Chapter Fifteen

"Okay, keep your fingers crossed, here goes nothing," the Doctor replied as the Valeyard started to wake up.

It had been several minutes since they had stopped and the Valeyard was lying on a bed in one of the spare bedrooms. He hadn't screamed during the conversion, although Rose noticed the pained look on his face so she knew he had felt it at some level. She gulped knowing her turn would be next, but she wasn't about to change her mind now. The few minutes of pain and discomfort were worth it for the chance to be a Time Lady.

The former Valeyard opened his eyes and looked around him.

"Where am I?" he murmured.

"You're in my house. There was an ambush, and some of the villagers brought you in here so we could check you out and make sure you were alright."

The former Valeyard looked around and noticed Jack and Rose.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"They're my friends. They were assisting me while I was examining you."

The former Valeyard frowned at him.

"Who are you?"

The Doctor smiled at him.

"I'm Doctor John Smith, nice to meet you. Might I ask your name?"

"Bill…Bill Radford," the former Valeyard said.

The Doctor glanced at Rose.

"Pleased to meet you, Bill Radford, well, you're all right now, although the ambush killed the other relief workers, I'm so sorry about that. After the snipers were taken care of, we managed to pull you to safety and bring you back here."

Bill frowned.

"Why don't I remember any of this?" he asked.

"Trauma, I expect, your mind probably blocked it out. Happens a lot in cases of post traumatic stress disorder which means you should get checked out more thoroughly by a psychiatrist once you leave here."

Bill stared at him for a moment and then nodded.

"Yeah, I'll…do that." He murmured.

The Doctor looked at Jack and Rose and gave them a wink.

"You really are lucky to be alive though," he said to him. "I expect it's very dangerous work being a relief worker, constantly out there in the field helping people day in and day out, making a difference in the universe and expecting nothing in return. Very admirable of you."

"Thanks," Bill replied smiling.

Rose and Jack turned away so the former Valeyard couldn't see them laughing.

"Oh my God, the Doctor is brilliant," Rose whispered to him. "He made him into some kind of Red Cross worker and now he'll want to help people instead of hurt them. Oh God, I love the man!"

They looked back at the Doctor who was helping Bill sit up.

"You seem to all right now, Mister Radford, but I think you should stay in here and rest for awhile, before going out and making a difference in the lives of millions again," he said to him.

Bill nodded.

"Yeah, I do think I need a bit of a rest," he said.

"Well, you just lay here and we'll be back to check on you later, alright?"

Bill nodded.

The Doctor patted his knee before he rose and looked at his friends.

"Let's go, you two, Mister Radford needs his rest."

Rose and Jack grinned at each other and nodded. The Doctor followed them out of the room, then taking one last look at the former Valeyard; he closed the door and locked it.

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"Blimey, he certainly made a mess of things down here."

Rose sat on the grating and looked over into the opening in the floor. The Doctor had changed the TARDIS back to his preferred setting so he could have enough light to go down and fix what the Valeyard had tampered with. She had been helping him, passing him tools from his toolbox while Jack took a nap on the captain's chair.

He poked his head up through the hole and shook his head.

"The old girl put up one hell of a fight, that's for sure," he said to her. "He had to practically rewire everything to get her to comply with his wishes. I'm glad I'm able to figure out what he did because I seriously doubt anyone else could."

He sighed.

"Anyway, I'm about done now," he said. "I just needed to come up for a breather."

He rested his arms on the grating and put his chin on top of them. He stared off into space for a moment while Rose stroked his grease-splattered hair.

"How did it come to this, Rose?" he mused. "How did I let myself get to the point where there was even a possibility that I might turn into someone like the Valeyard?"

"Doctor…"

"I mean, I never thought of myself as cruel or inhuman up until I was put on trial in my sixth life and HE showed up. After all the good I've done in the universe, that's my reward? Becoming an evil psychopath, ruining all the good I've done, and turning against my friends and my ship?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"I can't believe what he did to this TARDIS. I would never hurt the TARDIS in a million years, Rose."

"Yes, Doctor, that's just it. You wouldn't hurt her because you have good in you. The Valeyard is made up of nothing but evil, yeah?"

"Yes, but the fact that there were enough evil thoughts to bring something like that to life scares me. I'm not saying I don't have evil thoughts and urges from time to time and that I don't have a dark side, but I never imagined it was that bad."

"Well, you're talking about thirteen lives' worth," Rose replied.

"Yes, Rose, but it's my thirteen lives. All that darkness comes from me!"

Rose lay down on her stomach so she could be at eye level with him.

"My Doctor," she said laying her hand against his cheek. "You are not evil. You never were evil and you never will be evil. Yes, those thirteen lives are all yours, but they are thirteen lives combined together. Thirteen separate lives, each with its own dark side. That's why there's so much. You aren't as dark as you think you are. You are no more darker than the next good person. This Valeyard is made up of all thirteen of you, but each time you regenerate there is only one life with one life's dark side. That is why I think you will never become the Valeyard, Doctor. I don't even pretend to know everything about your life, but I know a lot of it is unpleasant just from the time I spent with you. But, even then, I've only been with you for over two years total, and you've had nine hundred and twelve years so far. If you were gonna turn into the Valeyard, surely it would have happened by now."

"But there's another aspect to it," the Doctor said. "Regenerations are rough, you saw evidence of that when I had that temporary moment of insanity and became sick afterwards. That isn't the first time that happened. Getting back to my sixth life, soon after I regenerated, I lost it and nearly strangled my companion, Peri in the console room."

"Really?" Rose said.

The Doctor nodded.

"She managed to stop me in time before I killed her, but I was so upset I vowed that I would become a hermit on Titan 3 for a thousand years to cleanse myself."

Rose giggled.

"Somehow, I can't really picture you being by yourself with no one to talk to for a thousand years," she said fondly as she stroked his hair.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," the Doctor said shrugging. "But my point about that is there is a theory that the reason why Rassilon limited us to thirteen regenerations is because each time the body regenerates, it puts a massive strain on the mind and after twelve times, a lot of Time Lords go mad. Personally, I know of a few Time Lords who did do just that and in my sixth life, I began to see an inkling of that madness in me. Up until then I had never intentionally harmed one of my companions, but I couldn't control myself. One minute I was ranting to Peri about Persian Mythology and good and evil and then I was on top of her throttling her to death. It was just that quick, I mean to think about it now gives me the shivers. That whole life was particularly troublesome, not to mention filled with bad fashion that I would just as soon forget. Perhaps that's why the Valeyard sought me out in that life, because of the madness beginning to surface in me."

"So, what you're saying is you're afraid you might snap again and hurt me?" Rose said.

He laid a hand against her cheek.

"Well, I did snap, if you remember. I almost crashed the TARDIS. That was a part of what I'm talking about."

His eyes widened.

"But that was nothing compared to the regeneration I had after the destruction of Gallifrey. I was a complete basket case for a long time, if you had known me back then, I seriously doubt you would have stayed with me for two seconds, let alone vow to stay with me forever."

"I don't blame ya, though. Anyone would go temporarily insane after doing what you did," Rose said. "What's amazing is you actually snapped back from it."

He smiled.

"Well, I have you to thank for that," he said. "And actually, the Valeyard was correct about me going back towards the edge after I lost you. You should have seen me, Rose, for awhile right after we were separated, I was so out of control I even scared myself. It took me a long time to come to a place where I could function properly and even then, I never got over it completely."

"Well, now you don't have to get over it anymore, because I'm here," Rose said.

The Doctor nodded and kissed her lips.

"But, I'm warning you, Rose, these temporary bouts of insanity might get worse and worse with each regeneration and the insanity could also trigger the dark part of me and give rise to the Valeyard that way. So, if you really want to be with me past this life, you're gonna have to be aware of that."

"Doctor, I willingly accept the risk. If being with you means I might have to see the Valeyard again sometime, then it'll be totally worth it."

The Doctor gave her another kiss and touched her forehead.

"And now, as much as I'd love to stay up here and chat, I have to finish fixing the Valeyard's handiwork so all of us can finally get out of here."

He squeezed Rose's nose, reached into his toolbox, took some pliers, and then ducked back down under the grate.

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The Doctor finished tightening the strap under Rose's chin.

"You sure you want to do this, Rose?" the Doctor asked her.

"Yes, Doctor," she said.

The Doctor looked at Jack on the other side of the table and nodded.

Jack took her hand in his and held it tightly. The Doctor took her hand and reached up to put his finger on the switch.

"Ready, my angel?" he asked.

"Ready."

The Doctor hesitated a moment, flipped the switch and then grabbed her shoulder with his free hand. He and Jack winced listening to Rose's agonized screams as she became a Time Lady.

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The Doctor carried an exhausted Rose into the console room after her ordeal. She was barely awake, but other than that she was fine and much to the Doctor's delight, had the double pulse that matched his own. They laid her on the captain's chair and the Doctor leaned down to kiss her lips.

"Did it work?" Rose asked softly.

"It did, my love, you're now officially a Time Lady." The Doctor said.

Rose smiled and took his hand. He pressed her hand against his lips giving her a feathery soft kiss before laying it back on her stomach.

As he turned his attention to the console, Jack came up beside her.

"Hey there, Gallifreyan gal, how you feel?" he asked.

"My heart feels like it's racing, but I guess that's because there's two of them now."

She smiled.

"That's not the only thing new about me, look."

Her breathing stilled.

"Respiratory bypass system," she said. "Somehow I know how to do it, I guess that comes with the change."

He heard her breathing again.

"Well, aren't you clever then?" Jack said. "Did you get a computer brain like the Doc's?"

Rose frowned.

"I don't think so, my mind doesn't feel any different," she said.

"You have a Gallifreyan brain, but you need to be brain buffed before you know as much as I do," the Doctor said looking back at her.

"Brain buffed?" Jack said to him.

"Yup, it's a rapid learning program that all Gallifreyan children go through. I did it when I was five. That's where we get our vast amount of knowledge. I have a program similar to the one I went through on my TARDIS. When Rose is ready, she'll go through it too. Her brain is like mine and it's able to store a vast amount of knowledge now."

He grinned at Jack.

"Just think, Jacky boy, soon Rose will be thinking and talking exactly like me," he said.

"Gee, I can't wait," he replied dryly as Rose giggled.

"Right now, I want to pilot this TARDIS over next to mine, so we don't have to walk back in the snow and possibly run into the Faxas again. After that, we'll take Billy bob somewhere where he can start his relief work."

"Good, I'm so sick of Callifaxas, I could scream!" Jack said.

"Well, that's what comes of letting me pick the locations, you know," the Doctor replied.

"I know, and in the future I'll be sure not to," Jack replied.

Jack watched as the Doctor did his usual dance around the TARDIS, powering it up.

"I'll be able to do that soon,"

Jack looked back at Rose who was sticking her tongue out.

"You'll be the only one of us who won't be able to fly the TARDIS, nah nah!" she said.

Jack stared at her and looked over at the Doctor.

"Hey, Doc?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Can I kill Rose until I get a body that's less annoying?"

"Nope."

"Damn."

Rose giggled and stuck her tongue out again as the rotor began its steady rhythm.

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The cog door slid back and the members of Torchwood ran through it when they heard a wheezing sound. They paused when they saw the TARDIS materializing by the far wall.

"See, I told you I heard it," Ianto said.

They stood around it as the door opened and Jack ran outside.

"Guys, I'm so glad to see you, but back up now!" he said.

The team looked at each other and then they heard another wheezing sound. Their eyes widened and they backed away when they saw a second police box materializing next to the original. It stopped, the door opened and the Doctor stepped out and looked around.

"Perfect landing," he said proudly.

"Oh my God, there are two of those bloody things now?" Owen said.

"Yes, but this one's former owner is in the deserts of Ionapolian tending to refugees. I didn't want him getting hold of it again so Jack has graciously volunteered to look after it and keep it out of the wrong hands. So congratulations, gang, you are the proud owners of a TARDIS and a very special watch that's sealed in a room somewhere within its depths."

He looked over as Rose slowly walked out of the Doctor's TARDIS. He walked over to her.

"You alright?" he asked.

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now, I just wanted to see Jack's friends for myself."

Jack smiled at her and extended his hand towards her.

"Guys, allow me to introduce to you, Rose Tyler, the last of the Time Ladies."

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(Two weeks later…)

Rose and the Doctor walked back inside the TARDIS followed by Jack and team Torchwood. Both of them were wearing the formal robes and headgear of the Time Lords. He was wearing an orange robe and she was wearing white. They glared at Jack when he erupted into giggles for the thirtieth time. All through their commitment ceremony on Cypriotis, he had kept laughing at the outfits, drawing glares from the rest of his team and the city magistrates who were there to witness the union.

"You mean you haven't gotten it out of your system yet, Harkness?" the Doctor said angrily as he closed the door behind them. "We've been wearing these outfits since this morning."

"I know, but you two look ridiculous in them," Jack said. "I'm sorry; Doc, but your people had extremely bad taste in clothes, I gotta say."

The Doctor shot Rose an exasperated look.

"Anyway, once we got past Jack's incessant giggling, I thought it was a beautiful ceremony."

"As did I," Rose replied. "I'm so glad you thought of it, my darling, the aurora borealis last night was simply breathtaking. I was rendered speechless by its exquisite beauty."

"Damn, Blondie, that brain buffing really did upgrade that mind of yours, didn't it?" Jack said.

Rose laughed.

"What's wrong, Harkness, are you intimidated because now I'm far more brilliant than you?" she said to him.

"He is just awed by the magnificence in front of him, my love," the Doctor said taking her hand. "A mere human like him should thank the heavens that he was permitted to know otherworldly geniuses such as us."

"I concur, my beautiful Time Lord, the universe in general is fortunate to have us exploring and defending its vast and uncharted realms. Perhaps Jack can act as a universal representative, kneel down upon one knee and give all four of our magnificent butt cheeks a grateful kiss for our benevolent protection of it!"

"Splendid idea, my pet!" the Doctor said.

They looked at each other, turned around and bent over in front of Jack.

"You may commence with the adoration at any time, Harkness," the Doctor said pointing at his butt.

Jack glared at them as his team roared with laughter. The Doctor looked at Rose and looked back at Jack.

"I do not feel the pressure of thine lips upon mine buttocks, Harkness, I'm waiting for thy fawning obeisance to my splendiforousness!" he said.

"Well, sorry Doc, you're gonna be waiting a long time then." Jack said walking away.

The Doctor watched him walk towards the back door and looked over at Rose as they leaned back up.

"He is still in awe of our magnificence, my fairy cake; he's just at a loss with his limited human vocabulary on how to express it properly." He said to her.

"Naturally."

Jack paused at the back door and flipped them off as everyone laughed.

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(Two days later…)

The Doctor finished putting in the coordinates and sat down on the captain's chair beside Rose.

"So, where are we headed to this time?" Rose asked.

The Doctor kissed her cheek.

"I though you and I could go to a nice resort and celebrate going through the commitment ceremony," he said. "Then after we are rested, we can head back on the open road for more adventure."

"Sounds good to me!"

The Doctor stared at her left hand for a moment. He took it in his right hand and clasped it. He smiled at the circular glyph on the back of her hand as it began to glow through her skin. As part of the commitment ceremony, they had both their hands emblazoned with the glyphs showing that they were joined together. Her glyph was the female Cypriotic symbol for union and the glyph on the back of his right hand was the male glyph. They could only be seen if their hands were clasped together and then they glowed through their skins with a golden radiance. The Doctor sighed to himself as he stared at it. He would have preferred a traditional Gallifreyan commitment ceremony, but this was the next best thing. He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed the glyph.

"My hearts," he whispered. "At long last, I have you with me again and this time I won't lose you to anybody or anything."

Rose leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes. The soft wheezing of the rotor lulled her sleep and she sat next to her husband on the captain's chair dreaming of the adventures they would have and the centuries she had to spend with him at her side.

THE END.