-1599-

-The Globe Theater-


"Calypso?" She heard her name somewhere above her; she struggled to swim through the darkness, using it as an anchor to help pull her along. When she finally emerged, she saw the Doctor's face looking down at her. "Missed all the fun this time, didn't you?" He asked with a grin, he was wearing a silly ruff around his neck and holding an odd glowing globe.

"Oh, I think I'm regretting it." She pressed her palm against her forehead as she sat up slowly. William was gone from the chair and she couldn't hear the screaming or the howling of the wind from the stage any longer. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, you know. Carrionites, trying to escape the void. Wanted to use Shakespeare's words to build a bridge to this world, and then they planned to destroy it, and all of humanity with it. Don't worry yourself, I got it sorted." He said with a self-important sniff.

"I guess congratulations are in order." She couldn't quite muster up the enthusiasm to make it sound sincere.

"Ouch. Look at that, you're not even impressed." He pretended to look offended. "I must have put you through the ringer already."

"You do have a knack for causing trouble wherever you go." She said with a smirk.

"Hey now, that's not fair." He shrugged. "Maybe it's you with the knack." She just rolled her eyes and started to stand on her shaky legs. The Doctor put down the globe and helped her up, but she found the closeness of him to be distracting.

"I have my doubts." She squinted against the bright light that was shining through the wood slats.

"Fair enough. But, oh, I almost forgot!" He stuffed his hand into his pockets and produced an old worn piece of paper, handing it to her. "I've figured out who you are. Brilliant ol me." He said with a grin. She looked down at the paper and it shimmered as though it was wet. It was an image, like a drawing, but it seemed so real, and it moved as she twisted the paper in her hands. It was a scene, two red mountains soaring into the sky, and a blue sea weaving below. Lettering at the bottom named it the 'Islands of Discovery'. What really caught her eye were the two suns, chasing each other across the horizon, just like her dreams.

"Oh yeah?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"You're just like me." He scrunched up his face. "Well, not exactly like me. But we come from the same place; it's a planet, billions and billions of miles away. It's called Gallifrey. And you're a time traveler, like me." He waited for some kind of reaction and seemed genuinely disappointed when he didn't receive one. "Oh, come on now. You don't hear that every day. Another planet? Time travel? You didn't even blink!"

"Sorry," She flushed, finally taking her eyes off the paper. "It's just…you've told me that already."

"I certainly have not-" He looked indignant, but then his argument trailed away. "Oh, right. Wrong order. Well," He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "There I go, ruining my big reveal. Suppose you know everything then?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "I know we're from Gallifrey, and…I know what happened." She felt her voice drop and the Doctor looked as though he had been punched. "You called my people the Engineers." She rushed on, hoping she could push past the dark look that had crossed the Doctor's face. "But, you didn't really elaborate." She raised her eyes hopefully.

"Yes, the Engineers." He said with a sigh. "Hadn't thought about them in a long while. Not till I saw the reading on the sonic. You're just chock full of Huon particles, and that should be, well, impossible. Because I know they're deadly. Except to the species they came from," He looked at her with a smile. "That's why the TARDIS liked you so much. Your people built them. Well, in fact, they grew them." His eyes looked out to an invisible horizon for a moment before he returned his gaze to Calypso, it crackled with life. "They were just as much their children as you would have been. That's why the heart of the TARDIS contains the Huon particles. It's funny, how you forget. So many more were lost to that war," The life in his eyes crumbled to dust then, and she could feel the grief radiating from him.

"They died in the war too?" She felt that hard lump in her throat growing; her heart still ached to hear of that lost world of hers, despite how deeply she tried to bury it.

"Well, yes." He shrugged. "But there weren't many left by the time the Dalek's showed up. Gallifrey had been tearing itself apart before that, so much distrust among its own people. The time lords predicted the end was coming, and they looked to the Engineers to reveal how they could escape it. The Engineers refused. Started a civil war. Practically annihilated their entire people before they realized what they had done." He shook his head. "It was an ugly time for my people. Fear can do terrible things."

"Did you…did you fight?" She hated that she asked the question, she didn't really want to know. She didn't want to know that this man had had some part in killing her people, even before he had been forced to destroy Gallifrey to save reality. But she had to know, had to hear him say it.

"No." He shook his head, staring at the floor. She almost laughed at the relief that flooded through her. "I was much too young. Had only just looked into the Untempered Schism. It's why I know so little about your people. They were almost lost by the time I was grown." He tapped a spot on the paper she was holding. "That's where the Untempered Schism was, right on the side of the mountain there. And those islands beyond, that's where your people came from. That's where they lived when…" He trailed off, unable to continue that thought. "I'm just a barrel of laughs." He gave a sardonic smile and shook his head.

"It's not fair." She whispered, blinking back her tears as she looked at the image of the red islands.

"That you'll never get to see it?" He asked, his voice heavy with guilt.

"No," She shook her head and looked back at him. "That you should live through so many…terrible things. And every time I see you, you're saving others, helping."

"I've lived a long time." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I suppose that's my penance."

"It's still not fair."

"You're right." He said nodding, and he looked like a man freshly painted with grief all over again. She placed her hand on his shoulder sympathetically and he managed a real smile then. "So," He sucked in a breath. "What am I like?"

"What?" She frowned, not understanding what he was asking.

"In the future. What am I like? What have I done that has made you such a kind friend to me?" His dark eyes looked to her with genuine interest. No matter how innocent he had meant the question, she still felt herself blush from root to tip, unable to form a coherent answer.

"You're nice." She finally stammered when she realized that she had let the silence drag on too long.

"Oh really?" His casual smile had widened to a grin that was verging on smug. "Well, isn't that interesting?"

"Yes," Calypso realized that her habit of vanishing wasn't making a convenient appearance and she was going to have to stumble her way through the rest of the conversation. "Well, it was lovely to see you again." She avoided looking directly into his eyes as she made her excuses. "But I must be going. After last night's performance, I'm sure we're going to be terribly busy. I've got…loads of…sewing to catch up on."

"Yes, quite right." He had the decency to try to erase the smirk from his face, but when she glanced up, she could see some of that twinkle still dancing in his eye. "I'm looking forward to when we meet again." He took her fingers in his own and kissed the back of her hand, gazing up at her with those brown eyes. "Break a leg, as they say." He released her hand with a frown. "Or, as they will say. Eventually. Much later. I wouldn't…oh forget it." He waved her off. "And keep that hidden." He pointed to the paper she still held in her hands. "I don't want to find you locked up for witchcraft the next time I come around."

"Thank you." She smiled looking down at the image of her home, the heavy weight in her heart lightened some, seeing it had been real. "Goodbye, Doctor."

"Till next time, Calypso." He gave her a sharp salute and she watched him go. It was funny, she thought, how it still felt just as badly to see him leave as it did when she was yanked away abruptly.