We have now reached the last chapter in the 50th special rewrite. There's a plot twist here. I want to hear your thoughts. I haven't been able to find an fics with the same concept so please tell me if you know any. R&R. :D
"I now pronounce you spouse and wife."
"Woo hoo!" Clara/Rose cheers.
"You may kiss the bride." I shut my brain off. I don't need to remember this. I finally manage to push her off and breathe.
"God speed, my love."
I look at Ten for help. "Right! We will be right back." And he thankfully drags me know the TARDIS after him and starts the dematerialization sequence. The others follow us in.
"You've let this place go a bit," the War Doctor says.
"Ah, it's his grunge phase. He grows out of it." Eleven explains.
Ten strokes the console. "Don't you listen to them." An alarm sounds and he gets an electric shock. "Ow! The desktop is glitching."
"Three of us from different time zones. It's trying to compensate." The War Doctor looks around.
"Hey, look. Round things." Eleven is such a child and I can't help but smile.
"I love the round things." Not that Ten is much better.
"What are the round things?" Eleven asks.
"No idea," Ten says. I say, "Wallpaper."
"Oh dear, the friction contrafibulator. Ha! There, stabilised." Eleven does something and the desktop changes again.
"Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it," Ten is aghast.
"Oh. Oh yeah? Oh, you never do. Listen, we're going to the National Gallery. The Zygons are underneath it." Eleven is all business.
"No, UNIT HQ. They followed us there in the Black Archive." We all stare at the Clara/Rose person.
"Okay, so you've heard of that, then."
I head into the corridor to check on our current Rose. She's sleeping soundly through the whole thing. The baby has been draining her energy lately.
I head back to the console room and the Doctor's are talking to Kate. "I'm sorry."
"Not as sorry as you will be. This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with.
"Kate, we're trying to bring the Tardis in. Why can't we land?"
"I said, switch it off."
"No, Kate, please. Just listen to me!" Eleven shouts.
"The Tower of London, totally Tardis-proof." Ten is right.
"How can they do that?" Clara/Rose asks.
"Alien technology plus human stupidity. Trust me, it's unbeatable." And now Ten is wrong. I pick up the stasis cube is on the console.
The War Doctor looks at me. "We don't need to land."
"Yeah, we do. A tiny bit. Try and keep up." He is infuriating.
The War Doctor contradicts him. "No, we don't. We don't. There is another way. Cup-a-soup. What is cup-a-soup?"
DWDWDW DWDWDW DWDWDWDDWDW
Eleven gets back on the phone. "Take a look at your phone and confirm who you're talking to...You were just talking to me. I know. I'm a time traveller, figure it out. I need you to send the Gallifrey Falls painting to the Black Archive. Understood?...just do it."
Things get blurry for me after that. Next thing I know, there's a Dalek being thrown into a room. "Exterminate!" Not sure what happens but then the Dalek is dead. Thankfully.
"Hello," the War Doctor says.
"I'm the Doctor," Ten announces.
"Sorry about the Dalek," Eleven finishes off.
"Also the showing off."
"We got to make an entrance," I tell Clara/Rose.
"Kate Lethbridge Stewart, what in the name of sanity are you doing?" Finally, he didn't sound like a child.
"The countdown can only be halted at my personal command. There's nothing you can do," one of the Kate's say.
"Except make you both agree to halt it."
"You're about to murder millions of people."
Kate is adamant. "To save billions. How many times have you made that calculation?"
The clock says 1:36 but I'm not all that worried.
"Once. Turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is any more. You tell yourself it's justified, but it's a lie. Because what I did that day was wrong. Just wrong." I hold back tears as Ten gives his speech. I can connect to it this time. The War Doctor turns to look at the Moment.
I have something to say. "He's right. And because we got it wrong, we're going to make you get it right."
"How?" Kate asks.
"Any second now, you're going to stop that countdown. Both of you, together." Ten Sits down and puts his feet up on the table.
Eleven follows suit. I smirk. Bromance with yourself. Go figure. "Then you're going to negotiate the most perfect treaty of all time."
"Safeguards all round, completely fair on both sides."
"And the key to perfect negotiation?"
"Not knowing what side you're on."
"So, for the next few hours, until we decide to let you out..."
"No one in this room will be able to remember if they're human..."
"Or Zygon." Eleven jumps on the table all three Doctors do something with their screwdrivers to the memory filter. "Whoops a daisy."
The countdown gets dangerously close to the end but both Kate's shout, "Cancel the detonation!"
It stops at five. "Peace in our time." And then the negotiations start. I head over and lean on the wall next to Eleven. He looks at me and I cock my head.
"What?"
"I'm not sure. You tell me. Because something...something isn't right about all this. You say that woman is Rose but she's not used to being called that. And you're acting funny. You're not...reacting the way you should. So what happened?"
He smiles slightly. "You always were perceptive. Never could lie to you. Mum yes, Dad sometimes but you. Never."
Okay. I'm lost. What? "Start with Clara. Why are you with Clara and not Rose?"
He's startled. "You know her name?"
"Of course. I know everything. It's not just perception, it's foreknowledge. Sort of. So?"
"Where's your Rose?"
"I asked you first."
"Your answer to my question will answer your question."
"She's in the TARDIS."
"Why?" He's trying to lead me to something... but what?
"Because she's pregnant. Is that where your Rose is? Is she pregnant again?"
He sighs. "So much for perceptive. Do I have to spell it out?"
"Oi. Attitude. And yes that would be nice. It's been a long day and I'm tired."
His gaze holds mine. "Your Rose is pregnant. I'm a time traveler."
No...no. That's...could that be? I look at him and I know it's true. And he knows that I've realized the truth because he's smiling at me. "Hello Auntie Jane."
"Oh my..." I touch his face and he tears up slightly. I pull him into me and we hug. His arms wrap around me tightly. "You're all grown up."
"And you're extremely young."
I pull back and hit him lightly. "Oh shut up." There's still sadness in his eyes. He lost River and Amy and Rory already. He must have lost me. I won't live that long. Neither will Donna. But something in his eyes tells me that he's alone. "What happened? To your parents?"
He looks at the ground between us. He shakes his head. "I can't. You taught me better than that."
I smile softly. "Yeah. Spoilers right?"
He nods but there's more lightness in him now. "There's so much I can't tell you. You're not my aunt yet. Not really. But you will be soon. You're running out of time."
"What do you mean?"
"You're song is ending."
I suck in a breath. I've heard it before. I'd forgotten about it. "He will knock four times."
"I'm sorry."
I shake my head. As timelines are concerned, he's older than me. But I feel older than him. I feel a deep parental protection for this man and I won't let him be sorry for this. "Not your fault. Never your fault. Now. Enough of this. We got work to do." I smile at him because I know. Today the Doctor's son is going to help save Gallifrey.
Clara brings it to everyone's attention that the War Doctor disappeared. Except I can't call her Clara. I have to remember that Eleven... not sure what else I will call him, needs to be seen as the Doctor. Which means Clara has to be Rose to everyone else.
And that's what I tell myself to remember as we all fly to the moment it happened. The moment he pushed the big red button.
DWDWDW DWDWDW DWDWDW DWDW
When we land, Rose is awake, and she walks out with Ten and I. Eleven and Clara come from the other TARDIS.
"I told you. He hasn't done it yet." I smile as Clara makes her point.
"Go away now, all of you. This is for me."
Ten is confused. "These events should be time-locked. We shouldn't even be here."
"So something let us through," Eleven agrees.
The moment in the corner speaks, but the War Doctor and I are the only ones who see and hear her. "You clever boys."
"Go back. Go back to your lives. Go and be the Doctor that I could never be. Make it worthwhile."
"All those years, burying you in my memory. Pretending you didn't exist."
"Keeping you a secret, even from myself." I know what he means. His father didn't tell him this. Most likely because his father never truly knew.
"Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anybody else." I'm glad that Ten is making peace with himself.
My turn to encourage him. "You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right."
Ten smiles at me. "But this time..."
"You don't have to do it alone." Ten, Eleven and I put our hands on the button together. I see Rose standing next the moment. I know Rose can see her.
The War Doctor has yet to notice. "Thank you."
I turn my attention to Ten. "What we do today is not out of fear or hatred. It is done because there is no other way."
"And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save." Eleven looks at Clara, who shakes her head.
"What? What is it? What?"
"Nothing."
"No, it's something. Tell me."
"You told me your people were wiped out. I just. I never pictured you doing it, that's all."
The Moment speaks. "Take a closer look."
It suddenly goes dark.
"What's happening?" Clara asks.
"Nothing. It's a projection."
"It's a reality around you." Rose says it, but the War Doctor doesn't notice. We see the war on Gallifrey.
"These are the people you're going to burn?"
Clara sobs slightly.
"There isn't anything we can do," Ten says mournfully.
"He's right. There isn't another way. There never was. Either we destroy our own people or let the universe burn."
"Look at you. The three of you. The warrior, the hero, and you," the way Clara says I know she knows. Eleven must have explained it to her.
"And what am I?" he asks.
"Have you really forgotten?"
"Yes. Maybe, yes."
"We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero."
"Then what do I do?"
"What you've always done. Be a doctor. You told me that name was a promise. What was the promise?"
The projection freezes and I can feel the tears in my eyes. My opinion has changed. Some promises aren't meant to be broken. This is my promise too. Not because I'm the Doctor, but because I'm part of his family. Their family. It's not the promise of one man. It's the promise of all of us.
"Never cruel or cowardly." Ten starts.
"Never give up, never give in." The warrior finishes. The frozen image disappears.
"You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?"
My turn. "We change history all the time. I change history everyday by simply breathing in this universe. We're suggesting far worse."
"What, exactly?"
"Gentlemen, I have had four hundred years to think about this. The Doctors have changed thei mind." Eleven sonicks the big red button back into the Moment box.
"There's still a billion billion Daleks up there, attacking," the War Doctor reminds us.
"Yeah. But there's something those billion billion Daleks don't know," I say in a sing song voice.
"Because if they did, they'd probably send for reinforcements," Eleven agrees.
"What? What don't they know?" Clara's lost.
"This time, there's three of us," it makes me giddy how excited Ten is.
"Oh! Oh, yes, that is good. That is brilliant! She didn't just show me any old future, she showed me exactly the future I needed to see."
"Now you're getting it." The Moment and Rose do an air high five since the Moments not actually there.
"What? Who did?" Eleven has finally noticed his...mum.
"Oh, Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you."
"Yeah, that's going to happen," the Moment is amused.
"Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf? Cause I don't mind if you do." Rose walks over and gives the War Doctor a gentle kiss. Elevens expression is how any kid looks when they see their parents showing affection. Ten is equal parts jealous and smug. That must be confusing.
"What?" The War Doctor is stunned.
Rose smiles. "Hello."
"I'll take my wife back now." Ten pulls her into his side. They really are adorable.
Clara saves Eleven from further embarrassment. "So what are we doing? What's the plan?"
The War Doctor shakes himself to answer. "The Dalek fleets are surrounding Gallifrey, firing on it constantly."
"The Sky Trench is holding, but what if the whole planet just disappeared?" Ten wonders.
I smile as I give my input. "The Daleks would be firing on each other. They'd destroy themselves in their own crossfire."
"Gallifrey would be gone, the Daleks would be destroyed, and it would look to the rest of the universe as if they'd annihilated each other." Eleven laughs.
"But where would Gallifrey be?" Rose asks.
"Frozen. Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away," Ten explains.
"Exactly," I smile.
"Like a painting," the War Doctor
confirms.
There's not much I can do in all of this. Rose goes with Ten, Clara goes with Eleven so I invite myself to go with the War Doctor. He doesn't protest. As I follow his instructions to help him, I watch him. He's a man before the split. Before the meta crisis. Which means Meta lived this man's life. He is a part of him. And I can see it. I see Meta in him.
It leaves me with a hollow feeling but I can't give into the pain yet. He said that there were moments he didn't want me to rewrite. That means I'll see him again. So is he truly d...gone yet?
I turn my attention back to the battle. When we succeed I hug the War Doctor. The relief and happiness in his eyes is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW
We find ourselves having tea in the Gallery, looking at the 3D painting of the Time War.
"I don't suppose we'll know if we actually succeeded. But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding in doing the wrong." The War Doctor makes a point.
"Life and soul, you are," Clara says. Rose smiles at her. It makes me laugh. Rose thinks that it's her future self, and I can't tell them otherwise.
"What is it actually called?" Ten asks.
His son answers him. "Well, there's some debate. Either No More or Gallifrey Falls."
"Not very encouraging when you say it like that," I comment. Of course I know what it's called. Gallifrey falls no more. But that's an answer for another time.
"How did it get here?" Rose inquires.
"No idea." Eleven looks hard at it like it will tell him where it came from.
"There's always something we don't know, isn't there?" Ten looks at me when he says it, but his past self responds.
"One should certainly hope so. Well, gentlemen, it has been an honour and a privilege."
Ten realies I won't answer him, so he moves on. "Likewise."
"Doctor." When Eleven says his goodbye I smile sadly. I can tell he wants to say Dad. But Doctor is what he must say.
"And if I grow to be half the man that you are, Jane Ryder, I shall be happy indeed."
I laugh. "That's right. Shoot for the stars."
"I won't remember this, will I?"
"The time streams are out of sync. You can't retain it, no." This saddens Eleven.
"So I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey rather than burn it. I'll have to live with that. But for now, for this moment, I am the Doctor again. Thank you. Which one is mine? Ha!"
He heads into his TARDIS and disappears as we look on. Then Ten speaks.
"I won't remember either, so you might as well tell me."
"Tell you what?" I cautiously watch the exchange between father and son.
"Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about."
"I saw Trenzalore, where we're buried. We die in battle among millions."
"That's not how it's supposed to be."
"That's how the story ends. Nothing we can do about it. Trenzalore is where you're going."
"Oh, never say nothing. Anyway, good to know my future is in safe hands. Keep a tight hold on it, Rose." He winks at Clara, thinking her his wife in the future. Clara takes it well.
"On it." He kisses her hand. I think it's because Eleven gives him a warning with his eyes. He must think himself is very jealous in the future.
"Trenzalore. We need a new destination, because I don't want to go." Rose takes his hand, he smiles at her and kisses it before brushing his other hand over abdomen where their child, their son, is growing. And then he heads toward the TARDIS.
Rose turns to me. "You coming Jane."
"Yeah. Just give me a second." She nods and allows her Doctor to lead her the rest of the way into the TARDIS.
I head to Clara and give her a hug. "It was lovely to meet you Clara. You take care of him for me and his parents alright."
"Of course. It wonderful to meet you too Ryder."
"You can call me Auntie Jane like he does if it suits you. No pressure." I grin cheekily at her and she winks at me. Yeah. I like her.
She sees that I need to talk to her Doctor so she heads into the TARDIS. I turn to him and he smiles at me.
"I like her. You should keep her around."
He looks at the floor and smiles. "I intend to."
"Good. Because I can tell your mum would approve."
He laughs. "They didn't suspect anything did they?"
"No. Not at all."
We sit down on the bench in the middle of the room. "Trenzalore. Your parents died there. Didn't they?"
He sighs. I taught him better but I already guessed it so he'll tell me. "Dad did. But they're both buried there. And I will be too." He pauses and continues. "You already know so much. You knew what was going to happen today."
"Not all of it. There were a few surprises."
"Ha! Yeah. But because you already knew the major plot, you're going to remember this and my parents won't."
Strange choice of words. The way he's looking at me makes me think he knows where I'm from. "How much did I tell you?"
He lays his head on shoulder like child curling up to someone who makes them feel safe. "Enough. You wanted to make sure that I grew up knowing how the world really works. You taught me a lot." He straightens his bow tie. "It's cool."
I laugh. "You better believe it is."
I smile and stand up. I ruffle his hair. "I think it's time for me to go now. You be good. Be better than our Dad. Find Gallifrey. Take care of Clara. She's good for you. And remember, life is too long to harbor regret."
I push the hair out of his face and he nods. "Yes mam." He stands and hugs me. "It was good to see you again."
The way he says it tells me a lot. I'm dead. Of course, I knew that already. After all, my song is ending. And he will knock four times. It's for me. That warning is for me. I pull away and he watches as I disappear into the TARDIS.