Theta Sigma by LayneCarver
Summary: When the Eleventh Doctor has an unusual regeneration, a Time Lady appears in his life, ready to find which Doctor is suitable to revive the Time Lords. Over months and years, she works with the Ninth Doctor to heal his wounds, and somehow, they find a way to their new home.
Rating: Teen
Categories: Multi-Era, Ninth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor
Characters: Original Companion, The Doctor (9th), The TARDIS, Amy Pond, River Song, Rory Williams, The Doctor (11th)
Genres: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Series
Warnings: Explicit Violence, Swearing
Challenges: None
Series: Auxiliary Timelines
Published: 2013.05.28
Updated: 2013.07.17
Theta Sigma by LayneCarver
Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Fear and Love
Author's Notes: WARNING: graphic violence and horror; Theta sees the The Last Great Time War for herself, and the Doctor fears for her life.
He just sat there, stroking her cheek. He was so lonely, and she would never understand how good this felt, company. He never wanted it to end, the TARDIS lowered the lights, and he thought of the girl who sat here now, with him.
She had come from him, but had nothing, he was everything to her, as she held her arms around his neck. He planted a kiss on her forehead, then lifted her chin.
"I have something for you," he said, walked to a chest and retrieved the key, unlocking it.
She could hear metal shifting around, clanging slightly. He pulled out a long, silver chain, from which hung a pendant of his signature, and in the centers were blue sapphires the color of his eyes. He returned and slipped the long necklace over her head, then sat back down, watching her finger it.
"It's like a friendship bracelet in some cultures. More than friends, but not engaged." He smiled, trying not to ramble in his nervousness. He was afraid of rejection.
She looked up at him, then smiled, pulling him into a close hug. He didn't remember it happening, but their lips met in a sweet, chaste kiss. He was excited and surprised, which caused him to let his guard down, and his mind brushed against hers. Unguarded, the memories poured like a fountain into her head, trapping her somewhere between the world of the living and the dream world.
It burned, fire cackled in the background, torturous screams echoed through the rubble. Limbs severed from their owners were strewn about the once peaceful fields. A Cyberman marched through, claiming his prize, a herd of Gallifreyan children. They were torn limb from limb, some regenerated and some did not. Their blood was harvested like milk from a cow,and the bodies disorderly thrown from high walls breaking and shattering further.
Women cried over their husbands' battered bodies, unable to care for their children. Cut and shriveling, their lips cracked in the heat of summer, and the water had long since gone dry. The Schism roared through time and space.
Daleks were heard threatening, bodies were dishonored, sliced to be turned into more Daleks. Occasionally a Dalek shot was heard to echo off of a Cyberman, who crumpled, a burnt, charred mass of wire and bio material. Flesh of survivors was flayed off, slowly, hearts were ripped out, depriving them of the respiratory bypass. Drowning on land or starving, as they sagged against poles that held them under the twin suns. The Council buildings were in ruins, cloth was fluttering in the breeze, torn to shreds. Hair was caught on burning branches, and whips dug into the skin of those unfortunate enough to not die by Dalek. Death was never a good option, and regeneration wasn't much better.
She clamped her hands over her ears as the screams bombarded her, one after another, sub- and super-sonic cries rattling her bones. Her muscles spasmed and contracted, forcing her to fall to her knees, clutching her stomach as she retched from the sheer smell of blood and death. She could see and heard his fury and self-loathing, all around her. She could feel she was being approached, but she didn't care, she just wanted it all to stop. She felt his reassuring arms go around her waist, and pull her from the wreckage. He scooped her up a d carried her out of the war zone, it felt like days that she stayed folded in on herself, held in his arms. Slowly he set her down in a calm meadow, she was asleep, but not awake on the other side. He spooned up next to her, and rocked her further into sleep and relaxation, humming an old Gallifreyan lullaby.
He cried, and the tears burnt on his skin, on the other side he clawed at his own skin, furious with himself, the TARDIS tried to comfort him but he only shut her out. Theta trembled in his arms, shaking violently, soft cries fell from her lips, and what hurt him the most, was the blood that trickled down her chin from where she bit her lip through.
Drums were growing closer, a war beat, even in the meadow, he couldn't get far enough away. He shook her awake in the dreamworld, and tried to lead her away, but every time she stood, she crumbled. Her mind was being severed, burnt, then cauterized. She cried, tears rolled down her cheeks in front of him, underneath him. He stooped to pick her up, but she flailed,screaming, and awoke on the other side to the sound of his breaking voice as he sung to himself, unaware of her waking. He had a good voice, she thought, and clutched to his shirt.
She was in the fetal position, a tight ball, and he was balled up around her. Her face buried in his chest, his legs underneath and behind her, his arms flayed across her back. She soothed at the rumbling his chest was making, vibrating her into peacefulness. When she went still and quiet, he pushed back, her eyes closed. He cursed himself and feared the worst, when she whimpered, and slowly, weakly lifted her lids, he pulled her closer than before, which was previously thought impossible.
"You saved far more lives than you ever will take," she croaked out.
"You're safe, you're okay, thank Rassilon!" the Doctor cried. "No, don't thank him."
They comforted each other, when he began to apologize she interrupted him with a simple kiss.
"I don't even want to hear about it. It was just too..." She looked away.
She hadn't blamed him, it just was. She had seen it, she was there, it was too familiar, too horrible to forget.
"I'm sorry...really I am...I...I..." he couldn't keep it in anymore.
He felt it all pinpointing on him like it never had before, usually he could get through, but it was all falling at once. The girl, his mother's story, he flashback, and now this.
"I need a shower," he said, but she had fallen asleep in her exhaustion.
"Oh Theta..." he sighed, brushing her hair out of her face,and got up, pacing around the room. But he was loathe to leave her, asking the TARDIS questions, and constantly checking her temperature.
She seemed to calm down the further into sleep she got, but that didn't stop him from worrying.
Stupid Time Lord!
He admonished himself, smacking his wrists to his head, staring up, pacing in circles, until he could no longer stand it. He lay down beside her and spooned up against her back, wrapping his arms protectively and possessively around her.
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