CHAPTER 61

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AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL

As Rose started to reboot reality and restore the universe back to normal once again after the Matriarch and the Trickster were both defeated, a blinding white light instantly engulfed everyone. Part of Oswin desperately hoped that once the light faded that she would be back in her mother's kitchen baking a soufflé with her once more.

She knew that wouldn't happen but part of her still hoped for it anyway.

Once the light faded, Oswin sighed and had to take a moment to compose herself as she realized that she was back on Skaro in her private quarters once more where she had been before all of this had happened. Tears were already threatening to overwhelm her because she knew that she'd never see her mother again. Even after all of this time it still hurt to think about her, and seeing her again had only made things worse on her.

"CLARA, I'M SORRY," A sympathetic voice said beside her.

She turned to see Epsilon standing next to her with what she now knew in Dalek body language was an air of sadness. This was amazing in and of itself since before Oswin the Daleks had never even had a word for sadness much less experienced it before.

Oswin smiled at him in appreciation as she gave him a small kiss on the top of his casing and said, "Thank you, Eppy. I'm going to be alright though. Don't worry."

Then her smile widened as she saw that she was an adult and pregnant once more. The baby was back with her again where she belonged. Rose had fixed that too it seemed.

"You know I was almost hoping that I wouldn't have to go through delivery. You couldn't have just kept her out here while you were fixing everything?" Clara said as she looked up.

"Who are you talking to?" John asked as he entered the room with a confused look on his face.

Oswin looked at him in confusion as she said, "Rose. Who else would I be talking to? She could have just kept the baby as having already been born when she rebooted things."

"What on Earth, I mean Skaro, are you talking about, Clara? Are you sure that you're feeling okay?" John asked with concern.

Clara started to ask him if he was feeling okay when she realized that he didn't remember any of what had happened. He was only half Time Lord so apparently he couldn't retain his memory of the other reality. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of life he had had there. Now she would probably never know.

"HE WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND," Epsilon said.

"Ah. Well, that makes sense then," Oswin said with a pleased grin.

"What makes sense?" John asked with an even more confused look even as Oswin started to look confused herself.

"Hey, how did you know what I was thinking?" Oswin asked Epsilon with a troubled look on her face.

Epsilon actually looked guilty now as he said in a hesitant tone, "I ESTABLISHED A MENTAL LINK WITH YOU SO THAT I WOULD ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU WERE AT ALL TIMES AND IF YOU WERE SAFE OR NOT. THAT'S HOW I FOUND YOU SO QUICKLY IN THE ALTERED REALITY."

"Altered reality? What altered reality? Clara, what's going on?" John asked in bewilderment.

"Get to you on that later, John. Right now I have a Dalek to kill. So when did you establish this mental link exactly? More importantly, just how much of my mind can you read?" Oswin said in a furious voice.

"I ESTABLISHED A MENTAL LINK BETWEEN US BACK WHEN YOUR MIND WAS ALMOST BURNT OUT AFTER YOU USED THE PSYCHIC AMPLIFIER ON YOURSELF. I USED IT TO MONITOR YOUR THOUGHTS TO SEE IF YOU WERE TRULY RECOVERING FROM THE COMA THAT RESULTED AFTERWARDS OR NOT. I NEVER REMOVED THE LINK ONCE YOU DID RECOVER BECAUSE I WANTED TO HAVE A WAY TO CHECK UP ON YOU TO SEE IF YOU WERE ALRIGHT IN THE FUTURE. AFTER ALL YOU GET IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, EMPRESS. DON'T WORRY BECAUSE I CAN ONLY READ SURFACE THOUGHTS AND NOTHING ELSE. I DIDN'T WANT TO INVADE YOUR PRIVACY ANY FURTHER THAN THAT," Epsilon said in an apologetic tone.

If looks could kill, Epsilon would have been instantly exterminated in that moment as Oswin became absolutely furious. She wasn't the only one either.

"You have a mental link with my wife?" John said in disbelief.

"IT WAS FOR SAFETY PURPOSES ONLY. IT WAS NEVER TO SPY ON HER," Epsilon protested.

Oswin continued to say nothing. She just stared at her friend as if she wanted to rip him in two.

"DO YOU HATE ME?" Epsilon asked her in an almost frightened tone.

Oswin couldn't help but smile as she said, "No, that's never going to happen so don't even worry about that. I am angry at you though. Very, very angry. Don't ever do something like that again without asking me first. Do you understand?"

"YES, EMPRESS. I'M SORRY. I ONLY WANTED TO PROTECT YOU," Epsilon said.

"I understand that and any other time I'd appreciate it, but this is definitely not the way to go about it. I want you to remove that link right now. Got it?" Oswin said in a no nonsense tone.

"I still can't believe that you linked with her. Even I'm not linked with her," John protested.

"YOUR JEALOUSY IS UNWARRANTED. I HAVE NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS WHATSOEVER FOR THE EMPRESS. IN FACT, SUCH THOUGHTS ARE COMPLETELY ABHORRANT TO ME," Epsilon said in a disgusted tone.

"Thank you so much," Oswin said in an insulted voice.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY. I MEANT THAT YOU ARE LIKE . . . THE CLOSEST WORD IN YOUR LANGUAGE WOULD BE FAMILY. YOU AND ONE OTHER ARE THE ONLY NON-DALEKS THAT I HAVE EVER FELT THAT WAY ABOUT," Epsilon said.

Oswin began to smile now despite herself as she said, "You're like family to me too, Eppy."

"For the record, I am not and never was jealous especially not of a Dalek," John pouted.

Oswin looked at him skeptically as she said, "Uh huh. Sure you weren't. I only love you, John, and even if I didn't I wouldn't fall for a Dalek. No offense, Eppy."

"NONE TAKEN. YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE EITHER. NOT IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. IN FACT, THE THOUGHT IF IT MAKES ME FEEL QUITE ILL," Epsilon said.

"Learn to quit while you're ahead, Eppy," Oswin said in an irritated tone.

"HE MEANS THAT HE THINKS OF YOU AS ALMOST A MATERNAL FIGURE JUST AS WE ALL DO, EMPRESS," A Dalek voice that sounded female said as a new Dalek entered the room.

Oswin looked surprised at first and then smiled from ear to ear as she said, "Yeah, I've always thought of the Daleks and Angela as being like my kids too, Daphne. I know that's silly of course. You're all fully grown after all."

"Daphne? You mean there are female Daleks?" John asked in surprise.

Oswin immediately cleared her throat loudly and rolled her eyes at him as she said, "Uh, yeah. I used to be one, remember? There have always been female Daleks only we all had to use that same stupid voice for ourselves as the boys did. Apparently Davros thought that it sounded much more intimidating to have all of the Daleks speak that way when he created them. I've been working on modifying the voice though for those Daleks like me who used to be female before they were converted. How do you like it? Does it sound alright?"

"It sounds . . . pretty weird actually," John admitted with a small smile.

Oswin looked insulted as she said, "I thought I had done a good job. You like it, don't you, Daphne?"

"THIS VOICE IS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE FOR MY NEEDS, EMPRESS," Daphne said.

"You like it though, right?" Oswin asked.

"I . . . SUPPOSE SO. IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE THOUGHT FOR MYSELF THAT I DON'T REALLY HAVE AN OPINION ON ANYTHING ANYMORE. I'M SORRY IF THAT'S NOT THE ANSWER THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, EMPRESS," Daphne said with a tone filled with what almost sounded like regret.

"I'm sorry too, Daph. Maybe I'll get you back to thinking for yourself again very soon though. I don't want mindless drones after all. That was the old way of doing things not mine," Oswin said as she affectionately patted the top of Daphne's casing.

"So did you come here to tell me something, Daphne?" Oswin asked.

"Wait a minute. Before we get to that, what about removing that link between you and Epsilon?" John reminded her.

"I'll do that in a minute, okay? Right now I want to see what Daph has to tell me. It could be important. Besides it's not like it's a stranger in my head. It's just Eppy," Oswin said dismissively.

"Then why were you so angry?" John asked.

"He did it without telling me. That's why. You're just mad that you're not linked with me instead. I wasn't sure that you could even do that anyway. You've never said anything about it after all," Oswin said.

"That's because I can't. I – I don't have any ability to link or any kind of mental abilities whatsoever really. I inherited my father's ability to come back from the dead but I didn't inherit anything from my mother apparently. I guess it's because she wasn't originally a Time Lady. It just bothers me that I can't link with you like she did with him. They've always been so close and I know that part of that is because they share everything like they do. I guess I just feel as if we're lacking something because we can't do that," John admitted.

Oswin immediately gave him a sympathetic look as she said, "That doesn't matter to me, John. We can share everything without being linked. I already feel like I know what you're going to say before you even say it anyway so we don't need a link to become closer. It'll just happen naturally like it does for everyone else. It's kind of sweet that you want to have the same kind of relationship with me as your dad has with your mum though."

John smiled at her and was obviously feeling better as he said, "Sorry. I guess I just still kind of worry that I'm not good enough for you."

Epsilon looked like he was going to say something, but an angry look from Oswin quickly shut him up.

"EMPRESS, CAN I GIVE YOU MY REPORT NOW?" Daphne asked.

"Sure, Daph. Go ahead," Oswin said with a warm smile.

"THE MENTOR'S FORCES DID MINIMAL DAMAGE TO THE CAPITOL DURING THEIR BRIEF OCCUPATION OF IT. WE SHOULD HAVE EVERYTHING THAT THEY DID DAMAGE HOWEVER UP AND RUNNING AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL ONCE MORE IN TWO EARTH DAYS IF NOT SOONER. DUE TO THE ACTIONS OF ANGELA AND HER LEGNA, THE ENEMY WERE DRIVEN OUT BEFORE THEY COULD GAIN TOO DEEP OF A HOLD ON SKARO. I DO SUGGEST THAT YOU PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THEIR EVENTUAL RETURN HOWEVER. OUR INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS THAT THEY WILL MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO RETURN FOR VENGEANGE VERY SOON NOW, AND WE HAVE ALREADY PREPARED FOR IT," Daphne reported.

"They'd better not. I'm definitely not in the mood for any more surprises in my life lately. What the Matriarch did to me was bad enough," Oswin said with a frown.

"Which was what exactly? See? That's another way that our being linked would have helped our relationship. I still have no idea what happened but Epsilon does. He knows more about what's happening in your life than I do," John said sadly.

"It's just this one time that's happened, John. Usually you know everything that I do I promise. Basically Evil Me changed reality so that I wound up as a teenager living with Mum again and some of the other Claras were my sisters. You really didn't miss much trust me," Oswin said.

"AND SHE SAW THE BABY BEFORE SHE WAS BORN," Epsilon added making John's frown deepen even further.

"Thanks a lot, Epsilon. I was going to leave that part out because he's already depressed enough as it is," Oswin said with a groan.

"HE WILL GET TO SEE THE BABY SOON ANYWAY, EMPRESS. YOU'RE DUE TO GIVE BIRTH AT ANY MOMENT NOW," Epsilon said.

"What?" Oswin said in a surprised voice.

"See? He even knows when the baby's coming before I do," John said with a deep sigh.

Oswin groaned as she said in an irritated voice, "Will you please shut up and stop being jealous of Epsilon already, John? Eppy, what are you doing? Are you monitoring my life signs now too? Do I have any kind of privacy whatsoever anymore? Do you even know when I have to go to the bathroom or . . . ?"

Then she suddenly screamed as she finally started to have painful contractions at that very moment.

"WE WERE MONITORING YOU FOR YOUR OWN WELL BEING AND THAT OF THE BABY, EMPRESS. WE MEANT NO OFFENSE," Daphne said.

"R- Right now I really don't care! Just get me an anesthetic or give me a really big konk on the head . . . or both!" Oswin somehow screamed through the pain.

"NURSE DALEK, REPORT FOR DUTY!" Epsilon screeched.

"Nurse Dalek?" John asked in surprise.

"YES, WE HAVE PREPARED ONE OF OUR TOP DALEKS FOR A NURSING ROLE SO THAT WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT BOTH THE EMPRESS AND THE FUTURE EMPRESS WILL BE SAFE AND HEALTHY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BIRTHING PROCESS," Epsilon said.

"Leave it to a Dalek to make a wonderful event like having a baby sound all dry and clinical," John said with a chuckle.

"You should be on this end then you wouldn't think that it was so bloody wonderful," Oswin complained in a voice filled with pain.

"PREPARING TO ANESTHETIZE," The Nurse Dalek, who was yet another female Dalek, said as she entered the room.

"ANESTHETIZE IMMEDIATELY!" Epsilon ordered as Oswin began to scream in immense pain.

"Part of me wants to stop them because it sounds like they're about to shoot you," John admitted.

"You do and you'll be the one who gets shot. Anesthetize me already! Now!" Oswin shouted.

The Nurse Dalek now produced a large needle from the middle of her gun stick and quickly injected Oswin with it. Oswin immediately started to smile and then giggle as the specially prepared anesthetic instantly took effect.

"Now that's more like it. I feel like I can do anything now. Let me at the Mentor. I can take her," Oswin said as she continued to laugh.

"I don't like this. She's acting all loopy," John said in a worried voice.

"She'll be fine. I supervised all of the Nurse Dalek's training myself and double checked everything to make sure that it was safe for humans. I'm not about to take a chance with either Clara's health or the baby's, John," Angela said in a reassuring tone as she came into the room.

"What kind of reference have you been using for human biology though? I really hope that it's not old Earth television shows," John said.

"No, it's something much better than that. We had the Nurse Dalek trained by an actual nurse or at least she used to be anyway," Angela said with a mischievous smile.

"Who are you talking about? You act like it's someone I should know," John said.

"No, it's someone that I know isn't it? It's my Gran, isn't it? Do I get a prize for guessing? Come on out, Gran. I know it's you. Come on out and give me my prize. Right now I really hope that it's a nice freshly baked souffle. After all of this I deserve one," The slightly out of Oswin said with a huge grin.

"Sorry but I'm afraid that the only prize that you get is this, Clara," Abby Oswald said with a warm smile as she entered the room and gave Oswin a kiss on the forehead.

Oswin smiled as she said, "I'll take it. That's good too. It's even better than a souffle."

"Well, that's high praise indeed," Abby said with an extremely pleased smile.

"I didn't know that you were ever a nurse," John said in surprise.

"It was a long time ago. I was a nurse when I first met the Doctor after his then companions Ben and Polly brought him to the hospital where I worked. He had been knocked unconscious by an explosion in a trench during World War I and they couldn't wake him. Luckily I figured out early on that he wasn't human when they brought me into the TARDIS or I probably would have wound up killing him from lack of knowledge of his anatomy. Oh, and as it turned out he was just in a healing coma so they really didn't need me after all. I stayed on anyway though and traveled with the old man from that point onward. I finally left him years later but no time at all had passed in my own time when he finally brought me back again. I'm actually older than people think thanks to that, but I'm not about to tell my real age," Abby said with a chuckle.

"You mean the Doctor actually got his destinations right back then? Why did I get the one who always got it all wrong then? That's not fair," Oswin said with a giggle.

"I still don't like it. She's really loopy with this stuff, Abby," John said with concern.

"She'll be fine. She needs the good stuff. Believe me. She's about to give birth at any second now judging by the Nurse Dalek's readings. Get ready for a delivery, Nursie," Abby said.

"I OBEY. PREPARING FOR DELIVERY. DELIVERING. DELIVERING," The Nurse Dalek said.

Abby and Angela both made Oswin lie down then as the Nurse Dalek awaited the emergence of the baby. The Dalek did a surprisingly good job John noted as he watched her go about her duties with a renewed appreciation of what the Daleks could really do when they didn't devote all of their time to killing.

Within ten minutes, little Clara was finally being born at last. The Nurse Dalek immediately checked her over as she did a quick diagnostic on her.

"IT IS CONFIRMED. THE FUTURE EMPRESS IS IN PERFECT HEALTH AND SO IS HER MOTHER. THE PROCEDURE WAS COMPLETELY SUCCESSFUL," The Nurse Dalek said in an almost relieved voice.

"GO AND TELL THE OTHERS. WE MUST CELEBRATE," Epsilon ordered the Nurse Dalek.

Epsilon would have smiled if he could. Now he had three non-Daleks that he considered a part of his family.

And John made a very nice pet . . . or at least a tolerable one at any rate.

"CELEBRATE. CELEBRATE," The Nurse Dalek said as she left the room.

"If the Daleks all start breaking out into song and dancing, I'm out of here. That'll just be way too much," John said as he rolled his eyes.

Abby giggled as she said, "Yes, it's very strange to see them all acting so human I must say. I still can't get over Daleks with female voices myself. I must admit that Clara's really turned this lot around. It makes me glad that I actually made it back to Skaro again so that I could be here to see it all. Besides I wouldn't have been able to resist Angela's invitation to come if I had tried. She's a real sweetie."

Angela instantly blushed and looked away in embarrassment as Abby grinned at her. She was already starting to consider her a part of her family just as Epsilon obviously considered her a part of his. Or at least that was the way that he acted towards her at any rate.

Daleks with families. That was yet another weird thing that she was going to have to get used to it seemed.

"Here she is, Clara," Abby said as she let Oswin see the baby while she held her.

She was afraid to let her hold her herself until she was completely back to normal again. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea.

"She's beautiful. She looks just like she did in the other universe only with less hair. She definitely looks better with hair," Oswin babbled.

Abby looked at John in confusion as he explained, "She says that the universe was changed recently but we just don't remember it. I guess she still does because she's an anomaly. Luckily it's all back to normal again. Well, it's back to what passes for normal around here at any rate."

"IS THAT AN INSULT?" Epsilon asked.

"More like an observation," John said with a sly grin.

Abby now handed the baby to John who smiled at her with pure joy as he said, "Hello, Clara. It's so nice to finally get to meet you. I mean everyone else has so it might as well be my turn now, right?"

Little Clara briefly smiled at him and then went to sleep in his arms as he gently rocked her.

"You're a natural father already it seems," Abby noted.

"I learned a lot from my own father. He's had plenty of experience with children. Definitely more than anyone else I know," John said with an enigmatic smile.

"Apparently so from the way that you're handling her," Abby said.

"Ooh, that's . . . that's one powerful anesthetic. It goes away pretty quickly too. It's Dalek made isn't it?" Oswin said as she finally started to return to normal once more.

"YES, WE CREATED IT SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU SO THAT YOU WOULD FEEL NO PAIN WHATSOEVER. ITS EFFECTS AREN'T GONE COMPLETELY. IT HAS ONLY LESSENED ENOUGH FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO THINK CLEARLY ONCE MORE. THE EFFECTS WON'T GO AWAY COMPLETELY UNTIL YOU HAVE SUFFICIENTLY RECOVERED FROM CHILDBIRTH. WE HAVE ALREADY TIMED ALL OF THIS OUT FAR IN ADVANCE," Epsilon answered.

"Very good, Eppy. It doesn't even feel like anything happened. You should market this stuff back on Earth. You'd have a whole lot of grateful women that would pay you a fortune for it," Oswin said with a huge smile.

"WE HAVE NO NEED OF MONEY. WE ALSO DO NOT DESIRE TO EARN THE WRATH OF THE TIME LORDS BY NEEDLESSLY INTERFERING IN THE AFFAIRS OF OTHER WORLDS EVEN IN A BENEVOLENT WAY. WE WOULD REALLY HATE TO HAVE TO START EXTERMINATING THEM AGAIN NOW. I KNOW THAT YOU DEFINITELY WOULD NOT APPROVE OF THAT, EMPRESS," Epsilon said with what could have been mistaken for a tone of great mirth in any other being.

"No, I definitely would not. Why do I get the feeling that you said all of that in a tongue in cheek manner, Epsilon?" Oswin asked with a smirk.

'I'M SURE THAT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, EMPRESS," Epsilon said in an almost coy manner.

"Right. Sure you don't," Oswin said with a snort.

Then she turned to watch John hold Clara and smiled as she said, "I almost hate to take her away from you. She seems to be happy right where she's at. She's already got you wrapped around her little finger doesn't she?"

"Yep, from the moment I first saw her," John admitted without hesitation as he continued to smile down happily at his newborn daughter.

Suddenly the entire area shook violently and continued to shake more and more by the moment causing Oswin to say, "Something tells me that isn't the Daleks celebrating."

"NEGATIVE. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, EMPRESS. IT IS . . ." Daphne started to say.

"It is the Mentor and I have come seeking justice for this one's treatment of me before," The Mentor said as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere right in front of Angela.

Two of the Mentor's Daleks now appeared beside her and pointed their weapons at Angela as several more entered the room in the next moment. Oswin knew now that Daphne had been right in her warning earlier.

Skaro was being invaded.

"Just what do you think that you're doing here?" Oswin demanded.

"My Daleks are here to take both you and your second-in-command back with us to my own dimension in order to answer for her crimes against us. If any of you try to stop me, my forces will neutralize you without mercy," The Mentor said in a nonchalant manner.

"She just recently had a baby as in only a minute ago," John protested as two of the Mentor's Daleks surrounded Oswin now too.

"It matters not. The law is clear. I was assaulted and nearly killed by her subordinate while I was here on a peaceful mission to save this reality from a deadly threat. She must be held accountable for her subordinate's actions just as any leader must be anywhere else. The two of them are coming with us. Do not try to stop us if you wish to live. If it helps, her sentence will be far lighter than her second-in-command's will be. Unlike her, she is not likely to be charged with a death sentence," The Mentor said.

"I was protecting my Empress. You were just going to leave her to die," Angela protested.

"Silence! We will hear your defense later. I must say that if that is all that it is though then it's an extremely weak one. I was only doing what was best for everyone in both realities. Come. We have a trial to begin," The Mentor said as she and Angela both teleported away at once together.

"No," Oswin protested as she tried to break away from the Mentor's Daleks.

"You will come with us to answer for your own charges," One of the Mentor's Daleks said as he and Oswin both started to fade out of existence together.

"NEGATIVE. YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER ANYWHERE. ALL THAT YOU WILL DO IS DIE. TELEPORTATIONAL NULLIFYING FIELD GOING INTO EFFECT PLANETWIDE NOW AS PLANNED," Epsilon said in an authoritative tone.

Suddenly the Mentor's Dalek and Oswin both became completely solid once more, and the Dalek was immediately cut down by the combined firepower of both Epsilon and Daphne. Now Oswin joined her two Daleks as they all started to take on the remaining Mentor Daleks in the room in a massive firefight.

John meanwhile immediately handed Clara to Abby and gave her his Vortex Manipulator as he said, "Take her out of here. I need to know that she's safe before I can do anything else."

Abby started to protest until the entire area started to shake more and more violently by the moment from the fighting and started to come apart all around them. As Oswin gave her a pleading look to take the baby and leave, even she knew that she had to go. That didn't mean that she had to like it though.

"I will send help back here somehow. I promise," Abby said as she activated the Manipulator and left.

She instantly found herself back home where she said to herself, "I will help you, Clara. Someway somehow I'll save you. I won't let them take you anywhere. I swear it."

"You'd do anything to save her wouldn't you?" A familiar voice said.

"You more than anyone know that I would but what can I do? You're the one who's going to have to go. I can't do anything. I haven't been able to do anything in decades. All I can do is sit here and wait," Abby said in despair as she looked around her for the source of the voice.

Where was that girl? Was she hiding? Why would she hide from her?

"Not necessarily. I think it's time that the universe got a refresher course on exactly what kind of an amazing person that Abigail Winslow really was when she had her back to the wall, don't you? Let's show them what you've got, Gran," The voice said with undisguised glee.

Moments later, Abby began to feel herself rapidly changing. She quickly set the baby down in a basinet that she already had prepared for her because she had no idea what was happening to her. Even as she did so, she noticed something extraordinary.

Her hands were becoming younger. For that matter, so was the rest of her.

"Clara, how are you doing this? You've never been able to do anything like this before," Abby called out to her still unseen granddaughter who had yet to show herself.

"You're right. Your version of Clara can't. I'm a different story however," The voice said as its owner finally showed herself at last.

"I know you. You're the Matriarch, aren't you?" Abby said in alarm as she instantly placed herself protectively in-between her and the baby.

"Yes, but I'm much nicer these days I promise. I would definitely never hurt you or Little Clara anyway. In fact, I've always adored Little Clara. She's my favorite niece," The Matriarch said as she looked at the baby with a fond smile.

The now twenty-something Abby looked at the Matriarch in confusion as she said in a youthful voice, "Why are you doing this? Even in my prime, I could never stop that many Daleks."

"Really? I watched you, Gran. I went back in time and watched and you were amazing. You could take them out left and right with the right firepower. Well, here it is. Have fun," The Matriarch said as she handed Abby an extra copy of both Oswin's gauntlets and of the belt that contained her force field generator and emergency temporal shift device.

"But I don't . . ." Abby started to say.

"Oh and here's the knowledge of how to use them," The Matriarch said as she briefly put her finger to Abby's forehead.

Abby now knew exactly how to use the equipment that the Matriarch had just given her plus she knew how to utilize further Dalek technology if she needed to later on. Part of her already wanted to go and help Oswin. Another part definitely wasn't about to leave Little Clara behind with the Matriarch however.

"Don't worry about her. She'll be fine. I promise. If you can't trust me, then who can you trust, Gran? I am Clara after all," The Matriarch said with a mischievious smile.

Then she saw the hesitant look on her grandmother's face and said in a serious voice, "I promise you that she'll be safe. I would never hurt her."

Abby looked deeply into the Matriarch's eyes and then nodded and smiled at her just before she used the Emergency Temporal Shift to go straight back to Skaro. She had seen her own Clara in those eyes and truly hadn't seen a trace of ill will in her. She knew that in her heart.

Whatever else the Matriarch was, she would never hurt the baby. She was sure of it.

The Matriarch now looked down at Little Clara apologetically as she said, "Sorry about disintegrating you and your Mum a while back when you were still inside her, Sweetie. I was still so full of anger back then and wasn't thinking straight. That wasn't really me at all. Now I'm much more back to normal. Think of this as me making up for all of that."

The baby looked up at her with a questioning look and made several noises to which the Matriarch responded, "No, don't worry about her for a moment, Sweetie. My Gran's a tough old bird. She'll save your Mum and send those Daleks running home with their tails between their legs. Just you watch."

The baby made more noises now to which the Matriarch immediately said, "You actually remember that? Amazing since you hadn't even been born yet. Yes, I was supposed to have died but obviously I didn't. Would you like to hear how? I mean it's not like you're going to tell anyone anyway? Your Mum and Dad don't speak Baby like I do."

The baby smiled and made eager noises that the Matriarch quickly responded to as she said,

"Okay, then. Here's the scoop."

Next: It's Abby Oswald to the rescue as she fights side by side with John and Epsilon in order to save Oswin from being carried off to the Mentor! Will she really make a difference? Just watch and find out. You might be pleasantly surprised. Plus the Mentor starts Angela's trial. Will she be rescued in time from an almost imminent death sentence? How will she even be found anyway? Let's just say that Eppy wasn't just watching out for Oswin and leave it at that. Also the Matriarch tells Little Clara the story behind her sudden return and why she didn't die as she had appeared to before.