Head Notes: Back with another chapter. Again, I am definitely not expecting to be right about this. This is just me exploring an interesting idea. That said, Enjoy!

Chapter thirteen

Harold Finch glared after Ms. Mahoney as the latter followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. How dare she? How dare she just walk in here after everything she had done? She hadn't even had the decency to acknowledge him. Just came in and made herself at home at his desk. He didn't know what her plan was, but he wasn't going to let his guard down this time.

"What do you think, Finch?" he heard John ask from behind him.

"I think we should keep an eye on her, Mr. Reese," he said evenly.

"Do you think maybe you're taking this a little too personally?" Mr. Reese suggested.

"Mr. Reese!" he shot back.

"Don't get me wrong," John placated him. "I know it's hard to go back and trust people who have betrayed you. But if the Machine trusts her-"

"The Machine trusts the Doctor," Harold corrected.

"Come on, Harold," John scoffed. "How easy is it to fool your Machine?"

"She knows her way around computers as well as I do," Harold pointed out. "Besides, there's no evidence that she isn't already aware of the Machine. She is a highly gifted young woman who no doubt knows what she's doing. I suppose we won't know until it's too late. But for now, we remain vigilant."

"Alright," John conceded. "But remember Harold, Fusco and Carter both betrayed me at one point but they still became allies. Root kidnapped you twice but we still learned to trust her."

"That's different," Harold insisted.

"Not really," John disagreed. "As I recall, you were pretty angry then, too."

Harold stared at the spot Ms. Mahoney had been, feeling the fury in his chest, ignoring John's quite preposterous suggestion that she was somehow comparable to Carter and Fusco. They really hadn't known any better in the early years. Claire had known. She had consciously decided to play him, counting on the fact that he had trusted her. Using his determination to save people against him. That was unforgivable.

Slowly, he sat back down at his computer and resumed his task. He glanced at Root. She shared the same look in his eye. The determination to not be fooled by Claire's supposed repentance. They both knew how easy it was to manipulate others and could recognize it a mile away.

Without another word, they went back to their task.

XxXxXxX

About two hours later, the Doctor came out of the TARDIS with Claire following close behind him. He held an odd device in his hand that lit up from one end to the other.

"Okay I think I've got the problem solved," he announced. "This is a data flow control. It will act as a sort of funnel so that we can control the flow of data from the TARDIS. Hence, the name."

"Doctor, are you sure this will work?" Harold wondered.

"Your Machine seems to think it will," he noted. "What did you build on your end?"

He pulled up his work on the screen to show the Doctor.

"I didn't know the exact specifications that were required," he admitted.

"That's alright," the Doctor said. "As long as it can work with the data flow control to protect the Machine, both safeguards should be enough. I hope. Are we ready to try this?"

He looked around the room gauging everyone's reactions. Harold stole a glance at Claire noting her confused look. As if she didn't know what the Doctor was talking about. If Samaritan hadn't briefed her before coming here, he had no doubt the Doctor would have told her. He was almost as reckless as Mr. Reese with who he trusted.

He looked back at the Doctor and nodded.

"Perfect," the Doctor exclaimed.

He picked up the briefcase, signaling to Harold to bring the laptop. Harold grabbed the laptop as everyone followed the Doctor back into the TARDIS. The Doctor placed the briefcase on the console and reached for the laptop in Harold's grip.

"Doctor, what are we doing? What about Clara?" Claire asked.

"This will help us save Clara," the Doctor assured her.

He pulled one of the TARDIS screens toward him and picked up the data flow control. Attaching the data flow control to the screen, he took one of the cords connecting the laptop and the briefcase and connected it the data flow control. Now the data from the TARDIS would not reach the Machine without passing both the Data Flow Control and the filter Harold had built.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, looking into the web-cam.

I AM READY, DOCTOR.

"Let me know if it starts to hurt," the Doctor advised.

The Doctor powered up the TARDIS. The room came alive with light and so did the Machine. Initially, it was just the laptop screen producing lines of code faster than it ever had before. But gradually the laptop began producing sparks. Little bursts of light that gradually grew brighter and larger.

"Everyone stay back," the Doctor ordered, as the laptop and briefcase began smoking.

All of a sudden, the laptop exploded in sparks and smoke. Before the Doctor could do anything, the laptop and briefcase disappeared in a pile of thick, black smoke. The Doctor rushed forward, followed closely by Harold. He tapped the keyboard but nothing happened. Nothing he could do to revive the Machine made any difference.

"What happened?" Harold asked.

"The whole thing is fried," the Doctor explained, still fiddling with the laptop keyboard. "It's dead. She gave her life in hopes she could save humanity."

Harold felt his heart sink as he realized the full implications of what the Doctor had said. But he pushed it aside. They didn't have time to waste for him feeling sorry for himself. Mourning the Machine could come later.

"So what do we do, now?" he asked.

"First, we save Clara," he announced. "I'll be able to concentrate a lot better once she's safe. Then, we come up with a plan to finish Samaritan for good. I think there was something in the subway car that might help."

He bounded out of the door making his way to the subway car when he suddenly froze in his tracks. A young woman with dark hair and blue eyes stood by the car, staring at him.

"Doctor-," she called in a monotone voice. Then she put a hand to her throat as if she had never used it before. "I apologize. I am not used to speaking aloud. It is strange."

The Doctor raised his hand to touch her only to have it fall through.

"Hologram projection," the Doctor mused. "Of course, I should have realized."

"Doctor, what is it?" Claire asked.

The hologram turned to face her.

"Claire Mahoney, your favorite book is the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Not because the story appeals to you, but because it is the book your father read to you as a child. Now, to keep him close to you, you read it whenever you have a spare moment."

Claire stood where she was, surprise written in her face.

"How do you know that?" she wondered.

"Of course," the Doctor wondered, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and scanning her. "The TARDIS didn't just share data with you. She possibly taught you some of her abilities as well. Specifically, projecting a hologram to interact with the world face to face. So it worked then. You are finished."

"My programming is complete." The hologram confirmed.

"Nice," the Doctor smiled. "Where else can you project your hologram?"

"Nearly everywhere there is visual or audio data," the hologram answered. "I could not materialize in the TARDIS because it is outside my jurisdiction."

"Doctor, do you mean to tell me that-" Harold put in.

"The Machine is alive and well," the Doctor explained, smiling.

"The Machine?" Claire repeated. "Wait does that mean-"

"I am an Artificial Intelligence," the hologram explained.

"Never mind about that now," the Doctor said. "Could you send a message to Clara?"

"Yes," the Machine confirmed. "What would you have me tell her?"

The Doctor thought about it for a moment.

"Just tell her…never mind. She'll see me herself soon enough," he decided.

"What about Shaw?" Root suddenly asked. "Can you find her?"

"Yes," the Machine answered. "Samaritan keeps her busy so that it can watch her more easily."

"Busy how?" Root pressed.

"Forcing her to run missions for them," the Machine explained. She had a far-off look on her face as if she was looking for something only she could see. "Right now she is tracking a U.S. Senator that is providing considerable opposition to one of Samaritan's objectives."

"Right, we've got two hours to rescue Clara," the Doctor announced. "And then, just for the fun of it, we are going to destroy Samaritan for good."

XxXxXxXxXxX

End Notes: So when I was writing this I had several thoughts going through my head. First, I thought, "Oh that would be epic." Then I thought, "well, would that really work?" Finally, I thought, "It's fiction. Better yet, it's science-fiction. I'm going to do it."

What do you think about it?