
xXx
"Now do you see why I don't like dragons?" the Doctor yelled as they ran for shelter, the howls of an enormous, enraged beast echoing behind them.
"Not at all," Lyssa said sarcastically, wincing as the flames licked at their backs.
"Doctor, if you hated everything that tried to kill you, you wouldn't have any friends," the Ranger shouted back. "At least half your friends are semi-reformed assassins and convicts!"
"Besides, you're the one who's most knowledgeable about dragons," Clara panted as they ducked into a tunnel. "Shouldn't you of all people have known not to take something from a dragon's hoard?"
"I was distracted! It was just a cup! And we needed something!"
"A gold cup, stacked with the rest of its treasures, and dragons are obsessive about their hoard, counting every last piece of it!"
"I had to get something!" he defended as they rounded a corner and came face to face with the Company, armed to the teeth and visibly alarmed. "Ah. Hello." He tossed the shiny cup to the leader, who caught it with one hand. "Good news, the treasure's still there, bad news, so is the dragon." Dust and tiny stones came rattling down to the ground as the dragon slammed into the mountain walls with a bellow and he winced. "Worse news, he's angry."
"Who -" the leader started, eyeing the cup with a greedy gleam in his eye that matched the dragon's.
"No time!" Clara cut him off. "Dragon. Coming. Bad."
"It's all right, I've got a plan," the Doctor announced. "It will fix everything, all we need to do is -" Crashing stone echoed around them as one of the tunnels was sealed off and he winced. "All right. New plan. Run."
xXx
"Next time you want to see a dangerous mythical beast, you're going on your own," Clara told the Ranger as they trudged back into the TARDIS, covered in soot and thoroughly exhausted.
"Yeah. That's fair," he agreed. "Didn't know dragons were that touchy."
"You called him a worm!"
"A wyrm, there's a difference! It literally means dragon!"
"You pronounced it wrong," the Doctor informed him with tired amusement as he sent them off. "And any self-respecting dragon with wings is going to take great offense to being compared to a worm. Prideful bunch, dragons."
"We're just lucky we managed to set him on the orcs," Lyssa pointed out, collapsing onto the jump seat. "And that he managed to wipe out most of them before they killed him. That would have been really bad, otherwise."
"Yeah, that would have led to a huge fight, with major loss of life," the Ranger nodded seriously. "With all the different armies coming to fight... a battle of five armies, at least." Clara booed him and he grinned.
"Whoo, go team," Lyssa lazily heaved one hand in the air in a loose approximation of a fist pump. "I'll celebrate tomorrow. After some sleep." She glanced down at her filthy clothes and skin, and grimaced. "And a shower."
"Yes! Sleep sounds amazing," Clara groaned. "I will see you all in the morn-" she glanced at the Doctor. "Nine hours from now." She amended, narrowing her eyes at him. "And that time resets every time I get interrupted."
"What? Why did she look at me when she said that?" he spluttered in offense as she disappeared into the hallways. "What did I do?"
"I know, right?" Lyssa agreed, hiding her grin as she shook her head. "It's not like you would ever come bursting into someone's room while they're sleeping yelling about how your marshmallow was on fire and everyone needed to evacuate."
"It wasn't supposed to be on fire," he muttered sulkily. "Every other time it's been a bad thing when something catches on fire and it's not supposed to be. Why is that different?"
Lyssa got to her feet with a sigh, slinging her arm through his and tugging him forward. "All right, Doctor. Let's go learn about this amazing invention known as s'mores."
"Yes!" the Ranger crowed, following after them. "Lots of sticky sugar! What could go wrong?"
xXx
"No one needs to know what happened here, all right?" Lyssa told the other two, feeling slightly traumatized. "In fact, we don't even need to bring it up again. As far as I'm concerned, it never happened."
They nodded with wide eyes.
"I can never look at marshmallows the same way again," the Ranger whispered, running a hand through his hair - or trying to, only for his hand to get stuck pressed against his head. He struggled for a minute, before giving up with a resigned sigh, hand clasped firmly to his head. "I'm going to bed," he muttered, turning to go and leaving sticky goo on the ground with each step.
Lyssa watched him leave and turned to the Doctor. "So... we don't need to tell him about the marshmallows stuck to his jacket, right?"
He shook his head. "No. He'll find them. Eventually."
xXx
"'Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance for it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many - yours not last.'"
"It's weird to think that Bilbo's pity indirectly saved all of Middle Earth," Lyssa mused as the Doctor paused in his reading. After their recent adventure, they'd decided to make their way through the Lord of the Rings trilogy once more. They'd already lived through The Hobbit, or so Lyssa had claimed. And so, each night after the day's adventure was done, they'd met in the library and curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace to read a few chapters. "I mean, what if he had decided that the creepy cannibal was clearly too crazy to be allowed to live and just... killed him then and there?"
"Probably would've had a very different ending to the story then," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Might've become one of literature's greatest tragedies, instead of one of its greatest epics."
"Well, it's a good thing that it didn't," she decided, wrinkling her nose at the thought and pulling the soft blanket higher up around her shoulders as she leaned further into him. "I like it better this way. Every great story has a happy ending, even if it's sad that it ends."
He turned to her. "But there are many good stories that don't have happy endings," he pointed out. "Many of them written by humans. Many of Shakespeare's tragedies are considered among his best works."
"Good stories, yes," she agreed. "But I'd argue that the greatest stories are the ones that have suffering and tribulation... but still leave you with hope. Hope of survival, hope that things will get better... as long as there's hope. Who wants to read a story where everything is pointless and painful? Where the only point is pain? Anyone can do that. Not everyone can give hope."
"That is one of the reasons I prefer humans to most other species," the Doctor admitted, lowering the book to gaze into the fire burning merrily a few feet away. "Your ability to hope is... inspiring. Your curiosity, your ingenuity, your compassion... all because of hope, in some way. Hope to find something more, to make something better, to help someone heal. Your hope gives me hope." He paused. "And that's why I keep traveling."
"We are pretty awesome, aren't we?" she grinned smugly.
"Overall, yes, though I will admit to being partial to a select few over the rest," he chuckled, turning to face her.
"Anyone I would know?" she batted her eyelashes at him.
"Oh, I don't know," he gave her a smirk that sent butterflies dancing in her stomach. "I'll describe her and see if you can recognize her. First, she regularly tells me how attractive I am."
"Oh, really?" she said flatly, amused despite herself.
He nodded emphatically. "She also appreciates my bowtie, but... only sometimes," he pouted, adjusting said tie.
She frowned, something about this conversation becoming oddly familiar. She was still pretty sure he was talking about her, but something about it just sounded so...
"You've seen her before," he grinned, eyes gleaming with mischief. "She looks very similar to you now - I've gotten you mixed up several times before. She has 52 freckles on her face, and," he paused for emphasis, "she has great hair."
Wait.
Wait.
"What - that was me?" she realized incredulously.
His lips twitched, as if he were valiantly fighting off laughter. "I told you you'd understand when you were older."
Her eyes widened. "You absolute -" She cut herself off, struggling to contain her own merriment as she reached for a nearby throw pillow and smacked him over the head with it. "You deserve this," she informed him as he shielded himself with his arms, laughing unrepentantly.
"You started it!" he countered. "You were the one to start this whole mess, back with my ninth self."
She shook her head, increasing the strength behind her blows as much as she could when she was laughing so hard. "You were the one who stole my first kiss!" she accused him. "I wouldn't have had any reason to bring it up if it weren't for you! I was just being a good protector of time and not giving you any spoilers about your future self!"
He grabbed the pillow on her next attempt, stealing it from her and tucking it securely out of reach behind him, leaving their faces close together as she tried to go after it, only to stop short. "In the interest of honest communication," he told her, eyes darkening, "I'm about to steal several more kisses."
"Well, if we're being honest about it," she breathed as he cupped her cheek and ducked down, pressing his lips against hers before pulling away ever so slightly.
He grinned, leaning his forehead against hers and letting their breaths mingle in the minute space between them. "Fairy-girl, I'm always honest," he told her cheekily.
"You're lucky you're cute, is what you are," she mock-scolded him, wagging a finger at him reprovingly.
"As if it were my looks - glorious as they might be - that won you over," he scoffed.
She hummed. "Well, it certainly wasn't your blunt honesty."
"Rude."
"Nice to meet you, pot, I'm kettle."
xXx
"Wait, do I have to the left or the right arm on the bottom?"
"The left - your other left, love."
"Right."
"No, that's definitely your left."
"Out of politeness, I'm not going to respond to that. And then up with this hand, right?"
"Well, that was very rude, if you wanted to stop you could have just said so, you didn't have to insult me."
"What? What did I just say?"
"Not that."
"Stop laughing at me, sign language is hard! And British Sign Language is even harder because it's got different signs from ASL, which is what I learned first!"
"I'm not laughing at you, love, honest - hey, don't you make that sign at me! I know you know what it means now."
"I don't know what you're talking about, honest."
"I thought you insisted you didn't want to know the insults?"
"Well... yeah, but then the Ranger offered to teach me some and he just looked so happy to be able to help I couldn't say no. Plus, upon thinking about it, I can secretly insult people now, so long as they don't speak BSL. But only if they really deserve it."
"Like me, apparently?"
"Like you. Especially because you insist on teaching me the hard words first!"
"You're the one who wanted to learn sign language in the first place!"
"Well, yeah. That girl, the one from the museum. That's how she communicates, and apparently she's going to be in my future, yeah? I want to be able to have some way to talk with her, even if it's just awkwardly finger-spelling half the words."
"And I know she'll appreciate it. Just remember, a TARDIS isn't grown in a day. It's okay if you don't know every word by the time you meet her. You can keep learning as you go - my past selves know it as well, and you can ask them to keep teaching you when you jump to them."
"Yeah... Hey, Doctor? Thanks for teaching me. I know you like going on adventures instead of just sitting down, and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this."
"Spending time with you is never a hardship, fairy-girl. It's a gift."
xXx
"Oh, look at this!" Lyssa exclaimed as she stepped out of the TARDIS into the soft unmarked snow, glistening in the moonlight. "It's so pretty!" She spun around to take it in, from the deep violet sky filled with merrily twinkling stars to the trees, lined with snow. "It's like that one planet, Winter Wonderland," she clapped her mittened hands together. "Except I don't have to be bundled from head to toe to keep from freezing!" Despite the snow, it was actually warm enough that her only concessions to the temperature were earmuffs, a scarf, and mittens - even her snow boots were more for tromping than for the cold.
"I must say, I do enjoy getting to see more of your lovely face," the Doctor told her, stepping out after her and pulling the door shut behind them before tightening his own scarf. "That was the only downside, last time."
"Oh, stop," she huffed, ducking her head to hide her blush and shy smile. "Are we here for anything special?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. "Request for help, finding something rare, adventures or anything like that?"
He shrugged, reaching out to take her hand in his own. "Not this time," he smiled, tugging her forward down the path between the trees. "Just spending time together. Enjoying the scenery. What with it being Christmastime back on Earth, I figured we should do something for the season."
"Well, you picked the perfect place for it," she marveled, trailing her hand along some icicles hanging down from several low-hanging branches as they walked. "It's like a scene from a Hallmark movie," she laughed. "We've even got fresh falling snow," she glanced up, catching a few of the bigger flakes on her hand.
"Well, if it's a scene from the movies," the Doctor drawled, pulling them to a stop in the middle of the path and turning to face her. "Then surely we need to stay in character."
She raised an eyebrow. "And what characters are those, Doctor? The Grinch? Old Man Scrooge?" she teased.
"Don't be silly," he scoffed. "Neither of those are Hallmark. Clearly, you've forgotten your lines."
"Well, then, you'll just have to give me a hint," she told him with a smile.
He stepped closer. "Then he took her hand," he recited, voice taking on a solemn air as if reading from a book. "And pulled her close." Keeping her hand in his, he wrapped the other around her waist, tugging her against him as she giggled. "And there, underneath the stars, he proclaimed his deep love for her," he lowered his forehead to rest against hers, the stars reflected in his gaze. "Whispering it in a language only they could speak." He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers as her eyes fluttered closed.
She felt starry-eyed herself when he finally pulled eye, breath fogging in the air. "I think I remember my lines now," she whispered.
"Oh?" he gave her a warm smile.
She nodded breathlessly. "As she looked up at him, the man who'd changed her life," she started in the same tone. "Her best friend, the one she trusted more than anyone else, she knew the truth, then."
His eyes searched hers. "And what truth was that?" he asked, gently and without expectation
She smiled. "That I love you, Doctor," she told him, standing up on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Doctor," she whispered, pressing one last kiss against his cheek before dropping back down.
His smile was brighter than the stars as he bent down in turn to brush a kiss against her temple. "Merry Christmas, Lyssa."
xXx
Lyssa stumbled over a branch and only just caught herself before falling, her navy blue skirt brushing against the ground as she regained her balance. The Doctor, just ahead of her, tightened his grip on her hand as he led the way back to the TARDIS. Angry shouts rang out behind them, and she was sure she'd have seen the menacing glow of torches if she'd had the time to stop and look behind her.
And it'd been such a lovely start to the day, too.
The Doctor had invited her out on a date to a quiet planet known for its festivals. Naturally, she'd said yes, and promptly made sure to choose a dress that she could run in. It had looked oddly familiar given that she'd never worn it before, but that happened often enough in her life now that she just shrugged and tugged it on. It had the benefit of swooshing fabulously around her knees when she twirled, but otherwise was a fairly simple dress - loose and flowy from sleeves to skirt, cinched only at the waist by a row of stitches and paired with silver flats that were also easy to run in. She'd left her hair down on an impulse decision, and was slightly regretting that decision now that it mean her curls were flying every which way - but mostly into her face.
At least she had the memory of the Doctor's face when he first saw her. He'd cut himself off mid-sentence, staring at her mutely for a full minute before snapping out of it and telling her she looked lovely with a smile that held back more than it said. She'd worn more elegant gowns before, so she wasn't sure why he'd reacted so strongly to this of all dresses. Maybe he recognized it from somewhere? Not bad memories, clearly, as she'd offered to change and he'd shaken his head near violently. Perhaps she'd worn it for a date before with him, and he had really good memories of it? Or maybe he recognized it from a memorable past jump? She had been with him for at least two months now, realistically she could jump at any time.
He'd refused to give her any hints either way.
Of course, given the way this date had gone, maybe she'd jumped to him looking like an absolute disaster and left him fretting about what had gone wrong. She probably had sticks and leaves stuck in her hair, and she'd be surprised if she didn't have dirt smeared on her skirt by now. The Doctor had been right about the planet being peaceful.
He just hadn't known about the not-so-peaceful invaders that chose right then to invade, filling the air with a gas that was poisonous but also not? The Doctor hadn't been super clear, he'd just paled and grabbed her hand and ran. Something sharp scraped along her skin and she winced, instinctively wrapping her hand around the injury.
The Doctor looked back at her sharp inhale, but didn't slow. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice thick with concern.
She shook her head. "I just scraped myself, that's all. Caught it on a stick, I think."
"Are you bleeding?" he asked, face filing with fear.
She peeled up her hand, wincing at the sting, and saw tiny red beads pooling on her arm. Still, she'd had worse as a child falling off her bicycle. "Yeah, but it's not bad," she tried to reassure him.
Oddly, his face darkened, and he only picked up the pace, forcing her to struggle to keep up with him as he tugged her along. The TARDIS appeared between the trees and she let out a sigh of relief, or would have if she'd had the breath to spare. The Doctor pulled them to an abrupt stop before frantically rifling through his pockets for the key and unlocking the door, ushering her in before slamming the door behind them and sending them off, hands flying over the console.
Lyssa gripped the railing with shimmering hands, glow increasing with every beat that passed. She blinked, wondering at the golden haze that was washing over the console room - that wasn't normal. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, something at the back of her mind itching like something was wrong, was off. "Do you see the glow too?" she asked the Doctor curiously.
He stopped what he was doing and whipped his head over to her. "Oh, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, darting over to her and carefully gripping her injured arm, examining the tiny scrape.
"Doctor, it's just a scrape, no need to panic," she reminded him gently, confused at his panic. He'd been overprotective before, but this was a bit much even for him.
He shook his head. "It's not just a scrape, it's an entryway," he bit out, lifting her arm close to his face. "The gas they released, totally fine to breathe, but if it has direct contact with blood, it starts to react. Starts to eat. It's horrific, considered a war crime and banned in all civilized galaxies."
"Oh. Well that seems problematic," she muttered, glancing at her glowing arm, which was starting to tingle. Probably from all the attention, it was shy like that. "So, uh, am I gonna need a shot or something, or am I just gonna keel over and die?"
He scrubbed a hand over his face. "You're about to jump, we don't have time," he growled, looking like he wanted to pace but unwilling to leave her, even for just a few steps.
"I am?" she asked in surprise. That made sense. "Is that why I'm glowing? I just thought the TARDIS was trying out some new mood lighting or something. But like, focused on me," she tried to lighten the mood.
He drew in a deep breath. "Right. I - I wondered, when I saw you today," he rambled, eyes flitting about the room. "Could be a coincidence, yes, maybe. But I can feel it, feel a - a fixed point, someone's trying to change it. It's too big, I can't -" He stopped, glancing at his hand, then at the glow winding up the time rotor. "It was me," he realized in wonder. "It was me all along."
"What?" she frowned, shifting uncomfortably at the rising tension. "Doctor, you're not making sense."
"Lyssa," he turned to her. "I'm going to do something crazy. Something crazy and dangerous and risky. Do you trust me?"
"Always," she said immediately.
He managed a crooked little half smile. "Braveheart, fairy-girl," he told her softly, hands beginning to glow a familiar red-gold. "This is where everything changes." He pressed one glowing hand to her arm, energy seeping into the wound and healing it, stitching the skin back together as if it'd never existed in the first place. He cupped her cheek with the other, pulling her in for a kiss that he quickly deepened. Her eyes fluttered shut as ribbons of gold fire swirled around them, leaning into his touch. His other hand left her arm, sliding up her back and into her hair, cradling the back of her head as if she were something precious.
And, she knew now - to him, she was.
His touch left a trail of sparks in his wake, skin tingling like it'd been touched by stars before slowly fading away. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by the swirling colors of the Time Vortex, raging furiously around her. It was different, though, dark clouds billowing at the edges and jagged lightning bouncing between them. The colors began to dim, replaced by the TARDIS hallway, only to return to life, wiping out the scene.
She frowned, wondering if she'd just imagined that, only for it to happen again. But this time it was a grassy clearing, the Twelfth Doctor standing there with Bria, wearing a Greek gown. The Doctor turned to face her with knowing eyes, expression sympathetic, only to fade back into the Time Vortex once more. And again, with the Eleventh Doctor, standing with Rory and Amy in the hotel where they'd faced the Minotaur. He was eating an apple, saw her there, and froze before chucking the apple down a hallway. He stepped forward towards her... and was gone.
"What's happening?" she whispered, glancing around - not quite scared, not yet, but worried. It was like that episode where the TARDIS was trying to land but couldn't, instead being sent all over the place. She touched down again in a hallway, dark and lined with books. Lamps overhead flickered before going out and she spun around, watching the Tenth Doctor go charging past, followed by a group of scared people... and a lumbering astronaut suit that sent chills down her spine.
"Well, this certainly isn't good," a man spoke up behind her.
She whirled to find herself back in the Vortex, standing - floating? - opposite a bearded man wearing a brown robe with a hood covering his features, red-gold hair curling around the edges. "Who are you? How did you get here?" she blurted out, mind sent back to the strangely hostile woman who'd met her there before.
"The Doctor overloaded your system in an attempt to save your life. Now you've got a lot of energy to burn through," he told her in a cultured, faintly British accent. "I'm here to make sure you don't get lost. Help you on your way."
She eyed him warily. "Help how? And who are you? You haven't said."
He smiled. "Haven't I?" He tilted his head to the side. "There are rules you have to follow in here. He's trying to break them." His face, what she could see of it, darkened. "I can't allow that, so I had to step in. Some things even I can't change, but this? This one I can't allow to be changed."
"What are you talking about?" she said nervously. His words were uncomfortably close to what the woman had said several months earlier, but just a shade different, as if viewed through a different lens.
"The time lock. You aren't meant to be going through it yet, you weren't supposed to before. You're not ready. But they interfered, and so you did." he said with a frown. "And so I'm going to make you ready, building off what the Doctor started. It's the only way."
"The only way for what?" she asked uncomfortably, wishing she could back up. "What are they trying to change?"
His eyes glowed gold beneath the hood, unbearably kind and grieving and ancient and young all at once. "The day you meet the Doctor - or, rather, the day the Doctor meets you."
She paused, taken aback. Things like this had happened before, fixed points being threatened, so why hadn't he shown up then, if he was all concerned about it? "What - who are you?" she demanded.
He gave her a sad smile. "I'm the Oracle now."
Then he waved his hand in her direction and her vision washed over with gold.
She hurtled through the Time Vortex, colors and scenes flying past at a dizzying speed too fast to comprehend - and then she wasn't, golden strands reaching out and twining around her ankle and tugging until at last her feet landed on a seemingly wooden floor. The console room of the TARDIS appeared around her, though not of any version she'd ever seen. Four metal latticework pillars surrounded the console, which emitted a deep blue glow. A variety of historical trinkets were displayed around the edges of the room, giving it a distinctly Victorian vibe. The TARDIS sang joyfully in their bond, determined and excited all at once.
"Ah! The fairy girl!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
She whirled to see Dr. Smi- no, the Eighth Doctor, tugging on his green coat over his silver waistcoat as he popped up from beneath the console and hurried towards her, navy blue dress shoes clicking against the floor and hands glowing a faint gold for some reason.
"I was hoping I'd see you again," he told her with a smile. "Though I must admit to being dreadfully curious about - well, about rather a lot of things, I'm afraid," he laughed sheepishly, warm blue eyes studying her curiously. "Such as how you got aboard my TARDIS in flight, or why you're glowing."
"What?" She glanced down, and found that the gold still wrapped around her as if she were about to jump again at any moment. "Uh, that's new, actually. Not sure why I'm still glowing. As for how I got here..." she laughed nervously, gaining a new understanding for the Doctor each time he'd met a version of her who didn't know who he was. "That's a long story."
The Doctor tilted his head to the side before giving her a faint smile. "Then it is a good thing that I have plenty of time." He gestured to two chairs set on the far side of the room by several lit candelabras. "You left so quickly last time we didn't have much time to talk beyond me thanking you for aid you had yet to give."
She managed a weak smile. "Yeah, that - that would be part of the long story." She stepped forward into the light of the candles and watched curiously as his eyes fell on her necklace. His eyes widened, one hand raising as if to touch before he faltered. He glanced at her and she nodded, looking away with a blush as he came close enough to touch, hand brushing against her charms before pulling away with a sharp inhale as if he'd been burned.
Wondering what he'd seen to make him so shocked - maybe the Doctor, her Doctor, had added something to the necklace so that all versions of him would know he was the one who had made it? - she cast about for something to say to fill the awkward silence. "I'm Lyssa, by the way. Lyssa Devons." she offered.
He slowly raised his eyes from the necklace to hers, still faintly disbelieving, though with a light of intrigue. A charming smile spread across his face. "Hello, Lyssa Devons. I'm the Doctor."
finis
A/N: This is it. After five years, over 760k words, and over 470k views... Lost in Time is finished. I couldn't have done it without any of you, your support, your theories, your comments ranging from outrage to hilarious, your dedication to finding hints and clues, those re-reading for the umpteenth time, those reading for the first time... This story would not be here without you. Thank you.
Chapter 1 of the sequel will be up January 01, 2023 (barring disaster) on my profile under the title 'The Oracle Awakens' and I hope to see you all there :)
Special thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed, and shout-out to everyone who's reviewed. You are all amazing, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed :)
Final disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, just Lyssa and the Ranger. The Hobbit characters belong to the genius of JRR Tolkien.