A/N: Did you guess? It's a long dramatic chapter! Doctor bashing! Yay! It's the last 'ooo-they-almost-did-it-but-not-quite' section and then we'll get on to beating her finishing the ramble once and for all. Dunno when it's gonna end...expect around forty chapters. (And there was me at the start of this fic wondering if it's gonna be long enough)

Chapter 35 – A Long Dramatic Chapter

Three days after the rescue party had left everytime Jackie checked on Lottie and Zoë, they were sleeping. She herself having had a daughter that constantly wailed and cried and demanded attention at every inconvenient moment this was strange behaviour, though she determined that perhaps they were just quiet by nature. Still, it didn't stop Jackie from checking they were still breathing every so often.

But then a week after the rescue party had left Rory started to sleep a lot more than usual too. Jackie hoped they weren't coming down with something – this was hardly the time. It wasn't until two weeks had gone by did Lottie and Zoë sleep for two days straight; and then Jackie and Rose reallybegan to get worried for them and for the rescue party.

They tried to phone the TARDIS, but they'd left. They tried ringing mobiles but they'd since lost signal. It seemed all they could do was sit, wait, and pray.

Khthonia was fuming inside.

How darehe do this to Her? She was Khrusosandalaimopotikhthonia, Queen of the Underworld, and She wasn't going to let him just slip away like this. Did he reallythink She wouldn't find out? That She wouldn't track him and bring him back? She was the most powerful being in the Universe and nothingwould stop Her from having the ultimate child.

Angrily She left the empty cell, ready to bring the Time Lord back in pieces if She had to.

The Doctor had been on the move for five minutes now, but no sign of Rose as of yet. He'd tried calling out but he'd got no reply. He wondered for a moment whether it had all been a lie, an image conjured up by Khthonia to keep his hopes alive when no one was coming. Yes, that made sense. Why would She just leave the door open otherwise? This was a trick. She was going to let him roam for a while until She got bored and zapped him back, punishing him for escaping….

But all these thoughts were dismissed as he heard a distant cry of, "Doctor!" and his hearts leapt to his throat, almost making him choke on his reply, "Rose?!"

"Doctor! Stay still, we're coming to get you!"

He sighed a happy sigh of relief, hoping that they'd be able to get the TARDIS and get out of here to plan a way to bring Her down before She found them. He looked around at his surroundings of the damp, depressing forest before spotting a rock large enough to sit on and rest. He waited all of thirty seconds before the sound of crunching sticks and leaves below clumsy feet rang out, accompanied with frantic banter. He rose to his feet, looking through the clumps of trees to see a huge group of people bickering over a small object in Captain Jack Harkness' hands.

"You're not holding it right!" hissed a new female voice unbeknown to him.

"Then why don'tyoutake it miss know-it-all?!" came Jack's recognisable voice.

Rose's voice sounded next, "Jack! Jill! Shut up! You're like a bickerin' couple!"

"Couple?!" the one named 'Jill' asked disbelievingly. "Oh please! He isn't even a man!"

"Scan confirms gender male," K9 suddenly piped up from nowhere in his neat, well pronounced tone.

"Ha!" Jack boomed proudly, but was robbed of the chance to say anything else as Rose practically shrieked, "Doctor!"and bounded over to him, throwing her arms around his soaked frame in a tight hug, reaching up to press a kiss to his lips.

"Rosiiiie!" he yelled back in reply, spinning her around in the air. "Long time no see!"

"You're a drowned rat!" she said in delight, squeezing her hug tighter. She suddenly stopped, pulled back and regarded him up and down. His torn shirt and trousers were drenched and had splatters of blood on them, and he also had no shoes or socks on. His hair was wet and messy, dropping cold beads of water down his neck and forehead every now and then. "Don't tell me you swamthrough that moat?"

"Yup!" he answered chirpily as Rose quickly whipped off her furry coat and began to towel dry him. "Wasn't half cold."

"Hey Doc! Looking good as ever," Jack said from the side, coming forward to meet him in a manly hug. "We missed you."

"I missed myself," he admitted, grinning as Bob bounced up to him with as much enthusiasm as Rose had and he dropped to stroke the Delorion's belly. "We should leave." He stood up, looking skyward through the towering branches to the castle he'd once occupied, high, foreboding and dark over the land. "But we come back and finish this."

Jack and Rose both nodded, helping him walk across the woodlands despite his protests he was fine. They soon met with the rest of the group, Sarah-Jane giving him a hug as K9 insisted on doing a scan.

"Low level of nutritional intake, major dehydration and sleep deprivation master," he reeled off, wagging his tail and ears in synchronisation. "Suggest food, water and sleep to be prioritised."

"I told you, I'm fine," the Doctor insisted, pulling away from Jack and Rose as the group turned and headed back the direction they had come, the UNIT members spread out around to survey the area. Tosh, Gwen and Owen were busy messing with the laptop that showed the path back to the TARDIS whilst the Ninth Doctor subtly regarded his future self with remote interest as the future Rory walking alongside him with the ring in hand. Howard had already moved back to the older Time Lord, slapping a heavy hand by way of support on his shoulder but only made him cripple under the force.

"Anyone wit' half an brain can tell yer not fine m'laddy," Howard was saying in his Irish accent, thankfully lifting his hand off of the Doctor's shoulder. "No doubt Jackie'll want ter check yer over fer herself."

"And slap me…" the Doctor added.

"Hello," a familiar voice suddenly said, much to the Doctor's surprise. He looked up to meet his own predecessor staring right back at him, big ears and blue eyes never having changed.

"Hi," he replied brightly as Jack, Rose and Howard simultaneously accelerated to let the two Doctors talk.

"So, you're my next body." The Tenth Doctor couldn't help but notice the slight twinge of disdain in his predecessor's voice. He nodded, shooting him a side-glance as they walked.

"Yeah…you don't like it?"

The Ninth Doctor stared at him, but didn't reply. He felt like his entire body was being accessed. "So, you're with Rose."

He nodded, wondering where this was going. "More by accident, really."

"You mean me," Rory suddenly piped up from in front of them, falling back to join his dads. The Doctor stared at him, shocked by the sight. The last time he'd seen his son as this age he'd died to save his father's life. Finally, the Tenth Doctor nodded.

"Yeah. But it wasn't a bad accident though. Just a nice surprise."

Rory ran a hand through his hair as they walked, making the blondy-brown tufts all stand on end. "Kinda figures. She was pregnant with me during the bus crash, wasn't she? It was what she wanted to tell you."

The Doctor frowned. "Sorry, I don't really remember it that well now. All a bit blurry. I remember a little before when I was trying to get some chips, then nothing until I woke up in the TARDIS and everyone was going frantic because Rose was about to give birth. She must've named you after you." He grinned stupidly. "Wow, I love these little soft time loops, they so fun and perfect."

The Ninth Doctor seemed more concerned with his relationship with Rose. "So you got married?" Ten nodded. "Got your ring?" Ten nodded again, raising his left hand so they could see the wedding ring now started to weld to his finger. Nine frowned, pointing at the ring Rory still held in his grip. "Then what's that?"

Ten lowered his eyebrows, taking the ring and holding it up to compare it with his own. "Yep, it's mine. Time loops again!"

Rory scratched behind his ear, contemplating. "D'you have a baby named Zoë?"

The Tenth Doctor gave him a thoughtful look. "Umm…no. Should I?"

"Probably," his predecessor said shortly, still accessing him over. The Doctor never realised before how scary his previous body could look when he was serious. Silence ensued for a few moments, before Rory suddenly spoke up:

"Who's Eva?"

"She's…" he paused, feeling a little sad inside as the memories of her death rose to the surface of his mind. "…She's your sister."

"I don't have a sister called Eva."

"You don't anymore," the Doctor replied simply. Rory didn't need the rest, he wasn't stupid.

"Sorry," he muttered. The Doctor flashed him a reassuring smile.

"No worries."

The Tenth Doctor looked back up to the castle, feeling strangely cold inside. Then he saw it. A shimmer of purple cloud on the air, travelling towards them with deadly speed and accuracy. She was coming after him.

"RUN!" he suddenly yelled, pushing Rory infront of him as he grabbed his predecessor's arm and dragged him forward. "She's here!"

The Tenth Doctor wasn't in any shape to be doing this right now. He was soon gasping for water and in pain, but he had to keep going.

But then it caught him.

Suddenly all he could see was a mass of purple, clouding his vision and making him completely paralysed. Before he could fight back, he heard two loud 'cracks' from somewhere below him. It only took a few seconds for the pain to kick in, and then he realised what had happened. The smoke withdrew, the hold it had on him dissipating as quickly as it had come before he was allowed to yell and collapse weakly against a conveniently placed tree, his two broken legs burning with undeniable agony. Jack fell back to him as the purple cloud spiralled into the air and disappeared, gathering the Doctor up in both arms despite the Time Lord's feeble protests. They were so close to the TARDIS, she could at least partially protect the Doctor until they figured out a plan.

"You dare defy me?!" She was screaming in his ears, sounding but inches away. "How did you think you could possibly outrun me?!"

"Run!" the Doctor yelled from the floor to Jack, shaking his head at Rose as she came forward to help. "Don't let her see you!" He was covering his head with both arms as he tried in vain to contain the agony coursing like fire through his blood, crying out at every twinge his legs made. Jack and Rose looked at each other for a moment, before they nodded together and reached down to the Doctor.

"No!" he hissed between gritted teeth, unable to hide his cries of pain as together they hauled him up, each slinging an arm around their shoulders and moving him forward. "Leave me!"

"You can forget that Doctor, you're comin' whether you like it or not," Jack said immediately, glancing at Rose who nodded, smiling.

"All for one and one for all, right?"

"Right," Jack affirmed. "Through thick and thin. I'd kick myself forever if we came all this way just to leave you behind."

"She'll kill you both…"

"No kiddin', Sherlock!" Rose said sarcastically, pulling him up a little more to try and stop his legs from hitting the ground.

"Halt!" came a scream from directly infront of them, and all three looked up to meet Khthonia's furious gaze. "You will be punished!!!" she screeched, hand flying out towards the three and they disappeared in a shimmer of purple.

She span around to face the crowd, beside herself with rage.

"You will notfollow!" she declared, shimmering out of existence. They only had to wait five seconds before Rory suddenly cried out in agony, falling to the floor holding his abdomen. The Ninth Doctor instantly bounced forward, falling beside the boy to check for vital signs.

"He's brain-dead," he muttered, voice almost breaking. "She went back and tried to kill little Rory, but he's holding on – probably tried to kill the others too." He paused, forcing himself not to panic over his almost dead son. There was still time to save him, get the younger Rory to the Zero Room to regenerate…maybe Lottie too… "…We have to go back."

"But…" Jill started, scared for the Doctor Rose and – God forbid – Jack. The Ninth Doctor looked up to meet her gaze, his eyes in a blaze of fury.

"Don't you see you stupid apes?! If they're all dead then who's gonna take Rory and Lottie to the Zero Room?! I can't lose my kids, not again! We're going back, and that's final!" he yelled, scaring everyone present. He gathered the unmoving Rory up in both arms, already halfway to the TARDIS before anyone else had moved a muscle.

Mickey watched the entire scene from the distance, biting his lip. Inside he knew this was all wrong, Rose and the Doctor were both his friends, why was he just standing here doing nothing? But as the others left without him, guilt turned to hurt, which turned to anger.

"You see? They don't care about you," a familiar voice said in his ear, and he nodded in agreement. "Why bother with them? Be with me and rule the world…"

Slowly he turned, hypnotised as he follow Khthonia back to the castle.