A/N: You can't say I didn't warn you...

Chapter 24 – Back To The Past

Rory Sigma-Tyler, aged 16, Earth, November 2006 AD.

He'd lost the TARDIS. Great. The one rule of space and time travel was of course, to remember where in the Universe you parked but as teenage Rory Sigma-Tyler strode down the South London street at 9:00pm with hands in pockets he couldn't help but think he'd kind of screwed up.

He ran his hand through his hair and stopped just short of a chip shop, contemplating his next move. He'd told his dad he was just going to take a quick trip in the TARDIS but now he'd gone and lost it, leaving him trapped on 21st century Earth and the TARDIS clan in 43rd century Yechia trying to stop an invasion.

He carried on a little up the street, quickly popping into a twenty-four hour and buying a newspaper, purely for the date. 23rd November 2006. That was six days before he was born.

Slipping back out in the open he turned back once more to the chip shop, glancing down at the newspaper in his clutch. Well, he had the newspaper; all he really needed was the chips…

Then he heard footsteps towards him.

He turned towards their source, straining to see through darkness of the night where two figures were walking together, hand in hand. The taller male figure was quite skinny, wild brown hair seeming nothing short of uncontrollable whilst a shorter blonde girl wore a puffy coat and jeans.

His eyes shot wide open.

He dived for the nearest plant pot, only just about concealing himself in time before his past parents strolled past.

He'd crossed his own timeline?!

He watched his mum carefully as they passed him, but he couldn't see any signs of her pregnancy. He'd always been quick to grow…perhaps her pregnancy had been quick too? He vaguely began to wonder if she even knew she was pregnant at this point in time, or maybe what she was feeling if she already did. Happy? Surprised, obviously. Had they been trying?

He watched, mesmerised as they walked past together. Suddenly his dad stopped dead, almost yanking his mum off of her feet as she let slip a cry of surprise.

"What?" she asked, and for a moment Rory thought he'd seen him – but he suddenly dropped Rose's hand and extended his arms infront of him, turning towards the chip shop and lumbering towards it like a zombie.

"Chiiips…" he said in a drone's voice, "chiiips…"

His mum laughed and pulled his dad back by his waist, taking him away from the shop front.

"C'mon, we're going home!"

"Nooo…" he moaned in a slow motion voice as the girl dragged him backwards and stopped a few metres from the store.

"How old are you?" she demanded with a laugh as he scuffed his shoes on the floor in a sulk.

"Nine hundred and one," came the mild reply, before the continuation of the matter at hand, "mummy, I want some chips."

"Well that's too bad, 'cause you ain't getting any. "C'mon, we've gotta run or we'll miss the last bus!" His mum started off down the pathway, his dad still standing immobile.

"But I'll run faster if I have chips!"

"Cram…chips…up your…C'MON!"

His dad disappeared with her into the night.

Bus.

He swivelled around and pelted it to the nearest bus stop, away from his past parents. He was in such a hurry he almost ran right into a woman hovering just out of sight, murmuring an apology as he caught a flash of a purple dress in his vision almost florescent in the dark night.

He ran, and caught the bus.

The Tenth Doctor and family, Earth, March 2007 AD.

"Julie."

"Sarah."

"Lyra."

"Laura."

The unnamed baby girl gurgled in her grandmother's arms, watching her face intently as Jackie smiled down at her, and she smiled back.

"Hannah!"

"Gemma!"

Rory was sitting on the living room sofa kicking his shoes against the side with his arms folded indignantly, Bob sat at his feet waggling his tail back and forth. He was bored. His parents were too immersed in matters about the baby and for once even Jackie wasn't paying him any attention. Jack was in the TARDIS doing a few touch-ups and now Rory was alone.

"Geri!!"

"Claire!!"

He blew a loud raspberry, trying to get attention back to him but failing.

"Tanya!!!"

"Tasha!!!"

All of a sudden the baby exploded into tears in her grandmother's arms and the parents span around instantly at the sound, the Doctor diving forward and taking her into his arms.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently, and Rory quietly slipped off of the sofa with Bob on his heels, flitting out of the front door to the world outside.

Checking the coast was clear he gestured Bob out of the door behind him, creeping to the stairwell to see Jack in the TARDIS below.

"The motherboard's connected to the, warp drive! The warp drive's connected to the, mainframe! The mainframe's connected to the, thingy-thing!" Jack sang absently from underneath the console, buzzing away merrily with the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver before he heard the rhythmic clangs of small feet on metal and someone tugged on the bottom of his trouser leg that was poking out.

"Uncle Jack?"

He smiled. "Hey Rory kiddo. You okay?"

There was a brief pause. "…Yeah," finally came the muffled reply.

Jack stopped in his fixing, getting up and pulling himself out of the floor hole to sit on the Captain's chair. He patted the seat next to him.

"Come and tell Uncle Jack all ya troubles," he said with a grin as Rory took the proffered seat and looked up at the adult.

He paused for a moment before speaking; "…mummy and daddy don't love me anymore."

Jack raised his eyebrows incredulously. "What makes you say that?"

"All they talk about is the baby and I don't exist. Was I supposed to go when she came?"

Jack wrapped his arm around the boy supportively, ruffling his hair. Rory glared at him and patted it down again. "Trust me Rory, give it a few days and they'll get bored. I had a little sister too, y'know. She was called Sandy, and for a while my parents cared about nothin' but her. But that's a parental reaction to a newborn. They still love you with all their hearts Rory; they're just too immersed to show it at the moment. Everyone's really worked up that the baby will die at any moment that they tend to forget us bigger brothers in the process. They trust you to look out for yourself right now."

"But…"

"I know your feelings are hurt right now, but even your dad can forget things like that sometimes."

"Mummy said he got hurt and forgot a few things, is that it?"

"Not, that's amnesia. We're talkin' 'bout forgettin' peoples' feelings – your dad is probably, if not absolutely the cleverest man in the entire Universe. His IQ must break the ceilin' and he's seen everythin' you can possibly imagine – but he's not very attune to what people are feelin'."

"Why not?" the boy asked, perplexed.

Probably to keep himself sane. "'Cause he's your dad!" Jack replied with a grin, getting onto his feet and pulling up Rory too. "C'mon, let's go crash the baby party!"

Smiling once more they slipped out of the TARDIS with Bob in tow, heading towards the flat.

And it was around about then the shimmering purple light exploded into shots of bright light infront of the two, merging into a familiar figure – first the shape, then the dress, then the face, then the hair…and then the coal black eyes narrowed in anger, hatred and contempt.

Jack couldn't take his eyes off of the sight.

"Rory," he said simply, still not looking away. "I want you to run. I want you to run as fast as you can back up the stairs to your gran's flat and I want you to tell your daddy that She'sback."

Rory couldn't tear his gaze away either. "Okay," he croaked, slowly backing away towards the stairwell with transfixed eyes on the rapidly building figure, before forcing them away and turning to run.

Bob scooted up the stairs easily a few paces ahead of him, Rory getting easily out of breath with all the steps but forcing himself onward with the weight of the task before him.

"Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip!" Bob barked insanely from outside the front door of Jackie's flat, bouncing up and down on his paws as Rory ran down the balcony. "Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip!"

"Bloody racket you're makin'!" Jackie Tyler's irritated voice came from inside, flinging the door open and coming face to face with the Delorion, barking without control.

"Daddy!" Rory just about gasped as he stumbled on through the doorway and just about made it to collapse at his dad's feet, lungs burning. "She's back!"

The Doctor seemed to pale, holding out his daughter for Jackie to receive before taking Rory into his arms and starting out the door with him, back to meet his destiny with Rose closely following.

He reached the bottom of the stairwell, setting Rory down onto the floor as he peeked through the stairwell window, seeing Jack in confrontation with her. She distinctly had an advantage – the fact he seemed to be hovering five foot off of the ground with her hand around his throat.

He turned to Rory and cupped his chin gently, expression suddenly gravely serious. "Stay here," he said, "whatever happens, you two have to stay here."

Rory nodded obediently before the Doctor gave him one last smile and reached up to Rose, kissing her gently before slipped out of the door. Rory quickly lunged for the door and held it open a crack for a slice of the world outside, breath caught in his throat as true fear mounted in him.

"That's enough!" the Doctor yelled angrily and the purple woman's head instantly turned, and shot him the most evil of glares he'd possibly received in quite a long time, dropping Jack onto the concrete. He didn't waver though, simply held his ground.

"Doctor…" she hissed, dropping the ex-Time Agent and gaining all interest in the Doctor. "At long last…"

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is not important, and I want you, of course."

"For what?" the Doctor shot back, aware she was getting closer and closer to him.

"That is not imperative right now." She extended her hand towards him, urging him to take it. "Come with me, Time Lord."

"Leave him," Jack burst out suddenly from the floor, pushing himself onto his feet and stumbling towards the Doctor, his hand massaging his neck.

She ignored him. "Come with me…" she repeated in that sensuous voice of hers.

"No," the Doctor said, folding his arms resolutely.

"Then you will have to be forced!" she screamed, her fist clenching together as it suddenly pulsated with a bright purple light, glowing and dancing in her palm. Then static broke out inside his head, fizzling and crackling as though a fireworks display was going on within. His hands flew up to the sides of his head, falling instantly to his knees and biting back the yells.

"I don't need you conscious!" she screamed, tightening her fist further as the Doctor started trying to move away from her, Jack helping him stand up. Rose and Rory watched with baited breath as they started to hastily move over to the TARDIS – but she was too quick for them.

A bright purple beam shot out of her palm currently not paining the Doctor, scraping against the Doctor's chest and hitting Jack full on in the back. He yelled out in agony, his entire body coursing and jerking as purple electric-like lights shot up it – and he fell to the floor, dead.

She maximised her control on the Doctor and he too collapsed to the floor – still conscious, though immensely weakened.

"NO!" came a voice from afar and suddenly the form of Rory appeared in the Doctor's vision, bounding towards him.

"Go back!" he wanted to shout, but he couldn't move or speak with the power she held over him.

"This does not concern you, boy!" she hollered, only having to raise her hand an inch to send him flying into the far wall of the enclosed street.

Then the Doctor got mad.

He forced himself forward through pure inner strength, inching towards his now unconscious son strewn out on the pavement…but she wasn't having any of it. One more snap of the fingers and the Doctor's eyes began to slowly close, heavy-headed and drowsy within seconds. He forced his fatigued head up one more time to catch Rose standing in the middle of the street, the Delorion at her heels before the Doctor's body submitted to the power and fell absolutely still.

A/N: (Lets out long, relieved breath) MUAHAHAHA! TOOOOOOORTURRRE!!! KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL!!!