"Sara," a warbly voice whispered.

Sara stirred but didn't move to acknowledge the whispering voice.

"Sara, wake up," the voice urged.

She moved. The man in bed next to Sara barely reacted to the whispering voice.

"Sara!"

Sara opened her eyes. In the dark room, she could just make out the man's face. He didn't appear awake, so she closed her eyes and began drifting back to sleep.

"Sara, please wake up. Please!"

Sara rolled over. An image of Tara stood next to the bed, but she did not look normal. Instead of being clear, crisp, and looking realistic, she was staticky and vacillated like a TV channel barely tuned in.

Sara slowly climbed out of bed, watching the man to make sure she didn't wake him.

"Where are you?" she whispered to Tara.

"I'm here. Sara-"

"No. Where are you actually?"

"Behind the barn. But-"

"Go back there. I'll come to you."

"But, Sara, I-"

"Go!"

Tara didn't leave at once. She looked very anxious and upset, and like she wanted to talk right now. After several minutes, she disappeared.

Sara quietly dressed and snuck downstairs. She pulled on boots and a jacket and slipped out the front door. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the barn.

She came around the corner and stopped, staring at the TARDIS. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the barn. A corner of the back had merged with the back of the barn. One door hung open on one hinge, and the other door was gone. Sparks spit from inside, and she could smell burning rubber. The lights inside flickered, going dark for several seconds at a time.

Sara approached slowly and stopped once she stepped inside.

Inside was much worse. Fire had scorched metal and melted glass and plastic. The main monitor was cracked with whatever oozing like black blood onto the controls. Paper, leather, glass, wood, and metal were strewn everywhere.

"Tara?" Sara said.

She appeared next to Sara.

"What happened?" Sara asked. "Who did this to you? Why didn't you go to The Doctor?"

Tara made a face, and then tears began flowing. Sara was surprised by the tears. Had Tara always been able to cry, or did this have to do something with all the damage?

"The Doctor did this. Well, I mean, he didn't do intentionally. He didn't want to regenerate, see, and he was trying to resist it. And we ended up back in time where he met himself at another time he didn't want to regenerate. And they were both fighting it. Then Bill was there, sort of. It wasn't the original Bill, it was a copy of Bill, and they all went out to go find out how Bill was created. And when they did, we took the captain back to World War II."

Sara couldn't hide how confused she was, but she let Tara talk. She hoped that somewhere in this she'd start to understand what had happened.

"Then Bill and Nodal were there. I heard them talking, the three of them, I don't know what about, and he came back on, and he was talking to himself, no, to his future self, and then he regenerated. Sara, I've seen dozens of regenerations of his kind, but this was unusual. It was like... Like an explosion went off inside me. It was him regenerating, you see? And I couldn't control anything. I lost control of myself, Tara! He'd sent us off to... I don't know where. I can't remember where he was sending us. I was scared because I couldn't control anything. I was out of control! Suddenly, I was above Earth, but I don't know when. I couldn't keep myself stable, I couldn't keep the gravity upright. I was trying, I was trying so hard! The explosion had blown open one of the doors, and he fell and slid toward the door and I... I lost him – or her – I don't know which he is now. I couldn't get a reading on him because nothing was working. He fell out, Sara! He was falling toward Earth, and I couldn't rescue him! I couldn't control me! Then I remember thinking of you. I wished you were there to help us. You always help me see things so clearly. And that's when I found myself here. I am so sorry about the barn. I didn't mean to damage it. I couldn't control how I rematerialized. I couldn't stop myself. I-"

"What you need to do right now, Tara, is stop talking and take a long deep breath. Stop. Talking."

Tara did.

"Take a breath."

Her image moved like she was doing it. Sara could hear and feel air move as if the entire ship was taking a deep breath, and then expelling it. She began to speak, and Sara cut her off.

"No. Don't talk. You're hurt, Tara. I can see that. Here's what we're going to do... You can't help him now, not in this shape. You will turn off everything, and you will get some rest. When it's daylight, I'll be back, and we'll fix you. Then you can go find him and save him. Okay?"

"I don't need to fix everything, just the important parts."

"Okay. You can tell me how."

Tara started crying again. "You don't know how! You are all thumbs whenever I've tried to teach you how to fix electronics!"

Sara smiled. "That's true. But Jason isn't."

"Who's Jason?"

"My husband."

"You're married?"

"Aye."

"When did you get married?"

"Two years ago."

"Two years ago? How long have I been gone?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No. I was caught in the event horizon of a black hole, and when I got out and found him, Bill had been killed. He kept moving, doing things, so he didn't have to think about it. That's part of why he didn't want to regenerate. Oh!" She put her head in her hands, shaking it slightly. "Your first husband, Jason. I wanted to be here for that. I missed it. I'm so sorry, Sara. Once I fix all this, I'll go back so I can be there with you. I wanted to be there with you."

"What do you mean when you say, 'your first husband'?"

Tara bit down on her bottom lip. "You always say you don't want to ever know your future."

"My first husb-" Sara shook her head. "Aye. And right now, we need to worry about you and The Doctor. You're going to shut down, and you're going to save your energy." Sara looked at her watch. "The sun will be up in six more hours. We'll sort this all out then." She looked up at her friend. "Agreed?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Sara smiled. "Of course. You'll be back to him in no time. Don't worry."

Tara smiled and then flickered off.

Sara walked back to the house and returned to bed with her husband. She laid for hours staring at his face, worried by the comment, 'Your first husband.'

#

Jason stared at the inside of the TARDIS as if he expected everything in it to bite him. Sara placed her hand on his arm, and he jumped before looking at her.

"This is... A spaceship?" he asked

"Of sorts, yes."

"And it's your friend?"

"Aye. It's sentient."

"And usually there's a man with it?"

"Aye."

"But the ship lost him?"

"Aye. There was an explosion, and he fell out while it was... Flying."

"Why did you hesitate?"

"There are some things, darling, that are easier to see than explain, and this be one of those things. Just trust me, Jason, because what we need is for you to help Tara fix herself, so she can go back and save Him."

"Go back where?"

"Back... Well, she's not sure. She doesn't know exactly when she lost him."

"She's not sure when she lost him?"

"Aye."

"How do you lose a person and not know you've lost them, or where?"

"She knows where she lost him, just not what year she lost him. Her gadgets and machinery got all messed up in the explosion." Sara waved at the central computer.

"Sara, I don't understand anything you've told me. None of it!"

"My love, you are a brilliant engineer at the best company in the country. I don't need you to understand why I need this from you, I just need you to do it and help my friend fix herself well enough that she can rescue her Doctor."

"If this Doctor is lost, then we should report it to the police, and we should report this..." He started to walk away. "Whatever this is, as well."

Sara grabbed his arm and stopped him. "No, Jason, we will have nothing to do with the police or any other government sanction. You need to trust your wife and listen to me. Tara needs your help. Please, darling, help me help my oldest and closest friend."

"Who is this..." He motioned around him. "You said Tara is this ship and now she's your friend? This makes absolutely no sense, Sara!"

Sara sighed and stretched her neck. "Okay, Tara. Let him see ya. Clearly, I'm not getting this through his head."

Tara appeared before them. She was still out of whack.

"What's that?" Jason gasped, falling back several steps.

"That is the holographic interface of the TARDIS, but she is also Tara, my friend, and the one you are helping."

"Hi," Tara said, trying to smile. It was very weak.

"H-Hi," Jason whispered.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else for help," Tara told Sara.

Sara turned to her. "I thought you couldn't control yourself."

"I can't easily, but if he's going to fear me or call the police, he won't be any help."

"You are not taking me anywhere in your shape, Tara. You're hurt, badly. And Jason, you need to pull yourself together and behave like a grown man!"

"I'm in an alien ship speaking to a fake person!"

"That is all true, and even more reason you need to behave like a man."

"Sweetheart, this is more than any normal man can take."

Sara put her hands on her hips. "Oh, well, in that case, I guess you're a normal man and not the great, capable, smart one who I married. Clearly, I misjudged you for being capable of doing things other men can't."

Jason's jaw set. "Don't you talk to me like that."

"Or what?"

"Or... I'll... I'll..."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You'll what?"

Jason pushed a breath through his teeth. "You are infuriating, woman!"

She smiled. "You said that the first day we met, and it hasn't changed."

"Okay. Alright. I'll help."

"Great." Sara kissed his cheek. "I'll leave you to it. After I've fed the horses, I'll bring you some breakfast, and I'll start cleaning up in here." Sara walked toward the doors. "I at least know my way around a broom and a mop, Tara."

Tara smiled at the joke.

"Wait," Jason said.

She stopped and turned. He shook his finger, pointing around the TARDIS.

"You have always told me that I can't exterminate those crows down by the field, that Tara and her friend would be angry with you for that. Are this thing and this Doctor who you're talking about?"

"Aye."

"Explain that?"

"Now?"

"Right now."

"Alright. Crows communicate with humans if you listen to them, and those crows have lived on this land for generations. Ben spoke to them before me, and now I speak to them. The reason they stay at the end of the field and why we keep the roosts down there and why you will not harm them, ever, is because I, and the Doctor, made a deal with them. We keep the roosts in repair, and they will not come up to the barn and house and make a mess. They also are very good at keeping the snakes away from the house and the horses – that was a more recent offer they made if I gave them more corn."

Jason stared at her.

"That is a good arrangement to have with them," Tara commented. "They're very good at scaring away snakes."

Jason looked at Tara, then back at Sara. "Do I even know you?"

"You do. I just never told you about this. I had hoped to do it in a more genial way, but as fate sees it differently. Tara needs help, and you're the best person I know of who can provide that help. I am sorry for it all coming at you like this, Jason."

He sighed, then looked at Tara. "What tools do I need?"

"I have everything you need."

"Where do we start?"

"Follow me," Tara said and led him up the stairs.

When the two disappeared into a hall, Sara left them.

#

"Darling," Sara said.

Jason was under the main computer, working on a circuit board. He turned his head, finding her laying on the floor close by. She held up a plate with a sandwich, cucumber spears, and fried potatoes slices.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Just a minute," he answered.

She sat up, taking the plate with her.

Jason finished.

"Try that, Tara," he called out.

Lights above his head flickered on and stayed on.

"I have a steady circuit again," Tara said from somewhere nearby.

Jason scooted out and walked up the stairs to the main platform. Sara sat on the steps to the mezzanine with two plates on her lap. He sat down next to her, and she handed him a plate.

Tara appeared in front of them. She looked like a real woman again.

Sara smiled. "You're fixed!"

"Yes. That's the last fix we made. I can leave now."

"Should we step off?" Sara stood, anticipating the answer. Jason slowly stood too, uncertain of what was happening.

"No. Eat first. I have to find The Doctor first."

Tara disappeared. Husband and wife sat back down and began eating.

"I never saw an end to this ship. It's as if it were infinite," Jason quietly told Sara

"Aye." She smiled at him. "Maybe it is."

Jason chewed a bite while he thought.

"What exactly does this Doctor do?"

Sara shrugged her eyebrows. "I guess... You'd call him a time fixer. He goes back and forth in time and fixes things, helps humans and other creatures, and the like."

"Is he nice?"

"Depends on the day."

"He's not always nice?"

Sara smiled. "He was always nice when I first met him, but after he regenerated, he hasn't always been."

"What was he like when you met the other one?" He smiled at his sandwich. "This is so strange to talk about."

She quietly laughed. "The first version of The Doctor that I met was kind almost to a fault and a spunky bloke. After he regenerated, he didn't know who he was for a while, and he was cranky, short-tempered, mean. He's gotten nicer since then, but sometimes he can be very condescending and cruel." Sara wagged her head side to side. "Just depends on the day and who he's trying to save at the moment."

"Does he regenerate like... Like an earthworm cut in half?"

"Does that help you wrap your mind around it?" Sara looked at her husband as she munched her last cucumber spear.

"It's not like that?"

"I don't think so, but I don't fully understand it myself. I just know what it's called and that when it happened, the last time he looked like an entirely different man when I saw him. Well, he's not a man, he's a Time Lord, but he looks human."

"And he regenerated inside this ship this time, and it caused it to explode?"

"I guess."

"In a way, yes," Tara said when she reappeared. "It's the easiest explanation. I found him, but finish eating, and then I'll go."

Jason ate some of his supper, watching her while he did.

"That locket you have," he said, looking back at his wife. "You said that it's from Tara and a friend. It's from this Doctor and this ship?"

Sara instinctively touched her locket. "Yes. It lets Tara project her holograph several miles from the TARDIS so we can explore more planets together."

"Planets? You've been to other planets?"

"Dozens more, yes. Well, at least the ones that I wouldn't get killed on." Sara leaned in. "I'm not big on adventurin' like that."

Jason smiled. "I would be."

"You say that now." Sara sat up. "You haven't met him yet, and his way of adventurin'. It downright scares me."

"It scares you?" Tara asked.

"Yes. How many times did he and Clara almost get killed and barely make it back to you? No thank you!"

"That sounds exciting," Jason said.

Sara smiled at him. "Maybe he'll let you go with him sometime."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Tara quickly said.

Sara finished her plate and set it aside. "He could go if The Doctor said he could."

Tara turned away, looking at something on the controls. Sara noticed but didn't say anything. Jason finished his supper and held his hand out.

"I'll take the plates up to the house. If she needs to go save this Doctor of hers, she should go."

Sara handed him her plate. "Thank you for fixing the doors, darling."

He kissed her forehead. "I didn't do much. She had spares in what she calls the basement. The elevator said it was 299 floors down and there were still a hundred more floors to go."

Sara smiled, watching him stand. He walked past Tara.

"Good luck with finding this Doctor, Tara."

"Thank you," Tara called out.

Sara stood and walked over to stand next to her friend. She watched Jason disappear into the night outside the open doors.

"I lose him when he goes on an adventure with The Doctor, don't I?" Sara asked.

Tara didn't answer.

Sara looked at her. "Don't I, Tara?"

Tara closed her eyes for a moment. She turned her head to stare back at Sara and slowly nodded.

"Can I prevent it?"

"I don't think so. If he stays here... He'll die in a car accident on the same day, same time. If he goes with The Doctor, he's killed escaping Daleks. Which would you prefer? Him dying in something as senseless as a car accident or dying while he's enjoying life?"

"I can't prevent it?"

"No. Not when he dies no matter what change is made."

"Like Ben and his family?"

"Exactly like that, yes. Some people are fated to die at a specific day and time, and nothing you can do will change it."

"Am I fated to die on a specific day and time?"

"I thought you never wanted to know about your death."

"I don't want to know when I want to know if my day and time is set forever."

Tara smiled. "No."

"And how do you know that?"

Her smile grew more. "Because I've already saved you more times than you will ever know. There were so many times you were supposed to die here on Earth, but I took you away, and you lived. Your death is not set. I know it will happen, eventually – it does to all humans – but I don't know when or where anymore. And He keeps helping me stop it."

"That isn't fair."

Tara's smile faded. "What isn't?"

"My life is the only thing that truly belongs to me. It's my right to say if I want to be saved from death or not. You can't keep doing this without talking to me first."

"By the time I could talk to you about it, you'd be dead."

"I don't want to live without Jason."

"But if you live without him, there will be someone else. This isn't the end of your life, it's just a moment."

"Stop deciding my deaths for me. Do you understand?"

Tara slowly nodded.

"And as for Jason..." She looked out the doors. "I am going to tell him about the two choices, and I am going to respect whichever choice he makes. You will come back two days before he dies, just in case he wants to die on an adventure." Sara smiled at Tara.

Tara nodded. "Okay."

Sara nodded once and walked to the doors. She turned outside, grabbing them.

"Hurry back. Save your Doctor, Tara."

"I'll be back in the blink of an eye."

Sara closed the doors and watched the TARDIS disappear. Her smile faded when she stood in the dark. She knew it was right to tell her husband about his impending death, but it was a burden that left her with dread.

She started walking back to the house. She wouldn't do it tonight. He'd already been burdened with too much. She'd wait for a while, a week, maybe. Or maybe she'd wait for Tara to return and she had moral support. Or maybe it would be better to have more solid support – The Doctor himself, perhaps.

She looked skyward, whispering, "Come back soon. Both of you."