Kayla's hands were still on Reinette's temple while the Doctor stayed tense, obviously worried that he would have to jump in and save his girlfriend from…stuff.

"You are in my memories. You walk among them." Reinette whispered.

Kayla just nodded again, "B-block off any memories that you don't want me to see." She told Reinette, her voice strained.

"Have you done this before?" Reinette asked.

There was a pause before Kayla answered, her voice just as strained as before, "No." She finally said, "What age are you?" She asked suddenly.

Reinette blinked at Kayla, "Twenty-three."

A long pause followed that was finally broken by Reinette, "Oh, such a hard childhood, if you can even call it that…" the blond muttered.

Kayla very slowly opened her eyes, "Uh…right." She said.

"Oh Kayla Harkness. So very scared. And alone. And angry."

"I thought I was mother." Kayla joked, but then her eyes popped open, "How did you find out my name?" She asked.

Reinette didn't answer, "Such a broken girl. Broken then and smashed now." Her eyes popped open, "How can you bear it?" she questioned with a tilt of her head.

Kayla stepped away. Behind her, the Doctor hurried over and pulled her into a hug, "How did you do that?" the Time Lord asked the worried looking Reinette harshly.

"Doctor don't." Kayla whispered.

Reinette shook her head, "A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction..." the Doctor and Kayla just stared at her, one's gaze filled with anger while the others was terrified.

"Oh mother." Reinette whispered. Very slowly, she walked over and joined the Doctor and Kayla in their hug, "My broken mother. Come and dance with us. Come and dance with your Lord." She commanded softly.

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged looks. Both nodding, they followed Reinette out of the room.

The Doctor twirled Kayla skillfully, not allowing anyone to take away his brunet away from him. Anyone who tried got a fierce glare from the Time Lord.

"Doctor!" Kayla laughed, smiling as the Doctor puller her oh-so-tighter to him.

The Doctor give her a cheeky look, "What?" He asked innocently.

Kayla gave him a look that was ruined by her mirth, "You haven't let go of me all evening." She pointed out, "Not that I mind but still, possessive much?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"I just want to keep you safe." The Doctor said, "And I will. I always will. I will never stop protecting you Kayla Harkness."

Rose and Mickey stared at the Doctor. The last of the Time Lords.

He was broken.

Hurt.

Alone.

"I failed." He repeated for the seventh time, Rose had been counting.

"Failed what Doctor?" the blond asked softly.

The Doctor gave her a haunting look filled with so much pain that it made the blond's heart ache for him, "I failed Kayla." He whispered, "I promise to protect her, and I didn't."

Madam de Pompadour, known by Reinette to her friends and 'mother,' looked up at the sky. Kayla was up there, up there with her Doctor. Since they weren't married, did that still make him her 'father?'

Shaking her head at silliness, Reinette lightly touched one of the panes of glass on the windows, when she froze. Footsteps were approaching. They were fast, and angry.

Whirling around, the blond checked the clock's face, but it wasn't smashed, which was good, because that let her clearly see a tall, lanky figure approaching.

"Madame de Pompadour—" the figure started, only to get cut off by her gasp, "Don't scream or do something like that. We don't have any time."

Once Reinette had gotten over the shock of her 'father' appearing, she had remembered her manners and offered-forced-him to sit down while she remained standing.

"They'll be here in five years. No idea what date, but sometime after your thirty-seventh birthday." He explained in a rush.

"But what about mother," the Doctor shivered, "is she alright?"

The Time Lord nodded, "She's getting everything ready. Don't worry about her."

Reinette gave him a look, "'Don't worry about her.'" She repeated, "How can I not worry about my mother? Where is she?"

The Doctor swallowed as the blond took a seat across from him, "There's a spaceship that's stalking you by punching holes into the universe to look into your life." He explained rather quickly.

The blond gave him a quizzical look, probably wondering if he was sane, "There is a vessel in your world... where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book so that she may step from one to the other without increase of age...while I, weary traveler...must always take the slower path?" she asked slowly.

"Well, if you want to morbid and dramatic…yeah." the Doctor said finally.

Once again, Reinette gave him a look, "So, in five years these creatures will return. What can be done?"

"Keep them talking. Talking's brilliant, I love talking…sorry." The Doctor tugged his ear awkwardly, "Right, just keep them talking." He finished rather lamely.

If Reinette was annoyed by the Time Lord's rambling, she didn't show it, "For how long?"

"Until Kayla and I can get there." The Doctor answered simply.

"She's coming…good. I need my mother." Reinette whispered.

The Doctor shivered again, "Doctor!" At Kayla's yell, the Time Lord tensed and started to run over to the tapestry just outside the door, "Doctor!" Kayla yelled again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He called back, unaware of Reinette following him.

Kayla stood behind the tapestry, "I found the window." She breathed out.

"And where is it mother?" At the question, the Doctor turned and stared at her while Kayla gave the Doctor's turned back a hard look.

Turning her gaze onto her 'daughter,' she took a moment to reply, "Do you wanna see the ship?" She offered, ignoring the Doctor's protests.

Eagerly, Reinette nodded.

The blond looked around her surroundings, her eyes widening in fear, "I am glad I was not raised as your daughter." She finally said.

Kayla swallowed roughly, "Uh, you might want to go now." She said softly, "I fixed the audio link…" her voice trailed off as the screams of Reinette's future echoed around the corridor.

"Those screams...is that my future?" Reinette asked, but Kayla gave her a hard look and didn't answer. Finally, the blond sighed, "Then I must take the slower path."

Then, off in the distance, Reinette's voice rose above all the screams, "Are you there? Can you hear me? I need you now, you promised. The clock on the mantel is broken. It is time."

Reinette looked at Kayla and the Doctor, highly disturbed, "That's my voice." She whispered.

Kayla gave her a sad look and very gently helped her back into France, trying her best to ignore the future Reinette yelling, "Kayla! Kayla Harkness!"

The screaming, aristocrats of France ran from the droids, who were armed.

Reinette was stilled kneeling before the fireplace, "Kayla Harkness! Mother!" She called, her voice no more than a plea.

King Louis XV gave his mistress an odd look, "We must go. No one is coming to help us." He told her urgently.

If Reinette had listened to the King's advice, then perhaps they would have been safe. But she hadn't. Instead, the blond gracefully got up from the floor and turned to face the clockwork droid standing in the doorway. Two more soon joined it, "You are complete. You will come."

The blond, however, felt like her heart was breaking. Where was Kayla? Where was her mother?

In the ballroom, the droids advanced on the guests, pushing them against the wall. Instead of fighting back, they just cowered and screamed.

Kayla banged on the time window in annoyance as the Doctor scanned something with his sonic, "That won't work." He muttered.

Kayla sighed and sat down next to him to help, "I know, it just feels good." She admitted.

One of the droids held Reinette roughly by the arm and dragged her down the corridor. Behind her, two droids held onto King Louis.

"Where are we going?" the blond nearly spat the question at the droid.

"The teleport has limited range. We must have proximity to the time portal."

Reinette struggled for a few seconds, "Your words mean nothing. You are nothing." She spat at the droid.

Kayla stared at the window, showing her the ballroom, with a longing, "Can I use my Vortex Manipulator?" she pleaded.

The Doctor gave her a sharp look, "You know the rules of time." He reminded in a mutter.

Kayla pouted, "Doctor…Reinette is the closest thing to a daughter I've had in a long time. I promised that I would help her, and I will. Breaking rules or not." The Doctor got up suddenly and grabbed her wrist.

"No." He said simply. Kayla gave him a sad look and very slowly pulled her wrist out of the Time Lord's grasp. She glanced down at her wrist and saw that the Doctor had taken her VM.

"Can everyone just calm down? Please." Reinette commanded from the ballroom.

The blond's eyes scanned the room, looking at her fellow French people, "Such a commotion. Such distressing noise. Kindly remember that this is Versailles. This is the Royal Court. And we are French." She turned her sharp gaze on the droids, "I have made a decision. And my decision is 'no' - I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again."

"We do not require your feet." The droid told her.

Without warning, two droid came up beside her and forced her to her knees. Any escape plan she had were quickly dashed by the knife-like objects at her. The droid that had been speaking approached her, "You think I fear you. But I do not fear you, even now. You are merely the nightmare of my childhood. The monster from under my bed. And if my nightmare can return to plague me, then rest assured –" She lowered her voice to a whisper, "yours girlfriend will come."

Completely ruining this threat was the sound of a horse whining. Reinette, the droids, and the guessed looked around in shock, but they could not find the source of the noise, even as they heard the sound of hooves galloping straight at them. Some ducked upon reflex, which was very smart because the giant mirror smashed as Kayla Harkness sat on a white stallion as it jumped out of the window.

Once the horse had halted, she jumped down and smiled at Reinette, "Hiya sweetie!" She greeted casually.

"What the hell is going on?" King Louis yelled.

Reinette glanced over at her lover, "Oh - this is my lover, the King of France."

Kayla let out a short laugh, "And I'm a Time Agent bad ass in better clothes." With a smirk, she gestured at her jeans and jacket as she walked over to the talkative droid, "So I'm gonna fix the clock." With a flourish, she took the mask off the droid's head. Around her, the crowd gasped but she ignored it, too focused on the knife-like object that she had ducked to avoid, "Forget it. It's over. For you and for me."

Slowly, Kayla looked at where the mirror had been. Instead, an ugly brick wall was revealed to everyone, "Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand..." the droid cocked its head at the wall.

"Kayla!" the Doctor yelled loudly, banging on the brick wall. He had to get her back. He couldn't lose her. He had already tried their mental connection, but it hadn't worked.

Dejectedly, he looked down at her Vortex Manipulator in his hands before he walked to his TARDIS. Pausing for a second, he knelt down and put it down right next to his TARDIS before he walked in and shut the door. After a few minutes, he flew it to Mickey and Rose.

The droid had repeatedly tried to use his teleport, and Kayla had just glared at it, offering no words of comfort for the French people. After a few tense, silent minutes, the leader winded down and it went dead. A few seconds later, the rest did too.

Kayla turned away from the gossiping French people and helped Reinette up, "What's happened to them?"

The brunet gave her a dark look, "They died." She answered simply.

"Let me get this straight," Rose started, looking like she had a massive migraine.

The Doctor glared at her, "There is nothing to get straight!" He nearly yelled, "Kayla is gone and I failed her. But we are going back to that ship to wait."

Kayla looked out a window, her hands brushing the bare skin where her Vortex Manipulator usually sat. It would have been easy to blame the Doctor for getting stuck, but in all honesty, she had thought of none of the consequences. Now all she felt was guilt.

The brunet didn't turn when Reinette walked up, holding a glass of some frothy alcohol that Kayla had declined, "You're supposed to know them all by name, but you weren't good at memorizing names, so you only got half." She murmured.

"The Doctor knew them all." Kayla whispered softly, "But what are titles to a Time Lord?"

Reinette gave her 'mother' a pitying look, "I think I have an idea." She said. Putting down her drink, she took Kayla's hand, "Follow me."

Kayla was crying, actually crying, with joy. Clever Reinette had put her original fireplace in her bedroom. The brunet barely heard Reinette stammering with worry, "It appears undamaged, do you think it will still work?"

Instead of answering, Kayla made a noise that might have been a grunt. Nearly running, she went over to the fireplace and started to tap on the wood, "Loose connection!" She screamed suddenly, causing Reinette to flinch in shock.

"Mother," she started, "go and enjoy her life. But do not forget me." With a regretful look, she watched as Kayla Harkness held onto the revolving fireplace.

The Doctor had been staring at the fireplace for three hours and thirty minutes. Rose and Mickey were in the TARDIS. But the Time Lord had stayed. He hadn't given up, not yet, but he couldn't help but start to laugh slightly hysterically at the sight of the fireplace revolving.

And then…he and Kayla were hugging and kissing and crying, but he had never felt greater.

"Never do that again." The Doctor murmured, and Kayla nodded her head.

The journey ended after that. The Doctor had checked to see if Kayla wanted to go and say goodbye to Reinette, but when she had crouched at the fireplace to see inside, she had seen the blond older and sick. Not wanting to go through more emotions, they had left that part of their life behind and had went ahead to the TARDIS.

Oh I don't like Webbly's World of Wonders. Too loud, and scary. Bad robots are bad. But poor Other Thief, and her daughter and Reinette and Thief and…oh who else? Well not poor Idiot and Flower! They did nothing! What about Susan though…no, she was on Earth. I wonder how she is? Or was? Or will be? No…I think it might be is…probably not though…

I love the TARDIS. Seriously. Bad robots are bad. LOL!

And review time!

.1806: I love their relationship too. So cute!