A/N – Longer wait = longer chapter! Enjoy!

Period Three - Unpleasant Surprises

"I didn't know...If I had known..." I stammer.

The shocks are sent through me again and I cry out desperately. My head pounds as the pain flows through my already weakened body. And then just like that it is over again. I let out a small whimper.

The alien leader narrows her eyes at me. "Don't pretend to be sorry now, Doctor."

"No...I swear I wouldn't have..."

"But you did, and because of it my whole family was killed! And you will pay for every. Single. Life." She whispers.

What have I done? How could I have been so careless? It was my own stupidity that killed so many. It's my fault...

"Do whatever you want to me." I whisper. "But please...let Clara go."

"Oh, but she's part of the plan, Doctor." The female is seething now.

"No, please!" I say hurriedly. "She has nothing to do with this! She wasn't even with me when it happened!" I struggle against my restraints. They will not hurt Clara. I won't let them. Too many have been hurt because of me...Too many dead...

"And what better way to hurt you than by using your precious companions?"

"No!" Out of the corner of my eye I see another alien come to me with a syringe in his hand. "No! Please! No!" I renew my attempts at escape, trying to slide around on the stand-up plate to get out from the metal clasps.

My struggling is useless, and the syringe is injected into my neck. Again, the bottomless darkness engulfs me and my senses.

Suddenly the dragging stops, and then my body is shoved away, and before I know it I slam into the ground. Unfortunately, the lack of ability to do anything doesn't stop the pain which is now throbbing throughout my body. Another needle in my neck and everything comes reeling back again. If I wasn't so terrified right now, I would probably make a remark on how tiresome the whole needle business has got. If I wasn't terrified. If this wasn't all my fault...

"Doctor!" Someone tackles me, and I'm about to push them away and fight them, when I realize that they are hugging me. Clara.

"Oh, Clara...I'm so sorry..." I sit up and hug her back. I won't let them hurt her...Clara pulls away from me.

"Sorry? What did you do? What's going on? They've only just given me the antidote for that awful stuff..." I'm hardly listening. What am I going to do? My sonic screwdriver is gone, as well as my other useful knick-knacks that I keep in my tweed jacket, which I left in the TARDIS. That's another thing; I have absolutely no idea where the TARDIS could be. "Doctor? Doctor, talk to me!"

I bury my face in my hands. "I made a mistake, Clara...One that I can't fix."

"What?"

"I -"

There's a loud creaking sound from behind me, and I turn to see the metal door of our prison room opening. I jump to my feet and stand in front of Clara, blocking her. "Leave her alone. She didn't do anything!"

"We didn't come for her." One of the aliens scoffs. "Just to deliver someone." Without warning, they propel someone into the room. The stranger slams into me and we crash to the floor. I instantly realize that it's a woman, and try to get out from under her with as much dignity as possible. I look to the door, but it has already closed. I look back to the girl and my hearts skip a beat.

"River..." I barely manage.

River gets to her feet and comes to me, taking my hands in hers and looking me straight in the eyes.

"What's wrong, Sweetie? What's going on?" Her voice is steady, but her gaze is full of concern.

"Who are you?" Clara asks tentatively.

River turns to Clara. "A friend, I promise." She turns back to me. "Is this your new companion? I've worried about you, Doctor. It's not good for you to be alone."

I sigh. "Yes. Clara - River. River - Clara." I say hurriedly, gesturing to them with my head.

"Hello." Clara says to River. She comes up to me. "But, Doctor, what is going on?"

I slip my hands out of River's and rub my face, turning away from them. How do I tell them what happened? Tell them that it's my fault...That I killed so many...That they are going to pay for my mistake...

"Sweetie...Tell us..." River says softly, taking me by the elbow and turning me back to her and Clara.

I take a deep breath. "Not too long ago, while I was traveling alone, I was on the planet Archinaga. It was attacked by cybermen, who killed everyone there. There were so many of them...And I couldn't think of what to do...So, I blew it up..."

"You blew what up?" Clara asks, confused.

"I destroyed the planet!" I yell. Clara takes a step back in shock at my loud outburst. "I...I didn't know what to do..." River comes over to me and plants a tender kiss on my lips. She pulls away and holds me at arm's length.

"You did everything you could. You had to make the choice - and you picked the right one." She reassures me.

"Hang on." Clara says, stepping forward. "So that's why these aliens are mad at us? Because you blew up a planet?"

I shake my head. "Apparently when I destroyed Archinaga it caused a chain reaction, which hit a nearby star and sent it here. A star is not meant to come within a 50 mile radius of this planet, and the toxic fumes it sent out killed over ten thousand of our captor's species." I burrow my face in my hands. "And that's why they hate me. That's why you were dragged into this mess...Because of me. It's always because of me!" I shout, walking quickly away from my two friends.

"Calm down." River says in a forceful voice.

"Calm down?" I hiss, turning back to her. "Don't you see? I've dragged you and Clara into this mess and there's no way out! They'll hurt you to get to me! They'll..." I trail off from my ranting. I don't want to say it.

"You'll be of no use to us in this state! If you really want to get us out, then you need to focus!"

"I..." Of course she's right. When is River ever not right about something? I close my mouth to look at her. "Do you have any ideas?" I ask hopefully.

"What about your screwdriver?" Clara pops in.

I shake my head. "They took that away before waking me up."

"Do you have any idea where the TARDIS is?" River asks, coming closer to me.

I blow out a breath and shake my head again. "That stuff they injected me with is completely disorienting. I tried to keep track of turns and directions but I couldn't think clearly."

"Alright, well-" River is cut off by the loud sound of the door opening again. I narrow my eyes but stay where I am.

The female leader steps into view and meets my gaze steadily. "Here's some more, Doctor. I thought you may want more company."

"Leave my companions alone! They didn't do anything to deserve this!"

She shakes her head. "Wake them up." She says dismissively to someone behind her. I watch as two people are shoved into the room. I look away quickly. I don't want to know who it is. I don't want to know who else I've dragged into this mess. I hear the movements behind me of River and Clara helping the newcomers to their feet.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Martha's voice sounds through the room.

I rub my face and turn to face her. I'm not very surprised to see Mickey beside her. They were together last time I saw them, before my last regeneration.

"Hello, Martha. Mickey." I nod to them.

"Who are you? How do you know our names?" Martha asks apprehensively.

Mickey narrows his eyes at me and grabs Martha's hand. "Are you in charge here?"

I let out a hollow laugh as I shake my head. "No...No. You don't recognize me?" My hearts ache at the realization. But of course they wouldn't. They have no way of knowing who I am. But the knowledge that I have changed so much from who I used to be is painful.

River and Clara stand to the side, seemingly unsure if they should step in.

"I've never seen you before in my life." Mickey says in a slightly hostile tone.

"You are so wrong on that, Mickey. Although I really can't blame you. I've regenerated since last you saw me. I visited you right before it happened. You two were about to get shot by a Sontaran until I stopped him."

Martha slides her hand out of Mickey's as she comes forward. "Doctor?"

I manage a small smile. "Hello, Martha Jones. It's been a while."