Geometry
Elements n. 5. Geometry: one of the points, lines, planes, or other geometrical forms, of which a figure is composed.
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Remember Elizabeth had seen a steady – and steadily increasing – stream of Christmas shoppers all afternoon; Donna hadn't been able to step away from the register for hours, while Rose and Wilf had been kept busy trotting unceasingly back and forth between sections, helping customers find that perfect gift. "Good thing I was wearing my running shoes!" she grinned at him in passing. Even Sylvia was pressed into helping when she stopped by after work, although she soon excused herself to go upstairs and ride herd on the youngest generation; drafting them in turn into helping her prepare a light supper and bringing it down to the others to snatch bites as they could.
Donna looked up during a rare moment's breather, and caught Rose's eyes across the shop, seeing her own restrained worry reflected in them. They hadn't heard a word from either husband in hours. Rose looked pointedly at the grandfather clock by the entrance: two hours to go till closing. She didn't have to speak aloud for Donna to hear the next sentence: and then I'm going out after them. She nodded agreement, me too, and turned to smile at the next customer.
Davey had decided to prove his nine-year-old maturity by staying below to help the grownups in the shop after bringing Mum her sandwich, and was soon busy keeping the displays straight and putting misplaced items back where they belonged. A particular book on the New Arrivals table caught his eye and he stopped for a moment, staring at the cover, wondering where he'd seen that man before. Just as he thought he was about to remember, he felt an odd tickling sensation sweep through his mind, and he looked up quickly to see almost everyone in the shop suddenly shake their heads as if to clear them, some reaching up with a hand to rub a sudden headache away from their temple. Then, without a word, they all simply went back to what they were doing; not one noticed that everyone else had done the same thing.
Davey took particular note that the only two people who hadn't seemed to be affected were Mum and Aunt Donna. He was about to go speak to Mum about it when a customer accidentally knocked over several piles of books on a nearby table, and he rushed over to stack them neatly again. He didn't remember either the man on the book or the incident until later.
The two hours crawled slowly by, and finally ended. Wilf locked the door on the dot against late arrivals and stood by to let the final customers out one by one as they paid up. Just as the last one was leaving, another figure slipped in past Wilf's choked-back objection: the Doctor had finally returned. Any words of reproach Rose or the others might have given him were swallowed at the sight of his haggard, haunted look, as he slung himself wearily into one of the chairs around the staff table at the back. Sylvia was just coming downstairs with the other three children and joined the cluster around the table..
"I had him. I found the Master, and I was talking to him, and then... somebody else got him. A group of paratroopers, of all things, suddenly swooped down from a pair of helicopters and nabbed him. They stunned me," putting a hand to the back of his head, then wincing away, "and pulled him up to one of the birds and took off. I couldn't see any kind of insignia; I don't have a clue who they were or why they wanted him – or how they knew he was there." He shrugged. "I just don't know." He sighed, then looked around. "Where's Mike? Hasn't he come back?"
Donna already had her mobile to her ear, now she caught the Doctor's eyes with her own, the worry she'd held back all afternoon flooding out. "No, and I can't reach him. It's going straight to voice mail, like he's turned his mobile off." She hesitated, then flipped her mobile closed without leaving a message.
"Dad?" came Davey's voice, soft and tentative. He'd gone utterly still when the Doctor had said "the Master", as memories of his Dad's stories about that other Time Lord ran through his mind – and other things began falling into place. "Dad, what does the Master look like?"
It was an odd question, but then, this was the Doctor: odd was normal. He shot Davey a puzzled look, then turned to Donna. "Do you have a picture of Harold Saxon somewhere?"
She turned and walked swiftly to NonFiction, pulling out a paperback and bringing it back. Without a word, she handed it face-first to Davey, a biography of the late Prime Minister of several years before and the mystery that surrounded him from birth to death. Davey's eyes got huge, and he turned back to the Doctor. "That's him. He's one of the three men in my dream – my nightmare. And, Dad - " he turned and ran to snatch up a copy of the book that had caught his eye before. "He was one of them, too."
He handed both books to the Doctor, who studied Davey's intently: a biography entitled Fighting the Future, on billionaire Joshua Naismith. The handsome black gazed confidently from the cover.
"That's who called Mike!" Donna gasped. "I didn't put the names together until just now! Mike's gone to help Joshua Naismith with some bit of alien tech – at least that's what he claimed he had."
"Naismith..." the Doctor murmured. "There was a large N painted on the bottom of the choppers." He blew his breath out, then looked sharply at his son again. "You said there were three men?" Davey nodded. "Who was the third? Have you remembered?"
Davey stared at the table, recalling his dream. "No... I mean, I remember his face now, but I still don't know who he is."
"May I look?" The Doctor put his hand out towards Davey, but hesitated, making sure he had his son's permission to look into his mind. Davey nodded, and his father gently touched the side of his face. He didn't have to search for the image; it was right there.
Everyone stared at the Doctor in alarm; he slowly gasped, his eyes going round as saucers, as he pulled his hand away from Davey and actually shrank back from him, as far as he could in his chair. "Rassilon..." he whispered. Only Rose knew that name; she'd heard him mutter – and sometimes scream – it during his nightmares.
Rassilon! He though frantically. Has he somehow managed to escape the Time Lock? No, that's impossible – and I'd know it instantly if he had. But why is he in Davey's dream, along with the Master? It must be something the Master's about to do, to release him. Well, whatever it is, it's not going to happen. Not if I can help it. He shied away from the image that hovered just out of reach, of the Earth under the dominion of those two evil Time Lords.
"Dad?" Davey's voice was shaking; had he done something wrong? Rose put her arm around her son's shoulders.
The Doctor shut his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face, then took a deep breath, forcing calm. He looked back at Davey, first, to reassure him. "It's all right. Just... the next time you have a nightmare, make sure I see it right away. OK?" Davey nodded vigorously, and his Dad gave him a weak smile. Then the Doctor took up Naismith's book again and turned it to Donna. "Where can I find him?"
As she scurried over to the computer to look up the location of Naismith's estate, Rose squeezed Davey's shoulders, saying "It's OK, honey. We need you to stay here and help look after the little ones, OK?"
The Doctor jerked around at that, staring at his wife, then swiftly standing and shaking his head. "No. Rose, you're staying here, too."
"What?" she stared back at him. "No, I'm not!"
"Rose." She started to look away, exasperated, but he caught her hand and pulled her close, willing her to look at him. "Rose..." he repeated, softer, but still firm. Finally, she turned back to him, gracing him with her best "you've got to be kidding" look.
"How long have we been together?"
The question surprised her into answering, a bit unwillingly. "Twelve years, all together."
"And during those twelve years, have I ever, once asked you to stay behind for your own safety? Have I ever, once tried to hold you back?"
She didn't want to answer, but he wouldn't continue until she did. "No," she finally admitted.
He bent down and put his forehead to hers. "I'm asking you now. Rose, the Master is a Time Lord. I have to face him alone. You can't help me there – there's just nothing you can do. And the instant he sees you, he'll know you're mine, and he'll use you as a weapon against me – and he'll have me, because I'd do anything to keep you safe. And he'll know it." He paused. "Please, love. Please. Stay here, and stay safe – and keep our son safe. Please?"
She closed her eyes, still not wanting to acquiesce – but she knew already she didn't have a choice. A last heavy sigh, and she looked at him again. "OK. I'll stay here – until dawn. If you're not back by sunrise, I'm coming after you, Mister. And nothing is going to get in my way then."
He smiled. "Yes, ma'am." Then he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a slow, passionate kiss, pouring all his love into it. "I love you more than life itself. You know that, right?"
"Ditto." She grinned at him, just a bit shaky, and stepped back, dropping her arms, letting him go.
The Doctor turned to take the scrap of paper from Donna with Naismith's address. He swept his eyes around the little circle of those who meant so much to him – the first real family he'd had in centuries. The only one missing was his twin. Michael, what have you gotten into? Are you facing off against the Master even now? The thought of Mike against his old enemy wasn't one he wanted to contemplate; nor did he want to examine the reasons for that bit of cowardice. Of course I trust him! He mentally shouted at the half-formed question.
Michael. The Master. Naismith. Rassilon. And me. Five points on a star. And the fate of the Earth in the balance. Again. He sighed. Once more into the breach, dear friends.
He started to turn to leave, then stopped, looking again at his family, and then began an odd little ritual – putting a palm to each of their foreheads, one by one, alternating hands: Rose, Davey, Donna, the twins Loren and Lyra, Sylvia, five-year-old Lucy, Wilf. "What are you doing?" queried Donna, bemused.
"I'm putting a mental shield over each of your minds, so the Master can't detect you from a distance." Among other things, he didn't add aloud. Finishing up with Wilf, he turned back to the three women. "Lock up down here, and go upstairs. Pull the blinds, don't show any lights, don't go out. Be very careful. Sylvia and Wilf, stay here tonight. Stay inside, stay safe. Please?"
If it hadn't been for the 'please', they might have laughed at his so very uncharacteristic instructions, but... "Yes, sir," Rose replied solemnly, echoing his earlier reply to her. She couldn't help reminding him, though: "Till dawn."
"I'll be back by then. Don't worry."
"Oi!" Donna broke in. "With my husband, if you please!" She couldn't keep up the brassy front, though. "Please... bring him back to me safe."
The Doctor nodded, unsmiling. He didn't need to say more. Then he turned, and slipped out the back door to the TARDIS.
