Author's Note: Last chapter, woot woot! Thank you to the following people who reviewed the previous chapter: Bad Dog No Biscuit, Catelly, Romana-II, padmay97, MayFairy, Astra68 and iLuvTwiBoyz.

Here it is...

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dawn was breaking over Gallifrey, the twin suns rising in glorious tandem over the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, delicate golden light streaking the sky and turning it to liquid amber. Sitting in Lord Borusa's study, Tejana gazed out at the stunning panorama, amazed afresh at the astonishing beauty of her home planet, now all the more precious when she thought of how close it had come to being completely destroyed.

She was seated on a low couch to the side of the room, with Damon beside her. The Doctor was sprawled casually in a nearby chair, his long legs crossed in front of him. Spandrell and Engin stood together in mutual support, facing a horrified Lord Borusa.

Tejana could hear the Cardinal's voice droning on and on, but she couldn't find the energy to really take in what he was saying. The med-techs had cleaned and dressed the wound on her head, but it still throbbed unmercifully. She felt empty and hollow. It was all over. The Doctor had done what he came to do. He would be leaving again soon and she knew she would have say goodbye and then – somehow - pick up the reins of her old life.

Oh gods, why did he have to come back at all? After years of anguished waiting, she had finally managed to become more or less resigned to never seeing her father again, to eking out her tedious existence from boring day to boring day without him, convincing herself that she no longer cared about him. But now, after being with him again, she knew the painful, humiliating truth was that she cared just as much as ever. She wanted his love, needed his approval so much, it was like an aching hunger inside her. After all the terrible events that had happened, how could she possibly go back to the way things were before? She closed her eyes and unwillingly thought of the Master, seeing it all over again in her mind, as his hands slipped away from the edge of the chasm. Why did EITHER of them have to come back?

Surreptitiously, she raised the hem of her robes slightly, looking down at her bare ankle. She didn't know why she kept checking obsessively, over and over again. It was almost as if she expected to see something, some trace, some mark, left behind by the Master's hand as he gripped her leg. But there was nothing. Her skin was as clear and unblemished as ever.

"Tejana? Are you all right?" Damon whispered in her ear.

"I...yes," she responded blankly. "I'm fine."

With an effort, she managed to return her attention to what was happening in the room. Like the rest of the Citadel, Borusa's study was a mess. The glass doors to the garden had shattered, the frames hanging loose and askew. Irreplaceable first edition books lay in tumbled abandon across the floor, some torn, others crushed. Artworks and antique furniture had been smashed to pieces. The glittering crystal chandelier had fallen from the ceiling, plummeting down to land on Borusa's desk, ice-sharp shards scattering from the impact like frozen tear drops.

"Half the city in ruins!" the Cardinal was saying in consternation, brushing stone dust fastidiously from his hands as he looked askance at the devastation surrounding him. "Untold damage! Countless lives lost!"

"But for the Doctor and Tejana, it could have been much worse!" Engin pointed out.

"Yes, indeed," Borusa replied in a brittle tone. "I'm very conscious of the debt we owe the two of them. But Gallifrey has never known such a catastrophe, such devastation! What will we say?"

"Well, you'll just have to adjust the truth again, Cardinal," the Doctor suggested dryly, climbing to his feet as he spoke. Then he gave Borusa a wide, cheeky grin. "What about a subsidence owing to a plague of mice?"

Damon gave a small, irrepressible chuckle at this, only to earn himself a freezing glance from Borusa. Self-consciously, the young Time Lord managed to turn the chuckle into a polite cough instead.

"As I believe I told you long ago, Doctor, you will never amount to anything in the galaxy while you retain your propensity for vulgar facetiousness," the Cardinal said reprovingly, as though the Doctor was still a disobedient schoolboy in his charge. Tejana couldn't help but wonder what sort of mischief her father and his best friend Koschei had got up to, all those years ago, when Borusa was their tutor. After the events of today, the poignant thought brought a lump to her throat.

"Yes, sir. You said that many times, sir," the Doctor responded, his voice appropriately humble, but with twinkling eyes. "May I go, sir?"

"Certainly you may, preferably with the utmost expedition," Borusa agreed pompously. "Lady Tejana, you may accompany your father to say your farewells. Then you will return here immediately, to discuss your recent insubordinate behaviour and appropriate remedial action."

Both Tejana's hearts sank, a wave of hopelessness washing over her. "Yes, Your Eminence," she replied dully. Damon gave her a sympathetic look and rose with her, both of them ready to follow the Doctor out of the door.

"Perhaps you will see that the transduction barriers are raised, Castellan," Borusa instructed.

Spandrell nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Oh, and Doctor...?" Borusa added, as if as an afterthought.

"Sir?"

"Nine out of ten."

The Doctor grinned again. "Thank you, Sir."

The small group gathered together again in one of the Citadel corridors, just outside the incongruous blue telephone box that was the Doctor's TARDIS. While no-one was looking, Tejana gently stroked the outside of the time machine, keenly sensing the low hum of approval that greeted her. She smiled wistfully. At least the TARDIS hadn't forgotten her. In the background, she could hear the ticking of a grandfather clock, faithfully marking the declining minutes and seconds remaining before her father left her behind yet again. Loneliness crowded around her, beating at her hearts like invisible vulture wings.

The Doctor was shrugging back into a long, red coat and winding loop after loop of a ridiculous-looking striped knitted scarf around his neck.

"You know, Doctor, if you wanted to stay, I'm sure any past difficulties could be overlooked," Engin suggested in an awkward voice.

"Ah, but I like it out there, thank you very much," the Doctor returned with cheerful nonchalance.

"The barriers have been raised, Doctor," the Castellan told him.

"Thank you, Spandrell."

Engin shook his head. "It's we who should be thanking you, Doctor, for destroying the Master."

"Well, I didn't actually see him fall, you know. I was quite busy," the Doctor replied, his eyes resting thoughtfully on his daughter. Tejana lifted her chin and returned his gaze, but said nothing. Who knew, perhaps the Doctor believed she had pushed the Master to his death. Her soft lips tightened. If so, then let him. After all, she may as well have.

"Oh, but if he somehow survived the fall into the chasm, he was dying anyway," Engin protested.

"There was a good deal of power coming out of that monolith. And the Sash would have helped him convert it."

"Are you suggesting he survived?" Damon spoke up incredulously.

"I hope not, Damon," the Doctor answered firmly. "And there's no-one in all the galaxies I would say that about! The quintessence of evil!"

Reaching out, he grasped the young Time Lord's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Goodbye, Damon. Nice to meet you!"

"Goodbye, Doctor."

The Doctor turned towards his daughter. This is it then, she thought bitterly. This is goodbye. Again. Deep inside, a small child wailed, wanting to cry and beg him to take her with him, just as she had cried and begged so long ago when he had first left. But she wasn't eight years old any more and her pride would no longer allow her to demean herself like that. Summoning all her self-control, she kept her face cool and emotionless, a habitual mask born of long practice, waiting for his words of farewell.

Deliberately, the Doctor unfurled his fedora hat and placed it jauntily upon his curly head. "Well, hurry up then!" he said. "Can't wait around for you all day, you know! We've got places to go, people to see!"

Tejana almost stopped breathing with shock. "You mean...I can come with you?"

"Come?" he responded, giving her his widest, toothiest grin. "Well, of course you can come! You're my daughter! I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Joy blazed through her, lighting her eyes like the glow of Gallifrey's rising suns. This time she wasn't being abandoned, she wasn't being left behind. This time he really wanted her! The wild, incredulous euphoria surged through her veins, as effervescent as champagne bubbles. Whirling around, she turned to share her elation with Damon, just as she had always shared everything with Damon. But the look on his face brought her up short. He suddenly looked so sad...so lost and desolate.

"Oh, Damon," she whispered, holding his hands in hers.

He gave her one of his sweet, unselfish smiles. "It's fine, Tejana. You've always been supportive of my dreams. Now it's my turn to tell you to go and live yours," he replied gently.

"Damon..." she tried again, her voice choking with emotion. She was going to miss him so much – he would never know how much.

"Go!" he repeated. "Gallifrey will always be here when you want to come back. And so will I."

She wanted to say goodbye properly. She wanted to say so many things, wanted to thank him for every wonderful thing he had ever done for her, but she couldn't speak. So instead, she raised her lips to his and kissed him with all that was in her hearts. His arms came around her and he kissed her back, his hands softly stroking through her long, blonde hair.

"Remember, this isn't a goodbye," she said in a muffled voice. "It's a 'See you later!'"

"Absolutely!" he agreed unsteadily. "See you later."

With one last, watery smile, she turned away from him and followed the Doctor towards the TARDIS, watching as her father tossed his improbably long scarf over his shoulder.

"You'll trip over that scarf one day, if you're not careful," she warned wryly.

"Nonsense!" he retorted in a lofty tone. "I'm the Doctor! I never trip."

And even as he spoke, he missed his footing and almost fell inside the TARDIS, only just saving himself by grasping at the door frame. Tejana laughed and the sound was wild and reckless and silvery in her own ears, the beautiful and enticing sound of freedom.

"No, how silly of me, of course you don't!"

Behind her, she could hear Damon laughing too, sharing this one last joke with her. At long last, a heavy weight seemed to have rolled off her back and she felt as light as thistledown.

"Wait! Tejana, you can't just leave!" Spandrell exclaimed worriedly. "What will Cardinal Borusa say?"

"Cardinal Borusa can go and..." Tejana began.

"Tejana!" the Doctor admonished sharply.

"...find another personal assistant!" she finished with a grin. "Goodbye, Castellan! Goodbye, Co-ordinator! Goodbye, Damon! Goodbye, GALLIFREY!"

With that, father and daughter both waved and disappeared inside the TARDIS, off to explore the Universe together. A distinctive wheezing, groaning sound echoed around the corridor and the police box began to fade in and out before de-materialising altogether.

Spandrell, Engin and Damon all looked at each other silently for a moment and then turned away up the corridor together, each of them intent on returning to the massive task of restoring their devastated planet.

None of them noticed a dark shadow slithering along the wall, heading for the grandfather clock Tejana had heard ticking earlier. Quickly, the Master opened the front of the clock and slipped like a phantom into his TARDIS.

It wasn't over. He and the Doctor would meet again and he would have his revenge. Because one thing was certain – the Universe would NEVER be big enough for the two of them.

THE END

Another Author's Note: So there it is, the end of my first AU episode re-write. What did you think? Hopefully, Aietradaea liked it, since it was for her. And actually, I really enjoyed writing it, it was a nice break from writing "The Master's Rose" - very different from writing my own plot, etc. So...I've been thinking about attempting the same thing with "Utopia" and maybe "The Sound of Drums". What do people reckon about that - would anyone read it, do you think?