The Long Way Round

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of Doctor Who, BBC, Torchwood, or any of the characters mentioned.

Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update the story. Writer's block is the worst :(

This definitely isn't the best story I've written, but I hope that part four sort of makes up for it. I'd also like to thank all my loyal and patient readers for being so wonderful. Thank you everyone.

Something happened. The Doctor wasn't entirely sure or why, but something happened. It wasn't a good thing.

Maybe it all started with the yelling. Everyone was yelling. It was doing nothing to solve the problem at hand, but that stopped none of the delegates. Parliament was falling apart and the rift between the countries was slowly growing. The Doctor was in charge of convincing Rassilon to leave Earth alone, but everyone else was interfering.

"If you do not willingly give up the planet, we will take it with force," Rassilon said.

"Will everyone please shut up?" The Doctor said loudly.

They all glared at him and The Doctor turned to Kate. "Please turn the screens off."

"But Doctor, we're on the brink of war," she protested.

"I can take care of this myself."

Kate reluctantly turned each of the screens off, leaving only the hologram on.

The Doctor turned towards Rassilon's hologram. "What do I have to do to make you leave Earth alone."

"You can give up the planet, or we will invade."

"I choose the third option. You leave or I will make you. I'm an old man with nothing to lose. Fear me."

"Well, prepare for war, Doctor," Rassilon said.

"You won't win."

"Oh, I doubt that."

The Doctor turned off the hologram.

Kate stepped towards him angrily, "Do you realize what you've done?"

"Indeed I do."

The Doctor exited the building, with Kate following him. "You've just started a war! Do you even have a plan?"

He scoffed, "Of course I have a plan."

"Well, what is it then?" Kate asked.

"Classified."

Just then, Petronella Osgood exited the nearby lab. "Oh, Osgood. You're still here."

She walked with Kate and The Doctor, "I am. And I've heard that you've started a war with the Time Lords."

"I have. So, Osgood, what's the plan?"

"Plan for what?" Osgood asked.

"The war."

Kate rubbed her temples, "Unbelievable."

Before long, they were outside, on UNIT soil. "Doctor, what are we doing here?" Osgood asked.

"Kate, I have some very important information to share with you and Osgood."

Kate nodded, "Yes, what is it?"

"You know today? Well, what's the day after that, but a week before, unless it's two days times four days, and divided by the number of stars in the sky, but it's not, or is it? You see, it's all philosophical, but it's science or law, two days after today, what day is it? You see, the answer is The Matrix."

Everyone was extremely confused by everything The Doctor said.
"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I don't think I understood either," Osgood said.

"The purpose of all of this was to create, how do you say… a distraction!"

And with that, the TARDIS materialised. The Doctor grabbed Osgood's hand and brought her inside the TARDIS, closing the door behind them.

Osgood looked around and gasped, "Wow! This is really it, the TARDIS! It's bigger on the inside!"

"There we go," The Doctor said.

River Song greeted her husband, "Hello, sweetie."

"Right on time, River," The Doctor said.

Osgood was confused, "Who's that?"

"No time," The Doctor said, "River Song. meet Petronella Osgood. Osgood's smart, River's my wife. All caught up? Good.

Actually, 3/3 of them had no idea what was going on, and were without a plan. That included The Doctor.

"We need to fix things," The Doctor said.

"What are we fixing?" River asked.

"Long story short, I accidentally started a war and now I need to un-start it."

"Should be quite simple. Not like we haven't been through this before," River said.

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"Spoilers!"

The Doctor stepped to the TARDIS console and began to fly the time machine with ease. The telephone rang and The Doctor picked up the phone and slammed it back into the receiver. It took just a few minutes to warn his past self and fly to the UNIT base. He burst out of the TARDIS front doors and looked at his surrounding. He saw Kate Stewart walking towards him. "Doctor! I was just about to call you here," she said.

"You didn't call last time," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Yes, I'm here to help. I'll go talk to Rassilon."

"How did you- of course," Kate said.

"I may have made some mistakes the first time. It's alright now. I'm quite familiar when it comes to messing with time. The timeline's really just a bunch of timey-wimey whatever," The Doctor said.

"You've been here before, so I assume you have a grasp on the situation."

"Where is Osgood?"

"In the lab, why do you ask?"

At that moment, Osgood wandered out of the TARDIS followed by River.

"Did it work?" Osgood asked.

"It's the TARDIS, it always works. Except that horrid noise. He still refuses to turn off the brakes," River responded.

The Doctor turned back to Kate.

"How'd that happen?"

"..."

Kate sighed, "Nevermind. Get Osgood and any other strange people you may have stumbled across along the way and go to the conference room."

Osgood walked with The Doctor, but he had to practically drag River along. The whole way to the conference room, they avoided the lab. Two Osgoods would be a disaster and The Doctor was glad that he didn't have to deal with that.

He stepped into the conference room with Osgood, River, and Kate. Rassilon's hologram appeared, "Doctor," he greeted.

"Hold on just a moment," The Doctor said.

There was an extremely loud wheezing noise. A moment later, the door burst open. Two gentlemen stood in the hallway. A pretty boy and a baby giraffe. The giraffe straightened his bowtie and the pretty boy said, "Hello, I'm The Doctor."

"I am also The Doctor," said The Giraffe.

The Doctor turned to the rest of the room and its very confused occupants. "These are my tenth and eleventh incarnations. Everyone meet pretty boy and the baby giraffe."

Everyone was still confused, but they just accepted it and moved on. "What's going on here?" Rassilon asked.

"Well, you may not consider Earth to be a threat and it may not be. But we are. We fought Weeping Angels, The Silence, Daleks, and Cybermen. Every creature you could possibly imagine. I will not stop until you leave this Earth."

"Neither will I," Ten said.

"I'm not leaving either," Eleven chimed in.

"Leave Earth alone," River said.

"You don't scare me," Rassilon should.

"You don't think that all of Earth as well as 3 ½ Time Lords isn't enough."

"I've led the Time Lords for longer than you've been alive. If you want war, I will give you war. You don't stand a chance, Doctor," Rassilon said.

Ten stepped forward, "You're right, we don't stand a chance. In that case, it's a good thing we brought friends."

Through the door walked Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Toshiko, Owen, and Sara Jane.

"Hello, Doctor. Good to see you again," Jack said.

Sara Jane walked forward, "If you attack Earth, we won't go down easily."

"You won't win," Ianto said.

"Why even try?" Gwen asked.

"It's useless," Toshiko stated.

"If you want this planet… ," Ten said.

"You'll have to go through us first, "Eleven finished the sentence.

"The Doctor will stand, protecting the Earth," Gwen said, "and we'll be standing with him."

"You mess with Earth, it's us you'll have to deal with," Sara Jane said.

"Give up the planet willingly," Rassilon said.

"Not going to happen," all The Doctors said.

Rassilon scowled, "This isn't over."

Eleven said, "Oh, we never thought it was. But Earth will never be yours."

"We'll do whatever it takes to protect this planet. Leave now and there will be no violence," The Doctor said.

"You lose," Gwen said.

"For now," Rassilon said.

And with that, the hologram disappeared. It was relief that Earth would be safe another day. For some of them, it was a brief reunion. Eventually, they parted ways. River and Osgood returned to their timelines, Sara Jane went home, and the others returned to Torchwood. Before each of The Doctors stepped into their TARDISes, they said goodbye to each other. "I guess this is it," Eleven said.

Ten nodded.

"Where are you going next?" Eleven asked.

"Sometime, somewhere, there's people that need our help," Ten said.

"There always is," Twelve said.

"But no matter the circumstances…" Eleven said.

"We'll be there," They all said.

They bid each other farewell before going back into their individual time machines. The Doctor knew that there may not be a lot of time left, but he'd help as many people as he could. There wasn't really any other option for him. There was always someone that needed help.

Some time later...

The Doctor stepped back into his TARDIS and he knew that it would be his last time in his current state. He could already feel the regeneration starting. At least he was home, or the closest he had to one. It was painful, but it wouldn't be the last. Oh, most definitely not.

He could hear the voices echoing over in his mind. It seemed that whenever he wasn't running, his past caught up with him. He wanted to think that it was too soon, that it wasn't his time yet. But that would be a lie.

The past would never entirely disappear, he knew that much. Even though he was just a madman with a box, they believed in him. Amy, Rory, Clara, River, Rose, Martha, Donna, and Bill. They trusted him. And The Doctor had let them down, each and every one of them.

He couldn't escape the guilt, no matter how hard he tried. The voices just wouldn't leave him alone.

"I want you safe, my Doctor"

"You don't know The Doctor. I believe in him"

"I was gonna be with you forever"

"I REMEMBER YOU"

"I refuse to kill the man I love"

And then there was Clara Oswin Oswald. His impossible girl. His savior. And she had died sacrificing herself to save others. She was always selfless. But The Doctor wasn't. On the contrary, he was selfish. Selfish because he wanted Clara back. Without her, The Doctor was lost. He would just keep running if he had no reason to stay. But she was his reason and now she was gone.

The Doctor rounded the TARDIS console and turned around. There, he saw her. "Clara, what are you doing her?

"I'm back, you stupid old man," she smiled.

Then, he stopped to look at her attire. The grey sweater and button down shirt were familiar. The clothes Clara was wearing when she faced the raven.

She saw his face fall, "What's wrong? Doctor, it's me," Clara said.

"But it's not," The Doctor gestured wildly, "you see, it's not you. You're a- a construct! A figment of my imagination."

Clara's smile faltered. "Doctor…"

The Doctor so badly wanted her to be real, but he couldn't lie to himself any longer. Despite the fact that this Clara wasn't real, he didn't send her away.

The Doctor sat down on the stairs and put his face in his hands, "I'm sorry, Clara. For everything. I never should have let you sacrifice yourself. It should've been me"

Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And if you are, always make amends.

She sat down next to him. "It was my choice, Doctor. It wasn't even a choice really, it was my destiny."

"If I had stopped you, you would've lived."

Clara chuckled. "Even if you had, something else would've happened. Fate always finds you."

She noticed the sad look on The Doctor's face.

"Clara, I'm not the person you once knew."

"I know that and I don't care. It doesn't matter that you're different than you are before. You're still you. My doctor," Clara said.

The Doctor laughed for the first time in a long while. "Sometimes, I forget that I'm The Doctor. You're the one that helps me remember."

Laugh hard.

"Fate's hard to beat, but everything's okay now."

"But not if you run from it. Fate. You could've come with me. We could've run away, far from here."

Run fast.

There was sadness in her eyes. "It wouldn't have worked. Did I ever tell you this story? Well, when I was a little girl, there was this night. The sky was full of stars and late at night, I snuck out of my room and lay down in our backyard to look at the sky. It was way past my bedtime, but I didn't care. It was so beautiful, I wished to just float away so I could live with the stars and the constellations forever. I'm glad I didn't though. This was my destiny, you were my destiny. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Be kind.

The Doctor spoke, "I remember that night too. I was running. I wasn't running from anything, actually. I had this feeling, and so I hopped in my TARDIS to see where the sky would take me. The stars were all aligned and I was ready for an adventure. My past always haunted me, but not that night. That was the one time I was ready. Not to forget, but to remember."

"I felt so connected to everything. The whole universe was laid out right in front of me. That night, I thought I heard something. Barely just a whisper, but I heard it. I didn't understand, but it was the most beautiful sound in the universe," she said.

You mustn't tell anyone your name. No one would understand it anyway. Except children. Children can hear it. Sometimes – if their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too. Children can hear your name.

"If only you had lived," he said.

"You can't hold grudges forever."

"Time Lords can."

"But you're not a Time Lord. You're you. You're The Doctor. The kindest person in the universe. When someone asks for help, you never refuse."

Remember – hate is always foolish…and love, is always wise.

Clara stood up, "I'll never truly be gone, as long as you remember me."

"I'll never forget you," The Doctor walked to the TARDIS console.

She smiled again, "I never knew what I signed up for when I first stepped into this TARDIS. I saw the world and explored universes that I never knew existed. You opened my mind to all the possibilities. Thank you for making me feel special."

The Doctor smiled back, "Thank you for exactly the same."

Clara stepped back as The Doctor's hands began to glow.

"Remember," she whispered.

He turned around and Clara was gone. The Doctor sighed.

"We were brilliant, weren't we, Doctor? I suppose this is the end, but it's been prepared for."

The Doctor gasped in pain. He stood and circled the TARDIS console. "Before I let you become The Doctor, just listen. Soon, it'll be your turn. Don't you forget. Not one day of your time here. You must always remember when you were The Doctor. Never forget it."

He fell to the floor, but pulled himself to a standing position, "Remember. It's not just a name, it's a promise. And now it's your turn. I have faith in you. We could prove that we're worth more than anyone ever bargained for. It's your duty to protect the people of Earth now. They need your help now. Doctor… I let you go."

And then there was only pain. The Doctor was consumed by the regeneration glow. It was a painful process, but a chance to live again. The Doctor heard the voices. Rose, Martha, Donna, Susan, Sara Jane, Ace, Jack, Bill, Amy, Rory, River, and Clara.

"Doctor, Doctor, Doctor…"

But it wasn't over. Not yet. There were always more adventures to come. Of course, every ending was just a different kind of beginning. The pain eased and the regeneration came to an end. The Doctor stood and caught her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, Brilliant!"

Author's Note: I really hope you guys liked this chapter. It is the last chapter in this story but I will keep writing for the Doctor Who fandom. Thank you to everyone who's read my stories because I'm still new to the fanfiction community and it means a lot to me.