Author's Note: Many thanks to BMG who helped me come up with Donna's nickname for the Tardis! Thanks love!
And thanks again to all who have messaged and commented, love to DM1, cassiekat and sarahjag!
This was a particularly draining chapter to write but in the end, I think it was well worth the wait. It also ended up be way longer than I had originally intended, I hope you all enjoy and remember to have some tissues ready. The song that is sung at the end is called Myn Mair and is a traditional Gaelic song of mourning.
The silence of the control room was suddenly broken with a loud clang followed almost immediately by a screech of pain and a thud.
The Doctor pushed back out from underneath the control console with his hand held to his head while his thumb was stuck in his mouth so he could suck some of the sting out of it. "What'd you go and do that for?" He growled up at the time rotor, his mood suddenly turned completely sour when he felt the Tardis respond in kind.
She had been as grumpy as he had been the last few hours, and their combined sour moods had sent Donna off in a huff lest she fall into the massive pity party that the two of them seemed to be wallowing in.
The Doctor had spent the last few days patching up the Tardis after the beating she had received in the Medusa Cascade, and with the repairs nearly finished he was eager to be able to slip out of the void once more and so they could make their way to Bellatrix Prime and on to that relaxation that he and Donna so desperately needed.
He had received a message from Jack just a few hours ago letting him know that the memorial service for the fallen officers from Cardiff PD was going to be the following day and that both Gwen and Daniel had asked that they attend. He knew that both he and Donna had had every intention of attending the memorial service, but he had hoped that they would have some more time to try to piece themselves back together before having to deal with the emotional trauma of the memorial service. He wished that one time, just ONE time, the universe would let him stick to the plans that he made and things could happen in their own bloody good time.
The fact that he had a time machine and could still enjoy some much needed relaxation before going to the memorial service never even crossed his mind, most likely because Donna would've had his head if he had even thought of it. Their friends needed them and that was that as far as she was concerned. He also was worried about the stress that it might put Donna under since she was still so raw from the events of the last few weeks and the realizations that she had come to in regards to both him and herself. It would eventually get easier for her, he just wished that that eventually would come a little bit faster.
He sighed softly when he felt the gentle apology in his mind from the Tardis, her soft touch soothing the last of the sting from the frazzled nerves in his thumb before she then tested the circuits that he had just been rewiring. The Doctor patted the control console with a soft smile, his eyes sliding closed so that he could better feel the results of his handiwork as power surged through the console once more. "I know you're sorry, and are probably just cranky because I am. I didn't mean to take it out on you, but I just got frustrated when we received Jack's message."
He laughed softly when he felt the sting from hitting his head on the underside of the console fade away as the Tardis sent a gentle healing warmth pulsing through his head. She teasingly let the heat tickle through his scalp which caused him to laugh softly before she whispered. I'm sorry my thief. I know how much you need to run with Donna right now and unfortunately can't, but you needn't worry about her. She has always been a strong one and she will be there right beside you when the time finally does come.
The Doctor leaned his head back against the console with a soft sigh when he felt the thought from his ship, his mind reaching out to Donna with a gentle stroke against the weak barrier she had thrown up between them to keep both his grumbling and the grumbling from the Tardis from disturbing her.
The Doctor had wisely decided not to press the contact with her when she had stormed out of the control room and off into the depths of the ship, truthfully because he valued his neck but because he also knew that the Tardis would keep an eye on her in ways that he couldn't quite manage. If something had happened, then the Tardis would have instantly let him know. So the Doctor had left Donna alone while he finished up the last of his repairs, his strange funk having finally faded away.
He felt Donna stir slightly in response to that touch, the barrier falling away and her mind melting back into his with surprising strength. He couldn't help the smile from springing to his lips when he felt the sizzle of her own irritation, though she had been focusing rather intently on a book that she had been trying to catch up on for a while.
Pushing himself up to his feet and flipping several switches on the control console, he set the course for their return to Cardiff before he threw the final lever home and sent the ship back into the vortex. The Doctor made his way from the control room and stopped outside the door to Donna's room so that he could focus more on her bearings. She was mumbling quietly in his mind now, half muttered phrases that he could barely catch and seemed to be only absently aware of him after the initial shock of merging once more with him.
He was surprised that her irritation had faded away so quickly when his mind touched hers, and he could only wonder if her initial irritation had only been in response to his. He knew that his moods greatly affected the moods of the Tardis, and he now had to wonder if the same was true with the both of them. Anyone that he could have asked about how their bond might change and develop over time was long since dead, and he hated the feeling that he was always one step behind when trying to figure out just what sort of curveball would come next.
He made his way through the Tardis, poking his head into the kitchen, arboretum and swimming pool before he stopped and let his mind reach out once more for that elusive touch. The Tardis usually led him right to Donna, but for some reason she was shifting the corridors around a bit almost as if she were having fun with him rather than letting him find Donna straight away.
The Doctor shook his head after he stepped back out of the swimming pool area, his eyes closing for a brief second as he followed the soft humming in his mind back to its source. His footsteps were light when he finally stopped before two large, ornate doors covered with Gallifreyan script and darkened with age and he smiled softly when he felt her presence behind that door. Of course she would be in the library, it had always been her favorite room when she had been on the Tardis before and with everything that had happened between the two of them in the months since she had returned to the Tardis she had not been able to spend any time in there at all.
Donna had always claimed that it was a sanctuary for her when she needed to get away from his more crazy, manic moods and it looked like today she had needed that little bit of space to put some distance between them so that he could figure things out for himself. She had only thrown up the flimsy barrier so that she could have some peace, as his mind had been particularly chaotic after Jack's transmission. She couldn't understand why he had been annoyed by it as they had both known that this moment was coming, and though they were both still so bruised and battered from the events in Cardiff this was the final closure that they needed to maybe finally make peace with that time.
The Doctor pushed open the doors and walked into the cavernous space beyond, the rows and rows of bookcases stretching out in all directions. There were comfy chairs and couches scattered seemingly at random, though he had always had certain spots that had been his favorite. It always amused him that the Tardis would arrange her library like a posh library on some planet in the distant past, though it had always only been himself or his companions who had come to the place. He wondered if it was perhaps her way of reminding herself of all the times when she had been filled with laughter and people, and only now kept a place for them should they ever return. That thought made him sadder than he had thought it would and he couldn't help but touch her consciousness gently, letting her feel his love for her and his gratitude for all that she had done for him and his companions. The ship responded by simply letting him know that she had chosen him from all the other Time Lords on Gallifrey, and that he and his companions were the only family that she would ever need. She was happy, she loved him just as much as he loved her and they belonged wholly to each other. She would never trade what she had shared with him for anything in all the known universes.
He smiled at the warmth of her touch while he wandered through the library, the soft humming in his mind had faded away to be replaced once more with the mumbling and with a slight touch of sorrow as well. The Doctor's step quickened when he felt that sorrow creep into Donna's thoughts, his mind instantly stroking gently along hers before he skidded to a stop as he rounded a particularly precarious bookshelf.
Donna sat staring blankly at a perfect representation of the Triangulum Galaxy from around the 45th century. The map before her was cycling through the rise and fall of the various space faring empires in that galaxy, the color map spreading from the core of the galaxy out towards its wispy arms before splintering into many different patches of color. The founding civilization, the Coelantarans, had dissolved into many different empires that had all risen and fallen to dust within the span of only thirty thousand years thus making the galaxy a perfect staging point for humanity to make its leap beyond the Milky Way's local group of galaxies. The remnants of dozens of dead empires scattered across the galaxy had fueled humanity's renewed interest in xenoarchaeology and turned it nearly into an obsession.
"Donna?" The Doctor knew that she had to have been aware of his presence as the mumbling in his mind had stopped as soon as he had rounded the bookcase, but she hadn't looked away from the galaxy map nor acknowledged him in any way.
She blinked once when she heard his voice, before taking a deep breath and turning to look at him with a soft, sad smile. "You seem to be in a better mood now."
He goggled at her, lost for a moment by the complete change in her mood, wondering what could have possibly caused her to grow so pensive when just an hour or so earlier she had been mad enough to spit sparks. He absent mindedly rubbed the back of his neck at her comment, his mind trying to follow her racing thoughts but failing miserably. "Yeah, I'm definitely in a better mood. Had a little talk with the Tardis and we were able to sort things out. We're actually on our way to Cardiff right now." She nodded when she heard that, having felt the shifting of the ship beneath her chair before he had arrived. "The question is, are you all right?"
The Doctor knelt in front of her, his hands reaching up to cup her cheek so that her eyes were forced to his though her gaze remained distant. "Yeah, I'm fine Doctor. I was just catching up on some reading when I realized what book it was that I was reading."
She held up the battered dime store novel and the Doctor blinked when he saw that it was Agatha Christie's "Death in the clouds", the book that he had been positive Agatha had written because she still had buried memories of the time she had met the Doctor. He smiled when he saw that it was a different print from the one that he had shown to Donna, the binding was more tattered then his and the pages were earmarked in various spots. He frowned when he saw a neat little crease in the corner of the page, Donna's fingers were absent mindedly playing with that crease while she watched the expressions flit across his face. "I hate it when you mark the pages like that. Way to ruin a perfectly good book! I've got tons of bookmarks here that you could use that wouldn't crease the pages." He turned around and grinned when he saw the Tardis had deposited a large basket filled with dozens of bookmarks right behind him. He rummaged through the pile, muttering to himself before he pulled out two cardboard squares and held them both up to Donna with his characteristic idiotic grin. "I've even got these wonderful little magnet bookmarks, so that you don't have the bookmark accidentally tugged free. I love a good tassel on a bookmark but they are forever getting caught in things and being yanked out of your spot. I stumbled across these little guys in a shop somewhere in New York I think, aren't they clever?"
The Doctor was holding up cartoon magnets of kittens in one hand and puppies in the other, his gaze traveling between the two cardboard squares while he tried to tempt Donna with either one. "See? No tassels to get caught on anything and cute little animals to put a smile on your face." He hesitated when he saw the look on Donna's face, but he was never one who was overly cautious so he just launched back into his sales pitch. He set the kitten bookmarks down and pulled one of the puppies off the cardboard, showing her the two magnets that were cleverly hidden behind the puppy dog faces and how it clipped over the page to hold her spot neatly in the book without any nasty corner bends.
She was still staring at him like he'd gone completely daft before she shook her head and let her gaze drop down to the bookmark, the cute little puppy dog face smiled up at her from the worn page. He leaned closer to her, concerned that she wasn't saying anything to him. Usually by now she would've snapped at him about his comment on the crease in the page, it was a familiar argument that they had over the months that they had travelled together and he could always count on getting a rise out of her when he griped about her reading habits. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he would've had to admit that he had creased many pages in his time, but he was always careful to smooth them out again once he had found a suitable bookmark.
He worried as he watched Donna run her fingers over the page, one fingernail lightly tapping the puppy dog face before her gaze rose to his and he froze on the spot. "Donna, what is it?"
He was suddenly concerned by the look in her eyes, his mind gathering hers close to him while he tried to puzzle out what had suddenly made her so sad. "I was reading this book that day in the park, Doctor. I was on this very page when I felt your shout in my mind."
He sat back hard on his heels, his mind flashing back instantly to the agony that he had felt in that park and the psychic scream of absolute loss that had been ripped from his soul. He could only blink up at her while memories crashed through his mind, the pain and anger that had screamed at him until he had thought that he would go mad, the agony of only ever being able to see her in stolen glances with no hope of ever being able to do more than that. He paused suddenly when her words truly sank in. "Wait, you heard my cry that day?"
She swallowed hard, her eyes having gone glassy in an attempt to ward off the rise of tears. "Yes I did Doctor." She replied absently, her teeth worrying her lip for a moment before she continued. "I remember creasing the page and pausing for a moment before I heard your shout, it was the strangest sensation because I had been floating through life for months with nothing ever making an impression on me. But that simple act of creasing the page made me want to stick my tongue out for some ridiculous reason. It was the first time I had ever felt anything remotely like a memory in months."
The Doctor reached up to her and pulled her down into his arms, burying his face in her hair and crushing her tight against his chest when he heard her admit to how painful it had been for her to go through life as only half a person. He once again felt a stab of guilt at what he had done to her, though he knew that she had come to understand and accept his reasoning and he had a feeling it would be a long time before he would be able to forgive himself.
This was the first time that she had mentioned what she had been doing in that park, and he found it interesting that she had been reading this particular book of Agatha Christie's even before her memories had been restored. So much had happened in the aftermath that they hadn't spoken much about those events almost by mutual agreement, it was not something that he wanted to remember and he could tell that she also wanted to put that time in her life behind her as well. He was no longer surprised though that even before she had been reawakened, a part of her had remembered and fought to once more part the veil that had been pulled over her.
She held tight to the Doctor, sighing softly when she felt the frantic whirl of his thoughts through his mind, no small portion of which were still tinged with guilt and self-loathing. "It's in the past, Doctor. You know that I don't blame you anymore and that I understand more than most why you did what you did. Please stop beating yourself up over it. I was just surprised when I picked the book up and instantly opened back up to that page, it just shook me is all. I had honestly made myself forget about that day, it wasn't exactly one of the better days of my life." She said with a soft laugh.
She reached up to him, her thumb stroking his jaw softly while she tried to soothe the tortured pain from his features. His dark eyes were boring into hers for a long moment, the images that were flashing through his mind caused her to wince in sympathy before he let out a long shuddering breath and simply nodded. "It'll be a long time before I can forgive myself, Donna, but I know that one day I will."
He reached up to her book and carefully recreased the page for her before he closed it, handing the worn book back to her with a sad smile. "You keep on creasing pages to your heart's content, Donna. It gave you a lifeline when you were so lost, I'd be a jerk if I took that lifeline away from you even if you don't need it anymore."
She took the book in her hand, her fingers lightly stroking the cover while she gathered herself, surprised at how touched she was by his simple gesture. She looked up at him slightly startled before a slow beautiful smile spread across her lips. "Do you mean I've finally won an argument with you?"
He laughed softly and shook his head. "You win more arguments then you realize, Donna."
She snorted. "HA! Hardly ever, but I'll take what I can get." She leaned close and snuggled up against his chest for a moment before she asked the question that had been burning through her mind ever since he had thrown a minor temper tantrum when they had received Jack's message. "So do you want to tell me what was really bothering you back there?"
He huffed moodily, arms sliding around her while the lights of the Triangulum Galaxy played on behind them. "We never seem to be able to slow down, if even for a few days. I was just about finished with the repairs to the Tardis and was looking forward to taking you on to the surprise that I have planned for you, but it looks like that will have to wait for a little while longer. It just irritated me, more than it should have I suppose."
She pulled back at his words, eyebrow cocked in exact imitation of his when she blurted out. "What surprise? When did you have time to plan a surprise?"
He shook his head and laughed, the tension suddenly dispelled by their light banter. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it?" She pouted in response to his words. He couldn't help but press a soft kiss to those pouting lips, murmuring softly so that his breath puffed teasingly against her mouth. "Are you sure you're up to dealing with the memorial service now Donna? We could put it off for a few days and come back in time for it. I do have a time machine after all."
She looked at him, seriously considering his words for a moment more before she shook her head. "No, Doctor. I wouldn't be able to relax wherever it is you're taking me with this looming over us. We need to do this, we need to be there for our friends and help all of us find some closure."
The Doctor could only nod but she was not finished. "I do want to see my family as well after the memorial service. It doesn't need to be a long stay." She rushed on when she saw the storm clouds instantly gather in his gaze. "But I do need to see them again, if any word got out about you being the specialist that was brought in to help deal with the crisis in Cardiff, then they will be hurt that I was so close and didn't come to see them. Besides, Christmas is coming and mum will be in a right state wondering if we're going to actually make it this year."
The Doctor scowled when Donna mentioned visiting her family. He always loved a visit with Wilf, but Sylvia Noble was a completely different kettle of fish. She was barely tolerant of her daughter traveling with him and when they finally let her family know that they had taken their relationship to the next level, he knew that there was going to be hell to pay. At least on that front, he had a sneaking suspicion that Wilf had been secretly hoping for the two of them to get together since the Sontaran Invasion.
He gave her his best puppy dog eyes, trying to sway her from wanting to stop by Chiswick after the memorial service. They both were going to be pretty emotionally drained and most likely he wouldn't have the patience that he usually did, and Sylvia would insist they stay for dinner. Gods, he'd managed to avoid staying for dinner since he had had Christmas Dinner with Rose's family and he realized with a sudden start that he had been doing it intentionally. Almost as if he had been holding the memory of that dinner in a special and precious place in his mind that he hadn't wanted to violate.
Donna looked up at him with a question in her mind when she felt his thoughts flash to Rose, a brief stab of pain lanced through her heart before she viciously stomped it down. He was with her now, in ways that Rose could never even dream of, she was damned if she was going to let herself get jealous of a ghost anymore. "What's wrong, Doctor? What's so scary about staying for dinner?"
He felt the brief stab of hurt through Donna's thoughts when she had felt the thoughts of Rose flit through his mind, and he sighed softly at being the cause of any more pain for her no matter how brief. He tilted her gaze up to his, his dark fathomless eyes locking onto hers before he leaned close and brushed her lips with a tender kiss. "I was just thinking that the last time I had ever stayed for a family dinner was that Christmas with Rose and Jackie. I didn't realize that I've been actively avoiding anything that even remotely smelled of being domestic. I guess it was all a part of my defense mechanism in hiding from how I was really feeling, it's why I immediately ran when you invited me in for Christmas Dinner that first time we traveled together."
Donna couldn't look away from his gaze even though he was speaking softly against her lips, his mind was moving through hers so that she could feel the realization that had hit him with the force of a supernova. He found that he was ready finally to let go of the last remnants of the past, and that he was completely ready to move forward with her. "We can visit your family after Cardiff, Donna. I'm sure they'll have a million questions anyways and they will want to see for themselves that you're all right as it's been many weeks since we visited. It's time I move on and stop living in the past, not when I have such an amazing future right here with you."
She couldn't stop the smile at his words before she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed for all that she was worth. She wasn't even sure what it was that made her so happy, but she finally felt the last barriers between them fall away as he finally realized just what it was that he had been running from. "How long will it be before we get to Cardiff, Doctor?"
He hugged her back just as tightly before they broke apart, his mind reaching out to the Tardis with a soft question that she was only too happy to answer. "We've got a few hours yet until we get there, but we are going to be arriving early as she needs time at the rift to power up. She's starting to run low again, we should probably start getting ready though as it's not going to be an easy afternoon for anyone." The Doctor hugged her tightly one more time, before he rose to his feet and held his hand out to her.
Donna reached up to take his hand, gasping softly when he lifted her straight off the ground and up into a tight embrace. "We'll face this together, Donna. And then, we'll face your family."
She laughed as she pushed away, her hand instantly twining with his when he turned to make their way out of the library, the galaxy map going dim behind them as they left. "You make it sound like you're about to face the firing squad."
"With your mother, that's always a distinct possibility Donna."
Her laughter echoed through the library, racing up and down the rows of bookshelves before fading away and leaving nothing but silence in its wake.
The Tardis materialized in its usual spot in front of the steel fountain, the wheezing cry of its engines echoing down into the secret base below and letting those in Torchwood know that the Doctor had finally arrived.
Donna stood with the Doctor just inside the doors to the Tardis, taking deep calming breaths while she focused on building up the barriers in her mind once again. It was going to be a long and very stressful day for the both of them, and she knew that it was during times of extreme stress that the sensations of her new abilities could quickly become too much. She wanted to be able focus completely on the memorial service so that both she and the Doctor could help their friends find a sense of closure and finally begin to put the events with the angels behind them.
She could feel the Tardis reaching out to her in soft inquiry before she felt something settle gently into the back of her mind. The sensation caused the control room to spin slightly, before she was able to find her balance again. She reached out to the ship, trying to figure out what had just happened and was momentarily overwhelmed by the surge of thought that met her request.
The Doctor smiled softly when he felt the ship's response, his eyes flicking up towards the time rotor in gratitude before he turned back to Donna. "She added another layer of protection to your mind in order to help you cope with the energy around the rift better. It's only a basic protection and if there is too much of a surge then you'll still be affected by the energy, but at least this way it should allow to you focus a bit more readily."
Donna blinked at the Doctor's words, her hand held to her temple before she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Thank you so much, sweetheart. That's going to be a huge help to me today!"
The Doctor cocked his head with a laugh. "Sweetheart? I don't think anyone has ever called her that before."
Donna just chuckled in response. "What would you prefer I call her? Duchess perhaps since you insist on calling her an old girl?" The grin on her lips got slowly wider when he just made a face at that nickname. "Or maybe just ducky?" She burst out laughing at the groan that erupted from the Doctor's lips, his mind promising all sorts of delicious retaliation that frankly just tempted her even more. She leaned up and brushed a teasing kiss across his lips, her hands sliding back into his carefully styled hair before tugging ever so slightly. "Ducky I think it will be, but I'll have mercy on you today and stick with just plain old sweetheart, because that is what she is. An absolute sweetheart."
The Doctor grabbed her close, feeling a little of the weight on his chest ease at her light banter. The Tardis surrounded the both of them with a rush of warm air, her consciousness flaring bright in their minds so that they couldn't mistake her affection and love for the both of them. She would do everything in her power to help Donna get through this rough day while she was still learning how to control her new powers, even if it meant that it would take a little longer for the energy that had been depleted during the sealing of the rift to be restored.
The Doctor ran his fingers lovingly over the worn wood of the doors for a moment, his mind whispering to the Tardis. Thank you, old girl. I'm glad you thought of that as that is one thing I'm unfortunately unable to help her cope with.
The response from the Tardis was simple and quick in that the doors swung open on slightly worn hinges and they were greeted by the sight of Ianto, Jack and Gwen standing outside waiting for them. A faint line of energy was dancing through the air behind the trio, little black ribbons spinning out into space before fading away. Donna sighed softly in relief when she saw the faint shimmer of the rift, but wasn't immediately overwhelmed by its power in such close proximity. She whispered a soft heartfelt thank you to the Tardis, before she focused once more on her friends.
Jack was smiling when he saw the both of them, a part of him had worried that the Doctor would not come or at least not so early that they would actually be able to talk before the ceremony. The Doctor never did well with intense emotional times and he used to simply shut down rather than face such emotion and that was only if he didn't run at the first chance he got. The fact that he was here and here willingly, demonstrated once more how much of an influence Donna had been on him.
Jack was the first to break from the trio to close the distance between them and grab both the Doctor and Donna up a huge bear hug before he stepped back. The Doctor was still in his usual tight suit though this one was a subdued black with light grey pinstripes while his shirt and tie were a somber charcoal color. He had elected to leave his greatcoat in the Tardis and was just finishing tucking his glasses and sonic into one of the pockets of his suit.
Donna had chosen to wear a simple black knee length dress with black nylons and sensible pumps, while her hair was pulled back in a soft ponytail and a small black hat was pinned to the crown of her head. She shivered for a moment before reaching back into the Tardis and pulling out a long black woolen cloak that she wrapped around her shoulders before the Doctor pulled the door closed.
"I'm glad you were able to make it, Doctor. I just found out about the ceremony yesterday myself as Cardiff PD is still a little miffed with us over everything that happened in the warehouse. Daniel was the one who called me to let me know that it was going to be today."
The Doctor shook his head at the childishness of that act, if it hadn't been for Torchwood calling him to earth in the first place, then they all most likely would be dead by now. "Well, that seems rather petty of them, didn't they read your report on what they would have otherwise been dealing with if we hadn't gone in when we did?"
Gwen and Ianto had come up behind Jack and it was Ianto that laughed at the Doctor's question. "Oh they read it all right, Doctor. Called it a bunch of hogwash especially when we couldn't produce the so called expert that ordered police officers into that warehouse in the first place."
The Doctor groaned when he heard that, his mind instantly flashing to the potentially uncomfortable scene that could mar the memorial service in a few hours. "Ordered them? I tried to keep every single one of them back, but they were too damn pigheaded and stubborn to know what was good for them." He snapped angrily, before he sighed once more. "Jack, is it a good idea for me to be going to this memorial service? I want to pay my respects but I don't want to cause a scene that will distract from the importance of the event for everyone else."
"No Doctor, Daniel has specifically asked that you attend and besides we want you there as well. I've had a rough couple of weeks trying to deal with Cardiff PD without getting into too much classified information in regards to just who and what you are, but they finally were able to see reason and decided to take our word for what happened on that day. It helped that most of the force from the docks corroborated our accounts with their own stories of the ghosts that they saw. So if they didn't quite know what the ghosts were or how they got there, then they at least were able to lend credence to the fact that something extraordinary and unprecedented happened." Jack paused for a moment before he continued. "You were right though, Doc. They were hungry for blood after that and if you had stuck around, then you most definitely would've ended up in a jail cell at the very least before they finally calmed down."
Donna gasped when she heard that, her eyes flashing fire at the thought of the Doctor being thrown in jail after everything that he had sacrificed in order to save them all. "What would they have gone and done that for? It was because of the Doctor that we're all even still standing here!"
Gwen nodded and reached out to give Donna a big hug, surprised when the irate ginger hugged her back just as tightly. "We all know that it was because of the both of you that we even now are not dealing with a plague of those monsters, and they do too on some unconscious level. But they still are angry and trying to make sense of the loss of three of their men to some unnamed threat that we really have not been able to be too forthcoming on. The animosity that the police feel towards Torchwood has only been heightened with these events, though that was no fault of yours. It just is unfortunately the reality of the situation here in Cardiff, more so than anywhere else that Torchwood ever had dealings with local police. We're far more prominent here then we have been elsewhere because of the presence of the rift and so have unfortunately at times had to be heavy handed to keep innocent people and well-meaning police from stumbling into situations that would've gotten them killed."
Donna sighed softly before she pushed away from Gwen, her shaking hands tugging her cloak tighter around her body before she nodded. "I know it's been hard for you guys and much as I hated leaving right when we did, it sounds like it really was for the best. Just as long as you're sure that our presence won't cause a huge scene."
The Doctor couldn't help the pleased smile that lit his face at her words, the way she always leaped to his defense whether he needed it or not warmed him through and through. It was the thought however that Donna would've most likely wound up in that jail cell with him that stoked the fire of his anger just that little bit. "If there is any chance that Cardiff PD will make good on their threat to throw us in jail, then we will unfortunately just have to give Daniel our regrets. I won't run the risk of anything happening, Jack. Not when we're here to pay our respects to three men who have died to protect the planet."
Jack sighed softly and could only shake his head in denial of the Doctor's words. "I've confirmed that you will be safe and free from any blame at the ceremony today. The Chief gave me his word, and I'm inclined to trust him on this front. They know that they need us too much to really try to piss me off in the end."
The Doctor's eyes remained locked with Jack's for a moment more before he nodded in acceptance of the captain's promise. "In that case, let's get inside and warm up a bit before it starts. I assume it's to be held at the warehouses?"
Jack nodded before he turned and led the way back to the shop that hid the entrance to the Torchwood compound below, Gwen and Ianto falling into step behind the three of them so that they could catch up on the events of the last few weeks. Jack tossed a look to Ianto as they were walking, his eyes flicking to the Tardis and back to Ianto with a nod before he turned back to focus on the Doctor.
Ianto nodded in response to the unspoken command, knowing that it had put the Doctor more at ease when he had brought the Tardis down into Torchwood itself before, and he made sure that that would be the first thing that he did when they got down below.
"Yes, Doctor. The ceremony will be held at the wharves. There will be a small memorial raised to the three officers on site as that is the practice of the Police Memorial Trust, I however made sure that the inscription properly reflected the enormity of their sacrifice."
They reached the little shop and as the secret door was opening, Ianto reached up to turn the open sign to closed, he locked the door behind them before they all went into the corridor that led to the lift. They would be going to the memorial straight from the Torchwood garages, so he wanted to make sure that everything was secure in order to be able to leave more quickly when they were ready to go.
The Doctor looked to Jack with a quirked brow at that comment, wondering just what he had done to highlight the sacrifice that those three men had made. "Hopefully you didn't blow all your cover work by going overboard on an inscription, Jack?"
Jack just laughed when the lift arrived, his hand holding the door open while everyone piled in. "Come on, Doctor. I do still remember my lessons from the time academy. Yes the 21st century is when everything changes on earth, but it is still too early in the timeline to use public monuments to shout out the truth of aliens in the universe."
The Doctor just grimaced slightly at that reminder, still somewhat dumbfounded at humanity's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the truth of the matter especially when faced with so much overwhelming evidence. It was something that he had noticed from time to time in some of his companions, a staunch refusal to accept the reality that was staring them in the face. Whatever it was, the Doctor shook his head to clear his thoughts before stepping out of the lift and into the tiny hallway that led into the hub proper.
"It's coming faster than I think anyone realizes Jack, another decade maybe less and no one will be able to be in denial any longer."
Gwen and Ianto shuddered at the faint hint of prophecy in the Doctor's words, their trepidation was not eased at all when they saw Jack nodding in sad agreement. "I know Doctor, I'm trying my damndest to get people prepared but so far haven't had as much luck as I would have liked."
The Doctor clapped Jack on the shoulder, his dark eyes burning into Jack's startled blue ones before he murmured. "You're doing the best you can with limited resources, and you're only one man, albeit a completely unique man. Don't be too hard on yourself if you can't do it all on your own."
"You're not alone, Jack. You've got Ianto and me to help get the earth as ready as possible for what's coming."
Jack looked back to Gwen with a soft smile on his lips, his eyes traveling over to where Ianto had wandered and was even now fiddling with the controls of the lift to bring the Tardis down into the hub before he responded. "You're right Gwen, I can't think of anyone else that I would want at my side when it all goes to hell."
The Doctor just smiled when he saw Gwen and Jack nod in confirmation of their commitment to the earth and its protection, his hearts feeling just a little bit lighter when he realized that he was no longer alone in his struggle to protect the earth from danger. Yes, innocent people would still die, sometimes horrifically and seemingly without need, but that the greater good would be protected and in the end, the human race would finally be able to take its first strides out into the cosmos.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse when the SUV emerged from the underground parking garage. The winds had picked up and were whipping across the bay, while the clouds raced across the sky in maddening streaks that seemed to stretch as they neared the horizon. It was late November and it looked like they were going to be in for a nasty storm soon.
There was silence in the SUV as Jack maneuvered through the streets and into the traffic on the motorway, his eyes flicking over to the Doctor occasionally only to find the Time Lord deep in thought.
The Doctor was focused intently on everything that he had ever learned about human police forces and Cardiff PD in general. He knew that it was going to be a very emotionally charged day for everyone involved, and with the added pressure of his presence there he knew that there might be some that might try to take matters into their own hands. He knew he had nothing to worry about and he could most likely talk down any overly emotional human, but just the thought that he might have to do so filled him with a quiet despair. He sighed softly, his mind running through countless possibilities while the SUV raced towards the warehouses and only some of the possibilities were good. The soft gasp in his mind caused him to turn his attention inward once more, to that portion of his mind that had remained locked with Donna's when they had exited the Tardis.
Donna was staring out the window, her gaze riveted by the undulating line of energy that dipped and swirled over the bay. The additional protection that the Tardis had given her was allowing her to truly appreciate the sight for what it was without being completely overwhelmed by the power of the rift. Her eyes traced the thin lines of energy flickering off the ribbon, knowing that they were actually thick cables of temporal energy that were blasting in all directions but the distance made them appear small and almost delicate.
The rift was surging today, though there hadn't been any reports of anything unusual dropping through so Jack had ordered Ianto and Gwen to strap on the remote detectors before they left the hub. They had left unsaid that Donna was really the best detection that they could possibly have and that in the end she would most likely know about a rift spike before it even registered on their equipment.
The Doctor hadn't liked the looks that had flickered across everyone's faces when Jack's gaze had darted to Donna, but then he knew better than they did how much of a drain Donna's ability was on her. So in the end he said nothing, though that didn't stop the stab of self-loathing that he felt because he agreed with them.
Donna could feel the Doctor just sitting quietly in her mind, his presence wrapping about her in an unbreakable embrace that filled her with warmth. She was breathing in slow even breaths so that she could keep her mind calm and focused, with the Doctor's help she thankfully was not being battered on all sides by the emotions that she had felt screaming from both Gwen and Ianto when they had first arrived.
It had been a true test of her own skills to keep her barriers firmly in place when she had felt the pressure of their emotions battering against her walls, but despite the soft wince of pain over the pressure she had been surprised that they had held. She continued to focus inward, building up those walls even more as she felt the SUV make the turn to exit the motorway. Emotions would be running high once they arrived at the ceremony, and she knew that then the real test of her abilities would begin.
'When we get there, Doctor, I want you and Donna to stay behind Gwen, Ianto and I. Daniel will be with the police but he promised that as soon as he was allowed to break ranks, he would come be with us."
The Doctor couldn't help the sad sigh when he heard Jack's instructions, his hand reached up to hold onto the handle bar embedded in the roof before he responded. "I won't let the three of you stand in front of me like a bloody escort, Jack. You know me better than that. If we walk in there in such an obviously defensive posture, then it will only invite the trouble that we don't want to start."
Jack opened his mouth to protest, but he was silenced when the Doctor pinned him with a piercing glare. "Enough, Jack. I won't be swayed on this and you know it. I have never let others stand in front of me when walking into a potentially tense situation, and I'm not going to start now. I'm more concerned about Donna actually…"
"Don't even think it, Spaceman. I'm not hiding behind anyone either."
The Doctor's mouth snapped shut with a scowl, though Jack couldn't hide a grin at the look of fierce determination he saw on Donna's face when he glanced in the mirror. If looks were lasers, then the Doctor would have been fried on the spot.
"Anyways, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. We're here to pay our respects, not start a war. You have said that the chief promised no retaliation today for those events or my perceived part in them, it's now our turn to trust him."
The SUV turned the final corner to the warehouses and slowed to a stop a little ways up the wharf as the space in front of them was already filled with police cruisers and dozens of civilian cars.
The Doctor let his gaze travel over what remained of the warehouses as he hadn't seen firsthand the destruction that had been wreaked when the Tardis had sealed the rift. There was only a portion of the outer shell that remained, and what was still standing showed scorch marks from where the blaze from the explosions had raged before it was contained. Construction and excavation equipment sat abandoned to the side as the work site had been closed down out of respect for the memorial service that was about the be held, but the Doctor could see several workers were still loitering about the equipment while people were still arriving.
There was a large fence that had been erected around the site in order to keep people out, but also to protect any evidence that may have remained. The Doctor knew that the Tardis had ripped a large chunk of earth with her when she had been thrown free of the planet, and that they would most likely not be able to rebuild on this site any time in the near future. There was still a lot of work to be done safely razing the rest of the structures before any thoughts could be given to reconstruction.
He looked to Jack, his hand still clutched around the handle bar before he asked. "Are you ready, Jack?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
With that, the group quickly exited the SUV and stood letting their gaze travel over the scene before them. The wind was screaming off the bay, driving whitecaps before it to smash angrily against the pilings of the wharves. The Doctor could see that seating had been set up before a small podium and that Cardiff PD was lined up with their backs to the bay, all standing at a stiff parade rest.
He sighed when he saw an older man in what obviously looked to be a senior officer's uniform turn to watch their arrival, his hooded gaze unerringly traveling to the Doctor and Donna before his lips pursed in a soft frown.
Donna reached up to clutch her cloak tight about her body when she felt the touch of the police chief's eyes, his gaze was speculative before it travelled to the Doctor. She could see several of the officers behind the chief shifting as both she and the Doctor were recognized, but the expected wave of animosity never came. There were several nods from officers that she thought she recognized from that day, many of whom were sporting slings or leaning on crutches though they were still standing as straight as their injuries would allow while people were continuing to arrive.
They had known that many officers had been injured in the confusion that had surrounded the manifestation of the ghosts and that even more had been injured when the explosions had ripped through the warehouses. Jack though, had assured them that no other officers had been killed when the rift had finally been sealed.
The quintet slowly began to make their way down the line of police cruisers towards the seating area, the front rows were already filled with people several of which were already weeping loudly. Jack had let them know that the first officer that they had found in the warehouse, Michael Wilson had been engaged to get married and that Robert Richardson had also had a wife and family that he had left behind. Andrew Davidson was survived by his mother and younger sister.
The Doctor looked down at Donna, her head was held high though there was a shimmer of tears in her eyes as she was remembering the look on Andy's face right before he had been killed. Though she had spoken of her feelings to the Doctor and had made some semblance of peace with the guilt that she carried over the events, she knew that she couldn't bear to face his family because she would never be able to answer the questions that they had. They didn't even have the bodies of their loved ones to properly bury and she could only imagine how the mystery surrounding their deaths would most likely mean that they could never truly heal.
Jack nodded softly when he saw Daniel Morgan standing in the second row of police officers, the look on his face was relieved when he noticed that the Doctor and Donna were there with him. Though Daniel didn't know the Time Lord well, he hadn't missed Jack's trepidation when he had been told about the memorial service and he had half feared that the alien would in fact not attend the service. Though with what had been happening in the department in the last few weeks, Daniel wouldn't have been surprised if the Doctor had decided it was in his best interests NOT to attend. He had faced down marauding aliens hell bent on their deaths and the destruction of the entire earth without even flinching, they should all be thanking him and Daniel had tried his hardest to get the chief to see that the Doctor had been their savior and deserved to be treated with a certain level of respect. He hoped that it had been his words that had helped sway that chief to promise Jack that the Doctor would be safe, because they truly did owe all of their lives to him.
Daniel had been mulling over the events of the last few weeks, watching with newly opened eyes the fear and anger that had plagued the police force. How the men who had been on the docks that day had spoken about the "alien advisor" that had come and taken two officers into the warehouse and only one had come out. He had found himself the center of some very uncomfortable attention as his colleagues had tried to pump him for information, all without seeming to pump him for information, until he thought he would scream in frustration at them. They could never understand what he had seen down there, and what he had witnessed aboard the Doctor's spaceship. They would never believe him for starters, then they would most likely throw him in lockup as well for aiding and abetting. Tensions had been running high for weeks between the officers that had lived through those events and others that had not attended the scene that day, and Daniel had somehow become the focus of that tension. He knew that his time in Cardiff PD was running out and he was scrambling to try to find a backup plan.
The Doctor and Donna took seats in the last rows of chairs that had been set up, Gwen and Ianto sitting to their left while Jack sat to their right. The Doctor scowled at Jack over their choice of seating, but Jack only responded with a shake of his head. He had his coat pulled tight over his body, but there was no mistaking the tension that was screaming through all three of the Torchwood people. None of them had missed the look in the Chief's eyes when he had recognized the Doctor and Donna from his people's descriptions, nor the speculation with which he was still watching them.
More people were continuing to arrive and the seats were quickly filled except for three rows of seats which were reserved for the police force once they were dismissed from their muster. The soft sobbing cries of the family members were a haunting melody that carried on the biting wind.
The chief returned his attention to his officers and with a few final spoken words dismissed them to find their seats. It was no surprise when Daniel broke ranks from his fellow officers and made his way down the middle aisle, settling into his seat on the other side of Jack. He leaned forward and smiled softly towards them. "Thank you for coming, Doctor and Donna. I know it was short notice, but I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're here. I've tried to console Andy's mother some but if you could take a moment after the ceremony to let her know that he died heroically I think that it really would go a long way to helping her cope with her grief."
The Doctor nodded softly in response to Daniel's request. "Daniel, it would be my honor."
Daniel let out the breath he had been holding when he heard the Doctor's response, his eyes stinging with unwanted tears before he swallowed past the lump in his throat and returned his attention to the front. He had something he wanted to talk to Jack about anyways, and after the ceremony while the Doctor was talking to Andy's mother would be the best time.
The Chief stood slightly behind the podium with a piece of paper in his hand, his gaze traveling over the assembled crowd before he turned his attention to the piper that was standing off to the side and nodded. He then took a seat next to a monument that was still covered in cloth. It was not an overly large monument, but it was large enough that people would not be able to pass by it without stopping to read.
The piper walked to the front of the podium, the wind whipping through the tassels on his pipes as he lifted the ebony mouthpiece to his lips. With a large inhalation, the piper closed his mouth around the stem and slowly the haunting strains of Amazing Grace echoed out across the bay.
There was a shriek from the front row as a woman cowled from head to toe in black threw herself forward, the people to either side of her grabbing a hold of her shoulders to keep her from throwing herself out of her chair. The Chief watched as the woman wailed, his eyes were shining with unshed tears and a muscle was ticking along one side of his jaw.
The Doctor stared straight ahead though in his mind he was sobbing at the sight of so much grief, his thoughts tangled tightly with Donna's when he realized that he had rarely seen the aftermath of the death and destruction that he so often had had a hand in averting. His hand was clenched almost painfully on Donna's thigh, while his eyes were locked on to the back of the sobbing woman's head. It was never easy on those left behind and though he always saw things from the big picture perspective, he found that sometimes it was almost too easy to forget the very human grief that was left in the wake of events in which he was involved.
A lump rose in his throat when he thought of the wails that would have even now been echoing off the mountains around Cardiff if he had not acted, though that did not make the sight of the survivor's grief any easier to bear.
Donna let her hand rest over the Doctor's, her thoughts grasped tightly in his while he struggled with the sounds of soul rending grief echoing over the haunting melody of the pipes. She let him cling to her while he was wracked with guilt over all the suffering that he had been oblivious to in the past, and that he had never bothered to take the time to notice. Another reason why he kept on running, because if he ever stopped the grief would rise up to drown him. She let her mind gently stroke along the quivering thread of his thoughts, her own strength of will helping him to rise above the chaos that had enveloped him.
His hearts were hammering while the pipes continued on, though the woman in front had finally subsided against her neighbor with what looked to be broken sobs. So many times he had moved on immediately after some crisis had been solved, not even bothering to stop to help others pick up the shattered pieces of their lives because then it would bring it all crashing down around him.
There had been no one to help him grieve properly after Gallifrey, and though with Rose's help he had finally come to some sort of acceptance of the loss of his people there was a part of him that felt that he didn't have a right to grieve since he had been the cause of their destruction. He was clinging to Donna's comforting presence, shamelessly using her strength to finally find some focus in the storm.
Jack was watching the Doctor with a sad frown on his face when he saw how much the Doctor was struggling with the wrenching grief that was screaming on the wind around them. The Doctor always ran, he never stayed in the aftermath and Jack knew that that was a defense mechanism against the very real horrors that were in his own past. Yet, here he sat now because Jack and Daniel had asked him to come and for the first time in what Jack was positive was a long time, he was dealing with the direct aftermath of his intervention on planet earth. It had to be particularly devastating for the Time Lord and for the first time ever, Jack was feeling faint twinges of misgiving for having asked the Doctor to attend.
The last mournful notes faded on the wind, the piper standing at rigid attention for one more moment before he turned and marched back towards the cloth covered memorial. Clutching his pipes tightly to his side, the piper bowed from the waist up to the memorial before he turned and marched back to the side.
There was nothing but the howl of the wind as the gale was continuing to rise, the clouds were growing thicker and darker with each passing moment and they knew it wouldn't be long before the storm blew in off the North Atlantic and started to batter the island.
The chief paused for a moment to gather himself before he rose to his feet and made his way to the podium, his eyes downcast for a moment as he fought to keep his speech in his hands before a particularly vicious gust ripped the paper free and sent it flying into the seething waves. He watched it fly away, his lips parted around a surprised gasp before he turned back and faced the crowd.
He let his gaze travel to Andy's mother as she sat with rigid stoicism though the tears were streaming in an unchecked flow down her cheeks, her eyes were locked with his her lips murmuring softly while she clutched a rosary tight to her breast. He sighed softly before his gaze traveled over to Bob's wife where she sat huddled against her sister as the storm of her grief seemed to have subsided for the moment. Michael's family was just sitting there staring up at him through glassy eyes, though he knew that their grief was just as real because their screams of anguish would forever haunt his dreams. He had told each and every one of them personally about the death of their loved one, then he had forced himself to sit there while they wailed their loss. It was the least he deserved for being unable to better protect his men from a danger that had vanished just as mysteriously as it had first appeared. The fact that they didn't even have bodies to bury made the loss that much harder to bear.
He cleared his throat a few times before he let his gaze move over the rest of the crowd before it came to rest on the tall, dark head of the Doctor in the back row. He knew enough to know that the man was an alien, and that he had saved the earth countless times in the past but that was all that Captain Harkness had been willing to share with him. The only reason why he even knew the man was an alien was because the men who had been on the docks that fateful day had heard him mention it. He was burning to ask the questions that were even now churning through his soul, though he knew he most likely would never get the answers he so desperately needed. It was because of the very real frustration that he would most likely never know or completely understand what had happened in the warehouse that day that he was able to finally find his voice and began to speak from the heart.
"I'd spent hours on that speech, trying to put into words something that can't even be explained. I had prepared a nice list of their achievements and what they had done and how their lives and careers had been cut short too soon. I now realize that speech was absolute rubbish and couldn't even begin to touch on what I really wanted to say."
He cleared his throat as emotion suddenly seemed to choke him, his hand rising to fiddle unnecessarily with the microphone while his gaze remained locked with the dark, brooding gaze of the Doctor before he continued. "Andrew Davidson, Michael Wilson and Robert Richardson were all killed in the line of duty as you all know. What you don't know is that without their very real sacrifice, we all may not have been standing here today."
Jack sat forward suddenly, his gaze intent as the chief's words echoed back to him. "What the hell is he doing?"
Ianto was looking to Jack with panic in his eyes, his gaze then darting fearfully to the rest of the crowd before he murmured. "He'll start a bloody panic. He'll start a mass hysteria!"
The Doctor just smiled softly when he heard those words, his gaze never leaving the chief's even as he shook his head. "He's doing what he needs to do in order to have it all make sense. He's honoring them in the only way he knows how."
Jack and Ianto looked from the Doctor to the police chief, uncertain what all was going on but positive now that somehow the two of them were communicating without words. "Let him speak, Jack. We've dealt with panic before, but I somehow don't think it'll come to that."
Jack was breathing heavily, his adrenaline having kicked into overdrive when the chief had begun to speak. He was nervously eyeing the crowd around them, though they were all riveted on the chief's words and though it went against his every instinct he nodded to Ianto and they both subsided back into their chairs.
Chief Christopher Roberts continued to stare at the Doctor, though he hadn't missed the flurry of concerned activity from Captain Harkness and his team. He merely paused for a moment more before he continued. "Andy, Mike and Bob were all instrumental in helping combat a threat that was very quickly escalating beyond anyone's control, and that would have spread out from these warehouses to consume Cardiff and the world if it hadn't been stopped. I don't have all the answers, and I know that that is not something that any of you want to hear but many of you on the force were here at the docks that day. Many of you, their friends and loved ones, have already heard the stories and had to deal with the trauma that has stemmed from those events." The Doctor was nodding softly as Chris continued, the dark, suddenly very alien eyes burning with some emotion that the chief couldn't begin to name.
"I can't begin to pretend to understand what happened and what caused it, I do know though that whatever it was, it was real and it was a real threat to all of us. The things that happened that day were unprecedented in the history of this force and all of you acted with honor and distinction. The fact that there wasn't even more loss of life was nothing short of a miracle when you all saw the dead come to life. We've all seen and heard about strange things that have been happening around the world in the last few years. We've heard about the deaths and the cover-ups, but we've never been directly affected by much of it and whether it really happened or was a hoax as everyone claimed. Whatever happened here that day was definitely no hoax, and three brave men and officers laid down their lives so that we all might continue to live."
Chief Roberts finally tore his gaze away from the Doctor, his eyes finding Andy's mother, Edith, and nodding when he saw the understanding finally dawn in her eyes. "PC Davidson, PC Richardson and PC Wilson will never be forgotten and will be honored as fallen heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect all of us and the earth as well."
There was a soft murmur of appreciation at his words, though the crowd's attention was riveted completely on him as he continued. He had not intended to say any of this and had very carefully skirted any mention of the strange events in the last few years in his original speech, but with an alien sitting in the back row he had suddenly inexplicably spoken from his heart and he could tell that it had been the right thing to do. He was still angry at the cover-up in regards to his own men and he determined that he would try one last time to get information now that the man himself was here, but if he refused to comply then Chris knew that he would just have to accept that answer in the end.
"We establish here today a Memorial for those three officers that were lost to that terrible threat on this very site." He stepped back and grabbed a hold of the cloth that covered the monument, the howling of the wind was whipping around the edges of the cloth but so far the monument had remained covered. He pulled it up and dropped it quickly to the ground behind the marble block lest it be torn from his hands like the speech had been.
It was a simple marble rectangle with the coat of arms for the police force emblazoned at the top, over which rested the crown of England. The chief still felt his gut clench with a new wave of grief when he saw the inscription on the stone and his voice cracked as he read out.
"Here fell PC Andrew Davidson, PC Michael Wilson and PC Robert Richardson 12 of November 2011. Their sacrifice so that all could live will never be forgotten."
There was a soft call to attention and the sudden loud shifting as the police force rose to their feet and saluted the monument in perfect unison. Captain Jack Harkness snapped to attention as well, his hand held to his forehead in order to honor the dead before he dropped it back down to his side.
"Rest in Peace Brave Souls. Thank you for your sacrifice"
The silence was broken by a woman's voice, shaking with emotion suddenly lifted in song.
"Fy hatling offrymaf dros enaid dan glo,
Fy nghanwyll offrymaf yn eglwys y fro,
R offeren weddïaf saith seithwaith yn daer
Er cadw ei enaid anfarwol.
Myn Mair, Myn Mair."
Chief Roberts turned around to see Edith with her head raised and her rosary clutched to her breast singing in a voice filled with utter grief. The ancient welsh song of mourning echoed out over the waves as the Gaelic words rolled perfectly off her tongue, her eyes were shining with her sorrow but her voice was strong and sure.
The rest of the crowd joined in on the second verse, some singing in the traditional Gaelic and others switching to the English translation of the ancient words.
"St. Paul and St. Peter, all the saints of heaven,
And Mary, Gods Mother, plead strongly,
That he may have peace and dear liberty,
Paradise open, and the arms of his Father.
O Mary, O Mary."
The Doctor stood with the rest of the crowd, Donna's hand clutched tightly in his while all around him voices were lifted in unison. The beautiful haunting words of loss and hope eddying through the crowd, bringing solace to those who heard them and a final sense of peace. He watched the tension drain from the crowd as they sang together in unison, heads were lifted and hands were joined together as they sang the dead to their rest.
Ianto and Gwen joined in on the final verse, Ianto's voice soft and sure while Gwen's voice quivered with barely controlled emotion. The song was a remnant of Wales' very Catholic past, the Gaelic words were somehow made more beautiful when they were sung by Gwen and Ianto, a final fitting tribute to their friends and colleagues.
"Mother of Jesus, the fairest of earths women,
Maidenly Queen of all of the heavens,
Lovely lily of the valley, worthy rose of heaven,
Intercede in fervour for the soul of my friend.
O Mary, O Mary."
The wind suddenly stilled on those last words, the dirge echoing for a moment longer over the seething waters of the bay before it finally faded away. The crowd stood in quiet contemplation for a moment more, before they finally broke apart and began to make their way up to the memorial to pay their final respects.
The Doctor and Donna hung back while the family and friends of the fallen officers filed up the aisle, their steps were heavy and there were still many sniffles and sobs throughout the crowd. Andy's mother, Bob's wife and Michael's fiancé all stood stoically next to the memorial, their eyes brimming with even more unshed tears until the last mourner had passed.
It was at that point that the Doctor felt it was their turn to go and pay their respects. Gwen led the way since Andy's mother knew her well and had always secretly wished that she and Andy had stayed together. She hadn't had a chance to tell her that she had been with Andy when he'd died, she wasn't sure if it would help her cope or if it would somehow make her grief harder to bear.
Their group paused before the memorial, Daniel removed his hat and bowed his head as he said his goodbye to his best friend. "Good-bye, Andy. I'm gonna miss you mate, and hope you know that we'll never forget. You saved us all." He couldn't say anymore because his throat clenched closed, he abruptly turned away and went to grab Edith up in a strong hug. She clung to him and he was forcibly reminded how frail she truly was. No woman should ever have to outlive her child, and Daniel knew that he would need to keep an eye on her in the coming days because she only had one child left now.
Gwen came next, tears streaming down her cheeks when Edith smiled sadly up at her. "You two were so good together, Gwen. He never stopped talking about you, he never stopped loving you." Gwen's hand flew to her mouth, before she grabbed Edith up in a tight hug being careful not to be too rough with the elderly woman though she was sobbing brokenly into the older woman's shoulder. Edith simply patted her back, her own tears for the moment were dry though she knew that that would change soon enough. Gwen finally pulled away and continued down the line, her hand rising to swipe at the tears on her cheeks in a fruitless endeavor to stop their flow.
Andy's mother stopped dead when the tall, dark-haired stranger came up to her, his fathomless eyes were burning with a knowledge that she couldn't quite grasp and a pain and suffering that seemed to let her know that he too had known loss on an unimaginable scale. She cocked her head, wondering at the seething emotion she saw in his eyes. "Mrs. Davidson, You don't know me but I'm the Doctor. I wanted you to know just how utterly brilliant your son was on that day."
Edith gasped, her hand flying to her throat when she suddenly realized just what this stranger was about to say. He had been there, he had seen her Andy before he died, he KNEW. She clutched her rosary beads tight before she whispered. "Please, Doctor. Tell me, did he suffer? Was it a good death?"
The Doctor took her hands in his, his eyes boring into hers while the contact allowed him to gently soothe some of the pain from her mind. He didn't usually like to reach into people's minds without their knowledge, but he knew that at least this time he could help her cope a little better with the mind shattering grief. He had lost too many children of his own to stand by and do nothing for her. He soothed the hard edges of grief that were tearing at her soul, and let her know that her son had indeed died so that they all might live. "His death saved us all, Mrs. Davidson. He sacrificed himself so that we all could live and possibly put an end to the threat that was poised to consume the earth. I didn't know him well, and that was my loss but I know that he was a good man and we will never be able to repay his actions that day. He truly saved the earth, Mrs. Davidson and you should be proud of the man he was."
Edith looked up into this dark stranger's eyes, for some reason feeling some of the gut churning grief melting away beneath the intensity of his gaze. She lifted her rosary to her lips, her other hand clenched tightly in his while tears fell once more down her cheeks. "Thank you, whoever you are, Doctor. Thank you so very much." The Doctor's answering smile was sad before he brushed a soft kiss over her knuckles and then released her hand to move on to Mrs. Richardson.
The Doctor couldn't stop the angry cry that echoed through his mind as he turned to face faced Bob's grieving wife. He felt Donna's gentle response to his inarticulate cry of rage, the soothing balm of her thoughts helping him still the swift bite of fury that he felt when he remembered what the angels had done to this woman's husband.
The Doctor reached out a gentle hand and rested it on her shoulder, brushing against her mind in much the same way as he had done for Andy's mother to help ease some of the pain from her mind. She was looking at him with haunted eyes, her sorrow screaming through to the Doctor until he felt himself floundering for a moment under the deluge before he was able to pull himself back out. Donna was standing close to him, her hand resting lightly on his arm so that he had a point of focus as he was struggling with his anger and shielding that anger from her while he tried to help her with her grief. "Mrs. Richardson, I'm the Doctor. I just wanted you to know that it was due to your husband's sacrifice that we all are able to stand here today. He gave his life so that you could live and I know that in the end he would've wanted you to know that." I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to save him. The last was whispered in his mind where only Donna could hear the utter desolation that tormented the Doctor when he remembered the hell that would have been Bob's last minutes of life. He was thankful she would never know that her husband had been used as a mouthpiece for monsters, and that in the end she would find some small comfort in his words.
His mouth was filled with ashes when he saw the hope in her eyes, she clutched the lifeline that he gave her with all her heart and she sobbed softly as she whispered. "I just wish I had been able to say one final good-bye to him. Doctor, it hurts so much that I can't even hold his hand again."
The Doctor nodded softly and pulled her close for a tight hug. "I know it hurts, and nothing I can say will ever completely take away that pain, but remember him as he lived. He would've wanted that more than anything."
She clung to him for a moment more before she pulled away, her breath hitching as she fought back another sob. The Doctor sighed softly before finally stopping before the last group of people.
He had not known Michael Wilson at all except to know that he had been the first officer to be killed and that the young woman in the small group could only be the fiancé that he had been told about. He could tell that they were barely holding on to their control in the face of the group of people that had been with Michael on the day that he had died. He barely remembered what he said to them, though it had caused them all to bursts into uncontrolled sobs, his touch to each of them did nothing to help soothe the raw, ragged edge of grief that was screaming through them and the Doctor felt himself begin to sway with the effort that he had expended on their behalf.
The Doctor felt frazzled by the time he finally finished with the all of the family and turned to find Chief Roberts standing at the end, staring at him with an uncomfortable intensity. Jack, Ianto and Gwen had come up behind the Doctor as he stood facing the chief, his gaze taking in each of their protective stances as they stood shoulder to shoulder with the tall alien. He was surprised to see Daniel standing with them in support of the Doctor, though with how he had been speaking about the man in the last few weeks he really shouldn't have been. He was waiting for Daniel's resignation as he had only gotten more frustrated and moody in the last weeks while the investigation had been drilling him for details that he couldn't completely bring himself to divulge. Daniel was disillusioned with his life now in Cardiff PD and he was getting reckless, Chris hoped that he didn't end up doing something stupid. Chris nodded to several officers that had hung back after the service had cleared, his gaze flicking to the grieving family members so that they could be guided away and thus would not be able to hear the conversation he was about to have with the Doctor.
When he was satisfied that the family members were clear, he returned his focus to the tall man before him. He didn't look too much like an alien, though from the little he had heard the man had been protecting the earth for longer than any of them could imagine. He actually had made some inquiries with UNIT in regards to the Doctor, just to see what if anything he could learn, but as was expected he had been met with a wall of silence.
"I've heard drips and drabs about what happened that day on the wharves, but solid information has been very hard to come by even when one of my own officers was ordered to file a full report. It was coincidentally filled with the same holes that Torchwood's report had, and all those holes were regarding you and your companion's involvement in the events that led to three of my men dying on your watch." He was a man of action and didn't mince words, so he decided to come straight out and start with the biggest issue he had in regards to the reports of that day. His gaze was boring both into the Doctor and his ginger companion in turn, though he didn't spare Captain Harkness or Daniel his stern perusal.
The Doctor tensed when he heard the antagonistic tone in the chief's voice, but he knew that deep down the man already understood more than he had let on. His speech earlier had proven that he had a better grasp of the situation than he was revealing, and he also knew that the Doctor had played an integral part in ending that threat before more life had been lost. "I can only say that I am sorry that I didn't remain to speak to you myself that day, I have this strange aversion to the inside of a jail cell." The Doctor stated the last flatly, deciding that two could play at the chief's game. He let the walls of his own control slip just a fraction so that the chief could see the power that burned within him and was only held in check by an iron will that had been honed in the very fires of hell. The Doctor let the chief see that frightening being of power for just a moment, before the veil fell across his gaze once more.
Christopher rocked back on his heels when the Doctor met his gaze, his eyes somehow darkening with a fiery purpose that seemed to make time stop for an instant while his mind was blasted with the knowledge that this was no ordinary man to be intimated by his rank and his bluster. This was a being that had stood literally in front of armies and stopped them in their tracks. He had toppled civilizations and he had razed empires, all while protecting those who were unable to protect themselves. Chris was the first to tear himself away from the Doctor's terrifying gaze, his eyes lowering for just a moment as he whispered. "You wouldn't have seen the inside of a jail cell, Doctor. Though I was angry enough at the time to make the threat, I wouldn't have acted on it." The Doctor stood there waiting for him to continue, the apology was a beginning but it was not enough. "I need to know that my men aren't crazy, Doctor. All the footage from the CCTV has been destroyed and it was my understanding from Torchwood's reports that you were the reason for that. Just please answer me this, everything that's been happening these past few years. It's all really happening, isn't it? It's all tied together, and it's not some hoax like some people have been claiming."
The Doctor stilled when he heard the chief's question, his face softening at the fear he heard in the man's voice. He was in charge of making sure that the men and women under his command were equipped to deal with the dangers that would face them each and every day, and before a few weeks ago he had had a pretty good idea of what form those dangers could take. Now his world was stood on its head and he was desperately seeking answers from the one man who could give them to him. The Doctor decided in that moment to take pity on him and put some of his worries to rest. "Yes, Chief. It has all been really happening though you had already guessed as much. What happened in the warehouse that day was all connected to it, and believe me when I say that had those creatures that we were fighting escaped then there wouldn't have been anyone left on earth that would've known how to stop them."
Christopher nodded as his first suspicion had been confirmed, but the Doctor was not finished. "Michael and Robert were the first ones to die, and believe me when I say that their deaths were quick and as merciful as they could possibly be when faced with these creatures. Andy…" The Doctor paused when he remembered the look on Andy's face as he had pleaded with the Doctor to save the earth so that his death wouldn't be in vain. "Andy was the last one to die, but he was the one that bought us the time to escape so that we could finally repair the damage that those creatures had done to this reality and seal them away from earth forever."
Jack was looking at the Doctor with his jaw hanging open when he heard him telling the chief everything that had happened in the basement, his mind was spinning with countless possibilities but not all of them were bad. Maybe, just maybe they would finally find an ally in Cardiff PD. However, the Doctor wasn't finished.
"I don't know how much you know about Cardiff and its particulars, but I do know that you're aware of the creatures which Torchwood refers to as weevils and that your station was nearly overrun with them a few short months ago."
The Chief nodded numbly at the Doctor's words, he had been out at a function that night when those creatures had begun to terrorize the city even before the explosions that had followed and it had been hell to try to beat a path through them to get back to headquarters, though Gwen had filled in admirably in his absence. "Yes, Doctor. We have had some experience with them."
"Cardiff sits on a rift in time and space and it was the presence of that rift that caused these creatures to come here. There was no other reason than the fact that they fell through from their reality and saw the rift here as a perfect means to create a gateway to bring the rest of their kind through." Christopher's head was spinning, though the Doctor wasn't telling him anything that he hadn't already halfway guessed. To hear him put it all into words though, words that he could finally understand, helped to settle some of the gut churning anger that had been seething inside of him for weeks.
"I used my own ship to seal the tears that they had created in the city which were the cause of the ghosts your people saw, and we were able to reverse the damage that had been done without the loss of any further life. Andy's role was instrumental in all of that Chief, and I for one am glad that you gave them all a hero's funeral today."
Donna's hand reached out to clasp the Doctor's tightly in his own while he stood facing the chief, his body was vibrating with the tension of everything he had just revealed as he waited to see how the chief would take it. Donna could tell that he was shocked by the Doctor's revelations, but not nearly as shocked as he should have been. It seemed that he had been wondering for quite some time just what had been going on in his city.
Jack, Gwen and Ianto all stood stock still when the Doctor finally finished, the three of them felt strangely exposed now that the Doctor had let the chief of police in on the truth of Torchwood's mandate in Cardiff. It flew against everything that they had been taught at the academy, but then again so did working with the Doctor without trying to capture him. Jack just shook his head when he remembered that the Doctor always played by his own rules, and it was up to the rest of them to try to keep up.
Chief Christopher Roberts let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when it all finally clicked into place, his eyes traveling to each person who stood tensely in front of him before he nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for finally helping me to answer some questions that I have had for a very long time. I obviously can't go bandying this information about, but now that I know what Torchwood is truly doing here, perhaps I can work with my force to make sure that there is a little more cross force cooperation in the future." The last was said with a direct look at Captain Jack Harkness, the Chief's eyes promising that while it wouldn't be easier, with time they might even be able to work together for the protection of the city. It was what they all wanted in the end.
Captain Jack snapped to attention and saluted the Chief, his steel blue eyes dancing as he finally felt like something good had come out of the last two weeks. "Chief Roberts, it would be my honor to work with you and your men."
The Chief nodded and saluted in response to Jack, his eyes dancing as he replied. "Don't expect miracles overnight, Captain, but with time maybe things will be a little bit easier between our teams. Thank you all for coming today, I know it can't have been an easy decision with the animosity that you perceived from me. Doctor, especially your words will help the survivors cope with their losses somewhat and for that alone, I can never thank you enough."
He made to walk past the little group, his eyes coming to rest once more on the alien known as the Doctor. "Go in peace, Doctor and my thanks for all that you have done." Chief Roberts than turned and walked past the group to stand in silence over the memorial for a moment more before he turned and made his way back up the wharves towards his car.
Jack looked at the Doctor, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head as with just a few short sentences the Doctor had basically handed him Cardiff PD on a silver platter. "I should've brought you here years ago, Doctor. I can't believe what just happened. I can't believe that he is even willing to entertain working more closely with Torchwood."
The Doctor turned to look back at Jack, the look in his eyes stilling Jack's exuberance as he murmured. "But at what cost, Jack? Don't forget good people had to die for this opportunity, let's not forget the reason why we're all here."
Jack sobered quickly at the Doctor's reminder, his gaze flicking to Gwen who had gone to stand over the memorial for a private goodbye. "They'll never be forgotten, Doctor. I'll make sure of that."
The Doctor nodded. "Make sure of that, Jack. You're the only one that can."
The six of them stood for a little while longer as the wind howled once more off the bay, the sky darkening quickly in a perfect approximation of each their moods before they finally turned their backs on the storm and made their way back towards the SUV and Torchwood.