A/N: So, I'm a terrible person and I haven't updated since March. Unfortunately, with this update, I also have an announcement to make. Those who follow my Tumblr might be aware of this already, but, basically, I don't think I'm going to be able to continue this fic. I have thought long and hard about this, and I'm really, really sorry for the decision that I've come to. I'm no longer in a position to write this fic and continue it to where I wanted it to go anymore. But, what I will do is post the chapters that I've already written, which I think is around 12 chapters for this fic, and I'll do that weekly. Plus, anyone who wants to know how I was going to take it in the future, or anything else they were confused about/curious about, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
I really am sorry, everyone.
Replies to Reviews: I've put the replies to the reviews down at the bottom of the chapter.
Warnings: Violence. Language. Very Dark Themes.
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 77
Last of the Time Lords: Woman of the Year
"Who is the Master?" the woman asked.
Everyone started talking to her at once and Martha looked around, anxiously, not sure where to begin.
Tom sighed, stepping in. "Come on, just leave her alone. She's exhausted," he said, warningly.
Martha placed a hand on his arm. "No, it's all right. They want me to talk and I will."
Her voice was determined, more than ever.
The Doctor was sleeping, curled up at the bottom of his cage. The door to the conference room slid open with a hiss and the Master entered, walking on his toes, and turned on the lights, clad in a dark silk robe, and his hair mussed from sleep.
"Guess what?" the Master asked, triumphantly, his face stretched in a broad grin.
Martha was seated in the middle of the staircase, surrounded by everyone in the house.
"I travelled across the world," she began, sombrely. "From the ruins of New York, to the fusion mills of China, right across the radiation pits of Europe. And everywhere I went, I saw people just like you, living as slaves." Her eyes drifted over their worn clothes and dirt-smeared faces. "But if Martha Jones became a legend, then that's wrong because my name isn't important. There's someone else. The man who sent me out there and the woman who planned it all."
She imagined how Rhea would say these words – how she would lionise the Time Lord she was devoted to – and she felt the courage well up inside of her in a burst.
"She told me to walk the Earth and tell a story. About a man. His name is the Doctor. He has saved your lives so many times, and you never even knew he was there. He never stops. He never stays. He never asks to be thanked. But I've seen him. I know him. He's my friend. They both are."
A smile – the first, proper one in a year – grew on her face.
"And I know what he can do."
The woman who had greeted Martha and Tom at the door pushed her way forward, through the crowd, until she was standing right in front of Martha, so that she could see her panic-stricken face and trembling hands.
"It's him! It's him! Oh my God, it's him! It's the Master! He's here!" she stammered.
Martha jumped to her feet, squaring her shoulders, and her muscles tensed in preparation.
"But he never comes to Earth!" a boy protested, fear and disbelief blatant on his face. "He never walks upon the ground!"
The woman looked between all of the refugees gathered there with desperation glinting in her eyes.
"Hide her!" she snapped.
Tom scowled. "Use this!" He threw what looked to be a blanket or a tarp.
The Master strode down the street, outside, without a care in the world, flanked by armed guards. The Toclafane hovered beside him as well. Inside, Tom cocked his gun, readily, and squatted by the mail slot in the door to look outside, warily.
"He walks among us, our lord and master," a boy said, dryly.
"Martha. Martha Jo-hones," the Master sang, his voice trembling at a high-pitch. "I can see you!" His voice was low and sober and threatening. "Out you come, little girl. Come and meet your master." He growled. No one exited the house. "Anybody? Nobody? No? Nothing?" He turned his head to look at his guard. "Positions! I'll give the order unless you surrender." He threatened, directing his gaze to the closed door of the halfway house. A cold smile curved on his lips. "Ask yourself, what would the Doctor do?" He smirked. "Or perhaps, you've been learning at Rhea's knee, instead?"
Martha pursed her lips. Her hand curled around the TARDIS key strung around her neck and pulled it off, haphazardly, removing the perception filter. Everyone's eyes snapped in her direction. Outside, the Master remained waiting. Martha moved so that she was standing beside Tom, at the door, and placed her hand on the grip of the gun. Tom slowly stood, watching her with wide, disbelieving eyes. With a comforting little smile for everyone inside the refuge home, Martha swung open the door and stepped out.
"Oh, yes!" The Master clapped his hands, gleefully. "Oh, very well done! Good girl! They trained you well," the Master said, approvingly, as Martha walked into the street. His face went stern. "Bag." He ordered. "Give me the bag." Martha made to move towards him. He shook his head. "No, stay there. Just throw it." Martha slid off her backpack and threw it haphazardly onto the ground. The Master aimed his laser screwdriver at it and fired, leaving it in ash that smeared into the gravel of the street and destroying everything inside. "And now, good companion, your work is done."
The Master aimed his screwdriver at Martha, ominously.
At that moment, Tom ran into the street, the barrel of his gun pointed at the Master, ready to shoot.
"No!" he shouted.
The Master rolled his eyes at the show of bravado and fired at Tom instead, who fell to the ground, his eyes wide and gaping and betraying the smoking hole in his chest. Martha could only muster up the fury to glare at him, tears in her eyes, as the Master laughed.
"But you… when you die, the Doctor and Rhea should be witness, hm?" The Master inhaled, deeply. He smiled. "Almost dawn, Martha. And planet Earth marches to war."
"Citizens of Earth, rejoice and observe," the Master crowed.
The door to the conference room swung open and two guards strong-armed Martha into entering. She walked forward, alone, and her eyes surveyed the room. On one side, she could see her family huddled together – alive, she thought – and on the other, Jack stood, his face streaked with dirt and filth, his clothes flaunting holes in the fabric where she supposed that the guards must have shot him, repeatedly. At the base of the stairs, on her right, the Doctor sat, in his new form, in his cage, hands clutching the thin, metal bars. When her eyes landed to the left of him, however, all breath left her lungs. Rhea stood there, in chains, blood – old and new – splashed across every glimpse of bare skin possible. She looked dead on her feet, barely able to standing without the five separate guards holding onto her in some way. Her eyes were vacant, expressive moss-green eyes hollow and empty, and it made Martha's heart ache.
There was something broken in this woman.
Then, there was a flicker of heat in Rhea's gaze.
Not completely broken then. Martha thought with relief.
The Master rounded on her. "Your teleport device. In case you thought I'd forgotten," he said, lightly.
Martha tipped her chin up, defiantly, and reached into a pocket, throwing him the vortex manipulator.
"And now… kneel."
Martha knelt.
"Down below, the fleet is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe." He went over to the intercom. "Are we ready?"
"The fleet awaits your signal. Rejoice!"
"Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down!" The clock on the wall counted down the seconds. "I never could resist a ticking clock," the Master said, gleefully. "My children, are you ready?"
"We will fly and blaze and slice! We will fly and blaze and slice!" the spheres screeched.
"At zero, to mark this day, the child, Martha Jones, will die," the Master said, solemnly. A grin spread across his face. "Ha, my first blood. Ha, any last words?" He looked at Martha, expectantly. She remained silent. "No?" He looked at the Doctor. "Such a disappointment, this one. Days of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the time vortex. This one's useless!"
He practically skipped down the stairs and over to Rhea.
"All your hope placed in this one. Aren't you disappointed, Rhea, darling?" he asked, slyly.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "God, you're a full-tale Diva, aren't you?" she said, dryly.
The Master was finally fed up.
"Kneel," he ordered, lowly.
"No," Rhea said, defiantly.
A slick smile curved on the Master's mouth. His laser screwdriver rose in the air and the barrel was pointed, threateningly, at Martha, who tensed, as if in preparation of her death.
"Kneel, or they die," the Master ordered again.
Rhea grit her teeth, ignoring the way her lip split and haemorrhaged, and her jaw protested at the pressure. Her eyes warred between the indignity of having to kneel for a man that she wanted to slaughter and the contempt of having more blood on her hands.
Finally, her knees bent, mindful of broken bones and internal bleeding.
His fingers pressed against the underside of her chin and he tipped her head up.
Rhea stared up at the Master, an unfathomable emptiness in her green eyes, yet something quite defiant and fierce in her expression. The Master's hand immediately lashed out and her head swung to the side from the blow, another bruise joining those already hoarding her cheekbone. Jack roared from his place and tried to push past the guards, but was knocked back by the men holding onto him. The Doctor's hands were clenched tightly around the bars of his cage, fear and fury burning in his wide eyes.
But neither could do anything.
"He," The Master gestured to the Doctor. "He might let you look down at him like you're more than just some jumped-up, mud-monkey whore that happens to be special, but you won't with me. Do you understand?" he asked, coldly, madness flashing in his eyes momentarily, before disbelief and the slightest guilt at his own words was laid out on his face.
Even the Doctor was surprised, once the rage at his words had faded. The Master had never spoken so cruelly to Rhea before. In his own twisted way, he cared for her.
"Fuck off, you miserable bastard," Rhea shot back.
His knuckles slammed into her cheek again. "You must love turning black and blue, darling." His hand slid into her hair, softly, almost a lover's touch, before twisting in her limp, filthy curls and yanking her head back. He leaned in, their mouths almost touching. "Now, be a dear and shut your mouth before I decide to give you more than just bruises."
He turned back to the rest of them, a bright smile back on his face, as if it had never left.
"And so it falls to me, the Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords! From this day forward-"
Martha chuckled.
The Master frowned, infuriated. "What?" he snapped. "What's so funny?"
Martha raised an eyebrow. "A gun?" she asked, incredulously.
The Master frowned. "What about it?" he asked, sceptically.
"A gun in four parts?" Martha clarified.
The Master smirked. "Yes, and I destroyed it."
"A gun in four parts scattered across the world? I mean, come on. Did you really believe that?" Martha asked, disbelievingly.
"What do you mean?"
Rhea's lips curved into her signature 'cat-who-ate-the-canary' smirk. "I know I can be a little trigger-happy, but, seriously?" She shook her head. Her head turned to the side, so that she could look at the Doctor. "As if he would ask her to kill," she said, lowly.
The Master shook his head, his cheeks flooding with angry colour. "Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I've got her exactly where I want her," he said, triumphantly.
Martha rolled her eyes. "But I knew what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son," she admitted. "I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here. At the right time." She said, slowly.
"Oh, but you're still gonna die!" the Master said, pointedly.
Martha looked up at him. "Don't you wanna know what I was doing? Travelling the world?"
The Master scowled. "Tell me," he said, as if it wouldn't make any difference.
"I told a story, that's all," Martha said, simply. "No weapons, just words. I did just what the Doctor and Rhea said. I went across the continents all on my own. And everywhere I went, I found the people, and I told them my story."
"He has saved your lives so many times, and you never even knew he was there. He never stops. He never stays. He never asks to be thanked. But I've seen him. I know him."
"I told them about the Doctor."
"He's my friend. They both are."
"And I told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."
The Master shook his head, incredulously. "Faith and hope? Is that all?" he asked, mockingly.
"No, 'cause I gave them an instruction." A triumphant smile grew on Martha's face. "Just as the Doctor and Rhea told me to."
She slid to her feet, confidence thrumming with every slight movement.
"Use the countdown."
"I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time—" Martha said, brimming with a sort of nerve that had her swelling.
"Nothing will happen!" the Master interjected, furiously. "Is that your weapon?! Prayer?!" He asked with disbelief.
Martha nodded, her eyes fierce and wild. "Right across the world. One word, just one thought, at one moment…" She paused. "But with 15 satellites!"
The Master stilled and turned around, shock etched on his face. "What?" he asked, sharply.
"The Archangel Network," Rhea hummed, gleefully.
"A telepathic field binding the whole human race together, with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word… is Doctor," Martha finished, triumphantly.
The countdown reached zero and a pale blue glow swirled around the Doctor.
"Stop it," the Master said, warningly. His eyes were wild as they swept over the Doctor. "No, no, no, no, you don't!"
Jack's eyes drifted closed. "Doctor," he murmured under his breath.
Francine closed her eyes. "Doctor."
Large television screens on the walls displayed throngs of people, scattered across the world, gathered in public places, all chanting 'Doctor' with equal fervency at the exact same time.
"Stop this right now! Stop it!" the Master shouted.
Lucy inhaled and shut her eyes, turning her head to the side. "Doctor."
"Doctor," Jack and Martha whispered in unison.
"Doctor," Rhea sighed in relief, her muscles tensing in anticipation of liberation.
With the energy field winding around him, the Doctor had broken himself out of the cage and his appearance had returned to that of an old man.
"I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices," the Doctor murmured.
"I order you to stop!" the Master growled.
The Doctor slowly transformed back into his normal face – all dark brown, untameable hair, pinstripe suit, skinny arms and legs and pretty face.
"The one thing you can't do. Stop them thinking," the Doctor said, fiercely.
Rhea's mouth twisted in a beatific smile, and Martha and Jack laughed in response. The Master just stood there, watching his world fall apart around him. The Doctor was suddenly hovering in the air.
"Tell me the human race is degenerate now, when they can do this," the Doctor said, coldly.
Martha, taking the chance, ran swiftly to her family and threw herself into Francine's arms, Tish hugging both of them.
Rhea's hands were splayed across the linoleum floor as she looked up at the five guards that surrounded her. She slid to her feet, smoothly, and slammed her side of her flat hand into his neck, as hard as she could, kicking his feet out from underneath him and stealing his gun with a flick of her wrist. Five pulls of the trigger and the guards were strewn across the floor, equally bloody holes in the middle of their necks. Suddenly, Jack was with her, his hand warm on her forearm – comforting and kind, as she spun around, almost shoving the barrel of the gun into the face and blowing his head off. She stared down at the gun in her hands and the five men she had just brutally murdered – they deserved it, she thought, coldly – and took a deep breath, sliding the gun into the back of her jeans and allowing Jack to lead her away from the corpses.
The Master looked around desperately, before aiming his laser screwdriver at the Doctor.
"No!" he shouted, protesting, and fired the laser, however the energy field deflected it.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor murmured.
"Then, I'll kill them!" the Master said, viciously, aiming the laser at Rhea and Jack, but the Doctor threw it across the room with a flick of his hand. The Master stared at his empty hands, beginning to panic. "You can't do this! You can't do-It's not fair!" He shouted.
The Doctor's face was solemn. "And you know what happens now."
"No!" the Master said, desperately. The Doctor simply floated over to the Master, who backed away, hurriedly, from the stairs until his back hit the wall. "No!" He sank to his knees, practically grovelling. "No! No!"
"You wouldn't listen," the Doctor said, pointedly.
"No!"
"Because you know what I'm going to say." the Doctor's voice was sober.
The Master curled into a withering ball. "No!"
The Doctor landed onto his feet, walking over to the whimpering Master and knelt beside him, wrapping his arms around him.
"I forgive you," he said, softly.
The Master's head tipped up, as if he could hear something that no one else could. "My children!" he hissed in despair.
"Captain!" The Doctor turned to Jack, determination etched on his features. "The paradox machine!"
Jack squeezed Rhea's arms, silently asking her whether she would be alright on her own, and she nodded, her lips sloping upwards in almost a smile. He turned to the remaining soldiers, the ones near the doors and not the ones that had been killed by Rhea.
"You men! With me!" Jack ordered. He turned to Rhea. "Stay here, okay. I'll take care of everything," he said, reassuringly.
The Master pulled out the vortex manipulator that he had taken from Martha and activated it, a smile growing on his face as he thought he may salvage his plans.
"No!" The Doctor shouted and placed his hands on the vortex manipulator as well, disappearing along with the Master.
The Doctor and the Master materialised on a rocky cliff.
The Master spread his arms out. "Now it ends, Doctor." Thunder rolled in the air above them. "Now it ends."
Alarms sounded at the nearby shipyard.
Jack raced through the corridors of the Valiant, the guards alongside him.
Rhea managed to stumble over to the Valiant's control centre at the head of the conference room. Her eyes drifted over the clear glass window.
"We have all 6 billion spheres heading straight for us," Rhea said, hoarsely.
"We've got control of the Valiant. You can't launch," the Doctor pointed out.
"Oh, but I've got this." The Master held up a small device. "Black hole converter inside every ship." He smiled, darkly. "If I can't have this world, Doctor, then neither can you or her. We shall stand upon this Earth, together, as it burns!" He crowed.
Jack finally reached the TARDIS, but three of the Toclafane guarded it, hovering ominously. Jack and the guards fired desperately at the spheres.
"Can't get in. We'd get slaughtered!" One of the guards shouted.
"Yeah," Jack said, dryly. "Happens to me a lot."
He steeled himself and rushed in, firing.
Rhea, Martha and Tish watched on the bridge of the Valiant as the spheres loomed closer.
The Doctor shook his head. "Weapon after weapon after weapon. All you do is talk and talk and talk. But over all these years…and all these disasters, I've always had the greatest secret of them all. I know you. Explode those ships, you kill yourself. That's the one thing you can never do." He held out his upturned palm. "Give that to me."
The Master scowled and slapped the device into his hand.
Jack finally made it into the TARDIS, shutting the doors firmly behind him. He raised his gun and fired at the casing, causing sparks and destroying the paradox machine.
Come on, let this fix Rhea.
A large burst of air left Rhea's lungs and she crumpled to the floor.
The Doctor and the Master fell as the ground beneath them began to shake. The two of them struggled for control of the vortex manipulator, before the Doctor managed to get both hands on it and dragged him and the Master back to the Valiant.
Just as the Toclafane were about to reach the ship, they disappeared. The ship rocked as the paradox unravelled around them and Rhea's eyes drifted open just in time to be thrown back, only to be caught and lifted up into the Doctor's arms, who smiled, gently, lovingly, down at her.
It felt like the pieces of Rhea that had been missing since the moment they had stepped onto the Valiant had finally snapped back in place. She stiffened, not quite trusting that it wasn't a trick, and after a few seconds, she melted into his embrace, burying her face in his shoulder. She shook, suddenly, and clung to him, desperately, realising that she had been barely holding herself together the past year. The Doctor slid one of his hands in her hair, out of habit, and buried his face her hair, ignoring the smell of blood on her skin.
"Don't worry, lovely, I've got you," the Doctor crooned, his arms tightening around her.
Rhea's hands fisted in the lapels of his pinstripe suit and she nodded into his chest, curling up into him, as every shard of pain melted away from her body, leaving her whole and unscathed – physically, at least – the way she had been before all of this had happened.
But she would never forget.
The Doctor turned to everyone else. "Everyone down! Time is reversing!"
He and Rhea slid to the floor, onto their stomachs, face-to-face, and the Doctor laughed, his fingers threading through hers.
Francine spotted a gun on the floor that had fallen unnoticed from one of the guards that Rhea had killed. She looked over at the Master with furious, disgusted eyes, as he clung to the railings.
Finally, the tremors stopped and the Doctor slid to his feet, pulling Rhea along with him, and he checked the controls.
"The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning." He turned on the communication link.
"This is UNIT Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!"
He turned back to the others. "You see? Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was."
He looked down at Rhea and the emptiness in her eyes left his hearts mangled.
Just because it never happened, doesn't mean that Rhea would forget.
Rhea stared out into the sky beyond the Valiant. "And the Toclafane?" she asked, roughly.
"Trapped at the end of the universe," the Doctor replied, reassuringly. He lowered his voice. "Are you alright?"
It was a stupid question and they both knew it.
Rhea's answering look was weary, but reassuring. "I'll be fine," she murmured. "Your frat brother's a bigger bastard than I realised." She said, dryly.
His palm was warm on her cheek and despite herself and everything she had been through, she couldn't resist leaning into his caress, the longing for any part of him warring with the inclination towards no one laying a hand on her – gentle or otherwise – again.
Francine frowned and spoke out loud, breaking them out of their little universe where only the two of them existed. "But I remember it," she said, pointedly.
The Doctor nodded. "We're at the eye of the storm. The only ones who'll ever know." His eyes met Clive's. He rushed up to him, dragging Rhea with him. "Oh, hello! You must be Mr Jones! We haven't actually met."
The Master made a break for it, but in a moment, the gun was out of Rhea's khaki jeans and the barrel was aimed at the Master, square in his back.
"Don't," Rhea said, lowly, cocking it threateningly.
The Master cursed under his breath and Jack loomed in front of him, as he returned.
"Whoa, big fella!" Jack's Cheshire grin was violent. "You don't want to miss the party." He turned to the guard that had returned with him. "Cuffs." He bound the Master's hands behind his back. "So, what do we do with this one?" he asked, curiously.
"We kill him," Clive said, darkly.
Tish stepped forward, intent in her gaze. "We execute him," she agreed.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, that's not the solution," he insisted.
Francine aimed the gun she had picked up at the Master. "Oh, I think so," she hissed. "'Cause all those… things, they still happened because of him. I saw them."
The Master smiled. "Go on! Do it!" he urged.
"Put it down, Francine," Rhea said, coldly, not taking her eyes off the barrel of her gun and the Master.
The Doctor approached Francine, cautiously. "Francine, you're better than him." He reached out and took her hand, forcing her to drop the gun, and he enveloped her in an embrace for a few seconds before pushing her into Martha's arms.
"You still haven't answered the question," the Master said, slowly. "What happens to me?"
The Doctor looked at him, coldly. "You're my responsibility from now on. The only Time Lord left in existence," he murmured.
Rhea looked at him, incredulously. "You can't tell me you trust him?" she said, disgust colouring her voice.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, first chance he gets, he'll stab you in the back."
"No," the Doctor said, firmly. "The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."
Rhea looked at him with disbelief and anger.
He would keep her torturer with them, in their home?
The Master didn't look too happy either. "You mean you're just gonna… keep me?" he asked, furiously.
The Doctor hummed in agreement. "If that's what I have to do." He looked at Rhea, beseechingly. "It's time to change. Maybe we've been wandering for too long. Now we'll have someone to care for."
Rhea threw her head back and laughed, harshly. "You want me to nurse the man who brutalised me for a year? Keep dreaming," she said, coldly.
A gunshot rang through the air and the Master staggered backwards, a bloodstain spooling on his shirt around his stomach area. Everyone turned to find Lucy, standing nonchalantly, with a gun in her hand. Jack rushed towards her, as the Doctor raced over to the Master, when he crumpled to the ground.
Rhea watched the proceedings with interest.
"Put it down," Jack ordered and snatched the gun from her hands.
But all Lucy did was look at Rhea with knowing eyes.
"You told me to kill him before he kills what's left of me. So, I did," Lucy said, simply.
Rhea nodded. Would she do anything else if she had Damian standing before her, weak and asking for death?
The Doctor lowered the Master gently to the floor with more compassion that he should have been able to muster.
"There you go. I've got you. I've got you," he said, soothingly.
The Master chuckled, hoarsely. "Always the women," he remarked. "Honestly, I thought it'd be your girl who finally did it. At least, that's what she promised me."
The Doctor shook his head. "I didn't see her," he practically pleaded.
A dark grin found its way onto the Master's face. "Dying in your arms. Happy now?"
The Doctor scowled. "You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."
"No," the Master said, coldly.
The Doctor shifted in dread. "One little bullet. Come on," he implored.
The Master smirked. "I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse," he said, viciously.
Tears filled the Doctor's eyes, as his hands tightened on the Master's weakening form. "Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate! Come on!" he begged, his voice breaking.
The Master stared at him, incredulously. "And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?"
The Doctor's face was heart-breaking. "You've got to," he whispered. "Come on. It can't end like this. The three of us, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks?" His stomach churned with dread and resignation. "We're the only two left, there's no one else." He pleaded, desperately, tears falling finally, as he realised it was a lost cause. "Regenerate!" He shouted, shaking the Master, fiercely, as if willing life and courage into him with every jerk of his hands.
The Master grinned, slowly. "How about that? I win," he murmured. There was a pause. "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?" He asked, wistfully.
And then he took his final breath.
The Doctor held the Master close to him, rocking the corpse back and forth as he screamed in despair and loss, the others simply looking on. It was Rhea who walked over to him, who stopped at his side and threaded her long fingers in his thick, dark-brown hair and pulled him into her as he began to sob into her stomach, his hands leaving the Master and turning to entwine around her waist, holding her close.
While she could never bring herself to mourn the man who had cut down her mother right in front of her, she would never wish any sort of pain on the Doctor.
"It's okay, baby. Baby, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay," Rhea murmured, over and over again, continuing to stroke his hair.
That night, on Earth, the Doctor lit the Master's funeral pyre, and he and Rhea watched it burn, their hands clutching each other's. Rhea watched the Doctor's face, carefully, searching for any sign of grief, but his face was empty of all emotion, and he pulled her away with him after watching the burning corpse for a few minutes.
They stared out onto Cardiff, the four of them standing by the railing near the Pierhead Building, looking out over the bay.
"Time was, every single one of these people knew your name. Now they've all forgotten you," Martha said, wistfully.
Rhea snorted. "Yeah, that's what he needs. Hero-worship," she said, dryly, lingering away from them.
She was still recovering from her experience of the ordeal.
"That's good," the Doctor said, reassuringly.
"Back to work," Jack sighed.
The Doctor stared at him, kindly. "I really don't mind, though. Come with us," he said, insistently.
Rhea couldn't help the small smile that curved on her mouth. "Magnanimous, this one is," she murmured.
The Doctor shot her a look.
Jack grinned to himself, happy to see some of Rhea's humour returning to her, and shook his head. "I had plenty of time to think that past year, the Year That Never Was," he said, wistfully. "And I kept thinking about that team of mine. Like you said, Doctor, responsibility." He said, firmly.
The Doctor beamed. "Defending the Earth. Can't argue with that."
He reached his hand out, making to shake Jack's hand, but instead shoved his shirt sleeve up to expose the vortex manipulator.
"Hey, I need that!" Jack protested.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I can't have you walking around with a time-travelling teleport." He flashed his sonic screwdriver at the device. "You could go anywhere… twice. The second time to apologise," he said, dryly.
"That sounds like Jack," Rhea said, lightly.
The Doctor turned to wink at her, snatching her hand in his and raising it up to his mouth for a brief kiss on her knuckles, squeezing it comfortingly as he did so. When her hand left his lips, he kept them threaded together, keeping her curled in his side.
Jack looked at him, curiously. "And what about me? Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?" he asked, worriedly.
The Doctor sighed. "Nothing I can do. You're an impossible thing, Jack," he murmured.
Jack laughed. "Been called that before," he said, teasingly. He turned to Rhea. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"
Rhea nodded and tore herself from the Doctor's hand and presence as Jack led her away, slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, soberly.
"I'll be fine," Rhea said, reassuringly, placing a hesitant hand on Jack's arm. "Not my first rodeo." She smirked.
"You're sure?" Jack asked, worriedly, his eyes raking over injuries that had long since vanished.
"Don't worry about me, Jack. I'm a trooper," Rhea said, gently. "It takes me some time, but I always get there."
Jack looked at the Doctor. "And this time, you have someone else to help you."
Rhea softened when she followed his gaze. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she murmured.
Jack placed his hands on Rhea's shoulders and she looked up at him.
"You are owed, Rhea. Take what you are owed," he said, firmly.
Rhea stared up at Jack and something welled up inside her – compassion and affection and respect – and her hands curved around the back of his neck, pulling him down and kissing him fiercely on the curve of his hairline.
"Thank you," she said, hoarsely. "For everything."
"Always," he murmured, kissing her quickly on the cheek.
He led her back to the Doctor, who carefully pulled her into his arms, and began to leave, turning back and saluting the remaining three.
"Sir. Ma'am. Ma'am." He turned to leave again, but stopped. "But I keep wondering… what about aging? 'Cause I can't die but I keep getting older. The odd little grey hair, you know? What happens if I live for a million years?" he asked, curiously.
The Doctor shrugged. "I really don't know," he said, apologetically.
Jack chuckled, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it." He waved off. "Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid back on the Boeshane Pennisula. Tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. The Face of Boe they called me."
Rhea's nails dug into the Doctor's forearm.
"Hmm, I'll see you."
He ran across the square, towards the water tower.
"Can't be," Martha whispered.
"No, definitely not," The Doctor breathed. "No." Martha giggled. "No." The Doctor laughed himself.
Rhea watched him leave.
I just watched him die.
The Jones family were back home and together. The Doctor and Rhea watched from outside as they leaned against the TARDIS. Francine looked out at them before they went inside. The TARDIS looked as beautiful as it did before the Master had taken it from them. The canister containing his hand rested on the floor by the console.
"We need to put that somewhere else," Rhea said, dryly.
The Doctor laughed and pulled her over to sit on his lap (she flinched just the slightest when she finally settled), as he reclined on the jump seat and they waited for Martha.
"I need to say something," Rhea spoke, suddenly. "And you can't say anything back. I just need to you listen. Is that okay?"
Her voice was hesitant, and it hurt the Doctor deeply to see her so unsure. Rhea should never be uncertain of anything. She was fierce and strong and confident. But this was Rhea at her most wary and distrustful (not that she didn't trust him, but more that she didn't necessarily trust the validity of her emotions), and it meant that she would be careful, not distant, but not clutching onto him either. She would baulk at the idea of allowing him to help her. This was her cross to bear, and as much as he hated it, hated being helpless, he understood.
Nonetheless, he nodded.
"You're all I thought about," she confessed. "Every time that the Master or those soldiers put their hands on me, I thought about you."
The Doctor wanted to open his mouth and tell her about how he had barely slept the past year, imagining the worst kind of pain inflicted on the woman he loved beyond sanity. Every taunt from the Master had felt like a knife in his side and he had cursed himself, again and again, for the frail bodies he had been burdened with. He was no warrior, not like her, and she had been made to suffer for his sins. He wanted to tell her that not a moment had gone by in the Year That Never Was that he hadn't endlessly thought about her.
But he made a promise. So, all he could do was kiss her sweetly on her temple, feeling her curl against him.
After a few minutes, Martha entered the TARDIS and the Doctor peered around the central column, leaving Rhea resting on the jump seat. He shot her a worried look, knowing that her recovery would not be instant. In fact, he would be lucky if she didn't revert back into her sleeper cell frame of mind. He was surprised that she was allowing him the extent of physical contact that she was.
He turned his attention back to Martha. "Right then! Off we go! The open road! There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like oil on water. Fancy a look? Or… back in time. We could… I don't know, Charles II? Henry VIII?" He shot Rhea a look. "Anne Boleyn, I know Rhea's been wanting to go there for ages. I know! What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie! I bet she's brilliant!" He realised Martha's face was devoid of emotion and he immediately sobered, knowing what was about to come. "Okay," he murmured in resignation.
"I just can't," Martha whispered, reluctantly, her eyes pleading as they drifted between the Doctor and Rhea.
"Yeah," The Doctor agreed.
"Spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them," Martha explained.
"Of course not," The Doctor said, gently, smiling. "Thank you." He walked over and hugged her, tightly. He pulled away, staring at her, proudly. "Martha Jones, you saved the world."
Martha beamed up at him. "Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best. But you know what? I am good." She paused, looking at Rhea, furtively. "You two gonna be all right?" she asked, worriedly.
Rhea slipped off the jump seat and made her way over to the Doctor. After a moment's hesitation and a disregarding of the way dread dropped heavily into her stomach at the thought of someone's hands on her.
"We will be," Rhea said, reassuringly.
She leaned in and kissed Martha on both her cheeks.
"You should take care of your family, Martha. I know that better than anyone. Go, be there for them. And if you ever need us, you know how to contact us. We'll always come back for you," she said, firmly.
"Always." The Doctor nodded.
Martha's smile was trembling. "Right, then." She kissed the Doctor and Rhea on the cheek and the walked out. She started off then turned and went back inside the TARDIS, resolution in every step. The Doctor was surprised, but Rhea's eyes were knowing and proud and that only bolstered the courage welling up inside her. "'Cause the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky, she lived with this girl, student housing, there were five of them, all packed in, and they were like best friends. She used to talk about her constantly."
The Doctor paused. "Is this going anywhere?" he asked, confused.
Rhea rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the forehead, causing him to scowl at her and rub the back of his head.
"Yes!" Martha snapped and the Doctor crossed his arms over his chest, sheepish. "'Cause it was always Vicky who made a move. The girl never bothered. And she wasted years on this friendship, pretending that it was okay that she was the one who always had to make an effort, who cared about being her friend more than the other way around. And I told her, I always said to her, time and time again, I said: get out." She shrugged. "So this is me, getting out," she said, simply, watching the Doctor's face twist in understanding, and she reached into her pocket, tossing her phone to him. "Keep that." She ordered. "'Cause I'm not having you two disappear. If that rings, when that rings, you better come running. Got it?" She said, warningly.
The Doctor nodded. "Got it."
Martha smiled. "I'll see you two again, okay."
And she left, leaving Rhea and the Doctor alone in the TARDIS.
The Doctor moved his hands to the controls and began to operate it. Suddenly, the TARDIS began to spin out of control and a klaxon sounded. Rhea frantically grabbed onto one of the beams to keep her steady as the Doctor struggled to gain control.
"What's going on?" Rhea asked, worriedly, as they swung about.
The Doctor scowled. "I have no bloody idea." He glared at the time rotor. "Stop that!" he scolded. "Stop it! What was all that about, eh?" He tapped it, impatiently. "Eh? What's your problem?"
Rhea ran a soothing hand across the beam she was holding, feeling it thrum, warmly, affectionately, under her hand. She smiled, slightly, and when she turned around, she found herself taking a wary, surprised step backwards, the back of her head pressing up against the coral beam.
A man she had only seen in holograms appeared on the other side of the console.
"Right, just settle down, now..." the Fifth Doctor crooned.
"Uh, Doctor…" Rhea began, uncertainly, not quite sure which one she was addressing.
Going in opposite directions around the console, the two Time Lords finally managed to bump into each other.
"Excuse me…" the Doctor said, distracted.
"So sorry…"
At some point in time, they realised what was happening, and they stopped and looked at one another, with equal degrees of shock etched on their faces, much to Rhea's amusement.
"What?" the Doctor breathed.
"What?" the Fifth Doctor whispered.
"What?"
"Who are you?" the Fifth Doctor snapped.
"Oh, brilliant!" the Doctor crowed. "I mean, totally wrong, big emergency, universe goes bang in five minutes, but... brilliant!" He beamed at Rhea.
"I'm the Doctor, who are you?" the Fifth Doctor asked, angrily.
The Doctor smirked, chuffed. "Yes, you are, you are the Doctor," he said, proudly.
"Yes, I am, I'm the Doctor," the Fifth Doctor said, exasperated by the groupie attitude the Doctor was exhibiting.
"Oh, God, it's like Rugrats Gone Wild," Rhea groaned.
The Fifth Doctor turned to look at the source of the voice and his face lit up. He moved over to her and kissed her on the forehead, leaving her stunned.
"Rhea, my darling, when did you get here?" he asked, worriedly.
Rhea cleared her throat, her lips twitching in an effort not to laugh. "A little while ago."
"And I imagine you were waylaid by this… fool." The Fifth Doctor shot his future counterpart a dark look.
The Doctor didn't allow his past self's distaste for him to stunt his excitement. "Oh, good for you, Doctor. Good for brilliant, old you," he gushed.
The Fifth Doctor frowned. "Is there something wrong with you?"
The Doctor laughed. "Ooh, there it goes, the frowny face! I remember that one! Mind you," He grabbed the Fifth Doctor by the face and squished his cheeks, despite the other man's protests. "It's saggier than it ought to be." He fiddled with the Fifth Doctor's sideburns, much to the other man's chagrin. "Hair's a bit greyer, that's 'cause of me, though." He looked at Rhea, as if it to explain is train of thought. "Two of us together has shorted out the time differential, should all snap back in place when we get you home." He grabbed him by the lapel. "Be able to close that coat again. Have to look pretty for my best girl." Rhea rolled her eyes. "But never mind that, look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety cricket stuff, the... stick of celery, yeah... Brave choice, celery, but fair play to you, not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable," He babbled.
"Shut up!" the Fifth Doctor shouted, fed up, and he snatched off his hat in fury. "There is something very wrong with my TARDIS, and I've got to do something about it very very quickly, and it would help, it really would help, if there wasn't some skinny idiot ranting in my face about every single thing that happens to be in front of him!" He roared.
The Doctor pouted. "Oh, okay. Um, sorry. Doctor," he said, half-heartedly.
The Fifth Doctor took a deep breath. "Thank you," he said, roughly, before turning back to the console.
"Aw, the back of my head!" the Doctor piped in, enthusiastically.
Rhea groaned. "Doctor, honey, you're making him – and me – uncomfortable with all your fangirling."
The Fifth Doctor rounded on them, wide-eyed surprise etched on his face. "What?!"
The Doctor shrugged, not at all apologetically. "Sorry, sorry, it's not something you see every day, is it, the back of your own head. Mind you, I can see why you wear a hat..." He grimaced. "I don't want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?" He pleaded.
The Fifth Doctor spun around, fixing him with a suspicious glare. "What have you done to my TARDIS? You've changed the desktop theme, haven't you? What's this one? Coral? It's worse than the leopard skin." He scowled, putting on a pair of half-moon spectacles, which made Rhea's heart burst with warmth, and he turned back to the console.
The Doctor was practically bouncing on his heels. "Aw, and out they come! The brainy specs! You don't even need them! You just think they make you look a bit clever!" he crowed.
A klaxon sounded.
"That's an alert... Level five," the Fifth Doctor explained, beckoning a pliant Rhea to his side. "Indicating a temporal collision!" He frowned, peering at the console with wide, disbelieving eyes. "It's like... two TARDISes have merged, but there's definitely only one TARDIS present..." As he rushed around pressing buttons, the Doctor strolled across, leaned on the viewscreen and watched him, not before winking at Rhea, who cracked a smile at his energy. "It's like two time zones at war in the heart of the TARDIS..." His brow furrowed. "That's a paradox. Could blow a hole in the space-time continuum the size of..." The Doctor shoved the viewscreen into his past self's eyeline. "Well, actually, the exact size of... Belgium. That's a bit undramatic, isn't it? Belgium?" He grimaced.
The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and held it out to him. "Need this?" he offered.
The Fifth Doctor waved it off. "Nah, I'm fine."
The Doctor shook his head, remembering fondly. "Oh no, of course." He did a rather elaborate flip of the screwdriver and caught it in his palm of his hand, giving Rhea a cheeky grin, to which she rolled her eyes, and put the sonic screwdriver back in her pocket. "You mostly went hands free, didn't you, like 'eh, I'm the Doctor, I can save the universe using a kettle and some string, and look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable'," he said, mockingly.
"You do realise that you just made fun of yourself, right?" Rhea asked, dryly.
The Fifth Doctor stalked over to stand nose-to-nose with the man he still hadn't realised was his future self. "Who are you?" he asked, coldly.
Rhea's palm struck her forehead, as she rolled her eyes.
The Doctor sighed. "Take a look," he urged, softly.
There was a pause.
The Fifth Doctor's eyes widened, dramatically. "No. Oh, no..." he breathed.
"Oh, yes." The Doctor beamed.
"You're... oh, no..." The Fifth Doctor shook his head.
"Here it comes... yeah, yeah, I am..."
"A fan," the Fifth Doctor finished with disgust.
Rhea started shaking with laughter.
It felt good to laugh. After everything.
"Yeah... What?" The Doctor's face was comically stunned.
Something on the console beeped.
"Level ten, now. This is bad. Two minutes to Belgium!" the Fifth Doctor growled.
"What'd'ya mean, a fan? I'm not just a fan, I'm you!" the Doctor protested.
"Okay, you're my biggest fan. Look, it's perfectly understandable, I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters, and being, well, let's be honest, pretty sort of marvellous..."
Rhea rolled her eyes when the Doctor nodded in agreement.
"So naturally, now and then, people notice me. Start up their little groups. That LINDA lot. Are you one of them? How did you get in here? Can't have you lot knowing where I live..."
"LINDA lot?" Rhea raised an eyebrow.
The Fifth Doctor turned to her, softening. "A fan club of ours." He winked.
"We have a fan club?" Rhea wondered out loud.
"Rhea, not now." The Doctor waved off.
"Don't talk to her like that!" the Fifth Doctor protested.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Listen to me, I'm you. I'm you with a new face." He slapped his own cheeks with the flat of his palms. "Check out this bone structure, Doctor, 'cause one day you're gonna be shaving it."
"You shave?" Rhea asked, incredulously. "That's so unfair. You never told me that. You mean, all this time, I could've been having a scruffy Doctor and you've been holding out on me?" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "Not cool."
A bell sounded.
"The cloister bell!" the Fifth Doctor cried out.
The Doctor sighed. "Yep, right on time. That's my cue..."
"In this limit, we're gonna generate a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe!" the Fifth Doctor groaned.
The Doctor clucked his tongue. "Yeah... That's my fault, actually. I was rebuilding the TARDIS, forgot to put the shields back up. Your TARDIS and my TARDIS... well, the same TARDIS, different voyages in the same time stream, collided and well, there ya go, end of the universe, butterfingers, but, don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out, watch..." He fiddled with the console. "Venting the thermo buffer... Flooring the helmic regulator... And just to finish off, let's fire those zyton crystals."
The Fifth Doctor yanked the Doctor's hands away from the controls. "You'll blow up the TARDIS!" he protested, loudly.
"Only way out." The Doctor shrugged.
The Fifth Doctor frowned. "Who told you that?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You told me that!" he said, pointedly.
His hands slammed down on the controls and the TARDIS whirled through the time stream.
"A supernova and a black hole at the exact same instant..." the Fifth Doctor started.
The Doctor nodded. "Explosion cancels out implosion."
"Matter remains constant."
"Brilliant."
The Fifth Doctor sighed. "Far too brilliant. I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."
"Sorry, mate, you still haven't," the Doctor said, apologetically.
Rhea cleared her throat and she crossed her arms over her chest, and the two Time Lords looked at her, sheepishly.
"Not including you, of course, darling," the Fifth Doctor said, reassuringly.
The Doctor nodded, fervently. "Yeah, lovely, you fly the TARDIS beautifully. Better than anyone else I've ever known."
The Fifth Doctor scowled. "You can drive my TARDIS. But I draw the line at philandering with my woman, understand?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes and Rhea's lip curled in a gentle smile.
The Fifth Doctor frowned. "You didn't have time to work all that out. Even I couldn't do it!" he said, pointedly.
The Doctor's shoulders slumped. "I didn't work it out. I didn't have to," he said, slowly, as if he were speaking to a small child.
The Fifth Doctor's eyes dawned with realisation. "You remembered."
"Because you will remember," the Doctor explained.
"You remembered being me, watching you doing that... You only knew what to do because I saw you do it," the Fifth Doctor said, knowingly.
"Wibbly wobbley..."
"Timey wimey!"
Rhea groaned. "Oh, God, my eternal boyfriend is a total dork."
The Doctor raised his hand for a high-five, but his past self ignored him, leaving him pouting. Another alarm sounded and he leapt for the console.
"Right! TARDISes are separating. Sorry, Doctor, time's up, back to long ago. Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan? Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh, he just showed up again, same as ever," he commented.
The Fifth Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no, really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?" he asked, curiously.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, no beard this time. Well, a wife." He grimaced.
The Fifth Doctor began to fade. "Oh. I seem to be off. What can I say? Thank you. Doctor," he said, solemnly.
"Thank you." The Doctor shook his head.
"I'm very welcome." He turned to Rhea, his smile kind. "And I'll see you soon, Rhea."
She nodded, flicking a small smile at him, rubbing her arms awkwardly.
And he disappeared.
The Doctor sighed, looking at Rhea momentarily, before flipping a switch on the console, and the Fifth Doctor reappeared. The Doctor picked up his past self's hat, which had been left on the console.
"You know," He handed him the hat. "I loved being you," he admitted. "Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you. I was all bashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted, I still do that! The voice thing, I got that from you!" The Doctor said, excitedly. In response, the Fifth Doctor smiled and put the hat back on. "Oh!" The Doctor's eyes lit up and propped his feet up on the console. "And the trainers! And..." He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and slipped them on. "Snap! 'Cause you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."
The Fifth Doctor beamed and raised his hat. "To days to come," he said, solemnly.
The Doctor tipped his head in a deferential nod. "All my love to long ago."
The Fifth Doctor disappeared, and his future self smiled at the vacant space where he had just been. He looked at Rhea, bashfully, who approached him and placed a questioning hand on his forearm. He looked down at her, struck by her beauty and warmth and kindness – which she only ever showed him so profoundly and genuinely –, and covered her hand with his, raising it to his lips to press a gentle kiss on her fingertips. He pulled away, dragging her along with him around the console
"So, what's next? What do you want to do?" the Doctor asked her, excitedly. "Anne Boleyn, it is?"
Rhea shifted, uneasily. "Actually, I was wondering… could we go and see my mother?" she asked, hesitantly.
The Doctor's face dawned with realisation and understanding, and he softened, reaching out to graze her knuckles with his fingertips. She resisted the urge to flinch.
"Yeah, definitely," he murmured, kissing her fiercely on the top of her head, making her smile despite herself.
At that moment, a sudden, splitting pain echoed through her head and she gasped, breathlessly. Her hands came to thread through her hair, clutching it desperately, after wave after wave of agony crashed through and she slumped onto the floor. The Doctor was suddenly kneeling in front of her, his voice worried and soothing, as his warm hands stroked her damp skin.
"Rhea, it's okay, Rhea, everything's going to be okay," he murmured, pulling her into his chest.
As if not quite there, she heard the sound of a ship's foghorn, muffled and blurry, and she saw out of the corner of her eye as a bow of a ship smashed through the side of the TARDIS.
She opened her mouth to warn him as to what was to come, but she saw nothing but black and gold.
A/N: So, hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter and the end of this first arc and I had such an amazing time getting to this place with Rhea and all of you (not that it's over yet, not by a long shot) and don't forget to leave a review (here or on Tumblr) if you liked it!
Reviews:
grapejuice101: Thank you so much!
NicoleR85: Thank you so much!
RandomFandoming: I'm so glad you liked it! Unfortunately, this does have some unfortunate side effects for Rhea.
PrincessMagic: Thank you so much! Yeah, well, considering how shitty the Doctor was to Martha in canon, I thought it would be better for her to bond to someone who doesn't treat her like shit.
LookAliveSunshine03: Well, I basically envisioned that she was there right from he was really, really young. Like while he was at the Academy still?
deathb4beauty: Well, to be fair, there was no other way she was going to get out of those shackles on time.
mgntckr2221: Thank you! Darling, I'm so sorry you went through that, but I'm so glad you're away from that bastard.
Audrile: Thank you so much!
SkyeAmber: Thank you!
Miss Easily Obsessed: Thank you so much! Honestly, I did have a plan for a confrontation between Rhea, the Doctor and Damien. It wasn't going to end violent, but it was going to be emasculating for Damien.
silverhawk88: Thank you so much!
Bananabella: I'm pretty sure that's exactly Rhea would say!
Purplestan: Fair enough on the lightweight thing. But I think you misunderstood the football scene. Rhea wasn't objecting to the Doctor using 'football'; she was objecting to him putting the article 'the' in front of 'football'.
Blue: Well, I mean, India was being occupied by the British at that point, so it's very unlikely that anything that was exchanged between the two countries was an actual gift.
ViaJackson: Thank you so much! I desperately want their happy ending too!