Felonious was in a rage as he limped along the alley wall, looking exhausted and beaten down, as he cursed both himself and the little brats who put him in this state. He just wanted to eat, Felonious had been shirking on his stomach’s needs for too long at that point, and of course he had to run across those boys on their little ‘pizza run’! Now here he was, desperate and starving as he could feel himself falling apart into nothing but teeth, sinew, and hunger.
Felonious knew if he didn’t eat now, it wouldn’t be long before he hurt more people than intended. How lucky he was to spot a man walking down the alley with no one with him! Fantastic!! Without a second thought, the mutant made a run for it, grabbing his meal, and pulling it into the alleyway.
“Hell… o…. th… ther… there…” Fel whispered, his voice a discordant mess, as he covered the other’s mouth to keep him quiet.
Alistair was taken by surprise and due to it being late, his first bet was that his attacker was no more than a regular thief.
he, unfortunately, came across those quite often.
but even though he didn´t look like a threat at first glance, he was more than capable of defending himself. not only that, but he could tell from the tone of their voice that his attacker was already weak..
he whipped around abruptly, managing to free an arm from the unknown threat´s hold and used it to grab them by the collar and threw them over his shoulder.
🌼How do they view their significant other?Are they the light in their life? Best friend? Savior, etc.?🌼
Deen:
They're the light of his life, he's been through enough already, his s/o's presence is a comfort to him. In that same breath however, he's extremely protective of his s/o. He does not play around in regards to them and threats will not be taken lightly, he won't risk it.
He tends to keep to himself and his s/o, as far as he's concerned, the two of them are the only one's he needs to be worried about. He still won't engage too much in chit-chat with others but he tolerates it more when their s/o is involved. He'd rather lose an arm than have his s/o chip a nail so keep an eye on him!💜
au:davekat they get married to lil nas x's 696 hundreth old town rode remix (wedding version 69) they dave and karkat are already married but they divorce(dave still cries about that) and get married again to the lil nas x wedding chime remix (ver 69) that just released in their timeline since dave is a lil nas x kinnie he wears a cowboy hat they decide to invite rose, kanaya ,john(dead) and dave, dave, dave, dave, every version of dave, on a dream bubble watching it forever and ever and ever
Summary: After taking a year to recover from the Master, the Doctor and Rose are ready to travel again. But Time keeps pushing them forward, and instead of going back to their old life, they slowly realise that they’re stepping into a new life. Friends new and old are meeting on the TARDIS, and when the stars start going out, the Doctor and Rose face the biggest change of all: the return of Bad Wolf.
Series 4 with Rose, part 7 of Being to Timelessness; sequel to Taking Time (AO3 | FF.NET | TSP)
Betaed by @lastbluetardis, @rudennotgingr, @jabber-who-key, and @pellaaearien. Thank you so much!
The theme of this week’s chapter is “lessons learned,” making it a fill for @legendslikestardust.
And I just realised that it also definitely fits the “friends to lovers” theme for @doctorroseprompts, just like I said every canon ‘verse Doctor/Rose story really does.
Cline led them to a small alcove at the back of the theatre that had been separated from the rest of the room by a door made of prison bars. A gust of wind swirled through the corner, and Rose pulled her coat more tightly around her.
“Being locked up seems like a regular event when travelling with you,” Donna commented as Cline slammed the cell door shut behind them.
Rose rubbed at her forehead. “It happens,” she admitted reluctantly.
Donna nodded and looked around at their temporary accommodations. “More numbers,” she commented, seeing the plate above the cell door. “They’ve got to mean something.”
The Doctor slouched down on the bench that ran along the wall. “Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story,” he grumbled as he scrubbed his hands over his face.
Jenny’s eyes widened. “You mean that’s not true?”
Rose answered before Donna could, her words coming quickly as she paced the cell. “Not exactly,” she explained as she ran her hand through her hair. “But I bet there’s something real in that temple that became the myth of the Breath of Life.”
The Doctor nodded. “A piece of technology, a weapon.”
Donna looked from the Doctor to Rose and back again. “So the Source could be a weapon and we’ve just given directions to Captain Nutjob?”
He straightened up. “Oh, yes.”
“Oh, but it could be worse, Donna,” Rose told her.
Donna wondered at the hint of laughter in her eyes, until the Doctor groaned and raked his hand through his hair. “Really, Rose? Did you have to?” he whined. “You know what happens every time someone says something like that.”
She smirked unrepentantly. “Then I guess we’d better start thinking of a way to get out of here, shouldn’t we?” She tossed him her phone. “Get in touch with Martha and find out where she is, then we’ll stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath.”
As the Doctor caught Rose’s phone, the look on Jenny’s face struck him. It was the same half-smile Rose wore when she’d noticed something and was waiting for him to catch on. “What, what are you, what are you, what are you staring at?” he asked as he opened Rose’s address book.
Jenny shook her head and chuckled. “You keep insisting you’re not soldiers, but look at the two of you.” She pointed at them, a broad smile on her face. “Drawing up strategies like a proper military team.”
“Oh, no no,” the Doctor and Rose said together.
“We’re trying to stop the fighting,” the Doctor concluded.
Jenny crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Isn’t every soldier?”
The Doctor scratched at his cheek. “Well, I suppose, but that’s, that’s…”
Everyone in the room was looking at him, and the Doctor was particularly aware that Rose’s earlier amusement had faded back into impatience. She didn’t like that he was keeping Jenny at a distance, he realised, and the thought hurt. Of all the people here, he’d thought she would be the one who’d understand why he was so reluctant to accept another child—another family member he would one day lose.
Anxious to change the subject, he muttered, “I haven’t got time for this.” He tapped Martha’s name, then brought the phone to his ear and waited for the call to connect.
“Doctor?”
He jumped to his feet. “Martha, you’re alive!” He heard a hissed, “Yes!” from Rose, and he smiled at her.
“Doctor!”
Martha’s relief came through clearly over the phone, and the Doctor quickly tamped down the automatic guilt he felt. This wasn’t his fault.
“Oh, am I glad to hear your voice,” Martha continued. “Are you all right?”
“I’m with Rose and Donna. We’re fine. What about you?”
“And, and Jenny,” Donna said, pointing to the young woman. “She’s fine too.”
Standing a few feet away, Jenny raised her eyebrows and stared at him, clearly waiting for a response. The Doctor remembered her reaction when Donna had told her she wasn’t real, and he swallowed back as much of his irritation as possible.
“Yes, all right,” he agreed reluctantly. “And, and Jenny. That’s the woman from the machine. The soldier. My daughter, except she isn’t, she’s, she’s…” He sighed and redirected the conversation as Jenny and Donna both rolled their eyes at him. “Anyway. Where are you?”
“I’m in the Hath camp. I’m okay, but something’s going on. The Hath are all marching off to some place that’s appeared on this map thing.”
The Doctor groaned. It hadn’t occurred to him that the Hath might have a map too, and that they all might be connected. “Oh, that was me. If both armies are heading that way, there’s going to be a bloodbath.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Just stay where you are.” He craned his neck for a glimpse of the human soldiers, preparing for battle. The last thing he wanted was for any of them to be caught in the middle of the coming battle. “If you’re safe there, don’t move, do you hear?”
“But I can help,” Martha protested.
“I know, but—” The Doctor paused when three beeps sounded in his ear. “Martha? Martha!”
He sighed, then hit the end call button and tossed the phone back to Rose. “Disconnected. Maybe her battery went flat. Anyway, she says the Hath are marching on the Source, too. We really need to figure out a way out of here.”
A raucous cheer caught their attention. The Doctor and Rose went to listen by the bars, and exchanged a grimace when they realised the soldiers were all shouting, “To war!”
“They’re getting ready to move out,” the Doctor muttered. “We have to get past that guard.”
Rose nodded. As she glanced around the cell, looking for a way out, she saw Jenny get up and march towards the cell door, her ponytail bobbing with every step.
“I can deal with him,” she said, her jaw set.
The Doctor caught her by the arm as she walked by. “No, no, no, no. You’re not going anywhere.”
Jenny blinked up at him, and Rose could feel her confusion and irritation. “What?”
The muscle in his jaw twitched. “You belong here with them.”
Donna opened her mouth, but Rose shook her head quickly and their friend leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. Then Rose took a deep breath and looked at the Doctor, wondering what the best approach would be. She’d caught his hurt and disappointment a few minutes ago and understood his reluctance a little more, but that didn’t change the fact that Jenny was an individual with the right to choose her own life.
“Doctor, since when do we leave someone behind who wants to help us?”
He blinked at her—God, they really were so alike—and his mouth opened and shut twice as he tried to come up with an answer.
After a suitable pause, Rose pressed on. “Jenny wants to come with us. And…” She hesitated, but the fact couldn’t be avoided. “She’s your daughter, Doctor. Maybe she got more than your old fashion sense. Can’t you see the renegade in her?”
“She’s a soldier.” Deep furrows creased his brow. “She came out of that machine.”
Rose’s hands shook, and she planted them on her hips. “Give me your stethoscope,” she demanded, her voice sharp. This was a risk, but since she knew Jenny was telepathic, it was a fairly safe bet that she also had two hearts.
The Doctor’s anxiety and anger were twisted so tightly together that Rose couldn’t separate them. But after staring at her for a long moment, he slumped and handed her the stethoscope.
“Thank you.”
Rose let her fingers brush against the Doctor’s as she took it from him. I know this is hard, Doctor. I’m sorry today is dredging up painful memories. I promise I wouldn’t if there were another way. He smiled weakly, and she turned to Jenny.
“What are you doing?” the young woman asked as Rose put the stethoscope in her ears and held out the bell.
“Nothing bad,” Rose promised. “Just hold still.”
Jenny nodded, and Rose pressed the bell to the left side of her chest first, just long enough to hear a heartbeat. Then she moved it to the right side.
She couldn’t help her smile when she heard the second heartbeat. She felt the Doctor’s confusion when he saw her smile, and she beckoned to him. Come listen, love. I know this isn’t how we expected the day to go, but… just listen, please.
The Doctor swallowed, but he took the stethoscope and listened as Rose held the bell first to Jenny’s left heart, then her right. His throat was thick, and it was hard to force words out, but he managed. “Two hearts.”
“Yeah.” Rose’s hand rubbed his back, and he leaned gratefully on her strength.
Jenny’s gaze darted between them. “What’s going on?”
“Does that mean she’s a, what do you call a female Time Lord?” Donna asked, speaking up before either the Doctor or Rose could answer.
“What’s a Time Lord?” asked Jenny.
The Doctor took a deep breath and looked at this young woman who he could almost see as his daughter. “It’s who I am. It’s where I’m from.”
Comprehension dawned in her eyes. “And I’m from you.”
The Doctor stumbled back and leaned against the wall. Rose stood beside him, and he reached for her hand. “Yeah, but… you’re… and they’re…” He pressed his lips together and gathered his thoughts. “They’re all gone. I’m the last one.”
Jenny took half a step towards him. “What happened?”
He sighed and rested his head against the wall. “There was a war,” he answered, his voice quiet as memories crept up on him, despite his efforts.
Her eyes widened, filled with childlike innocence despite having been born to war. “Like this one?”
The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. If only the Time War had been something as small and easily handled as this war seemed to be. “Bigger,” he told Jenny. “Much bigger.”
She nodded, accepting that. Then she looked at him frankly, and he knew what was coming. “And you fought, and killed?”
The Doctor swallowed hard, then nodded. “Yes.”
“Then how are we different?” she asked, her voice quiet and even.
Rose sucked in a breath, but the Doctor squeezed her hand. Much as the words stung, it was a fair question. It’s all right, Rose.
He looked at Jenny. “War changes you, Jenny. You think, ‘I need to do this for the cause,’ whatever your cause is, but then when you’re done, you’re not the same person you were when you began.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, feeling the weariness of his age more than he usually did. “You fight and you kill for this noble ideal, and one day you realise that the other side has their own ideal that they think is just as noble as yours. And you look around at the people you’ve killed and you wonder… which one of you is right?”
The silence in the damp cell was deafening. Jenny stared at her father, noticing the lines on his face that hadn’t been there before painful memories had been dredged up. The way he’d talked about war… it wasn’t anything like the memories and information that had been downloaded into her when she was created.
She didn’t know if he was right, but she did understand that he wanted to stop the killing. And maybe if she helped, he would finally believe she really was his daughter.
“Right.” The Doctor’s eyes blinked open, and she nodded at him. “So, we need to get out of here. I can help with that.”
He sighed wearily and waved at the door. “Be my guest.”
Jenny ignored the resignation and doubt in his voice. Instead, she took a breath and rubbed her hands together, then she sashayed over to the spot where Cline was standing, just out of earshot of their conversation.
Jenny wrapped her hands around the bars of the cell door. “Hey.”
He looked over at her, and a half-smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “I’m not supposed to talk to you. I’m on duty.”
“I know.” She rolled her eyes, as if her imprisonment was a joke she and Cline shared. “Guarding me.” She slid down a few steps closer to him. “So, does that mean I’m dangerous, or that I need protecting?”
Cline laughed, then turned around and came closer. “Protecting from what?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jenny said coyly, watching as he stepped within arm’s reach. “Men like you?” she suggested, then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in for a kiss.
She might have surprised the man, but he certainly wasn’t protesting—not until she pulled his sidearm out of the holster and pointed it at his belly. Then his eyes widened and he slowly eased away from her.
Jenny kept her grip on Cline’s shoulder tight enough that he couldn’t get away. “Keep quiet and open the door,” she suggested in a soft voice.
Surprise and amusement buzzed in her head. Jenny hadn’t figured out where those extra emotions were coming from, but when she glanced over and saw the broad grin on Rose’s face and the way her dad was rubbing at his forehead, she got a glimmer of an idea.
They locked Cline in the cell, then strode through the theatre and down the same flight of stairs they’d taken earlier. Jenny was bursting with questions she wanted to ask her father, but she knew sound would echo in a stairwell, so she kept quiet. When they reached a turn in the stairs and heard footsteps coming up on the other side, she was glad she’d been careful.
The Doctor pulled her back around the corner before the guard could spot her. “That’s the way out,” he whispered.
Jenny looked down at the pistol in her hands. “I don’t… what do we do?” she whispered, then basked in the surprised pride in his eyes.
Rose started to answer, but Donna pushed forward first, looking down at the Doctor and Jenny. “Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years.” She tossed her ginger hair back over her shoulder and took a step forward.
The Doctor caught her by the shoulder and pushed gently. “Let’s save your wiles for later. In case of emergency.”
Jenny had been watching Rose through the whole conversation. As soon as Donna had cut her off, she’d moved closer to the Doctor and shoved her hand into his coat pocket. Jenny’s eyebrows went up when Rose’s arm disappeared up to her elbow—how deep were his pockets, anyway? And how much could he have in there, that she was still fishing around for whatever she was looking for?
Her eyes brightened just as the Doctor put Donna off, and she pulled her arm out to show them a toy mouse. “I think this will work, don’t you?”
The Doctor grinned and took it from her. “Perfect, Rose,” he whispered. “Thank you.” He wound it up, then set it on the floor. They all watched as it scurried towards the guard, catching his attention and distracting him from watching in their direction.
Jenny saw her chance, and she took it. As soon as the guard was looking away, she slipped out from behind the corner and karate chopped the man on the back of his neck, sending him to the ground.
Her father huffed slightly, and she looked back at him. His mouth was open, but after a moment, he snapped it shut and ran his hand through his hair. “Not what I would have done, but it worked,” he admitted, reluctant though he sounded. He picked the toy mouse up and dropped it back into his pocket. “They must all have a copy of that new map. Come on. This way.”
Rose wrapped an arm around the Doctor’s waist for a one-armed hug. Then she reached for his hand and they jogged through the tunnels together. Thank you, for giving Jenny a chance, she told him.
The Doctor shot her a sideways glance. This really meant a lot to you, he finally realised. Why?
Rose took a deep breath. Because Jenny reminds me of me four years ago, talking to the other Pete Tyler, trying to get him to see me as his daughter. I know it wasn’t fair to him, since he wasn’t actually my dad at all… but you are Jenny’s dad, and she wanted your acceptance just as badly as I wanted Pete’s.
The Doctor squeezed her hand, and Rose could feel his apology over the bond.
It’s all right, she told him. I’m over it, mostly. But the look on her face earlier when you told her I wasn’t her mum…
Jenny moved around to her other side. “Can… Can I ask a question?”
Rose looked up at the Doctor, who was finally looking at Jenny without any animosity in his eyes. Then she smiled at Jenny. “Yeah, of course.”
“So… I’m not sure if it’s normal… but I think I can feel what you and my dad are feeling.”
The Doctor stumbled, and Rose realised he really hadn’t noticed Jenny’s presence in his mind. That explains a lot. “Yeah… we’re telepathic, me and the Doctor. It’s…” She hesitated for a moment, then continued. “It’s a Time Lord thing. I’ll let the Doctor explain… But anyway, it appears the Doctor passed that on to you when you were created.”
A furrow appeared in the young woman’s forehead. “But if it’s a Time Lord thing, how do you have it? I thought Dad was the only Time Lord left.”
Rose groaned and rubbed at her forehead. “Ah. That’s… complicated.”
“Later?” Jenny asked hopefully.
“Absolutely,” Rose promised.
The Doctor could feel it now, the third presence in his head beside Rose and the TARDIS. A Time Lord mind shining bright, with the familiarity of a family connection. He tried not to think about what that might mean, together with Jenny’s two hearts. They had to find Martha and get off this plant before he could even consider all the possibilities.
He shook his head and glanced down at the map in his hand, and just in time. “Wait.” He drew up short and looked at the wall. “This is it. The hidden tunnel.” He pulled his sonic screwdriver out and scanned the seemingly blank wall. “There must be a control panel.”
“It’s another one of those numbers,” Donna said, walking past him to stare at a sign overhead. “They’re everywhere.”
Rose joined her. “They look like they were left by the original builders,” she observed. “Look, the signs are just as worn as the rest of the building.”
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and nodded. “Some old cataloguing system, maybe.”
“You got a pen? Bit of paper?” Donna asked.
The Doctor stuck his sonic in his mouth and rummaged around in his pockets while Donna continued talking about the numbers.
“Because, do you see, the numbers are counting down. This one ends in ‘one four.’” She accepted the notepad and pen he handed her and started jotting the numbers down. “The prison cell said ‘one six.’”
Jenny was watching them with an intent frown on her face. “Always thinking, all of you,” Jenny said. “Who are you people?”
The Doctor looked at her as he knelt in front of the wall, still looking for the control panel. “I told you. I’m the Doctor.”
“The Doctor,” she repeated. “That’s it?”
Rose put her hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “That’s his name, Jenny. Unconventional, but your father is an unconventional man.”
The Doctor smiled at Rose, then watched Jenny run her tongue over her teeth before asking her next question. A bolt of familiarity struck him, and Rose nodded and shot him a smile.
She’s definitely your daughter, love.
Jenny’s gaze darted between the three of them before finally settling on the Doctor. “Are you an anomaly, too?”
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “No.”
“Oh, come off it,” Donna muttered. “You’re the most anomalous bloke I’ve ever met.”
The sonic pinged, and the Doctor yanked a board off the wall. “Here it is,” he crowed when he spotted the control panel.
“And Time Lords,” Jenny pressed. “What are they for, exactly?”
The question completely threw the Doctor, just like it would have if someone had asked what humans were for. The idea that a sentient species had to have a purpose was just completely outside his way of thinking. “For?” he repeated. “They’re not—they’re not for anything,” he said as he worked to trigger the lock on the door to the tunnel.
Jenny put her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “So what do you do?”
Rose squeezed his shoulder, and he nodded, grateful to let her explain while he worked to get the door open. “We travel, Jenny. Through time and space—though he does sometimes forget to mention the time travel.”
Donna put the paper in her pocket and walked over to Jenny. “They save planets, rescue civilisations, defeat terrible creatures. And run a lot. Seriously, there’s an outrageous amount of running involved.”
Jenny’s telepathic signature blazed with excitement, with the itch to travel the stars. That wanderlust was the last piece the Doctor needed to convince him she was his daughter, because it certainly wasn’t a typical Time Lord trait.
He jumped to his feet and crowed in victory as the door finally slid open. “Got it!”
Machine gun fire and voices echoed down the corridor, and he could hear Cobb in the distance calling for squad five to go with him.
The Doctor twirled the sonic screwdriver once before sticking it in his pocket. Then he grinned at the three women and bounced lightly on his feet. “Now, what were you saying about running?”
oOoOoOoOo
Martha stared at the useless phone, and gritted her teeth together as she considered the Doctor’s final order to stay where it’s safe. “I thought Rose had trained you to stop doing that,” she muttered.
She looked around the base and spotted the single Hath who’d been left behind with her. He was the one she’d helped before, named Peck. Hope sparked in her heart, and she ran over to him, holding her phone out. “I need to charge it up. I need power. Do you understand?”
He ignored her completely in favour of messing further with the map. He turned the projector, and the expanded map tilted slightly.
“There’s even more?” Martha watched as the map continued to rotate and she realised what she was looking at. “In 3D—oh, you’re a clever Hath,” she exclaimed, tapping him on the shoulder. She looked at the location everyone had been so excited about before. It now extended in both directions—down into the tunnels, and above the surface. “So this is where everybody’s headed?” she asked, pointing to the structure that went deep into the ground.
The Hath burbled an agreement, and she eyed the path the soldiers were all taking to get to the buried portion of the the room. “But look, those tunnels sort of zig-zag. If I went up and over the surface in a straight line, I’d get there first.”
The Hath shook his head and his bubbles moved aggressively.
“Why not?” Martha asked, understanding a negative when she heard one.
He punched another button on the console, and a chart was superimposed over the map, graphing out the chemical makeup of the air.
“Are these readings for the surface?” He bubbled an affirmative, and she studied the numbers quickly. “Well, it doesn’t look too bad. Nitrogen and oxygen about eighty/twenty. That’s fine. Ozone levels are high…”
Her voice trailed off when she read the final number. “And some big radiation spikes.” She mentally calculated how long she could be out in that kind of radiation, and it didn’t seem like too big a risk. “But as long as I’m not out there too long.”
He looked at her and protested, but Martha shook her head. “I have to find my friends.” It wasn’t negotiable, so she started jogging away from the Hath before he could argue further.
Whatever he said next didn’t sound like a protest, though. Martha paused at the door and looked back at him, and she recognised the curiosity in his eyes even if she couldn’t understand a word he said.
She smiled. “Come on, then.” She gestured with her head for him to follow, and he straightened up and jogged after her.
He had second thoughts when they reached the staircase that led to the surface, however. Martha was about halfway up the stairs when she heard another gurgle of protest, and she turned around to see what the problem was now.
The Hath stood at the foot of the stairs, shaking his head. Martha sighed and put a hand on her hip. “You can stay down here and live your whole life in the shadows, or come with me and stand in the open air.” She gestured to the sky, still out of sight. “Feel the wind on your face. What’s it going to be?”
He groaned and shook his head.
“It’s up to you,” Martha admitted. She couldn’t force him to come with her. “But nothing’s going to stop me.”
She climbed the remaining stairs and pushed the hatch open. Oh, that’s the wind on my face all right, she thought as she was exposed to the elements of the surface. The dark planet reminded her of Malcassairo, the planet at the end of the universe where they had met the humans hoping to find Utopia… and found the Master. Another shiver went through her, this time remembered fear, and she buttoned up her jacket, wanting whatever meagre protection it could offer from the chill.
Three moons cast a ghostly light on the alien world. Rocky spires rose up from the plain, and between the shapes and the way the moonlight filtered through the haze, it looked like a Van Gogh painting.
A moment later she heard a grunt and turned to see the Hath climb out after her. She grinned at him. “I knew you couldn’t resist it.”
His bubbled response didn’t sound overly happy, and Martha raised an eyebrow. “Ah, language,” she teased, then huffed in amusement when he rolled his goggle eyes at her. “Come on.”
oOoOoOoOo
Laughter echoed through the corridor as they ran, and Donna looked over at Jenny, running alongside her. Her eyes were bright with exhilaration, and Donna shook her head.
Like father, like daughter, she thought. They all love to run.
The thought distracted her enough that she nearly ran into the Doctor’s back when he stopped abruptly. She caught herself just in time and looked over his shoulder to see what had stopped him.
The red lasers crisscrossing the corridor did not look welcoming. “That’s not mood lighting, is it?” she asked rhetorically.
The Doctor pulled the toy mouse out of his pocket and tossed it into the lasers. It disintegrated on contact.
“No, I didn’t think so.”
“Arming device,” he muttered, stepping back and looking wildly around the room for the laser controls.
Something else caught Donna’s attention, though, and she tuned out the Time Lord family almost completely. Yet another sign stamped with a number. “There’s more of these,” she said, pulling the notepad out of her pocket and writing down the new number. “Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get.”
The voices of Cobb and his men were getting closer, and Donna edged back towards the Doctor, Rose, and Jenny. The lasers were still blocking their way, but a moment later, the Doctor grunted in satisfaction.
“Right, here we go.”
Donna glanced down the corridor, where she could see the shadows of the approaching soldiers on the wall. “You’d better be quick.”
“The General.” Jenny raised the gun she’d been holding at her side and stepped towards the voices.
The Doctor grabbed her elbow. “Where are you going?” She couldn’t be planning to kill them. He’d really thought he’d gotten through to her.
She glanced towards the advancing soldiers, then up at him. “I can hold them up.”
“No, we don’t need any more dead.”
A wide, cheeky smile crossed her face, so similar to Rose’s and disarming him just as completely. He let go of her elbow and took a step back, frowning down at her as he tried to understand what she was up to.
“I know that, Dad. Seriously, you’re acting like killing is the only way to slow them down. Don’t you know there’s always another way?” Then she winked and spun away from him.
The Doctor’s mouth fell open, and Rose laughed. She reached for his hand, and he laced their fingers together automatically. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be on the receiving end of your impish sense of humour, now you know.
He shook his head and squeezed her hand. That cheek was all you, Rose. By some fluke, my daughter seems to be a perfect blend of the two of us. He brushed his thumb over Rose’s and looked down at her. So, what do you think? Interested in being a mum?
Rose grinned at him and shook her head. Nah, Jenny doesn’t need to be parented. But I’ll be the cool step-mum, always there to offer excellent advice and listen when she needs to complain about you.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and Rose stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. All right, you work on that control box, she told him, letting go of his hand.
Some fifty feet away, Jenny took a deep breath and concealed herself behind a stack of wooden crates. The buzz in her head that Rose had said belonged to her and the Doctor was bright and happy, and she knew—hoped anyway—that they were proud of her.
It was harder to ignore the ingrained instinct to fight when the footsteps got closer. She lifted her weapon automatically, then clenched her jaw and lowered it as she looked around for another way. She was the Doctor’s daughter, and that meant killing only when absolutely necessary.
“Jenny, come on.”
Thanks, Dad, for giving away that I’m not with you. Jenny rolled her eyes, and as she did, she finally spotted the distraction she’d been looking for. Relieved laughter escaped Jenny when she stood up and aimed her gun at the ductwork that ran the length of the tunnel.
The soldiers were just coming around the corner when she fired at a hose that led into the ducts. Steam filled the tunnel, and Jenny spun around and ran back to her dad, Rose, and Donna. The tunnel was free of lasers, and her dad’s coat was flapping behind them as they raced for the corner.
Some distant part of Jenny’s mind—the part filled with tactical information and military training—warned her that the lasers wouldn’t stay off for long. She tossed the weapon aside and pumped her arms while she ran, crossing her fingers that she’d make it in time.
Rose had her arms open and Jenny fell into them, only seconds before she heard the whoosh of the lasers relighting. “We are so proud of you,” Rose murmured in her ear as she hugged her tight.
A large hand landed on her shoulder, and Jenny pulled away from Rose so the Doctor could sweep her up into a hug. “Brilliant!” he proclaimed as he spun her around. “You were brilliant. Brilliant.” He let her go and beamed down at her.
Jenny returned his smile, adrenaline making her feel giddy. “I didn’t want to wonder later if I’d done the right thing.”
The hard pounding of boots on the concrete broke up the moment. The Doctor looked at Rose, then jerked his head towards the corridor. Rose nodded and grabbed Jenny and Donna’s hands.
“Time to run again,” she said, then the three women disappeared down the corridor, leaving the Doctor alone to face Cobb.
The lasers would keep Cobb away long enough for the Doctor to say his piece. As Jenny had beautifully illustrated, you always had a choice to use violence or find another way. He had to offer that choice to Cobb.
When the soldiers spotted him on the other side of the lasers, they drew up and primed their weapons. The Doctor sighed and took a step backwards. Maybe it wouldn’t be a choice today, but a warning.
“I warned you, Cobb,” he said, taking another step back. “If the Source is a weapon, I’m going to make sure you never use it.”
Cobb raised his chin defiantly. “One of us is going to die today and it won’t be me.”
When he punctuated that remark by firing his machine gun through the laser beams, the Doctor ducked and ran. Clearly, the choice had been given and made. Now he had to find a way to stop the genocide Cobb and his soldiers were determined to perpetrate.
At a junction in the tunnels, he turned right with barely a pause. His bond with Rose shone brightly in his mind, making it obvious which way to go. And now, it was joined by another telepathic presence.
The Doctor’s footsteps slowed as the full truth of the day sank in. He’d had family before, siblings and children whose minds had been as familiar to him as Jenny’s was quickly becoming.
And he’d lost them. Those who had lived through the worst of the Time War had been silenced in that final moment, along with the rest of his race.
The Doctor flinched against the remembered pain, and a sobering truth slowly worked its way into his conscious mind. If he allowed Jenny into his life, he would face that same pain yet again.
