The Doctor in his ninth regeneration was running from side to side, rounding the Tardis' console making adjustments and imputing coordinates into the console as he went. He heard Sarah enter the room and looked up.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she smoothed down the red sweater she had added to the blue jeans that had inexplicably appeared in her wardrobe. It was obvious the Tardis was still looking after her. She was grateful to wear normal modern clothes after spending so much time in the Victorian clothing that had been required for their visit to 1852 Earth. She especially appreciated the return of her tennis shoes after wearing the high heeled multi buttoned boots.
"What makes you think anything is wrong?" the Doctor asked, not looking forward to telling Sarah what she needed to know.
"Because you were frowning when I came in, then smiled quickly when you realized I was here. So what don't you want to tell me?" Sarah was beginning to think the Doctor was right. Deep inside they were all the same and all still in there. This was exactly what he did in his fourth incarnation when he was worried about a trip.
"This isn't going to be an average trip in the Tardis Sarah. It's going to be rough." the Doctor admitted.
"Worse that when the Mandragora Helix got inside?" Sarah remembered that specific trip for a variety of reasons.
"It will make that look like a gentle massage." He circled the console again making some addition adjustments. "We're going to need something to hold us in place." He said while rubbing the top of his head. He remembered the last trip through the rift in space. It was a miracle that Rose and Mickey weren't critically injured considering how the Tardis was hurled through the rift. He had barely held on himself. "So I'm going to go get something to attach us to the console."
"Want some help?" she asked. She needed something to occupy her mind before it got away from her again. There was so much on the line if this trip failed to produce their daughter. She wasn't sure she could bounce back from the loss of her daughter again.
"Sure." The Doctor stopped and reached out his hand to Sarah. She took it as she had so many times in the past. The Doctor squeezed it affectionately. "It's going to be all right, no matter what we'll get through it together." They went through a coral arch and headed for the lab's supply room.
Forty minutes later, the Doctor had welded metal brackets and attached straps that could securely attach their bodies to the central console. He circled the console again, double and triple checking his figures. He looked up and met Sarah's eyes. "I think we're ready. Let's get you strapped in." He crossed over to her and helped her step into the harness he'd fashioned and tightly clipped her to the console. He put both her hands on a bar that he'd attached to the top of the console. "Hold on to this and don't let go for any reason till I tell you to."
"I will." Sarah watched as he repeated the actions for himself. He looked over at Sarah and smiled a nervous smile. "Good luck." Sarah smiled back at him. No matter what happened she knew the Doctor would do everything in his power to get Hope back. She braced herself as she saw the Time Rotor rise and fall. She felt the Tardis take off.
"He did it!" the Doctor yelled triumphantly. "He made the Time Lords open the rift we need to get through!" The Tardis began shaking inside attempting to toss its inhabitants off their feet. "We're going through any second now!" the Doctor shouted. He'd been right. The Tardis was tossed about like a piece of paper in the wind.
After a few minutes Sarah wondered how much more the Tardis or her inhabitants could take. Then just as suddenly as it began it was over, the silence that followed was almost deafening. "Are we through?" Sarah yelled.
The Doctor smiled at her and yelled loudly, "Yes we are." Then quietly asked, "Is there a reason you're yelling?"
"Oh you." Sarah grinned at the Doctor. "Come and get me out of this."
The Doctor had untangled himself from the straps and was already on his way to do just that. As soon as she was free she attempted to step back and almost collapsed to the ground. Her hands went instinctively to her head. The room was spinning. The Doctor caught her before she fell and sat her on the jump seat. He placed his hand on the back of her head and asked, "You okay?"
"Just a little dizzy, it will pass." She pushed him away. "Go check the scanner and see if we're where we're supposed to be."
Looking a little worried, he returned to the console and smiled. Checking the readings he found he was indeed in the same reality he'd had the misfortune to be pushed into before. On the scanner, like a jewel in space hung the Earth. He set the coordinates for the Doctor's lab. Within a few seconds he felt the Tardis materialize. He walked back over to Sarah. "Do you feel well enough to go with me?'
"Just try and stop me." Sarah said with the biggest smile the Doctor had yet seen since their reunion.
Harry and Benton had been on their way to see the Brigadier when they heard the Tardis materialize. Looking at each other they frowned. Each knew the pair was likely to be sad after leaving the baby behind. They entered the lab to find the Tardis not in its usual spot but found it sitting in the middle of the lab itself.
As they entered, the Tardis door opened and the Doctor that they'd met before came out followed by Sarah Jane.
Upon seeing their welcoming committee, the Doctor smiled and held his hand out, heartily shaking each man's hand. "Harry and Sergeant Benton how wonderful to see you again. You remember Sarah?" He reached behind him and took Sarah by the hand and pulled her forward.
Sarah reached her hand forward to a confused Harry and Benton. Harry reached forward and clasped her hand and said, "It's good to see you again Sarah Jane, considering I just saw you earlier this afternoon." Sarah looked to the Doctor confused.
The Doctor shook his head. "Harry, this isn't your Sarah. This is 'my' Sarah from my reality."
"Oh! In that case it really is good to see you." Harry shook her hand again.
"Me as well Miss." Benton said as he shook Sarah's hand as well.
To Sarah it was all a bit of a shock to see them standing in front of her so alive and so young again. The Doctor had told her that time had run at a different pace in this reality but it still didn't change the fact that she had loved and had mourned for the same people that were now standing in front of her. She couldn't help it, her eyes were tearing up.
The Doctor watched her and could see she was getting upset. It was no wonder after all she'd been through. She'd said goodbye to these men once and now she'd have to again. "We're looking for the Doctor and Sarah. They have something that belongs to us." The Doctor met Sarah's eyes and smiled.
"I'll say they do." Harry said.
"Where are they?" the Doctor said while rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"They went looking for you." Benton volunteered.
"What?" the Doctor asked stunned.
"Well it all began when they found a baby right after they were married…" Harry began only to be interrupted by the Doctor.
"We need the abridged version. Nothing personal Harry but…"
"Where did they go?" Sarah asked Benton.
"To your reality Miss. To the Unit there, they said. We were attacked earlier by the Sontarans. The Doc said they were after the baby and he took her there looking for you."
"The Sontarans?" Sarah asked, alarmed.
"The Doctor seemed to think they were the ones that had something to do with placing the baby here, the ones from your reality." Harry explained.
"The Doctor seemed anxious to leave after that so I never got to ask." Benton said, looking puzzled.
"Ask what?" the Doctor replied.
"Why leave her here in the first place? Benton questioned.
"It was because we had the good fortune to have a Sontaran with a conscience and perhaps even a heart." He looked down at Sarah, threading his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. "He was supposed to beam her into space. But he couldn't do it and transmatted her through the rift and to this coordinate. It's a miracle she made it, but had he not tried she wouldn't have survived at all." the Doctor explained.
"You've seen her? She's all right?" Sarah asked the pair anxiously.
"Yes, she's fine. She's more than fine." Harry quickly replied, anxious to curtail Sarah's fears. "She's perfect. You certainly have a beautiful baby." Then Harry remembered something and pulled his phone from his jacket pocket. "I took this, this afternoon. You can see she's doing great." He handed the phone to Sarah.
She looked at the picture of her daughter, her beautiful daughter. She was slightly larger than when she'd last seen her. Her little pudgy arms and legs showed she was well cared for. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked up at the Doctor and showed him the phone. "This is your daughter."
The Doctor took the phone from her hands and stared into a face he thought he might never see. He had a daughter, a flesh and blood daughter. "She's…beautiful." the Doctor said quietly, a tear forming in the corner of one eye.
"Swipe the screen to the left." Harry said.
The Doctor did and then showed Sarah. It was a picture of the Doctor in his fourth regeneration and his Sarah Jane with the baby in the middle. Both seemed very happy. "They married?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, we were all there." Harry smiled at them.
"They had just left the wedding and were about to leave in the Tardis when they heard her crying. They found her here in fact." Benton volunteered.
"What are we waiting for, let's go back home and get her!" Sarah replied as she headed for the Tardis.
"Because we may not be able to leave right away." the Doctor said quietly, with his head bowed.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
Before he could reply Sarah came running back out of the Tardis. "There's something wrong, the lights have gone out in the Tardis."
"Going through the rift was a huge drain on her systems. She won't go anywhere till she recovers."
"For how long?" Sarah asked, hands on her hips.
"Could be twelve hours, could be twenty four hours." He saw the defeat on her face and approached her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "We just have to wait. There's nothing we can do to hurry it up, I'm sorry." He looked back at Harry and Benton who were standing there looking uncomfortable. "Do you think the Brigadier would mind if we hung around here?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't. He's in his office right now. We were on our way to see him when we heard the Tardis. Come with us and he can set you up with passes." Harry advised.
The Doctor put his arm around Sarah's shoulders and asked, "Do you think they're serving meatloaf in the Mess Hall? The Doctor went on about how good it is the last time I was here."
"You know he made sure it was served at their wedding?" Benton laughed.
"She must really love him." Sarah looked up at the Doctor and smiled. She decided to make the best of the situation. There wasn't anything she could do but wait on the Tardis to refuel or whatever it was she needed to do. The other Doctor and Sarah by all appearances were happy and the Doctor was right, she was sure they were taking good care of her daughter. "Is there any way we could get a copy of those pictures?" she asked Harry as they walked.
"Sure, I'll get copies of them printed off after we see the Brigadier. Here we are." Harry said as they approached the Brigadier's office.
Sarah steeled herself for another run in with her past. She'd attended 'her' Brigadier's funeral and it had nearly destroyed her. She'd outlived them all and now they were all here again. She knew they weren't 'her' special family, but it still hurt. The Doctor squeezed her hand as they walked through the door.
Sarah laid silently, one hand clasping the Doctor's that was around her waist and the other resting on Hope's chest. She'd fed the baby during the night without incident. Thankful for readymade formula and the intuition that they might need them, she'd packed several days' worth of formula. It had been a night of pretense. Sarah had lain still pretending to sleep and the Doctor had lain still doing the same, both worried about what came next. Suddenly turning over the baby to her parents was the less of the worrisome things that might happen today.
The Doctor watched the Sun come in through the wooden shuttered cracks of the window. He knew Sarah hadn't slept much, just as she knew he hadn't. The baby seemed to be none the wiser to their predicament. He sat up and felt Sarah's muscles immediately tense. "It's all right." he reassured her. "I'm just going to look around now that we have a little light."
Sarah looked down into the makeshift crib to see the baby looking back at her. God bless her, she had no idea what was going on. "And how are you this morning my angel?" she quietly asked Hope. "What do you say we change that diaper and get you a bottle?" She began the task at hand as she watched the Doctor circle the room like a caged animal. "Doctor, we're going to need the Sonic Screwdriver." she said as she held up the bottle.
The Doctor took the bottle from Sarah and heated it. "While you're feeding her, I'm going to have a little look around." Sarah started to open her mouth in protest to be interrupted, "I won't leave the immediate area. I won't abandon you two."
As Sarah began to feed the baby she replied, "I've heard that before. Just you be careful."
"Always." He bent over and gave her a passionate kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too." she replied with all the love she could put in her voice. He smiled back at her before disappearing through the house.
The Doctor hadn't lied when he said there was no back door. But there was a back window that he'd seen last night. It was covered in wooden shutters on the inside like the one in the front. He quietly unlatched them and slowly pulled one back. If he and Sarah hadn't been fired on last night, this would be the perfect place for them to have a quiet getaway. But there was no denying it, they had. The woods seemed to go on forever out here. No sign of anything other than nature with the exception of a large propane tank out back. After another look around to make sure the area was clear, he climbed out the window and approached the propane tank. He scanned it with the Sonic Screwdriver and found it was full. It must run the cooking stove and heat the water, he decided. He was about to climb back in the window when a thought occurred to him. He'd once heard Benton talking about some old caves to the east of this cabin. It was something to keep in mind if they needed somewhere else to hide.
He climbed back in the window to see Sarah holding the baby tightly against her with a look of panic on her face. "What?" he mouthed.
She motioned to the door and he heard it too. Someone was outside. He could hear their heavy shuffling on the porch. He grabbed the diaper bag and the heavy blanket from the box and ushered Sarah through the cabin. The Doctor peered out the window to see a Sontaran rounding the corner of the house. He quickly adjusted the Sonic Screwdriver and aimed it at a precarious looking limb hanging directly over the Sontaran. Before the Sontaran could react the limb fell and luckily struck him right on probic vent. He went down quickly. Before they could rejoice in that they heard the door to the cabin being broken down.
The Doctor climbed quickly out of the window and took the baby from Sarah and then watched as she too hastily climbed outside. As Sarah climbed out he wrapped the blanket around the baby. As they neared the beginning of the grove of trees the Doctor passed the baby to Sarah. "Take her and head in that direction." He pointed to the east. He kissed her quickly and added, "I'll be right behind you." Once he saw Sarah doing as he asked, he aimed the Sonic Screwdriver at the propane tank and ran. This was not an act he was proud of, but he knew what would happen if they were to get their hands on Hope. And he knew they wouldn't stop there, they would kill Sarah without a second thought. The explosion of the tank almost knocked him off his feet.
The Doctor ran through the woods and saw Sarah up ahead. When he caught up with her he took her hand and they ran as quickly and quietly as they could. Once again the thickness of the grove of trees gave them some protection from being discovered. The Doctor led them to the east, in the hope of finding the caves that were supposedly on 'their' Earth and hopefully on this one as well.
General Ploket looked at the remains of three of his men. How many more men would it take for him to exact revenge on the Doctor? It doesn't matter, he told himself. It was worth it. Once the Sontaran High Command learned of his great triumph over the Doctor he would be promoted. Perhaps even a seat on the Grand Strategic Council. He looked down and noticed a bit of one of his men that had splattered his boot and kicked it off. The High Command would never know of the losses that were incurred in this battle, only of the results. He would concoct a story that would be told and retold for centuries and beyond. A story where he alone was the one that brought the Doctor to his knees and ultimately destroyed him. He would make sure no witnesses survived to say otherwise.
Raafl came around the far side of what was once the cabin and watched his General, hands on his hips and dreaming of some untold glory. He knew what the others thought of him but he didn't care. If Ploket had any idea that he was a birther, his life would have ended long ago. So he followed him around and did everything possible to keep Ploket happy. As long as he repeated Ploket's ideals back to him and made him think that everything that came from his lips was the untainted truth, he would be protected from the fate of others of his kind. But still, he wasn't blind. He was ever alert. He'd been told to search that cabin before it blew up. He knew the General was making too much noise outside the door and the Doctor would be alerted. So when the others charged through the cabin he followed Ploket around the outside perimeter.
"Ah Raafl, you survived the Doctor's onslaught." Ploket commented and then turned to stare at Raafl and suspiciously asked, "How exactly did you manage that?"
"General Sir," Raafl stood at attention and said while staring straight ahead, "I noticed that you were forming your own attack Sir and I thought you might need assistance." Raafl was rather proud of that lie. He'd lost count of all the lies he'd told since being assigned to Ploket.
"Yes, well…the Doctor ran like a Ground Speel once he realized General Ploket was the Sontaran that after him." Ploket puffed out his chest.
"Yes Sir. What are your orders General?"
"The Doctor is running out of places to hide." He touched the device on his wrist and five Sontarans transmatted in. The group looked around, seeing the remains of their predecessors on the ground and said nothing. They stood at attention awaiting orders. "We will capture and kill the Doctor and his compatriots for the glory of the Sontaran race!"
"Sontar-ha Sontar-ha Sontar-ha Sontar-ha Sontar-ha Sontar-ha Sontar-ha!" the group chanted.
As he chanted Raafl met the eyes of one of the newly arrived Sontarans. He recognized Draak from his youth, a fellow birther. Their eyes met briefly, one look conveying everything. They had previously discussed Ploket's insane desires. They both knew their chances of surviving this outing with Ploket weren't good but what could they do? To die in battle was an honor…or so they were told.
Author's Note: Only two more chapters to go. I hope everyone is enjoying this. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.