A/N: Hello again! A shorter chapter this time, as I wanted to have this one chapter to wrap up Fear Her, before having the last chapter as an epilogue of sorts. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: most of the dialogue is by the writers of Doctor Who.

Ryan didn't need to smell the metallic scent to know that Chloe had drawn the Doctor and the TARDIS out of existence; he ran all the way to Trish's house and pounded on the door. Once Trish had opened the door, he didn't bother to say anything, and ran up the stairs.

"It's okay, I've taken all the pencils off her," Trish insisted, but Ryan ignored her. He barged into Chloe's room and snatched a drawing from in front of her. It was of the Doctor and the TARDIS.

"Leave me alone! I want to be with Chloe Webber!" demanded Chloe, or rather, the Isolus possessing her did. "I love Chloe Webber!"

"Bring him back now," Ryan warned.

"No!"

Ryan sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Don't you realise what you've done? He was the only one who could help you. Now bring him back!" he shouted.

"Leave me alone, I love Chloe Webber!"

Ryan faltered. There was no point in arguing with a child – and the Isolus certainly wasn't going to change its mind. He knew what he had to do. "I know," he said calmly. Ryan stood up, rubbing Chloe's shoulder. "I know," he repeated. He looked down at the drawing in his hands. "Doctor, if you can hear me, I'm gonna get you out of there. I'll find the pod," he said softly. He tossed the paper onto the bed as he stormed out of the room, warning Trish to not leave Chloe alone.

"Heat," Ryan recalled. "They travel on heat." He spotted the council worker from earlier, Kel.

"Look at this finish, smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump," Kel said proudly, stroking his tarmacking job. Ryan squatted down next to him.

"Kel, was there anything in this street the last few days giving off a lot of heat?"

"I mean, you could eat your dinner off this," Kel chuckled. "Beautiful. So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftmanship as this one?"

At this current moment in time, Ryan could not have given less of a shit. "Well, when you've worked it out, put it in a big book about tarmacking, but before you do that, think back six days."

"Six days… when I was laying this the first time round," nodded Kel.

"What?"

"Well that's when I filled in this pothole for the first time."

"Six days ago."

"Yeah."

"Hot, fresh tar…" Ryan considered. The pod was drawn to heat, so it had to be there. He got up and ran to Kel's van, perhaps he had something that Ryan could use to break up the tarmac.

"Blended to a secret council recipe," said Kel smugly. "And I don't keep it in the van!" he shouted when he saw where Ryan was headed. Ryan pulled the rear doors open and jumped in. "Hey! That's a council van! Out!" Ryan ignored him and grabbed a pickaxe and gave Kel a devilish grin.

"Whoa, wait a minute! You've just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back! No, don't - wait! That's my van. Give me the axe." Ryan prepared to strike the tarmac. "Wait! No!" he swung down. "No! Stop! You just took a council axe from a council van and now you're digging up a council road! I'm reporting you to the council!"

Ryan disregarded Kel's unintentionally humorous outburst as he continued to strike the road. Once the ground was sufficiently broken, Kel's work destroyed, Ryan got on his knees and dug around in the debris and found a small pod that matched the Doctor's description. "It went for the hottest thing in the street… your tar!" Ryan looked up at Kel laughing.

"What is it?" Kel asked angrily.

"It's a spaceship!" Ryan exclaimed. "Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid," he joked.

"I found it!" Ryan yelled as he returned to Trish's house. "Don't know what to do with it but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board." Trish met him, cupping a glass of squash. "Hang on, I told you not to leave her."

"My god," they heard Huw Edwards say on the television. They looked at the opening ceremony live coverage – the stadium was empty. "Erm, what's going on here?"

Kel sauntered into the house. "I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go-"

"Shut up and look!" Ryan snapped, pointing at the television. Every single person had disappeared from the Olympic stadium, even the commentators in the box.

"The stadium won't be enough," Ryan mumbled. "The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters."

Ryan ran up the stairs with Trish following him; he tried to open Chloe's door, but it was barricaded. "Chloe? Chloe? It's Ryan – open the door!" he shouted. "We found your ship; we can send you home!"

"Chloe!" Trish pleaded.

"Open up!" Ryan yelled. Chloe wasn't responding, but Ryan realised he was still holding the pickaxe he had used earlier. "Right, stand back," he warned Trish. Ryan struck the door five times until he was able to get his hand through and remove the chair wedged under the door handle.

He ran in – Chloe was scrawling a huge picture of the Earth on her wall, and the dad from hell was growling from within the wardrobe. "I've gotta stop her," Ryan realised, but the drawing in the wardrobe didn't seem to approve of the idea.

"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out," threatened the Isolus. "We will let him out together! I cannot be alone! It's not fair!"

"Look, I've got your pod," Ryan said desperately, holding it out to Chloe.

"The pod is dead!"

"No, no, it only needs heat."

"It needs more than heat!"

"What, then?" Ryan was stumped, and time was running out.

"Not being funny or nothing, but that picture just moved," Kel said nervously. Ryan snapped around. "And that one!" Kel pointed at the picture of the Doctor and the TARDIS. It had indeed changed; the Doctor was pointing at a crudely drawn torch. Ryan grabbed the picture to look at it closer.

"She didn't draw that – he did… but it needs more than heat, Doctor!"

"I suppose it's much more than a torch now." They turned to look at the coverage showing on Chloe's laptop. "It's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love."

"Love…" Ryan repeated. "I know how to charge up the pod." He ran out the room, down the stairs, out the house and onto the street where a cheering crowd had gathered at the entrance. He slipped through the crowd, trying to get closer, but was stopped by a policeman.

"Sorry, you'll have to watch from here," the policeman told him.

"Yeah, I've got to get closer," Ryan insisted.

"No way."

"I can stop this from happening!" On second thoughts, he probably could have phrased that better, so he backed away a bit. The pod started bleeping and lit up as the torch came past. "You felt it, didn't you?" Ryan pulled out of the crowd. "Feel the love," he whispered to the pod and tossed it into the air; it spun towards the torch, causing the torchbearer to stumble when it made contact.

"Yes!" cheered Ryan, punching the air. He had done it! He briefly hugged Kel in his excitement.

"Nice one! You did it!" said Kel, slightly confused. "What was it you did?" Ryan didn't care and hugged him again, Kel awkwardly patting him on the back.

Further back down the street, children reappeared and were embraced by their parents. Ryan watched on with a sad smile. "Doctor…"

"I don't know who you are or what you did but thank you, dear." It was the elderly lady from earlier. "And thank that other man for me too."

Ryan ran his fingers through his fringe, sweeping it out of his eyes. "Where is he? He should be here," he said to himself, desperately looking around. The long caramel coat and thick brown hair were nowhere to be seen. "All the drawings have come to life… that means all of them." Shit. "Oh, no…"

He sprinted to Trish's house. "Trish, get out!" he ordered as he slapped the glass panels on the door.

"I can't, the door's stuck," Trish replied, her voice muffled.

"Is the Doctor in there?"

"I don't think so."

"Mummy," moaned Chloe.

Ryan spotted a red light coming from the landing and the distant rumble from the drawing of Chloe's dad. He pushed on the door harder.

"Chloe, listen to me. It isn't real like the others. It's just energy left over by the Isolus, but you can get rid of it!"

"Help us!" pleaded Trish.

"It's because you're so scared that he's real, but you can get shot of him Chloe!" The light was growing brighter and the growling louder.

"Mummy…"

"You can do it!" yelled Ryan

"I can't… I can't… I can't." Chloe sounded more resigned each time she repeated it. "Mummy…"

Ryan watched Trish slide down to sit with her. "I'm with you, Chloe. You're not alone. You'll never be alone again."

Ryan knew they didn't have much time left – this was their last hope. "Sing!" he shouted. "Chloe, sing!" He kept hitting the door in despair.

Chloe and Trish started to sing and the light faded. Ryan sighed in relief and slid down onto the doorstep. Kel approached and saw Ryan's sad expression. "Maybe he's gone somewhere," he suggested. Ryan gave a half nod.

"Who's gonna hold his hand now?" he said wistfully.

Kel gave him a surprised look. "Wait, he's your… boyfriend?" Seeing the mild shock on Ryan's face, he backpedalled slightly. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but–"

"We're just friends…" Ryan mumbled.

"Oh, of course, sorry, but still, you know, it's fine…" Kel stuttered.

"Yeah…"

Ryan went back inside, with Kel following him. Trish and Chloe were hugging each other in the front room, watching the television. Everyone was back in the stadium.

"Eighty thousand people, so where's the Doctor?" said Ryan, shaking his head. "I need him!" He took several deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

"Hang on, the torchbearer seems to be in a bit of trouble. We did see a flash of lightning earlier that seemed to strike him" commentated Huw Edwards. "Maybe he's injured. He's definitely in trouble." The torchbearer collapsed, letting the torch drop to the floor. "Does this mean the Olympic Dream is dead?" A familiar pair of legs came into the frame and the man bent down and grabbed the torch.

"Doctor…" Ryan grinned.

The occupants of the room watched in awe and delight as the Doctor ran the rest of the way in the stadium and up the long flight of stairs to where the cauldron was placed. He cheered and lit the cauldron and seemed to say something to it before he left. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

An hour later, after having had some food that Trish almost insisted on him eating, Ryan bade farewell to Chloe and Trish, taking a fairy cake - decorated with the ball-bearings that the Doctor was so fond of – with him. He spotted the Doctor walking with his back to him in the street. He jogged up behind him. "Cake?" Ryan offered, holding it out in his palm.

The Doctor slowly turned with a grin that mirrored Ryan's and started to laugh. Ryan joined in with his infectious laughter.

He took the cake from Ryan. "Top banana!" he said, taking a bite. "I can't stress this enough: ball-bearings you can eat, masterpiece!"

Ryan couldn't wait any longer, practically jumping into the Doctor's arms as he threw his arms around the Doctor's neck. "I thought I'd lost you," he said into the Doctor's shoulder. They pulled back, but their arms lingered at the other's sides.

"Nah, not on a night like this. This is a night for lost things being found. Come on."

"What now?" Ryan asked, following him.

"I wanna go to the Games, it's what we came for," the Doctor replied, his voice going high-pitched as it often did when he was excited.

"Go on, give us a clue," Ryan teased, nudging the Doctor with his shoulder. "Which events do we do well in?"

"I will tell you this. Papua New Guinea surprise everyone in the shotput."

"Really? You're joking, aren't you?" Ryan asked as the Doctor turned around 360 degrees whilst walking. "Doctor…" Ryan chuckled, leaning his arm on the Doctor's. "Are you serious or are you joking?"

"Wait and see."

Above them, a series of fireworks exploded in the night sky. Ryan slipped his hand into the Doctor's; he was now aware of how they might look to outsiders, but he had just gotten the Doctor back and he didn't want to let go of him yet.

"You know what? They keep trying to split us up, but they never ever will." The Doctor looked at him.

"Never say never ever."

"Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me." Ryan felt the Doctor's hand tighten slightly around his. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

The Doctor was looking up at the sky, a sad look painting his features.

"Something in the air," he said softly. "Something coming."

"What?"

"A storm's approaching…"

Feeling very unnerved, Ryan edged closer into the Doctor, resting his head on his shoulder. The pair walked back to the TARDIS in an uncertain silence, neither willing to let go of the other's hand.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I wanted Ryan to realise at some point that he and the Doctor looked like a gay couple, which seemed quite difficult to do, as neither of them seem to show much awareness of how their relationship looks to other people. Watching that scene back in Fear Her, Kel looks like he's acknowledging them as a couple, after Rose's comment about holding the Doctor's hand, so I thought that would be a nice place to add something. Let me know your thoughts!

Next time: Ryan does some thinking and makes a life-changing decision.