oOo

"All right, John, let's see about getting you something clean to wear, shall we?" Nyssa wrinkled her nose. John had soiled his loincloth at some point during the long trek to Kyris' TARDIS, but she couldn't find it in her heart to be upset; she was too happy to be holding her godson in her arms once again. He kept pulling at her curls and babbling happily, so nothing short of planetary disaster could spoil her mood. She headed for the TARDIS wardrobe room, happy to see that the colors tended toward a mixture rather than the dark items favored by the Master's tenure. She even found cloth nappies and old-fashioned diaper pins and the nearest lav had a baby changing station. Probably added by Ace in her stubborn determination to be reunited with her daughter, Nyssa thought with a surge of pity, then returned her attention to John and the immediate need he presented.

A half-hour later, with John bathed and changed and happily unstuck by any of the pins, in spite of Nyssa's fears to the contrary, they emerged into the Console Room. She'd left the door firmly closed, just in case, but judged that enough time had passed that it might be safe to emerge. "Let's take a peek, shall we?" she asked as she deftly operated the viewing screen one-handed. "Hmm, looks, quiet enough, what do you think, should be stay inside or head back out and wait for the others?"

Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer; stay inside and keep John safe until the others came to get them. Of course, if something had gone horribly wrong, she'd know it when too much time had passed, but she refused to think about it until she had to. A half an hour wasn't long by any stretch of the imagination, even taking into account the additional half-hour it had taken her to walk back to the TARDIS. So an hour had gone by; she'd give them several more in case mopping-up (was that the right phrase, or was it sweeping up? she wondered idly) took longer than expected.

She was debating whether or not to open the door and let some of that marvelous fresh air in, watching as John crawled around the floor, when an unexpected, vaguely feminine voice startled her. "Warning: Storage capacity compromised due to destruction of main program. Immediate transfer to be initiated using emergency protocols via back-up system." Alarmed, Nyssa snatched John into her arms, alarmed, not quite sure what to do, when the voice sounded again. This time she could tell the voice was mechanical in nature, but it was difficult to tell where it originated as it seemed to echo throughout the Console Room. "Emergency protocols initiated. Transfer complete."

The voice went silent once again, leaving Nyssa once again pondering the wisdom of remaining in the TARDIS or waiting outside; Kyris had said nothing about any sort of transfer protocol when he sent her back, nor had she ever heard that mechanical voice before.

Before she reached a decision, a pounding on the door caught her attention. Automatically she glanced up at the view screen, then was relieved to see Tegan. "Let me in, Nyssa! Let me see him!"

Nyssa gladly opened the doors, rushing into her friend's arms for a quick embrace before Tegan swooped down on her son, much to his dismay. He squawked in alarm, then fell silent as he studied his mother's smiling face. She leaned forward and very gently pressed her forehead to his before kissing his nose. He laughed and clapped, and she hugged him close, tears of joy glimmering on her eyelashes.

Tyrel was right behind them, rushing to Nyssa for an embrace of his own before turning to look at Tegan and John. Tears were streaming down Tegan's face as she rained kisses on her son's head and nose and any other part the squirming infant would allow her access to. "Thank God you're all right," she whispered, finally raising her eyes to meet those of her two friends. "Thank you for keeping him safe."

"Is the Doctor taking care of the Master?" Nyssa hated to ask, hated to bring down the mood even for a moment, but had to know.

Tegan's face darkened. "He fell over a cliff, and not a moment too soon as far as I'm concerned," she growled. "Ace says he let himself fall rather than be taken prisoner."

"Kyris was shot, but he'll be fine," Tyrel reported, taking up the narrative thread as Tegan's attention once again returned to her son. "The Doctor took him to his TARDIS for treatment. Peri and Ace went with them, but she's in a right mood." No need to clarify which "she" he meant.

"I imagine she would be," Nyssa murmured with a sympathetic frown. "She was counting on making the Master tell her how to get Susan back."

"Well, they're going to meet us here after the Doctor finds the missing Sacred One," Tyrel finished with a tired sigh. "I'm glad to see you two didn't have any adventures; watching Ace and the Master fighting on the edge of a cliff was more than enough excitement for me."

"Let's go to the beach," Tegan said suddenly. Nyssa and Tyrel turned to her in surprise, and she laughed at their dubious expressions. "I know, you'd think all I'd want was to be off this miserable planet, but it is rather beautiful and I haven't exactly been able to enjoy it. I want to see if he likes the surf and the sand and just watch him for a while. D'you think we could?"

"I don't see why not," Tyrel replied after exchanging questioning glances with his wife. "As long as we stay close by, leave a note or something, we should be fine; the Master's guards are being dealt with by the villagers." His voice turned grim. "Apparently what they've committed is beyond treason, and frankly I don't want to know what their punishment will be."

"They deserve whatever they get," Tegan replied flatly. "Let's go to the beach and just pretend we're on holiday for an hour. I think we deserve that much."

"At least," Nyssa agreed with a warm smile. She walked out with her arm around her friend's waist, leaving Tyrel to lock up, the strange mechanical voice she'd heard forgotten in the emotion of the moment.