Understanding where his dread was coming from did not, apparently, mean the Doctor suddenly had the power to banish it. How incredibly annoying.

Nothing about this felt good. Even the master dematerialisation switch, normally so sleek and cool, was off-puttingly sticky as his fingers curled around it.

Or was it his palm that was sticky?

Oh, what did it matter? Gut feelings were meant to be heeded, weren't they? Doing so could save a person all sorts of trouble. So he'd heard, anyway. He'd never really made a practice of it, but the Doctor wondered if he ought to start.

But he and Rose had already talked this through. Thoroughly.

His eyes sought his wife. Her lashes were down, her full lips pursed in concentration as she fussed with something on the opposite side of the console - the sub-neutron circuit panel? Whatever it was, she was too distracted to notice his hesitation. "Rose? Maybe we should–"

Her eyes lifted, went wide. "Don't pull the switch yet! The shields are still up!"

The Doctor snatched his hand back. "Oops. Almost oops."

"Almost a hole the size of Belgium, you mean," muttered Rose with a snicker. There was a series of clicks as she adjusted a dial. "Okay, almost done." Her hand hovered, her palm glowing red in the light of the buttons below it. "The TARDIS hasn't mucked with how you set the navigational slide controls, has she?"

"I locked them," he assured her, but leaned over for a quick check of the last four digits again anyway, the ones designating their change of temporal location. He hadn't altered the spatial coordinates at all, which was usually a no-no. But necessary in this case.

"Ready?"

Her smile was so certain, so eager, the Doctor found himself replying in the affirmative before he could think twice. "As I'll ever be."

Rose smacked her palm against the button. "Shields down!"

It took both hands on the switch to force dematerialisation, the timeship fighting him all the way. "The TARDIS hates this," he announced unnecessarily, both of them clinging to the console as the ship rattled and shook like a jalopy rolling over potholes. "Landing within another TARDIS's timestream. Colliding with her sister ship."

Rose circled toward him, somehow staying upright. "Not colliding, displacing. And it's only for like, twenty seconds." As her hip met his she exerted pressure, a wordless request for him to move aside that he pretended not to notice. "And it's not like we're changing events; the other TARDIS will blip out, blip back, no harm done– oi, get your hand off, Doctor, let me rematerialise her. You know our margin for error is tiny."

"You may have impressive accuracy when it comes to manual parking, dear," the Doctor said, fingers still wrapped around the toggle switch while he kept a careful eye on the triangulating coordinates, "but you've never done this before."

"You've only done it by accident."

"Okay, but." He looked at Rose. "That's not–"

"Doctor! Look out!"

His gaze snapped back to the coordinates just as the cloister bell began its rhythmic clang, warning of imminent temporal collision– aka their exit ramp. Rose's hand came down atop his and together, they threw the lever down in time.

The landing was perfect, despite how much it felt like crashing.

"That was close," he told the console room ceiling, from where he lay on the floor on his back. He wasn't hurt, and, going by the way Rose had laughed when she fell, she wasn't hurt either. "We almost merged with the other TARDIS instead of replacing her," he explained with a grimace, rolling his head to meet Rose's eye.

Rose let out another laugh. "That would've been awkward, running into your past self again."

"Yes. Worse than a past Jack."

"Speaking of…" Rose scrambled to her feet and the Doctor followed suit, both of them hurrying to the viewscreen. Roald Dahl Plass again, people milling about the plaza. The view was almost exactly as it was an hour earlier– or sixteen years later, depending on your perspective.

The Doctor's time senses began to tingle, to itch with the unique discomfort of repeating a personal life event. He began to count down. "Three, two, one…"

Right on cue, Jack appeared, barrelling toward the TARDIS, rucksack on his back and such deep desperation on his face that the Doctor wondered how, the last time, he had so callously tried to escape the poor man.

This time, it would only look like an attempt to flee, he assured himself as he got the time rotor going.

"Hold on, love," said Rose, anxious eyes glued to the viewscreen. "Don't leave without him!"

"Of course I won't leave without him– Hang on!" Jack's body hit the door with a thud and sparks flew from the console. "Here we go!"

"He's still out there!"

"It's working!" shouted the Doctor, as the young timeship fled through the vortex like a startled horse. "We're advancing into the future!"


Wind, sand, and light said a harsh hello as the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS, Gallifreyan air filling his nose. A bittersweet first breath; or so he'd expected. But overhead, the dual suns hovered like old friends, and as Rose came out to join him their warm citrus glow gilded her hair and skin, as if they knew their light would flatter her like none elsewhere. It made his first taste of home as sweet as honey.

That said, he was also rather queasy. But that was Jack's fault.

Rose went and knelt beside her old friend, who was sprawled, face up, on the sand. "He's dead," she stated, giving the Doctor a little glare.

"He'll get over it." Crouching beside her, the Doctor rolled Jack onto his side and slipped off the man's rucksack. "Got to store this thing away somewhere safe," he explained, setting it inside the TARDIS and shutting the door. "My old hand is in there."

Nodding, Rose slowly got to her feet, brushing sand off her black jeans and converse, and squinting in the harsh sunlight. No. Wincing.

"You okay?" the Doctor asked, concerned. He put his hands on her upper arms, peering closely at her face.

"Yeah, just…" Scrunching her face further, she slipped off her denim jacket and tied its sleeves around her waist. "I just feel off all of a sudden. Weirdly dizzy and…sort of sick, or something."

His eyes widened. "Oh, sorry. I think that's my fault." He threw up a few hasty psychic barriers. "Is that better?"

"Yeah. But why…" Rose's gaze shifted to Jack, returning to the Doctor full of worry. "Is that how being around Jack makes you feel?"

The Doctor shrugged. "It'll fade, once I get used to him again."

"Oh, Doctor, I'm sorry." Rose slid her arms around his middle and hugged him. "When I saw him lying there dead I got upset. I forgot for a minute how hard being around him, how hard all of this was gonna be for you."

A gust of wind swirled past, lifting her hair, and went whistling across the barren terrain, which was a darker orange than the sky. Rose took in the dual suns, the rocky hills, the blowing sand. There was nothing else to see. "We made it, then? This is Gallifrey?"

"Yes."

Rose squeezed the Doctor tighter and he melted into her for a minute, accepting her love and support. Then he drew back, kissing her forehead. "These are the Dry Lands. You've been here before, sort of. On the day we saved Gallifrey. That old barn is out here somewhere, or at least it used to be."

"How far away is the Citadel?"

There was a loud gasp as Jack awoke. Rose let go of the Doctor and darted over to him, dropping to her knees in the sand. "Jack! Are you alright?"

Jack's blue eyes popped comically wide. "Rosie?"

"Hello!"

"Oh my god, Rosie!" Sitting up, he pulled her into a tight hug. "How…I thought you were dead!"

"No, no. I'm fine. I'm right here."

As Jack held Rose out at arm's length, scrutinising her, the Doctor saw him blinking back real tears. Unsure if he'd ever seen Jack weep, the sight both startled and assured him. Jack truly loved Rose. And just like that, the Doctor found he was grateful for the other man's presence, for the protection he would unfailingly offer.

"I saw your name," Jack was insisting. "It was on a list of the dead from the battle of Canary Wharf."

"I was at the battle, Jack, but I didn't die. It's a long story."

For a long moment Jack stared at Rose, and then, seeming to decide he believed her, pulled her back into the hug.

Okay, he might be glad to have Jack here, but enough was enough. "Alright, alright, enough with the canoodling, thanks," the Doctor grumbled.

Rose pulled away with a chuckle as Jack's gaze lifted to the Doctor. His eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion.

Amused, the Doctor squinted back at him, folding his arms as he leant against the TARDIS. Rose rolled her eyes at both men.

"So who's this guy, then?" Jack asked her, giving the Doctor another guarded once-over as he and Rose got to their feet.

This took the Doctor aback. "Who am I?" he spluttered. "Doesn't the Police Box kind of give it away?"

"Why would it?"

His chin jutted. This was not how this first interaction was supposed to go. Jack was doing it wrong. Throwing back his shoulders, the Doctor stood tall and straight and lordly. "Because, Captain, there's only one person who owns a magnificent ship like this one, and it's me! The Doctor!"

"You sure about that, Bow-tie?" Jack cocked an eyebrow. "You don't look much like the Doctor. More like someone the Doctor would like to punch in the face."

A peal of laughter from Rose cut off the Doctor's ready retort.

"Oi!" He rounded on her, indignant. "That isn't funny!"

"Jack's got a point, is all," Rose replied, still laughing unashamedly. "Gotta admit, I've always wondered if the you-in-leather might find this you a bit too…cool, for his liking."

He wanted to stay offended, but the Doctor's mouth twitched. "I'd probably upset him, yes, but mostly because seeing me would confirm his suspicion that you prefer blokes with good hair."

"Shut up." Rose kicked sand in his direction.

"Make me."

"Wow," commented Jack, watching them with arms folded over his broad chest. "It really is you. Hello, Doctor."

"Captain." The Doctor sniffed. "Glad you're finally convinced I'm me."

Jack's expression remained sober but his eyes were twinkling. "The flirting kind of gave it away."

"What? I wasn't…I don't…" Hands flailing, the Doctor inwardly scolded himself for getting Jack all curious about his personal life. "Stop it."

"I've been following you for a long time." Jack's great coat flapped in the wind. "You abandoned me."

"I'm sorry, Jack." The apology came easily to the Doctor's lips. He had always wished he had handled this conversation better, and he was glad to get a do-over. Even though it wouldn't keep. "I have no excuse, except that I was dying at the time. Wasn't exactly thinking straight."

Surprise crossed Jack's face, and he looked somewhat placated. "Well, I'm glad you didn't abandon Rose. But you never would, would you?"

Since he had, in fact, abandoned Rose on more than one occasion, the Doctor couldn't help but flinch.

Jack didn't notice, having turned to Rose with a smile. "Ah, well. Suppose that's what I get for not being blonde. He's been treating you alright, darlin'?"

Something about his question delighted Rose. "Oh, I suppose," she replied slowly, nibbling a pinky nail and radiating fun. "He–"

Don't! The Doctor hastily thrust the warning into his wife's mind as he sensed her intent. He's not from our current timeline, remember? Don't tell him anything personal he doesn't already know.

When Rose's eyes met his, it was plain she felt his request was the height of ridiculousness. "Why not?" she asked, not bothering with telepathy. "You've got to remove his memories of this whole event anyway."

"Rose!" The Doctor was appalled. "You can't just tell him that!"

"Telling him is the only way to get his permission, you know." Rose held the Doctor's gaze, sudden amusement lighting up her eyes and their link. Do you really not want him to know anything about our personal lives? Like the fact that we're married?

For what reason would he need that information?

Rose's lips pursed like she was fighting a laugh, though he had no clue what the joke was. Yeah, okay. I won't tell him, I promise. But I bet you ten pounds that he'll find out within the hour.

How could he possibly–

At the Doctor's left, a throat cleared. "Much as I hate to interrupt this hot little staredown you two have going on," said Jack, "I've got to know. For what earthly reason would you need to remove my memory of this?"

"Because to you," replied the Doctor, sighing, "this is future knowledge. To put it simply, you're not from our current timeline, Jack. We've plucked you from the past."

As Jack gave the Doctor a baffled stare, Rose jumped in. "We tried so hard to find you– the older you that's in sync with us, I mean. I'm sure wherever you are, you're fine, but you've been missing for awhile. But oh, it's good to see you," she tacked on, giving her old friend an impulsive hug. "We've missed you so much."

"Speak for yourself," muttered the Doctor.

"So, my past self…didn't he ever find you? You left me stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, you know. I had my vortex manipulator, so I aimed for the twenty-first century; I thought it was the best place to find the Doctor, except I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869," Jack held up a wrist, nodding to the vortex manipulator on its brown leather band, "this thing burnt out, so it was useless."

"Told you," said the Doctor.

"I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me. And now, you're telling me we don't actually coincide?"

"Don't worry, Jack, it will happen," Rose assured him. "In the near future for you, you'll see the Doctor again."

Jack's boot turned dusty as he toed the ground. "Something to look forward to, then," he said after a moment. The Doctor did not correct his assumption. "But even so, don't think I'm just gonna let you wipe my memories of this. I'm still not convinced you need to. I've had my head messed with before, and it's horrible."

A stronger, sharper gust of wind whirled in, pelting them with sand. Rose let out a little shriek and bent her head, trying to shield it with her arms, and the Doctor hurriedly pulled her into the shelter of his body. For a minute or two they stood there, her face tucked against his chest and his against her hair, until all was still again.

"I'm a Time Agent, you know, I'm perfectly capable of protecting the timelines," Jack went on, lowering his coat from his face. "You can trust me."

"I'll think about it."

This was a lie, of course, a way for the Doctor to end the conversation. Though Rose had turned to face outward she still rested her weight against him, so it was easy for her to give him a chastising nudge in the ribs.

"What did you need me for, anyway?" Jack's gaze on them was intent, scrutinising.

"To get us here."

"This is the end of the universe," Rose added.

Jack frowned. "What?"

"You can't die," the Doctor said bluntly. "You're a fixed point in time and space. A fact. That's never meant to happen. It's not easy even looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong."

"Thanks."

"You are. That's why I left you behind. I'm a Time Lord, it's instinct. That's why the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you. I knew she would do that. I wanted her to do that. It was the only way we could get here."

"To the far end of the universe."

"Yep."

Looking wholly unimpressed, Jack glanced around at the rocky desert. "And what's so special about this place that you plucked me out of my timeline just to help you get here?"

"This is the Doctor's home world," Rose told him softly. "It's called Gallifrey."

Now Jack reacted as he ought, his jaw slackening in awe as he turned to the Doctor. "I thought you destroyed your planet?"

"Changed my mind."

"Nice and cryptic, Doctor," Rose chuckled, stepping away from the shelter of his body and trying to secure her long hair with a hand as the wind tossed it. "You're right, Jack, we did believe it had been destroyed. But really, Gallifrey had been tucked away at the very end of time and space, where no one could reach it."

"Wow." Jack let out a whistle. "So why are we visiting? Even if you failed in your attempt to destroy your planet, your people must know you tried to destroy it. Wouldn't that make you a war criminal around here?"

"Probably," answered the Doctor, his attention fixating on Rose. Her cheeks were flushed like she was far too warm, and the wind flung her hair into her face constantly. He reached over and pressed his thumb-pad to her forehead, needing to be sure the pinkness wasn't sunburn.

"'M fine," she said, swiping his hand away. "I didn't forget sunscreen. You reminded me like fifteen times."

"You look like you're overheated." The Doctor dug deep in the pocket of his long coat. "I've got water bottles in here somewhere–"

"I'm fine. We've only been here a few minutes. Are you gonna do this the entire time?"

"Do what?"

"Fuss."

Rose had dropped her hair, so, instead of answering, the Doctor pointedly watched the long strands whip around for a good few seconds before pulling out a hair-band and holding it up.

When her gaze focused on it she grinned, shook her head, and plucked it from his fingers. Then, after a few failed attempts at capturing all her hair, Rose wordlessly shoved the band back into his hand and turned around.

With a few quick, practised movements, the Doctor smoothed her long hair back and bound it in a ponytail, sleek and tight.

Rose faced him with a smile. He bent to receive his usual thanks, a peck on the lips.

A strange, strangled noise drew his gaze to Jack. The man was staring at them with incredulity, his eyebrows nearly into his hairline.

"What?" asked the Doctor, genuinely perplexed.

"This is unbelievable." Jack gave a delighted laugh. "Oh my god."

"What?"

"And here I had you pegged as a total commitment-phobe!"

A very familiar exasperation filled the Doctor. "Jack," he said, his tone threateningly patient. "Nobody knows what you're on about."

"I do." Rose thrust her hand at the Doctor, palm up. She was grinning. "He figured it out. Now pay up."

"He figured out what?"

"Wait. Wait." Putting a hand on each of their shoulders, Jack pushed into the conversation. His gleaming blue eyes darted back and forth between Rose and the Doctor. "You two had a bet going over whether or not I'd figure out you were married?"

Surprise jolted through the Doctor. "Who said we were married?"

Jack scoffed, his grin stretching even wider as his eyes dropped. "Look at that!" he exclaimed, snatching the Doctor's hand and lifting it. "You're even wearing a wedding ring!"

"You're off your game," Rose told Jack as the Doctor jerked his hand away. "I'd expected you to notice that immediately."

"Oh my god." Jack laughed again. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The Doctor, who had backed away so as to be out of Jack's reach, shot a pointed look at his wife. "Do you see why I didn't want him to know?"

Rose's laugh was unsympathetic. "Pay up."

"Oi, stop it, and I mean both of you. We have things to discuss that are a bit more important. Jack, I'd think you'd be curious as to why we're here."

"Hey, in my defence, I did ask about that. But now I only care about hearing your romantic backstory."

"I said stop–"

"He's joking, Doctor," Rose cut in, tightening the jacket sleeves tied around her waist. "Here's the deal, Jack– the Doctor and I; we've got this good friend, Donna, who was seriously injured when helping to save the universe. Her injury is unique, and really, really complicated, to the point that only another Time Lord scientist can help us save her life."

"This Donna must be pretty special if you're going to so much trouble to help her," said Jack seriously.

"She is."

"So…" Jack glanced back at the Police Box, standing tall and blue on the rusty sand. "She must still be aboard the TARDIS, then? Is she in a coma or something?"

"Stasis, actually." Hurriedly fishing out the sonic, the Doctor aimed it at the TARDIS, shutting off the stasis module with a grimace. "Please don't tell her I nearly forgot to wake her up. I'll never hear the end of it."

Rose grinned at Jack. "One of her favourite nicknames for him is Dumbo."

"Oh, I'm gonna like her, aren't I?"

"Definitely."

"So," said Jack to the Doctor, stomping up a cloud of dust, "now what? I'm assuming you know where we are? Because this strongly resembles the middle of nowhere."

"I used to live near here when I was quite young. Before I was a Time Lord. All the youngsters being prepared for the Academy were schooled in isolated areas like this."

"Well, it's a good thing we've got the TARDIS to travel in." Worry suddenly creased Jack's forehead. "Do you think she'll allow me inside?"

"Give her a bit, but yes. Not that it matters at the moment. We can't use the TARDIS to travel on Gallifrey, it'll draw all sorts of attention and that's the last thing we want. We've got to do this thing" -he swooped a hand- "completely under the radar. There's a place nearby that I know of. We can hunker down there whilst we make a plan."

Dimly, from a distance, came the low clang of bells.

"What's that?" asked Rose. "Sounds ominous."

"It's the cloister bells." The Doctor's mouth tugged down as he listened. "They're an emergency alert, of sorts. Must be a pretty big emergency, if we can hear them all the way out here-" Realisation struck him, forcefully enough that Rose felt it, too. They looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"Oh, no," she said. "You don't think…"

"Would your own people be that scared of you?" Though correctly interpreting their reaction to the bells, Jack sounded doubtful.

"Possibly."

There was a drawn-out creak, and together they all turned to see the TARDIS doors opening. Donna stumbled out, shielding her eyes from the sun, her plaid shirt rumpled and her hair mussed. "What's going on?" she asked, yawning. "Are we in Arizona?"


"Lord President?"

Icy blue eyes lifted to the General, lines in the aged face deepened, and then Rassilon slowly rose from his tall-backed chair at the head of the table. Stiff and ostentatious in full Time Lord regalia, he resembled a goblin king as he stood there, bony fingers tight around his staff, bells clanging in the background like dark music. "Are all the bells ringing?" he demanded. "The whole cloister?"

Undoubtedly keen to avoid one of the Lord President's impatient outbursts, the General hastily lifted his wrist communicator to his face. "What's going on down there?"

A soldier's face appeared on the communicator, a tiny hologram. "On my way down to the Matrix now, sir."

"Keep the perimeter," the General barked, like he was dying to know what was taking so long but not daring to ask in front of the President. "It's okay to be afraid down there, soldier."

"Sliders are everywhere, sir. Loads of the things."

The General cringed. "Language, please. I'm with the President."

"Sorry, sir. The Cloister Wraiths are active."

"Are all the bells ringing?"

"Yes, sir."

Rassilon brought his staff down against the chamber's tiled floor, so hard and sudden that all the stuffy old Time Lords seated around the table would have jumped, had they been anything other than stuffy old Time Lords. "Then we are facing great danger. So, where is he? Where has the Doctor gone?"

Ohila, who was the only one who seemed to be enjoying the drama in the council chambers, probably because her presence there had been so heartily objected to earlier, smiled. "Back to the beginning, I should think," she answered cryptically. Which was a bit silly, since everybody knew exactly what she meant. Hadn't the Doctor always had an inexplicable fondness for that old barn?

"Prepare the airships," Rassilon commanded, his eyes flashing fire. "We'll overpower him."

Overpower him? It had been a long time since she'd heard anything so hilarious and oh, it was too much. An enormous guffaw escaped.

"Like that has ever worked, idiot," she got out between chortles, pulling one of the floating holographic screens closer and tapping right where Rassilon's beaky nose was displayed on it. Too bad he couldn't feel it. Although, maybe he'd sensed it, a bit. If she was lucky enough.

The thought made her laugh some more, and therefore miss whatever next came out of the dear Lord President's mouth. It must have been scary, though, going by the speed with which the stupid tall collars were moving, as the council members abandoned their stupid, tall-backed chairs. Or –more likely– it had been no more than another ridiculous but forcefully-stated command. Not that it mattered. All the risks and frustration that had gone into hacking the Capitol's Vid Network, all the hours of absolute boredom that had gone into manning it, were finally paying off in a big way.

"Everything all right, ma'am?"

She swivelled in her chair. One of her underlings (who wasn't really her underling at all, quite the opposite, and the fact that he still had no idea brought her no end of joy) stood in the doorway, looking concerned. No doubt he'd heard her laughing.

"A fight broke out on Rig Twelve," she lied. "One of our crews, of course, the ones harvesting the dwarf star. It wasn't bad enough that the prisoners would return from their shift early, but it was still fun. Sorry you missed it."

The guard did indeed look disappointed. Nothing much ever happened here. What did it say of her species, that even on a satellite moon full of imprisoned criminals life was so boring? "Have any of the rigs broken down today?" he asked.

"Yes, four," she answered, trying to look upset about it. "All of them are manned by main planet crews, though."

After shooing him off she turned back to the glowing holo-screens, all hovering round her in a circle. She spun her chair slowly and inspected each one, paying special attention to the video feeds from the Capitol, but the Council Chambers had emptied and nothing else of interest was happening. Oh well, might as well enjoy what would undoubtedly be her last hour or two of peace. Propping her booted feet on the table, she reclined back in her chair and smiled up at the ceiling. Yes, the long-awaited day was finally here. The Doctor had come home.


"Aren't the Time Lords supposed to be the most advanced society in the universe?" Jack, who was perched beside Donna on a hay bale near the loft's half wall, peered down at the barn's dirty, hay-strewn floor, then up to the intricate design of its rafters. "When I saw this place, I thought, cool, ramshackle old barn; must be hiding something good. But it isn't even bigger on the inside."

"Most people on Gallifrey aren't Time Lords," Rose told him. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed and hugging one of the pillows. "There's always lots more regular people than elite ones, anywhere you go."

"Elite," echoed Donna dryly, elbowing Jack, who snickered. Despite their meagre thirty-minute acquaintance, the two were annoyingly chummy. "I could think of a few better words to describe you, Spaceman."

"Yes," said the Doctor, the loft's floorboards creaking under his feet as he continued to pace. "I've heard about a thousand of them, none of them is very nice, and will you two stop flirting? Our lives are in danger."

"Only if you stop flirting with Rose," replied Donna. "Fair's fair."

"Rose and I are married."

"Well," said Jack, giving Donna a warm look, "if that's all it takes to get him off our backs…what do you say, gorgeous?"

Donna beamed, and the Doctor threw his hands up. "Oi, you two are not getting married, we are here to fix Donna's head! Now, will you please be quiet, I'm trying to figure out how to get that done without any of us winding up dead. Okay?"

For once they obeyed him, but only because the barn door was opening. A shadowed figure entered, an older woman with frizzy ginger curls, and she was grumbling to herself in a way that was so familiar it sent a pang through the Doctor. "Why are they ringing all the bells? Never heard so many. What's gone wrong this time? All the fuss they're always making."

Gaze lifting to the loft, she spotted them. "You, up there! You're not supposed to be there! I've just put all that back, it's for the boys, if any of them want to come-"

The Doctor came forward, silently looking down to meet her eye. Instantly she stilled, knowing him as well as he knew her, despite the drastic alterations time had made to them both. "They'll kill you," she said darkly.

Protective anger, none of it his own, swept over him. "He's just one person!" exclaimed Rose from behind him, and he heard her trainers hit the floor as she got off the bed. "Why are they so scared of him?"

The woman, Marin, did not answer immediately, her gaze intently tracking Rose's hand as it slid slowly down the Doctor's forearm and wrist to meet his open, waiting palm. "Because of the Hybrid," she said finally.

This stunned the Doctor. "The Hybrid? The old prophecy? Why would they think I have something to do with that?"

"What does the prophecy foretell, Doctor?" Donna asked.

"I don't know; just that this Hybrid creature will one day stand in the ruins of Gallifrey or something like that. Everyone expected it to be fulfilled during the Time War, for it to be some horrific combination of Time Lord and Dalek. But that didn't happen."

"Could it be a combination of Time Lord and human?" asked Rose, low, so as not to be heard by Marin. Her hand gripped his tighter, panic beginning to buzz against his skin. "Our children, they're-"

"Not here," he filled in immediately, gazing down into her eyes earnestly. "There's no chance it's one of them. They'll never step foot here."

A small sound came from the other side of Donna. The Doctor's gaze cut over to find Jack watching him with that stupid look on his face again, all pop-eyed glee, like he was a teenage girl, the Doctor a boy-band. "What now?" he asked impatiently.

If Jack's eyes got any wider they'd fall out. "You two have kids?" he mouthed, slow and disbelieving.

"Not the time," hissed the Doctor.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to remove my memories now." Jack his head in delighted disbelief. "There's no way I'll be able to resist revealing that shocker to your past self."

Doctor? Rose began, wisely using telepathy as she eyed Jack. Could he possibly be…

No. He has to return to his own timeline; he can't stay here and be the Hybrid.

Jack was still talking. "C'mon, stop ignoring me, Uncle Jack needs details. Do you have boys? Girls? A few of each? And, most importantly, were these babies planned or were they the result of–"

"Stop it," said the Doctor and Rose at the same time.

Quiet reigned for a full five seconds, and then the Doctor's ears caught Donna's hushed whisper to Jack. "Here, I've got pictures."

He elected to ignore them. "Rassilon is probably making a big fuss over nothing, just to turn the people of Gallifrey against me," he said, first looking at Rose, then at Marin, who was still gazing up at them from the floor of the barn. "I don't see how I could have anything to do with the fulfilment of that prophecy, I wouldn't even be here if I didn't need to–"

It hit him with force.

"To make a human into a Time Lord," concluded Rose in a whisper, her eyes on Donna.

The Doctor blew out a breath. "Oh, this is very not good."


"We're not flipping leaving," declared Donna, like that was the end of it. "Not after we went to so much trouble to get here."

"Yes, all of which you slept through," retorted the Doctor.

"You promised you wouldn't just drop me back home without my memories again!"

"Yes, well, that's before I discovered you might fulfil an ancient Gallifreyan doom prophecy!"

He put a hand up, silencing the next retort on her lips as Marin bustled back into the barn, setting a pitcher of water and some cups on the rickety old table. Though she seemed task-focused, the Doctor knew her ears missed nothing. Her keen eyes didn't either, constantly darting about, and he didn't think he was imagining how they paused to linger most often on Rose.

"Thanks so much," Rose was saying to her, her smile warm and genuine, and the Doctor watched it happen again. No return smile from Marin, just a curt nod, followed by an over-long, scrutinising look.

The old woman was no threat, but he still didn't like it. Maybe she was just curious about the girl who'd been mad enough to actually marry him, but it seemed like…more. No doubt she suspected Rose was human. Over the years, he and his exploits had often been the talk of the planet, even in the remoter areas, and his penchant for travelling with humans was infamous. The fact had often been used to prove he was trouble, to illustrate the depths of his rebelliousness. He'd never cared one whit.

But now he did care, quite a lot. He didn't even want the Time Lords judging Rose, that would be painful enough, and he knew they were completely ridiculous. This was far worse. Marin was a friend. She knew him; had cared for him when he was a boy. So some part of him, perhaps the child still within, longed for her to applaud his choice of wife. To notice how happy he was, to be happy for him.

A soft mental nudge made him blink. Rose was smiling at him, brows raised.

"Sorry," he said. "I suppose you've been trying to get my attention?"

"Yeah, I said your name like three times," she chuckled. "I was just wondering if you thought the process could really change Donna's personality that much. Seems sort of farfetched, doesn't it?"

"Dear, it has the potential to change anyone," the Doctor replied, thinking of the Master. "What we're planning, it's unprecedented. Anything could happen."

Donna rolled her eyes as she poured herself a cup of water. "I'm not gonna turn evil, Spaceman. But if you're so worried, maybe we should revisit the daily pill regimen idea. It's not like I'm keen on becoming an alien anyway."

"Becoming an– what exactly are you planning to do to this poor woman, Doc?" asked Jack, bewildered.

"That's not the only thing that makes me wonder if we ought to leave," the Doctor said, ignoring both Donna's suggestion and Jack's question. "The high council knows I'm back. By now they've surely zeroed in on my location. Rest assured, they are at this moment preparing to send an army out here. We've got to run, unless you lot can think of some way to go up against them and win. Basically, I'd need to conquer the planet."

Marin, who'd been standing silent and grim near the big doors, raised her eyebrows at this statement, looking almost pleased. Probably because he was talking about leaving.

Donna clunked her glass of water down onto the table. "Okay, now you're just being dramatic."

He gave her a long look, and she deflated a bit. "You are just being dramatic, right?"

From behind, Rose snaked her arms around him, beneath his armpits, and a tingle went down his spine as he felt her warm lips press to the back of his neck. The Time Lords can't hurt me, she breathed into his mind, having picked up on his foremost worry. He sighed and clasped her hands in his, holding her in place, tight against him, and briefly closed his eyes.

"Aren't they disgusting?" was Donna's immediate comment.

"Yes," said Jack's voice. "I love it."

"Doctor," said Rose, resting her cheek against the back of his shoulder, "you got a glimpse of Donna's timeline, remember? It's the reason we decided to try this. Isn't there a very good chance that this will turn out well?"

Despite feeling somewhat comforted by this reminder, the Doctor couldn't help but argue. "Yes, for Donna. Whether things will turn out well for Gallifrey is another thing entirely."

Rose didn't reply immediately, but as they breathed together, her chest firm against his back, he could feel her thinking hard. The prophecy states the Hybrid will stand in the ruins of Gallifrey, yeah?

Yes.

Hmm, thought so. But, don't you wonder, Rose went on, lifting on tiptoes to kiss his earlobe, if some parts of this place could use a bit of ruining?

For a moment the Doctor stilled, then he took hold of his wife's elbow, guiding her to come to stand in front of him so he could take her in properly. "You know, you may be onto something, Rose Tyler," he said out loud, half proud and half reluctant. She was so clever, her attitude so unwaveringly positive, even in the face of his chronic doom and gloom. He loved her for it. However, it was also what made her resist his efforts to keep her safe.

She'd claimed that he needed her here, though, and this only added to his increasing certainty that she was right. He'd better get a handle on his worry and fear, or he might end up frightening her. He'd hate himself for that.

All at once, he was so, so grateful for his wonderful wife, how she never let him suffer through anything alone. Gazing into Rose's vivid brown eyes, the Doctor impulsively brought their lips together.

The kiss was chaste and brief but Jack did not miss his chance to whistle. "Geez. You really have no idea how much I wish the Doctor-in-leather was here to see this."

Rose laughed and the Doctor groaned. "I'm him, Jack."

Donna nudged Jack with a foot. "The Doctor wore leather when you travelled with him?"

"Yep, a black leather jacket. With jeans and combat boots."

"Oh, I'd love to see that!" hooted Donna.

The Doctor glared at both of them. "If I have to tell you two to stop it one more time, we're turning around and going back home."

As he turned his attention back to Rose, his sharp ears caught Jack's faint whisper to Donna. "I have pictures."

Rose shook with suppressed giggles. "Don't set a limit unless you're prepared to follow through," she told him, parroting the parenting mantra they'd often said to each other, which got a chuckle out of him. "And I think you know we need to stay."

"Yeah." As he nodded, he noticed Marin's stooped figure from the corner of his eye. Staring at them, or perhaps just at Rose, again. Fed up, he slowly turned his head to meet her gaze straight-on, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"Your wife," said Marin, readjusting her shawl and not seeming to notice his anger. "She is not Gallifreyan?"

Triggered by a wave of fierce protectiveness, the Doctor's reply was every bit as blunt. "No. What of it?"

Why's she asking that? Can't she tell I'm human? came Rose's voice in his head.

Your timeline is blurred since it's bonded to mine; even a Time Lord would need to look at you twice. Marin here is only slightly time-sensitive. That's why Jack's wrongness doesn't bother her.

"You're a hero already," the old woman was saying to him, her tone still matter-of-fact, but her gaze on Rose was soft. "But she will make you a legend."

"What does she mean?" asked Jack, as if the Doctor weren't equally astounded by her words. "I thought you were a war criminal."

"To the Time Lords, yes," said Rose, squeezing the Doctor's elbow. "But to people like her, he's the man who won the Time War."

Head dipping, the Doctor gave Marin a considering look from beneath his brows. "Continue."

"The High Council will reject her, though," she said. "Even if you stand on their side."

The Doctor snorted. "When have I ever?"

Marin absorbed that with a nod. "I think I can help you."