Hally kept up a fast pace at the front of the group. They'd slowed to a walk after the immediate danger had been stuck behind the wall of lasers, forced to find another route around. Donna and Jenny were chatting again, behind her, with The Doctor bringing up the rear. She kept her jaw set and her eyes forward. Luckily the tunnel was taking them in only one direction, otherwise, she wouldn't have a clue where to go.

"So, you travel together, but you're not together?" Jenny asked Donna, much to Donna's distaste. Hally wasn't sure why, but every time the blonde spoke a painful twang would vibrate in her chest.

"What? No. No. No way. No, no, we're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species. There's probably laws against it." Donna rebuffed, laughing softly at Jenny.

Hally could have quipped in with a clever comment. But… she didn't. The anger inside her was slowly but surely being crushed into an overwhelming melancholy. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Anger she could deal with.

Anger she could do. She could shout and snap and hiss.

But this sadness.

It was infecting her. Crawling through her insides with a heaviness she couldn't ignore.

Of course, there were laws against it.

Well, Time Lord laws.

She was wrong. In every sense of the word.

The peppy emulation behind her was more Time Lord than she was…

The Doctor knew it too…

"And what's it like, the travelling?"

Donna grinned, taking in a deep breath. "Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

Jenny hummed, practically vibrating with wonder. "Oh, I'd love to see new worlds."

"You will. Won't she, Doctor?" Donna hinted, throwing a smile over her shoulder to The Doctor.

Hally felt every muscle in her back tighten with tension.

"Hmm?" The Doctor had evidently not been listening, or was at least pretending that he hadn't been.

Donna chuckled and pressed him. "Do you think Jenny will see any new worlds?"

He cleared his throat. "I suppose so."

Jenny gasped, her footsteps halting. "You mean... You mean you'll take me with you?"

The Doctor grumbled something under his breath, before adding, "Well, we can't leave you here, can we?"

Ahead of them, Hally had fallen down an internal drain into a bitter pit of darkness.

The Doctor and his perfect children.

Jenny was brand new.

His relationship with her wasn't complicated. It didn't have 400 years of baggage.

He would travel with his new daughter and leave her back on earth with Jack.

Hally tried to shake the unhelpful thoughts away.

That was what she wanted wasn't it?

She needed to be on Earth.

Who cared what The Doctor did? She would have The Master.

Misery wiggled in the space between her hearts.

The inescapable truth was that she cared.

She didn't want to. But she did.

Jenny squealed happily. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Come on, let's get a move on." She bounded past Hally, enthusiastic glee plastered across her face as she sprinted around the corner ahead of them.

"Careful, there might be traps!" The Doctor called after her.

Donna chuckled to herself. "Kids. They never listen."

The Doctor exhaled a soft groan and jogged after Jenny, Hally kept her face set on the floor as he passed. He disappeared around the corner too, they could hear him calling to Jenny to slow down. The imagery might have even been slightly funny if Hally wasn't trapped in a bitter circle in her mind. She could now feel the human's eyes on her. She tried to keep her pace a little quicker than Donna's so she couldn't catch up.

"You're being uncharacteristically quiet?" There was a hint of knowing in the human's voice. Donna probably assumed that at her interruption, Hally would slow down to let her fall into step beside her, but Hally did no such thing. Keeping her legs moving as quickly as she could without breaking into a run. Heat pooled in her eyes and Hally blinked furiously in an attempt to remove the water treacherously building in her lower lid. She couldn't reply to Donna. If she did, she knew her voice would probably break. Irritation prickled over her skin. Irritation at herself. Why was she crying?! This was not the time to cry.

Get a grip and keep walking.

But Donna broke into a short jog and closed the gap between their strides, falling into step beside her. "Oh, come on, she's not that bad. You might like having a sister."

Hally wasn't aware that she'd stopped walking until Donna had to stop and turn to look back at her, now a few steps ahead. Her body had switched off. She wasn't moving. Wasn't breathing.

She wasn't breathing.

Hally tried to pull in a breath but nothing happened. Her hearts fluttered wildly in her chest. Unexplainable fear ripped through her, all the way from her feet to the top of her head, leaving her ears ringing.

She still hadn't taken a breath.

It was like her brain wasn't controlling her body anymore. She could feel it. Her heartbeats. The pain in her chest. Her lungs burning for breath. But it wasn't responding. Her mind was flicking between thoughts rapidly, too quickly for Hally to really land on any of them.

She knew she was here, on Messaline but flashes of Gallifrey smashed into her. Her sister. Her brother. The Doctor. The Academy. Alone. 'You might like having a sister'. A new sister. The Doctor. Alone. Surrounded by her classmates. Alone. Classmates with their families. Never her. Not her. No sister. No brother. No Doctor. Naming day. The Arena. So massive. Full of parents. Family. Not her. Walking out. Alone. Alone. Alone. Staring. All eyes on her. No Doctor. No. Alone. Where was The Doctor? Jenny. With Jenny. No.

"Oh, shit." Donna's hands gripped her shoulders and Hally's attention was ripped back to the redhead in front of her. She gave her a gentle shake. "Look at me. Hally, just look at me and breathe. Breathe with me, ok?"

Hally stared at the human.

What?

Oh yes, she wasn't breathing.

She should breathe.

Watching Donna, Hally pulled in a sharp breath. And then another one. Her lungs ached with each pull of air and nausea smacked her in the gut.

"That's it. Just breathe, ok?" Donna hadn't moved from in front of her. She was taking slow deep breaths, Hally tried to do the same. Slowly. One at a time. In and out. The nausea passed and the edges around her sharpened, everything seemed to pop back into focus.

Messaline.

The dark, slightly damp tunnel.

She could smell it, practically taste the dampness.

Hally blinked and nodded at Donna who released the tight grip she'd had on her shoulders.

"Shit." Donna's eyes scanned her face. "I didn't know Time Lords could have panic attacks like that. Thought you 'higher beings' would have that all figured out by now." Donna gave her a weak laugh.

Hally's brain was still moving sluggishly. "Wait… what?" She looked up at the human wide-eyed.

Her face slipped into compassion. "Oh, has that not happened before…?"

"No…" Hally pressed the pad of her thumb into the middle of her chest, trying to ease the pain still lingering there.

"Oh…" Donna tried to give her an empathetic smile. "Well, I think you're out the other side of it now. Just keep taking slow breaths, ok?"

"Ok…" Hally muttered weakly, slightly bewildered.

Donna took Hally by the arm and started walking them forward. They'd probably fallen far behind The Doctor and Jenny by now. "My mum used to have them all the time after Dad died, you see. She called them 'The Dreads'." Donna laughed softly. "Said all of a sudden her whole body would shake with dread and she'd be locked in. The breathing helps the best. Or we used to sing." Donna shook her head, smiling fondly. "Apparently that helps too."

Hally just hummed.

Donna was watching her out of the corner of her eye, the human gave her a smile and carried on talking. It seemed to be helping, just the sound of her voice. Mindlessly wittering. Donna seemed to know it was helping too because she kept it up. "Funny though, isn't it? Species all across the universe but we're all the same really, aren't we? All just terrified of existing. I thought it was just a human thing."

"Well, I am half human…" Hally frowned.

Donna raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, that was more than half a panic attack."

Hally laughed at that, her face breaking into a smile.

"There we go." Donna smiled back at her. "Are you ok?"

Hally gave her an unsure nod. She didn't feel all that ok, but she was breathing at least.

The Doctor sprinted around the corner and glared at the both of them. "Come on! I thought I'd lost you! What are you doing all the way back here?"

Donna cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, your daughter here was just telling me that she's half human…" The Doctor's face drained of any colour and he spluttered.

"Oh… well, yes… that… it's not what you think." Hally could have laughed at how quickly The Doctor shrank under Donna's accusatory glare. Her eyes twinkled.

"Is that what you do, huh? Pick up humans to procreate with?"

"No. No! It was an accident… I swear." The Doctor's voice rose into a squeak.

Donna chuckled, dropping the act. "So it was Rose?"

He nodded sheepishly, a smile crept onto Hally's face and she shook her head. Donna shot Hally a grin and then nodded back towards The Doctor. "Well, get a move on then, I thought we were in a rush?" He huffed and beckoned them quickly down the tunnel. They broke into a jog to catch up and he led them to the end of the corridor where Jenny stood waiting for them.

They'd reached a dead end.

Donna cocked an eyebrow, looking left and right to check for any sign of a door. "Umm, we're trapped."

The Doctor shook his head, pressing his hands against the heavy steel. He leant forward, listening keenly. "Can't be. This must be the Temple. This is a door."

Donna clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, motioning to a plaque just above The Doctor's head. "And again. We're down to one, two now."

Hally followed her gaze to read the numbers printed into the wall. 60120712.

The Doctor, with a yelp of excitement, managed to get the wall to slide open and the four of them bundled inside before it slid sharply closed behind them. What they'd stumbled upon wasn't a temple at all. It looked almost like a silo. Engines were running. Lights flickered across control panels. In front of them was a spaceship, a rocket.

"It's not what I'd call a temple." Donna frowned, leaning over the railing to gaze up at the ship.

"It's a ship." Hally hummed, confusion written across her face as she turned to shoot a curious look at The Doctor.

"What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?" Donna suggested.

The Doctor was thinking, they could tell by the crease forming in the middle of his forehead. "Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time. This one's still powered up and functioning." He beckoned them forward and they ascended to a higher level to see if they could get a better view of the ship. Jenny grabbed The Doctor's arm, bringing his attention to a closed door. A laser was slowly but surely cutting its way through the thick steel.

"It's the Hath. That door's not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's going to break out." Her eyes were wide and full of concern.

The Doctor bounded away to a nearby computer station. "Look, look, look, look, look. Ship's log." He tapped impatiently on the desktop, pulling up the most recent entry. "Core subterranean deployment successful. Online and active. Phase one initiated. Construction drones deployed. Construction of sections 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3C & 3D complete. Phase one in progress. Construction drones active. Construction of sections 1C, 1D, 2C, 2D, 3A & 3C complete." He muttered, eyes scanning the details as he read.

"So it is the original ship." Jenny concluded.

"How?" Hally looked from the log back to the vessel. It looked brand new, the engines were still hot. How was that possible?

"Phase one, construction. They used robot drones to build the city." The Doctor noted, still reading.

"But does it mention the war?" Donna squeezed in beside him, taking a look at the information for herself.

The Doctor scrolled through the log. "Final entry. Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions. That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines, suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war."

Jenny bounced nervously on her feet. "Two armies who are now both outside."

As if to emphasise her point, the sounds of Cobb's men wafted up to them from below.

"Look at that." Donna was pointing up at the numbers on the wall again.

The Doctor exhaled, evidently deeming it unimportant. "It's like the numbers in the tunnels." He brushed off.

Donna shook her head. "No, no, no, no. But listen, I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers. It's staring us in the face." A bright smile lit up her face, her eyes widening in realisation.

"What is?" Jenny came to study the numbers next to Donna.

The human turned back to The Doctor, a bewildered but proud smile settled on her face. "It's the date. Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America."

The Doctor's hands connected and he leapt into the air. "Oh! It's the New Byzantine Calendar."

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out from here, day by day, as the city got built." Donna explained, her theory solidifying in her mind as she went.

Hally let out a short breath, tinted with admiration.

The Doctor hummed, eyes alight with excitement. "Yes. Oh, good work, Donna."

Donna shook her head, laughing at him. "Yeah. But you're still not getting it. The first number I saw back there was 60120717. Well, look at the date today…" She motioned to the computer.

"0724… No." The Doctor's eyes widened and he looked from Donna to the date and to Jenny.

"What does it mean?" Jenny asked, looking from The Doctor to Donna for answers.

The hum of amusement rumbled in Hally's throat, catching the blonde's attention. Hally cocked an eyebrow. "Seven days." She whispered, offering no real explanation.

"That's it. Seven days." Donna grinned.

The Doctor shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Just seven days."

Jenny huffed, getting frustrated at the three of them. "What do you mean, seven days?"

"Seven days since war broke out." The Doctor elaborated.

Donna chuckled, her hands on her hips. "This war started seven days ago. Just a week. A week!"

Jenny's eyes were round with disbelief. "They said years."

Hally clicked her tongue. "No, they said generations."

"And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines…" Donna formed the bridge and The Doctor jumped in for the end.

"They could have twenty generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. Oh, Donna, you're a genius."

Jenny shook her head, it was clear from her face that she didn't believe them. "But all the buildings, the encampments. They're in ruins."

"No, they're not ruined. They're just empty. Waiting to be populated. Oh, they've mythologised their entire history. The Source must be part of that too." He grinned and bounded off. "Come on!"

Hally huffed and ran after him. She swore there wasn't this much running with Jack. She hadn't missed the running.

Or…

Perhaps she had.

She'd missed all of it.

"Doctor!" A familiar voice yelled and Hally was flooded with relief.

Martha.

"Martha! Oh, I should have known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement." The Doctor pulled her into a tight hug. Martha chuckled and nodded at Donna and Hally.

"Oh, you're filthy. What happened?" Donna looked her up and down. Now that she'd mentioned it, Hally was drawn to the state of their friend. She was a mess. Mud or at least something that looked like mud, caked her clothing.

She smiled sheepishly. "I, er, took the surface route."

Their reunion was interrupted by the sounds of soldiers breaking through above them, jolting them back to the situation at hand. They followed The Doctor to the top level, the further they ascended the more the atmosphere changed. It was no longer humid and stuffy but instead, a pleasant warmth brushed over them, the air crisp and fresh with a hint of… flowers?

They followed their noses and before their eyes, the concrete and metal jungle melted away into a botanical garden.

At the top of a spaceship.

They meandered with purpose to the centre of the garden. In the centre sat a glowing orb of light, perched patiently on a pedestal. One might have mistaken it for something celestial, Hally could certainly see where the myths of the Source had come from. The glow was beautiful. Wires ran from the edges of the orb down to the floor, power running through them. Keeping the Source alive.

"It's beautiful." Jenny murmured, taking a step closer. The light reflected off her face, her eyes sparkling.

"What is it?" Martha whispered.

"Terraforming. It's a third-generation terraforming device." The Doctor picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

Donna cocked an eyebrow, glancing behind them at the canopy of foliage. "So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?"

"Because that's what it does. Terraforming. Sort of like all this…" Hally motioned to the plants. "Only much bigger."

The Doctor nodded, holding the orb to his ear. Listening. "It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally…"

The rest of his sentence died in his throat as they were surrounded. Hath on one side and humans on the other. Guns cocked and within seconds, the five of them were presented with imminent death from either side.

The Doctor held up his hands, stepping away from their small group. "Stop! Hold your fire!"

Cobb strode forward from the sea of humans, his gun pointed towards the Hath. "What is this, some kind of trap?"

The Doctor turned to address him. "You said you wanted this war over."

Cobb growled. "I want this war won."

"You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it's passed on. This is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing…" The Doctor emphasised his point by marching back to the orb, lifting it from its pedestal.

"I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over." He threw it to the ground, the glass orb shattering on impact. But the light didn't die, it flickered and like a soft breeze, floated upwards, curling and shimmering as it danced above their heads. It grew as it ascended, dispersing into the atmosphere.

"What's happening?" Jenny turned to look up at The Doctor, hope twinkling behind her eyes.

Hally turned to see the Hath lowering their weapons behind them, the soldiers in front tentatively began to do the same. The Doctor smiled down at Jenny. "The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process."

"What does that mean?"

"It means a new world." He watched the gas disappear out of the chamber. The humans and Hath would be free of their underground prison soon enough. Somehow, they'd done it. The Doctor had stopped the war.

Hally's eyes flicked back down to the group of soldiers in front of them, the only one still holding their gun was Cobb. A dark shadow split his face, his eyes burned with determination and anger. She'd seen that look before.

He was still holding his gun.

Cobb moved at the same time as Hally. She shoved The Doctor out of the way as the human shifted his aim to her father. The gunshot went off with a loud bang. It should have missed both of them. It should have clanged as it hit the steel wall behind their group.

It was probably quite ironic.

That both The Doctor's daughters had moved at the same time to save him from Cobb's bullet.

Except, Hally hadn't seen Jenny move. She hadn't heard her cry out in warning.

Why?

Why would Jenny have stepped in front of the bullet?!

The bullet didn't hit that back wall.

It had hit Jenny.

She staggered backwards a step. Hally's hands went to her shoulders as the young Time Lady fell into her arms. Jenny's back had tensed. Hally took her weight, stopping her from falling to the ground, instead, she lowered her slowly. The Doctor was by their side in an instant, his hands went to Jenny's head, cradling her.

"Jenny? Jenny. Talk to me, Jenny." The Doctor brushed a hair from his daughter's face.

Hally was still holding her. She couldn't move. Couldn't move away. Blood was blossoming across the front of Jenny's T-shirt. The bullet had hit her directly in the centre of her chest. Martha was crouched down next to her, examining the damage. Her friend's face paled.

Not good then.

Hally could see Jenny was struggling to breathe. She'd lost so much blood. Too much blood.

Jenny's eyes glazed over The Doctor to look up, a weak smile curving her mouth. "A new world. It's beautiful."

The Doctor pulled her closer. "Jenny, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me? We've got things to do, you and me, hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose."

Hally stared at her.

She was going to die.

In her arms.

And there was nothing she could do.

"That sounds good." Jenny's chest struggled with her weak laugh.

"You're my daughter, and we've only just got started. You're going to be great." Tears ran from The Doctor's eyes, over his cheeks. "You're going to be more than great. You're going to be amazing. You hear me? Jenny?"

Jenny's eyes had fluttered closed.

Hally could feel the warmth leaving her body even as she held her.

Jenny was gone.

The Doctor's gaze met hers, desperate pain looked back at her. "Two hearts. Two hearts. She's like me. If we wait. If we just wait…"

Hally swallowed the lump in her throat. "There's usually a sign, Doctor. She's cold…"

Martha bit her lip. "She's like you, but maybe not enough."

"No. Too much. That's the truth of it. She was too much like me."

Hally watched The Doctor, the walls falling away. He was just lost. Not infallible. Not the hero. He was just… him. Hally looked at him and for the first time in a long time, she was reminded that he was something other than just her father. A parent. He was so much more. He could hurt and lose and die. He was just The Doctor.

As she watched him, his grief wavered, anger seeping in. He rose to his feet, turning to face Cobb. The soldiers surrounding him, including Cline, had already disarmed him and forced him to his knees. The Doctor picked up his discarded gun, pointing it at the man's head. Time passed slowly as silence sat over them, waiting.

She could see his rage, burning through his body.

But she knew he wouldn't.

Hally shifted, gently moving Jenny's body off her, laying her on the floor.

The gun in The Doctor's hand clicked and he crouched in front of Cobb, his eyes blazing. "I never would. Have you got that? I never would." He threw the gun to the floor and got back to his feet, addressing all those gathered around them. "When you start this new world, this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would."

His eyes lingered on Jenny for a moment, before he turned and walked away. Martha was quick to follow him. Hally forced herself to rise to her feet.

Ah, she was covered in blood.

Again.

At least it wasn't her own blood.

Right?

A heavy sadness had settled in her gut.

She should have seen her.

Stopped her.

Why did she jump in front of the bullet?

Stupid.

Jenny hadn't known The Doctor could regenerate.

Would it have made any difference if she had?

Too much like The Doctor.

Jenny had deserved better.

Cline removed himself from the line of soldiers, approaching her slowly. His face held only empathy. "There's a chapel, we can bring her body there."

Hally looked up at him. He was looking to her to agree. He was looking to her for approval. She cleared her throat and nodded. A warm hand gently pressed her shoulder. Donna.

She turned to the redhead. "Sometimes I forget we're not completely immortal." She mused out loud. Her voice held little emotion. "Running so quickly through life that it seems impossible that it could stop."

Donna didn't speak. She just listened.

Hally hummed to herself.


Jenny's body had been moved to the chapel. The Doctor, Martha, Donna, Hally and Cline stood in the room. A stream of light broke through the dirt outside, falling gracefully over her now still form.

Martha looked to the window as the earth broke away, allowing more and more light to fall through. "It's happening. The terraforming."

"Build a city, nice and safe underground, strip away the top soil and there it is." Donna offered her a weak smile, before turning to address Cline. "And what about Jenny?"

Cline looked to The Doctor. "Let us give her a proper ceremony. I think it'd help us. Please."

The Doctor tilted his head, the smallest nod.


Hally stepped across the threshold into the TARDIS, the door falling shut behind her. The Doctor was already keying in coordinates. "Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox." A sad smile twitched the corner of his mouth. He looked to Martha. "Time to go home?"

The human nodded, placing a hand on his arm. "Yeah. Home."

Silently, The Doctor piloted them away from Messaline.

There was pain lingering behind his eyes, Hally could see it so plainly. She wondered for a moment what was going through his head. She almost tried to reach out and knock into his consciousness, before remembering that she couldn't. He looked up from the console, meeting her gaze.

She wanted to…

Hally moved her eyes back to the floor.

Donna and Martha were lingering on the far side of the TARDIS console room, near the corridor that would take them towards the inner rooms. They were in a deep discussion, their voices hushed. Hally couldn't hear anything of what they were saying.

The TARDIS landed and The Doctor straightened up, placing a carefree mask back onto his face. He turned to Martha and offered her a smile. "Here we are, just a few roads from your house."

Martha nodded slowly, returning his smile. She pulled The Doctor into a tight hug. "It's a good thing the TARDIS didn't get crushed in that tunnel collapse. Else we'd all have been stuck." Martha forced a soft laugh, her eyes flicking from The Doctor to Donna.

"Oh, you know the TARDIS. She's got plenty of defences." He winked down at her.

Donna scoffed. "What, so you're saying she saved herself?"

The Doctor looked over to her, affronted. "Yeah. She has defence mechanisms. What, you think I just park my ship anywhere and hope for the best."

Donna chuckled. "Yeah, a little bit."

"No… no, she has shields. Put them up and nothing can get in or out. Sort of creates a bubble around her, like how we can open the doors in space and not get sucked out. A bubble. It's not really a bubble but it's like a bubble."

Donna cocked a wry eyebrow. "I don't believe you."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "You don't… you don't believe me?"

Martha stifled a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.

The Doctor's back straightened and he started hitting buttons on the console. "I'll show you." He huffed loudly, flicking a switch to bring the external shields up. "Look, follow me." He beckoned for Donna to follow him as he stalked out the front doors and onto the street. Martha chuckled under her breath and cocked her head at the door, motioning for Hally to follow. She rolled her eyes but headed out with the human nevertheless. They were parked bang in the middle of a road in a residential area. Hally took a few steps outside the TARDIS, Martha stayed hovering in the doorway. The Doctor had stepped to the edge of the shield and was pressing his hands against it to show Donna. "See, completely impenetrable, about two metres from the TARDIS in all directions." He shook his head and scoffed. "'Didn't believe me.'"

Donna looked from The Doctor back to Hally. "What about her? Can't she magic her way out?"

Hally snorted and rolled her eyes. She decided to humour the human and walked to the shield's edge too, pressing her hands against the invisible barrier. "No magic here anymore. Just a muggle."

"Huh." Donna placed a look on her face, mildly impressed. "Well. That showed me." The human took a step towards the TARDIS before her eyes focused on a point behind Hally and The Doctor, somewhere on the street. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God!" She cried, pointing behind them. Both Hally and The Doctor whirled around, ready to face whatever it was.

There was nothing…

Just the empty road.

Pretty normal looking.

So why had Donna…?

The sound of the TARDIS doors locking shut trickled through Hally's confusion.

They'd locked themselves inside the TARDIS?

Wait…

No.

Hally turned around to stare at the blue box. Both Martha and Donna were nowhere in sight, leading Hally to the conclusion that they were both inside the TARDIS.

They hadn't locked themselves inside the TARDIS.

They'd locked the two of them outside the TARDIS.

With the shields up.

They'd trapped them.

They'd physically trapped them.

"Ah…" The Doctor seemed to reach a similar conclusion. He strode to the front door, twisting the lock. It didn't budge.

Hally groaned.

"Donna!" The Doctor called through the TARDIS doors. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out his key, trying to shove it into the lock.

"Oh, come on Doctor. My key is in the other side. Easiest trick in the book." Donna's voice teased from the other side of the door.

"Oh my god…" Hally marched to the front door, banging her hand against it. "Open this door!"

"No." Donna clipped back and the TARDIS hummed as if in agreement.

Hally scowled at the ship. "Traitor."

Again, The Doctor dug into his pockets.

"If you're looking for your screwdriver… you left it on the console." Martha hummed, the smile audible in her tone. The Doctor huffed. "Martha, I thought you wanted to go home?"

Martha laughed. "Oh, I do. But it can wait. You two need to talk."

"We're not letting you in until you both talk. Properly." Donna ordered from inside.

The Doctor barked through the door at the two women, ordering them to open up. But eventually, they stopped replying. They'd moved away from the door. They'd locked them out. The two Time Lords had been tricked by 21st Century humans?! Hally covered her face with her hands and sank to the floor, sitting with her back to the immovable TARDIS doors. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her arms across them. Her forehead pressed into the backs of her arms as she exhaled a heavy groan.

A few moments later, she felt The Doctor plonk himself down beside her. Giving up on bargaining with the meddlesome women. He rested an elbow on his right knee while stretching out his left leg. He sighed in defeat.

Neither of them spoke.

What would they say?

There was so much.

Where could they even start?

Well, apparently they had to start somewhere otherwise the humans would leave them out there forever.

Hmm.

Hally considered. Humans were naturally very impatient beings. Perhaps they could simply wait them out? Remain silent for hours and eventually the humans would get bored, or hungry or something and let them back in.

But then again, the TARDIS was fully stocked and they could keep themselves entertained in there for hours, probably even days.

Shit.

Still, neither of them said anything.

The minutes ticked by as the two sat side by side, content in their stubborn silence.

Plus, Hally didn't want to talk to him.

Did she?

Being angry at him was far easier than anything else.

Being angry was easy.

They didn't even look at one another as they tried desperately to ignore the other, sat only centimetres away. Hally lifted her head from her arms, letting it drop back to rest against the solid wood behind her.

There was over an hour of silence.

Of casually picking at nails.

Of Hally chewing on the inside of her mouth to stop a snarky comment.

Of The Doctor playing with the laces on his shoes.

He spoke first, after exhaling a long sigh. "I… I'm sorry I didn't consider you when I made the decision to teleport up to the Sontaran ship." His voice was quiet and he spoke as if he'd only just learnt how to speak the English language. Slow and measured, taking his time to feel out each and every word.

He cleared his throat and Hally looked at him. He didn't return her gaze, instead fixing his stare forward, suddenly intensely interested in the bottom of his foot. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Rose. You're right… it was selfish. Ever since… ever since she left, I don't know how to be around you."

She looked back at herself, fiddling with her fingers as she let his words settle on her. She didn't respond straight away. She could have easily snapped something at him, but… not this time. This time she considered what he'd said and after a few minutes of quiet, she replied. "I know." When she looked up at his face, his eyes met hers. "It's not that I want you to be sorry, or to fix it, I just wanted you to acknowledge it. Ever since she left, I felt like I'd done something wrong… to make you act this way around me and I know… I know I've lied too. And I am sorry. For lying, I'm not sorry for the rest of it." She frowned. "I think. Everything got so messy."

He nodded. "I know. I think I understand." Quiet blanketed them. The Doctor shifted, turning his head away again as he spoke. "When Jenny jumped in front of that bullet I was so…"

"Angry?" She offered, a small knowing smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

A huff escaped him, but his eyes twinkled. "Yes. Angry at him. Angry at her. I couldn't save her, I couldn't…"

"Control her actions." The smirk wormed its way into her tone.

He chuckled weakly. "No."

"It's hard. When you realise that the people you love the most, have the most power to hurt you." Hally took in a deep breath. "Because they can do stupid things like sacrifice themselves… or refuse to regenerate." Her eyes wandered back to him and they shared a look between them.

He hummed. "I suppose you're right." His hand ran through his hair. "I've never felt like this before. Not because I didn't love Irvin and Mejana and their mother… I did. But back on Gallifrey everything was so simple. Well, until the Time War. But when you travel with me, I am so constantly aware of you. Of where you are. What you're doing. I'm running a million scenarios around in my head to make sure you're ok."

She'd not considered that before, but it was obvious once he'd voiced it. Running around after him, her rage when he'd put himself in danger. She'd not considered that maybe he was feeling the same. Putting himself in harm's way to stop her from doing it first. "I know the feeling."

He offered her a familiar smile. "It wasn't as bad before… we knew. But after that, watching Rose tip-toe around you. I wanted to tell you, I swear I did."

Hally sighed. "Look, it wouldn't have made a difference. What happened, still happened. Even if you'd both told me, what were we going to do? Sit around playing happy families?" She rolled her eyes, a bitter smile gracing her mouth. "No… I was already centuries older than my mother." A short laugh escaped her. "It was probably better as it was. Just the three of us, friends. Close in other ways. Well. We were a family, weren't we? We just didn't realise."

"Yeah. We were."

"And I know I'm angry about it. I'm probably always going to be a little pissed off about it but… it's not you I'm angry at. I'm angry at the situation. I'm angry at what happened because it's shit but I know it wasn't your fault. I can't be angry at you because I don't know what you could have done differently. You didn't do anything I wouldn't have done myself…"

After a moment, The Doctor nodded.

The silence returned.

The heaviness between them had lightened a tad, but the darkness still lingered.

"When did you know? About me and The Master…"

The Doctor shifted awkwardly where he sat. "Well…" His voice cracked nervously.

She turned her head to him, raising an eyebrow in question. He swallowed and again, became fascinated with his shoe. "It seems like I had the same thought you did… and Rassilon. After you and Abstrax freed me I didn't run off straight away. I thought Rassilon was going to try and marry you. So I stuck around. When I realised you'd… 'dealt' with the problem yourself, I left."

It took her a moment to figure out when he was talking about. But he was talking about Gallifrey. He was talking about the day she'd married The Master.

But.

Wait.

That meant…

"You knew the whole time?!" Her face morphed into an expression of incredulity, the accusation burning in her eyes.

He smiled sheepishly. "Like you said yourself, it never really came up in conversation."

Hally's mouth was wide open. "Oh my God." Her brain was running through all the numerous situations she'd lied to him, all the times she'd fretted about not telling him, about telling him, all the sneaking around. "The WHOLE TIME?"

He laughed at her then. "Yep. But I had no idea the two of you were… well it never occurred to me that you'd both actually fallen in love."

"But…" Her mouth opened and closed. "But I spent MONTHS stressing about you finding out! On the Valiant… Oh my GOD!"

His mouth had curved into a somewhat sympathetic smile.

"Why didn't you just come out and tell me that you knew?!"

"Well, we weren't really on speaking terms." He shrugged innocently.

She spluttered and he laughed in response.

A thought occurred to her and her face fell into a deep frown. "Wait, did HE know you already knew?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I have no idea. Probably. Knowing him."

She scowled at the floor, face growing warm with irritation. "Oh, I'm going to kill him." In the corner of her eye, she saw the raised eyebrow her father was sending her way. She coughed and replied with an awkward smile. "Metaphorically, of course. I'm fully aware he's already dead."

He hummed. If he'd noticed her speak about The Master in the present tense, he didn't mention it.

Hally winced. "Are you… ok with it?"

"You and him?"

"No, me and Colonel Mace." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, me and him you idiot."

He snorted, before pausing to think about it. "I'm more ok with it than I thought I'd be."

She raised an eyebrow, not quite believing him.

"Well, I initially thought you'd just married one another to get Rassilon off your back. Which was quite clever by the way, if not incredibly dangerous. So, when he had you on the Valiant I thought he was hurting you, to get to me. But… it quite quickly became obvious that that wasn't the case." Amusement glittered in his eyes.

"Obvious…?"

"Oh yes. You're both terrible at pretending to hate one another. You might as well have been wearing a sign."

Hally pouted, an unamused scowl sat on her face.

The Doctor opened his mouth, closed it and then took in another deep breath. "You do know… how rare your type of bond is, don't you?"

Hally frowned. "What do you mean? I know it never worked for some Time Lords but I thought it was just luck." She shrugged.

The Doctor scoffed lightly and shook his head. "No, Hal… it rarely worked between Time Lords. Even partners who had been with one another for centuries, it just wouldn't happen."

"Oh…"

"And even when it did, the bonds they created were… surface level, perhaps emotion sharing at best but nothing like…" He frowned. "My point is… what you have… whatever it is, however much I might disapprove, it's real. I don't trust him and I doubt we'll ever see eye to eye, but what I do trust… somehow, is how he feels about you." The fact that The Doctor was speaking about him in the present tense too, didn't cross her mind.

Hally pulled a face. "Well… fat lot of good that's done, he went and died just to make a point."

The Doctor smirked. "Yes, well. That's what you get for falling in love with a delinquent." He clipped.

She laughed, nudging him playfully. For a split second, they could just been any father and daughter, him jovially berating her for her choice of partner.

"I'm sorry about Jenny, Dad." She chewed on the inside of her lip, concern falling onto her face as she looked up at him.

He nodded and the sadness crept back into his features. "Me too." His hand reached out to cover hers. "You know I love you, don't you? No matter what."

Warmth spread over her face and she nodded. "I do. And I love you too. It's why I get so mad at you." Amusement curled the side of her mouth upwards.

"Oh, I know." He shook his head. "You're so…" He paused, a thought running through his mind. "What was it Shakespeare said? You don't fit inside your body."

Hally cocked an eyebrow, unsure where her father was leading them.

He laughed. "It's true. You're… I mean don't take this the wrong way, but you're terrifying." Her eyebrows arched high on her forehead, but he continued before she could rebuff him. "You're this universal force, Hal. And you have the power to destroy armies, burn down planets and yet somehow… you're also you. You're my daughter and you're Rose's daughter and how the hell am I ever supposed to parent a being like that?" There was something shimmering in his eyes. "You're the raw power of Time and Space itself." He swallowed. "The weight of the cosmos sits on your shoulders and I could never even begin to imagine what that must be like."

Hally looked up at him, her father. He could see her. He understood.

"All that rage and pain and love. You're dangerous, and I don't mean you as a person, just all that power in one place, physically is dangerous. That's why I created the Biodampener. It was never to lock you away like this…" His face fell with guilt and his hand brushed at the band around her neck. "It was to protect you, if ever you needed protecting." He released a breath and deflated. "I don't judge you for your actions. I can't judge you for what you do with this power because I will never know what it's like to wield it. I just don't want you to get hurt." His hand shifted from her neck to cup her cheek. Hally leant into the touch, their foreheads connected. A gentle hum vibrated in her chest. An appreciation. A wordless thank you.

The silence that fell this time was less heavy, almost comfortable. "That everything?" She shot at him playfully, as she settled back his hand falling from her cheek.

He laughed. "I think so… although, if you ever hit me again, I will ground you, young lady." He cocked an eyebrow, his face taking on a stern appearance.

She hummed, trying to stop the rebellious smile from curving her mouth. "Noted."

The Doctor didn't ask, he simply looked at her. But she knew the silent question. 'What about you?'

There was still a lot… if they were being honest…

She could tell him about Alina. Or UNIT… Or Armitage? She supposed they should probably talk about the Laser Screwdriver too. There was rather a lot. Plus, there was the Valiant. Everything that had happened.

Instead, something else fell out of her mouth.

"I'm going to bring him back."

The Doctor stared at her.

He didn't say anything.

Her brain caught up with her mouth and she realised what she'd said. She almost expected the world around them to fall apart. Maybe he'd scream at her. But nothing happened. The moment came and went.

He looked at her, eyes scanning her face. Then he nodded.

"The Master was never very good at staying dead for long."

She cocked an eyebrow, her expression that of complete confusion. "…That's it?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Well… no lecture? Stern warning? Begging? Nothing at all?" She pressed.

He exhaled. "Would you change your mind if I did?"

She hummed, a crease pulling her forehead together. "No."

"Then there's nothing I need to say. If it's what you truly want. You'll find a way to do it anyway. I'd rather you be able to do it without us at each other's throats." He noted with a nod.

"How very mature of you…" She mused, cocking an eyebrow.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, I am the parent."

Hally blinked and the moment settled. She let out a long, heavy breath. "God… it feels amazing to admit that out loud." She looked up at him, eyes round. "I promise I'll take him away, he won't hurt them again…"

He replied with only a short hum. Then, after a moment. "Oh, you're going to need this then, I guess." He fished inside his jacket pocket, and handed her the Laser Screwdriver. She frowned at him. "You're the one who dropped it. I was just keeping it safe."

"Sure you were."

A smile passed between them. It was a complicated smile, but it was a start. She took her screwdriver back from him.

"Although…" He cleared his throat. "Best we don't tell anyone else."

She nodded and agreement vibrated in her chest. "No… I can't imagine the humans would be too happy standing by as I bring him back."

"No."

She narrowed her eyes, watching him. "You could stop me. You could tell Jack and he would stop me. So would Martha."

He nodded, agreeing with arched eyebrows. "I could."

She searched his face and they came to a wordless understanding. They were the last. The Doctor wasn't going to get in her way. Neither of them were completely sure why.

The moment was broken when Hally's pocket started vibrating. She pulled the mobile from it and checked the screen.

"Oh, shit." Jack was calling and judging by the 102 missed calls… not for the first time.

"What?"

She grimaced. "Well… I didn't really have the chance to tell people I'd gone off-planet." She looked up at him, her expression clearly communicating her feelings on the matter. 'Oops'.

The Doctor laughed, shaking his head.

She declined the call, not quite ready to deal with that. "How long has it been since we left?"

"About 10 days." The Doctor nodded, assuredly.

"Shit!" Hally jumped to her feet. "Ok, I need you to drop me off at Torchwood, ASAP. I have a job you know! And a flat… urgh, those plants are going to be dead. I tried really hard this time to keep them alive."

The Doctor laughed at her flapping, hauling himself to his feet as well. He shut her up by pulling her into his arms, wrapping her up in them. Her mind caught up and she returned the tight hug. They were ok. It was complicated, but for now, it was ok.

All too soon, The Doctor released her and turned to the TARDIS door. He gave a gentle knock and the lock clicked open happily. The ship gave them both a warbling hum of approval before the door swung open.


"Where the hell have you been?!" Jack's voice bellowed across Roald Dahl Plass as the TARDIS dematerialised, leaving Hally stood watching it go in the pouring rain. She turned to him, motioning towards the empty space that seconds earlier had been the TARDIS. "It kidnapped us!"

"You've been gone for 10 days!" He marched up to her, raining battered against them both, soaking through his dark, navy coat.

"Well, you know The Doctor, he struggles hitting the right century, let alone the right week!" She pushed her hair away from her face. "Can we continue this inside?! I don't know if you've noticed, but it's raining!" She yelled over the noise of the water smacking into the concrete.

There was anger in Jack's gaze, but there was something else as well. Surprise. "You came back?!"

Hally laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course, I came back. Were you not listening to the part where I told you the TARDIS kidnapped me." She grinned.

A relieved smile broke over Jack's face and he pulled her into his arms.

"This is lovely, but seriously, it's fucking raining!"