I'M SORRY

This is by far the longest it's taken me to update. I'M SORRY! These last two weeks have been completely crazy, but guys, I promise I haven't stopped thinking about this. I promise you I will finish this story (and it will be the first one ever that I do! Finish, that is.) I will try to keep updating more regularly, but keep in mind this month will be incredibly busy for me... so don't be surprised if some chapters take a while.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Especially those who've mentioned how much they like Kylie and the Doctor together. Thanks! You make my day:)

Enjoy!

Lazarus' body was taken out in a bag and carried out on a gurney. We watched from the steps, his body disappearing inside the ambulance.

"At least that's over." I said, and immediately regretted my words. That probably meant the Doctor would leave us for good, this time.

"Yea, but-" He grunted. "If I could just get this thing off."

I looked at him, watching as he pulled at his bowtie, trying to untangle it from the knot he'd made.

I rolled my eyes and shooed his hands away. "Let me."

I made quick work of the knot, leaving the two ends hanging from his neck.

"Thank you," he said, lowly.

I met his eyes, blinking when I realized how close they were. I quickly stepped back, increasing the space between us.

"Uh, yeah. Whatever."

"Doctor! Kylie!" Martha rushed towards us, enveloping the both of us in hug.

The Doctor disentangled himself. "Ah, Mrs. Jones!" He called Martha's mother, Francine, grinning. "We still haven't finished our chat."

Her hand drew back, blurred, and then the Doctor's head snapped to a side, clutching his cheek. I stared, surprised. She had slapped the Doctor.

Francine glared. "Keep away from my daughter."

"Mum, what are you doing?" Martha asked, baffled.

"All their mothers, every time." The Doctor muttered under his breath.

I chuckled, watching as he rubbed his cheek. He saw me, and shot me a look.

"He is dangerous!" Francine screeched. "I've been told things."

"What are you talking about?" Martha asked, bewildered.

Francine took her daughter's shoulders with her hands, and met her eyes. "Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction."

"This isn't his fault! He saved us, all of us!"

Martha's brother spoke up. "It was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault."

A crash distracted us, the Doctor looking at Martha and me with wide eyes before rushing towards its source. Martha and I quickly followed, Tish running behind.

The ambulance's doors were open, and empty husks of the medics stared back at us. I grimaced.

"Lazarus, back from the dead." The Doctor muttered, taking out his sonic screwdriver. "Should've known, really."

He waved his sonic screwdriver around, once again trying to locate the creature that was Lazarus.

"Where's he gone?" Martha asked.

The Doctor stared into the distance. "That way. The church."

"Cathedral." Tish corrected. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

We nodded in unison. The Doctor started in the cathedral's direction. I stayed and watched as Martha stopped her sister who tried to follow.

"Please stay. Try to calm mum down." Martha pleaded with her.

"But-"

"Please."

With a sight, Tish nodded and head towards their family.

We took off. I was tempted to take my heels off. But then again, the sidewalk didn't look exactly clean. Stepping on glass was just what I needed to make the day even better.

The Doctor was more cautious entering this time. He still kept his screwdriver raised, trying to locate Lazarus' exact location. We trailed after him.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha asked.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" The Doctor posed.

We moved through the empty cathedral and between the empty seats. It was eerie, a place so huge, echoing the silence.

I heard the gasping before we reached the empty space behind the altar. Lazarus sat there, shivering and panting, the red blanket from the ambulance the only thing covering him.

He glanced at us before speaking, his voice low and raspy. "I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child… the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz." The Doctor said.

Lazarus raised his eyebrows. "You've read about it."

"I was there."

Lazarus scoffed. "You're too young."

The doctor raised his eyebrows back. "So are you."

Lazarus laughed, but it was soon turned into gasps of pain.

"In the morning," Lazarus continued. "The fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again."

The Doctor was walking around Lazarus slowly. He was staring up. I followed his gaze, noticing we were underneath the bell tower. I didn't know what, but the Doctor was planning something.

"…So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today."

Lazarus' tone turned sharp. "That's what I did today."

The Doctor's own voice also turned dark. "What about the other people who died?"

"They were nothing." The professor stated calmly. "I changed the course of history."

"Any of them might have done, too. You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."

"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more…" he smirked. "…Successful."

Lazarus' face contorted in pain as he groaned. Bones cracked as he writhed.

"Look at yourself!" The Doctor exclaimed. "You're mutating! You've no control over it. You call that a success?"

"I call it progress." Lazarus gasped. "I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human."

The Doctor shook his head, and the expression on his face changed almost imperceptibly as he shook his head. He looked like he knew a secret that nobody else seemed to get. "There's no such thing as an ordinary human."

I looked at the Doctor, surprised. That was a bold statement, especially one meant for a whole species.

Lazarus gasped before doubling over and groaning as the bones kept creaking and cracking.

I frowned. "Doctor, he's changing."

"I know." He whispered back at Martha and me. "If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

We glanced up.

"Up there?" Martha asked.

The Doctor nodded.

Lazarus looked up. "You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look."

The Doctor's voice was deceptively soft. "I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust." He squatted beside Lazarus. "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."

I swallowed hard. I wondered where the words came from. If the Doctor was holding a grudge against the universe. He had lost his whole species. Family and friends alike.

Another thought occurred to me. Maybe that was why he didn't want us traveling with him. Maybe he didn't want to become attached to someone. Maybe he didn't want to keep losing people.

Humans died so easily. So quickly. He not only lost other Time Lords, but human companions as well. He had lived through countless generations of humans.

But then again, I wasn't human. I still had a long time left.

"That's a price worth paying." Lazarus argued.

The Doctor paused for a second, his eyes infinitely sad. "Is it?"

Was it?

Lazarus cried out again as his bones cracked.

"I will feed soon." He said.

The Doctor shook his head, his eyes never leaving his. "I'm not gonna let that happen."

"You've not been able to stop me so far."

I exchanged a look with Martha, before motioning up to the bell tower. It was time to put the Doctor's plan in motion.

We stepped forward.

"Leave him, Lazarus! He's old and bitter. Thought you had a taste for fresher meat."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Martha, no."

I didn't let her have all the fun. "You told me you were coming back to end me, Lazarus. Aren't you going to keep your promise?"

Lazarus snarled, a sound that was more beast than human. He rushed in our direction, and Martha and I burst out running in the staircase's direction.

"No!" The Doctor yelled.

"Doctor!" Martha yelled back. "The tower!"

We climbed the step of the narrow spiral staircase. We heard Lazarus following us, grunting and screaming. Growls and snarls reached our ears.

I cursed. "Did you hear that?"

"He's changed again." Martha gasped, wide eyed. "We've got to lead him up."

We reached the upper level when we heard the Doctor's voice. "Martha! Kylie!"

We peered out of an archway and looked down.

"Doctor!" We both yelled.

"Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, d'you hear me?" He yelled.

"Up to the top!" Martha repeated.

I heard the sound of clicking against stone floor. I looked back, watching the scorpion-like creature that was Lazarus appear from the staircase.

I pulled Martha's arm and bursting into a run. "Martha! Come on!"

We reached the bell tower, ahead of him probably only because of the small spaces he had to travel through. The bell tower was a narrow, circular walkway with wooden rails.

"Ah hell." I frowned. "I hope the Doctor know what he's doing. We're trapped here."

"This is where he said to bring him."

I sighed. "I know. We're bait."

Martha met my eyes. "We have to trust him."

I nodded, and I didn't know if I envied or pitied Martha. She had complete faith on the Doctor. And I couldn't help but feel it was blind faith, one she was willing to risk her neck for. Not that I doubted the Doctor's intentions, but it was a dangerous situation that the Doctor had no control of.

I whisked those thoughts away as Lazarus slipped into the room in a move oddly graceful for a creature his size.

"Ladies." He hissed.

He attacked. His tail rushing past us as we ducked. He roared, attacking again and I threw myself to the floor, just barely avoiding it. Martha screamed, having avoided it one by inches.

The echoes of the scream fell away and I heard the sound of the catherdral's organ playing, an odd soundtrack for the fear we now experienced. Slowly, the organ's music became louder.

Part of the railing fell on Martha's side, and I watched in horror as she wobbled and fell.

"Martha!" I screamed.

I could just see the top of her hands barely clutching the surface as she held on. Lazarus towered over her.

"Get away from her!" I screamed at him over the organ's sound, but it was no use. His eyes were firmly trained on his new prey.

Suddenly, the organ stopped being merely a soundtrack and the volume exploded. I fell to my knees, hands clutching at my ears. It hurt so badly, and I didn't even know what hurt. I only knew it did. I knew I had to help Martha, but it was too loud to think, never mind move.

I cracked open an eyelid, only just realizing I had closed my eyes. Lazarus was shaking in his place, wobbling as he tethered on the edge. His mouth was open in roar muted by the organ's nose. He abruptly toppled over the edge, disappearing down below.

The organ's sounds came to an end, and shakily, I stood up and approached the edge, gasping in relief as I saw Martha still hanging from the edge. I rushed forward and took hold of her arm, hauling her upwards.

"I've got you." I told her.

"Martha?" We held the Doctor call up. "Kylie?"

Martha was gasping and shaking, sobs escaping her as she tried to relax.

"We're okay!" I called back, realizing Martha was too shaken for her to respond.

"Thank you." She gasped.

I smiled. "It's the Doctor we should be thanking."

"I told you we had to trust him."

"You did. He's quite something, isn't he?"

This time, she smiled. "Oh, that he is."

Slowly, we stood up and started making our way down, still shaken. Martha was still in a bit of shock. I helped her every time she wobbled.

We reached the bottom, and the Doctor was already there, waiting for us. He hugged us, an arm around each of us.

"I didn't know you could play?" Martha asked, smiling as we stepped back from the hug.

The Doctor scratched the back of his head, moving restlessly as he grinned. "Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up."

"Hmm, especially about playing aloud."

I shook my head, wincing. "Tell me about it."

The Doctor shot me a grin that immediately melted. "You're bleeding."

I blinked. "What?"

He pushed back my hair, tilting my head to the side as his fingers softly brushed my jaw and the side of my neck. I shivered.

"Yeah. Your ears are bleeding." He stepped back, his face one of remorse. "I'm sorry, I should have thought of it before. Siren blood. You pick up sound waves awfully easily."

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Your plan worked."

He shook his head, but let it be.

We were back at Martha's apartment, the TARDIS fitting cozily inside.

I was filled with crushing disappointment and nervousness. He was leaving. I was staying. He was leaving me to stay on Earth.

"Something else that just kind of escalated, then." The Doctor said, smiling softly.

"I see a pattern developing." Martha smiled back. "You should take more care in the future. And the past, and whatever other time period you find yourself in."

"It's good fun, though, isn't it?"

Martha laughed. "Yeah."

The Doctor glanced at me at my place against the wall. His eyes met mine, and the ever-there spark still twinkled. I looked away. Those eyes still unsettled me. There was too much in them. Too old. Too sad. Too kind. I think I was starting to like them a little too much.

"So, what'd you say, one more trip?" He asked.

My eyes snapped up right back to his face, but he was looking at Martha.

Martha shook her head. "No. Sorry."

He looked surprised. "What do you mean? I thought you liked it."

"I do, but I can't go on like this. 'One more trip.' It's not fair."

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, well, I'd rather stay here."

I was surprised but happy for Martha. Maybe that would slap some sense into the Time Lord.

The Doctor nodded. "Okay, then. If that's what you want."

Martha looked crushed. "Right. But we've already said good-bye once today so it's really best if you just go."

She walked away and faced me, waiting for the TARDIS to disappear. I met her eyes, and I could see the unshed tears. The Doctor just waited, looking at her. I was disappointed when he didn't even look at me.

I sighed, looking back at Martha. I shook my head and smiled. Confused, she looked back.

"What is it?" She asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "What? I said okay."

Martha blinked. "Sorry?"

"Okay." The Doctor nodded his head at the TARDIS.

Martha's face broke into a huge smile. She hugged the Doctor, laughing. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?" He smiled back. "Now, would you give me a minute with Kylie?"

Martha nodded, practically skipping inside the TARIDIS doors. I stared off after her, stomach churning.

"So?" He said.

I dragged my eyes towards him, frowning when I once again noticed how handsome he looked in the black suit. "So what?"

"Are you coming?"

I felt my breath catch. My heart started pumping in my ears. "You're asking?" He nodded, and I asked again, "You sure?"

He rolled his eyes. "I am asking, aren't I?"

I swallowed, my right hand drifting up to my ear. "Even if I still keep on getting hurt?"

He sighed. "Yes. Even though you've gotten hurt on every trip, yes, I'm asking. Now, will you?"

"Will you change your mind?"

He winced, running his hand through his hair. "I can't promise I won't."

I took a big breath. "Good. At least you're not lying to me. But, I dowant you to promise me one thing. If you do change your mind, you have to talk to me first. Deal?"

He deliberated for a second before sighing. "Deal. So, you're coming?"

I nodded, feeling giddy with excitement as a smile unfurled itself on my face. "Of course I am."

He smiled back. "Good."

I walked towards the TARDIS, stopping at the door when suddenly his arm blocked my way. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes incredibly close.

"Yes?" I asked, for a second thinking that maybe he'd changed his mind.

"You have to promise me one thing in return." His eyes bored into mine. "You have to be careful, understand?" His free hand suddenly trailed down my arm until it reached my wrist, leaving goose bumps in its wake. He raised my arm, nodding towards the Timepiece. "I don't care how indestructible you think thismakes you. You will be careful."

I flickered my eyes from his face to his hand holding my wrist and back. "I promise."

He exhaled in relief. It warmed me that he took my promise so seriously.

He nodded. "Good." The Doctor then stepped back, holding the TARDIS' door open for me in a flourish. "Welcome aboard, Miss. Kylie."

I smiled, stepping inside.

Maybe, just maybe, I'd finally found a new place to call home.