Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thanks for the response on the last chapter. We are nearly at 700 reviews. Holy Gallifrey, you guys! That is brilliant.

Here is the final part of #10 The Roman Invasion. Things come to a head on the Ides of March.

Happy Reading!

The Roman Invasion: Ides of March

Previously

"More time travellers," said Porcia. "The scanners say there are two more."

"Two?" murmured Rose in surprise but the Doctor shushed her as they eavesdropped on Idda and Porcia.

Idda growled. "More of them! But, no matter. Noon approaches and the hour is here. They shall be too late to stop it. Time is changing, and CAESAR SHALL LIVE!"

Nyda was a young Zygon, the youngest in the present Zygon fleet. This invasion force sent to Earth was her first mission away from Zygor. Before that, she had only been a lab tech.

Her orders had been simple. Get to Senator Casca's house, knock him out, and bring him back to the ship. In theory, it had been simple enough.

She remembered towering over the cowering Senator before being hit by crippling pain. As she regained consciousness now, she realised that she was bound and her red skin had been marred by white wound gashes. Wincing in pain, she straightened up a little and found herself looking right at her captors.

She growled in anger, trying not to show just how much it was hurting her.

"Stop struggling. You'll only make the injury worse," said the taller human with the cold blue eyes who had a sonic blaster holstered to his belt. Another CIA Agent, perhaps a senior one who had come in search of his people, Nyda surmised.

The other human standing behind him was staring at her with undisguised horror and unless she was truly mistaken, some pity. She snarled with even more anger. She did not need his pity.

"I said, stop it!" the first one snapped angrily.

She considered doing it again just to defy him but she truly was in too much pain. She stopped struggling, though she did regard him with a look of pure loathing.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness of the Celestial Intervention Agency, that's my associate Fitz Kreiner. What's your name?" he asked.

"Nyda," she spat.

"Where are my people?" asked the Captain in the same cold voice that he had been speaking in before.

Nyda growled but didn't answer. The Captain took his sonic blaster from his belt and pointed it at her. Nyda flinched, remembering the injuries she had already sustained. If she didn't get help soon, she would surely die. But she couldn't, wouldn't, help them. "They're dead!" she screamed. "They're all dead!"

The other human, Fitz, gasped in horror and Nyda gained some satisfaction from his pain before the Captain rolled his eyes. "You were in a CIA Agent's form when you made your way to Casca's house. Do you think you're dealing with amateurs here? Zygons can't copy anyone's form unless you have them in your stasis chambers."

Nyda glared at him but didn't say anything. The Captain rolled his eyes. "You must have those chambers somewhere safe. Probably still in your ship. So, where's your ship?" he asked.

Nyda stayed silent. She was not a traitor and she would rather die than betray her fellow Zygons. She looked down and kept quiet, waiting for the blast of pain that would be meant to make her talk.

Instead of that happening, the Captain holstered his weapon and strode over to her. Nyda flinched, knowing that humans had many ways of inflicting pain without the use of a blaster. She braced herself for it, when Fitz spoke for the first time.

"Whoa! Stop it," he said, looking a bit shocked at the sight of Jack advancing on the Zygon. The alien was repulsive and had possibly harmed the Doctor and Rose, not to mention countless CIA Agents, but Fitz wasn't going to see her tortured.

Jack turned around and raised his eyebrows at Fitz. "We don't have long," he said. "If Caesar survives, you cannot even imagine the consequences," he said sharply.

"But you can't torture her!" said Fitz, looking at Nyda's skin where the white gashes looking very painful.

"Torture?" asked Jack, astonished. "I'm not going to torture her!" He sounded furious and appalled. "I'm going to take her transmat bracelet. With luck, it will have the ship's location."

"Oh," said Fitz, feeling a bit foolish at having assumed the worst. "Right, go ahead then."

Nyda, who had been looking slightly hopeful, started to struggle again but the Captain's grip was firm on her hand as he examined the transmat bracelet on her wrist. "Got it," he said, releasing her wrist.

"Where is it?" asked Fitz.

Jack looked at his vortex manipulator where the location had appeared. "Oh, you have to be kidding me," he said.

"Why? Is it somewhere weird?" asked Fitz curiously.

"I guess you could say that," said Jack. "It's under the Theatre of Pompey. The very place where Caesar's assassination is supposed to happen."

"This is so bizarre," said Rose, looking at the group of Zygons in the form of Roman senators standing around the ship. "Also, slightly creepy."

The Doctor was looking at his silver pocket watch with a frustrated look on his face. He also appeared to be periodically rubbing his head like he was in pain. Rose reached over and entwined her fingers with his free hand, hoping to calm him down. He didn't look like he had noticed, though he did squeeze her hand once. He also stopped rubbing his head in pain.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Looking at the damage," he said, snapping the pocket watch shut and hanging it back on his waistcoat. "Idda, listen to me! Don't do this, please. You are causing damage beyond anything anyone can control."

Idda paid him no mind. The Doctor growled in frustration as he turned to Rose. "It's getting out of hand. Another hour or so, and the planet's timelines will start to crumble."

"Idda, we have a breach on the outer perimeter of the ship!"

Idda looked at the security feed and saw a human dressed in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket, waving right at the camera. "Doctor! Rose! You two down there?" he asked.

"Fitz!" grinned Rose in delight.

Idda growled in anger. "Focus the blasters on his position and fire! Obliterate the human!" she ordered.

"Now, hang on," began the Doctor angrily but abruptly went quiet.

Rose looked away from the security feed and turned to the Doctor, only to have him cover her mouth with his hand. Good thing he had done it too, since Rose had let out an involuntary gasp at seeing Captain Jack Harkness standing right behind him.

Rose's eyes widened as the Doctor gently dropped his hand from her mouth. Jack winked at her, looking just the same as ever. He looked at the Doctor and passed him something that Rose couldn't see.

"Make a wish, Rose," whispered the Doctor in her ear.

Rose shut her eyes at once. There was an explosion of bright light that she felt even with her eyes closed. She kept her eyes tightly closed though, as the Zygons started to scream. The Doctor squeezed her hand and she opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the still bright light that had engulfed the room.

"Just a distraction," said the Doctor as he unlocked the cell door with his sonic screwdriver.

All around the ship, the Zygons were looking disoriented enough that they didn't even think about using their weapons as the Doctor marched over to the "web" of organic red matter holding the CIA Agents and the real Roman senators captive. He fiddled with the control panel on the ship's wall next to them, and with a loud wail, the Zygons reverted back to their original form.

The captive CIA Agents and Roman senators started waking up slowly, looking bewildered at their surroundings.

"Rose, get the senators out!" yelled the Doctor, as the Zygons began to get their bearings back.

Quick as she could, Rose started ushering the Roman senators towards the transmat spot that she knew came out to the top near the Theatre. They were still in a bit of a daze, which made her job easier.

Once away from the Zygon ship, she left the senators inside the Theatre and ran to find Fitz. He appeared to be looking for her and sighed in relief when he saw her.

"Oh, thank god you're okay!" he said, grabbing her into a hug.

Rose hugged him back, patting his back. "Me too," she said. "Did you come with Jack? Where did he even come from?" she asked in confusion.

"I'll explain everything," said Fitz, but pulled her behind one of the columns quickly as he saw Senator Casca approaching the Theatre. "But I think it's time for history to happen."

Down in the Zygon ship, the CIA Agents were free of the Zygon influence and had regained control quite quickly. Jack was currently directing the surrender of the Zygons. Seeing that Jack had it under control, the Doctor hurried up to the Theatre to find Fitz and Rose.

He found them hiding behind a column and hurried over to them just as Julius Caesar entered the Theatre. The three of them held their breath as the senators stopped mumbling about the confusing circumstances that they had been trapped in minutes ago.

One of them approached Caesar before he could address them, and behind his back Senator Casca drew out the gleaming dagger and plunged it into his back.

Blood spurted from Caesar's back as he let out a shout of surprise. Before they knew it, practically every senator had drawn out a sharp weapon and stabbed Caesar.

As Caesar fell, the three time travellers left the gruesome scene silently. They happened upon Mark Antony who seemed to have heard the whole thing. He didn't pause to look at them, just proceeded to run into the Theatre to see what had happened for himself.

In a matter of hours, he would be addressing the people of Rome. Friends, Romans and countrymen would lend him their ears as he would speak about Caesar's fall.

The Roman Republic had fallen.

"...managed to convince Idda to surrender their forces," Jack was telling the Doctor as they waited near the TARDIS.

A few yards away, Fitz and Rose were sitting quietly, both more than a little shook up about the gruesome assassination that they had witnessed moments before.

"Is it always like this?" asked Fitz quietly.

"When it's bad, yeah," said Rose, her voice equally subdued.

"Don't you get scared?" asked Fitz.

"Sometimes," said Rose. "I think I've got used to it though. Which might actually be worse, now that I come to think of it."

"I don't think I can get used to it," said Fitz, shaking his head. "Just...I can't imagine ever being satisfied at someone being murdered. I know we didn't stab him ourselves, but we might as well have considering everything we did to make sure that he died today."

"It's history," said Rose, though her words sounded slightly hollow. "It was always going to happen whether we had been here or not."

"But we were here," said Fitz insistently. "Saying it is history is just an excuse, Rose, and I think you know that."

Rose sighed and shook her head. "It's not that simple, Fitz. Sometimes we can't change time, however much we want to," she said. She noticed Fitz shaking his head bitterly, and looked down at her hands. "This one time, I asked the Doctor to take me to see my Dad. He died when I was only a baby, but I really wanted to see him, you know. See what he was like and all."

Fitz looked at her in interest, listening to her words curiously. "What happened?" he asked.

"The Doctor refused to take me there," she said.

"Why?" asked Fitz astonished.

"He said it wouldn't be a good thing," said Rose. "I was mad at him for that. Didn't speak to him for two days. Then, he explained it to me. The past is always trickier than the future. Especially historic events or personal history. I didn't understand what he meant at the time, but the longer I stayed, the more I understood. He was right not to take me back. I cannot say for sure that I would have been able to stop myself from trying to save my Dad. If I had, the consequences would have been...catastrophic."

"It still doesn't excuse us standing by as a man is murdered," said Fitz stubbornly.

"No, it doesn't," said Rose. "But that is something that we have to live with. Just remember that the alternative was the loss of countless other lives and the destruction of Earth's future."

"Guess so," said Fitz. He glanced at the Doctor and Jack who were talking in hushed tones. "Think Jack fancies me?"

Rose chuckled at the abrupt change in topic. She still couldn't understand how Fitz could go from being a sensitive and thoughtful individual, to a shallow cad in an instant.

"Jack pretty much fancies everyone, or so the Doctor will have you believe," said Rose. "You should have met Amy. Flirted with anything with a pulse she did, until she and Rory realised how much they liked each other," she added, feeling a pang in her heart as she thought of her friends who were a whole universe away. "It's what our lot turned into in the future," she explained, inserting some cheer into her voice.

"That's a future I can get behind," said Fitz with a wink. "Or under, over, around. I'm not picky."

Rose giggled and pushed his shoulder playfully. "Come on Romeo, back to the TARDIS with you. Might even catch a snog with Jack if you're keen," she said as they both jumped to their feet and dusted off.

Fitz grinned wolfishly as he looked at Jack. "Oh, I am definitely keen."

While Fitz and Rose had been talking, the Doctor and Jack had been talking about the Zygons. As per the agreement that Jack got Idda to make, the CIA would be confiscating their ship and transporting them back to Zygor. If any further attempts were made to alter timelines, they would face the most severe consequences.

The Doctor had been quiet all along, though he did ask the one thing that was bothering him. "I assume you were sent to fetch your Agents," he said, looking at Jack. "But how did you know to look for us or Fitz?"

Jack sighed. "I had a message for you," he said, lowering his voice. "It's from the Lord Burner."

The Doctor went rigid and his eyes blazed with anger. "The Lord Burner?" he asked, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

Jack looked a bit taken aback at the reaction but gave a slight nod. "He sends a warning. About Rose," said Jack.

The Doctor inhaled slowly, eyes still blazing with anger. "Understood," he said. He relaxed a little, and gave a nod. "Give my regards to my brother. Tell him I appreciate the warning."

"Of course," smirked Jack.

The Doctor nodded stiffly as Rose and Fitz approached them. Jack grinned at them. "Well, it was nice running into you again, Doc, Rose. Fitz, it was nice to meet you," he said.

"You too," said Rose as she gave him a hug.

Fitz grinned at him and held out his hand to shake. Jack laughed and took his hand to pull him into a kiss. Fitz was frozen for a moment at the unexpected kiss on his lips but it only took a split second for him to return the kiss with equal fervour.

By the time they had both pulled away, their breathing was a bit laboured. Jack winked at Fitz. "Till we meet again, Fitz Kreiner," he said, releasing his hand.

"Yeah, same," said Fitz, sounding a bit dazed as Jack fiddled with the vortex manipulator. With a charming grin at Fitz, he vanished into the blue energy light.

Fitz glanced around and realised that the Doctor and Rose had gone inside the TARDIS while he and Jack had been ahem, saying goodbye.

With a bashful but satisfied grin, he slipped into the TARDIS through the ajar doors. There were definite perks to time travel after all.

Rose closed her eyes blissfully and tried to get her breathing under control as she felt the Doctor flop down next to her, his breathing sounding a bit laboured too. The bright orange suns shone down upon them, the simulated heat feeling like the real thing except that Rose knew it wouldn't give her a tan unless the Doctor or the TARDIS changed the setting on it. She opened her eyes and saw the lazy sway of the silver leaves above them. The toga that she had worn in Ancient Rome was thrown off to the side, a pool of silky purple fabric against the red grass.

"Hello," said the Doctor, smiling at the sight of her flushed face and swollen lips.

"Hello," she said, reaching over to trace the mark she had made on his neck.

The Doctor grabbed her roaming hand and kissed her fingers. He thought she was beautiful like this, all pink and yellow against the red grass, with the orange glow from the twin suns shining down upon her. He vowed to himself that he would really make love to her like this on Gallifrey at least once in her lifetime. The other Time Lords could bugger off with their tutting and disapproval.

She cuddled into his side and he kissed her head as he held her close. The bond was still on the edges, sated for the time being but not complete yet. He traced gentle words on her arm, smiling when she squirmed at the ticklish sensation.

"Rose," he said, determined to tell her about the bond.

"Hmm?" she asked, cuddling closer into his chest.

"There is something I have to tell you," he said. "It's about the time I saved you from Cassandra. I don't know how much of it you remember, or if you remember anything at all but...there is this thing I did to save you. It wasn't a bad thing," he said hastily. "I don't regret it at all. But it was...Rose?" he looked down at her when there was no response from her to anything he had said.

Rose was fast asleep, the exhaustion of their adventure and love-making catching up to her. He smiled ruefully and cuddled her closer. The bond was only a little of what he wanted to tell her. Braxiatel had risked a lot by sending Jack to them with a warning. He had disobeyed his vows as the Lord Burner, though the Doctor doubted that the orders had come through legitimate channels. They were safe for the time being, but he had to tell Rose soon. He wouldn't repeat his mistakes of the past.

He kissed her temple and decided to have a kip himself.

There was still time.

A/N End of 'The Roman Invasion'. Thanks for reading.

So, what did you think? Quite a lot of things happened in the chapter, including the Lord Burner's reveal. I had initially debated having the Lord Burner as a legitimate threat but it is canonical that Brax was indeed the Lord Burner at one point. No reason why he shouldn't be one now.

That being said, the Time Lords will appear in the next chapter. Just because the Lord Burner has warned them off does not mean that Vansell and Castellan Ortan will be deterred. The next story is called 'The Deadly Auction'. Part 1 will be up soon. It will also feature another major Time Lord that was introduced in New Who.

See you then!

~ Phoenix