An Eternity Among The Stars

by seasidewriter1

Waking up in the Doctor Who world after a serious car crash, Selene finds herself being invited to travel with the Doctor and his companions. Together they all protect the earth from the dangers it faces as well as saving other worlds and time periods. But as time goes on, how strong will the relationship between the two become? Will they fall in love? starts with 10 *Doctor/OC*

19. Lazarus Experiment

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, any of the characters, places or alien species; those belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC Selene.

19. The Lazarus Experiment

The TARDIS whirled and warbled as it flew through the time vortex. The Doctor hadn't mentioned where they were going, he'd merely flicked a couple of switches and bounded from place to place, leaving Selene and Martha to cling onto the console so they wouldn't fall flat on their bums. He turned a dial, flicked a switch and the time machine thudded to a stop.

"There we go! Perfect landing," he announced, smiling fondly up at the ceiling. He then looked down and scratched at the back of his head with a finger, face becoming wistful. "Which isn't easy in such a tight spot."

"You should be used to tight spots by now," Martha mused while straightening out her clothes. Selene smirked and ruffled her hair, leaning her hip against the console.

"Like that time we parked between two storage units," she pointed out. The Doctor snorted and rolled his eyes, clearly remembering the bad parking job that had needed immediate fixing. Martha playfully pushed Selene's shoulder and the two companions laughed together.

"Well there's literal tight spots and then tight spots like getting cornered by Daleks and pigmen," Martha pointed out with a grin.

"Sometimes things are meant to be and just drop right into place," Selene replied with a smile. Martha glanced over her shoulder at the door, the leather of her jacket creaking slightly. She giddily looked between the Time Lord and his long-time companion, grin widening. "Where are we?"

"The end of the line," the Doctor told her. Looking overly excited, Martha jogged towards the doors, eager to see what exotic land they had arrived in and what creatures and species were there to give them trouble and make them run as fast and far as they could. Selene looked over at the Doctor and locked eyes, the two just staring at each other for a good, long moment; then, she arched an eyebrow and mouthed 'end of the line? really?' He replied with a shrug and a sad smirk. 'Have to,' he mouthed back. Martha glanced back at them and the Doctor sucked in a breath. "No place like it." Still smiling excitedly, she nodded once and pulled the door open to gaze upon…

The sight of her very own flat with its blue walls, sheer red curtains and messy tables.

"Home?" she asked as the Doctor stepped out beside her with Selene standing in the open doorway. "You took me home?"

"Back to the morning after we left. So you've only been gone about twelve hours," he replied. "No time at all, really."

"The only thing you've probably missed is breakfast and maybe a news story or two," Selene told her with a faint smile, obviously reading the disbelief and the sadness on Martha's face. "You don't have to worry about telling everyone weird lies about why you missed work, so it should at least be a relief you don't have to worry about that."

"But all the stuff we've done––Shakespeare, New New York, Old New York…?" Martha asked in confusion as the Doctor looked at some family pictures that sat on a shelf.

"Yep. All in one night, relatively speaking," he said. "Everything should be just as it was––books, CDs…" He reached out and picked up a pair of underwear off a laundry rack, eyebrows raising cheekily. "Laundry." Martha immediately snatched the piece of underclothing away from him and balled it up in her hand, wondering if she should smack him or not; she didn't have to worry about hitting him, though, seeing as Selene slapped his arm like he was a naughty child, earning a quite 'what?' from the Time Lord. "So! Back where you were, as promised." Martha's brows jumped upward.

"This is it?"

"Yeah. I… Selene and I should probably, um…" The Doctor awkwardly gestured at Selene and then to the TARDIS, inhaling deeply as he tried to figure out what to say. Anything he could have said was cut off by the phone, which rung a few times before clicking to the answering machine.

"Hi, I'm out, leave a message!" played Martha's voice.

"Sorry…" she murmured.

Beep.

"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?"

"It's mum. I'll wait…"

"All right then, pretend you're out if you like," her mother said with exasperation, something that made the three laugh quietly. "I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested."

Martha, looking marvelously confused, inched her way a few feet to the right, switching on the small tv sat in front of her sofa.

"How could Tish end up on the news?" Martha asked herself, holding the remote to her lip. Selene pressed in close to the Doctor to get a good look at the screen, brows furrowed as they watched the news cast.

"But I can tell you that tonight I will demonstrate a device…" said a very old man standing in front of a podium. A pretty woman with wavy hair stood just behind him clasping a clipboard and Selene could only guess that was Tish, Martha's sister.

"She's got a new job––P.R. for some research lab," she brought up, not noticing that the Doctor was only intently focused on the man on screen, who definitely had some interesting things to say.

"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human." A chorus of yells were tossed into the air as the Doctor's warm brown eyes widened with worry and curiosity; change what it means to be human? In his experience anyone who tries to change what it meant to be anything was never up to any good… but then again… some people said that and then ended up falling off a fence post with a pair of fake wings strapped to their arms and they didn't threaten anyone.

"Sorry," Martha said while shutting off the television. She turned back to Selene and the Doctor with a resigned look on her face. "You were saying you should…" The Doctor continued to stare blankly at the darkened screen of the electronic, prompting Selene to take hold of his sleeve and shake his arm.

"I think he was saying it was time we left, leave you to your daily routine and what not… right, Doctor?" Selene prompted slowly, quickly gaining his attention. He was unsure about something, she could see it in his eyes… He inhaled slowly as he brought himself back to reality and then said,

"Yes! Yes, we should." He grasped the door frame of the TARDIS and smiled. "One trip. That's what we said." Short sentences, Selene noticed. He was stalling.

"Yeah… I suppose things just kind of… escalated," Martha replied with a sad tone of voice.

"Hm!" His face scrunched up as he thought it over. "Seems to happen to me a lot, like that time we met Hal." Selene laughed and placed her hands on her hips, smiling at the look on his face.

"You just have that effect on… the universe," she said casually, turning her smile to Martha, who watched them both sadly, knowing she'd miss the banter the two always shared.

"Thank you… both of you… for everything," she told them truthfully.

"It was our pleasure," the Doctor said while he pushed the door of his time machine open. He slipped inside as Selene gave Martha a tight hug and drew back with a sad smile.

"See you around," she said, stepping in after the Doctor. She shut the door behind herself and let the lock click before moving up the ramp.

The Doctor was already standing at the console, pressing the right buttons with a distant, thoughtful look on her face.

"You want to stay," she called out to him. There was a pause before he said,

"No I don't."

"Oh, of course you don't. Because nothing about that newscast was interesting." Smirking, Selene sauntered over to him as the engines began to whir; she sat on the edge of the console beside him and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling a thoughtful look as she hummed. He looked over at her and arched an eyebrow curiously.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Selene brushed off theatrically, turning her head to the side so she could stare at him. He raised an eyebrow and made the rest of his face emotionless, giving her a sarcastic look that clearly said 'oh, really?'

"What?" he asked again, crossing his arms and mimicking the way she was sitting. She shrugged and picked at a loose thread on the leg of her jeans, acting as blatantly casual as she could.

"It's just that newscast… changing what it means to be human, that sounds a bit suspicious doesn't it?" The Doctor's face became distant again as those seven words met his ears again. She knew that he wanted to stay behind and look into it, but he wasn't going to admit it easily; he wanted to get out of Martha's hair, to rid himself of the possibility of ruining another life, but that newscast, that man… that man, that man, that man… Maybe it wasn't like someone with cardboard and glue and feathers jumping off a fence post to see if they could fly… maybe it was like Icarus and Daedalus flying away from Crete, and everyone knew that had ended in disaster.

"Change what it means to be human…" he murmured, drumming his fingers against his thigh in indeterminate patterns. "Change what it… means to be…" His fingers danced off his leg and towards a lever that would reverse coordinates and bring them back to where they'd just been. Selene smiled and flicked some hair out of her face. "It could be nothing…"

"It could be something. Remember how the last time we had the whole 'it could be nothing, it could be something' debate, there ended up being a Judoon platoon upon the moon? And I don't know about you, but I think we should go back and investigate," he hummed slightly, thinking over what she'd said, "do what we do best, am I right? Besides, I'm sure Martha would love one last adventure and it would be on her home turf too. Maybe it'll help her acclimate back to the mundane ways of human life." She threw that in for Martha's benefit––she knew the young doctor would love to keep on traveling through time and space, who wouldn't? Maybe, just maybe, she could convince the Doctor to let her stay on. Selene leaned closer to she was just by his ear, opening her mouth to whisper, "Change what it means to be human… personally, I think it sounds a bit… alien."

Seconds after she spoke, after her breath brushed his ear, the Doctor grabbed the lever and pulled it upward, sending the two flying forward as the TARDIS stopped and then flew back the way they came. The Doctor caught Selene around the waist so she wouldn't topple over the railing, a calculating look on his face as he pulled her upright.

"What on earth could he mean by that? He's just an old man, what could he have possibly done that could change what it means to be human?" he asked her as the TARDIS landed again. With the way he was speaking––the speed, the emotion––she had to wonder if he'd heard anything she had said, but it didn't matter. Grinning as he moved back towards the door muttering to himself. She followed him quickly and peered over his shoulder and mentally counted one… two… three; he pulled the door open, revealing a shocked looking Martha. "No. I'm sorry, did he say he was gonna change what it means to be human?"

A smile of immeasurable happiness spread over Martha's face. Her eyes drifted back at Selene, who winked at her cheekily when they locked gazes.

"Um… yeah, yeah, he did," Martha said, forcing the smile off her face and to sound as composed as possible.

"That–that phrase should not be taken lightly, not after what I've seen!" he announced, striding out of the TARDIS to begin pacing around the small flat. "It could be nothing, but it could always be something… It's almost always something." Selene shut the TARDIS door and leaned against it, watching as the Time Lord threaded his fingers through his hair, twisting the strands every which way, messing it up in the most adorable way possible.

"That phrase has a lot of meaning in this whole time-traveling life-style…" Selene mused to herself, brows creased as she thought it over. "Maybe we should make a rule saying 'if you have to ask, then something's up.'" Martha laughed and nodded in agreement.

"I think it's safe to make that a true rule," she commented.

The Doctor stopped moving and faced both women, hands held out in front of him as he looked between the two. "Do we know who he is?"

"Um, yeah, some Professor Lazarus bloke; Tish has been working with him for a couple weeks, I think, if not longer. He's a scientist of some sort," Martha said, shrugging out of her jacket, which was in well need of a wash after everything it had been through.

"We need to figure out what he's been doing," the Doctor decided on, hands coming to rest on his hips. Selene pointed at the television and cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the other two. The phone rang again, and with a sigh, Martha rushed over to it and held it up to her ear.

"Yeah?" she asked, sounding exasperated. A pause. "Hey, Tish, I just saw you on the telly." She mouthed 'sorry' at her two friends before impatiently tapping her foot, listening to what her sister said. Then, suddenly, the foot tapping stopped. "A gala? For the big reveal?" Wide eyed, she turned to face the Doctor and Selene, who stared back at her in shock. "Yeah, of course I'd love to come! Tonight? Alright, let me jot down the address…" Martha quickly scribbled something on the back of a receipt. "Right, I'll see you then!" Hanging up, she smiled and held up the address she'd written down. "I think we're all going to a party!"

OOOO

"I get to wear my fancy suit!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly as he and Selene made their way back into the TARDIS to get ready for the gala. Selene laughed at the childish delight on his face and nudged his arm with her fist; he looked down at her as the two shared a laugh as he, once again, questioned 'what?'

"It's a danger magnet! You wear it while we're at some fancy party and boom we're chased into and then trapped in a swamp with some ancient fire monster running after us," she said as they climbed the ladder that would bring them to the doorway that led to the rest of the TARDIS. The Doctor snorted and spun around, walking backwards while giving her a look.

"That was one time and you have to admit it was cool to see where William Goldman got his inspiration for the Fire Swamp!" he prodded, knowing her love of The Princess Bride. Selene sheepishly looked at her feet and then sighed dramatically, flinging her hands skyward and letting her head drop back.

"Oh, alright, it was cool, but still, that suit is dangerous; but it fits the occasion, so go get all done up, suit boy," she replied as she began to turn down the hall that would take her to the TARDIS wardrobe. He giggled and grinned at her as she began to walk away.

"Have fun getting dolled up!" he called out to her, watching as she disappeared around another corner. He continued to smile at where she had been a moment before, swaying back and forth on his feet giddily; he was happy that such simple conversation with Selene made him so happy, so excited––it made every adventure and twist and turn enjoyable. No matter how bad it turned out in the end, she could always manage a smile, even if it was laced with glittering tears.

The TARDIS wardrobe was massive, extensive, and filled with clothes from every era one could imagine. Selene began her search for a fancy dress worthy of a gala, letting her hands skim over pieces of corduroy, velvet, wool, and cotton; she came across a dress meant for the twenties and a silk shirt that looked like it belonged in the sixties. She pulled out short dresses and long dresses, skirts and blouses, heels and flats. Normally she would have just settled on something that would look okay, something that fit and somehing that she maybe didn't like that much, but there was something in her head that was telling her to find the perfect dress, to make herself feel beautiful. So Selene acted on that little voice and purused the many, many, many racks of clothing till she found one that made her absolutely grin.

The Doctor stood by Martha's couch, fixing the cuff of his tuxedo and making sure that the button was propperly done; he knew they would all have to act the part if they wanted their plan to go smoothly––get in, find out what Lazarus was up to, probably put a stop to it, get out––so fitting the bill looks wise seemed to be a big factor. He kept glancing over at the doors of the TARDIS, waiting for Selene to step out; he felt a bit jumpy, a bit on edge and he wasn't quite sure why. In order to quell that feeling, he walked over to a small mirror that hung on the wall and began to knot his tie, straightening it out so it wouldn't sit crookedly beneath his collar. It felt a bit odd to wear a bowtie. It was always so close to the neck, so unlike the way he worse his daily ties: loose and casual.

The familiar sound the TARDIS door creaking open met his ears, and he quickly turned, mouth open to ask why she'd taken longer than initially expected, but froze when he looked at her. She stood just in the doorway of the big blue box, leaning up against the door frame in a way that was meant to be casual, but came off as rather alluring. The dress she'd chosen was absolutely fantastic. It fell just past her ankles, with glittering scale-like sequins that were peach in color at the top but gradually darkened to silver and brightened to gold towards the bottom before disipating into gauzy, sheer white fabric. It fit her body perfectly, like the TARDIS had materialized it specifically for her; the bottom of the dress stopped high enough to show off a set of golden heels luckily weren't tall enough to give her trouble while walking. Selene being Selene, she topped off the outfit with the perfect jewelry––her crest ring sat on her thumb, a golden hummingbird necklace clung to her neck and rested on her chest, and a small set of diamond-like earrings dangled from her ears.

Selene smiled sheepishly and pushed away from the door, closing it behind her. She walked towards the Doctor and held out her arms to let him observe the outfit he'd already been looking at; she gave a small, slightly wobbly twirl and then smoothed out the skirt along her legs.

"Is this alright? I don't go to many fancy things, let alone a gala, so…" she trailed off with a shrug. When the Doctor just continued to stare at her, saying and doing nothing but staring at her with wide, warm brown eyes and his mouth hanging open slightly, she looked herself over again, feeling nervous under his gaze. "Is it too much?" As much as she wanted to deny the fact that there was a part of her that wanted to impress the Doctor… well… there was a part of her that wanted to impress the Doctor. With a slow inhale through his nose, the Doctor blinked a few times, shaking his head at her question.

"No! No, no, no, it's… it's perfect really…" The Time Lord's lips rose in a sweet and genuine smile, one that made the corners of his eyes crinkle in the way that she loved. "You look gorgeous, Selene. You really do."

A pretty blush spread over the apples of her cheeks, and he was glad the only make-up she'd put on was a touch of eyeliner and a sweeping of shimmering eye-shadow; any sort of foundation would have drowned out the becoming shade of pink now present on her face.

"Thank you," Selene replied, tucking a ringlet behind her ear. It had taken her a long while to curl her hair properly, but it was probably just going to flatten out into its typical waves by the time they got to the gala. Doing what the Doctor had done a moment ago, Selene took in the person before her. He didn't dissapoint while dressed in formal wear; it fit him perfectly, the sleeves encasing his slender arms and the jacket hugging the sides of his body. The collar of his shirt was held close to his neck with a neatly done but slightly crooked bowtie, something that made her lips quirk up and think of how he didn't know how important that piece of clothing would be to him in the future. His hair was smoothed out but still mussed in its usual way, something that she would have fixed if he'd done it any other way. "And you certainly look handsome; never mind if this is your disaster suit, you look… you look really good in it. Very, very handsome." The Doctor grinned and nodded his thanks, unsure of how to properly respond with words. She then pointed at his bowtie. "And you're wearing a bowtie. I do like a good bowtie… even if it is a little crooked…"

Selene reached up and took hold of either side of the bow gently, pulling it so it sat straighter around his neck; she took her time making sure that each side of the bow was even and creased correctly, even taking it upon herself to flatten out his collar and the top half of his lapels, just enjoying the fact she was standing so near to him. The warmth of his breath was skimming past her ear and when she looked up, she nearly bumped noses with him. Leaning her head back, Selene smiled and gave an awkward laugh that resonated in her throat.

"All fixed?" he asked quietly, smiling back. She nodded and cleared her throat.

"All fixed."

When Martha exited her bed room all dressed and ready to go, she hadn't expected to see Selene and the Doctor standing so close that one might say the only way to describe it was 'intimate.' She stared for a moment, feeling the heat of what she now acknowledged as jealousy rise up in her throat; looking away, she composed herself, said just to ignore it, and put on a smile, continuing into her parlor.

"Both of you look lovely," she complimented brightly. Selene turned and looked at Martha, grinning at her fellow friend; she was dressed in a beautiful flowing purple dress that stopped at the knees and paired it off with a set of black heels and a glittering necklace that encircled the base of her throat.

"You look beautiful too," Selene replied. "Think we're ready to go?"

"Allons-y!" the Doctor proclaimed, jogging to the door and throwing it open, a set of actions that made Selene realize he was still wearing his Converse.

OOOO

The trio strode down the street with the Doctor still making final adjustments to his outfit.

"Oh, black tie…" he mused to himself with a darker tone. "Whenever I wear this something bad happens." Selene tilted her head back and laughed triumphantly, looping her arm through the Doctor's so he looked down at her. With a grin she nudged him enough to slightly run into Martha, who watched on with an amused expression.

"So you finally admit that suit is a danger magnet?" she questioned smugly, a smirk on her face accompanied with a quirk of her eyebrow. The Doctor snorted and continued to fiddle with the uncooperative bowtie with his free hand.

"I never denied it, did I?" he shot back. Martha laughed and rolled her eyes, drawing their attention while she said,

"It's not the outfit, it's just him, isn't it? Anyway, Doctor, I think it suits you… In a James Bond sort of way," she added on smartly with a smile. The Time Lord pulled a scrunched face that came off as saying 'what?'

"James Bond?" he asked, sounding a tad affronted. Then his face turned thoughtful while he looked himself over, his voice soon turning pleased. "Really?"

Martha and Selene laughed at his sudden change of attitude at the comment towards his look. Selene let her arm slip away from his, a thoughtful look crossing through her eyes; Martha already had an invitation and was thus on the guest list… she said she had a 'plus one' privilage that Selene assumed would most logically work with the Doctor. So the next problem was how she was going to get in and that was what she was currently thinking about. She held out a hand to the Doctor and wriggled her fingers.

"Phsycic Paper," she said simply, already expecting the Time Lord to just hand it over. His eyebrows jumped towards his hairline, staring at her with a slightly affronted look on his face.

"Do you just expect me to… to hand it over willy-nilly?"

"Yes, because it's my way into the party."

"Okay." He drew the little wallet out of his inner jacket pocket and placed it in her hand with an easy expression on his face, obviously completely at ease with giving it to her. She smiled up at him and winked.

"You can't say no to me," Selene teased as they climbed the steps to the Lazarus Laboratories building. The Doctor giggled and put his hands in his trouser pockets, returning her smile cheekily.

"It seems that I can't."

Selene took a deep breath, smacked the Psychic Paper against her palm and put on a smile as she approached a man with a clipboard that most likely held the guest list. The man looked up at her and asked,

"Name please."

"Hello, I hope you're having a pleasant evening. I'm Selene Thomas, I've come from the American branch of a local company in place of my boss who was unable to attend the events this evening," she replied evenly and brightly, flipping the Psychic Paper open, hoping with every ounce of her being that whatever it read would support her fib and let her in. The man with the clipboard leaned in and read over what had appeared on the Paper and then smiled at her gentlemanly and gestured her inside.

"Of course; have a a pleasant evening, Miss Thomas."

Once Martha and the Doctor were let through, Selene handed the Phsychic Paper back with a smirk. The Doctor arched an eyebrow as he re-pocketed the wallet.

"What did it say exactly?" he asked. Selene snickered and lifted her chin.

"That I was one of the top scienctists to a local company. Top scientist. Me! I don't know how anyone believed that," she laughed. The three laughed as they wandered into the reception room, melting into the crowd of fancily dressed guests. What grabbed the Doctor's attention immediately, though, was what sat in the center of the room. There was a machine on a raised dais, with a chamber big enough to fit one person inside; there was one door in into it and it was also the only way to get out. Four large tubes decorated one section of the dais, curving towards the main chamber. Well… whatever was going on it was certainly connected to that…

A rather daper looking waiter passed by the trio of time travelers, and the Doctor found himself immediately distracted, a grin spreading over his face.

"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles," he hummed happily, taking a few pieces of food off the tray with a bright smile. He gracelessly shoved one into his mouth, still smiling as he chewed and licked the tips of his fingers. Martha gave him a look, surprised by the way he'd ever-so-casually stuffed his face.

"Hello!" chimed a happy voice. Spinning around, Martha stared at her sister, who was grinning at her madly.

"Tish!" she exclaimed, drawing her into a tight hug.

"You look great! So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?" Tish asked, nodding around the room at the high-tech screens and the walls made of un-smudged, perfect panes of glass.

"Very," Martha agreed. Tish smirked and nodded at her sister with an eyebrow raised.

"And two nights out in a row for you, that's dangerously close to a social life," she deadpanned. Martha rolled her eyes and leaned towards Tish, jokingly saying,

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns." Selene smiled and leaned towards the Doctor, who bent sideways so he could hear her say,

"Sisters."

"You might actually! You should keep an eye out for photographers. And mum she's coming, too––even dragging Leo along with her!" Martha's eyes went slightly wide at the mention of her brother, who never ventured to put on a suit unless forced to.

"Leo, in black tie? That I must see." Tish pointedly kept eyeing the Doctor and then Selene, who were awkwardly just standing to the side. Martha pointed at them. "This is, uh, the Doctor."

"Hello!" he said as he shifted the food around in his hands so he could shake Tish's hand.

"And this is Selene Thomas."

"A pleasure," she while shaking Tish's hand.

"Is he with you?" Tish asked, still smiling.

"Yeah."

"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?"

"He's my plus one."

"And her?"

"My boss was invited but couldn't make it, actually so… here I am!" Selene said with a bright and hopefully convincing smile. Obviously able to sense that the conversation was about to go down a very dangerous path, the Doctor decided to verbally intervene.

"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" he asked Tish suddenly. She looked at him and corrected the Time Lord by saying,

"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff," she said proudly. Martha rolled her eyes at the smugness her sister had written over her face.

"She's in the P.R. Department," Martha dismissed. Trish, looking highly offended, scoffed at the way she'd been shot down.

"I'm head of the P.R. Department, actually," she shot back, much to Martha's surprise. The head of P.R.?

"You're joking."

"I put this whole thing together."

"That's actually rather impressive," Selene commented, looking around at how organized everything was, thinking about how much time everything must have taken to put together. Trish smirked happily.

"Thank you," she said.

"So, do you know what the Profesor's gonna be doing tonight?" the Doctor inquired, hoping to get to the bottom of whatever was going on as quickly as possible. "That," he turned and looked at the machine, which the press was photographing, "looks like it might be a Sonic Microfield Manipulator." Tish smirked over at her sister.

"He's a science geek. I should've known," she murmured. "Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later." With that, Tish walked off, winking cheekily at Martha, who replied with a disbelieving smile.

"'Science Geek,' what does that mean?" the Time Lord asked. Selene gave him a look and stole one of the nibbles out of his hand.

"Oh, my god, really?" she asked with disbelief. He shrugged innocently as Martha rolled her eyes.

"That you're obsessively enthusastic about it," she clarified.

"Oh, nice!" He smiled brightly and stole the nibble back from Selene, popping it into his mouth. Martha's eyes lit up when she saw her brother and her mother, Francine, stride through the entrance, discussing something that she could only guess was her father. It felt like she hadn't seen her mother in years; she'd been to the moon, New New York, Old New York, met Shakespeare… all in the span of one night that must have seemed as normal as any other to her mother. She grinned when Francine made a bee-line towards her with a smile

"Martha––"

"Mum!" Martha cut off whatever she was about to say by giving her the tightest hug that she'd given her in what had probably been years; it felt like she'd seen her so long ago… so, so long ago… Francine patted her back with a surprised laugh.

"What's the occaison?" she asked. Martha drew back and just beamed at her, taking in every inch of her familiar face.

"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all," Martha replied truthfully. Francine still couldn't seem to let it go.

"You saw me last night."

"I know. I just… missed you." She turned her smile on her brother. "You're looking good, Leo."

"Yeah, if anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for them," he joked. It was then Francine noticed the Doctor and Selene standing just off to her daughter's side and something had come to mind; Martha hadn't answered her phone all evening or all morning or all afternoon… and she seemed to be friendly with those two strangers….

"You… disappeared last night…" she trailed off suspiciously. Martha faltered and cleared her throat.

"I… just went home," Martha replied with a single not. Francine's face grew serious as she asked,

"On your own?" her eyes slipped over to the Doctor and Selene, a brow raising curiously. Martha awkwawrdly turned towards the other two and gestured to them.

"These are some friends of mine––the Doctor and Selene Thomas." Francine put on a smile and looked directly at the tall man.

"Doctor what?"

"No, it's just… 'the Doctor.' He, Selene, and I have been doing some work together," Martha explained, smiling. Leo leaned forward and shook the Doctor's hand kindly, before doing the same with Selene.

"You alright, mate?" he asked in greeting. The Doctor grinned and nodded at him.

"Pleasure to meet you," Selene told him.

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Jones. Hear a lot about you," the Doctor told Francine, leaning forward to shake her hand. The suspicious look on her face didn't dissipate as she now came face-to-face with the strange man her daughter claimed to know.

"Have you? What have you heard, then?" she inquired. The Time Lord kept a bright look on his face as he tried to come up with things to say.

"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother… and… uhm…" he trailed off, looking at Martha and then Selene, pulling an utter, truthful blank. Smiling, Selene stepped forward and placed her hand on his upper arm.

"That's actually about all we've heard, we're sorry," she said for him, watching a relieved look cross his face.

"We haven't had muc time to chat, you know, been busy!" he told Francine, face falling completely as he ended his sentence. Taking the sentence the wrong way and in a wrong direction, Francine gaped at the two in shock.

"Busy? Doing what, exactly?"

"Oh… you know… mm… stuff." Before the older woman could further interrogate both the Time Lord and the American, who both looked rather frightened, someone tapped their champagne glass with a knife, grabbing the attention of the whole room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," croaked the voice of Professor Lazarus. Selene took that moment to immediately spin around, firmly twirling the Doctor with her, who was still wide-eyed with a gaping mouth from the encounter with Martha's mother. As the lights dimmed, that expression disappeared as they faced the old man who stood before the machine in the center of the room. "I am professor Richard Lazarus, and tonight, I'm going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom… the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow you will wake to a world which will be changed forever." Cameras continued to flash as Lazarus slowly turned and pulled open the door to the chamber, slipping inside and shutting it firmly behind him.

A woman in a white lab coat flicked down a bunch tiny silver switches and pressed a number of different buttons; still serious-faced, she nodded to another woman across the room who pressed a big red button and started the machine with a loud whirl and a blinding blue light. The dais began to spin quickly and the tubes began to gyrate, generating a blue burst of electricity above the chamber every now and again, leaving bright spots in everyone's vision. After a few moments of attempting to block out the lights with their hands and of watching in confusion, an alarm began to blare and the blue electricity began to crackle loudly. The Doctor's face immediately became concerned as he observed the machine before him.

"Something's wrong. It's overloading!" the Doctor proclaimed. Machines around the room sparked as everything began to malfunction, sending the Doctor rushing forward to try and stop the circuits from blowing. The machien whirled faster and faster, sending everyone reeling back, staring at it in horror. Martha pushed her mother away from danger as the Doctor leapt over a desk and pulled out the Sonic.

"Somebody stop him! Get him away from those controls!" Lady Thaw, Lazarus' wife, cried.

"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it!" he shouted back. "Is that what you want?" After another minute of Sonicking the panels, the Doctor leapt back over the desk and yanked on a large cable, which cut the power and caused the machine to slowly come to a stop. Martha and Selene instinctively jolted forward, rushing up onto the dais as the Doctor cried, "Get it open!" Both women grabbed the handle and yanked, sending the door flying open and allowing steam to billow out.

Everyone watched in disbelief as ever-so-slowly, Lazarus reappeared… but reappeared as a younger man with floppy blond hair and shocked blue eyes. He appeared dazed as he clung to the door frame, raising one hand to touch one of his cheeks, which he no longer found wrinkled; it was smooth as it had been years and years ago… he laughed to himself. It had worked. It had truly, really worked. He took two steps out of the machine and held out his arms to keep himself balanced as he addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen… I am Richard Lazarus… I am seventy six-years old…" He raised his arms up triumphantly. "And I am reborn!" As the crowd cheered, the Doctor stared up at him in abject horror. Change what it menat to be human, he'd said… Well, he'd done it. And he just made the Doctor very, very curious as to how he worked all of this out. What he'd just performed through mechanics and science was something akin to one event he was very familiar with… regeneration; it was a strictly Time Lord situation and there was no telling what something like it would do to a human.

As Lazarus began to make his rounds, talking to press and smiling at cameras and women, Martha watched on, brows furrowed and lips turned down ward.

"That can't be the same guy," she decided. "That's impossible, it must be a trick." The Doctor was observing the machine, taking in its mechanics and its wiring, trying to make sense of it all. Selene stood beside Martha and shrugged, watching as Lazarus chatted to a group of younger women.

"Unfortunately I think is… too many similarities facially… vocally…" she murmured.

"Oh, I wish it were a trick…" the Doctor hummed as they all gave the man one long look.

"What just happened then?" Martha asked.

"He just changed what it means to be human…"

An uneasy feeling settling in Selene's stomach. She reached behind her and grabbed the Doctor's hand tightly.

"Doctor… this all seems very familiar… and very bad," she told him after noticing that strange tingle run across the nape of her neck, something she realized happened when something she might of remembered occured. He looked down at her serious face and nodded, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"As in you've seen this all before but can't remember what happens?" he whispered back. She nodded with a distressed look on her face, swallowing thickly as she looked back at Lazarus, letting her gaze roam over him top to bottom.

"Yeah… exactly like that… but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with him…" As they began to inch closer to him, Selene felt a different shiver run down her spine… one that made it feel like someone was… watching her. She craned her head around and saw a man standing across the room just… staring at her; when he noticed that she had noticed, he raised his champagne glass towards her with a smarmly little smirk before taking a sip of his drink. Furrowing her brows, she looked away and glanced around before continuing to walk towards Lazarus, who looked like he had choked, sounded like his bones had crunched and then began shoveling food into his mouth while proclaiming,

"I'm famished."

"Energy deficit," the Doctor explained as he bounded over. "Always happens with this kind of process." Lazarus looked at the tall, spiky haired man that now stood beside him with a knowing look in his brown eyes.

"You talk as if you see this every day, Mister…?"

"Doctor. And, well, no, not every day, but I do have experience in this kind of transformation," the Time Lord explained.

"That's not possible," Lazarus chuckled with a smug smile.

"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance? That-that's inspired!"

"You understand the theory, then?"

"Enough to know you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables," he told Lazarus in a hummed tone, the two almost having a verbal sparring match.

"No experiment is entirely without risk," Lazarus shot back easily before popping a cracker with salmon on top of it into his mouth.

"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."

"You're not qualified to comment!" Lady Thaw suddenly exclaimed, giving Selene cause to turn to the white-haired woman with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually, he's more qualified than anyone in this entire room, qualified more than anyone you'll ever meet, so perhaps take his world as gospel for just this moment; he did save your husband from being blown to bits by that machine," Selene said in a genuinely pleasant voice and a smile on her face, even though her words were definitely meant to get the woman to shut up. And it definitely worked seeing as Lady Shaw gaped at her in shock, looking slightly insulted at being told off by a younger woman in a glittery dress. The Doctor couldn't help the little smirk that appeared on his face as Selene kindly defended him; that was rather sweet and thoughtful, wasn't it?

"And I thank you, Doctor." Lazarus said with a slight and mocking bow. "But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less." Martha scoffed, feeding off the energy the Doctor and Selene had been putting off.

"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests," Martha pointed out. Lazarus laughed and smiled at them brightly.

"Look at me! You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"Yeah, but that's external," Selene began. "What about internally? What if that machine scrambled up your insides like a bunch of eggs––"

"The device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially," Lady Thaw said, cutting off Selene with an ingenuine smile. Selene merely arched an eyebrow in return, feeling that little spark of attitude coming back.

"Commercially?" Martha asked with disbelief, brows raising in shock. "You are joking? That'll cause chaos." Lazarus, looking thoroughly unamused with Martha's accusations, turned his cold gaze on her.

"Not chaos––change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."

"This isn't about improving," the Doctor shot back, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "This is about you and your customers living a little longer."

"Not a little longer, Doctor… a lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely," Lazarus said in a hushed tone and a pleased voice. Before any of the three suspicious time travelers could say anything, Lady Thaw once again injected herself into the conversation.

"Richard, we have things to discusss. Upstairs." And with that, the two began to move off.

"Goodbye, Doctor," Lazarus said before spinning around to smirk at him. "In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He extended a hand to Martha, who took it for a handshake but intead recieced a kiss on the back of her hand. Then, as her lip curled and he released her hand, he leaned over to Selene and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with the same smarmy smirk he wore when he'd taken her friend's hand. His fingers brushed just slightly against the skin of her cheek as he drew his fingers away, eyes intent on her face. "Always a pleasure," he said to both women before sauntering off in the direction of his wife.

"Ooh, he's out of his depth," the Doctor hummed. Selene began to rub at the spot on her cheek where Lazarus' fingers had touched her skin, shivering at the memory of the look on his stupid face. "He's no idea the damage he might've done…"

"I'm guessing it's a lot. 'Cause what he's going after sounds an awful lot like regeration to me…" Selene said, dropping her hand. The Doctor hummed his agreement.

"So what do we do now?" Martha questioned.

"Now…" The Doctor raised his head and gazed around the spacious reception room and up into the windows that looked into the darkned labs. "Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests." Martha smirked and raised her hand gracefully, wiggling her fingers.

"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample, then, isn't it?" she asked with a smile. The Doctor grinned down at her.

"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star!" he complimented as he laughed a bit. Then, they began to walk off towards the stairs, which would bring them up to the rest of the building. As the Doctor lead the way, Selene smiled at her friend, saying,

"You know, he only wants to drop you off because he doesn't want you to get hurt. He's lost so many people in the hundreds of years he's been alive… he doesn't want to lose another." Martha let out a sigh and looked over to Selene with a frown on her glossed lips.

"But he lets you stay with him; he didn't seem like he wanted to leave you anywhere anytime soon," Martha pointed out. She'd noticed the way the two interacted, how close they were and even how close they didn't even seem to notice they were; it was almost like Selene was part of the TARDIS… like he wouldn't be able picture her not being there and if he did it was like something vital was missing. Selene's smile fell and became a sort of sad that Martha had never seen.

"That wasn't always the case… I'll tell you a story sometime, Martha… but later on, it isn't light hearted in the least bit."

"Well… tell me how you got to stay on as, like, a permanent companion then; how do you go about convincing him of that?" The smile returned to her face and she shrugged, thinking back to that day on Florizel Street; she'd been so happy, having had danced the night away with the Doctor and Rose, swinging arm-in-arm with the locals to jazzy music and with a drink in hand. And then the night had gotten better when she'd been bestowed with a TARDIS key, one that she always found a way to keep with her.

"I didn't convince him. Actually, I don't think anyone convinces him to let them stay; it's his TARDIS, he chooses who stays and who goes; when he offered me a key, it was after god knows how many adventures and near-death experiences, but he offered to let me stay on just when I realized that the TARDIS… it was home." Selene smiled then, looking down at her shoes. "That my cramped apartment in Boston wasn't home anymore, it was the miraculously bigger on the inside blue box that whirls through time and space… so, I guess the point of that little ramble is just… give him time and he'll let you back on. Or I can give him a nudge or three or four," Selene told her, both laughing and linking arms as they caught up with the Doctor who had been giving them a 'hurry up' look.

After finding a lab, the Doctor Sonicked the doors and got them inside, grabbing a computer and a microscope and other necessary equipment for their use. After a couple minutes that involved getting the DNA sample off Martha's skin and getting it into the testing system, a result finally popped up on screen, showing the double-helix structure of the blond man's DNA.

"Amazing…" the Doctor murmured, slightly hunched over the lab bench. Selene pulled up a stool and sat herself down, peering at the screen while leaning down lightly to massage the arch of her foot, which was beginning to throb.

"What? Martha asked.

"Lazarus' DNA…" the Doctor murmured, adjusting the glasses on his nose.

"I can't see anything different," Martha admitted. The Doctor immediately looked over to Selene expectantly, pointing at the screen with raised eyebrows. She held up both hands to dismiss anything.

"Hey, the medical student in the room said she didn't see anything different; I'm a waitress who sucked at science her entire school career, I'm going with what she says. But if you need help identifying quotes, I'm your gal," she said, continuing to rub her aching foot. The Doctor sighed in exasperation.

"But you… you're still smart… oh, nevermind. Look at it, both of you," the Doctor instructed. Both women peered at the screen a tad more, brows furrowing in concentration. After a moment, it was like a blip had moved over the screen; the DNA pulled apart and then put itself back together again, changing some of the thymines and guanines. They stared in shock.

"Oh my god!" Martha exclaimed. "Did that just change?" The Doctor nodded. "But it can't have."

"But it did."

"It's impossible."

"So is inter-dimensional space travel, but here I am," Selene murmured, staring at the screen in case it happened again.

"Disregarding the mention inter-dimensional space travel, it's the second impossible thing we've seen so far tonight," the Doctor pointed out, drawing their minds back to the impossibly young looking seventy-something year old. The Doctor smiled at his companions. "Don't you love it when that happens?"

"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns," Martha surmised.

"Hypersonic soundwaves to destabilize the cell structure, then a magnetic program to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvinate," the Doctor said in his long-winded explaining voice. Selene pointed at the screen, wheels turning in her head.

"But something's gone wrong, hasn't it? If it was meant to make him younger, it should have happened just the once when he was in the machine… and since its still changing now…" she trailed off, the extend of her thoughts coming to a stop.

"Because he missed something." The DNA morphed again. "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabalize… something that's trying to change him."

"Change him into what?" Martha asked as they kept on watching the DNA change periodically.

"I don't know," he admitted, peering through his glaces. "But I think we need to find out."

"That woman said they were going upstairs," Martha pointed out.

"Let's go!" And with that said, the Doctor bounded off, both women struggling to follow in their heeled shoes.

Lazarus Laboratories was a building with so many rooms and halls that it could only be called a maze. It took them a good few minutes to find the lifts and another minute or so to find the right floor. The trio stepped out into a darkened room with few walls and expesive lights. A very well-done diarama of Southwarks Cathedral sat on a table, illuminated by its own personal lighting; on the far side of the room there was a desk over looking the same cathedral not a few blocks away.

"Certainly looks like an office," Selene mused. The Doctor hit a light switch to turn on the rest of the lights, which all bounced their beams off the shining white floor and ceiling.

"So, where is he?" the Doctor rhetorically asked.

"Don't know," chimed in Martha. "Let's try back at the re… ception…" The pause in her words made the Doctor and Selene give her a curious look, eventually following her gaze to see the withered looking lower-leg and high-heeled foot of someone lying on the floor. In silent horror, they ran over behind the oaken desk only to gasp at what they saw. Wearing a sparkly, gaudy, black dress and with a fallen glass by its hand, was the withered, grey corpse of who could only be Lazarus' wife.

"Is that Lady Thaw?" Martha asked as, simultaneously, they all crouched down to get a better look.

"Used to be," the Doctor said as they got a closer look. It was almost as if every bodily fluid and scrap of water had been sucked out of the body, leaving it gaunt and as dry as parchment. "Now its just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out of her. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

"Oh, that's a disgusting image," Selene grumbled, tilting her head as she stared down at the late Lady Thaw.

"Lazarus…" Martha murmured.

"Could be…"

"So he's changed already?"

"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating; the process must deman energy. This might not have been enough," he mused in a hushed voice.

"So he might do this again?" Martha inquired in horror. The Doctor pulled a 'maybe' face which sent them flying to their feet.

"And there's an entire reception full of energy downstairs, just waiting to be taken," Selene said in realization. Dashing to the lifts, they hurriedly presseed the button before popping into the one that arrived first, the doors shutting on them as the other lift's door opened for two others…

The moment they got out of the lift on the ground floor, their eyes immediately began scanning the crowd for Lazarus.

"I can't see him," Martha announced.

"Can't be far, keep looking," the Doctor said as he strode forward into the lead again. Just as they got a tad farther into the room, Leo stopped his sister with a smile.

"There you are, Marth. I think mom wants to speak with you," he told her. Brushing off the statement completely, Martha asked,

"Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?"

"Yeah, he was getting cozy with Tish a couple of moments ago." Horror crossed over Martha's face as she and Selene locked eyes.

"With Tish!"

"Ah, Doctor…" Francine sighed as she strode up with a drink in hand, ready to interrogate him more.

"Where did they go?" the Doctor demanded of Leo with a serious face.

"Upstairs, I think––why?"

At the answer, the three dashed past Francine, whose drink spilled everywhere as she shouted,

"Doctor––I'm speaking to you!"

"Not now, mum!" Martha hissed as they disappeared back into the lift. Francine watched with a bitter expression on her face, shaking the spilt champagne off her hand; she made her way to a refreshments table and snatched up a napkin, wiping the liquid off her forearm and hand, shaking her head at the strange actions her daughter had been showing.

"I think you need one of these," said the kind tenor of an approaching man. With a smile on his face, he held out a full champagne glass towards the woman; it was the man that had been watching Selene earlier, the one who had given her a shiver of discomfort… but Francine didn't know that. To her, he was just a kind gentleman offering her a drink.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," she complimented, accepting the glass. The man turned his head towards the lift.

"Do you know that man?" he questioned casually. Bitter expression returning, Francine dropped the napkin on the table and let out a frustrated breath.

"No. He's a… friend of my daughter's."

"And the woman he was with?"

"I suppose it's the same situation; I've never heard my daughter speak of either of them and yet here they are dragging her about and claiming they've been 'working' on matters they cannot speak about," she replied. The man looked back down at her, his movements as graceful and easy as the movements of a flowing stream.

"Perhaps she should choose her friends more carefully," the man mused with a knowing tone that drew Francine's attention. And with that, he strode away, leaving an air of interest as to what he'd just said. Perhaps she should talk to that man again… find out what he exactly meant.

OOOO

Once again back in Lazarus' empty office, the trio looked around frantically.

"Where are they!" Martha exclaimed in a panic. The Doctor removed his Sonic from inside his coat pocket, an idea popping into mind.

"The fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature," he said in a rush, turning the barrel of the Sonic to get it on the right setting. "I might be able to pick it up." He held it out in front of him with both hands, listening to the pulsing whir it gave off. As he turned to his right, a beeping became apparent through the pulsing.

"Got him!"

"Where is he?" Selene demanded urgently. The Doctor raised the Sonic so the beeping got faster and more high pitched, becoming most prominent as it pointed at the ceiling. "But this is the top… floor… Oh, my go, the roof!"

Breaking into a sprint, they all made for the roof-access staircase that sat just around the corner. They ran along the wall of windows and let the night view of London blur in their periphery as the Doctor tossed the stairwell door open and they began their ascent, ignoring aching feet and stumbling legs. By the time the reached the top, they stopped to catch their breath; the Doctor raised a finger to his lips, signalling for them to be silent.

"We can't frighten him. He's too unpredictable," he whispered as he inched the door open, letting the two women out before shutting it gently behind them. They immediately spotted Lazarus and Tish, who were gazing at the bell tower of the cathedral.

"It's hard to believe the moment's finally arrived…" Lazarus was musing.

"And is it like you expected?" questioned Tish, gazing up at him.

"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. 'Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act...'"

"'Falls the shadow,'" the Doctor finished quoting, making their presence known. Sirens wailed in the distance as Lazarus and Tish turned around, surprised to find three new people standing with them on the roof. Lazarus smirked.

"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed," Lazarus drawled. Tish, looking rather put-off at the moment having been interrupted, glared at her sister.

"Martha, what are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Tish, get away from him," Martha pleaded.

"What? Don't tell me what to do."

"Wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being so busy defying the laws of nature," the Doctor deadpanned, his focus only on the blond man before him. Lazarus looked down at the ground as he said,

"you're right, Doctor… one lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four," he replied with a smirk. With a face hinted with sadness, the Doctor raised his eyebrows and gave a slight shake of the head.

"It doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters. It's the person," the Time Lord explained. He'd had years and years and years to think over questions that required answers like the one he'd just given; he hoped that, one day, he might be able to say that explanation to someone who might actually understand, because Lazarus clearly did not.

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."

"Or what a curse." The Doctor felt someone's hand slip into his own discreetly, and he glanced down to notice that Selene had taken her hand in his, having sensed the personal feelings behind his words. "Look at what you've done to yourself."

"Who are you to judge me?"

"Come here, Tish," Martha urged again in a quiet voice. Grumpily, Tish marched over, snapping,

"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to try and find fault."

"Tish, he's a monster!"

And, oh, how right she was. Selene and the Doctor watched as Lazarus's back bent backwards very unnaturally, head whipping back, arms drawing in and bones crunching and grating. He then crumpled to the ground with a strangled cry, writhing and thrashing.

"I know the age thing is a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." Noticing that her sister was no longer focused on her, Tish turned around to see what everyone was staring at. They all watched as Lazarus transformed into something very and completely inhuman. "What is that?"

Lazarus grew in size till he looked to be the size of an elephant; he was a creature that almost took the semblance of a scorpion, but with more legs and four arms each with pincers. The body was covered in sparce, pale flesh and red, muscly tendons that were all exposed and moving; his face was the one of the most horrifying parts about him. It was his human face, but completely emotionless and flat, the chin split from the lower-lip down so it could pull open and reveal a mouth of terrifying jagged teeth.

"Run!" the Doctor cried, getting the door open to let the women in first before jumping through after them. Lazarus growled and smashed against the door as the Doctor Sonicked the lock and then followed the others down the stairs. When they reached the lifts, Martha turned to Tish.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I was gonna snog him," Tish realized in horror. They could feel the structure of the building shake as Lazarus continued to attempt to break in; the power suddenly shut off with a loud clang and an alarm began to blare. Selene stared up at the ceiling and slowly asked,

"What the hell is that?"

Security One. Security One, a mechanical voice began to say.

"Um… and intrusion. It… triggers a security lockdown, kills most of the power, stops the lifts, seals the exits," Tish explained, racking her brain for everything the lockdown did. The Doctor turned to look back up the stairs with concern.

"He must be breaking through the door. The stairs! Come on!" he shouted as they began to run again. Just as she was about to take her first step down the stairs, Selene felt her foot turn awkwardly, sending her sprawling to the floor with a groan; the Doctor spun back around, eyes wide when he noticed that she'd taken a spill. "Selene!" He ran back up the first set of steps and did what was best for the situation; he scooped her up in his arms and jogged down the steps, holding her tightly to his chest while she announced,

"This is why I don't wear heels when I'm around you!"

Half-way down the steps, they heard metal crunching and an unearthly howl.

"He's inside!" screamed Martha.

"We haven't got much time!" the Doctor replied as they made it back to the reception room. Stopping in the middle of the room with Selene still in his arms, he looked to the other Jones sister. "Tish, is there another way out of here?" She looked around, trying to find the other door.

"There's an exit in the corner but it'll be locked now," she replied, gesturing towards the other exit.

"Selene, grab my Sonic and give it to Martha!" he instructed urgently. She quickly reached into his pocket and extracted it, tossing it to the aforementioned woman, who ran off towards the doors with her sister. "Setting fifty-four, hurry!" The Doctor carefully set Selene on her feet, finding she was still a tad unsteady; the Doctor bounded up to the dais where the machine sat dormant and set Selene on her feet, keeping an arm around her to hold her steady. "Listen to me!" he shouted, gaining attention. "You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"

"Don't be rediculous!" chimed a blond woman in a sparkling gold gown. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive!" There was a crash as glass shattered and the monstrous version of Lazarus appeared. Selene flung out an arm as he roared, looking down at the woman.

"That's a danger and it certainly isn't an olive!" she exclaimed. Lazarus leapt to the floor and became to absolutely decimate it; he knocked over tables, snapped chairs and shattered glasses, making everything all the more hazardous. As people dashed about in a panic and were knocked over by tables and chairs and other guests, the doors were finally open thanks to Martha and the Sonic; she and Tish began urgently ushering everyone out as the Doctor remained on the dais, observing the panic. Lazarus approached the woman in the gold dress, mouth pulling open to growl at her; his very scorpion-esque tail raised over his head, the stinger splitting and opening in half to reveal what looked to be a snake tongue and a second mouth.

"No, get away from her!" the Doctor shouted, his plea coming to no avail. Lazarus attacked her and seconds later, her withered husk of a body fell to the floor, leaving Selene and the Doctor standing to stare in horror. Lazarus then turned to Francine, who was kneeling beside a fallen Leo, who was dazed after being knocked over by a table; the monster roared and lurched forward.

"Lazarus!" the Doctor shouted, gaining his attention. "Leave them alone! What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong! Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool." The Doctor's voice dropped to a murmur while his hands came up to hold either of Selene's arms, preparing for his escape plan as Lazarus came ever closer to them. "A vain old man who thought he could defy nature! Only nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!" He quickly pushed Selene towards one of the pipes that edged the dais, watching her cling to it in shock as he ran off, drawing Lazarus back into the building; she stared after him in shock, holding onto the pole for the support the Doctor had provided moments ago.

"Oh, no, you don't," she muttered, leaning down and undoing the straps of her shoes, tossing them haphazardly into the nearly empty reception room. She took a few slow, tentative steps to see if she'd actually injured her ankle when it had rolled; nothing stung, nothing pulled, and the only ache present was that of having been wearing heels while running. With the non-injured ankle in mind, Selene broke into as fast a run as she could, hoping to find and follow the Doctor and Lazarus through the maze of corridors.

The hallways were lined with white paneling that made Selene feel as though she were sprinting through a sanitary institution of some sort; she couldn't hear any roaring, any yelling and each turn she took was a gamble. After a few minutes of running and turning and nearly falling, she found herself in a cement lined halway by the basement and boiler room, feet padding against the cold floor. She ran into something solid and let out a scream, worried that she may have just run into the monster of the evening. Instead two familiar hands grabbed her arms, spun her around and pushed her forward.

"What are you doing here!?" the Doctor shouted as they ran.

"I wasn't going to let you run around on your own! Stupid things happen when you do that!" she called back as they skid into a hallway.

"You're confidence in me is stunning." Eventually they ended up back in the lab they were in earlier, striding between the lab benches; the Doctor walked with purpose, a plan silently brewing in his head, one that Selene knew he'd keep to himself and enact himself. He suddenly lept up onto one of the benches and yanked at light on the wall, removing the glass dome, which he then gave to Selene. She watched the door, which began to shake and tremble as the monster behind it slammed into it repeatedly, while the Doctor began to do something clever with the light's wiring.

"Help me turn on all the gas," he told her as he began turning white handles that stuck out of the lab benches, letting the gas hiss on and flow into the room. Selene complied and began switching on each one she could, nose wrinkling when the smell of gas became very prominent in the room. As the door crunched open, the Time Lord dragged his companion down to their knees so they could duck out of sight.

"More hide-and-seek, Doctor?" questioned Lazarus' distorted voice. "How disappointing." The Doctor reached up and flicked on a few more gas burners. Crashing. Shattering. The Doctor and Selene scrambled around the edge of a lab bench as stealthily as possible breathing hard. "Why don't you and your pretty little girlfriend come out to face me?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" the Doctor called out. He rose and pulled Selene up with him so they stared right across three lab benches into the face of the monster. He then cheekily continued to speak. "Why would we want to face that, hm?"

The two time travelers dashed out of the room as Lazarus snarled and began to follow, unaware of the Doctor's plan; the Time Lord his a switch on the wall as they exited the room. Moments after Selene and the Doctor had exited the room…

Boom!

The gas in the lab ignited and sent fire spiraling out of the door, the force of the explosion sending the Doctor and Selene to the ground. Getting shoved to the ground by explosions was something they'd gotten used to, so the recovery period was actually rather quick; jumping up and taking off again, they barreled down the hall till they ran into none other than Martha Jones.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked in shock.

"I'm returning this," Martha said, holding up the Sonic. "I thought you might need it." He took it and looked at her quizzically.

"How did you…"

"Explosion, right?" Selene asked, catching her breath. Martha nodded with a smile.

"Figured it had to be you!"

"I blasted Lazarus," the Doctor explained.

"Did you kill him?"

They turned and saw him emerge from the incinerated lab, leaping over a glass barrier towards them.

"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say!"

And they once again began to run.

They soon found themselves back in the empty reception room with no idea where to turn next. Selene carefully avoided stepping on shards of broken glass, lifting the hem of her skirt, which was just slightly to long now.

"What now? We've just gone 'round in a circle!" Martha pointed out as they came to a shuddering stop.

"Can't lead him outside!" The Doctor bounded up to the chamber and flung the door open. "Come on! Get in!"

They all grunted and shifted as they forced their bodies into the tight fit, the chamber clearly only meant for one person. Martha's front was facing the Doctor's back and Selene had just managed to squeeze herself in front of him before they shut the door. As it shut, Selene stumbled slightly and bumped into the Doctor's chest, causing him to react on instinct to keep her from falling; he grabbed her waist as her hands flew up and rested flat against his ribcage, caught between both of their two froze and realized how close they were to each other, causing them to just lock gazes and stare, suddenly hyper-aware of the other's hands––Selene could feel each of his fingers on the curve of her waist and the Doctor could feel the warmth of her palms seeping through his suit jacket and crinkled button down.

She suddenly remembered their kiss back in New York… that silly, seven second kiss that felt like it had taken an eternity; she wondered at that moment if he'd thought about it the same way she did and found herself hoping it was so. Because trapped chest-to-chest in an enclosed chamber with a monster just outside made her realize just how much she felt for the Doctor, and just how much she wanted him to feel the same way. The Doctor blinked down at her and felt his fingers shift against her waist, a strange thought coming to mind. Well, it was strange for the moment, but it wasn't overall strange; in fact, it was probably rather normal. He marveled at how the woman in front of him made him so happy, made him smile so much and he marveled at how giddy he felt at being so close to her, how both of his hearts raced at the simplest touch, like the way her hands rested on his chest at that moment. And as his mind drifted away from the dire circumstances outside the little chamber, he wondered if he made her feel the same way…

Martha, who craned her head around the Doctor's shoulder, glanced between the two, jealousy tightening in her chest as she saw the two just… holding and staring at each other, lost in each others eyes and any other sort of cliché she could try and come up with.

"Aren't you supposed to be coming up with a plan, Doctor?" Martha asked with an edge to her voice, immediately breaking the trance the two had seemed to be in. The duo both blushed and would have wiggled away from each other had it not been for the fact there was no room to, in fact, wiggle. Instead, the Doctor dropped his hands, allowing Selene to do the same as he began stuttering and stumbling over words as he clambered to grab the Sonic from inside his jacket.

"We just need to… once I have the, uh, Sonic… there should be a way to…" he was saying as he attempted to get a proper hold on the Sonic, both of them still blushing at the previous moment they'd just shared. He let out a calm breath and dropped his arms, hoping to soothe his racing hearts. "No, not the Sonic, we don't need that. Time to improve, then."

"Improvise. So, no plan… we're not hiding?" Martha asked in a hushed voice.

"He saw us come in, he knows were inside," Selene pointed out, feeling fear replace the warm feeling she'd felt moments ago.

"This is his masterpiece," the Doctor acknowledged smartly. "I'm betting he won't destroy it. Not even to get at us."

"But we're trapped!" Martha pointed out.

"Well… yeah, that is a slight problem."
"Slight?" Selene squeaked.

"You mean you don't have a plan?" she asked again.

"Yes, the plan was to get inside here."

"Then what?"

"Well, then I'd come up with another plan."

"In your own time then!"

"Oh, shush and think!" Selene told the Doctor, grabbing his lapels and shaking him slightly. He stared down at her again as the monster snarled outside; a slight idea popped into his head and he began to shift around, tyring to raise his arm. He leaned back into Martha who was then squished into the wall of the capsule.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he muttered as he awkwardly twisted his arm, elbow clipping Selene's forehed.

"Ow!" she hissed, moving her head out of the way of his moving arms.

"Sorry!" He finally managed to extract the Sonic, much to everyone's relief. "Here we are!"

"What are you gonna do with that?" Martha asked, eyeing the Sonic.

"Improvise." He then briefly glanced at Selene again and shimmied his way into a crouch that made both women press themselves against the wall to give him room. Selene blushed as his face narrowly avoided a collison with her chest and decided to look anywhere but his eyes as he sank to his knees. Using the Sonic, he opened a pannel in the floor and pulled it up, revealing all of the wiring beneath the machine. As he began sorting through wires and pulling them apart to see what was what, Martha looked through the frosted glass wall and said,

"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?"

"No. For once, it's stricly human in origin," the Doctor said, keeping his head bowed as he did his work. Selene let out a high-pitched nervous laugh, shaking her head.

"Well, isn't that a nice change," she said sarcastically, sweeping a hand through her hair.

"Human? How can it be human?" Martha scoffed.

"Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus' DNA. The energy field in this thing must've reactivated them. Now it looks like they're becoming dominant."

"So it's a throwback…"

"Some option that evolotion rejected for you millions of years ago," the Doctor agreed. "But the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes. Forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."

"It's like Pandora's Box," Martha said.

"Exactly. Nice shoes, by the way," he commented as he Sonicked some wires. Selene looked down and nodded her appreciation as well, looking at the purple suede heels she had on.

Just then the snarling got a tad more distant… and then the lights came on. The Doctor, distracted by the wires threaded between his fingers didn't seem to notice all that much; Selene touched the wall cautiously and looked over to Martha to find she looked just as nervous as she did.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Selene asked.

"Sounds like he switched the machine on…"

"And that's not good, is it?" Martha questioned frantically. The Doctor pulled a face and glanced up between both women.

"Well, I was hoping it would take him a little bit longer to work that out," he admitted before furiously Sonicking each wire he could get his hands on. The machine began to hum louder and faster, flashing light eventually assaulting their eyes in bright bursts.

"I don't mean to hurry you, but––"

"I know, I know! Nearly done!"

"I certainly hope so!" Selene commented, eyes clamped firmly shut.

"Well, what are you doing!?" Martha cried.

"I'm trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than recieve it."

"Will that kill it!?"

"When he transforms, he's there times the size––cellular triplication––so he's spreading himself thin!"

"We're gonna end up like him!"

"Just one more!"

There was a loud whir, a crash, a bang and then a hiss… and everything stopped.

The Doctor steadily brought himself to his feet and pushed the door open, squeezing himself out first; they all slowly stood on the dais, the panic in their veins slowly dropping to a more managable level. Selene clasped a hand to her forehead, feeling her heart rate begin to calm and her breathing fall to a normal level.

"Whew… I thought we were gonna go through the blender then," Martha admited, grasping the doorframe of the machine.

"It really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity," the Doctor said, looking back at the capsule. Selene patted his arm and blew out a breath. "I must be a bit out of practice."

"Well, everyone's having an off night, so don't take it too personally," she told him as they stepped down and walked towards Lazarus… who lay face-first on the ground, completely naked and completely human.

"Oh, god…" Martha whispered, staring at the dead man before them. "He seems so… human again. It's kind of pitiful." She looked up at the Doctor, who stared down at the man who had once been a monster with a blank but sad look on his face.

"Eliot saw that, too. 'This is the way the world ends––not with a bang, but a whimper.'"

OOOO

Eventually EMTs arrived on scene and took Lazarus' body away, leaving the Doctor, Martha, and Selene to follow them out of the building, looking exhausted and ready to collapse. The Doctor undid his bowtie and let the strand of black silk rest against his chest, still looped through his collar; Selene hadn't bothered to retrieve her shoes and continued to walk barefoot on the cold stone steps that had been chilled by the cold evening air. They all just wanted to rest. They'd done too much running in fancy clothes and nearly getting molecularly transformed didn't help either. The Doctor undid the top button of his shirt as Lazarus, in a body bag, was loaded into an ambulance.

Suddenly Tish, Leo, and Francine appeared, eager to see Martha returned safe. The Doctor managed to put on a smile as he faced Martha's mother.

"Oh, Mrs. Jones, we still haven't finished our chat," he said as she strode towards him with a hard, determined expression. Just as she stopped before him, her hand whipped out and slapped him right across the face with a resounding smack that sounded awfully painful. Selene's hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide as the Doctor's head whipped to the side.

"Keep away from my daughter!" she demanded so harshly it almost came out as a growl.

"Mum! What are you doing?" Martha asked angrily. The Doctor stared at Francine in utter shock, a hand cupping his cheek, mouth dropped open and eyebrows raised.

"Always the mothers. Every time," he mused to himself. Selene dropped her hand to his shoulder.

"Well, you haven't been slapped by mine and… I don't think you'll have to worry about that either," she reminded him, the comment being innocent and easy enough, but it soon dragged her exhausted mind back to her family, which made her frown. Flexing his mouth, the Doctor pulled his hand away from his face and looked down at the sudden down turn her lips had taken; he placed a hand on her back and, with his eyes only, managed to ask if she was alright. She nodded slightly and pulled her lips up into a half smile.

"He is dangerous! I've been told things!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction," Francine, taking her daughter by the arms.

"This isn't his fault! He saved us! All of us!" Martha cried, shrugging her mother's hands off.

"And it was Tish that invited everyone to this thing in the first place, so I'd say techincally, it was her fault," Leo pointed out. Earning a very unamused expression from his sister, Leo shrugged as if to say 'what?'

Crash!

The loud sound drew everyone's attention and sent the Doctor running towards it. Just as Selene and Martha were about to go after him, Francine grabbed their arms, an action that made Selene jump in surprise. She found the woman's eyes trained on her for a moment.

"I know what he's done to you; how he's taken you from your family, kidnapped you… you can leave him. Stay with us. But please, both of you… leave him," she pleaded. Martha shook her head and Selene met her gaze with an insulted glare.

"He did not kidnap me!" she snapped before muttering, "Why does everyone think he's kidnapped me?" She thought back to Donna, who had made the same accusation and jogged after the Doctor, her toes cold against the pavement. Francine held onto them tighter.

"Don't you see? He's poisoning both of your minds! Martha, don't you see? If you stay with him, you'll end up just as disillusioned as Selene. Just leave him!" she begged as Selene only rolled her eyes and pulled her arm away, tugging a shocked looking Martha with her as they ran off.

The man with slicked back hair pulled out his mobile and pressed 'one,' raising it to his ear. He waited as the dial tone buzzed and then brightened as the other end picked up.

"Sir, Selene Thomas has been located," said the man into his mobile as he kept his eyes trained on her retreating form, her dress glittering in the lamp light. "And we believe that her intelligence about the situation is just as we thought." He listened a moment longer before hanging up and turning around, disappearing into the crowd as though he had never been there.

Just down the street they came across the ambulance that had been taking Lazarus' body away, only it had been crashed into a tree and the back doors had been thrown open; inside, the body bag had been ripped in half and the EMTs… well… they had recieved the same treatment all of Lazarus' other victims had gotten.

"Lazarus––back from the dead," the Doctor announced. "Should've known, really."

"His name says it all doesn't it; Lazarus, who came back to life four days after his death, dammit, I should have known something like this would happen," Selene muttered as the Doctor whipped out the Sonic and began scanning for the man's energy signal. Tish came to a stop just behind them, gaping at the dead EMTs.

"Where's he gone?" Martha asked. The Doctor turned to the left and listened to the reading.

"That way… to the church."

"Cathedral," Tish corrected suddenly. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

They all entered Southwark Cathedral cautiously, the Doctor leading the way with the Sonic poised before him, keeping track of the unique energy signal; the beeping echoed off the vaulted ceilings, resonating in the stone and glass that had been in place for hundreds of years.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha inquired.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" the Doctor quipped as they inched down the center aisle. Aside from their footsteps and the Sonic's beeping, everything was dead silent and absolutely still; Selene matched the feeling to that of being in a theatre alone at night when you couldn't find the light switch. It was slightly creepy but peaceful at the same time. As they approached the pulpit, the beeping became closer together, meaning one thing… Lazarus was there. Rounding the brocade draped alter, they found Lazarus, grasping a shock blanket around his body, shivering and gasping as he fought the mutation. When he noticed his guests, he managed to even out his breathing to speak.

"I came here before… a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here… just a child. The sound of planes and bombs outside," Lazarus murmured, looking to the Doctor who had circled to stand just in front of him.

"The Blitz."

"You've read about it…"

"I was there," the Doctor corrected with a sad look on his face. Lazarus scoffed.

"You're too young."

"So are you." Lazarus began to laugh but it soon turned into a pained groan as his bones cracked and began to reform, the sound echoing painfully through the cathedral. Selene winced and hugged her arms around her body, a frown pulling at her lips again. The Doctor continued his slow pace while circling the transforming man, eyes trained on him the whole time. "In the morning the fires had died, but I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back. Defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today?" the Doctor ask as he nearly came full circle.

"That's what I did today," Lazarus corrected strongly.

"What about the other people who died?"

"They were nothing. I changed the course of history."

"Any of them might've done too. You think history is only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human," the Doctor told Lazarus. "You can't change that."

"No, Doctor," he hissed. "Avoiding death––that's being human. It's our strongest impulse. To cling to life with every fiber of being. And I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more… successful." The smirk he gave was only momentary as he arched back again, groaning as he body continued to shift and crack.

"Look at yourself. You're mutating! You have no control ove rit. You call that a success?"

"I call it progress!" He hunched forward as a particularly loud and painful crack echoed around the ceiling. "I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human." A small smirk rose to the Doctor's face as he briefly glanced at the three women who'd followed him inside.

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human," he told him. Martha stepped up to the Doctor as Lazarus continued to groan and writhe, that time not showing any signs of letting up.

"He's gonna change again any minute," she whispered.

"I know," he replied. "If I could get him up into the bell tower somehow, I have an idea that might work…"

"The bell tower?" Selene asked, coming up to Martha's side.

"Uh-huh." The two friends shared a look. Well, if he couldn't think of anything. Panting, Lazarus' head snapped up to sneer at the Time Lord.

"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look." The Doctor, with hooded eyes and an arched brow just continued to watch him, trying to come up with a plan.

"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired––tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you… tired of watching everything turn to dust." He crouched down beside the frazzled, sweating man with sincere look on his face. "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."

The pain and truth on the Doctor's face hit Selene in the gut like a sucker punch. This adventure, out of all the ones they'd had recently, was the one that reminded the Doctor the most of the price he paid for being a Time Lord, something that always chewed at the back of his mind and preyed on his happy thoughts; and she supposed it only made it worse that Lazarus couldn't except that truth and that the Doctor had to keep on explaining it over, and over again.

"That's a price worth paying," whispered Lazarus. The Doctor's eyebrows slowly rose, wrinkling his forehead.

"Is it?"

Martha and Selene shared another look, silently agreeing on a plan as Lazarus' bones crunched again.

"I will feed soon…" he murmured, eyes becoming dark and animalistic. The Doctor shook his head simply.

"I'm not gonna let that happen," the Time Lord replied, not noticing Martha and Selene step up behind Lazarus. A sinister smile rose to his face.

"You've not been able to stop me so far…"

"Leave him, Lazarus!" Martha said sharply, drawing his attention. He looked between the two women with a hunger in his gaze that was strong and frightening. Selene forced a smirk onto her face, popping her lip out to the side with a quirked eyebrow.

"He's old and bitter…" she trailed off with a falsely dismissive tone.

"I thought you had a taste for fresher meat," Martha continued.

"Martha, Selene, no," scolded the Doctor as Lazarus, with a grin, lurched forward with a hungry snarl, scaring all three women into a run that sent them barreling further into the church.

"What are you doing!?" Martha cried out at Tish.

"Keeping you from getting in trouble!" she replied.

"Doctor, the tower!" Selene called over her shoulder as they made it to the stairs. She hiked up her skirt in one hand, again glad she'd ditched her shoes over an hour ago. As the three climbed the winding staircase, they heard loud groaning and cracking behind them.

"Did you hear that?" Tish asked. There was more cracking and then an unpleasant gurgle that could only mean one thing.

"He's changed again," Martha said. "Keep going, we've got to lead him up!" They kept on running and found themselves running down a long hallway lined with open windows that looked into the cathedtral below. There was more growling and snarling behind them, but through that they heard,

"Selene! Martha!" Skidding to a stop, they poked their heads through two of the windows.

"Doctor!" they called simultaneously.

"Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower! Do you hear me?" he called from his spot below.

"Up to the top," Martha confirmed. As she tried to ask what do to next, Tish's frantic smack on the arm drew her attention… Lazarus was clambering after them very closely.

"In hindsight, I'm starting to think this plan was very, very stupid!" Selene announced as they continued their run.

Once they finally made it up to the bell tower, they encountered a very dangerous problem… they had no where else to run.

"There's nowhere else to go! We're trapped!" Tish said as they began to circle around the catwalk that hovered over the bell.

"This is where he said to bring him!" Martha squeaked in a panic.

"Alright, so then we're not trapped. We're bait."

"He knows what he's doing, we have to trust him! Right, Selene?" Martha asked as they stopped walking, directing her sister's gaze to the other woman. She nodded and dropped her skirts.

"If there's one person you can trust in this type of situation, it's him. So… just give it a moment and everyting should play out according to his… plan…" she said, realizing that last bit, that part with the whole 'plan' bit was a bit of a lie… when did he ever have a full-fledged plan?

"Ladies…" hummed the distorted voice of Lazarus as he joined them in the belltower, just narrowly squeezing through the doorway. Selene pushed in front of both Jones sisters with a sharp intake of breath.

"Stay behind me, both of you. If anything happens… anything at all… make a run for it, alright?" she said, bravely facing off against Lazarus. Martha pushed out from behind her and stood at her side, linking their arms together in a sign of comradeship.

"You hear that, Tish? If he takes us, make a run for it, head back down the stairs. You should have enough time," Martha layed out as she and Selene stood as a protective barrier in front of Tish.

"But––"

"Just do it, Tish!"

Lazarus whipped out his tail and the girls ducked, screaming as it scraped the wall above their heads. Just as they scattered to either side, the organ began to play, the chords echoing through the dome of the belltower; the monster's tail swept down and cracked a section of the wooden guardrails in half, sending the planks falling hundreds of feet to the floor. Martha suddenly found herself tumbling towards and out of that gap, hearing both Tish and Selene scream her name as she grabbed onto the floor boards for dear life. Lazarus continually made a go at Martha, who swiped at him everytime he made a move for Tish or Selene, both of whom were trying to get him away from Martha. Just as they were all sure they would die, the volume of the organ was cranked up so loud that it rattled their bones and resonated in their chests. While it would only give Martha, Tish, and Selene a headache, it seemed to do something much worse to Lazarus. He began to thrash as the sonic waves began to reorganize his molecular make up, just as his machine had; and then, with a final roar, he crashed over the railing and plumetted towards the floor below. The moment the enormous thud echoed through the room, the music stopped and everything was silent. Lazarus was dead.

Martha screamed as her fingers finally slipped, but two hands snapped out and grabbed her.

"We've got you!" Tish said. "Hold on!" Selene and Tish pulled, yanking Martha safely back onto the catwalk. The three sat collapsed against each other, panting with racing hearts and shaking muscles.

"Martha!" the Doctor called, having noticed the peril she'd been in moments before.

"I'm okay!" she responded with a shaky, sharp breath. "We're all okay!" She looked at Tish and Selene and nodded. "Thanks…" Tish laughed and shook her head with a smile.

"It's your Doctor you should be thanking!"

"I told you he'd think of something."

"He cut it a bit fine, though, didn't he?" Slene smiled and let her head fall back against the wall.

"He always does…" she whispered to herself. "He always does…"

"Who is he?" Tish asked curiously.

"He's…" Martha trailed off and looked at Selene, who only smiled in reply. "He's the Doctor."

The Doctor, who'd climbed out of the organ loft, crossed to crouch by Lazarus' body, still looking like his younger self; solemnly, he reached out and shut the dead-man's eyes, just as Lazarus' appearance returned to that of an old man. It was done. It was finally over. The Doctor rose when he heard footsteps from behind him, turning to happily find Selene, Martha, and Tish all safe and sound. He ran over and swept Selene up into a tight hug, feeling the way her arms squeezing around his middle as he lifted her feet off the floor; he then gave a similar hug to Martha, who said,

"I didn't know you could play."

"Oh, well, you know, if you hand around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up," he reminisced with an easy-going tone.

"Hmm… especially about playing loud." The Doctor just continued to smile, nodding.

"Sorry?" he asked, delaying the question to tease her, leaning down and touching his ear as though he hadn't heard what she'd said. They all shared a laugh that melted the tension away, agreeing that heading home sounded like the perfect thing to do.

OOOO

The Doctor slipped his key into the TARDIS' lock, opening the squeaky door slightly once they'd returned to Martha's flat. The trio were gathered at the doors, knowing that his was the final step in the journey. It was time for the Time Lord and his blue box to leave… either with one companion, or with two. That was all up to him. He leaned his shoulder up against the side of the blue box and smirked happily.

"Something else that just kind of escalated, then," he said, quoting what she said earlier. Selene punched his shoulder with a smile.

"Escalated in the best worst way possible," she ammended, smiling with Martha.

"I can see a pattern developing," Martha admitted. "You should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever time period you find yourself in." They all grinned and chuckled, thinking about all that they had done.

"It's been fun, though, hasn't it?" he asked with a big, cheesy grin.

"Yeah!" Martha admitted with an eager nod, still not believing that all of it had been real. It had been really real… she'd met a handsome alien who traveled time and space in a blue box with a girl from a different dimension… and it was all real.

"So what do you say? One more trip?" the Doctor asked, nodding into his time machine with a charming smile. Martha looked at the TARDIS and then to Selene, who smiled and raised an eyebrow, a message clear in her gaze. Maybe the Doctor needed a nudge… but maybe not from her. Maybe Martha needed to do it.

"No," Martha gently told him, her face falling. He looked at her surprised; he was sure she would have wanted to come along. "Sorry."

"What do you mean? I thought you liked it."

"I do! But I can't go on like this: 'one more trip.' it's not fair." The Doctor looked at her with confusion clear in his eyes.

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore, someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you stil see me, well, I'd rather stay here," she told him simply, leaning against the other door and looking down. The Doctor thought it over a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, then. If that's what you want," he replied quickly and easily, much to Martha's insult.

"Right," she said affrontedly. "Well, we've already said goodbye once today, so it's probably best if you just go." She turned away with her back to the blue box, the Time Lord, and the American, waiting for them to go. When the familiar whooshing didn't start up, she turned back around to see them staring at her.

"What is it?" Selene was smiling at her broadly, barely containing her happiness.

"What? I said okay."

"Sorry?"

"Okay." He gave a clear nod into the TARDIS. Realization crossed Martha's face and she launched herself at the two, pulling them into a great big hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed into their shoulders. When she drew back, they were all smiles.

"Well, you were never really just a pasenger, were you?" he asked. He looked over at Selene for her verdict. "Was she?"

"Nah," she agreed, giving her friend another tight hug. "She was meant to be a companion." Grinning and chatting, they all stepped back into the TARDIS and shut the door, the Doctor kicking it into drive before setting her on autopilot when they agreed they should go to bed; he gave Martha directions to her room before they all parted, eager to shed their party gear and rest.

By the time Selene had chosen a pair of comfy plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt to sleep in, she found herself just sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, thinking. She thought about the way she'd felt when she had been trapped in that machine so close to the Doctor, staring up at him with wide blue eyes and flushed cheeks; oh, god, that crush she finally admitted she had on him didn't feel like just a 'crush' anymore. It was a blissfully painful, slow burning feeling she didn't have the guts to name just yet, because she knew, everyone knew that the Doctor loved Rose. He always did and always would, no matter the circumstances. But she could hope. Selene really did love hope.

Knock-knock.

The door opened and Selene looked up to see the Doctor standing there with an inquiring look on his face.

"Can I come in?" he asked. She smiled at him and nodded, watching as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. The Time Lord sat himself down just beside her, both staying quiet for a moment. "You mentioned your mother earlier…" Selene nodded and scratched at the back of her neck.

"Yeah. I did. What about it?" she asked curiously. The Doctor looked around her room for a moment before sucking in a deep breath the way he did when he pulled himself from his thoughts.

"Well… I was just wondering… just a passing thought, really… but… I know you miss them. Your family, I know you miss them. Does it ever make you… sad or regretful knowing you can't ever see them again?" he asked slowly, knowing it was a heavy question that he would allow her to refuse to answer. She thought for a moment and let a sad smile come to rest across her lips.

"Sad, yes. When my brain, my subconscious, and my consciousness were healing as the crack between dimensions was closing, I saw them," she said, surprising him. She'd never told him that… "So, yeah, it makes me sad I can't ever see them again," She felt his arms loop around her, drawing her in to a tight hug that pressed her against him warmly. But then she gave a happy smile, eyes focusing on a few photographs she'd hung on her wall; ones of her and the Doctor doing crazy things in crazy places from various adventures past. "But then I remember that I'm here. That I'm home. I'm actually, truly, really home here in the TARDIS… with you… and then I smile. Because I'm home."

The Doctor smiled to himself and rubbed one of her arms, thoughts drifting as they sat together in silence for a moment. Then, absent mindedly, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, happy to know that he was one of the reasons she was happy there. That he was one of the reasons she called the crazy, hectic life in the TARIDS home.

OOOO

Mr. Saxon smirked as he dragged a glossy photograph closer to him, an eyebrow quirking skywards as he stared at the faces of the two people in the picture. There, in the black and white image, was the Doctor with an arm placed around Selene's shoulders, the two smiling as they walked down a street in London; they looked so happy, so carefree… The photograph had been taken not but a few months ago, but time travel was a messy affair and only the two Time Travelers knew how long ago that moment truly was. Beside that photograph was a singular one of Selene from earlier that evening, standing outside of Lazarus Laboratories looking concerned at one thing or another. Oh, how perfect this was… the Doctor and his very useful companion together and in his sights. Chuckling to himself, Saxon tapped the photograph with his fingers in a distinctive four-knock pattern and leaned down to leer at the two as though they were truly standing before him.

"I'll see you soon, dear Doctor."

Afterword: And there you have it! One of the chapters I've been anticipating writing the most! I hope you all liked it! Also, great big thanks to grapejuice101, who has been helping me out with ideas and what not for this chapter since… well… ten chapters before now XD

Hope you all liked the flirty bits I put in here ;)

REVIEW REPLIES!

grapejuice101: I hope you enjoy the finished product of this chapter! Thank you again for helping me out with everything and I'll see ya next chapter!

Snowflake888: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story thus far and hope you decide to keep on reading! Thanks again!

NicoleR85: Yay! :D Glad you had fun reading it! Thanks again!

Dreaming of Mermaids: Again I thank you for your lovely review! I think I've sent you two or so messages regarding it and talking about this chapter, but here it finally is! I hope it lives up to your expectations! Selene/Doctor moments are plentiful in this one! Their relationship is reaching a bit of a boiling point if I do say so myself ;) Thanks again, keep being lovely! :D

rhianmorgan1806: I'm fine, it was just some corrective surgery on my shoulder, which is almost back to normal now! I'm super glad that you ejoyed last chapter! the ending bit was my favorite to write; thanks again!

Team THEFT: Surgery went perfectly, thank you for asking! And I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hope to see you next time!

The Yoshinator: That kiss tho… I have another one planned * evil wink * hope you read on!

Shadow Teir: Hope the moments were plentiful with this one! I had a lot of fun writing it! Thanks again!

acrossdimensions: I updated sooner than I thought! WOO! Also, I'm very flattered to know you read my story so avidly! It makes me grin! Thanks again! :D Stay lovely!

recklessl0ve: Their relationship is definitely going in a good direction and its speeding towards its destination at full speed! We shall see where it lands soon… :D Hope you keep on reading! Thanks again!

Kam74: I HOPE YOU DIDN'T DIE IN YOUR FANGIRL FEELS! If you did, I hope this chapter revived you, my friend! And they got close in this chapter ;) albeit, Martha was cramped into that capsule too, but still! :P Your review makes me smile! And the big kiss is, indeed, coming up! Sorta. Yeah. It is :D

Jesse Wales: Updated… grins :D

masterdude94: Again, super glad you like the story! And very, very glad you like Selene! :D I hope that my PM cleared up your confusion, and if you're ever confused about anything again, let me know! Thanks again!

Potter4life01: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed!
ash: I updated! :D hope you got to read it!

And thank you to those who have added to favorites/follows; it means a lot!
So that's it for this time, guys! Hope to get the next one up real soon because after that episode (42) we get to Human Nature/Family of Blood, a set of episodes I've been planning on writting since the very beginning! See you all next time!
AND LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO WELCOME PETER CAPALDI INTO OUR DOCTOR WHO FAMILY AS THE 12TH DOCTOR!

~Mary