Life, Love and Death through Time and Space
Chapter Six
by
Sabrina Lonewalker
Grace was so tired and she could tell, so was he with all his Timelord stamina. The Time War had been going on for almost four years now and neither side was giving any ground. She felt like she had aged more years than she cared to think about and she knew he did too. The Doctor had been tireless in helping various races and species against his ancient enemies and she had done what she could to help him. They had been on Gallifrey for a few months and Grace had proved herself invaluable in the infirmary. No one had had to explain anything to her, she had moved with the natural instinct of a physician.
She had saved the life of more than one Gallifreyan and for that, and other services, she was accorded a unique honor. She had been named a citizen of Gallifrey and her marriage to the Doctor had been offically recognized. She had been surprised and he had been so happy and proud of her. She had also treated his various injuries in the all too increasingly frequent times he was injured. He had told her about regeneration, what would happen when that time came and the changes that would take place. She had a feeling that it would happen all too soon for her liking if he kept up doing what he was doing.
He was leaned against the TARDIS console now, breathing heavily as she treated the wound on his left shoulder, his shirt was almost in rags and that beautiful apple green coat of his was worn, muddy and tossed across the console. There were healed scars on his back and chest that did nothing to mar her attraction to him. She had been somewhat surprised to find his blood was red, like hers. "Hold still," she said quietly, trying to apply a clear gel to the wound, "I know you'll heal quickly but, I need to do this so you won't get a secondary infection. That's the one thing you don't need right now."
He looked at her, nodded and a ghost of a smile tinged that weary face. 'Same Grace', he thought to himself. What he had put her through in the past four years and she had never complained, never asked to be taken home. She had stayed by his side all this time, loving him, comforting him, just holding him when he needed to be held, just being whatever he needed her to be. One night, they had been in a battle and several had been killed. She had found him in their room quietly crying, grieving over their losses and she had gathered him into her arms, letting him have a chance to express his own grief and pain. She hadn't said anything. They had gotten to the point in their marriage where words were not necessary.
Then, three months after she had treated the wounded shoulder, the unthinkable had happened. She had been in their quarters when she heard the scream. It startled her so much she froze than, she heard him crying, screaming "No! No!" She had never heard that from him before and it scared her, scared her alot. She had run to the control room and found him kneeling on the floor, his face in his hands, crying as if both hearts had broken. To see him like that, so vunerable, frightened her more than she would ever admit to anyone.
She went over to him and, kneeling in front of him, pulled him to her, letting him bury his face in her shoulder as he cried, a hopeless kind of crying. His arms circled her waist and pulled her against him, tightly. It was as if he were afraid that she would disappear if he didn't hold on. She stroked his long, reddish brown hair. It had grown a few more inches in the years they had been together. "What happened?" She asked wonderingly. She had never seen him this distraught, this heartbroken.
It took awhile but, he finally pulled far away enough to look her in the eyes. She gasped when she saw the hollowness in his. "My love?" He had changed so much because of this damned war and it broke her heart to see him change. He looked at her for a long moment. Then, he spoke, "Gallifrey is gone." She looked at him in shock, "Gone?" She asked. He nodded, the tears still streaming down his face.
"Oh my dear love." She pulled him back to her. He had lost his home, his people because of this war. She knew how she would have felt if it had been Earth that had been destroyed. Gallifrey had become dear to her because it was his home and now, it was gone, along with all of those people she had met and helped. She was angry, angry at what this war had done to him. He had been so happy, loving life and living and now, he was angry, driven, sad and she hated to see him that way.
"We can't let them do this to another planet, my love, another race. They have to be stopped. This has to end." The Doctor looked at her and managed a smile, "Oh my dearest angel, Have you any idea what we will have to do to stop this?" He took her face in his hands and kissed her, like he had the night they first met so long ago that it almost seemed like another lifetime, in a way, it was another lifetime. She returned the kiss then, both got to their feet. Grace looked into his eyes, "I have an idea but, do we really have a choice?" He shook his head slowly, "No, we don't, not if we're to stop the Daleks."
He looked at the monitor and nodded, "We have to go. I think I know where they're going but first, we have to go there, to see if..." His vloice trailed off. Grace nodded, "Ok then, we go. We see if there's anyone there we can help." He smiled as he took her left hand in his left, their wedding rings touching each other, "Together?" He asked. She smiled, "Forever." She answered. That was the word inscribed inside their wedding rings, the one word, "Forever". He nodded and off they went.
They arrived on what was left of Gallifrey to search for possible survivors but, the Dalek attack had been devastatingly complete. The Citadel, the capitol city he had taken Grace on a tour of, showing her it's beauty and magnificence now lay in charred and smoking ruins. There were charred bodies and the stench of burned flesh was everywhere.
Grace had gone off a little ways by herself looking for possible survivors when she found a body, not charred. "Doctor, over here!" He was by her side in a flash as Grace gently turned the woman onto her back. She heard the Doctor gasp, "No, not her!" Grace looked at him then, he sighed, "Romana." Grace nodded, he had told her about his fellow Timelord and their travels together.
"Another dead because of the Daleks." His face was angry. Grace was puzzled, "Doctor, why hasn't she regenerated?" He looked surprised. "I don't know, Grace, It's possible that death happened so fast, the regenerative process was overwhelmed. It happenes sometimes. Come, Help me get her into the TARDIS, there's a place she mentioned where she wanted to be buried and it wasn't on Gallifrey."
Grace nodded and they carried the body of the dead Romana into the TARDIS. As the TARDIS moved away, Grace looked at the monitor screen, "Doctor, something's happening to the planet." He came and they both watched in horror as the Daleks had their final vengeance. What was left of Gallifrey exploded in a ball of fire. Grace buried her face in the Doctor's shoulder as he watched, face set in stone. Then, he felt the tears on his coat and hugged her tight. "I know but, there's nothing to be done now. Help me." They laid Romana's body out on the floor and Grace sat beside her while the Doctor set the controls. After a few minutes, the TARDIS stopped and the Doctor looked at Grace, "I'll be right back," he told her. She nodded as he went out. He returned shortly with a man who looked like a cross between a lion and a man.
"Grace, this is Lazlo, a member of the Tharil race. He and Romana were very close." Grace stood up, "I'm sorry we had to meet like this." Lazlo nodded, only having eyes for the woman on the floor of the TARDIS. He knelt, scooped her into his arms and left. Grace and The Doctor followed, hand in hand
The service that followed was simple and beautiful. As Grace stood next to her Doctor, she could see Lazlo had loved Romana very much. After the memorial, she and the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS in silence and headed out of E-space, back to their universe, back to the war.
As the Doctor set the coordinates, he looked over at Grace. She had not even mentioned staying in E-Space, away from the war. She had learned much about him in the seven years they had been together. She knew he couldn't stay where it was safe and she wouldn't leave him. He still wondered what he had done to deserve a woman like her.
She looked across the console at him, "You ok?" He smiled, a tired yet sweet smile, "Yes. We have to go, the last pocket of Daleks has been found, this war is almost over." She smiled, "Good, about time this was over with. Maybe then, we can get back to normal?" He laughed, in spite of himself, "Who said our lives were ever normal?"
Grace laughed and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, fiercely. "Do we have any time for ourselves right now? I need you so much." He smiled as he held her against him feeling her body press against his and his body unconsciously responded to her. "Yes, my angel, we can make the time." He scooped her into his arms and carried her to their room.
End Part Six