Chapter 5

"Please let me explain!"

As the Doctor stood in the front room by the fireplace, feeling glad she had at least invited him in after that frosty welcome, Tina stood there, arms folded as she glared at him and her daughter looked on.

"Wow," said Lucinda, "It's really him, the man in the picture you showed me! He hasn't aged!"

"And I'm not in the mood for more selfies!" he said, shooting a look to Tina.

She turned her head and glanced at her daughter.

"Me and the Doctor need some time alone to discuss...stuff. Can you leave us for a while?"

Her daughter smiled.

"Oh, I see...the romance is back on, is it?"

"Hardly!" Tina snapped, but her daughter was still smiling.

"I'll leave you guys alone for a while.. you need to um...catch up..."

Lucinda left the room, and the Doctor walked over to a wide window that looked out on to the garden, and Tina joined him as the breeze shifted in warm and sweet carrying with it the scent of the roses and the colourful flowerbeds.

"Twenty seven years, Doctor!"

"And I can only apologise for that but Tina, I turned the dial too far in error and the Tardis would not let me change course – which means it was never up to me. There's something in your house and its about to grow to maturity and Missy left it here, waiting for this moment to come. I think that's why the Tardis forced me to return now, when I had to be here to stop her plans."

At the mention of Missy, her eyes clouded with confusion.

"Well she was okay to me! In fact...back then, when I was young and drunk and irresponsible, its safe to say all she did was have tea while I got drunk - and then she did the same thing to me that you did. I was wild back then. It was an experience."

He turned sharply from the window and stared at her.

"You and Missy -"

"It was a one off. A crazy night."

"And I know what happened afterwards. I know what happened when Franklin came back. That was a fixed point in time. You were always meant to shoot him and take the diamonds."

All anger faded from her eyes as she took in his words spoken in a hushed voice.

"You...you know I killed him?"

"I couldn't have stopped it. Some things are not meant to be tampered with. And I know afterwards, when you used your late father's contacts to sell the diamonds for you, even when that was over and the money was in the bank, you couldn't keep away from this house. You felt a pull to return here that you couldn't understand. Like you had to return."

She unfolded her arms and gave a slight shiver.

"He's still here."

The Doctor looked puzzled.

"Who is?"

"Franklin. His ghost. I feel it around me, like I have to be here because I killed him and he wants to remind me of that. It's like I'm never by myself in here – I can feel it all the time, like there's something dark and deep sunk into the floorboards, like his ghost is under the house and -"

"There are no ghosts, Tina."

Her eyes widened.

"Well I can feel it and it's horrible! It's like I have to put up with it, because of what I did."

"That's your sense of guilt talking. Pay no attention to it, he was a violent man who tried to commit a violent act and would have killed you had you not fought back. Fixed point in time,Tina. He's dead and was always meant to die by that gunshot on that night. You don't have a ghost in your house. It's an alien life form."

She shook her head.

"No, I feel it, Doctor! I know its a ghost, it's the man I killed!"

"It's a very intelligent but young shape shifting creature that's far from home and left here by Missy until it reached maturity. She's planing to use it to destroy the world. The creature doesn't know right from wrong, it's lost and needs returning to its home far from here. Missy had its habitat – a small crystal. Do you know anything about that?"

She shook her head, and he saw uncertainly in her eyes.

"Oh come on, Tina! The world could be at risk! There are no ghosts here - it's alien. I bet your daughter has never sensed the presence like you do."

"How did you know that?" she asked.

"Because she was born here, to her its just the natural feel of the house. But you with your baggage and guilt over the past keeps telling you its a ghost. There are no ghosts! You did a public service the night you saved your own life, and you rid the world of a violent scum bag well done for that! And I know its not an easy thing to live with, knowing you killed a man – I killed many in the Time War!"

"What was the Time War?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"A closed subject now," he replied, and then he stepped closer to her and looked into her eyes.

"I was prevented from returning until now because I had to be here at this point in time – I have to stop Missy. Was she better than me?"

His question has surprised her.

"What? You mean...No, it was just different...I was wild in those days and -"

"So I was better than her?"

Tina gave a weary sigh.

"It was almost thirty years ago!"

"What did she say to you?"

Tina hesitated.

"It was a long time ago. But I do remember she said you lied about waiting for me."

The Doctor silently cursed Missy with every known foul word both human and Gallifreyan as he thought of how this looked to Tina.

"I swear to you, she's a dangerous and very old enemy of mine! She didn't know the Tardis prevented me returning, she was just trying to stop you trusting me! I've known her in many guises over many lifetimes and she has never had anything but bad intentions for this planet! She's evil!"

She looked into his eyes, and all those years ago seemed like yesterday as she got that feeling again, the one that told her this man was old as time itself, and along with that memory came the rush of love she had felt for him so long ago.

"She gave me a crystal," she admitted, "A small, boring looking piece of rock and asked me to look after it until she returned."

He drew his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and activated it, as the long tip glowed blue he listened carefully as it scanned the area.

"And the creature is definitely here," the Doctor replied, "I was right – it's under the house. There are no ghosts, Tina – just a creature far from home that needs to be returned before it gets used as a weapon!"

Now Tina believed him.

"I'll fetch it," she said, and hurried from the room. As she left the Doctor breathed a heavy sigh and it was not from relief that she finally believed him – there was a very obvious threat present beneath this house, and even if he was able to remove that threat, the Doctor had no clue if Tina would ever forgive him for being twenty seven years late...

When she returned to the room, she carried a very old jewellery box, it was small and covered in silk and she sat down on the sofa and the Doctor sat beside her, and she opened it up and took out two old, faded polaroid pictures, one of her, the other of the two of them on the day he had protested he didn't want his photo taken. Then she reached beneath the pictures and drew out the crystal and handed it to him.

"You are doing the right thing," he promised her, "Please tell me you believe that now."

Their eyes met.

"I waited so long for you!" she said, and the hurt he heard in her voice pained his twin hearts.

"And the wait is now over," he vowed, "I still have my time machine and there is no reason why I can't take you with me after the business with the creature is cleared up."

He cautiously reached for her hand, and then grasped it gently.

"I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

"Oh yeah, Mum waited!" exclaimed Lucinda as she came back into the room, "But she was rich by then. She married a rock star - my Dad – who ran off with his best friend who I used to call Uncle Bill . That's right, he was gay and Mum didn't know it. Then she met this other guy who wanted to spend her money on drugs so he was gone in a couple of years...then she married again and he hit her so I hit him and threw his arse out the door. So in all the time she's waited for you, she hasn't been very happy. It would be really great if you could keep your promise this time and bring some happiness her way. She deserves it."

The Doctor looked to Tina, who cringed at her daughter's blunt honesty, and then he smiled.

"I will keep my promise," he said, "I mean it, Tina. There's nothing to stop us now."

"And on that note of the promise of a happy ending I'm off out for a while. Have fun catching up." Lucinda smiled at them both, and then she left the room.

After Lucinda's red sports car had left the drive way, the Doctor got up from the sofa and so did Tina.

"I'm sorry about the way I reacted when I first saw you," Tina began, "but after all these years -"

"No need to apologise," he replied, "What matters is, this is sorted out now. And speaking of sorting things out...I have a creature to rehouse. Would you like to watch?"

She looked uncertain.

"Is it dangerous?"

The Doctor held up the crystal and smiled.

"Not in my hands," he promised her.

Tina went with the Doctor, walking with him on a familiar path she had not taken for many years, through the clearing in the woods to where his Tardis once more stood. This time when he opened the door, she followed him inside, and she was still looking around the vast console room with a look of wonder in her eyes as he set the crystal down on the console. As it began to glow she turned her head and watched in fascination.

"What are you doing?"

"Charging it," he replied, "This crystal is a bit like the Tardis – bigger on the inside, big enough for the creature to want to slip back inside."

The glow became bright, and he lifted it from the console and turned back to Tina.

"Shall we go and call out the alien?" he asked.

"If you say so," she replied, still sounding unsure.

The Doctor stepped closer to her, still holding the glowing crystal that bathed them both in a lilac light.

"Don't be afraid," he said softly, "Never be afraid again, I'm back now and I'm not leaving you again."

Then he leant closer and their lips touched, it was a kiss both wanted to linger, but as the glow became brighter the Doctor pulled back once more.

"Later," he promised her, "This can't wait. We have to get to that creature before Missy does."

As they stood together at the back of the garden, Tina stood beside the Doctor and watched as he held out the crystal and its light grew even stronger.

"Is it horrible?" she whispered.

"The creature? No, it might look a bit transparent and move like what you would call a ghost, but it's a living thing, and it needs guidance. I have to put it back in its shell and return it to its home planet. There are no ghosts, just remember that, Tina. No ghosts – just a lost and lonely shape shifting creature that needs to go home."

And then as the light grew and slipped ghostly towards the house, the ground began to shake, and then a crack appeared in the earth. Tina gave a gasp as the creature emerged, its face was pale and transparent with dark wide eyes like a seal, and the long body slipped out gracefully as it homed in on the light and followed it, floating gracefully towards the crystal.

As its face illuminated in the beam its large eyes regarded them both thoughtfully, and then it was swallowed by the light that pulled it in, shrinking it, drawing it inside the crystal, that continued to glow, and then the glow faded out, just as the crack in the earth sealed itself shut leaving behind no trace of what had happened.

The Doctor put the crystal in his pocket and looked to Tina and smiled.

"It wasn't horrible at all," he remarked.

She blinked away tears.

"It was beautiful!" she exclaimed, "And it looked at me!"

"And when I return it to its home planet I'm sure it will entertain its friends with tales of seeing the strange human and Time Lord who guided it back home," he replied, and then he turned and walked away back towards his Tardis.

"Wait for me!" Tina called out, and she hurried after the Doctor.

They reached the Tardis at the same time, and the Doctor hesitated as he looked back at her.

"I have to manoeuvre my Tardis though a difficult asteroid belt to get this creature back home. It's best if I take this journey alone. It won't take long – I'll be back soon. This time, you can wait for me – and I won't let you down."

Disappointment was reflecting in her eyes, but she nodded.

"I get it. You don't want to put me at any kind of risk."

He thought of Clara.

"I have no intention of ever putting anyone I care about at risk again," he told her, "But I will return for you. Now I really need to get this creature home, it needs to be reunited with its own kind."

"I do believe that's mine."

They both turned to see Missy standing nearby, and malice glittered pale in her eyes as she glared at the Doctor.

"Trust you to show up and spoil the party!" she said bitterly, and then she looked to Tina.

"And you've aged well my dear. Did you tell him about our lovely encounter? About how I made you scream after he left you needing more?"

Tina rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, that was years ago! And you're wrong about the Doctor – it's you I can't trust! I saw that creature, it was beautiful – and innocent! You want to corrupt it!"

Missy gave a sigh and stepped closer.

"I don't have time to talk about the past," her gaze shifted coldly to the Doctor, as she held out a device in her hand and aimed it at Tina.

"Give me the crystal and the creature inside it or I'll reduce her to dust."

Tina stared in horror at the sight of the weapon Missy had trained on her, and Missy laughed.

"Time to say bye bye...but first, say something nice..."

Tina grabbed at the first thought that came to mind.

"You're...good with your tongue?"

And behind Tina's back, as Missy smirked and looked away as she savoured the compliment, the Doctor smiled too as he drew out his screwdriver, hit the power button and aimed for Missy's weapon. As sparks flew and the device fell to the ground red hot and smoking and stinking of melted wiring, Missy gave a gasp.

The Doctor took out the crystal and showed it to her, holding it out as he fixed her with a cold stare that assured her he had no intention of taking prisoners.

"I always try to do no harm, but for you I'd make an exception every time," he said darkly, "I have no problem telling this being to come out of its shell and destroy your life and all your remaining regenerations."

Real fear shone in Missy's eyes.

"You...you wouldn't!"

"Try me," the Doctor invited.

Missy's face paled.

"Run," the Doctor said coldly, "Because next time I see you, it's the end of you, I swear."

"You don't mean that!" she said desperately.

The crystal started to glow.

The Doctor glanced down at it and back to Missy.

"I think he's hungry..."

Missy turned and ran, bolting through the woods.

The Doctor watched as the glow became a regular pulse, then he slipped the crystal back in his pocket.

"Is it really hungry?" Tina asked cautiously.

He shot her a knowing look.

"Of course not, its just getting cosy inside its shell! Now I must be off – I have to take the creature home. I'll be back soon. Wait for me."

And he sealed the promise with a kiss, then stepped into the Tardis and the doors closed. Tina watched as the blue box faded in and out of sight, and then it was gone,but this time she was smiling, because she knew he would return.

But she didn't know that once again time had played a part in altering their planned reunion – after returning the creature to its home planet, the Doctor would be caught in time's grip as the Tardis led him back to a final reunion with River Song, a reunion that would see them spend many years together before the long night was over – and then he would be dragged into yet more adventures.

The Doctor was returning to Tina, but not as he had planned. When he did eventually return, to Tina, a matter of days would have passed thanks to his time machine - but to the Doctor, it would be more than one lifetime and several thousand years later.

Tina's wait was not quite over, and the man who would return would not wear the face of the Twelfth Doctor...