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Chapter Text

The TARDIS materialized under a bridge in the snow, the Doctor opening the door and stepping out, holding it open for Angel to follow. He looked at her softly, smiling as he saw her pick up the end of her dress to step out of the TARDIS. He knew how much she loved dressing up for period trips and so, to celebrate her regeneration, he had selected this one, and...it was Christmas! He was absolutely determined to see her have a good Christmas for once. No more Pilot Fish and Sycorax, no Pilot Fish and Racnoss, no crashing replica of the Titanic...just...Christmas, and everything it was meant to represent, everything she was really. He looked her up and down appreciatively, he still couldn't get used to her new appearance. She was just...adorable. If he thought she was cute in her last body, this one stopped his hearts in the best way. Her hair was so black and soft it looked like liquid midnight, her eyes grey just like...well...an oncoming storm, but one much gentler than he was known to be. Her smile was so wide that it just lit up her face and her eyes sparkled with laughter and happiness that could only come from such suffering that it made you treasure each and every day you had. Which she'd endured. She was smaller than him, both in height and size, and it just made him feel even more protective of her, he'd just gotten her back, he was NOT about to lose her to anything ever again. Not to anyone, not to anything, he'd protect her to his last breath. He swore it, he'd do better this time, he'd...

Angel took his hand, squeezing it, smiling lightly at him as she pulled him out of his thoughts. She knew her near-death had shaken him terribly and she truly wanted to help him heal from that, to remind him she was fine and alive and with him, would be with him, forever now. He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it in thanks. She beamed and closed the doors to the TARDIS, allowing him a moment to take in her period clothing. She was wearing a silver dress that brought out her eyes, it was corsetted at the top, with long sleeves that billowed a bit at the elbow, a tight waist and a wide flowing skirt that had a bit of a layer at the bottom. She had a red sash around her waist that tied in the back like a bow, with a red bow tying her hair back instead of its clip. He really loved how that carried over, her enjoyment of dressing up from time to time. It warmed his hearts to see bits of the old her in the new her.

Angel turned around, only to let out a loud laugh at the sight before her...the Doctor was standing there, with a band around his head, a stick sticking out of it, with a bit of mistletoe dangling off it from a string. She stepped closer, taking his hands, "I'm assuming this is meant to be a hint of some sort?" she asked him, gazing up at him.

"Well," he shrugged, "It might be...if I got the date right," he looked around as though trying to determine if he'd actually hit his target this time.

"Well even if it's not," Angel squeezed his hands, making him look back at her, "It wouldn't matter, I think you'd do this even if it weren't Christmas."

"Oh yes," he nodded, making the mistletoe bob.

"You'd do anything for a kiss wouldn't you?"

"Or two, or three, or four, or..."

Angel cut him off lightly by pressing her lips to his, leaving him grinning as she pulled away, "You don't need to resort to that though," she whispered, resting her forehead to his, "I would kiss you every second of every hour of every day for forever," she opened her eyes to look at him, "Sound familiar?"

He beamed at that, so pleased, a thrill going up his spine at her words, words he'd said to her in the past, "So the mistletoe hat is a bit much then?"

"Just a bit," she laughed.

He leaned back just a bit, "If I take it off, will you promise to kiss me even without it?"

"Well..." she trailed, putting a finger to her chin as though actually thinking about it, "IF you promise to keep the tie," she smirked, reaching out to slowly tug it out of his jacket, "I'll kiss you whenever you want."

He ripped the mistletoe hat off his head, "Deal," he said quickly, leaning in to kiss her before she could even tug him down, which made her squeal a bit at the suddenness of it.

She let out a happy laugh as he wound his arms around her waist and lifted her up, spinning her around, burying his face in her neck, in her dark hair, in the process, "Theta put me down!" she laughed, lightly and playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

"Never!" he cheered, spinning them both around once more till he got dizzy and they fell onto the snow, laughing.

Angel rolled over, onto her arm and looked down at him, "I love you," she told him, all the love she felt shining in her eyes.

He reached out to touch her cheek, stroking it with his thumb, "Not as much as I love you," he whispered, pushing himself up to kiss her once more, slowly working himself into a sitting position in the process. He was breathless as he pulled away, resting his forehead to hers, "I do love you Nella, more than anything."

She smiled softly at that, her hand curling around his, pressing the back of his hand to the center of her chest, letting him feel how her hearts were racing, "I love hearing you say that," she admitted, it always made her tingle.

"Then I shall have to say it for the rest of our lives."

She looked at him intently, something...stirring in her...and had to ask, "Do you promise?" she whispered.

He nodded, staring into her eyes, letting her see how honest he was, how seriously he took this promise, and every promise he made to her, "I will love you always Nella, to the end of time and back."

"Good," she smiled, kissing him, "I'll love you more though," she laughed, pushing herself up and holding out a hand to help him up, leaving him no time to argue.

He let out a happy breath and reached out, letting her tug him up as they started off along their way, smiles on their faces, eager to find out what this trip would hold for them. They soon found themselves in the middle of a busy street market, the stalls all covered in green garlands and red ribbons, mistletoe and chestnuts being hawked while carolers sang.

"You there, boy," the Doctor called to a young boy, "What day is this?" he had a strong guess, he hoped it was the right date, the date he'd picked, but he wanted to be sure, his piloting wasn't always the greatest.

'Don't worry Theta,' he heard her speak in his mind and closed his eyes a moment, savoring the sound. The last Angel had spent so much effort trying to keep him from feeling just how badly she was hurting as she died that they hadn't been able to communicate much telepathically near the end. To hear her back in his head...was incredible, 'The TARDIS wanted to give you a treat this time. It's exactly where you wanted to go this time.'

"Christmas Eve, sir," the boy replied.

"What year?"

"You thick or something?"

"Oi. Just answer the question."

"Year of our Lord 1851, sir."

Angel smiled at the boy, "Thank you Edward."

"How'd you know my name?" the boy frowned at her, eyeing her.

"I'm psychic," she winked at him, holding a finger to her lips as the boy shook his head at her and went on his way, thinking her mad.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, looking at Angel, "Nice year."

She laughed, "You know you could have just asked me what time it was."

He smiled at that, at how sure she was that she'd be able to pinpoint the time and date, "You've gotten much better at all this," he remarked, eyeing her as she beamed. She was exuding confidence and understanding, "You're…just blossoming," he stroked her cheek.

It was such a difference from her previous two selves. Her first self had been a bit...innocent, naïve in a way, not really understanding things, but in an adorable way. How she didn't understand jokes or sarcasm or turn of phrases. Her last self had been more sure of herself yet...hesitant about things and he knew that meeting River Song had only made her feel doubts about herself in comparison to him, how she'd never be as brilliant or well-suited for adventure as River seemed to be. But now...she was still that innocent, amazing woman but just...confidant and eager and excited. It was like she was ready to face the day and whatever life had to throw at her which, he knew, might be a result of having been so near death. She'd been so weak before, so ill, that now she was just...ready. She was stronger and seemed to realize it, but still had such a kindness and gentleness to her that he knew, anyone who had met her would know it was the same person inside.

"I know," she nodded, blushing slightly at his praises, something he loved. It wasn't as red as her last self had gotten, that version of her managing to match her brilliant red hair, but a faint pink that just looked too cute on her, "I think…before, I was scared of what was happening, of how my visions and sensations were getting sharper. Especially of the Vortex. I was hesitant to use it, to really let it absorb into me because I knew that it would be growing stronger inside me as my body adapted to its power and I was afraid it would corrupt me, make me into a vengeful god as you said. But, I don't fear it anymore. I understand now, it was always there, the potential to wield it, I just had to be ready for it. I just had to accept it fully."

He looked at her softly, "You could never be a vengeful god," he told her, a firm belief in his eyes that reflected his words, "You're just too good," he smiled, "It's like you said, you have no want for power or desire for revenge. Even when you had the chance to destroy the Daleks you didn't do it, you just stopped them, never killed them," he kissed her lightly, "You," he looked at her pointedly, "Are an angel."

"Your angel," she smiled up at him, love shining in her eyes.

"My psychic angel," he reached out to brush a lock of hair behind her ears, his knuckles gently stroking her cheek.

"Just like you're my thief."

He laughed, "I wouldn't want to be anyone else's."

And he wouldn't. Not ever. He had been telling the entire truth when they'd left the Library, he truly could not imagine his life without Angel in it, he couldn't imagine it with anyone else but her. She truly was his everything, his hearts, his soul, his entire Universe.

Angel beamed, hearing that when...

'...Doctor!...'

...a creature with a black, shaggy, furry body and a metal Cyberman-like mask where its face should be...

'...you idiots!...'

She shook her head and looked around, "So…1851, what do you think of it so far?"

He shrugged, "Bit dull."

"Doctor!" a woman shouted in the distance.

The Doctor looked at Angel, shocked, "You were saying?" she asked with a small, knowing, smirk.

"Oh you are good!" he cried, laughing. Oh that was just brilliant!

"Doctor!" the woman yelled again.

She laughed, taking his hand, "Shall we?" she asked, bobbing a bit on her toes, almost like she was bobbing with excitement.

"Let's," he nodded, beaming at her.

"Come on then!" she cheered and pulled him away, leading him off, letting her feelings guide her to where they needed to go.

They ran down the street and into an alley where black woman in what looked like a barmaid's dress was backing away from a pair of bolted doors nervously, "Doctor!" she called.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the Doctor said as they ran up, "Stand back, what have we got here? Oh," there was a growl from behind the doors as something slammed against it, "Ok, I've got it. Whatever's behind that door, I think you should get out of here."

"Doctor!" the woman shouted again, ignoring him.

Angel and the Doctor frowned at that.

"No, I'm standing right here," the Doctor waved, "Hello."

"Don't be so stupid," she eyed him, "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor," Angel answered.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor," he remarked.

"Well, there can't be two of ya," just then a man in a tan yellow coat ran up, dressed for the period, and the woman rounded on him instead, "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Don't worry," the man replied, "Stand back. What have we got here, then?"

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor frowned as he eyed the man, Angel looking just as confused as he felt, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. Simply the Doctor. The one, the only, and the best. Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver," he held out a hand and the woman, Rosita, handed the Other Doctor something too quickly for the Doctor or Angel to see.

"What?"

"Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS," the Other Doctor ordered her.

"Back to the what?" the Doctor looked startled before glancing at Angel who could only shake her head, just because she was getting more of a handle on her abilities didn't mean she could see everything. And she HAD just been dying before.

"Stand back, sir, ma'am. This is a job for a Time Lord."

"Job for a what lord?" the Doctor gaped. The door suddenly flew open to reveal a creature with a black, shaggy, furry body and a metal Cyberman-like mask where its face should be, "Oh, that's different," he reached into his pocket.

"Oh, that's new," the Other Doctor eyed it as Angel looked between the two with a frown on her face.

And then they both aimed their sonic screwdrivers at the creature with a cry of, "Allons-y!"

The creature just looked at them as they looked at each other a moment before turning their attention back to the creature.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight," the Other Doctor said, "Now step back, sir."

The creature jumped right over them, hanging from the side of a building, "Some sort of primitive conversion," the Doctor mumbled to Angel as they watched it, "Like they took the brain of a cat or a dog."

"Well, talking's all very well. Rosita."

"I'm ready," the woman gave the Other Doctor a rope which he began to swing over his head like a lasso.

"Now, watch and learn," he called with a grin, throwing the rope up and catching the creature around the middle, "Excellent. Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to Earth," he pulled on the rope but the creature just climbed the wall, pulling him up too. It was apparently a very strong creature for its size.

"Or not," the Doctor sighed.

"I might be in a little bit of trouble."

"Nothing changes," the Doctor passed Angel his sonic and rushed over, "I've got you!" he grabbed the rope but was yanked up as well.

"You idiots!" Rosita yelled.

"Aren't they just?" Angel shook her head with a small smile, realizing she was more enjoying the view HER Doctor was giving her and not focusing on helping him. She looking down at the sonic in her hand and up at the rope before suddenly taking off up a set of stairs beside the building.

"Perhaps if you could pull?" the Other Doctor called down.

"I am pulling," the Doctor defended, "In this position, I couldn't not pull, could I?"

The creature climbed onto a window and stopped, looking around.

"Then I'd suggest you let go, sir."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Doctor. Don't you recognize me?"

"No, should I? Have we met? This is hardly the right time for me to go through my social calendar."

The creature jumped into the window, running across a floor of the building, pulling the Doctors up with him and into the room, dragging them across the floor towards a far window on the other side of the room as they refused to let go, "It's gonna jump!" the Doctor shouted.

"We're gonna fall!" the Other Doctor gasped.

Suddenly there was a whirring sound and the rope a few feet ahead of the Other Doctor snapped, making them roll around from the quick stop. The Doctor looked over as they stood, groaning, to see Angel aiming the sonic screwdriver in front of her. He grinned widely, laughing along with the Other Doctor as he was hugged by the man. Angel ran over to him as Rosita ran into the room and stalked over to the Other Doctor. Angel just pulled him down by the tie still hanging out of his coat and into a quick kiss before hugging him tightly. He smiled, burying his face in the side of her neck as he lifted her off the ground in a bear hug.

"You are brilliant," Angel smiled up at him, which made him beam down at her.

~8~

The small group walked down the stairs Angel had run up before, the Doctors still laughing. Rosita led the way followed by the Other Doctor, the Doctor behind him with his arm wrapped around Angel's waist, "Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny," Rosita spat as they reached the bottom, "You're mad. Both of you. You could've got killed."

"But, evidently, we did not," the Other Doctor grinned, "Oh, I should introduce Rosita. My faithful companion, always telling me off."

"Well, they do, don't they?" the Doctor nodded, "Rosita? Good name. Hello, Rosita."

"It's nice to meet you," Angel added, reaching out to shake the woman's hand.

Rosita nodded at them with a smile before turning to glare at the Other Doctor, "Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps. All that for nothing. And we've only got 20 minutes till the funeral, don't forget," she walked off, still calling back to him, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?"

"Funeral?" Angel asked with a small frown, feeling the Doctor's arm slide from her waist to her hand, squeezing it tightly. Given what had nearly happened to her, the Doctor was not exactly excited to hear about funerals. She just didn't like them because she didn't like death. Funerals were like the official last moments, the final step, too...final...she got shivers thinking of funerals. It might have just been that, the first funeral she'd ever gone to...had been her mother's.

"Oh, long story," the Other Doctor shrugged, "Not my own, not yet," he bent over a bit, panting and stretching, "Oh, I'm not as young as I was."

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me," the Doctor remarked.

"When I was who?" he looked up, clearly confused.

"You really don't recognize me?" the Doctor eyed him closely, before gesturing to himself and Angel, "Either of us?"

"Not at all."

"But you're the Doctor," the Doctor argued as Angel's frown deepened, staring at the man closely, "The Next Doctor. Or the next-but-one. A future Doctor anyway."

"Oh!"

"No, no, don't tell me how it happened. Although..I hope I don't just trip over a brick," he looked at Angel, "That'd be embarrassing. Then again, painless. Worse ways to go, depends on the brick. Do I trip over a brick?"

She blinked, "I can't see everything," she shook her head, poking him in the side, "But I'm fairly certain I'd see THAT coming at least...even without 'seeing' it. Bricks aren't very deceptive are they?"

"No, I don't suppose they are," he looked at the Other Doctor, "What do you think? Bricks? Little building blocks or things with a hostile ulterior motive? Oh!" he shouted, "What if there's something hiding in the bricks, like little metal spiders or something, like with Lady Cassandra, you remember her right? Blue-eyed trampoline?"

The Other Doctor just stared at him, "You're gabbling, sir. Now, might I ask, who are you and this lovely lady, exactly?"

"No, I'm, uh...I'm just Smith. John Smith."

"And I'm Angela Jones," Angel added, reaching out to shake his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," the man smiled, kissing the back of Angel's hand instead.

Ok, now the Doctor wasn't quite smiling so much.

He cleared his throat, subtly taking Angel's hand and holding it in his own, "We've heard all about you, Doctor. Bit of a legend, if I say so myself."

"Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir. But yes," he grinned, "Yes, I am."

"A legend that has a few...memories missing," Angel guessed carefully.

"How do you know that?" he stared at her, shocked.

"You've forgotten us," the Doctor remarked, before nodding at Angel, "And she's psychic."

The Other Doctor nodded as though that were perfectly normal, "Great swathes of my life have been stolen away. When I turn my mind to the past, there's nothing."

"Going how far back?"

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London town. You won't believe this, Mr. Smith, Miss Jones, but they are creatures from another world."

"Really?" the Doctor nodded slowly, trying to seem like he didn't already know that, and failing, "Wow."

Angel nudged him, realizing he was doing that intentionally, being rude again, "Be nice," she murmured to him, squeezing his hand.

He beamed at that though, still ever the polite one between the two of them. They were still quite the pair, which warmed his hearts to know that, even regeneration couldn't keep them apart. Angel was just...special like that, she was just perfect, perfect for him.

"It's said they fell onto London, out of the sky in a blaze of light," the Other Doctor continued, not seeming to notice the Doctor's rudeness, "And they found me…" he looked down, recalling brief bits of the attack, but it was too much of a haze to make anything out, "Something was taken. And something was lost," he looked at them, "What was I like? In the past?"

"I don't think we should say," the Doctor hissed through his teeth, "Sorry. Got to be careful with memory loss. One wrong word..."

"It's strange, though. I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you don't blink..."

"Ah, don't blink, remember that?" he grinned, "Whatever you do, don't blink? The blinking and the statues? Sally and the angels? No?"

"You're a very odd man."

"You're not the first to think so," Angel assured him, before patting the Doctor's arm as she linked hers through his, "I love odd though," she smiled up at him, "Makes things interesting."

He smiled softly down at her, leaning over to give her a peck, "Good to know," he kissed her again, "Because it seems I still am," he remarked thoughtfully, quietly to her, before looking over to eye the Other Doctor again.

Angel had to nod at that, 'Something's wrong...' she began to the Doctor when...

"Oh, the funeral!" the Other Doctor exclaimed, "The funeral's at two o'clock. It's been a pleasure, Mr. Smith, Miss Jones. Don't breathe a word of it."

"Can't we come with you?" the Doctor asked.

"It's far dangerous. Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe," he dashed off, turning around while still moving to shout back, "Oh, and, er...merry Christmas, Mr. Smith, Miss Jones!" and he rushed around the corner.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor," the Doctor called as he rested his hand on Angel's looped in his arm as they both followed after the Other Doctor slowly.

"That's not you," Angel said softly.

"How do you know?" he looked down at her.

She smiled at bit, "I'm psychic," she said cheekily, seemed she'd gotten a bit of that from him as well, "I just know. That man, whoever he is, is not you, not any version of you."

He nodded, he'd thought that as well, but still…it would have been an incredible adventure to meet a future version of himself. Though a part of him was thankful that wasn't him, clearly he was traveling without Angel. For one brief moment he wondered if time might have been rewritten, like with River, how her Angel hadn't been ill apparently, but HIS was...what if THAT Doctor's Angel had truly died in the TARDIS.

He shook his head, it was impossible.

He couldn't imagine a life like that, a life without Angel and it wasn't one he would have had, because he would have joined her.

He smiled though, reminded that Angel was still with him, and dropped a small kiss on her head.

She was still with him and he'd make sure he never ever lost her.

~8~

"Report," a Cyber-Leader called to a soldier.

"Cyber-Shade 16 has made contact," a Cyberman reported.

"Then observe the enemy," he brought up a small screen where the Doctors and Angel appeared from the Shade's view, "This man is dangerous," it zoomed in on the Other Doctor, "This man is our enemy. This man is the Doctor," they watched the encounter replay, "The attack is scheduled for 1400 hours. Plans for the Ascension demand a successful intervention," he turned to look at a dark haired woman in a bright red dress that stood beside him, "Is everything in position?"

"That's rather dependent on you," she remarked dryly, "All I can promise is to do my best."

"Define the parameters of 'best.'"

"As you would say, I will operate at maximum efficiency," she smirked and eyed the metal man, "And you'll keep your part of the bargain?"

"You will be heralded, in the new age, at the Court of the Cyber-King."

"The Cyber-King will rise," a Cyberman saluted.

"The Cyber-King will rise, indeed," she scoffed, "How like a man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a funeral to attend."

~8~

The funeral procession made its way slowly down the streets of London, black of the mourners contrasting against the pure white of the snow. The Other Doctor and Rosita watched it pass by, hiding behind a few crates and stalls, both unaware of the Doctor and Angel lurking behind them, watching from a distance.

"The late Reverend Fairchild, leaving his place of residence for the last time," the Other Doctor lamented, "God rest his soul. Now, with the house empty, I shall affect an entrance at the rear while you," he turned to Rosita, "Go back to the TARDIS. This is hardly work for a woman."

"Oh, don't mind me saving your life," Rosita scoffed, "That's work for a woman, isn't it?"

"The Doctor's companion does what the Doctor says. Off you go," he nudged her one way and turned to walk in the other, quickly making his way to the back of Fairchild's house and trying to pick the lock with his 'sonic screwdriver.'

A moment later the door opened from the inside to reveal the Doctor and Angel standing there, "Hello!" the Doctor beamed.

"How did you get in?" the Other Doctor looked between them.

"Oh, front door. I'm good at doors. Um, do you mind my asking, is that your sonic screwdriver?" he eyed the thing in the Other Doctor's hand.

"Yeah," the man held up...an average screwdriver, "I'd be lost without it."

"But that's just a screwdriver," Angel remarked, frowning at the device, "It doesn't seem very...sonic..."

"Well, er, it makes a noise," he hit it against the doorframe, "That's sonic, isn't it? Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view," he quickly pushed past them and into the house, Angel closing the door behind him, though casting a quick glance outside, frowning...feeling like she was being watched. They turned around to see the Other Doctor walking purposefully down the hall and into a room in the back and followed to find themselves in a library. It was decorated for Christmas, a slightly unexpected in a single, older man's home. The Other Doctor went straight for the man's desk and began to search the drawers.

"This investigation of yours, what's it about?" the Doctor began.

"It started with a murder," he answered as Angel looked around the room, just getting a feel for it.

"Oh, good."

"Doctor," Angel sent him a look over her shoulder.

He winced, "I mean bad, but whose?"

"Mr. Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex," the Other Doctor murmured, "He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death."

"Cybermen?"

"It's hard to say, his body was never found," he sighed, not seeing the Doctor glance at Angel as she tensed at that and looked at HIM closely, "But then it started. More secret murders. Then abductions. Children…stolen away in silence."

"Whose house is this?" Angel asked, her gaze turning from him and falling on another desk in the back of the room, just knowing something was in there...

Chapter Text

"The latest murder," the Other Doctor replied as he moved to a bookcase, pulling out random books and checking behind them, "The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"But who was he, was he important?" the Doctor asked, though his gaze, like it often was, was on Angel, seeing she hadn't looked away from that particular desk.

"You ask a lot of questions," the Other Doctor glanced back at him.

The Doctor just shrugged, "We're your companions."

"The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children," Angel murmured...

'...Matron of the St. Joseph Workhouse, your humble servant...'

...they watched a group of orphans pass...

'...when it reaches 100, what about the children?...'

She shook her head out of the vision, feeling relieved she was getting them again though, now they had a hint of what might be coming, they could prepare. And that was always something she worried about when her visions had started to fade before, that the Doctor would be left unprepared and in a terrible danger because she hadn't seen something coming. Now though, she was immensely glad that they were back. She found this version of her rather liked them, was less afraid of what they and the Vortex could mean. She was happier now, she understood what it all meant. It was funny how dying gave you perspective like that. It seemed she was quite a bit like Jack in a way, it had taken him ages to think of his immortality as a gift instead of a curse, just as it had taken her quite a while to understand her visions, the Vortex, everything was a gift. With it...SHE could protect the Doctor just like he protected her.

He was always so aware of her, of when she was in danger, trying to keep her behind him, block attacks, distract enemies, just to protect her. But now she realized her visions, her feelings, they'd been there as a way to help HIM. He was so clever and brilliant and quick while she was...average. But her abilities, the Vortex and her 'psychic' qualities made them even. While she wasn't as bright or quick, she had a gift, she could use it in the same way as he used his mind. To help protect others. It was nice to know she could do that, that she could be just as amazing as him in a way. She honestly and truly felt confident for once, finally seemed to be able to believe that she deserved him, that she was good enough for him...

'You're SO wrong,' she heard him in her mind, realizing he'd heard everything and was gazing at her intensely, the Other Doctor not seeming to notice, 'Angel...I'M the one who doesn't deserve YOU,' he insisted, 'I still can't believe you picked me,' he whispered, his mental voice full of honesty, 'I still can't believe you said yes to being my Mate. I...' he shook his head, reaching out to take her hands, 'Every time I look at you, or dream, or wake...I can't believe this life I have is real. That you're real. That you exist and that...' he smiled, stroking her cheek, 'That you're mine. All mine...' he let out a happy little laugh, 'I feel like the luckiest man in the Universe because I have you. My good luck charm, eh?'

She blushed, looking down, but he gently lifted her chin up, 'I feel the same,' she told him, moving onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips, biting her lip as she pulled away with a wide grin.

He felt his breath leave him at that, it was a new habit of hers, he'd noticed, biting her lip in the most adorable way...but also a way that just...made his hearts race. He found himself staring at her lips whenever she did that, which did little to help his self-control in not kissing her whenever she did that...

'Self-control,' Angel spoke in his mind, making his eyes shoot to hers, 'Is no fun at all Theta,' she smirked mischievously.

He had to nod at that and leaned in, giving in, and kissing her again...and again...and then peppering her face in little kisses till she laughed and swatted him away playfully, looking back around the room before walking over to the desk that kept pulling her attention.

"But why would the Cybermen want him dead?" the Doctor asked, watching her go, realizing they had been a bit quiet and the Other Doctor might notice soon, "And what's his connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?"

"It's funny, I seem to be telling you everything," the Other Doctor eyed them, actually more startled by the Doctor speaking again than having noticed them fall silent, "As though you engendered some sort of...trust. You seem familiar, Mr. Smith. I know your face Miss Jones," he eyed her a moment longer than the Doctor, "But how?"

"I wonder," the Doctor looked down, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch."

The Other Doctor looked down at his waist where he did indeed have a fob watch attached to it, "Is that important?"

"Legend has it that the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch," the Doctor murmured, "Do you mind?" Angel glanced over as the Other Doctor handed the Doctor his watch, "It's said that if it's opened..." he opened it...and the workings fell out, "Oh. Maybe not."

"It's more for decoration."

"Yeah," he nodded, walking over to Angel, draping his arm around her shoulders, making her smile, "Anyway, alien infiltration."

Angel looked at him with a shy little grin. She'd missed this as well. Being ill...most of the touches she'd gotten from the Doctor had been to help support her, keep her standing, help her walk...it didn't leave much time or enjoyment for lighter touches. It was so nice to be able to stand on her own, to lean against him solely for the closeness and not the support, to be able to touch him and be touched and not have to worry about falling down or him taking her pulse or anything but just...touching. It was odd how much such a little thing could mean.

"Look for anything different," the Other Doctor nodded, getting back to his search, "Possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no Earthly engine..."

Angel lightly nudged the Doctor, nodding at the desk beside them and the Doctor pulled out his sonic, flashing it across to open it.

"It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world. Shh!" the Other Doctor pressed a finger to his lips, "What's that noise?"

The Doctor quickly slipped the sonic back into his pocket, "Oh, it's just me...whistling," he whistled an impression of the sonic whirring.

"That's a very good impression," Angel remarked quietly to him. She loved that as well, learning new things about him. Being psychic one would automatically assume she knew everything about someone or the future but she didn't. She liked only getting the very important snippets. She liked the adventure...it seemed nearly dying had been good for another thing. Being so sick, so unable to do anything for round about 2 years, well 2 sets of 1 year, but still...being so unable to do anything had made her eager to get out there and do something! She just wanted to run around and explore and laugh and help people, not that she hadn't before but she was just...more excited to be able to really do it this time.

The Doctor winked at her in thanks and pointed at the scroll top desk, "I wonder what's in here, though…"

"Only one way to find out," Angel turned and lifted the top, pulling out a metal cylinder, "Different and metal, just as you said," she smiled at the Other Doctor.

"They are infostamps," the Doctor said, taking it from Angel and peering at it, "I mean, at a guess. Um, if I were you, I'd say they worked something like this," he pressed one end of the cylinder and images were projected onto the wall behind him from the other end. He turned to look, "See? Compressed information. Tons of it."

"That is..." Angel squinted at the images racing by, "The history of London," she guessed, though she sounded a bit more certain that just guessing, the Doctor putting on his specs to examine it as well, "1066 to now."

The Doctor beamed, "Correctamundo!" he cheered, seeing that it WAS 1066 to the present day, oh he loved that about Angel.

She had been right, in the Crucible, she DID seem to have a natural affinity with time. She was always guessing the date, the year, even the time left for something, LONG before she'd taken in the Vortex. She'd done the same since he'd met her, guessed the date when they took Adam on his first trip, guessed how long before the Dalek fleet invaded the Game Station, and you know what, she hadn't been wrong yet. And that was just brilliant, SHE was brilliant.

"Thought you hoped to never say that again," Angel smiled up at him, the blush back on her cheeks having heard his praises in his mind.

"For you," he took her hand, kissing the back of it, "I'd say anything."

"An...infostamp?" the Other Doctor asked, something tugging at him at seeing the man and woman across from him so...in love. It made his chest tighten and tears come to his eyes...and not happy ones, but ones that spoke of a profound loss, one he didn't understand why he felt.

"This is like a disk, a Cyber-Disk," the Doctor looked down at it, pulled back to the present, "But why would the Cybermen need something so simple?" Angel glanced over to see the Other Doctor collapse into a chair, "They've gotta be wireless. Unless...they're in the wrong century, they haven't got much power. They need plain old basic infostamps to update themselves…"

"Are you alright?" Angel asked, walking over to kneel before the Other Doctor, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"I'm fine," he nodded, patting her hand with his, resting his over hers in thanks for her concern.

"You can't lie to a psychic," she shook her head, frowning as she eyed him, something on the edge of her senses, "What is it?" the Doctor stepped over as well, "What's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before," he frowned, seeing himself and a Cyberman in his mind, both of them in a dark, small, dank room, "I was holding...this device," he took the infostamp from the Doctor, "The night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And you were there," he looked up at the Doctor, "Who are you?"

"Friends," the Doctor said, "I swear."

"Then I beg you, John. Help me."

"Two words he would never refuse," Angel smiled softly.

"You can talk," he muttered, smiling at Angel as he helped her stand, as though Angel could EVER deny someone in need of help either, she'd saved so many people he hadn't been able to, "But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house. It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS...your TARDIS. Hold on, I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," he turned and started opening doors, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…"

"No!" Angel shouted, leaping forward and shoving a door shut the Doctor had just opened. He caught the briefest glimpse of a Cyberman before it was thrust closed. Angel looked at him, "I think we should run."

They ran back to the Other Doctor, helping him up as the Cyberman broke through the door, "Run, Doctor!" the Doctor nudged him, "Now, Doctor!" he pushed him ahead of them out the library.

"Delete!" the Cyberman called.

They ran down the hallway towards the front door only for Angel to pull them back a moment before a second Cyberman stepped in, "The Doctor will be deleted."

Angel grabbed their arms and turned around, leading them towards the stairs as the first Cyberman arrived from the hallway, "Delete!"

The Other Doctor ran up the stairs, Angel following as the Doctor tried to find something to use as a weapon...only to open an umbrella. And then he spotted a sword on the wall and grabbed it.

"Delete!"

He swung the sword, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" the Cybermen advanced, "Ok, this is really your last warning! Ok, I give up," he started up the stairs as Angel watched from above.

"Delete!"

"Listen to me properly!" he shouted, backing up as they advanced, using the sword to block the blows they dealt, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, Angel and I can help! We're the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete!"

"I'm the Doctor. You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!" he kicked the Cybermen back and ran up the stairs.

"Delete!"

"The Doctor, remember? I'm the Doctor! You need me alive! You need the Doctor, and that's me!"

The Other Doctor looked down at the infostamp in his hand and winced as another snippet of memory struck him, of a tip opening, a bright light shooting out of it.

"Delete!"

"Duck!" Angel called, pulling the Doctor down just as the Other Doctor opened the stamp and aimed the beam at the Cybers. They fell to their knees as their heads exploded.

"Infostamp with a cyclo-Steinham core," the Doctor and Angel stood up a moment later, staring at the Other Doctor, "You ripped open the core and broke the safety, zap!" he laughed, looking at the Other Doctor, "Only the Doctor would think of that."

"I did that...last time," he admitted heavily as he stared down at it.

"Come here," Angel pulled him into a sideways hug, just knowing the man needed comfort, he was clearly shaken by everything that was going on, "You'll be ok."

"Let me just check…" the Doctor pulled out a stethoscope and held it to the man's chest, wanting to be 100 percent sure he was human as they thought he was.

"You told them you were the Doctor," he looked at the Doctor, "Why did you do that?"

"Oh, I was just protecting you," the Doctor mumbled, listening to the man's heart. Heart...as in one. Singular.

"You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did!" he accused, stepping back, though not shaking Angel away from him, "They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember," he shook his head, "What happened to me? What did they do?"

"We'll find out," Angel promised him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

The Doctor nodded, putting the scope away, "You, me, and Angel together."

~8~

Fairchild's body was lowered into the grave as the vicar spoke, a small gathering of men dressed in black gathered around the open hole in the earth, solemn, respectful, "Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy, to take unto Himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working..." he stopped suddenly, seeing the woman in red striding up to them, not seeming to have a care at all that her outfit and presence were must unbefitting the moment.

"Do continue," she smirked, coming to a stop beside the men.

"Madam, I must protest!"

"Whatever for?"

"A lady at the graveside is debatable enough, but...your apparel..."

"Is it too exciting?" she eyed her red dress, a stark contrast against the black of the mourners and the white of the snow.

"You're disgracing the ceremony, dressed like a harlot," another man glared at her.

"Oh, and you should know, Mr. Cole," she shot back at the man.

"How do you know my name?"

"You've walked past me so many times, all you good men of charity, never once asking my name."

"It's Miss Hartigan, isn't it?" another man asked.

"Oh, you noticed," she smiled, "I saw you looking, you cheeky boy."

"I'm sorry, but who is she?" the vicar looked at the men, lost.

"Matron of the St. Joseph Workhouse, your humble servant," she introduced, though it came out with a bit of a sneer, "Oh, I've watched you all. Visiting. Smiling. Bestowing your beneficence upon the poor while I scrubbed down their filthy beds."

"I must insist that you depart..."

"But that's why the late Reverend Fairchild had to die," she sighed, continuing on as though she hadn't heard the vicar speaking, "To gather you all in one place. Where better than a funeral?" she smiled up at the vicar, "Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live. Although I've got some friends who might disagree with that. Would you like to meet them? Hark! I can hear them now," Cybermen marched in from all sides, surrounding the funeral party, "Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, Mr. Milligan," she eyed three of the older men, "Stay where you are. You're needed. The rest of you are disposable. Sorry."

"But what manner of men are they?" the vicar stared at the Cybers in horror.

"Cybermen," she smirked, watching as the mourners ran from the metal men and the Cyber-Shades. A large number of them were electrocuted as they tried to save themselves, "I repeat, Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, Mr. Milligan. Stay."

"You monstrous witch!" Cole shouted as he was herded back.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," she simply laughed.

"But why are we spared?" one of the men asked, "What do you need us for?"

"Your children. It's funny, now I think of it, but in all these years not one of you has asked my first name. It's Mercy."

The Cybermen came up and surrounded the small group of men.

~8~

Rosita paced nervously outside what looked like a stable of some sort, as she waited for the Other Doctor to return, looking up sharply when she heard three sets of approaching footsteps, "Doctor!" she gasped, running over to hug the man when she saw him appear around a corner with the other two, the Doctor with his arm gentlemanly linked through Angel's, "I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita," he pushed her away with a little laugh, "A little decorum."

"You've been gone for so long," she turned to Angel, "He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, she's ready. Come on," she took the Other Doctor's arm and led him off.

"I'm looking forward to this," the Doctor muttered to Angel as they followed along, the Doctor trailing his hand down Angel's arm till they were hand-in-hand. They stepped into a stable, looking around at the clothes and suitcases littered through the building.

"You were right though, Rosita," the Other Doctor nodded, "The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen."

"So, you live here?" the Doctor eyed the place, it was...nice. But he didn't think he'd ever seen the TARDIS turn into a stable before.

"This isn't the TARDIS," Angel frowned.

A TARDIS in any shape or form had a distinct...vibe...to it. She could always tell where one was, what it was. There was a little game she used to play with the newly grown TARDISes, the ones fresh from adaption with the Chameleon Circuit technology...much like the Earth Hide-and-Seek. They would transform into anything, a statue, a vase, a cupboard, anything at all, and she would have to find them. It was fun, and it gave the TARDISes a chance to adapt and get used to the new tech. She'd always been able to tell where they were though, and it was NOT a feeling at the time just...well, she'd always had a special connection with them. They couldn't fool her.

Her father and sister on the other hand...they could go days without finding a TARDIS.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy," the Other Doctor nodded, "The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," he stepped into one of the stalls to wash his face.

"And where's the TARDIS now?" Angel wondered, vaguely wondering if it WAS one of the stalls, if perhaps she was just...not sensing it because, IF, and it was a very big IF, the man really was a future Doctor, perhaps having the same TARDIS there at different points in its timeline might be shorting out that connection.

But she doubted it.

She was fairly certain the only TARDIS, the only real TARDIS, around was theirs. She shivered a bit, she loved that, their TARDIS.

"In the yard," the man gestured to the side.

"Er...what's all this luggage?" the Doctor frowned, glancing around at the cases.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita," he turned to his companion, drying his face, "Much like myself. He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I."

The Doctor looked over to see Angel eyeing a stack of suitcases with the same look on her face that she'd gotten when they'd found the first infostamp. He pulled out the sonic, flashing it to see which suitcase it was.

"He was quite brilliant..." the Other Doctor continued, before pausing, listening, "Are you whistling again?"

"Yes," the Doctor turned, hiding the sonic behind his back, "Yes, I am, yeah. Yeah."

Angel put a finger to her lips and winked at Rosita, whom she knew had seen him, as the Doctor turned and opened the top trunk.

"That's another man's property!" Rosita cried.

"Well, a dead man's," the Doctor countered, searching the trunk.

"Rosita," Angel smiled at her, wanting to distract her from stopping the Doctor, "How did you meet the Doctor?"

"He saved my life," Rosita smiled softly, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then...there he was. The Doctor," she fell silent a moment, glancing between them, before looking at Angel, "Can you help him?" she asked the woman, glancing between her and the Doctor, "He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror..."

"Come now, Rosita," the Other Doctor chastised lightly, coming over, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

"At first yeah," the Doctor agreed, his hand taking Angel's as he winked at her and dropped a kiss on the back of it. She blushed at his unspoken words...

Not anymore.

God the nightmares used to terrify him. He'd dream of the planet burning, as though he were still on it, as though he were watching its destruction but just...protected from it. He'd seen his friends and family die around him, his children crying out for him to help...and been powerless to stop it. He'd been helpless in the knowledge that it was HIS fault, that HE was the reason his children were suffering, burning, dying...he'd wake up in a cold sweat each time. Sometimes he'd dream of what might have happened if he'd stopped Davros when he'd had the chance, when he'd been tasked to stop the Daleks by going back in their timeline. And he'd feel regret and disappointment in himself at not having succeeded. Sometimes he wouldn't even dream of the planet, but just a dark room where his children stood before him, his friends, his family, his people and just...pointed at him, staring at him accusingly, telling him it was HIS fault...and it was.

He could still remember the first night he hadn't had a nightmare...when he and Rose had taken a little trip to a museum in America...that night had been the beginning of it all. He had nightmares periodically after that, their frequency diminishing the more time he spent around Angel. He couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt to know one of his people survived and DIDN'T hate him for what he'd done. His dreams had slowly begun to shift, from nightmares to in-between dreams. The faces were still there, still pointing...but Angel was beside him, holding his hand, silently reassuring him that not everyone believed him to be at fault. And slowly, the faces faded as well, the number of people accusing him lessened.

Eventually...well, really when he'd regenerated into his healing coma...the dreams had become just him and Angel. The desolate worlds and black rooms turning into Earth, with its blue sky, and the warm console room of the TARDIS. And it had remained that way ever since...he didn't have nightmares when she was with him, when she was beside him and she hadn't left his side since. The dreams though, had gotten stronger, more vivid, more...heated...

He blushed and looked away from Angel, back at the suitcase, desperately trying to keep her from seeing just where his thoughts and dreams had gone, luckily seeming to do so, "Oh, now, look," he pulled out another infostamp, "Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how?" the Other Doctor shook his head, "Is that significant?"

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS."

"May we see it?" Angel asked politely.

"Mr. Smith, Miss Jones," the Other Doctor grinned, "It would be my honor," he turned and led them out the back of the stables and into a small stable yard...

Where a hot air balloon was tied up.

"There she is! My transport through time and space. The TARDIS."

"You've...got a balloon," the Doctor blinked, that was not quite what he was expecting, nor, it seemed, was Angel either.

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style. D'you see?"

"Well, I do now. I like it. Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one," he inspected it closely, "And it's inflated by gas, yeah?"

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks, I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed," he clapped a young man on the shoulder.

"Glad to be of service, sir," Jed nodded.

The Other Doctor pulled out a number of bills from his inner coat pocket and slapped one into Jed's hand.

"You've got quite a bit of money," the Doctor noted, absently patting his own pockets, not a penny on him.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," the Other Doctor nodded, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

"All repaired, should work a treat," he said, "You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above."

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" the Doctor asked.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita remarked.

"I can depart, in the TARDIS, once London is safe," the Other Doctor replied, "And finally, when I'm up there...think of it, John. The time and the space."

"The perfect escape," Angel smiled softly, before looking at the Other Doctor, "Have you ever wondered what you're trying to escape from?"

"With every moment."

"Then do you want us to tell you?" the Doctor asked, "'Cos I think I've worked it out now, I'd wager Angel has too. How you became the Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?"

The Other Doctor was silent a moment, before nodding.

~8~

The men Miss Hartigan had collected stood before her, with an earpiece in each ear, "Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, and Mr. Milligan, you have your instructions and the Court of the Cyber-King is waiting," she smiled, "First of all, let's just see. A little test. Turn right," they turned right, "Turn left," and left, "And face me," they did, "Oh, I could do this forever. But now, set about your appointed tasks. And bring them to me."

The men turned and went their separate ways to collect the children as ordered, as Miss Hartigan climbed into a carriage pulled by a Cyber-Shade.

Chapter Text

The Doctor and Angel sat side-by-side in the stables, across from Rosita and the Other Doctor, both looking at each other, the Doctor with a serious expression, Angel with a sad one. The Doctor had been right, she HAD worked it out, surprisingly. It had taken her a while, she knew the Doctor had worked it out, or at least suspected what had happened, ages before her, but that was ok because...SHE worked it out too! She'd actually figured it out for herself, no need for the Doctor to explain it to her or hint at it or try to nudge her in the right direction, but she'd done it on her own. She knew she wasn't the cleverest Time Lady, not by a long shot, her brilliance lying more with the TARDISes than anything, but the fact that she had finally worked something out, without needing her visions or feelings to help...had been incredible. She had tried, actively tried, in her last body to really pay attention, to listen to what the Doctor said and learn from it, to try and better herself, to try and do better, be better, for him...not that he ever asked her to do that. In fact there were times he tried to distract her from working too hard at trying to figure something out, just because he could see it upsetting her when she didn't get it. To him, she was perfect, though she herself knew she had about a million flaws, but the Doctor didn't care about them. To him, she was brilliant.

And now...she actually felt it.

Well, not quite brilliant, she knew she'd NEVER be as smart as the Doctor, not having seen all he had and experienced all he had, but she felt more confident in her abilities, in her own way of looking at the world and understanding it. She finally felt secure in her intelligence, like she WAS smart, but in a different way than most would think. She was secretly suspicious the Doctor might really be psychic as he had said that to her once, that she had a cleverness and brilliance all of her own. She probably would have rejoined at having been able to work out what had happened to the Other Doctor, it was amazing how believing in yourself could affect the way you thought and what you could do, but this was not a matter to celebrate, because that poor man who thought he was the Doctor had suffered terribly.

"The story begins with the Cybermen," the Doctor began, "A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called the Void, locked inside forevermore. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside the Void perished. But, as the walls of the world weakened, the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you."

"I fought them, I know that," the Other Doctor agreed, "But what happened?"

"Around the same time, Jackson Lake came to London," Angel took up the story, staring a bit out in space as though she were seeing the events she was speaking of, though the Doctor knew she wasn't, he could see in her mind it was just a very powerful feeling she was getting, "With all of his luggage and a handful of money in his coat. He was coming here for that job you mentioned, the teaching job. But before he could even begin...he found a Cyberman instead. I think..." she looked at the Doctor, just wanting to be sure she HAD actually gotten it right, "He managed to find an infostamp..." the Doctor nodded, "And opened the tip of it. He stopped them and got away..."

"But he's dead," the Other Doctor shook his head, it didn't make sense, the story in his mind, Jackson Lake hadn't survived that night, "Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him. He didn't get away."

Angel blinked and looked at him sadly, "But there was no body to be found, unlike with the reverend," she reached out to put a hand on his, "...you kept all his suitcases, but you never opened them to see what was inside. You know about him when no one else does, things that no one could know unless...unless they were there that night..."

The Doctor nodded, "I told you the answer was in the fob watch. Can I see?" the Other Doctor handed over the watch mutely. The Doctor simply turned it around to reveal a monogram, "'J.L.' The watch...is Jackson Lake's."

"Jackson Lake is...you, sir?" Rosita stared at the Other Doctor, stunned. He certainly didn't act like a human, not at all.

"But I'm the Doctor…" the man countered, insisting on it really, almost...desperately. As though he NEEDED to believe he was the Doctor for some reason.

"You became the Doctor because the infostamp you picked up was a book about one particular man," the Doctor explained, picking up the stamp and projecting onto the wall, all his past incarnations flashing by, "The Cybermen's database. Stolen from the Daleks inside the Void, I'd say, but it's everything you could want to know about the Doctor."

"That's you," Jackson gasped, seeing the last incarnation of the Time Lord sitting before him.

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen, Mate of the Angel," the Doctor nodded, beaming at that last one, winking at Angel for it as she blushed beautifully, "The one and the only. You see? The infostamp must have backfired, streamed all that information about me right inside your head."

"I am nothing but a lie…"

"No, no, no, that's not true at all," Angel moved off the crate she'd been sitting on to kneel before the sorrowful man, taking his hands in hers, looking up at him, "Infostamps can't give you a new personality Jackson, they just...give you information. Everything you've done, your bravery, how you saved Rosita, how you'd give your life to defend London...that's all YOU," she reached out and pointed at his left side, his heart, "That's the man you are in here," she smiled, squeezing his hands, "And that TARDIS? Brilliant! Of all the things it could mean, you came up with such a clever twist on it."

"Take that as a compliment," the Doctor smiled, watching Angel calming the man, as she always did, she just seemed to have that effect on people naturally but her confidence just magnified that, it was like she was a walking talking ball of sunshine and serenity, just what everyone needed in their lives, and she was all his, "She knows more about the TARDIS than anyone."

"You're...the Angel?" Jackson eyed her, before looking at the Doctor when she nodded, "You said she was your Mate..." and back at her, "Why don't I know you?"

It was a valid question, if the Cybermen had stolen information about the Doctor from the Daleks, why didn't the Daleks have information on one of their enemies. For someone so important to the Doctor, it seemed so odd that Angel hadn't drifted through the 'Other Doctor's' thoughts once.

Angel's smile turned sad, "Because there's still something missing, isn't there?" she asked him softly, understanding.

The Doctor's eyes widened, realizing just why the 'other him' hadn't thought on Angel. It was the same reason he wouldn't have been able to survive the Crucible if Angel had truly died. The man had lost more than just his mind that night, he'd lost someone so important to him, someone so important that to even think on being without them hurt too much. He'd escaped that life by becoming the Doctor, and needed to escape that memory of who he'd lost by locking thoughts of the Angel away. He probably knew about Angel, but just...couldn't allow himself to think on her, if he did...all that pain he'd escaped from would have come back and destroyed him twice as much.

Knowing how important Angel was to him...how deeply he loved her...to lose her...the man before him wouldn't have survived that crushing loss. Humans...they could never even begin to understand just how deeply a Mating went, how integral the Mate became to the continued existence of the other. By the end of it...they lived for each other. As with the Isolus, they can't be alone, they needed each other.

"Please," Jackson looked at her, his mind slowly starting to return, to accept that he wasn't the Doctor but Jackson Lake, not that one was truly better than the other at the moment, both had lost so much, "Tell me what they took."

"Sorry," the Doctor cut in as he gently pulled Angel back beside him, all that thinking of Angel not being there made him crave having her beside him again, in his arms, safe and sound, "Really, I am so sorry. But that's an awful lot of luggage for one man. 'Cos an infostamp is plain technology. It's not enough to make a man lose his mind. What you suffered is called a fugue. A fugue state..."

Angel frowned, thinking, "When the mind just...goes blank?" she tried to recall.

The Doctor nodded, kissing her forehead, "Where the mind just runs away," he agreed, before turning back to Jackson, "Because it can't bear to look back. You wanted to become someone else, because Jackson Lake had lost so much."

A bell rang in the Town, "Midnight," Rosita murmured, "Christmas Day."

"I remember..." Jackson breathed, "Oh, my God..." he screwed his eyes closed, the pain he'd pushed aside as the Doctor returning, remembering a woman screaming in a dark cellar before the Cybers electrocuted her, "Caroline. They killed my wife," he wept, "They killed her. My angel."

The Doctor swallowed hard, squeezing Angel's hand tightly as Rosita put an arm around Jackson, comforting him. Angel frowned and picked up the infostamp, eyeing it a moment before it started to beep. The Doctor looked over, startled, and stood up, taking the stamp from her and following the sound to another trunk, "Oh..." he opened the trunk and pulled out a string of infostamps, "You found a whole cache of infostamps."

"But what is it?" Rosita looked over, "What's that noise?"

"Activation. A call to arms. The Cybermen are moving!" he and Angel dashed outside to see the shadows of Cybermen heading towards them.

"The Doctor needs help," Jackson turned to Rosita, "I learnt that much about him. There should be someone at his side to help the Angel," he was slowly starting to recall snippets of her, of who she was to the Doctor, as well, "Now go. Go!"

Rosita nodded and ran out to join them, looking around as they watched a group of orphans pass, "What is it? What's happening?" she turned to see Mr. Cole walking behind the children, "That's Mr. Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers."

"Oh, nothing as holy as that," the Doctor disagreed before walking alongside Cole, looking at the ear-pods the man was wearing, "Can you hear me? Hello? No? Mr. Cole, you seem to have something in your ear. Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just..." he reached for his sonic about to flash the piece when…

"Don't," Angel whispered, looking over where a Shade was watching a short distance away, "They're watching you Doctor," she looked back at him, "And we can't chance the children getting hurt," he nodded, putting the sonic away.

"But where are they going?" Rosita frowned.

"All need a good whipping, if you ask me," Jed commented, joining them, "There's tons of 'em. I've just seen another lot coming from the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane."

"Where's that?" the Doctor looked at Rosita.

"This way!" she called, leading them through the side streets till they came to another group of children led by another old man, "There's dozens of 'em!"

"But what for?"

They watched as four old men came to a stop before a large set of wooden double doors, all of them with scores of children around them. The children looked around, confused and a little afraid, when the doors suddenly opened and two Cybermen stepped forward.

"You will continue," one of the men said, "You will enter the Court of the Cyber-King," a little boy tried to escape but was driven back by the Cyber-Shades, "March. That is an order. March!"

And so, the children marched in.

~8~

Jackson sat weeping, inside a stall converted to a bedroom before standing, determined, and heading back out to search the luggage, "Where is it? Where is it?"

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Rosita watched the children enter the doors, the doors closing behind them, "We need to help them," Angel breathed, feeling a pit form in her stomach. She knew that something was going to happen to the children. In her vision, someone had asked about the children, what about the children, and she could tell from the franticness in the voice that it was something terrible. She always had a soft spot for children, having been old enough to think of a child as a child when her sister had been born. To see them so scared and being herded around broke her hearts.

"That's the door to the sluice," Rosita told them, "All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames."

"Yeah, that's too well guarded," the Doctor said, "We'll have to find another way in," he looked at Angel, who nodded. He turned back, only to find there were two Cybermen standing there, "Whoa!" he cried, turning to Angel, "Angel!"

"What?" she shook her head, "I can't see everything!"

"That's cheating, sneaking up!" he looked back at the Cybers, "Did you have your legs on silent?"

And then, Miss Hartigan walked up, her red dress shining against the metal men she stopped in front of. Angel frowned and looked down at her dress and back at the woman, she was wearing a silver dress with a red sash...while the woman, clearly someone who was aware of the Cybers given how little she was startled to see them, was wearing red with the silver in the back...she REALLY hoped that her feelings weren't going to start affecting how she dressed. She didn't want to wear red and worry that someone would end up getting hurt.

"So...what do we have here?" Hartigan half-sneered at them.

"Just walk towards me, slowly," the Doctor called, thinking her in danger, "Don't let them touch you."

Angel frowned, eyeing the woman even more, not only was she not startled by the metal men...she was comfortable around them. She looked at the Doctor but he didn't seem to have noticed that. Well how 'bout that, she'd spotted something before him, and without her 'feelings' to boot. Well wasn't that wizard?

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys," Hartigan nearly seemed to coo at the Cybers, "They are my knights in shining armor. Quite literally."

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern. You've still got free will. Step away..."

"Doctor," Angel whispered, cutting in slightly, "I don't think she's converted. I..." she eyed the woman again, "I think she's working with them."

Ok, NOW she was feeling it.

The woman smirked and nodded, "No one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted, liberation."

"Who are you?" Rosita demanded.

"You can be quiet," she glared, "I doubt he paid you to talk. More importantly, who are you, sir, with such intimate knowledge of my companions?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said, "And this is my Mate, the Angel."

"Incorrect," a Cybermen replied, "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor or of the abomination known as the Angel."

"OI!" he nearly snarled at the metal men, about to stalk towards them for calling her an abomination, but Angel tugged him back.

"Don't," she warned him, squeezing his arm, "Please..."

He swallowed hard, but had to calm himself, hearing no hint of sadness or hurt in her voice for what she'd been called. It seemed she was secure in her abilities, not thinking of them as a curse seemed to allow her to ignore others who would see it that way. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, feeling himself calming as Angel ran her hand lightly up and down his arm, soothing him. He reached out and put a hand over hers, stilling it, squeezing it in thanks, kissing the back of it. If he'd advanced on the Cybers, they would have shot him.

"Yeah," he let out a breath and looked at the metal men again, "That's 'cos my Mate's regenerated since then, and, as for me, your database got corrupted," he held up the infostamp, "Oh, look, look, look! Check this! The Doctor's infostamp," he tossed it to them, "Plug it in. Go on, download."

"The core has been damaged," the Cyber stated, having scanned it, "This infostamp would damage Cyber-Units."

The Doctor pouted and Angel laughed, patting his arm, "It was a nice try," she told him.

The Cyberman held the infostamp in its hand till it beeped, "Core repaired. Download," its chest unit opened and it inserted the stamp, images of the Doctor flashed in its eye, "You are the Doctor," it pulled out the infostamp.

"Hello!" the Doctor smiled.

"And the Angel."

"Nice to meet you," Angel laughed.

"You and your Mate will be deleted."

"Oh, but let us die happy!" the Doctor held up his hands, stepping forward just a bit, not entirely in front of Angel, but enough to protect her, "Tell me, what d'you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" Hartigan smirked, "They're a workforce."

"A workforce for what?" Angel frowned.

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down, in worship."

Angel glanced at the Doctor, "The translation circuit..." she began hesitantly, "It was fine when we left the TARDIS right?"

He laughed, recalling quite a few times where Angel had feared the translating abilities of the TARDIS had been broken when she couldn't understand what humans were saying, "It's just fine," he told her, before focusing on Hartigan, "And it's all been timed for Christmas Day. Was that your idea, Miss..."

"Hartigan," she nodded, "And, yes, it's the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"The birth of what?"

"A birth, and a death. Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now, delete them."

"Delete!"

Angel grabbed the Doctor and Rosita and pulled them down as a beam of energy hit the Cybers from behind. The metal men fell to reveal Jackson, aiming an infostamp at them, "At your service, Doctor," Jackson cried.

"Shades!" Hartigan cried, seeing herself now outnumbered, "Shades!"

"Run!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing Angel's hand and running off, the girl picking up the hem of her dress to follow him, nearly making him laugh...she'd left the cowboy boots on, "Come on!"

"Shades!"

"One last thing," Rosita turned around...and punched Hartigan in the face, sending her to the floor.

"Can I say, I completely disapprove!" the Doctor stopped to tell her.

"Come on!" Angel pulled him away this time.

"Get off me," Hartigan shouted at the Shades as they swarmed to help her, "I said, get off! Tell your masters, we're not waiting till dawn. The Cyber-King will rise...tonight!"

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, Jackson, and Rosita stopped a good distance away to catch their breath, "That stronghold down by the river," the Doctor began, "We need to find a way in."

"I'm ahead of you!" Jackson cut in, "Angel was right, my wife and I were moving to London so I could take up a post at the university. And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he pulled out a stack of papers, "The deeds, 15 Latimer Street. And if Angel was correct, which I don't doubt, if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then..."

"That might be a way in! Brilliant!"

"Oh well done Jackson," Angel smiled at him.

"But there's still more," Jackson shook his head, "I remember the cellar…and my wife. But I swear there was something else in that room," he scrunched his face, trying to remember, "If we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders," he shook his head, brushing those forgotten memories away for now, there were more pressing matters at hand, "So...onwards!" he turned to lead them on.

"Maybe you should go back..." the Doctor glanced at Rosita.

"Don't even try!" Rosita cut him off, stalking past him to follow Jackson.

"No," the Doctor agreed as Angel laughed, pulling him along after them.

"You should have known better," she smiled at him, linking their hands, "Companions never abandon their Pilots."

He had to nod at that, even separated by the walls of the worlds, trapped in a parallel Universe, Mickey and Rose had still managed to find them again, not about to leave them to face the darkness alone. He smiled, even as he thought on how his companions often left him, because...Angel was there. Angel was always there, and he just knew, even though he wasn't psychic like her, she'd always be there too. She'd survived dying in the Crucible and stayed with him, she was just...so strong. Stronger than him in a way. And if she could survive that, she'd survive anything.

Not that she'd have to survive anything, he'd protect her better than he had.

He swore it, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it in silent promise.

He would do ANYTHING to keep her safe.

~8~

"You have wisdom," the Cyber-Leader remarked to Miss Hartigan, "If the Doctor and his Mate are planning to intervene, then the Ascension will commence immediately."

"Excellent," she grinned, "And as for you, Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, and Mr. Milligan, your work is done," she flipped a lever on a control panel beside her and smirked, watching as the men were electrocuted by the ear-pods they wore. She turned, unaffected by the fact she'd just murdered four men, and stepped through a door into a cavernous room where the orphans were slaving away in a sweltering workroom, "Children!" she shouted, making them pause, "Pay attention! Now let the new Industrial Revolution begin. I want to see you work!"

The children quickly carried on, shoveling coal into furnaces and manually turning gears, always aware that the Cybers were watching them.

"Energy levels 60 percent and rising," a Cyberman reported as it stepped up beside her and the Cyber-Leader.

"Soon the Cyber-King will awake," the Cyber-Leader replied.

"Then show me," she wrapped her arm through the Cyber-Leader's, treating him as though he were a proper gentleman, and walked off with him.

~8~

Jackson entered the cellar of what was most likely his house to find a Cyberman, "Delete!"

He shot the infostamp at it as the Doctor, Rosita, and Angel ran in. The Doctor rushed past him into the cellar and straight to a device set up on in the middle of the floor, "Must've been guarding this," he remarked, eyeing it as Angel came to kneel beside him, "A Dimension Vault! Stolen from the Daleks again, that's how the Cybermen travelled through time..." he trailed off seeing Angel's expression dim and reached out to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek till she looked at him. He leaned in and kissed her, wanting to reassure her. He knew where her mind had gone, the Cybermen had attacked Gallifrey once, wanting to get their hands on time travel technology, on the TARDISes, her mother had died in that attack, to hear that the Cybermen might have succeeded here, finally obtained something of the technology her mother had died to protect...it hit her hard.

"We'll stop them," she whispered as she pulled away, resting her forehead to his a moment.

"Yes," he gave her another peck, seriously her new new new lips might just be more addictive than her old new lips were, "We will," he gave her one more peck, "I promise."

She nodded, closing her eyes a moment before pulling away, a finger gently tracing the curve of his cheek and chin before she smiled.

He beamed at that, having gotten what he'd aimed for, and turned back to the humans, "Jackson, is this the thing you couldn't remember?" he nodded at the scepter-like device set in the middle of the machine.

"I don't think so," he frowned, "I'm...I just can't see. It's like it's hidden."

"Yeah, not enough power. Come on! Avanti!" he grabbed Angel's hand and rushed off.

~8~

Miss Hartigan stopped as she entered some sort of room, seeing a narrow bridge with a throne on the other side, flanked by two Cybermen, "Oh, that is magnificent. That is royalty, indeed. And that's quite a throne. Oh, you will look resplendent," she gazed at the Cyber-Leader.

"The chair you designate as 'throne' is not intended for me," the Cyber-Leader replied, "My function is to serve the Cyber-King, not to become the Cyber-King."

"Then who sits there?" the Cyber-Leader turned to her, "No! Now, just...I think if you remember correctly, you said I was to be heralded."

"All hail the Cyber-King."

"All hail the Cyber-King," the Cybermen chanted.

"But you promised I would never be converted!" she shouted.

"That was designated a 'lie,'" it replied.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel led Rosita and Jackson cautiously through a series of tunnels, trying to find their way to the main chamber, well, not trying really. Angel was in the lead, letting her feelings guide them through the tunnels. Rosita was a little hesitant to believe the girl was really psychic like the men claimed, for all she knew, they were just getting lost, but the men had just hushed her and let Angel take the lead.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita had to ask.

"They want us," the Doctor sighed, his hand still in Angel's, not about to let her go as they faced the Cybermen again. He could see it in her mind, she was starting to think the robots as unlucky for her as hospitals were. Whenever they appeared, she lost someone, first her mother, then Mickey, then Rose, and now she was determined not to lose anyone else, "That's what Cybermen are, human beings with their brains put into metal shells. They want every living thing to be like them."

~8~

Hartigan was strapped to the throne-chair, the Cybermen walking back across the bridge as she shouted, "You can't do this to me!"

"Incorrect," the Cyber-Leader remarked, "It is done."

"But I would have served you anyway!"

"Your mind is driven with anger and abuse and revenge. These have no place in a Cyber-Mind. Activate!" a helmet like device was lowered from above the chair, "Emotions have tormented you all of your life. Now you will be set free. This is your liberation."

"For the love of God! Have you no pity?"

"Correct," the device clamped down on her head, shooting electricity through her, she gasped when it finally faded, "A Cyber-King is born."

"All hail the Cyber-King," the Cybers chanted.

Hartigan's eyes snapped open, completely black.

~8~

Angel pulled the Doctor back as they found the workroom where the children were, "Upon my soul," Jackson stared at what they were building.

"What is it?" Rosita eyed it.

"It's an engine," the Doctor replied, "They're generating electricity. But what for?"

"We can set them free!" Jackson made to go forward.

"No!" Angel gasped before turning and running back the way they came, leaving the three little choice but to follow.

~8~

"I hold such information!" Hartigan cried.

~8~

Angel led them straight to a power room, the Doctor's eyes widening as he checked the readings on the monitor in the wall, "Power at 90 percent! But if we stop the engine, the power dies down, the Cybermen will come running. Ooh," he frowned, tapping the readout, "Hold on. Power fluctuation. That's not meant to happen."

"It's going wrong?" Jackson tried to follow.

"No, it's weird. The software's rewriting itself. It's changing..."

"But changing into what?" Angel asked, alarmed.

~8~

"I can see the stars, the worlds beyond, the Vortex of Time itself, and the whole of infinity," Hartigan gasped at the amazing sights beyond her gaze, "Oh, but this is glorious!"

"That is incorrect," the Cyber-Leader replied, "'Glorious' is an emotional response."

"Exactly! There is so much joy in this machine."

"Joy is not acceptable."

"Don't you see? My mind is stronger than you ever thought! It dominates, sir! It dominates you!"

"Alert! You are operating beyond the standard parameters."

"I am new. The might of your technology combined with my own imagination. Yes! There will be a new race of Cybermen. MY Cybermen! Logic and strength combined with fury and passion!"

"Diagnosis...system failure! You will be removed from the processor," the Cyber-Leader walked forward but Hartigan shot a beam of energy from the device attached to her head, killing it.

Chapter Text

Angel pulled the Doctor back as there was a surge in the machine's readings, "What the hell's happening?" his eyes widened, "It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating," Jackson gasped, squinting at the numbers, "96 percent, 97..."

"When it reaches 100, what about the children?" Rosita asked.

"They're disposable," Angel breathed, her hearts racing for the poor boys and girls who had no idea the danger they were in. She grabbed the Doctor's arm, "Come on!" this time SHE was the one to pull him off down the passages and towards the danger.

~8~

"I am Cyber-King," Hartigan told her troops, "My mind inside the Cybermen. And you will obey me!"

"All hail the Cyber-King!" the scores of Cybermen chanted, making Hartigan smirk.

~8~

A Cyberman entered the power room, checking the readings, the levels of operation, "Power levels now at 100 percent. Delete the workforce!"

An alarm sounded.

"Delete," a second Cyber said, hearing the command and passing it on.

~8~

The Cybermen in the engine room straightened, hearing their order, and turned to the children, lifting their fists to expose their weapons and advancing, "Delete. Delete."

The Doctor, Angel, and Jackson ran in with Rosita, the humans using infostamps on the Cybers, managing to stop them just in time, "Right," the Doctor called out, "Now! All of you, out! D'you hear me? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!"

The children ran for the exit, Jackson urging them on, "All of you, come on! As fast as you can, come on!"

"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!"

"Go!" Angel called, gently helping a little girl who had tripped and fallen up, nudging her off.

"Rosita, get them out of the sluice gate! And once you're out, keep running! Far as you can!"

"Come on! Go! Hurry!"

"Turn right at the corner!" Rosita told them, following the children out, "Fast as you can, and don't stop! Keep running, keep running!"

~8~

"Come, my soldiers," Hartigan smirked as the Cybers and Shades swarmed her, "Come to me."

~8~

The children rushed out the doors with Rosita, running down the streets in the dark, trying to escape as the building behind them started to shake, "Come on, come on! Quick! Keep running! Keep running!"

~8~

The Doctor urged the last of the children out, "Go! Quick, quick..."

Angel turned to look around the room, feeling a pit in her stomach, as though someone were still there, as though someone hadn't gotten out...like there was something...missing. She took a breath, trying to calm, trying to focus. At times, in the past, she had been able to almost force a feeling, narrow it, sharpen it...she NEEDED to do that now, she had to...because whatever she was missing...it was important. She looked at the ground a moment, before she felt her gaze being pulled upwards...

"It's some sort of starter motor," the Doctor checked the gauges, "But starting what?"

Jackson looked over at them, seeing Angel staring up at the high scaffoldings. He followed her gaze and saw a young boy standing there on the top platform, too scared to move. His eyes widened, knowing the boy, recognizing him, his mind snapping back into place as he realized not what was also in the cellar with him and his wife, but WHO, "That's my son...my son. Doctor, my son!"

"What?!" the Doctor ran over to him, looking up at the boy, neither of them seeing Angel take off up a side step of the platform.

"They took my son!" he turned, grabbing the Doctor by his shoulders, "No wonder my mind escaped! Those damned Cybermen, they took my child. But he's alive, Doctor!" he turned back to the boy, "Frederic!"

"Come on!" the Doctor called up to him, gesturing for him to climb down or jump down for them to catch him.

"No, he's too scared. Stay there! Don't move! I'm coming!" Jackson headed for the side stairs...

But a large explosion send him falling back to the ground, a fire now blocking the route to his son.

~8~

"Cyber-King rising," Hartigan ordered as the structure rose.

~8~

"I can't get up there. Fred!" Jackson called as the Doctor helped him to his feet, both men struggling to stay standing as the room shook even more violently than before.

"They've finished with the motor," the Doctor warned, hearing alarms going off, "It's going to blow up."

"What are we going to do, Doctor?! What are we going to do?!"

The Doctor looked around, frantic, trying to find some way to get up to the boy...when he looked at the child once more, and started to smile, "Nothing…"

"What?!" Jackson demanded in horror, staring at the Doctor as though he'd lost his mind.

The Doctor merely pointed up where Angel was already kneeling beside the boy. They watched as she spoke quietly to him, opening her arms for him to hug her, which he did, tightly. She looked over the edge of the platform at a huge weight hanging from a pulley and jumped onto it, the weight slowly wheeling down to the ground with her and Frederic safely on it.

Angel landed on the floor of the work room as the Doctor and Jackson ran over, quickly handing the man his son, beaming widely as she saw the happy tears in the eyes of the humans at being reunited.

"You are brilliant!" the Doctor took her head in his hands, kissing her deeply as Jackson hugged his son tightly, laughing when he pulled away, "Completely fantastic!" and kissed her again, "But don't ever do that to me again," he gave her a peck.

She laughed, "You know you can't ask me to do that," she told him softly, taking his hands from her face and just holding them, "You can't ask me not to interfere when there are children crying."

He looked at her softly, "You're an angel," he told her, lifting her hands to his mouth to press a kiss to each of them...only for Angel to be pulled out of his grip and hugged tightly by Jackson.

"Thank you!" the man nearly wept as he held her close, "You saved my son...you saved him when I couldn't."

"That's Angel," the Doctor nodded, she was always doing that...in ways she didn't even realize. Yes, she saved quite a few people he hadn't even realized were about to be harmed, like Solomon and the headmaster in 1913. But it went so far beyond that. She saved people he hadn't thought he'd be able to save. And, what's more, she saved people who didn't even need active saving...like him.

She'd saved him from the darkness inside him, from the hate and the anger and the pain that had threatened to consume his last self. She saved people by making them see themselves, see their potential, see their errors and...accepted them. He was well aware that the Master had developed a fondness for Angel, nowhere near on the level of Mating or even love but...she'd wormed her way into even HIS hearts somehow, in some small way. She'd gotten him to stop at times, to spare Japan, to back off just a little...and if she could do that with the Master, there was no saying how she'd help in the future. He knew, well, he had a very strong guess that she'd done something similar with Gray, the man had been bent on burning Cardiff to the ground, killing all of Jack's dear ones, and make his brother suffer unendurable agony...and then...stopped. The Gray he'd seen after leaving Angel with the man for only a few moments had been SO different. It was like he'd let go of his anger, been able to see what it had done to him, how it had twisted and corrupted him. And he knew Angel had a hand in it. The Vortex was powerful, it could purge anything, heal anything, destroy anything, but Angel had wanted to use it to help.

She was always saving people like that, saving them in the most remarkable ways. But just then, he knew what had happened, Angel had gotten a sense that Frederic would be trapped, that they'd be left unable to get up to him...and gone after the boy the moment she'd felt it, managing to get to him with plenty of time to spare.

"Psychic," he murmured, brushing a lock of hair behind Angel's ear as she stepped back, out of Jackson's hold and to his side once more.

She smiled, nudging his stomach, "Thief."

~8~

The Cyber-King continued to rise.

~8~

Rosita stopped one of the children, giving her directions, "Go to St. Stephen's. Ask for the Warden, he'll take care of you. Now run! Quickly!" the girl ran away, leading the other children, as Rosita headed back.

~8~

Angel held tightly to the Doctor's hand as she navigated them around the fires and explosions as they tried to flee the trembling space, getting them past the dangers only moments before they sprang up.

~8~

As Rosita ran back she found people running the other way, "It's under the water!" a man shouted, "There's something in the Thames!"

Rosita stopped at the river's edge, her eyes widening as a Cyber-King rose from the water, a steam robot that towered over the Town.

~8~

They ran back into the cellar of Jackson's house, not even able to breathe a sigh of relief as they heard people shouting and screaming in the streets.

"You need to get out of here Jackson," Angel told Jackson as the Doctor stopped by the scepter in the device on the floor.

"Come on, Doctor!" Jackson yelled as he ran for the door, "Hurry up!"

"Gotcha!" the Doctor grinned, grabbing the scepter before bolting out of the room, out of the house, with Angel and the humans.

~8~

Miss Hartigan sat in the Cyber-King's mouth, calling out to the Londoners, "Behold! I am risen! Witness me, mankind, as Cyber-King of all!"

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Jackson with his son reached the river, stopping short at the sight before them, "It's a Cyber-King" the Doctor gaped, staring at the robot in horror, knowing exactly what that ship was capable of, the destruction it could easily cause.

"It can't be!" Angel shook her head. She knew about the Cybermen, about their weapons and ships. She'd learned about them after they'd killed her mother, and a Cyber-King...that was NOT good.

"And a Cyber-King is what?" Jackson asked.

"It's a ship!" the Doctor explained quickly, squeezing Angel's hand, "Dreadnought class! Front line of an invasion. And inside the chest, a Cyber-Factory, ready to convert millions!"

~8~

"And I will walk!" Hartigan continued, "I will stride across this tiny little world!" she grinned as the Cyber-King walked through London, causing people to run, screaming, through the streets, "My people. Why do they not rejoice?"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stopped running with Jackson as they reached an open street, the Doctor turning to Jackson, "Take him south, go to the parkland."

"But where are you going?!" Jackson demanded as the Doctor and Angel moved to run the opposite way.

"To stop that thing."

"I should be with you!"

"Jackson," Angel shook her head gently, "You need to protect your son."

Jackson swallowed, looking at Fred a moment, the boy still trembling in his arms.

Angel smiled sadly, seeing the boy still afraid, and stepped closer, placing her hand on Fred's back, "Everything'll be ok Fred," she whispered in his ear, kissing his head, "I promise," she winked at him a moment, rubbing his back in comfort, before turning to take the Doctor's hand.

"God save you, Doctor, Angel," Jackson murmured, squeezing Fred tighter as he felt the boy start to calm a little, leave it to Angel to have that effect, she just...reassured everyone with her calm that it really would be alright. The Doctor had been right, hadn't he? She really was an angel.

They nodded and took off, running into the stables Jackson had been living in when he thought he was the Doctor. The Doctor tossed Angel the scepter as he began to search through the trunks, when Jed stumbled in, "What the hell is that thing?" Jed looked at the scepter in Angel's hand.

"Oh, good man Jed, wasn't it?" the Doctor looked up, "Jed, we need your help!" he pulled out another belt of infostamps.

"I'm not going out there!" Jed called as he saw the two heading for the back doors, about to step outside.

"I'll give you five pound notes!"

"Um...alright. What d'you want me to do?"

Angel smiled, "I'm brilliant at getting TARDISes to fly," she laughed and they ran out into the stable yard, Jed following.

~8~

"People of the world!" Hartigan smirked, "Now hear me. Your governments will surrender. And if not, then behold my power!"

And with that, the Cyber-King began firing on the city.

~8~

The Doctor tossed the infostamps into the basket under the balloon, before turning and grabbing Angel around the middle, spinning her around as she laughed, only for her to squeal moments later when he scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. She looked at him softly, seeing him just gazing at her as he held her, "The Cyber-King?" she reminded him.

She would have LOVED to have let that moment go forever, she loved being in his arms, looking into his eyes, so close she could feel his warmth...but the Town was in danger and they needed to protect it.

"Right!" he nodded, shaking his head out of his thoughts, before he turned and moved towards the basket, doing what he'd first intended to do, helping Angel into it, before he hopped in after her.

"You're flamin' bonkers!" Jed cried, realizing what they were about to do, the madness of it all.

"It's been said before!" the Doctor agreed, looking at the scepter, "Not enough power…" he looked at Angel, "Can you?" he held it to her.

She'd done something similar in the Crucible, boosted the power of the machines when they'd been trying to send the planets home. And he had to admit, despite being alarmed that the Vortex was inside her, he trusted her. He had been being honest earlier, he couldn't ever see Angel being corrupted by anything, especially not the Vortex. She had said that she'd gotten a bit of Donna's humanity, enough to protect her from just that happening, but he was 110 percent sure that even without Donna's humanity in her, she would still be just as pure and innocent as ever. He did want to talk to her more about the Vortex though, she'd mentioned a few times it had been used in the past, times he hadn't even realized, and he knew that must only be the tip of the iceberg. He wanted to see what she'd be able to do.

To take in the Vortex was to take in the power of time itself, and that shouldn't be controllable. In fact, it should control the host. It had happened in the past, Time Lords taking in the Vortex, becoming mad, evil beings that brought only destruction, they were brief times as no one could last that long with the Vortex burning in them...but Angel was something new. He'd never ever heard of a Time Lord or Lady able to fuse with the Vortex, to control it the way Angel seemed able. It made him both worried and also excited to see what she could do. He had seen her feelings grow stronger, from random slips of the tongue to genuine sensations to hearing the future to seeing it...he could only imagine what those would become in the future. It was the same with the Vortex, hearing about the things the Vortex had helped her do, recalling what had happened when, it seemed like the Vortex would also grow stronger. He wanted to know what she was capable of...because he knew her...his Angel could do anything.

She nodded, taking the scepter and concentrating hard, harder than she had in the Crucible. It was one thing when the Vortex had already flared to life, but to bring it up herself took a little effort.

The Doctor watched intently as her hands began to faintly glow golden, the energy drifting off them in wisps, absorbing into the scepter till it beeped, "Brilliant!" he moved to take it from her but she tugged it back, holding it to her chest.

"No, wait..." she began.

"Angel we have to stop that thing, we need to save them and..."

"I know," she looked at him, "But we have to try and save Miss Hartigan too."

He looked at her and smiled at her hopefulness. He doubted Hartigan could be saved if she had become the Cyber-King, which he feared she had, but...he couldn't say no to Angel. He didn't think would ever be able to do that either, "Ok," he nodded, they'd try at least. He turned to Jed, "Come on! Jed! Let her loose!"

Jed ran to the ropes securing the balloon and began untying them, "Ever flown one of these before?"

"Nope!" he grinned as they pulled the ropes in, "Never!"

"Can I have my money now?"

"Oh, get on with it!"

~8~

Rosita and Jackson nearly ran into each other on the streets, "Oh, sir. I thought I'd lost you."

"My son, Rosita," he looked down at the boy, "This boy is my son. He..."

One of the blasts from the Cyber-King landed near them and they rushed to take shelter.

~8~

"God's luck to you!" Jed laughed as the balloon rose up.

~8~

"It's the TARDIS!" Jackson gasped, seeing the balloon floating, "She's flying!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel rushed to throw sandbags off the side.

~8~

"Who the 'ell is that?!" a man demanded as the crowds stopped to watch.

"His name, sir...is the Doctor!" Jackson said proudly, "With his Mate, the Angel!"

~8~

An alarm went off in the Cyber-King, "Attention," a Cyber reported, "Proximity alert!"

"How is that even possible?" Hartigan frowned, before laughing, "Oh, this I would see. TURN!" the Cyber-King turned to face the Doctor and Angel in the balloon. She grinned, seeing the Doctor wrapping infostamps around his arm, "Excellent. The Doctor and his woman! Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night."

"Miss Hartigan, we're offering you a choice," he told her, "You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!"

"I don't need you to sanction me," she glared.

"But Miss Hartigan," Angel called out, "A mind like that deserves to be free."

"The Cybermen came to this world using a Dimension Vault," the Doctor explained, "We can use that device to find you a home. With no people to convert. But a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace."

"I have the world below, and it is abundant with so many minds, ready to become extensions of me. Why would I leave this place?"

"Because if you don't, we'll have to stop you."

"What do you make of me, sir? An idiot?"

"No. The question is, what do you make of us?" he aimed the infostamps at her.

"Destroy them!"

The Doctor looked at her sadly, about to fire, knowing the blast would break the connection to the Cybers but...also kill the woman...when Angel put her hand on his. He looked down at her, confused, "I was able to break the connection between the Dalek-Humans and the Daleks," she told him, "And they lived..."

His eyes widened, he recalled a brief flash of gold when the lightning had struck him, a second before he'd fallen unconscious. He'd just thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, but it seemed...it had been Angel, "Do you think you can do that now? With the Cybermen?"

She took a breath and nodded, she'd done it once, she could do it again, she...she was sure of it now. She closed her eyes and he saw her hand start to swirl with the golden energy again, wrapping around the infostamps, before he turned and fired them. The beam, now with a golden hue to it, hit the device on Hartigan's head for a few moments before running out, Angel gasping as she stumbled back for a moment, just a tiny bit unsteady but recovering quickly.

"I have made you a failure," Hartigan scoffed, "Your weapons are useless, sir."

"That wasn't meant to kill you," Angel told her, "It was meant to free you."

"All we did was break the Cyber-Connection," the Doctor added, "Leaving your mind open. Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years, so you can see. Just look at yourself. Look at what you've done," they watched as the Cybers turned on her, "I'm sorry, Miss Hartigan. But look at what you've become," Hartigan looked down at herself, her eyes slowly turning back to normal from black, to see she was strapped to the chair, London in flames, the Cybermen around her...and screamed, "I'm so sorry."

"It'll be alright," Angel told him softy, she was sure of it, she'd done it, she knew she had...she had to have...

Hartigan screamed, the energy from her brain channeling through the machine, destroying the Cybermen and...knocking herself out. Angel let out a breath of relief, a small happy laugh to see the woman was still there, still alive.

The Doctor beamed, "Oh you are brilliant!" he turned to kiss her quickly, before they heard an explosion, the Cyber-King starting to stagger without a conscious mind to control it, "Hold on," he grabbed the sonic and flashed it at the Cyber-King, watching as a light, a teleport, brightened over Hartigan, the woman fading out, knowing that the woman had been sent home, where she likely had a Cyber-Teleport as well, and would wake up hours later, a changed woman, her mind completely free.

~8~

"They've killed it!" Jackson cheered, watching the large robot jerk, "Whatever they did, they've killed it!"

"But it's gonna fall!" Rosita cried.

Everyone started to run again, trying to escape the toppling monster.

~8~

Angel held up the scepter, aiming the device and firing, struggling a bit to keep it steady in her new smaller form, the Doctor putting his arms around her to help. The Cyber-King fell, sucked right into the scepter, disappearing.

~8~

"I'd say they used that Dimension Vault to transfer the wreckage of the Cyber-King into the Time Vortex, there to be harmlessly disintegrated," Jackson chuckled, "Oh, I've picked up a lot. But here..." he set Fred down by Rosita and stood on a lamp post, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know that man and woman! That Doctor and Angel on high! And I know that they have done this deed a thousand times! But not once, no, sir, not once, not ever, have they ever been thanked! But no more! For I say to you, on this Christmas morn, 'Bravo! Bravo!'"

The crowd began to cheer and applaud with Jackson, the sounds carrying up to the Doctor and Angel in the balloon. They looked down to hear Jackson shouting, 'Bravo! Bravo!' along with the crowd. The Doctor laughed, waving down before ringing a bell set up on the basket.

Angel smiled at him, "Oh Doctor?" she called and he looked over at her, only for her to stand on her toes and hold a sprig of mistletoe over their heads.

He laughed loudly and moved closer to her, Angel reaching out her other hand to pull him down by his tie, giving him a kiss that left him grinning into it.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel walked down the market place, the Doctor's arm around her waist, as Jackson walked beside them, watching as the people fixed their stalls and put out fires, "The city will recover, as London always does," Jackson nodded, "Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come!"

"Yeah," the Doctor smiled, "Funny that."

"And a new history begins for me. I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," he looked over to where Rosita and Fred were standing with Jed.

"You had better take good care of your companion," Angel told him, nudging him playfully, "She's rather remarkable."

Jackson nodded his agreement, "Frederic will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better. But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveler's Halt," the Doctor looked reluctant, "A Christmas feast, in celebration, and in memory of those we have lost. You won't stay?"

"You know me," the Doctor shrugged as they approached the TARDIS.

Jackson laughed, "Certainly not as well as Angel," he looked over to see the box, "Oh! And this is it! Oh, if I might, Doctor? One last adventure?"

"Oh, be my guest," he opened the doors.

"Oh..." Jackson stepped in, pausing on the ramp to look around in amazement, "Oh, my word. Oh…" he moved to the console, "Oh, goodness me. But this is...but this is nonsense!"

"Never heard that one before," Angel laughed.

"Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense! How very, very silly! Oh, no. I can't bear it! Oh, it's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he ran out, taking a breath outside, "Oh! Oh, gracious. That's quite enough," the Doctor and Angel followed him, shutting the doors behind them, "I take it this is goodbye."

"Onwards and upwards," the Doctor smiled.

"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of the Doctor's life, you were never alone. All those bright companions and your shining Mate! But not anymore?"

"No," he sighed.

"Might I ask, why not?"

"They leave," he said, thinking of so many of his companions, "Because they should, or they find someone else. And some of them…some of them forget me. I suppose, in the end…they break my hearts."

"And I shall always be here to piece them together again," Angel told him softly, reaching up to touch his cheek, turning his head to kiss him gently on the cheek. He smiled down at her, kissing her head.

"That offer of Christmas dinner, it's no longer a request, it's a demand," Jackson stated.

"In memory of those we've lost?" the Doctor eyed him as Jackson nodded, "Oh, go on then!"

"Really?" Jackson laughed.

"Just this once," the Doctor nodded as Angel laughed, "You've actually gone and changed my mind. Not many people can do that! Angel can, of course, but she cheats a bit," he blushed, thinking of how she cheated, kissing him, when really all she had to do was just look at him. It seemed her liquid-silver eyes were just as captivating as her hot-chocolate ones, "Jackson, if anyone had to be the Doctor, I'm glad it was you."

"The feast awaits. Come with me! Walk this way."

"We certainly will!" the Doctor laughed, taking Angel's and as they walked on after Jackson.

"Merry Christmas to you, Jackson," Angel called.

"Merry Christmas, indeed!" Jackson laughed.

"Oh!" the Doctor suddenly stopped, "I know just what to do to make it a very merry one," he grinned and ran back to the TARDIS, opening the doors and pulling a hidden switch near the top of them, sending a bolt into the air which exploded like a firework...and, moments later, it began to snow.

"Brilliant!" Angel laughed, cheering.

The Doctor smiled at that, seeing her smiling, and made his way towards her, reaching out to take her hand...

When she looked down, feeling something tug on her skirt, "Hello Fred," she knelt down before him, "Are you ok now?"

Fred nodded shyly, a small blush on his cheeks, before he suddenly took her hand instead and tugged her off. Angel stood, letting the little boy pull her on into the falling snow.

The Doctor slowed to a halt at Jackson's side, the two of them watching as Angel and Fred grabbed handfuls of snow and threw them in the air, letting them shower down on them before Angel tugged the little boy to her, taking his other hand and starting to spin around with him, the boy laughing and happy, just what he needed after the nightmare he'd endured. He had to laugh when Angel's skirt got all caught around her legs and she tripped, landing on the snow, taking Fred down with her as the boy landed half on her stomach, the two of them laughing. Angel sat up and whispered something to the boy that the men couldn't hear, but the Doctor could in his mind.

He shook his head fondly, watching as she laid back down on the snow, Fred beside her, showing him what Donna had taught her so long ago, how to make a snow angel.

"You are truly lucky Doctor," Jackson clapped him on the shoulder, "Your Mate is..." he shook his head, unable to find any words that could describe Angel in a single one.

"I know," the Doctor smiled and nodded before he walked over to Angel as she and Fred finished swishing around in the snow and were currently trying to figure out a way to get out without putting handprints on their hard work, "Need a hand," he winked, holding a hand to Angel to help her up. The girl beamed and kissed him quickly, turning to help pick Fred up, the little boy running back to his father to hug him tightly.

Angel moved to follow the boy, when the Doctor tugged her back, "What is it?" she smiled up at him.

He just reached out and traced her face, he'd been doing that a lot lately, trying to get a feel for the new her, memorize the new her as well, she didn't complain though, she rather liked it when he touched her, she liked it very much.

"You're so beautiful," he told her in a breath, the awe he felt when he looked at her shining in his eyes, she truly was the most incredible creature the Universe had ever created.

"Well you're very handsome," she countered with a wide smile, that faint pink blush on her cheeks, poking him in the stomach, "Though I think a bit more foxy to this me."

He laughed and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and starting to sway with her in the falling snow, resting his temple to hers for a moment as he closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her in his arms again, standing on her own, warm and healthy and safe and just...perfect. He lowered his head, till his lips were right by her ears, "...I just want you for my own," he sang to her, a very familiar song, "More than you could ever know," she let out a small laugh, recalling the last time they'd danced to this song, "Make my wish come true," and, just like the last time, he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes, "All I want for Christmas is...you," his thumb gently traced the bottom of her lip, "All I want for Christmas, is you," he ended on a whisper before leaning in and kissing her, feeling his breath leave him when he pulled away, quite a few moments later, to see her bite her lip in happiness and had to hold back a groan, and he thought her playing with his hair was bad, seeing her biting her lip like that just drew his eyes to them and made him want to kiss her again...

"I have NO problems with that," she smirked up at him, catching that thought.

He laughed and kissed her again, and again, and once more, before pulling away, still swaying with her, his arms locked around her, holding her close, "I'm sorry."

She blinked, "What for?"

He sighed, "I can't seem to find a Christmas that goes right," he told her.

She smiled, "Another one where the robots try to kill us," her eyes sparkled though as she looked at him, "I think you're making a habit out of that."

"Not on purpose," he told her, a hint of seriousness in his voice, "I want you to have ONE good Christmas," he sighed, "And it just...doesn't ever happen."

"Theta," she said softly, pulling his attention back, "Do you remember what I told you about bad things?"

"To try and find something good in them," he nodded, he remembered, of course he did, he remembered everything she said.

"We saved London," she leaned in, tapping his nose with a gentle finger, "We saved Fred and the orphans and Jackson and Rosita AND Miss Hartigan! We stopped the Cybermen, you got a kiss under the mistletoe to boot!"

"But you didn't get anything," he whispered, a sense of failure creeping up on him, "Not even your shark-drawn carriage ride."

"I got you," she reminded him, making him look at her sharply, his eyes wide, "You with me, on Christmas, is all I need for it to be amazing," she nudged him, "Though the snow and dance and song are rather spectacular too."

He beamed, laughing, she really was just SO easy to please, "Well then, I'll make a habit of that then," he nodded, "From now on, every Christmas, no matter where we are, I'll make it snow, and we'll dance and I'll sing to you."

"What if we end up somewhere where it doesn't snow?" she asked, "Like...on a planet with a cloudbelt that the humans control and don't want it to snow because it'll release flying fish!"

He gave a small chuckle at that, it was a rather odd thought, he doubted a place like it existed, but just to reassure her, "I'd find some way to make it snow," he crossed his hearts, "Just for you."

"And you'd sing to me?" she had to double-check.

"Oh yes."

"Good," she nodded, "I love your voice."

"And I love your..." he looked at her, "You," he lifted her hand to kiss the back of it, "Everything about you I love, Nella."

She smiled, "Likewise," and leaned in to kiss him.

The Doctor grinned into it, moving his arms around her to lift her up more, spinning her around yet refusing to break the kiss with his Christmas Angel.

Chapter Text

"You were beautiful Martha," Angel smiled as she hugged Martha tightly at the reception, the woman standing before her in a lovely white, fitted dress with thick straps, sleeveless, the gown she was wearing fitted to her body and only flowing slightly from her hips down. She wasn't wearing a veil but had her bouquet, and that glow and smile of someone who had just married the man of her dreams.

Who knew it would be Mickey Smith?

Well...she supposed...Angel.

It had been about a year for Martha and Mickey since the planets in the sky, but quite a while for the Doctor and Angel, now 906 and 799. They'd gotten a call from Martha a few months back, screaming so loudly they thought something was wrong and had immediately flown to her home, landing in her sitting room, opening the doors only for Martha to launch herself at them, hugging them and jumping up and down and cheering about how Mickey had proposed!

The Doctor had been stunned, Angel smiling knowingly.

Well...she would know...Mickey had called her to Earth to help him pick out a ring to do it with, knowing that not only would Angel's past and relationship with Martha help, but also her intuition, to find the perfect ring.

Martha had made them swear to come to the wedding, demanding Angel be a bridesmaid, she and her sister had sworn when they were younger that they'd be each other's Maid of Honor, but Martha still wanted her there. It had been a little awkward when the Doctor had become Mickey's Best Man, he hadn't wanted another man to escort Angel down the aisle even as a bridesmaid, but Mickey had just laughed and said that's why he'd invited Jack to be a groomsman, pairing him and Angel together to appease the Doctor.

Angel had been FAR too excited for her best friend and companion to get married that she'd run to the controls as soon as they'd left Martha's and landed the exact day of the wedding. Everything had actually gone perfectly, no mishaps, not even when the Doctor had nearly lost the rings in the vast recesses of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. But he'd found them! In the end, he'd found them, taken a few minutes, but he got them! And the wedding went on without a hitch.

"Me?" Martha laughed, "Says the woman the Doctor couldn't stop staring at," she nudged Angel, looking down at the girl's dress. It was a lovely lavender dress that was fashioned a bit in the 60s theme. It was a fitted top, long sleeves that billowed out around the elbows, and a flowing skirt that went just an inch too short for Angel to feel entirely comfortable, with a white sash and white flats. The Doctor had been chastised by Jack more than once before, during, and after the ceremony, to keep his 'eyes front' and not lingering on her legs and how the dress clung to her in all the right ways.

"It's the dress!" she insisted, blushing a bit more than normal as she tried to tug the skirt down a bit.

"Oh I know," Martha smirked a little, a mischievous look in her eyes that Angel caught.

"Martha Jones, did you do this on purpose?!"

"That's Martha Smith now," Martha smiled widely at that, not denying Angel's tiny accusation at all, "I can't believe it happened," she breathed, looking at Angel, "I'm a married woman now."

"And Mickey is a married man," Angel nodded, reaching out to take Martha's hand, "One of the luckiest in the Universe," she smiled, "Smith and Jones, no better team eh?"

"Definitely," Martha laughed, looking at Angel, "Do you think you and the Doctor will..."

"What?" she shook her head, "Get married?" she crinkled her nose, "No, I'd rather be his Mate than his wife."

Martha couldn't understand that, being Mickey's wife...it was like a dream come true. She'd been hesitant to give him a shot, having heard Jack complain a bit about the boy when she'd helped at Torchwood. But she'd also heard Angel's take on him as well and decided to go for it...and the little flutter in her gut when Mickey officially introduced him self, the look in his eyes, like he thought she was amazing, that...sparkle that was there...had helped a lot. They'd started slow, and, much like with the Doctor, things had escalated. Within a few months they just knew...they were perfect for each other.

They'd both been a bit in the background, to the side, Mickey with the Doctor, her with Rose, never quite feeling like they'd live up to the expectation in the eyes of others...except Angel. They had both had her there for them, encouraging them, making them laugh, and helping them become the people they were. And it was oddly fitting that her best friend and first companion were so equally matched. They made each other stronger, Martha made him want to be braver, to protect her, and he made her want to have more fun with her life. It was...nice...so nice...and she couldn't be more thankful to have him in her life.

So she didn't really understand why Angel seemed so against marrying the Doctor. But she shrugged, to each his own, and, from what she'd heard, Mating was something VERY serious. And, to Time Lords, humans must seem very common with their 'wives' while none of them had 'Mates.' Not that she thought the Time Lords would ever see them as common.

"Hey!" a voice shouted as Mickey approached with the Doctor, a wide grin on his face, "There's my pilot!" he cheered, hugging Angel tightly, ending up pulling her off the ground in the process, he'd gotten rather strong over the years.

"Hello Mickey!" she laughed when she was set down, "Congratulations!"

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted, tugging Angel to him, "Get your own!"

Mickey put an arm around Martha's waist, "Already did," he smiled at Martha, all of them able to see the love in his eyes as he looked at her, Martha beaming back.

"I really am happy for you two," the Doctor smiled, "Smith and Jones."

"Smith and Smith now."

"We need more Smiths in the world," Angel laughed.

"Can't ignore the Joneses though," Martha pointed out.

"Definitely not," the Doctor agreed, kissing Angel's temple, before sighing, "We'd better be off though," he told them, "We spotted a hole in the fabric of reality on our way over..."

"NOTHING to worry about," Angel reassured them, "You enjoy the rest of your party," she leaned in and hugged them again, "We'll see you later."

"Bye!" the new Smiths called as they turned to go.

The Doctor led Angel to the snack table a moment, "For the road," he laughed, snatching a chocolate egg off the table as Angel grabbed a brownie, and they headed out.

~8~

A golden chalice surrounded by a high tech energy field and armed guards stood in the middle of the International Gallery at night, "Positions," a guard ordered as the guards took their position, each at a corner of the square force field. The guard set an alarm, "'Night, boys."

Unknown to the guards a small hole opened at the top of a dome situated directly above the chalice, revealing a black clad figure. The figure lowered itself by wires, headfirst, and switched the chalice out with another object, pressing a button in their belt to raise themself up. One of the guards turned to see a statue of a 'Lucky Cat' waving at them instead of the chalice.

~8~

The figure ran through one of the exhibit halls, stopping to pull off their black mask covering their face. It was a woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She sighed as the alarm was raised before running out of the gallery and into an alley. She stopped short, seeing her male accomplice being arrested, "Sorry, lover," she smirked before running in the opposite direction and onto a busy street where police were searching for her. As one of them turned in her direction she jumped on a bus as it pulled up, "Hello," she greeted the bus driver, "I'm so terribly sorry. That card paying device thing, that's a Lobster card, am I right?"

"Oyster card," he replied.

"Ah, well, that's the problem, you see. I only use my Oyster when there's an 'R' in the month."

The man stared at her, "It's April."

~8~

A detective directed some of his men, "Go, go, go!"

~8~

She took off her earrings, "Diamonds. Genuine," she dropped them into his palm, "Drive!"

"Works for me," he shrugged. The woman went to the back and took a seat, when a pair who were clearly a couple, a man in a brown suit and a girl in a blue dress, entered the bus, swiping a card twice to get in, "You're just in time, mates."

The couple moved and took a seat across from the woman. The Doctor grinned as he held out a chocolate egg to her, "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is my Mate, Angel!" he nodded at Angel who was sitting beside him munching on a piece of brownie, she'd discovered she rather liked dark chocolate in this incarnation and the brownie was delicious, he had to laugh at how her hair color seemed to signal the treats she would like, the yellow-golden brown of a cookie, the red of a red velvet cupcake, and now a nearly-black brownie, "Happy Easter!"

~8~

The detective directed a few more of his officers, "Right, close off the area, get all these people cleared. She has got to be here somewhere."

"Robinson, clear the road," an officer called into his radio, "Get the whole place sealed off!"

As he turned around, the detective spotted just the woman they were looking for, on the bus, "She's on the bus! She's on the...come on! Get the car! It's definitely her. Come on, move it!" they ran to the cars and got in, "Jackson, follow that bus!"

The sirens switched on and the police cars followed after it as it pulled away.

~8~

"Funny thing is, we don't often do Easter," the Doctor gobbed on at the woman who was trying her very best to ignore him, "I can never find it, it's always at a different time, though I'm sure Angel could find it but I thought I'd give it a go this time. But still, probably best, Angel's rather cross with me after the first one so we tend to avoid it. Between you and me, what really happened was..."

"Beep," Angel said, swallowing a bite of her brownie.

The Doctor looked at her curiously for a moment when a beeping sound came from his pocket, "Psychic," he muttered to her.

She just laughed, "Thief," and tossed the last piece of her brownie up into the air to catch it in her mouth...failing miserably. She pouted adorably but managed to catch it before it landed down the front of her dress. It seemed this version of her, while more confident, was also slightly less coordinated. But that was alright, she loved learning new things about herself.

He grinned, watching her softly at the familiar move but also the new end to it. He loved it when she did things like that, it reminded him that she was still the same old Angel, but just...different. A good different, it would always be a good different, he was sure of that.

The device beeped again and he began to search his pockets...only to realize his one hand was full. So he turned and gave the woman the chocolate egg, reaching into his pocket once more, "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me. Actually, go on, have it, finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he flashed her a wide grin to show her before pulling a gadget from his pocket, "Ah! Oh, we've got excitation!" he shook it, getting strange looks from everyone on their level of the bus, except for Angel who was just looking at the device. He'd explained what it was and what it did and he could tell she was trying to work out of the beeping was a good thing or bad thing, "I'm picking up something very strange," he told her.

"I know the feeling," the woman agreed, glancing out the window, seeing the flashing lights of the police cars.

~8~

The police were in hot pursuit of the bus which hadn't seemed to notice it was the target of the chase, "All units in pursuit, registration Whisky-9-7-4, Golf-Hotel-Mike," the detective called into the radio, "They're heading for the Gladwell Road Tunnel. Please stop all traffic. Seal off the North End!"

The bus entered the tunnel.

~8~

A female officer watched the bus on a monitor as she waited with other officers on the other end of it, "The bus has entered the south entrance of the tunnel. Officers in pursuit. Units now arriving at the North entrance."

A group of police cars pulled up, blocking the tunnel while a uniformed officer stepped out of his car, "Tango 1-8-3 at the far end, sir," the officer called over the radio, "I've sealed off the exit. There's no way out, over."

"I'm right behind," the detective called back, "We've got her!"

~8~

The Doctor turned to Angel, speaking quickly as he'd realized the woman was ignoring him, he loved that though, how Angel always listened to him. Even if she didn't understand what he was saying, she still listened, and that meant the world to him. He knew he could gob on and on and that most people either tuned him out or just nodded until he'd finished, but Angel actually tried to keep up. He held out the device, "Rhondium particles, that's what we're looking for. This thing detects them," he tapped it, "The little dish should go round, that little dish there..."

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy," the woman remarked, overhearing them, "Can you detect me one of those?"

A black woman in the back looked at her husband, "Lou, can you hear them?"

"Hear what, sweetheart?" he asked.

"The voices. So many voices. Calling to us. Calling so far."

"Oh, the little dish is going round!" the Doctor grinned, not noticing Angel glance back at the black couple with a frown, hearing the woman's words, startled that the woman had said exactly what SHE was going to tell the Doctor...

"Fascinating," the woman rolled her eyes.

"And round. Whoa..." he held the dish out as it spun faster until it started to spark, pulling Angel's attention back.

"Excuse me," a blonde woman asked, "Do you mind?"

Angel frowned as the Doctor stood, "Sorry. That was my little dish."

"Can't you turn that thing off?" the woman across from them eyed it.

"Doctor," Angel stood slowly, "Hold on," he looked at her in alarm before grabbing a handrail, "Everyone, hold on!" she shouted to the bus passengers moments before it lurched and shook. The passengers screamed as they were jerked forwards, not as badly as they would have been thrown about if Angel hadn't warned them, the Doctor fell onto the floor.

"The voices!" the black woman cried, "Oh, the voices, they're screaming!"

The windows shattered and sparks flew out from the overhead wires. A young man stumbled down the stairs from the upper deck with a cry of, "What's going on?!"

There was a blinding light and the last of the windows shattered as the Doctor moved towards the driver to try and stop him.

~8~

More police arrived to block the tunnel, "Tango 1-8-3," an officer called, "Units in position, sir. Uh, sorry to report, but, er, no sign of the bus. Over."

~8~

The detective stood in the middle of the empty tunnel, the bus nowhere in sight, "It's gone," he reported in a breath, "Right in front of me. The bus has just...gone. Over."

~8~

The Doctor slowly got up off the floor, looking around, before jerking over to Angel's side and checking on her. She was pushing herself up off the ground, kneeling on it, but her gaze was locked on the sunlight streaming through the windows. His eyes widened, catching that it had been night before too, before they both dashed off the bus to see they were in a desert.

"End of the line," the Doctor muttered, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

"Much further," Angel agreed, looking around as the other passengers stepped out and looked at the bus. The top deck of the bus was crushed with smoke wafting from it, nothing around for as far as the eye could see.

~8~

The bus and its passengers appeared on a screen, when a pincer tapped it and a clicking noise sounded.

~8~

"We should get out!" Lou turned to his wife as they remained on the bus, the only ones to stay there, "Even if that's the Sahara, we can't stay onboard this thing."

"I'm not going out there!" his wife shook her head, frantic, tears in her eyes, sounding truly scared, "They're still calling. All around us. The voices are crying."

"What voices, sweetheart?"

"The dead...we're surrounded by the dead."

~8~

The Doctor was squatting on the ground, letting the sand run through his fingers, as Angel was kneeling beside him, just lightly brushing a few granules of it in her palm, frowning at it, the sand felt...wrong...SO wrong. But, then again...she'd never really been around sand much, and this was an alien world, for all she knew, this was how the sand normally was.

"That's impossible!" the blonde woman called behind them as the humans looked around, "There are three suns. Three of them!"

"Like when all those planets were up in the sky!" a black youth spun in a circle.

"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" the other young man frowned.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!"

"It's still intact, though!" the driver breathed, "Not as bad as it looks. The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!"

"Can you still drive it?" the blonde woman looked at him.

"Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them," he pointed to the wheels that were indeed sunk into the sand, "They're never gonna budge."

~8~

The detective walked over to an officer at the other end of the tunnel, "Dennison, listen. We've sealed off the far end, nothing is to come through."

"But I don't understand, sir," the officer shook his head, "How can a bus just...disappear?"

~8~

The black haired woman took off her jacket and put on a pair of sunglasses that she'd removed from her bag, "Ready for every emergency."

The Doctor looked up at her before removing his glasses and using the sonic on them, turning them tinted before pausing on putting them on, "Us too!" he nodded, reaching out to slip the spectacles on Angel's nose, wanting to protect her eyes more than his, her eyes were more precious.

Angel laughed at that, pushing them further onto her nose as the Doctor beamed and turned back to the sand.

"And what're your names?"

"Angel," Angel murmured distractedly, returning her attention to the sand as well.

"My Mate," the Doctor added, winking at her, "And I'm the Doctor."

"Name, not rank," the woman replied.

"The Doctor."

"Surname?"

"The Doctor."

"You're called 'the Doctor?'"

"Yes, I am."

"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."

"This sand..." Angel murmured, looking at it with a frown, "It's not...right..." she looked at the Doctor, "Is it?"

The Doctor nodded, "There's a trace of something else," he tipped his finger on the sand and dabbed it on his tongue to taste, "Ack," he spat it out, "Eurgh. Blah."

"I'm not kissing you now that you've got dea…" Angel stopped short, her eyes wide as she realized what she'd been about to say, what had nearly slipped out, and looked at the sand. She turned to look at the Doctor who nodded grimly. But she was a little more surprised at how easily she had been about to say 'dead people in it.' She hadn't known they were dead, that they were the remains of the dead, she really hadn't. She was sure the Doctor had gotten it from tasting it, probably could have just from scanning it with the sonic, but SHE shouldn't have known, not like that.

She blinked, perhaps...perhaps it was another stage in her abilities growing? She'd gone from speaking such nonsense that later proved to be correct in some sense, to getting vague feelings and guesses at things and now...now she had just flat out said it, no hesitation, it was as though she knew what the sand was before she even realized it and it just...came out. Huh, well that was something. It seemed that her ramblings were a bit more clear this time, and that was great! Finally, a clear cut warning and not some prophetic jumble of words!

Oh that was brilliant!

She started to smile despite the situation, pleased to know that her powers were getting stronger. That was odd to think of as well. She'd been so hesitant about them before, fearing how strong they would get, trying to convince herself it would be good if they did grow stronger because she'd be able to help more. It seemed now, she'd finally believed that, accepted it, understood it. And she couldn't wait to see how her abilities would grow and develop in the future.

"That's not good," the Doctor continued to try and brush the sand off his tongue.

"Well, it wouldn't be, it's sand," the woman replied.

"No, it tastes like..." he stood suddenly, holding out a hand to help Angel up as well, realizing it probably wasn't the best thing to reveal what he'd suspected and what Angel's words had confirmed, "Never mind."

"What is it?" the woman stiffened though, sensing something bad hidden beneath the sand, "What's wrong?"

"Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate!" the black youth turned an accusing finger on the Doctor, cutting the woman off from continuing to question them, "You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Oh, humans on buses," he sighed, looking at Angel as she brushed the sand from the skirt of her dress, having changed back into her blue one after the wedding, his eyes, of their own accord, with no help from his brain, none at all, he swore it, followed her movements, trailing just a bit lower to look at her legs...despite being a bit shorter than before, her legs had never looked longer...he shook his head fiercely when he saw a faint blush appear on her cheeks as she glanced up at him through her eyelashes, clearly having caught that thought, "Always blaming me," he cleared his throat.

"That's 'cos it's usually your fault," she remarked, stepping beside him.

"If you must know," the Doctor turned back to the young man even as he absently put an arm around Angel's shoulders, "We were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny, little hole, no danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it."

"But then where is it?" the driver glanced around, "There's nothing, there's just sand!"

"Alright," the Doctor sighed, "If you want proof," he looked at Angel, who nodded and walked over a few feet, looking around cautiously for something, before she looked to the side with a frown, taking two more steps in that direction and stopping. The Doctor picked up some sand and tossed it a few feet away from where she was standing after she gave him a nod, "We drove through this..."

The sand made the air beside Angel shimmer as it revealed a swirling vortex that disappeared a few moments later.

~8~

The vortex appeared briefly at the mouth of the tunnel.

"What the hell was that?!" the detective gasped as the other officers stared.

~8~

"And that's…" the woman began.

"A door," Angel answered, eyeing it, feeling sure she knew the answer, "A door in space," she glanced back, "Not a good one though. But at least no Graske will be jumping through it with a water pistol stealing sweets or making smells."

The humans stared at her as though she'd gone mad, but the Doctor just nodded as though it made perfect sense.

Which it did.

Humans were just slow.

"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" the driver smiled, "We can get to London through there?"

"The bus came through, but we can't," the Doctor said.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?"

"Oh, no, don't."

"I'm going home, mate!" the driver ran for the portal but Angel quickly ran in front of him, having been closest to it, and lightly shoved him back.

"He said don't!" she shouted, resting her hands on the man's chest a moment longer to make sure he listened, "And if he said it then there's a good reason for it!" she eyed each of them so they didn't move, "Doctor?"

He pulled a small, windup, hopping frog out of his pocket and tossed it at the portal.

The group watched in horror as it was disintegrated before their eyes.

~8~

The portal shimmered, crackling with energy in the center before dying down.

"Dennison, uh...I think we're out of our depth here," the detective said, "We need experts," he held up his radio, "Get me UNIT. Emergency Code One!"

~8~

"It was the bus," the Doctor continued to explain, moving to Angel's side as the driver stumbled back, falling to his bum on the sand, completely alarmed that that could have easily been him that was disintegrated, "Look at the damage, that was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal."

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" the woman remarked as she glanced at the bus.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" the other young man guessed, "Safest place is inside a car, 'cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school."

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus...a Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open."

"The mechanics of a wormhole operate in a slightly different way," Angel said, and even the Doctor looked at her with wide eyes. She blushed a bit, realizing that was probably the smartest sounding thing she'd ever said in probably her whole life. But what really made her blush, was that...she sounded like the Doctor.

Which meant it must have sounded smart.

It seemed she'd gotten just a tiny bit more than just his confidence during the metacrisis then.

"You are brilliant," the Doctor whispered, kissing her temple and then her cheek when he saw her starting to blush even more at his compliment. He often said she was brilliant, but more in a 'you've got a brilliant personality' or 'how you calmed down that human was brilliant' way, this time, he was truly speaking of her intelligence and that made her hearts soar to hear him think her brilliant, not that he thought her stupid, no, but...she had a sneaking suspicion that he saw her as just perfect in every way even when she knew she wasn't, "There's enough metal to make it work," the Doctor added to the humans, "I think. I hope."

"It'll make it," Angel nodded, eyeing it, "We just have to get it to move first."

"Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands," the woman looked at them, "Correct?"

"I'd say nine and a half tons, but the point still stands, yes," the Doctor nodded.

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Yes, at last, thank you, so..."

"Well, thank goodness you've got me!" the woman continued, making the Doctor flounder for a moment, "Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!"

"Is it safe in there?" the young man frowned.

"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now! And you Angel and 'The Doctor.'"

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor mock saluted as Angel headed towards the bus.

"Up!" the woman ordered the driver, hefting the stunned man to his feet, "Come on!"

~8~

"Point 5: the crucial thing is, do not panic," the woman was standing before them as they all sat around the bus, "Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point 6: team identification. Names. I'm Christina, those two...she's Angel while the man is apparently 'the Doctor.'"

"Hello," the Doctor wiggled his fingers in a wave.

"Nice to meet you," Angel grinned, her 'sunglasses' resting on her head.

"And you?" Christina looked at the young man on her left.

"Nathan," he waved as well.

"I'm Barclay," the young black youth said.

"Angela, Angela Whittaker," the blonde woman was.

"Ed," the driver greeted.

"My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou," the black man nodded, before gesturing to his wife, "And this is Carmen."

"Excellent," Christina smiled, "Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point 7: assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor."

"I thought you were in charge," the Doctor commented, not even looking up at her as he leaned back lazily in the chair, his one arm around Angel's shoulders, his other absently playing with her fingers.

"I am. And a good leader utilizes her strength. You seem to be the brainbox. So, start boxing."

But the Doctor made no move to do so, just lightly tracing the lines on Angel's palm, seemingly enraptured by them. Angel smiled at that, if she didn't know any better she'd have thought he was trying to 'read her future' in her palm, but she knew he was just looking for an excuse to touch her. She curled her fingers around his, lifting his hand to her lips, kissing his scarred knuckles, "The bus?" she reminded him.

He blinked and looked over to see the humans staring at him, waiting for him to begin, "Yes!" he nodded, starting to blush this time, "Right. Sorry," he cleared his throat and sat a bit forward in his seat, now paying more attention, "Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, it wasn't," Carmen called as Angel opened her mouth to say the same thing, "That thing, the doorway. Someone made it. For a reason."

"How do you know?" the Doctor looked at her.

"She's got a gift," Lou explained when Carmen hesitated to say more, "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just...tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week."

"You don't look like millionaires," Christina eyed them.

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift!"

Angel smiled softly at the woman before closing her eyes.

The Doctor moved his hands behind his back and held up three fingers, "Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," she said, and then the Doctor added a finger, "Four."

"Very good!" Angel smiled, opening her eyes and walking over to the woman, "You've got a slight natural psychic ability, being here must have strengthened it somehow," she sat down across from her, "Do you see anything out there Carmen? You can tell me," Carmen seemed to hesitate, glancing nervously at the group looking at her. Angel reached forward and put a hand on the woman's, "Is it what I see?" Carmen's gaze turned to her sharply, looking at her a moment before her eyes widened, sensing something about her that she had in herself, a similar gift. Angel nodded, "Something's coming, isn't it?"

Carmen nodded, "Riding on the wind. And shining."

"What is it?" the Doctor looked between the two, a wide smile on his face as he watched his Mate help another find comfort in their abilities, much like she had come to accept her own magnificent gifts.

"Death. Death is coming."

"We're going to die?" Angela sobbed.

"I knew it, man, I said so!" Barclay shook his head.

"We can't die out here!" Nathan cried.

"No one's gonna find us," Ed agreed, bowing his head in resignation.

"This isn't exactly helping..." Christina remarked as they started to panic.

"Shut up, we're not your soldiers!" Barclay shouted.

"It's not doing any good..." Nathan shook his head.

"You're upsetting her, be quiet," Lou called, moving an arm around his wife's shoulders as tears filled her eyes at the shouting.

"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina cut in.

"Alright now," the Doctor tried to calm them down, "Stop it, everyone, stop it!"

The arguing stopped till the only sound was Angela crying. Angel got up and moved over to her, kneeling before the woman and taking her hands, "Angela," she smiled up at the woman, "Hello, you know, sometimes I go by Angela too," Angela looked at her, not seeing what that had to do with anything, "I've gone by it loads of times," she continued, "Half the time in situations much worse than this and I survived them. You want to know how?" Angela nodded, "'Cos I had the Doctor with me. And trust me, if there's anyone who can figure out a way to get you home, it's him."

The Doctor smiled down at her softly, "I never could have done half that if not for you," he told her, taking her hand and pulling her up. It was true, he really didn't know where he'd be, didn't want to count the number of people he would have lost, if it hadn't been for her.

Chapter Text

The Doctor looked over at Angela, "When you got on this bus, Angela, where were you going? What's home?"

"Me, and Mike and Suzanne," Angela answered, "That's my daughter. She's 18."

"Suzanne," the Doctor nodded and turned to Barclay, "Good. What about you?"

"Dunno," he sighed, "Going round Tina's."

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

"Not yet."

"Good boy. What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash," he shrugged, "I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in. Watch TV."

"Brilliant."

"How about you Ed?" Angel looked at the driver.

The man sighed, "Was just gonna finish my shift and get some sleep," he smiled a bit, "Have off tomorrow, thought I might spend it with the grandkids."

"That's lovely," Angel nodded, though her smile was sad.

She'd found this version of her was FAR more sensitive to children, to the thought and mention of them. It had first hit her with Fred, playing with him in the snow, it had been wonderful. When that little boy looked up at her shyly and tugged on her hand...well, she knew she was smaller than her last self, but the child wouldn't have been able to move her if she didn't want him to. But that would disappoint him and she couldn't bear the thought of seeing his little face fall or his eyes fill with tears. As soon as she had seen him on that platform, so scared, so truly terrified...she could have sworn she'd almost FELT what he was feeling, how frozen he had been.

Her hearts had broken to see him, just a little boy, that scared, and before she'd even realized it, she'd run for the stairs. The Doctor would probably have thought, probably HAD thought, that she'd seen that blast rise up to block the path and wanted to get to Fred before it happened. But really, it hadn't been that at all. It had been seeing that little boy, trapped, and alone, and afraid, that had set her running to him. She honestly had no idea that the path would be blocked moments later she'd just...wanted to get to him and give him a hug. She could still remember how tightly he'd clung to her, how he'd shaken in her arms, and she'd sworn she would never ever let a child feel that frightened again, not if she could help it.

And when he'd wanted to play in the snow, how could she deny him? To see his face light up, all traces of tears or fear erased, well, her hearts had warmed at that. She could tell that would be something that would continue in this body, children. But, while it could be good, it also brought up sadder memories.

Her sister, her nephew, her family, had the war never happened...her sister would be a grandmother by now she didn't doubt. Their family would have expanded. And it hurt, quite a bit more, to think on how that wouldn't happen now. She'd never see her sister again, her nephew, her father...her planet.

She did NOT blame the Doctor, not at all, she understood what he'd done, she was so proud of him for the strength he'd possessed in doing what he'd done to save the Universe. And, on top of that, her family had been killed by Daleks before he'd taken any action against the Daleks or their people so she couldn't be angry with him for that, not that she thought she ever would. The Doctor was such a kind soul, a soul that was darkened with what he'd had to do, but there was still so much good in him! It was like the TARDIS, the box was so old but had SO MUCH life left in her. The Doctor and his box, they were quite the pair...

'Like we are,' the Doctor whispered in her mind, having caught her thoughts, squeezing her hand lightly, before he lifted it and kissed the back of it.

He still didn't understand how she did that. Every incarnation of her was so different than the last, so unique, yet still...so...perfect for him. It was so unreal at times to realize just how well she fit with him, how well she balanced him. It was another quality of hers that made him feel like she simply couldn't be real...but she was.

She truly was his dream come true.

Angel looked down, blushing at his thoughts, feeling his love for her race through her. He was like a dream come true to her as well. She...she was starting to get the feeling that...she might have dreamt of him on Gallifrey. Vague feelings they were, possibly more wishful thinking than anything but...she DID remember moments of her childhood where she would tell her mother that she'd had the best dream in the Universe, but be unable to remember what they were about. All she could recall was feeling safe, happy, and...loved. So, SO loved that she felt like she might cry she was that overwhelmed. And, meeting the Doctor, there was a...strange sense of familiarity to him.

She couldn't explain it. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

She might be his dream come true, but he was her favorite mystery, the only mystery worth solving, the only one that never would be, not by anyone, she was certain not even by River Song.

Which meant she could spend the rest of her lives trying.

And that was the most wonderful feeling ever.

The Doctor's gaze grew soft, just looking at her, shaking his head lightly at her thoughts, she would never understand, not even with their emotional and mental bond just HOW deeply thoughts like that affected him, how happy they made him, to know she was HAPPY to spend the rest of her lives with him. Which was good, because he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his with her.

Angel shook her head, realizing they might be being rude, just going quiet in the middle of trying to help reassure the humans, she found this her was oddly a bit more distracted than the last her, to let her thoughts get away from her when the humans were ill at ease, that was not polite.

She looked over at Lou and Carmen, "How about you?"

"I was going to cook," Lou smiled secretly, he and Carmen with knowing looks on their faces, having seen the expressions playing across the Doctor and Angel's faces, knowing where their thoughts must have gone.

Those two were really very sweet.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen agreed, "Then I clear up."

"What's for tea?"

"Chops," Lou answered, "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy. Mmm! What about you, Christina?"

"I was going...so far away," she murmured.

"Far away. Chops and gravy. Family time. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina."

"Hey!" Barclay exclaimed.

"Think about them instead," Angel told them.

"'Cos that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing," the Doctor agreed, "You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that. 'Cos we're gonna get there. I promise. We're gonna get you home."

~8~

A small convoy of trucks and cars advanced towards the tunnel as UNIT arrived to take charge, "Section One, assume position!" a soldier called as they all piled out and got to work, "Section Two, assume position!"

"Section Three, assume position!" a second soldier ordered.

"Section Four, assume position!" and a third.

The soldiers took up position in front of the tunnel, rifles aimed at the mouth, waiting as two more took the tarp off a machine gun mounted on the bed of a truck, "Spread out!" the first soldier called.

"Take basic intervention mode!" the second one added.

A female officer stepped out from one of the cars, had Donna Noble been there, she might have said a very familiar woman, "Isolate the area!"

"Yes, ma'am," the first soldier saluted and left.

"Establish an exclusion zone. Any media, move them back. Any trouble, arrest them."

"Yes, ma'am," the second left as well.

"I want the vehicles in the standard Procedure Five layout," she added to the third, "All outreach officers will report to me via Sergeant Calhoon, is that understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he nodded.

"Captain, I'm Detective Inspector McMillan," the detective introduced.

"Clear the area, thank you," she told him.

"Yes, but I was here when the...thing...the bus, with the..."

"I've read the report," she cut in, not in the mood to deal with anyone, "Now clear the area!"

She was rather cross at the moment. She'd been invited to a lovely wedding, had been in the middle of the reception when the call had reached her of a situation arising. She'd been sorely tempted to ignore it, to pass it off to another officer who had not been invited, but, when speaking to the bride and groom, and learning that the organization's favorite aliens had left only hours earlier...and NOW a situation was coming up involving aliens...she thought it best to see for herself what was going on.

That and Martha Jones...well, Martha Smith now...had insisted, demanding she call when she got word of whether the Time Lords were actually involved or not.

"Pandovski," she called to another soldier, "Get these men out of the zone."

"There's somebody on that bus..." the detective shouted as soldiers stopped him, "She's mine!"

"Just move back, sir," a soldier replied.

"Alright," he sighed, stepping back.

The captain came to stand behind the soldiers, "Perimeter guard, stand ready. Stay alert. Any hostile activity, shoot to kill."

~8~

Barclay and Nathan came out of the bus with seat cushions tucked under their arms as the Doctor met them, Angel staring out in the distance with a small frown on her face, just...staring...like she was trying to see something that was far too far away. But it wasn't that she was literally trying to spot something, no, she had the sunglasses the Doctor had made for her on her nose, shading her eyes from the suns, so it wasn't that, but just...looking FOR something.

"Here we go!" the Doctor grinned, watching the boys though his glance flickered to Angel, "That's my boys! We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!"

"Let some air out of the tires, just a little bit," Christina told them, "Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip."

"Oh, that's good!"

"Holidays in the Kalahari."

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay argued.

"Then start digging."

"With what?"

"With this," she pulled a folded shovel out of her bag.

The Doctor took it, opened it, and handed it to Barclay, "Got anything else in there?" he asked jokingly.

"An axe," Angel called, not even turning around.

Christina frowned at her back, "How did you know that?" she asked, kneeling down to dig in her bag, pulling out a small axe.

The Doctor beamed, kissing Angel's temple, "She's psychic, like Carmen, well, I say like Carmen, not really though," he looked at Christina, "She's WAY more powerful than Carmen."

"Try that, might help with the seats," Christina gave Nathan the axe, the boy turning and going back into the bus, before frowning up at the Doctor, "How's she more powerful than Carmen?" the girl hadn't said as much as Carmen had about whatever it was that had brought them there.

The Doctor smiled, "She didn't need to go to an alien planet to see what Carmen sees."

"Here we go!" Ed called, starting up the bus to see if it would even start. He pressed the start button but the engine only sputtered and died.

"Oh, that doesn't sound too good," the Doctor quickly kissed Angel's hand, sensing she wasn't about to move any time soon, and let go, running around to the engine and took a look, "Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

Christina walked around to the side of the bus, "Anyone know mechanics?"

"Me!" Barclay held up a hand, "I did a two-week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..."

"Off you go then, try stripping the air filter, fast as you can," the Doctor told him.

"I can help," Ed called, lumbering out of the bus, "This bus is my responsibility."

The Doctor nodded and turned to Angela, "Angela take the wheel, when they say go try starting her up."

Angela sat down in Ed's seat and looked around, "I can't find the keys."

"Buses don't have keys. There's a master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop, yeah?"

"Got it!" Angela found it.

The Doctor smiled, "There you go!" he turned and walked over to where Angel was, feeling a shift in her thoughts, taking her hand just as she stepped off, leading him away from the bus, "Back in two ticks!" he called back.

"Wait a minute!" Christina rushed to follow, "You're the man with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

~8~

Something insect-like tapped the screen, watching as the Doctor, Angel, and Christina walked across the sand.

~8~

The Doctor glanced back at Christina as Angel led them across the sand, "Easier if you left that backpack behind."

"Where I go, it goes," she stated.

"A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

"You can talk. Let's just say we're equal mysteries. Come on then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

Angel stopped walking suddenly, staring off into the distance, "I don't think it's a someone," she remarked, "But...everything in me, every single sense...is telling me we should get off this planet, get as far away from it as possible."

That was new too...she could...actually FEEL the feelings stirring. It was like...when you had something you'd forgotten and it was right at the tip of your thoughts just waiting to be remembered...and she was tingling, buzzing really. She'd never really felt the feelings mounting before, felt them come up quickly, sometimes gotten a vague feeling or sense of something. Usually though the ones she felt coming were the bad ones, the pits in her stomach, but this...this was new. This was more like she was just...realizing something, and it wasn't necessarily something bad, but just...something...

"And do you think we can?" Christina wondered.

"The Doctor's here," she answered, glancing at him, "So yes. Completely."

The Doctor grinned at that, at her faith in him, and kissed the back of her hand, "We live in hope, and if not," he winked at her, "I've got my good luck charm," he looked at Christina, "Angel's all we need to know things'll work out in the end."

"That must be nice, to have faith like that," Christina remarked, eyeing them, "It's Christina de Souza," she held out her hand to them, "To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

"Ooh, that's handy," the Doctor nodded, shaking her hand, "'Cos I'm a Lord. And Angel's the most lady Lady who's ever been a lady!" he laughed.

Angel turned to Christina and tried her hand at curtseying...only to lose her balance and fall a bit to the right, the Doctor catching her as she stumbled. It seemed her coordination wasn't just hand-eye but balance as well. He laughed lightly, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, swaying her a bit, kissing her cheek, beaming when he saw her blushing.

"Seems I'm a bit uncoordinated this time," she murmured to him.

"Really?" he asked, "I hadn't noticed."

She looked up at him to see he was being genuinely serious, he really HADN'T noticed, "Seriously?" she had to ask.

"Mhmm," he nodded, humming, "I would have noticed if you'd tripped while we were dancing," he spun her around in his arms and led her into a slightly fast waltz, making her laugh loudly at the suddenness of it, "See, completely coordinated now," he cheered.

She smiled up at him, "That's because I'm in your arms," she told him, "I'm always better when you're around."

He looked at her softly for that, touched, and couldn't resist leaning in to kiss her deeply, kissing her again, before peppering her face with small pecks, which made her laugh AND blush, exactly his goal.

"Are you really?" Christina eyed them, they certainly didn't act like any noble she'd ever encountered, but then again, she could be quite un-ladylike as well, the chalice in her bag was evidence of that.

The Doctor suddenly turned Angel, dipping her, making her squeal, "Oh yes," he told Christina, pulling Angel back up.

"The Lord and Lady of where?"

"It's quite a big estate," the Doctor waved her off, turning to watch Angel frown.

"No, but there's something more about you. That device you were carrying, and the wormhole..." she glanced at Angel more, "Like you knew," hmm, perhaps the girl really WAS psychic, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the Doctor, "And the way you stride around this place, like..."

"Like?"

"Like you're not quite..."

"Anyway!" the Doctor cut in as Angel started walking towards a higher dune, her attention caught by the desert once more, "Come on! Allons-y!" he followed after her.

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar." (Yes, but not if we go towards a nightmare.)

The Doctor laughed, "Oh very good!" Angel stopped on the dune and looked out, pushing her sunglasses onto her head. The Doctor frowned and followed her gaze, "Don't like the look of that."

Christina shaded her eyes, "Storm clouds. Must be hundreds of miles away."

"Getting closer," Angel breathed...

'...Malcolm, that's brilliant!...'

...a swarm of what seemed like manta rays flew past, glistening as though patched with metal...

'...Doctor, it's coming for us!...'

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It might be a storm," Angel nodded, "But...I don't think it's sand," and with that she turned and ran back towards the bus.

~8~

Carmen sat beside Lou, her eyes closed, "Closer...and closer and closer..."

The Doctor hopped on the bus followed by Angel, Christina, and Barclay, "Where is it?" the Doctor asked.

"There, there on the seat," Barclay pointed, the Doctor picked up his mobile and soniced it.

"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina remarked.

"Oh, just watch me," he laughed, "Right, now, bit of hush, thank you. Gotta remember the number, very important number," he pushed a button.

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?"

"And again!" he hung up and redialed, "Ah! 7-6, not 6-7..."

"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Please select one of the following four options."

"Oh, I hate these things!"

"No, if you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person," Angela remarked, "I saw it on Watchdog!"

"Thank you, Angela!" he sat down and pressed zero, holding the phone out on speaker.

"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" a woman answered.

"Listen, it's the Doctor and Angel! It's us."

~8~

A soldier approached the captain with a mobile, "Captain! Urgent call, ma'am, relayed direct from HQ."

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's them, ma'am. It's the Doctor and the Angel."

She quickly took the phone, "Doctor. Angel. This is Captain Erisa Magambo," she saluted, "Might I say, it's an honor."

"She just saluted," Angel remarked over the phone.

"Did you just salute?" the Doctor demanded, slightly suspicious.

"...no..." she answered slowly.

"Yeah 'cos that makes perfect sense. Lie to the psychic."

"Doctor, the bus," Angel reminded him.

"Erisa, it's about the bus. HQ said you're at the tunnel, yeah?"

"And where are you?" she asked, hoping they weren't...

"We're on the bus."

She sighed, shaking her head, it seemed like she'd have a call to make after this.

"But apart from that, not a clue, except it's very pretty and, according to Angel, pretty dangerous."

"Have you sustained any fatalities?"

"No," Angel stated firmly, "And we're not going to."

"But we're stuck," the Doctor added, "We haven't got the TARDIS, and I need to analyze that wormhole."

"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr. Malcolm Taylor," she turned and headed towards a mobile physics lab, "Just the man you need, he's a genius."

"Oh, is he? We'll see about that."

"Give him a chance," Angel told him lightly, "He may surprise you."

Erisa smiled, the files Martha had compiled were most certainly correct about the Angel. She shook her head and entered the lab, shutting the door behind her, "Here's the Doctor."

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," Malcolm waved her off, "It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice."

"It's THE Doctor," she held out the phone.

"Do you mean...'the Doctor' Doctor?! And what about the Angel? Is she there too? Well, I suppose she would be, the Doctor hardly lets her out of his sight according to the files...they want to talk to me though?! Them?"

"I know. We all want to meet them one day, but we all know what that day will bring."

"We can hear everything you're saying," the Doctor called out.

Malcolm looked completely stunned, "Hello, Doctor? Oh, my goodness!"

"Yes, I am."

"Hello, Malcolm," Angel added warmly.

He laughed a bit, "The Angel! Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"

"Really?" the Doctor asked, "What was your favorite, the giant robot?"

"Doctor, the wormhole," Angel reminded him again.

"Right, right. Let's sort out that wormhole. 'Scuse me," there was a sound of shuffling as the Doctor moved, probably off to the side.

"On speakerphone, please," Erisa called, "I don't want anyone keeping secrets."

"Malcolm, something's not making sense here," the Doctor came back, "We've got a storm and a wormhole, and Angel thinks there's a connection and I'm rather inclined to agree. I need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing."

"I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator," Malcolm said, "I thought it could measure the energy signature."

"No, that'll never work. Just listen to me..."

"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."

"Fifteen...what?"

"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."

"You...named a unit of measurement after yourself?"

"It didn't do Mr. Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."

"Right. Fine. But before I die of old age, which in my case would be quite an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone else I can talk to?"

"Doctor!" Angel chastised.

"Sorry," he muttered quickly.

"No, no, no, no, but listen!" Malcolm added quickly, "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."

"...you did what?"

"Is that wrong?"

"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant! So you can actually measure the wormhole."

"I told you," Angel said, "He's surprised and impressed you, hasn't he?"

"Ok," the Doctor laughed, "I admit, that is genius!"

"The Doctor called me a genius," Malcolm gaped.

"I know, I heard," Erisa smiled.

"Now, run a capacity scan," the Doctor said, "I need a full report. Call me back when you've done it. And Malcolm? You're my new best friend."

"And you're mine too, sir!"

~8~

"Barclay, I'm holding on to this!" the Doctor called, holding up the phone before he headed out the door with Angel.

"Then you'd better bring it back!" Barclay yelled.

Christina rushed forward and left the bus, Nathan still digging out the tires, Ed working away at the engine.

~8~

"You're mine..." Malcolm breathed, "He's gone. He's gone..." he looked up at Erisa, slowly lowering the phone, "Do you think the Angel will let me hug her?"

Erisa could only shake her head at him. She never should have let the man read the files on the Doctor and Angel, the man had been obsessed with experiencing the Doctor's 'genius' and Angel's 'wonderful hugs' as Martha had added to the files.

~8~

There was a chirping as the creature watched the trio walk through the desert once more.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Christina returned to the dune Angel had led them to earlier, Angel with the sunglasses still on her head to squint out at the 'storm,' knowing that the Doctor wanted a picture for Malcolm to analyze. She paused though when she realized he was still at the bottom of the dune, nowhere near close enough to snap a clear photo. She looked over, only to see him just...standing there...looking at her.

"What is it?" she asked, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, more so because of the gentle wind blowing her hair than a habit from her last body.

He just shook his head, unable to speak. Angel was standing there, in her lovely blue dress, her silver eyes shining, the sunlight making the golden specks within sparkle, the breeze gently billowing her dress...and the sun...one of the suns was just a bit behind her, illuminating her. She looked...breathtaking, which she was, he truly lost his breath gazing at her. He had once recited Shakespeare to her, called her a goddess, a nymph, perfect, divine...and just then...she truly looked it.

Not that she didn't always look it, but right then, anyone would agree.

He shook his head when he saw her look down, blushing, and made his way up to her, reaching out to lift her chin to look at her, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek, "Don't do that," he murmured to her, continuing when he saw the confusion in her eyes, "Look away. You are beautiful Angel," he whispered, leaning in, "And I love seeing your eyes light up when I tell you that," he added, giving her a gentle peck.

She smiled, "Like I love seeing you grin when I call you handsome," she nudged him, "And dashing, and quite foxy."

He beamed at her, kissing her again.

"But we should really worry about the 'storm' thing first," she added quietly when she pulled away, resting her forehead to his.

He sighed, but nodded, "Right, right, yes, yes," he took a breath and turned, snapping a picture on the phone of the 'storm,' "Send this back to Earth, see if Malcolm can analyze the storm."

"There's something in those clouds, something shining," Christina muttered, "Look..."

"It's metal," Angel blinked.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?"

~8~

"So fast and strong, they ride the storm," Carmen said, "They are the storm."

"But what are they?" Lou asked.

"They devour…"

~8~

While the Doctor snapped away and Angel looked at the storm intently, Christina looked over, hearing a chirping noise, "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor waved her off, "Busy."

"There was a noise, like a sort of..." she gasped, seeing an insectoid creature watching them, "Doctor..."

They looked over to see the creature had a weapon in its hand.

The Doctor immediately stepped in front of Angel, but she rested a hand on the center of his back, calming him, 'It's ok Theta,' she told him quietly, 'They won't hurt us...they need help,' and with that, she stepped around him, to his side, the Doctor tensing, but not pushing her back.

That was rather new too.

~8~

"There's something new," Carmen said.

~8~

The creature approached them, clicking away, and the Doctor responded in kind, "That's 'wait,'" Angel told Christina, not wanting the woman to worry but not trusting herself to try to speak to the alien either, she didn't want to accidently spark a war with her terrible pronunciations, "He likes to think that if he shouts 'wait,' people will do it."

"You speak the language?" Christina frowned at him.

"Every language," the Doctor said, speaking to the creature again.

"That's begging for mercy," Angel added.

The creature jerked to the side with its gun, "That means 'move,'" Christina stated.

"Ooh!" the Doctor laughed, "You're learning."

The creature marched them off in front of it.

"These fly things, they must be responsible," Christina guessed, "They brought us here."

"I don't think they did," Angel shook her head, looking over at the alien's ship, crashed and smoking on the desert sand, "Their ship...it's a wreck. I think they crashed like we did."

Chapter Text

The creature led them into the ship where it was obvious inside as it was outside that it had crashed. Everything looked as though they were trying to repair it, wires and electronics hanging from everywhere. Had it not been so wrecked it would have been a rather spectacular ship.

"But this place is freezing!" Christiana shouted.

"The hull's made of Photafine steel," the Doctor explained, stepping closer to Angel and putting his arm around her, "Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside."

Angel looked up at the Doctor, "I feel fine," she told him.

This was unlike her last self, near the end, where she'd just been so cold all the time that not even that old pink coat she'd found had been able to help. She actually felt ok at the moment, Time Lord biology made them more resilient to extreme temperatures. She had been just fine in the desert and felt just as fine in the ship.

"I know," he smiled down at her, unable to explain just HOW happy he was to hear that.

He'd been worried, terribly worried that what had happened before might happen again. Angel, on the Valiant, just after time had reversed, had claimed she was fine, claimed she'd be fine because the TARDIS was fine also. And that had turned out to be not quite so true as she had started to die in the same fashion as she had during the Year-That-Never-Was. He'd been keeping a MUCH closer eye on her since she'd regenerated again, making sure none of the warning signs he'd missed popped up again, like her loss of appetite, her lack of energy, her headaches...

So far, so good.

Actually, so far, so brilliant! She truly was blossoming as he'd said when they'd stopped the Cyber-King. She'd been doing so much better, aside from some new lack of coordination, she was just as healthy and had stayed as healthy as she always was. He knew that, despite her thin dress, that she was just fine, completely capable of handling the chill that was surrounding them, but that wasn't why he'd put his arm around her.

"I just like having you in my arms," he winked at her, "And this is the excuse quite a few men on Earth seem to use to get closer to the women they love."

She blushed but, unlike last time, didn't look away, just gazed happily at him, "You really don't need any excuse though," she reminded him, "I like being in your arms."

He beamed at that, only to glance over when he saw Christina puffing some warm breath into her hands and rubbing them, far more chilled than Angel was, "Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!"

"That's how I like things," the woman had to smile at that, "Extreme."

"Oh, this is beautiful! Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!"

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"

"They won't torture you," Angel reached out to put a hand on Christina's arm, reassuring her.

"Yup," the Doctor nodded, "If they wanted to hurt us they would have sent more than just one after us. Harder to subdue three people when there's only one of them."

Christina eyed him, "That doesn't make me feel any better."

Before the Doctor could respond, a second creature turned to them as they entered a control room and touched a device attached to its clothes.

"Oh, right, good, yes, hello!" the Doctor said, "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Still sounds like gibberish to me," she eyed the creatures as they clicked.

"That's what I said, he can understand us. Doesn't work the other way round."

"I don't think I'm quite understanding them right," Angel frowned, listening to the aliens.

The Doctor looked at her, "What do you think they're saying?" he encouraged her. She really was far more confident than her last self, but there was still some stumbling blocks to work through.

"I think...are they saying, 'you will suffer for your crimes?'" she turned to him with a look of confusion on her face, whether from wondering what crimes they were talking about or if she'd gotten it right he wasn't sure.

"Correctamundo," he beamed at her, "Brilliant Angel," he squeezed her, "Keep going."

"Um..." she looked back at the creatures, listening intently as they clicked, "'You have committed an act of violence against the Trite...Tritovore race...'"

"Tritovores," he nodded, letting her know she was on a roll, "They're called Tritovores."

"'You came here in the 200 to destroy us,'" Angel continued, a bit more sure of herself.

"Sorry," the Doctor frowned at that, "No, not, not the translation," he reassured her, kissing her temple, "The 200," he told her, looking at the Tritovores, "What's the 200?"

"It's the bus," Christina guessed, "Number 200, they mean the bus."

"Oh!" his eyes widened, "No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is my Mate, Angel, and that's Christina, the Honorable Lady Christina, at least I hope she's honorable! But we got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

The Tritovores talked to each other a bit before putting their guns away, though Christina eyed them warily, "What are they doing?"

"They believe me."

"What, as simple as that?"

"The Doctor has a very honest and genuine face," Angel replied, "Very handsome too."

The Doctor winked at her in thanks, beaming at that...

"And I think the translator lets them detect falsehood as well," Angel continued.

His beam fell into a bit of a pout at that, "Plus, the face."

Angel pushed herself on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, "I love the face," she whispered to him, making him smile again, "The face, the eyes, the smile, the nose, the ears, the chin..."

He reached out and gently traced her cheek, "I love yours more," he replied, equally as quiet, leaning in to kiss her lips, twice, the last one a bit deeper than the first...only really pulling away, not when Christina cleared her throat, but when the Tritovores began to click again, "Right!" he blushed a bit, which made Angel laugh as he so rarely did that, "So, first things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?" he walked over to a control panel followed by the Tritovores and Angel.

"They lost power for some reason," Angel told Christina when the girl looked at her, the Doctor in the middle of talking with the Tritovores.

"Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch," the Doctor looked at the controls the aliens had led him to with their power readings, "But if I can jiggle it back..." he dealt a swift kick to the panel and the power sprang on, "I thank you!" the Tritovores clicked, "Yes, I am! Frequently."

Christina looked at Angel, curious as to what the Tritovores had said.

"Oh I'm not repeating it and boosting his ego any more," Angel laughed, "I like his head just the size it is."

"Okey-doke, let's launch that probe," the Doctor said, not seeming to have heard her. He pulled a lever and the probe flew out to the sky. They walked around to sit on a set of crates, watching the picture sent back from the probe as a hologram projection displaying where they were, "The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the Universe. Just what you wanted Christina, so far away," the probe zoomed in, "The planet of San Helios."

"And that's us?" Christina asked, a bit breathless as she stared at the image of space zooming in on the planet, "We're on another world."

"We have been for quite a while."

"I know, but seeing it like that..."

"I know," Angel smiled, putting an arm around the woman, sitting in between Christina and the Doctor, "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"Wonderful."

The Tritovores started to titter.

Angel looked at the Doctor who zipped his lips and gestured for her to continue to act as translator. She smiled warmly at that, feeling a little pool of happiness inside her at how he had faith in her skills. She did too, but mostly her abilities, her feelings, but he just believed she could do anything and everything. It was nice to have someone have that much faith in you. And it made her want to do him proud and try her hardest.

So she turned to the Tritovores, listening as they spoke, "They were planning to trade with the people of San Helios," she explained, "They thought a planet with such a big population, billions and billions of people, would give them quite a bit of, um, waste matter, to take with them."

"By waste matter, you mean?" Christina nearly grimaced at the thought.

"They feed off what others leave behind," the Doctor said gently, taking pity on Angel to have to talk about something rather...unpleasant, "From their...behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies."

"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them."

"That's rude," Angel poked her.

"What," she scoffed, "YOU would kiss them?"

Angel shrugged, "Not like how I kiss the Doctor, but we shouldn't be mean or rude to another species because of how they live their lives. That's prejudiced."

Christina just stared at her as though she'd gone mad, while the Doctor just smiled softly at her. He hoped she wouldn't really kiss the Tritovores if the aliens asked for a kiss. He felt something stir in him at the thought of her kissing anyone but him really. He didn't like it, it made him just want to pull her into his arms and kiss her till she was breathless so she wouldn't want to kiss anyone else.

It was odd though, he'd never really felt like that when Mickey or Jack had been involved, but that might be because of how he knew Angel saw them, how he had come to see them as well. Jack had been his companion, yes, but he was also Angel's brother. And Mickey the Idiot...

Angel elbowed him in the side.

Mickey the Magnificent, he amended in his mind, letting out a little laugh at that, she was just as protective of the boy as she had always been, wouldn't let anyone get away with insulting him, even HIM. Mickey had been just another human, but Angel's first ever companion so he knew there would always be a fondness and connection between the two.

And he was ok with that.

Anyone else...not so much.

It really was odd though now that he thought about it, it felt...more powerful...that need to keep her away from other men, other aliens, well...other male aliens at least. He couldn't explain it, it was like...ever since she'd gotten better and regenerated, it was just...growing.

The projection faded to a populated city with trees and green parks and he shook himself out of his thoughts, he'd think more on that later, right now he had to work out what was going on and how to get them all off the planet alive, "San Helios City," the Doctor smiled.

"That's amazing," Christina breathed, before she noticed the not quite surprised yet still fond smiles on the Doctor's face...Angel looked just as taken with the image as she was, but the Doctor... "You've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times," he nodded.

"Still takes the breath away though, doesn't it," Angel smiled, "To see something that beautiful."

"Yes, it does," he nodded, though his gaze was NOT on the projection.

She glanced over at him and blushed, seeing his eyes locked on her, she was starting to think he was trying to see how many times he could get her to blush during this trip.

"That Lord and Ladyship of yours..." Christina looked between them, "The Lord and Lady of where, exactly?"

"Of Time. We come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're aliens?"

"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either. Really," he said, actually sounding serious, "You don't."

As much as he didn't like the thought of Angel kissing someone else, he really didn't like the idea of anyone but her kissing him either.

"You look human."

"You look Time Lord actually," Angel corrected lightly, "Our race is older."

"Anyway!" the Doctor cut in, feeling Angel get a bit sad at the thought of their lost people.

"So if that's San Helios," Christina looked back at it, "All we need to do is find that city. They can help us!"

"I don't think it's that simple," the Doctor said as the projection shifted to desert, "We're in the city right now."

"But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

"The image was taken last year," Angel translated automatically when one chirped, the Doctor squeezing her around the middle for that.

"It became a desert in one year?"

"We said there was something in the sand," the Doctor scooped up a bit and let it sift through his fingers, "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife and 100 billion people, turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"Not just her," Angel remarked quietly.

The Doctor looked over at her and took her hand. He'd felt it, felt her, felt her emotions darken the longer they were on the planet. She and Carmen, the human woman was overwhelmed, hardly able to grasp what was happening, like...she felt something and it and the thoughts that accompanied it would just...slip away. But Angel...she could feel it all around her. She was psychic in a different way than Carmen, she could just tell that something bad had happened, that something had been lost, that a terrible thing had occurred, that it was still occurring and drawing nearer.

Finding out that the sand had been made of the dead...well, it had hurt her. She could often get a sense of those around her, those who were bad or being honest, those who were lying or had some ill intent, right now...she was just sensing the death, the constant, never-ending death of the people, the plants, the animals, the entire planet. And he knew it was killing her to stay there, to feel it and not be able to block it out.

It was just like with the TARDIS, how all those people calling the box when the Earth had been stolen had broken through the Rift in time and space, through the TARDIS's own shields, and to the box itself. Having such a concentration of something made it hard to ignore. And Angel, bless her soul, was trying to bear it silently and strongly for the sake of the humans. She wasn't letting on that she felt what Carmen did, that she could hear them dying in her mind, that she could almost feel them dying it was THAT powerful. Because she knew, if she let on that THAT was what had happened, that she was truly worried and hurt by it all, then the humans would panic to see one half of the team that had the best chance of getting them out alarmed by it all.

She was even trying to shield HIM from it, trying to keep him from feeling how devastated she was. She put on a smile for Christina and him, but he knew all she really wanted to do was just cry, mourn those who had died on the planet, been reduced to sand, but that she couldn't, that she had to focus on helping get them safe first.

She really was an angel wasn't she?

"But I've got sand in my hair!" Christina exclaimed, "That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!"

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios," the Doctor frowned.

"Yes, but in my hair!"

The mobile went and the Doctor quickly picked up, "Malcolm! Tell me the bad news!"

"Oh, you are clever!" Malcolm said, "It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."

"Doctor," Angel stated.

"What?" he looked at her.

She blinked, "No, I was giving him a name for 100 Bernards, a Doctor."

The Doctor started to smile at that, before shaking his head, recalling the danger that was present, "How can it get bigger by itself?"

"Well, that's why I'm phoning! You'll work it out, if I know you, sir."

"Doctor," Erisa added, "We estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."

"Good work, both of you," the Doctor praised.

"But I have to know. Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

The phone bleeped and the Doctor glanced down at it, "Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go," he switched it off.

~8~

"Call waiting?!" Erisa gaped at the phone on the table.

"He's a devil, that one!" Malcolm remarked, "Lucky he's got an angel to look after him."

~8~

"Yep?" the Doctor answered the next call.

"Doctor, it's Nathan. We got those duckboard things down, but..."

"It's my fault," Angela wept.

"No, it's not, don't say that."

"It's my fault," Ed said, "I knew I shoulda refilled the start of my shift."

"Why, what's happened?" the Doctor asked.

"We kept on turning the engine, but..." Nathan sighed, "We're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...this bus is never going to move."

"What is it, what's wrong?" Christina asked as the Doctor lowered the phone, "Doctor, tell me."

"You promised you'd get us home. Doctor? Are you still there?"

Angel reached out and took the phone from him, "Nathan?" she called, "Don't worry, we'll get you home, we DID promise and we won't break it," she looked at the Doctor with a soft look despite his near-hopeless expression, "Believe me, I've seen the Doctor get out of far worse situations than this," she took his hand and kissed his scarred knuckles, not looking away from his eyes, "Just trust him, he'll do it," she smiled, seeing him starting to again, "I know he will."

And with that, she gently closed the phone.

"I will?" he eyed her a moment, a suspicious look on his face.

She nodded, "Of course you will," she winked, "Don't argue with the psychic."

He laughed, beaming at her, "You're the boss," he agreed...when one of the monitors beeped and the Tritovores chirruped excitedly.

"Is that the probe?" Angel looked over as the aliens nodded.

"It's reached the storm," the Doctor looked at the projection, a frown growing on his face.

"And what's he saying?" Christina looked at them, confused.

"It's not a storm."

They watched as the probe sent back a picture of a swarm of what seemed like manta rays, "It's a swarm," Christina gaped, "Millions of them."

"Billions," the Doctor shook his head, watching as a creature flew straight at the probe, its mouth open, before the connection was lost, "Ah! We've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten."

"How far away is that swarm"

"Hundred miles. But at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes."

The Tritovores chattered, "No, I don't think they're coming for us," Angel shook her head, "They couldn't have known we'd be here. The only thing here was..." she frowned, blinking, "The wormhole. They want the wormhole!"

"They're heading for Earth!" Christina realized.

"Show the analysis," the Doctor ordered the Tritovores who brought up a 3D image of the creatures, "Incredible!" he eyed them, "They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world, start the life cycle all over again."

"So, they make the wormholes?"

"They must do."

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"Because they need to be? No. That's bonkers. Hang on! Yes! Oh! Do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet, round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, till they generate a rupture in space! The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all of that rips the wormhole into existence!"

"And the wormhole's getting bigger..."

"Because they're getting closer!"

"But how do they get through? 'Cos that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it!"

"No, no, see the exoskeleton?" he pointed to the glistening bits of the projection.

"Is that..." Angel squinted at it, "Metal?"

He nodded, "They've got bones of metal! They eat metal, and extrude it into the exoskeleton! So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe! Perfect design!"

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert," Christina looked at him, "So why exactly are you smiling?"

"The worse it gets, the more he loves it," Angel shook her head at him.

"Me too," Christina had to admit.

~8~

The swarm gathered speed, squealing as they cut through the air.

~8~

"Sounds like a storm," Nathan commented as a rumbling sounded.

"If it rains, we've got water," Angela remarked.

"It'll help wash away the sand in the engine too," Ed nodded.

"No water," Carmen shook her head, "All of it, dust. But the girl..."

"Don't now, sweetheart," Lou hushed gently, "What girl?"

"The girl, she will fly."

~8~

"The thing is, Doctor, you're missing the obvious," Christina said, "We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"

"Ah, good question!" he pointed at her, before turning to the Tritovores, "Like she said, why did you crash?" one of the Tritovores led them out of the room and to another one where a large open hole was set in the floor, "Oh, yes. Gravity Well, look. Goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?"

The alien chirruped.

"He says the drive system stalled," Angel listened, "They fell from about ten miles in the sky."

"But what caused that?"

It shrugged.

"Which means, 'no idea,'" Christina sighed.

"Yeah. But wait a minute, that's a crystal nucleus down there, yes?" the Tritovore answered positively, "And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact...oh, yes, that's better than diesel!"

"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?"

"I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?"

"In a super-clever, outer-spacey way, just trust me!" he pulled up a feed on a monitor, "There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well. Have you got access shafts?" the Tritovore answered negative, "All frozen? Maybe I can open them! Internal comms., put that on," he handed one to Christina and one to Angel, an earpiece each, and ran to the door with Angel following, "You stay here," he told Christina, "Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell Angel if anything happens," he rushed out followed by the Tritovore, though Angel hesitated in the doorway.

"Christina?" she called to the woman who looked over from removing her pack, "Good luck," she offered her a knowing smile and turned to dash off.

Christina's eyes widened a moment at that, before she smiled, the girl really was psychic wasn't she?

Angel caught up with the Doctor, right in the control room once more, the man still talking as though he hadn't known she wasn't right behind him, "If I can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance," he muttered, looking over at her.

"Christina?" Angel spoke into the comm. as the Doctor pulled some cables, "Let me know if you can spot any sort of panel opening in that shaft."

~8~

"Nothing yet," Christina said as she pulled on a harness from her pack and strapped herself in.

"What about now?"

"'Fraid not," she put her hair up.

"Nothing's moving?"

"Nope."

"And now?"

"Nothing," she set up a wire cable and winch.

"Nothing?"

"Not a dickie bird," she attached the cable to the harness, "So let me get this right. You need that crystal?" she pulled a small torch from her bag and attached it by Velcro to the harness, "Then consider it done."

~8~

The Doctor's eyes widened, hearing the response in Angel's mind and ran out of the room, back to the well room, Angel following.

"The aristocracy survives for a reason," Christina continued, "We're ready for anything!" and then she swan dove into the gravity well just as the Time Lords ran in.

"No!" Angel shouted, she ran over to the edge watching as Christina fell, her arms outstretched, she'd sensed the woman planning something, but not quite this, "She's going to hit the security field!"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the pulley, stopping her, "That's better."

"I decide when I stop, thank you," Christina shouted back up.

"You're about to hit the security grid," Angel called down to her, "Look!"

Christina looked down to see a field of crackling energy below her, "Excellent. So what do I do?"

"Try the big red button," the Doctor smiled.

She pressed it, "Well done!"

"Now come back up! I can do that."

"Oh, don't you wish?"

"Slowly!"

"Yes, sir," Christina continued on headfirst.

"Quite the mystery, aren't you?" the Doctor commented as he sat on the well's edge, Angel looking down into it to keep an eye on Christina, "Lady Christina de Souza. Carrying a winch in her bag."

"No stranger than you, spaceman."

"I had this friend, once. She called me spaceman."

"She called me supergirl," Angel smiled.

"Well I can see that, you're both quite the heroes aren't you?" Christina commented, "But was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket too?"

"Well, a little blue box," the Doctor shrugged, "Travels in more than space. It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places we've been. World War One. Creation of the Universe, end of the Universe, the war between China and Japan," he looked down into her bag and saw the chalice, "And the Court of King Athelstan, in 924 AD," he lifted it up, "But I don't remember you being there, neither does Angel and she remembers everyone. So what are you doing with this?"

"Excuse me. A gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions."

The Tritovore chirruped, "It's the Cup of Athelstan," the Doctor explained, "Given to the first King of Britain, as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for 200 years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief."

"I like to think I liberated it."

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"No, no, no, if you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this, that's a lifestyle."

"I take it you disapprove?"

"Absolutely. Except, that little blue box. I stole it. From my own people," Angel reached over and took his hand, not looking away from the well.

"Good boy," she laughed, when there was a loud screech, "What the blazes was that?!"

"We never found out why the ship crashed," Angel realized, "Christina, you need to come back up."

"Too late. I can see it."

"Careful!" the Doctor yelled, "Slowly," he looked at the Tritovore, " Have you got an open-vent system?" it answered, "I thought so."

"What does that mean?"

"It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft."

"One of the creatures!" she gasped, seeing one.

"Got trapped in the vents. Caused the crash."

"Christina, get out please!" Angel called.

"It's not moving," Christina shook her head, "I think it's injured."

"No, it's dormant, because it's so cold down there," the Doctor countered, "But your body heat is raising the temperature."

"I tend to have that effect. Almost there," she tried to release the crystal.

"Not just the crystal. I need the whole bed, the plate thing."

She grabbed the base and lifted it off the ground just as the creature moved, "I've got it!"

The Doctor soniced the winch, pulling her back up, "Come on, come on!" but the creature followed, "Come on, come on, come on, come on! It's gonna eat its way up!" Christina hit the red button on the way up, turning on the field. The creature flew into it and shrieked, "Oh, she's good!" he remarked as Christina arrived at the top of the well. The Doctor swung her over to the side, taking the crystal and its couplings, "That's it, that's it."

"I've got you," Angel helped steady her.

The Tritovore took the crystal and chirruped at the Doctor, "Isn't she just?" they turned and ran to the control room where the other Tritovore stood by the controls, "Commander!" the Doctor held out the crystal, "Mission complete! Now we've got to get back to the 200, all of us," the commander chattered, "Oh, don't be so daft! A captain…"

Angel just ran forward and grabbed the Tritovore's arm, pulling him back with her, not about to let him argue and get hurt, while the other Tritovore followed just as a rumble sounded.

"What the hell was that?" Christina looked around, "Is this place safe? It's the creature. It's not dead."

"Maybe you didn't hit just one of them. If you hit a swarm..."

"Do you mean if there's more onboard?"

"This ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure, all around us," something hit against the inside of the wall, "And they wake up hungry."

"Come on!" Angel shouted, pulling the Tritovores with her as she took off, "We'll find you a way home later!"

They reached the doorway just as one of the creatures dropped through the ceiling of the control room, right where the commanding Tritovore had been standing, and swooped at them.

"Run!" the Doctor yelled and they took off out of the ship and into the desert...

Chapter Text

"What sort of storm is that?" Angela wondered as she peered out the window of the bus, the other passengers leaning over to see the storm approaching, not realizing it was really a swarm of hungry manta-rays.

"Run!" Carmen gasped, knowing the Doctor, Angel, and Christina...and two other...things...were running across the desert at that very moment, almost like she could see them, "Run, run, run, run, run!"

~8~

Barclay's mobile rang in the Doctor's pocket and he answered it, only to hear Malcolm on the other end, "Doctor..."

"Not now, Malcolm!" he called before hanging up, reaching out to grab Angel's hand as they ran, the plate with the crystal tucked under his other arm.

He remembered what Jack had told them, the story of how he'd lost his brother in the first place. Well, really, he'd told Angel it on the Valiant, and Angel had later told him, with Jack's permission. He remembered what had happened, how Gray had tripped, how his hand had slipped from Jack's and the boy had been lost...he was NOT about to make the same mistake with Angel, not ever, he'd hold her hand forever.

~8~

"Fair dos," Malcolm sighed, looking at Erisa with a shrug as he set the phone back down, "He's a busy man."

~8~

They ran into the bus, Nathan and Barclay standing at the door, "At last!" Nathan breathed a sigh of relief to see them all alive, "Where've you been?!"

"What are they?" Barclay grimaced as he caught sight of the Tritovores, the flies were rather disturbing to see up-close.

"Never mind that!" the Doctor cut in, pushing them back into the bus, "Get inside, get them sitting down," he urged the Tritovores inside with Nathan and Barclay, "Now then, let's have a look," he looked down at the crystal, squatting down into the sand and fiddling with it and all the hooks and clamps around it.

"So what does that crystal do?" Christina looked over his shoulder as Angel knelt before him, holding the base down so that he could better remove the needed pieces.

The Doctor just picked up the crystal and looked at it closely, "Oh, nothing, don't need the crystal," he was about to toss it away when a thought struck him, "Though it makes a lovely gift," he beamed, taking Angel's hand and placing the crystal in it, "Still not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

She nodded, "The Koh-I-Noor," she remarked, thinking of another diamond they'd encountered.

"No," his hand left hers to trace her cheek gently with the back of his finger, "YOU," he smiled, "Remember, that diamond was so beautiful, like you," he winked at her.

"As sweet as this is," Christina cut in, "Could we maybe save it till AFTER we're safe again?"

"Right," he nodded, "Yes," he got back to the plate as Angel tossed the crystal in her hands.

"Hold on," Christina shook her head as his words caught up to her, "We're NOT using the crystal?! I risked my life for that!"

"No no, you risked your life for these," he unhooked the clamps that had held the crystal down, "The clamps!" he handed two to Angel and they both ran around the bus, attaching the clamps to the wheels before heading inside.

"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?"

"Something like that," the Doctor moved to the driver's seat, "Ed," he nodded to the back.

"This is MY bus Doctor and..." Ed began, shaking his head.

"And you won't know how to drive it the way it has to be driven," the Doctor put a hand on his shoulder, "Trust me," he nodded back again.

Ed sighed and got up, grumbling as he moved to sit in the first seat behind them.

"Thanks," the Doctor beamed, sitting down in Ed's seat, "I just need to fix this," he placed the plate on the wheel, looking at Christina, "Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Funnily enough," she handed him a hammer.

"Phone, phone..." he tossed Angel the phone. She hit redial as the Doctor hooked up the plate-base to the steering wheel before holding the phone to the Doctor's ear, "Malcolm, it's me!"

"I'm ready!" Malcolm cried, sounding exactly that.

The Doctor blinked, "Ready for what?"

"I don't know! You tell me!"

"I'll try to get back. There might be something following us. You need to find a way to close the wormhole."

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?" they could practically hear the proud smirk in his voice.

"Oh, Malcolm! You're brilliant!"

"Coming from you, sir, that means the world."

Angel smiled softly at that, Malcolm seemed like a sweetheart and she couldn't wait to actually meet him and thank him for all his help. The Doctor had been quite rude to him at first and she hoped a nice hug might make up for that, that and a 'thank you' too should do the trick. Malcolm was very nice from what she'd heard of him and she was thrilled that he seemed so touched by the Doctor's praises. She loved it when humans realized just how brilliant they were, because they were. They were SO incredible.

Her smile turned fond as she looked at the Doctor, but that was travelling with the Doctor for you. She hadn't always had the most confidence in herself, but the Doctor had changed that. He had more faith in her than anyone she knew and that meant so much to her. All she wanted was to help others feel that way too. To show them how amazing they were just as they were. She'd been put down often in her life, looked over, ignored, and she hated when others felt that way, she'd promised she'd never ever do that to someone else, make them feel inferior because that word was just rubbish. Everyone was special and unique in their own way and she just wanted to help people see that.

Like Mickey.

She knew how the boy had felt when they'd first started travelling together, how...small...he'd felt in comparison to the Doctor, so she'd tried her best to encourage him, to be there for him, make him feel just as important. She liked to think she succeeded, the man he was today, that was all Mickey's own doing. He'd developed confidence and strength and ingenuity all on his own, but she did hope a little spark of it began with her. She couldn't wait till she had another companion, to show them how brilliant they were, because the Doctor...he had such fantastic people already, strong people, clever, and so wonderful in their own rights...but...she couldn't help but feel like HER companions had to be...something more. Someone with a quiet strength to them, a strength that was buried, that just needed someone to bring it out. Like...her companions had SO MUCH potential that just had to be unleashed and encouraged.

It was rather like a TARDIS actually, seemed small and insignificant on the outside, but had so much power and love and strength within. There was so much more to them than met the eye, like how the Doctor had reacted to Mickey, calling him an idiot, where SHE could see just how great the man could be.

Mickey the Magnificent.

She wondered what her next companion would be. She felt like, every so often, she got another sense of who they might be. She knew, a man...a nurse...and now, she couldn't help but think they'd be...remarkable...something with an R then.

Ronnie? No. Ricky? That was too much like Mickey. Raymond? Not quite right. Ror...

"Doctor," Erisa cut into her thoughts, making Angel shake her head at how they had gotten away from her, "What sort of something? That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing, I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

"Sorry, gotta go," he nodded at Angel who cut the connection.

~8~

"All troops, mobilize and stand ready," Erisa called into the radio, her lips pursed as the call ended, "Possible Code Red. Unknown!"

"Understood," a soldier replied, "Code Red! Repeat, Code Red unknown! Positions!"

She was really hoping nothing bad would happen...she'd really hate to have to call Martha Jon...Smith...up and have to report that she was needed before the woman even made it to her honeymoon. That would NOT be pleasant, though she had the suspicion Martha and her new husband might be more upset that the Doctor and Angel were in danger than the aliens that might be about to attack the Earth.

This was shaping up to be a no-win scenario.

Wonderful.

~8~

The Doctor worked on the steering wheel, on hooking up the plate to it, only getting it to spark, "Ah, it's not compatible! Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?" Christina frowned.

"Angel!" he turned to her, pointing at her, "The Extrapolator!"

She blinked, confused, "What about it?"

"You said it wasn't compatible to the TARDIS," he reminded her of when they first obtained the Extrapolator, "How did you and Jack rig it to work then?"

She frowned, thinking on it, "We bypassed a few circuits, connected others using more conductive wires..."

He stared at her a moment, smiling at how clever she'd sounded, "Brilliant!" he cheered, grabbing her hand and kissing it, his mind racing, "We need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile, something..."

"Gold?" Angel suggested.

"Yes!" he pointed at her again, "Something gold, but where..." he trailed off, his attention turning to Christina, "Christina..."

"Oh, no you don't," the woman shook her head, stepping back, away from him, clutching her bag with the chalice in it to her.

"Christina, is it really worth your life?" Angel asked her softly, "Is it worth their lives?" she nodded at the passengers.

Barclay came over, a watch in hand, "Hey, hey, use this!"

"I said gold," the Doctor replied.

"It is gold."

"Oh, they saw you coming," he laughed, "Christina!"

Barclay headed back to his seat dejectedly as Christina looked at her bag and then the other passengers, sighing as she took the chalice out and handed it to him, "It's over 1,000 years old," she told him, "Worth 18 million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," he took the cup gingerly before flipping it upside down and whacking it with the hammer.

"I hate you."

Angel laughed a bit, "Rule 1, the Doctor lies," she nudged Christina, "Should have gotten ME to promise that. I don't lie as much as he does."

~8~

Malcolm tapped away at his keyboard and the computer beeped, "Done it!" he beamed, cheering as he managed to work out how to stop the wormhole, "Transmit that, and the wormhole should close."

"Then do it," Erisa ordered, which made him look at her, uncomfortable.

"Well, after the Doctor and Angel've come through...obviously."

Erisa could only shake her head, "I'm sorry. Believe me. That wormhole constitutes a major threat, and I have a duty to every man, woman and child on this planet. It's got to be closed immediately."

"No, no, no," he shook his head fiercely, unable to believe what the woman was saying.

"That's an order."

"No, no, no. No, we can't just abandon them! He's the Doctor! She's the Angel! How many times have they saved our lives? I won't let you, ma'am. I simply won't!"

Erisa cocked her gun and aimed it at his head, "Right now, soldier."

She could only pray that Martha Jones and the other members of UNIT and Torchwood would forgive her for this.

She highly doubted it though.

~8~

"This is your driver speaking!" the Doctor shouted back, "Hold on tight!"

"What for?" Barclay frowned, looking at Christina, "What's he doing?"

"Do as he says!" Christina called, before turning to the Doctor, "What are you doing?"

"Come on, that's it..." the Doctor ignored her, coaxing the engine, "You can do it, you beauty! One last trip!"

The bus powered up and rattled, rising into the air as the passengers looked out, astonished, "Ah, you are so kidding me!" Barclay looked out the window.

"We're flying!" Nathan called, "It's flying!"

The Tritovores clicked excitedly.

"He's flying the bus!" Lou cheered.

"It's a miracle!" Angela laughed.

"Anti-gravity clamps," the Doctor beamed, "Didn't I say? Round we go," he turned the wheel and the bus spun around to face the wormhole.

"Doctor!" Carmen warned, "They're coming!"

The Doctor looked out the rearview mirrors, not even noticing Angel's gaze grow distant...

...Malcolm held his keyboard in front of him like a shield...

'...I will never surrender. Never!...'

...a woman, Erisa, cocked the gun she was holding at the man...

A pit dropped in her stomach as she realized that what she'd seen, what she'd heard, was...sudden...too sudden, as in...about to happen!

"Malcolm…" Angel whispered before quickly redialing and lifting the phone to her ear.

~8~

Malcolm held his keyboard in front of him like a shield, "I will never surrender. Never!" but Erisa merely cocked the gun she was holding at him, ready to fire...

And then the phone rang.

They both eyed it a moment, before Malcolm jolted forward and hit the answer button, jumping back.

"Erisa," Angel called, "Put down the gun! These creatures…the guns will work against them, but you've got to be ready! Now leave Malcolm to his work and go!" the phone clicked off as they stared at it, astonished.

"The files were most certainly right about her," Malcolm whispered as Erisa stared at the phone, stunned.

She hadn't really believed it when she'd read Martha J...Smith's files, that the Angel was apparently psychic. But Martha's testimony along with quite a few others had swayed her to believe it was possible. But this...there was NO way the girl could have known she was holding a gun at Malcolm unless...she really WAS psychic.

Yes, the files were definitely right about that.

She winced, realizing something else.

If the files were right about Angel, they were likely right about the Doctor as well. And the Angel, just then, had sounded a bit upset that she was threatening Malcolm...the Doctor did NOT like it when people upset his Mate.

~8~

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina looked at the Time Lords, the Doctor grimacing in concentration as he piloted the bus, Angel with her eyes closed, clutching the handle bar and resting her other hand, with the crystal in it on the dashboard, her eyes squeezed shut tight either in concentration or to not see what happened.

"Only one way to find out!" the Doctor reasoned, "Next stop..."

"Planet Earth!"

Everyone grabbed on and yelled as the Doctor flew the bus through the wormhole...none of them noticing, in the bright light that flared as they passed, the golden hue that had surrounded the bus. None, save the Doctor that is, the man recognizing the golden glow that he could have sworn he'd seen within the escape pod in Pompeii.

His gaze turned to Angel for a moment, seeing her faintly glowing golden as she protected the bus and all those inside it even more.

~8~

There was a bright flash of light outside the tunnel before the wormhole became visible and the bus flew straight through it, over the heads of the soldiers assembled, a faint golden light flickering around it before it dimmed.

~8~

"It's London!" Barclay cheered as it flew up, all of the passengers celebrating their safe return.

"We're back home!" Angela cried.

"He did it!" Nathan called, "He did it!"

The Tritovores hugged each other as Carmen and Lou embraced in joy, Ed whooping in his chair.

~8~

"Captain!" a soldier ran to the lab, hesitating a moment when they saw the captain with her gun at Malcolm, but appearing too stunned to fire, and shook his head, "Captain! They're back! It's the bus, ma'am, it's come back. And it's flying!"

Erisa shook her head out of her shock and quickly lowered her gun, leaving Malcolm alone as she ran outside, just as three of the manta ray creatures flew through the hole, "Code Red! Fire at will!"

The soldiers opened fire at the creatures.

~8~

Malcolm peered out the window of the portable lab when the phone rang again, "Malcolm!" the Doctor shouted, "Close that wormhole!"

"Yes, sir! My pleasure, sir!"

And then he hung up to work on the laptop.

~8~

"He's hung up on me!" the Doctor cried in shock before nodding at Angel to press redial.

~8~

Malcolm pressed a button on his keyboard, "Yes!" but then the electronics sparked, "Oh, no, no! No!"

One large spark sent him toppling over, backwards into his chair.

"Malcolm?" the Doctor called as he answered the phone again.

"Not now, I'm busy!" he hung up, and tried to put out a fire.

~8~

"He's hung up again!" the Doctor looked at Angel, half annoyed, half cross.

"Well you did hang up on him first," she reminded him with a smile.

"Oh just…" he nodded at the phone as she pressed redial once more.

~8~

"Malcolm!" the Doctor shouted as Malcolm answered for the third time, "Listen to me!"

"It's not working!" he exclaimed.

"I need that signal. We've got billions of those things about to fly through! "

"Well, what do I do?"

"Loop it back through the integrator, and keep the signal ramping up."

"But by how much?"

"5 Doctors! Do it now!"

Malcolm quickly made the adjustments on the computer and hit the key, it worked!

"Yes!"

~8~

The wormhole closed just a split second before the rest of the creatures reached it.

~8~

The UNIT soldiers continued to fire at the three creatures that had escaped as they flew overhead, "Maintain rapid fire!" a soldier cried, "Fire!"

Malcolm opened his door, pulling on a scarf, coat, and fingerless gloves and rushing out, eager to meet the Doctor and Angel, not even caring he was in the middle of an apparent war zone, "Yes!"

"Target at nine o'clock!" Erisa called. They fired at the creatures...and her eyes widened in shock as a creature was brought down, "I don't believe it, guns that work!"

~8~

"Doctor," Angel gasped from excitement, "Behind us..."

"It's coming for us!" Nathan cried, not having heard Angel's warning, as one of the creatures headed towards them.

"Oh, no, you don't!" the Doctor swerved the bus and batted the creature away.

~8~

"Twelve o'clock!" Erisa called, seeing the one that the bus had hit falling away, "Take it out!"

"Fire!" a soldier ordered and they fired at the creature, taking it out as ordered.

"Cease fire!"

"Cease fire!"

"Arms down!"

~8~

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina panted, "I was ly..." she turned, about to finish speaking, when she noticed Angel was currently kissing the Doctor deeply. She pouted as that was what she'd been planning on doing…but then again…psychics.

The Doctor looked at Angel dazed as she pulled away with a small smile on her face and a faint blush on her cheeks, biting her lip in a way she knew he loved. He leaned in and kissed her once more, unable to help himself at the sight of her looking so cute, before his own smile morphed into a beam and he grabbed the radio, "Do not stand forward of this point. Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty 200."

He piloted the bus down for a landing, ringing the bell to the applause of all the soldiers and people who had watched. He opened the bus door with the sonic and everyone started to get off, past Angel as she leaned against the dash, playing with her crystal.

"Welcome back," a soldier met them, "If you could step away from the bus to be safe. As fast as you can. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you, and then you'll all be taken to debriefing."

"We don't count," the Doctor said, his hand in Angel's as they stepped out, holding up the psychic paper, "Neither do the flies," he nodded back as the Tritovores stepped out after them, the soldier eyeing the aliens with wide eyes a moment, before shaking his head, realizing he was not acting as a proper soldier would, with respect.

"No, but Doctor..." Christina moved to follow him.

"With me, ma'am," the soldier took her arm, holding her back as he took her to join the others.

Angel looked around a moment, when her gaze caught sight of the woman in her vision, Erisa, before leading the Doctor over to her...when Malcolm suddenly ran over, "Doctor!" he gasped.

"You must be Malcolm!" the Doctor nodded.

Malcolm grabbed the Doctor into a bear hug, "Oh! Oh, I love you," he pulled away, "I love you, I love you."

"Me too," Angel added, squeezing the Doctor's hand, gazing at him softly, her love shining in her eyes, reflected back at her by the love in his.

"The Angel!" Malcolm breathed, staring at Angel in wide-eyed awe, almost as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing, as though his dreams had come true and were so much better!

"Hello Malcolm, it's SO nice to actually meet you..."

"You said it!" Malcolm pointed at her, astonished, as Erisa rolled her eyes, "You said the thing! You really said it! And to ME!"

Angel blinked and looked at the Doctor, "I don't say it THAT much do I?"

The Doctor just smiled and shrugged, "It's your thing," he kissed the back of her hand.

"Like fantastic was yours?" she guessed.

He blinked this time, "Did I say it THAT much?"

She laughed and nodded, "You did."

"Well how 'bout that," he murmured, he hadn't noticed.

Angel shook her head at him and returned her attention to Malcolm, stepping towards him, out of the Doctor's hold, smiling a bit more as she heard him give a little groan of disappointment, and gave Malcolm a warm small hug, "Thank you for all your help," she pulled away with a smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Malcolm stared at her dazedly, putting his hand on his cheek, if he thought the hug was wonderful...the files were right about that as well...a kiss from the Angel was...indescribable.

"To your station, Dr. Taylor," Erisa smirked, shaking her head fondly at the man. To get a compliment (a difficult thing to do if the files were to be believed) from the Doctor and a hug AND kiss from the Angel...well, she knew the man's dreams had come true.

"Y…yes, ma'am," he stuttered, turning to head back to the lab before spinning back around, "I love you too!" he shouted to Angel.

"Me too," the Doctor smiled, taking her hand again and kissing the back of it, tugging her closer to move his arm around her waist.

Angel laughed, leaning against him, and waved Malcolm goodbye.

"Doctor, Angel," Erisa gave them a salute, "I salute you, whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"They'll start again," the Doctor said, "Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault, it's their natural life cycle. But we'll see if we can nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets. Closer to home, Captain, those two lads," he looked back at Barclay and Nathan, "Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

"I'll see what I can do. And I've got something for you," she nodded to a group of soldiers who dropped a tarp to reveal the TARDIS.

"The TARDIS!" Angel cheered, pulling the Doctor over to it, excited. She placed a hand on the corner of it, "So much better than any old bus, aren't you girl?" she stroked it lightly, "Did you miss us?"

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace."

"Oh, she doesn't mind," the Doctor shrugged.

"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"

"Not a chance!"

"Till we meet again, Doctor, Angel."

"I hope so," the Doctor shook her hand.

"It was nice to meet you too," Angel told her, shaking her hand as well.

As Erisa left the Tritovores approached, having been standing off to the side as the humans conversed. The Doctor smiled at them and opened the doors to the box for them, letting them in, "Don't touch anything!" he shouted before turning to take one more look at the passengers of the 200, making sure they were ok.

They looked over at the group to see Angela standing next to Ed on the phone with her daughter, "I said I'm back, Suzanne, I'm home!" she laughed and turned to him, "They didn't even know I was gone!"

Christina rolled her eyes at the soldier scanning her for radiation, "That's quite enough of that!" and ran over to the Doctor and Angel, "Little blue box! Just like you said! Right then, off we go! Come on, show me the stars!"

"No," the Doctor said, as Angel looked solemn. She could have asked Christina to be her companion, but...there was something in her telling her the woman was not meant to be her next, or even the Doctor's next. That she had adventures waiting on Earth to experience.

"What?"

"I said no."

"But I saved your lives. And you saved mine."

"So?"

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison."

"Yeah."

"But you were right, it's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you...I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. Why not?"

"We just...we recently lost quite a few people who travelled with us," Angel said quietly. It had been hard for the both of them to say goodbye to all their companions, their family, in one go. To see them all together again, and not be travelling with them now...they just...couldn't take on a new one yet, they weren't ready. They would be one day, but not right now, now...they just wanted each other.

She'd been dying for a year, and it had been terrible for them both to experience, they just...wanted to spend time together, just the two of them.

"Lost them all," the Doctor added, before shaking his head, "Never again," he didn't blame Donna for leaving. He didn't blame any of them, but still…it hurt every single time one left. He really could do without that just for a bit. Get to know this new new new Angel better, travel with her, last of the Time Lords.

"Lady Christina de Souza!" his thoughts were cut off as the detective stepped over to Christina and grabbed her arm, "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft," his officers handcuffed her hands behind her back, "You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away."

The Doctor and Angel were silent as she was led away, "Doctor?" Carmen called as she and Lou walked past, "You take care, now."

The Doctor smiled, "You too! Chops and gravy, lovely!"

"No, but you be careful," she repeated, more serious than ever, "Because your song is ending, sir, as hers has," she nodded at Angel.

His smile disappeared, recalling the Ood's words, recalling how he'd nearly lost Angel completely. Angel squeezed his hand tightly, thinking on it as well, "What do you mean?"

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor...oh, but then...he will knock four times," Carmen cast him one more sad look before they left.

Angel squeezed his hand again, feeling his turmoil over those words, "Don't worry," she told him quietly, "If your song ends, I'll be there, I wouldn't miss a note of it."

He managed a small smile down at her when she glanced past him and over at Christina. He followed her gaze, seeing the small flash of guilt on it, and couldn't bear it. He smiled, pulling out the sonic and unlocking the woman's handcuffs.

Christina smirked, feeling them break before getting in the police car. She slid across and ran out the other side and back to the bus.

"No!" the detective cried, "Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" Christina closed the door of the bus before the man could get in, just as the Doctor and Angel sauntered up to it, "Open the door! I'll add resisting arrest!"

"You might want to step back..." Angel told him.

"I'm charging you too!" the detective rounded on them, "Aiding and abetting!"

"Yes," the Doctor began slowly, "We'll just step inside this police box and arrest ourselves," he put his arm around Angel's waist and they made their way back to the TARDIS, though Angel laughed under her breath, "What is it?" he looked at her.

"Nothing," she smiled, "I'm just...imagining what Jack would say to you 'arresting' me...with handcuffs."

His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at that, a deep red blush covering his cheeks. He cleared his throat, "I'm not sure I want to know," he really didn't...because he knew Jack would tease him mercilessly for that.

"Out, now!" the detective banged on the door. Christina just grinned and gave him a little wave before she turned the bus on, the detective only able to watch as it took off, "No! Come back!"

Everyone watched and laughed as Christina escaped, "Go on!" Angela shouted.

The Doctor and Angel paused at the doors of the TARDIS, looking up as Christina stopped the bus and open the door, "Thank you!" she cried.

"Go on!" the Doctor laughed as Christina smiled and closed the door, flying the bus into the sky, the other passengers cheering while he and Angel slipped into the TARDIS, they had two aliens to give a lift to.

Chapter Text

The Doctor looked over a bit, concerned, as Angel's face scrunched. She had fallen asleep on the captain's chair and he'd made sure to pilot the TARDIS into the Vortex gently, letting her sleep as he quietly worked on fixing a bit here and there...wanting to surprise her. Well, he really wanted to give her a surprise, for a very good reason, but his thoughts and intentions kept getting cut off as he watched her. They had been sitting in the console room, Angel lying down, smiling and listening to the gentle, yet somewhat excited, hum of the TARDIS, just listening to him rattle on about something...and fallen asleep. He'd smiled at that, he loved how she found his voice so soothing that it could lull her to her dreams. He hadn't had the hearts to wake her and thought it would actually be brilliant if she slept a short while, gave him time to get her surprises in order.

It was rather hard to surprise a psychic, he realized.

But all that changed when she'd started twisting in her sleep, as though having a nightmare...

~8~

Sarah Jane Smith stood at an altar in a small, tasteful room with an older man standing beside her, she looked lovely in her white gown...but then a wind swirled around her...she looked frightened!

"Alert!" K9 reported as he rolled out from under a table, "Alert, danger Mistress!"

Sarah Jane looked around in fear as she tried to pull away from the man beside her but he wouldn't let her go of her arm, "No," she begged, "Please let me go."

"Don't be afraid Sarah Jane," the man told her reassuringly, "It's the angel."

A small gathering of electrical energy appeared in the corner of the room, a creature appearing within it. It was humanoid, with no eyes and a set of sharp teeth, dressed in a large, billowing, white robe and hood.

"It's the Trickster!" a young girl cried, staring at the monster in horror.

"Mum!" Sarah Jane's son, Luke, shouted, trying to reach his mother but unable to as the wind picked up more violently, "Mum!"

Sarah Jane reached for him desperately but the Trickster sneered, floating up to Sarah Jane and the man, "You're mine Sarah Jane Smith, mine forever!"

Sarah Jane screamed as she vanished with the man and the Trickster…

~8~

Angel awoke with a gasp, panting as she looked around wildly, fear and alarm in her eyes.

"What is it?" the Doctor dropped to his knees before her, taking her head in his hands as he looked at her, concerned and startled, "Angel, what is it?"

"It's Sarah Jane," she breathed, trying to fill her lungs with the air that felt like it had been sucked out of her.

"What?" his eyes widened in fear, and a bit of confusion.

"Sarah Jane's in trouble! We need to go help her!"

The Doctor frowned as he looked at her, "Was it a feeling?"

She shook her head, "No, I…" and then her eyes widened, "I think…I think I just dreamed the future…"

His mouth fell open for a moment, completely surprised at that, but Angel didn't give it anymore thought, she couldn't, as she jumped up and ran to the controls, setting the coordinates to find Sarah Jane, the Doctor shaking himself out of his shock to go help her, they could worry about that later.

~8~

Sarah Jane Smith smiled widely as she stood beside her fiancé, Peter, before the female vicar, about to be wed before their friends and family in a quaint little chapel room at a local manor, "…why they may not be joined together," the vicar spoke, "Let them speak now or forever hold their peace…"

Just then the doors to the chapel room crashed open and the Doctor and Angel rushed in, "Stop this wedding now!" the Doctor ordered.

Everyone sitting there turned in their seats to look at him in shock.

"What?!" Sarah Jane's eyes widened.

"What's going on?" a young girl beside Luke, Rani, frowned.

"Who the hell is that?" Peter demanded.

"I don't believe it," Luke laughed as he smiled at the two of them.

"Who're they?" Rani asked, turning to face him.

"Master!" K9 cheered, rolling out from under a table where he'd been hidden by Luke's other friend, Clyde, "Mistress Angel!"

"I said stop this wedding!" the Doctor said.

"No!" Angel gasped as the wind started to pick up just like in her dream. She stumbled back, unable to fight the winds with her new smaller stature, but then again, the wind was forcing the Doctor back as well.

"Alert!" K9 reported, rolling out in a circle as the lights started to flicker, "Alert, danger Mistress!"

"Sarah!" Angel turned to the woman, "Please, you need to get away from him! Quickly!"

Sarah Jane looked between her and Peter before trying to tug her hand away, trusting Angel's instincts, but the man just wouldn't release her, "No," she pleaded, "Please let me go."

"Don't be afraid Sarah Jane," he just gazed at her, "It's the angel."

A small gathering of electrical light appeared in the corner of the room, a creature within it. It was humanoid, with no eyes and a set of sharp teeth, dressed in a large, billowing, white robe with a hood.

"It's the Trickster!" Rani gasped.

"Mum!" Luke reached for his mother, trying to push himself towards her but the wind forced him back, "Mum!"

Sarah Jane looked over at him, desperately reaching out to him as well, when the Doctor yelled out, "Sarah!" he looked over at the Trickster, trying to hold himself and Angel steady, "Trickster let her go!"

"Too late Time Lord!" the Trickster sneered, drifting over to Sarah Jane and Peter, "You're mine Sarah Jane Smith, mine forever!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor called, reaching for her, struggling in the wind.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane screamed, reaching back as well, only to vanish into thin air with the Trickster and Peter.

"Sarah!" Angel cred, wincing against the wind before it finally stopped.

The Doctor stumbled forward, rushing to the front of the room and looking around, "Sarah!"

But it was too late, the woman was gone...

And then the room began to tremble.

"No!"

Waves of white energy surrounded the guests, making them fade away just like Sarah Jane had, "Dad!" Rani gasped, "Mum!"

Angel frowned, looking around as the trembling got worse, "Hold on!" she called to the children who were the only ones still left with her and the Doctor, "Quick!" she and the Doctor ran over to the altar, grabbing onto its leg.

The trembling increased as a blinding white light forced everyone to close their eyes…

~8~

"Luke?" a woman's voice called to him gently. He blearily opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor of the chapel room, Angel kneeling at his side, gently stroking his hair as the Doctor scanned Rani and Clyde with the sonic to make sure they were ok, "Hey," she smiled at him, "You alright?"

"Angel?" he frowned, recognizing her from the time the planets appeared in the sky. His mother had told him all about her when she'd told him about her time battling Krillitanes. He'd had no idea the woman from the planets incident, the one who had appeared on the screen of Mr. Smith with the basecodes for the TARDIS was the same ginger woman who had looked so ill during the 'outer space Facebook' moment till his mother explained she had regenerated moments before they'd called him and it was, in fact, the same woman, reminding him that the Angel SHE had met first had been blonde.

"Hello," she greeted, helping him sit up slowly, "Nice to meet you in the flesh."

She paused a moment at that word, but blinked and shook her head, it was far too fleeting and passing a feeling to grasp anything significant.

"Doctor?" he looked over at the man who saluted him with two fingers. He shook his head, "What happened?" and then it came back to him, "Mum! The Trickster!"

"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke listen to me," the Doctor came over to crouch before him, "Everything's going to be alright, we can find Sarah, we can bring her back, we promise."

"But you've got to be very strong ok?" Angel added, reaching out to squeeze his arm, "Just like you were when the planets were taken. Oh, I heard you were just brilliant!" she beamed, making him smile, "And you're Sarah Jane's son! We know you can do it. Well, I know you can do it," she winked at him, making the boy laugh a bit, his mother had told him she was psychic to boot.

Luke nodded slowly as Clyde and Rani started to wake up, "Who are you?" Clyde demanded, completely confused.

"Hello!" the Doctor grinned, rushing over to Clyde and shaking his hand, "Clyde!" he pulled him to his feet.

"And you're Rani," Angel waved, helping Luke up as the girl got up herself.

"What?" Clyde looked at them as the Doctor went back over to the altar and got to his knees, looking around the floor for anything, "How did you know my name?"

"I'm psychic," Angel laughed.

Rani's eyes widened at that, putting the pieces together, "It's you, isn't it?"

"Mhmm," Angel nodded, sensing what the girl had realized as the Doctor stood up and ran back down the aisle to press his ear to the ground by the fireplace near the back of the room.

"The Doctor and the Angel!"

"That's them," Luke smiled.

"I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde eyed the Doctor as though the man were mad to try and listen to the floor.

"Well…you know journalists, always exaggerating," the Doctor said as he moved to get up off the ground, only to see a hand held out in front of his face. He looked up, smiling at Angel as she helped him up. He didn't let go of her hand though, spinning her around a moment and tugging her back to him, kissing the back of her hand...and then kissing her, twice, before he returned his attention to the room.

Angel just blushed, glancing at the children who had been watching them, "It's true though. He's absolutely fantastic on a good day…"

The Doctor suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, lifting her off the ground, and spun her in a circle, making her squeal. He had taken to actively trying to sneak up on her and surprise her since they'd discovered her abilities and 'sight' getting stronger.

"And you're amazing all the time!" he laughed, dropping a kiss to her hair as he set her back down.

"Master, inquiry," K9 trundled over, "Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K9!" the Doctor smiled at the dog, crouching down to pet him, "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?"

"Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?"

"Where are we!?" Clyde asked as he stood facing the window. They looked over to see there was nothing but a white sort of light shining through the windows. Luke and Rani walked over to him while the Doctor and Angel walked up behind them.

"Interdimensional shift," the Doctor sighed, "Time's moved on. But us…at least for time being…we've been left behind."

"There's nothing out there!" Rani's eyes widened as she looked out to see that they appeared to be sitting amidst clouds in a very unnatural white space.

Angel turned and looked around the room intently, trying to get a sense of anything as the Doctor followed, watching her.

"I said all along," Clyde remarked, "I knew there was something wrong about all of this, and I didn't have to be her to do it," he nodded back at Angel, turning to look at the Time Lady, spotting the Doctor standing by one of the back windows, looking at the frame of it, "And what exactly is going on?"

"I'll explain later," the Doctor muttered.

Angel shook her head, that was probably the worst thing he could have said as all three of them launched into rapid fire questioning, asking about the Trickster, their parents, the guests, their situation, and, of course, Sarah Jane.

The Doctor quickly yanked out a large noise maker and swung it around till they stopped, "Shh! Here's the answer to all your questions..." he grinned, "Angel?"

She laughed and glanced at the kids a moment, before going with what she thought they might ask, "Yes," she began, pointing at Rani, "That's the Trickster," then Clyde, "Yes, we are trapped," and Luke, "Yes, the Doctor..."

"And you," he cut in, winding his arms around her again, he loved doing this to the new her as well. He'd often held her hand, and he loved doing that, because her hands, no matter the regeneration, always locked perfectly with his...but this her, she was just so small he couldn't help but want to wrap her in his arms. She wasn't dangerously thin or too short, just...seemed smaller than the last her. It made him feel bigger, taller, more...like a man, more...protective.

Hmm...he had once said he could spend the rest of his lives kissing his Mate...it seemed the same was true for just holding her in his arms.

"We," she amended, "Might be the only ones who can get us all out of the trap. Yes, we'll bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe, I promise," she crossed her hearts.

The three just stared at her.

"You really are psychic!" Clyde muttered, he thought Sarah Jane had been exaggerating.

"Possibly the most powerful psychic ever!" the Doctor cheered, or she might be one day.

HE could feel it this time, Angel was just that remarkable.

"But we can't do any of that without your help," Angel added, wanting to include the children, knowing they'd want to help.

Clyde crossed his arms, eyeing them, "You need us?"

"Sarah Jane needs you," Angel reminded them as the Doctor put the noise maker away, "You three are just brilliant, and you've done so much for the Earth. This will be another day at the office," she smiled.

"But my mum and dad," Rani asked quietly, "Where are they?"

"Just go on with them Rani," Luke told her softly, "I saw them save the world."

"You helped us save the world Lukey boy!" the Doctor lightly slapped Luke's cheeks, "Right!" he nodded, turning to lead them out of the room, "Come on, we can use the TARDIS!" they ran to follow him when he stopped and turned to face them, "I assume everyone knows what 'TARDIS' is?" they nodded, "Unless you've really not been paying attention…and!" he turned and they were off once more, "Allons-y!"

Angel laughed, rushing up to him and taking his hand, leading them down the hall and back to the reception room, the empty parlor where the TARDIS was, oddly enough, missing.

The Doctor stopped short, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it was there!" he pointed, "It was right there!"

Angel pulled him back as the wheezing of the TARDIS could be heard, the box trying to materialize right where the Doctor had been standing. They watched as the box slowly started to fade into existence, "That noise!" Rani exclaimed, recalling the same noise she'd heard outside before she'd gone in for the wedding, "I've heard it before."

"That was us, trying to break through."

"I had a dream that Sarah Jane was in trouble," Angel explained, "We just wanted to check in on her."

It was odd. She'd been having more vivid dreams lately, but she hadn't quite been able to remember them fully, snippets here and there, a red landscape, a snowy landscape, a glass tank full of smoke...it was weird. Waking up, everything she'd seen just seemed to...drift away. This, she was almost sure, wasn't the first time she'd dreamed the future, but this was most certainly the first time she'd remembered it. She wondered for a moment if that would continue, if it might grow stronger, or if it would fluctuate like her abilities seemed to do at times till it settled. She didn't know, but she was rather eager to find out...

And a bit wary. Her dream just then was on the cusp of being a nightmare, something bad happening to Sarah Jane. She hoped, if she did dream the future, it wouldn't always be like that.

"But we'd been locked out by the Trickster," the Doctor sighed.

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization," K9 announced as he trundled up to them.

"Wait a minute…that's the TARDIS?" Clyde looked at the box critically as it appeared, "That's just a wooden box!"

"Come on!" the Doctor called out to the TARDIS, "You can do it, more power, come on!" but it just disappeared again, "Ok, well, no TARDIS," he sighed and turned back to the children.

"She won't be able to materialize until time starts to move again," Angel explained gently as she eyed the space where the TARDIS had disappeared.

"What so we're trapped here?" Rani frowned, "Wherever this is?"

"No, 'cos what have we got?" the Doctor beamed, "We've got K9!"

"Affirmative," K9 nodded.

"And we have the three of you," Angel added.

"And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of ours," the Doctor agreed.

"But where is this?" Clyde shook his head, "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location," K9 reported, "Nowhere, no when."

"No when?" Luke asked, confused.

Angel looked past them at something over their shoulders, "Look at the clocks."

The three turned to spot a round clock nailed to the wall, ticking back just one second repeatedly, "Time has stopped," Luke guessed.

"What?" Clyde checked his own watch, "You're joking."

"No…" he frowned, stepping closer to a TV playing a segment of a horse race where the horse was jumping over a wall, the same moment repeating, "This second's on a loop," he looked up at a digital clock, "23 seconds and 23 minutes past 3 o'clock."

"And we're caught inside it," the Doctor sighed, "In this one second."

"But, again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde looked around.

"She's right here," Angel replied, her eyes closed as she tried to sense the woman's presence.

~8~

Sarah Jane awoke with a start, lying on the ground of the chapel room, "What happened?!" she looked around slowly, sitting up as Peter walked over to her.

"Don't worry Sarah Jane," he took her hand.

"Peter what's going on?" she asked as he helped her up, "Where is everyone?"

"Everything's going to be fine. We're about to be married," he reminded her, glancing at her engagement ring glowing red, "This is our perfect day."

"Another man…the Doctor…"

"Sarah Jane please listen to me. All you have to say is 'I Do,'" he held up her wedding ring, "And then we'll be together."

"I'm so confused," she sighed, walking past him down the aisle, when she realized something. She looked back to see the white light outside, "What's happened? Where are we?!"

"You don't understand. Just say you'll marry me. Say 'I Do.'"

Sarah Jane looked at her engagement ring, holding her hand to her chest, "Of course we're getting married," she walked towards him before slowing and looking down in thought, "Oh…there's another man," she breathed, trying to think, "Always…the Doctor…" she looked around, turning to run towards the back doors, "Where's the Doctor?! And Angel! She was here too! Doctor!" she reached out a hand to the door and stopped, catching sight of her ring glowing red.

And that's when she realized...she was being controlled.

She turned around, looking at Peter, betrayed, tears in her eyes, as she struggled to get it off her finger, "No!" she threw it away, "No!"

~8~

Angel stood between Luke and Clyde, by the foot of the stairs of the parlor, her hand around Luke's shoulder in comfort, knowing the loss of Sarah Jane must be hitting him that much harder than the others as the woman was his mother. Rani slowly walked forward, thinking out loud as she figured out exactly what was going on, "So we've been kept behind in this second…" Rani began.

"Affirmative mistress Rani," K9 agreed.

"But the rest of the world…mum and dad, and everyone else, they've moved on from here going forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?" she looked down at the Doctor as he knelt on the floor with his brainy specs on...till he stood suddenly and pulled them off as he looked around.

"I think you already know the answer to that Rani," Angel looked at her.

The Doctor glanced over at her by the stairs and headed over to them, reaching out to take her hand, dropping a light kiss to the back of it before he pulled off his coat.

"We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us," Rani's eyes widened, "Her best friends!"

The Doctor nodded and tossed his coat to Luke, who folded it over his arm, while the Doctor moved up the stairs and looked down at the room from there, "Which means…" the Doctor trailed.

"Hostages!" Rani realized, "He can use us to get to her!"

"We've met the Trickster before," Clyde remarked, "But we've never actually found out who he is."

"The Trickster is a creature from beyond the Universe," the Doctor explained as he came back down the stairs, "Forever trying to break into our reality, manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discords."

"That's a good name for a band," Clyde smiled.

"Actually, not bad!" the Doctor nodded.

Angel shook her head at him and walked off to the center of the room, just looking around.

"He's an eternal exile who exists to wreak havoc. But we can fight him. The six of us, and we can win!"

"Beep," Angel called, looking over at the Doctor.

He looked back at her, confused a moment, before his sonic beeped in his pocket, "Oh!" he pulled it out and looked at Angel with a wide grin, "You are good!" she laughed as he held it out and looked at it, following the beep into the room, "Ha! That's it! Time trace! Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Oh, she's close."

"She's very close," Angel agreed, closing her eyes once more and just...concentrating.

~8~

Sarah Jane looked at Peter in shock, "The moment you put that ring on my finger I was your puppet!"

"It isn't like that," Peter shook his head, "It was in case something went wrong. The angel said that people would try and stop us being happy. Listen…" he stepped towards her, "I'll explain."

"The angel?" Sarah Jane frowned, knowing he wasn't talking about the Doctor's Angel at all. And then she realized just who he meant, "Of course! I saw him! The Trickster!" her eyes widened in horror as she backed away from Peter and ran for the doors.

"Sarah Jane?!"

Sarah Jane ran out of the room and into the parlor, "Doctor!? Where are you!? Angel!"

~8~

The Doctor stood on top of a sofa, the sonic at his ear, listening to the beep.

Angel blinked and looked over at the parlor doors, the ones that led to the hallway of the chapel room, and slowly walked over to them, "Sarah?" she breathed.

~8~

Sarah Jane looked around and slowly made her way through the doors of the hall that led to the chapel room and into the parlor, walking past the bar.

~8~

Rani shivered from her place standing by the bar, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Angel walked over to her, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder, seeing her a bit spooked.

She looked over at the woman, "Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

~8~

Sarah Jane walked into the center of the room.

~8~

Angel looked over and frowned, slowly walking to the center of the room, "Doctor…" she called, her hand held out much like his had been when he'd been trying to sense the ionic energy of the Isolus.

He looked over at her and aimed the sonic, the beeping picking up. His eyes widened and he hopped off the sofa, moving to stand across from Angel, "Oh! Oh! She's here! She's here! Sarah!"

"Sarah Jane," Rani cut in, hushed, "She doesn't like being called Sarah."

The Doctor glanced at her, "She does by me."

~8~

Sarah Jane looked back at the main doors and ran for them.

~8~

Angel spun around just as the sonic nearly hummed in excitation, "K9!" Angel called, pointing at the main doors as she ran to them.

"Scanning Mistress!" K9 reported.

~8~

Sarah Jane threw open the doors, "Doctor! Angel!"

~8~

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane's voice echoed, "Angel!"

"Mum!" Luke gasped as they all stared at the doors.

"That was her!" Clyde agreed.

"K9!" the Doctor knelt by the doors, "Isolate the time trace."

"Affirmative Master," he nodded.

~8~

Sarah Jane shook her head, startled by the white space beyond, and shut the doors.

~8~

"K9!" the Doctor called, patting the robot's head quickly.

"Temporal schism divided in two Master," K9 reported.

"Yes of course…" he sighed, looking up at them, "We're trapped here in 3.23.23 and Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in another second."

"Hold on," Clyde leaned back on a sofa and crossed his arms, "You said you'd explain later, well, it's later…please explain."

"The last thing the Trickster wants is for us to help Sarah," Angel replied, not even needing to know much about the Trickster to know she was right, not even needing a feeling really, "So he's keeping us away from her, trapping the two of us in two different seconds."

None of them noticed the Doctor beaming as Angel explained the situation to them, oh this her really was far more confident, she hadn't even had to ask his opinion on whether she was right this time or not.

~8~

"Sarah Jane!" Peter strode into the room as she walked back towards the center of the parlor, "I want to tell you about the angel."

"Doctor!" she shouted, "Angel!" and then she noticed the TV playing a split second of a horse race on a loop, just one movement after the loop Luke had spotted, "Time trap…" she breathed. She looked at Peter, almost in disgust, before turning and running up the staircase.

~8~

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane's voice called out from the second floor, "Angel!"

The Doctor looked up, "Oh…" he slowly stood, "She's upstairs…come on!" he turned to Luke when…

"Luke, K9, keep an eye out for the TARDIS," Angel told them, "If you see her popping up give us a shout."

"Orders accepted Mistress," K9 nodded.

"Oh, taking charge are we?" the Doctor looked at her, positively beaming, feeling a slight shiver race down his spine at that, at Angel taking command, he really, really liked that, in fact, he really did..."Love it."

Angel blushed a bit before turning to Rani and Clyde, "Clyde, Rani, come with us!"

The Doctor nodded and the four of them ran off, the children and Angel following the Doctor up the stairs as he called out, "Spit spot."

~8~

Sarah Jane ran down the hallway of the second floor and through a door...only to find herself back in the chapel room, Peter standing by the altar, "It's not possible."

"You can't run away Sarah Jane," Peter told her.

"The one time I fall in love…the one time everything goes right and it's a trap. I thought I loved you, but you aren't even real."

"You do love me," Peter took a few steps towards her, "I'm here, flesh and blood."

"Oh yes?" she blinked back tears, "And I was worried about my secrets, well turned out you were hiding something pretty big weren't you?" she strode past him a few feet.

He shook his head, "I only kept one secret. I knew you wouldn't believe me. You'd think I was mad. That's why I never told you, about the angel," he stepped before her.

"The angel? That's what you call him but he…it…it's a creature, an alien being and not one of the good ones. He's not a true Angel."

"Please listen, I'll tell you everything. Please. Now a few months ago I was working from home, I had a stupid accident, fell down the stairs. I thought I was going to die. Then he appeared. He offered me my life back, a chance at true love. He said all he needed was my agreement, so I said yes."

"Then you are real…" Sarah Jane's eyes filled with tears, "Oh Peter, he tricked you."

"No, he found you for me. He wanted us to be happy."

"Then why the ring? Why hypnotize me?"

"He said he would protect you. But…you accepted my proposal before the ring went on. You said you loved me before the ring went on. Didn't you love me? Didn't you mean it?"

"Oh Peter…" she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

Yes, she did, she did love him, so much.

~8~

The doors to the chapel room burst open and the Doctor, Angel, Rani, and Clyde ran through. They stopped short when they realized they were back there after running through a door on the second floor, "How did we end up here again?" Rani frowned.

"It's a spacial loop mixed up with a temporal loop," Clyde explained.

"How did you work that one out?"

He just smiled, smug, as he put his hands in the pockets of his brown pinstripe suit, bobbing on the heels of his white trainers, "Well, we've been doing this for a while now…I have taken notes."

"Come on Sarah," Angel breathed as she walked to the center of the aisle, her eyes closed, feeling...

The Doctor smiled, watching her go, there had been times in the past that she'd been hesitant to use her abilities, to try them, to have them spring up on her. But there she was, trying to use them to save someone, that was his Angel. And he didn't doubt she'd find Sarah Jane.

The guardian angel of the Universe she was.

"Let me find you…" Angel's face scrunched as she tried to sense the woman, a feeling creeping up on the edge of her perception...like...she could almost see it...Sarah Jane, standing by the altar, with Peter...the Trickster appearing...

She gasped, her eyes flying open.

Oh that was NOT good!

Chapter Text

Sarah Jane pulled back from the hug with her fiancé and took Peter's hand, leading him to a row of chairs to the left, and sitting down with him, "And now for the things I never told you," she sighed, trying to work up the nerve to tell him of her secret life, she'd spent so long not telling anyone who hadn't stumbled upon it themselves first the truth that to just...speak of it...was incredibly hard, "I've fought him before, the Trickster. I fight creatures like him. That is my life. He's used my past, my parents, against me," she closed her eyes a moment, thinking of the time the Trickster had sent her back in time, given her the chance to find out what happened to her parents, save them from dying, only for her to realize it was only so that, if she DID save them, she wouldn't have the life she had then, she wouldn't be fighting aliens like the Trickster, and he'd have won, "And now he's using you."

Peter shook his head in disbelief, "He saved me. He's my angel. He brought us together."

She nodded, knowing he would need more than that to realize what was happening, "I'll show you what he is," she stood up and walked to the aisle, "Trickster! Trickster!"

"Ah…" a voice echoed lightly behind her, she spun around to see the Trickster floating there in his white robe and hood, "Sarah Jane Smith."

"Why have you done this?" she demanded, walking towards him, appearing braver than she felt, knowing her son was likely in danger somewhere and the Trickster had control over what was happening to the boy, "What do you want?"

"I want you to be happy."

That was not the response she was expecting.

~8~

The Doctor made his way to Angel, seeing her growing alarmed, and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. He saw it in her mind, Sarah Jane was likely confronting the Trickster at that very moment and Angel, bless her hearts, was worried for the human, as worried as she always was for all his companions when they faced an enemy alone. He started to sway a moment, wanting to comfort her, softly humming in her ear, not a Christmas carol, no, just...random notes that made no sense, had no lyric to it or anything, just...humming. He smiled as he felt her arms wrap around his waist, holding him as close.

He debated, for a moment, asking her if she might reconsider her views on marriage and marry him, given that they were in a chapel room, Sarah Jane was getting married, and there was a vicar somewhere around, they could do it right as soon as it was all over...but he shook his head, he was starting to agree that Mate was FAR more unique and treasured a word than 'wife' and that was Angel in a nutshell, unique and treasured. And every time he thought on that, on how she was his Mate, whenever he introduced her as it, it just...made him feel so warm and tingly and happy. So, SO happy.

To have a Mate, now, after the War, after losing so much...it was a miracle, Angel was his miracle, his miraculous Mate...

And then his eyes widened as a realization struck him about just that. Wedding...Mating...both were...

"Hang on though, this is mad…" Rani began, confused, cutting into the Doctor's thoughts, "The Trickster…he's this all powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get married?" she looked over at the Doctor who turned to face her, blinking quickly as though coming out of deep thoughts, winding his arm around Angel's waist as they both looked at her, "What does he get out of that?"

The Doctor hummed, thinking on that, he really wasn't sure. He glanced at Angel, "Angel?" he asked as she looked up at him, "Any feelings?"

She looked down, closing her eyes, an adorable pout of concentration appearing on her face that made him chuckle quietly at it, she really was just too cute.

~8~

Sarah Jane eyed the Trickster critically, "You want us to get married. And then what?"

"You'll forget all that's happened here as though it had never been and then here is the life you will lead…" he waved his hand and Sarah Jane saw in her mind, the future, marrying Peter and clearing out the attic to turn it into an office. She blinked, shocked, "I will bring you happiness."

"What's the price? There's going to be a catch. With you there always is!"

"Sarah Jane," Peter stood up and walked to stand beside the Trickster, "All you have to say is 'I Do.'"

"And if you don't," the Trickster added, "You'll remain here forever."

Sarah Jane stared at him, determined, "Then so be it."

"So will Peter, and so will your son and your friends. You'll condemn them to remain here? This place is nowhere. And it's forever."

She looked at the Trickster a moment longer before he disappeared and she turned to Peter, "Now do you see him? Now do you see what he is?!"

"It doesn't matter," Peter shook his head, "You can save them. Luke and the others," he held up the wedding ring, "Just say…"

~8~

"I Do?" Angel frowned, blinking as she opened her eyes.

"What?" the Doctor asked her.

"She's here…" Angel breathed, looking around and walking towards the altar, "Sarah, she's here..."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and followed her, "If I can narrow the loop ratio…" he muttered, twisting the top of it when Angel spun around with a gasp.

"Doctor!" a strong, echoing voice spoke from the direction Angel was now facing.

The Doctor looked back, quickly tugging Angel behind him as he spotted the Trickster, now dressed in black, floating by the fireplace, "Oh, you look better in black or is white the new black?" the Doctor commented as he walked towards the Trickster, Angel staying back to stand between Clyde and Rani, her arms around their shoulders to make sure they stayed back and were protected from the Trickster, though her attention was focused largely on the Doctor as he drew nearer to his dreaded enemy.

"At last Doctor," the Trickster rasped, "I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages, meeting the Pantheon of Discord, the last of the Time Lords…" he smirked, bowing mockingly as the Doctor remained standing.

"I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy. Angel and I have fought your shadows and your changelings. She's rather cross that one of them tried to attack her sister, mind you. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"And I knew legends of the Doctor, the man of ice and fire, walked among gods, once held the key to time in his hands," he smirked, turning to look back at Angel, "And of your beloved. She is a legend of her own now. The woman of earth and air, an angel among mortals, the shining light that burns in the heart of time. Now look at you, surrounded by children, you and your precious Mate."

"They're our friends," Angel defended, pushing the children behind her as she took a few steps up, not about to let the creature hurt them.

The Doctor glared at the Trickster, "You're looking a bit lonely for a pantheon."

"I embody multitudes," the Trickster remarked.

"Oh…"

"But for you, the man who will lose everyone, to talk to me of loneliness…when the Gate is waiting for you…"

"What do you mean?"

The Trickster chuckled menacingly, "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. You knew Doctor. Didn't realize how wonderful she is…"

"What do you want with her?"

"What I've always wanted for many of those I visit, they're agreement," he tilted his head as though to eye the Doctor without eyes, "Would you give it, I wonder?"

"Give what?" he shook his head.

"Your agreement, should I offer you a single moment to change."

The Doctor shook his head, "I will not change anything I have done," he stated firmly, "I may not be proud of many of those things, but I would not change them."

"You would not save your people?"

He swallowed hard, "No."

The Trickster started to smirk, "Perhaps the chance to fulfill a promise."

He frowned, "What promise?" he had broken so many in the past.

"A promise you made your lovely Mate."

Angel stiffened, knowing exactly what promise that was, but the Doctor just eyed the Trickster, "I have NEVER broken a promise to Angel, nor will I ever."

The Trickster laughed, actually sounding pleased and amused that the man had no idea, "Is that so? Did you not promise to be there with her when she died?"

"I WAS there with her."

"Were you?" the Trickster's attention moved past the Doctor's shoulder to Angel, "Was he?"

The Doctor stiffened, not hearing Angel speak, and turned to her, "Angel?" he breathed, seeing tears in her eyes as she bit her lip, clearly not wanting to say, "I was there. I made it in time. You regenerated in front of me!"

She nodded, taking a breath, knowing she couldn't lie to him. It had been a stretch to begin with not to tell him the whole truth, "I..." she closed her eyes, "Just after Donna ran out...I died in the TARDIS," she murmured as his mouth dropped open, his eyes widening in horror. She looked at him, so regretful, "It's what triggered the regeneration."

He shook his head, his hearts breaking, "You...but I promised," he let out a breath, completely stunned.

"And you DID keep it," she told him, "You were there for me as my time in that body ended and began this one, THAT was when I truly died Doctor."

He just blinked, trying to keep the tears back. He'd promised her, he'd sworn to her that he'd be there...and he'd failed. He'd failed her. She was the ONE person he'd promised himself that he'd never lie to, that he'd keep promise to, that he'd be there for and never leave...and he'd failed!

'You didn't fail,' Angel called in his mind, holding his gaze as he looked back at her, 'Theta, you WERE there.'

'Just not in time,' he murmured.

'Which is just as well,' she added, making him frown, confused, she hadn't wanted to die alone, she'd said it, but now...he didn't understand, 'You were the one person I didn't want to see me die like that.'

'What?'

'Humans, they understand death, they see it happen, they know it's final,' she explained, trying to convey what she'd felt, she had truly wanted him with her, but, at the same time, she hadn't, at the same time, she was almost relieved and happy he wasn't, 'But you, Theta, we're Time Lords, we know regeneration should set in, that we should live on. I couldn't bear the thought of you seeing me die if I didn't come back. I would rather have had you there with me as I 'died,' knowing regeneration would set in and I'd be ok, than to have you literally see the life leave me,' she offered him a smile, 'You were there exactly when I wanted you, when I NEEDED you, to be.'

He blinked and shook his head, 'How do you do that?' he asked her.

She frowned a moment, 'Do what?'

'Make me feel better when I feel terrible.'

She beamed, 'Because I'm your angel, like you're my thief. It's my job to make you smile, like it's yours to steal my breath away.'

He laughed, his hearts lightening at her words, hearing her thoughts on it. If she didn't blame him, he shouldn't either. And he WAS technically there as she died, as her time in her last body ended completely and she began her new life in this one. He was there to be the last thing she saw, and the first thing she'd see. Which was just...perfect.

"No," he answered the Trickster.

The Trickster sighed, disappointed he'd come so close to tempting the Time Lord if not for that blasted Time Lady. Ah, well, he still had Miss Smith to use to his advantage, "Goodbye Doctor…" he smirked as he faded into a mist of black and disappeared

"Agreement…" the Doctor frowned in thought, that word striking him.

"Doctor…" Angel breathed, her eyes widening as SHE seemed to work it out before him. He looked back at her, "I Do."

"I Do!" he cried, getting it, "Yes! That's it!"

"That's what?" Clyde asked.

"She promises to love and honor her husband," the Doctor walked over to them, explaining quickly, "Wedding ring goes on, then she's agreed to it and she's totally under the Trickster's power. Marital bliss but she forgets all about this."

"She begins a new chapter in her life," Angel added.

"Forgetting about her old life," Rani realized, "Protecting the Earth!"

"And the planet's wide open so that aliens can just barge in!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Without Sarah, without you lot saving the world from your attic in Earling," the Doctor looked at them, "It'd be chaos and destruction. Food and drink to the Trickster."

"That's if she's gonna say yes."

"But she will won't she? Because we're here."

Suddenly there was a wheezing noise and they turned to see a blue mist appearing by the side of the room.

"The TARDIS!" Angel ran over, "Oh I knew you could do it old girl!"

"Beautiful!" the Doctor cheered as the outline became more solid, "Yes!"

"It's homing in on us! The emergency program to protect the pilots!"

"Of course! That's materialization!"

"What's happening?" Luke ran in.

Angel pulled him back as the TARDIS started to fully form, Artron Energy crackling around it, "Be careful," Angel warned them, ushering them back, "That's pure Artron Energy."

"TARDIS power," the Doctor added, "Equal enough to Trickster's power! That's how we can fight!" the TARDIS solidified, the energy around its edges as the Doctor ran to the doors, getting them unlocked. Angel shoved one open and held it for the Doctor to get in. The wind picked up as the TARDIS tried to disappear now that her pilots were safe.

"Doctor!" Rani shouted, "Angel!"

The Doctor held out a hand as Angel ran to the console, trying to stop the TARDIS, "Come on all of you get in!" he reached out. The kids linked hands and helped push Clyde towards him, "Come on now!" he grabbed Clyde's hand and pulled but it was too much.

The TARDIS bucked, sending Angel to the floor and knocking the Doctor back. Clyde fell forward as the door slammed shut, running smack into the Artron Energy covered side, nearly electrocuting himself before falling backwards onto the ground as the box disappeared.

"Clyde!" Luke shouted.

Rani held out a hand, helping him up and they looked over to see the TARDIS blink out of existence, "Just us then…"

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Clyde nodded, "I think. They'll come back for us won't they?"

"What if they can't?" Rani wondered.

"They will," Luke nodded firmly, "I'll wait here for them, you check with K9."

Rani nodded and she and Clyde ran out of the room and into the parlor where K9 was waiting. Rani ran over to the dog, "The Doctor said the power of the TARDIS could fight the Trickster. Something energy."

"Artron Energy," K9 replied, "Residue of TARDIS engines. Known to be highly inimical to certain time sensitive life forms…"

"There is no TARDIS!"

Just then Clyde's hand started to sparkle with Artron Energy, "Whoa!" he gaped, holding his hand up.

"What's that?"

"Artron Energy Mistress Rani," K9 answered.

"I got a shot of it," Clyde breathed.

"Then we can fight him!"

"No!" Clyde shook his head, turning to face Rani, "I can fight him."

~8~

"We'll forget all this madness," Peter paced slowly before Sarah Jane, pleading with her now, "You saw we'll be married, we'll be together. Luke and the others, we can all go home."

"Oh…" she shook her head, "It would be so easy. But that's how he works. That's his deadliest weapon. Temptation. I'm not making that mistake again."

"Well you'd never know."

"Peter…he wants me to stop defending Earth!"

~8~

Clyde looked down at his hand, "I can get close to the Trickster with this…"

"Clyde you can't," Rani shook her head, "You don't know what you're doing!"

"When has that ever stopped us? It's what Sarah Jane would do. It's what the Doctor taught her. I've got no choice…" he turned to the main doors.

"Please!" Rani ran around him to stand before the doors, blocking the way, "Don't do this!"

He shoved past her and opened the doors to the white beyond, "Trickster!" he called.

And the Trickster, dressed in black, appeared, "Clyde Langer," he looked at the boy, "Why do you call me?"

"I wish to serve you. I wish to join the Pantheon."

"Clyde no!" Rani shouted as he walked into the white and the doors slammed shut behind him, trapping Rani in the manor, leaving him alone with the Trickster.

"You…are of no importance," the Trickster stated.

"I know something. A secret. Something that can help you."

"You know nothing. You have been lying, you chittering insect. Be gone!"

Clyde reached out and grabbed the Trickster's arm as he moved to wave him away, "Gotcha!" he held fast to the Trickster's hand as the creature screamed out in pain, the Artron Energy encasing them both.

~8~

"Please," Peter held up the wedding ring.

Sarah Jane looked down at it...when a wheezing noise filled the room. She looked over with a gasp to see the TARDIS appear in crackling blue-white energy. One of the doors opened and the Doctor looked out, "Sarah!"

"Oh, Doctor!" she breathed, spotting Angel at the controls, trying to keep the TARDIS in place, as she ran over to him.

"Got to be quick. TARDIS can't stabilize. Clyde's keeping the Trickster busy at the moment. Oh those three are just brilliant!"

"What can I do?" Sarah Jane shook her head, trying not to let her tears fall, "If I say no, we're trapped here forever. If I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster. Either way I lose, there's no way out."

"I'm so sorry Sarah," Angel said, opening the other door to look out, having locked the TARDIS down for the moment, "But it all depends on you. This...this won't be easy," she added, tears in her eyes as well, "It'll be hard, so hard, the hardest thing you'll ever do in your life."

"What is it?" she looked at Angel, "Tell me what I've got to do."

"You've fought the Trickster before," the Doctor continued solemnly, "You know how he operates…how he can be defeated…" his glanced at Peter.

"No…" Sarah Jane turned to Peter, working it out, before looking back at them, "No…please…" she looked at Angel, "Can't you save him?"

Angel swallowed hard as she shook her head, "I'm sorry Sarah. He died long before I got here. It's too late," she looked over at Peter, "I know you're a good man Peter, the best, just perfect for Sarah."

"We're so sorry," the Doctor added.

There was a sound of a scream and they looked back to see energy swirling in the back of the room, Clyde appearing, grabbing the Trickster, both crying out in pain as the Artron Energy affected them both.

"Clyde!" Sarah Jane gaped in horror.

The TARDIS started to wheeze, "She can't hold it much longer!" Angel ran back to the controls, the doors slamming shut as the wind picked up again.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane called, "Angel!" but the TARDIS couldn't stay locked and disappeared. She whirled around to see Clyde collapse to the ground and ran to his side, "Clyde no!" she put a hand on him as she knelt beside him before looking back over her shoulder at Peter, "Peter…I do love you, but the Doctor and Angel are right, there is another way out."

The Trickster held out a hand, crackling with the energy as he laid on the steps of the altar, now garbed in black, "Do not listen to her lies!"

Sarah Jane stood, "Your accident. He can only talk to people who are about to die. He comes to them in that final moment. He gives them back their life."

"What do you mean?" Peter looked at her with wide yes.

"Clyde and Rani said your house was empty. Why did you never let me see your house? You died in that accident Peter! But he needed you so he kept you half alive. And if we got married the bargain would be complete. He would bring you back to life."

"Your love brought me back to life. How can that be wrong to save a life?"

"Look at this," she turned around and moved to kneel behind Clyde, holding the boy in her arms, "This is what he'll do to millions of people. Unless…" she closed her eyes, steeling herself, "Unless you break your deal with him."

"But I'll lose you…" he knelt before her, taking her face in his hands, "I'll die. I don't want you to be alone."

Sarah Jane's heart broke, hearing the same words Angel had said to the Doctor as she was dying, "I love you, but I can't love you. You said you'd do anything to save me. If you love me, you know what you have to do."

"No!" the Trickster shouted.

Peter stood and turned to the alien, "You got one thing exactly right. Sarah Jane and I, we were made for each other. We're the perfect match. And I know what she would do," he held up the wedding ring to give back.

"I chose you because you didn't have the strength!"

"You really don't know my Sarah Jane do you? She gave me the strength. And I…withdraw my agreement!" he threw the ring back at the Trickster, making him explode in energy. A bright light filled the room and when it faded…Peter was still there. He looked up, shocked, before walking to the aisle and looking down at Sarah Jane, "Sarah…here I go. I wish I'd always known you."

"I love you Peter."

"And I love you. Sarah Jane Dalton," Sarah Jane reached out for him as he did her, the man disappearing in a white light. She let her hand drop, her heart breaking completely as she leaned over Clyde, crying.

The doors to the chapel room burst open and the Doctor, Angel, and the children ran in with K9.

"Mum!" Luke called, startling her. She looked up as Luke ran to her side, kneeling by Clyde's head while Ran knelt on Sarah Jane's other side, by Clyde's feet. The Doctor crouched down between Luke and Sarah while Angel was between her and Rani.

"Doctor!" she cried as he hugged her tightly, "Oh Doctor!" Angel reached out and hugged her as well, "Angel…"

"My Sarah Jane," the Doctor held her, "You did it, the traps broken, time's moving forwards again…" the room began to tremble and the Doctor and Angel put their arms around Rani and Luke to protect them all, "We're going home!"

"Hold on!" Luke called.

"We're all going home!" Angel whispered.

A bright white light started to fill the room again as the energy waves hit...

~8~

"Any person to show just cause or impediment, why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," the vicar continued.

The guests looked on in shock as Peter was missing from his spot by the altar, "Where's he gone?" Rani's mother looked around, swearing the man had been there a moment ago, "Sarah's bloke, where's he gone?"

"He was just there…" her father agreed.

Luke looked at Rani, "Where's the Doctor and Angel gone?"

"That all really happened," Rani remarked, "Didn't it?"

Clyde looked at his hand, "Yeah."

"Affirmative," K9 rolled out from under the table.

Luke looked over at his mother, standing tense, alone, before the altar. He slowly got up and walked to her side, "Mum."

She nodded and turned around, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry everybody. I'm afraid the wedding is cancelled," she dropped her bouquet and walked back down the aisle, alone.

~8~

Sarah Jane sat in her attic, lightly petting K9 as he stayed before her. She looked up at the faux chimney, "Mr. Smith," she stood up, "I need you."

The chimney opened with smoke pouring out, though without its usual fanfare, "Welcome back, Sarah Jane."

She nodded as the door to the attic opened. She turned to see Luke, Rani, and Clyde walk in. She tried to smile at them, but just couldn't seem to manage it.

"Mum," Luke walked down the steps and to her side, "Are you alright?"

"I'm going to be fine," she looked at them, "I've got you, haven't I?"

"I can't believe the Doctor ran off like that."

"I can't believe Angel let him," Rani added, "From what you said of her Sarah Jane, she's a very nice person, why would she do that?"

"Sudden disappearing acts," Sarah Jane sighed, "That's him all over, and Angel can't always see everything," but they could tell she was hurt that they weren't there.

"Sarah Jane…" Mr. Smith called, "Escalation of Temporal Flux."

"Temporal Flux escalating," K9 agreed.

And a wheezing noise filled the room.

They turned around to see the TARDIS materialize on a small platform behind them, "Doctor!" Sarah Jane breathed.

"I'm hurt Rani," Angel opened the right door and looked out, "As though I would ever let the Doctor leave Sarah like that," she walked out and over to the woman, hugging her tightly as she laughed.

"Honestly," the Doctor shook his head, opening the left door, "What do you both take me for? I just wanted to go the quick way…oh," he looked around, "I like it in here."

"Don't get any ideas," Angel pointed at him as she turned to put an arm around Sarah Jane's shoulders, "The TARDIS just got used to the desktop and if you go and change it on her, she's going to be very cross," he laughed a bit at her, smiling as she comforted his former companion.

"Can we have a look?" Rani smiled as she tried to see around the Doctor and into the TARDIS.

"What in the TARDIS?" the Doctor's smile fell, they nodded, "My TARDIS?" he demanded, firm.

"Our TARDIS," Angel corrected before reaching out and squeezing Luke's shoulder, "Go on."

The Doctor laughed, "Yeah!" he stepped back and the children excitedly ran up the steps and into the box, Angel walking up with Sarah Jane after them. They all watched with a smile as the kids ran around, looking at the space in amazement.

"Oh…wow!" Clyde's eyes widened, "It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside?"

"It's beautiful!" Rani beamed.

"Transcendental dimensions," Luke guessed.

The light of the rotor started to brighten and the kids looked at the Time Lords, afraid they'd done something wrong. Angel smiled warmly at them as the TARDIS hummed, "I think she's saying hello."

They grinned and ran to the console, looking around at the buttons and knobs, "Oh what does this do?" Clyde pointed to a switch.

"Hey, don't touch," Sarah Jane warned. She laughed a little bit and looked at the Doctor and Angel, putting a hand on the girl's hand as it rested on her shoulder, "You two came all that way, for me."

"You are so important Sarah Jane," Angel squeezed her.

"And not just to us," the Doctor added with a smile, "Trickster wanted to end your story but it goes on. The things you've done Sarah," he shook his head at her, pride shining through his eyes, "They're pretty impressive."

"But," Angel cut in, "The things you're gonna do…" she couldn't even speak as she too looked at Sarah Jane and the children, proud.

"The future…" Luke murmured. His mother had told them about Angel's gifts and if she was smiling that widely just thinking about their future…he couldn't wait to see why, "How 'bout we could go for a ride?"

"Or back to the dinosaurs yeah?" Clyde grinned.

"Another planet?" Rani asked, hopeful.

"No way!" Sarah Jane called, "For one thing, you are grounded by the Judoon, and your parents would never forgive me. Go on…" the three children sighed but headed out of the TARDIS, giving the three adults some privacy to say goodbye. Sarah Jane watched them go before turning back to the Doctor and Angel, "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?"

The Doctor looked at Angel, who smiled, "Oh I don't think so," she nodded before letting go of the woman and walking to stand beside the Doctor by the console, "Besides, you can't get rid of this one quite that easily."

"Oi!" he mock whined but there was a laughter in his eyes.

"Nor would I ever want to," she reassured him, linking her arm through his, making him beam and kiss her forehead.

Sarah Jane smiled at them, "Bye Doctor, bye Angel…until the next time."

"Don't forget us Sarah Jane," the Doctor whispered as he leaned forward and hugged her.

Sarah Jane held him tightly a moment before pulling back, "No one's ever going to forget you."

Angel hugged her as well before the woman turned and walked out of the TARDIS, shutting the doors behind her. Sarah Jane turned around, staring at the blue box as it disappeared, her arms around Luke and Rani.

"You were right," Clyde looked at her, "They are amazing."

"And so are we," Sarah Jane smiled before the children pulled her into a tight hug.

~8~

Angel was standing at the console, just absently working as she thought about the events that had just happened, having just finished telling the TARDIS about that adventure. So distracted was she that she didn't even sense the Doctor sneak up behind her until he'd wrapped his arms around her from behind, "Happy 800th Birthday," he whispered in her ear, moving his one arm up to show her a brownie with a small TARDIS blue candle in it, lit.

She laughed at the sensation of her tickled ear before taking the brownie, closing her eyes a moment and blowing on it, wishing the best for all of her human family, before she set the brownie, on its napkin, on the console, turning around in his arms, "How did you know?"

"You're my Mate," he said simply, "It's my job to know important, life changing events like the day you were born."

She shook her head at him, "It really wasn't all that life changing."

"Maybe not to you," he murmured, stroking her cheek, "But to me, it certainly was," she blushed and couldn't help but look down again but he gently lifted her head to look at him, "I have a surprise for you."

She smiled, "You didn't have to get me a gift or anything Theta."

"I didn't technically get you anything," he admitted, all his hard work to repair the TARDIS on his own down the drain after the box tried to get to them through the Trickster's block and fried half of what he'd been working on, "But…I seemed to have realized during the Wedding-That-Almost-Was that…we never finished the Mating process," he'd realized it, both the wedding and the Mating were...unfinished, interrupted, incomplete.

Angel's eyes widened as she realized she'd completely forgotten about that as well. With everything that had happened during the last year with her dying and then all their adventures…it had just, slipped her mind.

"So…" he stepped back, sliding his hands down her bare arms to take her hands, "I was thinking, to make your birthday extra special…" she smiled, seeing him blushing, getting a bit shy at talking about it, "That maybe…we should…if you wanted…maybe…"

"Finish it?" she supplied, seeing him struggling to get the words out without embarrassing himself. And he called HER the adorable one?

"Yeah," he nodded, unable to look at her his cheeks were so red.

She grinned, "I think..." she leaned in, kissing him suddenly, pushing herself onto her toes to do it, surprising him in the best way. His arms wound around her waist as she pulled away, resting her forehead to his, her arms draped over his neck, "I can't imagine a better gift," she admitted, her fingers lightly playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

He let out a soft groan, closing his eyes at the sensation, "Then you may want to stop that," he whispered.

"Why?" she smirked.

"You're the psychic," he murmured, his breath catching as he felt her step closer to him, "You must know what that does to me."

"Oh yes," she giggled and his eyes snapped open to see her biting her lip playfully, "I am VERY aware," she gave him a peck, "Why do you think I play with your hair so much?"

"You little minx," he laughed, before leaning in to kiss her, surprising HER this time, before he pulled away suddenly, grabbing her hand and half running towards the gantries, Angel's giggles echoing through the halls, till they reached their bedroom, the door shutting them away as her laughter was stifled by the Doctor's eager lips...

~8~

Angel awoke with a gasp, her hearts racing, to find herself beside the Doctor on their bed, the man thankfully still asleep despite her own rude awakening. It was to be expected though, the Mating was...intense...the most incredible thing she'd ever experienced, never before, not even with the mental and emotional bond, had she EVER felt so connected to another person. It had taken her breath away more than once, heightened every single sense in the best way, and the Doctor, he'd been so gentle, so considerate, and...she would have blushed to think...quite possibly a bit psychic as well as he knew just what to do before she even realized it. It was quite the moment, such a long time coming, so important, so meaningful, and indescribable, so...powerful...that Time Lords typically DID wear themselves out. And the Doctor was truly a ball of energy, for HIM to be spent completely, well, he wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

But that wasn't where her mind had gone, no, instead she panted, shivering despite the lingering heat in the room. She clutched the thin sheet on the bed closer to her chest, more for comfort and a sense of security than to cover her bare self, putting her other hand to her head, trying to hold onto the dream as it slipped away from her. She frowned, she couldn't remember it anymore, though the feeling that it left behind remained, she doubted THAT would ever fade.

She didn't know what was coming, if the dream was a vision of the future or just a terrible nightmare…but she just knew…

It would break her hearts.

Chapter Text

"Where are we going?" the Doctor grinned as he followed Angel around the console, Angel keeping just one step ahead of him, JUST out of reach of his arms, more to tease him than anything, she'd discovered this her was quite teasing when it came to him, something she was rather proud of, knowing she was the only one to tease him like that.

"It's a surprise!" she laughed, she'd told him earlier that she had one in mind and wanted to plan a trip just for him.

"Please tell me," he gave her the saddest puppy dog eyes ever, reaching out to snatch her hands as she moved to pull a lever, his thumb lightly stroking over her knuckles.

She bit her lip, trying to resist, and gave him a peck, about to pull away when he brought his hand up to cup her cheek instead, holding her there as he deepened the kiss. He really couldn't get enough of this on a good day, and now that they'd fully Mated...it was so much worse. He was truly starting to think that he could only breathe when he was near Angel or holding her or kissing her, he found himself longing to do it much more than before. Being that close to her as the final step in the Mating had allowed...it had completely destroyed any self control he had left, which wasn't much. To have had her, well, knowing her so completely now, he just couldn't help himself.

The Trickster had, surprisingly, been right when he'd described Angel during Sarah Jane's Almost-Wedding, she truly was the earth and air to him, but in so many more ways than the Trickster probably meant. She was his earth, she grounded him, she kept him level, she kept him stable. She was his rock in the hard times, the foundation of his happiness, the strength he drew his own from. And...she was his home. The TARDIS was a magnificent place to live, but he never felt more at home than when he was in Angel's arms. She was his entire world. His every thought, his every action, his entire life revolved around her, around making her happy, keeping her safe, loving her.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

She was the air to him as well, she was always there. Even when they were apart, which was quite a small amount of time (and would be even smaller if he had his way), he always felt her in his hearts, in his mind, and now in his soul. She was an ever-present feeling, and he couldn't begin to describe how good that felt to have that sense of someone always being with you even when you couldn't see them, like a gentle breeze meant to be felt. She was the air he breathed, when she wasn't there, it was hard for him to do, breathe that is. He felt his hearts constrict painfully at just the notion of her not being with him and banished the thought. As he was surrounded by air, so too was he surrounded by her love and warmth and that gave him such an indescribable feeling that he just...he'd never been so happy as he was with Angel.

Not ever.

"Tell me?" he murmured against her lips as he pulled away, resting his head to her forehead, not pulling away as much as normal, he loved this new intimacy they shared, being able to stand so close to her in her rather fetching dress and not worry about being tempted and worrying he was rushing her. They could be free with each other...and Angel had most certainly taken to that. At least once a day she'd play with his hair, just run her hand casually through it when he sat on the floor of the console room, fiddling with a wire or two, or he'd wake to the sensation of her running her fingers through his hair in the mornings, and when she kissed him...blimey, the Universe exploded in his mind, never mind supernovas!

"I want to surprise you Theta," she whispered, looking into his eyes, her silver ones shimmering with love, "Like you surprised me for my birthday."

"But that was your birthday," he wound his arms around her, running a hand up and down her spine, feeling her shiver, which made him smile and start to absently sway them, the TARDIS humming softly in the background, "That was my gift to you for it, you don't have to try and repay that Angel."

"I know," she nodded, turning her head to rest it on his chest as they danced, listening to his hearts beating, smiling at the sound, "I just wanted to plan a nice day for us."

"Oh," he nodded, grinning, feeling her lightly tracing patterns on his tie, "Well, in that case..." he turned suddenly, dipping her, making her laugh, before he pulled her back up and started to dance more quickly with her...horribly badly...but Angel was smiling and that was all he wanted.

He whirled them around and around and around, till he got dizzy himself and fell back against the console, his hand bracing on the keyboard Angel had been putting coordinates into to catch himself, his other arm moving around Angel as she fell against him, laughing. He looked back and saw that the coordinates had been altered, the date she had been setting in changed, but shrugged, a few years difference wouldn't hurt, the destination was locked.

"You really shouldn't do that," Angel smiled at him.

"Do what?" he looked back at her.

"Spin me around like that when we dance," she tapped his nose, "This body seems to be rather uncoordinated, I'd probably end up tripping and toppling over..."

"I'd catch you," he cut in, serious, completely and totally meaning it. If she ever fell, he'd catch her, no matter what, he swore it.

"Then I'd land on top of you."

He smirked, "I have no problem with that position."

"Theta!" she blushed, whacking him lightly on the chest.

He chuckled and caught her hand as she moved to pull it away, kissing the back of it. Taking a moment to marvel at the softness of her skin. For someone who worked as a TARDIS farmer, for someone who worked tirelessly on the TARDIS, Angel's hands were not rough at all, unlike his. He loved the feel of her skin on his, her touch always sent shivers down his spin in the best way.

She smiled softly at that, she secretly loved it when he kissed her hand, it made her feel special. He held hands with a lot of people, companions, victims, people who needed to start running, but SHE was the only one whose hand he kissed.

She shook her head, feeling the TARDIS thump as she lightly landed, "Ready for your surprise?" she asked.

"Oh yes," he grinned, trying to run to the door with her, when she pulled him back.

"We'll need spacesuits for this one," she warned him.

He eyed her, curious as to where they were, he hadn't quite gotten to see that coordinate, but he shrugged, trusting her, as she led him off to the wardrobe to find some spacesuits to use. He couldn't wait for this adventure.

He smirked slyly to himself as he followed her, he couldn't wait to 'help' her get into her suit as well.

~8~

There was static on a screen as a picture tried to come through. When it finally cleared a young woman was sitting on a couch with a baby on her lap, "Hello, mum!" she called, "Susie says hello, don't you, sweetheart?" she waved the baby's arm, "That's it. Give a little wave."

An older woman with blond hair smiled as she watched her daughter and granddaughter, missing them terribly.

"Erm...oh, what was I gonna say? Uncle Soon called in, he says hello. Erm...he keeps saying, 'You must be missing her.' I said, 'she's been gone for over two years now, I'm getting used to it!'" the static returned and the young woman sighed, frowning, "Oh, no, it's breaking up. It must be the solar flares."

"Talk faster," she muttered, even though she knew her daughter couldn't hear her, the transmissions from Earth took quite a while to reach them so it was more like a recording than anything.

"About the deposit on the house...oh...erm, I've spoken to the bank..."

But before she could continue, the connection was lost in static.

The older woman sighed, rubbing her head, and reaching out to play the recording back, pausing it on her daughter and granddaughter as the older made the baby wave. She missed them too. So much.

~8~

The TARDIS was sitting in the middle of nowhere amidst a landscape of what looked like red sand and rocks. The Doctor and Angel stepped out, wearing spacesuits, both in the typical orange color, one taken from Kroptor with Ida's helmet, the other from when he'd had to remagnetize Martha's escape pod, "The Red Planet," the Doctor beamed.

"Are you surprised?" Angel looked at him hopefully, having actively tried NOT to get a feeling, wanting to be as surprised as he was, "Spaceman?" she nudged him.

He laughed, recalling how Donna had kept calling him Martian when they'd first met, "Oh yeah," he nodded, turning to rest his helmet to hers, not able to kiss her with the glass separating them, oh well, he'd have to make up for it later, "This is brilliant Angel," he took her hand, squeezing it, "Thank you."

She smiled at him, his hearts skipping a beat at the sight, "Come on then," she tugged him off, "Let's explore!" she turned around as she continued walking, for some reason able to walk backwards perfectly despite her uncoordination, which was just as much an enigma as she was, "Do you think we might meet an Ice Warrior?" she asked him. She really WAS trying to do better, trying to learn all she could as she went so she could keep up with him in the future.

"I don't know," he let her pull him on, "They haven't been around for a while."

"Maybe one will pop up," she shrugged, "Things like that always seem to happen to you," she nudged him as he moved to her side, catching up to her, "I bet we'll run into one when we least expect it. Probably not even on Mars."

"Why wouldn't they be on Mars?" he wondered, thinking on what reasons they might have to leave the planet.

"I haven't the faintest," she cheered, though her smile had started to grow tense the further away they got from the TARDIS, "Maybe it got frozen in ice on Earth and we'll run into it on a Soviet submarine."

He laughed, now THAT seemed even more unlikely.

Angel glanced at him, swallowing a bit, keeping her emotions in check. Luckily, the Doctor was far too excited about Mars to notice what she was doing, how she was being a bit...too cheerful...about it all. She just...couldn't help the pit in her stomach as they walked on. She'd learned that the sensations she got, while stronger and more tuned, were still just as random and hard to pin point as ever. As it was a natural ability of her own and not a result of the Vortex within her she wasn't completely able to control it. She didn't doubt that, with time and effort, she would slowly started to be able to focus her sensations and control when they happened entirely, instead of them randomly popping up. Perhaps one day she might even have a more direct sense of what was wrong instead of a vague one. But until then…she would just have to trust them as much as she could.

And right now...it was telling her that something was...off. Something was wrong. But it shouldn't be, she'd set the coordinates for a very peaceful time, parallel with modern Earth, early 2000s, before anything interesting or devastating happened on the planet, just a nice calm trip to explore the surface of the planet for a short while.

~8~

A man in a spacesuit stepped out of a base, his boots leaving footprints in the red sand, the alarms blaring behind him as he carried some equipment out, "Sun sets in ten minutes, Yuri," a man called over the comm., "You're gonna lose the light."

"That's it," another woman added, "Got you on External Ten."

~8~

Inside the base an Asian woman watched as the man, Yuri, walked out on the surface of Mars, an older man also watching from another terminal, "Almost there," Yuri called, "That's the radial clamp down. One more thing."

"Get back inside," the man ordered, "You're using power and oxygen."

"Oh, hold on. Get this on camera," he held up a sign to the clamp reading 'No Trespassers,' "What do you think?"

"Hey, looks good!" the Asian woman laughed, "Nice one, Yuri."

"You wasted an entire solar panel just to make that?" the man deadpanned, not quite as amused as the others.

"Oh, lighten up," Yuri waved him off, "It's a joke."

"We come all this way, to an empty planet, untouched by civilization, and what do we do? Put up cheap jokes. That's not funny, that's pollution."

The older blonde woman entered the room, "Having fun?" she eyed the monitor displaying the sign.

"I was just telling him…"

"I expect better of you, Ed," she cut in, clearly thinking he had something to do with it, not giving him time to defend himself, "Now get back to work, all of you."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stopped on a ledge, looking out. He smiled widely as he saw a base, a large center dome with six corridors reaching out from it with five small domes at each end, one leading to a rocket, "Oh, beautiful!" he looked at Angel, "What do you think?"

Angel just frowned at the base, that was wrong. That shouldn't be there, not in the early 2000s, she had set the controls, so she knew they were right. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but TARDISes were the one thing she excelled in, she was certain she'd gotten the date right, unless...this wasn't the right date, in which case...

"I think we should go back," she said, a pit dropping into her stomach and growing far too quickly for her to feel comfortable or confident about this. She looked at him to see him frowning, "I'm getting a really, really bad feeling."

He eyed her a moment, seeing true fear and concern in her eyes before nodding. He was not one for walking away from an adventure, but he could feel her anxiety about this and it was more than she'd ever felt for any other danger they'd faced, worse yet than Kroptor, than when they'd ended up at the end of the Universe. He could give up this one trip for her.

He was about to turn, when he felt a something poke into his back.

"Rotate, slowly," a robot commanded. The Doctor and Angel put their arms up and turned around, "You are under arrest, for trespassing. Gadget-gadget."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, seeing a robot holding a gun at them.

'Angel?' he glanced at her.

'I can't see everything,' she sighed, she was far too preoccupied with the terrible feeling in her gut, it was far too encompassing for her to feel much of anything else, it was THAT bad. She really wanted to leave, but...even more...she wanted to get the Doctor far away...

~8~

The older blonde woman held a gun at the Doctor and Angel, which made him move closer to his Mate, though unable to try and step ahead of her as she had grabbed his hand, knowing the woman would shoot if he stepped forward towards her, even if it was to try and get HER behind him, "State your name, rank, and intention."

"The Doctor," he replied, his eye on the gun, feeling his hearts race at the thought of it being aimed, not at him, no he could stare down the barrel of a gun no problems, but at Angel...the Mating instinct telling him that he should rip that gun away from the woman and shove her back, but knowing he couldn't risk it without her potentially firing at Angel, "Doctor. Fun."

"The Angel," Angel frowned, not really at the gun, no the gun wasn't worrying her, she knew, as long as they just stood there and didn't move, that the woman wouldn't use it on them. No, she was growing more uneasy with the feeling in her stomach, it had spread, her entire body was tingling in a bad way, like she was on edge, like she was waiting for something truly terrible to happen, and that scared her. She'd never felt that before and she was sure it had nothing to do with her abilities growing stronger but just...it was THAT bad a situation, "Um…guard? Taking care of him," she nodded at the Doctor.

Just then a young man opened the door to the dome and ran in, "What the hell?!" he flew down the steps, "It's a man and woman! A man and woman on Mars!" he joined them, "How?!"

A younger blonde woman showed him their spacesuits, "They were wearing these things," she said with a distinct German accent, "I have never seen anything like it."

"What did Mission Control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares."

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the older woman snapped, clearly she was the one in charge.

"Actually, chat's second on my list," the Doctor remarked stiffly, just a hint of threat in his voice as he continued, "The first being gun, pointed at my Mate's head," his eyes started to narrow, his words becoming more irritated and unhappy than just rambling, "Which then puts her head second and chat third. Gun, head, chat, yes. And I swear, if you harm her..." he seemed about to take a dangerous step forward when Angel tugged him back, her hand resting on his arm, rubbing it, reminding him she was right beside him, she was fine.

"We really don't like guns," Angel began, glancing at the woman, knowing the only way for the Doctor to be able to focus would be if the gun was put away, "Would you mind terribly putting that away?"

"Oh, you'd like that," the woman's eyes narrowed.

"Very much," Angel nodded, "But then again, I don't think there are many people who would like to be held at gunpoint either."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because we give you our word," the Doctor cut in, wanting that gun gone, now, "And, 40 million miles away from home, our word is all you've got."

She looked at them a moment longer, studying them, before lowering her gun, the Doctor breathing a sigh of relief, turning to kiss Angel's head, knowing it had likely been her calm words and ability to hold him in check that had reassured the woman they weren't a threat, "Keep Gadget covering them."

Another young man standing next to the robot, wearing thick white metal gloves, nodded, "Gadget-gadget!" the robot cried.

"Oh, right, so you control that thing?" the Doctor eyed the gloves and the bot, Angel shifting a bit uneasily as she looked at it, "Auto-glove response?"

"You got it," the man moved his hand right, "To the right..."

"Gadget-gadget!" and so did Gadget.

"And to the left," he shifted his hand and the robot moved left.

"It's a bit flimsy," the Doctor commented as the young man glared.

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Does it have to keep saying that?"

"I think it's funny," the young man grumbled.

"I hate robots," Angel murmured, frowning at it, even a little thing like that, even controlled by another person and useless without the gloves, worried her. She really did NOT have the best experience with robots, except K9 and he was more a pet than a robot to her.

The Doctor had to smile at that, pleased that she liked K9 despite him being a robot, 'Don't worry,' he reassured her, running his hand through her hair as he brushed it away from her neck, 'I'll protect you.'

She smiled, she knew he would, he always did.

"Excuse me, boss," a young woman called over the comm., "Computer log says we've got extra people on site. How's that possible?"

"Keep the biodome closed," the older woman commanded, "And when using open comms. you call me Captain."

"Yeah, but...who are they?" she asked when the radio cut to static.

~8~

"Disconnected!" a young black woman cried as she stood in a greenhouse, "She's cut me off. Can you believe her? It's like we're just...gardeners!" she looked back to where an older man was shoveling dirt into a container of plants.

"As long as they leave us alone, that's fine with me," he countered, "Oh, you beauties!" he pulled out two large carrots, "Look at this!"

"Better start planting some more if there's extra mouths to feed."

He rinsed the carrots out under a faucet labeled 'Water Tower 3' and rubbed it, "The very first garden off Earth. Everything brand new. Eden. That's what we should've called this place," he took a bite.

"It's the Philippines. I bet. If there's someone else on Mars, it's got to be the Philippines," she continued her work, not noticing him fall to his knees behind her, "All those stories about them building a rocket," she scoffed as the man started to shake and convulse, "Adelaide's gonna love that! Stealing her thunder. Mind you, worth it to see her face. Or it could be the Spanish. They've kept that spacelink project under wraps," she looked back just as the man stopped convulsing, his back to her, "Didn't your sister work for them?" there was no reply so she walked over to him, "Are you alright, mate? Come on, stop mucking about. Andy? Are you ok?"

He turned to face her, the skin around his lips cracked, his irises white, his mouth black and dripping water.

She screamed.

~8~

"They can't be a World State flight, we'd know about it," Ed reasoned, eyeing them, they didn't look it, the man in the brown suit, the girl in the blue dress, hardly dressed for space travel, "Therefore, they've got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson Inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

"Right, yes, ok, you got us," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "So I'm the Doctor, this is my Mate, Angel, and you are?"

"Oh, come on," the captain huffed, "We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on Planet Earth knows who we are."

"You're the first?" the Doctor looked around, his eyes wide, "Then...this is..."

"Bowie Base One," he said the same time as the captain.

"Number one?" he repeated, "Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater...you've been here how long?"

"17 months," she stated.

"2059," Angel breathed, now realizing why she'd felt that pit, why everything inside her was telling her to get them both out of there and as far away as possible, "It's 2059, right now…" she looked at the Doctor, alarmed. She may not have paid much attention in the Academy, but she knew what the fixed points in time were.

And this base here…

"OH!" the Doctor cried, "My head is so stupid, you're Captain Adelaide Brooke!" he pointed at the older blonde woman, "And Ed! You're Deputy Edward Gold," and then to the young man who'd run in before, "Tarak Ital, MD," then to Yuri, "Nurse Yuri Kerenski," and to the German woman, "Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich," to the man by Gadget, "Junior Technician Roman Groom," and to the Asian woman, "Geologist Mia Bennett," he paused, "You're only 27 years old."

…they all died in 2059.

"As I said, Doctor, everyone knows our names," Adelaide repeated dryly.

"Oh, they'll never forget them," he remarked sadly, "What's the date, today? What is it? Tell me the exact date."

"November the 21st," Angel answered fearfully before Adelaide could open her mouth.

This date, this exact date, was when the base exploded.

And it was a fixed point, they couldn't save any of them.

And that killed her.

Mia was only 27, Scooti had been younger and she'd saved her, but Mia...she felt sick thinking about what awaited the woman. Of all the fixed points in time and space, this was NOT one she wanted to ever have visited. But how did they even get there? She'd set the controls for a little more than 50 years ago!

'It was me,' the Doctor called, sensing her confusion and fear through their emotional bond, feeling terrible because HE was the cause for it, 'I fell against the console, I didn't think 50 years would make much difference...'

Angel closed her eyes a moment, feeling the air leave her lungs. It was an accident, she knew, but she wished she'd known that before setting foot out of the TARDIS or she would have piloted the box to the right year. She'd been operating under the assumption that it was the date she'd set it for, she hadn't even bothered to try and sense the date because of that. It was partially her fault too.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, squeezing Angel's hand, growing anxious, now understanding why she wanted to get out so badly, feeling much the same, needing to protect her and keep her safe, which he couldn't do on that base, "Ok, fine."

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi frowned.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia eyed them.

"We need to go," Angel said tensely, "We really need to go," she looked at the Doctor imploringly.

He nodded, "I'm sorry. We're sorry with all of our hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when we've got no choice. It's been an honor," he shook their hands, Angel standing back, not wanting to touch them, it would make it too real, to hug the person about to die in a terrible explosion, she couldn't bear the thought of it happening, let alone hug them without being able to comfort them, without being able to sooth and reassure them, they couldn't tell any of the humans what was coming, they couldn't risk changing events, "Seriously, a...very great honor to meet you all. The Martian pioneers. Oh, thank you. Ah!" he patted Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

He saluted Adelaide, "Thank you," but then he stopped, "There's two others. Hold on...Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

Ed walked over to a computer, "Maggie...if you want to meet the only new human beings that you're gonna see in the next five years, better come take a look."

Instead of a reply, a loud snarling came over the comm..

"What was that?" Mia stiffened.

"Doctor," Angel called, "We really need to go. Now."

"This is Central," Ed spoke, "Biodome report immediately."

Adelaide walked over to the monitor, "Show me the biodome."

Ed switched the feed to the security cameras, but there was only static, "Internal cameras are down."

"Show me the exterior," she ordered and he pulled up another feed to see the lights going out, "I'm going over. Doctor, Angel, with me."

"Yeah..." the Doctor shook his head, "I'm sorry, erm...we'd love to help, but…"

"We're leaving," Angel cut in, desperate, "Right now."

Adelaide turned to Steffi, "Take their spacesuits, lock them up," Steffi nodded and took the suits away, "This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere, except with me."

Angel just looked at the Doctor, alarmed, and all he could do was take her hand in both of his, trying to reassure her everything would be ok, that he'd get them out of there somehow, even if he had no idea how.

He would NOT let anything hurt her.

~8~

Adelaide led the Doctor and Angel down a dark corridor where the only lights were from their torches. Tarak walked behind them, bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on them, Gadget following, "What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide began, "You said she's only 27, why does it matter, what did you mean?"

"Oh, I just...open my mouth and words come out," the Doctor waved her off, his thumb stroking over Angel's knuckles, trying to calm her, feeling she was truly scared of what was happening, and it broke his hearts to know he hadn't been able to talk their way out of it, get them to leave sooner, he knew she didn't blame him, but that didn't stop him from blaming himself, "They don't make much sense."

"You're telling me," Tarak remarked.

"Thank you, doctor," the Doctor smiled at him.

"Any time, Doctor," he grinned back.

"Gadget-gadget!"

Angel winced, "I really don't like robots," she murmured, "Couldn't we have left him back in Central?"

"Yeah, well he's not too fond of you," Roman called over the comm., "What's wrong with robots?"

"Besides the fact that they always try to kill us?" Angel asked.

"Not ALL of them try to," the Doctor defended a bit

"Oh no? Just the Pilot Fish…twice, and then the Host..."

"Yeah, but it's not Christmas," he grinned, squeezing her hand, "We're safe," he kissed the back of it.

"Cybermen, and not JUST the ones from last Christmas either."

He had to nod at that, "Well, that's because of the people," he reminded her of the Cybermen's original selves, "It's always the people though, isn't it. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices, like they're reducing them."

"Yeah," Roman agreed, "Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog."

"Ah, well, dogs, that's different," the Doctor nudged Angel.

She smiled, she really DID love K9 though. He was one of the few good robots.

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones," Roman added, "Those things are huge! They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of..."

"The channel is open for essential communications only," Adelaide reminded him.

"Sorry," Roman went quiet a moment, before adding quickly, "Love those drones."

"I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide," the Doctor called up to her, "But one thing they never said, was it worth it? The mission?"

"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," she began.

"I know…but all of it. 'Cos they say you sacrificed everything, devoted your whole life to get here."

"It's been chaos back home. 40 long years, the climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. And to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight, yes. It's worth it."

"Ah! That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul."

Adelaide stopped short, spotting something, "What's that?" she ran over to it to see it was a body lying on the floor, "It's Maggie."

'...this is sick-bay, we have a situation. Maggie's condition has...I don't know…I don't know what it is...'

...Tarak looked up at them, his face was terrible, the mouth cracked, his eyes white...

'...any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water...'

Angel winced, shouting, "Don't touch her!" as a flash of fear raced through her at the horrible visions she'd just seen and knowing that the humans would never believe her that Maggie was infected with something, how could she know? They would call her mad if she claimed she was a psychic and NEVER listen to her.

"I know the procedure," Tarak looked at her, "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie?" he gently turned her on her back, "It's ok. She's still breathing. She's alive. Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma," he called over the comm., "I need a full medpack."

"I've got it," Yuri reported, "Med-pack on its way."

The Doctor looked over to see Angel looking towards the biodome warily, his own expression falling into a solemn frown as she shared her visions with him.

They really, really needed to go.

~8~

"I'm going to help!" Ed shouted, heading for the door.

"In the absence of the Captain, you're in charge, sir!" Steffi called, "You've got to stay in the Dome!"

But it was too late, he was already out the door.

~8~

Ed and Yuri ran down the corridor, Yuri with the med-pack and a backboard.

"Don't touch her, use the gloves," the Doctor told them, pulling Angel closer, winding his arms around her as he tried to comfort her, feeling her actually shaking in his arms she was that afraid of the events that would be coming.

'Everything will be ok,' he whispered in her mind, kissing her temple, a determined not in his mental voice, 'I WON'T let them hurt you.'

She just swallowed hard, it wasn't HER she was worried about getting hurt...but the Doctor. Something told her that this whole thing...would hurt him in the worst way. And she couldn't bear that, she hated it when he was sad, it broke her hearts.

"Do what he says," Tarak ordered, "Get her to sick-bay. Put her in isolation."

"We're going to the biodome," Adelaide said, "Tarak, with me, Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area."

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Captain, you're gonna need me," Ed stood, "Andy's the only other crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild."

"You've deserted your post," Adelaide replied stonily, "Consider that an official warning. Now, get back to work. Doctor! Angel!" and with that, Adelaide headed off.

The Doctor sighed, slipping his arms from around Angel to take her hand and follow after Adelaide, the sooner they checked the dome, the sooner they could get out of there.

~8~

Mia and Steffi analyzed the snarling noise and gaped at what they found, a match for Andy's voice records.

"Captain," Steffi called, "That sound we heard from the Bio-dome, I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's...it's Andy. It registers as the voice-print of Andy Stone."

"Understood," Adelaide called back, "Double-check, thanks."

~8~

"Air pressure stabilized," Tarak stated as he opened the airlock door to the biodome.

"Andrew?" Adelaide yelled, "Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?"

The Doctor paused, seeing Angel hesitate to enter the room. He'd noticed her dislike, her slight fear, of the dark was a bit worse in this incarnation of her as well. Apparently, being ill and dying while surrounded by the Vashta Nerada, the first adventure they'd been on where she hadn't been able to really save anyone, the first adventure where her feelings had truly left her, had stuck with her, that fear she'd felt, the dark that had been around them, the creatures lurking in it...she disliked the dark even more now. He quickly walked over to a computer and soniced it, bringing the lights on for her, "There we go," he smiled at her, seeing her offer him a small smile back in thanks.

"What's that device?" Adelaide eyed the metal wand thing.

"Screwdriver."

"Are you the Doctor or the Janitor?"

"I don't know, sounds like me. The maintenance man of the Universe, ooh," he grimaced, "That's a rubbish title," he walked back to Angel, taking her hand, "Not like the Guardian Angel of the Universe, eh?" he winked at her, making her smile wider, mission accomplished.

"You two, stay with me, don't step out of my sight," she clearly did not trust them around anyone but her, "Tarak, go to External Door South, make sure it's intact."

"Yes, ma'am," Tarak nodded, heading off.

"I don't think he should go alone," Angel warned Adelaide, recalling the snippet of her vision, but not knowing when it would happen or what would happen to Tarak to make him like that.

"He'll be fine," Adelaide countered, moving on, "I trust him more than you."

The Doctor squeezed Angel's hand once more, knowing she was really starting to be affected by all this, placing a reassuring kiss to her hair before he tugged her on after Adelaide and into the biodome.

Chapter Text

"Quite an achievement," the Doctor commented as he eyed the plants of the biodome, the greenery surrounding them, his hand firmly locked with Angel's as he could sense she was reluctant to continue on.

To be honest, he really couldn't care less about the flowers and vegetables growing around them, it was the LAST thing on his mind, but he needed something to talk about to distract Angel, flowers were the best thing at the moment, perhaps reminding her of the garden in the TARDIS would help. Angel was scared, she was really and truly scared, for quite a number of things. The infection that seemed to have spread through the crew in her vision, would it get everyone? Would...would THEY have to blow up the base like in Pompeii? He hoped not, because that had killed them both to do. But if they didn't do it, did Adelaide? Why? Was it just her left then? Would she be killing someone else? Had the infection begun because THEY arrived? Was their being there some sort of trigger for the events? In which case...it was still their fault. Would the infection spread to them as well? Despite being Time Lords and being more protected against many diseases and infections, some could still get them.

'That won't happen,' he called into her mind, running his thumb over her knuckles soothingly, 'I won't let it.'

'But we don't even know how the infection spread,' she countered, they knew enough from her vision to know that it was in the water, they'd heard Adelaide say that in her mind, they knew from that that drinking it was one was, but was that it? They didn't know if it had to be drunk, or if touch could do it, or if it was evaporated into an airborne mist would work too...there were so many things they still didn't know. And she was more scared it would get the Doctor than her.

If it got her, she was certain the Doctor could work out some cure, some medicine or something that would work on Time Lords.

If HE got infected...she had no idea what to do. She really wasn't all that clever despite trying harder. She wouldn't know the first thing to do to try and save him. He was the brains of the operation.

'Stop that,' she heard him in her mind as he squeezed her hand, sensing that the fear and tension was causing her to doubt herself despite her new confidence, which was understandable, emotions were high, 'Angel you are brilliant!'

'I'm no...'

'You are,' he cut in, 'Just before, with Sarah's wedding,' he smiled, 'You worked out that it was Sarah saying 'I Do' that the Trickster wanted. You did that before I did, so...' he tugged her closer, despite the fact they were still walking, 'If you think I'M the clever one, and you got that before me...just imagine how much cleverer YOU are.'

She blushed a bit, starting to smile though she was still worried about it all.

'I will not let them get you Nella,' he crossed his hearts, 'I will never let anyone hurt you, not ever, not again.'

'I won't let them get you either,' she promised, lifting his hand to kiss his scarred knuckles.

He grinned at that, when something caught his eye just over her shoulder. He paused, reaching out to pluck what looked like a daisy up from a potted plant and held it out to Angel, "The first flower on Mars in 10,000 years," he offered it to her, moving to place it behind her ear instead, his hearts skipping a beat at the sight. It suited her. Daisies, to him, were the most innocent flower, the most lovely in their simplicity, the most pure and happy, happier even than sunflowers, and that was just so Angel.

'My daisy,' he gave her a peck and kissed her forehead as well.

Angel had just started to fully smile when her gaze landed on something on the ground. She frowned and walked over to it, spotting a carrot with a bite in it lying there, knowing instinctively not to touch it, "Are you growing vegetables too?" she asked Adelaide, the Doctor stepping up behind her to look at the carrot.

He frowned, knowing that Angel wouldn't have focused so much on the simple vegetable if there wasn't something more to it, she had often said that he captured her attention completely so for something like THAT to pull her away from him...it had to be important.

Not that he was very happy with that.

He paused in pulling out the sonic to think on his last thought. Huh. Who would have thought he'd ever be jealous of a carrot?

'You shouldn't be,' Angel called to him, now a bit more amused than worried, though the fear was still there, 'I was never really a fan of carrots, and there's nothing in the Universe I love as much as you,' she glanced over her shoulder at him to see him smiling softly at her for that, 'And this one...' she shook her head, 'It's...bad.'

He nodded, flicking on the sonic to scan the carrot, before staring at the orange vegetable, alarmed. He held out a hand to Angel, helping her up, pulling her away from it. The carrot was contaminated, what ever the infection was, it was certainly alien because there were traces of alien substances on the carrot.

'Don't touch that,' he warned Angel.

'Wasn't going to,' she shivered, now knowing her fears and feelings about the vegetable were founded. Whatever had happened...had started with that. Which was rather odd, some sort of epidemic beginning because of a carrot. That might be a first in the history of the Universe.

"It's that lot," Adelaide answered Angel's question, not having seen their reactions and silent conversation with her back to them, flashing her light down the rows to the side of her as she walked the main path, "They're already planning Christmas dinner. Last year it was dehydrated protein, this year they want the real thing."

"Still," the Doctor took Angel's hand, tugging her on, not wanting to alarm the woman, "Fair enough. Christmas."

"If we must."

Angel glanced up, a moment before there was a flapping of wings, to see birds making nests. She frowned, eyeing them. She'd seen pecks on the carrot, tiny bird pecks...yet the birds seemed just fine.

"You've got birds!" the Doctor looked up, following Angel's gaze as the birds began to chirp in the rafters. He frowned, catching her thoughts, that was...odd. The birds, by now, should have experienced some sort of symptom to the infection having eaten the carrot...so why weren't they?

"It's part of the project, to keep the insect population down."

"That's good," Angel remarked quietly, "That's...really good."

"In what way?" Adelaide looked back at her.

Angel looked at her solemnly, shifting from side to side, "They're alive."

"Captain?" Yuri spoke through the comm., "Good news. It's Maggie. She's awake, she's back with us."

"No, she's really not," Angel warned, "Not entirely. Watch her."

~8~

Yuri frowned at the woman's words before shaking his head and turning back to see Maggie sitting up on her bed, looking out at him, "Hey. How are you, soldier?" he smiled, relieved she was ok.

They had been there quite a while, just the small team of explorers, had been through tough times. They all could relate to each other, having to leave their families, knowing the dangers of being there alone, knowing so many people were depending on them back on Earth, they stuck together, they...they had really become like a family. Maggie was like his favored cousin, she was always teasing him and joking with him and trying to set him up with Mia...which he really did appreciate because Mia was just...wow...but the point was, he cared about her a lot. If anything happened to her...he shook his head. She was fine, clearly she'd be just fine, she was awake and moving, a small bump on the head that a cup of tea would cure.

"Just take it easy," he told her, "Can you remember what happened?"

"I was just working," she frowned, squinting as though she were trying to remember before shaking her head, "Then I woke...woke up here."

"What about Andy?" Adelaide questioned, "We can't find him. Was he alright?"

"I don't know. I just..." she winced and rubbed her head.

"She needs to rest captain," Yuri reported, seeing that.

Adelaide sighed, understanding, "If you remember anything, let me know straightaway."

Yuri smiled, that woman, for all her show of strength and iron will and firm looks...was truly like a mother to all of them, always worrying about them in her own way and caring for them. He was quite suspicious that she knew about his and Mia's growing feelings for each other and was purposefully turning a blind eye to it. It was against regulations, they were not to begin relations with another member of the crew while out on that base. Mostly for health reasons. Relations like that could lead to less than proper behavior, favoritism, fights, tension, and, should anything escalate, a pregnancy. And they were NOT equipped to handle a baby. They could improvise, he was sure, but that was dangerous because if anything went wrong, they'd have a devastated crew, a dead member of the crew, and the loss of a little life. If it went well, well...they'd have to work out how to feed it and care for it and their work was really too important for distractions of the like.

And none of them were too keen with realizing that the baby would likely be referred to as a Martian the rest of its life, having been born on Mars and not Earth, it wouldn't even be a citizen of Earth either.

Complicated.

"Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?" Ed asked over the comm..

"And keep the comms. clear!" Adelaide snapped, her caring mood now frozen, "Everything goes through me, got that?"

Yuri winced, Ed was really the only one the captain seemed to have it out for. None of them knew why but things were always tense between the two. Adelaide was professional most of the time, but in times of high tension, she tended to snap a bit more at Ed than them.

It was like she blamed him for something.

"Come on," Maggie called to Yuri, stepping up to the window of the room as he turned back to a computer, "Just let me out of here. I'm fine. Just groggy."

"You know the rules," he looked over at her over his shoulder, "24 hours."

~8~

Tarak walked through the biodome, looking for Andy, starting to get a little worried. Andy was a joker, always pulling pranks and tricks, but this...this was unlike him. Whenever the captain gave a direct order, Andy did it without question so for him to ignore her calls and not pick up his comm. well, he was certain something must have gone wrong.

For a moment, he briefly considered the possibility that that Doctor bloke and Angel girl weren't the only ones to appear in the base. What if there was a third member of their group that had somehow managed to sneak in through another entrance...impossible though that might be...and had attacked the crew. What if the Doctor and Angel were distractions? Meant to keep them from looking for this third person as he or she picked off the crew one by one and sabotaged everything!?

He shook his head, he really needed to stop reading those murder mystery novels he'd managed to sneak in with him on his data-pad.

From what he could tell, the Doctor and Angel were genuinely there on accident, they seemed rather nice, especially that Angel girl, she was gorgeous, but alas, taken. He doubted they had anything to do with whatever was happening. But it didn't stop him wondering...if THEY had gotten in so easily, appeared out of nowhere...what if someone else had as well? What if there really was a third person, no association between them and the other two, sneaking around. Maybe that person had attacked Maggie. And if they attacked Maggie, maybe they attacked Andy as well?

"Andy? Andy! Andy!" he turned and spotted Andy a few feet away, his back to him, seeming to be staring at the plants growing in front of him, which wasn't odd because the man was basically the gardener, plants were his specialty, "There you are. Are you alright?" no, it wasn't that, it was the fact that, as he slowly approached the man, he could see that Andy was standing there dripping wet, "Andy?" he frowned, starting to think that perhaps one of the hoses had exploded and soaked the man...till he spotted that the water was pouring out of Andy's hands, "Andrew, look at me."

Andy turned slowly, Tarak gasping at the sight of his face...

~8~

Yuri played a video on the monitor of his computer, a young man speaking Russian, making him laugh, "Is that your brother?" Maggie asked, watching the feed, visible as Yuri stood just to the side of it.

"Well, it's only a repeat," he nodded, "The solar flares are still up," he glanced at her, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just...y'know..." she shrugged, unable to describe what she was feeling. Blah really.

"He makes me laugh, though," he looked back at the video, "It's his husband, he spends money like...an idiot!" behind him Maggie dropped her head and began to shake, though he didn't notice, his attention on the video, "Last year, for Mikhail's birthday, he said, 'Don't buy me anything. Let's save money.' Georg says, 'Fine, ok.' His birthday comes around, turns out Georg has bought him a car!" Maggie stilled, "Top of the range. And the thing is, he's used Mikhail's credit stamp! So Mik's saying, 'That means I bought it myself!' Georg says, 'It's the thought that counts!'"

Maggie's head came back up, her mouth cracked, yet dripping water, her eyes completely black, "Where does he live?"

"Oh, just outside Dagestan."

"Where's that?"

"On the Caspian Sea. Here you go," he pulled up a map, pointing to the area on it.

"By the sea," Maggie tilted her head, staring at the blue mixed with the green land.

"Well, technically it's more of a lake."

"Earth is so much water."

"Yeah. Just look at her. 40 million miles away," he sighed, the screen now showing Earth.

"It has so much beauty," Maggie said, her voice now distorted, "We should like that world."

Yuri frowned and turned to Maggie. His eyes widened in horror as he grabbed the comm., "This is sick-bay, we have a situation. Maggie's condition has...I don't know…I don't know what it is. It's water, just...pouring out."

"Yuri, calm down," Adelaide spoke over the comm., "Just tell me what's happened to her."

"The skin is...sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding water, like she's drowning."

~8~

"Tarak, this area's unsafe," Adelaide reported over the comm., "We're going back, Tarak? Tarak!"

"Where was he?" the Doctor asked, squeezing Angel's hand, "Angel?" he looked at her, hating to ask her to do this, knowing she was still frightened, knowing she wanted to leave, but that she was the only one who would be able to find her quickly enough.

She swallowed, taking a breath and pushed aside her fear, hoping that, possibly, she might be able to make it to Tarak before he was infected, better to die as a human than to die infected by an alien. She pulled him off, leading them on as they raced across the biodome floor towards the back door where Tarak had been looking, following Angel's feeling...

~8~

Ed entered the control area, speaking to Yuri over the comm., "Yuri, keep her contained. Seal the door at maximum. I'm on my way!"

~8~

Angel stopped short, Adelaide nearly running into her while the Doctor ran past. He looked back to see the two women staring at something and walked back. There was Tarak, on his knees, convulsing, while Andy had his hand out on the other man's head, pouring water on it. The Doctor and Adelaide slowly walked towards it, Angel staying back, staring at what was happening in wide eyed horror, knowing they were too late to help him.

She had been trying not to sense much, she didn't want to know. She didn't want to be constantly reminded of the upcoming disaster, and it had felt wrong. It had felt so wrong to try to NOT help someone. But she couldn't, it broke her hearts, but she couldn't...this wasn't like Pompeii, there weren't so many people out there that they could sneak a few past the laws of time without destroying the fixed point. There were only 9 of them, Maggie was already infected, Tarak and Andy were as well...

She winced.

...Mia, Yuri, and Roman turned to head out, Adelaide watching the now transformed Steffi walk towards them...

...Roman looked up at the ceiling just as a drop of water fell on his cheek...

...Maggie pulled the door to the shuttle open and aimed her hand at Ed, the water shooting at him...

She closed her eyes, biting her lip hard, trying not to cry. She could change it...she could run back there right now, out of the biodome, run to the central hub and shout at them to get to the rockets now, to pack up and be ready to go, to get off the planet before whatever happened happened...but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was a fixed point, it had to happen. It made her sick to her stomach to think of those poor humans that would die, knowing she could change it right then and there. But something inside her wouldn't let her. Something stopped her from doing it. She could feel it, if she even tried to take a step towards the exit, if she opened her mouth to call a warning...she wouldn't be able to do it. She wouldn't be able to take that step or speak a note, nothing at all. She didn't know why, it scared her to know she didn't have control of her body like that, but something inside her would NOT let this point be changed.

And that hurt, badly.

She wanted to save them, she wanted to save them all, and she knew she could. She'd seen it in her visions, she'd seen how the infection began, with the water, she knew who the next victims would be, she could save them...but she had to actively decide not to. It broke her hearts to do, but...perhaps it was her connection to the TARDIS, her affinity with time...she didn't know but...she could not change this fixed point.

It was meant to be, it had always been meant to be and always would be meant to be.

And the Time Lords, they had NO right to change that.

They couldn't, for the sake of time itself.

It really was a terrible burden to bear.

"Andy, just leave him alone," the Doctor pleaded, still hopeful he might be able to stop the alien infection, despite seeing the effects of it in Angel's mind, seeing the other crew falling prey to it. She had been able to alter her visions in the past, she'd seen people dying and pulled them away, why couldn't this be the same? If the base was meant to explode, why couldn't it be with humans in it and not empty shells left barely human by an alien plague?

"Step away from him," Adelaide ordered, raising her gun.

"I can help. I promise, I can help. Just leave that man alone."

"I order you to stop!"

"Andy, I'm asking you, please just take your hand away from him and listen to me."

"Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Andy looked up at them and removed his hand, Tarak collapsed to the ground.

"There now, that's better," the Doctor smiled tensely, realizing at that moment that Angel hadn't stepped closer with him, "Hmm? So, you must be Andy," he moved forward slowly, "Hello."

But then Tarak looked up at them, his face terrible, his mouth cracked, dripping water, his eyes white, just like Andy's was.

"We need to go," Angel called to them softly, her eyes on the converted men, horrified to see the transformation take place in front of her.

The Doctor and Adelaide ran back towards her, the three of them racing on, back towards the airlock, as Andy and Tarak gave chase. Adelaide ran in first, followed by the Doctor and Angel, slamming the door closed just as the two men reached it.

"Set the seals at maximum!" the Doctor ordered as Andy lifted his arm and blasted water at the door.

Angel jumped back, startled, as Andy walked to the door, looking at them through the window before pounding his fist against it.

~8~

Ed arrived in the sick-bay and looked at Maggie through the window, horrified as he watched the water pour out of her, "What the hell?!"

~8~

Steffi and Mia watched the sick-bay through the monitor, "That's not Maggie," Mia breathed, "What's happened to her?"

"Yuri," Steffi opened the comm., "What IS she? Captain, we need you back here."

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained," Adelaide called, "Can you confirm, Ed?"

"Confirmed," Ed stated, "She's locked in."

~8~

Adelaide let out a breath of relief, "Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets, don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

"Can you talk?" the Doctor wondered, staring at Andy through the glass before glancing back at Adelaide, "Human beings are 60 percent water, which makes them the perfect host."

"What for?"

"We don't know," Angel cut in, "And we won't ever...because we need to go," Angel looked over at the Doctor, speaking more to him than the captain, "Whatever happened, however it started, we can't see the end of it," her voice cracked, she could feel it in her bones, the end would destroy them both, "We can't!" she started to cry a bit, "I can't."

Because it would break her hearts.

She was the Angel, she was the one who saved those the Doctor couldn't, and it killed her more than anything to know that she couldn't save these men and women despite having the ability to.

'Please Theta,' she begged, shaking as he immediately walked over to her, his attention diverted to her, ignoring the men behind the door at the sight of his Mate so distressed, Adelaide watched him oddly as the man's entire focus shifted, like he was being pulled to the girl by a magnet and not resisting at all, 'Please, can we leave?' she asked him as he wound his arms around her, 'I don't want to stay here any longer. Please, I just want to go home.'

She looked down, starting to cry, feeling a bit frustrated with herself for doing so but unable to help it, everything was just too much, it was all too much. She couldn't stand it any longer. It would hurt, she knew it would hurt, everything was going to get worse from here and events had been set into motion, soon they wouldn't be able to stop it and the humans, those brilliant, daring, brave humans...their lives would be snuffed out forever.

She hated death, she hated it more than anything, and right now...she couldn't help but feel like SHE was responsible for it happening to them.

'Shh,' the Doctor tried to sooth her, running his hand through her hair as he held her tightly, tears in his eyes for the sorrow she was feeling, his other hand resting on her back, his thumb stroking circles into the small of her back, 'We'll leave,' he nodded, his hearts breaking for her. Angel was just so kind a soul, for her to be there, knowing what was coming, knowing that this one time they couldn't stop it, HE hated being there and Angel was always more sensitive than he was, 'We'll go,' he promised, 'I swear, right now, we'll leave and go back to the TARDIS,' he pulled away slightly and looked down at her, lifting her chin with his hand to look into her eyes, her grey eyes were like shining pools of liquid silver, the color magnified with her tears, 'We'll fly away, go anywhere you want, we'll visit anyone you want, even Mickey,' he tried to get her to laugh a bit, but she really was far too upset, 'I swear Nella, we'll go, right now, I'll take you away from this.'

And he would.

He didn't know how, what with their spacesuits hidden away, but he'd find a way, he'd get them back, he'd get her out, he'd take her home, and hold her the rest of the night, he'd do it, because she wanted to leave. He'd never been able to say no to her in the past, it was even worse now, everything inside him strived to make her happy, to see her smile and laugh, he had to make her happy for him to even begin to be happy as well.

And she was not happy at the moment.

And that devastated him.

Andy slammed his hand against the door, making the Time Lords jump, startled out of their moment as Tarak joined him, the two converted men opening their mouths and blasting water at the door's seals.

The Doctor pressed a kiss to Angel's forehead in promise, putting his arm around his shoulders as he turned to Adelaide, "This thing's airtight, yeah?"

"And therefore watertight," she nodded, trying not to look at the girl as she wiped at her eyes, not wanting to seem like she'd been crying. Her heart broke for the girl, she seemed truly scared of what was happening. She couldn't help but feel guilty about it, it was partially HER fault. The couple had wanted to leave but SHE had insisted they stayed, basically forced them to remain in the base against their will, and now the girl was trapped in the middle of a nightmare because she just wouldn't let them leave.

"Depends how clever the water is."

The control panel started sparking, "They're fusing the system!"

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor ordered and they ran out of the room, back down the dark corridor, the Doctor not letting go of Angel's hand as they fled. He closed the door to it right as Andy and Tarak made it through the other door and gave chase. The Doctor stopped by Gadget, pulling out his sonic, still not letting go of Angel's hand, the girl needed all the comfort he could give.

"Doctor, we haven't got time!"

"They can run faster than us, we need a lift!" he soniced the robot.

~8~

Roman felt a shock though his gloves, "Hey!"

~8~

"Gadget-gadget," the Doctor fiddled with some wires single-handedly, the sonic in between his teeth.

~8~

Roman jerked and screamed, feeling little shocks though his system.

~8~

"Get on behind me!" the Doctor called as he climbed on Gadget and Angel quickly jumped on behind him, trusting him implicitly.

"That thing goes at two miles an hour!" Adelaide argued.

"Not anymore! Trust me!"

Adelaide quickly took Angel's offered hand and climbed up behind him as well.

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Gadget-gadget!" the Doctor repeated as he started up the robot.

Flames shot out from the exhaust and left a trial of flames as the bot took off, the two men chasing after them.

~8~

Roman jerked, nearly electrocuted, as Gadget sped away, the shocks only disappearing when Gadget slowed down.

~8~

The Doctor opened a door at the end of the tunnel while Adelaide handled the control panel, "The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals," she remarked, "There's no way they can get in."

"Wait!" Angel called, "Gadget!"

"Come on, come on!" the Doctor gestured to Gadget as they made it inside a room.

"Gadget-gadget."

"I thought you hated robots!" Adelaide turned to the girl who could only shrug as Gadget trundled inside, the Doctor closing the door just as Andy and Tarak reached them, "We're safe. It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in."

"Water is patient, Adelaide," the Doctor replied, though his gaze was on Angel as she stood at the window of the door, looking sadly through it at Andy and Tarak, "Water just waits. It wears down the cliff tops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins," he reached out and gently took Angel's hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it, "Come on," he whispered, tugging her off to the other door.

"Biodome Tunnel is out of bounds," Adelaide called over the comm. as they ran, "Andy and Tarak are infected, repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if they make any move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome."

"Blimey, it's a distance," the Doctor muttered as the three of them jogged down the hall, "You could do with bikes in this place."

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel."

"Yeah, I know, but bikes…"

~8~

Adelaide, Angel, and the Doctor arrived in the sick-bay to see Ed watching Maggie as she stood at the window of the medical observation room, Angel's gaze immediately locking on the girl as well, "Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" Adelaide got right to it.

"No, just basic," Ed sighed.

"Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

"Pulse is low. Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

"Can she talk?"

"Don't know," Yuri shrugged, "She was before we noticed the change, but..."

"Maggie?" Adelaide eyed her, "Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

Maggie turned her head to look at the Doctor and Angel instead, hissing at Angel.

Angel flinched and stepped back, the Doctor putting his arm around her waist as he glared at the woman, "Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn!" he spoke quietly, his voice deep, sounding very much to the others as though there were a hint of a threat in it...and they'd be correct.

He did not like anyone upsetting his Mate.

Maggie's eyes narrowed.

"What language is that?" Ed asked.

"Ancient North Martian?" Angel guessed, looking at the Doctor as he nodded.

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"It's like she recognized it," Ed frowned.

"And her eyes are different," the Doctor squinted, "They're clear, like she's closer to human."

"Not close enough for me."

"Adelaide?" Angel began with a frown, "Where does your water come from?" it would probably be best to know which areas of the base to avoid.

"The ice field," she answered, "That's why we chose the crater, we're on top of an underground glacier."

"Tons of water," the Doctor huffed, thinking on that, now they were surrounding by water, "Marvelous."

"But every single drop is filtered," Yuri countered, "It's screened, it's safe."

"Looks like it, yeah," the Doctor remarked sarcastically.

"If something was frozen down there, a viral life form, held in the ice for all those years…" Ed started.

"Look at her mouth. All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it CREATES water," he turned to Maggie, "Tell me what you want."

"She was looking at the screen, at Earth," Yuri told them, "She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

"Captain, with me," Ed cut in, walking to the other side of the room as Adelaide followed, seeming rather unamused at being ordered about, "I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading. That demands Action Procedure One."

"You think I don't know that?" she nearly spat.

"I think you need reminding."

She sighed and rubbed her head, "Yeah."

"Well, at least I'm good for something."

"Now and again," she offered him a small smile.

"That's almost a compliment," he pointed out playfully, "Things must be serious."

"Sorry, sorry, but...Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?" the Doctor called, having eavesdropped on their conversation.

"We're going home," Adelaide nodded before speaking into the comm., "This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One, repeat to all crew members, this is Action One, with immediate effect. Evacuate the base."

~8~

An alarm blared in the base control room as Steffi stood and delegated duties, "I'll store the Central Computer, Mia, strip the cargo down to essentials. Roman, on your feet!"

"But we came all this way," Roman remarked from where he was repairing Gadget who had trundled in moments ago.

"Gadget-gadget!"

"And you can kiss that robot goodbye, it's too heavy," Steffi called, packing, "Now shove it in storage and hurry up!"

"Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?" Adelaide called over the comm..

"It's a 9-month flight, it'll take three hours to load what we need."

"You've got 20 minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the Biodome Tunnel," Steffi checked the monitor, "They're just...standing there, like they're waiting."

~8~

Adelaide nodded, "Keep an eye on them. And make that 20 minutes 15! Ed, line up the shuttle, go straight to ignition status."

"Doing it now," Ed rushed off.

"But what about Maggie?" Yuri shook his head, a feeling of unease settling in him.

Adelaide turned and packed supplies, "She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her onboard. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

The Doctor and Angel watched, sad and resigned, before the Doctor approached Adelaide, Angel's hand firmly in his, lending support, knowing there was one more thing they had to do before they could leave themselves, make sure the infection didn't spread to Earth, "Of course, the only problem is..." he started.

"Thank you, Doctor, yours and Angel's spacesuits will be returned. And good luck to you."

"The problem is, this thing is clever. It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the biodome, it chose the humans. You were chosen. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, no doubt so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..."

"Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth...one drop, just one drop…"

"But we're only presuming infection. If we can find out how this thing got through, when it got through...Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field," she headed for the door.

The Doctor stood there, squeezing Angel's hand as Yuri continued to pack, "We should leave," Angel turned to him, "Doctor, please, we need to leave."

He nodded slowly, "No point in us seeing the ice field. No point at all. No."

"Doctor…" Angel shook her head, "No."

But it was too late, he already ran off, shouting, "Adelaide!"

Angel closed her eyes a moment, letting out a sad breath, knowing why he'd gone after Adelaide. He was hoping that there might be something in the ice field that might hint at a cure or a reversal of the conversion. But she knew, things would only get much, much worse. She breathed in, steeling herself before she ran after him as well, catching up to him quickly, she couldn't let him be alone...SHE didn't want to be alone either, not now.

"All I'm saying is bikes. Little fold-away bikes. Don't weigh a thing."

Chapter Text

Yuri finished packing, trying to go as quickly as he could without missing anything important or looking over at Maggie as she just...watched him. For some reason, despite easily being able to get through the doors, she was just...standing there. He worked away, grabbing the last item and headed for the door, pausing with a wince. He hesitated a moment longer, debating with himself what he should do, what would be the smart thing...to walk out those doors right then and there, get as far away from Maggie as possible, and go help the others...or the right thing, offer whatever was left of Maggie as much of an apology as he could, because he refused to believe that every single thing of Maggie was gone.

He took a breath and turned around in the doorway to glance at Maggie, "I'm sorry," he offered her quietly, hoping some part of the woman had survived and heard it, that some part of the real Maggie might forgive him for following these terrible orders.

He swallowed and nodded to himself, shutting off the power and closing the door, locking it from the outside to keep the-thing-that-was-Maggie from following him right away. Red emergency lighting came on and Maggie went to the isolation room door, pressing her hands on the seams and shorting out the power...

~8~

Ed and Roman watched Maggie on the monitor of the control room, the video footage of the sick-bay still playing despite the powercut. Both of them were solemn, quiet, silently mourning the loss of Maggie, because both were certain that whatever had infected her, had destroyed everything that made her Maggie. Their friend, their crew member, was gone.

"Even if she gets past the Medical Dome, she'll never get past the Hardinger seal at this end, right?" Roman asked Ed, nervous.

Ed said nothing for a long while. Despite being the second-in-command, despite being so much older than most of the crew, and despite being seen as almost as bad a dictator as the captain was at times...he did care for the crew very much. He couldn't bring himself to tell Roman what he really thought, the boy...he was just a boy. He had heard Roman's life story, the boy who had dreamed of space, worked so hard to learn robotics, to become the best in his field for the chance to get out among the stars...he'd come to Mars the most excited of all of them, the most eager, the most innocent...and for this to happen...

He shook his head, he would protect the crew as long as he could, "So we keep saying," he remarked, being both honest and trying to make it not quite so bad...and then Maggie looked right at them.

They watched as she tilted her head to the side and, almost seemed to, smirk at them, before she held up her hand and fired a stream of water at the camera, cutting out the picture.

"Camera's down," he closed his eyes and rubbed his head, "We've lost her."

In more ways than one.

~8~

Maggie, or the thing that had taken her over, stepped past the door to the sick-bay and out into the hall, looking up and down it before she threw her head back, spreading her arms out before, and screeched, a loud, growling, echoing, sinister screech.

~8~

Andy and Tarak paused in their attempts to get through the door before them, hearing her despite the distance and the walls between them, and slowly turned, walking back towards the biodome.

They had taken over their hosts too quickly, it had left little time to assimilate the knowledge the two men had of the base. But the girl, the girl had taken longer to latch onto, the progress had been purposefully more slow when that fatal flaw in their plan had been discovered. As a result, she had access to the girl's memories, she knew the plans of the base, she knew just where they could go and what they could do to get in...

~8~

The Time Lords and Adelaide ran into a room, stopping short when they came to a railing right before the door, and looked down into an open space in the floor to see white ice in the middle of it.

Angel stared at it, feeling her stomach twist at the sight, instinctively knowing, 'That's it,' she breathed, the Doctor glancing at her as he heard her in his mind, 'It's in there. Whatever's infecting the crew, it's trapped in there, in the ice...frozen...'

She swallowed hard, feeling tears in her eyes at the image of the crew being converted, Steffi and Roman and Ed...her hearts were breaking just thinking of it, and to see it, the ice, the cause for it...she wanted to leave. She didn't want to be there, she didn't want to see the ice, to be there at the source of it all. She was not a biased person, not at all, not since the Cybermen, since she'd been reminded of the humans within them, she didn't like to label things as good or evil but...that ice...the thing inside it...it made her feel sick. It made her feel like true evil existed, because the infection, it wasn't just a species trying to find a new home, it was an invader seeking to conquer the Universe, to infect every single planet, every single life form...to kill the thing within them, the souls of the people they took over.

It wasn't just going to borrow a host and leave them be later, it wasn't going to lock the memories away, it wasn't even going to just kill them...no...it wanted to destroy them from the inside out, it wanted to hollow out the person they were and take over completely. And that was wrong, that was just...SO wrong and cruel and...and evil.

"They tell legends of Mars," the Doctor began, moving closer to Angel and pulling her into his arms, just...holding her to him.

He could have argued with himself that Angel didn't have to be there, to expose herself to the ice that was tearing her apart to be near, but...he knew her...she would never have let him face this alone, to run about and be left open to an attack without any warning. She'd come, for him, and it was hurting her to be there. He just wanted to find out what was going on and leave, get her out of there, get her as far away as possible and...let the series of events handle themselves. Because, clearly, a fixed point had been set in motion and, while certain details within could change, the overall outcome would always happen. The crew might die as aliens or as humans as long as they were all in the base when it exploded, as terrible as that was.

"From long ago, of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow, the Ice Warriors."

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide cut in, heading down into the area around the ice.

"Perhaps they found something down there. Used their might and their wisdom to freeze it."

Angel closed her eyes, getting the feeling that they had used more than their might and wisdom, not many Ice Warriors appeared on Mars, it was almost like they were a dying breed. And now she felt like she might know why, their greatest battle, to lock away the parasite, had taken more from them than they let on, it had taken the lives of a few brave warriors.

"Doctor!" she cut in again, walking over to a computer, "We need to find any sort of change in the water process. We've got to date the infection."

The Doctor sighed and walked beside her as Angel stood to his right, watching as he tried to access the computer with just one hand, his other refusing to let hers go, while Adelaide worked on another monitor, "Access denied," it beeped.

Angel frowned, swallowing as she reluctantly lifted his hand holding hers and kissed his scarred knuckles, before gently prying his fingers open, moving his hand back to the keyboard as he looked at her sharply for the move.

'Just...' she began, 'Just find out what's going on, quickly.'

And that was all she said. He nodded, leaning over to kiss her hair a moment, resting his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, for just a second, before he returned his attention to the computer, using both hands to hack into it, his fingers flying across the keys.

"You don't look like cowards," Adelaide spoke, especially not the man, he was as determined as anything to face down whatever crossed him if it meant protecting the girl with him, a sweet gesture, the girl seemed more timid but she could sense an aura of protectiveness around her, like she just wanted to keep people safe, she'd have to be brave to do that, "But all you've wanted to do is leave. You know so much about us."

"Well, you're famous," he remarked.

"It's like you know more."

"I'm psychic," Angel added quietly, speaking out loud for the first time in quite a few minutes.

The Doctor winced, her voice was hoarse, not the same hoarse it had been when she'd been ill, but...the sort that happened when you'd been crying or were about to cry. This whole thing really was getting to her and all he wanted to do was just...make her feel better, cheer her up, but he knew the only way she'd have been happy was to leave (and even then she'd be devastated about what was going to happen) or to save the remaining humans in the base, which was impossible give the nature of the fixed point. It really was a lose-lose situation.

He hated those.

"There's no such thing," Adelaide scoffed.

Angel looked up, feeling something shift inside the Doctor, and looked at him, 'Be careful,' she warned, knowing what he wanted to do, not needing to be psychic to do it, but just knowing him. She wanted to offer Adelaide and the crew some sort of comfort too but she didn't trust herself not to give away too much, she was too upset at the moment and she knew that was when people made mistakes. They couldn't afford one, one wrong word could destroy everything, and time was already more sensitive with it being a fixed point.

He nodded, speaking even as he worked on, "This moment, this precise moment in time, it's like...I mean, it's only a theory. What do I know? But I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand. This base, on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen."

"Which is what?" Adelaide eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't know. I think something wonderful happens," he glanced at her a moment, "Something that started 50 years ago, isn't that right?"

Adelaide stiffened, "I've never told anyone that."

"You told your daughter," he returned his attention to the screen, finding he could be more careful of his words if he wasn't looking at her, "And maybe, one day, she tells the story to her daughter, of the day the Earth was stolen and moved across the Universe and saved by an angel," he smiled and glanced at Angel as she blushed slightly.

It seemed that what she had done, saving the 27 planets from the Daleks, had been so powerful that, well, it had reverberated through space, to all the 27 planets. They'd discovered that, when talking to the Nobles, that they had been standing outside, staring up at the sky, all of them afraid of the Daleks when suddenly...they just felt...safe, like they knew it would be ok, like they were protected. Checking the TARDIS afterwards, of the moment the humans claimed to have felt that flash of emotion, it coincided with Angel's regeneration kicking in. Doing some minor snooping on the other worlds had told them much the same, each and every planet had felt, in their darkest hour, that it would all work out in the end, like...there was some sort of spirit, an angel, watching over them, that would keep them safe and see them returned hom.

Angel had flat out refused to let him tell anyone that it had been her, had literally dragged him away and to the TARDIS before he could mention a word of it. He hadn't understood why, she'd done a remarkable thing, save billions of lives 27 times over, but didn't want anyone to know? She'd just said that she hadn't done it for the praise, but just because it was the right thing to do, because she wanted the planets to be safe again...and pointed out he was the exact same way. Neither of them wanted praises or stories sung about them and, for her, just knowing the people were safe again was enough. His hearts had nearly burst at that, she was so modest, to think she had the chance to be renowned throughout the Universe, songs sung in her honor, and she'd turned it down. But that was Angel all over.

The Trickster had been right, she was truly becoming a legend in herself now. Not only did all those people she had saved, the ones he'd failed to save, know of her and tell stories of her, but other species knew what she'd done to the Daleks, a few always seemed to survive and anyone who encountered them were sure to hear of their 'greatest enemy' which had honestly surprised him that it was no longer considered to be HIM. But, then again, with the Vortex inside her Angel was a force to be reckoned with...a rather lovely force in a tiny body with amazing eyes and the biggest hearts he'd ever known. And then, to add that sense the 27 planets had, even if they hadn't known it was HER specifically, they knew of her at least, in some small way.

'Keep typing Theta,' Angel's voice echoed in his mind, 'You're nearly there.'

He shook himself out of his thoughts to see that, in thinking on her, he'd become distracted, as he often was, and stopped typing. He turned back to the monitor, getting back to work, continuing to Adelaide, "And you..."

"I saw the Daleks," Adelaide began, "We looked up, the sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me..." she thought back to when the Daleks attacked and her father had carried her to a room, "He told me to stay put, that he had to find my mother. He promised to come back, but…I never saw him again. Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window. And there in the sky..." she swallowed hard, remembering the Dalek that had hovered right outside her window, "I saw it, Doctor. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then...it simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"But not for revenge."

"What would be the point of that?"

The Doctor nodded, "You're just like Angel, you've no desire for revenge. That's what makes you remarkable. And that's how you create history."

"Doctor…" Angel cut in, shaking her head softly at him, he was getting a bit too close now. He just reached out and took her hand.

'It's ok,' he reassured her.

Adelaide...she was the one who set the base to explode, she was the one who would knowingly never be able to see her daughter or granddaughter again, she needed the comfort of knowing her family would be ok more than anyone, because she would have to be the one to push the button. That had been the ONLY thing that let him time-lock Gallifrey, KNOWING that the fate of the Universe depended on it, knowing that it was his once chance to stop the Daleks and the then-corrupt Time Lords.

"What do you mean?" Adelaide frowned.

"Imagine it, Adelaide," the Doctor looked at her, "If you began a journey that takes the Human Race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you. And then your granddaughter, you inspire her so that, in 30 years, Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light-speed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere. With her children and her children's children forging the way to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Water Snake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will fall in love with a Tandonian prince, and that's the start of a whole new species. But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From 50 years ago, to right here, today. Imagine."

"Who are you? Why are you telling me this? Doctor, why tell me?"

"As consolation."

Angel closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his shoulder, trying to keep the tears in. She had to stop crying, she had to be strong, things...were going to get so much worse, and she couldn't break down because of it. She had to be strong because...if she wasn't, the Doctor would break entirely.

The computer beeped and a video of Andy showed up.

"Andy Stone," Adelaide turned back to it, "He logged on yesterday."

"Water 3," Angel murmured, not opening her eyes, even as Adelaide looked at her curiously.

"Maintenance log, 21.20, November 2059," Andy said as he stood in the biodome, "Number 3 water filter's bust," Adelaide stared at Angel, wide eyed, "And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out," he shut off the camera.

"How did you know that?" Adelaide demanded.

"I told you," Angel took a breath and opened her eyes, "I'm psychic."

"Tell me how you knew!" Adelaide's eyes narrowed, clearly not believing her.

Angel sighed, "The carrot," she began, coming up with some sort of excuse Adelaide might actually listen to, "It was lying right in front of the water tower 3's pipe. Andy must've washed it with the contaminated water and taken that bite out of it."

"A filter," the Doctor muttered, "One tiny little filter and then the flood."

"But that means the infection arrived today," Adelaide realized, "And the water's only cycled out of the biodome after a week. The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave!" she lifted her comm., "Ed, we're clean! How are we doing?"

"Shuttle's active, stage one!" Ed stated, "I haven't got time to convey the protein packs. If you want food you're gonna have to carry it by hand. Start loading! Right now!"

~8~

The trio was running back down the tunnel, "You were right, Doctor," Adelaide laughed.

"What about?"

"Bikes!" she cheered.

Angel was quiet.

~8~

Yuri, Mia, Roman, and Steffi were packing as quickly as they could while Ed ran the shuttle through its checks, when Adelaide ran in, immediately going into a side compartment and unlocking it, pulling out the spacesuits which she handed to the Doctor and Angel, "Now get to your ship," Adelaide told them, "I'm saving my people, you save yourselves. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."

The Doctor could only stand by the door, Angel at his side, and watch the goings on, unable to bring himself to move, both of them just...devastated to see Adelaide so full of hope, both of them knowing it was too late for them to escape. They still had minutes before Adelaide had told them to be ready leave, in that time...so much could happen.

"Come on!" Yuri yelled.

"How many do we need?" Steffi asked.

~8~

Tarak climbed a ladder to the roof of the base, Andy behind him, both unaffected by the harsh environment or lack of air of Mars.

~8~

The crew ran around, calling to each other as they prepared to leave, "Roman, what about you?" Adelaide called.

"Protein-packs 30 to 36," Roman reported, pushing them into a bin.

Angel looked over at the alarm beeping, displaying two life forms on the roof, Andy and Tarak, and her gaze turned to Steffi, recalling how the water had been pouring down on her...

"Steffi, ditch the central containers. We don't need them."

"Units 41, 42 and 43," Steffi called.

"Unit 41 is here," Mia shouted.

"I'll swap them around," Roman rushed over.

"Roman try to condense the oxygen membranes, we can lose ten pounds," Adelaide added, "Faster! Come on! Ed," she turned to the man as he ran in to help, "How's the fuel jets?"

"Cooling down in about 30 seconds," Ed reported.

~8~

Andy and Tarak stopped near the center of the roof and fell to their knees, putting their hands on the surface, letting the water pour out of them.

~8~

"What the hell's that noise?" Adelaide shouted suddenly, "Mia, you lot, shut up."

Everyone fell quiet, listening to the beeping of the alarm, "It's the module sensors," Ed ran over, "Exterior as well. The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us."

"That means...they're on the roof?" Steffi looked up with the rest of the crew.

~8~

Water seeped out of Andy and Tarak's hands, pouring from their mouths like hoses as they fired it at the roof.

~8~

"How did they get inside the dome?" Roman shook his head.

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed sighed.

"The shaft's open, they haven't got spacesuits," Mia gasped, reaching for Yuri's hand, something the Doctor couldn't help but notice, his own hand was in Angel's.

"They breathe water."

"But they'd freeze!" Steffi stated.

"They've got that internal fission," Yuri shook his head.

"Are we safe?" Mia swallowed, "They can't get through, can they?" the ceiling groaned, "Can they?!"

"This place is airtight!" Roman shouted.

"Can it get through?" Steffi looked over at Ed, "Ed? Can it get through?"

"I don't know!" he huffed, "Water itself isn't motile, but it has some resistance..."

"Everyone, listen to me!" Adelaide cut in, "That's ten feet of steel-combination up there. We need all the protein-packs or we'll starve. Now keep working!" they all rushed back to their jobs, "Roman, watch the ceiling!"

Angel winced, looking at Roman, a single drop had been all it took for him to fall...

"Ed, get to the shuttle, fire it up."

"I can carry more than this lot, Captain," Ed remarked.

"That's an order!"

"Captain," he nodded before turning to the door, looking back at Adelaide with a smile. Yuri helped Mia while Roman kept an eye on the ceiling. Adelaide looked up and saw the two aliens standing there, but kept on working.

Angel turned and tugged the Doctor's hand, slowly leading him out of the door, unable to bear being there any longer.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel entered an airlock, wearing their spacesuits, the door sliding closed behind them as the Doctor started the process to open the outer door.

"Access denied," he pushed the button again, "Access denied."

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide's spoke over the speakers.

"We don't know," he stated.

"Yes, you do. And even if you don't, she's apparently psychic. Now tell me."

"You need to be with your crew captain," Angel said quietly.

"Tell me! I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you."

"You won't though."

"You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't," the Doctor nodded, "I loved you for that. Imagine...imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere, I don't know, Pompeii. Imagine you were in Pompeii."

"What the hell's that got to do with it?" Adelaide scoffed.

"And you tried to save them but, in doing so, you make it happen. Anything I do just makes it happen."

"Doctor this wasn't our fault," Angel told him quietly, "This started long before we showed up," it had started yesterday, that filter would have caused the same events, the unfiltered water would have been cycled out regardless.

"Captain, we need you right now!" Steffi yelled.

"I'm still here," Adelaide stated.

Angel swallowed hard, 'You can't tell her...'

The Doctor sighed, screwing his eyes shut, 'I have to,' he squeezed her hand, 'I need to make her see what's happening, what has happened...she...she CAN'T keep us here Angel. I won't let her kill you,' he looked at her, 'I will do anything to protect you.'

She closed her eyes this time, it was just like in 1913, and it was even worse because of the completion of the Mating, he literally would do anything, regardless of the consequences, if it meant protecting her. And the worst thing was, the instinct was so powerful, it would take something drastic to break through it.

"You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is..."

"Detonation," Adelaide breathed.

"The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the 21st November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy, because you die, on Mars. You die today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"I won't die. I will not."

"But your death creates the future."

"Help me. Why won't you help, Doctor, if you know all of this? If you saw this happening Angel, why didn't you change it?"

"We can't," Angel whispered, "It's against the laws to alter a fixed point."

"Why can't you find a way? Tell me!"

"Adelaide, I swear, we can't," the Doctor cut in, half-snapping at the woman, feeling Angel start to shake beside him, hearing the woman basically blaming her for what was happening, "I'm sorry, but we can't. Sometimes we can, sometimes I do, and most of the time Angel succeeds where I fail. Most times, we can save someone. Or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed, in time, forever. And that's right."

"You'll die here too."

"No."

"What's gonna save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke."

"Damn you," she spat, releasing the computer lock.

The airlock doors creaked open.

~8~

"Water!" Roman cried, "We've got water!"

Adelaide rushed out to see water running down the walls, "Captain!" Mia shouted, "Get back! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it, Roman! Don't let it touch you!" she pulled Roman back with Yuri and Steffi.

"Get back!" Adelaide commanded, "We're abandoning this section. Get to the shuttle! Yuri, lead the way, Section B Corridor, now," Yuri opened the door to where they stored everything, only for water to pour through the doorway, "Close it!" he did so.

"Yuri, did that water touch you?" Steffi asked.

"I'm safe," he shook his head.

"Did it touch you? Yuri, did that water touch you?"

"I'm clean, I'm dry."

~8~

Angel closed her eyes tightly, they could still hear everything.

~8~

"Everyone, Section B is out," Adelaide ordered, "Listen to me! Take every pack that you can. We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F."

They started to gather the packs, "Transferring authorization, Section F," Steffi called, "Mia you take the redline stock! And hurry up!" she ran to join the group from the office where she'd been standing...

Only for water to pour out of the ceiling, blocking her path.

"Steffi, go!" Yuri shouted.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia cried.

"Get back!"

"Steffi, keep back!" Adelaide ordered.

"Get back!" Yuri yelled.

"Steffi!"

"Just get back! Steffi!"

"Get back!" Mia cried.

"Just get back!" Adelaide told her, "Hurry!"

Steffi backed up to the enclosed communications center, "You'll be safer in there!" Mia told her.

"Just shut the door!" Roman agreed, "Close the door!" and Steffi did.

"Steffi, we'll come get you, ok?" Adelaide called, "We'll come get you! Steffi!"

"Captain!" Steffi gasped.

"We'll open the access panel. We'll get you out through the back," she turned to the crew, "Get her out! Move it!"

"Captain, it's inside!" Steffi sobbed, backing away from the door as water began to seep in.

"Steffi!" Roman yelled.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia pleaded, "Steffi!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stepped outside the airlock and onto the planet surface.

"We're coming!" Adelaide told her over the comm., "Steffi, hold on!"

"The access panel's fused, Captain," Roman breathed, "We can't open it."

"We can't get through!" Yuri called.

"Don't!" Steffi wept, "Don't, please!"

"There's nothing we can do."

"I can't move!"

With a terrible breath, they started walking away.

~8~

Steffi was pressed against the wall and pressed a button on the monitor, playing a video of her daughters, "Hallo, Mutti," one said, "Hallo, Mars!" she turned to the other girl, "Sag hallo," and back, just talking to her mother.

The water hit Steffi on the back and she sobbed.

~8~

Angel winced, listening to Steffi's daughter continue in German, the two little girls who were about to lose their mother. She let out a stifled sob at that, she knew all too well how that felt.

The Doctor took her hand, his hearts breaking, wishing there was something, anything, he could do to ease Angel's sorrow...

Chapter Text

"Steffi, can you hear me?" Adelaide yelled, wishing desperately to run to the glass walls of the small space Steffi was trapped in and smash them down, free her...but there was water everywhere, dripping down the walls, from the ceiling within the small space, and...she couldn't risk it. As much as that killed her to think on, she could not risk being contaminated, being infected or converted or whatever it was, because the crew needed her. She was their captain, she was the one they looked to for strength and guidance and reassurance.

If SHE was lost...everything would be for nothing...

And so, she had to close her eyes for a moment, not wanting to see it happen, not wanting to watch it happen, not wanting to witness Steffi being taken over by the alien parasite. Unfortunately, the crew could not be so lucky and watched in horror as the woman shook, convulsing, her eyes rolling into her head, as she was transformed before their eyes, the skin around her mouth cracking, the color of her eyes disappearing, as she turned to them, luckily still trapped in the space and unable to get to them and attack.

"Oh, my God," Mia cried.

"Out!" Adelaide opened her eyes and turned to her crew, pushing them, "Get out!" Mia, Yuri, and Roman turned to head out while she watched the now transformed Steffi walk towards them. She picked up the comm., "Ed, we're going round the long way, how are we doing?"

"All systems online, 100 percent," he called, "Not a single delay! Don't you worry, Captain, we are gonna fly!"

Adelaide swallowed, watching as Steffi pressed her hands against the glass, testing it, before screeching and moving back, holding out her hands as she blasted at the glass. And she knew, it would only be a matter of time before the thick, protective glass shattered.

~8~

As the shuttle's rockets powered up, blasting out the fire that would prepare it for liftoff, the Doctor and Angel turned away from the base and walked on. The Doctor looked ahead, trying to be strong as he felt Angel clutch his hand tightly, she was shaking, he could hear her trying to bite back a sob, feel her try to hold in her sorrow and pain at what was happening. His hearts broke for her, he should have left earlier, he should have done whatever he could to get them out as soon as they realized it was Bowie Base One...

This was his fault.

It was HIS fault his Mate was in pain, something he had sworn he would never cause her.

"I need air in Section F right now," Adelaide shouted.

"Locking chamber three," Yuri reported, "Locking chamber four."

"Keep looking!"

"Gate five is open!" Roman added, "Gate six is open!"

Angel winced at the sound of Roman's voice, the boy was the youngest of the group, he was just a child compared to them. She could remember it on Gallifrey, all the young boys falling like flies against the Daleks, and this was no different, the boy...he was going to perish at the hands of an alien as well. The explosion that tore the base apart wouldn't kill him, he'd already be dead, the moment the transformation took effect, there would be nothing left of him. Roman had been a little genius, building Gadget, so creative, so young...

Her nephew...he was always building little things with his toys, his favorites were the little robots, like Gadget, she didn't doubt that, one day, he might have grown to be something like Roman, a wiz with robotics. He'd never get that chance, and now Roman wouldn't get the chance to live his life.

She felt the Doctor squeeze her hand again and walked on, they had to get out of there...if they could just make it to the TARDIS before...before it all fell apart...

~8~

Roman looked around to make sure they had everything, not wanting to be responsible for something going wrong or them not having enough food on the trip back, "Quickly, come on!" Yuri called.

"I've got 25 to 30 lockdown," Mia relied.

Roman looked up at the ceiling...just as a drop of water fell on his cheek.

"Roman, come on, with me," Adelaide turned to him, seeing him unmoving.

"You'd better go," he swallowed hard, trying to hold back tears.

"Don't just stand there, move!"

"You'd really better go without me," he said, blinking, one tear falling from his eye, washing the drop of water that had fallen on him away...but it was too late, he knew it, "I'm sorry, Captain. One drop."

~8~

The Doctor closed his eyes, trying to walk faster, needing to get Angel out of there, he could feel it, something breaking within her at the sound of Roman half-crying as he tried to be brave. This was killing her to witness, to experience, he had to get her out, he had to stop it, everything inside him was screaming at him to do whatever he could to make her feel better, to take the pain away, to make it stop...

~8~

"Roman!" Mia shouted as Roman started to shake, "Roman!"

Yuri grabbed Mia and pulled her back, his eyes on Roman as he too began to convulse, worse than Steffi had, more violent, he could tell the boy was fighting it. Roman loved them all, was like a kid brother to them, like a son to Ed, he cared about them more than even Gadget, and he knew that boy would fight that infection tooth and nail with everything in him. No matter how painful it was, and it looked plenty painful. He swallowed hard, tears in his eyes when he saw Roman slump forward, heaving, and turn his head to them, his eyes white, his mouth cracked, grinning at them.

"Leave him, come on."

"We can't just leave him!" Mia wept, not wanting to believe it had gotten Roman too.

"Sorry. Come on."

"Let me go!" Mia struggled, not wanting to lose another person, Roman was so young, younger than her, he was like a little brother to her...she couldn't lose him! Not after losing Steffi and Maggie...

"I can't let you go."

"Roman!"

"I'm so sorry," Yuri pulled her out of the room, Adelaide following.

~8~

Angel stumbled and fell to the ground, feeling like she couldn't breathe, she knew what came next, the terrible burden of her powers, she knew what would happen, who it would happen to, what would come of it. Ed...Ed was going to fall next, Ed, who was their only chance at escaping...was going to stop it from getting to Earth. None of them on the base would survive Ed being lost.

The Doctor moved to his knees beside her, holding her, letting her cry, rubbing her back, trying to get her to breathe again, tears in his own eyes, more for the distress his Mate was in than the fate of the humans. Angel was just too kind a soul, this was literally killing her to listen to, to hear everything happening. Had he known the comms. would be left open, he would have made sure he had the sonic in hand instead of in his pocket in his suit and turned them off.

He closed his eyes tightly, rocking her back and forth, his hearts breaking for her...

~8~

Maggie pulled the door to the shuttle open and aimed her hand at Ed, the water shooting at him. It was too sudden, far too sudden, the man had no time to react, no time to try and shield himself, no time to counter...and that was just what Maggie wanted. None of them would have thought to protect the rocket from the outside.

Ed groaned, slamming a hand on a button and the door Maggie was sticking in, slammed shut, forcing her out and locking. He closed his eyes, held them shut tight, feeling the change start, and refused to let it. He grabbed the comm., "Captain. The shuttle is down."

"What the hell do you mean?!" Adelaide shouted back, a note of alarm in her voice.

"Compromised. It was Maggie."

"Get out of there!"

"Too late. They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice," he hit a few buttons, fighting the change, fighting it harder than he'd ever fought anything in his life, "Hated it, Adelaide," he groaned, "This bloody job. Oh! You never gave me a chance. You never could forgive me," he reached for a button, his eyes already changing, "See you later," he slammed his hand down on it, destroying the shuttle, taking him with it.

~8~

The entire base shook from the blast, sending Mia, Yuri, and Adelaide to their knees, falling into walls, covering their eyes and faces as explosions went off around them, alarms blaring, fires rising...

~8~

The Doctor and Angel were knocked to the ground quite a few feet away by the explosion, Angel in the Doctor's arms, shaking...

~8~

Electronics sparked as Adelaide, Yuri, and Mia fell to the floor completely, taking cover with what little they had around them from falling debris as air began to escape out of the breaches in the walls.

~8~

Angel let out a strangled sob, seeming like she was trying to cover her face with her hands but unable to, "They're all going to die," she whimpered, the guilt crushing her.

The Doctor gasped, feeling that, feeling her blame herself, feeling her think it was all because of her. If she had been sharp enough, she could have worked out some way to get them out without revealing it all to Adelaide, if she had just used enough of her foresight to help, the crew would have died humans, sat up and looked back at the devastation, if she had just sensed for the time, they never would have been in the base...

It was all her fault...

And his hearts broke to hear her think that, to put it all on her. She didn't...she didn't even blame him at all...

~8~

The loss of air pressure pulled the three crew members towards the holes in the side of the base, "We're losing oxygen!" Yuri cried, "The hull is broken!"

~8~

The Doctor closed his eyes, feeling something swarm through him...determination...

His Mate was in trouble, his Mate was in distress, his Mate was hurt...

It was his job to stop that.

And, as he laid on the ground, amidst flaming debris, he realized...he could.

He could do it.

He could stop it.

He could stop it all for Angel.

Because the laws of time meant nothing, absolutely nothing, when it came to your Mate. Mating was the most powerful experience in a Time Lord's life, the most sacred bond on Gallifrey, Mating trumped everything, even the laws.

At least in his mind.

And would would stop him? Really? Who could stop him? He and Angel were the last of the Time Lords, there was no one else, no one to uphold the laws, no one to punish him should he break them.

And he would, he would break them, he would save the humans, because Angel was devastated that they were about to die...

And he would do anything for her.

"No," he heard Angel breath, and turned to see her looking at him with sad eyes, tears in her eyes, shaking her head frantically, "We can't save them."

He looked at her a moment, his mind clouded with thoughts of nothing but easing her pain, so much so that he just...couldn't understand why she would say that, THAT was what was hurting her, that they couldn't save them, but...

"We could," he argued, "We can go back there right now and save them all."

"No," she swallowed, shivering at the tone of his voice, calm, far too calm, far too...not him, "We can't. I can't."

She couldn't, that same feeling was rising up inside her, the same one she'd gotten before when she'd briefly, for a second, considered trying to save the humans. It wouldn't let her. She couldn't even push herself onto her legs, shaky though she knew they'd be, to try and help him, not that she would.

As much as that feeling inside her wouldn't let her help...SHE knew she couldn't help either. SHE didn't want to. She couldn't...she was...she'd always had that affinity with time...this was fixed, this had to happen, SHE couldn't change it.

"Then I will," he reached out and took her hand, actually smiling at her, "Everything will be alright Nella," he promised her, squeezing her hand before he stood, "I'll make sure it is."

And with that, he turned and walked back towards the base, a look of determination on his face, he'd see to it that his Mate wasn't in pain any more.

"Doctor!" Angel shouted, managing to push herself onto her knees, but he ignored her.

She could only stare in horror as he walked away from her, she knew...that wasn't her Doctor...that was the darkness within him, that was every bit of darkness inside of him, warped by the Mating instinct...

~8~

An alarm blared as Yuri, Mia, and Adelaide held onto anything they could to keep them from getting sucked out, when the Doctor appeared, "Mia, take this sealant, fix that rig!" he handed her a container, "Yuri, open emergency oxygen. Adelaide, don't just sit there!" he helped her up as Mia and Yuri did as instructed, "That's better! The dome's still got integrity! It's 10 feet of steel-combination, made in Liverpool. Magnificent workmanship!"

"It can't be stopped," Adelaide argued, "Don't die with us."

"No, because someone told me just recently, they said I was gonna die. They said, 'he will knock four times,' and I know what that means, well I would, my Mate's psychic you know. And it doesn't mean right here, right now! 'Cos I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?!" three loud clangs sounded on the door, "Three knocks is all you're getting!" he shouted, pulling a lever and electrifying the door, making Andy scream and fall to the ground on the other side of it, "Water and electricity, bad mix. Now then, what else have we got?"

"But there's no way to fight them!"

"Heat! They use water, so we can use heat!" he pressed a button on the computer before rushing around the room, "Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the flood. We'll ramp up the environment controls and steam them!"

"But you said we die! For the future, for the Human Race."

"Yes, because there are laws. There are Laws of Time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me and Angel! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine and they will obey me!"

~8~

Angel gasped as she fell against the doors of the TARDIS, struggling to get them open, "Please," she begged, grabbing the handle, "Please I need to stop him..."

The doors opened and she stumbled inside, the TARDIS humming loudly around her though, for once, she couldn't listen, she had to focus...

~8~

The base shook again and the Doctor fell to the ground, his helmet smashing on it.

"Environment controls are down!" Adelaide reported, "Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas."

He leapt up, "Not beaten yet! I'll go outside! Look at the heat regulator," he picked up his helmet to see it broken, "No, not beaten, not beaten!" he threw it to the floor, "You've got spacesuits, in the next section," he ran out the door but was stopped by the water, running back in, "We're not just fighting the flood, we're fighting time itself and I'm gonna win!"

~8~

Maggie raised her arms above her head as she stood at the ice field, and roared, the ice below her beginning to crack.

~8~

"Something's happening to the glacier!" Yuri called.

"Think, think, think, a think!" the Doctor grew frustrated, "What have we got? Not enough oxygen! Protein-packs? Useless! Glacier, glacier mints, minty, matey, Monty, molto bene, bunny, Bonny, bish-bash-bosh! Baaaaaaah! The room, the room, look at the room! Section F, what's in Section F? Anyone?!"

"Nothing, it's just storage."

"Storing what?!"

"I don't know. The weather spikes, robots, atom clamps…"

"Atom clamps? Atom clamps!?" he opened a storage compartment and beamed, seeing Gadget there, "Who needs atom clamps? I love a funny robot!"

"Gadget-Gadget."

~8~

Angel collapsed at the back of the console, falling to her knees in the middle of trying to set a course to the base, grabbing her head in pain as her hands swirled with golden energy, rippling off her erratically.

"No," she murmured, begging, pleading, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no you can't...Doctor you can't!"

~8~

The Doctor put something on Gadget's pincer hand, "You take that. Good boy."

"Gadget-gadget."

He put the control glove on, "Off we go then!"

"Gadget-gadget!" the robot bolted off as Adelaide's attention was brought to the warning screen on the computer near her, she stared at it a moment, and back at the Doctor, recalling what he'd said about Action Five.

Gadget trundled down a path, past the water and flames and out of the base as Adelaide turned to the computer and began to type.

"Come on, come on!"

"Implementing Captain's protocol," the computer called.

The Doctor spun around to see Adelaide typing something into the computer, "Adelaide, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, my God," Mia stared, "Action Five?!"

"If I have to fight you as well, then I will," the Doctor threatened.

Adelaide just hit enter.

"Nuclear device now active and primed," the computer beeped, "Nuclear device now active and primed."

The Doctor flashed his sonic on the control panel, "Blast off!"

~8~

"Gadget-gadget!" Gadget blasted off, turbo speed, and jetted away.

~8~

"Faster!" the Doctor shouted, watching as Gadget sped across the red dust on the monitor.

~8~

Andy, Tarak, Steffi, and Roman joined in Maggie's roar.

~8~

Angel gasped, her eyes snapping open, swirling with golden light, hearing a thump against the doors of the TARDIS...

~8~

The base shook, throwing Adelaide to the floor. The Doctor beamed as Gadget reached the TARDIS. Yuri grabbed a fire extinguisher, blasting it against the small fires that had started around them.

"Nuclear device entering final process."

Gadget raised its hand, holding the TARDIS key, as the Doctor maneuvered it to slip into the door, "And we're in!" he cheered, driving Gadget to the console, barely even registering Angel on the ground in the background. The TARDIS disappeared as the countdown reached 22 seconds and reappeared in the base.

~8~

The countdown reached 0 and the base exploded.

~8~

It was snowing on a nice little suburban street when the TARDIS materialized. The Doctor thrust open the doors and strolled out, followed by Adelaide, Mia, and Yuri. They all looked around as the Doctor waited for comments.

"Isn't anyone going to thank me?" he asked as Gadget slowly moved out and turned off, "He's lost his signal. Doesn't know where he is."

"That's my house," Adelaide pointed, shocked to see her house right there.

"Don't you get it? This is the 21st November 2059. Same day on Earth," he looked up at the snow, "And it's snowing. I love snow. Especially Angel in the snow, my Christmas Angel she is, makes the most lovely snow angels too," he beamed happily, thinking of how thrilled she must be to have the humans safe and sound, well, not all of them, but they were ok now, they were alive. Oh, he couldn't wait to see the smile on Angel's face when she stepped out of the TARDIS...

Where was she, by the way?

"What is that thing?" Mia stared at the TARDIS, terrified, "It's bigger...I mean, it's bigger on the inside! Who the hell are you?" she turned and ran away.

Yuri started after her but stopped and looked at Adelaide, "Look after her," Adelaide nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Yuri ran after her.

"You saved us," Adelaide eyed the Doctor.

"Just think though," he laughed, "Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again. Family reunion!"

Oh Angel would be SO happy for that! That Adelaide would get to see her daughter and granddaughter. That they would be able to see their mother and grandmother again. He knew she could empathize with anyone who lost their mother, and he knew she'd never wish that on anyone. Oh, maybe they should pop in and see them too, maybe at Christmas, see the nice little family together, tell the girls they owned the woman being there to Angel.

Really though, where was she? She'd missed Yuri and Mia...

"But I'm supposed to be dead."

"Not anymore."

"But Susie, my granddaughter, the person she's supposed to become might never exist now."

"Nah! Captain Adelaide can inspire her face-to-face. Different details, but the story's the same."

"You can't know that. Not even Angel could know that, if she did, don't you think SHE would have helped save us too?!" she stared at the man as he blinked, as though having not thought of that, "If my family changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the Human Race. No one should have that much power."

"Tough."

Adelaide shook her head, moving away from him, "You should have left us there."

He scoffed, "And upset Angel even more?" he shook his head, "Why do you think I saved you Adelaide?" he looked at her, could the woman really not see his reasons behind his actions, "She was crushed Adelaide, she was devastated, I couldn't bear that, I couldn't stand it," he swallowed hard and sighed, "Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before, in small ways, saved some little people, missed so many more, and Angel saved them. But this time," he smiled, "This time it was MY turn to save someone she couldn't," he let out a small almost impressed laugh, "I've never saved someone as important as you. Oh, I'm good!"

"Little people?" she shook her head, "What, like Mia and Yuri? Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"

"For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am, I won, I saved you. The Time Lord Victorious, that's me."

"And there's no one to stop you?" Adelaide asked, "Angel?"

"No."

Why would Angel stop him? He'd done this for HER.

"This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong."

"That's for me to decide," he grinned easily, "Now, you'd better get home. Oh, it's all locked up, you've been away. Still, that's easy," he flashed the sonic at her door and unlocked it, "All yours."

"Is there nothing you can't do?"

"Not anymore."

Not since he'd met Angel, he felt like he could do anything when she was there, found he could do anything if it was for her. She gave him a strength he'd never felt before.

Adelaide walked to her house and up the steps, stopping to look back at him as he headed for the TARDIS. She reached for her gun and drew it, stepping inside and closing the door. Just as the Doctor reached the doors, Angel stepped out, her eyes red, tears running down her face, shaking uncontrollably, seeming almost dazed, much like Evelina had been in Pompeii.

She looked up at him, "Bang."

A gunshot rang out a second later from Adelaide's home.

He spun around and looked at the door, feeling time changing around him...

Adelaide's obituary now reading Earth as the place she died.

He stumbled back against the one closed TARDIS door, realizing what made Adelaide do what she did. His eyes widened, seeing that...

Yuri and Mia survived, claiming Adelaide a hero, which inspired her granddaughter to continue out to the stars.

"I've gone too far…" he breathed, looking over at Angel who looked down, feeling the world spinning around her, and then something caught his gaze...

Past Angel's shoulder was Ood Sigma, standing in the road, just staring at them, as though waiting for something.

Angel could barely catch her breath as she blinked past her tears. Never in her life had she ever felt like such a failure. The Doctor always called her his guardian angel, his guiding light, the thing that pulled him out of the darkness inside him...and when it really counted...she'd failed. She hadn't been able to stop him, to save him…not for all her abilities or powers...she closed her eyes tightly, feeling a pressure building in her mind and in her hearts, pulling at her. She reached up and pressed a hand to her head, feeling the power swirl in her very soul. She felt the Doctor put an arm around, her wanting to check on her, and she took her chance.

She grabbed his arm...

A swirl of golden energy flared out from her as she gave a cry of pain, needing to get the energy out of her, it was swirling too powerfully inside her, threatening to tear her apart if she didn't release it. It surrounded them, and the next thing the Doctor knew...the events that had just happened played themselves in reverse as though he could see it happening around him. He gasped, sitting up, back on Mars, in his spacesuit, right after the rocket exploded.

"Ah," Angel groaned from beside him, rolling over and curling in on herself as the golden energy swirled madly around her. He looked back at the base and then at Angel, writhing in pain, not even needing to think about it, to decide what to do, before quickly scooping her up into his arms and rushing to the TARDIS, she was more important to him than anything. He deposited her gently on the captain's chair, pulling off her helmet as she struggled to breathe, tears in the corners of her eyes as she scrunched them shut, in more pain than he'd ever seen her, not even when she'd been dying.

"Angel," he breathed, putting his hands on her face, "Angel look at me."

She opened her eyes, swirling with the gold of the Vortex, "It hurts," she ground out.

He turned to the console, piloting them to the Vortex as quickly as he could before turning back to her. She'd curled in on herself once more, grabbing her hair and head in pain as she shuddered and convulsed, "What's wrong?" he asked, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Shouldn't have…" she muttered, shaking her head, "I shouldn't have…it hurts! Please…" she begged, half-sobbing at the pain, "Please make it stop!"

His eyes filled with tears as he scooped her into his arms, sitting on the chair and cradling her as she sobbed. She'd explained the Vortex within her to him after it had happened in the Crucible. The Vortex had fused to her yes, but it was like using a different muscle in the body, it had to be strengthened, controlled, exercised. If she used too much of it or pushed herself before she was ready, she could damage herself. If she were to unleash the full power of the Vortex before she built up her own strength in using it...it could force a regeneration or possibly...kill her permanently. He could only assume she'd used more than she was ready for, pulling them both back in time just those few minutes.

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling her twist the cloth of his spacesuit into her fist as she clutched at him, shaking. This was his fault. If it hadn't been for him…she wouldn't be in so much pain. This was a brand new hurdle in Time Lord history, never before had someone lived with the Vortex in them and not been completely corrupted by the sheer power it gave…never before had anyone had such control over the power of time. And yet, just then, it seemed like time had been controlling her more so than her it, it was like...it had USED her, used her as a vessel to reverse time, to correct the damage done to the fixed point. He supposed it was normal, no one could have full control over time, time would always be powerful, too powerful at times to control. And it killed him, to see Angel like that, reduced to that pain, the pain he'd been trying to avoid.

There was no medicine he could give her, nothing he could do to help.

All he could do was hold her and wait, watching as the golden glow subsided and she fell into a painful, fitful sleep...

And pray that she would be alright when she woke up, that she could ever forgive him.

Chapter Text

The Doctor sat at Angel's bedside as she slept, worn and trying to recover from the stress of Mars. He didn't know what happened to her, and that scared him, more than he was willing to admit. She always seemed to have control of the Vortex, but just then...it was like the Vortex was controlling her. She'd been asleep nearly 36 hours she was that exhausted from what happened. But she seemed like she was about to wake up and flash those liquid silver eyes at him, he found he loved them just as much as her 'hot chocolate' ones, well, he would wouldn't he? He loved everything about her.

Angel winced...

The children of Earth stood still in the streets and in their homes, just staring, blankly, before they began to speak as one, "We Are Coming," they repeated, over and over...

Jack beamed as he stepped into a house, a young blonde boy running up to him with a cry of 'Uncle Jack!' and throwing himself at the man as he hugged him tightly, sharing a look with the boy's dark-haired mother over his shoulder. Both of them exchanging a look, him saddened, her worried, the boy not knowing the man holding him was his grandfater. Jack looked at the woman, "Alice..."

Jack entered a hospital, following a young Indian doctor through the halls to a morgue where a Chinese man was lying, examining the body when the man pulled a gun on him, killing him. Suddenly the room swarmed with men and women in black, a brunette woman in a black cat suit entering, taking charge as Jack was laid out before her. She shot him in the head as he revived, knocking him out again, before her surgeons got to work, cutting him open...placing something spherical in his stomach...

Angel woke up with a gasp, flying up on the bed, "Jack!"

"Angel!" the Doctor was beside her in an instant as she scrambled to get up, "What is it?"

"We have to go," she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, "Jack's in trouble."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but...they're coming."

"Who?" he shook his head, confused.

"I don't know, there it was alien and children and...Jack was shot and they did something to him...a bomb, they put a bomb inside him! We have to help him!"

"Let's go!" he agreed, the two of them running off for the console room.

Day One

Jack sighed as he walked into Torchwood, the hub door rolling to the side to let him in. He nodded at Owen and Tosh, sitting on the sofa off to the side, the two of them quietly talking, planning actually. Their relationship had thrived since surviving Gray's attack and Owen seemed determined not to take Tosh and his time with her for granted. He'd proposed after the Daleks had swarmed the Earth and Tosh had immediately accepted. He'd offered to pay for the wedding, knowing he had more than enough money put away to pay for whatever they wanted (and 17 generations of their children too) and they were planning away. He was happy for them, to see them happy.

He winked at Ianto as he passed, slapping the man's behind as he headed towards the autopsy bay, spotting Gwen there, "Boy, have I had a day…" he began.

He and Ianto had dealt with an alien, gotten a poor medical student interested, then he'd gotten shot by said medical student and knocked out repeatedly…well…killed really…till he woke up and managed to escape.

However, NONE of that compared to seeing Gwen standing there with her eyes wide, her mouth open, her hand on a scanner, staring at a little red blip in her stomach as the scan came up on the monitor across from her…

And he knew what that blip meant.

"Oh, my God," he breathed, "Is that..." he shook his head, "Owen!"

Owen leapt up and ran over, "What?" and then he saw it as well, "Oh my God," he ran down into the autopsy bay and took the scanner from Gwen as she stepped back, staring at the screen.

"What is it?" Tosh asked as she walked over, worried, only to gasp and cover her mouth as she saw Owen put Gwen's hand back on the scanner, increasing it till they saw…a tiny little fetus…

Gwen was pregnant.

"How long?" Jack asked as he moved into autopsy to the still-stunned Gwen's side.

"Three weeks," Owen reported, reading the scanner.

Tosh slowly made her way down, the four of them staring at the screen.

"That's good, isn't it?" Jack asked Gwen.

"It's amazing!" Tosh cheered, hugging the still-very-stunned Gwen, the woman barely able to comprehend the fact that she was pregnant as she stared at the screen showing her the proof, "Congratulations Gwen!"

"From where I'm standing it..." Jack remarked softly, "Looks good to me."

He could remember it well, when his daughter 'Alice,' as she had been called the last 30 years or so, had been born, when her mother told him she was pregnant. He'd always worried, being immortal that he'd never have children, that he'd condemn them to be immortal too. But…Alice had been born, unplanned but cherished, she'd grown older, and still grown older, not immortal then. She looked almost older than him now.

"Owen?" he looked over.

"Scans say it's fine," he nodded, "Perfect, healthy, normal, human…"

Tosh rolled her eyes at that last part but, with their line of work, one never knew the complications that could arise. She smiled though and made her way over to Owen, slapping him in the stomach playfully.

"It's great Gwen," he turned back to her.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded, slowly starting to laugh, "Bloody hell. It's brilliant!" she beamed, tears in her eyes.

She was gonna be a mum!

"Ianto!" Jack called, realizing one member of their party was missing, "We're having a baby!"

Ianto ran over, his eyes wide, a smile growing on his face as he saw the scan.

"Have you told Rhys?" Tosh asked Gwen, hanging off of Owen's arm.

"I've only just found out myself," Gwen laughed again, unable to contain her joy now.

Owen grinned, "You told Jack before you told him?" he shook his head.

Jack rolled his eyes, "He is gonna love that."

"Congratulations!" Ianto called as they stared at the scan again, "Would now be a good time to tell you I lost the car Jack?"

Jack spun around, "You did what?!"

Which made them all laugh, Jack just pointing at Ianto warningly, promising they'd be talking about this later, after quite a few celebratory drinks…and juice for Gwen.

"That is just bloody spectacular!" Gwen breathed, smiling as she moved to rest her other hand on her stomach, "But what about this place, and my job?" she looked at Jack.

"Don't you worry about a thing Gwen," Tosh came beside her, putting an arm around her, "We'll take care of everything."

Jack nodded, putting a reassuring hand on Gwen's on the scanner, "We'll manage. We always do."

And then the scanner went off, a siren blaring as the image began to flash, showing a large red blip in Jack's stomach.

"What the hell is that?!" Gwen breathed.

Owen rushed over, tugging Gwen's hand away, seeing the scan as 'Alert!' appeared on the screen, "It's a bomb!"

"Oh, my God," Jack gaped.

"There's a bomb inside your stomach!" Ianto gasped.

"Get out," Jack turned to his team, pushing them towards the stairs, ushering them up it.

"No!" Gwen struggled.

"All of you!"

"Jack we can't…" Tosh began.

"It has a blast radius of one mile!" Owen agreed, moving to push the women out.

"Right now!" Jack shoved them, "Get out!"

"Look there must be something we can do," Gwen shook her head, "Look we can stop it. We can fix this ok, we can rip it out of you…"

"I'm telling you. Get out!"

"It's active," Ianto called from the controls, getting report from the scanner, "Two minutes!"

"We can't just run, Jack!" Gwen argued.

"Gwen," Tosh touched her arm, seeing why Jack was so insistent, "You're pregnant…"

"You need to go, now!" Jack urged.

"Jack, Artron Energy spike!" Ianto shouted as another alert went off.

"What?!" Jack looked over, his eyes wide as he ran past them to the controls…watching as the energy levels increased…and a wheezing noise filled the room, "They can't! Not now! Angie!" he turned as a blue police telephone box started to appear.

~8~

As Torchwood panicked, all across the world, the children froze.

~8~

"We are coming," two little girls, one Holly and Lilly Frobisher, said as they stood in their home, their father, John Frobisher, and their mother, Anna, worrying, "We are coming."

"John!" Anna clutched him, "John!"

"We are coming. We are coming."

~8~

Alice watched her son, Stephen, as he stood motionless, staring at nothing, "We are coming. We are coming."

~8~

Ianto's sister, Rhiannon, and her husband, Johnny, watched their son David as he sat before the telly, "We are coming. We are coming. We are coming."

~8~

"Hello Jack!" Angel cheered as she stepped out of the TARDIS, ignoring the blaring alarms around them, despite the Doctor wincing and covering his ears.

"How are you?" the Doctor asked, "Not a good time then?"

"Thank God," Jack shouted, ushering the team to the TARDIS, "Get in, get them out!"

"You could say please," the Doctor remarked, nudging Angel, "And you say I'M rude."

"Jack…calm down," Angel turned to him.

"No, you need to get them out," Jack cut in, seeing the team standing just beyond the doorway of the TARDIS, clearly not wanting to abandon him, "There's a bomb in me."

"I know," Angel began.

"Someone planted a bomb in me and it's about to go off…"

"I know."

"You need to get them out of here Angie, now!"

"Jack…" she reached out to touch his arm, "I know."

"Then what are you still doing here?!"

She smiled, "I'm not going to leave till I get a hug."

He stared at her, his mouth falling open.

~8~

"Stop it, Stephen," Alice ran to her son's side, trying to snap him out of it, "Stop it!"

~8~

But all across the world, children continued to chant, "We are coming."

All of them speaking in English.

~8~

"Stop it!" Frobisher shouted at his girls.

"We are coming," they repeated, "We are coming. We are coming."

"Stop it! Stop it!" he fell to his knees, scared.

~8~

"A hug?!" Jack demanded, incredulous, "Angie there's a BOMB that's about to explode and…"

"Jack," she cut in again, "Shut up yeah?"

He blinked, "What…"

"Just listen," she smiled, "Listen to me and give your sister a hug."

Jack looked at the Doctor, who seemed far too calm with his Mate standing in front of a walking bomb, the man just leaning against the doorway of the TARDIS, grinning widely, "I'd do as she says."

But then again, that was just him really. Anything and everything Angel wanted him to do, he'd do, no questions asked. She could jokingly tell him to hop on one foot an squawk like a chicken and he'd do it, because he'd see her smile for it. He was aware the humans had a word for that, whipped he believed it was, and he would completely agree that he was just that. He didn't really mind though, to him, that could never ever be a bad thing to love another person that much.

And he loved Angel even more than that.

"Trust me," Angel whispered to Jack, stepping over to him and hugging him.

Jack wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, trusting her, as he always did…gasping when he felt something warm enter him. His eyes snapped open to see Angel glowing golden, the energy of the Vortex rippling out of her…and into him…right into his stomach…

He looked up, pulling away, stunned, when the alarms shut off, and then turned to her, "The bomb…"

"Is disabled," the Doctor nodded, stepping over and flashing him with the sonic, just to be safe. He nodded, "Energy short circuited it," he beamed, "And now..." he pulled Angel away from Jack lightly, "Stop touching my Mate."

That was one thing new, he supposed, since finishing the Mating, he felt this insane desire to keep Angel away from other men, not that he didn't always feel that way, but from all of them now, even the ones who were like family to her. He'd only just managed to bite back a growl when she'd hugged Jack, knowing the man was like a brother to her, knowing that she was doing it to stop the bomb, seeing another man, for that first moment, touching HIS Mate...had nearly set him off.

"She's my sister," Jack countered, mock-glaring at the Doctor, tugging Angel to him.

"Well, she's MY Mate," the Doctor tugged her back, sliding his arm around her waist, "I win."

Jack rolled his eyes, but had to ask, "The bomb is really disabled?"

Angel smiled, leaning on the Doctor just a moment longer, "Of course," before she slipped out of his hold and turned around to hug Gwen from the side, putting a hand on the woman's stomach, "I especially couldn't let her be hurt."

"Gwen?"

"Both of them."

Gwen gasped, staring at Angel with wide eyes, "It's a girl?!"

Owen shook his head, "It's too early to tell..."

"Psychic," Angel reminded him with a laugh, moving to hug him and the rest of the team as well.

"Oh sure," Jack rolled his eyes at the Doctor, "Don't tell THEM not to touch her," before he looked at the Doctor closely, seeing he WAS frowning when she got to Owen and Ianto, "You ok Doc? You've never tried to stop me hugging Ang before..."

"Well we weren't fully Mated before," the Doctor shrugged.

Jack blinked, looked between them, blinked again, and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead, "Please don't tell me you've deflowered my baby sister Doc," he groaned.

"Ok," the Doctor smirked.

Jack looked up at him through his hand, "You didn't, did you?"

"You told me not to tell you," he laughed.

"I think I need to lie down..." Jack shook his head, the team laughing as they saw him actually seem to grow pale at the thought.

"Do you want Ianto to join you?" Angel bit her lip, trying to keep in a laugh.

"Angel!" Jack blushed.

"I don't really know how Ianto is," Angel continued, moving towards the Doctor, "Nor would I really want to but," she smiled, giving the Doctor a peck on the cheek, "The Doctor is the best dance partner in the Universe."

"Angie!" Jack cried, sounding like he was nearly begging her to stop talking, as the team laughed even more at that.

~8~

"We are coming..." the children finished, "Back."

Day Two

Angel blinked, "They're here…" she murmured cutting through their laughter.

"The aliens?" Owen looked at her, thinking about all the kids all over the world who had been saying 'We are coming.'

"No," she shook her head, "The government."

The Torchwood team frowned, when a small beep started. Tosh rushed out of the TARDIS and to the control computers, looking at them, their surveillance brining up images of army jeeps pulling up, soldiers getting out, a woman in a black cat suit striding towards Torchwood, clearly having tailed Jack.

"What do we do?" Gwen looked at Jack.

"Doc?" he turned to the Doctor.

The Doctor just grinned, "Let's put on a show," he looked at Angel, holding out a hand.

She grinned, "I love meeting new people," she remarked, taking his hand and pulling him towards the hub door.

Jack's eyes widened as he ran after them, "Stay here!" he called to the team as he rushed to join the Time Lords, following them as they made it outside.

Angel stopped and looked at them, "You two stay here," she said.

"Ang…" Jack began, at the same time the Doctor said, "Angel…"

"Trust me," she winked at them, heading out, alone, to face the woman who was striding towards the building, looking far more confident than either the Doctor or Jack felt in letting her go, but she'd walked off before they could even respond. The woman lifted her gun at Angel, Jack having to hold the Doctor back at that, a bit startled by the near-violent reaction the man was giving, but Angel just smiled, "Hello."

"Stand aside," the woman remarked, pausing before her.

"That's rude," she said simply, "It's customary to say hello and introduce yourself."

"Agent Johnson."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Angel," she sighed, seeing the woman wouldn't be saying hello, "Well, Angie Harkness…" she eyed the woman's reaction to her name, "You tried to kill my brother and his team."

The woman stiffened, lowering the gun in surprise, the files hadn't said anything about Captain Jack having a sister. She glanced to the side, and up…

"Call the snipers off," Angel spoke, her voice a bit firm, making the woman look back at her sharply, Angel hadn't even turned her head, "I know where they are, I can see them. I'm psychic," she whispered the last part, leaning in as though to impart a secret, "Which means I know what will happen next…"

"Then you should run," the woman raised her gun again.

She hummed, "No, I don't think so. You misunderstood. I can see what will happen next. You…are going to leave."

The woman scoffed, "And what makes you so sure?"

"Have you heard of someone?" Angel answered with another question, "You might have since you likely know about Torchwood and UNIT, but…have you ever heard of someone called 'the Doctor?'" she looked over, seeing not only her but the soldiers behind her stiffen, "I see," she nodded, "Perhaps I should have started by saying, 'Hello, nice to meet you, I'm the Angel, of Gallifrey, Mate of the Doctor…'"

"And I don't like people with guns around my Mate," the Doctor added, stepping out from the shadows to stand beside Angel, "Hello. Boo! Etc."

"Same goes for my sister," Jack joined them as well. He smirked, seeing the woman staring at him, shocked he was still alive, "What? Were you expecting to find me in pieces? I'd have thought the fact that Torchwood is still standing would have clued you in that I was still in one piece."

"The bomb didn't work," Angel told her.

"Must have been defective," the Doctor agreed, winking at Angel as she smiled.

"Your plans have failed," Jack looked at the woman with a hard gaze, "Me and my team are alive and none too happy to have nearly been blown up. So…if I were you…run."

The Doctor smirked, watching the woman back up and return to her squad, clearly they were only prepared to deal with Torchwood after it had been torn apart and not a full-fledged Torchwood Hub stocked with alien weapons and the team AND Time Lords popping up. The woman made a signal to her team, the group lowering their weapons.

"They're gonna come back, aren't they?" Jack sighed as he watched the woman speak into a phone, "Attack us offensively."

"Well, if only we had a nifty time and space travelling box that could get us out…" the Doctor grinned cheekily.

"Oh!" Angel cheered, her eyes lighting up as she turned to the Doctor, taking his hands, excited, "Does that mean I can teach them how to fly the TARDIS?"

He grinned, "Why not?"

She beamed and pulled him back to the hub as Jack followed, pausing to glance back at Agent Johnson, his eyes narrowed at her before he stepped inside.

~8~

Later that night, Frobisher sat with his wife and daughters, the girls having snapped out of whatever had made them speak, neither girl seeming aware they'd said anything till they'd been told about it, all of them having hot chocolate, Anna setting the mugs down when his phone rang.

"Sorry, I've got to take this," he got up.

"Work?" Anna turned to him, "After what just happened?"

"Because of it. They're ok now. Get yourselves to bed, girls. And don't worry. Hello," he turned and headed out of the room, speaking quietly over the phone.

"Target lost sir," Johnson's voice answered, solemn, hesitant to have to say the mission failed.

"What do you mean 'lost?!'"

"The bomb failed to activate, we don't know why. We suspect they may have discovered it and diffused it with some sort of alien technology."

He rubbed his head, "And Torchwood?"

"Still standing sir, sealed down."

He sighed, "Do whatever it takes to get in there and get them. I want the Torchwood team silenced and your primary target eliminated. Call me when you've got them. And make it quick!" he quickly hung up the phone…only to freeze, hearing the door knock. He moved to the front door, spotting another government man, a Mr. Dekker, standing there.

"Off to bed," he called to the girls as they headed up stairs before turning back to Dekker.

"I've got the translations," Dekker held up a paper of the odd language that had come down on a frequency, 456, that was apparently making the children talk.

Frobisher nodded and let him in, moving him to a different room, sitting down at a desk, two chairs on either side of it. It was a quaint little study.

"Instructions," Dekker began, laying down the papers, schematics, "Specifications for something they want us to build. And we haven't got much time to do it in."

Frobisher frowned as he read the pages, scarcely able to make out anything of it, "When they can communicate like this, in this kind of detail, why do the thing with the children?"

"Because they can. And because they want to scare us."

~8~

"So…" Owen began as Jack and Angel and the Doctor entered the TARDIS with the last of the equipment they all deemed necessary to remove from Torchwood, "What do we do?"

"We need to get Rhys," Gwen cut in, "He knows about Torchwood, they'll use him to get to me before they think to use Rhiannon," she looked at Ianto.

The man had been wise to not tell his sister what he was doing.

"Right," Jack nodded, "Doc, Angie?"

"Already on it," the Doctor smiled as they worked away.

"Tosh," Angel called, "Come here," she motioned the girl over and set her before a button, "Keep this level…yeah?"

Tosh nodded, confused but working the controls.

"Owen," the Doctor clapped the man on the shoulder and put him next to Tosh, "Hold this," he moved the man before a lever, "Don't let it jiggle about."

"Now, Ianto," Angel moved him as well, "Keep this steady," she indicated to a gauge and knob.

"And Gwen!" the Doctor cheered, "Push this whenever that light turns on," he pointed to a button before he and Angel took their spots at either end of the console, Jack laughing as he watched his crew help the Time Lords pilot their ship, moving to sit and recline on the captain's chair, enjoying the ride.

~8~

Gwen ran into her house that night, slamming the door to the bedroom open to see Rhys in bed, snoring, a book lying open on his chest, "Yerh!" he jolted awake.

Gwen laughed and ran over, turning the lights on, "Get up! Now! We've got to go!"

"Bloody hell, Gwen!" he rubbed his eyes.

She just grabbed his hand and pulled him up, "Get up, get dressed. We've to get out of here."

"What's going on, man?"

"Listen, the government tried to blow Torchwood up, with us inside it," she explained, making him gape at her, startled, "It's only a matter of time before they manage to break past the hub's defenses and realize we got out and come after us. And if they come after me, they're going to come after you. Now get up, and get dressed!"

Rhys quickly did as he was ordered, Gwen running around the room to get some extra items she'd brought home with her from Torchwood. They'd taken quite a bit from the hub before leaving, but there was one thing she thought they might need, contact lens, well, contact lenses with cameras in them. She didn't bother packing a bag of clothes, according to Angel the TARDIS had an enormous wardrobe they were free to use, which was just as well, NO ONE wanted to listen to Jack complain if he had to wear track pants or something.

As soon as Rhys was dressed, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the house. She squeezed Rhys's hand and they ran for the blue phone box sitting on the lawn, dashing in and slamming the door shut.

"Oh not this thing again," Rhys moaned, turning a bit green, the last time he'd been in there the ride had nearly made him ill.

Gwen just looked at him and laughed.

~8~

"So…there was a bomb inside you?" Rhys stared at Jack as he took over for Gwen in piloting the ship, allowing him and Gwen to sit on the captain's chair, the rest of the team explaining to him what had happened, why they were hiding out in the bigger-on-the-inside box instead of their base of operations.

"Yep," Jack nodded.

"How did they get close enough to plant it inside you?" Gwen had to ask.

"It was him, that Dr. Rupesh guy," Ianto said, "He was shot and killed in the hospital earlier tonight."

Jack nodded, "It must've been then."

"And the children…all of them talking at once," Rhys continued, "That's aliens, then. Really aliens?"

"Not the nice kind, like us," Angel smiled at him.

"Like YOU," the Doctor gave her a peck, "YOU are the sweetest alien ever."

She beamed up at him.

~8~

In the Frobisher household the next morning, Frobisher stood in the kitchen, watching his girls have breakfast with a serious expression on his face.

"What?" his daughter Lilly asked, seeing him watching them.

"Keep your phones on today."

"Why?"

"I want to be able to speak to you."

"Since when?" his other daughter Holly scoffed.

"Since we were possessed by the Devil," Lilly rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," he cut in.

"If they go off during a lesson, we can't get them back till Friday," Holly reminded him.

"Keep them on mute," he remarked, before turning to walk out, his wife following him.

"Every suspicious phone call," Anna began, "Every mystery meeting, every time you come home late, you hide behind the Official Secrets Act. And I put up with it..."

"Don't start on this. Not now."

"I accept it. But this is different. When it affects my kids, in my house."

"There is nothing to worry about."

"I saw how scared you were last night."

"I know," he sighed, taking her hands, "It's frightening to see it first hand, there's no lasting damage. It's quickly over."

"This isn't a hula hoop craze. It happened to Brian and Wendy's kids and they live in Canada. You don't think this is over any more than I do."

"Just make sure they keep their phones on," he gave her a kiss, whispering to her, "And don't let them come home on their own," before he headed back into the kitchen, "I'm off now, girls. I'll see you."

"Goodbye kisses," Lilly muttered as he kissed them, "It must be serious."

"If you could get out of bed at a proper time, you'd get plenty of kisses," he laughed, turning to kiss his wife as well, "Have a good day."

"Dad?" Lilly called.

"What?"

Their faces went blank as they started speaking as one, "We want a pony. We want a pony. We want a pony."

Frobisher laughed at that, "See?" he turned to his wife, "Nothing to worry about."

~8~

Lost in the city an older man wandered about, shifty eyed, trembling, clearly alarmed and unhinged. Clement MacDonald, a man one Gwen Cooper had gone to visit earlier the other day when he, like all the children of the world, had spoken 'We are coming,' which admittedly confused Torchwood as he was NOT a child. He had actually been the one to tell Gwen she was pregnant...having gotten that from sniffing her hand of all things. He claimed he could smell the aliens, had hinted that he'd encountered them before. Which was why, as he snuck over to a newspaper stand, staring at the headline 'We are coming back!' he whimpered, glancing up at the sky before running off.

~8~

Stephen was sitting in the center island of his kitchen, his mother behind him, just folding laundry as he watched the telly, something about suspected terrorist activity in Cardiff, some warehouse or another near the bay was under lockdown, surrounded by government vehicles and soldiers trying to break in.

"Isn't that where Uncle Jack lives?" Stephen called, the poor boy unknowing of just who Jack really was to him, which might have been for the better, hard to explain to a child why his mother looked older than his grandfather.

"It's a big place, Cardiff," his mother murmured, coming over, "Shh!"

They watched as the news reported some sort of…hostile act going on within the facility she recognized immediately, Torchwood…

~8~

A lovely young black woman entered a small office area outside Mr. Frobisher's office, taking her spot as she sat down for work, the TV on, watching as the government tried to 'negotiate' with the suspected terrorists on the bay, wanting them to open their doors before they had to force entry.

"Morning," she called to a woman, watching as the army swarmed around the building.

"…no one can say for sure why this area was the site of such an unexpected raid, and the Prime Minister's office has refused to speculate until more details are known..."

She glanced at her computer, logging in as 'Bridget Spears' though her name was really Lois, Spears was the one with the special access and she wanted to see just what Torchwood was. She'd gotten a call the previous day about it…and she had a suspicion the 'raid' wasn't all it seemed, especially with how Frobisher and Spears had reacted to the name 'Torchwood.'

She squinted, reading up on the organization. It was created at Torchwood manor, 130 years ago, branched out to Glasgow, London, and Cardiff. The Torchwood 2 in Glasgow was disbanded and Torchwood 1 in London was gone due to the Battle of Canary Wharf. Torchwood 3…that was it! That was the building they were swarming, on Cardiff Bay. It was the same building as in the photo of the facility, big porch, lots of steps…the very same. She eyed the camera, they were playing it off as some sort of terrorist group who had barricaded themselves inside some old abandoned warehouse…but that was Torchwood!

She turned back, when the real Bridget Spears stepped out of Frobisher's office, and changed the window. She waited till Spears had passed before bringing it up again, scanning through it, seeing files for a Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and…Captain Jack Harkness…but that last one had an 'Order to Kill' beside it, the four other operatives only listed with an 'Order to Detain.'

She clicked on the OTK and…3 more people came up, tied to Captain Jack. A Colonel Michael Sanders, an Ellen Hunt, and a Captain Andrew Staines…

She looked up, a bit alarmed, only Jack was still alive.

~8~

"As you know, Harkness is a difficult man to kill," Frobisher began as he sat with the Prime Minister in his office later that day, "Current theories suggest that his longevity is connected in some way to the Torchwood Hub. Which necessitated taking out the entire operation."

"A mission which failed," the Prime Minister glared, "If I am understanding you correctly."

Frobisher winced, "Yes…" he nodded, "Apparently there were two variables our team did not count on," he leaned over and showed the man a picture of Jack, standing with a man in a brown pinstripe suit and girl who looked like him between them, taken just that night by one of Johnson's operatives, "Harkness has a sister," he pointed to the girl.

"What?" the Prime Minister leaned forward, seeing the family resemblance, same dark hair, same light eyes, same ears...

"And…well, sir…it appears she may have latent psychic abilities."

"A psychic?"

"She claims to have seen the attack coming and helped Harkness disable the bomb," well, she hadn't exactly claimed that but they had read between the lines, "Of course that is ridiculous. We fear there may be a mole in our presence, we're investigating as we speak."

The Prime Minister sighed, rubbing his head, "And what about these, er...these specifications?" he pointed at the second set of papers Frobisher had brought with him, all sorts of plans from the aliens, they called themselves the 456, that was the frequency they communicated on, "From the 456? I could barely understand a word of them."

"Nor me. But I'm told the translations are excellent. And they've started work. Dekker's called in the damage control team, they're working as fast as they can. Early reports are looking, well, let's say, promising."

"Can we see it?"

"They'll be ready to show us work in progress by 1600 hours."

"We're building something and we don't even know what it is."

"Can I ask? Did the 456 contact any other country?"

"Intel's been listening. No chatter on the wires. Seems like it's only Britain."

"And how long can we keep it secret? Given the children's last statement, 'We are coming back.' That's what everyone seems to be asking, when were they here before?"

And that was something they could NOT let the world learn, what had happened when the 456 had communicated with Britain before, in 1965, and what they had done.

"Yes. Well, if that's everything..."

"Sir," he nodded, standing, about to leave, before he stopped and turned, "Sir, I'd just, um...I just um wanted to say how...grateful I am, sir."

"What for?"

"Well, I know that I'm something of a middleman in these affairs, but um...I just wanted to thank you, for trusting me with the responsibility."

"All I've done is put you on the front line. That's what the front line's for, John. First to fall."

"Yes, sir," he tensed, "Yes, sir," he moved to the door, pausing to look back before continuing, the Prime Minister not even looking up.

~8~

Alice sat on the stairs of her home, worried, her phone in her hand, as she looked up 'Jack' on her contacts and pressed call, "This is Jack Harkness," the answer phone picked up, "Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

She sighed, "It's me. Call me. When you get a chance."

"Mum!" Stephen called from behind her, up the stairs, getting ready for school, "There's no toothpaste."

She nodded to herself and got up to help.

~8~

Lois looked up, hiding the Torchwood files as a door to Frobisher's office opened.

"Everything ok?" Spears asked her, seeing her jolt.

"Yeah," she said quickly, "They're expecting us, the car's waiting."

"Well, come on then," Spears nodded as Lois got up, Frobisher walking past when his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered.

"We've managed to break through the locks," Johnson reported, "But sir…there's no one here."

"What do you mean there's no one there?!" he hissed, "Harkness? His team? What about that girl?"

"There's no one sir," she repeated, "We've been over every inch, we've checked all the passages, we've been guarding it all night, we've had dogs in…there's no way they could have gotten out without us seeing sir…but they're not here."

He rubbed his head "Find them!" he ordered, ending the call before she could even bring up the Doctor and her suspicions of how that many might have had something to do with Torchwood's mysterious disappearance.

"Sorry, sir," Lois rushed to follow him as he strode off down the hall, "I couldn't help hearing. That name. Harkness. Is that Captain Jack Harkness? From Torchwood? Only he was trying to contact you yesterday. I did mark it in the log. Said he could help..."

"Not now. He can't."

"Are you sure? He was very insistent. He told me his team were the experts at dealing with things like the children thing."

"He told you that? Over the phone?"

"Yes."

"He always was an arrogant sod," Spears remarked dryly.

"So, he can't help?" Lois frowned, suspicious, "He's not really the expert?"

"He's disappeared," Frobisher spat, "No sign of him or his team," and stalked off.

"Lois," Spears began warningly, "Your job, you don't overhear phone calls. You speak when you're spoken to. Ok?"

"Sorry," Lois bowed her head.

~8~

Alice tried to call Jack one more time, but still the answer phone was her only reply.

~8~

Frobisher and Spears led Lois through the Thames House, the whole place rather well guarded, heading into the lift, when Frobisher's phone rang again.

"Hello," he answered briskly.

"Sir, we were unable to locate Harkness," Johnson began, "But we found something else."

"What?"

"A picture."

"You called me for a picture?!"

"Sir…it's the man and woman from last night, on one side and…"

"And what?"

"Another woman and a boy in the other."

"And who are they?"

"I think, sir…I think it may be his daughter."

"Harness has a child?" Frobisher stiffened, "And a grandson?"

"Yes, sir, it seems like it. The family resemblance alone..."

"Track them down," he ordered, "And confirm that suspicion, it wouldn't do to bring in an innocent party," he looked up as the lift dinged and they stepped out, seeing Dekker, who handed them a hard-hat, and stepping past the two men guarding the lift, "Get it done," he snapped the phone shut and headed on, not seeing Lois listening in.

They came to a plastic sheet in a doorway, Dekker putting his hard hat on, the others following.

"Wait out here," Spears ordered Lois, following the men in, past the men with big guns standing on either side of the door.

Lois, however, managed to peek through, spotting construction being done, welding, flashing lights, glass planes…it seemed like a tank of some sort was being built…

~8~

The Torchwood team stepped out of the TARDIS in a park where they'd managed to get a message to Ianto's sister to meet him there, wanting her to know what was happening in case anyone came looking for him,, thankfully none yet. He'd been very careful to keep contact with his sister limited so that, if anyone had ever followed him, they would think she knew nothing of what he did, which she really didn't.

Rhys looked at Gwen as she covered her nose as they passed a rubbish bin, "How are you, love?"

"My best friend's belly had a bomb nearly go off in it last night," she began, thank God the Doctor and the TARDIS's med-bay had been able to extract it rather painlessly, well that and Owen's favorite toy from Torchwood, something that could dissolve things through other things like...evaporate the liquid in a cup through the cup without damaging the cup, had helped, "Someone might be trying to kill us. We just travelled in space and time to the morning…and that smell," she pointed at the rubbish, "Makes me feel like I'm going to be sick."

"It doesn't smell that bad," he frowned.

"I've got bionic smelling now," she smiled a secret grin, a happy grin, as though trying to tell him something.

"What?" he laughed.

"You know some announcements, you...rehearse in your head?"

"Hmm?"

"Yeah. And this," she glanced at the rubbish bin, "Wasn't...quite what I had in mind."

"What do you mean, announcements?"

The Torchwood team and the Time Lords, who had stopped to watch, smiled, "He's a bit slow isn't he?" the Doctor muttered to Angel.

She smiled, nudging him, "Says the man who wanted a bigger head."

Gwen just looked at Rhys, her eyes big and happy, giving him a look.

"Oh, God, no!" his own eyes widened, working it out.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Bloody hell, no!"

"Yes."

"Oh, come here!" he pulled her close and kissed her, making the Torchwood team and aliens cheer, "Oh, my God! I don't believe it…"

Tosh ran over, "Congratulations Rhys," she smiled, hugging him, Jack walking over to pat his back, Owen shaking the man's hand as Ianto clapped.

"Hang on..." Rhys turned to Gwen, "The bomb, the guns, the aliens, the hiding from the law. God! What am I like? Letting you do all that in your condition! This changes everything."

"No, no, it doesn't," Gwen shook her head, "We're up the same creek, and we still need a paddle."

"Yeah, but three of us in the boat."

"Well our ship can handle it," Angel smiled walking over to pat the man's arm, "Trust us, the TARDIS is the safest place in the world to be."

"Oi, Ianto," Owen called, nodding to the side where they could see a lovely woman, a bit plump, walking towards them.

"Hey," Ianto turned to her, the group sticking with him, knowing he'd need their support.

"What happened?" the woman, his sister Rhiannon, asked, she was worried. He'd disappeared, the telly was saying that the bay had been under attack by terrorists, he hadn't answered his phone…

"I'm not sure yet," he sighed, "You worked out my little code, then?" he'd called her from the TARDIS, paranoid that the call might be traced despite the Doctor, Angel, AND Jack telling him it was fine, and only told his sister to 'meet him in the place dad broke his leg.'

"Dad didn't break your leg on purpose, you know."

"He broke your leg?!" Angel turned to Ianto alarmed, she hadn't been by him when he'd made the call.

"He pushed me too hard," Ianto shrugged, "He always did."

Angel walked over to him, pointing at him warningly, "Don't you shrug at me mister," she warned, everyone but Rhiannon smiling at seeing her try to be intimidating, it really did just come out adorable, "You were a kid and it hurt," and with that, she pulled him into a tight hug.

Ianto laughed but hugged her back.

"Who's she?" Rhiannon asked, glancing between him and Jack, clearly expecting the man to be jealous or something that Ianto was hugging someone else, she knew vaguely of her brother and Jack's relationship, but Jack was just smiling.

"Rhi," Ianto pulled away, "Meet…Angie Harkness."

"Angie…Harkness?" she stared at Angel and Jack as the man put an arm around Angel's shoulders…only for the Doctor to pull her away and to his side, making Jack roll his eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Angel reached out a hand to shake.

"And I'm the Doctor," he added.

"Doctor who?" Rhiannon shook her head.

"No, no, just the Doctor."

Rhiannon eyed him oddly, "Seriously Ianto," she looked at him, "What is going on?"

Ianto sighed, "That terrorist attack isn't an attack," he explained, "Someone planted a bomb that was meant to go off in our...office...but it didn't…"

"My God! Why?!"

"I don't know."

"What sort of civil servants are you?" she eyed the group.

"Unappreciated ones, "Owen remarked dryly.

"I appreciate you," Tosh smiled at him, giving him a peck.

Jack rolled his eyes, "You're just as bad as THEY are," he gestured at the Doctor and Angel.

"I take that as a compliment," the Doctor beamed, moving his arm around Angel's waist.

"You're ok though?" Rhiannon eyed them, eyed Ianto, as though looking for any sort of scrape or bruise.

"We're fine," Jack reassured her, "Angie here found out about the bomb and warned us."

"Thank you," she looked at Angel earnestly.

"It was nothing," Angel blushed a bit, still seemingly embarrassed by praises.

"Like hell it was," Gwen scoffed, "You saved all our lives."

The Doctor beamed and squeezed her to him, "That's Angel, the Guardian Angel of the Universe she is."

Angel smiled, but it soon fell as she blinked, "Tomorrow…"

Before anyone could ask what she meant…silence hit them as all the children on the playground froze, just staring straight ahead.

~8~

All across the world, children stood still, just staring, cars breaking for them.

…and then they spoke.

"We are coming tomorrow."

~8~

"We are coming tomorrow," the children in the park spoke as one.

Rhiannon looked at Angel, alarmed, for only a moment before the entire group dashed past her, splitting up, Owen and Tosh, Ianto and Jack, Gwen and Rhys, the Doctor and Angel, to look at the children.

"We are coming tomorrow."

~8~

Lois sat back at her desk, looking into the classified documents, when the news broke on the telly, cutting off the feed of the army investigating the inside of the warehouse to show the children were speaking in unison again.

"We are coming tomorrow," repeated through the room.

"Ok, I'll tell him," Lois looked up, hearing Spears heading into Frobisher's office after getting off the phone, "It's happened again," she warned the man.

"Shit!" she could see the man grab his phone, "What did they say?"

"We are coming tomorrow," she repeated as he quickly dialed a number, Lois watching them intently.

~8~

"We are coming tomorrow," the children repeated, "We are coming..."

~8~

"Tomorrow," Clem murmured as he stood, rigid, before a bar in a pub, "We are coming tomorrow..."

The woman behind the bar just glanced at another man as they stared at him.

~8~

"We are coming tomorrow," the children chanted in the park, "We are coming tomorrow."

"This has something to do with it," Owen called.

"It must do," Ianto agreed from another group.

"When they tried to blow us up, this is what we were working on," Gwen nodded, telling the Doctor and Angel more than anyone else.

"We are coming tomorrow."

"What is this?" the Doctor frowned, flashing a little girl with the sonic as Angel knelt before her, taking her hands, trying to get a feeling.

~8~

And suddenly…the children blinked, turning to dash off and continue what they were doing.

~8~

The little girl pulled her hands away from Angel and ran off to her friends, Angel standing slowly, frowning as she and the Doctor looked at each other in concern.

~8~

"Tomorrow?" the old man looked at the bar lady.

"Over and over again," she nodded, telling him what he'd been saying.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

He inhaled deeply, clearly upset, "Can you smell that?" he turned and ran out onto the streets, shouting, "They're coming! I can smell them. They're coming! Tomorrow, and they'll be here!" he sniffed again and ran off as people stared at him.

~8~

"Hey, hey, hello," Tosh tried to speak to a little boy, "What did it feel like? Just then?"

"Leave him alone!" the boy's mother tugged him back, "Go away!"

"They said the same thing here," Rhiannon murmured, "The same thing as…you," she looked at Angel.

"Psychic," the team said quickly so as not to make her start pointing fingers at Angel, all of them were rather protective of the girl given all she'd done for them and Jack in the past.

Rhiannon shook her head, "What is it?"

"No idea," the Doctor smiled, "Isn't that brilliant?!"

"What?!" she gaped at how the man could be excited when something was happening to the children.

"Look Rhi," Ianto turned to her, "This is what we do. We deal with things like this."

"So deal with it," she told them, "Stop it."

"We will," he promised, looking at the Doctor, Angel and Jack, who nodded, "I just wanted to let you know that everything will be ok."

Rhiannon nodded, "Be careful."

He kissed her cheek, promising that, as they ran off…Rhiannon frowning as she saw them heading for a blue police telephone box and…ALL getting in? How did THAT work? She moved closer to it, about to touch it, when a wheezing note rang out and the box…slowly faded away, leaving her staring.

~8~

The office was going frantic as Lois tried to man the phones, "Hold the line, please."

"Hello," Spears had to help, "I'll put you on hold if that's alright. Mr. Frobisher will be back in a moment."

"I'll have to put you on hold...hello?"

"We are coming tomorrow," the TV spoke, "Repeated, in total, 38 times."

"I'm sorry, it's a bit chaotic here at the moment with the children thing..."

"Reports from all around the world confirm that every single child said the same thing."

"Can you spell that please?" Lois grabbed a pad of paper, "Give me the name and I'll look into it, and get back to you..."

"Get my daughters on the phone," Frobisher called to Spears as he stuck his head out the door of his office, "Ring the school office if you have to. Drag them out of their lessons. I want to speak to them. Then get me the Prime Minister."

"There's a call waiting, sir…" Lois tried to speak.

"Take a message!"

"It's the Home Secretary. And your wife wants you to call her."

"Ok," he sighed, heading into his office.

"Hello," Lois answered another phone, "John Frobisher's office."

"Yeah," a distinct American accent called, "I'd like to have a word with Johnny boy."

"He's not available at the moment," she blinked at the man being called 'Johnny boy,' "Can I take a message?"

"Tell him it's Jack Harkness from Torchwood. Me and my team…" he seemed to have held up the phone because two women and two men added 'hellos!' "Want to have a little chat with him."

"Erm...he's…busy," she hesitated telling Frobisher, she knew the man would have the captain killed…and she was starting to feel like maybe, just maybe, the man might be able to help instead.

"Trust me, he'll wanna take this call."

"He's very busy."

"Jack," another voice said, distant, a woman, "She's trying to protect you."

"What?" Jack asked and Lois's eyes widened at that, at how the girl knew.

There was a noise and the girl was on the line, sounding louder than before "Hello, I'm Angel, who's this?"

"Lois. Lois Habiba."

"Nice to meet you Lois," Angel replied, "And thank you for trying to protect my brother by not telling Frobisher he was on the line," before she whispered, "He can be a bit slow at times...you wouldn't believe how long it took him to ask Ianto out..."

"Angie!" she heard Jack cry in the background.

"You're welcome," Lois laughed just a bit, "Sorry, how did you know?"

"Oh well, she's psychic!" another man called, sounding rather hyper, "Well, not really psychic, but getting closer every day. Oh you should see her, she can always guess how many fingers I have behind my back and it's not because she can read my mind. Well , I don't think it is, well, that wouldn't help her anyway since the only thing on my mind is her really not my fingers and…"

"Doctor," Angel cut in softly with a laugh.

"Sorry," Lois shook her head, "You said…Captain Jack Harkness is your brother?"

"Yes."

"But…that's not in his files…"

"Great," Jack remarked in the background, "They have files on me."

"And the rest of your team."

"Wonderful," another man she didn't recognize scoffed.

"Listen, Lois…you know what Torchwood is, yes?" Angel asked, "You've got a vague idea?"

"Yes."

"And you're starting to think they might be able to help stop whatever's happening to the children, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well you're right," Angel laughed, "You sure YOU'RE not psychic too?"

Lois laughed and smiled at that, "No, no, just an ordinary human."

"No such thing!" the Doctor called, sing-song.

"They CAN help Lois, but…they're people trying to kill them…aren't there?"

"Yes," Lois sighed, "There's an active kill order for Captain Jack Harkness and a seizure, alive or dead, warning for his team."

"Lois?" Jack took the phone, seeing the woman listening now, "We need to find out why they want us dead when we can help. That's why we need to see Frobisher."

"I believe you," she began, when Frobisher's office suddenly opened, "Hold the line, please," she said quietly, calmly, looking at Frobisher.

"Call my wife. I'm in a meeting with the PM. I'll ring as soon as I can."

She nodded.

"I'm putting the school through," Spears added.

"Ah!"

"Sorry," Lois came back as the two headed off.

"Lois…if you're tracing this call..."

"She's not," Angel called.

"She's right," the Doctor agreed, "The TARDIS is monitoring the transmission, no bugs, no tracks, no trace. Well, not like they could track this beauty."

"She's a brilliant old box, isn't she?"

"Good," Jack returned, "So…we need to speak to him. Can we set up a meeting?"

Lois glanced over at the man on the phone with his kids, worrying more for them than the rest of the world, "Yes."

She watched as Spears entered Frobisher's office, "The Prime Minister's on his way. He'll be there in ten minutes."

"Ok, thanks," Frobisher nodded, "Ring ahead, let them know we're coming."

"Right."

"Simon, we're going back to Thames House…"

Lois watched them go, taking down a note on where the Torchwood team wanted to meet, worried.

~8~

Angel, the Doctor, Tosh, and Ianto sat at a round table in a quaint little café, waiting for Ms. Lois Habiba to appear. There had been quite a bit of arguing among the Torchwood team and the Time Lords about who should go. In the end it came down to the fact, as Rhys of all people had reminded them, that Lois needed to be reassured and not scared off…

Which meant Jack, Gwen, and Owen were out. Rhys had no idea what was going on and took himself out of the equation. He'd suggested Angel go, being the least threatening of the lot, yet still the most protected given the Vortex, but the Doctor…and Jack…and the team…refused to let her go alone. Which brought up who should go with her.

The Doctor refused to let her go without him, but he wasn't part of Torchwood and that wouldn't help Lois trust them if at least one member of the team wasn't there. So Angel had suggested Tosh, stating she was a clever woman and Torchwood. But Owen refused to let her go without one of the team with her as well, which brought up the who should go. In the end Jack suggested Ianto, the well dressed man seemed rather nice and non-threatening and knew how to handle public relations.

So the four of them found themselves in the café, the team, of course, watching from the monitor of the TARDIS, which was hiding in the backroom.

The two members of the Torchwood team were tense, watching the door, the Time Lords with their backs to it, but seeming completely at ease. The Doctor was building a house of cards out of the sugar packets as Angel watched, her arm linked through his.

"Can we really trust this girl?" Tosh had to ask. They'd originally thought they'd be meeting Frobisher, till the Doctor pointed out that Lois had been trying to keep Frobisher from hearing about Jack for a reason, the kill order, and that they should expect Lois there before the man, which might be just as well to get someone in their that no one would think twice about.

"We can," Angel nodded, reaching out to put a hand on Tosh's, seeing the girl was nervous without Owen there. She understood that completely, "Everything will be fine Tosh. Remember, Lois was protecting Jack, she'll protect the rest of you too."

"And besides," the Doctor leaned back as his 7th attempt to build a simple 3 level card house failed, "It's one girl. The TARDIS is in the back and we've got each other, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Knowing you Doctor," Ianto sighed, recalling Jack's tales of adventures with the man, "Everything."

"Oi!" he pouted.

Angel just blinked, "She's here."

The Torchwood team looked over to see Lois enter.

"And we've got Angel," the Doctor beamed, "She'll see any funny business coming a mile away."

Lois spotted them, recognizing Tosh and Ianto from the files she'd seen on the computer and headed over, "Hi. I'm Lois."

"Hello Lois," Angel smiled, "It's nice to meet you in person, please sit," she gestured at a chair as Lois slowly sat down and they fell silent a moment.

"Oh, God," Lois gasped, "This is probably the worst mistake of my life," she looked at Tosh and Ianto, "I've read your files. Some of the stuff you've done, you're like unsung national heroes!"

Tosh smiled a bit, "Emphasis on the unsung," she told the girl, already feeling better, "We want to keep it that way, we don't do anything we do for praises."

The Doctor smiled and looked at Angel, recalling how she had reminded him they were both the same.

"But to keep the Earth safe," Ianto nodded.

The Doctor looked back at them, proud, Jack really HAD turned Torchwood around, hadn't he?

'I told you,' Angel nudged him.

"So," the Doctor turned to Lois, "You didn't want Jack or Torchwood to meet Frobisher, why?"

"Because if he knew you were here you'd be dead," she told them, "He gave the order to have Jack Harkness killed."

"Are you sure?" Tosh's eyes widened.

"I've seen it with my own eyes."

"JUST Jack?" Angel frowned, a niggling in her mind…

"No," Lois shook her head, "Do you know a Captain Andrew Staines?"

"No," Ianto shook his head.

"A Colonel Michael Sanders? Ellen Hunt?"

"No."

"They're all dead," she told them, "They were killed on the same day as Jack Harkness was meant to be. I didn't sign the Official Secrets Act to cover up murder. But then, I didn't take the job to commit treason on my second day. What am I doing here?"

Angel smiled and took Lois's hand, "You tell us, Lois."

Lois took a breath, "If you're the bad guys, why doesn't it say that on your file? And if you're the good guys, who am I working for, and why do they want you dead? Everyone in the office seems to think what's happening with the kids is all to do with aliens..."

"It is," Angel nodded.

"And that they'll be here tomorrow."

"They will be."

"And there's something big being built on the top floor of the MI5 building."

"To house them," Angel said, before blinking, realizing what she'd said and looked at the Doctor as he just beamed at her.

He loved it when that happened, when she said something, not knowing why, she got the most adorable confused look on her face.

"Brilliant," he breathed, kissing her forehead.

"What exactly is this something?" Ianto asked

"And how is it going to house them?" Tosh wondered.

"I don't know," Lois sighed, "But it's like they're getting ready. And if you lot...Torchwood...if you're the alien experts, and they really are coming tomorrow, why does Mr. Frobisher want you out of the way all of a sudden?"

"Because they think Torchwood is the only one who can figure it out," Angel said, frowning as she worked it out, "There's a secret here, something that Torchwood either knows or can uncover and they can't risk that happening. Imagine that," she murmured, "Armies being raised to keep a secret getting out…" she shivered, something about that striking her deeply.

"But what's the secret?" the Doctor wondered.

"Whatever it is, we need to find it fast," Tosh determined.

"Um," Lois began, "If there's anything I can do to help…"

"We'll give you a call," a voice said behind her, she turned in her chair, staring wide eyed at the rest of Torchwood, and Gwen's husband, standing behind her, "When this is all over, and you want a job, come and see me Lois Habiba."

"Ok," she nodded, a bit stunned, Captain Jack was rather more handsome in person.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he held out a hand, "But you already knew that."

"Stop it," Angel laughed.

~8~

In the Thames House, on the 13th floor, Frobisher stood with Spears, both in red hard hats, watching as the lift doors opened and the Prime Minster stepped out, "Prime Minister," Frobisher handed him a hat.

"Ready?" he asked, putting it on.

"Let's go."

"Have they sent us any further information?"

"Not since they sent us the designs for this thing," he turned and led the way down the hall, pushing through the plastic curtain to see the cases of some sort being erected, welding going on, nearly finished, "I've got two radio operators working round the clock. We're sending out continuous messages on the 456 wavelength, but we're getting nothing back."

"Carry on," the Prime Minister called, seeing Dekker step up, "Don't mind me," he looked at Frobisher, "What's the latest from Jodrell Bank? Any signs of their approach?"

"No. But then there wasn't last time."

The Prime Minister looked around, eyeing the large tanks being built, "What's that for?"

"It's for them," he winced as his phone rang and he answered, walking away a few feet, "What?"

"We've got a problem," Johnson called, "We've hacked into UNIT, looking into their records for 'The Doctor,'" it was really more a rumor among the government, none of them really paying much heed to the whisperings of UNIT or Torchwood about the man and some other girl, they knew OF him but not much ABOUT him, "And sir…he's an alien. What's more, he has a transport, a box that can disappear and reappear anywhere. It's how we think Torchwood escaped. We don't know where they are sir. We have no idea."

"How did that happen?!"

"I'm sorry sir, we've no way to track it. Harkness and his team could be anywhere."

"If he talks, we're in deep, deep shit. I'll have to call you back," he snapped his phone shut and rubbed his head, taking a breath before joining Spears and the Prime Minister again.

"Mr. Frobisher, sir," Dekker came over to the trio, "We've finished," he gestured them back to the tanks.

There was one giant tank, with three lights hanging from the top of it, two bars in the middle as though separating the glass in three parts.

"Seals locked and...release…"

"Sir," a lab tech nodded as white gas poured into the tank.

"As per the 456 instructions. A combination of 25% nitrosyl chloride, 22% hydrogen chloride, 20% nitrogen, 12% fluorine, 9% hydrogen cyanide, 6% acetone, 6% phosgene. In short...poison. I'd hold on to your nose, Bridget! Though, come to think of it, you've been doing that for years."

Spears sent him an unamused look.

"And that's what they breathe?" Frobisher eyed it.

"Breathe? Eat? Fart? We know nothing about them!"

"Excuse me, if we know the composition of that gas, can't we work out what sort of creature could live inside it?" Spears asked.

"Could do. If we had all the time in the world!"

"So they arrive...and then what?" Frobisher frowned.

"The whole room's laid out, according to 456 instructions. Something of an ambassadorial suite, I'd say. Or a throne room. Who knows, maybe a slaughterhouse."

"But if they arrive tomorrow, then how?" Spears looked at them, "How do they arrive inside that?"

"No idea."

"Who else knows about this?" the Prime Minister cut in, staring at the tanks.

"For all we know, they've sent the same instructions to every country in the world," Frobisher replied, "We've said nothing, maybe everyone else is keeping quiet, too."

"Oh, I don't think so," Dekker shook his head, "Whoever they are, they're coming for Britain."

"Well, why?" Bridget asked.

"Exactly," Dekker turned to Frobisher, eyeing him knowingly, knowing better than to try and insult the Prime Minister, "Why is that, Mr. Frobisher?"

The Prime Minister smirked a bit before he turned and simply walked out, Frobisher glaring at Dekker, storming off with Spears following him. Dekker watched them go before walking to the glass, wiping a spot on it and staring.

Day Three

The Torchwood team and the Time Lords stood around the monitor of the TARDIS console, watching as the Doctor flipped through the channels, "The children promised tomorrow and tomorrow is here," a news reporter stated, "Our correspondents have been measuring the situation in Australia where, so far..."

"Le President a declare," a French reporter began, the TARDIS translating for them much the same message as the other stations.

"The Senate have pointed out that we are now living in fear of our children," the American channel continued, "In fear of what they will say next. In fear of who or what is speaking through them."

"So what do we do?" Gwen asked, cutting into the silence that had fallen, "Just...sit here?"

"Well," the Doctor began, "They're arriving today. That alien voice-thing said today so…" he shook his heed, "Haven't got a clue."

"Make it up as we go again then eh, Doc?" Jack laughed, clapping the man on the back as Angel frowned and moved over to the console, absently touching some controls, the others not noticing.

"The old team," the Doctor laughed, "Well, the new team, well..two new teams. Let's call ourselves the Triple T!"

"What?" Owen shook his head, staring at the man, more sure than ever that he was completely mad.

"Team Torchwood-TARDIS, Triple T! Oh I LIKE that!" he grinned.

"How are you still alive?" Owen eyed him.

"I've survived worse than this," he shrugged, "Mostly 'cos of Angel though."

"But they're right Doc," Jack sighed, taking responsibility, "We need a plan, we need to know what alien it is, what's going on, and what to do. We can't risk anyone getting to hurt, especially not Gwen in her condition."

"In my condition?" Gwen put a hand on her hip, "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Gwen you're pregnant," Rhys reminded her softly, "He's just trying to think about the kid…"

"Yeah, that little girl needs to live to see tomorrow…" Jack began as Gwen winced.

"What do you mean girl?" Rhys frowned, "You found out it's a girl? And told HIM first?!"

"Actually Angel sort of let it slip," Tosh tried to ease him, "We just all happened to be there..."

Rhys huffed, "Always the last to know…"

"Tension is mounting as the population of the entire planet waits for the next incident," the TV continued, pulling their attention back, all the stations talking about what their governments were going to do, what they could possibly do.

~8~

Frobisher sat in his home with his daughters, watching the Prime Minister give a speech on the telly, much like many people across the country were doing as well.

"In light of what's happening with our children, we've temporarily closed the schools. As a further precaution, we have introduced a temporary curfew for everyone under the age of 18. Keep your children at home, where they'll be safe. The curfew takes effect immediately…and will continue until further notice. But rest assured. We are doing everything in our power to find out what's going on, to safeguard our children and all the people of this nation. In the meantime, we are asking everyone to stay calm, and to go about your lives as normal. There's nothing to suggest we are in any danger and, as soon as we find out anything more, the public will be informed. And, as always, I thank you for your trust and for your faith."

He closed his eyes, worried.

So, SO worried.

~8~

Rhiannon tried her best to keep many of the small children who had invaded her house fed, cola cans and sandwiches everywhere, all of them shouting and running and creating chaos, "This is Eliza," Johnny said, entering with another child, "And she's lactose intolerant, so no milk."

"Oh, right," she smiled at the girl, "You take your coat off, you go in there and play, alright?" she waited till the girl ran off before rounding on him, "That's it now, Johnny. No more kids! I'm full to bursting."

"It's a public service! The schools are closed, people still got to work. Life goes on!'

"Yeah, with you making a profit."

"Ten quid a kid," he grinned, "Look, that could be our slogan, ten quid a kid!"

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. Ianto had called from somewhere called a TARDIS and let her know he was ok, claiming that call couldn't be traced through time and space and laughed like he'd just shared a little joke. She didn't get it though.

She just hoped whatever happened with the kids, he'd be ok and help stop it.

~8~

Alice watched as Stephen sat, watching TV, the phone to her ear, "This is Jack Harkness, leave a message and I'll get back to you."

She hung up and stared at it, worried.

~8~

"Right," Jack and his team, and Rhys, sat around the floor of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Angel at the console, Angel showing him a scan she'd set running to alert them to anything approaching Earth, as the humans went over a list of assets, "So, we've got..." Jack eyed the pile between them, "A pen knife, laptop, now dead…"

"But recharging," Tosh reminded him.

"Credit cards and a phone…"

"Which they can't trace anymore," Gwen smirked, thanks to the Doctor's sonic.

"Lemsip. Book of stamps. Pair of contact lenses. Fifteen quid..."

"20," Owen added another 5 to it.

"And all of that," Ianto jerked a thumb behind him to the equipment they'd taken from Torchwood, quite a few rather large guns...which the Doctor had threatened to throw into a supernova if they so much as looked at it...and some tech that had proved helpful in the past.

"And the aliens turning up today," Rhys reminded them.

"We've still got some of the Torchwood software though," Tosh added.

"We've can't get back to the Hub," Jack shook his head. They couldn't risk it. The TARDIS could get in, yes, but they didn't doubt that the government would be waiting there ready to shoot before asking questions.

"But the software still exists on the server," Ianto reminded, that was the one piece of tech they'd forgotten.

"Which I can get," the Doctor grinned, waving them over.

~8~

Alice frowned at the phone as it went to Jack's answer phone again and turned to pick up a bowl and juice cup Stephen had left, tidying, "I'm just going to pop over the road," she called to her son, "I won't be a minute, ok?" she looked over as he just waved her on, still watching his program.

She walked outside and rushed across the road, seeing someone texting on their phone, "Excuse me, could I borrow your phone? I just want to make a call to my sister, she's a bit worried. It's all this stuff with the kids. And my mobile's not working. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, sure," the woman handed it over.

"I won't be long. Brilliant, thanks," she took it and walked away a few feet, calling.

"Hello, Cardiff Bay police station," came the answer.

"Yeah," she began, "I'm trying to contact Captain Jack Harkness, he works for Torchwood. I know it's not your department, but..." the phone beeped, but she didn't notice, "I think he might have been in that terrorist attack, and I can't get in touch with him. He's got this private number and he always answers it but..."

"I'll need your name and address," the man replied.

"I just want to know where he is."

"I'll need your name and address," she lowered the phone, but he kept repeating, "Name and address, please."

She quickly closed it, realizing she may have made a mistake, that man was too insistent. Her father had warned her NOT to use his real name…what if they were tracking her?

"Lovely, thank you very much," she handed the phone back, "Thanks," and ran back to her house, alarmed…

~8~

"We've got her," Johnson smiled as she got a report from one of her agents, "The woman in Captain Jack Harkness's photo is one Alice Carter," the man stated, "Maiden name Alice Sangster, parents James and Mary Sangster, which is significant because James and Mary Sangster never really existed. They were placeholder names, used in the early '70s, for personnel that went into deep cover or witness relocation. In other words, the whole ID's a fake."

"Excellent," Johnson smirked, snapping her phone shut.

If this Alice woman was in witness relocation...she might be someone much more to Captain Jack, she might just be his daughter after all. Her mission was looking brighter.

~8~

Clem, snuck along the road, pausing behind a woman waiting to cross the street and subtly sneaking her purse out of her handbag, rushing off as she crossed, till he reached the same pub he'd been in the day before. He emptied the purse on the table, ignoring the photos of the woman's children and the pink littering it.

"Such a long time ago," he mumbled to himself, "But it's all coming back. Isn't it? 'Cos of that smell...closer and closer. Happens today, well, it's always today, isn't it? Same as yesterday. Today and yesterday. I knew they'd come back. Bastards always come back," he sniffed deeply, "I can smell them. Just like last time, isn't it?" he winced recalling that night so long ago, when he'd been a child, his friends, 11 of them, with him, walking towards a light, "Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! STOP! STOP!"

The other children never came back…

"That's him..." he heard the barmaid say.

He looked back to see two police men standing there and ran, or tried to, but he was so old and the pub had tables around, he fell to the ground, "No. Oh, no, don't take me, they'll get me."

"Hold on!" one of the police shouted, grabbing him.

"No, don't take me, get out of the way!"

"That's it. Come on...you're making it worse."

"STOP! Stop! Stop! They'll get me, they'll get me!"

But the two men just dragged him away.

~8~

"We're in!" the Doctor called as he and Jack stood by the monitor, everyone gathered around him as they broke into the Torchwood records.

It was rather easy when Angel was able to guess the password the government had changed it to.

"Right," Tosh pushed her way over, "Where do we start? What are we looking for? What do you want to know?"

"Run a check on that Clement MacDonald," Gwen murmured, "See if there's any change."

"And those names Lois said, Captain Andrew Staines," Owen added, "Was it Ellen Hunt? Michael something. All assassinated the same time they tried to kill Jack and the rest of us."

"Andrew Staines, Ellen Hunt, Michael Sanders, mean anything to you?" Ianto looked at Jack.

"No, nothing," he shrugged.

"We need to get inside Whitehall," Owen muttered.

The Doctor frowned, seeing Angel quiet and moved to her side, seeing she was just looking at the rotor absently, distracted.

"Have you got the I5 software, Ianto?" Gwen looked over.

"Yeah, it's still on the site, why?" he asked.

"Download it onto the laptop Tosh...'cos these are not just contact lenses," she held them up from her pocket, "These are Torchwood contact lenses."

"With the cameras?" Tosh asked, "That's brilliant!"

"But what do we use them for?" Ianto shook his head.

"Yeah, who's gonna wear them?" Owen scoffed.

"Well, there's only one person still talking to us," Jack smirked, "Time to make a date," he laughed and walked off.

~8~

Lois was sitting in a coffee shop that morning, absently sipping her coffee, when Jack plopped down in front of her, "What's up buttercup?"

She blinked at him.

"Yeah," he winced, "Not the best line is it? Listen, we need your help…"

Lois shook her head, "I've helped you once. And that's enough. If anybody finds out what I'm doing...it's treason. It's literally treason. Offenses like this can be tried without a jury. They could do anything to me."

"Yeah, I know," he scoffed, he'd been tried for treason in the past, "But you said they're building something at Thames House. And we need to find out what it is."

"That's the most secure building in the whole country. I can't exactly smuggle you in!"

"You don't have to. You just…" he turned the laptop he'd brought around for Lois to see, "Just keep your eyes open. Like this," he opened the lid to show what looked like a security camera footage on a round screen.

Lois frowned, seeing herself, looking around and at Jack, "But...where's that coming from? That's not a webcam, that's you."

Jack just fake yawned, stretching his arm out and looking right, then left, and back at Lois, the camera following his gaze.

"Where's the camera? On your jacket?"

"Eyes are the windows baby," he smirked, winking at her.

"Oh, my God!"

"When you wear these," he held up the contact case, "They'll transmit a picture so we can see what's going on. And more than that, we've got lip-reading software. Just look at someone when they're speaking, and it'll translate it. Press enter on that. Go on," Lois did, "Now it's working. Say something."

"Like what?" Lois asked, her eyes widening, seeing 'Like what?' appear, "Oh, my God, that's weird," and that as well.

"And we can send messages to you. Type something. Go on, anything. Oh!" he grinned, leaning forward, "Type 'Jack Harkness is the most handsome man in the Universe.'"

Lois just eyed him and typed 'Hello.'

He laughed, "Well hello Ms. Habiba."

"You can see that? In your eyes?"

Jack nodded and took them out, putting them back into their case, "It's good, isn't it?" he grinned, "If you wear these, we can find out what's going on. And then, we can help."

"But I can't. What if they...I don't know, scan for bugs, or something?"

"Yeah they will but they won't register. I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Angie said so," he shrugged, "And Angie's usually right."

Lois eyed him, not sure if she should risk her life on the say-so of one girl, "Is she really psychic?"

"Oh yeah," he smiled.

"I can't, though," she shook her head, "Getting you information's one thing, but that's putting me right on the front line."

"Lois…" he reached out and touched her hand, "You're the only friend we've got left, the only one they wouldn't be looking for, they'd recognize all of us if we try to get in there."

"Even if I get into Thames House, I can't get on to Floor 13, that's where they're building this thing, but Frobisher only takes Miss Spears with him, I'm just the office girl!"

"You'll have to find a way inside."

"But how?!"

"No idea," he got up, "You'll have to think of something."

"I can't!"

"Look, I get it," he sighed, "It's all too much to ask, but something alien is coming, something big. Something that's scaring Angie…" he'd noticed how Angel was more quiet since she and the Doctor had arrived, more distant, distracted, like...whatever was coming was so big all she could see and feel was what they would do when they arrived, "And that is BAD," he slid her the contacts, "Just...take them with you, think about it."

And with that, he walked off.

~8~

"Frobisher's the key to this," Jack remarked as he joined the others in the TARDIS once more, they had all agreed to stay in the box and scout out things from there, it really was the safest place in the Universe at the moment and with the government after them, trying to stop them, and children involved, they weren't going to take any chances.

"He's just a civil servant," Owen shook his head, "He's nothing."

"So what makes him start authorizing executions?" Tosh remarked.

"Ianto?" Angel asked quietly, seeing the man sitting off to the side, on the captain's chair, as everyone spoke to Jack, the Doctor puttering around the console, Rhys following him to ask him about the controls, "Are you ok?"

"That bomb…" he began, clearly it was upsetting him to think on just how close Jack had come to being blown to bits, "If it had gone off…" he looked at Angel, "Would he feel it?" she could only nod sadly, "D'you ever think that, one day, his luck'll run out?" he whispered, "That he won't come back?"

Angel sighed, looking at Jack, the past version of the Face of Boe, the only comfort she had in knowing how he'd die was in that he'd live an exceptionally long and wonderful life and that she would be able to be there for him when he passed, right at his side, holding his…tentacle. She laughed a bit at that.

"I think…he'll always come back until his journey has run its course," she murmured, "Even Time Lords can die of old age Ianto, it's very, very, very, very hard to do, but we can. I think Jack's the same, he'll live on, aging far slower than the world around him."

"So...one day, he'll see me die of old age. And just keep going," he blinked tears in his eyes, as Angel took his hand, "Last time you were here, you said you made Jack how he was…can you reverse it?"

"No," she shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry Ianto. When it happened, I was completely consumed by the Vortex," she held up her hand, their joined hands and showed him the faint glow around it, "It controlled me for the most part and I was meant to die using it, but the Doctor saved me. I DID die the second time…and the third now that I think about it," she sighed, "I'm not that strong right now, I don't know if I'll ever be strong enough to reverse that without damaging myself. I would try," she promised, "I'd give it my all but…my all might not be good enough and I might die tr..."

"Don't," Ianto cut in, "Jack would kill me if you died."

She laughed, "I think a lot of people would take up arms if I died," she smiled, thinking on all the people who made it to the Crucible.

"I'd be one of them," he added, "Jones for life eh?"

"Jones for life," she nodded, glancing over at Jack, "You know what I learned when I was dying?" he looked at her, "Make the most of the life you have," she nudged him, "Go on then, make the most of it."

"Right now?!" his eyes widened.

"Why not?"

"The world could be ending."

"World's always ending, but it won't, because the Doctor and I'll look after it, always," she nudged him again, "Now get on with it! The TARDIS is infinite, imagine how many bedrooms she has?"

Ianto's eyes widened and he ran over to Jack, Angel watching with a small smirk as he whispered something in Jack's ear, the man looking at him sharply, then the gantry, then Ianto, before pulling the man off with no explanation to his team though they all knew where the two were going, Jack's old TARDIS room.

"That was nice of you," the Doctor plopped down beside her, his arm automatically going around her shoulders as she leaned on him.

"My brother's been through a lot," she shrugged, "He needs comfort for what's coming."

"And what's that?" he looked at her.

She sighed, "No idea."

He nodded, before looking at her again, "Do YOU need comfort?"

"I could do with a bit," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him gently.

"Oi!" Tosh called, "I found something," she nodded them over to the monitor where she'd brought up a report on Clem, "Face recognition software. Arrested two hours ago in London. He wouldn't give his name, but that is Clement MacDonald."

"Oh you are brilliant Tosh," Owen beamed, hugging her from behind, kissing her cheek, making her smile and blush.

"Right," Gwen nodded, getting to business, "We'd best pick him up and get him out…" she paused a moment, "I think Angel and I should go, alone," she added to the Doctor as he pouted, "Clem trusts me, he's met me before and…he seems to have a sense for aliens but…I think he might like you Angel."

"Why?" she shook her head, not sure how SHE would be different than the Doctor going.

Gwen just laughed and took her hand, that girl really couldn't see just how sweet she was, she gave off a protective aura that she knew Clem would need to feel safe and secure.

"Hold on," she pulled back a bit, "Doctor, could I have the psychic paper please? I have a feeling we might need it."

He nodded and handed it over, knowing it would be better for them to use that than risk Gwen showing her real ID or calling someone else for help.

"Thanks," she beamed, leaning in to kiss him thanks, only for him to reach up and cup her cheek, deepening the kiss, not about to let her walk out of there without him without a good long kiss.

"For good luck," he whispered, kissing her once more.

She bit her lip, looking up at him with shining eyes, giving him one more peck, it seemed she was just as much a fan of kissing him as he was of her in this body, before she turned and dashed off with Gwen, the others watching the Doctor just smile dazedly and watch her go.

Owen, with Jack not being there at the moment, felt like he HAD to say it, "Eyes front soldier," but also added, "And off her bum."

The Doctor blushed.

~8~

"Have fun?" the Doctor smirked as Jack and Ianto entered the console room again to see him by the monitor, Rhys beside him, watching how he was doing what he was, as Owen and Tosh sat cuddled on the captain's chair, Tosh seemingly nearly asleep as she curled against Owen, the man just smiling down at her as he watched her doze, his hand lightly stroking patterns on her arms, "Get plenty of dance practice in?"

"So," Jack rolled his eyes, though there was a blush on his cheeks, "Find anything on this Clem guy?"

The Doctor nodded, "Got the TARDIS to hack in, used the databases, and found this," he shifted the monitor a bit to reveal an image of Clem as a child, in an orphanage, "Institutionalized when he was 11 years old, claiming alien abduction. Round about 1965 he was living ten miles outside Arbroath, the Holly Tree Lodge, it was an orphanage…" he trailed off, seeing Jack stiffen at the name, "Something you want to share with the class Jack?"

"What else did the file say?" Jack swallowed hard, looking as though he were praying something wasn't right.

"He and 11 other children were taken away in November 1965, the Lodge was closing down, they were being taken to a second care home called Harbor Heights in Plymouth. Except that's where the records stop, there's no trace of them arriving," he eyed Jack, "I'm guessing he was being truthful and the children never arrived?"

Jack just shook his head and ran to the Doctor's side, "Show me those people. Bring them up."

"What people?" Owen asked as Tosh started to wake.

"Andrew Staines, Ellen Hunt, Michael Sanders. The ones that were killed the same day as me."

"Why, d'you think there's a connection?" Ianto asked as the Doctor did that.

"No, no," Jack shook his head, seeing their most recent images, "Give me their history, show me them 40 years ago."

The TARDIS de-aged the pictures to them 40 years younger, and Jack's mouth hung open.

"Who are they, Jack?" the Doctor looked at him carefully, NOT liking his expression.

"Did you know them?" Rhys frowned.

"I never knew their names," he breathed.

"Who were they?" Tosh got up with Owen, coming over to see what had startled Jack so badly.

"Jack, tell me," Ianto said softly, the Doctor just crossing his arms, half-wishing Angel were there, Jack would have told her if she asked, and half-glad she wasn't as he got the sense something bad had happened and Jack was involved.

"Did you know them?"

"Jack," the Doctor spoke.

Jack looked at him and had to shake his head, because...looking at the Doctor reminded him that…Angel would know. Angel would find out, he'd have to tell HER what he'd done, what he'd become before he found her again.

He turned and ran for he doors.

"Jack!" Ianto made to go after him.

"Let him go," the Doctor called, watching the man, he knew that expression, it was one he'd made on Mars, where you realize something terrible was your fault and needed answers.

"Has this place got a kitchen?" Rhys asked suddenly, if just to break the tension, "I've not eaten all day, I'm starved."

~8~

Johnson stood before a man at a computer, showing her a picture of one Alice Carter, "Alice Carter. I've broken the security wall. You're gonna love this," he clicked a button and information popped up:

ALICE CARTER-CLASSIFIED

Mother: Lucia Moretti
Torchwood Operative, 1968-1975
Date of birth: 18/06/1945
Date of death: 23/11/2006. Heart Disease

One daughter: Melissa Moretti
Father: Captain Jack Harkness. Freelance Torchwood Operative

Johnson smirked and grabbed her phone.

"What is it?" Frobisher answered, "Any sign of Harkness?"

"Sins of the past. We were right sir, he's got a daughter."

"Excellent, who is she?"

"Alice Carter. She was put into deep cover way back in 1977, at the request of her mother. Seeking to distance herself from the life of Captain Jack, can hardly blame her," she looked down, seeing the woman had been 'Alice Carter' since 1977.

"Who was the mother?"

"Woman called Lucia Moretti. Italian, Torchwood staff, 1968 to 1977. Deceased, heart disease, 2006. Natural causes, that's rare for Torchwood. And now, Alice Carter's got a child of her own, his grandson. Could be useful, what d'you want me to do?"

"Bring them in."

"Just the answer I wanted," she smirked.

~8~

Frobisher stepped out of his office to see Spears and Lois at their desks, "Nothing from Jodrell Bank," he told Spears, "But we might as well get ready. Bridget, get everything you need, we'll transfer to Thames House."

"What d'you want me to do?" Lois asked Spears as the man walked off.

"Exactly what you're doing now," the woman replied briskly, "Just answer the phones."

"Well...I could come with you to Thames House. I could help."

"I don't think so."

"The thing is..." she took a breath, going for it, "Mr. Frobisher asked me to come."

"When was that?"

"He said he wanted me. At his side."

"What for? Why on Earth would he need you?"

"It was a...private conversation," she said, hoping Spears would believe her.

Spears though, actually looked like she might have been expecting something like that as her face fell.

Frobisher stepped back out of his office and stalked past, the two women waiting till he'd passed, before turning to follow.

""You're not the first, you know," Spears turned back to her, "Don't go thinking you're the first."

"Then I can come?" she held her breath.

"Apparently so," Spears nearly spat and the two women walked off, Lois grinning widely.

~8~

Gwen and Angel followed an officer down a row of cells, having gotten in with help from the Doctor's psychic paper, which Angel was dismayed to see she STILL couldn't read, to a metal gated one, Clem seated within, clearly upset, sitting against the back wall, all curled up and rocking back and forth.

"Clem?" Gwen called gently, stepping in, "Do you remember me?" Clem sniffed deeply, staring at her, when his eyes turning to Angel, "This is my friend," Gwen tried to introduce, stiffening as the man sniffed, seeming able to smell aliens…and worried for Angel's safety.

Angel, though, just smiled and stepped closer, Clem staring at her with wide eyes, "Hello Clem," she knelt down before him, not making another move towards him but letting him come to her when he was ready, "I'm Angel…"

Clem blinked, "You're glowing," he told her.

"Thank you," she laughed, Gwen letting out a breath of relief when she saw Clem start to smile, almost a bit shy, like a child meeting someone pretty, "You're rather dashing as well."

"You're an alien," he said.

Gwen glanced over, seeing the guard roll his eyes as that.

"Yes I am," she nodded, the guard scoffing as the woman played along, "And you're a human."

"You're not like the others," he eyed her.

"No I'm not," she winked, "One of the nice ones, promise," and crossed her hearts.

"You won't…" he swallowed, "You won't hurt me?"

Her gaze softened in sorrow, "Not ever," she reached out, holding a hand to him, "I'll protect you Clem, me and my Mate both."

He looked at her hand before taking it, hesitantly sniffing it like he had done Gwen's before lunging at her and hugging her tightly, crying.

"There, there," she whispered, patting his back as Gwen smiled at them...but her smile slowly faded as she saw Angel's look get distant and knew what that meant, she had seen it happen to Angel before when Gray had attacked, when the girl had seen the bombs going off around Cardiff and rushed off with the Doctor to stop them.

"Angel…what is it?"

...the front of Alice's home was kicked in, soldiers storming the house as she and Stephen ran...

'...shoot. Let's see what happens. Are you as immortal as your father? Is the boy? We can put it to the test...'

...Alice panted as she looked at the soldiers surrounding her, all the guns aimed at her and her son...

She blinked, "Gwen I need your phone," she stood and held out a hand, quickly dialing, "Doctor…" she called when the TARDIS phone was answered, "You need to come get us, now," she added as she walked out, leading Gwen and Clem, "Alice and Stephen are in trouble…"

~8~

Alice stepped down the stairs with a basket of laundry, spotting her son watching TV, "It's boring," Stephen complained, "I want to see aliens."

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Be careful what you wish for. Put some cartoons on," she opened the back door and was about to step outside when…she heard a dog that had been barking suddenly fall silent. She dropped the basket and ran inside, running to the font door to see everything was silent, "Stephen, come on, we're going out, quickly now," she grabbed her coat and his, rushing to him.

"But the telly said we've got to stay inside."

She just helped him into his coat, "Never mind that, now listen to me. We're going to go out, and you're gonna be quiet, ok? Don't make a sound. Just like those games your gran taught you, d'you remember?"

"We in trouble?" Stephen frowned, "Gran always said there'd be trouble."

Alice just grabbed the knives out of a chopping block on the kitchen counter, "Then do exactly what she said. Just like the games. Nice and quiet. And don't let me out of your sight. Come on," she ran to the back door, the chopping block in her other hand, just as the front was kicked in, soldiers storming the house as they ran…

"Clear!" she could hear them calling, "Clear!"

They made it to the garden when a soldier came out of the house. Alice pulled back but the soldier saw them and ran. She smashed his face in with the chopping block, grabbing his gun and Stephen's hand and running again…quickly moving into an alley when she saw soldiers in the streets.

They ran as fast as they could, but the soldiers followed…until Agent Johnson stepped out in font her, blocking the end of the alley, more soldiers coming up behind them, cutting off the escape. She raise her gun, but the woman was calm, surrounded by armed soldiers with their guns up as well, "Get out of the way," Alice threatened, her hand shaking as her other hand pressed Stephen closer to her, protecting him.

"Go on then," the woman smirked, "Shoot. Let's see what happens. Are you as immortal as your father? Is the boy? We can put it to the test."

"Take me. Let him go."

"No."

"He's only a child."

"So? Alice," she sighed, "If we wanted you dead, we'd have opened fire by now. Just put down the gun."

"Who are you?"

"Put down the gun."

"If you harm him. I will kill you."

"Understood."

Alice panted as she looked at the soldiers surrounding her, all the guns aimed at her and her son.

Just as she moved to lower her gun…a wheezing noise filled the air.

Johnson's eyes widened, realizing what it was, but before she could even lunge for them, a blue box appeared around them.

One of the doors opened and Angel smiled at her as she stuck her head out, "I told you I didn't like it when people try to hurt my family," she winked at the woman, shutting the door in her face as the box vanished again.

"NO!" Johnson's shouts faded away as the TARDIS flew away.

"Oh my God," Alice breathed as she stared around at the large space she'd now found herself in. She didn't even have to know that the box on the outside was a small police telephone box, her dad had told her stories of this box as a child, of this room, the coral color, the Y-shaped beams…this was the TARDIS!

"Hello," Angel called as she turned around from shutting the doors, the Doctor getting them into the Vortex as the Torchwood team turned to look, not quite sure who the woman and her son were or why Angel was so determined to protect them. Clem just remained curled up on the captain's chair, hunched over and shaking, understanding it was a spaceship of a nice alien, but that still didn't leave him comforted to be taken somewhere by them.

"Who are you?!" Alice demanded, backing into the railing of the ramp, pulling Stephen closer to her, "What do you want!?" she lifted the gun again.

Angel held up her hands, glancing at the Doctor to tell him to let her handle it, feeling his protective instinct flare at the sight of the gun, "Hello Alice."

"How do you know my name?" she glared.

"I'm psychic," she smiled.

Alice's eyes widened, her father didn't believe in many things over his long life, but he did firmly believe in psychics, because, when she'd asked, he'd said his sister was one. And this woman…she looked an awful lot like her father.

"Who are you?" she whispered this time, almost afraid of the answer.

"I'm the Angel," she began, taking a step forward when she saw Alice not step back, "But I think your dad likes to call me Angie?"

"You're real?" she stared, lowering the gun in shock, if this woman really was 'Angie' then she was as good as her aunt.

Angel beamed, "Hello!" and went in for a hug, gripping the woman tightly, sensing her hesitance and shock.

"Oh my God," Alice breathed, glancing over to see the Torchwood team eyeing her oddly, a man in a pinstripe brown suit watching her carefully, watching the gun carefully and so she dropped it.

"It's so nice to meet you," Angel smiled as she pulled away, "I was supposed to meet you last time I was here, but Gray needed help."

Alice's eyes widened even more, "He found uncle Gray?"

"Well, Gray sort of found him," Angel shrugged, shooting Owen a look when the man scoffed, telling him not to dare bring up what Gray had done. The woman was already an inch away from a panic attack and she was not about to tell her great-nephew that his great-uncle had tried to kill them all.

That would make for very awkward holiday dinners.

"And this must be Stephen eh?" Angel smiled and leaned over to look at Stephen, but he just stared blankly at her, "Alice…" Angel glanced up at her, "What day is it?" she could sense the day well enough when outside the TARDIS, inside...it was harder to pinpoint, and with the Doctor's piloting, one never knew anyway.

They all looked over as Stephen just lifted his arm and pointed at the doors.

The Doctor and Angel exchanged a look before they dashed over to them, throwing them open as the Torchwood Team, sans Jack, raced over, Alice slowly moving behind them, seeing the box was flying in the sky above the city.

"It's them," Tosh realized, the aliens...they were coming right now.

~8~

Rhiannon was washing her hands, drying them as she listened to the children shouting behind her, "I charge extra for cleaning, tell your mum, it's another two quid…" but she trailed off when she heard them suddenly stop. She looked over to see they were all standing there, pointing in the same direction, even her daughter, "What is it? Stop it," she ran over to them, before turning to head to her door to see what hey were pointing at…

~8~

The Doctor ran to the phone of the TARDIS, dialing out, "Jack!" he contacted him, making Alice spin around, "It's the children, yes…but that's not it, Agent Johnson went after Alice…"

~8~

Anna Frobisher knelt before her daughters as they pointed, "Can you hear me? Lilly, it's mum. Just look at me Holly. Just look at me!"

~8~

Gwen glanced back to see Clem had looked up and pointed as well, "What is it?" she moved over to him, "Clem?"

"It's them," Owen shouted, standing by the monitor, having run back to it to check the news feeds, "It's all of them, the kids."

"What are they saying?" Rhys asked.

"I don't know, just pointing."

~8~

All across the world the children pointed in the direction of London.

~8~

"Yet again, every child has stopped," a reporter began, "Every single child in the world. There seems to be no reports of speech. Only that they seem to be indicating something in the sky."

~8~

Johnny and Rhiannon ran outside, looking up at the sky, "It's on the news, they're pointing," Johnny told her.

"I know, but they're pointing over there. What's over there?" she squinted, trying to see.

~8~

"All the children in America are pointing east," Tosh reported as they gathered back at the console, Angel the only one standing at the doors, looking out, "And all the children in Europe are pointing west."

"It's us," Ianto realized, "They're pointing at us, at London."

~8~

"If you go far enough in that direction that's London," Rhiannon realized, "They're pointing at London."

~8~

"According to reports, children in London are all pointing towards the center of the city," the reporters continued, "To repeat, children in London all seem to be pointing towards the center."

~8~

"They're pointing at Thames House," the Doctor realized, "Come on!" he ran to the controls about to get the Torchwood team to help him pilot it there when…

"Wait," Angel called, "Doctor...they're here."

~8~

"It's happening!" a man shouted in the Thames house as alarms went off, everyone running outside to go see…

~8~

"Oh my God," Rhys gasped as they slowly gathered at the doors of the TARDIS once more, watching as a column of fire began to descend from the clouds, making a hole in them.

"What IS that?!" Alice stared, wide eyed.

~8~

Frobisher ran for the lift, "Sorry, you stay here," he called to the other members of the House.

"Mr. Frobisher, you haven't got the authorization…" the man who had shouted before told him.

He just looked up at the alarms and stepped back into the lift, ignoring him.

~8~

They watched from the doors as the fire descended towards the Thames House.

~8~

Frobisher stepped out of the lift, picking up a chair and putting it in between the doors so it couldn't close, turning down the corridor.

~8~

Lois looked around at the chaos of people trying to see what was happening, feeling a bit afraid.

~8~

Frobisher ran into the holding room to see Dekker already there, staring at the fog in the chamber. Waiting…

Until the fire blasted through the ceiling, right into the fog, igniting it a moment, blazing so brightly the men had to turn away.

~8~

The Prime Minister stood at the window of his office, staring out, watching the fire enter the House…till it went out, the hole in the clouds remaining

~8~

Frobisher and Dekker looked back as the fire faded, staring at the fog, not able to see much through it. They slowly stepped closer to the glass, vaguely seeing three shapes within each window pane…

~8~

Rhiannon gasped and spun around, hearing the kids, still pointing, speak, "We are here."

Before scattering and laughing, all back to normal.

~8~

"It's them!" Clem shouted behind them, startling them with his sudden voice, stumbling back onto the captain's chair once more, "They're back!"

Gwen rushed over, trying to comfort him as she sat beside him "Come on. It's ok, they won't get you. You're safe here."

"Mum…" Stephen began, "Where are we?"

~8~

Frobisher stepped closer to the holding container, staring, pausing when he heard a snarling and hissing noise coming from within.

"Speak!" a voice called, harsh, three of them echoing, sounding a bit synthesized as well.

"My name is John Frobisher," he began, "Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Earth. On behalf of the Human Race..."

There was a snarl and a bang as the creature known as the 456 smashed its heads on the glass erratically, firing some sort of bile at the glass, before smashing itself against it again and spreading the substance.

Frobisher squirmed at that, disgusted, looking a bit ill at the sight of it all, "Is there something wrong?" he eyed the smoke and the puke, unable to make the alien out clearly through the glass, just...three large shadows, "Do you want me to continue?"

The 456 just growled.

"Then..." he swallowed, "If I could request, for the purpose of communication...we've no name for your species. What are you called?"

"You call us 4-5-6."

"That's correct."

"Then that is our name!" it snarled and shot more bile.

"If I could request, on behalf of my government, what is it that you want?" there was silence, "Can you hear me? I'm sorry, but I need to know, before I approach my superiors, what exactly do you want?" it hissed and glowed, "I must ask the 456, officially, your purpose in visiting..."

"Speak," the 456 snarled.

"I AM speaking!"

"We would speak."

"With who?"

"The world."

"Why?"

"We would speak."

"Well, perhaps we do things differently here. But we would consider this to be a diplomatic liaison. Does that make sense? We are both, in a sense, ambassadors. And, according to protocol, ambassadorial procedure is not made public. You wouldn't be speaking to the entire population, but to their elected representatives. That's...that's...that's how it works. That's all I can offer. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Good," he nodded, "Thank you."

"Bring them."

"Thank you," Frobisher walked closer, "I have one condition," till he was right up against the glass though looking very much like he did NOT want to be that close, the bile was still dripping down the panes, "Does that make sense, d'you understand that? A condition? The 456 have made contact with this country before. Many years ago. It would be better if...I mean, given the nature of that meeting...it would ensure the smooth-running of diplomatic relations between Earth and the 456 if that previous encounter was kept off the record. By off the record, I mean, private. Between us. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

He let out a breath, "Thank you."

"Soon."

"I'm sorry?"

"Return soon."

"I will. Thank you," he backed up and left, Dekker going after him, following him out into the halls, to see the man rest his back against the wall across from him, slumping, before he slid down it with a thump.

~8~

"The area around Thames House is being cordoned off while the Government has..." the news began.

"Oh it is all kicking off now," Owen remarked as he stood before the monitor, watching the news.

"Just when we need Jack," Ianto muttered.

"Uncle Jack?" Stephen looked over at his mother, "Is Uncle Jack here mum?"

"I…" she began, truly not knowing what to say, "Um…" she looked at Angel as she remained in the doorway, till the Doctor moved over to her.

"What is it?" he whispered, nuzzling the size of her head.

"I just…feel like something really bad is about to happen," she murmured, it was the worst feeling she'd ever gotten so far.

And that scared her.

"...at Downing Street," the news feed continued, "These images are from five minutes ago. That's been identified as Colonel Oduya of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce and this is coming live that's General Austin Pierce, representing the American Armed Forces, he's heading inside Downing Street right now."

~8~

The Prime Minister sat across from quite a few military men in Downing Street, "I have been asked to convey, from the President of the United States, his absolute fury," a General Pierce began, "Is that understood?"

"Very much so," the Prime Minister nodded, seeming not at all perturbed.

"That landing wasn't spontaneous. It was planned, it was prepared, by you. And don't go calling this diplomacy, Mr. Green, you have established a court. The sovereign court of Great Britain. In direct contradiction of the statutes of the United Nations."

"We were acting under orders."

"Did they threaten you?"

"I think we can say, the mere existence of the 456 is a threat."

A black man, another general, Oduya, of UNIT, raised an eyebrow at that.

"Nevertheless, you have an alien ambassador on British soil."

"It has to be said," one of the women who came with them spoke, "That Britain has claimed no rights of territory or ownership over species 456."

"But it's here! You've damned well got it, right here!"

"And at every stage of these negotiations, you have excluded UNIT," Oduya reminded them, "When we're specially trained to deal with these situations."

"And I apologize," the Prime Minister nodded, "But the President's welcome to enter Floor 13, as is every other leader of the free world, I'd be honored."

"Except that's impossible."

"And you know it," Pierce glared, "We will not move the President into a location that's had no security screening. That would take days to organize, weeks!"

"Then I offer to withdraw," the Prime Minster began, a small smile on his face.

"What does that mean?"

"I won't usurp the United States, or any other nation. I suggest that dialogue with the 456 is taken out of my hands. And conducted by the civil service."

"They're still British."

"But not elected, with no authority of State. And that's exactly what we need. Middle men. John Frobisher's already spoken to the 456, I suggest he continues."

"I'd suggest that UNIT steps in," Oduya remarked.

"I wish it were so. But the 456 chose Britain. They designated the location. It's out of my control. What d'you want to do, anger them? Look...John Frobisher's a good man. And better than that, he's expendable. So what d'you say?"

"Do we have your absolute guarantee that you won't enter the room?" Pierce looked at Frobisher.

"My absolute guarantee."

"Then that's agreed."

"Agreed," Oduya nodded.

The Prime Minister's smile just morphed into a smirk.

~8~

Lois, Frobisher, Spears, and another man sat in a row, on a bench of the Thames house, Frobisher solemn, when his phone rang.

"John?" a voice called.

He stiffened, "Prime Minster, sir," he got up and walked off.

"We've consulted with the military, they've demanded that from now on you become our spokesperson in all negotiations with the 456. Simon can give you a security briefing, thank you."

Frobisher slowly lowered the phone as the man hung up, "Shit."

How was he going to explain that to his wife?!

~8~

"Oh, but I'm the last to know," Anna lamented as she walked around her house, tidying, the girls playing upstairs, "My own husband, and he won't tell me what's going on," she moved into the kitchen, right past Jack as he hid behind a corner, only his coat and tips of his shoes visible, "I've got the girls, pointing at the sky, and he won't say! No, there's nothing, I've been flicking through the news channels, no one's saying anything..." she rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah I know. If I hear anything, I'll let you know. Ok. Bye," she hung up and put the phone down.

"Careful that thing will rock!" she heard one of her daughters scolding.

"Lilly!" she huffed, walking over to the stairs to stop them making a mess, "Downstairs, please, I want you where I can see you."

Jack quickly slid into the room and grabbed the woman's mobile, rushing out through the garden window door.

"The so-called pillar of fire has brought central London to a halt," the TV was saying in the background, "All roads leading to the river have been closed off, as a result all major thoroughfares have ground to a standstill. Motorists are being asked to stay out of the city center except for emergencies…"

~8~

"Oh, that's so bloody dad," Alice huffed as Tosh explained where Jack had got to, her eye on the Doctor and Angel as they showed Stephen around. She'd stopped Angel from telling the boy she was his aunt, or who Jack really was to the boy, and said that they were in a spaceship, the good aliens, come to stop the bad aliens, there really was no other explanation she could give that the boy would believe.

He seemed to accept it, a bit too easily. He'd wanted to see aliens since the kids started talking as one, and now he got to. Though he was disappointed they looked human, till the Doctor had said that humans looked Time Lord.

"Didn't anyone try to stop him running off?"

Owen scoffed, "I shot him once, twice, to stop him," he told her, "And he STILL wouldn't quit…and anyway can't shoot him here, guns don't work in this place apparently."

"It's in a state of temporal grace," Tosh nodded.

"Whatever than means," Rhys sighed.

"We need to do something," Gwen began.

"Clem?" Angel called softly, though they all heard her, watching as she walked over to the man, sitting, curled up against one of the Y-Beams, rocking himself, clearly having flashbacks of when he'd been a child and nearly been taken by the aliens, "It's ok, Clem," she soothed, sitting beside him and putting an arm around him, the man turning to hug her, resting his head on her shoulder, like a little boy who needed comfort, "You're safe. You're with me and the Doctor and Torchwood, and we won't let anything happen to you ok?" she gently stroked his hair.

"I keep remembering more," he whispered as the adults gathered around him, the Doctor keeping Stephen distracted with the sonic, "It's not just them, up there. It's the man. He's come back. After all these years. I can smell him."

"What man?" Tosh frowned.

"Who is he?" Gwen asked.

"The same man," Clem wept, "I knew he'd come back for me."

Angel looked at him with a gentle look in her eyes, the pit in her stomach that had formed at seeing the fire column worsening, she bit her lip, thinking about that dream she'd had the other night. She didn't remember what it was, she remembered the heartbreak of it…she couldn't help but feel like…whatever was coming...it wasn't the cause of that dream but it would break her hearts as well.

"You know what you need," she smiled, "What I think you all need?" she looked at the adults, "Some tea," she beamed, "I love tea, tea and brownies. Do you want some?"

Alice stared at her as though she'd gone mad, offering tea and brownies while the aliens were invading, but the Torchwood team just smiled.

"I'd love some brownies with oranges," Gwen nodded.

Owen grimaced, but everyone laughed, it seemed the pregnancy cravings had hit Gwen.

"Come on," Angel helped Clem up, "Doctor," she smiled, "How about we give them a tour of the ship...or whatever rooms pop up between here and the kitchen at least.

He beamed, "Brilliant!"

He loved showing off his ship, the best ship in the Universe.

~8~

"I'm recommending we start at 1900," a man said as they stood in the Thames House, "That gives us another two hours. Now this is Louise," he nodded to a woman beside him, "She can advise on international diplomatic protocols, same goes for Samuel..."

Lois and Spears sat on a sofa, watching Frobisher with his team, preparing, "There's a creature in that room," Spears began to Lois quietly, "It's powerful, and it's toxic, and it's capable of God knows what. I bet you're glad to be trotting after John Frobisher now."

"Stuart's the linguistics expert, he can help out, if there's a problem with translation…"

Frobisher looked down as his phone rang to see it was his wife, "Excuse me, I'd better take this," he moved to the side, answering, "I was gonna phone you. God, I wish I was home right now. Look, just tell the girls that there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I'll tell them that, Johnny boy," Jack spoke on the other end, "I'll tell them that their father tried to have me and my team killed, how about that?"

"That's my wife's phone, how did you get my wife's phone?" he stiffened, fearing the worst.

"This is 1965, isn't it? All of this because of 1965. Frobisher, tell me, is it them? Have they come back?"

He swallowed, "Yes."

"That's why you tried to have me killed. Along with Andrew Staines and Ellen Hunt and Michael Sanders. All of us dead, so no one could say anything, is that it?"

"I had no choice."

"Well, I've got a choice...d'you want to hear my choice? I could blow this thing sky-high. I could tell the world! Unless you get me into Thames House. I demand to talk to the 456 and I've got two friends who'd love a little chat as well. Think about it. The fact that they've come back proves that they can't be trusted. You need me."

"Captain," he cut in, ready to do what it took to silence him, "We have your daughter and grandson, Alice and Steven Carter in our custody."

Jack scoffed, "Really?"

Frobisher smirked at how he was falling for the lie. Oh he had been fuming when Johnson told him the targets had been lost, but what Captain Jack didn't know wouldn't hurt him, "I promise, nothing will happen to them. My absolute promise. So long as you agree to say nothing."

But then Jack started laughing, "You know, if you're gonna threaten a guy, you might want to get your facts right. I know Alice and Stephen are safe," Frobisher frowned, "I'm sure your little lap dog agent Johnson told you, but my sister is very protective of her family and very psychic. She saw Alice in danger, and the Doctor helped get her out. Alice is with them right now…" Jack paused, and he could hear a wheezing noise on the other end of the line, "And I'm about to join her. See ya later."

Frobisher closed his eyes as the call cut off.

"The world is still waiting for any news from Thames House," a reporter announced in the background, "So far, the British Government is maintaining a policy of absolute silence. And the waiting continues."

But he had little time to think on that as he noticed the people gathered starting to move again, "If the support staff could take the stairs," the man who had been organizing everything called, "The lift is reserved for Mr. Frobisher and his personal staff. Fast as you can. Best of luck, sir."

Frobisher stepped over at the stairs, Lois and Spears joining him, "Big moment," he swallowed, trying desperately to forget the conversation with Jack, "History."

~8~

"Ow!" Jack winced as he was punched in the shoulder by Alice, "Alice, what was that for?!"

"Do you EVER answer that bloody phone!?" she huffed, the two of them crossing their arms in much the same manner, truly displaying their familial relationship, "I been worried sick dad, nearly got kidnapped, Stephen started talking like them aliens again and…"

"Where's Stephen?" Jack looked around, seeing his team and Rhys there, the Doctor by the console, but Angel was missing, "And Angie? Doc…"

"She's fine Jack," the Doctor smiled, he really was pleased Jack cared for Angel so much, "She's showing Stephen and Clem the pool."

"Oh thank God," he put a hand to his chest, before turning to Alice, "Look, Alice I'm sorry…"

"Why didn't you answer?" she cut in.

"My phone died."

She stared at him, before turning to the team, who nodded, his phone really had died, it was still sitting in the recharger on the console as they spoke.

"What's going on dad?" she turned back to him, "What's happening? Why is Stephen being affected?"

Jack moved to speak when…

"Got it!" Tosh called, by the monitors.

"Guys, Lois is active," Owen added as they all rushed over to see what was happening.

~8~

In the Thames House, Lois stood in the bathroom, having excused herself from the madness. She had to be quick, there was only two minutes before the aliens were scheduled to speak to the representatives of Earth.

And she needed to get the contact lenses in.

So she'd run to the bathroom, making sure no one was there before she opened the lens container and carefully put them in her eyes.

~8~

"Oh, good girl!" Gwen cheered as they saw Lois appear in clarity, both lenses in.

"I knew she would!" the Doctor grinned.

Tosh smiled and typed in a quick message…

~8~

Lois gasped when she saw 'Thanks!' pop up in her vision.

"Oh, God! Don't do too much of that!"

~8~

"Oh, sorry!" Tosh called.

Owen smiled at her, nudging her, "She can't hear you."

"Right," Tosh blushed, she always got so caught up in technology sometimes she forgot about that.

"Is that you?" they saw Lois speaking.

-Yes, we're here,- Tosh typed back.

"Right then. Good luck."

Ianto leaned forward and typed a smiley in.

"Oh, don't do that, I hate smileys," Gwen huffed.

"Took me a while to get used to those things," Rhys remarked as Lois left.

"Oh I prefer real smiles too," the Doctor grinned, "Angel's is the loveliest, you know her smile has always been her second best feature in every version of her."

"What's the first?" Tosh asked.

"Remember who's standing beside you Doc," Jack cut in as the Doctor moved to answer, "Eyes front soldier!"

The Doctor rolled his eye, "I was going to say her eyes."

"Good," Jack laughed, "I approve."

"I was actually talking about the lenses," Rhys murmured.

"What, you've used the lenses?" Owen turned to him.

"Yeah. That's why Gwen had them."

"I just took them home for a bit of fun," Gwen shrugged.

"Fun?" the Doctor frowned.

Owen laughed and nudged him, "Y'know. Fun."

"Yeah," Ianto nodded as did the rest of the team, "Well been there, done that. It is fun."

"Yeah."

"What's fun?" the Doctor asked, looking lost, even Alice was smiling, having worked out what the lenses had been used for.

Jack just laughed and patted him on the back, "Oh Doc, you definitely belong with Angie."

The Doctor just beamed at that.

"That's him, that's John Frobisher," Ianto cut in, seeing Lois enter the lift with Frobisher and Spears, behind them.

"Bastard!" Rhys glared at him, "Fat lot of good that is, back of his head. How do we know if he's saying anything?"

~8~

"I suppose it's an honor," Frobisher sighed as he and Spears spoke, their backs to Lois, who frowned, knowing that Torchwood wouldn't be able to hear them, "Given this position."

"Then again the Prime Minister has guaranteed that diplomatically, he can't enter Floor 13," Spears reminded him, "So whatever happens in there, whatever goes wrong...history will say that it wasn't his fault."

"D'you mean he's using me?"

"You don't get to be Prime Minister by accident."

They stepped out of the lift and into the corridor to Floor 13, waking down it, past the large guards with their guns. They spotted Dekker leading quite a few people waiting to enter, but the three of them were allowed in.

~8~

"What is that?" the Doctor frowned, pulling on his brainy specs as he leaned in to try and squint at the fog filled box, "Some sort of chemical compound yes, but what…what's it made of?"

He turned and headed around the console, typing in commands, trying to hack into any sort of record that the government might have about the specifics of that box.

"There's something inside the smoke," Gwen squinted, "Can you clear the image any Tosh?"

"No," she sighed, "It's the smoke not the cameras, sharpening the image won't do anything."

"Great," Owen huffed.

Alice looked at Jack, the man oddly quiet.

They watched as the people who entered the room, started to look at the tank, Lois moving to get a seat in the back.

-Get closer- Owen typed.

Lois shook her head, watching as everyone moved into their places, either standing or sitting. Frobisher stood before them, in the middle of the floor, a camera turning to focus on him.

~8~

The Prime Minister smiled as he sat in Downing Street, quite a few military and officials seated around him, watching a monitor of a feed from the Thames House, "Seen anything like it before?" he turned to Oduya.

"Never," Oduya remarked.

~8~

"Have you ever seen anything like it before Doctor?" Ianto asked as the man began to type some thing on a keyboard.

"Well," he shrugged, "There are quite a few life forms that can only survive in a gaseous environment, if I can find out the chemical components I can tell you which alien it is."

"And how to stop them?" Alice looked over, hopeful.

"Oh yes," he nodded.

The team turned back to the feed, seeing Frobisher about to speak, "Thank you. If I might bring into session, the first diplomatic congress between the representatives of Planet Earth, and the representatives of the 456…"

"The 456?" Rhys frowned "Is that what they're called?"

"456?" the Doctor looked up, "Did you say 456?!"

"Yes," he pointed at the monitor, "That's what Frobisher said."

"Why?" Owen eyed him.

"What's the 456?" Tosh asked.

"It can't be," the Doctor murmured, racing around the controls, trying to hack in even quicker, needing to be sure.

"I bring you formal greetings from the United States of America, from the People's Republic of China..." Frobisher continued…turning around.

"He's got his back to us!" Owen huffed.

"We can see that," Ianto remarked.

Alice watched Jack fully now, this was very much unlike him to be so silent.

-Need his moth- Gwen typed.

"Need his moth?" Rhys laughed.

"Shut up..."

-Need his mouth-

They watched as Lois nervously started to move around the room, trying to get a better view of his mouth.

"Oh that's it!" Tosh cheered.

"Come on, good girl," Gwen smiled.

"You can't see his lips though," Alice frowned.

"Software's not so good in profile," Ianto shrugged.

"And according to the rules of protocol..." Frobisher was back, Lois with a clear view now, "As established by the United Nations in the directives of 1968…"

- :) -

"You hate smileys," Rhys nudged Gwen.

"Shut up!" she huffed.

"I must ask you to state whether these greetings are accepted," Frobisher finished, but it seemed there was silence, "Do you understand me? I repeat, according to the rules of protocol, as established by the United Nations in the directives of…"

From the way everyone stiffened, they guessed the aliens had answered but they couldn't see or hear them.

"Then I thank you on behalf of the United Kingdom."

"I don't understand, did it speak?" Alice shook her head.

"It hasn't got a mouth, it's got bloody speakers!" Gwen huffed.

"The Russian Federation," Frobisher began again, "The Commonwealth of Australia, the Citizens and territories of Canada and Japan and the Hellenic Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Republic of Iraq..."

-Can't hear alien- Ianto typed.

They squinted as she began to write squiggles on the pad in her hand.

"It's bloody shorthand!" Rhys frowned.

"It says 'yes,'" Alice remarked, they looked at her.

"You can read shorthand?" Jack asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Worked as a temp for a little while," she shrugged, her father had provided her with plenty of money in her life, but she did like to work and make money for herself, her own hard work.

"Oh Angel and I have JUST the person for you to meet," the Doctor smiled at Alice.

"…and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Frobisher continued, "It might be easier if we take those names as read from now on, don't you?"

They flinched as something clearly banged against the windows, spitting some sort of fluid, some sort of bile at the glass panes, smearing them with worm like creatures as well, banging and banging and banging…probably snarling to by the scared looks on quite a few peoples' faces.

~8~

"What's it doing?" General Pierce asked.

"I don't know," Oduya had to admit.

~8~

"'What's it doing?'" Alice read as Lois wrote.

"What, is that what it said?" Rhys asked.

"No, that's Lois, saying that," Tosh shook her head.

"Jack?" Gwen looked at him, but he could only shrug.

-God knows- Owen typed.

"Are you alright?" Frobisher seemed to ask the aliens, "I'm sorry, but I can't help being concerned, is there a problem? Do you want me to continue?"

"'Yes,'" Alice translated again.

"Right, then. In the spirit of cooperation we have a formal request to make. We ask you not to use our children for communication. In case certain parties or territories might consider that a violation. Is that acceptable?"

They waited quite a long pause before Lois wrote, 'Yes,' Again.

"Thank you," Frobisher nodded.

~8~

"Ask it why it came to Britain," Pierce turned to the Prime Minister.

"Hardly top of the agenda," the man waved it off.

"Ask the question!"

~8~

"And, as a gift," Frobisher continued, "And as welcome to this world, we've prepared a document summarizing our culture and history. This document can be made available to you immediately. Though its format remains undetermined. Said format remains of your choosing, though this does not constitute a request for information on, or transfer of, specific 456 technology…" he trailed off as a note was passed to him, "I have been given a request for specific information. It has been asked...why the 456 chose Great Britain as its chosen point of embarkation."

"'We came here...'" Alice squinted, trying to read the squiggles.

"Because?" Owen shook his head, impatient.

"That's all it's said," she sighed.

Jack closed his eyes, knowing exactly why they'd come, because they'd been too weak in the past and might be again in the future.

"'You have no significance. You are middle men,'" she read.

"That's a lie," Gwen narrowed her eyes at it, "'Cos it's been here before, that's why it's here now."

"So…why is it lying?" Tosh asked.

"It's Frobisher," Ianto guessed, "He's got that thing to lie. They're on the same side. Whatever happened in the past, they're hiding it."

"'We have a request,'" Alice cut in as Lois wrote more.

"By all means," Frobisher looked at it.

"We want a gift."

"Of course. But...what nature of gift exactly?"

"A gift."

"Gladly. But what d'you want?"

Silence fell silent at the answer.

~8~

"We want...your children," the 456 growled and hissed over the feed in Downing Street, "We will take your children."

"What does it mean, children?!" Oduya demanded.

~8~

"Alice?" Tosh looked at her, "What did it say?"

"What do they want?" the Doctor looked up from his own typing, "Did they say?"

Alice could only shake her head, unable to speak.

~8~

"I'm…I'm sorry, I think that there might be a problem with the translation," Frobisher frowned, "By children, you mean…"

"'Your descendants. The offspring of the Human Race.'"

"How many?"

"10 percent. We want 10 percent. We want 10 percent of the children of this world."

"Alice what are they saying?!" Owen demanded, seeing the people in the room getting shocked and scared.

"What do they want?" Rhys turned to her.

"The children," a voice said behind them, they turned to see Angel standing there, solemn, Stephen's hand in hers, Clem hiding behind her the moment he spotted Jack.

"You!" Clem shouted, pointing at Jack, everything coming back to him, standing out in a field with his friends, Jack beside him, a bright light shining before him as his friends walked into it…Jack urging him to follow…

It was the same man, he looked exactly the same.

"He hasn't changed," he hid behind Angel again, peering at Jack over her shoulder, clutching her shoulders like she was a shield, "He's the same. He's the same. He's the same. All those years. How can he be the same?"

"What's he talking about, Jack?" Owen eyed Jack.

"Clement MacDonald," Jack eyed the man sadly as the Doctor looked up once more, "Just another name. It was easier, if you didn't know the names."

"You were there?" Ianto turned to him, "In 1965?"

"He was the man!" Clem pointed the accusing finger at him.

"No, no, this is what he does," Gwen tried to calm him, "You see, he fights them. He fights aliens, isn't that right, Jack?"

"No," he said, quietly, though his gaze was on Angel as she just stared at him.

"Then what were you doing there?" Tosh frowned, tensing, though Owen seemed to have worked out JUST what Jack had done, taking her hand, squeezing it, knowing she'd need comfort when she found out.

The Doctor walked around to look at him, "You were the one who gave them the kids," he stated.

Jack nodded, "1965, I gave them 12 children."

"What?!" Alice gasped, backing up, completely alarmed and shocked.

"What for?" Rhys shook his head.

"As a gift," Jack said, looking at Angel with tears in his eyes.

"What?" Angel breathed, her hearts breaking, devastated.

"Angie..." Jack half-begged.

But Angel could only shake her head at him and back away, running out of the room as Jack's heart broke.

"Don't you dare go near her," the Doctor nearly snarled as he pulled Jack back by his coat as the man tried to run after Angel, giving him a harsh glare before he want to find his Mate and comfort her himself.

Jack sighed and looked back at his team to see them staring at him, horrified, Clem cowering behind a Y-beam now that Angel had fled, trying to make his way to Gwen, the only other person he felt safe around, as Alice tried to keep Stephen away from him.

"1965, I gave them 12 children," Jack repeated, admitting it.

"You just…handed them over and hoped for the best?" Alice shook her head at him.

"How were you there in 1965?" Stephen asked, eyeing his 'Uncle' Jack, "You and mum weren't even born then…"

Jack closed his eyes as did Alice, realizing the trap she'd fallen into, Stephen was clever, he wouldn't let this go till the truth came out.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"But…how?" Stephen shook his head, "Even if you were born then you'd have been a baby and you'd be older now…"

"Stephen," Alice turned him to her, kneeling before him to take his hands, "There's something I haven't told you, something that I've been keeping a secret from everyone to protect us…"

"What?" Stephen frowned, knowing that his mother told him everything and anything she didn't had to be BIG.

"Your Uncle Jack…" she took a breath, tears in her eyes, "He's not your uncle…"

"He's not my father though…"

"No," Alice nodded, "He's…" she glanced back at the silent man, "He's MY father."

"But he's younger than you."

"He's immortal," Ianto spoke up, seeing how hard it was for Jack to talk about how he'd live to see his grandson grow old and die and HIM never age.

"I've been around a while kid," Jack sighed, moving to squat down beside Alice, before Stephen, "I was in a terrible battle in the future, and I died, but Angie, she saved me," he gave a small happy laugh, "Saved me a little too much, made me immortal."

Stephen blinked at him, "So…you're my granddad?"

"Oh way to make me feel old," Jack nudged him, happy that Stephen at least wasn't freaking out at the moment. But, he supposed, given that he'd been used as an alien mouthpiece, hunted by soldiers, rescued by a phone box with a room that was bigger on the inside, and talked to aliens…finding out your uncle was really your immortal granddad wasn't too shocking.

"He's your dad?" Stephen looked at his mum, "But…why didn't you tell me?"

Alice sighed, "I didn't want anyone to know, it's…it's dangerous Stephen."

"It really is," Jack nodded, "My team," he nodded back to them as they waved at Stephen, "We're called Torchwood, we protect the Earth from Aliens."

"Like UNIT?"

"A little more extreme and dangerous aliens than UNIT," Jack said, "We find them and we stop them, whatever it takes."

Stephen was silent a moment, "You're not going to hunt down Angel are you?" he asked quietly, sounding worried, "'Cos she's one of the nice ones. She rescued us."

Jack laughed, "Don't worry, the only Time Lord I'll be hunting down is the Doctor if he hurts her."

"So that's what she's called, a Time Lord?"

"Time Lady."

"Are you an alien too?" Stephen eyed him, starting to sound excited, "Does that mean mum's half alien, am I a quarter alien? Oh that would be so awesome!"

Alice laughed, relieved her son wasn't too angry with her for keeping it from him, "No, he's human, completely human, and so am I, and so are you."

Stephen nodded, "We're not immortal too are we?"

"No," Jack said solemnly, "Which is good, sometimes…it's hard to live forever."

He closed his eyes, thinking of those children, the promise the aliens had made. He realized now that to live forever, could mean different things to different people. To the Time Lords it was a way of life, to humans immortality, what did it mean to the 456?

"Jack," the Doctor called from behind him. He looked up to see the man standing at the top of the gantry, "Angel wants to talk to you."

He nodded and stood, heading up it, trying not to wince as Clem flinched and hid behind Gwen. He was pretty sure the man would have tried to shoot him in his unbalanced state and in his fear, but the lie the Doctor had told about the TARDIS being in a 'state of temporal grace,' basically a 'no firing zone,' seemed to have stopped the man, that and Gwen trying to hold him back.

~8~

Jack entered the TARDIS garden, stopping short at the sight, it was…beautiful. It was like being out on a bright warm day on Earth, white clouds in the sky, a white wall around them, flowers and trees and flora everywhere, and Angel sitting in the middle of it. He could see her, a tree in the distance, with her sitting behind it, just visible at the side of it and walked over.

He hesitated a moment before sitting down beside her, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't flinch or shy away, "I'm sorry," he told her.

And he really was.

The man he'd been…the things he'd done…hadn't been one he wanted Angel to know about, ever. It wasn't someone he was proud of and not someone he knew Angel could be proud of either.

"Why did you do it?" she shook her head, staring ahead of them at a rose bush, "Why did you give them the children?"

"I really don't know Ang," he sighed, rubbing his face.

He'd been in such a dark place then, so without hope, grown bitter and hopeless that he'd find her and the Doctor again. He just…hadn't cared about himself or others…not till he'd found his team.

"That man Angie…" Jack shook his head, "He was just…" he couldn't find the words to describe it.

"Poosh?" she supplied.

"What?" he looked at her.

"Lost," she clarified.

He nodded, "Yeah, I was…I just…I didn't understand what had happened and when I wanted to die…" he looked down, feeling her squeeze his hand, pleased to know she'd taken it, "I couldn't and everyone else didn't know anything that I did and I had no one…I just…" he swallowed, "I gave up. I gave in."

"I'm sorry Jack," she said, tears in her eyes, "This is all my fault."

His head snapped to hers, "No, no, don't you dare say that Angie, you didn't do this," he took her head in his hands, moving to kneel before her, "This was all me. Because of me. Because I didn't fight…they came back. It was MY decision to give the children up. It's MY fault."

"But you wouldn't have felt that way if I hadn't made you immortal," she whispered.

His heart broke at the tears in her eyes, especially when one fell over, it seemed this Angel was even more sensitive to the things around her, seemed to have taken on a bit of the Doctor's guilt complex, "If you hadn't, I wouldn't know what was happening now," he reminded her, "I'd be lost and Earth would be in even more danger," she looked down, "I'm GLAD you made me immortal Ang," he told her, wiping her tear away, "It took me awhile to realize it, but me, I'm human, I'm not as clever as you," she laughed, making him smile, "You've taught me that no matter how dark it gets, how alone I feel, or how hopeless it seems…there is always light, there is always someone there, and there is ALWAYS hope," he kissed her forehead, "So what do you say we go out there and save the world...again?"

She smiled and nodded, getting up and hugging him tightly a moment before they headed out.

~8~

"You!" Clem shouted as Angel and Jack stepped back into the console room, the Doctor moving to Angel's side to kiss her head, having sensed what she was feeling as she spoke to Jack, "You are in every nightmare I've ever had!" he glared at Jack.

"I'm sorry," Jack began, "I'm really sorry," he took a step towards Clem, but the man backed up, moving to a Y-beam and sliding down it, cowering, his head buried in his hands.

"Stay away!" Clem cried.

Jack looked down at the man, tears in his eyes.

"Clem, it's ok," Angel made her way over.

But Clem just pointed an accusing finger at her too, "You're on his side! You're all on his side! And he's on their side. You're all involved! I thought you were the good aliens!" he started to cry.

Angel knelt down, "We are," she promised him, crossing her hearts, "Cross my hearts," she smiled, "And I promise Clem, we'll stop the 456, they will not do anything to you or to any other child on this Earth, ok?"

"They want children," Clem whispered as she hugged him, "That man held my hand and took me to them!"

"And now I'll hold your hand as we stop them, ok?" she pulled back, offering her hand to him.

Clem stared at it a moment, before taking it and sniffing it, sensing the truth from her, and then…holding it.

"Good," she nodded, standing up and helping him up as well, Gwen and Owen moving to check on the man, make sure he was ok, stable, that this breakdown had passed for the moment.

"Does she always do that?" Alice had to ask Ianto, Rhys, and Tosh as she stood with Stephen to her. That girl…in the span of moments had saved her and her son, guilted her father, calmed an unbalanced man, and promised a stop to the 456…

"I've only met her once," Rhys shrugged.

"Yes she does," Ianto nodded, "Saved Tosh and Owen's life, and Gray…"

"She saved you?" Alice looked at Tosh. She knew her father's work was dangerous but…she'd never really thought about the danger they must face on a daily basis. To hear the woman beside her had nearly died and been saved by that girl…

"I got shot," Tosh told Alice, "Owen was trapped in a power plant, remember when the reactor started to go funny?" Alice nodded, her eyes wide, "Angel knew it was going to happen, got Owen out so he could patch me up just fine."

"And she knew this was coming too?"

"Seems like it," Rhys nodded.

"She does that, turns up when things get bad and helps you," Ianto remarked, "Like the Doctor, except he usually shows up and things go bad. Angel shows up before they go bad and tries to keep it from happening."

"She's very protective of us," Tosh added.

"So she's like your guardian angel then?" Stephen looked up at them, a bit pleased to know he had such an awesome family. His granddad was immortal, his great-aunt was an angel…what was his great-uncle Gray then?

Tosh and Ianto looked at each other, they hadn't quite though of it like that, but it fit, it really really did.

"Yeah," Tosh nodded.

"I suppose she is," Ianto agreed.

~8~

Behind them the Doctor and Jack were having a quite discussion of their own by the console, "I can't believe you didn't mention this before," the Doctor hissed to the man, "That you knew them, that you'd dealt with them, that they were here before. That was something I needed to know!"

"They didn't speak through kids back then," Jack argued, "I didn't recognize the signs at first."

"Jack!"

"I'm sorry!" he nearly shouted, but kept his voice down, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want Angie to know. I didn't want either of you to know what I had done. I didn't even want to remember it. God Doc, do you know how many nightmares I had about that, how many I still have about that night, about wondering what they did to the children? It makes me sick to think about it, but I did it. It can't be undone. And I am SO sorry about it."

The Doctor just stared at him, "They were children."

"I know, God do I know," Jack bowed his head, "When Alice was born," he looked at his daughter talking to Tosh, Ianto, and Rhys, "I held her and all I could think about was…what if it had been her. What if they'd come only a few years later and taken HER?"

"And that's just it Jack, they DID come back," the Doctor sighed and rubbed his eye, "You should have told me everything you knew about any aliens that involved children before."

"Why?" Jack eyed him, knowing that there was more to it than that.

"Because I know who they are."

Chapter Text

In Scotland, 1965, a car drove up a dark, desolate road surrounded by trees, to a military convoy where a woman wearing a scarf around her head stood, waiting for him. Jack stepped out of the lone car and headed over to her.

"This is the location they specified," she told him, gesturing to a wide field beside them, "A set of instructions coming through on the wavelength combination designated '456.'"

"Did they give a name?" he asked.

"All we've got is that number, 456," she shook her head, turning to lead him to a truck, Jack getting in beside her as it started up and drove off, "According to our alien friends, in four months' time, the virus will mutate," she spoke, recalling a virus that had been discovered in a quiet part of Earth, "It's a brand-new strain of Indonesian Flu. They claim it could kill up to 25 million people. All our research seems to back up their figures. In 1918, the Spanish Flu outbreak killed something like 5 percent of the human race."

"I know," he scoffed, "I was there."

He hated being sick. To be immortal...he couldn't die, he lived, he healed, he woke up again...being sick though was torture.

"Well, this time we're being offered a cure. They'll send the anti-virus, in exchange…"

"How many children do they want?" he cut in, recalling how the 456 had asked for children as a 'gift.'

"Twelve. It's like a sacrifice to the ancient gods. Twelve virgins."

"Just twelve…" he paused to consider it, a dark look appearing on his face, "It sounds like a good deal. What do they want them for?"

"They say they'll live forever."

Jack gave a bitter laugh at that, "Sure. Why do you need me?"

"Assuming twelve children can be found, we need someone to deliver them."

"What, in case the aliens are hostile, you need someone who can't die?"

"Actually, we need someone who doesn't care."

Jack gave her a smirk at that. He'd lived so long, so long in the dark, one thing he'd learned...was that the Universe didn't care…so he returned the favor.

~8~

Jack stood before a bus, the children, 12 of them, all orphans, gathered before him only a few short days later, his hair slicked back, trying to look as charming and trustworthy as possible as he eyed them. It was perfect really, they were orphans, no one wanted them to begin with, no one would miss them either.

"You just come with Uncle Jack," he smiled, leading the children into the bus, moving to take the wheel when they were all aboard, and driving off, driving through the dark hills, back towards the field the 456 would be waiting in, the children talking and laughing behind him, "We're…we're going to go on an adventure, yeah?" he called to them, glancing at a young blonde boy in his mirror.

He remembered seeing the boy's name on a list identifying the children, Clement MacDonald. That was as far as he got before he turned away, he didn't care what their names were, he couldn't care, if he knew...it would be more real.

He drove a little longer before pulling over to a stop, in the middle of a field, the stars were out.

"Everyone off," he called, opening the doors and getting out with the children, seeing two soldiers standing as guard by another military vehicle that the woman was waiting in. He smiled reassuringly at the children, who started to look frightened, and moved in front of them, "Here we go. Alright, children, you follow me. Adventure," he turned and led them on, away from the bus, the children following him...when a light appeared in the sky, nearly blinding him.

The children slowed to a stop, their faces going blank.

"Ok, children, walk into the light. Do as I say," he watched as the children, in a daze, began to do just that, though Clem stayed behind. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What's it do?" Clem asked him, "What is it?"

"Just go."

"It's safe though, isn't it?"

Jack ran a comforting hand through Clem's hair, "Yeah. It's safe," he nudged Clem on the boy taking a few steps and turning back to look at him, "Keep going. You don't want to be left out, do you?"

Clem hesitated but continued on, into the light…Jack's face falling, actually looking a bit stricken at what he'd just done…till the light flared and he had to shield his eyes. He looked back at the other two men as the light faded, "Everyone ok?" he looked at the soldiers, not seeing that Clem had been left behind and run off into the woods, terrified and severely traumatized.

"Yes, sir!" they reported.

Jack nodded and walked back to the rest of the other military vehicle, meeting the woman again as she listened to a radio intently.

"The information's coming through now on the 456," she reported, "It's the anti-virus, just as they promised."

"Good night's work," he nodded.

"Maybe the gods were kind. Maybe they ARE in paradise."

He scoffed, "No such thing."

Immortality was a living hell.

Day Four

"So who are they?" Tosh asked as they sat around the console room, Owen and Tosh were curled up on the captain's chair, Ianto beside them with Jack standing behind them. The Doctor and Angel were leaning against the console as Alice and Stephen sat on the floor, their backs to the railing beside Rhys and Gwen, who were standing against it, Clem hiding behind one of the Y-beams and peeking out at them.

The Doctor sighed, "A member of the Hydrian species, originally native to Pluto's smaller moon, Hydra, they've devolved through the years though," he shook his head sadly, "Oh you should have seen them at their peak! They were lovely creatures, just beautiful! Like overgrown, multi-headed swans, their feathers speckled with microscopic diamonds that made them glisten in any sort of light. Wingless though, for being birds at heart, but just wonderful. There were legends of the most hardened warriors weeping at the songs of the Hydrians, they were so moving. They were creatures of music actually, empathetic creatures who communicated emotion through song."

"So how did they end up like this?" Jack shook his head. The creature they'd seen on the screen, hissing and puttering and bashing its heads into things...puking...it was completely unlike what the Doctor had described. You'd have never thought they were the same alien looking at it.

"Traders from the Roxibane system had tried to enter Earth's Solar System, the Judoon stopped them. But they'd hit Pluto first. Offered the inhabitants different mood enhancers, to 'magnify the effects of the song,' or so they claimed."

"Mood enhancers?" Angel frowned, "Like on New New York?"

He nodded.

Jack's eyes widened as he realized...it was drugs.

"It wasn't proper for their species though, for the chemical composition of their bodies, reacted violently. Like with the Bliss patch, the enhancers slowly mutated within them. They became unbalanced, vicious, greedy, and addicts of the enhancers. But even that failed to sustain them for long. Eventually it became so terrible that the Hydrians had to leave Pluto, searching for more and more powerful and longer lasting enhancers…"

"Till they found the children," Jack breathed.

"Their next hit is the children?" Owen grimaced at the thought. He was familiar with drugs, with the effect it could have on someone, especially with his medical background. It was just disgusting, a terrible, terrible habit, and...it didn't make sense, how did that even work?

The Doctor nodded, "Children feel joy and happiness more profoundly than adults do, more purely. The 456, as they're calling themselves, have taken the children to use as drugs."

The humans stared at him a moment.

"You're sure about that?" Tosh asked, it seemed a bit far fetched.

"Very."

"It's just…"

"Unbelievable?" he supplied

"Yeah," even Gwen had to nod.

"A bit," Rhys agreed.

Only Ianto was silent, as was Jack, Alice, not having any experience with aliens, couldn't argue one way or the other.

"The Hydrians appear to be a three-headed creature, long necks, now they look more like a sick swan that's been plucked of all its feathers, a sharp beak, one body, claw-like arms," he looked at Clem as the man stiffened, "Sound about right?"

They looked at Clem, his eyes wide, "That's them," he whispered, crouching down to hide behind the beam, "That's them, the three-headed demons!" he'd seen them, in the light, moments before it disappeared, monsters!

The Doctor nodded, "They live in an environment that is 25% nitrosyl chloride, 22% hydrogen chloride, 20% nitrogen, 12% fluorine, 9% hydrogen cyanide, 6% acetone, 6% phosgene."

Owen winced, "That doesn't sound pleasant."

"It's not," Angel agreed, "To us at least, it's...poison?" she looked at the Doctor for confirmation. He nodded, beaming at her, she was getting so good at that!

He really was just so impressed with how far she'd come in this new body of hers. Before she would have been hesitant to answer anything that didn't involve the TARDIS, she'd fall quiet, she'd not answer. But just look at her, answering questions, even if it was guessing half the time, the effort was what mattered. And it wasn't just that, she was facing down enemies and stopping bombs, oh he loved her so much for that. Only Angel would be able to stop a bomb going off with a hug, but that was just fitting, he really did think she had magic hugs. He hadn't been too pleased, he admitted it, when she'd gone to face Agent Johnson on her own. It wasn't just the Mating instinct flaring to life, telling him he ought to protect her against everything, it was just...him. He loved her, and because he loved her he didn't want anything to happen to her. He didn't want her to ever have to face down something dangerous, or encounter something that hurt her or made her sad...like Jack had done. He just...wanted her smiling and laughing and happy all the time, and his hearts broke whenever she wasn't happy. It wasn't just the Mating instinct, it was just...love. Anyone in love would feel the same.

Gwen looked at Clem sadly as she heard the man whimper, a hand moving to her stomach as she turned to Jack, "I still can't believe you still gave them the payoff."

"We had no choice," Jack said.

"Why us?" Clem peered at him over the point in the Y-beam.

"You wouldn't be missed," Jack swallowed as the team looked down, Alice shaking her head.

"I can see that," Clem admitted.

"All of this time, the one consolation I had was that…the deal seemed to work," he sighed, worrying that, it might be his fault after all that they were back. The 456 wanted 12 children, but left with 11. In a way, Earth hadn't held up its end of the bargain, so why should the aliens? As terrible as it was to think, he wondered if, perhaps, if he'd noticed Clem hadn't been taken and ensured the boy was spirited away with his friends, or...he didn't know, made sure all the children were acceptable first, this wouldn't be happening.

"It worked for 44 years," Rhys tried to shrug, trying to remind them it was the past, the only thing they could do was worry about the future, "That's not bad for breathing space."

"Why was I left behind?" Clem stood a little more, "What's wrong with me?"

"We know they only want pre-pubescent kids," Owen began, "Maybe it's got something to do with that."

"Maybe you'd just hit puberty, not quite adult, not quite child…" Tosh nodded.

"Saved by your hormones," Rhys laughed.

Alice swallowed hard and held Stephen closer, her son wasn't near that age, especially not if he was being affected by the 456. She looked over when she felt someone touch her shoulder and squeeze it to see her father looking at her determined, protective. She smiled and put a hand on his, squeezing it in return. She'd always thought, him being immortal, being unable to die, meant that he had nothing to fear, that it made him even more dangerous to be around...but, right now, with her son in danger of being taken from her by an alien, that was the best thing she'd ever feared.

They looked over as the monitor beeped, the Doctor and Angel turning around to reveal Lois was back, something was happening.

"Is this still recording, Ianto?" Jack asked as they all crowded around the monitor, "I need every second of this."

"Yeah," Ianto nodded.

They watched as office personnel and officials filed into the holding room of the Thames House, all of them looking nervous. Frobisher stepped up, Lois glancing at another camera set up that they all knew the Prime Minister had to be watching through, before focusing on Frobisher, "Hello again," he began, "Before we consider your request, I've been asked for a point of clarification. Before we even discuss your...your request, we need to know exactly what it is you intend to do with the children."

"'Somebody is watching,'" Alice translated as she saw Lois writing down what the 456 were saying, "'Some remnant.'"

"It knows I'm here," Clem breathed, scared, creeping forward.

"It's ok," Angel reached out and took his hand.

He flinched as the 456 spit its bile against the walls of the tank, banging on it with its heads, clearly alarming everyone in the room, "It knows!"

"No it doesn't," she soothed him, "And even if it did, you're safe here, the TARDIS will protect you."

Stephen frowned, "Is that the thing that was talking through me?" he asked, not so much liking the idea of aliens anymore, well...not THOSE aliens.

"Yeah," Jack swallowed, putting a protective hand on Stephen's shoulders, Alice smiling a bit at the sight.

"'Somebody is watching,'" Alice read, seeing Lois write.

"I told you it knows, turn it off!" Clem shouted.

"It's talking about the other camera," the Doctor pointed out, "It doesn't know about us. The TARDIS is special, nothing can trace it."

"Her," Angel insisted lightly, making him smile. He'd noticed he often called the box an it, but Angel, having grown up around them, was much more personal, calling the box a 'her,' like old Earth captains called their ships. It was sweet and, given how the TARDIS was humming at the moment, something the old box rather liked.

"The Prime Minister," Frobisher began again, "The leader of this country, of the United Kingdom, is watching through this camera here," he gestured at the other camera, "And he needs to know what would happen to our children if we were to hand them over to you."

Alice frowned, confused, "'It is off the record?'"

"Yes."

"Come in."

They all looked at each other, alarmed, watching as Frobisher stiffened.

"In there?"

"'With the camera,'" Alice nodded, "'Come in.'"

"It's hiding something," Clem whispered, clutching Angel's hand so hard his was turning white, but she didn't make him let go, just rubbed his shoulder with her other hand.

Lois looked over and they could see a team getting to work, preparing a cameraman in a sort of hazard suit so he could enter the tank safely.

"Right, is that ok?" a man, Dekker, asked him.

"Yeah," they could just barely make out the words through the front of the man's suit.

"Ok, you'll be able to hear us, and we can hear anything you say. Ok, I need a mouthpiece. There you go. Don't take it off until the light in the airlock goes green."

"Yes, sir."

"Camera," he turned and handed the man a camera, "I'll be monitoring you throughout."

"Good luck," a woman beside Lois called, Spears.

"Thank you, ma'am," the cameraman nodded, heading into the tank, all of them watching as Lois watched a feed of what was happening in the tank on a larger monitor in the room, all the occupants turning to look on as well. It was full of gas when the cameraman stepped in.

"Air contact stabilized," Dekker called.

The cameraman proceeded further in, the fog was a light blue now, thick, hardly anything visible. He got closer to a large mass in the middle, the 456, and aimed the camera, all he could see of it was three vulture-like heads, connected in the middle, dripping green snot, the Torchwood team glanced at each other, it was just like the Doctor said.

"Hydrian," the Doctor nodded, "And not in a good state."

"How can you tell?" Ianto eyed him.

"It's snot is too green."

Jack rolled his eyes at that, the women, except Angel, just grimacing.

"Is it…right?" Angel asked, tilting her head as she eyed the alien. It certainly looked like it did drugs, it was sickly and erratically moving and...completely devoid of the beauty the Doctor had described it as having once upon a time.

"No," the Doctor sighed, knowing what she was asking though the humans looked confused, "Whatever drug they've been using the children for…it's hooked, badly…and getting more unstable as it goes."

"You mean..." Ianto frowned, "It's basically...high...right now?"

"Looks like it," Owen had to agree, it was twitching and jerky, like some drug-addicts he'd seen ages ago that were either too out there or going through withdrawal.

"They're negotiating with a high alien?" Tosh shook her head.

"Which makes it more dangerous than ever," Gwen sighed. She'd seen it as well as a cop, having to break up drug-busts and dealing on the streets when she'd first started. Never ever get between someone and their drugs when they were craving for a hit, she'd learned. And this alien, she could tell, if it was as bad as the Doctor said...it wouldn't leave till it got the children it wanted.

"I'm getting three heartbeats…" Dekker called.

"It's got three heads," Frobisher shrugged.

"No, listen, there's three distinct forms of life in there…"

"No!" the Doctor's eyes widened, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..."

"What?" Jack looked at him.

Frobisher pressed a button to a communicator, "Get closer."

"Three hearts…the Hydrians only have one shared heart. It's in there, with the camera man...and…" he swallowed.

"No," Jack shook his head, his heart racing, "No…it can't be…"

"They use them for drugs Jack, they have to get the drug somehow…"

They looked at the camera, dreading the next image, and right they were to…

The image moved to something else in the fog…a child…hooked up, right to the 456, via tubes. Alice gasped and turned Stephen away, Clem closing his eyes in horror, crying, as Tosh looked away, Gwen stone-faced, the men startled but upset, and Angel turning to press her face into the Doctor's shoulder not wanting to see.

The child was bald, with wide, foggy eyes, a respirator literally fused over its mouth and nose, looking old but still a child…

Still a child.

Frobisher seemed sick at the sight.

"No, no, no, no!" Clem sobbed, Tosh covering her mouth in horror.

~8~

The Prime Minster and his gathering, who had been watching the feed as well, looked shocked.

"Is that a child?!" General Pierce demanded, "Where did it get him from?"

The Prime Minister shifted nervously.

~8~

"It's one of the children from 1965," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his face.

Ianto looked away, starting to sniffle as Rhys closed his eyes, Gwen watching in disgust.

"He's still just a child," Jack breathed, shattered, knowing it was HIS fault the boy was like that. If he'd just...fought...used a bit of that Dunkirk spirit to face the 456 in 1965, this would never have happened. He walked away to sit on the captain's chair, falling down onto it heavily, Alice leading Stephen away, not wanting him to see any more of the feed.

"Do you think he knows?" Rhys asked.

"What, you mean is he conscious?" Owen looked at him.

"What's happening?" Clem pointed at the camera as the image went blurry.

"Lois is crying," Tosh whispered, she was crying too.

"What have you done to him?!" Frobisher demanded.

Suddenly the 456 spat out its bile at the walls of the holding cell, banging against them as the cameraman tried to get out, Frobisher running to the tank to help, Lois standing so she could see what was happening and being said, "Get him out of there! Get him out of there!"

The 456 grew still.

And Lois began to write.

Ianto frowned, a fair hand at shorthand as well "It's talking with Frobisher's voice," he read her notes, "'You will ensure the diplomatic relations between Earth and the 456. That previous encounter will be kept off the record.'"

~8~

Pierce stiffened, "That's John Frobisher's voice. What's off the record?!" he spun to the Prime Minister.

~8~

The cameraman made it out, pulling his suit off as Frobisher stared at the tank, "This is unacceptable."

"'We do not harm the children," Ianto read, "They feel no pain. They live long beyond their years.'"

Gwen swallowed hard, "Well...that's ok then."

"It's a lie," Angel whispered, pulling her head away from the Doctor as he held her close, stroking her hair, running a hand along her spine to help soothe her more, "They do feel it…" she glanced at Owen and Rhys, "They ARE conscious."

"Oh God," Alice hunched over on the captain's chair beside her father, her head in her hands.

"'We have answered your question," Ianto read, "You have one day to select and deliver the ten percent.'"

"And if we refuse?" Frobisher asked.

Ianto hesitated, "'We will wipe out your entire species.'"

The human stiffened, seeming alarmed at the threat…

But the Doctor just rolled his eyes, "If I had a penny for every time I heard THAT," he grumbled, "I'd be the richest man in the Universe…" he paused, "Actually, I should say if I had a Jelly Baby, I'd be the most hyper…actually, I should say…"

"I think richest would have worked best," Angel told him.

"But it would be a lie," he shook his head.

She frowned, "How?"

He smiled at her, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, "Because I'm already the richest man ever," he leaned in, "I have YOU as a Mate," he told her, kissing her.

The humans stared at them, a bit torn between sighing at the sweet moment and being confused as all hell as to how they'd made such a terrible revelation and threat…INTO a sweet moment.

~8~

Pierce looked at the Prime Minister, "Am I to understand that this country has had dealings with these creatures before?" he accused.

"Apparently so. I would point out that I was only a child myself in 1965."

"Nonetheless, you made the decision only this week, sir, to keep those previous negotiations secret?!"

"It could be said that perhaps it was…convenient for the moment…until further consideration."

Pierce glared at him and stood, "You'll give us all files on 1965 immediately. And the United Nations will decide what measures to take against you, Mr. Green."

And with that, he turned and left the room, not seeing the Prime Minister not at all alarmed but actually...smiling at how the 'decisions' of how to handle the 456 had been 'taken out of his hands.'

~8~

Jack stood in the doorway of the TARDIS, leaning against it as the ship floated in space, above the Earth, the man just staring down at it, Angel having taken Alice and Stephen and the rest of the team to give them some rooms, all of them needed rest, it had been a hell of a day. The team wasn't used to dealing with time travel and he knew Alice would probably freak out if she couldn't rest a bit and have time to process it all.

"This must have been eating away at you," Ianto spoke as he came to see Jack, he'd tried to go to bed but he and Jack had been rather close the last few months, he couldn't seem to sleep without the man there beside him.

"Yeah," Jack said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped."

"No, you couldn't."

"I tell you everything."

"Ianto, tell me, what should I have done?"

"Stood up to them. The Jack I know would've stood up to them."

"The Jack you know didn't exist till after the Year-That-Never-Was," he sighed.

"I've only just scraped the surface, haven't I?" Ianto asked after a moment of silence.

"Ianto, that's all there is."

"No. I don't have to be Angel to know you pretend that's all there is."

"I have lived a long time, I have done a lot of things."

"And it's made you stronger," a voice said behind them, they turned to see Angel there with three cups of tea, smiling as she offered them some, "Maybe even strong enough to face them down this time."

Jack smiled, leave it to her to find the good that came out of it all. He nodded "Time to make a call," and headed to the console.

~8~

Spears, Lois, and Frobisher sat on a bench in the Thames house, looking weary, worn, exhausted, "You two should get a couple hours of sleep while you can," Frobisher told them.

"So should you," Spears said gently.

He looked down as his mobile rang, "It's Harkness," he glanced as Spears, "We need to track this location," he told her before he pointed at Lois, "Strong coffee, loads of," he waited till she got up and left, before he turned to the phone, waiting till Spears nodded that she'd sent the command to have it tracked, and answered, "Hello?"

"Have you thought about what I said?" Jack asked.

"Bit busy, to be honest."

"Let me put this right. We made a mistake in 1965, but we can still stop them, if we work together."

"Give yourself up, keep yourself silent, and you and your little team won't be harmed."

Jack scoffed, "You can't even trace this call," he told the man who looked at Spears sharply, the woman showing him a text on her phone that the call was literally untraceable and unable to be pinpointed, "Benefits of traveling in a time machine," he added, "You don't know where I am, hell you don't even know WHEN I am. I have the upper hand here."

"What do you want?!"

"You've spoken to the 456, haven't you? They want more children."

"What makes you think that?"

"It doesn't take a genius or a psychic to work it out. With them going so public this time, I think they want a lot more. Millions, even. If I have to stop you, then I'll tell the world what's really going on. There's too much at stake not to," and with that, he hung up.

Frobisher looked down at the phone, worried, rubbing his eyes with his hand, exhausted.

"Why don't you get your head down on the couch for an hour?" Spears offered, when Lois ran in.

"Sorry, but the Prime Minister wants to see you," she called.

Frobisher stood, looking even more weary before he headed out, Spears rolling her eyes at him, before she stepped out of the office as well.

Lois ran after her, the woman not even realizing she'd been talking till she caught up, "…make sure it'll run smoothly. Most important thing is to blend into the background, nobody should know you're there."

Lois nodded, realizing she was going to meet the Prime Minister with them, and followed her and Frobisher out of the House and towards a car to go to Downing Street.

~8~

"Cabinet office," the Doctor eyed the room as they watched Lois on the monitor, "Room A: Cobra. Where all the emergency planning takes place," he grinned, "Oh that takes me back, you know I was the one who launched the missile that blew up Downing Street…"

"That was Mickey," Angel nudged him.

"Yeah," he pouted, "But I gave the command."

"Gold Command meeting's about to start!" Ianto cut in, calling everyone else over, Clem and Stephen still with them, Stephen stating that he should be involved as the aliens were trying to take kids like him. Clem well...they just didn't want him to wander the TARDIS alone and, with the aliens there, none of them were willing to be far from the monitor to see what was happening.

"They'll sell us out, just like they did last time," Clem muttered bitterly as he crossed his arms and pouted petulantly.

"We won't let them," Angel promised, patting his arms as they watched the meeting begin.

The Prime Minister stood, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been decided that we're going to make the 456 an offer. A realistic number, something we can manage, and then we see what happens."

"You're joking!" Tosh glared at the man, "He's really going to do it? Again? Even after finding out they can't be trusted!?"

"He's a politician," Rhys shrugged, "Worst bunch ever."

"Yeah, remember what Harriet Jones had Torchwood One do to the Sycorax," Owen agreed.

"She redeemed herself in the end," Angel reminded them quietly, squeezing the Doctor's hand, knowing he didn't like thinking about that, about the Crucible and anything and everything that had gone on in it and because of it.

"You mean we're going to haggle?" one of the women they recognized as a Denise Riley asked, "What about the military option?"

"There's nothing to take action against," another man, the defense secretary, stated, "Evidently, the 456 must have some sort of base of operations in orbit, but our satellites are showing nothing. Whatever's up there is beyond our technology."

"Not beyond ours though," the Doctor grinned, flicking a switch.

The image cut out for only a moment to show at least 100 ships around the Earth, just outside its orbit, about as far back as the moon, probably with some sort of cloaking device.

Angel reached out and flicked the image back, not wanting to think about how many aliens they'd have to face to save the children.

"That's…a lot," Stephen frowned, squeezing his mum's arms as she held him.

"They won't get you," Alice promised, dropping a kiss to Stephen's head.

"Over my once-and-for-all-dead body," Jack added in a joke, which made Stephen smile.

"There's a target sat in Thames House!" Riley continued.

"Taking that out would be a declaration of war," the secretary reminded them.

"A war we can't win," another man, Rick Yates, agreed.

"That's why I've invited John to address Gold," the Prime Minister nodded, "In terms of managing the figures, what could we offer and get away with?"

"Get away with?!" Gwen huffed, "They barely got away with 12!"

"Isn't it...isn't it?" Clem swallowed, "It's happening again!"

"Oh my God," Alice shook her head, "Are they really going to do this?" she looked at the team.

"Looks like they're gonna try," Ianto nodded.

"We need to stop them!" Stephen stated.

"Why stop what won't start?" the Doctor asked, "Angel and I won't let them harm the children," he said, a firm note in his voice that almost made them flinch at the hidden threat in it.

"Look, this won't just be Britain, will it?" Riley spoke again.

"The idea is that every country makes a camouflagable contribution," the Prime Minister shrugged.

"Can you pass me the FAS file, please?" Frobisher asked.

"That's it, now you're talking," Rhys frowned sarcastically.

"Right, well, for a start, there are 21 children in Oakenton right now, 21 units," he stressed, refusing to speak of the children as children when, at the moment, they were at most bargaining chips, as terrible as that was ,"Unaccompanied asylum-seekers awaiting deportation."

"FAS," Gwen shook her head, "Failed Asylum Seekers. Orphans in '65, asylum seekers today. There's progress for you."

"And no one would miss them," Yates agreed, "We need more. Can you bump the numbers up to sixty?"

"I…" Frobisher hesitated, "I think so. We can have them in from Oakenton first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you, John," the Prime Minister nodded, "Now go back to Thames House and consult with the 456. Make them an offer of sixty units, and no more."

"Thank God I didn't vote for him," Tosh muttered, the entire team nodding.

~8~

Frobisher sat in the backseat of a car, heading for the Thames house, alone, Lois and Spears remaining in Downing Street, before puling out his phone as soon as he got there, "Hello?" his wife answered their landline.

"It's me."

"Well, how did it go?"

"All you need to know is there's nothing to worry about," he headed up a flight of stairs, "I'm sorry, I can't explain, but trust me, don't worry."

"Well, have you slept yet?" he could only scoff, "Well, are you on your way home?"

"No time for that sweetheart, I'm afraid it's a matter of utmost national security."

"Are you safe?"

"Of course I'm safe. You know where I am, just pushing papers about. I just need to make sure all of the documentation's in place," he stepped into the lift, "Did the bodyguards show up?"

"Yeah, they're outside."

"Good, good…good. I just wanted to say…I love you, and I love the girls."

"When will you be home?" her voice broke.

"Soon. Look, I've got to go. I love you," he waited a moment, hearing her sniffle, before he ended the call and stepped out of the lift.

~8~

"I love you, too," his wife, Anna, whispered, before sobbing.

~8~

Frobisher entered the holding room with Dekker, moving in front of the 456's tank, "I'm sorry, but we've discussed your demands," Frobisher began, "We've arrived at a solution that might satisfy both parties. I've been authorized to offer you one child for every million people on planet Earth. That's about 6,700 in total; 62 from the UK alone."

"That is not acceptable," the 456 stated.

"6,700. 6-7-0-0. That's our final offer, it's more than generous. I'll give you some time to think about it," and with that, Frobisher stalked away.

And just as the door shut, the 456 spoke, "325,000. 3-2-5-0-0-0…"

~8~

"You are turning this house into a bloody playschool!" Rhiannon shouted at Johnny, her sitting room FULL of children running everywhere, her trying to keep order while HE just sat there reading a magazine.

"Ten quid a kid is more like a charity," he muttered.

"And who's doing all the work? I don't see you lifting a bloody finger!"

She quieted suddenly, hearing the children go silent, and they knew what that meant.

"3-2-5-0-0-0," the kids began to chant.

"Oh my God, they're doing it again! Mica, where's Mica? Mica!"

"3-2-5-0-0-0…" all of the children spoke, "3-2-5-0-0-0."

"What is it?" Johnny moved over to one as his wife ran out to find their daughter.

"3-2-5-0-0-0."

"What are you going on about?!"

"3-2-5-0-0-0."

"Lottery numbers, or what?"

~8~

Anna Frobisher sobbed as she knelt before her daughters, the two of them chanting, "3-2-5-0-0-0…"

~8~

"Stephen?!" Alice gasped as both Stephen and Clem went blank faced and began to speak too.

"3-2-5-0-0-0."

The Doctor quickly ran to them, scanning them with the sonic as Angel turned to type the number into the TARDIS computer.

"Coordinates?" Rhys tried to help, "Grid reference, maybe?"

"3-2-5-0-0-0..."

~8~

"Children in different countries are saying different numbers," a British reporter spoke.

"In France, the number is 448,000," a French station added.

"The children of America are saying 2,340,000," and the Americans.

"What is the meaning of 325,000?" the British wondered.

~8~

"That's 10 percent," the Doctor frowned, looking at the number, seeing the TARDIS picking up the same report, different numbers in different countries, all of them 10 percent of their population of children.

~8~

"It's confirmed," Yates stated, "325,000 is ten percent of the children, uh, units in this country. Every country is saying a different number, which in each case amounts to ten percent."

"I think it's fair to say that our final offer has just been rejected," the Prime Minster sighed as they fell silent, "Ok, thanks everyone, let's take a break."

"It's worth considering, sir," Yates began as they gathered their things, "The world's population will be nine billion by 2050. That's a two-and-a-half billion rise. The UK will go from 66 million to 71, every one of them needing food, water, a home, transport, fuel, TVs, and fridges…"

"Rick, Rick, Rick...what are you suggesting, a cull of ten percent would do us good?"

"I'm just saying, if we need to spin this to the public, and God knows at the moment that spin is all we can do, then in an age when we're terrified by the planet's dwindling resources, a reduction in the population could possibly, just possibly, if presented in the right way, be seen as…good, sir."

~8~

Agent Johnson paced her office, looking over as another agent entered, "Anything?"

He shook his head, "It's all gone quiet. All our usual sources from the government, the Army, White Hall, have all gone silent. Whatever's happening in London, no one's breathing a word."

"It's time I found out what's going on," she decided. She was very good about following orders, but having her every move thwarted at every turn had set her on edge. IF she was going to continue, she wanted to know WHY this Captain Jack had to be taken out, what was going on that the rest of the government didn't want her to know, "I'm taking a squad to London. Are the roads still blocked?"

"Only in the City."

"Then patch me through a clear route, and keep watching for Harkness or that box. If it's happening in London, then that's where he'll be," she gave the command briskly, striding out of the room.

~8~

"Frobisher's back in the Prime Minster's office," Owen called as he and Tosh stood at the monitor, the rest of them gathering around.

"With regrets, ladies and gentlemen," the Prime Minister began, "I have to tell you that we're now facing the worst-case scenario. And right now we don't have time for a discussion on ethics, I'm afraid hand-wringing will have to wait. All we can do at the moment is address a number of vital and practical questions."

"Namely, how do we select the ten percent?" Yates agreed, "Who would go? How would we transport them? And, how could we sell it to the voters?"

"John?" the Prime Minister looked at Frobisher.

"Well, the selection's not down to me," he shifted uncomfortably, starting to get a sense that the Prime Minister really was trying to make him the fall man.

"Nevertheless. Practical solutions, please."

"Once the selection has been made, then my department can arrange to bus all the children to the rendezvous points together, school by school. My staff are compiling various school databases. You just need to decide what criteria you'd use for selection. Which is out of my hands. Over to you, sir."

The Prime Minister contemplated it a moment, "Anyone?" he looked around, but everyone was silent, refusing to look at him, "Might I remind you, the clock is ticking."

"And yet he's not offering a single suggestion himself," Rhys muttered.

"It would have to be random," the secretary of defense reminded them.

"Nobody would believe it was random, not when they're waiting at school gates for empty buses to return," Riley rolled her eyes.

"Well, if the system we use is demonstrably fair and reasonably random, at least we can defend ourselves."

"You're willing to risk your kids to make it look fair?"

The women smirked, that woman was definitely good.

"Then how else can we choose?"

"We could do it alphabetically?" Yates supplied.

"Oh, yes," Riley rolled her eyes, "Thanks Mr. Yates."

"I like her," Gwen smiled.

"I didn't mean...I've got no kids, I wasn't trying to…"

"Yes, no kids, and no consequences," she huffed, looking at the Prime Minister, "And yours are already grown up."

"Let's keep this civil, Denise," the Prime Minister rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes! Let's discuss the loss of millions of innocent children, and let's be civilized about it!"

"I like her too," the Doctor smiled, moving an arm around Angel's waist, "She reminds me of you."

Angel blinked, "I don't yell that loudly do I?"

"How protective she is of all the children," he explained, kissing her quickly.

"If you wouldn't mind, yes," the Prime Minister deadpanned.

"Could we limit it to one loss per family?" the secretary tried, "Second born child…"

"That would take more time, more organization, time we don't have," Frobisher shook his head.

"So, it would have to be one school at a time?"

"Look," Riley cut in, "I'm going to say what everyone else is thinking. If this lottery takes place, my kids aren't in it."

"I'm sure the families of Gold Command will be exempted anyway," the Prime Minister shrugged easily.

Alice let out an offended noise, "So their kids get a free pass but everyone else…" she swallowed, holding Stephen closer.

"It won't happen" Jack put an arm around her, "We won't let it."

"That bastard," Clem agreed, "Isn't it."

"…our children get protection," the secretary muttered.

"Of course they bloody do," Gwen huffed.

"So, we could have a show of hands," the secretary tried to see, "I hate to be crass, but under these circumstances…"

"Well, who votes?" Riley asked, "Those with kids, or those with no interest to declare?"

"No one votes," the Prime Minister cut in, "It's down to me to make an executive decision."

"Do you need some time?" Yates looked at him.

"I doubt it," Owen muttered bitterly, that man…he wanted to kill him!

"Nope," the Prime Minister said simply, "Whatever happens, the children and grandchildren of everyone around this table will be exempt."

Of course Frobisher looked relieved.

"What about nieces and nephews?" Riley cut in.

"Don't push your luck."

"You seriously expect me to look my brother in the eye…"

"We need to limit the number of people…"

The program started to freeze a bit as everyone started to talk over each other, the software hardly able to keep up with the various lips going.

"…to look him in the eye and what, just give him a condolence card?" Riley continued.

"That's the responsibility of government, Denise!" the Prime Minister shouted.

"No," she cut in, firm, "The first responsibility is to protect the best interests of this country, right? Then let's say it..." she sighed, clearly hating to have to say it, "In a national emergency, a country must plan for the future, and must discriminate between those who are vital to continued stability and those who are not. And now that we've established that our kids are exempt, the whole principle of random selection is dead in the water anyway."

"Is it bad that, even though I don't like where she's heading, I respect her for it?" Rhys had to ask, at least the woman was being slightly more fair and logical about it.

"Only so far as…" the secretary tried to cut in.

"Let me finish!" she snapped, "Now look, on the one hand, you've got the schools, and I don't just mean those producing graduates. I mean the pupils that will go on to staff our hospitals, our offices, our factories...the workforce of the future. We need them. Accepted, yes? So, set against that, you've got the failing schools, full of the less able, the less socially useful. Those destined to spend a lifetime on benefits, occupying places on the dole queue, and, frankly, the prisons. Now, look, should we treat them equally? God knows we've tried and we've failed, and now the time comes to choose. And if we can't identify the lowest achieving ten percent of this country's children, then what are the school league tables for?"

Everyone was silent.

"It's a terrible thought," the Doctor sighed, "But at least she's looked at it the most logically."

"You can't tell me you agree with her!" Alice shouted.

"He's not saying that," Angel began.

"But he…"

"He said it was a logical thought, not an action," Angel clarified, "And it won't be put into place, because we'll stop it."

"How?" Alice scoffed.

"Teamwork," the Doctor beamed, "The Triple T!"

"Anyone want to speak against that?" the Prime Minister asked. Frobisher seemed disgusted, Yates looked down, the other politicians couldn't look at him, "Then there we have it. John, you have your criteria. We've selected the ten percent."

Gwen shook her head, "We've got enough evidence recorded here to destroy every person in that room thanks to Lois."

"And we can use it to force our way into Thames House, finally get face-to-face with this thing," Jack nodded.

"Right," the Doctor agreed "Time for a plan!"

~8~

A short while later Jack looked at his team, "Right, everyone know what they're doing?"

"What if I can't get Lois to agree to this, Jack?" Gwen asked.

"She hasn't let us down yet."

"And she won't let us down either," Angel nodded, believing that.

"Rhys, you ready?" the Doctor looked at him as the man nodded, handing Gwen the laptop.

Ianto rushed forward, him, Jack, and Owen with guns, "Let's go stand up to them," Jack smiled.

"Yes, sir," Ianto nodded.

"Aye, aye, captain," Owen rolled his eyes.

"Good luck," Tosh called, kissing Owen quickly before he left.

"Be careful dad," Alice whispered, hugging him tightly.

"Come back safe granddad," Stephen added.

"Now I miss being called Uncle Jack," Jack remarked with a laugh.

"What is it?" Angel asked the Doctor as she walked over to him from where she was standing with Gwen and Tosh, seeing his sort of...frowny face.

He looked at her and then at Jack, "He gave them the children," he muttered, shaking his head as he returned his attention to her, "Angel...you were heartbroken to find that out, and you both came back in here like it hadn't happened..."

She blinked, before she smiled and took his hand, "We all make mistakes when we go to a dark place Doctor," she squeezed his hand, knowing his mind had gone back to Mars, "But mistakes can be fixed. We can stop them now. And Jack..." she glanced at her 'brother' and back, "The man he was then, that dark man, wasn't and isn't the man he is in here," she pointed to her chest, "Right?"

He gazed at her softly, knowing she wasn't just talking about Jack at that moment but telling him she DID forgive him for what he'd done on Mars, for what had happened and what she'd gone through to fix it, "Right," he whispered, "I think it's a bit my fault though too," he had to admit.

"How?" she frowned, confused.

He just reached out and cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb, "I had an angel lighting my way, I kept you from him for a long while," while Angel hadn't actively sought out Jack, afraid the man would be angry with her for the Game Station, he had actively avoided Cardiff at every turn, "If he fell into that darkness it's because I didn't let you go pull him out of it."

She smiled, "Well I'm stronger now," she told him, "I'll sense when you both need me to pull you back and be there."

He grinned, he didn't doubt she would.

He glanced at Tosh and Gwen, "You'll be ok?"

He really didn't like this plan, not at all. HE wanted to be the one to go confront the 456, knowing they'd likely react to the name 'the Doctor' given his history. But Jack had been adamant that HE face the alien, that Torchwood take care of it, citing 'responsibility' as the Doctor had so long ago. He would be a last resort though. If the deal went south, he was to appear with the TARDIS and confront the 456. And, he supposed it would be better for him to be in the TARDIS like planned. Angel was going to stay with the girls, knowing Johnson would be coming for them, her abilities would help protect them and warn them, something Jack probably wouldn't need. He didn't like leaving Angel with the girls, but...he'd be watching from the console, ready to appear at a moment's notice, be the hero and rescue his fair maiden. She had proved since she'd regenerated that she could handle a bit more than before, he knew she wanted this chance to prove it even more, and couldn't deny her that. Didn't mean he liked it or that he wouldn't be watching with his face glued to the monitor, looking for any hint that she needed him, but he'd let her do it.

She nodded, "I'll have my girls protecting me," she looked at him, "Will you be ok?"

He nodded too, "I'll have the Harknesses watching out for me," he looked at Alice and Stephen, Rhys and Clem there too.

She nodded, leaning up on her toes to give him a peck, "Good luck."

"I'll need it with you not here," he told her, kissing her once more before they all split ways, ready to bring down the government.

~8~

Jack and Ianto looked around subtly when they spotted a sports car on the side of the road, the owner at a cash machine, leaving the car running. Owen rolled his eyes as the two glanced at each other and grinned, running for it and hopping in, forcing him to follow, the three of them driving off as the owner tried to run after them.

~8~

Lois stood before a mirror in the ladies room, splashing water on her face. She gasped when Gwen left her a message.

-We can stop this, but we need your help-

~8~

"Got 'em!" the Doctor cheered, bringing up the monitor to show Gwen, Tosh, and Angel sitting in what was a secondary Torchwood hub, set up with Tosh's laptop and some other tech, Alice, Stephen, Clem, and Rhys coming to join him.

"Are you sure they'll be ok?" Alice asked, Stephen, even having just met her, was quite attached to his 'Aunt Angel' as he called her, despite Jack's huffing that SHE got to be his Aunt while HE was the Grandfather, despite Angel being older than the three of them combined.

"Angel will keep them safe," he nodded, and he'd keep her safe, watching over her like she did him.

~8~

"The government has yet to give a reason why the children have stated a number that is equal to ten percent of the child population of each country," the British news channel began, a French station continuing much the same.

"All eyes are now turning toward the United Kingdom as we ask what exactly they are hiding," America wondered.

"London remains gridlocked in the city center."

~8~

"Knew this would happen," Owen remarked, rolling his eyes, it was karma wasn't it? Jack steals a flashy sports car…and then they all get stuck in traffic. They quickly jumped out and continued on their way on foot, Ianto grabbing his phone to call his sister.

"Quiet, you lot, now, shut up!" he heard her shouting to a mess of children, "Hello?"

"It's me," Ianto began.

"Oh, I...I thought you couldn't call here."

"I've got Tosh and Gwen working on blocking the call from a secondary Torchwood Hub," he winced, hating that he had to say that, it was a lie, they were very much NOT blocking this call.

"Is it all over?"

"It's only just beginning," Ianto sighed, knowing that Agent Johnson was likely trying to trace this call but they'd be unable too. Unfortunately that wasn't the plan, the plan was to lead the woman right to the girls, "Listen, that column of fire over London, did you see it on the telly?"

"No, I was watching 'The Other Side.' Of course I did, you dumbo. What's happening? The kids said 'we are coming,' but who's they? Who is it?"

"Just stop a minute and listen."

"Ianto, just tell me, who are they?"

"They're from another planet. They want children, that's why they're here."

"They what?"

"They want kids, millions of them."

"Why?"

Ianto looked at Jack who nodded, giving him the go-ahead, "They want to turn them into drugs, hook them up to themselves, and suck the life and humanity out of them."

"Oh my God…"

"They live forever…but Rhi…they aren't children anymore, they're alive and conscious and in pain…so whatever you do, DON'T let anyone take David or Mica away from you, for whatever reason. This goes for you people listening in on the wire, too. Forget the Official Secrets Act. If you've got children or grandchildren you need to hear this, and you need to tell every parent you know."

~8~

"I couldn't track Jones," the agent called to Johnson on a radio, "But he gave away the location of the others of the team, a secondary Torchwood Hub."

"Ok," she replied back, in a squad car, ready, "Let's go."

~8~

"Look, I've got to go," Ianto continued, "I love you. Don't let the kids out of your sight. I love them, too. I'm even warming to Johnny a bit."

"We love you too," Rhiannon whispered.

He closed his eyes and ended the call.

"Can I say," Owen looked over, "I really don't like this plan."

"Neither do we," Jack nodded, "But we have to trust the Doctor."

"And what if he bunches it all up?"

"Then we trust Angel to save all our hides."

~8~

"Two miles south," the agent told Johnson as they sped through the streets, "There's a warehouse area in Battersea. It used to be an old holding facility for Torchwood One, back in the 90s."

"Can you pinpoint the location?" she asked.

"I'm onto it now."

~8~

Tosh sat before the laptop in an old warehouse looking place, Gwen standing beside her, just a bit behind, her hand resting on the back of the chair as Angel stood a few more feet back, her arms crossed, shifting, feeling a terrible pit form in her stomach.

The plan would work…but would it work too well?

"We need a cover story to explain why the operation is happening," Frobisher was saying, back with the Prime Minister and his gathered personnel in Downing Street, "And to encourage participation. So the suggestion is we announce the children will be given some sort of inoculation; a jab to stop them speaking in unison. We stress that there's no immediate danger, that everyone will be seen in due course. Then when it goes wrong and the children disappear, we blame the aliens. Claiming innocence, we face the music."

"We say the 456 double-crossed us?" the defense secretary guessed.

Gwen looked down when her mobile rang, "Ok, Gwen," Ianto called, "We're here.

"Take care," she hung up and nodded at Tosh who began to type on the laptop.

-Jack is in position. Let's do it-

"It is the aliens' fault, and that's where the blame should lie, not with us," Yates agreed.

"We play the part of naïve dupes rather than willing accomplices," Frobisher nodded.

"We're not willing," the Prime Minister countered, "No one in this room is a willing accomplice."

"Could have fooled me," Gwen scoffed.

~8~

The Doctor stuck his tongue out of his mouth as he soniced a piece of the console, half leaning over it to reach it as the humans watched him oddly, "Almost…got it!" he cheered, climbing back down to see the screen split in two, one watching the girls, the other the men, Ianto, Jack, and Owen striding through the street, Agent Johnson creeping up on the girls.

~8~

-Jack is in position. Do it NOW-

Lois swallowed, seeing the message pop up.

"Thank you, gentlemen," the Prime Minister smirked, "Comments? Anyone?"

Lois took that moment to raise her hand, only to be ignored.

"This is going to take a hell of a lot of organization," Yates grumbled, "We're going to have to tell the police to stand down and put the army in their place. We barely have time to talk, we need to get this thing moving."

The Prime Minister took off his glasses, ready to leave, none of them seeing Lois still, "Then, shall we reconvene at 1800?"

"Excuse me?" Lois began as the Prime Minster looked at her.

"Lois, stop it," Spears, who was sitting beside her, hissed.

"I have something to say."

Frobisher looked at her too as the Prime Minister rolled his eyes, "Really? Well, it's nice that you want to make a contribution, what was your name?"

"Lois," she stood slowly, "Lois Habiba, sir."

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Lois, it's much appreciated, but this really isn't the best time."

"I'm sorry, sir, I know I'm only supposed to be here to take notes, but, um, I am a voter."

"Listen, love, this isn't a referendum," Yates laughed.

Spears stood, grabbing her arm, displeased, "Lois, could I have a word outside?"

"No," she pulled her arm away, "It needs saying."

"Lois, seriously, not now," Frobisher groaned.

"And I'm not just speaking on my own behalf."

Yates rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh, just what we need, a revolutionary."

"If you like, sir, that's what I am."

"Oh yeah?" he scoffed, almost snorting, "You and whose army?"

Lois straightened, "Torchwood."

Now they were listening.

"What?" the Prime Minister stared at her.

"Don't be ridiculous," Frobisher shook his head.

"And not just them sir," Lois smiled, "The Doctor and Angel sir, the Time Lords."

The government officials looked at each other, almost more alarmed at that then the mention of Torchwood.

~8~

The Doctor smiled, seeing what was happening on Tosh's laptop in her mind, yup, they still got it.

~8~

Tosh watched the computer intently, smiling, "I think she's doing it!"

"Oh good girl!" Gwen cheered.

Neither of them noticed Angel slowly turn and look around the empty warehouse.

~8~

"Torchwood has been recording all these meetings," Lois stated, "And everything that's been said around this table, every single word spoken by every single one of you will be made public, unless you do exactly what Torchwood says."

~8~

"Oh I like her," the Doctor grinned as Alice started smiling, feeling confident that everything really would be ok.

Rhys was more watching Gwen than anything, while Clem staggered back onto the captain's chairs, sitting down.

~8~

Angel turned her head, staring at the side doors.

~8~

Agent Johnson pulled up, the cars skidding to a halt as they jumped out, the men with her in full riot gear, sprinting towards the doors, trying to creep through them...

~8~

"You can come out!" Angel shouted, "I know you're there."

There was a moment of quiet as Gwen and Tosh looked back, watching as the agents and Johnson slowly entered.

"I've told you, you can't fool a psychic."

~8~

"Whoa," Stephen breathed, seeing the amount of weapons aimed at the girls, noticing the Doctor stiffen though Angel and Gwen and Tosh seemed more at ease, Angel reassuring him in his mind that she'd seen the woman not fire at all.

~8~

Jack, Ianto, and Owen stormed into the Thames House, walking right past the security guards who drew their guns. The three men lifted their own weapons over their heads, "Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper. We're Torchwood."

They slammed their guns on the security desk as one.

~8~

Gwen moved over to Angel's side, putting an arm around her, "Thanks to Angel here, we've been expecting you."

"On the floor!" Agent Johnson shouted, her gun aimed at them, "Face down, hands on your head!"

"The floor's dirty," Angel shook her head, "And I like this dress."

"You heard Ianto say we were in the secondary Hub, didn't you?" Tosh asked, "You really think he'd let that slip on accident?"

Johnson stiffened, realizing she might have just led her men into a trap, "On the floor or I'll just have you shot while resisting arrest!"

"You probably shouldn't," Angel winced.

"Why?" she glared.

"Well for starters, my Mate is watching us…and he'll be very cross if I regenerate again, he's very fond of how I like dresses now."

"And secondly," Gwen smirked, "Take a look at what we've been recording," she turned and headed back to Tosh, the woman rolling to the side to reveal the monitor, the Prime Minister on it, with a little sonic help, audio now playing too.

Johnson lowered her gun slowly and moved forwards for a better look, eyeing Angel as she passed the woman, but glancing at the screen again.

"And how exactly are you going to make us do this?" the Prime Minister scoffed, "Torchwood's been disbanded."

"I'm afraid not, sir. Right now, Captain Jack Harkness, head of the Torchwood Institute, is in the MI5 building with two of his associates. So you're going to stand aside, and let him do his job and deal with the 456, immediately. And, uh…I think that's it."

Gwen smiled, "What she's telling them is my gorgeous husband has recordings of them, all secretly agreeing to sacrifice millions of innocent children to the aliens."

"And my Mate," Angel added, "Has taken him off in the TARDIS, him and his copies, so you can't get to them."

"And he's ready to broadcast them to the world," Tosh nodded, "And tell everyone what's been going on, unless you do exactly as we say."

Gwen smirked, seeing Johnson's face soften, apparently she had no idea that the children were being demanded as payment, "Take a seat, maybe you'll learn something about the people you've been working for."

Tosh got up and gestured at he seat, Johnson moving to sit and watch.

Angel's small smile, though, started to fade as the pit in her stomach doubled, so much so…it was actually starting to hurt…

'...you yielded in the past...'

~8~

Jack, Ianto, and Owen were led up to Floor 13, rushing out of the lift as soon as the doors opened, and heading down the halls, "I want to feed the live TV pictures directly to this number, can you do that?" Jack asked Dekker as soon as they saw the man waiting, handing him a paper.

He looked at the number, "I can do that," he nodded, moving with them to the room the 456 were housed in.

~8~

Angel blinked a bit, swallowing, her head…was starting to hurt…

'...I was there. In 1965, I was part of that trade...'

~8~

The Doctor frowned, seeing Angel's expression fall, seeing her starting to actually look pale, and rubbed his chest…something was wrong…

~8~

The Torchwood Trio entered the holding room, coming to stand directly in front of the tank that held the 456, each of them before a glass pane.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness," Jack began, not even hesitating, knowing time was far too precious, "I've dealt with you lot before. I'm here to explain why this time, you're not getting what you want."

"You yielded in the past," the 456 countered.

~8~

The Prime Minister and Frobisher, watching the feed as well, exchanged a glance as Jack stated that they'd given children up in the past.

~8~

Angel pressed a hand to her head, closing her eyes, feeling her breath coming in pants…she was tingling…a ringing in her ears…

'...you yielded in the past, you will do so, again...'

~8~

"And don't I know it," Jack continued, "I was there. In 1965, I was part of that trade. You have no idea how disappointed my sister was in me to find that out and that's why I'm never going to let it happen again."

"Explain," the 456 demanded.

"There's a saying here on Earth, a very old, very wise friend of mine taught me it...an injury to one is an injury to all. And when people act according to that philosophy, the Human Race is the finest species in the Universe."

"Never mind the philosophy," Owen scoffed, "You ain't getting the kids."

Ianto rolled his eyes, "What he's saying is you're not getting one solitary, single child. The deal is off."

"Uh, I like the philosophy," Jack remarked.

"We gathered."

"You yielded in the past," the 456 repeated, "You will do so, again."

"In the past, the numbers were so small they could be kept secret, but this time, that is not going to happen," Jack shook his head.

~8~

Gwen, Tosh, and Johnson watched the proceedings, none of them seeing Angel put both hands to her head, starting to sway behind them.

"...because we've recorded everything..." Angel murmured.

~8~

'Angel?' the Doctor called to her, watching her fearfully, on the monitor, but she wasn't answering.

"What's wrong with her?" Stephen looked up.

"Is she ok?" Alice asked.

"She doesn't look it does she?" Rhys had to agree.

~8~

"Because we've recorded everything," Jack continued, "All the negotiations. Everything the politicians said. Everything that happened in this room. And those tapes will be released to the public. Unless you leave this planet for good."

"You yielded in the past," they repeated once more, "You will do so again."

"When people find out the truth, you will have over six billion angry Human Beings taking up arms to fight you. That might be a fight you think you can win, but at the end of it, the Human Race, in defense of its children, will fight to the death. And if I have to lead them into battle, I will. And trust me you do not want to see my commanding officer, he'll terrify even you."

"You've got enough information on this planet," Owen agreed, "Check your records."

"His name is Captain Jack Harkness," Ianto nodded, "Go back a 150 years and see what you're facing."

"This is fascinating, isn't it?" the 456 began.

~8~

Angel groaned, finally drawing the attention of Gwen and Tosh.

"Angel?" Tosh rushed over, seeing the woman looking like she was having a panic attack or something.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked her.

Angel could only shake her head…

…Clem screamed in agony as he shook, blood coming out of his ears…

…Ianto gasped for breath, dying in Jack's arms in the Thames House…

…Stephen stood before Jack, on a platform, his face blank, mouth wide, shaking, blood pouring out of his nose…

She gripped her head, letting out a scream at the visions assailing her, her hearts breaking for them...

When a wave of gold blazed out of her, forcing Tosh and Gwen to step back at the intensity of it, despite their desire to get to Angel as she screamed, more from the pain of the energy ripping through her than anything in her mind...

~8~

"No!" the Doctor shouted, seeing the Vortex flare inside Angel, so powerfully that the recording of the girls cut of…he quickly grabbed the controls, trying to get them back to the girls...only for another signal to appear on the monitor, replacing their footage.

"What's that?" Stephen pointed at it.

The Doctor glanced over and froze.

A wavelength…

The 456 were trying to do something…

~8~

"The human infant mortality rate is 29,158 deaths per day," the 456 stated, "Every three seconds, a child dies. The human response is to accept and adapt."

"We're adapting right now, and we're making this a war," Jack stated.

"Then the fight begins."

~8~

'...then the fight begins...'

Angel screamed, hunching over, feeling a familiar feeling…it was just like when the TARDIS had teleported her out of the spaceship on Kroptor and into the console room…but the TARDIS wasn't doing this…and she wasn't going to the TARDIS…

Gwen and Tosh stared wide eyed as Angel disappeared in a flash of gold.

'...a virus has been released...'

~8~

"We're waiting for your reply," Jack eyed the tank.

"Action has been taken," the 456 stated.

And then alarms started to blare, the Thames Hose going on lockdown.

"What have you done?!"

"You wanted a demonstration of war. A virus has been released. It will kill everyone in the building."

~8~

"Oh my God…" Johnson gasped.

Tosh and Gwen ran back over, only to see she wasn't gasping at the threat of infection…but the static of the camera as a golden light started to appear in the holding room…

~8~

"The building's designed to withstand chemical and biological attack," Frobisher frowned, "Nothing or no one can get in or out."

"Well something is!" the Prime Minister shouted as the gold became more solid, taking a human shape.

~8~

In the Thames House the office personnel ran down the stairs, the lifts powering down, screaming and panicking, some collapsing as other trampled over them.

~8~

But in the holding room, Jack and the team covered their eyes, seeing Angel appear before them.

"No!" she was shouting, her entire form blazing with golden Vortex energy, "Get back!" she shouted to the humans, "Run!"

Jack looked around and spotted a door in the back, grabbing Owen and Ianto, pulling them to it, "Angie!" he shouted, seeing it was a supply closet.

She moved back, the gold swirling uncontrollably around her, till she was in the room with them and the door shut. She put her hands to it, a blazing wall of gold appearing around the door, moving around the room, encasing it in gold, just like the escape pod in Pompeii, swirling and warm…but hurting her…

~8~

Dekker ran past the group of scared workers...

~8~

"What's going on?" Ianto shouted over the violent sounds of the Vortex rippling around them.

"The air's poison," Jack shouted, realizing what Angel was doing, creating a protective barrier to keep the virus out.

"If there's a virus, then there must be an antivirus," Owen remarked.

"You want to go out there and negotiate with them?" Jack scoffed.

~8~

"No!" the Doctor's eyes widened, realizing what the wavelength was.

"What is it?" Rhys frowned.

"They're tying to target Clem," he looked at the man, all three of them, but he was just...sitting there, perfectly fine.

"What?!" Alice gasped, pulling Stephen close, if they could target one person, they could target other children as well…

"You're safe," the Doctor called quickly to Clem as the man began to grow frantic without Angel there to calm him, "The TARDIS is psychically shielded, they can't get in."

"They did before!" Rhys reminded him of how Clem and Stephen had both chanted and pointed.

"When every single child was echoing the same frequency," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "It's like…every phone on Earth calling the same number, THAT the TARDIS can't stop, but this, this is something she can protect us from, because they're only doing it to prove a point."

"Where'd Unc…granddad go?" Stephen cut in, pointing at the screen where Jack, Owen, and Ianto were gone, the 456 bashing itself against the glass in fury at seeing them escape.

The Doctor hit a button and his eyes widened, "Angel!" he shouted, running around the console, "Sorry, sorry, need your help!" he moved Alice, Stephen, Rhys, even Clem, to the console, shouting out instructions as he frantically tried to pilot the box to Angel.

~8~

"Angie!" Jack cried, seeing her start to hunch over, the gold flickering around them.

"What do we do?!" Owen called, knowing the girl couldn't last much longer but that the virus had likely not run its course yet.

Angel winced, struggling, she had to keep it going, she had to, she couldn't let it happen…

"Listen!" Ianto yelled, and they could hear the wheezing of the TARDIS, looking around as it materialized around them…inside the cupboard.

As soon as it was whole, Angel slid to the ground to her knees, against the doors where she'd reappeared, the gold swirls fading, her slumping to the floor.

"Angel!" the Doctor ran to her side, him, Jack, and Owen frantically checking on her as the others watched in alarm as she remained unmoving…

~8~

"Oh my God they can't get out!" Tosh gasped, "That's the Thames house! Owen!" she grabbed her phone, the picture had cut out, nothing but static.

"Owen!" she shouted into the phone, her eyes widening at who answered his mobile, "Alice?"

Gwen looked over, alarmed, realizing what had happened…

~8~

Dekker ran down the hall, to the hazard suit they'd put the cameraman in, and quickly put it on, managing to zip it up with just a moment to spare falling back against the wall, panting, alive…

Which couldn't be said for the rest of the people in the House. All of them rushing to the exits, but they were trapped, pounding on the doors, only to sink to the floor…dying as startled operatives watched from outside, trying to break in to help.

~8~

"What now?" the Prime Minister asked as they watched the footage pick up, seeing the masses of dead in the Thames house.

"Two choices," Yates sighed, "Either we go to war against an enemy we can't beat, or we go to war against our own people, for their own good."

"An injury to one is not an injury to all," Riley murmured, "We can't go to war, we have to surrender."

"35 million children," the Prime Minister sighed.

"Or 6.75 billion people."

"Start putting your plan into action," he turned to Frobisher.

~8~

'It's all my fault,' Jack whimpered as he held Ianto in his arms.

'No it's not,' Ianto wheezed, trying to breathe, but the virus had hit him.

'Don't speak, save your breath.'

'I love you,' Ianto sobbed.

Jack shook his head, 'Don't…' Ianto shut his eyes and he shook him, 'Ianto. Ianto? Ianto, stay with me. Ianto, stay with me please...stay with me, stay with me, please!'

Ianto blinked a bit, looking at Jack as the man cried, 'Hey. It was...good, yeah?'

'Yeah.'

'Don't forget me," he whispered.

Jack smiled watery, "Never could.'

'A thousand years' time…you won't remember me.'

"Yes I will. I promise, I will.'

Ianto gasped, his face contorting in pain, before he breathed out, Jack's heart breaking as he didn't breathe in again, "Ianto. Ianto? Don't go. Don't leave me, please. Please, don't…'

"JACK!" Angel screamed as she bolted up in hers and the Doctor's bed, only to nearly whack her head on not just Jack, but Clem and the Doctor and Stephen's heads as they hovered over her. She was panting, frantic, her eyes wide, till Jack ran to her side and hugged her tightly, knowing whatever she'd seen, it had been devastating to him.

"Shh…" he tried to soothe her, "It's ok, Ang, it's ok…I'm here…"

"Is Ianto?" she asked, her voice breaking, "Did I do it?"

Jack blinked and looked down at her, a bit concerned, "What do you mean did you do it?"

She looked at him, tears in her eyes, "Is he alive? Did I save him and Owen in time?"

"See for yourself," Jack whispered, hardly able to breathe at the revelation that Ianto would have died, Owen nearly dying again, if not for her.

She looked over and saw the two men there, alive, Clem as well, "Oh thank God," she breathed, starting to cry, till the two men in question walked over and hugged her tightly, looking at their significant other's over her shoulder, seeing the relief and thankfulness they felt reflected in their eyes.

"Ok," the Doctor stepped over, gently pushing the men back, "Enough men touching my Mate thank you," and plopped down beside her, making her bounce a bit in the bed and laugh, starting to smile, as he just pulled her into a hug, knowing it was what she needed more than anything.

She may have magic hugs when it came to pretty much everyone. But HE had magic hugs when it came to her. He smiled softly, stroking her hair, as he felt her bury her face in his neck, shaking from the exertion of using the Vortex to such a degree for a second time in only days, but alive and happy, he could feel her smile into his skin and just held her closer.

~8~

The Torchwood team and the Doctor, and Clem and the Harknesses, stood back, solemn, in a morgue later that day. Rather more like a large auditorium with rows and rows of bodies covered in deep red cloth, all those who had died in the Thames House. They were solemn of course, in respect to those who died while they had lived, but also for the heartbreak of the sight before them.

The room was full of the bodies of those that had died…

With Angel kneeling down right before they began, her entire posture making them feel like they might cry. It was devastated.

She was devastated.

All those people…they died…she had been able to save Owen and Ianto and Jack…but not the rest. And that killed her, left her softly crying for all the human life that had ended.

What point was there in being strong in the Vortex, if she'd only managed three people?

Jack looked over as the Doctor moved to go beside her, sitting down and putting his arm around her, comforting her as she cried on his shoulder.

"Am I a monster?" Angel whispered to him, startling him.

The Doctor looked down at her in shock, "What would you say that? Ever, ever, ever?!"

She blinked and looked at him, "Does it make me a monster that I only saved three of them?"

The Doctor swallowed, knowing what this was about, Mars. He'd gone off the deep-end admittedly, how he'd claimed he'd never saved someone as important as Adelaide, even going so far as to call all the others 'little people.' It seemed angel was aware of what he'd said, and now she was scared that she'd done the same, saved three men who were so important at the cost of not being able to save the others.

"Never ever," he answered.

"Never say never ever," she murmured.

"I can though," he whispered back to her, kissing her forehead, "We're Time Lords Nella," he rested his forehead to hers, staring into her eyes, "I can promise you forever and ever and keep it."

She swallowed, still feeling terrible about all the death as she looked back at the bodies littering the floor.

Jack watched her a moment before he looked at his team, at his daughter and grandson and Clem, all the people Angel just kept saving, and then the people she couldn't. He walked over to her, kneeling beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder. He reached out, brushing a hair behind her ear before he kissed her hair, "Thank you," he whispered in her ear, "For saving Ianto."

She sniffled and nodded, putting a hand on his on her shoulder as they just...looked at what the 456 had done to innocent humans.

Day Five

Gwen appeared in a flash of static, recording a message, "There's always one thing I meant to ask Jack, back in the old days, before I got the chance to meet them myself. I wanted to know about the Doctor and Angel, how they always appeared out of nowhere and saved the world, except sometimes…they didn't."

The image cut out to children being ripped away from their mothers' arms by soldiers, crying as they were shoved onto buses, driven away as their mothers cried out to stop them.

"All those times in history when there was no sign of them. I wanted to know...why not? But I don't need to ask anymore. I thought I knew the answer. That sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame," she started smiling, "And then I realized that, Angel…SHE was the reason he came in the first place. Every time he didn't…Angel was in trouble and I can't fault him for not arriving in time. But she saw it, she saw this threat coming and they're working on it," she swallowed hard, tears in her eyes, "I'm recording this in case anyone ever finds it, in case they fail, so you can see...you can see how the world ended."

The picture blurred as it went to static.

~8~

The Prime Minister sat in Downing Street with his board, bright and early, "Today we're taking steps to safeguard your children," the man spoke, being recorded, advertising himself to the rest of the country, "The schools are being opened again. And we urge all of you to send your children back to their classes straightaway. Government representatives will be visiting certain schools to discuss a series of inoculations…"

~8~

Rhiannon sat with her son, watching the broadcast, "What's inoculations?" her son, David, looked at her.

"Injections," she answered.

"I don't wanna go to school."

"You're not goin', either. You're stayin' put. Just like your Uncle Ianto said, don't trust any of 'em."

"But the man said we got to go," her daughter, Mica, looked at her.

"And I know for a fact he's lyin'."

They looked at the recording again as the Prime Minister continued, "These inoculations are to protect your children…"

~8~

"These inoculations are safe," the Frobishers watched, "These inoculations will guarantee no repeat of the problems of the past four days."

~8~

"David, on your feet," Rhiannon shook her head, "Go to the Baxters' opposite, then go to Sally's, and go to Mrs. Singh. Tell 'em we'll have the kids, only free of charge."

"It's ten quid a kid!" her husband scoffed.

"Shut it you," she glared before turning to her son, "And run!" she got up, ushering him out as she followed him to the door, "Tell them my brother works for the government, he said it's not safe."

"Yes, mum!" David nodded, rushing off to do that. His mum had sat him and Mica down the other day, told them about what their Uncle Ianto really did, fight aliens. And he wanted to do it too, he wanted to help, he wanted to be a hero like his uncle.

~8~

"So I ask of you now, to cooperate, to send your children back to school, and to resume your lives as normal," the Prime Minister smiled.

"We'd better get ready for school then," Holly, one of Frobisher's daughters remarked.

"No, darling," her mother shook her head, "Your father said stay at home with me."

"Why? What's so different about us?"

She closed her eyes, a guilt striking her, there should be nothing different about them, they shouldn't be any more important than any other child, they shouldn't get special treatment, why should her children be safe when so many others were in danger…but she couldn't help but be thankful they were.

Her husband had told her what these 'inoculations' were all about, finally damning that bloody secrets act.

"And as ever, I thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your faith," the Prime Minister finished.

~8~

Riley approached the Prime Minister as soon as the broadcast ended, "We've isolated 2,600 primary schools, sir."

"I'm sorry, but you address me in all matters concerning this operation," Pierce, the American General, cut in.

"This information is for Mr. Green."

"You and Mr. Green and this government have proven yourselves incapable of handling this crisis. All decisions will now go through me. You were saying?"

Riley tensed her jaw but turned to the entire table instead, "We have 2,600 primary schools listed here. We are mobilizing transport. At 1200 hours, the British Army will take the children from their schools to the designated rendezvous points."

"What if they refuse, the soldiers?" the Prime Minister wondered, "We could have a mutiny on our hands."

"They've been told," Pierce assured him, "Any soldier refusing to do his duty will make his own family liable."

"So we take them to the rendezvous points, but what then?" Riley shook her head.

"We're about to find out. They're entering Thames House right now."

~8~

Oduya, the black UNIT general, walked out of the lift and into Thames House, Floor 13, seeing Dekker waiting for him.

"Disinfectant doesn't work," Dekker warned as Oduya sniffed deeply, "You can still smell it. There were bodies lying ten deep around those doors."

They glanced at the lift, "Mr. Dekker, I take it. You managed to survive."

"Well, I just stood back, sir. A strategy that's worked all my life. Now then. Best not keep it waiting."

They headed down the hall into the holding room to see guards flanking the door, none of them in their hazard suits, seeming to trust that the 456 wouldn't attack again now that Torchwood was out of their hair, assumed to be among the bodies of the dead, one Lois Habiba in custody. Oduya looked at the murky, foggy, blue tank, handing his cap to one of the guards as he stepped in, pausing when he heard the 456 grumble.

"I seek audience with the 456," he began, "My name is Colonel Augustus Oduya of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. If I might speak…"

The 456 cut in, screeching violently, slamming its heads against the glass, spewing bile once more, making him flinch at the violent reaction. He glanced at the camera, still set up, knowing the Prime Minister was watching, but not knowing another group was watching also.

~8~

The Triple T stood before the monitor of the console, all silent, watching the general approach the tank. The TARDIS was hiding out in the back room of the morgue. It seemed the reaction of the 456 was enough to warrant Frobisher actually agreeing to meet in person, there, in a public place though, where he could be seen entire as a show of mourning and not to meet Torchwood himself. Now they just had to wait for the man to arrive.

"We have no choice but to initiate your plan," Oduya stated and the girls closed their eyes, the men tensing, Stephen and Clem shuffling but silent, "May God help me. But I need to ask. We have designated rendezvous points, selected Army bases in all participating countries. But once the children are assembled, what then? How do you...collect them?"

"As we arrived," the 456 cut in, "Observe."

Oduya looked over as a feed cut to a pillar of fire that descended into the Thames House, the same way the 456 first appeared.

~8~

"Some sort of transportation device taking them God knows where," Pierce remarked as he watched the recording with the Prime Minister.

~8~

"Then let me ask," Oduya continued, "Not as a representative, as a father. You need these children. We've seen you hooked up to that boy, but why? Are they keeping you alive?"

"No," the 456 stated.

"Then what are they for?"

"The hit."

"I don't understand."

"The hit. They create chemicals. The chemicals are good."

"Good...in what way?"

"He REALLY doesn't know?" Owen scoffed.

"We feel...good. The chemicals are good."

"They're like drugs," Oduya realized.

The 456 slammed themselves against the glass again.

~8~

The Prime Minister looked startled, hearing that, as did the rest of those sitting around the table, "They're trading in drugs?" he seemed ill at that.

"You're shooting up...on children?" even Oduya seemed disturbed by that, "Our children."

The man flinched back as 456 slammed itself violently against the glass, spewing bile as well.

"Let's not forget your government started this trade," Pierce glared at the Prime Minister, "You opened the market over forty years ago," he looked at Riley, "Are the troops on standby?"

"Yes, sir," Riley swallowed hard.

"Then we begin," he nodded.

~8~

"The government claims it's Britain back to normal," a news reporter began, "Schools across the country are being reopened, and parents are being allowed to return their children to a normal routine," the image cut to children back in schools, running around, happy, "The inoculation program will begin at midday and the World Health Organization has issued a statement guaranteeing the safety and beneficial effects of the treatments. Critics are still demanding more information but the government is simply asking for trust."

~8~

"Keep in mind," Jack began as he looked up at Frobisher and Spears approaching them in a cafeteria of the building holding the bodies of the Thames House massacre, "You're outnumbered."

"And you DON'T want to make an enemy of me," the Doctor added harshly, his arm around a quiet Angel at his side, "You've upset my Mate," he squeezed Angel more and they could see she was visibly pale and worn, with tears in her eyes, the men and the women of Torchwood seeming to be surrounding her protectively, "You've forced her to use her powers before she was ready, so for that…you had better tread carefully."

Frobisher looked at the group before them, Angel was sitting in the middle, the Doctor at her side, Jack on her other side, with Ianto, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen standing behind them, ready. No sign of Rhys, Clem, Alice or Stephen…he glanced around a moment…

"Alice is safe," Angel cut in, "She and Stephen, and you will NOT be taking them, so don't even try."

Jack tensed, glaring at the man for the obvious thought that he might be able to sneak up on his family and kidnap them. Good luck doing that with the TARDIS protecting them.

Frobisher nodded and sat down with Spears.

"The threat still stands," Ianto began this time, more angry at the man than anyone else was...except perhaps the Doctor. He…hadn't had the same experience that Owen and Tosh had had. He hadn't been able to relate, to understand what it was like to KNOW you were about to die, that you probably would have, if Angel hadn't saved you…Tosh and Owen had experienced it with Gray, Owen again just earlier.

But HE hadn't. HE had been the one to experience it this time. And he was furious with the man. Because of him, because he refused to let them help, the first time, he had nearly died, he'd nearly left Jack alone, and that was something he would NOT stand for.

That and knowing he wouldn't be there to protect his sister's children, his niece and nephew.

"Haven't we gone past that…" Frobisher began.

"My husband is still out there with everything you've done recorded," Gwen cut in, "One word from me and he will release that information to the public."

"What do you think Torchwood is now? Do you think you're still players?"

"We can try," Tosh nodded.

"We're at a tipping point right now. Civilization's about to fall into hell. You want to start that descent a little earlier, go ahead."

"Have you ever thought," Angel began quietly, "That we just might be able to save everyone?" the man looked at her, "That we might be civilization's redemption? Their salvation?"

Frobisher scoffed.

"And you say I'm rude," the Doctor muttered, leaning in, "Do you have any idea who we are?" he asked the man, "I ask that genuinely. Because if you did…you might know that we stand a very, VERY good chance of succeeding. But you've got to let us help."

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Jack nodded, "You help us, or we do this our way. But either way, we'll stop you."

Frobisher simply stood, "I hardly think you can bring down the government," and turned to go.

"Who do you think stopped Harriet Jones?" the Doctor called, making the man stop in his tracks and look back, his eyes wide, "Don't you think she looks tired?" he asked, smirking, "Sound familiar? Six words that brought down the government, and I actually LIKED her," he eyed the man, rubbing his eye, "How many words do you think it'll take with children involved?"

Frobisher swallowed.

"What about Lois?" Angel asked.

"I'm afraid Miss Habiba is in police custody, charged with espionage," Spears answered, seeing Frobisher too startled to speak.

"If you release her," Jack continued, "We might be kinder."

Frobisher just walked off.

Owen sighed, "What now?"

Jack looked at Angel as she watched the man go, "What do you think Ang?"

"Still think he'll help us?" Tosh asked, not bitterly but just…curious. The girl had insisted they take the meeting with Frobisher, adamant that he would come to help them.

She blinked, "He will…but it'll take something extreme to do it."

"Extreme like how?" Ianto shifted.

She looked at them, solemn, and they realized, the man's children were everything to him…his children would be selected, and the man had no idea.

"Plan B then," the Doctor stood, his arm around Angel as they walked off to the back room, where the TARDIS was sitting.

~8~

Agent Johnson stood before her team, "You might want to take a look at this," she told them, her face expressionless though they could see in her eyes she was devastated by something. She stepped aside and showed them a monitor she'd set up in their headquarters, a copy of the footage Torchwood had taken, the image of the child hooked up to the 456.

"It's inside Thames House," she continued, "All recorded by Torchwood. They're inventive, I'll give them that. That's a child, abducted in 1965," she looked at the men and women around her, all shifting uncomfortably, some of them had been told about the orders, how their families would be in danger, how children were being taken, but to see what would happen to the other children…it was terrible, "Now they want more, millions more. And in two hours' time, the government is handing them over."

She looked at the image as the child's face froze and faded to static.

"Unless we help stop them."

~8~

Frobisher solemnly entered the Prime Minister's office in Downing Street, hesitating only a moment before he knocked.

"Yes?" he heard the man call before entering.

"You asked to see me, sir," he looked at the Prime Minister, shutting the door behind him, eyeing the man as he looked at a document.

"Take a seat," he gestured across his desk.

"Terrible day," Frobisher began as he sat, falling into silence, "Sir, I was wondering…"

"Your name was chosen, John."

"Right. Good. In what way chosen?"

"The inoculation story seems to have gained some currency," he looked up at Frobisher, "Might even be called popular."

"Indeed. And, ah, what's that got to do with me?"

"Your children will be inoculated."

He hesitated, not sure how to react, "I see..."

"In two hours there will be selected news media at your house. You will be seen to offer your children for treatment, this will be broadcast on every network channel at twelve o'clock midday.

He frowned, "But there is no inoculation."

"This action will help the public and show them no cause for unrest."

"You mean I pretend they're going to be inoculated."

The Prime Minister looked at him for a long while before returning his attention to the document he'd been working on, "Your children will then be taken to one of the designated rendezvous points, and they'll become part of the...the process. It's our duty now to think beyond this...this terrible day. And once it's over, the government must be seen as victims of the 456. We must be seen to have lost."

"You put me on camera, I will tell people the truth," Frobisher warned.

"Then your daughters would know where they're going," he said simply, "Best not."

He leapt to his feet, "I can't do it, I won't! You can't make me!"

"In which case your children will be taken without you," he countered, having an answer for everything.

"But you've seen what they do to them! I...they're just girls, sir! They're just girls! They're not, they're not that...they're not..." tears filled his eyes, his voice cracking at just the thought of what might happen, of what his girls would become, the life they'd have.

The Prime Minister wouldn't look up at him, "I'm sorry, John," but Frobisher just stared at him, horrified and disgusted, "I'm really...I'm really very sorry," he glanced up at him a moment, not having sounded sorry at all, before turning back to his work, "And I'm really very busy."

Frobisher stared at him a long while before turning and walking out the door, shutting it behind him, standing there, stunned, completely dazed, before walking on, his eyes filled with tears. So distracted was he that he didn't even see Spears waiting for him.

She stood quickly from her bench, "What did he want?"

"Bridget, I need a Requisition 31," he swallowed hard.

"What for?" she breathed, wondering what on Earth he would need a gun for!

He wiped his nose, "Quick as you can."

"But what for, sir?" she repeated, growing more alarmed as she saw him unraveling.

"Requisition 31, thank you."

She stared at him a long while before heading into a security office, leaving him a moment to compose himself. He moved to the bench she'd been sitting on, resting his hand on it, steeling himself, before he sank down onto it.

"Requisition 31," he could hear Spears inside the other room.

He rubbed his head, his eyes wet, hunching over, his face in his hands, when someone sat beside him.

"Will you help us now?" a soft voice asked.

He looked over to see Angel sitting beside him, the Doctor standing next to the bench beside her, staring at the man with empathy in his eyes.

"Can you save them?" he swallowed.

"We can try," the Doctor nodded.

Frobisher took a breath and nodded, standing.

Angel stood as well, taking the man's hand, "Come with us," she tugged him on, leading him to the bright blue police telephone box down the hall…

~8~

Spears stepped out of the security room, a small metal box in her hands, looking around, confused, a faint wheezing in the air, but Frobisher nowhere to be seen.

~8~

The Triple T stood in the console room, staring at Frobisher as he sat, still utterly devastated at the turn of events, on the captain's chair. Half of them were angry with the man, the other half trying to understand, yet all of them feeling as solemn as he was being, now knowing the Prime Minister's plans for the man's daughters.

"It all changes when your own kids are at risk, doesn't it?" Alice asked him, holding Stephen close to her.

He nodded, looking up at them, "What can I do to help?" he eyed them, "Tell me, I will do anything."

Jack and the Doctor looked at each other, before eyeing the one person who had dared get closer to the hated man, Angel, sitting beside him, with her arm around his shoulder.

"Tell us everything you know about their plans," Jack began, "We know most of it, we need to know what we missed, we need to know everything."

Frobisher nodded, explaining all that he knew, which was nearly everything about the government's plans and the cover-up.

~8~

The conference room of Downing Street was full, busy, tense, a digital clock on the wall ticking to 11:00am.

"Eleven o'clock, one hour to go," Riley sighed.

"Are we in position?" Pierce looked over.

"The troops are moving in, sir," she nodded, looking at a text on the monitor, 'STAGE 3 ACTIVE.'

A map came up after the text disappeared, more information scrolling through all the schools that would be participating, their locations, the number of children, all the information that could possibly been gathered, even live satellite images of them.

~8~

All across the country, students stayed in their classes, chanting, learning…when army carriers pulled up outside.

~8~

Reporters waited outside the Frobisher house, waiting for the man to appear, knowing he would be the best bet of finding out what was really happening, rumor had it his own daughters were going for the inoculations…sadly, as the reporters watched the cars rolling by, none of them heard a wheezing noise sound in the house…followed by the sound of a breaking teacup.

~8~

Lois looked up from the cell she was being held in to see Bridget Spears being let in.

"Thank you," Spears looked at a guard who set a chair down for her, waiting till the door closed, before looking at Lois, "I've come to tell you how we met."

"Who?" she shook her head.

"How I met John Frobisher. It was thirty years ago. You weren't even born. I was on attachment to the civil service, only for six months. And just down the corridor, there he was. You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was a clumsy thing, always losing his key. Mr. Swales never thought he'd amount to much, but I thought, well..."

~8~

Frobisher stepped out of the TARDIS to see his wife staring at the box that had appeared in her kitchen with wide eyes, her cup shattered on the ground. He looked over as his girls ran in, rushing to them, hugging them tight as he fell to his knees, the Doctor, Jack, and Angel stepping into the doorway of the TARDIS.

~8~

"'Keep an eye on that one.' And all the others came and went, the high flyers, they burnt out or went onto something better. And do you know what John Frobisher did?"

~8~

Anna Frobisher looked from her husband to the trio as they stepped out of the TARDIS, her eyes widening as she saw the space beyond the doorway, the other people inside, heading out for them as well.

~8~

"He kept working. Head down, worked hard, all his life. It was another ten years before we actually worked in the same office. He asked for me," Spears smiled.

~8~

Anna sat on the sofa, her daughters gathered around her with her husband, as the Torchwood team, Alice, Stephen, Clem, Rhys, and the Time Lords sat around with them, all of them talking quietly, explaining what was going on, the little girls scared, Anna with tears in her eyes, clutching her husband's hand.

~8~

"I didn't think he even knew my name. And we made quite the team. I'm not saying he was perfect. You know that, better than me. But he worked hard, he always worked hard, I don't think that's valued enough these days, hard work."

~8~

Anna hunched forward, sobbing, the girls clutching to their father as the horrible truth was told to them. Angel moved over to them, kneeling before the woman and her children, reaching out to put a hand on theirs.

~8~

"He was a good man. I want you to know that. John Frobisher was a good man."

~8~

Angel got them to look up at her, smiling reassuringly, speaking softly, as she crossed her hearts.

~8~

"Because when the history of this is written, they'll talk about the ministers, and the soldiers, and the things with numbers for names. And I think people will forget how very good he was."

~8~

Anna looked at her husband, her eyes wide, then back at Angel. The Doctor, standing by Stephen, squeezed the boy's shoulder till he looked up at the alien a moment, before moving to join Angel, talking to the girls more himself, offering them a child's view.

~8~

"I want you to remember him like that. If ever you think of John Frobisher, just remember that it wasn't his fault," Spears blinked back a tear, praying with all her might that what she thought happened, had happened.

The Prime Minister had made John's family a target for the 'inoculations' and he'd nearly requested a gun to...take care of the problem himself. She knew he'd rather see his daughters...gone...than live that life the 456 were offering. But when she'd stepped out, he as gone, she could only pray it meant that the Time Lords had gotten to him, that they'd get to his family as well, and save them.

~8~

Stephen helped the girls to their feet, leading them back through the halls, to the TARDIS, the Doctor opening the doors and letting the family in, the box disappearing moments before soldiers burst into the house, clearly intending to steal the girls away by force.

~8~

"Now. I think I should get back to work," Spears stood and moved to the doors to leave.

~8~

"Oh my God…" the Frobisher girls breathed, staring around at the room they'd just stepped into, "It's…"

"Bigger on the inside," Jack, Angel, and the Doctor said with them.

"And this isn't it," Stephen smiled, knowing how overwhelming the place could be, knowing how scared the girls must have been to learn how close they'd come to being used by the government, and die at the hands of the 456, "There's a swimming pool," he told them, "Wanna see?"

The girls looked at their mother, "Please mum!"

She could only shake her head, completely stunned as she stared at the room even more.

"Go," Tosh urged her, "It's beautiful."

Anna looked at her husband as he nodded, urging her on with the girls, Stephen leading the small family away, Alice going with them, the boy rambling about the different rooms as Clem tagged a long, he was so like a child himself, he liked pools and the room that housed the pool was sparkling.

"What do we do now?" Owen asked, looking at them.

"Save more children," Jack moved to the console, the Time Lords with him, parts of his team joining them to help pilot it smoother, knowing it won't make the Frobishers feel any better to be jostled about.

~8~

In Downing Street, the Prime Minister and his crew sat around, looking at the clock as it turned to 12, noon.

"Do we begin?" Riley asked the question no one wanted to.

"We've got no choice," the Prime Minister sighed.

General Pierce glared, "You don't give the orders, Mr. Green," he remarked, before picking up a radio, "Stage One. Mobilize."

They looked over, seeing a monitor switch to a map of England, 'Target Schools' blinking in green dots of the children to be taken.

~8~

All around the country, troop carriers rolled up to the schools, stopping as soldiers jumped out. Dozens of yellow school buses arrived, the soldiers running across the empty playground to surround the school should any resist.

Some entered the building, striding into the rooms of teachers, herding the children out, "I don't care who you are," one teacher tried to stop them, "You haven't got the authority to just march in here and...Mr. Patel! They, they can't just…"

All down the hall, the students marched past a man in a suit, the headmaster, Mr. Patel, who could only nod, telling the teacher that the soldiers had that authority.

"They said inoculations, not…" and then a suspicion hit, "Where are you taking them? Excuse me, where are you taking them?!"

The teachers watched as the children were marched into a yellow bus, other adults gathering as they looked on, confused.

"What's going on?" a mother ran up to a soldier, worried for her child, "What are you doing?"

"Stay on the other side of the road, thank you," the soldier said bluntly.

"But my boy's in there!"

"Taking them off the school premises, you just can't!" the teacher rushed out, "Where are you taking them?!"

"Christopher!" the mother shouted as the boy ran for her, "Christopher!"

But a soldier grabbed her, pulling her back as another caught the child, lifting him up and carrying him back to the bus.

"That's my son! That's my bloody son!"

"You can't take them off the school premises!" the teacher continued to shout.

But as soon as the bus was full, it drove off, all the students inside upset, crying, the parents who had gathered shouting at the soldiers, trying to chase the bus…but it was too late.

~8~

"Ianto," Rhiannon smiled as she opened the door to her house to see Ianto, Jack, the Doctor, and Angel standing there, that blue box sitting on her law, "What's happened?" she asked, seeing his solemn and serious expression.

"How many kids have you got here?" he asked, not answering.

"19, why?"

"Get them all and come with us," Jack ordered.

"What, why?!"

"Rhiannon please," Angel cut in, "We'll explain it all as soon as the children are safe. You've told the neighbors yeah? About what the soldiers are doing?"

"Yes," she nodded, the neighbors had believed her, of course they had, when your children's lives were at stake, you listened. They'd gathered them all at her house, all the parents on the alert, ready to stop whoever was coming for them.

"Call them, tell them that we're taking the kids somewhere safe, to keep them from being 'inoculated."

"A bit of a hurry would help," the Doctor added, slightly rude.

Rhiannon looked at Ianto who nodded and she ran to do just that, Johnny gathering up their children, for once being serious, as Ianto, Jack, and the Doctor gathered the others, Angel standing at the window to keep an eye out, till they were all ready.

"Where are we going Uncle Ianto?" Mica asked, tugging on Ianto's hand.

"Somewhere very special," he told her, "And very safe."

"Not the school," Daniel whined.

"No, way better than any school," Jack laughed.

"What in there?" Johnny scoffed as they walked right up to the phone box.

The quartet grinned at each other before the Doctor opened the doors, the children, Rhiannon, and Johnny staring in shock at the space beyond.

"Oh my God…" Rhiannon breathed.

"Come on," Ianto tugged Mica and Daniel in, the children following, before they all took off, running everywhere, all around the console, climbing on the Y-beams, exploring with a child-like wonder, the Doctor shutting the doors behind him once they were all in.

The Doctor paused, looking at the kids and had to laugh, Donna had once remarked that the TARDIS might turn into a people-carrier, it certainly had, but it was different when it was children. They were just...fantastic!

"What the hell…" Johnny blinked, rubbing his eyes, as he stared at the alien room.

Before the Time Lords could answer, the TARDIS hummed loudly. The Doctor frowned and looked at Angel, who laughed, "I think she's loving this," she looked at the children, "Having children running around."

"Ianto," Rhiannon cut in, "Explain, what is this? How is this even possible?"

"You know the aliens I warned you about?" Ianto began, "Well…meet the aliens who are going to stop them," he gestured at the Doctor and Angel.

"You're aliens?!" Rhiannon pulled Mica back, alarmed, fearing the worst.

"The good ones," Angel promised, crossing her hearts, "Right?" she looked over and it was then that Rhiannon noticed the Torchwood team there, if they fought aliens but were working with THESE aliens, they had to be decent...right?

"Listen," Jack cut in, "We don't have a lot of time, it's…" he checked his watch.

"Noon," Angel answered.

"Right," he nodded, "They're gonna start gathering the kids, take them to be sacrificed to the aliens."

"So we need to stop them," the Doctor nodded.

"We can't exactly do that with all the ankle-biters here," Owen called, trying to make his way through the swarm of kids…one even sat on his foot, holding onto his leg as he walked.

"Rhiannon, Johnny," Angel turned to them, "The kids will trust you more, would you like to take them to the pool? My nephew Stephen and the Frobishers are there as well with a lovely man named Clem."

"Might be better if they don't see anything we're about to do," the Doctor agreed.

"Sure…" Rhiannon said, a bit of a scoff to her words, of course that small box would also have a pool.

"Just ask the TARDIS to take you there and she'll shift the halls for you," Angel smiled, gesturing them to the gantry.

Rhiannon and Johnny looked skeptical but headed off, gathering the kids and taking them out of the room with the promise of a pool party.

"What do we do now?" Gwen asked as the room quieted a bit, only the adults still there.

"Ring Ring," Angel smiled.

They stared at her…until the phone rang.

The Doctor ran over and picked it up, "Hello?" he asked hesitantly, not many people had the number to the TARDIS. The group stared as the Doctor's eyes widened, nodding, "We'll meet you there," he agreed, lowering the phone, "It seems Agent Johnson has had a change of heart."

Tosh beamed at that. She'd had a suspicion that the video feed of the government had gotten to the woman more than she let on, and had given her the number to the TARDIS that Jack had given them all, in case she wanted to help later. She and Gwen had dashed off as soon as it touched down once the men had gotten out of the Thames House, and they'd all been so worried about Angel and the kids that she'd forgotten about that.

~8~

"Numbers?" Pierce called as the room buzzed with activity.

"We're looking at an uptake of about sixty percent," Riley stated, "As predicted, a lot of the children in the target area have stayed at home."

"Then we'd better go and get them," he shot back, lifting his comm. again, "Stage Two. Mobilize."

~8~

A troop carrier drove into a town, to the Cromwell Estate, heading first and foremost to the home of one Ianto Jones's sister, a prime target…only to find the house empty, all the children gone.

The soldiers looked around, moving to search up and down the street, breaking into homes, but the children were gone...and, seeing all the soldiers invading their homes, had made the parents realize just how truthful Rhiannon was being...and they'd attacked, shoving and forcing the men and women after their children out of their homes..

The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said for the children of other streets and homes as they were ripped out of their mothers' arms and dragged to buses…

~8~

"Well that's a twist," Jack remarked as he stepped out of the TARDIS to see Agent Johnson standing there, her hands behind her back, her soldiers behind her, at ease, not hostile. He eyed the woman, not letting Alice follow till he was sure it was safe, the woman wanting to be there with her father, not trusting Johnson, and had left Stephen with the Frobishers and Rhiannon at the pool, "What changed your mind?"

"They're taking the children," Agent Johnson said, seeming disturbed by that fact, "The nice kids are safe," she shook her head, "As though, if you're gonna get rid of ten percent, you take the ten percent you don't want. All those kids on street corners…" she blinked back the tears in her eyes, Jack nodding to the gang, slowly telling them to come out, "And everyone else just stays indoors, with ninety percent hugging their kids, not making a sound, just like they did before," she looked away a moment, gathering herself, "I was brought up to believe in and protect the state," she looked at them, "But this is NOT the sort of state I want to live in."

"Well said," the Doctor nodded, looking at Angel as she nodded, the woman was being genuine.

Johnson gave a small smile that they believed her, "We have something that might help," she turned and led them over to where Dekker was being led in, handcuffed, the man's equipment being set up.

Angel's gaze drifted over to a large circular platform that was being lowered onto the ground, feeling the pit drop in her stomach as she recognized it…it was the same platform Stephen had been standing on in her vision.

~8~

"Do you think they'll stop them?" Rhiannon asked Anna quietly as they sat at the edge of the pool, their legs dipped in, watching Johnny and Clem and Frobisher play with the other children, keeping them entertained and distracted as the others fought the aliens, the woman had filled her in on most everything, "Do you think they can really stop them taking the kids?"

Anna sighed and shook her head, tears in her eyes as she looked at her girls, "I don't know, all I know is…I have my girls," she whispered, her voice cracking, "They saved them at least. They were gonna take them, make a show that it wasn't just the bottom ten percent…and then…this box appeared and these people came out of it with John and…" she sniffled, "I've got my girls back," she looked at Rhiannon, "I don't know if they can stop the aliens, but I have to hope."

Rhiannon nodded, taking her hand, the two women sitting there, quiet, waiting.

~8~

"This should be everything you need," Johnson said as the last of the equipment was set up, turning to them, "And if it's not, we'll find it."

"For what?" Ianto shook his head, not sure.

"Wavelengths. The 456 are named after a wavelength, and that's got to be the key to fighting back."

The Doctor smile, "I like you."

"You're wasting your time," Dekker scoffed, "There's nothing you can do. I've analyzed those transmissions for forty years and never broke 'em."

Without even blinking, Johnson pulled her gun, turned, and shot the man in the foot, making Angel flinch at the sudden display, before the woman turned back to them.

"Did you have to do that?!" the Doctor demanded, frowning, he and Angel really did NOT like guns.

"At this moment, he's an enemy of the state," Johnson replied, "Gives me the right to execute him too if need be."

"Let's hope needs not be," the Doctor muttered.

"What do you think?" Johnson looked at the group, her gaze landing on Tosh, "The files say you're the computers expert," she gestured the girl over to the computers set up, "Were they right?"

Tosh blinked and headed over, staring at the monitors, seeing all the needed equipment, "I can work with this," she smirked at her team.

"Let's get to it then!" Owen cheered.

The Torchwood team sprang into action, Ianto and Owen checking the wires, Tosh and Jack and the Doctor working on the computers, set up in three stations, while Gwen and Rhys moved to the TARDIS to get the software from Torchwood and some other tech. Angel and Alice stood to the side, Alice smiling as she watched them work, watched them prepare to win…while Angel just frowned, her attention still on that platform.

"Get me access to the Torchwood software," Jack called.

"On it!" Gwen ran out of the TARDIS with the disks.

"Log on to the servers and..." Tosh beamed as she put the discs in and a program popped up, "Brilliant!"

"That's my fiancé," Owen grinned, kissing Tosh quickly.

"And, connect it to the TARDIS data banks…" the Doctor added, clicking a button, "Allons-y!"

"It still won't work," Dekker wheezed, glaring at them, as he leaned on a crate, "There's nothing on there. It's useless."

"We've got technology way beyond you," Tosh told him.

"We hacked into Torchwood years ago, you idiot. There's nothing."

"I wasn't talking about Torchwood," Tosh glared at him.

"Ever heard of a TARDIS?" the Doctor smirked, nodding at the box as Dekker's eyes widened, clearly he had.

"Bring him over here," Johnson ordered as she walked over again, not trusting Dekker to try and make a dash for the box even in his injured state, and NO ONE wanted him to have access to that.

"Dad," Alice called, having walked up to Jack's computer, "What's that?" she pointed, ignoring Dekker as he groaned and was pulled over, "It's some sort of pirate station. They're trying to get the story out to the public. How they're taking the kids."

They watched on the monitor as buses rolled by, full of kids, a reporter speaking, "We're broadcasting this on digital 1-4-1. It's the kids! Tell everyone to tune in to 1-4-1," the image continued to the buses disappearing behind fencing, soldiers within as the children were herded out.

Gwen and Rhys slowly moved back to the side, Gwen with a small video recorder in her hand, speaking quietly to Rhys as he filmed her, the others assuming she was trying to get her own story out as well.

~8~

"Illegal broadcast on digital 1-4-1," Pierce reported, "Close it down. And take out the whole network if you have to."

"We're up to eighty percent," Riley added, "The people are starting to fight back."

Pierce grabbed the phone in the middle of the table, "Colonel, we're predicting eighty percent. Is that acceptable?"

"We have up to eighty percent of the designated children," he heard Oduya speak to the 456, "Is that enough?"

~8~

Angel winced as she looked away from the platform.

It was never enough, it would never be enough.

The 456 would just keep coming back, wanting more and more children...

~8~

"All of them," the 456 growled, "All of the designated to us."

Pierce closed his eyes at that.

"Not acceptable, sir," Oduya replied.

"We need the rest," he sighed, lifting his comm. again, "Authorizing maximum force."

Spears entered the room with a folder, "The latest report from Germany. Old-fashioned hard copy, I'm afraid. The system's gone into meltdown."

"You don't have to be here," Riley remarked to her.

"It's what he would have wanted."

"Do you think so? I can't imagine anyone wanting to be in this bloody room."

Spears looked over, spotting the Prime Minister just sitting at the head of the table, not doing anything but letting everyone else work, and shook her head at the man, that was the only way he could claim HE didn't do any of this.

~8~

"If we cycle the wavelength back at them..." Jack was speaking quietly to Tosh and the Doctor, the two of those present who would best understand his idea.

"You mean like a…" Tosh began.

"A constructive wave," the Doctor nodded, considering it.

"Like on the Game Station," Jack agreed.

"Do you think people aren't working on that all over the world?" Dekker spat, "But it's never gonna work. The effect would be like shouting at the 456, that's all. Just shouting."

"Clem," Angel breathed, closing her eyes.

The group stared at her a moment, before Gwen's eyes widened, recalling what Alice had told them about what happened in the TARDIS as Angel slept after rescuing Jack, Owen, and Ianto, "They tried to kill Clem!"

"It was the 456," Ianto nodded.

"Yeah, they sent that wave thing the TARDIS blocked," Owen agreed.

"I can get the TARDIS to give the recording…" the Doctor typed into a computer, bringing up the wave that had nearly killed Clem.

"His mind must have synced to the 456 back when he was a child," Jack remarked.

"But they didn't need to kill him," Rhys frowned, "He wasn't any threat."

"Unless maybe that connection hurt them?" Alice suggested, getting onboard.

"Here we go," the Doctor showed them the waveform, playing it.

"That sound, Mr. Dekker, what's that sound?" Jack looked at him.

"I don't know, it's new," Dekker admitted.

"Exactly," he grinned, "It's new."

"Oh brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, he and Tosh rushing to get to work with Jack.

Angel just looked back at the platform and then the TARDIS and back. Before she moved to the box, absently rubbing the corner of it, "You keep them safe girl," she whispered to the box, "No matter what."

As though hearing her, as though understanding her, the doors shut. She smiled, patting the box as they locked as well.

No one, if she had anything to say about it, would be using the children in that box.

~8~

A bus with children pulled up to a small army base, the soldiers ushering the kids out, standing there to keep them all in place. More and more buses arrived, bringing more and more children, till the large paved area was just full of them.

~8~

"We don't have to analyze the wavelength, just copy it," Jack explained to the others, "Turn it into a constructive wave."

"But we've got no way of transmitting," Owen shook his head.

"Of course you have," Dekker grinned.

"Stop," Angel called to him, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Same way as them."

"We'll find something else," the Doctor glared.

"What does he mean?" Johnson frowned.

"Don't listen to him," Jack muttered.

"Dekker, tell me," Johnson turned to him.

"The 456 used children," Dekker winced, "To establish the resonance."

"Meaning what?"

"We need a child."

"What do you mean?" Alice stiffened.

"Center of the resonance. Hoo! That child's gonna fry!" he started laughing as the team tensed, thinking of the children in the TARDIS, thankfully none of the soldiers present knowing about them all.

"No," Angel shook her head, "You're wrong."

The man scoffed, "I think I know more about this than YOU," he spat.

Angel just looked at him a moment, sad that he was so bitter, before turning to the group, "We don't need the children."

"One child or millions," Johnson voiced what they were all fearing.

"We don't need them," Angel insisted.

"We're running out of time," Johnson reminded her.

"We don't need a CHILD," Angel emphasized, turning to face them completely, "We can us me."

They stared at her.

"What?!" the Doctor demanded, his mind already racing at that, his hearts pounding away.

"Angie…" Jack shook his head, knowing she wanted to help, to protect the kids, but…

"Jack you don't need the children," she insisted, "The only reason the 456 chose them was because children are naturally more intuitive and sensitive to the world around them," she shook her head, "They see things and feel things differently than adults, like Clem," she looked at Gwen, "He could tell you were being truthful, he knew you were pregnant…" Gwen looked down as Angel eyed them, "They were more receptive of the wavelength. But don't you see, you just need someone who's intuitive, someone who's a conduit," she glanced at the Doctor, who shook his head, recalling what had happened on Mars, what had proved she really was like a conduit for the power of time, "Someone who's...innocent," she looked at Jack again, "Tell me, is none of that me?"

Jack stared at her, tears in his eyes for what she was offering to do for the sake of all the children in the world, "It's completely you."

She reached out and put a hand on his, "Use ME."

"I can't…" he whispered, tears in his eyes, "You're my sister Ang," his voice broke, "You're my family, the only family that I have that…" he swallowed, "That won't leave me."

Angel could feel tears in her eyes at that. Gray, Alice, Stephen, they were all human, mortal, they would grow old and die. And that would devastate him.

"Everyone else…" he took a breath, "They'll die, as I live on."

"No, they won't die," she promised, "They'll LIVE. They'll love, they'll have children, who will know all about their Uncle Jack," she nudged him, "THEY will always be there to the end of the Universe, so many little Harknesses, dancing their way across the stars, and YOU get to watch them grow, be there for all of them…" he laughed, imagining that, making her smile, "Please Jack, I CAN do this," she knew she could, and it wasn't just a feeling, it wasn't being psychic or a precog, but just...her own faith in herself. She really could do this, she could save them, "Trust me."

He sighed, "Fine."

"JACK!" the Doctor shouted.

"Doctor," Angel shook her head, "You know I can hear the wavelength," she added quietly, startling them.

"You heard them talking?" Gwen stared at her, alarmed.

"All that time?" Tosh breathed, feeling for her.

She nodded, "Tell them," she looked at the Doctor.

He swallowed hard, "She woke up from a nightmare, shouting that they were coming," he told them, he'd been hoping it was just her intuitiveness kicking in, that she was just guessing at what the next message the 456 would give would be...but it wasn't that at all, was it? Well, a little he supposed, but...she could hear them too, perhaps as just a small echo in her mind, but...the point was, she COULD hear them, "She's been able to hear them, she's…sensitive to the wavelength."

Angel nodded, "So we use me instead."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, turning to her as the others shifted uneasily at the idea, "Angel he just said it would fry them!"

"He said it would fry a CHILD," she corrected, "I'm not a child, I'm a very grown woman," she bit her lip a moment and nudged him, "You made sure of that dear," he blushed as Jack put his fingers in his ear and hummed loudly for a moment, till she playfully whacked him on the chest, "I'm not even human, I'm a Time Lady, I'm stronger than a human, more resilient, I'll be fine," she took his hand, crossing her hearts, "I swear, I will be."

She knew she would be, she was stronger. She was an adult, not a child, she was just as intuitive as them, just as sensitive, maybe even more so, and alien...and...something else. She could feel it, there was...something else that would help her. She didn't know if it was the Vortex or not, offering that extra bit of protection, but...there was something that would help her stop them...

The Doctor looked at her, staring into her eyes, knowing that she couldn't even muster a half-truth when she looked into his eyes, not that she ever really lied to him, "You feel that?"

She nodded, "I do. I won't let them use the children, I've got the TARDIS to lock you all out, she won't let you in and there aren't any children you can get to in time anyway. I won't let him use Stephen like in that vision when he lost Ianto."

Alice gasped at that, looking at her father in horror, though with a small bit of understanding at how devastated he would have been to lose Ianto as well. Gwen took her hand, squeezing it, reminding her that it WASN'T going to happen, not now, not anymore.

The Doctor took a breath, nodding to himself as he walked over to the machinery, helping Jack get it ready, making sure HE would have full control to shut it down if Angel started to be affected negatively.

He would NOT risk his Mate, not for the lives of all the children on Earth.

Angel nodded, turning and walking away from the group, stepping onto the platform and turning to face them, "Ready when you are," she took a breath.

She was scared though.

The Doctor, Jack, and Tosh quickly typed at the terminals, Ianto and Gwen at the wires, Alice and Rhys watching on as Owen stood by with a medical bag, Johnson overseeing them, doubtful the woman would be able to do it if Dekker said they needed a child.

Angel looked at the Doctor to see him hesitating in pushing the last button, 'It'll be alright Theta,' she whispered in his mind, nodding him on.

He took a breath, wanting nothing more than to refuse, having seen what happened to Stephen in her vision, but knowing Angel would never forgive him if they missed their chance to save the children, and stabbed the key.

A hum filled the room, a buzzing noise with it, echoing from the equipment. Dekker frowned, watching the waveforms appear on the monitors he could barely make out from where he was standing, his eyes wide…

It was working!

Angel, unlike the children, did not still or go blank-faced, she just tensed a bit, feeling the wavelength building, before she took a breath and opened her mouth, a shrill noise resonating from her, the same shrill noise she'd heard at the start of her dream.

~8~

The soldiers looked down, alarmed, as every child on the army base opened their mouths and began to make the same shrill sound.

~8~

In the TARDIS, the group of children, now in the kitchens, towels around them, eating sandwiches, stopped, even Clem, starting to mimic the noise as Rhiannon, Johnny, and the Frobishers watched in trepidation.

~8~

Oduya frowned as he stood before the 456 tank, looking at the alien as he heard the noise echoing, the 456 starting to groan.

~8~

Angel winced at the buildup of energy within her, it was not as...comfortable...as the Vortex usually was.

~8~

The 456 began to shift violently, a soldier guarding it turning his gun on the tank as the alien flailed, slapping its appendages on the glass, screeching, slamming its heads against it. It shot out not bile this time, but what looked like blood as Oduya covered his face instinctively.

~8~

Angel closed her eyes tightly, the note getting louder as the others watched in fear of what would happen…

~8~

The 456 writhed, slamming its heads against the glass, cracking it, screeching in pain, agonized.

~8~

Angel's eyes snapped open as the golden Vortex began to swirl around her, as though trying to protect her from the affects of the wavelength, the note starting to echo now, multiplied and magnified by the power of the Vortex as well.

~8~

The 456 let out a shrill cry firing out a splattering of blood everywhere before the tank lit up in flames as the 456 teleported out, fleeing, clearly not ever about to return to Earth as the flames shot through the ceiling faster than they had descended, out into the sky…leaving Earth be.

~8~

Pierce stared at the monitor, displaying the holding room, stunned, when the image cut to static and grabbed the phone, "Colonel, do we have a report?" there was silence, "Colonel, what happened? Colonel!"

"…it's gone, sir," Oduya reported, "The 456 has...gone."

~8~

"What happened?" Anna asked as the kids went back to eating their food, the adults speaking quietly so as not to alarm them.

"I have no idea," Rhiannon muttered.

~8~

"Angel!" the Doctor screamed as he ran past the equipment, right to Angel as she collapsed to the ground on the small platform, "Angel!" he skid to his knees, pulling her into his arms as Jack dropped beside him, the rest of the team running over, worried, Johnson standing there, completely stunned, as Dekker was, that it had worked.

"Angie, wake up," Jack took her hand, squeezing it, needing her to be ok…this was HIS fault, he'd agreed to it first, he was the reason the 456 were back and...

"Angel," the Doctor whispered, stroking her face, "Please…" he felt tears in his eyes, "Nella," he began in Gallifreyan, praying it would get through to her, "Wake up for me, please? Let me see those gorgeous eyes…"

"I like your eyes better," she murmured, blinking awake with a wince, "What happened?" she asked, in English.

Jack just let out a relieved breath and hugged her tightly.

"OI!" the Doctor called, tugging Angel away to hug her as well.

"You're ok," Tosh breathed, Owen quickly checking on her amidst the fuss.

"Oh thank God," Gwen sagged in relief as Rhys held her and gave her a kiss.

"What happened?" Angel repeated, shaking her head, only to wince and hold it with her hand.

"It worked," Ianto told her.

"They left," Alice added.

The Doctor laughed, "You sang a song and they ran away."

She grinned as well, "Sounds about right," this her was rubbish as a singer as well.

Oh well, one day she'd have a nice voice…and freckles.

~8~

Pierce stood in the conference room, facing the Prime Minister as the other officials left the room, Riley arranging some folders as Spears stood close, "Prime Minister," he saluted and turned to leave.

Riley waited till all the Americans had left before turning to the Prime Minister, "The public will be wanting a statement, sir."

He took a deep breath, "I suppose you could say we were lucky."

"A bit soon to tell. We don't know exactly what happened yet."

"Lucky with the Americans, I mean. General Pierce took charge without ratification from the United Nations. We can say that today's events were in American hands."

"And do you think that's lucky?" Spears seemed disgusted.

But the man just laughed, "Yes, I…I do, rather."

"Your first thought now is to save your own skin," she scoffed, shaking her head at the man, "In which case, you might like to know, I paid a visit this morning, sir. I went to see Lois Habiba. You might remember her. I sat with her a while. We had a number of things to discuss. And while I was there, I used the emergency protocols to sign out a particular piece of evidence," she placed her hand to under her eye, thinking of how she'd signed out the contact lenses Lois had worn, "Contact lenses, sir. The Torchwood contact lenses. And Lois was very helpful. She told me how they worked. I can hardly feel them, sir. But everything that happened in this room has been recorded, sir. All waiting to be made public by me. Including your statement just now that, after the events of today, you feel, as you said in your very own words, sir, 'lucky.'"

"You wouldn't dare," the man glared at her, "I can have you arrested!"

"I don't think so," Riley smirked, pleased someone had done something to put him in his place, "Thank you, Bridget, you're free to go. And Miss Habiba will be released, I'll see to it myself. I think I'll be taking charge of very many things in the days to come. Is that all, sir?" she glanced at the Prime Minister, who just stared at them, actually seeming shocked that they would turn on him.

The ponce.

~8~

"Are you sure you're ok?" Jack asked Angel as she sat on the captain's chair of the TARDIS, the Doctor beside her, Jack kneeling before her, Alice and Stephen on her other side as they stood in the now empty console room.

They'd reassured Rhiannon and the Frobishers that everything was alright, well…Torchwood had, save Owen. As soon as she had been able to stand, the Doctor had carried her to the TARDIS med-bay to have Owen help examine her, Jack insisting on helping as well.

She was fine, a bit worn, but ok.

They'd dropped off Rhiannon and the children, all of whom were excitedly telling their parents about the magic box, their parents just nodding along, humoring them, to the amusement of everyone else. They'd brought the Frobishers home as well, the man deciding to get his family out of England entirely, going somewhere else, they didn't know where, but they wished the family luck. They'd even managed to bring Clem back to his facility, the man now more at ease with everything, knowing the aliens would NEVER be coming back again for him, something that had haunted him the majority of his life, though he'd asked for a picture with everyone, mostly with Angel, but she'd wanted everyone to join in, claiming she didn't stop the aliens, they all did, she was just the vessel of their genius. And that was just her, give all the credit to others, the modest dear.

Now it was just Torchwood, Alice, Stephen, and Rhys left with the Time Lords, Johnson having stayed behind to help sort the government soldiers and military.

Stephen had Angel's hand in his own, squeezing it. His mother had told him what happened, what the girl had done for them all, hinting that something might have happened to HIM, something...well...fatal, if not for the woman stepping in. He didn't want to go anywhere anytime soon, he had to get to know his Granddad Jack and…thinking on it, he really wanted to have a bright future. He…he liked the idea of his granddad being immortal, because that meant he would always be there, it meant that, IF this ever happened again, HIS children would be safe because Jack would still be around to watch over them. He liked the idea of his children and his children's children getting to know Jack. He knew never dying or aging must be hard on his Un...granddad, and he liked the idea of knowing that his kids would always be around for Jack as well, reminding him he would always have his family.

"I'm fine!" Angel laughed, he and the Doctor had nearly smothered her with affection and concern throughout the few hours it had taken to get everything worked out. But she didn't mind, she knew it meant that they cared and that they were scared they'd lose her.

As though that would ever happen, she was not going anywhere.

"Ok, ok," he held up his hands in surrender, a smile on his face.

"You were brilliant," the Doctor told her, kissing her temple.

Had completely stopped his hearts for a good long minute, probably given him nightmares to boot, but…she was alive and that was all that mattered. And the children of Earth had been saved.

She really was an angel wasn't she?

He was fairly certain that, if 27 planets had a vague sense of being safe in the middle of being stolen and used to end the Universe...perhaps the children of Earth, being more intuitive, would have a stronger sense of her? He could imagine it, every child on Earth dreaming about his Mate and how she'd protect them. And that was so her, protecting their dreams as well, a true guardian angel if ever there was one.

HIS guardian angel, mind you.

"Are you sure you don't need anything though?" Gwen asked, "Food?"

"Coffee?" Ianto offered.

"Anything," Alice nodded, reaching out to touch her arm, so thankful that the woman had done what she did. The Doctor had pulled her off to the side as Angel recovered, told her about the vision she'd had of Stephen, feeling she, as the boy's mother, deserved to know what could have happened to her son. She'd cried. She had, and she was never letting Stephen out of her sight again, but…she still had her son now, thanks to her, her aunt Angel.

"Well…" Angel began shyly, "There is ONE thing I need…"

"What?" Jack asked.

"Coordinates."

"To where?" Owen shook his head as the Doctor grinned, seeing her plan in her mind.

"Anywhere and anywhen that you and Tosh want to get married in," she smiled.

Tosh blinked, "What?"

She laughed, "We're in a time machine, you two can get married right now if you want, anywhere in the Universe, any time you want, the past, the future, an alien world, under the sea, anything. Please," she reached out and took Tosh's hand, "You and Owen deserve to be happy, and we don't carry money," she nodded at the Doctor, "It's the best gift we can manage, well, that or tokens…"

Owen stared at her, "You're serious?"

She nodded, "Cross my hearts," she crossed them.

The Doctor was just beaming at her, that was just so Angel. Here she was, the woman who saved the children of Earth, and instead of accepting praise for herself, instead of accepting any sort of reward from others...she wanted to use whatever they were willing to give her, to benefit THEM instead.

"Tosh?" Owen looked at her.

"I…um…" Tosh shook her head, smiling, she and Owen had wanted to get married as soon as they'd gotten engaged, but didn't have time to really plan or put money towards it despite Jack offering to pay, they were just so busy with work and life that planning was taking an awful long time...they could still get married in the future, have a big ceremony with their friends and family but...it WOULD be nice to get married right now, get it over with, truly be husband and wife and start their lives together, and to be offered anywhere in the Universe? Well that was bloody brilliant!

"I think I know…" he looked at Angel, "Queen Elizabeth I's court."

"Owen," Tosh looked at him with tears in her eyes. She had always been a bit obsessed with Queen Elizabeth I, her absolute favorite monarch ever, the most regal, the most famed, the greatest…if she had ever had a chance to meet anyone, it would be her.

"I know you love that era," Owen shrugged, trying to play it off, though they could all tell it was just one way of showing how much he loved her to suggest it, "I'm willing to wear a codpiece if it means I get to marry you right now Tosh."

Tosh beamed and leaned forward to kiss him.

"Brilliant," Angel smiled, getting up, tugging the Doctor up as well as they headed to the console, ready to throw a wedding.

~8~

The Doctor looked at Angel as she absently flicked a switch on the TARDIS console, back and forth, over and over, distracted, "What is it?" he asked, moving over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"I don't know," she murmured, leaning on him, "I just feel…off."

It wasn't just that, she was...scared. This adventure had been terrible, truly shown her the darkness in humanity to be willing to give up children as opposed to fight. But they'd helped, they'd stopped it, and they'd made sure the 456 and the other Hydrians would NEVER come to Earth again. It had been heart breaking, very much so but...that feeling, that feeling she'd gotten when she'd jolted awake after Mating to the Doctor...it was still there. She'd been so hoping that her nightmare/vision/feeling/whatever it was, had just been about THIS, about the 456, but it was still there. She really was getting anxious as to what it could mean.

"Well you did just drive a merciless, drugged alien off the planet without killing it," he reminded her, before smiling, "And then danced the night away with me."

The wedding had been lovely. Thanks to the Doctor's psychic paper they were able to convince Elizabeth that they were visiting dignitaries from Wales, come to experience life at court and wed in England. Elizabeth had been thrilled and insisted she be the host of the wedding, any excuse to dance…which had made them chuckle a bit at the word. The TARDIS had provided a number of outfits for them, even given Stephen a sword...till Alice snatched it away, though they later caught Jack and Stephen play-fencing with the swords returned. Tosh had been lovely and the look on Owen's face when he'd seen his bride walking towards him...well, it reminded Angel quite a bit of how the Doctor looked at her all the time. With so much love.

There had been an incident with the Doctor though, making the same mistake as with Queen Victoria and talking too much about science, making the Queen fear he was a spy, which led them to running for their lives back to the TARDIS. They'd taken the Torchwood team to a lovely cruiser though, a space cruise, a nice one, not like the Titanic, so that Tosh and Owen could enjoy their honeymoon while the rest of the team could enjoy their time in space, a nice little vacation of sorts, Alice and Stephen had been stunned to be invited on that, and were loving it.

"It's not that," she shook her head, rubbing it, "I just…don't know…"

The Doctor kissed her head, he knew what it was, the Ood Song. He could still hear it in his mind, over and over, from the moment they'd seen Ood Sigma standing there. He was blocking it from her, not wanting her to worry, but it seemed some of it was still leaking through to her, giving her a headache on top of the stress of dealing with the 456. He took a breath, closing his eyes as he rested his head on top of her head, holding her a moment.

He'd have to face the Ood eventually, it was the only way to get them to stop calling to him, to relieve the stress on Angel. Maybe take Angel on a few more calmer trips to help her recover and then...go see what the Ood wanted.

For Angel, he'd do anything.

Chapter Text

"It is said that in the final days of planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams," a man spoke, his voice deep, authoritative, but with a hint of...something dark lurking beneath it, "To the west of the north of that world, the Human Race did gather, in celebration of a pagan rite, to banish the cold and the dark. Each and every one of those people had dreamt of the terrible things to come. But they forgot, because they must. They forgot their nightmares of fire and war and insanity. They forgot...except for one."

~8~

Wilf walked down the streets of Chiswick a few days before Christmas, needing to get some last minute shopping done. He'd never hear the end of it if he didn't get Donna or her mother something nice, he didn't understand what was wrong with his gift of reindeer antler head bands and an elf hat last year, but his daughter and granddaughter had complained and nagged him and nagged him and nagged him. So, to avoid that misery over the festive holiday, he was out and about, in the bitter chill, trying to find something. And he beamed, he'd found two lovely Christmas sweaters with elves and reindeer on them, THAT ought to shut them up a bit.

He paused suddenly though when he had a flash of a man laughing evilly. He shook his head, it was just some lingering dream he'd been having, and continued on, hearing a choir singing carols from a nearby church and made his way over, he always loved a sing-song, even if he couldn't sing along with them. He walked in, smiling at the sight and the sound of the children's choir, and pulled off his hat, looking up at the large stained glass window behind the altar. His smile faded though into a look of curiosity when he spotted something...odd...in the image. He walked up the center aisle slowly, staring at a small, blue box that looked very much like a police telephone one in the bottom of the left pane of the glass. He'd recognize that little box anywhere, it was the TARDIS!

"They call it the 'Legend of the Blue Box,'" a voice said behind him.

He spun around to see an older woman with brown hair, a streak of gray through it, wearing a white suit was only a few feet away. He frowned, eyeing her, she seemed...solemn, sad, which was odd for such a happy time of year. But...there was something more to her eyes as well, a fierce protectiveness that he'd often seen in his wife's eyes whenever little Sylvia got picked on, a mother's eyes.

"Oh," he nodded, realizing he was likely being rude, just standing there staring at her, "Well, I've never been in here before. I'm not one for churches, too cold."

"This was the site of a convent, back in the 1300s. It's said a demon fell from the sky. Then a man and woman appeared. A man and woman in a blue box," she nodded back at the windowpane, "They called them the sainted physician and the blessed angel. They smote the demon and then...disappeared."

"That's a bit of a coincidence," he murmured, not quite sure what to say. He felt like the woman was hinting at something, but he and Donna had talked a lot about what she'd gotten up to, every star she'd ever been to, had pictures of them all for him. He felt a protectiveness for the Doctor and Angel, especially Angel given what she'd done for Donna, how she'd saved her mind from that metacrisis thing. He owed them so much for keeping his darling safe, he was always VERY careful what he said about them and who to.

"It's said there's no such thing as coincidence," the woman eyed him, as though studying him, "Who knows? Perhaps they're coming back."

"Oh, that would make my Christmas!" he grinned, looking at the glass again, thinking about how that would make Donna's Christmas as well, before turning back...

Only to see the woman was gone.

He looked around nervously before glancing at the window, a flash of the laughing man striking him once more before he scurried out of the church.

~8~

Ood Sigma stood in the snow as some of it lightly fell around him, just...waiting. The Ood were singing, louder than ever before, longer, a more powerful song than they'd ever attempted, wanting to reach across time and space and reach the person they needed. It had never been done before, their song was meant for only their species, but desperate times had dawned, and they needed help. They needed to warn the Time Lords of a future not even Angel had seen. And so, he waited, patient as ever...

Till a large, blue box appeared before him...

~8~

Angel stood at the console, looking at the monitor of Ood Sigma there, smiling slightly when she felt arms wrap around her from behind, the Doctor resting his chin on her shoulder. She closed her eyes a moment, taking a breath, she loved that scent, his natural scent, vaguely like bananas, tea, and...him. She couldn't describe it really but she wished she could bottle it up.

'You don't have to,' he reminded her in her mind, 'I'm right here at your disposal, whenever you want me.'

She nodded at that, just...taking a second to enjoy that moment. She loved this, she loved being in his arms. Donna had once described him as too skinny, but he really was just perfect for her, his arms so strong and his chest firm and his breath warm on her cheek. It made her feel so safe, so warm, so...loved, just standing there in his arms. And he seemed to love doing it too, holding her. Thinking on it, she didn't think he'd let go of her or moved more than a foot away from her since they'd left Elizabeth's court. He was always close, always touching her or holding her or holding her hand or with his arm around her...and she found she rather liked that thought.

She remembered when she had been ill, she remembered all the times he'd held her, helped her, all those gentle touches that had reassured her and supported her. But that was just it, while she knew he wanted to touch her, to be close to her, it was also to help her. Now though, now she could just enjoy the feel of him, she could appreciate every single touch. And since Mating he'd been far more touchy of her, less...afraid of tempting himself by touching her bare skin. She could recall his inner battle of self-restraint to not Mate to her before they were ready, and she applauded his self-control. Despite feeling more confident, she did have moments where she really couldn't believe he'd wanted HER. She really didn't know what was so special about her, she didn't think she was any extraordinary beauty, but when the Doctor looked at her, she felt like the most beautiful woman in the Universe, that sparkle in his eyes just warming her hearts.

She turned her head to rest her forehead to the side of his head, 'You don't have to go out there,' she told him.

She could feel his fear, feel his hesitance to face the Ood, to see what they wanted him for. She didn't have to be psychic to know his fears, she didn't even need to be Mated to him to understand, she just...knew him. She knew he was scared and nervous and she just...wanted him to feel better.

She could feel him smile against her, 'You know I have to,' he murmured, 'There's something going on, there's something coming, you've felt it,' he squeezed her lightly.

She'd felt off, for a while, even after she'd recovered from the 456 and Mars, and he was starting to think it went beyond just him trying to keep the Ood song from reaching her. It wasn't a vision, or a dream, she hadn't seen anything, she hadn't even really felt anything, just...thought she was off, like there was something she was missing, like there was something she should see but wasn't.

It was bothering her and worrying her, and he knew, if the Ood had something to do with it, they could help. He'd go to them if it meant helping her, no matter what the Ood might say about him.

He let out a breath, kissing her cheek as he absently swayed her, 'I should go out there.'

He made no move to go, though she knew it was more he enjoyed these moments as well, the two of them, with her in his arms, and he didn't want to give it up for a little while longer.

She lowered her hand to his as it was around her and squeezed it, 'With me,' she reassured him, 'I'll always be there with you.'

He closed his eyes, smiling at that, his hearts just...lifting at that. He was scared, he admitted it, but...he felt better just knowing she'd be there. So many people he'd run into had mentioned they felt safer when he was around, like they thought he'd protect them, like they thought he knew what he was doing, and they trusted him because of that. And that was Angel to him, when she was with him he felt...invincible. And even if something went wrong, even if something bad happened...he always felt like, in the end, it would work out just fine, because she was there, his good luck charm. With her at his side, he could face anything.

"But," she spoke out loud, turning in his arms to drape her own around his shoulders, "First...I think you're a bit underdressed to face the Ood," she bit her lip and gently slipped his tie out of his suit, "I think you should go above and beyond your usual impression."

He smiled, "And what would you suggest?"

"I'm sure I can think of something," she tugged him down by the tie, "Donna and I did come up with rather spectacular uniforms for Gingers United, I'll think of something."

He laughed as she tugged him down more, his chuckles cut off by her lips, his grin widening into the kiss as he wound his arms around her...

~8~

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS a few minutes later, wearing a straw hat and a pink lei, complete with a pair of sunglasses. Angel stepped out after him, in her blue dress and cowboy boots, having not wanted to 'steal his lightning,' which she'd said on purpose just to get him to laugh and correct her that it was 'steal his thunder' and remind her HE was the thief of the two of them. She just smiled softly at him when he tipped his hat to her, making her laugh. Sigma tilted his head, watching as the Time Lord took the Time Lady's hand in his own, lifting it to his lips as he bestowed a kiss to it, before they seemed to notice him standing there. The Doctor slipped his arm around Angel's waist as they headed over, claiming it was to keep her warm though she was FAR less chilled now than the last time they'd been there, though that was to be expected, she wasn't dying any longer.

"Ah!" the Doctor nodded as they stopped before Sigma, facing the Ood, "Now! Sorry! There you are. So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood, in the snow, calling to me. Well, we didn't exactly come straight here," he looked at Angel, his hand absently running up and down her spine, making her shiver now, "Owed a very special someone a bit of fun after what we went through."

Angel shook her head. Ever since Mars and helping Torchwood sort out their issue with the 456 the Doctor had been entirely too focused on her, trying to plan trips he thought she'd like as though to make up for what happened during both events. She'd nearly died using the Vortex on Mars, she hadn't understood what had happened then, only that she hadn't been able to stop it or control it, it just...happened. She remembered the pain, God did she remember it, the worst thing she'd ever felt, worse even than dying the last time. It had hurt so badly, so bad in fact that she hadn't been able to block it from the Doctor. Then, on top of that, she'd dreamed of Jack in trouble. Aliens were coming for the children of Earth, Ianto might have died, her 'nephew' Stephen would have been sacrificed, completely destroying her brother...

But it hadn't happened.

They'd gotten there in time to save quite a few people, but at a cost. The Vortex had acted up again, though this time she got the feeling that it had been...trying to make up for Mars? If that was the right way to describe it. It had reacted to her visions of Ianto, Stephen, and a man named Clem dying, had surged through her and allowed her save not just Ianto, but Owen a second time. That had hurt as well, she didn't like to use the Vortex like that, when it was so raw and beyond her control, but it had happened, and now Ianto was safe. She'd even got to 'be the hero' like the Doctor was, SHE got to be the one who drove the enemy away this time. Had hurt her head a bit to do, but she'd done it for Jack and Stephen.

And there were good moments, she'd gotten to meet Alice and Stephen, found out Gwen was pregnant, saved Ianto for Jack, and helped Tosh and Owen get married, on top of save the world. It made her feel all warm inside to be able to do that, to finally feel like SHE was just as amazing as the Doctor was. She hadn't often felt that, but...she was starting to. And that meant the world to her to think, perhaps, she really did deserve him, that she was good enough for him.

The Doctor though, had gone completely mad, she was sure. She felt terrible that she had scared him as badly as she had, first with Mars, then with the 456. He had been completely and utterly focused on her, more so than normal, on making sure she was ok and recovered from the events of those two adventures so close together. He'd taken her everywhere, they'd done so much, but she could tell he was doing it all for HER instead of wanting to do it himself. Well, she knew everywhere they went, he'd gone because he DID want to go, but...he was always asking what SHE wanted to do, how SHE was liking it, and what SHE thought. It was sweet but...she wanted him to like it too. She was always just happy to go where he went and be at his side, she liked his adventures more than anything. She knew it wasn't just his concern for her though, there was something more to it.

Mars.

That was a BIG thing with him. He still felt terrible for what he'd done and what had happened to her as a result. The 456 and what happened there, he could point at Jack for, Jack had had previous experience with that alien. But Mars...Mars was all HIS fault. Mars was where it all started. Mars was the first time she'd been in that terrible a pain since...well...ever, and it was HIS fault. She'd vaguely hinted that she forgave him with the 456, knowing he wouldn't want the topic brought up so clearly, knowing he wanted to forget it happened, but it still haunted him. All those trips were to make up for it with her.

She'd had to sit him down after he'd proposed that they go off and get married, something she still believed wasn't as great as a Mating, to settle him down and actually talk about it all. She'd told him flat out that she'd forgiven him for Mars, that she understood, that she didn't blame him. She'd reminded him all she wanted was to see him happy as well, and that Mars was eating him up. She did not blame him at all for what happened and added that the fixed point had been fixed, what he'd done had now never happened so there was nothing to worry about. She was still there, she was still alive, and she still loved him with both her hearts and then some. He cried a bit, nightmares of her agonized form begging him to make the pain stop and him being unable to haunting him, and she'd just held him, finally being the one to comfort HIM. And, after a very long talk, he'd finally calmed down enough to the point where he was able to think clearly and realized he probably should go see what Sigma wanted before. For the Ood to try and contact him through time and space, as Angel had pointed out during that discussion, it had to be serious and what if they needed help?! He'd smiled at her for that, at her hope.

He couldn't help but feel like it wasn't quite as simple as that. The last time with the Ood, they'd warned that her song would end, and it had. And then Carmen had prophesized that his song would end like Angel's had. He didn't want to take the risk that his song ending might be permanent, and even if it wasn't, even if it meant he might regenerate...he didn't want to leave her, not now, not after they'd just Mated. It wasn't fair.

But Angel had been, right, they didn't know why the Ood were calling, not even Angel did. And he knew that worried her, that she potentially hadn't seen something. He knew, and she knew, that she couldn't see everything as Mickey had pointed out, but...something in relation to HIM was something she thought she'd always be able to foresee. Carmen had seen it, the Ood seemed to have as well, but...she hadn't. And it bothered her, it alarmed her, and it made her uneasy, and he knew he had to go see the Ood if only for that, to see what it was, to (hopefully) ease Angel's mind.

"Y'know, travelled about," the Doctor continued, "Did this and that. Got into trouble, you know me, not as much with Angel there," he beamed at her, "My good luck charm," and kissed her head, "It was brilliant," he turned back to Sigma, "We saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt. Saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw. Named a galaxy Alison," he squeezed her, recalling that, they'd debated over the names but he'd reminded her that she'd already named a werewolf 'Fred' once and it was HIS turn to name something. He'd wanted to name it after her, but she'd just laughed and said the only Angel she wanted anywhere was with him. He'd nodded, he didn't want people looking at that galaxy and talking about Angel, she was HIS, so he'd just picked a random name, "Almost got married," he sighed mock disappointedly, "Brought the Torchwood team to Elizabeth's court to celebrate the defeat of the 456 and the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Harper," he laughed, "Good Queen Bess, let me tell you, not quite as interested in academic or scientific advancements as they claim in the books."

"We brought my 'niece' and 'nephew' there too," Angel added, beaming at the thought, Stephen adored her for letting him see aliens, "Set them up on a nice alien cruise around the galaxy."

"Anyway..." the Doctor eyed Sigma, tensing a bit, "What d'you want?"

"You should not have delayed," Sigma stated.

"The last time we were here, you said Angel's song would be ending soon," he squeezed her tightly to him, "Thanks for the warning that her next song would pick up after," he narrowed his eyes at the Ood, who just blinked at him.

It was another reason why he hadn't wanted to come, why he was so nervous. The Ood hadn't mentioned anything about another 'song' starting for Angel, had left him fretting she really would die permanently. And now he couldn't help but fear that, according to Carmen, his song might end the way he thought hers would, permanently.

He wouldn't have minded so much, before, if he died. He'd been alone, no one, no family, none of his people, no home, no friends...if he'd died, fine, he'd see them again at least, ask forgiveness. And then he'd found Angel. And suddenly he had a reason to live, he had someone at his side, he had a home in the TARDIS, he had companion-friends, he had...a family again. He had one of his people and he had forgiveness. Even then though, if it had meant dying to save Angel, he'd be ok with that.

Now though...to kill him meant Angel would die also.

If he regenerated, she wouldn't regenerate too, but...if he died permanently, she would follow. He did NOT want to be the reason she died, not after her fighting so hard to live and not leave him. He didn't want to leave her either.

"Hers has," he swallowed, "And I'm in no hurry for mine to end like in another prophecy."

"You will come with me," Sigma simply said, turning, about to head off.

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," he pulled out a key from his pocket and pointed it at the TARDIS, making it beep like a car door being locked, "See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like...it's funny. No?" he looked at Angel, his expression softening as he tapped her nose, "Little bit?"

Angel shook her head with a soft smile, she never should have made him that lock like he'd requested when they'd faced the Sontarans, "Don't demean the TARDIS like that."

He smiled sheepishly at her as Sigma just led them off, "So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" the Doctor asked as they followed. But stopped when he spotted a city carved from stone and ice, huge spires sticking out to the sky, "Ah! Magnificent!" he nudged the Ood, "Oh, come on! That is...splendid! You've achieved all this in how long?"

"100 years," Angel frowned, eyeing it, just knowing.

The Doctor's grin faded as well, trusting her guess more than anyone else's, he knew she knew time better than anyone, "Then we've got a problem, 'cos all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean even your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the 21st century. Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And the mind of the Ood is troubled," Sigma agreed.

"Why?" Angel looked at him, alarmed, feeling her stomach churn a bit, not knowing why, but...for something to affect the Ood...why hadn't she sensed it? She should have, "What's wrong?"

"Every night, Doctor, Angel. Every night we have bad dreams," he turned and led them into the city, to a chamber where the Elders of the Ood were gathered around a small table where a sensor released a calming smoke.

"Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning," an Elder rasped, "Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning and he is returning and they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come."

The Doctor frowned, listening to the Elder's words, moving closer to Angel, feeling her stiffen at the prophecy being made. He knew it was really unsettling her to know that they were seeing some future she hadn't.

"Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Sigma ordered them gently.

"So...right," the Doctor sat down with Angel beside him, so close to him though that she was nearly on his lap, seemingly torn between feeling like it was because she would need the comfort only he could provide and feeling like HE might be the one who needed comfort, "Hello!"

"Nice to meet you," Angel offered.

"You will join," the Elders began to repeat, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join," they held hands, forming a circle, holding out their hands to the Doctor and Angel who took them...

Only to see the Master, laughing madly in their minds and pulled their hands away, Angel with a gasp, her eyes wide, unable to help the small flash of fear that had raced through her. The Doctor put his arm around her, holding her close as she stared wide eyed at nothing, 'He won't get you Nella,' he swore, feeling her fear, 'He won't harm you, not again, I won't let him.'

She closed her eyes, hearing the near growl in his mental voice, the desperation of his promise. He was determined to keep it, she...she knew he'd only forgiven the Master for the Valiant because she'd asked him to, her dying wish it seemed, but that he hadn't wanted to. It was possible to forgive someone but still hate them afterwards, to be able to forgive but be unable to forget. And that was the Doctor, she could feel it, the anger he felt towards his one-time friend, all possible ties of that lingering friendship severed given what the man had done to her on the Valiant, what he'd been responsible for. He would see that promise through to the end, keep the Master away from her.

But...she wasn't scared of him returning, she wasn't afraid of the Master trying to hurt her...she was afraid of what it might mean that he was coming back. What did it mean for time that the Master could come back? How had she not known or sensed it? What...what would it mean for the Vortex? She understood why it had surged on Mars and with the 456, but...it scared her, when she had no control at all of it...scared her quite a lot. She didn't want it to surge again, not three times in a row, she didn't want to feel that pain again...but what would the Vortex do, how would it react, to the Master coming back?

"He comes to us, every night," one of the Elders said, "I think all the peoples of the Universe dream of him now."

"That man is dead," the Doctor shook his head, a dark look in the glare he sent to the Elder, not at the Elder, but just a glare in mention of the Master.

Angel winced, hearing the promise hidden in his words, if the Master wasn't already dead, he would be soon.

But one of the Elder spoke before she could even begin to try and talk the Doctor down from his murderous thoughts, something usually rather hard to do in a Mated pair when one felt the other was in danger, she knew she could. The only one who could calm a Mate, was your Mate.

"There is yet more. Join us," they joined hands again, the Doctor and Angel more hesitant, "Events are taking shape, so many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man..." they saw the Master laughing, before the Doctor forcefully pushed the image away...

And then they saw Wilf, sitting at a kitchen table, worried.

"So scared…"

"Wilf!" Angel gasped, concerned, her hearts breaking at the tears they could see in the man's eyes, he really was scared, "What happened to him? Is Donna ok? What's wrong?"

"You should not have delayed for your Mate, Doctor. For the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth, even now. The king is in his counting house."

There was a flash of a well-off black man and a young black woman sitting on two throne-like chairs.

"I don't know who they are," the Doctor shook his head, sensing Angel didn't either.

"And there is another. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten."

Angel let out a sad breath, seeing Lucy Saxon sitting in a cell, crying, "Lucy..."

"We see so much, but understand little," Sigma remarked, "The woman in the cage, who is she?"

"She was..." the Doctor tried to explain, "It w…wasn't her fault, she was...the Master, he's a Time Lord, like us. I can show you," he concentrated, pulling the Ood into his memories, showing them the Master when he was pretending to be Harold Saxon, his hand nearly turning white as he clutched Angel's, so sorry to have to make her relive this, "The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth," the images shifted to Lucy dancing on the bridge of the Valiant as the Toclafane slaughtered the humans below.

"She started to see what he'd done though," Angel added, showing small clips of when she'd been locked in the dungeons, Lucy sitting outside her cell door at times, bringing her food, bringing her a blanket, crying and talking about what the Master had done, "She regretted it all."

"We reversed everything he'd done," the Doctor's jaw tensed, recalling how some of those changes hadn't been quite so permanent for Angel, but showed them the time reversing on the bridge, "So it never even happened. But Lucy Saxon remembered," they watched as Lucy shot the Master, the Doctor cradling him as he died...before he and Angel lit the funeral pyre, "I held him in my arms. We burnt his body! The Master is dead!"

"And yet, you almost saw, Angel," the Elder said, making them see themselves walking away, Angel pausing to look back, "And you did not see..." and then Angel turned and continued on, as a woman pick up the Master's signet ring, which survived the fire.

"Part of him survived," the Doctor gasped as he and Angel tried to stand.

"We need to go!" Angel exclaimed but the Ood wouldn't release them.

"But something more is happening," an Elder called, "The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation, a shadow so dark not even the golden woman could see through it," Angel swallowed at that, "Something vast is stirring in the dark," he looked up to reveal the Ood now had red eyes, "The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present and the past."

"What do you mean?" Angel looked around, startled, trembling now, how had she not seen something so powerful?!

"This is what we have seen, Angel. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself!"

The Doctor pulled away from the Ood, grabbing Angel's hand as they ran off, not willing to wait and learn more, not willing to risk his Mate around the red-eyed Ood, given what they'd done last time.

"Events that have happened are happening now."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran through the snow.

~8~

A woman, the same old woman who had taken the Master's ring, unlocked Lucy's cell door and nodded at her.

Lucy stood, her head held high, a brave front on, and walked out.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel arrived at the TARDIS, the Doctor unlocking it by remote key.

~8~

Lucy was escorted through the corridors of some sort of jail.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel piloted the TARDIS frantically through the Vortex, the controls starting to spark as they pushed the old box to her limit.

~8~

Lucy entered a large cavernous room where a well dressed woman greeted her, "Mrs. Saxon, let me introduce myself. I'm your new Governor. I'm afraid the previous Governor met with something of an accident, which took quite some time to arrange. Miss Trefusis, if you will prepare."

The old woman, Miss Trefusis, motioned to the other guards. The women positioned themselves around the room, surrounding a stone pedestal where Trefusis placed a bowl.

"You kept your silence well, Mrs. Saxon. Your trial was held in secret, with no jury, so no one knows who Harold Saxon was, where he came from, why you killed him. Make her kneel," one of the guards pushed Lucy to her knees, "There are those of us who never lost faith. And, in his wisdom, Harold Saxon prepared for this moment. He knew that he might die and he made us ready."

Trefusis stepped forward holding out the signet ring.

"Tonight, Mrs. Saxon...he returns…"

Lucy gasped, seeing the ring.

~8~

Wilf looked out the window of the Noble house at a thunderstorm, the news broadcasting on the TV behind him, only for the woman from the church to appear on screen.

Wilf stilled, hearing the telly go silent, and turned back as the woman disappeared.

~8~

Trefusis placed the ring in the bowl as the Governor grinned, "As it was written in the Secret Books of Saxon, these are the Potions of Life," the Governor cried as the guards poured a liquid from stone vases into the bowl.

"Listen to me!" Lucy shouted, "Whatever he told you, you've got no idea what you're doing!"

"Miss Trefusis, the catalyst," the Governor turned and Trefusis advanced on Lucy.

"What are you doing?" Lucy struggled as Trefusis wiped her lips with a tissue, "Leave me alone! Don't. Don't!"

"You were Saxon's wife," the Governor remarked as Trefusis took the tissue and held it above the bowl, "You bore his imprint. That's all we needed, the final biometrical signature."

"You can't bring him back, you can't!" Lucy cried but the woman just dropped the tissue into the bowl as flames shot up from it. The flames turned into a whirling storm, drawing lightning from the sky, "I'm begging you! Stop this now before it's too late!" she stood up.

"We give ourselves that Saxon might live!" the Governor recited.

The whirlwind picked up, pulling the energy, pulling the life, right out of the willing sacrifices as they fell to their knees.

"Can't you see?!" Lucy turned to the Governor, "He lied to you! His name isn't even Harold Saxon!"

"And this was written also. For his name is...the Master!"

"Never!" the Master called, manifesting himself in the whirlwind, "Never. Never. Never. Never dying. Never dying! Never dying! Never dying! Never dying!"

~8~

Larger sparks blew out from the console as smoke rose. The Doctor ignored them, trying to make the TARDIS go faster.

"It's alright girl," Angel called, stroking the rotor, "You can do it!"

~8~

"Oh, Lucy," the Master grinned, still in the whirlwind, holding his arms out when he spotted her, "Sweet Lucy Saxon, my ever faithful…did the widow's kiss bring me back to life?"

"You're killing them!" Lucy shouted, pointing at the sacrifices.

"Oh, let them die. They're just the first. The whole stupid stinking human disgrace can fall into the pit," he put his hands over his ears, "Can't you hear it, Lucy? The noise? The drumbeat? Louder than ever before. The drums, the never-ending drums. Oh, I have missed them!"

"But no one knew you better than I did. I didn't have to be Angel to know you'd come back. And all this time, your disciples have prepared. But so have we!" she turned to the guard behind her, one of HER loyal followers, and took a small vial gilled with a black liquid.

"What are you doing?"

"The Secret Books of Saxon spoke of the Potions of Life, and I was never that bright, but my family had contacts. People who were clever enough to calculate the opposite," she opened it.

"Don't you dare!" he glared, "I'm ordering you, Lucy. You will obey me!"

"Till death do us part, Harry!"

"NOOOO!"

Lucy threw the contents of the vial at the still forming Master, causing the whirlwind to explode into blue flames encompassing the room.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran out of the TARDIS just as it materialized before the ruined remains of Broadfell Prison.

"We're too late…" Angel breathed, staring at the ruins in horror.

Chapter Text

Footage of the prison explosion and the aftermath played on a laptop as the black man from the Ood Vision watched, a smile on his face, knowing what this meant. It was a catalyst, just the thing he'd been waiting for. He hadn't gotten involved in all that politics, all that hullabaloo about Harold Saxon, but he was smart. And he was naturally suspicious. And he had ample money to spare for spies and investigators. He'd hired scores of men and women when that Saxon man had appeared out of nowhere and somehow gained a life in 18 months, and become Prime Minister. His sources had given him a world of information about the man in question, and now he knew. Harold Saxon was a genius, what's more, his sources and spies in UNIT had confirmed the man was an alien genius. And a genius like that, a mind like that, would NEVER do anything without some sort of backup plan, some way to return despite the odds. Some bribery here and there and he'd discovered the 'Secret Books of Saxon' and the man, claiming to be called 'the Master,' had a way to do just that, return to the world of the living.

So he'd waited, patiently, for any sign that the man would come back. Because he was needed. And he would help, even if he had to be held at gunpoint to do it.

And now it seemed like that day had finally come.

The door opened and his daughter walked in, a lovely young black girl that had also appeared in the vision, "I think we might be in luck, darling," he said, grinning, "It's the footage from Broadfell Prison the night it burnt down. Take a look at this," he pointed as a blurred figure ran across the screen and he rewound the footage, pausing it so they could see it was a man, one with light hair, but his head was turned so they couldn't see if it was who they hoped it'd be.

"Someone survived?" she smiled, "Do you think it's him? Oh, that would be such a Christmas present."

"You just leave it to daddy," he laughed as they turned to leave his office followed by two servants.

They walked into a large wood-paneled room with a large amount of advanced technology all around it. At the far end was a device that seemed meant for someone to stand in, like an archway or a gate of some sort. And it was alien, it had to be, the amount of technology found in it had never been seen on Earth before. He'd had a number of scientists confirm that before they were...silenced. And that was just the issue wasn't it? It was alien in nature, so no human, he believed, would be able to fix it or operate it safely. That wouldn't do at all. It was meant to be a gift for his precious daughter, he would not risk her safety until he was sure it was operating perfectly.

And so his hunt for an alien, for a smart alien, had begun and led him right to the former Prime Minister.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called, "It seems help is at hand. Christmas is cancelled. Prepare the Gate!"

The device at the end of the room, the Gate, charged up with power as a young blonde technician tapped away at her keyboard, shooting a sly look at her tall, dark-haired coworker.

~8~

Wilf headed for the front door of the house, wearing his antler hat, whistling, happy he'd found it. Donna had taken to hiding it on him, he didn't know why, but the girl just didn't like that hat when he wore it, had claimed it was bad luck or something but hadn't been able to explain why. All she'd said was it was like having a bad dream that stuck with you even though you couldn't remember it, though she did get brief flashes of a mushroom cloud whenever she saw him in it. Donna was one of the only people he knew that hadn't gotten any bad dreams, though he was suspicious it might have been that metacrisis thing protecting her. He hadn't really brought his dreams up, not wanting to worry her.

He thought she was just being silly about his hat though and had hid the antlers himself, he loved wearing them, get a little bit of the holiday spirit going, "Just going down to the Lion!" he called to his daughter as he headed out, Donna out to do a bit of late shopping.

It had seemed the Doctor was right about Donna's new traits she'd picked up from him. His darling granddaughter was much more confident than before, much wiser as well, much more a talker, but...also a bit absent-minded at times. Like she had so much going on up there that there wasn't room for everything. She'd completely forgotten that it was nearly Christmas and had dashed out an hour ago to get her shopping done.

"Quick little snifter. Christmas drinks. Right, ta-ra," he left the house and headed down the street, pulling out his mobile once he was far enough away to not be seen, "Paratroop One to Paratroop Two, we are mobilized, I repeat, we are mobilized. Rendezvous 1300 hours. Over and out," he stood at the side of the road as a bus turned the corner and he waved it down, "Come on!" he laughed, "Wa-hey, shake a leg! Ye-hey. Oh!" he did a little jig before boarding it. It was decked out for Christmas with other old men and women onboard, cheering and clapping for him and his dance once he stood before them, "Right, come on, let's get going. Off we go. Everybody alright? We've got a job to do."

~8~

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked as Angel let out a frustrated groan...AT the TARDIS!

"She won't track him," she explained, showing him the monitor as it just flashed 'Error,' "It's like she doesn't want us to go after him."

The TARDIS hummed and they looked up at the rotor.

"But we have to," Angel argued, the Doctor looking between her and the TARDIS as they seemed to argue. Well that was new, usually it was HIM having a one-sided conversation with the box, but...he DID notice that the box seemed to hum whenever Angel spoke to it, like it was replying or something, "He's dangerous on a good day and that prison," Angel shook her head, "It was destroyed, that can't be good, can it?" she looked at the Doctor.

"No," he agreed, "Whatever happened that brought him back...he wouldn't have risked it causing that much destruction as to kill him in a building collapse just after," he glanced down, forcing his fists to uncurl at the mention of the Master. He would have liked nothing more than for that building to HAVE collapsed on him, stopped the man...at least till he could get his hands on him.

"See?" she turned back to the rotor, "He's out there and wrong and there are humans around," the TARDIS hummed as though agreeing with her, "Why don't you want us to find him then? He could hurt them."

The box hummed sadly and Angel couldn't help but frown, it...it almost sounded, to her at least, like the box had been saying, or would have said, 'He can hurt you too.'

"We'll be fine," she promised, crossing her hearts, before she smiled softly, reaching out to stroke the rotor, "You and your sisters have always been there for me, my whole life, and I understand now, why you wanted me to take in the Vortex, you've made me stronger. I'm stronger because of you and the Doctor," she blinked as the lights on the rotor increased, seemingly happily, "But that also means I'm strong enough to do this on my own as well..."

"With me," the Doctor added, NOT about to let the girl confront the Master alone, EVER.

"Together we're stronger than anything," she nodded at the box, "You know we'll be ok if we're together, we can stop him, we can help him."

The Doctor was silent, listening to the box hum quietly, as though giving in, and said nothing. Angel, bless her, didn't see the man as the monster who destroyed the Earth, for time had been reversed, nor as the man who had led to her death, as she was technically still alive, but just...still a scared child on the inside, one in pain, one who needed help and compassion to stop him. HE, on the other hand, he refused to say he would help the man, because really...

All he wanted to do was strangle him for killing his Mate.

~8~

"He's tall and thin," Wilf explained to the group as they looked at him, intently, "Wears a brown suit, maybe a blue suit. He's got a long brown coat, modern sort of hair. All sticky-uppy, right? She's a couple inches shorter than him, thin too. Wears a blue dress, like a big shirt, with a black belt and black cowboy boots. Black hair, grey eyes. Oh, and on page two, be on the lookout for a police box, exactly like the old ones," he held up a sketch of the TARDIS for them to see, colored blue.

"I got locked inside one of them, August Bank Holiday 1962," one of the old women smirked.

"Were you misbehaving, Minnie?" an old man asked with a sly, knowing smile.

"I certainly was," she grinned, "Wa-hey!" she wiggled, making everyone laugh.

"Yeah, alright, alright," Wilf cut in, "Listen, this is important. We have got to find it. Right, so phone around, phone everybody. Sally, will you get onto the Bridge Club? Winston, you try the Old Boys. Bobby, want you to ring the skiffle band, right? Between us, we've got the city covered."

"The Silver Cloak!" Minnie cheered, oh she loved a good intrigue.

"Yeah."

"Who are they, then, this Doctor and Angel?" Winston asked.

"No, I can't tell you that, I swear. But answer me this. You've been having bad dreams?" he looked around at them, seeing them start to stiffen and shift, uncomfortable, "All of you? Dreams you can't remember? Yeah, well, that's why we need them. We need the Doctor and Angel, more than ever."

~8~

A woman in a lunch van served two men, "Onions with that?"

"Oh, yeah, go on, pile 'em on," the man smiled, "What about you, Ginger? Onions?" he turned to the other man, a ginger man, who just shrugged, "He don't say much. Give him onions. He's down from Huddersfield."

A man in a black hoodie approached the van, his head bowed, seeming jumpy and twitchy, panting.

"Well, you look after him. And don't forget tomorrow night, the Christmas broadcast. President Obama, he's promised to end the recession. Bad times will soon be over, Ginger," she handed him his food.

"Well, season's greetings to you."

"And you. Happy Christmas," she watched as the men walked off, the hooded man watching them go. She waited a moment but he didn't look away from them to place his order, "Now, what can we get you, sir?"

The man pulled his hood down to reveal it was the Master, now with blonde hair and a scruffy face, unshaven, "Everything. I am so hungry," he laughed as though he'd told a joke, especially when the woman just gave him a look and moved to get the food. Oh...she thought he meant human food...well, he supposed it would be a nice appetizer.

In another section of the site, Ginger and his friend were eating their burgers, sitting around a fire that was burning in a barrel, "They're saying that the President's got this grand plan," the man was saying, "He's going to save the world with some big financial scheme. Whatever it is, I bet it won't reach you and me," get glanced over when the Master fell down on a seat of tires and cushions near them, practically inhaling his burger, far faster than he'd ever seen anyone eat, "Somebody's lively on his feet."

"Starving."

They watched as he shoved the food in his mouth, "Now, y'see, that's what you don't want to do, eat it all at once," the man offered, understanding this man must be new to the world of homelessness, "Tempting, I know. But if you make it last, it can last all day."

The Master licked the wrapper, "Want more. Want cheese and chips and meat and gravy and cream and beer and pork and beef and fat and great big chunks of hot, wet red…"

"Good for you, mate," the man nodded, getting a bit uncomfortable with what the man was describing. At first it sounded just like what they all wanted to eat, but it had tapered off in the end, and the way the ravenous man was going on...he might not have been talking about just food anymore, "Well, we'd better be going."

"You look like that bloke," Ginger commented, eyeing the Master intently, "Harold Saxon. The one that went mad," he laughed as did the Master.

"Now, isn't that funny?" the Master asked, still chuckling darkly, amused by how the humans hadn't recognized him, oh his Archangel Network had done wonders, they didn't even realize what danger they were in, "Isn't that just the best thing of all? The master of disguise, stuck looking like the old Prime Minister. I can't hide anywhere!" he looked down, his eyes narrowing, not talking about the humans any longer, "They can see me, SHE can see me, I bet she has, I bet she's seen me coming. But he'll smell me...can't let them smell me!" he violently wiped his mouth, "Doctor, Angel, Doctor, Angel, got to stop the smell! The stink, the filthy, filthy stink!"

"Ginger," the man pulled his friend away, sensing and seeing just how unstable the man before them was, "Come with me, right now!" the two men got up and started walking away, stopping only when the Master spoke again.

"Because it's funny! Don't you see? Look at me! I'm splitting my sides. I am hilarious!" the men stared in horror as his face flashed, his skull visible a moment in a blue-ish light, "I am the funniest thing in the whole wide world!" he laughed and his skull flashed again. The two men ran away as the Master just laughed on, seeming unable to stop. He stood up and slowly cocked his head to the side a dangerous smile on his face.

"Save us!" the man shouted as they ran back to the van, "God help us! There's this man..." they stopped short, a look of horror on their faces as they saw the woman and man behind the counter of the van, the kind ones who always skimmed a little off the bill to help them afford the food, were now just...skeletons.

"Dinner time!" the Master cheered, leaping into the sky in an inhuman way.

"No!" the men cried, screaming as the Master's skeletal face loomed at them, diving for them...

~8~

Angel took the Doctor's hand as soon as they stepped out of the TARDIS, the box setting down in what looked like a construction site. She looked around a moment, before her gaze lingered to the left. She took a breath and led him in that direction, letting her feelings guide her onto the top of a pile of dirt, the Doctor behind her as they looked out onto the site.

"He's here," Angel nodded. She could feel it, yes, but...it was worrying her that she hadn't gotten any visions yet.

They closed their eyes, the Doctor inhaling deeply, not wanting to go in there blind. HE wanted to know where the Master was as well, he wasn't going to let Angel lead him right to the man, not this time, this time HE wanted to be prepared too.

~8~

The Master suddenly stopped, sensing the presences of others in his mind and senses, and closed his eyes, concentrating, inhaling deeply before his eyes snapped open. With a small smile he got up and picked up a pipe, walking over to the fire barrel and banging against it four times.

After a pause he repeated it again, he wanted them to hear it, he wanted them to know it was him, to know he was back.

~8~

The Doctor suddenly took off towards the sound, hearing it getting faster.

"Doctor!" Angel shouted, bolting after him, knowing where his mind had gone, to that dark place it always went to when something had harmed her. Right now, he wasn't thinking that another man, another of their species had come back, or that something about his arrival was affecting time...no, right now he was only seeing the man who was responsible for his Mate's death...

She had to stop him before he killed the Master.

~8~

The Master dropped the pipe and ran, laughing madly as he went. It didn't matter if he should run, really, he was certain Angel would be able to find him again, sense him, lead the Doctor to him, but he had always taken pride in being one step ahead of the Doctor. Let's see if he couldn't fool a psychic as well.

~8~

The Doctor ran through a set of discarded girders rusting away, looking around as he stopped beside the dented barrel.

"Doctor!" Angel shouted as she saw him spot the Master, standing on a large ridge of dirt in the distance.

The Master let out a loud roar before leaping into the air and laughing, as though taunting the Doctor with his continued survival, baiting him. A bait which the Doctor rose to, running after the man, a dark, determined look in his eyes. Angel ran as fast as she could, trying not to stumble over the pipes and other odds and ends lying around. She wasn't the most coordinated person any longer and she knew the Doctor would find a way to blame the Master if she tripped and scraped her knee.

"Doctor!" she tried again, her hearts racing as she saw the Doctor closing in the Master, the other man just standing there, laughing...when his face changed again, flashing, revealing his skeleton. She stumbled to a stop, horrified by the sight, she wasn't sure exactly what it was that had happened, or what was going on, but...she knew enough to know the Master was burning up his own life force.

The Master grinned as the Doctor got nearer, seeming to be waiting a moment, before he simply took off again, jumping off a pile of metal, disappearing before the Doctor could reach him.

She shook her head, running again when she swore she heard a snarl from the Doctor as he pushed himself harder. He really would murder the Master if he ever got his hands on him. And she knew it would devastate him to realize he'd done that to someone who was once a friend, so long ago. Even if he didn't care for the man any longer, the Doctor was NOT a murderer.

"Oh, my gosh!" Wilf grinned, literally running right into the Doctor with quite a few older men and women following him, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Oh thank God," Angel breathed, thanking her lucky stars that Wilf had appeared, right when they needed him, stopping the Doctor, delaying him enough for her to catch up.

"Out of the way!" the Doctor shoved past Wilf, about to climb a pile of girders, needing to go after the Master, when Angel reached him.

"He's gone Doctor," Angel called, gently tugging him down.

"He can't be!" he shouted, coming off the girders at Angel's light tug, but still glaring out at the distance the way the Master had disappeared.

"He is," Angel nodded, reaching out to take his hand, "Doctor..." he didn't react, just panted, breathing heavily as he stared out, "Doctor?" she squeezed his hand, but still he stared, his mind racing with thoughts of how to find the man, how to make him pay for harming her, for putting her through those deaths, "Oh Doctor," she murmured, gently lifting his hand to kiss his scarred knuckles.

THAT got through to him.

He looked at her sharply, as though just realizing she was there, beside him, and...alive. Seeing the Master again, being so near to the man whose actions had nearly taken her from him...he'd lost it. His mind had gone to a place where the mad Time Lord had succeeded, where Angel had died and not come back. And he'd felt the desire for revenge, the Mating instinct pushing him on. But she was there, she was ok, and...she was looking at him with a worried look in her eyes.

He just looked at her, gazed at her, lifting his other hand to her cheek, "You're ok," he whispered, as though reminding himself of that.

She nodded, "I'm just fine," she reached up to his hand, pressing it more to her cheek as she leaned into his touch, "Better than ever," she added, dropping a kiss to his palm.

He let out a breath and glanced in the direction the Master had gone, and back at her, stroking her cheek with his thumb before leaning in and resting his forehead to hers, "I'm sorry..." he breathed.

"I know," she murmured, closing her eyes, sending him as much reassurance as she could through their emotional bond. She smiled, "Things just always escalate around you don't they?"

He laughed lightly at that, she always knew just what to say to make him feel better and less like a fool or a monster. He didn't know how she did it, but he was glad she could, "Well there's one thing that escalates around YOU."

She blinked and pulled away, looking at him confused, "What?"

He grinned, taking both her hands and holding them, moving them to his chest, the backs of them on each of his hearts as he just looked at her.

"Did we do it?" one of the men, Winston, asked as the rest of the group joined Wilf, pulling them from their moment, "Is that them?"

"Tall and thin, big brown coat," another man remarked.

"Blue dress, cowboy boots," another woman appraised Angel.

"The Silver Cloak!" Minnie cheered, "It worked. 'Cos Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbor saw these two heading east."

The Doctor looked over at Minnie, who was peeking at him through her lashes, and turned his gaze to Wilf instead, "Wilfred, have you told them who we are? You promised!"

"No, I just said you were a doctor and his wife, that's all," Wilf reassured them, "And might I say, sir, ma'am, it is an honor to see you again," he saluted. The Doctor returned the salute with a wry smile, two fingers to his forehead.

"Oh you know that won't work with me Wilf," Angel laughed as the man turned to her, about to do the same. She held her arms out wide and the man laughed, hugging her tightly as the Doctor smiled on, more tensely now.

He really had to work at controlling that instinct that just wanted to rip the arms off other men who touched her and keep her all to himself. Wilf was like a grandfather to her, literally given that she still claimed Donna as her sister despite not being ginger any longer.

"Ok, ok," he reached out and tugged Angel back as Wilf let go, winding his arm around her waist, as he kissed her temple, 'My Mate," he whispered to her, "My psychic.'

'My thief,' she agreed.

"Ooh, but you never said he was a looker!" Minnie grinned, "He's gorgeous, take a photo!" she handed her camera off.

"Not bad, eh?" the man who took it laughed.

"No, very nice," they all nodded.

"Me next!" the man with the camera said, "I want one with her!"

Which made Angel blink and the Doctor frown, tugging her closer to his right side.

"I'm Minnie," Minnie greeted, "Minnie the Menace. It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man," she stationed herself next to the Doctor, on his left, her arm around his waist as the rest of the group pushed to join her, the men gathering around Angel.

"Just get off them, leave them alone, will you?" Wilf called.

"Hush, you old misery. Come on, Doctor. Give us a smile," she reached up to pinch his cheeks, making him give more a grimacing smile than anything, though it started to morph into a real one when Angel laughed at it, "That's it."

"Hold on..." the man clicked the camera, "Did it flash?"

"No, there's a blue light, try again."

"I'm all fingers and thumbs..."

"We're really kind of busy, y'know?" the Doctor tried to get out of it. He was calmer now, but...he still needed to find the Master, whether to kill him or stop him he still wasn't sure, but he had to be found first.

"Oh, it won't take a tick. Keep smiling," Minnie's hand slid down his waist and goosed his bottom.

"Is that your HAND, Minnie?!" the Doctor jerked away, pulling Angel with him as they backed away from the crowd of insane elderly.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Wilf got off the bus the Silver Cloak had taken, "Come on, then," Wilf ushered them, knowing that if he didn't get the Doctor away from them, there would be issues, "Here we are, hurry up. Bye. You behave, bye!" they waved goodbye to the crowd on the bus, Minnie blowing a kiss at the Doctor as Wilf just shook his head and led them across the street towards a café, "Over here, come on."

"What's so special about this place?" the Doctor eyed it, "We passed 15 cafés on the way."

"Yeah," Wilf said, opening the door, nodding at a man who stepped out, "Afternoon."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel sat across from Wilf at a table, "Oh, we had some good times, didn't we, though?" Wilf asked, they'd been sitting in silence for a while, Angel trying to make small talk but the Doctor's thoughts seemed elsewhere so he hadn't contributed much, "I mean, all those ATMOS things and planets in the sky and me with that paint-gun."

"What's wrong Wilf?" Angel asked, eyeing him with concern.

He smiled at her softly, "You don't miss a trick do you?"

"Psychic," the Doctor murmured, speaking for the first time in a while, which was fitting given it was about Angel, putting his arm around her.

"Thief," she countered, leaning on him, before turning back to Wilf, reaching out to put her hand on his as it rested on the table, "What is it?"

Wilf sighed, "I keep seeing things, I...this face at night."

"Who are you?" the Doctor cut in, just looking at the man.

"I'm Wilfred Mott."

"No, people have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours?"

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose."

"You don't have Angel with you," he countered, unable to really think that anyone else could be so lucky as him without Angel having a role in it.

"I've got her sister though," Wilf joked.

"I think he meant that we keep meeting you, Wilf," Angel shook her head slowly, a small smile on her face, "Quite a few times really, like something's tying us all together," she looked at the Doctor, "Like with Donna."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?" he frowned.

"Just like Donna," Angel laughed a bit, squeezing his hand, "I swear."

"Why you?" the Doctor agreed with Wilf. He paused, looking around a moment, sitting in silence, before turning back to Wilf, "I'm going to die."

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf shrugged, making Angel shift uncomfortably.

"Don't you dare."

"Alright, I'll try not to."

"But I was told, 'he will knock four times.' That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then..."

Angel took his hand instead.

"But I thought…when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body," Wilf frowned, recalling how they'd explained the black-haired woman claiming to be Angel was really still the ginger woman who called Donna her sister after they'd dropped Donna off, "That's what you said happened to you," he looked at Angel.

"We can...we can still die though," she explained.

The Doctor nodded, "If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead," he looked down solemnly, "Even then. Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away with Angel. And I'm dead," he blinked back tears, "Some new man gets to be with her and I'm stuck watching from the sidelines."

"Doctor…" Angel whispered, squeezing his hand, "I could...I could always force a regeneration or…"

"No," he cut in, turning to face her, "No…you," he swallowed, "I nearly lost you last time. You've barely had any time in this body," he shook his head, "No."

"Hmm…" Wilf looked out the window.

"What?" the Doctor frowned as they turned to peer outside as well, only to see Donna getting out of a car.

"Donna," Angel smiled, watching their friend, her sister.

"She's missed you," Wilf remarked, "Not a day goes by she doesn't talk about the two of you, gob on about it really. I think…I think she might regret coming home just a little bit. Why don't you just go to her now, go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

"I think…" Angel nodded to herself, "I think she's coping just fine…and besides, I'd rather surprise her on Christmas day."

The Doctor looked back at Angel a moment, "A Christmas surprise from a Christmas angel?" he lifted her hand still holding his and kissed it, "Best gift in the world."

Wilf smiled at them and nodded, that really would make Donna's Christmas. They turned to watch Donna confront a meter attendant, "Don't you touch this car!" she was shouting.

"She's not changed at all," the Doctor laughed, watching her.

"Oh, there he is..." Wilf added as a young black man walked over to her with shopping bags, "Shawn Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding," the Doctor smirked.

"See, coping just fine," Angel nodded, "Starting her own great adventures."

"Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot."

"No, it's Temple-Noble," Wilf laughed.

"Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat," he sighed, "Yeah, how about you? Who've you two got now?"

"No one," the Doctor said, hugging Angel close, "We're travelling by ourselves," he swallowed hard, "I thought it would be better just us…" his voice cracked, "But I did some things that went wrong. And Angel…I nearly lost her because of it…"

"You will never lose me," Angel cut in, pulling him into a hug as his eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, my word," Wilf breathed, stunned at seeing such a strong man break down.

The Doctor hugged her tightly a few more moments, burying his face in her neck, as though reassuring himself that she was really there with him before pulling back and looking at her, "And that's why it'll be me who regenerates next. I'm not losing you again, not ever."

She just shook her head at him with a small smile, there would be no changing his mind from this.

Chapter Text

"And so it came to pass that the players took their final places," a man stated, "Making ready the events that were to come. The madman sat in his empire of dust and ashes, little knowing of the glory he would achieve, while his savior and his angel looked upon the wilderness, in the hope of changing his inevitable fate. Far away, the idiots and fools dreamt of a shining new future. A future now doomed to never happen. As Earth rolled onwards into night, the people of that world did sleep and shiver, somehow knowing that dawn would bring only one thing. The final day."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel had left the café with Wilf, but disappeared too quickly for him to follow them back to the TARDIS, who had appeared in an alley, as though sensing the desperation of her pilots. Angle smiled as she stroked the corner of the box, the Doctor opening the door to let them in, his hand forever locked in hers as they entered, heading up to the rotor.

Angel smiled when she saw that the TARDIS had been keeping track of the Master for them, saw a blinking light on the monitor of where the Time Lord was at that very moment, "Thanks girl," she whispered, stroking the rotor a moment.

The Doctor came up beside her, glancing at the coordinates before moving to type them in, about to lock the TARDIS onto that location and get them there, when Angel's hand rested on his a moment as he grabbed a lever, stilling him with just a single light touch. Well, she would. Just looking at him with a simple gaze could freeze him in his tracks, hearing her laughing made his hearts stop, seeing her in her beloved period clothes made his breath catch in his throat. He had to admit, he LOVED the way she affected him. It was so simple, so subtle, so...her. She was always so gentle when it came to him, never overbearing, never controlling, never really exerting the power she obviously had over him...except when it came to his tie, when she'd tug him down, but it was always to kiss him so he never complained.

It was truly a parallel to the power of the Vortex that rested inside her, to have that much power within her small frame, but to never ever use it unless necessary, unless it was needed. Other would delight in the power they had over someone else, the complete control, but she didn't. Other Time Lords had gone mad from the Vortex inside them...he could only imagine how the Master might have been if he'd ever been able to do the same. Those Time Lords, had become so corrupt, so evil, so power-hungry and mad and destructive, it had seemed like the Vortex just found even a speck of darkness in their hearts and magnified it, amplified it, fed it to the point where they were nothing but darkness bathed in a yellow light.

But not Angel, no. Her hearts were the purest things he'd ever encountered. He truly could find no speck, microscopic though it would have to be, of darkness in her. Perhaps that was why the Vortex was so easily controlled by her for the most part. He had to admit, he DID have his doubts about Donna's humanity being the cause for her not to become corrupt as others, Angel had already been so innocent, so strong and pure and determined, long before any hint of actual humanity had entered her, she'd reminded him very much of a human at times, how she empathized with them, sympathized, understood them and comforted them. He doubted that if she hadn't gotten Donna's humanity that she would have been corrupt either, she was just...too good. How could the Vortex find her darkness and exploit it, for darkness seemed to thrive on power, if she had none? THAT was why he believed she was still her angelic self, there was nothing to corrupt.

He smiled and turned his hand around to hold hers, linking their fingers together before he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it, "What is it?" he asked, knowing that she wouldn't have stopped him without a reason.

"I don't want you to hurt him," she said quietly. It wasn't even just that there was clearly something wrong with the Master, the man was clearly out of sorts and in pain and, even after everything he'd done, she still felt like he did have the potential to be a decent person (he HAD let Japan live because she'd said please)...it was that...he was the Doctor. He helped people, he didn't hurt them. She didn't want him to lose sight of who he was because of her.

His expression tensed just a moment, not at her words, but at the reminder of the Master, his mind flashing to Angel, dying in his arms on the Valiant, so sick...

"You forgave him," she reminded him, seeing where his thoughts had gone.

"I forgave him on the Valiant," he corrected, "I forgave him for the first time you were dying," he sighed, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Nella..." he began and she looked at him intently for the use of her name, "I did it for you, because you asked me to, it was your..." he swallowed, "Your dying wish," her gaze softened as his voice broke at the word 'dying,' "And I did, for you. But...you got better," he shook his head, "And then you still died. I forgave him for only the first time."

"You forgave him when you truly thought I was going to die and not regenerate," she pointed out also, "I DID regenerate the second time Theta, that alone should be more than enough to forgive him again."

"I...can't..." he struggled to get his thoughts in order, "As terrible as it is to say...on the Valiant, I didn't see much of it," he looked at her, devastation in his eyes, "I didn't see you dying ever second of the day, he kept us apart too much. I saw you at stages, at moments, but...to see that whole process..."

It was worse, it was so much worse. It was like, looking at a photograph of someone at different points in their life, brief snippets of them. But then, to take that same person and to BE there through their whole life, you saw so much more of them, knew so much more, felt so much more...to have seen Angel dying slowly for an entire year had been the worst torture imaginable. To live in such constant fear that one of the next adventures would be the end of her, would be too much for her, and a few almost were, was terrible. To have all the technology of the TARDIS available, to be able to go out to every planet that might be able to help her or cure her or treat he dying, and fail each and every time...

Her second death had been so much worse.

"But I am still here," she reached up and touched his cheek, making him look at her, "The Master wasn't even alive that second time, it wasn't his fault, it me and my connection to the TARDIS..."

"From the Valiant," he countered, "It all started because of what he did on the Valiant. It was HIS fault Nella."

"Then I'm happy," she went for the last point she could think of.

"You were happy you were dying?" he stared at her.

She laughed, "I could have done without that bit yeah, but I AM happy I regenerated Theta, I needed to. The woman I was, was so scared of the Vortex, hesitant to use it despite being a bit more accepting of it. I needed this, I needed to regenerate, because...the woman I was, I don't think you would have Mated to her."

"I would have," he shook his head, "I just..."

"Wanted to make sure I was healthy," she cut in gently, "You're such a doctor Theta, you would have found me sneezing as a reason not to Mate. I..." she nodded, "I needed a new life. I needed a new start. I needed to regenerate so you'd be sure I was completely healed because of it," she reached up and put her arms around his neck, "If not for what the Master did, we wouldn't be Mated right now," she tilted her head, eyeing him, biting her lip playfully as she toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck, making him groan, "Do you regret Mating?"

"No!" he exclaimed quickly, his eyes wide as he stared at her.

"Then you must forgive him his 'second' attempt at my life," she smirked.

He looked at her a long while before he slowly stared to smile, look at that, look at his clever little Mate, using words and spins on words to make him forgive a man he'd vowed to murder, and do it so innocently, "You're right."

She beamed, over the moon that she had actually just WON an argument against him, "Really?"

He nodded, leaning in to kiss her, "I would have kept worrying about your health," he admitted, resting his head on hers, he really was too much of a doctor at times, "And," he had to admit, "Being with you that last year made me appreciate every single moment with you," he looked into her eyes, smiling softly at her, "Our Mating was that much more powerful because of it."

She blushed at the reminder of that night. She was absolutely certain, they both were, that never before had two Mates been so in sync, so attuned to the other, so...connected. They were taught of Mating, Mated pairs would speak of that moment, not graphically, but just...to show the younger Time Lords how truly special and important and scared a Mating was, how it was NOT to be taken lightly. What those men and women had described had paled in comparison to how they'd felt Mating.

She had been honest when she'd spoken to the TARDIS before, together they were stronger than anything.

"I love you," the Doctor whispered, kissing her.

"I love you as well," she smiled, tugging him down by his tie in jest, kissing him soundly.

The Doctor grinned into the kiss, winding his arms more around her, pulling her closer, yes, he'd given in to her request, yes, he would forgive the Master for her regeneration, and yes...he might even consider that he should have the Master to thank for the powerful bond he shared with his marvelous Mate.

But he wouldn't ever trust that man, he wouldn't ever let him near Angel ever again, and he wouldn't ever forget what he was capable of.

~8~

The Master sat on a mound of dirt, gnawing at a bone, when he suddenly looked up and sniffed. He didn't have to be psychic to know who was behind him, but he turned anyway and saw the Doctor and Angel standing there, hand-in-hand. His smirk dropped a moment when he saw the Doctor just...standing there. No hint of the anger or the drive to attack him that had been so obvious in the Time Lord earlier. Well that was a let down, he was hoping for a fight.

The duo slowly walked towards him as he stood up and held out his hands, electricity crackling around them. He shot a beam of energy at the duo, just missing the Doctor, and fired again, missing the Angel as the Doctor tugged her closer to his side. He rubbed his hands together, building up the next strike, before firing both hands. Angel moved to jump in front of the Doctor but he pulled her back, ready to take the hit himself, right in the chest, when she held her hand out from his side instead...

The Master grimaced, pushing himself more, adding more power when his bolts seemed to strike a golden wall of what seemed to be energy. He let the bolts fade and glared, running towards them, about to attack them physically...when his hands came in contact with the golden wall that flared to life once more. He stumbled back, unable to force his way through and looked at them as it faded away, revealing the duo behind it, though he had vaguely been able to see them through it earlier. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he saw a fading golden glow in Angel's eyes, the girl lowering her hand but still standing beside the Doctor, tense.

He smirked, "So I'm not the only abomination eh?" he laughed at the glare the Doctor sent him for that word and eyed the man, "I had estates. Do you remember my father's land, back home? Pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition," he sighed, "We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky," he scoffed, gesturing around, making no other move to get closer to the pair, "Look at us now."

"All that eloquence," the Doctor sighed, staring at the man sadly, now feeling more pity than anger, though the anger was still there, "But how many people have you killed?"

"I am so hungry."

"Your resurrection went wrong. That energy...your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

"And that's human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes, and red wine. Hot, fat, blood food. Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Stop it…" Angel cut in, squirming at the descriptions.

"Slice! Slice!"

"Master..."

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"

"Please."

The Master took a deep breath to regain control, the Doctor smiling at Angel, squeezing her hand he still held. She had told him how she'd helped save Japan, just by saying please, no arguing, no begging, no yelling, just a simple 'please' and he actually hadn't believed her, believed that something so simple could sway a man as mad as the Master. But there she was, getting through to the man with quiet words instead of shouts.

"What if we ask you for help?" he turned back to the Master, "There's more at work tonight than you and Angel and me."

"Oh, yeah?" the Master eyed him.

"We've been told something is returning."

"And here I am!"

"No, it's...it's something...more," Angel frowned, she could sense that now at least, still no visions.

It really was bothering her how they hadn't come yet. She was starting to fear that, whatever was coming...she wasn't meant to change. Usually her visions acted like a warning, sometimes giving her enough time to save someone at a point of flux in their timelines. But it didn't make sense, she could feel like whatever was coming was terrible, she had all the faith in the world that the Doctor could stop it, but...she didn't know what it was and she didn't know how to help now.

It was alarming.

"But it hurts," the Master murmured, holding his head.

"We were told the end of time…" the Doctor continued.

"It hurts, Doctor, the noise...the noise in my head, Doctor, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"We can't," Angel shook her head for the both of them, "I'm sorry."

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen," he stepped forward but the wall stopped him again.

"We can't hear it," the Doctor repeated.

"Listen!"

The Doctor eyed him a moment, seeing a desperation in his eyes, and squeezed Angel's hand, telling her it was ok to let the shield down.

And so she did.

The Master grabbed the Doctor's head and pressed their foreheads together, forcefully shoving the beat into his head.

The Doctor pulled back instantly, "But that's..."

"What?" the Master breathed.

"I heard it," he looked at Angel with wide eyes, before turning back to the Master, "But there's no noise, there never has been, it's just your insanity, it's the...what is it? What's inside your head?"

The Master stood and laughed, "It's real! It's real! It's REAL!" he launched himself into the sky, Angel pulling the Doctor off as they ran after him, her sensations still working for that at least, leading him right to the Master as he crouched on a large pile of dirt and rocks, "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

A light suddenly lit up from above, directed at the Master, followed by a whirring of helicopter blades. Another light flared to life around them as well as lines were thrown down and two men rappelled to either side of the Master, tranquilizing him.

"Don't!" the Doctor shouted, running towards him. Two other soldiers fired at the ground by the Doctor's feet, forcing him back. Angel tried to bring up the shield but it seemed bringing it up so much and for so long earlier had taken a bit out of her, it wasn't strong enough to stop the bullets and they had to duck back, "Let him go!"

One of the soldiers ran at them, knocking them out with the butt of their gun as the helicopter flew off into the night, the Doctor and Angel sprawled out, unconscious, on the rubble.

~8~

Wilf sat, that morning, opening his Christmas present from Donna, frowning as he saw a book by a Joshua Naismith titled 'Fight the Future,' a black man on the cover, the same black man from the Ood vision.

"Now then, Allons-y!" Donna cheered behind him, "Never too early for margaritas, that's what I say. I forgot to get lemons so I used oranges instead. It's all fruit, same difference. Both of the same subtropical citrus genus anyway. Molto Bene!"

"Oh, now that's lovely, look at that," Sylvia held up a blouse from her daughter, beaming, "Absolutely beautiful. 'Love from Donna,'" she nudged her playfully, "Did you keep the receipt?"

"Yes, I did," Donna laughed, able to tell her mother really did love it, "Come on, Gramps, you've been a right misery ever since you got up. Do you like it, then, the book?"

"Joshua Naismith?" he asked, eyeing it skeptically, it really, really was NOT his sort of book, "I mean, what d'you get me this for?"

"I dunno," Donna frowned, actually seeming to realize what she'd gotten him, "I just saw it in the shop, and thought of you. It just felt like the sort of thing you should have," she laughed a bit, "Look at me, I'm turning into Angel as well!"

"Oh that would be lovely," her mother smiled, she had a bit of a soft spot for that girl since they'd found out what she'd done for Donna, how she'd saved her, "Now look at that, that's from Charlie Morton, isn't that rude?" she held up a card for Donna to see it was a 'naughty' yet playful one.

~8~

"If you would, Mr. Danes..." Joshua Naismith said as Danes, one of his guard, walked over to a chair where the Master was strapped down. He released the strap covering the alien's mouth.

"I'm starving," the Master groaned.

"You've my daughter to thank for this. It's all her idea," he stood over by his daughter, he never would have gotten into all of this if not for her, "She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return," she was the one who had inspired him to seek out Harold Saxon, or the man who claimed to be him, "It's the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling."

"And I was right," she grinned, "He's back. The very man we need, and he's here," she clapped, "Oh, this is going to be wonderful!"

The Master just smirked, yes indeed it was...

For him.

Stupid apes.

~8~

Shawn strolled into the Noble house with gifts of his own, "Aye-aye. Here are the presents. I couldn't afford much, but not for long, if President Obama ends the recession tonight! C'mere!" he grabbed Donna and hugged her tightly, laughing, just so happy to get to spend time with her. She was such a remarkable woman! So brilliant and clever but so down to Earth and compassionate, and her cheek, he loved her wit and her retorts and her attitude. She was just...fantastic!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, keep it quiet, you lot," Wilf called, watching the TV, "It's the Queen's Speech. Now come on, sit down, show respect."

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Mott," Shawn handed him a gift.

"Thank you," Wilf smiled as Shawn gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, he was rather fond of THIS son-in-law, did NOT care for that Lance bloke, had protested the wedding, even pretended to have Spanish Flu and not go to try and stop it, hadn't worked though, "Will you behave?! Honestly. Alright now. She's on, she's on. It's our sovereign."

Wilf shook his head and turned back to the TV while the others stood around behind him, talking to each other more than watching the program. There was some static and the picture changed from the palace guards to the woman from the church, the brown-haired woman in her white suit, "Events are moving, Wilfred."

"Eh?" he frowned, startled that she had appeared in his telly, his mind immediately going to aliens, had to be.

"Faster than we thought."

"Can you see that?" Wilf called to the others.

"Frankly, I'd tell Her Majesty, it's time for trouser-suits," Donna remarked, glancing over at the TV a moment before turning to speak to Shawn again.

"No, no, no, no. That's not..."

"Only you can see," the woman called, "Only you stand at the heart of coincidence."

"Why?" he looked back at the box, "What have I done?"

"You're an old soldier, sir. Only you were too late. The war was won and passed you by. "

"I did my duty," he frowned, defending himself.

"You never killed a man."

"No, I didn't. No, I did not, no, but don't say that like it's shameful," he was a good man, and taking a life...he was proud to say he'd never done it.

"The time will come when you must take arms."

"Who are you?"

"Tell the Doctor and his beloved Angel nothing of this. His life could still be saved, so long as you tell him nothing."

"Angel will know though," he argued, "She's psychic, she'll see it."

The woman gave him a sad smile, "Not even she can see the events that shall come to pass."

And with that, the broadcast turned back to the Queen's speech.

~8~

Wilf walked into his room, closing the door behind him, before pulling out a battered case from under the bed. He opened it and then a second box inside it, picking up a cloth-wrapped item and unwrapping it to reveal his old army revolver. He checked to see if it was loaded, when he heard something hit the window. He turned and looked out, seeing the Doctor running back to where Angel was standing by the TARDIS doors. He quickly put the gun in his pocket and rushed out of the house to meet them.

"We lost him, we were unconscious," the Doctor explained quickly, still a bit on edge at his Mate being hit in the head, though she'd insisted she was fine, "He's still on Earth. We can smell him, but he's too far away and Angel can't sense him," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "The TARDIS can't even lock on, wherever he is it's shielded from our sensors."

"Listen, you can't park there," Wilf pointed at the TARDIS, "It's in the middle of the street!"

"You're the only one, Wilf. The only connection I can think of. You're involved. If I could work out how…"

"Have you noticed anything Wilf?" Angel asked, him eyeing him closely, "Anything even a bit out of the ordinary?"

"Well, there was..." he began, thinking of the woman on the telly.

"What?" the Doctor looked at him, "What is it? Tell me."

"Well, there was..." he glanced at Angel to see she didn't seem to be sensing anything, just like the woman had said, and if she was right about that...then he had to be careful, Donna loved those two, he was fond of them as well, if his silence meant they'd survive what was coming, he'd do it, "No, it's nothing."

"Think, think, think! Maybe something out of the blue. Connected to your life, something."

"Maybe Donna noticed something?" Angel looked at the Doctor, wanting to help.

"Donna was a bit strange," Wilf nodded, "She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" the Doctor turned to him.

Wilf motioned for them to meet him in the back, knowing they wanted to surprise Donna though probably not in THIS way, and ran into the house, coming out moments later by the back garden with the book, handing it over to the Doctor, "Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith."

"That's him!" Angel breathed, looking at the black man, "That's the man from the Ood vision!"

"The what?"

"The Ood," the Doctor repeated.

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just Ood. But it's all part of the convergence, maybe…maybe touching Donna's subconscious."

Angel smiled, "She definitely got a bit of me too then," she'd always wondered why she had got a bit of Donna and the Doctor, the metacrisis Doctor had gotten a bit of her and Donna, but...Donna had only seemed to get a bit of the Doctor. It was nice to know Donna had a little of her as well, "The Doctor-Donna-Angel."

"Dad, what are you up to?" Sylvia stepped outside, "You!" she gasped, surprised to see them.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor waved.

"Merry Christmas. But what are you doing here? Donna is NOT going off gallivanting through the stars with you again!" she put her foot down. Hearing of Donna's exploits, of the dangers she'd faced had brought out her maternal instincts, her daughter was NOT going to be in a situation like that again, ever.

"We know, we were just...going," the Doctor muttered as they turned and headed for the street.

"Yeah, me, too," Wilf nodded, rushing after them.

"Oh, no, you don't!" she chased after her father.

"Mum?" Donna peeked her head out of the back door just after they'd disappeared, "Gramps?"

Sylvia ran through the front gate, chasing after Wilf as they headed for the TARDIS, "Dad, I'm warning you..."

"Bye, see you later!" Wilf called.

"I'm a bit old for hide and seek," Sylvia heard Donna shout from the house, "And you know I'll find you, psychic-in-training here!"

"Stay right where you are!" she hissed at her dad.

"You can't come with us," the Doctor told Wilf as he unlocked the doors, it was dangerous! And he didn't want to risk Donna's (and Angel's) grandfather getting hurt.

"You're not leaving me with her," Wilf shook his head.

"Dad!" Sylvia huffed.

"Go," Angel ushered them into the TARDIS, sensing Donna about to step outside, she didn't want to ruin the surprise, but she also didn't want to appear and have Donna fear that there was some sort of alien menace around...which there was. She and Donna both shared a dislike of Christmas and she didn't want to ruin what seemed like it might be a good one for her sister, sharing it with her fiancé.

"Mum?" Donna called.

"Just you listen to me!" Sylvia shouted, "I forbid it. Get out of there! Doctor, bring my father back, right now! Angel!" the TARDIS disappeared, "Come back here!" Donna stepped out of the house with a frown on her face, "Come back here, I said. Come back!"

"Are you shouting at thin air?" Donna asked, eyeing her mother in suspicion.

"Yes," she nodded, "Possibly. Yes."

Donna shook her head, "Can't fool a psychic you know. What is it?"

Sylvia just looked back where the TARDIS had been, "Your gramps went out for a bit of fun," she said, praying it was enough of the truth for Donna to sense and leave be. She'd certainly noticed her daughter was more intuitive lately, knowing when people were lying and things.

Donna laughed, seeming to sense that, "Oh let him then, you know he's useless in the kitchen anyway and we've got dinner to prepare, come on, come on," she waved her mother back into the house, not seeing the woman breathe a sigh of relief at having been believed, "You know, I've got a craving for banana cake with those little edible ball bearings..."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel rushed around the console as Wilf stood there, on the ramp, taking it all in.

"Naismith!" the Doctor cried, tossing the book back to Wilf, "If we can track him down..." he trailed off, noticing Wilf's bemusement, "Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. D'you like it?"

"I thought it'd be cleaner," he murmured.

"Cleaner? I could take you back home, right now."

"Listen, Doctor, if this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"We can't go back inside our own timeline," Angel told him simply.

The Doctor nodded solemnly, "I learned from that mistake."

Angel took his hand, squeezing it as he thought back to when the Reapers had attacked, before turning to Wilf, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus."

"Understand?" the Doctor grinned at her time-talk, he loved it when she did that, she just sounded so clever!

"Not a word," Wilf shook his head, heading over to the console..

"Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you."

Angel laughed as the TARDIS hummed, "I think she's saying hello!"

Wilf smiled and patted the controls, "Well thanks to you too!"

Chapter Text

Naismith and his daughter entered the paneled room that housed the Gate followed by the Master in a straightjacket and accompanied by two armed guards. They were well aware of what the man might be capable of. They had been sure to do their homework regarding the man. They had read every bit of information they could about him, even ridiculous reports that the man had ruled the world, leaving devastation in his wake, only for time to be reversed one full year to only moments after the American president had been assassinated. They were apparently sworn testimonies by a few guards who claimed to have been present in the bridge of the Valiant, but most were cast off as insane statements, honestly? Time travel?

THAT was a bit too far out there.

But still, the Naismiths, even taking the claims with a grain of salt, were made fully aware of the evil the man could do if left to himself. They were taking any and all precautions in dealing with him. While he was brilliant, he would have had to be to fool the world like he had, they knew very well that he was equally as dangerous.

"You can demonstrate," Naismith said to a blonde woman nearby, gesturing at the Gate.

She nodded, tapping her keyboard, and electricity crackled through the Gate as she and the other technicians all paused in what they were doing to watch, most of them still awed by the alien tech they were able to get mostly working. It truly was an achievement to be able to operate alien technology given how advanced it was compared to their own intellect.

"Ooh, that's not from Earth," the Master commented, eyeing it intently, it was obvious to everyone, would be obvious to anyone really, that the Gate was alien in origin. And that was wonderful, because he knew exactly what the Gate was, what species it belonged to, what it did, and exactly what HE could use it for.

And it was all the more brilliant because he would NEED it to be fixed to use it properly. The humans would have no idea what was happening till it was too late. They would think he was agreeing to their terms, fixing it as ordered, and they would think themselves save what with him in a straightjacket.

Oh how wrong they'd be.

"And neither are you," Naismith countered, the Master glancing at him a moment, seemingly only a hint surprised that they had gathered his alien nature, "A perfect combination, don't you think?"

"Excuse me, sir," the tall, male technician cleared his throat, "If I could check the basement? We're getting fluctuation on the power cords."

"Of course Mr. Rossiter," Naismith nodded.

"Miss Addams?" Rossiter turned to the blonde that had started the machine, gesturing her to go with him, "If you could bring the calibration statistics?"

Addams picked up a clipboard and followed the man out of the room, sparing a single glance at the Master as she passed, feeling a bit on edge with how the man was looking at her...almost knowingly, like he could tell the truth about her and her associate, but that was impossible, their technology was foolproof.

They walked down to the basement, what had once been a wine cellar now full of electronic equipment, "Who the hell is he?" Rossiter hissed as soon as they were in the room, sounding a bit frantic, and so he had right to be, the tech, while foolproof to humans, could not so easily fool advanced life forms, like whatever alien the Master was, "What if he finds out? An expert, they said. Well, what sort of expert? Who is he?"

"I don't know," Addams sighed, "According to the records, Harold Saxon was Prime Minister of this stupid country," she rolled her neck, wincing, her face scrunching in discomfort, "I'm choking in this thing! I'm sorry," she pressed her watch and her appearance changed, making her skin green with small spikes protruding from her head, an alien, herself, "By the saints, that's better. Oh, these people are so flat!"

"But what do we do?" Rossiter did the same, pressing his own watch and turning into a similar green spiked alien, "We were so close, we almost had it working."

"What if this visitor is some sort of genius?" she shrugged, not seeing as much of an issue with it as her partner, which was understandable, he had always been more than a bit paranoid, "Well, think about it. We're hijacking this project. Maybe we can use him, too. Harold Saxon, or whatever he is, might be exactly what we need."

To be honest, she just wanted the Gate working so they could take it and get off this god-forsaken planet.

~8~

The Master sat in a chair, stoic, staring up at Naismith as he was filled in on the project surrounding the Gate. The humans had been 'so kind' as to remove the straightjacket, but seemed rather smart for stupid apes as they had kept him chained up somewhat, by a collar around his neck strapped to the chair behind him. Everything, it appeared, was meant to keep him by the computers, as though it would force him to work on them.

Idiots.

No one could make him do something he didn't want to do, lord knew the Doctor had tried for a good portion of his life. His jaw tensed though, the only people he could really think of was...well, his mother and the Doctor's mother and...Angel. Oh the Doctor's mother though, on Gallifrey, all she had to do was fix him with a look and he'd bow his head and comply. But that was just the effect of mothers, his mother was the same. How funny it was to think there was a point in his life where he had actually tried not to disappoint her, not to break her hearts. But she'd died, and he hadn't felt like there was anyone else watching him, having such high expectations of him, he could do what he wanted. He didn't subscribe to that foolish belief that loved ones watched over you after they passed. If they had, the drumming wouldn't have happened, if his dead family had cared all that much, they would have stopped it. So he did what he wanted.

Angel though...he didn't know how she did it, but she always managed to make him feel like, even if he intended one thing, that what he ended up doing was what he wanted to do on the Valiant. He was intent to burn Japan, wanted to, yet left her with his mind made up that he shouldn't burn Japan, that he didn't WANT to burn Japan any longer. It was jarring to him especially to see how she could twist his mind like that, get him to NOT want what he had previously wanted. He knew the Doctor was manipulative, he'd always been, in a 'good' way though, and that Angel girl...one would think she was too nice to manipulate someone like that, but she had it in her, and she did. She was just...too nice...she tricked you with her niceness.

And she didn't even seem to realize she could do it.

That was the disgusting part.

She had this power...mind control, it had to be...where she got you to do what she wanted without making you do it. He couldn't explain it, but it just...happened. And she did it so genuinely that you knew it wasn't her intention to manipulate you, just...get you thinking. To have such power as to bend the wills of others without trickery, without force, without even trying...and to not use it? Well that was rather a waste wasn't it?

"The Gate was found inside a spaceship," Naismith was saying, though he was barely paying attention, he didn't care where it was found or what happened to it, he just wanted to get it running again, "Buried at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It was moved to an institute known as Torchwood, but when Torchwood fell, well," he smirked, "Let's just say, I...acquired it."

"I like you," the Master smiled, eyeing the man.

"Thank you."

"You'd taste great."

"Mr. Danes?" Naismith called to another man, what seemed like the head of the guard, as he stood up, unnerved by the Time Lord's words, by his hungry gaze.

"The visitor will be given food," Danes called and a servant entered with a covered metal tray, pulling the top off to reveal a whole turkey. The Master grabbed it with both hands and shoved it into his mouth, tearing into it, and soon, before the humans could even really process what had just happened, he was gnawing at the bone.

"Anyway," Naismith swallowed, disturbed by how fast the man had consumed an entire turkey, "The device came equipped with its own power supply, a Nuclear Bolt," he gestured to the side of the room where two clear booths were stationed, side-by-side. One technician was standing in a booth, unable to get out till as second one entered the other booth and locked it, which unlocked the other booth at the same time, "One technician remains in charge of the feedback, 24 hours a day. And the power feeds through to the Gate. It encourages some sort of cellular regeneration. Miss Collins was our test subject," a female technician walked over, seeming a bit shy at being called out, "She carried some burns, as a result of an accident when she was a child, down her left side. If you could?" she rolled up her sleeve to reveal clear skin, completely unblemished, no sign of the terrible scarring or burns, "The Gate mended her. Thank you," she walked back to her station.

"But what do you want it for?" the Master asked.

"We calculate that, if this device can be fully repaired by your good self, it can restore the body, forever. Hence it's given title, the Immortality Gate. Because that's what I want. Not for me, but for my daughter," he gestured to her, beaming at her with pride and joy, "I want her never to die. My gift to her. She will be immortal."

"Abigail," his daughter smiled, "It means 'bringer of joy.'"

The Master just laughed, oh yes it was and yes she would, HIM joy that is.

~8~

The TARDIS faded into existence in the middle of Naismith manor's stables.

~8~

The Master stiffened, sensing a shift in the air and sniffed deeply at the sensation, knowing what it meant, "Better get to work," he started typing away at the keyboard.

The Doctor and Angel were there.

~8~

Wilf, Angel, and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, looking around at where they'd landed.

"We've moved!" Wilf gaped, staring wide eyed at the stables as though he'd never seen ones before, "We've really moved!" he spun in a circle, wanting to make sure it wasn't a trick, that they really HAD moved in space.

"Wilf, I think you should stay here," Angel told the man.

"Not bloody likely!" he shook his head.

"Please," Angel reached out to touch his arm, making him pause and look at her, seeing the fear and concern in her eyes, "I..." she sighed, "I can't see what's coming, for some reason. I don't know what might happen. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt."

She really did see Wilf like a grandfather figure. Her father's father had died before she had even been born, her mother's father had stayed away from their family after her mother had died so she didn't see much of him. He partially blamed her father for her mother's death. Her father had gotten a large shipment of broken TARDISes the day the transfer had to be made and her mother had volunteered to go with the other TARDISes instead. It was supposed to be a routine drop off, no one had expected the Cybermen to attack, but her grandfather still blamed her father for it, had distanced himself from the family as well. She only ever really saw him when she'd graduated from the Academy. He'd approached her, hoping she might take up another occupation besides TARDIS farming, but she just couldn't. TARDISes were her life, they were her purpose, and she loved them too much to abandon them.

He'd gotten tears in his eyes when she'd told him just that, she believed he felt bad for abandoning them upon her mother's death. She saw a bit more of him after that, on major holidays, but that was about it. So Wilf really was like she'd always thought a grandparent should be, protective, driven, encouraging, and loving. She'd seen how he was with Donna, and she thought it was brilliant how close Donna and her grandfather were, especially before Donna's mother had wised up to how she'd been treating Donna. He was JUST what Donna had needed.

Wilf smiled softly at her and patted the hand on his arm, "Don't you worry sweetheart," he winked at her, "This old soldier's still got plenty of fight in him eh?" he laughed, "No one's taking me down without a fight and besides," he tapped her chin, "You'll be looking out for me won't you? Donna always said you were her guardian angel."

Angel smiled at that, faintly blushing at the man's faith in her...

When the Doctor tugged her away, "I do the 'making her blush' thing," he warned the man playfully, his threat (or what he seemed to have meant as a threat) coming out far too light given the pout that had accompanied it.

Angel laughed, "And you do it beautifully," she told him, winding her arm around his waist, squeezing him, "You make me blush more than anyone."

He beamed at that, "Good," he kissed her forehead, and then pointed a warning finger at Wilf, "And don't swear," he chastised, making Wilf hold up his hands in surrender, a smile on his face, "Right," he nodded, "First things first," he pulled out the key-remote for the TARDIS and clicked it at the box, making it dematerialize.

Angel watched it go, a small frown on her face, "A second out of sync?" she guessed, looking at the Doctor.

"Correctamundo!" he cheered, making her laugh at the word. He'd used it far more than he ever wanted to, but it always made her smile and laugh and even if he didn't favor the word, that was all he needed to use it more often, "Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS, that's the last thing we need."

His jaw tensed a moment, feeling the Mating instinct rise in him again at the thought of exactly what had happened last time the man had had access to the TARDIS. But he tried, he tried so hard to push it back down, to not let his mind wander that dark path. He'd forgiven the man, he had to remind himself of that, he had forgiven him doubley so, thanks to Angel, that Time Lord really owed her his life and what had the man done? Nearly killed her and then actually killed her. He knew the Master hadn't actually, physically killed Angel, but it had been because of him that she'd nearly died and then died and that was more than enough reason to...

Angel squeezed him around the middle once more, making him look at her, 'Still here,' she reminded him with a soft smile, 'Never ever going to leave you.'

He smiled, reaching out to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, 'Never say never ever,' he repeated to her.

She smirked, 'I'm a Time Lady,' she mimicked, 'I can promise that and keep it.'

He laughed and tilted her chin up, kissing her for her promise. He knew, he could feel it, his song was in danger of ending and he was torn with how he felt about her promise. He was happy, so happy that she would remain with him even after, that she would be there for him through it all. But he was sad, he was SO incredibly sad to think that the 'after' wouldn't be with HIM. Well, it would be with him, but not...HIM. Oh regeneration was complicated.

He pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead to hers, "We need to find the Master," she whispered, not pulling any further away, letting her lips brush against his as she spoke.

He nodded against her head and kissed her once more, finding himself briefly wondering if the next him would enjoy kissing her as much as he did. Which only left him torn again, but he couldn't think on that now, he just couldn't. She was right, the safety of the planet was at stake.

He trailed his hand from around her to her hand, taking it as they turned and made their way outside the stables with Wilf, walking along the side of one of the buildings when Angel pulled them back from an archway a moment before two armed guards walked past the other side.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf remarked, "He's got his own private army."

"Down here," Angel said, leading them over to a small door in the wall across from them, something telling her that was their best shot of getting in quickly and unnoticed.

The Doctor soniced it open and they made their way down just before the patrol came back.

~8~

"Miss Addams, we're getting encouraging results from the ratio-foldback," Rossiter called into a comm., Addams watching a video feed of the Master working, "Can you confirm?"

"The man's a miracle," Addams agreed, appearing human again, looking at the readings, "All the systems are slotting back into place. The shatterthreads have harmonized and the multiple overshots have triplicated."

"Nice Gate!" the Doctor remarked as the three of them peered around the corner into the room, able to see the Gate on the monitor of the feed.

"Hello!" Wilf waved.

"Nice to meet you," Angel smiled.

The Doctor walked into the room with Angel, his hand in hers, "Look, sorry, don't call security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. 'Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

"I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?" the woman blinked, not at all alarmed by their presence, or at least trying to appear that way.

"Shimmer," the Doctor flashed her with the sonic, turning her back into a green spiky alien.

"Oh, my Lord," Wilf gasped, "She's a cactus!"

"Miss Addams?" Rossiter called again, "Miss Addams?"

~8~

Rossiter turned to Naismith, "If you'll just excuse me," and he left the room to go check on his partner.

"Now, please don't imagine I'm a slave-driver," Naismith turned to the Master, continuing to speak, not seeming to notice the man's eye roll as he hadn't stopped talking since he'd started working on the Gate, "We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mr. Saxon."

"My name...is the Master," he said, pressing a button and leaned back, satisfied, moving his arms behind his head and stretching.

The room went dark and the Gate charged up, a field appearing in its center as Naismith stared, exuberant, "Oh, excellent. Excellent! Mr. Danes?"

"The visitor will be restrained," Danes ordered the other guards.

"What?" the Master gaped, seeming as though he were shocked the humans would do that to him, did they really think he was THAT stupid as to not expect this? He was the Master! He was a genius, "But I repaired it."

"I'm not an idiot," Naismith laughed, "Don't let him anywhere near that thing."

A guard approached the Master with the straightjacket, not noticing the man smirking even as he was tied into it once more.

~8~

"He's got it working, but what is it?" the Doctor asked, looking at the readings in the basement, Angel standing off to the side just looking at the video feed of the Gate, frowning, eyeing it intently...feeling...something off about it...

"What's working?" Rossiter walked in, stopping to stare at the three others waiting there, "What are you doing here?"

"Shimm-err!" the Doctor shouted, pointing the sonic at him without even looking, making him green as well, "Now tell me, quickly, what's going on, the Master, Harold Saxon, Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

~8~

Danes fastened the buckles on the straight jacket, "Your reputation precedes you, sir," Naismith grinned at the Master, "I have no doubt you've laid traps. Perhaps explosives, a means of escape and murder. But everything you've done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside, let alone my daughter."

The Master merely smirked.

~8~

"But I checked the readings," Rossiter said, "He's done good work. It's operational."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked, eyeing them, "We met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red."

"Bannakaffalatta was lovely," Angel murmured, distracted as she stared at the feed more, "Saved quite a few lives."

"No, that's a Zocci," Addams rolled her eyes.

"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci," Rossiter nodded, "Completely different."

"And the Gate is Hipocci. We're a salvage team. We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"What does a Hipocci Gate do though?" Angel asked them, despite trying to be better...she hadn't really ever heard of Hipocci or Vinvocci or Zocci before, which was odd because she liked rhyming things.

"Well, it mends, it's a simple as that," Rossiter shrugged, "It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better."

"No," Angel frowned, shaking her head slowly, unable to shake the feeling that it was much, MUCH worse than that, "There's more...there has to be..."

The Doctor agreed, "Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal," he checked the equipment again.

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf looked at the video feed of the Gate with Angel, coming to stand beside her, seeing her growing more and more uneasy about it all. Whatever it was, that Gate thing was upsetting her.

"More or less," Addams sighed.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," the Doctor turned to them, "Why's it so big?"

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time," Addams scoffed.

"That would be ridiculous," Rossiter nodded.

"It mends whole planets."

Angel's hearts stopped, and there it was, the much MUCH worse moment, "It does what?" she breathed, the pit in her stomach dropping, the Doctor seemed equally as concerned.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population..."

The Doctor and Angel ran from the room, both of them having worked out what the Master might try to do with a Gate that could affect an entire species. They dashed through the basement, Angel leading the Doctor up the main floor and towards the lab.

~8~

"But it's time for the broadcast," Naismith said, "The President's grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the Human Race can mend its own problems," he switched on the TV, allowing the Master to watch with them.

"And now, anticipation is rising as we go live to Washington," a lovely woman reported as the President made his way to the press room, "Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the worldwide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States," an official-looking woman introduced.

"I'd like to speak briefly about the state of our economy..." the President began...when the Doctor and Angel burst into the room.

"Turn the Gate off, right now!" the Doctor yelled.

"At arms!" Danes called, the guards raising their rifles at the intruders.

"No, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device."

"Oh, like that was ever gonna happen," the Master removed his straightjacket with a burst of energy and leapt into the Gate with a scream before anyone could react, "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now."

"Turn it off," Angel cried, turning to the technicians scattered around the room, "Please, all of you, do something to shut it down!"

But no one did.

Naismith and his daughter started to shake their heads as the Master laughed, watching them.

"He's...inside my head," Naismith groaned.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor yelled at the Master.

The Master laughed and fired an energy bolt at the Doctor, Angel pulling him back a moment before it hit him.

"Doctor!" Wilf called, staggering after them into the room, "Angel, there's this face..."

"What is it?" the Doctor ran to his side with her, Angel taking the man's hand, "What can you see?"

"Well, it's him," Wilf pointed at the Master as the Time Lord smirked, making the Doctor rush to a control panel, "I can see him! I can see his face."

"There's something wrong...it seems to be affecting the President," the reporter called on the TV as President Obama stood before a conference, his face in his hands.

The Master laughed gleefully, watching the Doctor try and fail to shut the Gate down.

"I can't turn it off!" the Doctor shouted.

"That's because I locked it, idiot," the Master grinned.

"Wilfred!" Angel grabbed Wilf's arm and pulled him towards the booths, she had no idea what they were or what they did, but she just knew they'd help, "Get inside, get him out."

The Doctor looked up from what he was doing and rushed over, "Brilliant!" he cheered, stepped into the other side, and pressing a button to seal himself in, allowing him to manipulate the controls for the other booth, "Just need to filter the levels..."

"Oh!" Wilf nearly slumped in relief, the pressure in his mind easing as the Doctor hit a button, "I can see again. He's gone."

"Radiation shielding. Now, press the button, let me out."

"You what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button, that button there!" Wilf pressed the button and the Doctor ran out.

"50 seconds and counting!" the Master cheered.

"To what?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this," the Master laughed.

~8~

"He was hiding the codes!" Rossiter shouted in the basement, "He's extrapolated the Gate's power, a million times over."

"But it's not affecting us," Addams countered.

"He's set the template to human!"

~8~

As the Doctor tried to stop the Gate, inside the booth, Wilf's mobile rang. Angel looked over, seeing Wilf move, only to see him pull out a revolver, "Hello?" he called before noticing what was in his hand, "Oh, God," he put it away, not noticing Angel frowning at the fact that he had a gun on him, and pulled out his phone, "Donna?"

"Where are you?" Donna cried, "It's mum and Shawn, something's wrong with them but I don't know what!"

"There's this face..." he could hear his daughter say.

"But wait a minute, I mean, what about you?" Wilf asked, "Can't you see anything? Any feelings?"

"Nothing!" Donna cried, frantic, "I just know something bad's about to happen, Gramps where are you? Are you safe?"

His phone beeped and he saw Winston calling, switching the call a moment, "Not now, Winston!"

"Wilfred!" Winston shouted, "Those dreams, I can remember that face."

"There's a face!" a young boy called in the distance, "In my head."

"Wilfred. It's everyone!"

"What is it?" the Doctor shouted at the Master, "Hypnotism? Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"Oh, that's way too easy," the Master smirked, "No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me. They're gonna BECOME me. And, zero!"

A burst of energy flared out from the Gate, forcing them to turn away and shield their eyes as it spread across the globe, the Master's laughter echoing.

~8~

Donna watched in horror as Sylvia and Shawn's heads shook back and forth at a horrifying speed. It was happening all over the world, according to the news playing on the telly, from the President to people on the streets.

~8~

"He can't have!" the Doctor stared as Naismith, his daughter, and their guards faces all changed.

"What is it?" Wilf asked.

But the Doctor just shook his head, stepping closer to Angel, pulling her nearer, standing just a bit before her to protect her, not needing to be psychic to know that what was going to happen next would NOT be good...

~8~

Donna gasped, seeing her mother and fiancé now looking at her with a stranger's face, no...with the face of Harold Saxon, "They've changed into the Master!" she cried into her phone, not knowing who that Master bloke was, but just knowing that's what he was called.

~8~

"Doctor!" Wilf cried, "Angel! It's Donna! What is it?" he looked at the Master, "What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" the Master asked, "Or to me?"

"Or to me?" all the new Masters in the room began to ask as well, Naismith, Abigail, Danes, the guards, and that wasn't it.

"Breaking news, I'm everyone," the reporter/Master cut in from the TV, "And everyone in the world is me!"

"I'm President," the President/Master laughed, "President of the United States. Look at me!" all the press/Masters applauded, "Ooh, financial solution…deleted. Ha ha!"

The Master strode up to them, all the other hims surrounding him, "The Human Race was always your favorite, Doctor, a trait shared by your precious Mate," he smirked as the Doctor stepped even closer to Angel, "But now, there is no Human Race. There is only...the Master Race!"

All the Masters, in the room and across the world, laughed.

~8~

"And so it came to pass on Christmas Day," a man said, "That the Human Race did cease to exist. The Master had no concept of his greater role in events, for this was far more than humanity's end. This day was the day upon which the whole of creation would change forever. This was the day...the Time Lords returned!"

The same man who had been speaking grinned as four Time Lords stood behind him, two wearing formal collars and two women with their heads bowed, faces covered, "For Gallifrey!" he raised a staff in his hand, calling out.

"For Gallifrey!" the voices of thousands cheered back.

"For victory!"

"For victory!"

"For the end of time itself!"

"For the end of time itself!"

He looked around the room, grinning as he spoke to a gathering of their people, the Time Lords, ready to be returned.

To be continued...

Chapter Text

There was wreckage all around the red landscape, Dalek ships lying destroyed on the ground, crushing the red grass. The burnt orange light from the sky reflected off the broken dome that covered the central Citadel of the Time Lords, smoke rising from the buildings around it. Inside the Citadel, three Time Lords marched down a corridor, pieces of the ceiling falling around them. Two of the men were guards, following the man in the center, the man carrying a staff, the President of Gallifrey, Rassilon himself, as he walked through a door and into a council chamber, taking a seat at the head.

"What news of the Doctor?" he demanded, looking at the few others gathered around him, avoiding looking at the old woman hunched over right across from him, muttering under her breath.

"Disappeared, my Lord President," a Time Lord replied.

"But we know his intention," a Time Lady added, stiff, clearly very afraid, "He still possesses the Moment. And he'll use it, to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike."

"The Visionary confirms it," the first Time Lord nodded, gesturing to the old woman.

Rassilon looked over at the end of the table to see the woman, with long straggly grey hair, just sitting there. Across her face and hands were tattooed lines and dots and sacred symbols that denoted her position as a visionary, as a Time Lord who could see the future.

She focused on the paper before her more than on any others in the room, writing and drawing on them, as though in a trance, "Ending, burning, falling, all of it falling, the black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning."

Rassilon's jaw tensed as he eyed her. Visionaries, the powerful ones, were known for their madness, to see the future, to see the possible futures to come, to see the terror that could lurk there and be forced to watch it, often left their minds crippled. It was a dangerous gift to see the future, to know what was coming, to see the turn of the Universe and time more so than any other. It could be damaging. Not many Visionaries didn't lose their mind at some point, having seen so much. They were almost like a sickness, albeit a very useful one, a very valuable asset in their madness. He would have prefered a Visionary that was less...afflicted, but there were none left. The War had raged on, devastated their planet, they were lucky to find even this woman, and she had proven herself to be valuable despite how little her prophecies made sense.

"All of her prophecies say the same," the Time Lord who had spoken before swallowed, "That this is the last day of the Time War, that Gallifrey falls, that we die, today."

"Ending...ending," she muttered, growing more frantic, "Ending. Ending!"

"Perhaps it's time," the Time Lady remarked, trying to be brave in the face of their ultimate doom, "This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity, with time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again, a travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it, at last?"

Rassilon stood in a rage, "Thank you for your opinion," and held out a gauntlet-covered hand, shooting a light at her, disintegrating the woman with a scream, "I will NOT die! Do you hear me?! A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will not!"

"There is, um..." the Time Lord picked up one of the Visionary's scrolls, hesitating from getting closer to the raging man, but knowing that the information he had must be shared, "There is one part of the prophecy, my Lord," he brought it over to him, "Forgive me. I'm sorry. It's rather difficult to decipher. But it talks of three survivors, beyond the Final Day, two children of Gallifrey and one child of Time."

"A child of time?" he frowned, sitting down to look at the prophecy and the notes about it, "What does that mean? We are all children of time."

"I think, sir, it's speaking specifically of one who has...taken in the Vortex. It appears...a Time Lady."

"Abomination!" he spat, "Does it name them?"

"It foresees the children of Gallifrey locked in their final confrontation. The enmity of ages, which would suggest..."

"The Doctor!" he glared, "And the Master."

The Time Lord nodded, "The prophecy spoke of the Master facing the Doctor and the Time Lady, the symbols that appear to represent her though..." he pointed at one, "Are not of Gallifreyan origin, but, from what I can determine, it is a representation of what the humans would call an angel..."

"The Angel?" Rassilon looked at the paper, truly startled.

Everyone shifted at the mention of her, a surprising feat given her origins. Why should the High Council, a gathering of the most esteemed and influential Time Lords and Ladies concern themselves with the fate of a simple, low, little TARDIS farmer, with a Time Lady of truly no consequence?

But they all knew of her, they all knew of her potential. That girl could become, with the right guidance, the most powerful Visionary Gallifrey had ever produced, one who could see farther than any other, one who could see the futures to come, and still retain her mind. A Visionary of that level...was something new.

The girl herself was unaware of what she could become, they wouldn't have known themselves if not for the Visionaries. Centuries ago, 744 years to be exact, all the Visionaries of Gallifrey had experienced the same vision at the same moment, a woman, surrounded by the Vortex, in complete control of it, which they believed was only a representation of the abilities she would come to hold, control of seeing the past and the future and all that lied between. And, with children being so rare on their planet of a species that lived for so long, the records indicated only one single child had been born that day, inside a TARDIS of all things, on a farm.

They had kept a close eye on the woman as she grew, and, through most of her life, were fairly certain that the Visionaries, every single one of them, had been wrong. The girl was simple. She was not clever, she was not remarkable, she was not much of anything to be sure. She was a quiet girl who barely made it through the Academy and spent most of her time in TARDISes covered in grease than doing anything truly spectacular.

They would have cast off the vision, if not for a few key instances in the girl's life for they had been watching her throughout all of it.

Her initiation.

She had stared at the Untempered Schism longer than any other Time Lord or Lady ever had, and looked as though she would continue to had her escorts not pulled her away. And she was unaffected by it, she had just...looked, and looked, and looked. She did not run, she did not cry madness, nor did she claim inspiration, but just...stood. It was a typical reaction for Visionaries, to be one of the few who were not in the three main ways. But even then...the girls abilities, for having been so strong in the visions, had been rather...small.

There were a few instances throughout her time in the Academy, during more oral exams. The professors would call out a question for the students to write the answers to. A few of them noticed that girl would furiously scribble on her papers...all the answers. They were wrong most of the time, but the fact that she had seemed to know the questions before they were said had led the teachers to suspect her of cheating, though not reprimand her for it as, even with her apparent foreknowledge, she did little to prepare and try to improve her marks. The High Council, on the other hand, had seen it for what it truly was whenever any and all reports about that girl had reached them. She knew the questions before, yes, but only while taking the exams, she couldn't prepare for the answers as it was happening right at that moment.

She had displayed psychic abilities for most of her life, yet it had tapered off the older she became, which paralleled a decline in her social habits. She became more reserved, more closed off from her peers, and it appeared to them that she had realized her abilities and tried to crush them herself. When her mother had passed, the decline became more pronounced. The loss of the girl's mother had seemed to traumatize her. She was likely unaware of the true events surrounding her mother's death. But the girl herself had thrown a tantrum in the middle of classes, started screaming and crying, as though she were there on the ship as it crashed...hours BEFORE it had happened. She'd become so agitated that the teachers, and the healers who had been called, were forced to subdue her. She awoke later with no knowledge or memory of what she'd done or seen, only having a lingering feeling that something terrible had happened for the rest of the day. It was then that her decline had begun, without her mother around, the girl had closed off, and they saw no more true signs of her abilities.

They, of course, had attempted bringing them out again. They stationed her and her beloved sister in the same platoon during the War. It was odd, it was not something to be done, as there was less chance of a family line dying out if the siblings and products of that line were in different areas, but they suspected the girl would use everything to her disposal to keep her sister safe. They had purposefully put her with her sister to spark the abilities. If she was truly as powerful as the Visionaries believed she would be, they could use her during the War. They doubted it though, nearly 800 years and all they had seen of her was one moment when she was 8 and another just before her Naming. That was hardly enough to put faith in.

No, the girl would amount to nothing, they were certain.

And even if she had, her sister had been exterminated and she had disappeared in an Emergency Temporal Shift with the Dalek who had killed her. That had only been days ago and now things were looking more hopeless than ever, and with the Doctor now running around with the Moment...things would only get worse.

"Yes sir," the Time Lord nodded, "There is one word that keeps being repeated, my Lord, one constant word. Earth."

"Earth," the Visionary gasped, "Earth. Earth! Earth! Earth..."

"The planet Earth, indigenous species, the Human Race."

A holographic projection of the Earth appeared above the table.

"Maybe that's where the answer lies," Rassilon laughed, "Our salvation, on Earth."

~8~

The Doctor was strapped to the chair that had held the Master, many straps holding him down as a strap was placed along his mouth. Wilf and Angel were set up in regular chairs, simply tied to them though Angel was gagged as well.

"Now, then," the Master smiled, "I've got a planet to run," he made his way to the middle of the room, not noticing Angel glance at the Doctor, looking down at her hand and back at him as it glowed golden, the Doctor shaking his head at her as the glow faded, "Is everybody ready?" he called into a laptop.

"6,727,949,338 versions of us awaiting orders," Naismith/Master nodded standing in the lab.

"This is Washington," the President/Master replied, "As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defenses."

"UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting," the Geneva/Master said, "All under your command, sir."

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over 2.5 million soldiers, sir," the Beijing/Master called before shouting into a microphone, "Present arms!"

An army, all bearing the Master's face, presented their rifles.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master laughed, "Nothing to say...Doctor?" he stepped back over to him, "What's that? Pardon? Sorry?"

"You let him go, you swine," Wilf called.

"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss."

"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was."

The Master held up a finger, "Hush, now. Listen to your Master," he glanced at Angel, "And what about you hmm?" he stepped before her, smirking down at her, laughing internally as the Doctor struggled in his restraints, clearly not comfortable with HIM being so close, "What?" he glance at the Doctor, seeing the dark look in the man's eyes, "Oh..." he laughed, working it out, "You've finished the Mating haven't you?" he clapped as the Doctor glared at him, "Which is brilliant, you have no idea the disadvantage you've put yourself in have you?" he stared at the Doctor as the man gave him a look clearly meant to mean 'it is NOT a disadvantage!' which made him shake his head, "So many people Doctor, so many have tried to kill you in the past. Surely you realize that now...all they have to do to kill YOU...is kill...her," he looked at Angel as the Doctor stiffened.

They were well aware of that, they knew what the Mating meant, that the death of one meant the death of others. But it seemed the Doctor had NOT thought of that, that someone would go after Angel solely to end HIS life. For one brief moment, his hearts stopped at the thought that if he wasn't at her side for one second in one specific circumstance...she could be killed. But then his hearts kicked back in, his mind recalling Angel could take care of herself, the Vortex, while she'd never use it to truly attack another person, had used it to defend herself in the past, to protect those with her. She would be safe enough till he could get to her and save her. But he still didn't like that thought that she could be a target because of him, he knew there was a chance that others would target her for being his Mate, as a way to bait him, but to remember that she was a more easy target to get to than him...it alarmed him.

The Master smirked at Angel, "Isn't that right?" he scoffed, "If I kill you now, he dies."

Angel though, despite the threat against her and the Doctor, despite knowing he really could end her life easily, just looked up at him sadly, more sad that the pain in his mind had driven him to this point than anything.

He blinked, the Doctor watching carefully as the Master swallowed and actually looked away from Angel. The Doctor smiled behind his gag, leave it to her to get through to someone without even saying something.

The silence though, was broken when Wilf's mobile rang, surprising the Master as he spun to look at Wilf, "But that…that's a mobile."

"Yeah, it's mine, let me turn it off," Wilf struggled in his restraints.

"No, no, no," he walked over, "I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet...is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" he crouched down and sifted through Wilf's pockets.

"It's nobody. Probably some ring-back call."

The Master pulled out the revolver and held it up to the Doctor, "Oh, and look at this. Good man!" he dropped it on the floor and continued till he found the phone, "'Donna.' Who's Donna?"

"She's no one, just leave it."

The Master answered it, holding the phone up, "Gramps...don't hang up. You've got to help me. I ran out. Everyone was changing."

"Who is she?" the Master whispered, glaring, "Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you."

"Well, it was this thing the Doctor and Angel did..." Wilf explained, "The metacrisis."

"Oh..." the Master grinned at the Doctor, "He loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh!"

"Are you there?" Donna cried.

"Find her," the Master commanded Naismith/Master, "Trace the call."

"Trace the call!" Naismith/Master shouted as the technician/Masters got to work.

"Are you still there?" Donna whispered, "Can you hear me?"

"Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad," the Master held up the phone to Wilf's ear.

"Donna, get out of there!" Wilf cried, "Look, Just get out of there! Run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," a technician/Master stated.

"Open the phone lines," Naismith/Master shouted, "Everyone on Wessex Lane, red alert."

"What do I do?" Donna called.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all," Wilf said, "Run for your life!"

~8~

Donna ran down an alleyway, stopping when one of the Master's blocked her path. She looked back the way she came to see another one, "There's more of them."

"Donna?" Wilf called, "What's happening? Are you still there?"

"They're everywhere..." she gasped as more and more Masters stepped out, from every house, surrounding her, grinning and laughing at her.

"Donna?!"

"Oh, I'm starving," one of the Masters smirked at her.

"Look, I'm telling you. Run, Donna!"

"I'm still hungry!" another Master said.

"Just run, sweetheart. Just run!"

They began to advance, "It's not just them..." Donna gasped, grabbing the side of her head in pain, "My head!"

"Donna!" Wilf shouted, "What's happening?"

"My head. It hurts. My head, it…Gramps it hurts!" she screamed and suddenly a golden swirl of Vortex energy shot out of her, knocking all the Masters in the road to the ground, unconscious, "What did I..." Donna breathed before collapsing.

"Donna? What was that? Donna...Donna, are you there?"

~8~

The Master looked over at the Doctor as Wilf continued to shout, "Donna...Donna! Donna..."

The Master walked right over to the Doctor and snapped the gag off, "That's better," the Doctor smiled, "Hello. But really, did you pay no attention in school about metacrisis?"

"Doctor, what happened?" Wilf pleaded.

"Es Fnn…" Angel managed to muffle out.

"She's fine," the Doctor nodded, "She's alright, she's fine, I promise. She got a bit of Angel when the crisis happened," he winked at Angel for that, making her blush and him grin for doing it, "I guess in extreme situations she can access the Vortex. Really dangerous for a human actually, should probably look into that, but her mind will just shut down till the danger's gone. She'll just sleep."

"Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" the Master cut off his ramblings.

The Doctor just looked at him, "No."

"Tell me!"

"I said no," the Doctor answered firmly, staring the man down as he glared at him. He let out a small laugh and shook his head, "I can't see it anymore."

"See what?" the Master spat.

"You used to be a genius," he told the man, "Stone-cold brilliant. I would have sworn you were, far more clever than me. And Angel...you know, she had hope, during the Valiant, that time between time reversing and Lucy taking her revenge on you, when the future looked bright, when she looked like she would be ok," he shook his head, "She had hope that you could be so much more, like the humans," the Master scoffed at that, as though he should be compared to those insects, "That you could redeem yourself to the Universe. Could you imagine?" he continued, more quietly, "The three of us, you, me, and Angel, travelling the stars, seeing all those...wonders," he whispered the last word, though, to him, nothing was more wonderful than Angel, "She'd help you see it you know, see just how amazing it is. Oh we learned about it in school, we saw it during our travels, but..." he shook his head again, "Angel's got a way of making you appreciate it, of appreciating everything the Universe has to offer. It's truly a beautiful sight," he took a breath, offering something he'd sworn he wouldn't, "You could still see it, with us, you could come with us."

He could see it now, he could see it in how the Master had turned away when Angel had looked at him with sadness. It hadn't been his intention for Angel to grow ill on the Valiant, it hadn't been his intention for her to die. It had been an unfortunate accident, a side-effect. The man he had seen standing before Angel, threatening to kill her...wouldn't follow through. A truly evil man...wouldn't have hesitated, wouldn't have looked away. He still had a shred of decency in him, hidden and buried because of the pain of the drumming he now knew was a physical manifestation in his mind. But if they could help, if they could relieve that pain...maybe, just maybe, his friend was still buried in there.

"Would it stop, then?" the Master whispered, sounding like he really and truly wanted what had been described, "The noise in my head?"

"We can help."

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise."

"Wonder what I'd be, without you."

"Yeah," the Master sniffled and the Doctor could see Angel smiling at him past the man's shoulder, looking at him with such pride in her eyes, such happiness, so...proud of HIM for forgiving the Master, for truly forgiving him in his hearts and offering to help.

But that was Angel, that was what she did to him, she made him a better person.

"What does he mean?" Wilf looked between them, "What noise?"

"It began on Gallifrey," the Master turned to look at him, "As children. Not that you'd call it childhood," he leaned on the edge of the desk, "More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Doctor said, "You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."

"Nh uwys," Angel's muffled words reached them. The Master frowned at her before striding over and yanking the gag from her mouth, "Not always," she repeated.

He scoffed at her and turned to Wilf, "They took me there, in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums, the never-ending drums…"

~8~

"The Untempered Schism, that's when it began," Rassilon brought up a projection of the Schism in the chamber.

"History says the Master heard a rhythm, 'a torment that stayed with him for the rest of his life,'" the Time Lord recited.

"A drumbeat, a warrior's march," he smirked.

"A symptom of insanity, my Lord," the Time Lord frowned, more than a touch worried that the President himself might be losing his mind as well, what he was talking about, there was no one who would deny that the man's plans were alarming.

The Visionary looked up suddenly, staring straight ahead at Rassilon as she repeatedly tapped the four-beat rhythm on the table.

Rassilon smirked, seeing they might just have one single hope at surviving and escaping the Doctor's plans, "A rhythm of four! The heartbeat of a Time Lord."

~8~

"Listen to it," the Master turned to the Doctor, "Listen!"

"Then let's find it, you and Angel and me."

"Except..." the Master stood, "Oh! Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."

"What?" Angel frowned, concerned, "What's good?" she looked at the Doctor to see he looked confused as well.

"The noise exists within my head. And now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh...oh, yes!" he laughed before gasping, clutching at his face as it turned blue and skeletal a moment, him falling to his knees, panting.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Doctor looked at him sadly, "You're still dying."

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," he pushed himself to his feet, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, 'the end of time.'"

"We said something is returning. We were shown a prophecy. That's why we need your help."

"What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source! Oh, Doctor...that's what your prophecy was. Me!" he slapped the Doctor on his cheeks, "Where's the TARDIS?"

"No. Just stop. Just think..."

"Kill him," the Master jerked a thumb at Wilf, which both surprised and didn't surprise the Doctor, it was surprising because given all that the Master knew, he should have threatened Angel, but wasn't surprising because the man had already proved that not even HE could bring himself to hurt her. A helmeted guard walked to Wilf, his gun aimed, "I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead."

"Don't tell him," Wilf called.

"I'll kill him, right now!"

"No you won't," Angel said, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at the guard.

"Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid," the Doctor remarked.

"Take aim," the Master commanded and the soldier aimed.

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"

"Like what?"

"That guard is one inch too tall."

The Master turned to look at the soldier who just hit him with his rifle.

He pulled off his helmet to show them it was Rossiter, the male Vinvocci, "Oh, my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life."

Addams ran into the room, both her and Rossiter without their shimmers, and untied Wilf, "Well, come on! We need to get out of here, fast!"

Rossiter ran to the Doctor's side as the ropes around Angel sprang apart, burned at the edges by a golden energy.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf called.

"That's cacti," the Doctor countered.

"That's racist!" Rossiter shouted.

"This prophecy of yours, Doctor...where did it come from?" the Naismith/Master asked from the laptop, "Doctor?"

"Come on!" Addams yelled as Rossiter worked on the Doctor, "We've got to get out."

"There's too many buckles and straps!" he muttered.

"I can help," Angel ran over.

"No time!" Addams shouted, "Just...wheel him!"

Rossiter began to push the Doctor from behind before Angel could get close enough to help, "No, no, no! Get me out! No, no, don't! Don't! No, no, no..."

"What's going on?" the Naismith/Master cried as they rushed past the laptop, "Doctor!"

"Which way?" Rossiter looked around as they entered the hall.

"This way!" Addams led.

"No, no, no, the other way!" the Doctor yelled, "We've got our TARDIS."

"I know what I'm doing."

"No, no, just...just listen to me!"

Angel just tried to keep up with them as they dashed off, unable to get close enough to try and release the Doctor.

~8~

The Master knelt on the floor, his hand to the back of his head as he woke up, "Find them!" he ordered to the soldiers that ran in, "Find them!"

~8~

"Not the stairs...not the stairs!" the Doctor shouted as he was pushed down the stairs, the chair bumping with each step, making him grunt in pain, "Worst...rescue...ever!"

~8~

Soldiers ran through the corridors as the Master followed, "Underneath the Gate Room, sir," a guard/Master reported.

~8~

"Basement," Naismith/Master turned to guards, "Get him."

"Yes, sir," the guard/Masters ran out.

~8~

Addams led the way to the control room under the Gate room, the alien following with the Doctor, Wilf and Angel in the rear, "Just...stop, and listen to me!" the Doctor was still yelling.

The guard/Masters appeared, blocking the room when the Master stepped in after them, smirking, "Gotcha."

"You think so?" Addams scoffed and hit a button on her watch.

"No, no, no, don't, don't!" the Doctor called as they all were teleported to the Vinvocci ship orbiting the Earth, "Now get me out of this thing!"

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Addams rolled her eyes as Angel ran to the Doctor's side, looking at the straps.

"The Master won't just let us go," Angel told the woman.

"Just hurry up and get me out!" the Doctor strained to get out.

"Oh, my goodness me..." Wilf gasped, looking out a window at the Earth, "We're in space!"

"Come on!"

"Give me a minute!" Angel huffed, focusing on pulling the Vortex to her, needing to direct it at the straps and not at the Doctor's skin or clothes.

~8~

The Master tapped a keyboard in an attempt to get their location, "Open the teleport and follow them!"

~8~

Angel's eyes glowed gold a moment as she placed her hands on his, the straps snapping in the center in a burst of small golden explosions, freeing the Doctor. He leapt out of the chair and soniced one of the control panels till it exploded.

~8~

"He's still up there," the Master looked up from his readings, "Target practice."

~8~

"Where's your flight deck?" the Doctor looked back.

"But we're safe!" Addams argued, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth."

"And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to fire!"

Chapter Text

Addams stared at him a moment, "Good point!" before she turned and led the way out. She hadn't thought of the missiles, which was rather stupid as everyone in the Universe was aware of just how itchy the trigger finger of humans were and how defensive they could be. Most species didn't give the humans a second thought, they were microscopic in the grand scheme of things, or so the species thought, yet they knew that the humans were advancing, both in technology and in weapons. She had seeing herself, that Naismith man practically had a small army! And he'd been able to gather enough scientists to repair the Gate enough to heal that woman's arm, that truly said something about the humans and their intelligence if they could work out alien technology, even if it was wrong and barely working, but they still did it.

Angel walked over to Wilf as they others ran out, seeing the man was just...stunned, frozen with awe at the beauty of the planet below him, and gently reached out to take his hand, lightly tugging him him away from the window and leading him out behind them.

"But we're in space!" Wilf exclaimed, trying to look over his shoulder at the Earth, it was beautiful.

"Yes, we are," Angel laughed, pulling him to follow, "We can show you the birth of the Earth if you'd like, when this is all over."

Wilf's gaze snapped to her, "Would you?"

She smiled and nodded, "We showed Donna, only right we show you too."

He beamed at that, laughing at the chance, oh that would be wonderful! All those stories Donna had told him, they'd been marvelous, but to have the chance to see it for himself, oh that would be...fantastic!

He clutched her hand tighter as they ran through the ship till they reached the flight deck.

~8~

"Turn everything you've got to the skies," the Master ordered into a laptop, a determined glint in his eyes, "Find me that ship. And prime the missiles."

He was rather peeved that the teleports had cut out, he wouldn't put it past the Doctor to realize he would try to follow though, and even if the man hadn't guessed that, his Mate was psychic, she probably saw him coming and warned them. Oh he hated psychics.

"Open up the radar, maximum scan," the Geneva/Master ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the soldier/Masters said.

He watched intently as they got to work tracking the ship, scanning for it, hoping that, even if the Doctor and Angel were aware he'd try this too, that they wouldn't be in time to stop him or foil this attempt. He was clever, he was the Master, he should be able to outwit a witty Time Lord and a half-wit Time Lady!

He actually found himself wincing at that thought, at calling Angel a half-wit. The girl had proven herself to be nothing of the sort if she could truly outwit him and get in his head and change his mind. Not even the Doctor had ever truly managed to do that, and yet that girl, that simple, not-all-that-clever girl, had done it. He found that...he actually...almost...liked her...

Or at least liked how she made him feel about himself. He did NOT like her like THAT, no, God no, she was the Doctor's Mate and that made her automatically disgusting to him in his book, the two men were enemies! But...he liked the...peace she gave him, if that was the right way to phrase it. On the Valiant, talking to her...seeing someone, just ONE person, look at him without fear or hate or pity or disgust...it had been nice. It had been such a long while since anyone had done that, looked at him like he was just...a person. And to find out that she felt sad, for him, for the pain he was in, that she understood and believed he was in physical pain and not just brushing his rantings off as insanity...it meant a lot to him, not that he would EVER admit that out loud. She clearly didn't blame him for what had happened to her, unlike the Doctor at times, and, it was really odd to be honest, but...he actually didn't like the thought that she had been dying on the Valiant. Oh he had used it to his full advantage, the power he had over her and the Doctor, keeping them apart, seeing the Doctor suffer but...when he'd go to gloat, sometimes, he'd see her in true pain, before she could cover it up when she realized he was there and, he knew she'd need her Mate to feel better. It hurt, to know he'd never have a Mate, to comfort him and just...love him, Lucy had had to do, but...rare times, he'd feel his hearts zing at seeing her in that much pain, knowing the Paradox Machine HE'D built had been the cause. And so, at times, he'd let them be together, and then the Doctor would go and do something stupid that would make him angry and demand she be brought to the dungeon cells again.

But, to be truly honest with himself, for just one moment...he didn't want to see Angel hurt or die...

He grimaced, realizing he might almost be thinking like a decent...human being...what was wrong with him?!

~8~

"We've got to close it down!" the Doctor called, rushing to whatever controls he could reach in time, looking around frantically for the right buttons.

The ship, it wasn't like the TARDIS. He knew what buttons to push in the TARDIS, despite seeming like he didn't half the time...and, admittedly, half the time he sometimes didn't, but if he hit the wrong button Angel or the TARDIS herself could fix it. Here though, he had no idea what to push and what not to push and he would NOT risk Angel's life by hitting a big red button and blowing the ship up with them on it.

"No chance, mate, we're going home," Rossiter shook his head, heading over to one of the navigational controls.

"But we can't!" Angel cried, looking around to try and sense what buttons would need to be hit to get them to stop. She knew enough from how the TARDIS could travel at times that, to start this ship up would just make them appear on whatever scans the Master was likely running, and they couldn't let that happen. It would make it too easy for them to track.

"We're a salvage team," Addams added, moving over to controls of her own, preparing the ship to leave, "Local politics has nothing to do with us. Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better."

"You're not leaving," the Doctor flashed his sonic at the controls Addams was at, assuming they were the controls that would start the ship while Rossiter steered her.

The ship went dead only seconds later.

~8~

"Anything?" the Geneva/Master asked, looking at his men, they had been only an inch away from finding the ship...

~8~

"Fingers on lips," Angel whispered, quickly shushing everyone, lightly putting a finger to her lips as Wilf and the Doctor did the same, Addams and Rossiter staring at her like she were mad...till the only sound on the ship was the ship itself creaking.

~8~

"I'm sorry, sir," a UNIT soldier/Master replied grimly, "Nothing."

"Lost him," Geneva/Master reported to the Master, with a small glare at their failure. He hated when his masterful plans were stopped.

"What about teleport coordinates?" the Master asked, hoping that some sort of trace could still be picked up. Even if the Doctor disabled the teleports so they couldn't follow, the coordinates had to exist somewhere that could lead them back to the ship, "I need that information."

"He's cut the link, sir," one of the soldier/Masters in the basement replied, shaking his head, "No trace, all dead. Still..." he aimed a gun at the computer, "Open fire!" the soldier/Masters opened fire at the teleport till it was in ruins, "No way back now. He's stranded."

The Master smirked at that, now there was no way for the Doctor or his beloved Mate to get back to Earth, he had complete control of the planet and there was no way the Doctor could come stop him. Oh this might have actually been a good thing the Doctor was so used to running away.

~8~

"No sign of any missiles..." Addams remarked darkly, "No sign of...anything. You've wrecked the place!"

'Is she ok?' Angel whispered in the Doctor's mind as she glanced, concerned, at the alien woman as she stood before the controls, glaring at the Doctor.

'Yes, why?' he frowned, looking at her.

'I think I see a vein throbbing in her head,' she murmured, eyeing the woman's temple where there was, in fact, a vein throbbing, 'That's not usually a good thing is it? It's not in humans right?'

He laughed loudly at that, before quieting as Addams's glare grew more pronounced, and not just at him, but at Angel as well. His eyes narrowed back at the woman. It was one thing for her to glare at HIM, given that HE was the one who had shut down all the power and cut everything off, it was quite another for her to glare at Angel as well given that the girl had only been standing to the side, helping acclimatize Wilf to the strange alien tech around them by being a comfort and holding his hand.

His expression started to soften, as it always did when he thought about Angel, she really was just so kind, sticking by Wilf to help him, knowing it could be overwhelming at times, not just the TARDIS but to have seen the Master in his head, witness everyone morph into the man, and then end up on another alien ship and...

He shook his head, now was not the time to think of Angel...though really it was quite a feat to NOT think of Angel...when another alien was glaring at her!

"The engines are burnt out," Rossiter added, feebly flicking a switch back and forth to try and spark some sort of reaction in the ship, but nothing, "Just auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck, in orbit."

"Thanks to you!" Addams snapped, "You idiot!"

They watched as the alien woman stormed out, her partner rushing off after her.

'Good riddance,' he Doctor muttered.

'You're being rude again,' Angel told him, walking to his side and patting his arm in comfort.

He looked at her sharply, 'She was glaring at you!' he defended.

She smiled at him, feeling a tingle rush through her at how defensive he got about others showing her any sort of negative emotion, it was...nice. She had to admit, in the back of her mind, she was worried...about River Song. The woman, she was hard to figure out just what she knew of the future, how much she knew of them, how...well she knew the Doctor. For him to have told her his name, as it appeared he had, well...the whole thing didn't make sense. But it appeared the River in the Library had been from just a slightly alternate time, a time where SHE had never been sick. But still, SHE was there now, she would be there in the future, in River's past, either way, in each timeline she was there...so what had happened?

She was aware the woman didn't like her, for whatever reason (and she was sure she'd find out eventually what that was), and she knew the woman had been short and curt and rather...unpleasant to her in the Library. And...it made her feel just a bit, a tiny, tiny bit, satisfied that River wouldn't be an issue in the future. She felt confident, she felt sure of herself and her relationship with the Doctor to know she could likely handle River Song the next time they met her, but...to know the Doctor loved her that much as to get so easily angered by someone just glaring at her, made her feel warm. The Doctor would be there for her, at her side, the next time River Song came around.

'I'm sorry about that,' his gaze turned soft as he looked at her, reaching down to cup her cheek and stroke it with his thumb, 'I should have said something to her MUCH earlier than I did about how she was treating you.'

'It's ok," she smiled at him, leaning into his touch.

'No, it wasn't. Nella I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have...'

'I know why you held back,' she reminded him, 'You told me, and you already apologized about it,' he hadn't wanted to upset her by getting into a screaming match with the woman while her head had been hurting and her health fading, he hadn't wanted to increase the negative emotions around them by starting a fight, 'And I know you were probably also hoping that, being 'nice' to her would make her slip some secrets about the future,' she nudged him, she knew her Mate so well, 'You wanted to know if I was there in her future.'

'Well,' he started to smile, 'I would do anything for you,' he told her, leaning in to kiss her.