Twists in Time

Chapter Seventeen: Path of the Healers: New Path

By Lumendea

…

Steady beeps met Martha as she walked around the ward. Nyssa was silent. Her eyes were distant and Martha wondered if she should ask. Normally she would. But they were in the hospital and she was feeling more and more out of her depth. Nyssa was the primary healer here. Martha didn't want to make things worse. She glanced at the walls, but there were no clocks that she could see. Nothing to mark the passage of time.

"Do you need a break, Martha?" Nyssa asked.

"No. I'm alright. Just restless."

"The Doctor will be finished soon." Nyssa smiled softly. "He's very good in a crisis. Surely you know that."

"I haven't been travelling with them long. Only a few days. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I've been of much help."

"You shouldn't think that," Nyssa told her. "He and Rose seem very fond of you."

"I… thank you. I'm just not sure that I've been of much help."

"That's not why he travels with people," Nyssa replied. Martha glanced over to find the woman smiling wistfully. "We are helpful, certainly, but that's not his reason." Nyssa turned her gaze to Martha and smiled. "The Doctor doesn't value people for how useful they are…" Nyssa trailed off and sighed. "For all of his flaws… that's one of his best points."

Martha watched Nyssa for another moment. She appeared thoughtful. Again, she was tempted to push the subject as Nyssa's words rolled through her mind. But Martha was saved from having to search for her own reaction by the ward door opening. The Doctor bounced in, a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a wide grin on his face. Rose and Jack were right behind him, both of them appearing relieved.

"Success!" The Doctor said. He glanced around the room. "Nyssa, how many wards are there?"

"Four. All on this floor." She eyed the device in the Doctor's hand. It was a small metallic box that didn't fit together exactly right. Martha could see small flashes of light out of the corners where things didn't meet. "Do you have to be in the centre of all of them?"

"What?" The Doctor blinked at her. "Oh, no. This will easily affect the whole city."

"With what side effects?" Martha asked. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"It's better than the alternative, Martha," the Doctor said quickly. She had to stop herself from glaring at him. "It's using the exact same frequency that we used before," the Doctor told Nyssa.

The older woman nodded and Martha told herself again that Nyssa was in charge. She was more familiar with the people, the planet, and the Doctor. Still, it was difficult not to worry about the potential side effects. The beeping of the machines struggling to keep organs working around them provided a reminder to Martha of what the alternative the Doctor was worried about was.

"How long will it need?" Nyssa asked.

"It only needs to run a few minutes." The Doctor dragged one of the tray tables, an item Martha was stunned to see still in use so far in the future, over to where they were standing. "I went with a lower-intensity pulse pattern. Less grenade and more beacon."

Nyssa and Rose chuckled at that. Martha forced a smile and looked at Jack. He was on edge, standing in a defensive position near the door and glancing into the corridor every few seconds. It was unnerving. The Doctor beamed at Nyssa and adjusted the device, checking it over one more time with thoughtful eyes. He nodded and backed up, gesturing for everyone else to do the same. Martha hurriedly stepped back and glanced at their patients.

Then there was a flash of light that made Martha jump and look to the right. Beside the device was an unfamiliar man. The man was attractive in a dangerous sort of way that would have had Tish swooning and Martha trying to warn her off. His clothing was strange, but Martha barely had time to take him in before he looked towards Jack and Martha noticed the gun in his hand. Panic and fear fought in her chest as the frantic urge to run wared with the practical concern for the patients around them. The Doctor took a step towards the radiation device only for Rose to step protectively in front of him.

"Sorry, love," Raydrin said to Jack. His voice was tight.

"Rayd-"

The gun went off. A bolt of light struck Rose, throwing her back into the wall. Nyssa shouted something and rushed toward Rose while the Doctor dropped beside her. Raydrin grabbed the small metal orb and then vanished in a flash of light. Martha was frozen in place. Jack was glaring at where Raydrin had been with his eyes flickering over to Rose.

Martha couldn't look. Part of her told her to move to help Rose, but Nyssa and the Doctor were both there. If there was anything…. Martha closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. Instead, Martha hurried over to the nearest patient to check the machines. Terror that the odd burst of energy when the man vanished would have caused problems helped her focus. The patient, a man with blue-tinted skin, was still and quiet though he was still breathing slowly with the help of two machines. He was another one that wouldn't last long.

"Doctor, I'm so-" Martha heard Nyssa start to say.

Martha's chest tightened as a new fear swept in. She started to turn, bracing herself for the reveal that Rose was dead. But then Martha saw Rose's hand move to touch the Doctor's shoulder. She was shifting and a soft groan and mumbled words followed. The Doctor's shoulders, while still tense, relaxed a little.

"What?" Nyssa shifted back, letting Martha see that Rose's skin was smooth and unharmed under the burned hold left in her shift. "I don't understand, I saw-"

"I'm hard to kill," Rose said softly. She was gripping the Doctor's hand tightly and not looking at Nyssa. "It's… not something I'm ready for people to know about."

"She's alright, Nyssa," the Doctor promised softly. He shifted even closer to Rose, letting her lean on him. "It's okay."

Martha couldn't see Nyssa's expression, but slowly the woman nodded and rose to her feet. "He took the radiation device," Martha said quickly.

"I can make a new one," the Doctor told them. He stood slowly, helping Rose to her feet. Martha noted that they didn't release each other's hands. In fact, the Doctor wrapped his free arm around her waist. "Let's hope that was what they were really after."

"It can only be used once, right?" Jack asked.

"Yes. One time charge," the Doctor answered. "Still… someone creative could still probably do some damage with it if they were determined." The Doctor paused and then shook his head. "Let's hope not. I'm taking Rose back to the TARDIS. I'll be back soon with another device. Jack, stay here and keep Nyssa and Martha safe."

His tone was darker and sharper than Martha had heard before. Anger, she realized. Not just frustration, but real anger. She swallowed and nodded when he glanced her way. Rose offered her a soft, almost sad smile. Martha didn't know how to take that. She didn't know how to take any of that. Based on Nyssa's reaction, that was not a side effect of travelling in the TARDIS. Jack nodded to the Doctor but stepped forward and kissed Rose's forehead quickly before he stepped back.

Martha was silent as the pair left. Rose seemed to be walking okay. In fact, the Doctor clinging to her seemed to be slowing her down. Her stomach twisted again. Martha thought back to some of Shakespeare's remarks.

"That was new," Nyssa said softly. She exhaled loudly and joined Martha.

"Rose was exposed to the pure Time Vortex a while ago," Jack said. His tone was careful. "She absorbed it to save the Doctor, me, Earth in the future, and destroy the Daleks."

Nyssa flinched and whirled around. "The Daleks? But the Time War, they're supposed to all be destroyed!"

"They are now." Jack gave the woman a soft smile. "Rose vaporized their entire fleet. Using that power, she brought me back to life, but it's had some side effects on us. That's all I'm gonna say."

"Fair enough," Nyssa finally said. She sighed and glanced around. "Jack, please go and ask Ravinar to put the ward into total lockdown and increase security."

"I'm supposed to stay with you."

"It'll only take you a moment, please." Nyssa moved to the next bed of the ward and gestured for Martha to go the other way.

She hesitated for a moment. There was so much. Martha's mind was swimming. This felt even more insane than rhinos on the moon. Worse than that bright red sky in Shakespearean London. But there was both a sense of curiosity and urgency building in her chest. Shaking her head, Martha moved to follow Nyssa's instructions.

When she finished her checks, Martha turned to find Nyssa examining the area where Rose had been thrown by the shot. There was no blood, something Martha was deeply grateful for. She caught sight of what looked like a phone from her time on the floor and realized that it must have been Rose's. She took a step towards it on instinct before pausing as Nyssa knelt.

Nyssa picked Rose's phone off the ground with a curious expression. The model was unfamiliar to Martha and she reminded herself that Rose was from a few years into the future to her. To her surprise, the phone was unlocked and Rose's contact list was up.

"Tegan." Nyssa's voice was loud in the room. "Tegan Jovanka is…"

"What's wrong?" Martha asked. The phone's screen dimmed as it locked itself and Nyssa inhaled sharply. "Nyssa?"

"I'm fine, Martha," Nyssa said. "Just… it seems that Rose wasn't exaggerating her contact with any old friend of mine." The woman's face was strange. Tight and pained, but also sad. She held the phone out towards Martha. "Here, you best give this back to Rose when this is done."

"Uh, she'd probably let you use it, if you like."

"Perhaps. But let's deal with this first. We need to make sure that everyone stays stable and safe until the Doctor can build another device. We've lost time."

Martha nodded slowly. That feeling of being lost and unsure of how to help in a situation that demanded help was clawing at her. Still, she didn't know what she could do and turned her focus to the patients. At least the horrible sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop had passed.

….

Less than an hour later, the Doctor and Rose returned. Rose looked alright. She had changed her shirt and put her hair into a braid. There was a small, if slightly nervous smile on her face as she walked alongside the Doctor. Martha couldn't make sense of it. Without any ceremony, they placed another rough box device thing at the centre of the room, backed up and used his sonic screwdriver to turn it on. There was a beeping sound and the flickering of lights. Nothing more, nothing big or dramatic.

"Is that it?" Martha asked.

"Yep," the Doctor answered, popping the p. He was smiling again. "It's working." He nodded at one of the larger machines in the corner. "You'll be able to pick up the results soon."

"Oh, Rose, here." Martha pulled the phone out of her pocket and tentatively held it out to Rose. "Uh, you dropped this earlier."

"Thank you." Rose took the phone, grateful that Martha wasn't trying to talk about what had happened earlier. "I completely missed that I dropped it with everything that was happening."

"Understandable," Martha said softly. "That, uh, that isn't a normal side effect, right?"

"No." Rose shook her head and gave Martha a reassuring look. "That's a me thing. Well, both me and Jack, but it's tied to me and something I intentionally did a few years ago. It was a very unusual set of circumstances."

"So you what? Can't die?"

Rose and Jack exchanged a look. "Probably not," Rose said carefully. "But there's always something you haven't seen yet in the universe so I prefer not to assume. And the Doctor isn't interested in testing things out."

"No." The Doctor's voice was almost a growl. He was shifting uneasily and then shook his head. "No, we never need to test out the limits of that." His arm circled Rose's waist and tugged her closer. "I'm grateful for it, on days like today, but…" he shook his head again. Rose turned and leaned against him, letting the Doctor tighten his grip. "I don't like seeing it."

"I understand that," Rose replied. Then she looked down at her phone and smiled. "Wow, it isn't even damaged! This is a solid model."

The Doctor shrugged. "Told you the 22nd century models were hard to break."

"I'm still surprised that they look the same."

"There are limits to how small you can make things and still be able to use them with your hands. And there are always sections of the population that don't want to have implants."

"Don't blame them for that." Rose shivered. "Makes me think of those weird brain computers on Satellite Five." She shook herself. "No thanks."

Then Nyssa laughed and shook her head fondly. "Well, I am grateful that everyone is going to be alright. You and your friends included Doctor."

"What about you, Nyssa?" The Doctor asked. His focus was now on Nyssa. "Any thoughts to me offer? I can take you wherever and whenever you like."

"There are other planets that will surely call on me." Nyssa's expression was a touch sad and she glanced at the phone in Rose's hand. "I won't be here for long."

"Nyssa." The Doctor hesitated and then let go of Rose and stepped closer to his former companion. "Nyssa, I know what you're doing. I've spent centuries doing it, but it won't help. Not really. Please, don't repeat my mistakes. You've always been smarter than that."

There was a long silence. Nyssa looked at the floor and twisted her hands together. Then she looked back at the Doctor, took a breath, and straightened her shoulders. "Can you take me to Earth? When and where Tegan is?"

"Oh yes." The Doctor beamed and swept her into a hug. "Yes, I can do that!"

"Not yet!" Nyssa laughed. Her voice was brighter now. "We have to wait to make sure that everyone is alright. I can't leave until I know that's done."

"Right." The Doctor set her back on her feet and nodded. "Right. Course. Well, extra hands will help that go smoothly."

Nyssa smiled up at him and nodded her agreement.

…

The TARDIS landed with a soft thud, one of the more gentle landings in all of Rose's time travelling with the Doctor. A thick tension took hold of the air. Nervousness and anticipation. Rose hoped that Tegan was home. She had debated having Nyssa call. Just dropping in on an old friend after decades was a lot. But Rose had a feeling that Tegan would be thrilled to see Nyssa.

"Planet Earth," the Doctor said gently. "Tegan's back garden."

He turned the viewscreen so that Nyssa could see the fairly ordinary-looking pale house. A small patio in the shade of the roof had an outdoor dining set. Then a figure came out the back door. Apparently, Tegan was home and had heard the TARDIS. Rose heard a sharp intact of breath from Nyssa and glanced at the Doctor. His expression was cautious and hopeful. Nyssa turned to look at the door.

"When you're ready," the Doctor said gently. "Or until Tegan starts trying to knock the door in."

Nyssa laughed. She took a deep breath, adjusted the simple pack strapped to her back and walked to the door. It was just as well because Tegan was starting to stalk across the lawn of her garden. Her shouts and demands to know what was going on echoed through the viewscreen. Nyssa laughed and then pushed open the door. Rose resisted the urge to immediately dash after her as she stepped out but did shift her position so she could watch.

"Nyssa!" Tegan's voice was higher than usual, full of emotion. Her eyes were shining brightly though she wasn't crying. In a moment, the distance between the two women closed and they were hugging tightly. "It's you! I can't believe it's you!" Her next words were lost in Nyssa's shoulder as they clung to each other.

Rose hung back with the Doctor in the door of the TARDIS. In the corner of her eye, he looked at him. His expression was relieved, but almost pained. Then Tegan looked up and spotted them. She smiled and squeezed Nyssa again before letting her go.

"How long are you staying?" Tegan asked. Shifting back from Nyssa a pace.

"That depends…" Nyssa paused. "On how long you'd like me to stay."

"I have a spare room and two kids that have grown up hearing about you and always wanting to meet you so forever wouldn't be a problem." Tegan's smile was radiant. She took Nyssa's hand and her expression softened. "We can talk about things when you're ready."

"Thank you, Tegan," Nyssa said softly.

Then Tegan turned her focus back to them. "Sarah Jane hadn't said anything about you having that face now," Tegan said. She was studying the Doctor even as she kept a tight grip on Nyssa's hand. "We all figured she'd know first among the Club."

"The Club?" Nyssa asked.

"The Companions Club," Tegan answered quickly. "I'll arrange a video call once you settle in a bit so you can meet everyone."

"You could not," the Doctor pointed out. "It's not necessary."

"Oh it really, really is," Tegan retorted. She turned her attention back to Nyssa. "A bunch of us who travelled with him. It's nice to have folks to talk with about everything, people who can understand."

Nyssa immediately nodded her understanding and smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

Her honest excitement made the Doctor sigh and stop arguing. But Tegan turned her attention back to him.

"So I'm guessing you haven't been to Bannerman Road since you regenerated," Tegan said. She glanced at Rose. "Having met your mother, Rose, I can both understand that and advise against it."

Martha glanced at Rose and she inwardly sighed. That was one more thing that she needed to talk with Martha about. As silly as the notion of a brochure might be, there was merit to one or at the very least a checklist. Thankfully, Martha didn't immediately start asking questions. Rose was deeply grateful for Martha's patience. Or maybe she was overwhelmed.

"I know," Rose said in response to Tegan. She looked at the Doctor. "We're in the right time. We should probably hop over when we leave here to check in."

"Wait, they go to see her mother?" Nyssa asked urgently. Her smile was widening. "Really?"

"Oh yeah, Rose has properly domesticated him," Tegan informed her. The familiar wicked smile was back on Tegan's face.

"Tegan!" The Doctor's eyes widened in horror. "You take that back!"

"I feel like I should be offended as well," Rose chimed in. "That sounds so very boring."

"Exactly!" The Doctor agreed.

"I mean if I go more than a week without helping stop some kind of crisis, I get twitchy," Rose informed Tegan seriously. "Or don't you remember my college years?"

"Oh, I remember." Tegan laughed. "Though I still have trouble believing all of those stories. How Sharon and Shareen survived growing up with you, I don't know." She looked at Nyssa and swallowed. "I'll look after her, Doctor. I promise."

"Will you two be alright?" the Doctor asked. He looked at Nyssa. "I'll have Kate at UNIT process an identity for you. She's in Britain, but I don't know the UNIT lot down here."

"They aren't bad," Tegan replied with a shrug. "They've grabbed me and my kids occasionally if things were looking dicey. I'm not too impressed with that, but given I've got the children to worry about, I suppose I shouldn't complain too much."

The Doctor looked relieved at the words. Likely from both knowing the UNIT was looking after Tegan, at a respectful distance and the promise that she wasn't making a fuss over it. Having encountered Tegan's temper before, Rose couldn't understand it. But Tegan was the only friend of theirs in Australia. Most of them were in the United Kingdom, a couple in the United States, a pair in India, one in Germany, and Jo… well where ever she was at the time.

Rose watched Tegan and Nyssa shift closer together. The intense expression of happiness and relief on their faces was overwhelming. She had no history with Nyssa, but knowing what she did of the woman's history, Rose was intensively grateful herself that Nyssa had decided to let herself focus on her own happiness. It would be worth checking in with them in a month or so to see where things stood, but Rose's chest was warm with a great sense of happiness. She took the Doctor's hand and squeezed.