I stayed curled up on the ground long after the Master had gone. Maybe an hour maybe two. I figured I was in shock since I couldn't move, but all my senses were heightened. I could smell the burns on my clothes, and my own smell, and under that the smell of the Master, all still hanging in the air. I could taste them in the air too. It was disgusting.
I could vividly remember the pain from when the laser hit me. Some of it was still there. The burning, the cold, the confusion, and all the memories. Such horrible memories.

It had seemed like it would never stop, but it finally did, and I had fallen to the ground, unable to move, or think. I remembered clearly, though, the Master coming close and bending down to whisper in my ear.

"I've given you some old memories, and something else: a Timelord consciousness."

I knew it was true. I was tortured by the gory memories alone, but the weight of my sharpened awareness was overwhelming to the point that I wanted to die just so it would be over.

Now I felt the air stir, just barely, and thought I must be imagining it, but then I heard a familiar sound. It was the most beautiful sound in the universe: the whooshing of the TARDIS. Then I heard a voice calling what was once my name.

"Adalyn!"

A second later the Doctor's arms were around me and I gasped, my lungs swelling as if taking in air for the first time.

He was holding me, comforting me, protecting me. But it made no difference; the damage was done.

Now he was trying to lift me up. "You need to get in the TARDIS. Quickly now!"

I hadn't said a word or even looked at his face.

"Adalyn!" he said urgently and lifted my face. As soon as our eyes met, I saw the fire in my eyes reflected in his, and I dropped my gaze in shame. He saw it too and drew back in horror.

"What has he done to you?" he whispered.

I couldn't answer. I huddled back into myself.

The Doctor was silent, but then I felt his gentle presence in my mind.

It's alright. I'm here and I will take care of you.

I felt his arms around me again as he scooped me up and cradled me close to his chest like a small child. He carried me into the TARDIS and set me down on the floor. I could sense the TARDIS' deep concern as she nudged at my consciousness, but I shut her out of my head and burrowed deeper into myself.

I'm taking us away from here. The Doctor's mind reached out to mine again. Don't be scared; I'm not leaving you.

I drew some comfort from his presence. The words themselves meant little at this point.

I could make out the TARDIS moving, then he came and picked me up again. I struggled to understand what was going on. He was going to carry me somewhere – no, that was happening now. What was the difference between now and then?

I sunk into something soft and then his fingers gently touched my temples.

Sleep. The command washed softly through my mind. Peaceful darkness claimed me.

I was in my bed. No, this wasn't my bed. I opened my eyes and blinked in the soft light.

I'm here.

The Doctor was by my side.

You can talk to me this way. Just think whatever you want to say.

Where am I? I asked.

You're in the TARDIS med-bay. You are completely safe.

Fire raged through my brain again and I flinched away in pain.

Sleep. The Doctor's voice soothed over the pain. Sleep.

The next time I woke my mind felt clearer. I cautiously opened my eyes and looked around. Everything stood out sharply, but it wasn't overwhelming. I was on a small raised bed in a softly lit room filled with medical equipment. The Doctor was sleeping in a chair in the corner. I lifted my hand to touch my face and realized I could move again. Groaning, I sat up on the bed.

The Doctor woke instantly and came over. Are you alright?

I could sense his concern.

"Yeah." My voice was hoarse from disuse, but it was my voice and I was relieved to hear it.

The Doctor looked relieved too. He took my hand.

"How are you feeling?"

I grimaced and he flinched before I realized I'd just telepathically shoved an impression of my feelings on him.

"Sorry! Sorry." I winced, putting a hand to my head. "Sorry."

"It's ok," he reassured. "I'm sure it will take some time to get used to."

I was silent, wondering how much he already knew.

The Doctor sat next to me. "How much can you remember?"

"I remember all of it." I said dully.

"Then I need you to tell me," he said gently. "I'm sorry, but it's important I know everything that happened."

I sighed, "The Master said –" I saw the Master in front of me with the laser screwdriver and I screamed and huddled into a ball. "He's here!" I panicked.

"No, no, no, no, no, he's not here!" the Doctor held me.

"I – I saw him." I looked around in confusion. I was in the med-bay again but my body was still shaking.

"The Timelord retina is capable of processing information independently of the brain," the Doctor explained. "You're developing eidetic memory."

I focused on stabilizing my breathing. My lungs felt weird. Since when could I feel my lungs?

"That," the Doctor continued, "plus your brain is still learning the difference between past and present. So your new eye-brain presented old information – like a video recording – and your brain-brain thought the events you were seeing were currently happening."

"Makes sense," I mumbled.

"I'm so, so sorry. I should have been there sooner. You were never supposed to have to endure him – endure this."

I turned my face away to hide my emotions.

"If I'd been even a few hours sooner I could have prevented this. But the Master," he ground out the words, "created false trails – probably with your Path Scrambler. It took me days to find you."

Days. Incredible how short a time it had been for him.

We were silent a moment before I took a deep breath, "So. You know what happened."

He grimaced sympathetically. "I've got a pretty good idea."

"The Master said he'd given me a Timelord consciousness."

"Well it's not quite that simple, you see, it's more of a reflection of the Timelord consciousness. Your brain is developing some of the instincts and abilities, but it's still fundamentally human."

"What about the rest of me?" I asked.

"I was able to do some preliminary scans while you were sleeping, but I'd like to do more now you're awake. If that's ok?"

I nodded and the Doctor pulled out some medical equipment.

"Your basic anatomy is unchanged and you're fundamentally healthy, so it's just the brain that was altered."

He scanned my head and frowned darkly. "Blimey." He pulled a small device out of the med kit. "This'll just tingle a bit." He gently stuck it onto my forehead, and I felt a painless zap. "It's monitoring your brainwaves," he explained. "Aaand," he removed it, "they are all over the place."

He pulled a syringe from the box. "Last thing is I want to check your blood. It won't even hurt." He gently took my left arm, but I pulled away violently.

"What?" he asked, alarmed.

"Just… don't." I muttered.

"Listen Adalyn, I'm sorry I have to do all this, I really am. I'm sure it's not what you need right now. But we need to find out as much as possible."

I didn't respond. I just turned my face away.

"Ok." The Doctor sounded unsure, but he proceeded, taking my arm and pushing up my sleeve.

"What-" he began to unwrap the messy bandages and I heard him hiss in anger.

When he spoke it was in the soft tones of controlled rage.

"Did he do this to you?"

I nodded, still not looking.

The Doctor was still for a moment, then he switched the needle for another device.

"It's a dermal regenerator," he said. "It can heal bruises and cuts that don't go to the deepest layers of the skin."

The device beeped very slowly as he ran it over my arm.

"The Master didn't use the Path Scrambler," I blurted. "I did."

Shocked silence.

"Why?"

I whispered. "Because I told you not to follow."

More silence.

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok," he repeated more surely. "Whatever else it was, your action was good-hearted, and noble, and brave, and above all selfless. I wish with all my hearts you hadn't done it, but I don't want you blaming yourself, because everything that happened is on the Master and on me. You never should have been in that situation." He paused, thinking. "And just so you know, I would have failed you anyway. There was a temporal block on your location so that even once I found you, I couldn't have gotten in a moment earlier in your timestream."

"Oh." I said dully. "I guess I didn't do anything after all."

The dermal regenerator changed tones and then stopped beeping altogether.

"Well that's weird."

At this I finally turned toward him. "What?"

"The regenerator isn't doing anything."

"Maybe it's broken."

"Maybe." The Doctor frowned. "The thing is, though, it's not that it isn't healing the cuts, it's that it's acting like there are no cuts to heal." He took out the scanner he had used before and held it in front of my arm. "This too. It's like the cuts aren't even there."

"Whatever." I pulled my sleeve down and stood.

"Whatever?"

"It doesn't really matter. He's done his damage. What are a few scars on my arm?"

"Adalyn-"

"Just…don't." I turned my back on him.

He was quiet a moment, then I heard him stand and come close. He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I know this is a painful adjustment…"

I laughed callously and spun around. "You just don't get it, do you? Adalyn is dead. The Master killed her. I –" I reeled in revulsion, "–am a monster. The Master stripped away everything I was, leaving behind a shell that he filled with a crude copy of glory." My words tasted like vomit. "I'm nothing, do you hear me? Nothing. I'm an abomination – a mockery of human and timelord." I sat on the floor and hugged myself. "I used to think the worst he could do to me was take my life. I was so wrong. Death would be a mercy compared to this."

I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. "Look at me, Doctor," I whispered angrily. "Look into my eyes and see what I've become. Behold my shame."

I heard the Doctor kneel in front of me and felt his hand on my chin. Gently he tilted my face up and looked into my eyes. All I could see in his was compassion.

"You. Are. Beautiful." He said.

I couldn't understand what I was hearing.

"I see your intelligence, your skill, your kindness, your immense bravery."

"No," I whispered shaking my head, unable to believe, "you're wrong about me."

"I look at you and see the amazing human girl I met that summer so long ago. I also see a reflection of the Timelord mind in all it's complexity. I see so, so much potential in you."

"How?" the tears were finally coming.

"Because the Master is smart and powerful, but even he doesn't have what it takes to change who you are."

"I… don't feel like the same person." I struggled to get the words out. "I can't imagine any future for myself. I mean, I don't even know who I am."

The doctor was quiet for a moment. Then suddenly he said, "Ok." And got up.

"What?"

"Gotta show you something." He set new coordinates and the TARDIS flew there.

He went to the door and put his hand on the handle.

"Come take a look."

I sighed but stood and came over.

He pushed both doors open and I gasped in awe at a starry sky.

"Recognize it?"

"Yeah." I said softly, "it's the same star system you showed me when I first met you. Almost a year ago."

"What do you think?"
"I think… it looks different."

1"It looks different because your mind sees things like a Time Lord now. This is what I see every time I look at the stars. We feel planets spinning underneath our feet. We see time. We know what must and must not happen for time to continue. This..." he looked out at the glowing lights, "is what it is.

"It's …" he considered. "It's like you were sitting in what you thought was a small room, with only a candle for light, now your eyes are opened and you see the world that has always been around you.

"You're still you. You're still the wonderful girl I met a ten months ago. The girl who stood up to me when she thought I intended to murder the zygons. The girl who stood in her back yard and agreed to come on an adventure with me. The girl who gave up everything to try to save me. But this. This is what it means to be a timelord."

His eyes silently pleaded for me to understand. "The universe is beautiful, will you come see it with me, Adalyn, Youngest of Time Lords?"

I looked out at the stars again. "I don't know," I said softly. Then I turned to face him. "But I can try." I took his hand in mine and smiled faintly. The Doctor smiled back.