A Mad Man, A Welsh Star and a Blue Box - The Bad Wolf Arc

by StrikeMoonstone9387

Seren Jones' life was pretty routine. Grieve for her dead parents, work to support herself and her younger sister, who was in University, deal with her god-mother's nagging and try to live her life. All that literally went up in flames when a mad man with a blue box blew up her job and she got entangled in his life of adventure. First in 'The Mad Man and The Welsh Star' series.

16. The Parting of the Ways

Notes: When Seren and Siwan are together, I am going to be calling them twins when they are being referred to by other people, since they are now physically the same age instead of a year apart. When they are referring to each other, they will still be saying 'sister'.

The Parting of the Ways

Seren watched the blurry forms of the Daleks, the Doctor's words sinking into them and sending them into a state of panic.

"You know the Doctor. You understand him. You will predict his actions!" A Dalek said, swivelling around to look at her.

"I don't know what he'll do!" Seren snapped, glaring at them. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

"Predict! Predict! Predict!" The Dalek ordered her, the lights on its domed helm flashing as it spoke. It glided towards her dangerously, the gun arm twitching warningly.

"TARDIS detected in flight." Another Dalek said, causing the first to turn as it became distracted by the news.

"Launch missiles!" The first Dalek ordered. "Exterminate!"

"No, you can't!" Seren yelled desperately, her eyes filling with tears. "The TARDIS doesn't have defenses, you're going to kill her and those inside!"

"You have predicted correctly." The Dalek said, swiveling around to look at her.

Seren trembled in fear, not for herself but for the Doctor and Jack, as the Daleks launched the missiles at the TARDIS. Before Seren or the Daleks could react to the missiles seemingly hitting their target, there was the sound of whirring and grinding. A sound that was as familiar to Seren as the sound of her sisters voices.

A breeze gently blew through Seren's long untied hair and she turned in the direction it was coming from. She watched with wide-eyed amazement as the TARDIS slowly materialized around herself and the Dalek that was closest to her, the faint blurry outline of the Doctor becoming clearer as well.

The TARDIS materialized completely around Seren and the Dalek closest to her, the Doctor's outline becoming more distinct until it formed completely in front of the console opposite Seren. Seren watched in amazement as the engines stopped whirring, her and the Dalek standing just below the steps up to the console platform. She saw Jack holding a massive gun in his hands, the Doctor standing next to him.

"Seren! Get down!" The Doctor yelled as the Dalek turned around to face the Time Lord and Jack, looking at them through its eyepiece.

Seren obeyed instantly, throwing herself flat against the ground of the console room.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek screamed, firing its beam at Jack.

The beam missed by a hair's breadth, hitting the pillar above his head. Jack used the gun he was holding to fire a beam of his own at the Dalek, making it explode with a scream. Seren slowly got to her feet as smoke billowed out of the Dalek's remains.

She stared at it with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open.

"You destroyed it." She breathed faintly, looking at the blurry figures of Jack and the Doctor.

The Doctor walked around the console and made his way to her, his foot steps echoing in the seemingly sudden silence after the sounds of weapons fire. The Doctor silently walked down the steps and pulled Seren into a tight hug, her head in his chest as he held her close and breathed in her natural scent of roses and strawberries. She reciprocated the move by wrapping her own arms around his larger, muscular frame, holding him tightly as she breathed in his scent of cinnamon and rosewood.

"It feels as if I haven't seen you in ages." Seren muttered into his chest.

"I told you I'd come and get you." He said as they broke apart and looked at each other.

"I never doubted it." She replied, squinting up at him.

"I did!" He exclaimed with a roll of his eyes. "You all right?"

"Yes, I'm all right." She replied. "You?"

"Not bad." He said with a shrug. "Been better." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded pair of rectangle wire-framed glasses. He gently put them on her face as he said, "I think you might need these."

"Thank you." She replied with a bright smile, looking up at him and able to see him clearly.

He smiled at her gently and stepped over to the smouldering remains of the Dalek, bending over to have a closer look at it as Jack approached Seren with a grin.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack asked cheekily.

"Come here!" Seren exclaimed, holding her arms out to him.

"I was talking to him." Jack said with a grin, gesturing to the Doctor's back. Seren rolled her eyes at the response as they both laughed and threw their arms around each other. "Welcome home!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly and lifting her up off the ground.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're all right." Seren said happily.

She never once doubted that the Doctor and Jack would rescue her, however she feared that she would lose either of them as they tried to rescue her.

"Oh, you were lucky." Jack admitted, letting her go and back onto her feet, looking at her. "That was just a one-shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk."

He let her go and they both turned to look at the Dalek's remains. The battle armour had been completely blown apart by the force of the gun's blast, leaving the mutant inside clearly visible. They watched as the Doctor examined it with his screwdriver.

"The one in Utah was supposed to have been the last one, making them extinct." Seren said softly from one side of the Dalek, leaning back against the coral pillar behind her. Despite the Dalek being dead, she was slightly hesitant to get any closer to it than she had to. "How are they all alive now?"

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space." Jack said, crouching next to the Dalek the opposite side.

"They went off to fight a bigger war." The Doctor said quietly, standing in front of the Dalek's open body armour, between Jack and Seren. "The Time War."

"I thought that was just a legend." Jack said in obvious surprise, looking up at the Time Lord.

"I was there." The Doctor said quietly as he stood up straight, his expression filled with sorrow as he remembered the past. "The War between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it." A tear made its way down his cheek and Seren reached out, taking his hand in her tiny one and squeezing it gently. He squeezed back, holding it as he said, "Now it turns out that they died for nothing."

"There are thousands of them" Seren said, looking up at him with her hand still in his. "We were barely able to stop one from killing us. How are we going to stop the entire Fleet?"

"No good stood round here chin-wagging!" The Doctor said cheerfully, letting go of Seren's hand and wiping away the tear that had fallen down his cheek. The sudden apparent change in demeanour had Seren and Jack exchanging looks, wondering what the mad man was up to. "Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbours." He clapped his hands together and made his way down the ramp, side-stepping the Dalek's remains.

"Doctor, don't go out there!" Seren yelled out to his retreating back, her and Jack rushing behind him.

However, he ignored her and opened the door, stepping outside the TARIDS.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The awaiting Daleks exclaimed, firing their energy beams at him.

Jack and Seren stood in the doorway, Jack standing in front of Seren. They watched the beams reflect harmlessly off a clear forcefield surrounding the TARDIS, keeping the Doctor, and themselves, safe.

For several seconds, the Daleks fired at the Doctor before finally giving up, the echoing sound of their weapons and shrill voices fading into silence.

"Is that it?" The Doctor asked mockingly as he raised his hands just as mockingly. "Useless! Nul points!" he exclaimed with a French accent, walking towards the TARDS. "It's all right, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything." He added to his two Companions as he leaned back against the panel nonchalantly.

"Almost anything." Jack corrected as he stepped outside the TARDIS, Seren beside him.

"Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks." The Doctor replied exasperatedly, crossing his arms and looking at Jack pointedly.

"Sorry." Jack said sheepishly as Seren punched his arm. "Ow!" he groaned, rubbing the sore bicep as he looked down at Seren who was glaring up at him. "How can you hit so hard? You're a tiny wisp of a person!"

"What's your point?" Seren asked dangerously, a raised eyebrow added to the glare she was aiming at him.

"Nothing." He said frantically with wide-eyes, recognizing the dangerous look on the tiny Welshwoman's face. "Absolutely nothing. You're amazing."

The Doctor smirked at Jack's 'deer-caught-in-the-headlights' expression before turning to the Daleks. They were silent, watching the Time Lord, following his every movement with their eyestalks.

The Doctor walked forward and stopped at the edge of the forcefield's bubble, the movement drawing Seren and Jack away from their by-play.

"D'you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld?" The Doctor asked the Daleks calmly. He didn't wait for a response as he continued, "The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions . . . but I reckon that right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." The Daleks eyestalks twitched in an almost nervous manner, never moving from the Doctor's form as he spoke. "Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me, how did you survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me." A deep voice echoed around them.

The Doctor turned around with a startled expression. He took a few steps towards the voice before stopping, towards a darkened area that was suddenly illuminated. A giant Dalek casing was revealed, towering above them all – the one-eyed mutant-like creature inside was blue and floating in the fluid tank as though it were a throne.

The Doctor stared up at it in open-mouthed awe as Seren and Jack moved forwards as well, stopping just behind the Doctor.

"Seren… Captain… this is the Emperor of the Daleks." He breathed in quiet shock, not looking away from the Emperor's massive form.

Seren and Jack stared up at the Emperor, the same expression of amazement on their faces.

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive." The Emperor said to the Doctor, its voice still echoing through the room.

"I get it." He grounded out, anger and hate warring on his features.

"Do not interrupt!"

"Do not interrupt!"

"Do not interrupt!"

Jack and Seren winced slightly at the order repeated by three separate Daleks, Jack curling Seren into his arms protectively. The Doctor on the other hand, looked mildly annoyed at being told not to interrupt.

"I think you're forgetting something." The Doctor commented without turning around, his voice unwaveringly calm though mildly annoyed at the Daleks. "I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So, if anybody's going to shut up," he whirled around suddenly to face the Daleks as he yelled, "it's you!" The last word was pronounced with such fervor that the Daleks almost instinctively shuffled back, trying to get away from the infuriated Time Lord. Seeing the Daleks move back and make no further indication of interrupting, he turned back to the Emperor. "Okey doke. So, where were we?"

There was a pause as the Emperor stared at the Doctor with its one eye, slightly taken aback by the sudden light tone that the Doctor spoke with when he had yelled not only a second earlier.

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding." The Emperor said finally. "Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed - they all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted." Seren looked up at the Emperor as it spoke, a terrible taste in her mouth as she listened to what was being said. "The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So, you created an army of Daleks out of the dead." The Doctor summarized coldly, glaring up at the Emperor.

"But if they were created out of human cells, even just one, that would make them… half-human." Seren pointed out, a frown on her face as she looked between Jack and the Doctor.

"Those words are blasphemy!" The Emperor roared.

"Do not blaspheme!"

"Do not blaspheme!"

"Do not blaspheme!"

Jack and Seren flinched as the order was repeated by three separate Daleks, Jack tightening his arms around Seren protectively.

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek." The Emperor said adamantly,

The Doctor looked at all the Daleks with a slightly disturbed expression on his face.

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" He asked, still looking around at them with the disturbed expression on his face.

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" The Emperor announced.

"Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!" The Daleks ordered in unison.

"Oh, Duw. They've become insane." Seren breathed, looking around at the Daleks that were still ordering them to worship the Emperor.

"A hundred years in silence – that's enough to drive anyone mad." The Doctor added, turning to look at Seren and Jack before turning to stare intently at the Daleks. The intent look was mirrored by Jack as he looked at the Daleks as well, Seren's expression was one of sadness and pity. "But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity." He shook his head sadly; like Seren, the sadness and the pity was for the Daleks. "You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever." He turned to the Emperor as he said, "We're going."

"You may not leave my presence!" The Emperor roared.

Seren, Jack and the Doctor were half-way towards the TARDIS, inside the forcefield, when the Daleks glided forward.

"Stay where you are!" One of the Daleks ordered as the time-travellers entered the TARDIS.

Seren and Jack ran up to the console before turning to look towards the doors. The Doctor grinned at the Daleks mockingly and closed the door on them.

"Exterminate!" The Daleks cried repeatedly in unison.

They fired their beams at the TARDIS, however the forcefield protected the ship and her passengers. The Doctor rested his forehead against the closed doors, the 'Exterminate' order ringing in his ears as it was being called out by the Daleks outside.

Seren bit her lip, looking at the Doctor's back in worry. She had seen him display a wide range of emotions – usually in the span of several seconds – however, this was the first time she saw him look so helpless. That alone, the Time Lord's helplessness, terrified her more than anything else.

She stepped forward, cautiously approaching him as one would a frightened animal. She put a hand on his back, feeling the tension in his muscles even through his jumper and leather jacket.

He turned around slowly, looking at Seren as she kept her hand where it was, now on his chest, between his hearts. He reached up and gently squeezed it before letting her hand go.

"Come on. We've got work to do." He said to her and Jack, who had been watching in silence, trying to be unobtrusive.

Seren nodded silently, wanting to ask him if he would be okay, but deciding that the questions could wait. The Doctor bounded up to the console and began pressing lever and pressing buttons, the TARDIS dematerializing from the Dalek spaceship. Several seconds later, spent in silence, the TARDIS rematerialized and the Doctor opened the doors, revealing Floor 500 of the Game Station.

"Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open." He ordered as he walked out of the TARDIS and up the aisle between two panels, Jack and Seren right behind him. "Now! Do it!"

"What does this do?" One of the three humans, the male, asked, glancing at the Doctor before looking at the console and doing as ordered.

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board." The Doctor replied, coming to a stop between the male programmer and a dark-haired female programmer. "How'd you get on? Did you contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes." The male programmer replied, shaking his head and glancing up at the Doctor before turning back to the screen.

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless." The Doctor replied, something at the corner of his eye catching his attention. He turned and saw the blonde-haired woman sitting next to the female programmer. "Lynda, what're you still doing on board?" He asked her worriedly when she looked up at him. Without waiting for a response from the blonde, he rounded on the programmers, angrily saying, "I told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go." The male programmer replied defensively.

"Didn't wanna leave ya." Lynda replied softly, smiling up at the Doctor.

Seren looked away, realizing that the blonde fancied the Time Lord. She wasn't upset or hurt, she understood the enigmatic and charismatic appeal the man had; after all, she herself might very well be in love with him, so she didn't blame Lynda for fancying him.

"There aren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here." The female programmer muttered before turning to the Doctor and saying, "We've got about 100 people stranded on Floor 0."

"Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving." The male programmer said, staring at his screen, the Doctor leaned in for a closer look. "They're on their way."

The Doctor looked around his surroundings for a moment before running to the consoles. He began frantically pulling out bits of the wires, leaving them on the ground before moving to the next.

"Dalek plan - big mistake." He said rapidly, not breaking his stride as he worked his way to each of the consoles, pulling out wires. "Because what they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on - it's obvious. A great big transmitter - this station."

As he worked, Jack and Seren looked at him with their brows furrowed, trying to work out what he was up to. Lynda and the two programmers looked at the Doctor as though he were completely insane.

"If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it - anyone?" The Doctor asked leadingly as he pulled out the wires from the last console on one side of the aisle.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jack said, looking at the Doctor as though he was insane as he finally worked out what the Time Lord was saying.

"Give the man a medal!" The Doctor exclaimed with a wide grin, glancing at Jack before turning back to the console he was crouched in front of.

"A Delta Wave?" Jack asked incredulously.

"A Delta Wave!" The Doctor repeated excitedly.

"You have got to be joking!" Seren exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared at the Doctor and Jack. She had read about Delta Waves on-board the TARDIS and knew exactly what they could do.

"What's a Delta Wave?" The male programmer asked hesitantly, looking between the beautiful dark-haired woman with the Welsh accent that had been held by the Daleks, Jack and the Doctor.

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy." Seren replied, turning slightly and looking at the nervous man. "It basically fries the brain, completely."

"Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued." Jack added bluntly.

"Oh." He said faintly, a grimace on his face as his skin took on a decidedly ashen tone.

"It can be calibrated to be species-specific according to their brainwave frequencies, keeping the Wave from harming us." Seren said reassuringly, causing the programmer to regain some colour - though he still looked incredibly faint.

"And this place can transmit a massive wave! Wipe out the Daleks!" The Doctor said excitedly, waving two medium sized circuit boards around in emphasis.

Seren opened her mouth to speak but was inadvertently cut off by Lynda.

"Well, get started and do it then!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"What she said." Seren said, gesturing to the blonde with her thumb.

"Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about - ooh - three days?" The Doctor said rapidly, turning to the programmers and asking, "How long till the Fleet arrive?"

"22 minutes." The male programmer replied, turning to look at his screen.

The Doctor frantically pulled another cable from the console, pulling until he reached the end and stared at it for a second. He looked up and beamed at them all.

Meanwhile Jack, who had removed the extrapolator from the TARDIS, hooked it up to the programmers' consoles to try and establish a forcefield around as much of the Station as possible. He had to reroute several wires and systems to establish as much power to the forcefield as possible without interfering with its integrity or power.

"Okay, got this ready." Jack said, drawing their attention to him as he lifted the extrapolator from the ground and placed it on top of the computer.

"What have you got?" Seren asked as she, the two programmers and Lynda gathered around him as he explained what he had done.

"We've now got a forcefield, so they can't blast us out of the sky. But, that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading." Jack said, his hands on the palm pads as he manipulated a simulator on the computer screen to show the forcefield.

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" the male programmer asked.

"They will have worked it out at the same time." Seren replied, glancing at him before turning back to the screen.

"So, they want to stop the Doctor." Jack continued, nodding at Seren's reply. He pointed at the screen as he said, "That means they've got to get to this level, 500. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So, they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up."

"Who are they fighting?" the male programmer asked, looking at the screen.

"Us." Jack replied bluntly.

"And, what are we fighting with?" The male programmer asked him, looking worried and sounding panicked.

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets." Jack said, straightening up and looking at the four of them. "That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open."

"There's 5 of us." The female programmer pointed out sceptically.

"Seren, you can help me." The Doctor called from behind them where he was sitting on the ground and working with the wires. "I need all these wires stripped bare."

Seren nodded and stepped over the wires that littered the ground. She tied her hair into a knot at the back of her head to keep it out of the way and sat on the ground near him, picking up a bundle of wires and begin stripping them bare.

"Right, now there's 4 of us." The female programmer said sardonically.

"Then let's move it!" Jack snapped. "Into the lift! Isolate the lift controls!"

The two programmers hurried away to do as they were ordered while Lynda approached the Doctor. Seeing the blonde come up to him, he stood up to meet her.

"I-I just wanna say, um . . ." She stammered, fiddling with her sleeve. "Thanks, I s'pose. And . . . I'll do my best!" she smiled at him nervously.

"Me, too." The Doctor replied with a gentle smile.

They moved towards each other, awkwardly trying to say goodbye – at one point the Doctor even looking as though he was going to kiss her forehead – settling on a handshake, laughing embarrassedly. Seren looked away, a pang of sorrow and annoyance shooting through her though she wasn't sure why. They were facing an entire Fleet of Daleks, why was she feeling so annoyed because a pretty woman fancied the Doctor? It didn't earlier when Lynda had admitted that she stayed behind because she didn't want to leave him, so why did it now?

The Doctor watched Lynda leave and turned to Seren. She was stripping the wires just as he had asked her to, though she was doing it almost mechanically as if her mind was a million miles away. Before he could ask her what had her lost in thought, Jack approached them and came to a stop in front of the pair.

Seren stood up and dropped the wires on the ground as Jack smiled at them with a slight chuckle.

"It's been fun!" He said as he chuckled lightly, trying to keep the tone light. The Doctor smiled at him while Seren let out a shaky breath, smiling with tears in her eyes. Jack became serious as he said, "But I guess this is good-bye."

"Don't say that." Seren said pleadingly, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head at the ex-conman. "The Doctor's going to succeed, we're going to succeed. You just watch."

It was clear to all three of them that she wasn't just trying to convince Jack, she was trying to convince herself as well – not that they would succeed, but that they would survive to tell about it.

"Star-Flower…" Jack said with a gentle smile, cupping her face with both hands and bending down to look into her amethyst eyes with his own sparkling blue ones. "You are worth fighting for." He wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs before he leaned in and kissed her lips lightly. He pulled back and turned to the Doctor, dropping his hands from her face. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor!" He told the Time Lord with a grin, cupping his face with both hands the way he had Seren's. "I was much better off a coward." He leaned in and kissed the Doctor lightly on the lips as well before pulling back and putting his hands on each of their shoulders, squeezing gently. He let go and pointed towards the exit, saying his almost trademark line with a grin, "See ya in hell."

Seren and the Doctor watched him run off towards the lift, joining Lynda and the two programmers in defending the Doctor and Seren against the Daleks. With his departure, the Doctor and Seren were the only two left on Floor 500.

"He's going to be all right." Seren said shakily, turning to the Doctor as her tears rolled down her cheeks once more. He looked at her with his expressive blue eyes and didn't reply as she repeated, trying to convince herself of the truth in her. "He's going to be all right."

They sat back down on the ground across from each other and resumed working, Seren stripping the wires and the Doctor fiddling with them to make the Wave work. She eventually stopped repeating her chant, though the hope and prayer played over repeatedly in her mind as she worked automatically.

"What if…" Seren started, speaking up for the first time in several minutes and breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She didn't finish her sentence, knowing it to be impossible to carry out.

"What?" The Doctor asked after a few minutes, not looking up from the wires he was working with.

"Nothing." She replied, shaking her head. A few strands came loose from the knot behind her head, framing her face. "Never mind."

"You said, 'what if'." He pressed gently.

"I was just thinking, but you can't…" Seren started, trailing off once more. "I was thinking of the possibility of going back to last week and warning them about what's going to happen."

"As soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, I become part of events, stuck in the timeline." He replied, not looking up.

"I thought so." Seren said quietly, nodding in understanding.

"There's another thing the TARDIS could do." He said softly, still busy working. Seren glanced up at him with a slight frown before looking back at the wires she was working on, wondering what he was thinking of. "It could take us away. We could leave. Let history take its course. We go to Marbella in 1989."

"We could, but you would never do that." Seren replied, the frown becoming a smile as she looked at.

"No, but you could ask." He said seriously, looking at her. When Seren didn't reply, only cocking her head to the side, he gave a small smile. "Never even occurred to you, did it?"

"Nope." Seren replied, turning back to the wires in her hands.

When he didn't say anything in response, she looked up at him and saw him smiling at her as though she meant the Universe to him. The intensity that he was looking at her with made her blush slightly as she smiled back at him. The sound of the computer whirring drew their attention and the Doctor looked up.

"The Delta Wave's started building." He told her, his face becoming serious and alert. "How long does it need?"

They both leapt up and rushed to the consoles, the Doctor sitting on the chair and Seren peering over his shoulder. The Doctor pressed a few buttons, entering several commands into the computer and looked at the screen as it displayed the read-out.

His face fell as he looked at the read-out.

"Is it really bad?" Seren asked worriedly. Instead of replying, he hung his head in despair. "Okay, it is really bad." She muttered to herself, glancing at the screen herself, but not understanding the read-out. She turned back to him, slightly panicked, "How bad is really bad?"

He suddenly straightened up and whirled around to look at her, his eyes bright with fire. The sudden change in his demeanour had Seren jumping back slightly as he shot to his feet.

"Seren Rhosyn Jones, you're a genius!" He exclaimed, placing a big kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks. I know I am." Seren said, looking at him with a smile before it turned into complete confusion. "Why am I a genius?"

"We can do it! If I use the TARDIS to cross my old timeline . . . yes!" He exclaimed excitedly and shooting off towards the TARDIS.

Seren frowned at his retreating figure, knowing that was he was saying was impossible – he had just told her that he couldn't cross his own timeline. He was up to something, something that revolved around her somehow and he was beating around the bush instead of telling her. She followed him into the TARDIS, the frown still on her face as she watched him run up to the console. She stepped up beside him at the console, watching him.

"Hold that down and keep position." He told her, pointing to a lever. Seren didn't move and he turned to her. "Seren." He breathed softly, looking at her with bright eyes.

Seren stared into his eyes, looking beyond the excitement and saw that he was desperate, desperate to save her from the Daleks - by any means necessary, even if it meant crossing his own timeline.

"Seren, we don't have-"

With watery eyes, she reached up and tugged at the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down and bringing their lips together, cutting him off. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close, responding to the kiss. After several seconds, they pulled back and she stepped away from him, moving to the lever.

"What does the lever do?" she asked breathlessly, her cheeks flushed from the kiss.

For a moment, he stared at her with wide eyes, blinking owlishly.

"Cancels out the buffers." He replied in a slightly high voice. He cleared his throat and continued, "If I'm clever – and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant – I might just save the world." He smiled widely at her before frowning and adding in afterthought, "Or rip it apart…"

"I'd go with saving the world." Seren said, looking up at the Time Rotor.

"Me, too." He replied as he straightened up. "Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game station. Hold on!"

He turned and ran out of the TARDIS, filled with energy, and closing the door behind him. Seren let go of the lever with tears streaming down her face as she realized what he had done – he never was planning on crossing his own timeline. She went to the doors, resting her hand against the wood and closed her eyes. She took a breath and her eyes snapped open, filled with determination.

She stepped back, held up her skirt and kicked the door, silently apologizing to Idris. She kicked the door repeatedly, but it didn't move, staying firm and keeping her inside.

"Doctor! Let me out!" she screamed, banging on the door after giving up on kicking it. "Doctor!" she turned to look up at the ceiling as the engines began whirring and taking them into the Time Vortex, "Idris, take me back to him!"

She turned and hammered at the door, despite knowing it was useless – the TARDIS was taking her away from the man she was in love with and the dearest friend anyone could have, keeping her safe while they met their possible deaths at the hands of the Daleks.

As they flew through the Vortex, a hologram appeared behind Seren, in front of the console.

"This is Emergency Programme One."

Seren spun around at the Doctor's slightly distorted voice, her hair starting to come loose from its knot, only to see the hologram of the Time Lord flickering in front of the console.

"Seren, now listen. This is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape."

"Na!" Seren screamed the denial, inadvertently speaking in Welsh, moving towards the hologram.

"And that's okay." The hologram continued. Seren stopped at the top of the ramp as she stared at the flickering image of the man she loved. "But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."

"Na, I won't let you." Seren said, still in Welsh, as she glared at the image. She stepped onto the console platform and looked at the hologram of the man she loved.

"And I bet you're fussing and moaning now, glaring and threatening to kill me. Typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do: let the TARDIS die." At the words, Seren's mouth dropped open in distress. She shook her head in denial. "Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it, no one'll even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world'll move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all, one thing." The hologram's head turned to look at her, eyes filled with compassion, as though it knew she was there. When it spoke again, the voice was much less distorted. "Have a good life. Do that for me, Seren Rhosyn. Have a fantastic life."

Seren watched in despair as the hologram flickered before fading away altogether.

"I'm not letting you do this to me!" Seren yelled angrily in Welsh, tears streaming down her face and glaring at the spot the hologram was before striding over to the console. "You can't do this." She raged at the TARDIS as she slammed every button and lever she could find, trying to change course. "Take me back, Idris! Take me back!"

The pain she was feeling was evident in her voice and on her face as she rattled the controls fruitlessly, Idris humming sadly at the back of her mind. Her frantic movements slowed, and she collapsed against the console, sobbing helplessly, hitting it with her fist as she pleaded with Idris to take her back.

Slowly, the engines died down and ground to a halt. Seren shot to her feet and ran across the room, rushing outside after flinging the doors open. She stumbled to a halt just outside the TARDIS as she took in the sight of the towering buildings of the Powell Estate flats, standing tall against the cloudy grey October skies.

Seren shook her head in denial and ran back inside the TARDIS, her long hair completely open and flying behind her, refusing to accept that she was returned to her own time or that she would never see the Doctor or Jack again.

"Come on, Idris. Fly." Seren muttered, still in Welsh, as she jiggled the controls in near hysteria, trying to get them to work. "Come on, please." She banged her fists against the console hysterically as she screamed, "Help me!"

There was no reaction from the magnificent ship's controls, only the sad humming from Idris that faded slowly before stopping completely.

Defeated and despaired, Seren slowly stepped outside, closing the door gently behind her. She leaned against the side panel as Mickey ran up to her, panting as he came to a stop across the road.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed as he looked both sides of the road before crossing and making his way towards her. "I was all the way down Clifton's Parade, and I heard the engines and I thought 'there's only one thing that makes a noise like that'." He stopped in front of her and saw the tear tracks that stained her snow-white cheeks. Immediately, concern filled him as he asked, "What is it?"

The question sent a fresh wave of tears down her cheeks as she blindly reached out to him. He gathered her in his arms and held her closely while she clung to him, rubbing her back and rocking her where they stood, running his fingers through her open hair soothingly. As she clung to him and sobbed uncontrollably, he pulled his mobile out from his pocket and sent out a text to Jackie, Rose, Adam and Siwan – he told them that Seren had returned but that she was inconsolable and to meet him at a nearby chip shop that they would frequent. Within minutes, he received the agreements and turned to Seren, who hadn't noticed what he had done.

"Come on, Seren." He said softly, gently guiding her across the road with his arms still around her. "There's a chip shop nearby, we can meet Siwan, Adam, Jackie and Rose there." She tightened her hold on his coat, not saying a word. "You don't have to say anything but let's get you out of this chill. You are wearing a lehenga that's leaving your entire midriff exposed as well as your arms and it's the middle of October."

She gave a small nod, Mickey feeling it more than seeing it as her head was tucked against his chest.

Reaching the chip shop, they sat down across from each other at a table by the widow. They were silent, Seren staring vacantly out of the window as Mickey placed an order for them all before sitting down and watching her helplessly.

Jackie and Rose were the first to arrive at the shop, Jackie wasting no time pulling Seren into a tight hug and Rose putting her arms around the two women while standing behind Seren. Seren numbly hugged back, her face tear-stained – she had no more tears left to shed.

Rose let go of them when they're order was called, going to grab the food with Mickey while Seren sat back down, while Jackie sat across from her, joined by Rose and Mickey.

"And it's gone up-market, this place. They're doing little tubs of coleslaw, now." Jackie commented as her, Rose and Mickey opened their polystyrene containers and began eating. "It's not very nice. Tastes a bit sort of clinical."

Seren went back to staring out of the window silently, her container untouched in front of her.

"Have you tried that new pizza place on Minto Road?" Mickey asked, taking a bite of his chips and glancing at Seren. He picked up on Jackie's hint of trying to have an ordinary conversation, hoping it would rouse Seren from her despondent state.

"What's it selling?" Rose asked.

"Pizza." Mickey replied.

"That's nice." Jackie commented. "Do they deliver?"

"Yeah." Mickey replied, nodding as Adam and Siwan walked into the shop and came up to them.

"We came as soon as we could." Siwan said, pulling Seren out of her chair and into a tight hug.

Siwan let Seren go and Adam pulled the amethyst-eyed Welshwoman into a tight hug before letting go. Seren sat back down at the table, retaking her previous position and oblivious to Siwan and Adam taking off their long coats.

Adam was wearing his standard work clothes, a black two-piece suit with a white shirt and off-white tie while Siwan was wearing a white long-sleeved zip-up blouse, black wide-legged trousers and black 6" high heeled platform ankle-strap sandals with silver and onyx earrings dangling from her ears and her black handbag* on the table. Her hair was swept up in a French twist with her glasses perched on her face.

The two of them sat down and Mickey filled them in on how he found Seren and how she had been since meeting her – everything he hadn't been able to say in his texts.

"Oh, Seren. Have something to eat." Jackie pleaded, looking helplessly at the woman.

She evidently decided to abandon the pretence of having an ordinary conversation, since it had done nothing to help draw the Welshwoman out of her despair.

"200 000 years in the future, the Doctor is facing a battle that he could die in." Seren said quietly, her voice trembling as she stared out of the window. "And there's nothing I can do."

"Well, like you said – 200 000 years. It's way off!" Rose exclaimed.

Seren finally looked at them, at Jackie and Rose, with her large amethyst purple doe-eyes filled with pain and sorrow. The two blonde women involuntarily flinched when they saw the raw pain in the beautiful woman's eyes despite the glasses providing a barrier – worse than the pain that they had seen when she had been 18 and her parents had been murdered.

"But it's not, Aunt Jackie, Rose." She said in quiet anger as she stared at them with impossibly large eyes. "That battle to decide the fate of the human race is happening right now. He's fighting for us, for this planet!" She turned her expressive gaze to the table, glaring at the still-closed container in front of her as she spat, "And I'm just sitting here, eating chips!"

She turned and looked back out of the window, the anger fading just as quickly as it appeared and despair once again taking its place. Siwan and Adam exchanged looks, silently knowing that Seren would not heal until she was with the Doctor once more.

"Listen to me." Jackie said, reaching out across the table and taking a hold of Seren's curled fist that was resting on the surface. Seren turned to look at her as she continued, "God knows I have hated that man, but right now, I love him, and do you know why? Because he did the right thing - he sent you back to me, he sent you back to your sisters."

Jackie looked at Seren for a moment before turning back to her chips, as though the topic was closed.

"What do I do now, Aunt Jackie? How do I go back to the life I led before?" Seren asked her in a desperate tone. "Getting up, catching the bus, going to work, coming back home, eating chips, going to bed and in between it all, worry over every little thing that happens? Is that all I'm supposed to do now?"

Adam and Siwan exchanged looks again. Like Seren, they both knew what it was like to try and go back to the way things were after being shown something incredible and amazing – Adam with the many lives he'd lived and Siwan from herself and Seren having spent much of their childhood in Cardiff with the Mara as their caretakers/ playmates, playing with them at the edge of the Lost Lands that existed in the woods that bordered the Estate they grew up in.

Siwan and Adam realized that for Seren, who had grown up with the Mara just as Siwan did, it wasn't just about going back to a mundane life – it was about leaving the man she loved to die alone.

"It's what we do." Rose told her coldly.

"I can't." Seren said softly, shaking her head. "I can't go back to just doing that."

"Why? 'Cos you're better than the rest of us?" Rose asked, in the same cold tone.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Seren shouted in frustration, losing her composure. She paused and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure and calm herself down. Jackie, Rose, Mickey, Adam and Siwan watched her as she took a breath and opened her eyes. "It was… a better life. And it wasn't just the travelling and seeing the new and amazing things, it was him. Aunt Jackie, the Doctor healed a hole inside me that I never even knew had existed. And he showed me a better way of living the life you have been given." She spoke quietly and earnestly. She turned to Siwan, Mickey and Rose, saying passionately, "You know what I'm talking about. He showed the three of you as well."

Rose and Mickey, who had turned their gazes to the table when Seren began talking, glanced up at her and looked into her earnest eyes for a moment before looking back at the table. They were unable to look into the expressive gaze. Siwan, who understood Seren's feeling in a way that Mickey, Rose and Jackie couldn't, nodded in agreement to what Seren said.

"He showed you that you don't just give up." Seren continued passionately. "You don't just let things happen. You make a stand, you say 'no'. You have the courage to do what is right even when everyone else is running away and you're terrified out of your wits. And I can't-" she broke off, unable to continue.

Seren kicked the table in frustration and ran out of the shop, sobbing in despair. Siwan ran after her, pausing long enough to grab her purse and coat, while Jackie, Rose and Mickey looked at the table quietly.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Adam asked them after a moment, once the sound of the door slamming shut behind the twins stopped echoing in their ears.

"Get what?" Jackie asked, glaring at him half-heartedly.

"She's in love with him." The oldest Immortal said, rolling his eyes.

"So, what? You want me to let my god-daughter waste away? Or have her find a way back to him, and possibly die as well?" Jackie asked him angrily, her half-hearted glare becoming full-blown.

"No." Adam replied, glaring at her with his multi-coloured eyes. "I would have you support her as she grieves for the man she loves, and not try to make it about you." Jackie and Rose opened their mouths to protest, but he cut them off before they could say anything. "You were making it about yourselves. You are happy that she's back, but you don't realize that she's back in body while her heart remained with him, 200 000 years in the future." He looked at his watch and stood up, grabbing his coat. He moved to walk out of the shop before turning back and looking at Jackie, "What would you do, if the man you love was fighting to save your people, but you were unable to help him, unable to even stand by his side? Unable to be with him when you know that he might very well die by the time the fight was over?"

With those words, he walked out of the shop and went to his car, getting in and driving back to the hospital. Despite the situation going on, he was still a doctor and he had patients he needed to attend to. As much as he would want to go after Seren with Siwan, he had to return to the hospital, especially since he had a patient who was scheduled for an open heart surgery in one hour.

Mickey left the shop just after Adam drove off, the Immortal's words echoing through his mind. As he ran to the Estate, knowing it to be one of the possible places Seren would go to, Mickey remembered how Seren and the Doctor had been when they were in Cardiff the previous month, he remembered Jack telling him how the two had been in-sync with one another on an almost instinctive level. He remembered how they had been with Mica, unknowingly giving the image of being a family. He also remembered how she had chosen the Doctor over him, and as much as it hurt, he knew it had been the right choice.

Entering the Tyler/ Jones flat, he found Siwan instead of Seren.

"What are you doing here, Mickey?" Siwan asked him, without any of her usual warmth.

"I'm looking for Seren." He replied quietly, struck by the lack of warmth in the younger woman's tone.

Like Seren, she was always friendly and kind, ironically enough even to people that were trying to mug or kill her (though Seren was the same, she was also more likely to scare the living daylights out of the person threatening her). So, being faced with the less than warm look from the woman was a realization that he hadn't been Seren's best friend when he stayed quiet in the chip shop.

"Why? To berate her for being unable to forget the Doctor? The way Aunt Jackie and Rose had done?"

"No." Mickey replied, shaking his head. The honesty in the Londoner's voice and his eyes softened Siwan's anger and she nodded slightly as Mickey continued, "I'm here to be her best friend, like I should have been in the chip shop."

"Good." Siwan said, nodding. "But she's not here. She hasn't been here since she landed." She shrugged sheepishly at Mickey's 'are you kidding me?' look. "I was just about to go out and look for her on the grounds."

"Let's go." Mickey muttered and the two left the flat, Siwan locking up behind them.

They spent the next several minutes looking in the different places Seren used to go – the roof and the back of each of the flat blocks among other places.

They finally found her on the tarmacked playground, sitting sideways on a bench with one leg on the seat, her chin resting on her folded arms over the back and staring into space. Her hair blew lightly in the wind, loosened completely from its knot, while her red skirts rustled gently, the woman unfazed by the chill. Mickey and Siwan exchanged looks and walked over to her, Siwan sitting next to the older woman while Mickey stood over her.

"Aunt Jackie and Rose want me to forget about the Doctor." Seren said quietly, looking at them. She had been drawn back to the present when she felt Siwan sit down next to her. "How do I forget him? Especially when I don't want to?"

She looked at them helplessly and they exchanged looks.

"Simple, you don't forget him." Mickey replied, shrugging. "He means that much to you, then you don't even try to."

"Mickey's right, Seren." Siwan said softly, looking at the despairing woman. "The same way we don't forget Mam and Tad, you don't forget the Doctor."

"You live your life how he would've wanted you to." Mickey said gently, crouching down in front of her. "He must've said what kind of life he'd want you to live, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he asked me to-" Seren, who had shifted so that she could look at Mickey, cut herself off as she caught sight of something on the tarmac behind him.

"Seren?" Siwan asked as the older woman stood up and looked at the spray-painted words with wide astonished eyes.

'BAD WOLF'

Astonished, Seren stood up and walked to the words, Mickey and Siwan following while exchanging confused looks. Seren looked around the playground and saw that 'Bad Wolf' had been graffiti'd all around the walls as well.

"It's over here as well!" Seren exclaimed, running to the wall and looking closely at the graffiti.

"That's been there for years!" Mickey exclaimed as he and Siwan followed her to the wall. "It's just a phrase! It's just words!"

"I thought it was a warning... maybe it's the opposite." Seren said softly to herself before turning to Siwan and Mickey. "Maybe it's a message. The same two words that are written here and 200 000 years in the future." Her voice became excited, her eyes lighting up once more. "It's a link, between me and the Doctor! Bad Wolf here… Bad Wolf there!"

"Okay, so what's it telling you?" Siwan asked, believing Seren without hesitation.

Mickey looked slightly more hesitant but didn't say anything as he saw the excitement on Seren's face; he would go along with it, if only to see something other than the listlessness she had been expressing for the past few hours.

"I can get back!" Seren exclaimed, running in the direction of the TARDIS. The two followed her. "I can at least help him escape!"

They ran as fast as they could back to the TARDIS. At the doors, Seren pulled her key chain out of her purse and opened the doors, letting herself, Siwan and Mickey inside.

"Okay, how are you going to get back to him?" Siwan asked as they walked up to the console.

"Well, all the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip." Seren replied hopefully. "Just reversing the flight path."

"Yeah, but we still can't do it." Mickey pointed out, pointing to the three of them.

"The TARDIS is telepathic." Seren told them.

"Right, she's alive, she can listen. I remember the hearing the humming last time." Siwan said excitedly, remembering her first time inside the beautiful ship. The excitement faded, and she frowned, biting her lip, "But, there is no humming now."

"So, she's not listening now." Mickey summarized, letting out a frustrated breath.

"We need to get inside her Heart." Seren told them. They looked at her as though she had officially lost her mind. Seeing their expressions, she explained, "Last time we were on Earth, when we had run into Margaret again, this middle part," she gestured to the portion of the console she was referring to, "opened and a bright warm light shone from it. The Doctor said that was the Heart of the TARDIS. He added that if the ship can translate languages, then it's possible that the Heart can translate thoughts. If we can open the Heart and I look inside, I can tell her where I want to go."

"Seren…" Mickey said softly, looking at her, though the woman was looking at the console.

"Hmm?"

"If you go back, you could die." He told her quietly.

Siwan looked away, knowing it was true and also knowing that there was a chance that Seren would survive because of her immortality. Something that Mickey wasn't aware of.

"That's okay." Seren said softly, looking at him and Siwan. Siwan looked back at Seren as the older woman continued, "I can't sit back and let him die, even if it means risking my own life."

"Okay. If you're absolutely sure, let's get this open." Mickey replied determinedly, even though the thought of Seren dying scared him beyond anything else.

He looked at the console panel that covered the Heart, taking note of the dips and curves, the handles and the placement of the switches. Seren and Siwan stayed silent, hand-in-hand, watching as their best friend examined the console with keen eyes.

"We can try using a heavy chain to pull it open." He said after several minutes. "Fasten one end to the car and the other to this part here." He pointed to a handle on the console panel. "We can use my car, Adam took his back to the hospital and it'll take too long to go and get it."

"All right." Seren said, biting her lip anxiously.

Siwan nodded and Mickey left the TARDIS to get his car.

"Can you promise me one thing?" Siwan asked, once the doors closed behind Mickey's retreating back.

"What?" Seren asked, turning to her.

"Try to come back, yeah." Siwan said, looking at Seren with tear-filled sapphire eyes. "Please, try to come back."

"Oh, Siwan." Seren breathed, wrapping her arms around the sapphire-eyed woman and hugging her tightly. Siwan returned the hug and held her tightly. "I promise to try my best."

"That's all I can ask for." Siwan said softly as they pulled back from each other. The two women wiped their tears away and looked at each other, smiling as though it was an ordinary day.

"So, you moved in with Adam?" Seren asked her curiously, a smirk on her face.

"Yes, I did." Siwan replied, grinning at the amethyst-eyed woman.

"He still trying to cook?" Seren asked, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Oh, yeah." Siwan replied with an exasperated groan. "The man can't make frozen dinners, and he still tries to cook."

"At least he tries." Seren pointed out.

"True. That's why I love it when he does." Siwan admitted. She sighed and looked up at the silent TARDIS's ceiling, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face. "It's funny. He's incredibly wealthy, yet he doesn't try to lavish me with extravagant gifts or anything."

"It's because he knows how uncomfortable it makes you." They heard Mickey's voice behind them. Startled, the two women whirled around to look at him, and saw he was carrying a heavy metal chain in his hands with one end already fasten to the tow hitch of his Mini outside the TARDIS. He walked up to the console and began fastening the other end to the panel as he continued, "Even now, though the two of you are together, you still feel uncomfortable with his extravagant life – even if you mask it very well. Not to mention, you don't take his money for granted, even though he has given you complete access to his bank accounts – he had even before you began dating." He finished fastening to chain and turned to the two women, looking mostly at Siwan.

"Hmm. You have a point." Siwan admitted softly, a thoughtful expression on her face

What Mickey had said was true - she was uncomfortable with the extravagance of his life, not because she didn't think she was worthy of him or because of any personal self-esteem issues, it was simply because she preferred the simple things in life. The timeless things that disappear in moments but can be held on to forever – going for picnic dates in lieu of dinner dates at fancy restaurants; staying home and making dinner together in lieu of going out to eat; dancing on the balcony or the roof of the Estate buildings or in the garden of his massive home in Hampstead under the moonlight.

"Well, let's get the Heart of the TARDIS opened." Mickey said, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to be cheerful.

Siwan and Seren nodded and Mickey went outside and got in his car, starting the engine. Seren and Siwan stood on either side of the rope next to the console. Jackie and Rose joined them after returning to the Estate, standing beside the TARDIS and watching as Mickey, Siwan and Seren attempted to open the console.

Mickey began driving forward slowly, trying to pull it open.

"Faster!" Seren yelled to him when the console didn't move.

Mickey slowly pressed on the gas further and the chain became tauter as he burned rubber.

"Come on!" Mickey yelled, banging his hands against the steering wheel as he pressed the gas pedal entirely.

Seren chewed her bottom lip in anticipation as she watched the console hopefully.

"It's not moving, Mickey!" Siwan yelled as the panel still refused to move.

Several tense minutes later, the chain shuddered before breaking in two. Seren growled in frustration, kicking the console before falling to her knees beside it in defeat, her forehead resting on the edge. Siwan crouched down beside her, putting an arm around the purple-eyed, slowly pulling her older sister up and guiding her to the jump seat, sitting her down.

Seren was unaware of Siwan moving her, staring into space, broken and defeated. She wasn't aware of Rose and Jackie coming inside and leaning against the console in front of her and Siwan.

"It was never gonna work, sweetheart. And the Doctor knew that." Seren slowly registered Jackie saying consolingly. "He just wanted you to be safe."

"I can't give up." Seren said softly, firm despite the quiet tone.

"Lock the door. Walk away." Jackie said gently.

"Uncle Pete wouldn't give up." Seren said, turning to look at her, eyes expressing the brokenness inside.

"Well, your Uncle isn't here, is he?" Jackie replied. Her and Seren stared at each other for several seconds before Jackie added, "And even if he was, he'd say the same."

"No, he wouldn't Aunt Jackie." Seren said, shaking her head as Jackie stared at her. "He would tell me to try anything I possibly can. If I could save the Doctor's life, he'd tell me to try anything."

"So would Mam and Tad." Siwan added helpfully.

"Well we're never gonna know." Jackie muttered, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Well, I know Aunt Jackie, because I saw him again." Seren replied, causing Jackie and Siwan to stare at her in shock. "I saw Uncle Pete again."

"Don't be ridiculous." Jackie said quietly, shaking her head.

"The Doctor took me back in time and I saw Uncle Pete again." Seren said, sitting up and looking at her god-mother with fire in her eyes.

"Don't say that." Jackie said in a quiet voice, backing away from the Welshwoman slightly.

"Remember when Uncle Pete died? There were two people with him before Siwan and I ran out of the church. Two women." Seren said, her voice beginning to crack under the pressure of suppressing her tears. Jackie stared at her in disbelief, finding it difficult to take in the younger woman's words although knowing, at the back of her mind, them to be true. "A blonde in denim and a brunette in a lehenga. They held his hands and brought the girls back to the church." Jackie didn't reply, still staring at Seren as tears ran down the younger woman's cheeks. "You saw them from a distance, Aunt Jackie! Think about it! That was Rose and myself. You saw us-"

"Stop it!" Jackie said abruptly, looking at her sternly.

"That's how good the Doctor is-"

"Stop it! just stop it!" Jackie shouted angrily, tears beginning to fall from her blue-grey eyes.

She turned and ran out of the TARDIS sobbing, Rose shooting a tear-filled look at Seren before running after the older blonde. Seren gave into her tears, her body shaking with grief as she sobbed her heart out. Siwan out her arm around the not-so older woman, tears of sorrow falling from her own cheeks.

Siwan remembered the day Pete died, she remembered being in the church when he had been hit by the car and feeling as though her heart had stopped. She remembered Seren looking at her with wide eyes, the same expression on her face and the two of them running outside with their mother calling after them, she remembered running to Pete as he lay on the ground, two women sitting beside him and holding his hands as he died. She remembered herself and Seren reaching Pete after he had died and begging him to wake up, the two women comforting them and taking them back to the church, dropping them off inside the gate and walking away. Siwan also remembered her mother telling her that they had never seen either of the women again, though Glenda had admitted that the woman looked a lot like an older version of Seren – when Seren had first returned home after being in the TARDIS and Siwan learned of it being a time machine, she thought that the woman could have probably been Seren but didn't say anything, not knowing if it really was her or not.

Slowly, the two sisters stopped crying and walked out of the TARDIS, joining Mickey beside his car. While Seren and Siwan were inside the TARDIS, he had parked it along the curb side.

"There's got to be something we can do." Mickey said as they leaned back against the Mini, one woman on either side of him as they stared at the TARDIS.

"Aunt Jackie was right." Seren whispered defeatedly. "Maybe we should just lock the door and walk away. It is what the Doctor wanted me to do after all."

"No, Seren." Siwan said firmly, leaning around Mickey to look at her sister. "I'm not letting you give up just because we've hit a roadblock."

"Neither am I." Mickey said firmly, looking at Seren as well. "No way, not now. We just need something stronger than my car." He looked around as he continued describing what they would need, as they heard the roar of an engine nearby. "Something bigger… something like that!"

They turned as the engine's roar became louder and saw a big yellow recovery truck turn around the corner, driven by Jackie with Rose sitting in the passenger seat beside her. Seren and Siwan grinned in amazement as Jackie drove the truck to a halt in front of them, beside Mickey's car.

Jack and Rose climbed out of the truck and strode over to them, the engine still running.

"Right, you've only got this until 6:00, so get on with it." She said briskly, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb at the truck behind her.

"Aunt Jackie, where in Arawn's name did you get that from?" Seren asked amused, nodding at the truck.

"Rodrigo. He owes me a favour." Jackie replied before becoming serious. "Never mind why, but you were right about your Uncle, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactly what he would've done." She choked back the urge to cry as she tossed the keys to Mickey. "Now, get on with it before I change my mind."

Mickey caught the keys and nodded his thank to the older woman. Seren kissed Jackie's cheek and ran inside the TARDIS, removing her heels as she ran up the ramp, followed by Siwan while Mickey ran to the truck and climbed in.

Rose ran to the back of the truck and reached in, grabbing a long length of a heavy metal chain, fastening one end to the truck and the other to the console.

"Okay, hit it!" Rose yelled to Mickey, running out of the TARDIS and stopping beside Jackie and Siwan.

Mickey pressed the gas down, just as he had done in his own car almost an hour earlier. As Mickey pressed on the gas pedal, the chain stretched and Seren looked at the console hopefully.

"Keep going!" Seren shouted to Siwan, Rose and Jackie.

"Put your foot down!" Jackie yelled to Mickey.

Mickey did just that and put his foot down harder on the pedal.

"Faster!" Seren yelled, looking out of the open doors.

"Give it some more, Mickey!" Rose yelled.

Mickey yelled as he pressed on the gas pedal with everything he had as the metal chain began to creak under the strain.

"Keep going!" Seren yelled, looking at the console as the chain became tauter and tauter, the metal creaking in protest.

"Come on, come on!" Jackie and Siwan yelled in unison.

"Keep going!" Seren yelled as she all but bent over the console.

"Give it some more!" Siwan yelled.

Mickey roared as continued to press on the pedal, bouncing slightly from the vibrations inside the truck.

Finally, the hook ripped off the handle and Mickey drove forward at the sudden lack of being held back. He stopped the truck just before he could hit the wall in front of him and looked back at the TARDIS in confusion, Siwan, Rose and Jackie looking at the hooked clasp that was dragged out of the TARDIS.

Inside, the panel burst open and a blinding warmth white gold light poured out. Seren stepped forward to look into the light and it reflected onto her face, a breeze gently blowing her long hair around her. Her glasses fell from her face and to the floor with a clatter, breaking in half without her noticing. The light streamed into her eyes in two golden streams as Idris began singing once more at the back of her mind.

"Seren!" Mickey shouted, climbing out of the truck and hurrying to the TARDIS.

Just before he, Siwan, Rose and Jackie could reach the blue box, the doors swung shut as the engines groaned to life, the TARDIS dematerializing.

The selfless and pure Welshwoman could feel the TARDIS hurtling through time, pouring unlimited energy into her.

Seren gasped as she saw all of time and space, the intensity and enormity of it. She saw the beginning, she saw the end, she saw all that lay in between.

The TARDIS rematerialized on Floor 500 of the Game Station and both doors flew open, revealing Seren standing in the doorway, barefoot. Her eyes were glowing a brilliant gold and she was silhouetted in a blinding golden light. She stepped forward as the energy tendrils curled around her, streaming outward.

The Doctor stumbled backward, falling to the ground as he looked at her glowing form.

"What have you done?" He asked her, a scared expression on his face.

Seren looked down at him, her eyes glowing and filled with the golden light of the Time Vortex.

"I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me." She said in a timeless voice, all traces of her beautiful lilting Welsh accent gone.

"You looked into the Time Vortex." The Doctor breathed in wide-eyed shock and terror. "Seren Rhosyn, no one's meant to see that."

"This is the Abomination!" The Emperor roared through the viewscreen.

"Exterminate!" A Dalek cried, firing a beam at Seren.

Seren looked at the Dalek and her eyes glowed as she held up her hand, freezing the beam and reversing it back to the gun - as if pressing the rewind button on a remote. The Doctor watched the action in amazement and turned to look up at Seren intensely from where he was sitting on the ground.

"I am the Bad Wolf." Seren said, looking back at him. He frowned slightly as she continued, "I create myself. I take the words..." She looked up at the wall where BAD WOLF CORPORATION was written high on the wall and waved her hand. "I scatter them in time and space." The words 'Bad Wolf' rose up from the wall and the letters float away, vanishing into time and space. "A message to lead myself here."

"Seren Rhosyn, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now!" The Doctor told her urgently, looking up at her pleadingly. Seren stared straight ahead as though she couldn't hear him. "Seren, you've got the entire Vortex running through your head. You're gonna burn."

He looked at her pleadingly with wild concern in his blue eyes. Suddenly, she blinked and turned to look at him, the glow fading from her eyes and revealing the amethyst orbs.

"I want you safe." She said as the tear tracks that had been masked by the light became visible on her face. The Doctor stared at her, taken aback. "My Doctor. Protected from the false God."

"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal." The Emperor roared through the viewscreen.

"You are tiny." Seren said, looking back at the Emperor through the viewscreen. "I can see the whole of time and space - every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She raised her hand, her eyes glowing gold once again, as the Dalek that had fired its weapon at her gently separated into golden, liquid-like particles and floating away before disappearing entirely. "Everything must come to dust . . . all things. Everything dies." She looked to the side were the Daleks that were lined along the wall were reduced to the same golden particles and disappeared. "And so the Time War ends." She looked back at the Emperor through the viewscreen.

"I will not die! I cannot die!" The Emperor roared as the spaceship disappeared in a golden wave.

Seren raised her hands, staring straight ahead as every other Dalek ship disappeared as well, in the same golden wave.

"Seren, you've done it. Now stop." The Doctor told her urgently. "Just let go."

"How can I let go of this?" Seren asked in a hushed, blissful tone. "I bring life."

For a single moment, her eyes glowed brighter and several corridors away, Jack breathed again with new life.

In a parallel Universe far away, a little sapphire-blue eyed girl - one of two Chosen Ones of the Mara - woke up to the sight of a beautiful woman bathed in golden light, barefoot and wearing a lehenga though the exact colours were obscured by the light.

"Who are you?" the little girl asked in a lilting Welsh accent, rubbing her eyes and staring at the beautiful glowing woman.

"I am Bad Wolf." The woman replied. "Siwan Aderyn Jones, will you choose a mortal life while the man you love lives for eternity or while you choose an immortal life and walk eternity by his side?"

"I don't know." The little girl, Siwan Aderyn Jones, replied honestly, looking up at the glowing woman with large sincere eyes. She sat cross legged on her bed as the woman stood beside her. "Do I have to make my choice now?"

"I exist throughout time and space. When the time comes, you may make your choice." The woman replied.

"Thank you, Miss. Bad Wolf." Siwan replied with a brilliant smile.

"Know this, when you make your choice, it will be final." The woman warned. "Once it is made it cannot be rescinded. Should you choose immortality with the one you love, you will not face your final death until the moment that he does. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do." Siwan replied seriously.

"Very well." The woman said and stepped back slightly.

She waved her hand and the little girl glowed with a brilliant golden light, obscuring her from sight for several seconds. When the light cleared, the little girl was fast asleep, curled above her covers. The woman waved her hand once more and the little girl was tucked beneath the covers, her palms under her cheek as she slept peacefully.

When Siwan would wake up the next morning, she would tell her sister. Seren Jones, and her god-parents, Jackie and Pete Tyler, about the dream she had of the golden woman, not remembering the particulars or the conversation. Over time, she would forget about it until she was much older and faced, once again, with the choice at the time of her first death – return for one mortal life while her love walked eternity alone or return for an immortal life with her love until he faced his final death.

"But this is wrong! You can't control life and death!" The Doctor exclaimed, terrified.

"But I can." Seren said, looking back at him as the glow faded from her eyes once again. She felt at complete peace with the power coursing through her, as though it were the most natural thing in the Universe. "The sun and the moon . . . the day and night."

"The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault." The Doctor cried in anguish, lowering his head.

"I can see everything." Seren said and Doctor raised his head again, looking at her in shock. "All that is, all that was, all that ever could be."

He abruptly stood up, looking down at the tiny woman as though he suddenly understood.

"That's what I see. All the time." He said softly. "Doesn't it drive you mad?"

"No, it feels like the most natural thing of all." She replied honestly before looking at him with fear. "Why does it feel like this?"

"Come here." He said as he held his hands out to her.

"What am I becoming?" She asked as he took her tiny hands in his own larger ones.

"I think you need a Doctor." He said with a gentle smile.

They stepped around slowly to face each other. The Doctor gazed into her large eyes for a second, then gently, carefully leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. As he kissed her, she could feel the Vortex flowing out of her and into him.

'No!' She thought, pulling away just before he could absorb the last of the Vortex.

They gazed at each other for several moments, oblivious to their surroundings before Seren's eyes fluttered to a close and she fainted into his arms.

Seren woke up as they were flying through the Time Vortex, finding herself laying on the ground by the console, still barefoot.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up and looking around the room. She could see clearly so she assumed that she was wearing her glasses, so used to the feel that she would barely notice their presence.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor asked mildly surprised.

"Yes, I do." She admitted, looking at him. "I wanted to see of you would lie to me. If you would lie and tell me what you want me to believe."

The Doctor stared at her and she stared back at him, unflinching.

"I know that you kept a bit of the Vortex." He said quietly, still staring at her.

"I was fine." She said adamantly. "You didn't have to absorb the Vortex."

The Doctor looked away, breaking the staring contest and looking at his hands. Seren looked at her own and noticed the faint golden light shimmering along her veins and arteries, not only her hands, but her arms and her abdomen as well, every part of her skin that she could see had the shimmery golden light running along her veins and arteries. She frowned at the sight and looked up at the Doctor, noticing him watching her with a gentle smile.

"Seren Rhosyn Jones," he said with a small laugh before Seren could ask about the gold shimmers running along her body. "I was gonna take you to so many places. Barcelona - not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place - they've got dogs with no noses." He laughed at his own joke and Seren giggled as well, half-rolling her eyes. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!"

"Then why wouldn't we go?" Seren asked, looking at him with a smile.

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this." The Doctor replied vaguely, grinning at her and turning back to the monitor.

"You're not making any sense!" Seren told him, standing up slowly as he stared at the monitor with a vague smile.

"I might never make sense again." He retorted. "I might have two heads, or no head." He laughed at the thought as Seren nodded with a bemused smile on her face, running her fingers through her tangled mess of curls. "Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement." She grinned at him, her eyes twinkling. "But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with-" the Doctor broke off suddenly as he was propelled backwards with a blast of golden light and doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach as though he had been punched.

"Doctor!" Seren exclaimed, rushing towards him in concern.

"Stay away!" He yelled urgently, halting her in her tracks a foot away from him.

She stared at him with wide eyes as he winced in pain.

"Doctor, please tell me what's going on." Seren pleaded, worried about what was happening to him.

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that." He told her, trying to keep his tone light despite the pain etched across his features. Seren stared at him in concern as he looked back at her seriously as he added, "Every cell in my body's dying."

"Can't you do something to heal yourself?" Seren asked frantically.

"Yeah, I'm doing it now." He said slightly cheerful. "Time Lords have this little trick, it's… sort of a way of cheating death. Except…" he looked into her eyes. "It means I'm gonna change." Here eyes widened in realization as she stared at him. He was talking about regenerating. "And I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face." He chuckled as he gestured to his face, trying not to scare her. "And before I go…

"Don't say that, please." Seren pleaded, tears of guilt filling her eyes.

This was her fault, he was regenerating because he absorbed the Time Vortex from her.

"Seren Rhosyn…" He said softly, and she visibly backed down, listening to what he wanted to say. "Before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic." He smiled at her with pride. "Absolutely fantastic." She looked back at him, unable to return the smile as her tears threatened to fall from her large eyes. "And d'you know what?" She shook her head mutely in response and he grinned widely at her. "So was I."

Seren smiled at the last comment and nodded in agreement. The Doctor smiled widely back at her for a few moments before he suddenly convulsed. Orange-gold energy exploded from every visible part of his skin – blasting out from the neck of his jumper up towards his face and the sleeves of his jacket down his hands. Seren stumbled backward, shielding her eyes from the intensity of the light and heat, still not noticing the lack of glasses on her face. Despite the intense light and heat, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight and stared, transfixed, as slowly and gradually, the Doctor's hair lengthened slightly, and his face changed until the energy faded away, leaving a completely new man standing in front of the Welshwoman, still wearing his previous incarnation's clothes.

The new incarnation was handsome with a tall, slim frame, finely boned hands and face, thick brown hair and sideburns, large, soulful dark brown eyes, and pale skin a few shades darker than Seren's own snow-white and scattered with freckles.

He looked slightly surprised for a moment as he regained his bearings following the change before blinking and turning to look at Seren, who was clinging to a coral pillar and looking at him with open-mouthed shock.

"Hello!" He exclaimed in a somewhat cultured cockney accent flecked with hints of Scottish. "Okay – oo." He gulped and ran his tongue over his teeth and said thoughtfully, "New teeth. That's weird." He glanced at her for a moment before asking, "So, where was I?" he didn't wait for an answer as he looked at her with a smile saying, "Oh, that's right! Barcelona."

He grinned at her as she still stared at him in open-mouthed shock, her eyes wide.

Links (on pinterest):

*Siwan work outfit - .ca/pin/474566879478447574/