Until the End of Time

by marauders4evr

Sherlock Holmes has always been brilliant. He knew that he was the smartest child in London. He knew that the other children thought of him as daft. He knew that the funny man with the bowtie really was daft. He knew that the safest place in the universe was in his brother's arms. He knew that no matter where they went, Mycroft would be there to protect him. Until the end of time.

13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: This is the longest chapter in the entire story (so far) but I promise that it's worth it! It was the most amusing to write.

Chapter Thirteen

Mycroft had absolutely no idea what to do or what to say. Compliments. Girls liked compliments, right?

He felt a tap on his shoulder and immediately cried, "You look lovely, tonight!"

He glanced up and felt his heart plummet as the Doctor smirked and said, "Thanks! I got a new bowtie! Sherlock picked it out!"

"What are you doing here?" Mycroft whispered.

"He's early!" Sherlock excitedly cried, racing over, "Hi, Mycroft!"

"Hi," Mycroft said with a tight smile, "Sherlock, I thought that you were going to stay home with Father."

"That's boring," Sherlock said, dismissively.

"Indeed," the Doctor boomed, "Right! Grab your coat and we can get going!"

"Not yet," Mycroft spluttered.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm…I'm on a date," Mycroft burst out.

The Doctor grimaced and said, "I know. I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt by not saying anything but seeing as how you brought it up…well, we'll talk about it later."

"You're right," Mycroft said with a nod, "Later."

He shuffled the menu and fidgeted with his tie before noticing that the two hadn't left.

"Mycroft," the Doctor quietly said, "Come along."

"One date," Mycroft pleaded, "Please. It's my first date. Can't I just see it through?"

"What's more important?" Sherlock asked, "Your first date or us?"

Mycroft sighed and said, "It's not that you two aren't important. But can't I just have one night of…normalcy?"

"No," Sherlock and the Doctor simultaneously replied.

"Normalcy," the Doctor repeated, as if the very word was a curse, "Normalcy…"

"Please," Mycroft urged, "Don't make me beg."

"Mycroft?"

Alyssa had arrived, looking slightly confused as she asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Mycroft said, standing up to greet her. The Doctor rolled his eyes before nudging Mycroft, prompting him to remember to say, "You look lovely!"

She did too. Better than lovely.

Alyssa smiled and said, "Aw, thank you! Who is this?"

"This is Sherlock; my brother," Mycroft explained, "And this is my…friend. They were just leaving."

"No we weren't," the Doctor replied with a bright smile, "I heard that this restaurant has phenomenal shrimp."

"You don't need to eat," Mycroft hissed, "Not as much as us, anyway."

"That doesn't mean that I don't fancy shrimp," the Doctor whispered, "Besides, Sherlock could use a good meal. Your father was making cabbage soup for dinner!"

"So?"

"Cabbage is disgusting," the Doctor replied, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

He pulled Mycroft away from the table and hissed, "What do you know about this girl?"

Mycroft looked slightly amused and remarked, "Her name's Alyssa."

"Does Alyssa have a last name?"

"I…I assume so," Mycroft spluttered.

"Where did you meet her?"

"Err…" Mycroft suddenly felt pathetic as he admitted, "On my doorstep."

"This morning?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Mycroft asked, painfully aware that Alyssa was staring, "She said that she knew me. She's a year ahead of me."

"Well isn't that convenient?"

"What does that mean?" Mycroft heatedly asked. Before the Doctor could reply, he continued, "Look. It's just dinner. That's all. She's nice, she's pretty, she asked me out, and I agreed to go. I know that human interactions aren't your strongest point but…"

"Yes," the Doctor murmured, slightly distracted, "She is pretty, isn't she?"

He turned back to Alyssa and loudly said, "You are extremely beautiful. You look absolutely perfect. Stunning, really Especially your eyes. They're the bluest eyes in the universe."

"Thank you," Alyssa said, awkwardly.

"Well," Mycroft muttered, "I'm glad that you approve."

"Oh, I never said that I approve."

"Well I don't need your approval!" Mycroft angrily snapped.

He immediately regretted it.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows but merely stared at Mycroft. It was a look of hurt, amusement, and fury. It was a look that told someone that they had done something wrong. It was a look that caused Mycroft to want to take his sentence back. Finally, the Doctor quietly said, "I suppose not. Come along, Sherlock. Let's sit next to the aquarium."

His brother looked confused but nodded and joined the Doctor. Mycroft sighed but stood by what he had said. He and Alyssa sat down and began to converse. Sherlock and the Doctor sat on the opposite side of the restaurant but Mycroft could feel the Doctor staring at him. Mycroft had half a mind to tell him to leave. The Doctor didn't need to spy on their date. What was his problem anyway?

"Mycroft," Alyssa pressed, "Did you hear me?"

"Sorry," Mycroft stammered, "Err…what?"

Alyssa giggled and repeated her question, "Where have you been the past three months?"

"Well," Mycroft said, hesitantly, "I've been travelling."

The waiter came and took their order. Mycroft fumbled with his silverware for a moment before Alyssa excitedly gushed, "Wow! Traveling where? Did you go to the States?"

"Once," Mycroft said before catching himself.

"What about your brother?" Alyssa asked, "What did he do?"

"He went with me," Mycroft admitted, "Or rather, I went with him. He explored, learned how to play the violin, the usual…"

Travelled in a blue police box, went across the universe, befriended dozens of aliens, made an enemy out of a dozen more, befriended an immortal man, destroyed a supercomputer, outsmarted Weeping Angels, went to the greatest toy store in the universe, went to the greatest amusement park in the universe, ate a wide variety of food, etc. The usual.

"I've always wanted to learn how to play the violin," Alyssa admitted, "Maybe your brother can play for me, sometime?"

Mycroft chuckled and said, "I doubt it. He doesn't play for just anyone."

"He plays for me!"

The Doctor's cheerful shout could be heard by everyone in the restaurant.

Mycroft swore beneath his breath and the Doctor added, "Oi! Watch your language!"

Was he really going to play that game? Using his super-alien-sonic-hearing or whatever it was called to listen in on their date? Mycroft glanced over at the table and saw that the Doctor looked very pleased with himself and that Sherlock was softly chuckling.

"Wow," Alyssa said, looking surprised, "He has really good hearing."

"I'm sorry," Mycroft apologized, "Perhaps we can go somewhere more private."

"Don't even think about it," the Doctor roared, "I will literally pick you up and carry you out of this restaurant!"

By now, Sherlock had dissolved into fits of giggles.

Mycroft realized that his sentence could be taken out of context and his cheeks immediately flamed as he stammered, "No, I…I didn't mean that. I meant that we could go to another table that's farther away."

"Mycroft, it's fine," Alyssa said, laughing, "Relax. I don't mind sitting here."

Mycroft nodded and hoped that his cheeks weren't too red. The Doctor was right. Her eyes were the bluest eyes that Mycroft had ever seen.

Alyssa gave him a wide and reassuring smile before saying, "So, travelling? That's amazing. Was it dangerous?"

"Incredibly," Mycroft bragged, "But we had the…our friend. He protected us."

"He's a funny thing isn't he?" Alyssa asked, glancing over at their table, "He's alien."

"You have no idea," Mycroft muttered.

He glanced up at the Doctor who stared right back, eyebrows raised and mouth curved into an indignant smirk. Sherlock was eagerly digging at the shrimp but the Doctor barely touched his. Mycroft admitted that it was weird to have a pair of eyes constantly on you. He and Alyssa talked for a few minutes before Mycroft felt something hit the back of his head.

"What was that?" Alyssa cried.

"A piece of shrimp," Mycroft muttered.

"Where did it come from?"

"I have no idea," Mycroft lied, "Now, where were we?"

Another piece hit him. Then a third. A fourth overturned his glass of water.

Mycroft turned and saw that the Doctor was preparing to throw a fifth piece. Upon realizing that he had been caught, he slowly sank back into his chair. His smirk widened.

Mycroft decided to fight fire with fire. He picked up a piece and threw it back. It barely reached the Doctor's table but the point had been made. The Doctor raised his eyebrows and it was Mycroft's turn to smirk. The Doctor threw a dinner roll. Mycroft threw a tomato from his salad. This time, it actually managed to reach the Doctor's table. Mycroft smugly turned back around before feeling an enormous lobster hit him in the back of his head.

Alyssa gasped and Mycroft hissed, "Really?"

He picked it up and stomped over to the Doctor's table, bending down and muttering, "I believe that this belongs to you."

"Actually it belongs to this delightful couple," the Doctor admitted, gesturing to the table next to them where an elderly couple was looking bewildered. It wasn't every day that a man in a bowtie chucked their dinner across the restaurant.

Sherlock's face was as red as the lobster as he roared with laughter. Mycroft rolled his eyes and elbowed the tray of butter. It splattered onto the Doctor's coat.

"Oh, sorry," Mycroft coolly said, "It was an accident."

He went to turn but was immediately drenched by an entire pitcher of water.

"Are you serious?"

"It was an…accident?"

"Excuse me?"

The restaurant manager had appeared, scowling as he asked, "Is there a problem here?"

"No," Mycroft and the Doctor meekly said.

Mycroft stomped back over to his table and sincerely said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Alyssa laughed, "He's an odd friend to have."

"Friend is actually a bold word," Mycroft loudly said, deciding that he was going to give the Doctor a good game, "I mean he's really just a funny man with a bowtie. Rubbish things, they are. Bowties. Not cool."

Another quick glance over and he saw that the smirk was gone. Mycroft smiled to himself but his next comments were drowned out by the arrival of their dinner. He and Alyssa were momentarily distracted by the scrumptious food.

"This is amazing," Alyssa said, "The best shrimp that I've ever had!"

"Yes, the food is delicious," Mycroft agreed, "It's just too bad some people would rather throw it across the restaurant than taste it."

Alyssa giggled and asked, "Honestly though, where do you find a friend like that? I mean what do you know about him?"

"What do you mean?" Mycroft asked through a mouth of shrimp.

"The Doctor," Alyssa pressed, twirling a piece of hair around her finger, "How much do you know about him?"

"I…Hang on," Mycroft trailed off, mentally going through her question before quietly saying, "I know that I didn't mention the fact that he was called the Doctor."

"You didn't?" Alyssa softly asked.

"No," Mycroft said, flatly, "I didn't. How do you know him?"

"Everybody knows me. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

The Doctor was once again standing next to Mycroft. Despite his joke, he wasn't smiling and instead was emitting a cold fury. He firmly pulled Mycroft away from the table and aloofly remarked, "Time to go."

"What's going on?" Mycroft whispered.

"Let's shed a little light on your date," the Doctor suggested.

He took out his Sonic Screwdriver and clicked it. The lights in the restaurant immediately brightened. Mycroft shielded his eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Saving you from commitment," the Doctor snarled.

Mycroft went to reply but Alyssa suddenly moaned and began to seize.

"Are you alright?" Mycroft gasped, starting forward.

"Mycroft," the Doctor quietly said, "Stay right where you are."

"Doctor, what's going on?" Sherlock cried, coming over.

The Doctor stepped in front of the brothers but Mycroft ducked around him.

"Mycroft!"

Instead of looking at Alyssa, Mycroft found himself staring at a creature. She…it resembled something of an aardvark. It began to unfold and expand into a monstrosity.

The Doctor grabbed Sherlock's hand and yelled for them to run. The three raced away and the creature began to follow, smashing the lights and overturning the tables.

The Doctor threw open the side-door and they ducked into the alley. The Tardis was standing next to the wall of the building.

"Great," Mycroft gasped, "Let's go inside!"

"No, no," the Doctor hastily said, "I don't want to take you away from your date. I mean that would just be alienating your normal life and I really have no place to interfere with your life because after all I'm just that funny man with the rubbish bowtie so I'll just be on my way."

He stepped inside and slammed the door.

Sherlock and Mycroft both gaped. Mycroft felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach. Before he could say anything, the door flew back open and the Doctor stepped out.

"Joking," he cried with a childish grin, "I just needed to grab a few things!"

He handed them each a pair of sunglasses, putting his own on. He then held up a large flashlight and flipped the switch. It emitted an intense beam of light just as the monster burst out of the restaurant. It immediately began to shake before completely dissolving. Mycroft covered his brother's eyes and tried not to vomit. He blinked and the monster was gone, as though it had never existed.

"That takes care of that," the Doctor calmly said, "Alright boys! Time to go!"

He opened the door and nodded for them to enter. Mycroft nearly sighed with relief before putting his arm around his brother's shoulders and helping him inside. He glanced around the console room and smiled. To think that he would delay his return for something as trivial as a date.

"Tonight was weird," Sherlock muttered.

Mycroft nearly laughed and agreed, "I think that the Doctor just exploded my date."

"I dissolved your date," the Doctor corrected, flipping several levers and pushing random buttons. The Tardis immediately made the familiar sound and Mycroft knew that they were off.

"What was that thing?" Mycroft asked.

"Little buggers," the Doctor muttered, "Literally bugs. Alien bugs. Big alien bugs. They actually have a really long name which is too hard to pronounce. They basically function like killer chameleons. They disguise themselves as the perfect human. The perfect date. That is, until they eat the other person at the end of the night."

Mycroft's jaw dropped and the Doctor continued, "Fortunately they can be easily killed by a bright source of light."

The Doctor suddenly glanced at Sherlock and apologetically said, "Sherlock Holmes, it is way past your bedtime. Come along."

"Are you going to yell at Mycroft?" Sherlock asked, anxiously.

The Doctor chuckled and said, "No. I promise."

It was obvious that Sherlock was skeptical. Mycroft was skeptical as well but he still followed the Doctor and Sherlock into the bedroom. The Doctor tucked Sherlock in and said goodnight.

"Goodnight," Mycroft offered.

The Doctor paused and said, "Mycroft, you don't have to go to bed right now."

"That's alright," Mycroft remarked, "It's been a long night…"

"Oh, I insist."

"Right," Mycroft sighed, hearing the underlying message, "I'll be out in a minute."

The Doctor nodded and left.

Mycroft sat on the edge of his brother's bed and softly said, "Sherlock, I'm sorry that I lied to you. I should have told you that I was going on a date."

"I already knew," Sherlock shrugged, "Between the suit, the freshly polished shoes, the cologne, the nervousness…it wasn't that hard to deduce. Not to mention the fact that I heard you making reservations at the restaurant. How do you think that the Doctor knew where to go?"

Mycroft grinned, proud of his brother for being so brilliant.

Sherlock settled back into his pillow and suddenly laughed, "We did try to warn you that you couldn't have one night of normalcy."

Mycroft grinned, "Hey, I'd take a blue box over blue eyes any day."

He bid his brother goodnight and went out into the main room. The Doctor was standing at the console, looking extremely thoughtful.

Mycroft sat down and pondered the night's events. The Doctor was surprisingly silent.

Mycroft nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a shrill ringing noise.

The Doctor glanced back at him before answering a nearby telephone.

"Hello? Hey, Jack. Yeah. Yeah, we found him."

Mycroft cringed. Jack knew?

"Thanks for that. Wasn't sure who else would know the restaurants. Don't worry, they're fine. Well…safe. No, I do not know what you are looking at and I'm not sure that I want to. A hole in the wall?"

The Doctor sighed and said, "You're at the restaurant. I'm sorry. It was just a simple alien parasite. I didn't think that Torchwood needed to be involved. Tell them that I gave you the rest of the night off. No? Ah well. Worth a shot. Listen, I'll make it up to you. I'll pay for the damages to the restaurant. What do you mean I never pay? Oi, I resent that. Yes, Mycroft's right here. No, I've got it covered. Thanks anyway. I'm fine. No, really. Thanks."

He hung up and Mycroft suddenly wished that he could disappear into the couch. He gave a start as he realized that the Doctor was rambling, "For your second date, I should take you to a restaurant on the moon of Elizor. They have the best shrimp that I've ever tasted. The ones back there were barely edible. Though they were good for throwing."

"Am I allowed a second date?" Mycroft remarked.

"Oh," the Doctor cried in mock surprise, "Are you actually asking for my approval?"

Mycroft rolled his eyes but the Doctor wasn't done. The Time Lord turned around and angrily said, "Do you have any idea how I felt when I stopped by your house only for Sherlock to tell me that you were gone? You could have been anywhere in London!"

"Thought you weren't going to yell at me," Mycroft muttered.

"I'm not yelling," the Doctor coldly said, "Believe me when I say that if I was, you would know. I told you that we were going to talk about this later. It's later."

Mycroft knew that he wasn't going to be able to avoid the conversation. That didn't mean that he was going to let the Doctor have every minute of it. He crossed his arms and said, "For the record, Sherlock knew where I was."

"Because he figured it out," the Doctor snapped, "He's brilliant. You're brilliant too, if you would actually use your brain. Suppose that Sherlock hadn't figured it out? Suppose that we didn't know what restaurant you had gone to? You could have been killed. You lied to Sherlock and you broke one of my rules! Listen, I don't like rules any more than the next guy but when I set rules, I expect you to follow them! How many other rules have you broken?"

"None," Mycroft cried.

"Why should I believe you?"

Mycroft reeled back and angrily snapped, "That's a pretty bold statement coming from you! Rule One: The Doctor Lies and we still trusted you."

The Doctor didn't answer and instead turned back towards the console. Mycroft's frown deepened and he found himself asking, "So what now? Are you going to ground me? Prevent me from dating until I'm forty?"

"No," the Doctor remarked, "No, you've already proven that I have no real jurisdiction over you. If you want to go on a second date, so be it."

Mycroft gave a start at the Doctor's tone before muttering, "Well if I do manage to get a second date, I hope that it goes a lot better than this one."

"Oh come on," the Doctor said, bracingly, "It wasn't that bad."

He turned back around and two glanced at each other before cracking up.

Mycroft wiped actual tears from his eyes before saying, "You dissolved my date! My date was a bloody alien and you dissolved it."

"Yes, I did," the Doctor said with a sheepish grin, "Sorry about that!"

Mycroft frowned and quietly said, "Doctor, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I've been acting like a complete brat; especially back in the restaurant."

The Doctor gently smiled and replied, "I accept your apology but I honestly wasn't much better. I didn't want to invade your privacy, mind you. I just knew that something was wrong. I knew that you wouldn't listen so I figured that I'd keep an eye on things. Though I did tell you that you that I didn't want you dating. It only leads to trouble."

"I've noticed," Mycroft muttered before bursting out, "Blimey that had to be the worst date in the history of the universe."

"I've experienced nastier ones," the Doctor admitted, "But yours is definitely on the list."

"Well," Mycroft mused, "You can't change the past."

The Doctor stared at him for a moment before pointedly asking, "Have you met me?"

The two laughed and Mycroft said, "Nah, that's alright. It makes for a good memory. Or rather an awkward-never-going-to-forget-because-you-and-Sher lock-won't-let-me memory."

"Never," the Doctor agreed, "And if you think that the past hour was awkward…I hate to do this Mycroft, but we need to talk."

"Haven't we been talking?" Mycroft asked with a snarky grin. He then quieted as he saw that the Doctor—the 1200-year-old Time Lord who zoomed through the universe—looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Listen," the Doctor sighed, "I was hoping to put this off for a while and believe me when I say that I really do not want to do this but seeing as how you are at that age…"

Mycroft gave a start. They weren't just going to have a talk. They were going to have the talk. He didn't know whether to laugh or grimace.

The Doctor adjusted his bowtie and cleared his throat, "When a man and a woman…well it doesn't necessarily have to be a man and a woman…when two humans…well…when two beings in the universe like each other…or simply want to reproduce…or…well…"

"Doctor," Mycroft interrupted, deciding to put him out of his misery, "It's not that I don't enjoy listening to this but we had to take a course in school where we learned everything."

He couldn't help but to smirk as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief. Nonetheless, it was obvious that the Doctor wasn't finished, "Ahem. Good. But just so you know, as awkward as it may be, if you ever have any questions or if you somehow mess up, you can always come straight to me. And depending on what your problem is, I will either help you or toss you into the infinite void."

The two laughed and Mycroft said, "Thanks, Doctor. Thank you for everything tonight."

The Doctor softened and said, "You never have to thank me, Mycroft. Now! You have had an extremely long night! Off to bed."

Mycroft nodded and started towards the bedroom before stopping and saying, "Just for the record, I wouldn't even think about going on a second date without your approval."

The Doctor looked touched and Mycroft stood by what he had said. After all, he had been wrong in the restaurant. The Doctor was definitely more than the funny man with a bowtie.

EXTENDED ENDING

The Doctor gently said goodnight and waited a second longer before shutting the door, leaving the brothers to peacefully sleep. He returned back to the console room, only to find that Jack was waiting for him.

"All right?" Jack asked.

The Doctor didn't answer and instead asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure that you didn't kill Mycroft," Jack said, teasingly.

The Doctor chuckled and said, "Nah. We actually had a pretty good conversation. He's still grounded, though. For a week…a month. Maybe two."

Jack laughed and said, "Doctor, relax. He went on a date. And to be fair, it was a horrible date. I think that he's already been through enough."

The Doctor growled out in frustration and repeated, "He's been through enough? I'm the one who had to chase him all over London and dissolve an alien and give him the bloody talk…"

"Wait, what?" Jack interrupted, "You actually gave him the talk?"

He doubled over with laughter and the Doctor scowled.

"Mind recapping?" Jack managed to wheeze.

"I'd rather forget the whole thing," the Doctor mumbled.

"You can't stay mad at him forever," Jack patiently said.

"I'm not mad," the Doctor sighed, "Just…frustrated. I told him that he wasn't allowed to date. It was Rule Four, Jack!"

"Oh no," Jack teased, "Not Rule Four. Next, he'll be saying that bowties aren't cool."

"He did say that they weren't cool," the Doctor muttered.

"And you haven't thrown him into the infinite void?" Jack asked with a mock-gasp.

"You're not helping," the Doctor cried, "He said that friend was a harsh word, that I was just a funny man with the bowtie, and that bowties were rubbish. He apologized afterword but it still hurt. Although now that I think about it, I suppose that he might have just said that because I was listening in on the two of them…"

"You didn't," Jack gasped.

"I needed to make sure that he was safe," the Doctor argued, "And it's a good thing that I did because he could have been killed!"

Jack's smile widened and he said, "Doctor, don't you see what's going on? You aren't mad at Mycroft because he broke Rule Four! Blimey, you're upset because you're actually watching him grow up. You're watching the both of them grow up."

The Doctor turned away and quietly said, "I don't want to watch them leave."

"They're not going to leave," Jack softly promised.

"Oh really?"

For the first time in a while, the Doctor actually sounded harsh as he asked, "They're going to stay in the Tardis forever? They're never going to leave?"

Jack sighed and admittedly said, "Okay, I misspoke. But here's the thing…no matter how old they get, no matter where they go, you will always still be the Doctor. Their Doctor. And they will always remember the funny man with the bowtie who took them on amazing adventures across the universe. That's what you do. You change people's lives. You show people like Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes just how much you care and how brilliant they are. That's not easily forgotten, Doctor."

The Doctor turned back around and smiled, "Thanks."

There was a pause before the Doctor added, "You're giving Sherlock the talk, when the time comes."

Jack laughed and replied, "No, no. You don't want me giving anyone the talk."

The Doctor had to agree but still said, "Well, I'm not going through that again."

"River?" Jack offered.

"Only as a last resort."

"Or we could let his father do the honors…"

"Absolutely not."

The Doctor's head suddenly snapped up and he groaned, "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"We have to go back to London," the Doctor cried, scrambling to press buttons.

"Why?"

The Doctor gave him a wry smile as he said, "I'm willing to bet that Mr. Holmes is still locked in the study."