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*

24. Utopia

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.

Foreword: thank you so, so much to grapejuice101 who has been nothing but supportive and helped me out bunches with this chapter! You're the best!

24. Utopia

"Whaddya say? We make this one power stop and we go find a proper spot of fun?" the Doctor asked Selene, leaning up against the console. She was sat on the pilot's seat cross-legged, smiling across the short distance between them. "Maybe we could… pop out for a bit, just you and I." Giggling, Selene's brows shot upwards, her smile widening. She tilted her head and leaned forward.

"Do you mean like a date?" she teased.

"Mm, if you'd like to call it that, sure. A date it is then," the Doctor replied with a goofy smirk. It had been a week or two since the Weeping Angel incident, and the two were still very much in the sweet, dazed prospect of the fact they had started a relationship. Their stolen glances made them grin and the short little kisses made then giggle. Some might call it the 'honeymoon stage,' but they simply called it being impossibly pleased that their feelings had been made known.

"Then where should we go? You always ask us what we want to see, what we want to do… but what about you?" Selene asked curiously, shifting her legs so she could rest her chin on her knees. "Where do you want to go?" The Doctor's smile began to naturally wane, thinking over her considerate question. He had been thousands of places, done millions of things, and yet… he found it difficult to pinpoint one thing. One place.

"Well… there's always… no… we could go… no… You know, Boston of the future has some really great museums. The Museum of Fine Arts really expands all of their exhibits," the Doctor suggested, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Plus you get to see what your home city looks like say… three hundred years into future?" Selene beamed at the suggestion. "Yeah? Yeah! We can do a picnic on the Commons, maybe go back and see the Tea Party, which wasn't really much of a party was it?"

"No, it certainly wasn't," Selene laughed. "Sounds perfect." The Doctor leaned forward and kissed her cheek, winking as he drew back.

"So, pit stop first, then off to Boston!"

Martha stepped from the TARDIS corridors and made for the ladder, quietly watching Selene and the Time Lord laugh and talk down below. It had always been so obvious that the two were close; when she first officially met them in the hospital she had actually thought they were married. But sometimes she wondered if the Doctor understood just how deep his affections for Selene truly went. As a woman who had fallen for a man who clearly cared for someone else, Martha could tell he hadn't figured out the full extent of his feelings yet. But it was those sort of ponderings and thoughts that made her chest ache, made her heart pound faster with something akin to sadness. Watching them simultaneously made her happy and sad. Happy that they'd found each other and cared for one another so much. Sad because it was Selene the Doctor cared about and not herself. She couldn't possibly hold anything against them, however; they were her friends. They deserved to be happy. And yet… the heart still wants what it can never have.

"Cardiff!" the Doctor announced as the TARDIS gave off the typical thudding sound it made when they landed.

"Cardiff?" Martha asked, approaching the console. She sounded sceptical. Their next adventure was in… Cardiff? The Doctor heard that doubt, that confusion and responded with an explanation.

"Ah, but the thing about Cardiff, it's built on a riff in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault––or, for the Bostonian in the TARDIS, the Bloody Bluff Fault––but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel," he explained in a rush. He was quite eager to get going now that he'd set up plans with Selene, who was picking at a stray thread on her cardigan, a residual smile on her lips.

"So, it's a pit stop," Martha reasoned. The Doctor gave an eager nod, flicking a couple more switches that clicked and clanked as they moved.

"Exactly! Should only take twenty seconds." Selene snorted and got off the pilot's seat, instead moving about the console to smirk down at the flashing buttons and whirring gadgets.

"I wish that my pit-stops were only twenty seconds with my old car. Pumping gas can be a long and tedious task," she commented. The Time Lord smirked over at her as she came to lean against the console just beside him.

"Luckily the TARDIS doesn't run on gas." Then his eyes twitched into a narrowed look for a moment, his gaze becoming distant as he flicked a couple of switches and listened to the whirred feed-back he'd gotten. He made a quick humming sound of curiosity. "The rift's been active.

"Wait a minute…" Martha mused, coming up on the Doctor's other side. "They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?" The Doctor pressed his lips together and gave a slight, maybe pensive shrug.

"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen… Long time ago. Lifetimes." He tugged at his ear and pulled himself out of the deep, sometimes dark, vortex of his memories. "I was a different man back then." He quickly bounded behind Selene, placing a hand on her back as he moved, keenly taking a look at the monitor on the other side of the console. "Finito! All powered up." Selene watched as he pulled a face as he looked at that screen, his actions becoming more hurried as he pulled on a switch that sent the engines a-whir.

But seconds later there was a great shove to the side of the time machine that sent sparks flying and all of its occupants onto their backsides. They all grunted or squealed as sparks glanced burningly against their skin, all of them hauling themselves up to the console with all the balance they could muster as the TARDIS rocketed at an unsteady pace.

"What's that?" Martha asked breathlessly, referring to whatever it was that hit the side of their transportation. The Doctor's soft brown eyes suddenly hardened and his brows arched sharply with worry.

"We're accelerating into the future––the year one million. Five billion… five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one-hundred trillion, that's impossible!"

"Why?" Selene asked as she finally stumbled her way over to the other two, collapsing to her knees again between the console and the pilot's seat. Her eyes were fixated on the curious, confused, and shocked look that had thoroughly embedded itself into the Doctor's features. He gave a couple shakes of his head as he watched the dates fly past on the screen in Circular Gallifreyan.

"We're going to the end of the universe," he announced.

There were a few more moments of shuddering flight, strangled whirring sounds from the engines, and all of the time travelers grasping onto whatever they could to steady themselves. Finally the TARDIS landed with a resounding, final thud and everything went calm, as though the whole ordeal that had just passed simply hadn't happened. They all stood straight, staying silent. How were they to react to being at the end of the universe? It was a daunting, haunting, slightly horrifying thought, honestly. Selene pushed hair behind her ear and glanced at the door, which both beckoned and barred; it was an intoxicating pull, she realized she was feeling… the need to see what was out there at the end of the universe. An intoxicating, dangerous idea.

"Well…" the Doctor trailed off, "we've landed."

"So, what's out there?" Martha asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. Martha's brows rose in the slightest, a slight scoff passing between her lips. What a thing to hear.

"Oh! Say that again, that's rare."

"So, what do we do then? We don't know if it's safe… don't know if there's anything actually out there… could be a war zone, could be a wasteland," Selene said. They were all talking quietly as the metal around them creaked and cooled from the heat that had been produced due to the degree at which they'd hurtled through time and space.

"Not even the Time Lords came this far…" The Doctor's face became an unreadable look in which his eyebrows were slightly arched, his gaze was distant, and his lips were pulled down ever so slightly. "We should leave… We should go… we should really, really…" His lips twitched wordlessly for a moment. "Go…" The Doctor looked between both of his companions seriously… before he broke out into the most excited, thrilled grin they'd seen on his face for a good long while. They all made for the door with the Doctor leading them, snatching up his coat on the way out.

They exited into a darkened landscape that could only be reasonably called a quarry. There were sprigs of yellowed grass and bone-dry thickets here and there, and the ground was dry and laden with pebbles and rocks. The Doctor was tugging on his coat as he looked around with furrowed brows, trying to get a lay of the land, maybe pinpoint exactly where they were… but that thought process was interrupted when he heard Martha gasp and exclaim,

"Oh, my god!"

Martha ran towards a figure that was sprawled across the ground, falling to her knees beside him as her doctoral instincts kicked in. Selen rushed forward a few steps before she froze, the man's face sparking memories inside her head. The man was dressed in a rich blue military overcoat and appeared to be completely motionless. Martha pressed her fingers to his neck and felt for the thrum of a heartbeat. There was nothing.

"I can't get a pulse… hold on, you've got that medical-kit thing!" Martha sprinted back towards the doors of the TARDIS, pushing through in a hurry as the Doctor approached the incapacitated man. Well… quite frankly… the dead man.

"Hello again…" The Doctor stared down at his old companion, taking in his motionless chest, the lack of life in his cheeks… "Oh, I'm sorry."

Selene cautiously walked forward, pushing hair out of her face as she approached the unmoving form sprawled out in the dirt. Slowly sinking into a crouch, she stared at his handsome face, a name springing to mind. Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness. Along with the name came a small floor of memories that made Selene wince, made a headache pound against the front of her skull, just behind her right eye. Pressing the heel of her palm to said eye, she gave a small shake of her head. If there was one thing she understood about this man in that moment, it was that he was far from dead, even if he didn't possess a pulse. She reached out and picked a pebble off his lapel, tossing it into the shadows that surrounded them. Looking up, Selene saw that the Doctor was watching her closely, a crease between his brows as he silently questioned what was going through her head.

"Here we go. Get out of the way!" She pushed past the Doctor and fell to her knees beside the prone man. "It's a bit odd, though, not very one-hundred trillion, is it? That coat's more like World War Two."

"I think he came with us," the Doctor commented as Martha fitted a stethoscope around her neck. She shook her head in confusion.

"How do you mean? From earth?" Martha inquired in a hurried tone. Selene watched Jack carefully, tuning out of the conversation for a moment. The Time Lord gave a nod, the furrow between his brows becoming deeper. Selene stood straight as her knees grew stiff, still quietly trying to reassemble her jumbled thoughts.

"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS. All the way through the vortex…" The Doctor scoffed as Martha popped the stethoscope into her ears and went about listening for a heartbeat.. "Well, that's very him." Martha gaped up at him.

"What, do you know him?"

"Friend of mine. Used to travel with me… back in the old days. Pre-Selene." The American perked up at the mention of her name, only to have her gaze drawn back to Jack when she realized her name was only being used as a unit of time measurement. Martha looked at him with growing horror. A friend… this man was one of the Doctor's friends; how was she supposed to tell him? Bluntly, she supposed. Bluntly but gently.

"But he's… I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead." Almost as if he'd been waiting for a cue, Jack let out a soul tearing gasp as air ripped into his lungs, one of his hands shooting out to grab Martha's arm. Needless to say, having thought the man to be dead, Martha screamed in horror. "Oh, so much for me! It's alright, just breathe deep. I've got you."

Jack stared up at Martha as she talked, regaining some composure as his newly re-beating heart calmed itself and his breathing became regulated again. A charming quirk of his lips appeared.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced. One of his hands disappeared from Martha's arm so he could fondly hold her chin for a moment. "And who are you?" Clearly charmed, Martha smiled and responded quickly.

"Martha Jones."

"Oh, well nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

"Oh, don't start," the Doctor ordered, tone already exasperated. All the time with him… Jack always took an opportunity to flirt. Always. Jack, who hadn't even seen the Doctor yet, rolled his eyes and defensively replied with,

"I was only saying hello." Martha smiled back at the Doctor a tad goofily.

"I don't mind," she admitted with a slight giggle. Jack grunted as he began to stand up, surprised when Selene popped into his field of vision to help. He stared at her for a long moment as both women helped him up, eyes wandering her face. He alleviated both Selene and Martha's hands of his grasp before stumbling and catching hold of Selene by both arms. Whether it was on purpose or because he was truly getting back into the swing of things was unclear, though Selene had a sneaking suspicion it might have been a fabricated move. Mostly because he grinned that charming, Jack Harkness grin as she helped him right himself, giving her possibly the most gentlemanly once-over she'd ever received. There was nothing prying or leering about it, it was just simply… appreciative.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said for the second time. Selene couldn't help but smile back and let him lean against her for support. One of his arms was slung around her shoulders and one of hers was wound around his waist, just in case he 'stumbled' again.

"I know. Oh, trust me, I know. Selene Thomas," she introduced. Jack's brows shot upward and his smile grew a bit.

"Ooh, American!" He turned his gaze towards the Doctor, who was watching on with a horridly unamused look on his face. The muscles in his jaw were tense, his eyebrows were drawn up at a sharp angle. That look only made Jack's grin turn into a cheeky smirk. "Always have to have one in the TARDIS, eh?"

"Don't start," the Doctor reiterated dangerously. His brows shot upwards and he raised a hand to gesture at the arm that was around Selene's shoulders. "You can stand perfectly fine, stop fooling around." One of Jack's eyebrows quirked towards the night sky.

"I stumbled," he said in a jokingly serious tone, pulling away from Selene, revealing he could, in fact, stand on his own. The Doctor shrugged, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets again. He knew Jack's tricks, knew how sly and charming he could be.

"And now you're stable."

Jack regarded the man before him seriously, then let his eyes roam over the expanse of the Doctor's new face. He gave a slight nod that was one of remembrance, respect, and comradeship, all of which also shone in his eyes as he continued to calm his speeding heart.

"Doctor," he finally said in official greeting. The Doctor nodded to him in return.

"Captain," the Time Lord replied.

"Good to see you."

"And you. Same as ever. Although…" The Doctor's brow rose as he stared at Jack for a good long moment. "Have you had work done?" The tone of the conversation was pleasant, friendly, just two old friends catching up after one resurrected himself after being thrashed straight through the Time Vortex. Jack scoffed and gave a slightly insulted look.

"You can talk!" Jack shot back. Maybe he had had some work done, but the Doctor had an entirely new face, voice, body, and personality. A little work was a smidge in comparison to the Doctor's regeneration. Said Time Lord's brows shot upward at his tone, for a moment forgetting what Jack was referring to. Then it hit him.

"Oh, yes! The face! Regeneration! How did you know this was me?"

"The police box kinda gives it away." Martha looked over at Selene with confusion written across her face. Regeneration, what was he on about? Selene made a face that said clearly said 'later' and crossed her arms as Jack and the Doctor continued to catch up. "I've been following you… for a long time. You abandoned me."

"Did I?" the Doctor inquired. His tone was high-pitched and questioning, his face was decidedly impassive, but his eyes showed a gleaming remembrance of what he had done. "Busy life, moving on."

"Just gotta ask, the Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead… I-it said Rose Tyler…" Jack trailed off, fear in his eyes, pain in his voice. He feared he'd lost a friend. A woman whom he knew so well, cared for so much… Martha watched as Selene pushed her hands into her coat pockets, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. Jack noticed from the corner of his eye and made a note to ask if she'd known Rose. Martha looked at the dancing sadness in all of their eyes and felt her heart sink. It was always Rose with them… it was always her…

The Doctor, with a brightening expression shook his head and nearly laughed.

"Oh, no! Sorry! She's still alive!" the Doctor was happy to announce. Jack visibly brightened.

"You're kidding?"

"Parallel world! Safe and sound! And Mickey, and her mother!"

"Oh, yes!" Jack exclaimed in utter elation. He launched himself forward, toes kicking up dirt as he and the Doctor embraced. They embraced for the fact their dearest friends were still alive, for the memories they had shared, and for the reunion they were having. They laughed into each other's shoulders and Martha though smiling for a fleeting moment, looked down at her feet and muttered 'good ol' Rose' under her breath. The two men finally drew away, still smiling fondly at each other. Jack fixed the way his coat sat on his shoulders and glanced around their surroundings.

"So. When are we?" Jack asked, sounding excited. Thankful for the change in subject, Selene perked up and blew out a breath, turning in a circle as she said.

"End of the universe aparently. A… trillion years into the future, was it?" Selene inquired, looking to the Doctor for confirmation. His lips quirked to the side, eyes gleaming. Jack looked between the two as they shared a look. Interesting…

"Exactly so," the Time Lord confirmed. Jack rubbed his hands together and stood in the middle of the triangle the other three time travelers had subconsciously formed around him. Oh, it felt good to be back.

"End of the universe, eh? Mind if I tag along, assuming you're taking a look around? Of course you're taking a look around, that's what you do. But I digress. Mind if I tag along?" Jack asked as he smiled. "Just say yes, Doctor, you'll get stuck with me even if you say no." The Doctor chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"I know. C'mon!" He began to wander away from the TARDIS, letting Selene fall into step with him before he leaned down to smile at her and say, "Let's see what's lurking in the shadows." Selene laughed gently and wove her arm through the Doctor's, the two taking the lead and letting Jack and Marth start chatting behind them. The Doctor shifted the way their arms were interlinked in such a way that made Selene feel she had been transported into a Jane Austen novel… the locale wasn't the best, but the company was better than she could have ever wished for. "Sorry this isn't exactly Boston, like I promised."

"How do you know it isn't?" Selene laughed. She gestured to some scrub brush as they passed it, giggling as she spoke. "It's the end of the universe, for all we know this could actually be Boston Common." With a mighty sniff and a slight tilt of his head, the Doctor took in the aromas around them and made a face.

"Not North America. Not even earth, actually."

"Let me guess… soil smells different?"

"When'd you get so smart?" the Doctor hummed teasingly, throwing his elbow into her side gently. She laughed and rolled her eyes, pushing back when they almost veered off the road. Jack, who had been watching the two as he talked to Martha, felt his eyes narrow curiously. Selene and the Doctor were being playful, exchanging laughs and looks… if he was reading this all correctly––and Jack always read this sort of thing correctly––then there was a bit of romance going on.

"So there I was, stranded in the year two-hundred one-hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me," Jack was explaining, drawing his eyes away from the supposed couple. He shot the Doctor a silent but accusatory glance before he continued his story. "But I had this." Jack lifted his left arm and slapped a hand over his wrist. He was wearing a wristband of some sort, thick, black, and covered in buttons. It was clearly mechanical, but its function was unknown to Martha, who stared at it curiously. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a Vortex Manipulator, he's not the only one who can time travel." The Doctor pulled a face and released Selene's arm just so he could turn around and gesture to the Vortex Manipulator distastefully.

"Oh, excuse me! That is not time travel!" He turned back around and slipped his hand into Selene's, continuing to walk. Selene smiled at her feet and ducked her head to try and hide the blush. This was all so new, so great… something she couldn't have ever foreseen happening for a great number of reasons. "It's like… I've got a sports car and you've got a time hopper."

"Oh-ho-ho!" Martha laughed. "Boys and their toys!"

"I sense this hasn't been the first time you've had this argument?" Selene inquired. The Doctor's head ticked to the side and his lips pulled downwards, and he made a 'meh' sound.

"He just used the analogy to impress you," Jack drawled, still sounding annoyed. "Anyway, yes, alright, I bounced. I thought, twenty-first century––the best place to find the Doctor. Except, I got it a little wrong… Arrived in eighteen sixty-nine, this thing," he gestured to the Manipulator, "burnt out, so it was useless."

"Told you," the Doctor hummed.

"I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that could coincide with me!"

"But that makes you more than a hundred years old," Martha pointed out while taking in Jack's youthful countenance. He took her comment as a compliment and grinned, rolling his shoulders confidently.

"And lookin' good don't you think?" He chuckled as they all fell into a sort of line as they walked. "So I went to the time rift, based myself there 'cause I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this," he gestured to the pack on his back that he'd arrived with, "detecting you and here we are!"

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?" Martha asked, sounding intrigued and maybe a tad bit concerned. If he was willing to leave behind one companion… what did that chalk her chances up to? And that lead to another train of thought; just how many people had he left behind before and how willing was he to do it again? What made you special enough to warrant a chance to stay on with the Doctor? Her eyes flicked over to Selene, who had, moments before, been arm-in-arm with him. The Doctor, in response to her question, kept a straight face that betrayed no emotion, and shrugged.

"I was busy."

Bothered, Martha gestured to the Time Lord, a desperate fear in her head.

"Is that what happens, though, seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blond," Jack hummed with a smirk. Selene pursed her lips and began to make to put her hands into her pockets, but the Doctor's fingers curled around her own, drifting closer to her so their hands were nearly hidden. Best not let Jack see, as the teasing would be relentless. But the gesture was comforting never the less.

"Oh, she was blond?" Martha questioned, upset. "What a surprise!"

"You two!" the Doctor practically scolded, spinning around and dragging Selene with him. "We're at the end of the universe, alright? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and your busy… blogging! Come on."

The small group of time travelers approached the edge of a cliff, peering into the depths below. The walls on either side of the canyon that stretched out before them appeared to be carved intricately to create houses and bridges. It was like those ancient cliff dwellings in Colorado; it was impressive and caused a moment of quiet awe. They'd come this far and it was amazing to see just what it was like on earth.

"Is that a city?" Martha asked.

"City or a hive. Or a nest. Or a conglomeration. Like it was grown…" The Doctor pointed with his free hand. "There, look… pathways or roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago.

"But not anymore," Selene deduced softly, noticing the distinct lack of life. "They're all gone." The Doctor nodded slowly, interlacing their fingers.

"Time killed them. Everything is dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night, all the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing…" His head tilted back to stare up at the utterly starless night. It was just a thick blanket of blue-black that Selene found rather unsettling. Even with light pollution, they could still see stars… but to know that they were gone, that they really were at the end of the universe made her feel utterly mortal and insignificant. It was a heavy, unpleasant feeling that sat in the pit of her stomach and rolled around like a big rock.

"They must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death," Jack commented.

"Well… Martha, Selene, and I, maybe. Not so sure about you, Jack," the Doctor told him, dropping and turning his head to look at his old companion. The two shared a long look, holding a silent conversation only they could understand. Martha was shaking her head, staring out at the expanse of nothing that stretched into the darkness before her.

"But what about the people? Does no one survive?" she asked, disheartened by the concept she'd just proposed.

"I suppose… we have to hope that… life finds a way."

"Thank you, Ian Malcolm," Selen murmured with half a smirk. The Doctor fought down a smile and playfully squeezed her hand.

"Well, he's not doing too bad!" Jack announced and pointed to a figure that was across one of the bridge-like structures in the canyon, limbs flailing. He was being pursued by what looked to be a tribe of people who were screaming 'human' as they ran. The Doctor's brows creased and then arched at a sharp angle.

"Is it just me or does that look like a hunt? C'mon!"

The Doctor, still gripping onto Selene's hand with all his might, broke into a sprint in the direction the hunted man was being chased. Martha stumbled to follow as Jack simply grinned and broke easily into a run. He continued to grin as the air whipped across his face and ran through his hair, cold and brisk; laughter burst through his lips as they very nearly skid down the slope. It felt so thrilling, so exhilarating to be running like this again, to be right behind the Doctor on a mission to save a life.

"Oh, I've missed this!" he announced, making a sharp turn. They continued to run, only skidding to a stop as the running man approached them. Jack caught him in his arms as he stumbled to an exhausted stop. "I've got you!"

"They're coming!" the man exclaimed, pointing towards the tribes people. They were tattooed and had numbers of piercings in odd places; their teeth were sharpened into points and their eyes, from a distance, nearly looked red. They appeared humanoid, but going by their earlier cry of 'human' as they chased the poor man, they were anything but. Jack withdrew a pistol and aimed it at the tribes people with ease.

"Jack, don't you dare!" exclaimed the Doctor. After a brief pause, Jack aimed at the sky and let off a round, the resounding bang stopping the group of people in their tracks.

"What the hell are they?" Martha asked, staring them with her mouth hanging agape.

"There's more of them, we've got to keep moving!" the man exclaimed, tugging on the Doctor's sleeves. The Time Lord grasped his arms and looked him dead in the eye.

"I've got a ship. It's safe, it's not far, it's over there." They turned to see that, in the direction they had come from, more tribes people were approaching. "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the Silo. If we get to the Silo then we're safe!"

"Silo?" the Doctor asked.

"Silo," Jack agreed.

"Silo for me!" Martha threw her hand up.

"I'll take the Silo over the Savoy any day!" Selene said as they broke back into a run, following the man they'd just saved. They ran with the tribe on their heels, listening to them snarl and growl and spit and hiss. Their feet hit uneven landscaping as they moved, toes hitting rocks and ditches; pieces of scrap metal lined the dirt pathways, some looking like they might have once been something long, long ago.

"It's the Futurekind!" the man shouted as they approached a gate that was shining a floodlight on them. "Let us in!"

"Show me your teeth!" As they all stopped at the gate, the guard shone a flashlight in all their faces. "Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!"

"Show him your teeth!"

They all bared their teeth, letting them see their shape.

"Human! Let them in!"

They were let inside, the gates pulling open for them. Once they were in, they started to shut the gates, but stopped with enough room for one of the gate guards to fire a machine gun at the ground by the tribe's feet. They all skid to a halt, avoiding gunfire as it was loosed into the air. Once the firing had stopped, the man leading the tribe hissed, pointed at them and began to pace.

"Humans… humani. Make feast!" he growled, placing a hand on his chest.

"Go back to where you came from. I said, go back. Back!" the guard cried, gun still at the ready.

"Oh, don't tell him to put his gun down," Jack said sarcastically. The Doctor fixed him with a look.

"He's not my responsibility," he responded.

"And I am?" Jack laughed. "Well, that makes a change."

"Kind watch you!" the tribe leader said in a sing-songy tone, pointing at them all again. "Kind hungry." With a yell and a wave of his hand, the tribe began to leave. Everyone visibly relaxed and closed the gate the rest of the way, locking it up tight with chains and a padlock.

"Thanks for that," the Doctor said as they turned around.

"Right. Let's get you inside."

The Doctor stretched a hand back and Selene took it immediately, heart still pounding from the run they'd just taken. One would think that with all the running she did as a companion she'd get used to it… but she really hadn't. The man whom they'd saved, approached the guard who was leading them towards the Silo entrance, which was a tunnel dug into the side of a mountain.

"My name is Padra Toc Shafe Cane. Just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?" he asked hopefully, breathlessly. The guard smiled, a bright, happy look that was juxtaposed by the dark world that surrounded him.

"Oh, yes, sir! Yes, I can!" Selene squeezed the Doctor's fingers to get his attention. Once she obtained it, she twitched her brows together and nodded to the guard, creating a silent message. What the hell was 'Utopia' and why was he so excited about it? The Doctor shrugged and then winked, conveying a silent answer. He didn't know, but they were sure as hell going to find out. "We're going to need you all to fill out some paperwork before you can come inside. It's just so we can keep track of who enters the Silo; just general info, nothing too in-depth. Won't take but a moment."

They were all taken to a small office that had been set up in a slightly dilapidated room branching off of the main tunnel. A woman was seated behind a desk, looking terribly tired and rather bored. The computer on the desk was flickering static across the screen, signalling that it was probably off line. Piles of paper covered nearly every inch of the desktop, but it was all quite organized, really. The woman looked up over the brims of her glasses and arched an impossibly thin eyebrow at them.

"New arrivals? Alright…" She sighed and licked her pointer and second fingers, drawing five papers from different stacks rapidly and snagged a pen from beside the computer. She pointed at Jack. "You. You first." The proceedings went as follows: Jack attempted to flirt with her, but she was having none of it, Padra seemed antsy and fidgeted all the while, and Martha seemed surprised how fast the woman could scribble down words. By the time the Doctor stepped up to the desk, he smiled and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hello, I'm––"

"Name, please."

His smile fell and he cleared his throat, responding by finishing his sentence. "The Doctor."

"Species––human…" she jotted it down and didn't bother to check for confirmation. He glanced around the room with his brows raised, not objecting to having to lie. It would seem they fired a gun at anything that wasn't human; and he didn't quite want to have that be the way his day ended. "Any relations, relationships, romantic involvements, or marriages to anyone currently in the Silo or those you arrived with?" The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to look at Selene, who was picking dirt out from under her fingernails as she waited her turn. She was glancing up at the Doctor's back, however, waiting to see how he answered.

"Ah, yes, actually. A, uh, romantic involvement with one Selene Thomas," the Doctor said, smiling gently. Selene smiled into her hands as she pulled the sleeves of her jacket over her knuckles. Martha looked down at her feet and scratched at the back of her neck, and Jack smirked and quirked an eyebrow––he still hadn't lost his touch… he was right about there being something between them.

"Any illnesses?"

"Nah." The woman started to write something down. "Well…" she looked up and fixed him with a blank look, "... nope, sorry. No illnesses."

"Planet and galaxy of origin?"

"Earth." The Doctor nodded. "Sure, let's go with that. That'll be the Milky Way, then," the Doctor surmised, earning a not-so-happy and very done look from the poor secretary.

"Right, thanks for that." She slapped the paper down on top of Martha's. She waved her fingers at Selene. "You next, sweetheart."

Once they'd finished, they received small rectangular cards that were, essentially tickets, and were brought into the Silo by a man who went by Atillo. He led them through corridors lit with yellow tinged lights, some of which were fogged over with steam that leaked from pipes that traced their way along the walls. It was surprisingly warm, contrasted to the coolness of outside, and Selene could feel sweat beginning to gather on her forehead. Wiping at it with the back of her hand, Selene suddenly realized just how strange this all felt. It was as if she had walked straight into one of those post-apocalyptic shows or films that had been becoming so popular; that was exactly what it felt like. An underlying sense of hopelessness permeated the thick, humid air, and despite passing through corridors that were narrow and nearly claustrophobic, it felt vastly empty.

They were halted at the bottom of a set of metal stairs, where Atillo asked stopped to ask if there was anything else they needed before they entered the Silo. The Doctor's face brightened as he began to explain that he needed the TARDIS back.

"It looks like a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry but I really need it back, it's stuck out there," the Doctor was telling Atillo, who looked just a touch tired. Padra cut in once the Doctor was finished speaking.

"I'm sorry, but my family was headed for the Silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafe Cane. My brother's name is Beltone," he said.

"The computers are down, but you can check the paperwork. Creet! Passenger needs help," Atillo called out. A young boy with a head of curly blond hair poked his head out from around the corner and then approached with a metal clipboard.

"Right. What do you need?" he asked Padra, sounding all business. Padra leapt forward and began to search the list of names. Everyone gave Creet a surprised look. He couldn't have been older than seven or eight, and yet there he was, working like any other person they'd passed.

"A blue box, you say?" Atillo asked the Doctor, drawing his attention away from the young boy.

"Big, tall, wooden. Says police," the Doctor confirmed. Atillo nodded and then gestured back the way they came with the wave of his hand.

"We're driving out for the last water collection. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Come on," Creet told Padra, leading him to the corridor he'd popped out of. Martha clasped her hands and smiled at the boy as they all made to follow him.

"Excuse me, but… how old are you?" she asked.

"Old enough to work," he replied in a business-like manner. "This way."

If everything had felt desolate and hopeless before, it felt even more so now. The corridors were filled with people who huddled together on the floor, sleeping, sighing, eating, and waiting. Pictures and letters were tacked to the walls depicting loved ones that had gone missing or died, and some conveyed hope that they would, some day, appear at the Silo. There was a constant droning chatter as people moved about. And it smelled. It smelled of sweat and damp and other fluids that made Selene's nose crinkle up in distaste. Creet was calling out the names of Padra's family members, hoping to get a response as they navigated their way through the Silo. Jack, who'd been walking just ahead of Selene who brought up the back of the group, hung back for a moment before falling into step with the American woman.

"This the farthest you've gone into the future?" Jack inquired, pushing hands into his trouser pockets. Selene nodded with a small smile, pushing hair behind her ears.

"Yeah; I'd assume the same for you," she replied. Jack chuckled and nodded, stepping out of the way of a rumpled looking girl of about sixteen.

"So, what brought you on board the TARDIS?"

"Oh, you know… inter-dimensional travel––the basic sort of stuff," Selene said with mock casualness, throwing in a shrug for good measure. Jack's brows shot upwards, surprise clearly written over each one of his features.

"You… came from a different dimension?"

"Or universe, whatever word you think fits best. But, yeah, I do. A world where none of this is real… where aliens are fantastical stories… where time travel is romanticized…" Jack stared at her with an intent, prompting gaze. He wanted to know more, wanted to hear her story.

"Then how did you get here? Inter-dimensional travel isn't heard of anymore," Jack pointed out. "Was it a… crack in the universe? A hole in space-time?"

"Try a semi-truck," she said with a good dose of dry humor.

"It looks like a refugee camp," Martha suddenly commented. Jack sniffed and, smelling something particularly pungent, pulled a face that crinkled up his nose.

"Stinking––" he caught a look from a very unamused man, "oh, sorry. No offence, not you."

"Don't you smell that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived! Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans," the Doctor said with a bright, impressed smile on his face. "End of the universe and here you are!" He slung an arm around Selene's shoulders and dragged her into his side, grinning down at Martha. "Indomitable! That's the word. Indomitable! Ha!"

Up ahead, Padra burst into a sprint as his mother and brother responded to the calls that Creet had been giving out. Martha grinned happily, watching as the family was reunited, exchanging embraces. Selene's lips twitched into a smile that was backlit with sadness. She wondered if there was ever a time she might get to see her family like that again… but she knew it was doubtful. So, in that moment, she vicariously lived that reunion through Padra, watching as the Shafe Cane's all shed tears of joy. As though sensing her shift in mood, the Doctor reached out and took her hand again, smiling a gentle smile. Returning it, Selene suddenly caught sight of a door just over the Time Lord's shoulder. He followed her gaze and eyed it curiously, drawing her towards it as he withdrew the Sonic.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack had said. Turning to glance over her shoulder, Selene spotted Jack smiling charmingly at a handsome-faced man, who returned the smile just as brightly. The Doctor groaned as he worked at Sonicking the lock.

"Oh, stop it!" he quipped. Jack shot the Doctor a look and then turned back to the man he was shaking hands with. "Give us a hand with this." The captain fondly clasped the man's hand between both of his before bounding backwards to help the Doctor. "It's half dead-locked, see if you can rewrite the code." Jack began to work at the keypad and the Doctor shifted to make work on the physical door.

When the door finally hissed open, the Doctor took one step forward to pass through… and nearly plummeted to his death. Selene squeaked in horror, lunging forward to grab for the Doctor, but was yanked back by Martha's concerned hands. Jack grabbed hold of the back of the Time Lord's coat and yanked him backwards.

"Gotcha!"

"Thanks…"

"How'd you cope without me?" Jack asked teasingly. Selene, whose heart was pounding, raised her hand as though she were volunteering for something.

"I've done quite a bit of saving, believe it or not," Selene said, voice breathy. Taking hold of Jack's arm for support, she craned her neck forward and peered out into what the Doctor had almost fallen into. It was, indeed, a Silo… but it was a rocket Silo. They were half-way up and the rocket itself was absolutely massive.

"Now that's what I call a rocket!" Martha exclaimed, beaming with excitement.

"They're not refugees, they're passengers…" the Doctor murmured.

"He said they were going to Utopia."

"The perfect place… hundred trillion years, it's still the same old dream." Tilting his head down, the Doctor peered into the steamy depths below them. "You recognize those engines?" It was a question directed at Jack.

"Nope. Whatever it is, it's not rocket science," he replied. "But it's hot though."

"Boiling," the Doctor agreed. They all took a step back and shut the door before they were caught. "But if the universe is falling apart what does that mean?"

A man bounded up to them then, looking as excited as a little boy on christmas morning. He was white of hair with an older face distinctly void of wrinkles. Selene found his choice of dress quite odd considering how far into the future they were. He was wearing one of those puffy sleeved white shirts men always wore in Jane Austen films. A fitted patterned waistcoat and black cravat completed the top half of his look; he looked, unsurprisingly, out of place. He looked between the Doctor and Jack for a moment as though he was trying to decide who was who. Pointing at Jack, he inquired,

"The Doctor?"

Jack pointed to the Doctor, who raised a hand.

"That's me," he confirmed. The white-haired man grinned.

"Oh, good!" He snatched up the Doctor's hand and patted it with his free one, watching as a smile spread over the Doctor's face. He began to tug him down the corridor at a jog as he continued to make joyful exclamations. "Good! Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good!"

Selene, Martha, and Jack––at an utter loss as to what was happening, followed them as closely as possible. The Doctor turned his head over his shoulder with brows raised as he was tugged around the corner.

"It's good, apparently!"

OOOO

After following the Doctor and the white-haired man through a maze of corridors and staircases, they arrived in a small laboratory and were greeted by a curious but beautiful woman who was blue of skin, and appeared almost insect or crustacean like in features.

"Chan, welcome, tho!" she said happily as they all stepped through the door.

"Now, this is the gravitissmal accelerator. It's past it's best, but it works!" the white-haired man was saying to the Doctor, who tailed after him with curiosity shining in his eyes. The woman who had welcomed them, smiled brightly and nodded to the remaining three visitors.

"Chan, welcome, tho."

"Hello. Who are you?" Martha asked, matching her smile.

"Chan, Chantho, tho," Chantho said. Selene extended a hand with a smile, pleased when Chantho accepted the offer with excitement.

"Selene; it's a pleasure to meet you, Chantho."

That charming smile reappeared on Jack's face as Chantho turned her attention to him. "Captain Jack Harkness."

"Stop it…" the Doctor warned from a few feet off, peering at them all through his glasses.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?" Jack countered, still smiling as he shook Chantho's hand. She turned to look at the Doctor with a giddy smile on her face.

"Chan, I do not protest, tho!"

"Maybe later, blue." Jack winked at Chantho, who, Selene was sure of it, blushed a darker shade of blue. He then clapped his hand and bounded into the laboratory. "So, what have we got here?" Martha followed Jack with a peculiar look on her face, pulling Selene along in tow.

"And all this feeds into the rocket?" the Doctor asked, peering down at the machinery.

"Yes, except without a stable footprint, you see, we're unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?" the man asked, sounding hopeful. The Doctor gnawed on his cheek for a moment as he continued to take inventory of each button and tube in his head.

"Well, er, basically… sort of… not a clue," he admitted. The white-haired man's face slackened in disappointment.

"Nothing?"

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."

"No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's been so little help…" he said sadly.

Over in a small alcove, in which were a set of chairs, a table and a drink machine, Martha drew something out of Jack's bag, gaping at it in mild horror. Selene's brows rose as she spotted the object, immediately recalling––with ease––what it was and where she'd seen it before.

"Oh… my… god!" Martha exclaimed, holding up a container that was completely transparent… and contained a hand. An actual hand. Blue hued water bubbled around it, causing the fingers to twitch eerily. Martha quickly set it down on the table as everyone bounded over, Jack looking slightly concerned that she'd found it. "You've got a hand! A hand in a jar!" The Doctor, also recognizing the hand, dashed over and fell to crouch in front of the table, eyes wide, brows scrunched, mouth gaping. "A hand in a jar, in your bag."

"But that––that––that's my hand!" the Doctor exclaimed, pushing himself up to sit on the arm of Selene's chair. He sounded offended, which caused Selene to smirk and snort.

"I said I had a Doctor Detector…" Jack trailed off.

"Chan, is this a tradition among your people, tho?" Chantho asked, sounding concerned. Martha scoffed, looking and feeling extremely frazzled."

"Not on my street! What do you mean that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them!"

"Long story, I lost my hand––" the Doctor was cut off by Selene, who finished the sentence for him.

"In a swordfight on Christmas day. Sycorax, wasn't it?" she asked, feeling a tad bit fuzzy on the details. The Doctor stared at her wide-eyed and nodded, having momentarily forgotten she'd seen all of his previous adventures.

"What and you grew another hand?" Martha asked doubtfully, crossing her arms.

"Um… yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah," he confirmed. His companion gave him a look and raised his right hand, which was the same as the one in Jack's container. He smiled and wriggled his fingers around. "Hello!"

"Might I ask, what species are you?" the white-haired man inquired with interest. Inhaling, the Doctor shifted backwards so he could rest his arm on the back of the chair.

"Time Lord. Last of them." No recognition or wonder lit itself on the man's face, like the Doctor might have expected. "Heard of them?" Nothing. "Legend or anything?" Chantho just blinked. The man shrugged. "Not even a myth?" The Time Lord looked down at Selene and shook his head. "Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling…" Selene reached up and placed a hand on his leg and gave a comforting pat.

"Don't worry, I'm sure somewhere someone still knows something about the Time Lords," she assured him with a smile.

"Chan, it is said that… I am the last of my species, tho," Chantho relayed, glancing over at the white-haired man. The Doctor leaned forward, curiosity creasing his brows.

"Sorry, what was your name?" he asked.

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge," the man explained.

"The city outside, that was yours?" the Doctor asked.

"Chan, the conglomeration died, tho," she confirmed. The Doctor flicked a hand upwards at the word 'conglomeration,' then let it fall around Selene's shoulders as he reclined backwards.

"Conglomeration! That's what I said!" Selene shook her head and shut her eyes, wincing at the excitement in his voice. Jack, too, narrowed his eyes at the Doctor and leaned forward.

"You're supposed to say sorry," he reminded.

"Oh, yes… sorry."

"Chan, most grateful, tho."

"You grew… another hand…" Martha repeated, still hung up on the whole hand thing. The Doctor waggled his fingers at her in a wave for a second time.

"Hello again." When Martha gave him a doubtful look, he rose from the arm of the chair and walked over to her with a soft, reassuring smile. "It's fine. Look, it's really me." He extended his hand for her to take, and, when she did, she smiled in awe and relief to find that it was, in fact, just a normal hand. The white-haired man stared at the regrown hand in wonder, something beginning to twinge at the back of his mind.

"After all this time, you're still full of surprises." The Doctor grinned and clicked his tongue.

"Chan, you are most unusual, tho!" Chantho said with a giddy smile. The Doctor smiled at the praise and shrugged his shoulder.

"Well… we have quite an unusual group, don't we? Time Lord, soon-to-be-doctor, and a woman from another universe," the Doctor said, smiling over at Selene. The white-haired man's brows shot upwards, again surprised by what these new arrivals had in store.

"Another universe?" he inquired in a hushed tone of awe. Selene nodded and leaned forward so her forearms were braced on her knees. "My goodness… But, how?"

"I've been trying to get the same answer," Jack tossed in with a smile. Selene shrugged and laughed, scratching the back of her head as all of the attention was suddenly thrust onto her.

"I mean… even we don't have a definitive answer. We have… theories, but full answers, not really," Selene said, shrugging for a second time. Jack crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall, arching an eyebrow at her.

"There are always good stories behind theories. You never got the chance to elaborate on the whole semi-truck thing," he pointed out. Selene's eyes wandered to each curious face, the expectant looks that she would explain her story, explain what had happened. The Doctor settled himself into another chair and Martha tried to hide her own curiosity. She hadn't really gotten the full story; only bits and pieces of it here and there. Clearing her throat and looking down at her shoes, Selene decided there was only way out of the situation…

"My car was struck by a semi-truck… god knows how long ago it was now… and the next thing I knew I was here, in this universe, in Rose Tyler's bedroom. With the Doctor just outside the door. We think it was a, uh, rift in the space-time-continuum or a rip or something that I was thrust into in the crash. Splitting my consciousness… giving me killer headaches. So, uh, not really the most exciting thing seeing as I ended up here on accident, but… I wouldn't have it any other way," Selene explained, giving the half-minute summary of a strange, long story. The Doctor smiled at her last sentence. Had to have been the best accident to happen to him in a good long while. If she'd gotten out of work one minute later that day, hadn't been on that street corner at that exact moment, she wouldn't have been here. It could have been someone else, it could have been no one at all.

"Beats watching a television show," the Doctor commented cheekily. Selene snorted and smiled his way.

"Sure as hell does," she agreed softly. It really, really did. It was one thing to watch the Doctor visit foreign places and times on screen, it was truly something else to experience it in person. To feel the excited tug in the pit of one's stomach, the rush and exhilaration of being places no one else had been before, to know that adventure was always the touch of a button and the flick of a switch away… to know that the Doctor would always be there at her side. And, now, to know he was there to take her hand and kiss her cheek with that charming, adoring smile of his.

"Television show…?" Jack trailed off at a loss. Selene looked away from the Doctor and glanced between each of the faces around her.

"Yeah… this… all of this… it's, uh, a T.V. show where I'm from. It's called Doctor Who and… as bizarre as it sounds… you're all characters on it."

"Really?" Jack's voice was doubtful and laced with laughter. Selene arched an eyebrow, leaned back in her seat and crossed both her arms and her legs challengingly.

"Yeah, really. I'll prove it. Remember when you first met the Doctor? World War era London?" Jack nodded, unimpressed. The Doctor could have told her that. Selene smirked knowingly. "I happen to know that you shared a rather flirtatious dance with a certain Miss Tyler right in front of Big Ben. On top of your invisible space ship." Jack's smile slowly fell and the Doctor's head whipped around to stare at the captain in surprise.

"What?" he asked quietly. Martha's brows arched upwards as Jack cleared his throat and avoided his friend's eyes.

"Right, so, that's bizarre… does that mean you know everything that's… going to happen?" he asked, avoiding the information that Selene had uncovered. The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Jack and made it a point to ask if what Selene had said earlier was true.

"Yes and no. I do have all of that knowledge up here," she tapped her temple. "But it's been locked away. I don't remember a thing. The future is as unknown to me as it is to you; the memories sealed themselves away after the Battle of Canary Wharf. But, please, enough about me. What about those guys outside? The ones with the sharp teeth and spiky hair."

"You mean the Beastie Boys?" Jack suddenly teased, glad they were off the subject that could, potentially, bring the Doctor's wrath down upon him. "Yeah, what are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind," the white-haired man explained, drawing himself out of the thoughts caused by Selene's story, "which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared that they are what we will become unless we reach Utopia."

"And… Utopia is…?" the Doctor trailed off.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia! Where have you been?" the man laughed. The Doctor shrugged and then pulled his lips into a frown as he drew the first excuse that came to mind.

"Bit of a hermit," he pretended to admit.

"Oh, a, uh, hermit… with friends?"

"Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about… caves; it's good fun!––for a hermit––so, um…. Utopia?" the Doctor asked again, after getting tangled in his own web of confused logic that left everyone trying to figure out how that string of thought had worked. The white-haired man narrowed his eyes and waggled a finger at them, drawing them across the room to one specific monitor. It was labeled 'Gravitational Field Navigation System.'

"The call came from across the stars, over and over again. 'Come to Utopia.' Originating from that point," he explained, tapping at a flashing red dot on the top right corner of the screen. The Doctor had leaned his elbows on a desk, using his hands to cradle his chin as he stared at the map and the recordings.

"Where is that?" he asked.

"Well, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Dark Lands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night…"

"What do you think is out there?"

"We can't know. A colony? A city, some sort of… haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said with a smile. The white-haired professor exchanged the smile with one of his own as the Doctor began to ramble. "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. That's a good sign someone's out there. And that's, oh, that's a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you." Selene, who had been absent mindedly ogling at a very complicated looking switchboard, looked up to see that their white-haired acquaintance looked to be in an indescribable amount of pain. His face was morphing between looks of overwhelment, pain, and horror. Striding forward, she put a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly, watching as his face continued to morph between emotions, as though he were seeing or hearing something they didn't. The Doctor, looking equally as concerned as Selene, quietly uttered,

"Professor? Professor? Professor."

"I, uh, erm, ahem, right, that's enough talk," he sputtered, startling out of his trance. "There's work to do. Now, if you could leave, thank you…" He pushed through the small group of people and started across the lab with a troubled look in his eyes. Selene nudged the Doctor's arm with her elbow, concern still clearly written across her face. The man might have been trying to play something off… but there was something wrong.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked as they spread themselves through the small lab.

"Yes, I'm fine. And busy," he attempted to dismiss as he tried to find something to do.

"Except… that rocket's not gonna fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing… it isn't working." The white-haired man spun around and exclaimed,

"We will find a way!"

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there… they still think they're going to fly," the Doctor deduced, a note of sadness hidden somewhere in his voice. The man sat himself down dejectedly, sadness plain on his old face.

"Well, it's better to let them live in hope," he explained. The Doctor gave a nod.

"Quite right, too." The Doctor's tone became firm and determined. He shrugged off his coat and Jack took it into his willing arms, having recognized that tone of voice. It was the sound of hope. "And I must say, Professor, uh… what was it again?"

"Yana."

Selene's head whipped up as the man said his name, a stinging sense of familiarity sticking its way into the back of her mind. Yana… Yana, Yana, Yana––why did that sound so familiar? Why did it make her stomach clench and her head whirl? Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Selene made note of the feeling, having learned not to dismiss these sorts of things.

"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen…" he took a switch out of Yana's hands and pulled out the Sonic; after blasting the device with it for a moment, the Doctor looked up and grasped the switch, "if I did this?"

He gave a tug, and, suddenly, the machines burst to life. Chantho gasped with elation as everything around them started to work again. Things whirred and blared and ticked and tapped, creating a symphony of electronic sounds that couldn't have been more beautiful to the two scientists who had called the laboratory their home for so long.

"Chan, it's working, tho!" she exclaimed.

"But… how did you do that?!" Yana inquired in awe.

"Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you…" The Doctor beamed. "I'm brilliant!"

"And that's as humble as he gets," Jack jokingly murmured to Martha and Selene, who both snorted and chuckled. The Doctor spun in a circle, the bottoms of his shoes squeaking slightly against the floor, taking a quick inventory of everything around them.

"Right! So! Let's get to work––everyone's going to play their part, not a single foot shall stand still!"

After jobs were dealt out, Martha and Chantho left the lab to go collect a few circuits that were spread out around the Silo. Yana and the Doctor stood on either side of a clear board that was, essentially, the largest circuit board that Selene had ever seen, and she and Jack went about the room plugging in various wires that were clomped on a desk on the other side of the room. As Selene untangled a red and green wire from around each other, she nudged Jack's foot with her own.

"Sorry about throwing you under the bus earlier," she told him, looking up at him once the worst of the knots had been dealt with. He smirked and shrugged, the straps of his suspenders slouching off to the side slightly.

"You proved your point; besides, it would seem the Doctor's got someone else to pine after now," he pointed out with a smile. Selene looked back down at the wires and tugged the last of the knots free. Looking back up, she handed him the green cable, which he plugged into a machine by her head. Once she handed him the red wire, a soft smile on her lips, Jack plugged it into the correct socket and then casually leaned against the machine. Behind him, Yana and the Doctor chattered away, talking about one thing or another. "How long has that been going on?"

"A couple of weeks at best. It's a… complicated story," Selene said with a small laugh. It felt like she was having a gossip session with a best friend. Jack arched an eyebrow and leaned closer as though they were sharing a secret.

"Even more complicated than your origin story?" With a cheeky smile, Selene reached out and fixed the fit of his suspenders before patting him on the shoulders.

"Much more complicated."

As they worked, they exchanged stories of the Doctor and, in doing so, Selene revealed step-by-step the progression of her and the Doctor's relationship. Once she came to explaining the whole Family of Blood situation and their oh-so-lovely encounter with the Weeping Angels, Jack stopped her with a hand held up in a halting motion. Gesturing for her to step closer, he leaned down to whisper,

"He a good kisser?"

Selene barked a laugh and then slapped a hand over her mouth as she drew the Doctor's attention. His brows were drawn together suspiciously, especially as they both glanced over their shoulders at him, smiling broadly. The Time Lord narrowed his eyes and then warily returned to his work. Selene playfully smacked Jack's arm and snatched up a small black cable and pushed it into his hand.

"The clipboard says that one of the machines over there needs it," she told him, tapping said item that detailed what machine needed what cable. Jack arched an eyebrow at her and smirked as she hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk. As he turned around to walk away, she decided to give him his answer. "Yes. He is." Jack chuckled and smiled at her over his shoulder, happy to find that she was grinning after him. Selene picked up the clipboard and started to sift through the wire pile, happy to find that they didn't have much more to go. When Jack came back and took a pen to check off the cable he'd plugged in, he casually said,

"Yeah, he always has been, hasn't he?"

As the two quietly snickered over their little bonding moment, the intercom hissed overhead.

"Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box."

"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed happily.

"Doctor," Jack said, gesturing to the monitor in front of he and Selene. The Doctor and Yana bounded over and saw an image of the TARDIS, which was situated in a Silo loading bay. The Doctor laughed happily and Yana just stared at the screen with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

"Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I may have just found you a way out!" the Doctor exclaimed as he bounded towards the door, ready to go fetch his beloved box. All Yana could do was stare at the screen as that sound returned to his head… assaulted his eardrums… and haunted him every waking moment in one specified pattern….

Boom-boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom-boom.

OOOO

The Doctor bolted out of the TARDIS, which had been moved into the laboratory, toting a thick cable with him, headed straight for one of the machines.

"Extra power!" he announced, plugging in the cable. "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro feeds!" Craning his head so far back that he nearly fell over, the Doctor peered back into the console room of the TARDIS. "Selene, have you got the other cable?"

Selene popped out of the grating beneath the console, with her fingers curled around a cable. It was about as thick as three fingers taped together, and bound in thick rubber instead of the metal that had been around the Doctor's. Her hair had been pulled back into a sloppy, spur-of-the-moment bun, and her coat had been discarded over the rail. They were working double-time to make sure the rocket would launch without a hitch, without a scratch.

"Yup! Got it right here!"

"Okay, you're going to need to crawl three quarters of the way under the console; there'll be a plug that'll allow you to access the main power cells!"

"Under?" Selene asked.

"Yes, under!"

"Great…" Selene murmured, falling back on her haunches. Underneath the grating of the console room floor was a mess of wires, boxes and various other objects. Selene considered her options of moving, and then settled on placing the cord between her teeth to better use her hands and knees to move. She crawled over lumps of wires and maneuvered around boxes, her toes occasionally catching on something, her shirt snagging on things she bumped into. After crawling three quarters of the circle underneath the console, Selene turned her head to see a plug that was set into the floor. Removing the wire from between her teeth, she pushed it into the plug. The TARDIS made a slight whirring sound that Selene could have interpreted as displeasure. "Sorry, girl, but we've gotta do this."

Forgetting for a moment that she was in a confined space, Selene sat back on her heels and promptly banged her head into the grating above it. She hissed and swore, clasping both hands against the back of her head. Groaning, she pushed the grating out of the way and pulled herself out, taking a moment to sit there and massage the sore spot on the back of her head. The Doctor appeared in the doorway, eyes roaming the console room till they landed on the woman sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing sitting around?" he asked in a playfully reprimanding tone. Selene gave him a wry look and pointed to the floor.

"Banged my head. Hold your horses, Doctor, I was just about to do…" She stood up and tweaked a knob that switched on the power conversion, "this."

Turning around, she found that the Doctor had crossed over to her side of the console, with a look of mild concern on his face. He took hold of her face and tilted her head downward so he could peer at the crown of her head, where he assumed she'd hit it.

"You feel okay?" he asked, sounding worried. His main concern for her injury wise were, in fact, those of the head. What with a bang on the head having brought her here, he harbored a secret fear that another one could send her right back… even if the tears in the universe were sealed. Selene laughed and took hold of his wrists, lifting her head so she could meet his eyes.

"I'm fine, I promise, Doctor. Nothing I can't handle," she assured, leaning back against the edge of the console. Rubbing his wrists with her thumbs, she smiled and leaned a bit closer and dropped her voice into a whisper. "I'm not made of porcelain."

"I know, I know…" he murmured, pinching a loose strand of hair between his fingers. He moved it behind her ear, smiling gently. "Doesn't mean I can't worry."

"It's flattering that you worry."

"Likewise."

Closing the remaining few inches between them, the Doctor kissed her with a heart-warming gentleness. Selene smiled and dropped her hands to rest on his chest, reveling in the tender moment they'd managed to claim amongst the chaos. When the kiss broke, the Doctor pressed a second one to her forehead, lips lingering against her skin for a moment. Then, he nodded towards the doors with a faint, sweet smile on his lips.

"C'mon. We've still got some work to do if we want to help Yana get this rocket off the ground," he said, heading for the door. Selene reached out and grabbed his hand, halting his progress, to which, he raised his brows in question. Her face twisted into a look of mild worry as she remembered that gut-pulling tug she'd felt at the first mention of the professor's name.

"Yana… do you… trust him?" she asked slowly. The Doctor considered the question, took in her worried expression, and gave a tentative nod. "Okay…"

"Why?" The Doctor's brows furrowed in concern, and he took a step towards her. "Have you remembered something?"

"No, I just…" Selene put on a dismissive smile. "Paranoia. It's getting the best of me; you said there was work to do, so let's get to it."

The events of the next few minutes escalated quickly. In order to get the footprint to work, they needed to fix a set of couplings, which were stationed beneath the rocket. The only problem was the room was filled with something known as Stet radiation. Jack was put in charge of keeping the radiation levels at a low, safe point, and everyone else waited with baited breath. A couple moments after the man who was sent inside––in protective gear––everything went to hell. Systems began to malfunction, the power dropped, the radiation began to rise, and the man inside was reduced to nothing but dust. Jack effectively electrocuted himself in order to restart the systems, and it was executively decided, once Jack was revived, that he would be the man to fix the couplings since, well… he couldn't die.

Selene, Yana, Chantho, and Martha were crowded around the monitor that would allow them to connect with the Doctor down by the couplings chamber; the feed was lost, but the audio was all good.

"Doctor, are you there?" Martha asked.

"Receiving, yeah. He's inside," the Doctor's voice told them.

"And still alive?"

"Oh, yes!"

"He should evaporate!" exclaimed Yana. "What sort of man is he?"

"An incredible one," Selene said vaguely, tapping her fingers nervously against her leg.

"I've only just met him. The Doctor sort of… travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs… maybe we are…"

"He… travels in time?" Yana inquired in awe.

"Don't ask me to explain it. That's a TARDIS, that box thing. The sports-car of travel, he says."

Selene felt his presence disappear from her side and, turning around, she saw that he had approached the TARDIS, staring at its slightly ajar door with narrowed eyes and a creased forehead. Selene watched him warily for a moment before she tried to pass it off as paranoia. The man had been nothing but kind to them and had the best intentions for those in the Silo. He was probably just intrigued with the concept that such a tiny box could hurtle through space and time.

"When did you first realise?" the Doctor had asked Jack in reference to knowing he couldn't die.

"Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island," Jack was explaining from inside the chamber. "A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation… a stray javelin." The Doctor made a sound of sympathetic pain. "In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die. And all that time you knew."

"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy even … just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong."

"Thanks." His tone was one of displeasure.

"You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the Tardis reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you."

"So what you're saying is that you're, uh, prejudiced?"

"I never thought of it like that," the Doctor replied, sounding amused, like he was smiling.

"Shame on you," Jack teased. Selene smiled at their friendly, playful banter. Once friends, always friends, she supposed… even if one did have to abandon the other because they were fixed points in time.

"Yeah."

"Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?"

"Rose."

The name made Martha's jaw clench. It was all about Rose, always about her. Even if she wasn't mentioned outright… it was always about her.

"I thought you'd sent her back home…"

"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex herself," the Doctor explained.

"What does that mean exactly?" Jack sounded strained, like he was in pain.

"No one's ever meant to have that power… If a Time Lord did that then they'd become a god––a vengeful god… But she was human. And what she did was so human––she brought you back to life. But, she couldn't control it, she brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose… the final act of the Time War was life," the Doctor mused.

As the two continued to discuss whether or not Rose could fix him––which she couldn't for many different reasons––and how cheeky the Doctor's new regeneration was, Selene turned to see that Yana was still staring at the TARDIS. But, this time, there were tears in his eyes as his lips moved wordlessly. Slowly approaching the older man, she tentatively reached out and placed a hand on his arm. There might have been something off-putting about the man, but he'd been nothing but kind to them since they'd arrived; and she could idly stand by if he were in pain. He looked over at her and saw concern plain on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently, slipping her hand up onto his shoulder.

"Chan, Professor, what is it, tho?" Chantho asked with heightened concern as she and Martha approached. He sniffed and turned his face to the three women, allowing them to see the tear stains on his face.

"Time travel…. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed… But what would I know? Stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost… Even this old thing never worked," he mused, withdrawing a fob watch from the pocket of his waistcoat. A few small, but vaguely familiar symbols were carved into the back of it. Selene's shoulders tensed and she slowly began to step back as she eyed the watch as though it were a dangerous animal. It couldn't be… "Time and time and time again… Always running out on me…"

"Could we have a look at that?" Martha asked.

"Oh, it's only an old relic," Yana laughed darkly. "Like me…"

"Where did you, uh, get it?" Selene asked, pushing a smile onto her face that looked a tad forced.

"Hm?" Yana thought it over and suddenly, his brows creased as something came to mind. "I was found with it… An orphan in a storm… I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with this."

"Have you ever opened it?" Martha asked cautiously, trying to keep the tone of her voice inconspicuous.

"Why would I? It's broken."

"How do you know it's broken if you've never opened it?" Martha inquired, her voice slightly prompting.

"It's stuck. It's old! It's not meant to be," Yana said, showing them that the watch wouldn't open. "I don't know." Reaching out, Martha turned the watch over. The front was ornately carved with different circles overlapping each other… exactly like Galifreyan. Selene and Martha each took a startled step back as a sharp pain cut through the forefront of Selene's head. Yana observed their reactions with a serious, critical eye. How peculiar they should react so strongly to something as… simple as a watch.

"Does it matter?" Yana asked. Selene hissed in pain as Martha assured Yana everything was fine, and that she was going to see if the Doctor needed her help. Selene waved her off slowly sinking down onto a stool as her head continued to throb.

"Chan, are you feeling alright, tho?" Chantho asked Selene, placing a hand on her shoulder. Selene forced another smile and placed a hand against her forehead.

"Just a, uh, headache, it should… it should go away any moment now. But thank you for the concern, Chantho," Selene told her. With an unsure nod and a wary glance back at the earthling, Chantho walked towards Yana, who was staring at the watch as though he were seeing it for the first time.

The aching in Selene's head grew as she watched the white-haired man stare at the watch thoughtfully. It felt like something was trying to break free through the locked door in her head, like something was desperately trying to tear its way into her consciousness.

"Chan, Yana, won't you please take some rest, tho?" Chantho pleaded in a shaky voice. He waved her off dismissively and moved back towards the TARDIS, fob watch resting heavily in his palm. Selene watched his every movement, feeling as though she were ill with a stomach bug. The room around them began to shake as the rocket prepared for lift-off, a count down being fed through the intercom. And, as the world shook around them, Yana opened the watch.

The moment the watch was flicked open, Selene let out a shout of pain as a short burst of memories hit the forefront of her mind. Yana wasn't a name. Oh, no, it was not a name.

"It's an acronym…" she murmured to herself.

You Are Not Alone––Y.A.N.A. The last words of the Face of Boe. Looking up as the room filled with a golden glow, she saw Yana turn towards the TARDIS, staring at it with an intense familiarity. The glow slowly died down as regeneration energy ceased to wrap and curl itself around the older man like ribbons of ethereal silk. Chantho, who had been watching in startled awe from across the room, inched forward a few tentative steps.

"Chan, professor Yana, tho?"

The professor slowly turned around, face stern, eyes cold, and stance utterly different. He was no longer the Yana Chantho knew or Selene had known of. He was someone different. Someone completely, totally, and utterly different. Selene couldn't but a face to a name, as her mind wouldn't allow it, but she could feel that tiny pit of discomfort and weariness grow in her stomach and she knew… she just knew that he was dangerous.

"Chantho, this isn't who you think it is…" she said in a quavering voice as she rose to her feet. Yana slowly began to walk towards her step-by-step. Each step he took forward, Selene staggered backwards one. With eyes still narrowed, Yana tilted his head to the side and gave her a once-over.

"You know who I am…" he said in a low, raspy voice. Selene shook her head with a determined set to her jaw. Yana thrust a finger towards her, a sharp gleam appearing in his eyes. "You do! Don't venture to deny it, dear Selene."

"You're a Time Lord."

"Oh, my dear, you know so much more than that, don't you? You know my name––I can tell. It's just on the tip of your pretty little tongue… say it…" Yana ordered, voice dangerous. Selene stumbled as her heel hit a chair, but Chantho's hands shot out to steady her, drawing her backwards. While Selene righted herself, Yana paused and turned to eye a lever. Reaching out, he grasped hold of it and tugged. Chantho's eyes widened as she realized what he'd done.

"Chan, but you've locked them in, tho!" she exclaimed in reference to the other Time Travelers.

"Not to worry, my dear. As one door closes, another opens," Yana said with a dangerous level of casualness. He moved another lever and then went about pushing buttons, tweaking levers, and typing at keys. Chantho began to follow him closely as panic laced her voice.

"Chan, you must stop, tho. Chan, but you've lowered the defences, the Futurekind will get in, tho!"

The man brushed her off and started working on flicking at a wall of switches. Chantho turned to Selene and placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back a few feet. Selene watched on with confusion as the woman plunged a hand into her lab coat pocket and withdrew a gun.

"Chan, professor… I am so sorry, but I must stop you… you're destroying all our work, tho…" she told him in a quavering voice. Yana laughed and grinned darkly at her over his shoulder. But, once he spotted what was in her shaking hand, that smile fell.

"Chantho, that won't work," Selene hissed, stepping up to her shoulder. "Put it down, it won't work! He isn't the man you think he is, he won't stop because you threaten him!"

"Chan, I must stop him, tho!" She pushed Selene back again, with enough force to cause her to stumble and fall flat on her backside whilst Yana hummed and slowly began to stalk towards them.

"Oh… now I can say I was provoked," he hummed macabrely. He lifted a sparking electrical wire and brandished it, causing Chantho to gasp in horror.

"Drop the gun!" Selene exclaimed, lurching to her feet. As she grabbed for Chantho's gun, the other woman backed around a different desk, drawing Yana away from the time traveler who was now completely sprawled out across the floor.

"Did you never think, all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch? Never?! Did you never once think, not ever, that you could set me free?" Yana demanded as he cornered Chantho. Selene staggered to her feet again and quietly began to sneak towards Yana, grabbing hold of a welding torch that had been resting on a desk from their earlier work. It was hefty and heavy, just enough to knock someone out.

"Chan…. I'm sorry, tho…." Chantho stuttered. "Chan…. I'm so sorry…"

"And you… with your 'chan' and 'tho,' driving me insane!"

"Chan, professor, please––"

"That is not my name!" Selene had crept up behind him and raised the torch above his head, but just as she brought it down, Yana spun halfway around and grabbed her by the neck, fingers digging into her flesh. She gasped and let the torch go in shock, grabbing onto his wrist as her air-supply was slowly cut off. Yana glared at her and started to drag her forward as he continued to brandish the sparking cable at Chantho. "The professor was an invention… so perfect of a disguise that I forgot who I am…"

"Chan… than who are you… tho?"

"I… am… the Master!"

He thrust the cable forward, letting it meet its mark against Chantho's body. She screamed as electricity coursed through all of her internal systems, as her body seized and tensed and shook… but she was silent as she fell to the floor, unmoving and twitching. The Master felt Selene's knees begin to give out, heard a faint squeak as air managed to work its way into her throat in what surely must have been a gasp of pain. Her face was scrunched up, her hands were tight around his wrist. The Master––of course. Memories of everything the man who was choking her had done up till now flooded her mind, and the fear in her eyes grew. The Master clucked his tongue and dragged her forward, face inches from hers.

"It appears you recalled my name just a smidgen too late. How unfortunate," he said with a smile. With a tug, he dragged her towards the seating area, not caring as she stumbled over her own feet and continued to make little squeaking, wheezing sounds. He drew her closer again once he stopped, his smile growing as he considered the woman whose neck he was squeezing. "Oh, my dearest… the more you struggle the more you suffer. And I simply just can't have you getting in my way as I make our preparations to leave." Selene's brows pulled together as her chest began to burn from the lack of air. 'Our preparations?' her look seemed to say. The Master chuckled. "Oh, yes, I do intend to take you with me! What is it the Doctor calls you and his little traveling mates? Ah, yes… companions. I do believe I shall make you my first; and you will assist me in my endeavors."

With a slight shove, the Master sent Selene tumbling to the ground. She coughed harshly, curled up in a heap of shaking limbs on the floor. Her mind was whirring and spinning, and not just because of the sudden rush of oxygen. She was trapped in a room with, potentially, the most dangerous man in the universe. Just as she ventured to push herself onto her hands and knees, the Time Lord in the room grabbed both her hands and began to wind a wire around them. She fought to the best of her ability, but since the room seemed to be spinning, the attempts were fairly weak. Once her wrists were bound together, she felt her ankles being given the same treatment; and, once that was done, the Master secured her ankles and wrists together, which formed a hog-tie. Selene raised her head and glared at him, feeling the uncomfortable, painful strain of her muscles. The Master merely smirked and began to remove his cravat.

"If you… so much… as think that I… that I will help you, you ignorant––" Her words were cut off when the Time Lord dropped to a knee and fitted the length of silk between her teeth and tied it at the nape of her neck as a gag.

"As lovely as your voice is, my dear, I fear it may prove to form a distraction. Make yourself comfortable…" He grinned as he turned to the table that Jack's hand-in-a-jar sat, stretching out a hand to gently caress it. "For our flight is imminent."

Selene craned her head up and watched as the Master made his way towards the TARDIS, reaching out a hand to stroke the wooden door. She struggled against the ties for a moment, but yelped in pain as her muscles were yanked and pulled in directions they shouldn't have been. It even took too much effort to keep her head raised. 'The more you struggle, the more you suffer,' he had said… Well, that goal had clearly been reached. Breathing hard, Selene let her head drop to the ground. The Master moved about the room, continuing to mess about with machines, but he always returned to the TARDIS, smirking at it devilishly. Suddenly, banging could be heard on the door.

"Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there? Please, I need to explain. Whatever you do, don't open that watch. It was the Doctor. He was pleading with the Master, not even knowing who he was. Selene raised her head and tried to call out, but her words were muffled by the black silk that had been fitted into her mouth. The warning turned into a shout of pain as her muscles were tugged at again.

"Utopia…" she heard the Master snicker. As her head thunked back against the cold, concrete floor, Selene watched the Time Lord detach the electricity cable from the TARDIS.

"Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor. Please, listen to me! Just open the door, please!"

Suddenly, there was a zap and the Master was hit by a lazer projectile. Chantho, with her dying breath, had conjured the energy to shoot him. He shouted in pain and stumble back against the TARDIS doors just as the laboratory door sparked and slid open. The Doctor ran in and made eye contact with the other Time Lord; and he knew. Oh, he knew that he'd opened the watch. The Doctor lunged one step forward and the Master stumbled one step back and straight into the TARDIS. While the Doctor struggled with trying to unlock the door, using his key and then the Sonic––both to no avail––Selene cried out again, knowing that, this time, someone would hear her. But her cries were covered up by the Doctor's frustrated shouting of,

"Let me in! Let me in!"

"She's dead…" Selene heard Martha say, likely in reference to Chantho. Sucking in a few breaths, Selene took the slight pause of silence to scream against the gag and get someone's attention. Martha seemed to be that person, gasping when she saw Selene's situation. "Oh, my god!" Martha rushed over and fell to her knees beside the hogtied American. She began to work on untying the knots the Master had done as Jack hung back by the door, holding it shut.

"I broke the lock; give me a hand!" he pleaded.

"Oh, give me a minute!" Martha called back in response.

"I'm begging you; everything's changed!" the Doctor called through the TARDIS door in a frenzied, panicked tone . "It's only the two of us, we're the only one's left! Just let me in!"

Martha finally got the wires unknotted and worked on yanking them off, allowing Selene's limbs to flop back to their normal positioning. Reaching up, Selene ripped the cravat material out of her mouth and cast it aside angrily. The TARDIS windows began to glow gold… a shout filled the room––the Master was regenerating. Jack shot Martha and Selene a pointed look and they dashed over to help, Selene stumbling along the way as her leg muscles uncramped themselves. As they all collectively began to shove the door shut, the Futurekind appeared and started to push it back, causing Martha to give a horrified scream. Selene's shoes slid against the floor, not having enough traction to hold her position.

"Doctor, you better think of something!" Jack shouted urgently over the snarling and hissing of the Futurekind.

"Now then!" called a spry excited voice, coming from the TARDIS' intercoms. "Ooh! A new voice! Hello… Hello. Hello! Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat about all of my plans and you can work out a way to stop me––I don't think."

"Hold on!" Martha panted. "I know that voice!"

"I'm asking you really properly, just stop! Just think!" the Doctor pleaded. He knew exactly who this was. Knew who the man inside his TARDIS was, knew who the second to last Time Lord in the universe was… and he had to stop.

"Use my name," the Master drawled. The Doctor, in the softest possible tone, murmured,

"Master… I'm sorry."

"Tough!" he exclaimed. The TARDIS began to whir as the Master set coordinates and began to take off. But the Doctor, sliding the top of the Sonic upwards, caused a slight malfunction. "Oh, no you don't! End of the universe––have fun! Oh, and, Selene, my dearest, my sweetest, my lovely––I shall be seeing you again, quite soon! Bye-bye!"

Martha, Jack, and Selene all called out as their muscles strained and ached as they fought to keep the door shut against the Futurekind. The TARDIS dematerialized and the Doctor watched on as horror and pain grew into a great void in the pit of his stomach. Because if there was one thing he was sure of in that moment, it was that the Master was on the loose, and nothing good could come of it.

To be continued…

Afterword: The number of apologies I want to give right now cannot convey how sorry I truly am for not paying attention to this fic. I had the worst writers-block for this chapter, but the main thing that was keeping me away from the story was this––since I do full episodes as chapters, it takes a lot of time dedication, and, as of late, I didn't have that sort of time. I'm planning on making the biggest move/change of my life. I'm going to attend school in an entirely different country, and that's a lot of paper-work and finance stuff to work out. I thought it was about time I explained why this story was so neglected for a couple months. It's been an arduous process, but, it's gonna pay off and I'm super excited. But… to make it up, this is the longest chapter in this story/in any story I've ever written.

Review Replies!

ShadowTeir: I have a lot of fun writing Jack, and was sad I didn't get much time to write him in this chapter but, you know, we get a lot more of him next time, which, I am determined will be up sooner than this one was put up. I had so much fun with last chapter––the exploding egg thing was conceived as I was making quiche one day and thought if fit well. Also, sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless!

squidtastik: I'm glad you enjoyed the spin on the last chapter; it took me a while to figure out what to do, but then I was like 'hey, they're in the sixties, I'll just run with it!' I hope you enjoyed this incredibly late chapter! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

NicoleR85: Got a touch of the Master! I have ideas for him written up and, boy, is he something to write! Thank you so much for reading and waiting! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

grapejuice101: IT'S FINALLY HERE. Oh, god, does it feel great to get this up. It should be easier to get the next chapters up; it'll probably be a good stress reliever to write these chapters. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

GhostlySights: I hope that my horrible updating schedule didn't scare you off! Larry truly is the first inside-DW Whovian and I love his dorkiness. I hope you didn't hurt your brother when you punched him in excitement; and I was surprised at how fast I got last chapter up, especially compared to the length of time it took to get it up. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

10th Squad 3rd Seat: You, the TARDIS, and many others were quite satisfied last time! I was too :) Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

GoldenKeeper2567: For all intents and purposes, they're definitely together. But, you know, it's got time to grow and whatnot, and it's only gonna get cuter. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

The Yoshinator: The TARDIS is definitely the friend who sets up to of their other friends; the TARDIS will continue to do such things. Ah, just wait till we get to the episode where she becomes a person… Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

heroherondaletotherescue: I had hoped last chapter was well-balanced; I always try to figure out how the show would balance a romance like this and try to fit it in like that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

Ronin Kenshin: I'm very glad you've enjoyed the chapter thus far! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

The Undine: I'm so sorry that I took forever to update, but, unfortunately, life likes to get in the way. Yeah, it really did take twenty three chapters… twenty something episodes… I'm impressed I've written that much. And yeah, the Decoy Bride outfit is so ridiculous, but he pulls it off marvelously. They're gonna be wicked cute together, but, of course, there will be strains and spats, but it'll still be cute and whatnot. And I have plans as to how Selene will stick with the Doctor… If I hadn't a clue, the story wouldn't be called 'An Eternity Among the Stars.' Super flattered to hear that Doctor/Selene is your OTP! :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

MaximumNerd46: The stars fell into line and they did, indeed, FINALLY kiss. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

Kam 74: Jack will certainly have some fun toying with Selene and the Doctor next chapter, since it's only a tad less stressful than this one. And the record store kiss had been in the works since, like, chapter eighteen. I'm glad I made you smile like a goof, 'cause I made myself smile like a goof! I'm happy that the chapter length isn't daunting, 'cause I feel like sometimes it is. But, you're right, if I truncated the chapters into halves or quarters we'd be somewhere in the forties. 'Cause this story is… 530-ish pages! So much writing, ahaha! You, my dear, are more of a fantastic person than I to have stuck with this story so far. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

time-twilight: We shall see if she ever learns his real name… ;) And I have plans for both Rose and River in regards to Selene's relationship with the Doctor. Ima tell you know… when Rose pops back up, it's gonna be WICKED tense. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

andreams512: Indeed they did! And it was about damn time. It took the length of a typical novel for them to finally reveal it. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!
oXxgeorgiaxXo: Doctor/Selene is definitely one of the cutest couples I've written––definitely up there with Steve/Art. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

Jesse Wales: I'm glad that you envisioned the clothes when I wrote them! It was just too good of an opportunity/moment to pass up. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

alwaystherereading: The almost moments are just SO much fun to write. Thank you very, very much! I can't believe that you think that Selene is well written enough to have been an actual character in the show! That means a lot to hear! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

Audrie-13: Hello! I'm sorry that my update schedule is horrible, uhg, but I'm very happy you're enjoying the story! And I'm impressed you even read these insanely long chapters in 10 days. It would have taken me at least three weeks. Thank you so much for reading and waiting! I hope you're still sticking around to read more!

witedwarf: We have reached the Master! I apologize profusely for the horrendous update schedule, but I'm super happy to have gotten this far. And the next few chapters will run right into each other, but it should be good fun… which why I'm determined to get them up quicker. I just need to, like, write a chunk every day, which is what I might do, especially since I have some pre-written chunks stored away for the next couple chapters. The Year that Never Was is REALLY going to put strain on the Doctor… and you'll soon discover why. Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

Goddess-of-the-Moon-39: I'm glad there's a sense of realism! I strive to make it all seem realistic in some sense! And I often worry that Selene doesn't seem real, hence one of the reasons I created the 'door' in her head which blocked her memories, 'cause that sort of just seemed a bit too all powerful. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

tardiscompanion101: I was excited to get your review yesterday, 'cause I was like 'oh, hot damn, people are still reading the story and I'm just about to update!' And the upcoming season really helped spur me into getting this done. I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading and waiting!

And thank you to those who added this to their favorites/follows; it means a lot to me!

So, I'm gonna try my best to write more for this story. I love it and it truly is my baby it's about 560 pages now that this chapter is posted. It's literally novel length, and to know that I've written something that long and this in-depth makes me really proud of not only myself, but of everyone who's put up with my horrible updating schedules and promises. But, now that these couple months of stress have blown over and I finally pushed through writing this chapter, things should be getting better. Thank you, again, for waiting so long for this chapter, and again, I apologize for kinda being horrible about updating. You all rock more than I ever could!

~Mary