Chapter Two – Goodbye's
"Everyone back into the Tardis," the human doctor suddenly said setting a series of explosions to destroy all the Dalek technology.
"Right introductions now yea?" the Time Lord asked respectfully keeping his tone less joyful than normal
"Captain Jack Harkness,"
"Ianto Jones,"
"I'm Rhys and this is my wife Gwen."
"Sarah Jane Smith and this is my son,"
"Hi I'm Luke."
"I'm Alan and my daughter Maria,"
"Paul, Paul Langer and my wife Carla, our son Clyde and James and daughter Grace." Grace was hiding behind her dad and had been since entering the Tardis.
"Grace! I love that name!" the doctor said and the young girl smiled at him but stayed at her father's side.
"I'm Mel – Carla is my sister. We were just visiting her, just visiting. We nearly didn't come with them."
"I'm Steve, Mel's husband. This is Harry and Chloe."
"Hello, welcome on board the Tardis." The Time Lord was doing a good job in trying to keep his guests calm but he was slightly swaying.
"I'm Donna, Donna Noble."
"Jackie, Jackie Taylor and my daughter Rose."
"I'm Mickey Smith and this is my girl." He said giving the very large gun in his hand a chaste kiss. Several members of the group laughed but the doctor rounded on him,
"Oy no guns on board!" They said together then glared at each other. Mickey was not the shy, scared boy he used to be so he stared the time lord doctor down – knowing full well he wouldn't stand a chance if he was at full strength. The human doctor had turned back to the Tardis controls ignoring himself.
"Where she goes, I go." he said. Rose gave a little laugh.
Mickey suddenly grasped his dimension teleport,
"Will it still work now the Daleks have been stopped?" he asked
"Yes but only for a little while – besides why don't you travel in style," the time lord doctor answered and pulled a level. The human doctor was pushing buttons next to him. The Tardis shook a little bit and landed.
"Outside the doors is a world," he said to the people new to him,
"Your world but slightly different."
"How do you mean?" Alan asked
"It's the Earth from another dimension a place you can live with other humans."
"Phew I thought we would have to repopulate the world ourselves!" Clyde said with a smile at Maria. Alan exchanged a look with the boy's parents.
The doctor's were happy the humans had somewhere to go – it was so lonely being the last of your kind even with his companions he was alone though the feeling was lessened.
"Now Rose do you think you could get your dad to help these people out – they can't be themselves here if they're here already. Did that make sense?"
"I'm coming with you!" as she spoke the Tardis door opened and most of the group headed rather quickly through them.
"No your not you need to stay here … with him," the Time Lord said about his human self.
"Didn't make sense to me," Marie said
"It's a parallel world yea? So like we might be here already, right?" the two chatting teens stood at the open doorway watching their families gazing around them – exclaiming at the sight of the sun and tiny moon – so like home.
"Very good Clyde, Rose he needs you. He's me when we first met."
"I'm still confused?" Marie said
"It's like in sci-fi you know? Every choice creates a new world one for each decision. This one is like ours yeah – not got dinosaurs or anything?" everyone was standing close to each other and to the door.
"No dinosaurs it's actually a bit ahead of you so new technology for you to use." The group looked slightly excited at the prospect but the doctor knew it was a way of dealing with their losses. Run away – he related to method but he knew it wasn't healthy. Rose was by the door but still on the inside,
"I'm not leaving you." She repeated to the doctor. He sighed,
"You can't stay." He said and she got angry then
"Why not?" Jackie held her daughters hand and pulled it gently towards the door,
"Come on sweetie, Anthony needs his big sister and I need you. This human doctor it sounds like he needs you too."
At the mention of her baby brother Rose relented slightly and the human doctor joined in,
"I'm human Rose," He paused sounding a bit uncertain,
"I'll grow old; I'll die and not regenerate."
Outside the Tardis Sarah Jane was hugging the Time Lord Doctor good bye knowing this time it really would be forever. Jack was standing just outside the Tardis his eyes focused on the doctor and then on Ianto and back again – how could he leave the doctor forever and live on this world: after Ianto died he would be stuck here alone. Ianto saw his indecision as did Gwen. She smiled at the Welshman and he relaxed – his place was with Jack and Jack's place was with the doctor. He held the immortal's hand and pulled him back inside the Tardis. Gwen dropped Rhys hand and followed them – just to say goodbye she told him tearfully.
By this time the children were playing in the sand – troubles seemingly forgotten. The human doctor emerged with Rose and Jackie Mickey was waiting for them. He had already called in help for these people and now he was just waiting. The Time Lord was looking around at this group of humans a wide smile on his face. When his universe changed around the missing Earth he would remember this, when terrible things happened because no humans were there to stop it he would remember this and when the wonders of the universe went unobserved by all but him he would remember this.
The human doctor was holding Rose's hand by the Tardis when everyone had said goodbye.
"Donna should go with you," he said. She had also been standing by the Tardis door. Rose let go of his hand in shock and betrayal,
"Why?" the Time Lord asked himself even as he was fairly sure
"Of course I am. I'm not staying here." The adults of the group, still close by, gathered around to listen
"She is part Time Lord now – my mem … our memories are hidden inside her head. If they get out she'll need you."
"What do you mean your memories are inside my head?!"
"It was a two-way metacr …" his voice faded as she looked at him blankly
"When he grew out of you, my memories fed back into you." She looked confused but then his words cleared. And she grinned – it was a grin to still the Time Lords' hearts,
"I have your memories!"
"Yes but you can't Donna I'm over 900 years old Human minds can't cope with all of that … not to mention … well I'm brilliant and know almost everything!"
"So I'm going to die?" She didn't sound afraid merely confused and a bit insulted
"No if you're with me I can take back the memories – I couldn't do that with a human mind,"
"Couldn't you do it now?" Rose asked a tad viciously
"No they're too well hidden,"
"I told you I'm coming with you space boy!"
"Surely it would be better to stay here on Earth," Sarah Jane said with an eye on her son running around the beach the three teens running around chasing the preteens: keeping them occupied and away from the adult conversation.
"I couldn't, I just couldn't," the adults shuffled – wondering if she might know something they didn't about this world,
"My whole planets gone: my mum, my granddad, all my friends! You all have someone from home all I have left is the doctor." As she spoke Clyde picked his younger sister up and was lifting her up over his head, flying her around.
"But you could find someone here, a human someone to grow old and forget with." Mel said
"I said no." and that was the end of it. She and the Time Lord stepped into the Tardis, the door shut and then they left, just as a large military helicopter appeared on the horizon. The teens herded the youngsters back to the adults and watched them get closer anxious but hopeful.
"Home sweet home." Mickey muttered with a smile looking up at it.
In the Tardis Jack and Ianto were sat against a wall – the immortal comforting the Welshman as he cried for his lost loved ones. The doctor looked like he was going to protest the young mans presence and Jack was preparing to get all defensive when Ianto spoke firmly through his tears,
"My decision doctor," the doctor nodded and leapt to the controls. Donna looked between them but decided even though the doctor understood she wanted to be with her fellow humans. The doctor took the Tardis into space somewhere safe and let her drift. Then he left the three humans and went into the hidden depths of his ship. The three of them sat together all night talking about Earth and its people.
The doctor had not had three companions for a long time though he was sad for them he couldn't help but feel happy. He would need to get used to Jack. Though he had agreed with the man after being called prejudice it wasn't really that his skin literally crawled around the immortal and he got a headache as his mind tried to grasp the actuality of him. It was why the master had simply shut him away; if the doctor hadn't begged him – the immortal would have been left completely alone with no food or water or company. The doctor had begged for one of the Jones family to be able to visit him. They were dead now – all of them. The doctor sat in his private room and cried for the loss and his perceived failure.
