"I changed my mind," the Doctor said for the fifth time since they decided to take the Rani's deal. "We're not doing this. You're too worthy."
"Shut up," Eva said, looking across the flat area they were standing on as the Tetrap who was the Rani's assistant took his place with Mel at his side. Mel waved and Eva smiled softly as the Doctor took off his hat in greeting. "If I remembered, we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with."
"How many times do I have to tell you it's not your fault?"
"It is my fault, Doctor," Eva said. "The deaths of all those Lakertyans... I refuse to be responsible for another death today. Now hand it over."
The Doctor sighed, handing her the microthermistor and watching her walk forwards.
"Let Mel come towards me," he said. "I've kept my side of the bargain. You've got what you want."
The Tetrap nodded his head and Mel all but ran forwards, sending a sad smile to Eva as they passed one another. The Tetrap followed closely, locking his claw around Eva's wrist as soon as she was close enough.
"Don't touch me," she snarled, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "I can come on my own."
"So stupid," the Tetrap laughed. "You are not a worthy opponent for the Rani."
He marked Eva to start walking and she did, looking behind her only once, right before they took a turn and just in time to see the Doctor opening his arms to greet Mel.
She was safe, and it was all that mattered. Even if the Doctor was having a hard time believing it.
Eva kept her head high as she walked into the Rani's Headquarters. Even as she met the Time Lady herself, she wasn't intimidated as much as she was pleased by the bruise that was starting to form on the woman's cheek.
"Urak," Rani said and the Tetrap that escorted Eva raised his head. "Bring the other one."
"The other one?" Eva asked. "What other one?"
"Hand me the microthermistor," the Rani ordered, reaching out her hand.
"Not until you tell me what other one," Eva said, holding the piece close to her.
"Beyus," the Rani said impatiently, causing the Lakertyan to force the small tube out of Eva's grasp and hand it over to the Rani. "Good," she said, smiling smugly at the look Eva gave her. "As soon as the machine is operational, increase the brain stimulation."
"But that would take it above the danger level," Beyus protested.
"I'm in danger of missing the solstice," the Rani said. "Which is far more important."
"The computer control needs constant monitoring," Beyus tried. "I can't manage alone."
"So I've anticipated," the Rani smirked. "And I've got just the expert for you."
She motioned her head towards the corridor and both Eva and Beyus turned to see Urak carrying Mel towards them and putting her down.
"No," Eva whispered. If this was Mel, then the entire plan – the plan she convinced the Doctor to agree to – had failed. Not only did Rani have all of the parts she needed to complete her machine, but now she had not one, but two hostages to use against the Doctor. "No!" she called out angrily, rushing towards the Rani.
"Restrain her," the Time Lady ordered coldly and before Eva could make more than two steps forwards, Urak grabbed her arms and held them painfully behind her back.
She called out in pain before forcing herself to be silent, not wanting to give the Rani the satisfaction of knowing she hurt her. Instead, she looked as the Rani broke some sort of capsule underneath Mel's mouth, bringing her back from the frozen state she was in.
"Mel!" Eva called out. "Ru- argh!"
"Quiet," the Rani told her, turning back to Beyus. "Beyus, she's your responsibility," she stated simply.
"Mine?" Beyus asked in disbelief. "But I can't govern her. She's not a Lakertyan."
"Just make certain she understands the penalty for non-cooperation," the Rani told him before entering the laboratory once more, Urak dragging Eva behind her and throwing her at one of the room's corners.
"You won't win," she said. "The Doctor will stop you."
"Will he, now?" the Rani asked. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see about that. Oh, and before I forget..."
She crouched near Eva, grabbing her hand and twisting it. Eva bit her lip at the attempt to remain silent, the pain getting more and more intense until...
Crack!
Eva let out a scream of pain as her wrist snapped, and the Rani smiled in satisfaction as she stood up.
"Punch me again and I will do something much worse than breaking your wrist," she warned.
All Eva did was whimper as she held her hand to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks and clearing trails in the dirt on them.
EMH
Eva wasn't sure what happened in the minutes after the Rani left her on the floor. She had never broken anything before and even after everything she had gone through, her pain tolerance was nearly nonexistent.
It was about five minutes before her crying calmed down, and another ten minutes before she managed to think through the pain clear enough to comprehend what was going on around her.
When she did, she saw Urak entering the room – when did he leave? – and approaching the Rani.
"All went as you planned, mistress," he said and Eva felt like puking – whether from the pain in her arm or from the adoration in his voice, she didn't know.
"Good," the Rani said, smiling before turning back to Eva. "The Doctor fell right into my trap, as expected," she explained. "All it took was one little human and he was running into my gates, ready to sacrifice himself. And sacrifice he had."
"No," Eva coughed out. "You're lying. The Doctor would never –"
"Only he had," the Rani cut her off. "Everything and everyone, including him, are right where they should be. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to see for yourself," she added, marking at the door.
Eva glared before starting the process of standing up without using her broken hand. Her cheeks burnt red as she nearly fell, her sight blurry from tears and pain. She slowly made her way to the door, doing her best to keep her head high as she did, only to fall to the ground again when she saw the Doctor's cabinet was indeed occupied.
"No!" she cried out, stumbling towards it and putting her hand on the glass, as if it made her closer to him. "Doctor..."
"Just as I said," a voice said from behind her and Eva turned her head to the Rani gloating.
"I'll kill you for this," Eva whispered. "I swear I'll kill you."
"I'd love to see you try," the Rani replied. "How far have you got?"
"I need to realign the final calibrations before he can be connected to the main input" Beyus replied, and Eva sent a hate-filled glare at him, as well.
"Make certain that the levels are kept stable," the Rani ordered.
"If you're hoping for any positive results, you're going to be disappointed," Mel informed her. "The Doctor won't collaborate."
"I'm sure, were he able, he'd express his appreciation of such unstinting confidence," the Rani mocked. "As soon as the activity indicator reaches eight point one five, increase the stimulation."
With that, she turned around and entered the lab. Through the open door, Eva could see she opened the secret chamber and walked into it, and from the corner of her eye she saw Mel looking between it and her, torn.
"Go," Eva told her. "I won't be any use in my state as it is."
"As soon as the Doctor will come back, he'll fix you," Mel said.
"I know," Eva said, looking through the glass again. "Now go."
She leaned against the cabinet, the cold glass wiping some of the sweat that appeared on her forehead. The pain wasn't as sharp as it was right after the Rani broke her wrist, and Eva knew it was already starting to heal, but she didn't know how long will it take nor how good will it be.
Injuries like this needed to be fixated in order to heal properly, and Eva dreaded what would be the consequences if her bone mended wrong.
"Beyus!"
She jumped as she heard the Rani's voice calling out, Mel's screams in the background. How hadn't she heard them earlier?
"Yes?" Beyus replied.
"Is the Doctor connected to the main input?" the Rani asked, dragging Mel back to the corridor.
"Everything is ready," Beyus confirmed.
"Then switch on!"
"No, Beyus!" Mel called out. "For once don't do as she –"
Urak put his paw over her mouth, muffling her screams. Beyus looked at her worryingly, before glancing at Eva, who was too weak to move, before doing as the Rani said.
"The Doctor's well-being is in your hands now," the Rani warned. "Remember that."
She turned back to her lab as the Doctor started shaking and Eva felt helpless, unable to do anything but look at him through the glass and too afraid to hurt him if she tried tinkering with the machinery.
Behind her, Mel screamed through Urak's paw until the Tetrap couldn't bear it anymore.
"You, Lakertyan," he told Beyus as he threw Mel to the ground next to Eva, "You will be responsible for this creature's behaviour."
"Are you okay?" Mel asked.
"No," Eva said, tears burning in her eyes. "I know that the Doctor will be okay in the end, but... but it's pretty hard to believe it right now. Did I change too many things?" she asked. "Did I mess up the whole timeline because I don't remember enough to stay safe?"
"No," Mel said determinedly. "No, Eva, don't ever think that. The Doctor will sort this out."
"How?"
"He'll find a way. He always does."
EMH
Time passed, but Eva had no idea how long has it been. She felt movement behind her and she was certain Mel and Beyus were talking occasionally, but she was blind and deaf to anything and everything but the Doctor, lying unconscious with his brain connected to the Rani's machine.
She looked at him, smiling slightly when she saw his lips moving. He was still trying to interfere. If he couldn't do anything to physically stop the Rani's machine, he could still stop it from doing its purpose!"
"Quickly, disconnect the Doctor," the Rani said, running to the corridor and Eva smiled. She must have reached the same conclusion. "The fool has provoked multiple schizophrenia."
Eva looked up, a victorious glare in her eyes as the Rani disconnected the Doctor.
"Congratulations," Mel mocked as Eva started trying to open the Doctor's cabinet. "You brought us here."
"And I shall dispose of you," the Rani said, turning her attention to her wrist computer. "This will rid me of the three of you."
With a grunt of pain, Eva stood up, pressing the keypad and opening the door to the Doctor's cabinet before falling to the floor once more. The Doctor quickly stood up, grabbing the Rani.
"Quick, Mel, don't just stand there, help me!" he called out.
"Let go of me, you interfering maniac," the Rani called back, trying to escape only to trip over Eva and fall into the cabinet.
Mel rushed forwards, pressing the keypad and closing the door behind the Time Lady.
"Give her a taste of her own medicine," she said. "Shall I switch on?"
"No, Mel," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "Two wrongs don't make a left turn."
"A right," Eva breathed out. "Two wrongs don't make a right."
The Doctor frowned, kneeling next to Eva and inspecting her hand. "What happened?"
"The Rani," Eva said through gritted teeth as pain hit her at the Doctor's touch. "And apparently, I have no pain tolerance."
"You had a sword in your stomach but you can't function with a broken wrist?" the Doctor asked.
"Nobody expected me to function with a sword in my stomach," Eva said. "I was dead."
"Dead..." the Doctor said. "Eva, your fever, the shivering, your weakness... these aren't pain symptoms. Did you eat anything the Rani had given you?"
"No, of course not," Eva said. "I'm not stupid."
"Drink anything?"
"It's not like she played host, Doctor," Eva said. "All she did was come up to me, break my arm and later tell me she captured you."
"She didn't approach you again?" the Doctor questioned.
"Not that I noticed," Eva shrugged. "Then again, I was a bit busy dealing with my broken arm. Why?"
"Because these aren't pain symptoms," the Doctor said, looking Eva up and down before apparently finding what he was looking for, moving a bit of hair from her shoulder.
"Is that...?" Mel said worriedly.
"A needle," the Doctor said. "Eva, it seemed that you've been poisoned."
"Don't be ridiculous," Eva said. "Why would the Rani poison me?"
"Because she knew when I found out, I'll be too distracted taking care of you to stop her plans."
"She thought," Eva corrected.
"What?" Mel asked. "Thought what?"
"Thought the Doctor will be too distracted by me to stop her plans," Eva replied. "You don't get to play to her hands, Doctor. You need to stop that brain, save Lakertya and stop the Rani for good. I'm not important."
"Eva," the Doctor started, "If I don't help you now, you'll die."
"Been there, done that," Eva shrugged. "I'll go back to the TARDIS. You handle things here."
"Go back to the TARDIS?" Mel asked in disbelief. "Eva, you can barely stand!"
"Stop that brain, save Lakertya, stop the Rani," Eva said, forcing herself up. "And tell Ikona I said good luck."
"Eva, I must insist you let me take care of you!" the Doctor said, and Eva turned to look at him.
"Stopping the death of one woman who can be brought back to life isn't more important than all the lives that will be lost if the Rani succeeded," she said, before turning and resuming her slow pace, trying her hardest not to think of his next words.
"It is when that woman is you!"
EMH
Eva was brought back to life painfully, as usual. There was a weird feeling in her chest and her arm was itchy, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. She blinked a couple of times, trying to determine her surroundings before noticing the people who stood in a circle around her.
All at once, her memory came back. She managed to get back to the TARDIS right before she died, falling on the cold white floor with her last breath. Death by poison was clearly not a pleasant one.
And the people around her – they were all the geniuses the Doctor managed to save – which meant he managed to stop the Rani in time and save the Lakertyans! And they were all currently looking at her with different levels of curiosity.
"Intriguing," one of them said. "Is that a trick of the eye or a trick of the mind?"
"Impossible," another muttered. "I checked her pulse myself and determined it nonexistent."
"She was dead, and now she's alive," a woman said, walking around her. "How could she have done that?"
Eva frowned as they kept looking at her like she was a part of an experiment, trying to bring herself up only for the world to spin around her.
"Careful, dear," the Doctor said, walking into the TARDIS. "I believe you might be dehydrated. This way, ladies, gentlemen, others," he added, opening the interior door. "I'll get you back to where you belong. Hopefully."
The geniuses sighed but did as they were told, all except Einstein who looked at the console. The Doctor sighed, taking his arm and leading him after the others.
"I'll explain how it works later," he said. "It's all relative."
"Can you help me up?" Eva asked as he closed the door behind them.
"You need to rest," the Doctor frowned.
"I need to say goodbye," Eva said. "I'll rest later."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The Doctor smiled slightly, helping Eva to her feet and allowing her to lean on him as they walked out of the TARDIS, enjoying the smile that jumped to her face at the sight of Ikona.
"Ikona," Eva said, raising her hand in the Lakertyan greeting.
"Eva," Ikona said, mimicking her action. "I'm glad to see you are well."
"Likewise," Eva said, before turning to Faroon. "I'm sorry for your loss," she told the woman.
"It's okay," Faroon said. "He died trying to stop the Rani."
"Goodbye, Faroon," the Doctor said. "When I think of Beyus I shall remember with admiration the sacrifice he made."
"He must have been convinced that it was the only way to be certain of saving the rest of us," Faroon sighed.
"He'll not be forgotten," Ikona said and Eva nodded determinedly.
"I'll make sure of that," she declared.
"Nor will you, Doctor," Faroon said, and the Doctor smiled, turning slightly away from her.
"Well," Mel said, seeing the look on the Doctor's face. "Cheerio, Ikona."
"I wish I were coming with you," he said, raising his hand to greet her the same way Eva greeted him.
"No one will credit this, least of all you," Mel said with a smile, "But so do I."
"I do have another regret," Ikona sighed.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked.
"After all the suffering she's caused, the Rani has escaped to freedom in her TARDIS."
"Trust me," Eva said, "The Rani's getting just what she deserves."
"Memory like a dromedary," the Doctor said, snapping his fingers before taking a small bottle out of his pocket. "An antidote against those killer insects in the globe. The Rani always takes out an insurance policy."
He handed it over to Ikona who took it, only to pour the liquid inside onto the ground.
"You're impossible," Mel said. "Why did you do that?"
"Tell her, Faroon," Ikona said, and Faroon smiled softly.
"Ikona believes that our people should meet their own challenges, if they are to survive," she explained.
"You really are something special," Eva said, unable to stop herself anymore as she jumped on the Lakertyan, hugging him tightly. "I'll come and visit, if I can," she said. "See how you lot are getting along."
"I'll look forwards to it," Ikona replied, awkwardly hugging her back.
"Well," the Doctor said, drawing Eva's attention back to him, "Time and tide melts the snowman."
"Waits for no man," Eva corrected with a laugh.
"Who's waiting?" the Doctor asked. "I'm ready."
"You're certainly going to take a bit of getting used to," Mel smiled.
"He'll grow on you, Mel," Eva told her. "I know he grew on me."
As they headed back into the TARDIS, the Doctor didn't bother to hide his smile.
EMH
A couple of hours later, after all of the geniuses were put back into their appropriate place in time, the Doctor went looking for Eva. He walked around the TARDIS half-aimlessly, trusting the machine to lead him to his girlfriend if she wanted him there – and knowing she would keep him away if he was unwanted.
It took about thirty minutes, but eventually the TARDIS led him through a door and into what appeared to be a garden. Eva sat there, looking at the horizon as the sun slowly set and he placed himself on a chair next to her, trying to ignore the cigarette smoke in the air.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, not looking at him. "I always liked looking at the sunset from here."
"It... It's very pretty," he said, noting in his mind the way the last rays of sun in view cut through the clouds, colouring the skies in shades of red, orange, pink and yellow. "Where is 'here'?"
"The backyard of the house I grew up in," Eva said. "I think it's the TARDIS's way to help me with me homesickness."
"You're feeling homesick?" the Doctor asked, surprised.
"Always," Eva replied. "It's easy to forget about, most of the time, but it's been months since I last saw them. Months since I arrived here."
"You have new people here," the Doctor noted.
"But I don't have the people I left behind," Eva said. "My parents... well, adoptive parents, apparently. My brother and sister, my cousins. All of my friends, just... gone. In a moment."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said truthfully.
"It's okay," Eva shrugged. "I love the life I have here. It's just... it's hard sometimes."
The Doctor said nothing, looking at the sunset once more. There was nothing he could do to help her. He couldn't take her to meet with the people she loved, because they didn't know her. She never existed here – not in the way she had in the other universe.
Eva finished her cigarette, getting up and stretching.
"It's been a long day," she said. "Let's get back inside."
"Wait," the Doctor said. "I wanted to talk to you. About... about what happened earlier, with the Rani."
Eva sighed. "Look, it's okay," she said. "I overreacted."
"No, you didn't," the Doctor insisted. "I should have recognized it was the Rani, and not you. I should have known better."
"Are we seriously going to do this now?" Eva asked. "The whole, 'this is my fault!', 'no, this is my fault!' thing?"
"Only if you insist on saying it was your fault," the Doctor replied, and Eva smiled.
"It's on both of us," she said. "You should have known it was the Rani, and not me, and I shouldn't have overreacted like I had. Are you fine with that?"
"Not really," the Doctor muttered.
"Too bad," Eva retorted, turning to walk away once more.
"Eva!"
Eva turned to look at him once more, an amused smile tugging at her lips. "Yes?"
"I..." he started. "Well, I'll understand if you said no, but I still thought I might ask. And I know we haven't done this before – well, I haven't done this before, not so sure about you – but if you're okay with it, I thought maybe..."
"Maybe...?" Eva prompted.
"I often have nightmares after I regenerate," he said. "And I know you helped me with nightmares in the future, but..."
"Yes," Eva said simply.
"I'm sorry?"
"Yes, I'll share a bed with you tonight to help with the nightmares," Eva said. "Just give me a couple of minutes to brush my teeth and change to my pyjamas."
"Okay," the Doctor nodded. "I'll see you in my room?"
"I'll see you in your room," Eva nodded, turning to leave for the third time before stopping, this time of her own accord.
She turned around, all but jumping at the Doctor as she pulled him into a kiss he returned happily. Her arms ran up and down his chest before moving to his back, his arms, his shoulders, his hair. It was as if she was trying to memorise his being – no, not memorise.
Get acquainted.
Just as he reached this conclusion, Eva pulled back, a light pink blush to her cheeks and her breathing heavy.
"Sorry," she said softly. "It was just... now body, new personality, new everything... I've been wondering how you kiss now."
"And the conclusion?" the Doctor asked, out of breath himself.
Eva smirked, a mischievous glint to her eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked before turning around once more, leaving him alone in the garden.