oOo
The ceremony was lengthy, of course, and included a great many contrite speeches aimed at the aliens and congratulatory speeches aimed at the native population. At one point, the woman who had cared for John, Lalila, offered Tegan the few simple toys that had been his favorites, to keep or to burn, as she said in formal tones, whichever would bring her more pleasure. The Sacred One was presented, a squirming bundle only a few months older than John, with a request that the Doctor and Tegan give their blessings to him before they left.
Giving the Doctor an arch look, Tegan stepped forward and placed her hand on the Sacred One's forehead, as instructed, repeating the words the High Priest told her. Then she stepped back and the Doctor reluctantly did the same.
The Doctor believed that to be the end of their part in the ceremony. He was wrong. He bowed to the High Priest and turned to leave the podium, offering Tegan a hand down as she had insisted in a return to her highest heels. However, the High Priest intervened, requesting that Tegan remain for a moment. She exchanged puzzled glances with the Doctor, then shrugged and nodded, remaining on the topmost step of the platform that had been erected for the ceremony. The Doctor continued down the steps, joining Peri, Tyrel, and Nyssa, who was holding John, off to one side near the platform. The High Priest bowed formally to Tegan, who offered an uncertain bow of her own in return, then watched in confusion as he, too, stepped off the platform, joining the front ranks of the gathered crowd of his people.
"Tegan Jovanka," he said in ringing tones. "We have done you an injustice in allowing the one called the Master to keep you as his captive, to keep you apart from your son. Our only excuse is that he held our Sacred One hostage. For that, we owe you the greatest of apologies." As one, the entire group of people sank to their knees and genuflected, heads bowed to the ground. They retained that pose for a full minute while an embarrassed Tegan stood on the top step and turned radish colored, not sure where to look, finally settling her eyes on her son. The minute passed in complete silence, even from the two babies. The Sacred One was being held against Alanna's chest, in the same position as the other infants in the crowd; Tegan marveled that not one of the squawked at the suffocating hold their mothers had on them.
When the minute passed, they rose to their feet once again, staring up at her. Obviously waiting for something. Tegan stared back at them, then cleared her throat and spoke. "Um, thank you. I accept your apology." Then she hurried down the stairs, not caring if there was more to the ceremony, just wanting to no longer be the center of attention. The Doctor thanked the High Priest, shook his hand, and tendered their apologies for not remaining longer. "You understand," he murmured, giving the still-red Tegan a significant glance.
The High Priest nodded. "If you should ever desire to return, you and your friends will always be made welcome." He offered a wry smile. "However, I shall certainly understand if that never happens."
"Come on, Doctor," Tegan hissed in his ear when he returned to their small group. Peri was waving and smiling at a group of young people, the girls giggling and the boys eyeing her appreciatively. "I'm ready to go." Any desire to linger had been banished by the formal apology offered to her by an entire population; all she wanted to do was leave.
"Good bye!" The Doctor called, raising a hand in farewell. A chorus of well-wishing followed as they headed back to the TARDIS, Tegan carrying John in one arm and dangling her shoes in the other hand for the trudge back to the beach.
"Thank God that's over," Tegan sighed as they filed into the TARDIS. The Doctor immediately headed for the console, punching in the coordinates for Terminus. "No side trips," she warned him, only half-joking. He nodded without looking at her, and her good humor dimmed. They were leaving, they were returning to Terminus. Reality. She turned her attention to John to keep her mind off the fact that this time would be the forever she'd expected the last time she left the TARDIS and the Doctor behind.
"I'll help you get your things ready, if you like," Nyssa offered, sensing that her friend needed something to busy herself with in the short time it would take them to reach home. Tegan nodded, picking John back up from the floor and hurrying through the interior doorway without another word. Or a backward glance. That would have killed her.
Peri looked after them in concern. "Is Tegan going to be all right?" she asked Tyrel in a low voice. Trying not to disturb the Doctor, who looked very busy at the Console, even though Peri was fairly sure that once the rotor started going he didn't really need to do anything else to the controls.
Tyrel nodded. "She will be, with time. We have an excellent group of counselors on Terminus if she needs someone to unburden herself to that's a bit more removed from the situation than we are. But I'm sure she appreciates your concern."
"Of course she does," the Doctor chimed in, still busy at the Console but obviously having heard every word of their conversation. "She's a survivor, and believe me, she's survived far worse than this. Remind me to tell you about the Mara some time."
"I'd better change back into my uniform," Tyrel said abruptly. "Please excuse me." He left the room, and Peri was alone with the Doctor. The way she was used to it being.
"So are we staying for a visit on Terminus? I've never seen a medical space station before, and my tour kind of got interrupted last time," she said.
The Doctor shook his head. "I think it best if we leave straight away after we drop our friends off."
"But we didn't get a proper visit," Peri protested. "Just jump in the middle of the chaos as usual. These are your friends, you just said so; don't you want to just hang around with them without a crisis hanging over your head?"
"I'd like nothing better," the Doctor replied after a moment. He looked directly at Peri, and she blinked at the sorrow she saw in his expression before he shuttered it away and offered nothing but a blank slate. "However, I don't believe it will be possible this time." He refused to say anything more on the subject, and left Peri wondering what she'd missed.
oOo
"Well, here we are. Terminus. In the proper time period as well," the Doctor added with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice. He glanced at Tegan. "As I told you, the TARDIS is remarkably well-behaved when a baby is involved."
She managed a smile. "Then I guess this is it then. Good-bye."
He gestured toward the luggage that was heaped near the TARDIS entrance. "Would you like a hand with that?"
She shook her head. "No, I think we can manage. We'll just put it outside and take it from there."
He nodded, a flash of disappointment in his eyes, quickly covered up by a wide smile. "All right then, we'll help get it that far at least." He picked up a duffel bag and lugged it out without waiting for a yes or no. Tyrel and Nyssa followed, each taking a pair of smaller suitcases in their hands and walking out to make their good-byes. Peri followed, still secretly hoping for a longer visit, but something about the set of the Doctor's shoulders told her otherwise.
Tegan was alone in the Console Room. She looked around. "Last time, this time I mean it. No more coming back. No more breaking my heart over what I can't keep." She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Come on, John. Time to go home." She held him closely as they stepped toward the door, then came to a stop as the Doctor walked back in.
They gazed at each other for an impossibly long moment before he stepped forward and closed the door. Tegan watched him, waiting. He took her tenderly in his arms. "One last kiss," he whispered, and she unceremoniously plopped John onto the floor, where he wanted to be anyway, and melted into the Doctor's embrace.
"One last kiss," she agreed, then pressed her lips to his, summing up all the passion and sorrow and love she felt, pressing her body against his, feeling the double-beat of his heart against her chest. It was a desperate kiss, frantic with the need to convey so much in so short a space of time, destined to remain a lingering memory long after it ended. Which it did, much too soon, as the sound of frantic knocking and calling came from outside the door.
"Back to reality for the final time," Tegan said regretfully as they pulled apart. She scooped John up in her arms as the Doctor opened the door.
"Sorry," she heard him say through the haze of her own jumbled thoughts. "John was playing with the handle. Children, what can I say." Tegan brushed passed him with a mumbled good-bye, rushing through the doors with tears blinding her eyes. She said an equally unintelligible good-bye to Peri, then headed determinedly for the quarters she and John shared with Nyssa and Tyrel. "I'll fetch the baggage later," she threw over her shoulder.
"Now I know I missed something," Peri announced in aggrieved terms, turning to face the remaining two Terminus residents. "Anyone want to tell me what it is?"
Nyssa shook her head. "I'm sorry, no. It's Tegan's business and no one else's. Not even ours." She held out her hand. "Good-bye, Peri, it was lovely to meet you, even under these circumstances." Peri took the proffered hand, then pulled Nyssa close for a hug, repeating the process with Tyrel.
"Good-bye," she echoed, then headed back into the TARDIS. Maybe she could wheedle something of the truth out of the Doctor, although she doubted it. However, it would be entertaining to try, to see how far his patience would last through the pestering. Something to do to keep her mind busy, at any rate.
Nyssa and Tyrel waited until the TARDIS vanished before calling to let Borean know they had returned, and to request a hover-cart to pick up Tegan's belongings. Then they headed back to their regular lives, hand-in-hand, each quietly musing over everything that had happened.
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A/N: Well, only one or two chapters left, at most. Hope everyone's enjoyed the ride so far! You know the drill: reviews are the stuff of life here, so don't be stingy!