Eyes of Time: The Prophecy

by Hulinhjalmur

The Doctor has never traveled alone. He's always had one constant companion, not including the TARDIS. The one that made him tell the stories. His Bondmate, his wife - the Alchemist, disappeared shortly before the war, but he saw her in the battles. Now, 100 years after it ends, she's back. She has a lot to tell him, and it won't be easy on either of them.

2. Chapter 2: The Doctor Dances

Chapter Two: The Doctor Dances

[Storage Room]

Rose sighs, "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great-looking ones who do that?"

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted," the Doctor scoffs.

She grimaces and tries to correct herself, "I mean, men."

"Okay, thanks, that really helped," he says, rolling his eyes.

"No," Ally tells him, and they both look over to her, "You're quite handsome. Jack's all humany-looking and smells like wilting flowers... or I assume that's what they smell like."

Smirking at that, the Doctor looks at Rose and raises his eyebrows, "Ha!"

The radio crackles into life before Rose can respond, and Ally frowns at it. It's not connected.

"Ally? Rose? Doctor? Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship," Jack calls out, "Used the emergency teleport. Sorry, I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there. Ally, you can come up now if you want."

"I'll stay until you get them out," she informs him.

"How're you speaking to us?" the Doctor asks.

"Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grill."

The Doctor crosses his arms, "Now there's a coincidence."

Ally knows very well that it's not.

"What is?" Jack asks.

"The child can Om-Com, too," the Doctor tells him.

Rose asks, "He can?"

The Time Lord nods, "Anything with a speaker grill. Even the TARDIS phone."

Ally wonders what his TARDIS looks like. Whether or not she's seen it before. Did they travel together or did she stay on the planet or vice-versa?

"What, you mean the child can phone us?" she asks, concerned.

"And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to find you," the child calls out playfully.

"Doctor, Ally, can you hear that?" Jack asks them.

"Loud and clear." the Doctor tells him.

Ally rubs her neck again and sighs, "Unfortunately."

"I'll try to block out the signal," Jack sighs, "Least I can do."

"Coming to find you, mummy," says the child.

Jack asks, "Remember this one, Rose?"

Moonlight Serenade starts playing through the radio.

Rose smiles and sways, "Our song."

Both Ally and the Doctor roll their eyes at this. She watches him as he starts fiddling with his Sonic before closing in on the window and pointing it to the concrete. Ally frowns when nothing happens. Is he trying to set up a pattern? The crosactic setting for stone would work on it.

Rose goes over to the wheelchair to relax while waiting on Jack.

"What are you doing?" Ally asks the Doctor.

"Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete, it'll loosen the bars," he informs her, not looking away from the wall.

She shakes her head, "Crosactic setting 2502B."

He pauses and turns to her, face blank, "What?"

"You heard me," she shrugs, "Just try it."

He narrows his eyes before resetting the sonic and pointing it toward the wall. A large crack forms. He drops his arm to his side, just staring at it. He feels like he can't breathe.

"How did you know?"

"Why wouldn't I know," she says dryly, "I'm the one that invented the damn thing. Did you not read the manual or something? I know I wrote that, too."

Rose is looking between them with confusion, and realizes she should stay quiet right now.

The Doctor is still in shock; his Bondmate made the Sonic Screwdriver for him. He takes a breath, but he can't look at her.

"Who are you?"

Ally rolls her eyes. The whiff she just got is enough to tell her he's finally figured it out, and he's just in denial.

"I'm hoping you have that answer, actually."

He turns to her with an angry glower, "What are you?"

Ally huffs at him; he's also very stubborn, "I'm pretty sure you've figured that out already, Doctor."

Rose is surprised by his anger but keeps watching the interaction intently.

"Your name," he grounds out, "What is your name?"

Ally tenses, fighting the instinct to respond to the directive, her teeth clenched as tight as possible. She hates it; she's so mad right now. How dare he make her do this?

The Doctor starts again, yelling this time, "Your name! What is your name!?"

She can't fight it anymore; she's furious now and growls, "Designation Alpha One."

The Doctor is shocked by that, eyes widened, his mind spinning back to the war. The missive . The informant who leaked The High Council's plan and told him to use The Moment. He should have figured out that it was her then. It wouldn't have been anyone but her.

"I should have realized," the Time Lord whispers as his eyes soften, and he steps closer to her.

He pauses when her eyes harden and zero in on him. It's been a long time since he's seen her with that kind of fury.

"I know what you are and where you're from, and you clearly know what I am and where I'm from. I know who we are to each other, but I can't say it. None of it," she glances down and waves her hand around her head before her eyes meet his own again, "It's blocked. I don't even remember my name; I only have a few personal memories. One of them is horrific and that awful number. That's what's left of me! That's it!"

He was told she wasn't in the Time War, but he saw multiple Regenerations of her standing in front of him before disappearing within a second, all of them with the glowing eyes of the Vortex. He'd know that red hair anywhere, regardless of the shade shifts, and only one Time Lord had a natural Vortex connection that he knew of, just not so advanced as before, his Bondmate.

The Doctor swallows hard and nods, eyes still soft, "You're a Time Lady from the Planet Gallifrey."

She nods in confirmation.

Rose covers her mouth to muffle her gasp.

"You're Ally, my Ally . Your name is the Alchemist," he continues, blinking back his tears quickly, "You're my Bondmate, my wife."

Rose is shocked. He never mentioned he was married... she thought he...

"Took you long enough," the Time Lady grounds out, "That name won't help though. I'm not the Alchemist until I remember why I'm the Alchemist; until then I'm just Ally," she strides over to him and jabs her finger between his hearts, "You're the only one who can unblock everything though."

He glances at the finger touching him; she's definitely real. She's real, and she's here with him, and he's never going to let her out of his sight again.

"How?" the Doctor asks softly.

"Not now," she says, pulling her arm back and crossing her arms, "We don't have time for it."

He can't help but smirk and quote her, "There's always time."

Ally huffs and rolls her eyes before turning on her heel and returning to her original defensive position until Jack pulls them through.

"Clearly not," she mutters darkly, looking over at the door again.

The Time Lord nods with narrowed eyes, thinking sadly that everything really is gone. He returns to the window and starts working on the concrete again, using the crosactic setting that she programmed into the sonic screwdriver.

Rose frowns, feeling the tension in the room. She can't help but wonder why he didn't tell her about his wife but plans to ask later.

She clears her throat, "You don't think he's coming back, do you?"

"Wouldn't bet my life," the Doctor tells her after a beat, more cracks forming in the concrete.

Ally takes a deep breath and rolls her shoulders, still trying to calm down.

"Why don't you trust him?" Rose asks, confused.

"Why do you?" He asks in turn.

Rose shrugs, "He saved my life. He's obviously Ally's friend. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you. Except with dating and dancing. Although I guess I was wrong on the dating bit."

The Doctor turns to look at her after glancing at Ally, recognizing the signs of her fury dissipating. He feels terrible about that.

"What?" Rose asks.

He frowns, "You just assume I..."

"What?" she repeats.

The Time Lord shakes his head, "You just assume that I don't dance."

Rose scoffs, finally breaking the tension, "What, are you telling me you do dance?"

"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit," he informs her, tone laced with sarcasm, "I think you can assume, at some point, I've danced. I clearly recall dancing with the wife on more than one occasion."

"I don't," Ally quips, still watching the door.

The Doctor frowns at the reminder.

Thinking quickly, Rose decides to help patch things up between them. She can't help but feel at least a bit happy about it—he has one of his people back—and not just any Time Lady; she's his wife. It does upset her, though, that she's so interested in him and he's been in a relationship this entire time and hasn't told her.

"You?" she asks.

"Problem?" he replies.

Rose smirks, glancing at Ally, "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?"

The Doctor rolls his eyes, "Well, I've got the moves, but I wouldn't want to boast."

Rose jumps up with a smile and turns up the volume on the radio. It is still 'Moonlight Serenade.'

Ally glances over when she senses her movement but returns her focus to the door again.

"You've got the moves? Show Ally your moves," she tries to persuade the Doctor, tilting her head.

"Rose, I'm trying to resonate..." he corrects himself with a cough, "I'm actually resonating concrete."

"Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So come on. The world doesn't end because the Doctor dances," she tells him with a smirk and holds her hands out to present Ally to him.

The Doctor notices that Rose's hands aren't injured, which strikes him as odd, before focusing on Ally.

"I don't remember, Rose," Ally tells her softly.

"Remember what?" she asks the Time Lady.

"How to dance," Ally breathes, touching the back of her neck.

It's another habit she's formed, checking to ensure the brand is still gone.

The Doctor looks quickly at the radio before putting away his Sonic. He strides over to his Bondmate and holds out his own hands.

"I'll teach you then," he says softly.

Rose smiles at that and leans against the wall.

Glancing down at his hands, Ally shrugs before placing them on his own and letting him guide her to the center of the room. He places her hands in position as her eyes continue to stare at the door. He finds it peculiar but doesn't point it out. He's about to lead her when he remembers what Rose said.

"Barrage balloon?" he asks.

The Time Lady remains quiet. She's just focusing on the sound of his hearts beating, honestly. She pauses hers momentarily and aligns her beats with his, finding some comfort.

"What?" Rose asks.

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon," the Time Lord reminds her.

"Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left me," she shrugs, "Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air raid, Union Jack all over my chest."

"I've traveled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy-friendly."

Rose glances at their feet; neither of them has moved, and she laughs, "Is this you dancing? Because I've got notes."

"Is this not dancing?" Ally asks Rose.

Rose laughs, "Not even a bit, Ally."

The Doctor ignores them, working through a thought, "Hanging from a rope thousands of feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up," Rose replies.

"Mm, I had to repair his arm and throat when I attacked him when we first met," Ally recalls aloud.

"What!?" they both ask, alarmed.

"Eh, it's fine. I apologized, and he accepted for sure once I repaired his auto bar," she waves them off, shrugging.

The Doctor clears his throat, "So we're calling him Captain Jack now, are we?"

"Well, his name's Jack, and he's a Captain," Rose defends.

"He's not really a Captain, Rose," he tells her.

"He's also smelly," the Time Lady mutters.

Rose crosses her arms, "Do you know what I think? I think you're experiencing Captain envy," she points to their feet "You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."

Rose and the Doctor teleport out of the room, and Ally laughs as she drops her arms to her sides again.

'Teacher, did Smelly Jack ever turn on those fans?' she asks the Time Vortex.

'No, our Chosen.'

She rolls her eyes and decides to jump to the deck instead. It'll upset the Doctor, but he deserves it, honestly. Her eyes flash like galaxies, and she disappears from the room.

[Jack's spaceship]

"If ever he was a Captain, he's been defrocked," The Doctor says plainly, looking at Rose.

"Yeah? Shame I missed that," she quips back.

"Actually, I quit," Jack tells them, "Nobody takes my frock… Most people notice when they've been teleported," he smirks, "Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security,"

The Doctor freezes and drops his arms, realizing Ally's not there anymore, and turns to Jack.

"Where's Ally!?" he thunders.

Jack hums, glancing around the ship, "She should be here by now."

"You didn't bring her up with us!?" He's close to strangling the man.

Jack raises a brow at his sudden rage but dismisses it, "I can't scan her molecular code; it'll break the ship. She teleports in on her own."

They hear two hard knocks on the ship's door, and Jack sighs heavily while the Doctor calms down.

"Ah, I forgot to turn the fans on," he mutters and opens it.

Ally's arms are crossed, her hip is popped, and she appears to be standing in midair. Her eyes are coolly glaring at the 51st-century man.

"You forgot."

"Yep," he grins, and she walks in, shaking her head and scrunching her nose, "Sorry."

"You are not sorry, Jack; Ugh, it absolutely reeks in here now," she growls out before walking up to the Doctor and patting his shoulder.

The Doctor sighs in relief upon seeing her. He just got her back. He can't lose her again.

"You'd break the ship?" asks Rose from where she's sat on the bunk.

"Yeah," Ally replies, "Anything that scans me explodes. It's an automatic reaction. I can't stop it."

"Is it the Time Vortex connection?" the Doctor asks, and Jack perks up.

"Is that what your powers are from, Allycat?" he asks, turning to her.

"Yes, that's where my abilities come from, but that's not why scanners explode; I can't say the exact reason."

Jack blinks, "Wait, how'd you know, Doctor? …Do you two know each other?"

Rose chimes in, "They're married."

Jack grins at Ally and the Doctor, "So that's why your Teacher told you someone coming would help."

She nods to him, and the Doctor asks her, "Who's Teacher?"

Ally waves her hand over to Jack to answer for her since she can't; he picks up on the meaning.

"The Time Vortex, apparently. They speak to her in her mind."

The Time Lady nods, "Yep, that about covers it."

Stunned, the Doctor opens his mouth to ask more but quickly shuts it and shakes his head. He'll find out more later.

They all decide to drop it for now. Rose is just confused but shrugs.

"This is a Chula ship," the Doctor realizes, finally looking around.

"Mhm," Ally confirms.

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous," Jack says.

The Doctor snaps his fingers, and the golden glow envelopes his hands.

"They're what fixed my hands up. Jack called them er..." Rose trails off.

"Nanobots?" the Doctor asks.

"Nanogenes," the Time Lady quickly corrects, and the Doctor smiles at her.

Rose nods to her, "Nanogenes, yeah."

"Sub-atomic robots," the Time Lord smirks, "There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws," he turns to Jack, "Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk."

Jack nods, "As soon as I get the nav-com back online. Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing."

"I was dancing with Ally," the Doctor informs him.

Ally frowns at that, "Rose said it wasn't dancing."

Jack and Rose laugh as she replies, "She's right, it wasn't dancing."

Rose asks the Time Lady something that's been bothering her, "So if you don't remember anything, how come you knew your name was Ally?"

Jack answers for her while he works, "She didn't."

Ally nods to Jack, "31 minutes after meeting Jack, he decided I needed an actual name. It took us 22 minutes to find something that sounded familiar."

"You're really specific about time," Rose mutters.

"I can't help it; it just comes naturally to me," she informs the girl.

The Doctor, aware of that, nods and asks, "So 'Ally' sounded familiar to you?"

Jack pipes up, "I tried Alice, but she only liked the A and the L. After turning out of an alleyway, I found her, so I suggested Ally. The last name she picked just slipped out, though."

Rose asks, "So, what name did you go with?"

"Ally Smith," the Time Lady informs her with a shrug.

The Doctor laughs, "That's your 'human' name."

"Is it? What's yours then?" she asks.

"John Smith," he answers with a grin.

"I suppose that would make sense... but why go with a placeholder name?"

He smirks knowingly, "It was suggested."

"Whoever suggested it is clearly awful at names; you'd be questioned constantly," she mutters.

The Doctor coughs to cover up a laugh.

Rose turns to Jack, "So, you used to be a Time Agent now you're trying to con them?"

"If it makes me sound any better, it's not for the money," Jack replies, still working at the controls.

"For what?" she asks.

"Woke up one day when I was still working for them… found they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like them back."

Rose asks, "They stole your memories? Like, what happened to Ally?"

Jack shakes his head, "Not quite… Ally… well, that's not my story to tell," he sighs, glancing at her, "Two years of my life. No idea what I did," he shrugs, "Your friend over there doesn't trust me, and for all I know he's right not to," he pats the computer, "Okay, we're good to go. Crash site?"

"I told you, Jack, the Agency is more likely to wipe you if they discover you've been spying on them and find out something they didn't want anyone to know," Ally gently reminds the man.

"Yeah, yeah," he mutters, waving her off.

The Doctor smirks, "Is that your theory?"

"Theory? Well, I suppose so," she shrugs.

It makes his hearts hurt that she can't remember, and the Doctor sighs.

The Time Lady glances at him, "Relax, I know exactly how to get my memories back," she turns to Jack, "Where are you teleporting to exactly? There are a few nearby alleyways that I can jump to, but I'd rather not have to go looking even though I can sense the Doctor."

Jack looks at the visual on the screen, "The main gate? We can teleport right behind a truck that's sitting there. Should block us from being seen."

"Got it," she confirms.

"Magic trick time?" Jack asks with a grin, "You guys should watch her eyes; they're pretty wild."

The Doctor knows what he's referring to, but waves Rose over to stand before Ally.

"It's the power of the Time Vortex. I don't know how the connection grew, but I've seen her do this before."

Ally frowns at that. She didn't know she was ever spotted. Are her memories from the war blocked as well? They'll talk about it later, she decides, and crosses her arms, letting the energy fill her.

Rose watches in shock as her irises start to glow and the gold surrounding her pupils begins to pulsate and spin.

She waves at Rose and disappears.

Rose is staring at the spot she just was before turning around and looking between the Doctor and Jack.

"See? Magic," Jack says with a grin.

He hits the button on the console to teleport them out.

[Limehouse Green]

Ally's sneaking up to the location Jack specified when they teleport in behind the vehicle.

"It's not actually magic," the Doctor mutters to them as they crouch, "She has a lot of power, though."

The Time Lady finally reaches them and steps quietly beside the Doctor. They don't notice her arrival. It was part of the programming to know how to go unnoticed. She's trying to figure out a way not to startle them. She has a feeling Rose might scream.

"There it is. Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important," Jack informs them.

The Doctor nods, "We've got to get past him."

"Are the words 'distract the guard' heading in my general direction?" Rose asks with a smirk.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea," Jack mutters.

"Don't worry, I can handle it," She says confidently.

The Doctor wonders when Ally will arrive when they all hear a heel tap and turn to find her crouching with them.

"When did you get here?" Rose gasps.

Ally rolls her eyes, "Right before Jack said, 'There it is.' I... know how to move unnoticed. I just wasn't sure how to alert you without scaring you."

The Doctor recalls that she was quiet on her feet a few times in her previous selves but not that silent before pushing back the thought.

Jack nods knowingly, "I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town," he smirks, "Trust me, you're not his type. I'll distract him… Don't wait up!"

Rose looks at him, concerned, as he walks over to Algy.

"Relax, he's a 51st-century guy," the Doctor smirks, "He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing,"

"How flexible?" Rose frowns.

The Time Lord shrugs, "Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."

Rose raises an eyebrow, "Meaning?"

"So many species, so little time," Ally adds.

"What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life, and... and..." Rose trails off, getting the meaning now.

He tips his head and smirks, "Dance."

"It's also why he reeks of pheromones," Ally says, rolling her eyes.

The Doctor turns to look at her, "You can smell them?"

She sighs, shrugging, "I can do many things I wish I couldn't."

Hoping she remembers at least this, he mutters, "Later pile."

She doesn't and gives him a confused look before shifting to watch Jack.

The Doctor sighs, turning to watch as well.

[Bomb site]

Jack approaches Algy and calls out, "Hey, tiger. How's it hanging?"

"Mummy?" Algy asks.

Jack frowns, "Algy, old sport, it's me."

Algy replies, "Mummy?"

Concerned, he steps back, "It's me, Jack."

"Jack? Are you my mummy?"

Algy starts to retch violently, collapsing to his knees as his face morphs into a gas mask.

Rose, Ally, and the Doctor rush forward from the siding.

"Stay back!" the Doctor orders.

Jack calls out to the men approaching, "You men, stay away!"

Ally sighs, rubbing her neck again, "The effects become airborne, accelerating."

"What's keeping us safe?" asks Rose, concerned.

"Nothing," the Doctor informs her, tone hard.

The air raid sirens start up, and Ally flinches again. Jack gives her a concerned look, and she waves him off.

Jack sighs, "Ah, here they come again."

"All we need. Didn't you say a bomb was going to land here?" Rose asks.

Ally and the Doctor look at each other in concern before Ally tips her head and glances to the side, listening. She had heard it earlier but assumed it was coming from an apartment window. With an air raid, they would've stopped by now. She frowns. She can still hear the singing... and focusing in a bit, she can tell it's echoing. Tinny, it's echoing through a comm.

The Time Lord explains, "Never mind about that. If the contaminants' airborne now, there's hours left."

"For what?" asks Jack

"Till nothing, forever. For the entire human race," the Doctor answers heavily.

"Lovely, end of humanity... Again? I want to say 'again,'" the Time Lady mumbles.

Her Bondmate's grin at hearing this goes unnoticed, as she's still focusing on the sound and fighting back at her programming, which is trying to kick in.

The Doctor finally hears the singing as well and frowns, "And can anyone else hear singing?"

"Yes, it's echoing through the comm over there," Ally gestures over to it.

"'Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops,'" they hear a woman singing through the communicator.

"Echoing?" The Doctor asks.

"Yeah, follow me. I can find where it's actually coming from," she tells them and gets up, tilting her head.

The Doctor and Rose frown in confusion, but Jack understands, and they move to follow her as she silently sneaks off, zoning in on the sound.

[Bomb site HQ]

An officer is fully transformed and slumped across the table.

"'When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. Down will come baby, cradle and all,'" a young woman sings softly, scared.

Ally enters the room and gestures to her to keep singing.

She nods and continues, "'Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.'"

She doesn't bother to glance behind her as the Doctor enters, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. At this point, she knows the sound of his footsteps and uses her hands to pry open the handcuff on Nancy's wrist. The Time Lady ignores the Doctor's look of shock at her strength and gestures to him to follow slowly as she backs out of the room with the young woman as she continues to sing.

While they sneak back into the crash site, the Doctor recalls what he just saw with a frown. They'll definitely discuss this later. It's tremendously obvious that the Time Lords did something to her, and he has a horrible feeling about it.

[Bomb site]

Upon arriving at the ship, they reunite with Jack and Rose. They light up and unveil the Chula vessel.

Jack gestures to it, "You see? Just an ambulance."

The woman, confused, asks them, "That's an ambulance?"

"It's hard to explain. It's from another world," Rose tells the woman.

"They've been trying to get in," Jack realizes as he looks closer, and the Doctor and Ally roll their eyes at him.

"No kidding, Jack," Ally mutters.

"Of course they have. They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon," the Doctor tells him before asking, "What're you doing?"

Jack is keying in the access codes on the ship, and Ally shakes her head, plugging her ears in preparation.

"The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it."

The ship bursts open with a loud explosion, sending sparks flying and triggering an alarm. A red light on the access panel blinks glaringly.

Jack blinks hard at the sight, "Didn't happen last time."

"It hadn't crashed last time," the Time Lord scoffs, "There'll be emergency protocols."

Ally grumbles out, "Loud emergency protocols, Doctor. Can you turn off the alarm?"

He catches a glimpse of her, seeing the grimace on her face and her fingers stuffed in her ears. With a swift motion, he aims the sonic at the ship and silences the blaring alarm, making her relax. It shouldn't affect her this way; what by Omega had they done to his Bondmate?

"Thanks," she sighs, rubbing her neck again.

The Time Lady spins around in a flash, startled, her gaze fixed on the hospital doors. Sounds of shuffling echo to her from within, followed by a series of loud thuds. The patients are battering against the doors.

The Doctor watches her every movement with a frown, and it finally occurs to him that she heard them before they even started trying to get out. He swallows hard and hopes they didn't do what he thinks they did.

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asks, "Doctor!" she calls again, finally getting his attention.

He is so lost in thought and concern over what happened to Ally that he has to shake his head physically to get back to the situation.

"Jack, secure those gates!" Ally orders him.

"Why?" he shakes his head.

"Just do it! Nancy, how'd you get in here?" the Doctor says.

Jack dashes away to carry out the command given to him.

"I cut the wire," Nancy shrugs.

The Doctor nods, "Show Rose. Setting 2428D."

The Doctor tosses the sonic screwdriver to Rose, and she catches it.

"What?" asks Rose.

"It reattaches barbed wire. Rose, go!" Ally orders her.

After securing the gates, Jack returns and works on opening the Chula Ambulance.

Ally's gaze darts around, her body poised to leap into action at any second. Her programming has taken over completely, leaving her frozen in place. She hates it; absolutely loathes the feeling. It's like she's back in the Time War, waiting for her command. She just wants to help. She flashes through her memories, desperately hoping to shatter the hold so she can regain control and act freely once more.

The Doctor observes her stance and eye movements; it's like she's on autopilot, trained. Her head tilts to the side. She's listening, he realizes. He finally looks away when he hears Rose and Nancy returning to the ship. He glances back at her; her head is no longer tilted. She heard them approaching way before him, and Time Lord hearing is already strong. Frustrated, he rubs the back of his head before turning to the ship.

Jack finally opens the ship and gestures to it, "It's empty. Look at it."

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops?" the Doctor grounds out before turning to his companion, "Rose?"

"I don't know," she says, shaking her head.

Still on alert, Ally tells her, "Yes, you do," and snaps her fingers from where they sit at her side. It's the only movement she can make besides moving her head.

"Nanogenes!" she calls out, getting the gesture.

"It wasn't empty, Captain." the Doctor says, "There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

"Oh, God," Jack utters when he finally realizes.

He feels sick, just sick.

The Doctor turns to him "Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gasmask."

Rose is shocked, "And they brought him back to life? They can do that?"

"It's what they were created to do," Ally tells her, still in position.

The Doctor nods in agreement, "What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though," he scoffs, "These nanogenes? They're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like," he gestures to Jack, "All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on! They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best," he rubs the back of his head, "Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest," he glares at Jack, "And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

"I didn't know," Jack cries out, shaking his head.

The Doctor starts working on the ambulance while the patients approach.

"Mummy. Mummy," the patients call out.

"Rose!" Nancy yells, scared.

Rose asks the Time Lords, "It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?"

Ally replies, "The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. This is standard protocol for a Chula warrior."

"But the gas mask people aren't troops," Rose tells them.

The Doctor corrects her, still working: "They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up; they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, program you..." he trails off, glances back at Ally, and calls out, "Programmed… Ally, programmed!?"

"Yes," she says quickly, understanding his question, "We really need to focus on the situation at hand though."

He growls aloud at the confirmation; there were rumors of a group of 'warriors' that were better than any Time Lord soldier during the war. Anyone who mentioned them said they'd never seen one before; it was a ghost story they whispered about while resting at base. He didn't believe it was real, to be honest. They called them 'Rassilon's Army,' you would know them by the seal on the back of their neck. Her neck. She keeps rubbing the back of her neck.

Rose interrupts his dark line of thinking, "That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing."

He swallows hard, "It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

The patients gather around them beyond the barbed wire fencing, motionless.

Jack looks around them, "Why don't they attack?"

Ally wants to rub her neck and make sure it's still gone; this is hitting way too close to home.

"Good little soldiers they are, waiting for their commander," she replies darkly.

"The child?" Jack asks.

"Jamie," Nancy mutters.

Jack turns to her, "What?"

"Not the child. Jamie!" she repeats.

This alerts Ally, her eyes narrowing as she thinks… she knows the child personally. She knows his name. 'Mummy,' he keeps asking for his mother, not knowing who she is. Is the young woman his mother, and she's never told him? Perhaps she said she was another relative? She glances at her quickly. She could be old enough; she has a soft-looking face, that's all.

"So how long until the bomb falls?" asks Rose, concerned.

"Any second," replies Jack, checking his manipulator.

"One minute and 22 seconds," Ally corrects.

The Doctor glares at Jack, "What's the matter, Captain? A bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy," Nancy says softly.

"I know," the Doctor replies.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy," she cries, her eyes shining.

If it weren't for the damn programming, she could move. But she's stuck in place... How high up was The Doctor in the war? She doesn't know, but it could work if she told him her basic release command.

"I know," the Doctor tells her kindly, "There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

"So what're we going to do?" Rose asks in worry.

"I don't know," the Doctor sighs.

He just got back his Bondmate, and he can't lose her. Not to mention his companion on top of it. The whole world is at stake. He's panicking now as he rubs his head in frustration.

"Doctor!?" Ally calls, "I need you to say something right now!"

"Ally, we don't have time!" he yells back.

"Alpha One at Action Point Zero," she snaps, "Say it! I might not be able to help otherwise."

He freezes for a split second and realizes she's not moved since they were surrounded.

"Alpha One at Action Point Zero!" he shouts to her, and she sprints to Nancy.

The few times he saw her, she had to have moved on her own, but she disappeared so quickly that he could barely call out to her. They must have had her and the rest of the Ten under their thumb the entire time. He swallows back his dread, trying to keep himself from being dragged back into the memories of the Time War.

"It's my fault," Nancy cries out.

"No," the Doctor replies.

"It is. It's all my fault!"

Ally's hand is on her shoulder, "You need to tell him the truth," she says softly, "He's looking for you."

The Time Lord hears her and turns to focus on them, "Looking for..."

"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy," the patients call out.

He gets it now. She might not remember who she is but she's always caught on quicker than him.

"Nancy, what age are you?" he asks, "Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?"

Ally glances up and sighs as the bombs get closer.

"Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds," Jack calls out.

Rose turns to him, "You can teleport us out."

Jack shakes his head, "Not you guys, just me and Ally could leave. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols."

"I'm not leaving," Ally tells him.

"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do," the Doctor grumbles.

"Jack?" Rose implores.

Jack teleports.

The Doctor steps closer to Ally and Nancy, "How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

The gate to the bomb site swings open, revealing Jamie at the forefront, flanked by his troops.

"Are you my mummy?" he asks.

"He's going to keep asking, Nancy," Ally gently says, "He's never going to stop until he finds out the truth. You need to tell him who you really are," she rubs circles on her back, hoping to soothe her enough to say it.

"Mummy?"

"Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust us and tell him," the Doctor orders her softly.

Nancy nods and approaches Jamie as he walks towards her.

The Doctor and Ally look at each other before returning to watch the interaction.

"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?" Jamie asks.

"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy," she answers.

"Mummy?"

"I'm here," she replies.

"Are you my mummy?"

"I'm here," she repeats, fully crying now.

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you my mummy?"

The Doctor sighs, "He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left."

"Yes, there is," Ally denies, "Hug him, Nancy! He wants his mummy to hold him. He's scared!"

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry."

Nancy embraces Jamie, and they're enveloped by a swirling mist of golden nanogenes.

"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her; we should..." Rose is interrupted by the Doctor.

"Shush! Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. Ally's always right; it's got to be enough information. Figure it out!"

Ally reaches over and grabs his hand and he can't help but relax and grasp it tightly. He hasn't held her hand or felt the warmth of her skin in over two centuries.

"What's happening?" Rose asks.

"They're recognizing the same DNA," the Time Lady smiles.

Jamie lets go, and Nancy falls to the ground.

"Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one. It's already been so good," he says, reluctantly dropping his wife's hand and stepping over to Jamie.

He removes the gas mask and grins, "Ha-ha! Welcome back!" he picks him up and spins the boy, "Twenty years 'til pop music, you're going to love it."

Nancy gasps, "What happened?"

"The nanogenes recognized the superior information, the parent DNA, as Ally said. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!" the Doctor cries happily, putting Jamie back down.

"Oh, Jamie!" the young mother cries as she hugs him tightly.

Rose urgently reminds him, "Doctor, that bomb."

"Taken care of," Ally answers sadly.

"How?" she asks, looking between the Time Lords.

"Psychology," the Doctor shrugs, and Ally shifts a dark gaze to him before looking up.

The bomb races toward them, only to be ensnared in Jack's light beam just before impact.

Jack sits astride the bomb, calling, "Doctor! Ally!"

"Good lad!" the Doctor says with a nod.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation," he smirks sadly, "I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long."

"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it… safely as you can?" the Doctor asks.

"Ally, thanks for not killing me," Jack nods.

She shakes her head in reply.

"Rose?" he asks.

"Yeah?"

"Goodbye."

Jack and the bomb disappear into thin air, only to materialize again a moment later.

"By the way, love the t-shirt," he says quickly with a wink.

The bomb and Jack disappear once more. The spaceship absorbs the light beam before taking off, while the Doctor calls upon some nanogenes to aid him.

"What are you doing?" Rose asks him.

"Software patch. Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Ally? I'll give you moves," he tells his Bondmate with a grin.

He throws the nanogenes to the waiting patients, who collapse onto the ground.

"Everybody lives, Rose, Ally. Just this once, everybody lives!"

Ally gazes at the night sky, her brow furrowed in concern.

[Bomb Site Gate]

The patients rise to their feet, returning to their usual selves. Doctor Constantine glances around in bewilderment as the Doctor approaches him.

"Doctor Constantine," the Doctor grins, "Who never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor. The world doesn't want to get by without you just yet, and I don't blame it one bit. These are your patients. All better now."

Constantine nods, "Yes, yes, so it seems," he frowns, "They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?"

"Yeah, well, you know, cutbacks," The Time Lord shrugs and pats his shoulder, "Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're probably going to find that they're cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it. Okay?"

[Bombsite]

The Doctor walks back over to the Chula Ambulance and pulls out his Sonic Screwdriver, ready to adjust the command codes.

"Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don't forget the welfare state!" the Doctor waves off the soldiers before working on the Chula Ambulance, "Setting this to self-destruct soon as everybody's clear… History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

Rose laughs, "Usually the first in line."

Ally stands with her arms folded tightly across her chest, a deep frown etched on her face, remaining quiet.

[Outside TARDIS]

Approaching the TARDIS, the Time Lady listens as she hums to her. She walks ahead of the other two and gently runs her hand down the side of the blue box with a small smile as the sound increases.

"Recognize her?" the Doctor asks, hopeful.

She shakes her head and turns around, stepping back so he can unlock and open the doors. Ally frowns when he pushes them open, though. The sign clearly reads, 'Pull to open.'

She follows them in and runs her hand along the console, smiling again when the console lights up brightly with a much louder hum that the others can hear.

"She's saying 'Welcome home,'" the Time Lord tells her, watching her carefully.

Ally nods, looking over the many knobs and switches. Apparently, he locked that away, too. She doesn't remember how to fly her. She sighs and rubs the back of her neck again.

The Doctor doesn't notice this as he has already spun back around and counts off, "The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. I have my Bondmate back; apparently, only I can bring back her memories. We'll figure that out. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas," Rose laughs.

The Doctor crosses his arms and raises his brows, "Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve?"

"What?"

"And everybody lives, Ally, Rose! Everybody lives!" he calls out excitedly, "I need more days like this."

"Doctor?" Rose frowns, confusion lacing her tone.

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire," he replies with a grin.

"What about Jack?" she asks, "Why'd he say goodbye?"

Ally spins away from the console, placing her hands firmly on her hips. Her gaze is intense and unwavering.

"Go get him," she demands.

Rose and the Doctor turn to look at her, silent.

She flicks her eyes between them before focusing on the Doctor and repeating, "Get. Him."

The Doctor nods at her rapidly and starts inputting the coordinates while Ally sits in the jumpseat, rubbing her neck again.

He walks over to her and grins, "Ready to help me fly?"

"I can't," she replies, staring at the ground, her eyes dark with frustration and remorse, "Apparently, he took that away, too."

He tightens his fists by his sides, his gaze turning steely with rage; she adores piloting the TARDIS. They borrowed her together. With a deep sigh, he begins to power everything up.

Rose, frowning at the tension again, gets an idea and runs around the console to the music player and searches for the right song. She smiles when she finds it and hits play before backing off to grab a hold of a bar.

Both Time Lords look at her with confusion, and she grins playfully.

[Jack's spaceship]

"Okay, computer, how long can we keep the bomb in stasis?" Jack asks

"Stasis decaying at ninety percent cycle. Detonation in three minutes," it responds.

Jack winces, "Can we jettison it?"

"Any attempt to jettison the device will precipitate detonation. One hundred percent probability."

"We could stick it in an escape pod," he tries.

"There is no escape pod on board."

"I see the flaw in that. I'll get in the escape pod."

"There is no escape pod on board."

"Did you check everywhere?"

"Affirmative."

"Under the sink?" he asks, tone laced with sarcasm.

"Affirmative."

The man rolls his eyes, "Okay. Out of one hundred, exactly how dead am I?"

"Termination of Captain Jack Harkness in under two minutes. One hundred percent probability."

"Lovely. Thanks. Good to know the numbers," he replies dryly.

"You're welcome."

"Okay then," Jack sighs, "Think we'd better initiate emergency protocol four one seven."

"Affirmative."

A martini appears on the auto bar, and Jack takes a sip and frowns after.

"Ooh, a little too much vermouth. See if I come here again! I thought Ally fixed you," Jack sits in his chair, "Funny thing. Last time I was sentenced to death, I ordered four hyper-vodkas for my breakfast," he laughs, "All a bit of a blur after that. Woke up in bed with both my executioners. Mmm, lovely couple. They stayed in touch. Can't say that about most executioners," he pats the console, "Anyway. Thanks for everything, computer. It's been great."

The soothing notes of 'Moonlight Serenade' fill the air as Jack gazes down from his seat in the spaceship. He catches a glimpse of the TARDIS' open doors, where the Doctor and Ally are attempting to dance.

[TARDIS Console Room]

"Well, hurry up then!" Rose calls out from the doorway.

Jack rushes in while Rose makes her way back to the couple.

"Okay. And right and turn. Okay, okay, try and spin her again, but this time don't get her arm up her back. No extra points for a half-nelson," Rose admonishes.

"This is very uncomfortable," Ally says as her arm is twisted again, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff," the Doctor mutters, "You certainly knew this stuff, Ally. We'll fix that," he calls out to Jack, who's looking around, stunned, "Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draft."

Jack closes the door firmly, and the Doctor starts up the engines to bring them into the swirling depths of the Vortex.

"Welcome to the TARDIS," Rose grins.

Jack raises his brows, approaching them, "Much bigger on the inside."

"You'd better be," The Doctor replies.

Rose extends her hand toward Jack, who chuckles and twirls her around.

"Ally, Rose! I've just remembered!" The Doctor cries as he runs around the console.

"What?" Rose asks.

He changes the music from waltz to swing - 'Glenn Miller's In The Mood.'

"I can dance! I can dance!"

Ally shakes her fondly, "That makes one of us, at least."

The Time Lady turns around and goes to return to the jumpseat; she senses his approach but doesn't think anything of it.

Still dancing with Rose, Jack widens his eyes when he spots the Doctor reaching his arm to grab her and calls out, "Don't!"