Alex didn't stop fighting against the soldiers even as they left the cage and let go of the Doctor. She didn't even notice. There was suddenly a person in front of her and hands on either side of her face. She tried to pull away but whoever it was held her firmly in place.

"Alex, calm down. You have to stop" The Doctor spoke softly. Alex ceased her movements but her eyes darted every which way, not meeting his and her breathing was heavy. "Alex? Alex look at me" She did so, but her gaze was soon snatched away and she gave another tug against the soldiers before stilling again, but she was still far from calm. The Doctor looked desperate, not knowing what to do. He seemed to get an idea, but hesitated before leaning in close to whisper in her ear.

Alex gasped suddenly and it was like she came out of a trance. He breathing slowed slightly as her eyes locked on the Doctor's immediately. She looked downright terrified.

"Doctor?" She whispered.

"Let her go" He ordered the soldiers. They glanced at Van Statten but a wave of his hand had them following his instruction. She fell forward the second they weren't holding her up and the Doctor caught her quickly, holding her close.

"It's all right, Alex. You're okay" He told her softly. She looked up at him with panicked eyes.

"What happened?" She asked, confusing him.

"What do you remember?" He asked in return, waiting patiently for her answer.

"I remember… you talking to the Dalek. But there's sort of bits missing. It was saying… saying it was alone. Then I was here" She told him, frowning as she thought back over the missing spots.

"What's wrong with me?" She asked him. He glanced back at Van Statten and his secretary who, as expected, were listening intently.

"I have an idea, but it'll have to wait until later" He told her gently. She nodded. "Can you walk?" She nodded again, pushing off him. He held his hands out, just hovering around her arms in case she fell but she steadied herself quickly.

The guards moved them soon after and they had no choice but to follow Van Statten and his secretary into the elevator.

"The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature's inside" The Doctor was explaining, even as he glanced down at Alex again.

"What does it look like?" Van Statten asked eagerly.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered, every emotion was removed except hate"

"Genetically engineered" The other man repeated, impressed. "By whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world, you'd like him"

"It's been on Earth for almost fifty years" Van Statten told him. "Sold at a private auction moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?"

"Because I'm here" The Doctor answered simply. "How did it get to Earth, does anyone know?"

"Records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands, burnt in its crater for nearly three days before anyone could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane" Van Statten explained.

"Must've fallen through time" The Doctor confirmed. "The only survivor"

"You talked about a war?" The other man reminded him, wanting to know more. Alex could actually never blame him for asking about that one, she always thought she would too.

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race"

"But you survived too" Van Statten pointed out.

"Not by choice" He corrected. Alex though back to the part of the war she'd seen. She often wondered how much he remembered from that day. He didn't remember himself, but did he remember talking to the Moment? When she told him his punishment was him living? Did he remember what she looked like?

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, Doctor" Van Statten realised, breaking Alex out of her thoughts. "There's you. The only one of your kind in existence" Alex looked up at the man, now suddenly terrified for her friend as she remembered just what he was going to do to him.

"You keep your hands off him" She growled threateningly. He simply smirked in response.

"Set up a couple testing rooms" He told the woman by his side. Alex paled as she realised what he was saying.

Not good.

Alex cried out in pain as they ran the scanner over her again. It turned off and she slumped forward, breathing heavily. Who knew humans thinking you're an alien was this bad? Van Statten seemed determined to prove she wasn't human, but he wasn't here to yell at. It seemed the Doctor was more interesting since something actually showed up on his.

"Bloody. Hell" She panted, lifting her head to glare at the young man behind the control desk. "Find anything yet?" She shouted, making him jump.

"Um, no, no-nothing. Not yet" The boy answered, looking, in a word, terrified. Alex found herself laughing, her head falling forward again. She pulled back up and moved so her back rested against the upright metal table she was chained to.

"You're scared of me" She noted, her voice losing its edge from before. She just sounded tired. The boy looked up at her cautiously. She felt suddenly grateful that they seemed to allow her decency enough to leave her clothes on for the scanner.

"Y-yes" He agreed. Alex smiled bitterly, shaking her head.

"I'm not the one you should be scared of, mate" She told him conversationally, smiling like she was talking about the weather.

"The creature in t-the vaults?" He guessed, having heard the two wanted it dead.

"Well that too" Alex nodded, making the boy intrigued. Or maybe a little more terrified.

"What are you talking about, then?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"The man next door. The Doctor, do you know who he is?" She asked. The boy shook his head and she took that as a sign to continue. "He is a man from another world, although you already knew that. He's just come from a war. That man was a soldier in the biggest war in the universe. And he was the one who ended it. Blew the final nuke, killed them all." The boy's eyes were wide in terror by now and Alex only smiled.

"That man could be a hero, or worse than your nightmares could imagine. It all depends which side of him you stand on. You see this? Right here? Do you know which side this is?"

"Which side?"

"The wrong one"

There was a moment of silence and the boy lunged at a button only to be stopped by Alex's voice.

"Now you could call security to feel safer. But we both know that won't work. So I've got a better idea" She lifted her hands slightly, showing the chains that held her in place. "Press the other button. Be the one who saved me instead of the one who trapped me, and the Doctor might leave you alone" There was another moment of silence and the boy eyed a different button. "Please, I'm not just telling you this to get out" He looked up, frowning in confusion.

"What else could you want?" He asked, listening carefully.

"I want to save my friend. That girl downstairs, you know, the British girl?"

He nodded.

"The Doctor and I, we took her with us when she asked. But her mother was afraid for her. I made a promise, a promise to protect that girl to the ends of the universe and if you don't let me go right now that promise is a good as broken" She explained, her voice getting softer as she went. The boy didn't do anything. Alex sighed, letting her head fall back and closing her eyes. So much for protecting Rose.

There was a metallic click and before she could register it properly Alex was falling. She caught herself on her hands and knees, gasping slightly as she hit the floor. A pair of hands helped her to her feet and she frowned at the boy who stood in front of her.

"I thought you were scared of me?" She remembered, pulling away to stand on her own. He looked up at her, being shorter, and Alex realised how wide his eyes were.

"I am. But I'm not about to put someone in danger for it" He spoke determinedly. Alex couldn't help but smile, then she was grinning at the boy and she laughed.

"Now that, is much better" She told him, ruffling his hair. "If we'd met in different circumstances you might even have the Doctor's respect" He looked at her, shocked. "As for now, you might be on the good side, but only just" He nodded.

"I diverted the guards from outside and as many as I could from the halls without raising suspicion. You'd better go now if you want to save your friend" He told her quickly. Alex grinned at the boy and turned to run to the door. She stopped before leaving, turning back.

"When those alarms go off, get to Van Statten's office. Stay out of sight as much as possible and do not go downstairs. After everything is over get a new job researching something from Earth" She told him. He stared at her with wide eyes. "That's how you will survive this" She added, not waiting for a response before she turned and left.

Alex looked up and down the halls, smiling at the sight of no guards. But this wasn't the time to stop. She moved quickly, navigating the halls carefully around the guards. Despite what they thought, she wasn't dangerous enough to take them out in any way, shape, or form. She managed to get to the vault and stood by the door, not wanting to be seen until she was sure this was the right time. He heart rate picked up when she saw the screen show an image of Rose and the other boy, Adam, inside the cage.

She ran past without thinking, moving too fast for anyone to react and got inside just in time to see Rose reaching out to the Dalek.

"Rose stop!" She called, rushing forward to pull her away. She just managed to get Rose out of the danger zone when she was grabbed from behind. She fell forward, instinctively putting out a hand to stop herself even as she knew it was a mistake. The metal burned under her hand and she hissed in pain, pulling away. She shoved the guard who had grabbed her back into the other room, yelling for Rose to get out as she grabbed Adam by the arm and pulled him roughly out behind them.

"Close that door, lock it now" She ordered, watching as the men at the computers did as she said. Well, that was pretty easy, she didn't even have to tell them it'd kill them. Act like you know what you're doing in a life-threatening situation and people listen. This must be what the Doctor feels like. The monitor showed the Dalek inside and she watched in horror as it broke the chains that once held it in place. An alarm rang out and Alex realised she had just saved one of the men without realising it. She glanced back at the man she assumed to be a scientist who had tortured the Dalek before she looked back at the screen, deciding to forget about him for now. Another screen blinked to life and the Doctor's face showed up along with Van Statten and his secretary lady.

"You've got to keep it in that cell" He ordered quickly.

"Doctor I'm sorry, I tried not to, I really did, I just needed to get Rose out" Alex told him quickly. He frowned at her.

"Why are you down there? How did you get out? No one could find you" He asked, shooting a glance at the people behind him.

"I'm stealthy" She returned quickly. Even as she dismissed it she noticed the boy who had released her standing in the background. He stood against the wall, not speaking to anyone or doing anything, just staring at the camera. He was showing her he'd made it.

"I've sealed the compartment, it can't get out. That lock's got a billion combinations" one of the men at the computers told the Doctor.

"A Dalek's a genius, it can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat" The Doctor told him. The door opened soon after and the guards started shooting. Alex glanced back at the screen, ignoring Van Statten's shouting to not shoot as she looked to the Doctor.

"Alex, get Rose and run. Get out of there!" He shouted, watching as she nodded and moved to grab Rose.

"De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job, got that?" The man at the computers ordered, looking to one of the guards. She nodded, turning to the three of them.

"You, with me" She told them, gesturing them out quickly. Alex took one last look at the Doctor.

"She's coming Doctor" She said quickly, turning and running out before he had time to process what she was saying.

They ran with the guard, De Maggio, in front. They passed a row of others, ready to attack the Dalek. Alex stopped just behind them. Every one of these people is going to die.

"Alex! Come on!" Rose shouted, returning to grab her arm and drag her away. The girls and Adam were soon ahead of De Maggio as she covered them. They ran into a stairwell and Rose grinned.

"Stairs! That's more like it!" She declared, looking almost proud of herself. The three of them ran up around to the first landing and Rose stopped to look down. "It hasn't got legs! It's stuck!"

"You think superior alien technology would be forever stopped by stairs?" Alex asked, annoyed. Rose looked at her and her smile faded. De Maggio ran in, looking up at the three.

"It's coming! Get up!" She shouted to them.

"Great big alien death machine, defeated by a flight of stairs" Adam mocked.

"Wanna bet? How about your life?" Alex snapped, standing closer to him. He said nothing.

"Come with us, you can't stop it" Rose called her urgently, realising what Alex was saying.

"Someone's got to try" The other woman returned determinedly. "Don't look back, just run" Alex shook her head.

"De Maggio, I-"

"Now!"

Alex looked at her one last time, torn between angry and devastated.

"I'm sorry" She whispered. She grabbed Rose's arm, continuing up the stairs with her and calling for Adam to follow. They heard the Dalek shoot and De Maggio's scream and then she was gone. The three kept running. They only stopped when they found themselves standing in front of a mass of soldiers ready to shoot.

"Hold your fire!" The commander ordered before gesturing to the small group. "You three, get the hell out of there!" Alex pushed Rose along in front of her and followed behind Adam, giving the commander a two-fingered salute as she passed. She joined Rose and Adam where they stopped and looked back to see the Dalek come into view. It looked around for a moment before fixing its gaze on Alex. Her breath caught and she froze, only moving again when Adam pulled both girls through the door.

"It was looking at Alex" Rose pointed out, stopping again.

"Yeah it wants to slaughter us!" Adam returned, seeming anxious that they weren't moving.

"I know! But it was looking right at her"

"So? It's just a sort of metal eye thing, it's looking all 'round!"

"I don't know" Alex shook her head, even as she pulled Rose along to keep moving. "Its like it was actually looking at me. Like it… knows who I am" She shook the thought away and sped up, making sure Rose was in front of her. They were heading up a flight of stairs when Alex's phone rang. She pulled it out and checked the screen as she ran, not recognising the number. She answered it quickly, knowing exactly who it was.

"How did you get my number?" She asked, panting slightly as she didn't slow down.

"Memorised it when I fixed your phone" The Doctor answered quickly. "Where are you?" She glanced around, finding a sign inside the stairwell quickly.

"Level 49"

"You've got to keep moving, the vault's being sealed off. Bulkhead level 46" He explained. Alex looked up, feeling almost helpless as she looked at how many levels of stairs there were.

"And you're the one closing them" Alex remembered.

"Yes. I can't wait and I can't help you. Now for god's sake, run"

Alex lowered the phone to focus on running, shouting for Rose to make sure she got passed the bulkhead.

"We're nearly there" Alex spoke into the phone. There was a pause.

"I'm sorry" He whispered. Alex looked up quickly, seeing the bulkhead up ahead already beginning to lower.

"Come on!" Adam called. He managed to roll underneath.

"I'm sorry" Alex said quietly, pushing Rose forward so she slid under the door with just enough room. Alex hit the bulkhead and stopped, lowering her head against the metal as she panted for breath.

"Alex, where are you? Alex, did you make it?" The Doctor asked frantically. Alex sighed, lifting the phone to her ear.

"I was a bit slow" She told him reluctantly. "I'm sorry" There was a pounding on the other side of the bulkhead, Rose's voice muffled by the metal. Alex closed her eyes as she heard the Dalek approaching.

"Doctor" She spoke quietly. "Don't blame yourself for this, please. This was not your fault" He didn't respond. Alex swallowed nervously, turning slowly to face the Dalek. "Goodbye Doctor" She whispered, hanging up the phone. She slipped it into her pocket as the Dalek stopped in front of her.

"Exterminate"

"Yeah, I kinda figured that"

Alex closed her eyes tightly, flinching at the sound of the Dalek gun, but she was still here. She opened her eyes slowly, finding the Dalek standing still in front of her.

"What, is that it?" She asked, feigning innocent confusion as she spread her arms in a shrug. "That's all you've got?"

"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose" It replied.

"Well that's not what you're doing" Alex pointed out, trying to keep the terror out of her voice as she realised she was shaking.

"You killed everyone down there. They are all dead because of you" Alex told it angrily.

"They are dead because of us" It corrected. Alex paused, realising it was right. Not only did she not stop it when she knew, this time she was the direct cause.

"Then kill me" She told it, spreading her arms open again. "Come on, this is my fault, yeah? Go ahead, then. My turn, kill me"

"You wish to die?"

"It's my fault, isn't it!?" She shouted now, all the events of the past month flying through her mind. Every time she knew what was to happen and let someone die because she didn't change it. Then the past two days with the watch. What happened in the cage that she didn't remember. "Then kill me!"

"I feel your fear" The Dalek stated.

"That's not for you" Alex responded lowly.

"Daleks do not fear, must not fear!" It cried, firing wildly at the wall around her. She flinched every time but other than that managed to keep herself relatively composed. "You gave me life! What else have you given me? I am contaminated!" It cried hysterically. Alex watched it with an almost sad look.

"I'm sorry" She said quietly.

Adam stepped out of the lift into Van Statten's office, Rose crying silently beside him. The Doctor rounded on him immediately.

"You were quick on your feet, leaving Alex behind" He accused, stepping up close to him.

"I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" Adam retorted. The Doctor pulled Rose towards him, hugging her close. He turned back to Adam, ready to speak again when the screen behind them flickered to life. The screen showed Alex standing beside the Dalek. Her expression was blank but she looked up at the camera with wide eyes.

"Open the bulkhead or Alex Collins dies" The Dalek declared. The Doctor and Rose stepped towards the screen, wearing matching expressions of relief and joy. Neither noticed the boy in the background, stepping forward slightly to see and looking incredibly relieved himself.

"Alex!" Rose cried.

"You're alive!" The Doctor followed. Alex managed a minuscule smile.

"Can't get rid of me" She returned. The Doctor's expression fell slightly as he thought about what could have happened to her.

"I thought you were dead" He said quietly.

"Not today, Doc" She smiled.

"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek repeated. Alex's smile fell quickly.

"Don't do it!" She yelled, although she knew it was no use.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" The Dalek asked. The Doctor paused, glancing at Van Statten before looking back at Alex. She shook her head slightly, staring up into the camera with wide eyes. He thought over all the time he'd had with her, and the person she might really be. And then he had to do it.

"I killed her once" He said, mind made up as he walked to the computer. "I can't do it again" Alex lowered her head and closed her eyes as the bulkhead opened and the screen switched off.

Alex glanced nervously at the Dalek beside her as the elevator rose steadily.

"Don't kill them" She requested simply. "You don't have to, and you know that. You didn't kill me" The Dalek's head turned to look at her and she stared right back at it.

"But why not?" It asked, desperate for answers. "Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What am I?" Alex opened her mouth to answer but found that she couldn't, simply closing it again.

"That's a question for another man" She said softly. The lift opened and Van Statten was standing there, waiting.

"Don't move, don't do anything. Van Statten, as much as I hate you, the Dalek is starting to question itself and it might not kill you" Alex rambled quickly. The Dalek moved forward.

"Van Statten, you tortured me. Why?" It asked.

"I wanted to help you" The man tried, backing away slightly in his fear. "I just… I don't know. I- I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you… I wanted you better, I'm sorry" The Dalek didn't stop its advance, backing the man against the wall. "I'm so sorry! I swear!" He continued, his voice rising in pitch. "I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate!" It cried loudly, making the man wince.

"Stop" Alex's voice filled the place, even and calm but loud and firm. The Dalek turned its head towards her. "You don't have to kill any more, you really don't. Think about this, there must be at least one other thing you want"

The Dalek looked back at Van Statten and then back at Alex, seeming to have come to a decision.

"I want freedom" It told her. Alex looked right into its eye and gave the creature inside a reassuring smile.

"Then let's get it, yeah?"

Alex followed the Dalek, watching it as they reached floor one and it shot a hole in the ceiling. Alex blinked at the sudden light that fell on the two of them, grinning suddenly. She stood in front of it so it could see her as she took in the light.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see the sunlight. Never thought I'd see it again" She mused quietly, lifting her hand to look at the light shining over it.

"How… does… it… feel?" The Dalek asked, its voice coming out slower than normal. Alex watched, amazed as the casing opened, revealing the mutation inside. She smiled as the creature raised one of its tentacles to the light, looking at it much like Alex had done moments before.

"Get out of the way"

Alex jumped slightly at the sudden voice, having forgotten about the Doctor as she was focussed on the creature in front of her. She turned slowly, finding her heart beat faster at the sight of the Doctor with a large gun in his hands, pointed right at her with a cold look on his face.

"Alex, get out of the way, now!" He ordered. Alex almost felt like doing as he said, beginning to see why people feared him. It was one thing to watch on a television screen, a completely different one to see in person with a gun pointed at you.

"No" She managed to get out, small and even unsure sounding. "No" She repeated, louder, her tone almost matching his now. "Doctor, I won't let you do this"

"That thing killed hundreds of people" He pointed out. Dear lord no, I always hated this line of Rose's. I can't do it. Don't make me…

"It's not the one pointing the gun at me"

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it" He insisted. "The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left"

"Look at it" Alex spoke softly, moving out of the way just enough for him to see but not enough so that he could shoot it without getting her caught in the crossfire. An idea which, frankly, terrified her.

"What's it doing?" The Doctor asked, looking confused.

"Feeling the sunlight" Alex told him gently. "That's all it wants"

"But it can't…" He protested weakly, his voice wavering with his uncertainty.

"It couldn't kill me. It couldn't kill Van Statten" She told him. "It's changing" She swallowed, taking a breath. "But what about you Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?" She could see the words hit him the second they left her lips and she wanted nothing more than to run and hug him and tell him she was sorry. But that was something he needed to hear, he needed to remember. He needed to be the Doctor. He lowered the gun, stepping back slightly, looking so completely lost. He looked like he was questioning his own existence.

"I couldn't…"

Alex pursed her lips, trying to keep from speaking when she heard the tears in his voice.

"I wasn't…"

He looked at the Dalek, then back at Alex, visibly deflating.

"Oh, Alex. They're all dead" He spoke sadly. Alex gave a small nod, tears of her own threatening at seeing him so broken.

"Why do we survive?" The Dalek asked, looking at the Doctor now.

"I don't know" The Doctor replied solemnly.

"I am the last of the Daleks" It sounded like it was having trouble speaking, but Alex couldn't tear her gaze from the Doctor.

"You're not even that" The Doctor corrected. "Alex did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating"

"Into what?"

"Something new, I'm sorry"

"I can feel so many ideas, so much darkness… Alex!" It cried out. "Give me orders! Order me to die!" Alex shook her head slightly, a tear falling free as she turned from one broken creature to another.

"I can't" She whispered sadly.

"You understand, you asked to die" It reminded her. Alex closed her eyes, suddenly feeling the Doctor's gaze on her back. "This is not life, this is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction. Obey! Obey! Obey!" Alex sniffed slightly, looking down at the creature sadly as it stared back at her desperately.

"Do it" She whispered.

"Are you frightened, Alex Collins?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah"

"So am I" The Dalek admitted. "Exterminate"

Alex stepped backwards, turning to run back to the Doctor. He dropped the gun to hold her tightly as she reached him. She turned slightly to watch as the Dalek closed its casing and lived into the air. The golden balls around the bottom lifted away to form a sphere around it, sealing it in a force field and it exploded inside, vanishing into nothing. Alex turned into the Doctor, clutching tightly at his coat as she buried her face in his jumper. As his arms encircled her, one around her waist and the other stroking her hair, she couldn't help but think this happened too often for her liking.

Alex stroked the Tardis lovingly as the Doctor did the same, looking deep in thought, and Rose stood by watching the two worriedly.

"Little piece of home" The Doctor commented sadly. "Better than nothing" Alex smiled reassuringly at him and he smiled softly in return.

"Is that the end of it?" Rose asked. "The time war?"

"I'm the only one left" The Doctor agreed. "I win. How about that"

"The Dalek survived, maybe some of your people did too" Rose suggested, trying to comfort him. He shot a glance at Alex before shaking his head.

"I'd know. In here" He pointed to his head. "Feels like there's no one"

"Well then. Good thing I'm not going anywhere" Rose smiled.

"Nor me" Alex agreed. The Doctor smiled in return at the two.

"Yeah" He spoke softly. Adam jogged over and as Alex looked up someone else caught her eye.

"I'll be right back" She told the Doctor over her shoulder, not taking her eyes of the man. She walked quickly off before he could respond.

"What're you still doing here?" She asked quickly. "Aren't they gonna seal this place off?" The boy nodded, voicing an affirmative as he glanced over her shoulder.

"I just had to make sure you and your friends were safe" He told her. She smiled softly at him.

"We're fine" She assured him. After the situation of the last time she saw him she really took him in this time. He wasn't incredibly short, but she had an inch or so on him. He had hazel brown hair brushed in one direction across his forehead which brought out his brown eyes. He was pretty skinny with slim shoulders but nowhere near the 'matchstick man' Ten was. Nevertheless, he reminded her of that particular regeneration. Maybe with less hair product.

"And what're you gonna do now?" She asked him. He gave a small shrug.

"Study, research, this and that. Sciencey stuff" He listed off. Alex grinned. Yeah, definitely Ten, only shorter.

"I'm sure you'll be fine" She assured him. "Hold on, I've just realised, I don't even know your name"

"Huxley" He told her. "Arthur Huxley" Alex gave him a friendly grin.

"Nice to meet you Arthur" She told him, sticking her hand out with over-enthusiasm. "Alexandria Collins" He laughed and shook her hand.

"Just so you know, I'll be looking you up, Collins" He said teasingly.

"Oh I'm counting on it, Huxley" She laughed in return.

"Alex!" The Doctor called, making her turn. She gave him a 'one moment' gesture and took one last look at the boy before her. He made an 'I'm watching you' gesture and she replied with her classic two-fingered salute. The two parted ways without another word but Alex gave him one last grin as she ducked into the Tardis, closing the door behind her and the boy stood and watched the Tardis disappear.

"Alex"

Alex sighed, closing her eyes. She recognised that voice. It was somewhere between his serious voice and his concerned voice.

"Yes?" She asked innocently, not turning away from her book. The Doctor moved to sit at the library table across from her.

"Alex" He repeated. She paused and slowly closed the book, placing it beside her but still not meeting his eyes. He remained silent for a moment and she glanced up, only to fix her gaze on the table again at the worried look in his eyes. He sighed.

"What was the Dalek talking about, 'you asked to die'?" He asked straight out. Alex winced, closing her eyes again. "Alex" He pressed. She took another moment before answering.

"It was just after you thought I'd died, on the other side of the bulkhead" She explained slowly and quietly. "It hadn't shot me, and I started yelling. I went a little too far, I wasn't thinking. Before I knew it I was shouting at it to kill me"

"Why?" He pressed.

"Why not?" She shot back, her voice cold as she looked up at him, this time meeting his gaze unflinchingly. "I know everything that's going to happen and I've done nothing to help. I'm absolutely useless and scared all the time and it was my fault that Dalek got out in the first place. I-"

"Stop it" The Doctor snapped, shocking her at the harshness of his voice. "You are not useless, and don't you ever push yourself to die like that ever again you hear me?" She didn't answer, lowering her eyes again. There was a moment of silence.

"Alex" He spoke again, softer this time as he moved to stand beside her. He pulled her chair out from the table so he could crouch down in front of her, taking her hands. "I don't know what I'd do without you. Please, promise me you'll not put yourself in danger on purpose again" She nodded slowly.

"I promise" She whispered. "But I need to know something"

"Yes?"

"What happened to me in the cage?"

She saw him hesitate but she wasn't about to back down.

"Please Doctor, does it have to do with the…" She didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't have to.

"Yes" He admitted.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Yes"

A pause.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"No"