They Call Her the Vortex

Part Four

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

The time had come, her thief was lying on the floor of his TARDIS, his body old and tired. His time had come and she began to sing to him, a soft song of life and renewal. He began to glow, a faint golden glow radiating from his head and hands. It grew brighter and his current companions had to look away. Then, it was done. He got to his feet and had coal black hair and merry blue eyes. She smiled, watching him buzz around her control console like a honeybee. Her Chosen was doing well.

She watched as he continued his travels, his adventures, meeting new races, finding new companions, battling evil and injustice until the day he ran into an evil he could not stop alone so, reluctantly, he called his own people for help and how did they thank him? Oh, they helped him end the evil but then, they put him on trial, exiled him and forced him to regenerate. At least they let her go with him to Earth. She watched as he staggered out of her and collapsed on the ground.

Later, she was moved to UNIT's lab so he could work on her but, trapped as she was, she couldn't help him at least, that was what the Time Lords believed but they really didn't know her. What truly angered her was when she discovered they had blocked his knowledge of time travel and how to repair her. "Well," she thought, "I'll show them." She began dropping little bits of knowledge into his mind, seeing how much he could assimilate at a time. Her Chosen would not stay trapped and powerless for long, not if she had anything to say about it.

She smiled watching him with the Earth scientist, Doctor Shaw and then, once she had gone, little Jo Grant. This earth woman was a puzzle to the TARDIS but, she saw how her Thief treated her and she smiled. At least her Thief now had friends to help him and make him feel less lonely. She could still communicate with him but, with no where to go, there wasn't much point in talking except those nights when he was still awake then, she sang to him, softly and watched as he smiled.

She reminded him of where he came from, who and what he was. She knew he longed to be back out among the stars, so did she. One night, he was puttering around her console and she sang. He smiled, "I know, old girl, I want to be out there too. What they did to us is extremely unfair but then, that's how they are." He then cocked his head, "Maybe we can, we can at least try." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and slid underneath the console to work.

He and the TARDIS tried but no matter what they did, they could not get her to fly. She sparked in protest and he slammed a fist on her console. He looked at the central column in exasperation. TARDIS was humming angerily. "I know, old girl but, stranded here, there's nothing either one of us can do. I'll keep trying."

In between assignments for UNIT, the Doctor did continue working on his beloved TARDIS but, it wasn't until he was summoned, along with his previous incarnation to deal with the renegade Omega, that their exile was lifted. The Time Lords had returned him to Earth and he was standing inside the TARDIS looking at the console when a small cube appeared on the console. He reached out and picked it up and smiled at Jo. "It's a new time circuit for the TARDIS. Jo, they've forgiven me. All of my knowledge of time travel and theory is coming back to me. My exile has been lifted."

Jo looked disappointed but TARDIS was humming happily. The Doctor smiled, "Jo, we're not abandoning you, you can come with us when we travel again." The smile that lit the woman's face made TARDIS happy. It took a few weeks and finally, TARDIS dematerialized for the first time in almost a year. She hummed happily to be back among the stars with her thief and she could see how happy he was too.

The earth woman, Jo, still seemed to be a little intimidated by the TARDIS. She got close to the console but never really touched anything, like she was afraid too. They had many adventures together until a return to UNIT, earth and Jo fell in love with a young scientist. The Doctor gave her the blue crystal he had picked up on the planet Metibulis Three as a wedding present.

He came back to UNIT, alone and hurting inside. He unlocked the door of his TARDIS and stepped inside. He then leaned back against the doors and heard TARDIS humming softly. He smiled, the old girl understood him better than anyone else in the universe. He walked over to the console and threw the main lever. They disappeared just as the Brigadier walked in. He smiled slightly and headed back to his office.

TBC