"What?" Jack asked, confused.
"Not the Child," Nancy said. "Jamie."
"So how long until the bomb falls?" Rose asked in a small voice.
"Any second," Jack said nervously.
"What's the matter, Captain?" the Doctor asked, nearing Eva and Nancy. "Bit close to the volcano for you?"
"Is now really the time?" Eva bit out.
"He's just a little boy," Nancy cried.
"I know," Eva said, turning back to the other woman.
"He's just a little boy who wants his Mummy..."
"I know," Eva repeated. "There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his Mummy."
"And this little boy can," the Doctor finished.
"So what are we gonna do?" Rose asked.
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted.
"It's my fault," Nancy cried.
"No," Eva said. "Don't say that. It isn't your fault.
"It is," Nancy insisted. "It's all my fault."
"How can it be your...?" the Doctor started before the mask people cut him off.
"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!"
"It's time, Nancy," Eva said. "You can't keep it hidden any longer."
"What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked, as Eva hugged Nancy even closer.
"Nancy," she said softly, "Do you mind telling them your age?"
"I... I can't..."
"You told me you were twenty one," Eva told her. "They would never have guessed it – you're older than you look."
"You always knew, didn't you?" Nancy questioned.
"Doctor, that bomb..." Jack started. "We've got seconds!"
"You can teleport us out," Rose said.
"Not you guys," Jack shook his head. "The nav-com's back on line, gonna take too long to override the protocols."
"So it's Volcano Day," the Doctor said coldly. "Do what you've got to do!"
"Jack?" Rose asked hopefully, and even though Eva wasn't looking, she knew Jack sent her a sorrow filled look before teleporting out.
"How old were you five years ago?" the Doctor asked Nancy.
"Old enough to give birth," Eva confirmed. "He was never your brother."
"Teenage single mother in 1941," the Doctor said. "So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."
The gates opened revealing Jamie standing up front, leading the army of gas-mask people behind him.
"Are you my mummy?"
"He's gonna keep asking, Nancy," Eva told her. "He's never gonna stop. You need to tell him."
"Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands," the Doctor said.
"Shut up," Eva bit out at him. "Nancy, do you trust me? After the past month and a half, everything we've been through, do you trust me?" Nancy nodded slowly. "So tell him."
"Are you my mummy?" Jamie asked, stepping towards them. "Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"
"Yes," Nancy said, walking to him. "Yes, I am your mummy."
"Mummy?" the boy asked again.
"I'm here," Nancy said.
"Are you my mummy?"
"I'm here."
"Are you my mummy?"
"Yes."
"Are you my mummy?"
"He doesn't understand," the Doctor said. "There's not enough of him left."
"Shut up," Eva muttered, looking at the exchange between mother and son.
"I am your mummy," Nancy said. "I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry," she said, pulling him into a hug. "I am so, so sorry."
"What's happening?" Rose asked. "Doctor, it's changing her, we've..."
"Shut up!" Eva said, letting out a breath of relief. "The Nanogenes are clever – clever Nanobots! She's the mother – superior DNA."
Jamie let go of Nancy, who fell to the ground and Eva rushed forwards to take his gas mask off.
"Oh, come on!" the Doctor muttered next to her. "Give me a day like this! Give me this one!"
Eva pulled the gas mask off, and smiled at the little boy it revealed.
"Ha-ha, ha-ha!" the Doctor called out, lifting Jamie and turning him around in the air. "Welcome back! 20 years to pop music, you're gonna love it."
"What happened?" Nancy asked.
"The nanogenes recognised the superior information," the Doctor said. "The parent DNA. They didn't change you, because you changed them. Mother knows best!"
"Jamie..." Nancy whispered, hugging her son.
"Doctor, that bomb..." Rose said once more.
"Taken care of it," the Doctor dismissed.
"How?"
"Psychology."
They all looked up as the bomb neared them, only to be stopped moments before it hit by a stasis beam.
"Doctor!" Jack called out.
"Good lad," the Doctor said fondly.
"The bomb's already commenced detonation," Jack said. "I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long!"
"Change of plan!" the Doctor called back. "Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"
Jack nodded before turning to look at the two girls. "It was good to meet you, Eva," he said. "Rose?"
"Yeah?" the blonde asked.
"Goodbye!" The beam disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "By the way... loved the t-shirt!"
The Doctor smiled, stepping forwards and shaking his hands until Nanogenes came to him.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked.
"Software patch," the Doctor replied. "Gonna email the upgrade. You want moves, Evie," he said, winking at her. "I'll give you moves!" He pushed the Nanogenes at the gas mask people, making them all fall to the ground. "Everybody lives, Evie. Just this once! Everybody lives!"
The people stood up, none of them wearing gas masks anymore and the Doctor smiled at the women next to him, who smiled back.
"Evie?" a scared voice called out.
"Ricky!" Eva called out, breaking into a run.
"Eva!" the Doctor called after her.
"Ricky!" Eva yelled.
"Evie!"
As soon as the boy was in her sight, Eva started pushing people aside to get to him, lifting him up in her hands.
"You're safe," she whispered. "I'm here... you're safe now."
"Did the Doctor save everyone?" Ricky asked.
"He did," Eva nodded, slowly starting to head back. "He sure did."
"Right, you lot, lots to do," the Doctor called out, standing on the ship as he spoke. "Beat the Germans, save the world, don't forget the welfare state! Setting this to self destruct soon as everybody's clear," he added, leaning down. "History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"
"Usually the first in line," Eva said, walking towards him with Ricky in her arms. "Doctor, Rose, I want you to meet Ricky."
"She's my sister!" Ricky stated happily, wrapping his arms around Eva's neck.
"I sure am," Eva replied with a smile. "Ricky, I want you to meet Rose, a good friend of mine, and the Doctor, my boyfriend."
Almost immediately, Ricky frowned. "You never said he was your boyfriend," he said.
"What else would I be?" the Doctor asked, kissing the side of Eva's head.
Ricky's frown turned into a scowl. "I don't like him anymore," he declared, making Rose let out a sort of strangled laugh.
"Why not?" Eva asked.
"Because you're my sister," Ricky said as if it was obvious. "And that means you're supposed to love me best!"
Eva's eyes widened and the Doctor's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The combination of the scowling boy, the surprised Time Lord and the blushing woman in the middle of the two's attention made Rose fall to the floor, rolling with laughter.
EMH
"Take good care of him, will you?" Eva asked as she hugged Nancy goodbye, getting ready to go back into the TARDIS. "Both of them."
"I will," Nancy promised.
"And you two," Eva said, turning to Jamie and Ricky. "Take good care of her, as well. I want you both to do as you're told and be good for her."
"Will I ever see you again?" Ricky asked sadly. He always knew that Eva wasn't going to stay forever, but that didn't mean he was happy about his big sister leaving.
"Only if I'm lucky," Eva told him, kissing the top of his head before turning around and followed Rose and the Doctor in.
"The nanogenes will clean up their mess and switch themselves off cos I just told them to," the Doctor was saying. "Nancy and Jamie will go to Dr Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"
"Look at you," Rose said with a smile as Eva closed the door behind her. "Beaming like you're Father Christmas!"
"Who says I'm not? Red bicycle when you were twelve," the Doctor said.
"What?" Rose asked, turning to look at Eva.
"I'm 99 percent sure he cheated with that one," Eva told her.
"Did I, Bratz doll when you were eight?" the Doctor asked.
"Wait, what?"
"And everybody lives!" the Doctor said happily, pulling Eva into a hug. "Everybody lives! I need more days like this!"
"Doctor..." Rose said carefully.
"Go on, ask me anything," the Doctor told her, spinning Eva in the air. "I'm on fire."
"What about Jack?" Rose questioned, making the Doctor pause. "Why did he say goodbye?"
"Almost everybody lives," the Doctor said quietly. "I'm sorry, but he took the bomb... we can't save him."
Eva paused, taking a step back so that she could look at the Doctor. "What do you mean, 'We can't save him'?" she asked. "I know for a fact that we can."
"Not enough time," the Doctor told her.
"You have a time machine," Eva reminded him.
"There are laws."
"And I bet everything that you can do this without breaking them."
"Why are you so keen on saving him?" the Doctor asked. "He's a conman!"
"He's willing to die in order to save us," Eva retorted. "That gives him good points in my book. And I thought it would in yours, too."
"Well, you thought wrong," the Doctor bit out.
"Apparently," Eva muttered. "What is it, eh? What did I change this time?"
"What?" the Doctor asked, confused.
"I know for a fact that if I weren't here, you'd have gone to save him without hesitation," Eva stated. "So, what did I change? Is it because he flirted with me?"
"Don't be ridiculous," the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Then what is it?" Eva questioned. "Is it because I let him?" The Doctor looked away and Eva's eyes widened. "It is, isn't it?"
"Stop it," the Doctor said.
"No, I will not stop it," Eva said, stomping her foot. "And you will look at me when I talk to you!" The Doctor turned to her, a cold look in his eyes. "You will go, now, and you will save that man because he deserves nothing less."
"And if I don't?" the Doctor asked.
"Then I will shove you aside and do it myself."
"You can't drive the TARDIS," the Doctor said.
"Wanna bet?" The Doctor didn't reply, his gaze locked on Eva's hand. "What is it?" she asked, looking at it and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
"I'll save him," the Doctor said.
"What?"
"I said, I'll save him," the Doctor repeated. "But I'm not happy about it."
"Never asked you to be," Eva muttered, leaning back as the TARDIS flew away.
EMH
The TARDIS parked and Eva opened the door, allowing the sounds of "Moonlight Serenade" to filter out into Jack's ship as she went to fetch the Captain. Behind her, Rose just managed to make the Doctor allow her to teach him how to dance despite the Time Lord's insistence he knew already.
"Anyway," Eva heard Jack say with a sigh, "Thanks for everything, computer... it's been great."
"Are you going to sit there and sulk or are you coming?" she asked with a small smile.
"What?" Jack asked, turning around and Eva held out her hand.
"Come on, then," she said. "I'm not gonna wait forever."
Jack all but jumped out of his seat, taking Eva's hand and letting her lead him inside.
"Okay," Rose told the Doctor, stepping back a bit. "And turn. Okay, try and spin me again," she said after the failed attempt, "But this time, don't get my arm up my back! No extra points for a half-nelson."
"I'm sure I used to know this stuff," the Doctor muttered, sending half a glance at the direction of Eva and Jack, his eyes lingering on their intertwined hands. "Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up, there's gonna be a draft."
Eva laughed softly, letting go of Jack's hand and closing the door behind them.
"Welcome to the TARDIS," she said.
"Much bigger on the inside," Jack noted.
"You'd better be," the Doctor replied with a wink.
"I think what the Doctor is trying to say is... you may cut in," Rose said, taking Jack's hand and leading him forwards.
"Evie!" the Doctor called out happily. "I've just remembered!"
"What?" Eva asked as the TARDIS changed the background music to something with a better beat.
"I can dance!" the Doctor called out happily, stepping towards the trio while doing a ridiculous sort of dance. "I can dance!"
"Actually, Doctor, I thought Jack might like this dance," Eva said with a smirk.
"I'm sure he would, Evie, I'm absolutely certain," the Doctor said before winking at the Captain. "But who with?"
Eva laughed, stepping towards her boyfriend and taking his hand in hers, allowing him to lead her for a short while before looking up.
"Old girl!" she called out. "Could you put a song for me?"
Almost immediately, a pop tune started playing, making Eva laugh.
"What's that song?" Rose asked, looking at Eva with confusion written all over her features.
"It's an Earth song from 2009," Eva replied. "I was thirteen when it came out and I absolutely loved it. Hadn't heard it in years," she added thoughtfully.
"You grew up in the 21st century?" Jack asked.
"Sort of," Eva shrugged. "Parallel Universe. My life is complicated."
"Well, nobody but you knows this song," the Doctor said. "Old girl, can you put something else?"
Nothing happened, making Rose laugh. "I think she likes Evie better," she said.
"Everybody likes Evie better," the Doctor pouted, though his expression turned curious when the chorus started and Eva sang along.
"So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song and the butterflies fly away," she sang, raising her hands in the air. "I'm noddin' my head like Yeah! Movin' my hips like Yeah!"
"How did he get her?" Jack asked when Eva swayed her hips in accordance to the lyrics.
"I have no idea," Rose replied, all but gaping at the couple.
"Got my hands up, they're playin' my song, and now I'm gonna be okay," Eva sang, oblivious to the conversation going on between the Doctor's companions and pressing her back to his chest as he neared her from behind. "Yeah! It's a party in the USA!"
"You have terrible taste in music," the Doctor informed her.
"I have fantastic taste in music," Eva told him, mimicking his tone.
"As if," Rose snorted. "You probably liked Tokio Hotel."
"And if I did?"
"One Direction?" the Doctor questioned, bringing the confused expression back up Rose's face. "Taylor Swift? Justin Bieber?"
"No!" Eva called out. "Not Justin Bieber. But there's nothing wrong with liking any of the others."
"Leave her alone, guys," Jack cut in. "Everyone likes whatever they like and that's okay. Even if none of us knows any of that music."
"Oh, please," Eva rolled her eyes. "I grew up on Queen, Beatles, Rolling Stones... Elvis."
"And you like Miley Cyrus?" the Doctor questioned.
"First of all, there's nothing wrong with liking Miley Cyrus," Eva said. "Second of all, this music makes me happy, and that's enough for me. And third of all..." A small smile started making its way up her face. "I never said 'Party in the USA' was Miley Cyrus."
"I..." the Doctor started. "Well, it's... it was... I should take you to a Queen concert some time."
"Smooth," Jack snorted.
"I'll hold you on to that one," Eva said. "We're about two months away from my birthday."
"Oh!" Rose called with a smile. "How old will you be?"
"Twenty," Eva replied. "My nineteenth was less than a week after I arrived here. Third trip with the Doctor."
"Was it a good birthday?" the Doctor asked.
"It started good," Eva said, her tone lowering as she remembered the Library. "Turned bad and ended worse."
"What happened?"
"Spoilers."
"You can't leave us hanging like this!" Rose said. "Come on, give us something."
"Well..." Eva hesitated.
There wasn't much she could tell the Doctor without risking to rip apart the fabric of the universe by mistake, and even less she could tell Rose and Jack without trying to explain why they weren't there. She opened her mouth, certain she could find something, when the TARDIS started playing a new song and she smiled.
"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame, darling, you give love a bad name!"
"Did I forget to mention I'm a sucker for Bon Jovi?" Eva asked, taking Jack's hand and all but forcing him to dance with her as the Doctor looked up at the ceiling and huffed in annoyance.
"Smooth."
EMH
A couple hours later found Eva wandering around the TARDIS in her pyjamas. The Doctor said he'd show Jack his room and Rose offered to join, so Eva used the time to take a much needed shower.
If she had to point out the biggest downside of travelling with the Doctor, it would be the lacking of normal, daily showers. It didn't even have to be a hot shower – just the feeling of water pouring on her skin, taking off weeks of grime and sweat was enough.
Of course, this was the TARDIS, and the machine knew exactly how warm Eva liked her showers, what lotions she used and even how soft she liked her towel.
After the shower was done and over with, and Eva smoked the first normal cigarette she had in six weeks, she headed out in the search of company and dinner. She wandered around, half aimlessly as she was certain the TARDIS will lead her where she needs to go, when she heard two voices talking from one of the side corridors.
"Tell me, what have you done?" the Doctor asked angrily.
"I already told you!" Jack's voice replied. "I didn't do anything!"
"There is absolutely no reason for her to trust you," the Doctor said. "No reason for her to want to save you. You're just a con man, and your actions nearly ruined the entire human race!"
"It was an accident!"
"When I didn't want to save you, she started to disappear." Eva's breath hitched in her throat and she moved closer. "Her hand started to disappear. Last time I saw it happen, the universe was on the edge of collapsing into itself because of too much entropy. So I'll ask you again, and I'm not asking nicely anymore. What did you do to her?"
Jack cried out in pain and Eva jumped forwards, seeing the Doctor holding the other man against a wall by his collar.
"Doctor!" she called out, making the Time Lord let go the other man. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"
"He nearly killed you, Eva!" the Doctor called out. "This hasn't happened to you since Logopolis!"
"That wasn't him, that was you!" Eva called out, kneeling next to Jack and making sure he was alright. "Jack saved my life. In the future, he saved my life more times than I could count. If he died today, I would never have been born." She fixed the Doctor a hard glare as she and Jack stood up. "I trust him, because he's a good man. Better than you, at the moment," she added, linking her arm with the man who would be her father and walking away.
"You didn't have to say all of that about me," Jack said quietly.
"I never said anything that wasn't true," Eva told him. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jack – you are a good man. And once you start seeing it, everybody else will, too." She let out a sigh, leading him into one of the corridors.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"I need a smoke," Eva said.
"You smoke?" Jack asked, surprised.
"You got a problem with it?"
"Not at all," Jack smiled at her. "Women who smoke are hot."
"Okay, rule one," Eva said, pushing Jack through a door and into a room that looked like a park. "No hitting on me."
"Are there any more rules I should know about?" Jack questioned.
"Don't worry," Eva said. "I'm sure I'll think of more as time goes on."
EMH
It was hours before Eva finally fell asleep. She laid in bed, tossing in turning as she thought of what happened that day.
Almost losing Ricky, even knowing everything would turn out to be okay, scared her more than she wanted to admit. And saying goodbye later on, having nothing to assure her he was going to be okay, left a strain on her body and an ache in her heart.
And the happiness of seeing the Doctor again, quickly replaced by anger at him and the way he was treating Jack. It wasn't the former Time Agent's fault that the Doctor was annoyed by him hitting on Eva, and it wasn't Eva's fault that the male flirted with her. He flirted with everyone, and even if he didn't, it wasn't like anything was going to happen between the two of them.
Just the thought made Eva feel slightly sick. He was her father, for crying out loud!
Not that she'd tell him that. It was only his first time meeting her, and that wasn't the sort of things you throw on someone that only met you less than twenty four hours ago.
And she didn't have plans on telling the Doctor, either. Let him wallow in his pettiness for a bit. She will probably tell him later on, but not for a while and definitely not before he apologized to Jack – something the Time Lord refused to do when the father and daughter passed by him on their way to their respective rooms.
The Doctor. At the end of the day, it all came down to him. To his mistrust, something she thought was only reserved to his older versions because of her youth. His anger, that she never thought would be directed to her.
Hours after she entered her bed, when the TARDIS was so quiet you could hear the engines running, Eva finally managed to find comfort in sleep, only to be awakened less than thirty minutes later.
"Eva!" a stressed voice called out. "Eva, you've got to wake up!"
"I'm sleeping," she muttered, wrapping herself into the soft blanket, not very keen on moving from her current position. "Leave me alone."
"It's the Doctor!"
Eva opened her eyes to see Jack standing next to her, wearing nothing but his boxers and a shirt and looking more scared than she ever saw him.
"Rose is with him," he said. "But he... we don't..."
"Take me to him," Eva said curtly, all but jumping out of bed.
Jack nodded going out of her room and running down a corridor Eva never used before. It wasn't long before they reached what Eva assumed was the Doctor's room, and she walked inside without hesitating.
Rose stood by the Doctor's bed, trying to calm the kicking and thrashing Time Lord down but to no avail. Eva pushed her aside, not even bothering to apologize before she leaned down next to the Doctor, taking his hand in hers and whispering soothing words into his ear until he woke up.
"It's okay," Eva whispered. "Everything's okay now. I'm here."
"Eva?" the Doctor asked, his voice at the edge of tears. "Is it you?"
"Who else would it be?" she asked with a small smile.
"Please don't leave me," he whispered. "Please... I don't – I can't –"
"I'm not going anywhere," she promised. "I'm here until you get tired of me, Dumbo."
The Doctor didn't smile, only pulling Eva into a tight hug. "Please don't leave me."
From over his shoulder, Eva marked Rose and Jack to leave the room, clinging closer to the Doctor as the companions complied.
"I'll never leave you," she vowed. "I'm here, Dumbo. And I'm here to stay."