Time of the Doctor - Part 2

"In the time that followed, the Papal Mainframe strove to maintain the peace between the Doctor and his Chosen, and their enemies. As the days passed, and the years, the Doctor and Mackenzie stayed true to their word. On the fields of Trenzalore, they stood as protector, both of their own people and their new home. Over time, their enemies would find new, stranger ways to enter the town called Christmas. With every victory, the town celebrated. In time, the Doctor seemed to forget he'd lived any other life and the people of the town came to love the man and woman who stayed for Christmas."

~8~

Mac smiled as she sat off to the side on a small bench, a little girl on her lap that was clapping to the music going on around them, one of the town's children. She and the Doctor had been there about 300 years now, waiting for the TARDIS to come back. She absently wrung her hands even as she tried not to, she always got so worried when she thought of the TARDIS because it SHOULD have been back by now, it should have. But it wasn't and that made her worried that something had gone wrong in between it bringing Clara home and coming back and if something happened to Clara she'd never forgive herself. Oh this town was lovely, but it was doing her nerves in terribly.

One companion she could handle, a town full of men and women and children that needed protection from all the enemies of theirs that tried to sneak in and attack them…that was something that made her nerves nearly shot. It felt like every other week there was some new threat and to deal with that year after year, century after century…it was hard at times. The Doctor took it in his easy stride, as always, confident that with the two of them there the town was fine. But SHE on the other hand was a nervous wreck each time some enemy popped up. And there had been SO many. The Sontarans had tried to sneak in in an invisible vehicle, but she'd spotted the tracks in the snow. There had been a wooden Cyberman that had fallen for the Doctor's trick with his sonic and turned its blaster on itself. And each time the town celebrated. Right now even they were in the middle of one celebration. There was always plenty of food and fireworks, music and dancing and rejoicing. The children would make pictures of the latest attack and victory while puppet theaters would go off of the same. The walls of the clock tower, where they'd made their home, were covered in the pictures, saved throughout the centuries. Right now the Doctor was just finishing up teaching them the ridiculous dance he'd made at Amy's wedding, the 'Drunk Giraffe' he called it.

It almost made her sad to see him teaching them, because his cane was all too obvious as was the tiredness in his bones. He had aged, as was the curse with the regeneration he was on, he'd grown older, slowly but surely. He looked nearly her age, she'd assume, perhaps a bit older, around 50 maybe 60 now. He had a cane for when his aches would act up which was more frequent now. He was slightly hunched, his hair graying, his face wrinkling, but still with the same twinkle in his eyes, the same smile on his face. He had been thrilled at one point, to look in the mirror and see a man nearer in her age. It made things so much less awkward. The town had accepted them well enough, hadn't really cared what ages they appeared after the first few victories. But still, it was nice to see them both on equal footing.

"Time to get down, sweetie," she smiled at the little girl, setting her on the ground and watching her scramble off to her parents as Mac stood and moved over to the Doctor's side as he started to make his way through the throngs of children still dancing. He smiled the moment he saw her appear before him through the gaggle of children, winding his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her temple, "Feeling better?" she asked him, knowing he'd been a bit sullen before, the Daleks had tried to attack and it just brought up bad memories, especially with the Time Lords still in the crack.

He hummed a moment before reaching up with his hand still holding his cane and turned her head to get a peck and then a longer kiss from her, "I am now," he tapped her nose, chuckling as he saw her blush, she got so shy and cute around displays of affection when children were around. And speaking of children, he could feel one shadowing him from behind and turned to see one of the young boys, Barnable, had followed him, "Hello Barnable, how's your father's barn?"

"You've fixed the leak all right," Barnable nodded, "But he say it's bigger on the inside now!"

Mac shook her head at that, she knew she shouldn't have let him 'tinker' while she'd been patching the roof with duct tape, "Best not tell anyone else," she put a finger to her lips.

The Doctor nodded and winked as he pointed at Barnable, taking Mac's hand as they slowly started to make their way to the sweets, he still had a sweet tooth, only to stop short when they heard a familiar wheezing sounding behind them.

"What is it?" Barnable asked, having gone with them, "What's that noise?"

"Well," the Doctor huffed as they moved to the edge of the festivities to see the TARDIS slowly fading in and out of existence, seeming to struggle with setting down really, "Where have you been for 300 years?! Huh!"

"Hold on…" Mac frowned, seeing someone vaguely standing on the outside of the TARDIS, "Don't tell me that's…" she stared in horror as she was able to make out Clara, the girl growing more solid with each phase. She quickly turned and hurried to a nearby carriage where there was a blanket sitting.

"What's that?" Barnable watched.

"It's our ship," the Doctor stated.

"Your what?"

"Our TARDIS. That's how we got here in the first place."

Barnable frowned at that, "Does this mean you're leaving?"

Mac inched closer to the box, leaving the Doctor to talk to Barnable about that, before nearing Clara. The second the box was solid, she leapt forward, putting a blanket she'd grabbed over Clara's shoulders, "Clara are you alright?" she rubbed the girls' arm trying to warm her up from the shock, "Clara? Clara speak to me. Are you ok? Can you talk? Breathe Clara! Clara!"

"I..." Clara started to speak, her voice shaking, "I was in space…"

"You're fine now," Mac turned her gently and hugged her tightly, trying to warm her up even more.

"Well, you were in the time vortex," the Doctor countered, "She must have extended the force field. No wonder...no wonder she's late, dragging you around."

"Clara you were supposed to stay on Earth," Mac murmured.

That seemed to spark something in Clara as she slowly backed away though she gripped the blanket tighter, "You tricked me," she accused, tears in her eyes.

"I know," Mac nodded, "I'm sorry, but we knew what was coming and we couldn't let you stay here to see it."

"She saved your life," the Doctor agreed.

"You didn't even say goodbye," Clara frowned.

"Oh Clara, dear, I'm sorry," Mac moved over and hugged the girl once more, the Doctor playfully rolling his eyes before he joined them in the hug.

~8~

Mac smiled as she sat beside the Doctor on the roof of the small clock tower, a small fire burning between them and Clara as she curled up on the other side with the blanket. The turkey still wasn't done, which didn't surprise the Time Lords much as the TARDIS had been focusing on using her power to get back to them. But now that she was settled, the turkey could finish cooking. Clara had had a wander in the tower, looking at the pictures, while she had set up their small little nook, the Doctor checking there was no damage to the TARDIS or the turkey before leading her up there. They were waiting for the dawn. They hadn't been wrong when they assumed that there were very short days in Christmas, literally the day lasted all of 5 minutes. The dawn came and went and then it was night time again. But the brief time it was there to see, it was breathtaking.

"We're at a standoff right now," Mac was explaining to Clara what had happened while she'd been in the Vortex, "If they attack, we release the Time Lords. But if we try to flee, then they'll destroy the planet, Time Lords with it."

The Doctor dabbed a handkerchief on his tongue and wiped a smudge off of Handles. The robotic head was still with them, still somewhat alive but they could tell from his voice, the sort of dragging quality of it that his power would be running out very, very soon. He was rusting and fading and looked his wear and tear, "Hey," he shrugged, "After all these years, I've finally found somewhere that needs me to stick around, besides Kenzie that is," he smiled at her and she knew the only reason he wasn't including Clara in that was because Clara was HER companion, even if she was his friend as well, "A town called Christmas! Could've been worse. Right," he turned to settle Handles down onto a small nest of blankets, "There you go, buddy. Comfy?"

"Comfort is irrelevant," Handles stated, his voice slurring with the drain of his batteries.

"How's that, is that better?" he shifted him slightly.

"Affirmative."

"You just take it easy, buddy," he patted Handles on the head, "He's getting old. I do my best for him, but...we just can't get the parts, you know. Not even Kenzie's been able to find makeshift ones."

Mac smiled sadly at that, "Paperclips appear to be incompatible to Cyber tech," she remarked, "Who knew?"

"Where do you get these?" Clara held up a stick that had a marshmallow on the end of it that she was roasting over the fire.

"We have a supplier," he smirked, "The pinks ones are best," he grinned and nudged Mac, "Reminds me of Kenzie's blush," and it was true, in her new form her cheeks never seemed to grow bright red like the past hers did, her last self matching her hair in embarrassment, the prior her growing red in anger, no, this one had a nice pink tint.

"I have developed a fault," Handles stated.

"Hey, don't you worry, 'Andles," the Doctor patted him, "You're just dreaming. The sun's coming up very soon, you just hang on in there."

"I have developed a... fault. I..." the head's voice started to static out, started to flicker and deepen, "I have developed a fault."

"Hey, Handles," the Doctor picked him up, "Come on. Come on. One more dawn, you can do it. You've got it in you. Come on, just hang on in there."

"Attention! Emergency! Atten..."

"Handles, what is it, what's wrong?"

"Doctor," Mac gently put a hand on his arm, "I think it's time."

The Doctor looked at her solemnly, realizing that too, before he turned back to Handles as the head spoke, "Urgent action required! You must patch the telephone device back through the... console... unit…" its voice started to strain and fade, the lights behind its eyes and mouth flickering off as Handles finally powered down.

The Doctor sighed and bowed his head a moment, patting the head, "Thank you, Handles, and well done. Well done, mate," he set the robot off to the side as Mac squeezed his arm.

"Dawn," she nodded to the side and they turned to see the sun was indeed starting to rise. Mac helped the Doctor stand and the three of them moved to the rail of the small roof, looking out at the town as the sun illuminated it, it was just…lovely.

"What do you think of our new place?" the Doctor smiled at Clara.

"We come up here every morning to watch this," Mac leaned over, resting her head on the Doctor's shoulder as he turned his head to press a kiss to her hair.

"Reminds us of what it is we're protecting."

"It's beautiful," Clara smiled, watching the town for another moment before looking at them, "Why did you send me away?"

"I told you Clara," Mac glanced at her, "If we didn't you'd have been stuck in our war. You could have been killed."

"And if you weren't…" the Doctor swallowed hard, "You'd have grown old and we'd still be burying you here, a long time ago."

"No, you wouldn't," Clara shook her head, "I wouldn't have died or have let you get stuck here."

"Everyone gets stuck somewhere, eventually, Clara. Everything ends."

"Not love," Mac reminded him, squeezing his arm, recalling the words he'd told Emma in the Caliburn house, "Not always. Not ever."

"Not you," Clara agreed.

The Doctor gave a sad chuckle at that though, "Have you been paying attention? I'm an old man now," he gestured to his face.

"But you don't die."

"He shouldn't be aging at all Clara," Mac reminded him, "Time Lords are immortal, for the most part, barring any accidents…"

"But you DO change," Clara argued, "You pop right back up with a new face."

"And there's that 'for the most part' part," he smiled sadly, "We can change 12 times. 13 versions of us. 13 silly old Doctors."

"I prefer stupid old Doctors," Mac murmured.

"Oh?"

She hummed, "You make me feel clever."

"Well then," he smiled, "13 stupid old Doctors then."

Clara frowned at that, "But you're number 11, so..."

"Are we forgetting Captain Grumpy, eh?" he glanced at her.

"Just because he didn't call himself the Doctor during the Time War doesn't mean it wasn't a regeneration," Mac pointed out.

"Then number 12," Clara blinked.

But the Doctor waved that off, "Number ten once regenerated and kept the same face, I had vanity issues at the time."

"You STILL have vanity issues," Mac reached up to gently run her hand through his hair, "You use more product in your hair in this incarnation than I did in all 9 of mine."

He let out a small laugh at that, but sobered quickly, "So you see Clara? 12 regenerations. I can't ever do it again."

"I tried," Mac told her, "I tried to give him the rest of mine, or at least give him one…" she shook her head, "He's being his old stubborn ass of a self and not letting me."

And she really had, she'd tried to give him even one regeneration, she still had 4 more, she'd wanted to give him 2, make it even for them. He'd raged so much at that that she'd actually run out of the room in tears he'd been so angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him. It had taken weeks for them to be able to speak to each other again, for him to have come down from his anger long enough to explain his violent reaction to her attempting it. She hadn't even talked to him, at first, she'd tried to just slip one into him as he'd been napping, the regeneration energy had been going, had started to seep in…but he'd jerked away and flown into a rage, especially when she'd suggested they go for even. He didn't want her to give up her lives for him. He didn't want her to lose any regeneration she had to come. They were precious, they were a gift, a gift he had squandered and he refused to allow her to do the same. He'd explained that he wanted her to live, he wanted her to go on, into the Universe, when this was over, that SHE would have to protect the Time Lords when he was gone. That SHE would have to stay alive for their daughter. SHE would have to protect the Earth if they ever escaped Trenzalore and that there was still so much to see.

He wanted her to see it for the both of them.

She was a designated pilot now, the TARDIS would listen to her, it would survive past his death and he wanted her to do the same, he wanted her to survive and live. He'd made the mistake once of nearly killing her with their planet (or what he'd thought at the time) and he couldn't bear it again. He couldn't live with himself if he knew that her lives were cut down shorter because of him. He'd begged her, he'd actually gotten on his knees, in tears, and begged her not to ever try that again, to swear she'd live on and do all that they should have done together when he was gone, for him.

She'd agreed, reluctantly, but it was all she could do to keep him calm and to make sure he was happy. It was his dying wish and she couldn't deny him that, no matter how much it hurt.

"This is where I end up," the Doctor sighed, "This face, this version of me. We saw this planet in the future, remember? All those graves... one of them mine."

Clara stared at the Time Lords as the sun began to set, "Change the future."

"We can't," Mac said quietly, "I've been thinking about how for the last 3 centuries Clara.

"You've got your TARDIS back."

"You think we're just going to fly away, abandon everyone?" the Doctor shook his head.

"Of course not. But you've been protecting this town for over 300 years. Do you not think it's anybody else's go yet?"

"There is no one else to protect it," he reminded her, "If I go, Kenzie stays, if Kenzie goes, I stay and I can't…" he reached out and gripped Mac's hand, "I don't want the time I have left in this body to be without her there."

"And I won't not be there," Mac reassured him, "I will be right here, where I should be," she squeezed his hand.

"It won't be you forever," Clara looked at them, "And it won't be Mackenzie forever after. It'll end the same way for her as it would for you, whatever you do."

The Doctor shook his head though, "Every life we save is a victory. Every single one."

"What about your life?" she insisted, "Just for once, after all of this time, have you not earned the right to think about that?"

"Clara," Mac gave her a soft shake of the head, telling she'd been having that conversation with him for the last 300 years without even needing to say it.

"Sorry," Clara looked away, "Wrong thing to say. We shouldn't be having an argument."

"We've had that argument before," Mac reached out to touch her arm, "Haven't resolved it yet."

"But…you didn't have your TARDIS then," Clara tried once more.

"Ah!" he chuckled, "Yes, well, that made it easier to stay. True."

They all looked up as there was a rumbling noise before Tasha's face appeared in the sky once more, "Doctor! Mackenzie!"

"Look who's woken up!" the Doctor called out to her.

"The Church of the Silence requests parlay. Your rights and safety are sanctified."

"We'll come up in a mo," Mac promised.

"I'm sending a transporter."

"Nah," the Doctor waved her off, "Don't bother. We've got our motor back."

Clara looked around as the projection disappeared to see it was nightfall again, "It's gone dark."

"Well, the sun's gone down."

"Already?"

"Very short days Clara, remember?" Mac offered, "Sometimes things come to an end before you realize they've even started."

~8~

The Doctor, Mac, and Clara made their way down the aisle of the Church, all three wearing their real clothes, not about to worry about the Church's regulations at the moment, they (save Clara) were too old to care right now, especially not with Christmas left undefended for the moment. They had people to get back to, like little Barnable that the Doctor had found ready to wait for them just like one Amelia Pond had been, and just wanted to get this over with.

"She hasn't aged much," Clara whispered to them as she caught sight of Tasha, standing at the end of the red-carpeted aisle with the people lining the sides of it again. The woman looked exactly like she had last time, 300 years ago.

"No, she's against ageing," the Doctor sighed.

"Approach!" Tasha ordered.

"Confess…" Mac glanced over, hearing the rasping of the Silence to see they were standing at intervals between the humans, up and down the aisle.

"What are those things?" Clara saw them too, thinking back to the last time they'd been outside Tasha's doors and seen them.

"Confess…"

"Confessional priests," the Doctor answered, the two of them having worked that out during their time on Trenzalore, "Very popular. Genetically engineered so you forget everything you told them."

Clara pulled her gaze away from the Silence and to the Doctor, blinking as she forgot them, "Told who?"

"There you go!"

"Follow me," Tasha cut in, turning stiffly to lead them away, making the Doctor and Mac frown as she didn't make her statement about the honors being followed and sacrifices being made but merely led them out and to her rooms. She didn't bother to ask Clara wait outside this time and just opened the doors to take them to the long table off to the side of her rooms. They sat down when she gestured them to before she placed a small box before the Doctor to root through, "Satisfactory?" she asked when she sat down.

"Where are the pink ones?" the Doctor huffed and Clara realized it was a box of marshmallows, now she knew who the secret supplier was.

"Don't tell him," Mac shook her head, "He's hyper enough as it is and if you give him any of the pinks he'll go into a sugar coma."

Tasha just smiled and nodded at the request.

"So this is sweet," Clara murmured, "Middle of a siege, and you three have little chats?"

"She's right," Tasha took a breath, "This situation cannot continue."

"It can't end either," the Doctor closed the box.

"Why did you ever come to Trenzalore?"

"Does that matter?" Mac glanced at her.

"The point is we DID come to Trenzalore, and nothing can change that now," the Doctor shot Tasha a glare, pointing his cane at her, "Didn't stop you trying, though, did it?"

"Not me," Tasha nearly rolled her eyes, "The Kovarian Chapter broke away. They travelled back along your timeline and tried to prevent you ever reaching Trenzalore."

"So that's who blew up my TARDIS," the Doctor mused, "I thought I'd left the bath running."

"They blew up your time capsule, created the very cracks in the universe through which the Time Lords are now calling."

"They've made a destiny trap and they didn't even realize," Mac rubbed her head, "Becoming a part of history, you can't change it."

"They engineered a psychopath to kill you."

"Don't you DARE talk about our daughter like that," Mac shot her a look as well. No matter if it was true, if River was a psychopath at one point in time, she was their daughter and she would NOT have anyone calling her that again.

Tasha held up her hands in apology.

"We never would have made it here alive without her," the Doctor reached out to take Mac's hands.

"And all the companions before and after her," she added, knowing that it wasn't just their daughter keeping them safe, their companions had had quite a large role in that.

"I am not interested in changing history," Tasha told them, "I want to change the future. The Daleks send for reinforcements daily, they are massing for war. Three days ago, they attacked the Mainframe itself."

"What?" Mac breathed, alarmed at that.

"They attacked here?" the Doctor gaped, equally disturbed.

"How did you stop them?" Clara blinked.

"Stop them?" Tasha scoffed, "It was slaughter!"

"Why didn't you call us!?" the Doctor huffed, "We could have helped."

"I tried. I died in this room, screaming your name."

They fell silent at that admission.

"Oh dear…" Mac breathed, starting to stand up and back away from the woman with the Doctor, gesturing Clara to hurry and follow them.

"Oh..." Tasha blinked, considering what she'd let slip, "I died. It's funny the things that slip your mind!" she gasped sharply at the last word and fell face down on the table.

"Clara, come over here, now," Mac called, reaching out a hand to the girl and tugging her back behind her as the Doctor tried to step forward towards Tasha, his sonic out and scanning her.

"No!" he cried out, "No, no, no, Tasha, no, please, no. Tasha, fight it!" they nearly jumped back when there was a cracking noise and TASHA started to thrash against the table before sitting straight up.

"Tasha you must fight it!" Mac urged, but a Dalek eyestalk just sprouted out of Tasha's head.

They spun to the side as the doors were blasted open and a number of Daleks rolled in, "Step away from the Dalek unit Doctor!" they ordered.

"You shouldn't even know who I am!" the Doctor stared at them horrified.

"Information concerning the Doctor was harvested from the cadaver of Tasha Lem."

"Bet she never told you how to break the Trenzalore force field, though. She'd have died first."

"Several times."

"Well, you'd better kill me, then, go on," the Doctor stepped back towards the girls, trying to keep Clara and Mac shielded, "But before you do..." he whipped out the sonic and flicked it on, activating the comms so they could all hear the message still playing.

"Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?"

"I'm a tough old bird, much like my Chosen," he glanced back at Mac, "Not that you're a bird dear, well, maybe a peacock, they're rather lovely and elegant, but I don't mean it like that," he winked at her as she nodded and he turned back to the Daleks, "I'll be ages dying. Way enough time to answer a question. And even if you kill me, Kenzie will get out, oh yes, and SHE knows the answer too. As my Chosen would say, oh dear," he grinned back at her, he rather found her use of 'oh dear' cute, before he looked back at the Daleks again, "What happens then, boys?"

"You will die in silence, Doctor," the Daleks shouted, "Or your Chosen will die!"

Mac gasped as she felt someone grab her shoulder and looked back to see that Tasha had gotten up while the Daleks distracted them and grabbed her, a current shooting through her that she was sure was meant to paralyze her, but it just wasn't quite doing it…and she knew Tasha was still in there, fighting it, fighting it so that she could move.

"You so much as try to hurt her and we'll see how this ends," the Doctor threatened the Daleks.

"See, that's the problem with all this," Mac called, "You're so focused on the Doctor…you forgot that I'm a Time Lady too," she quickly pulled her hand out of her pocket, and jabbed Tasha's hand with the thumb tack in her hand, making the woman cry out in pain and stumble back, clutching her hand, "Pain receptors work wonders in snapping people out of things."

Tasha, now in control, quickly turned and threw her hand up, a Dalek laser sticking out of her hand, and blasted the Daleks back, destroying them.

"And she's back!" the Doctor cheered, rushing over to hug Mac tightly, before patting Tasha's back, "Right, get us back to the TARDIS. Can you do that?" he hurried and led Mac and Clara to the teleport in the back of the room.

"Yes," Tasha swallowed hard, running after them, "But quickly, the Dalek inside me is waking."

"So push it down," Mac told her.

"I can't."

Mac turned and took her hand, squeezing it with both of hers, "You CAN," she looked Tasha in the eye, "You have fought for everything in your entire life Tash, this is no different. You fight, fight for your people, for your followers, for those that believe in the Church, and you WIN."

Tasha nodded and gestured her to get in one of the booths, "The force field will hold for a while, but it will decay, and there are breaches already."

"Then this isn't a siege anymore," the Doctor looked at Mac as she moved to get into the booth that Clara had entered once more, "It's a war," he gave her a meaningful look and she nodded, understanding, whatever they had been dealing with before…it was going to get infinitely worse, "It's all up to you now," he turned to Tasha as Mac ducked into her booth, "Fight the Daleks, inside and out. You can do it, I know you can."

"Oh, I see," she rolled her eyes, "You've got your TARDIS back, haven't you? Time to fly away."

"Tasha, please..." he whispered, "Please," he looked at her pleadingly and she nodded, "Thank you."

"None of this was for you, you fatuous egotist. It was for the peace. Fly away!" she gave one last order before pulling a lever and sending them off.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac were moving around the console, the Doctor running tests to see how the TARDIS was doing, setting commands, while Mac ran scans of the force field and the ships around the planet to see where the breaches were, how long the field would hold up, and who seemed nearest to each breach to attack. She looked up at the Doctor and shook her head, it didn't look good, not at all.

He let out a sigh, but turned when they heard a ding from below the console, "It's done."

"What is?" Clara glanced at him from where she'd been looking at the monitor, as though she understood the Gallifreyan symbols racing past but really only could see the ships and the image of the planet.

"The turkey," Mac nudged her.

"Either or that or it's woken up," the Doctor laughed, earning a chuckle from Clara as well.

"Do you want some?" she asked, turning to go down and get it.

"Go on, then," he waved her off.

"Got any plates?"

"Do you know, I've even got Christmas crackers!"

Clara stopped at the top of the steps that led to underneath the console and turned, walking back to the two of them as they stood by the monitor, "One thing," she requested, "Both of you," she added, "Look me in the eyes so I know you're not lying…and tell me you will never send me away ever again."

The Doctor took Mac's hand as she squared her shoulders and did what she always hated, believed shouldn't be done, and tried her very best not to do…lied to her companion.

"I promise you Clara, we won't ever send you away again," she even crossed her hearts, the Doctor nodding beside her before he pressed a kiss to her temple, knowing it broke her hearts to do this.

But they had been dealing with small battles the last 300 years, battles that there HAD been some casualties in, battles that they'd tried to keep her from. And now…now they were heading into the actual WAR.

Clara grinned widely at that and turned to nearly skip down the steps, leaving them to hurry around the console as silently as they could, "Turkey smells good!" she called up to them.

"Yep, smells great," the Doctor added, catching sight of Barnable on the monitor as they finished setting the commands. He looked at Mac and took her hand, leading her to the door.

"Perfect!" they could hear Clara cheer…just as they stepped outside, the Doctor flicking the sonic on to send the TARDIS away once more, on silent, so that Clara wouldn't realize what was happening.

They stood there, on the streets of Christmas, and waited, knowing that the ride would be more subtle this time, knowing that Clara would rush out those doors with the turkey and see her home, her set of flats, and before she'd even realize it, because it would be on silent…the TARDIS would disappear behind her…

And they knew they'd succeeded in keeping her safe, in keeping her protected, when the TARDIS appeared before them only seconds later, without Clara on the outside or in as it had been set only to return when Clara wasn't there.

"If you're not leaving," Barnable asked them, watching the box appear before them, "Why did you bring it back?"

"It's a reminder," the Doctor patted him on the head.

"Of what?" he looked up at them.

"That we COULD leave," Mac told him, "But we're choosing not to."

"Yes," the Doctor took her hand, "This time…I'm choosing NOT to run," he kissed her hand and turned to lead her off, back to the clock tower.

They had a town to defend and only a short while before the force field broke entirely.

~8~

"And so, to the fields of Trenzalore came all the Time Lords' enemies. For this was the winter of the Doctor and his Chosen. In time, when all other races had retreated or burned, only the Church of the Mainframe remained in the path of the Daleks. And so those ancient enemies, the Doctor, Mackenzie, and the Silence, stood back-to-back on the fields of Trenzalore."

~8~

Mac knew, the moment that the TARDIS disappeared, that Tasha had taken it, that when the children came running to her as the aged, ancient Doctor took a nap to report that some woman with a black streak across her eyes had appeared on the planet and unlocked the box and that it disappeared that it was Tasha. It didn't take a genius to work out where she'd go, who she'd go to get. Clara was the only companion that had been there during this siege and war despite her not being there physically. And…Clara was HER companion. Tasha knew, better than most, that she would NEED someone there for her when the Doctor's end finally came, and it would come, far too soon. He was so old now, his hair white, his face covered in wrinkles. He wheezed as he talked and was feeble in his movements, he had hardly the strength to stand or move at times, his sleeping grew longer and she could see the signs of it, his life was nearing its end, but he kept going, he kept fighting.

She knew Tasha was keeping a monitor of them from her ship and for her to choose NOW to go get Clara…well, it meant only one thing. The Doctor's body was weakening so much that even Tasha feared his end was far too close, likely only hours away. That or the Church couldn't help any longer after even more centuries of battle, the Church realized it was a losing situation and that the Daleks and Cybermen and all the enemies that had come were going to win very soon. And still the Doctor would meet his end. Either by his own life running out or at the blast of a Dalek. She'd sworn to herself though that she would NOT let that happen, that she would do something, anything, to make sure he died on his own terms and not at the hands of their enemies, any enemy.

She looked over from where she was kneeling beside the Doctor, painting a little wooden toy he'd made for one of the children, the man himself working on carving another toy, when she heard the door open and saw Clara enter.

"Barnable?" the Doctor wheezed.

Mac looked at him with such sorrow in her eyes, not pity, she didn't pity him, but sorrow, because she knew how much he valued his mind and even that had started to fade. Barnable had died ages ago, had grown up, gotten married, had children, and passed on. There wasn't even a Barnable in the town at that moment.

"No love," she whispered, reaching out to place a soothing hand on his wrinkled one, "It's Clara. She's come back."

"Clara?" the Doctor blinked, frowning as though he needed a moment to remember who she was, before he turned and spotted her, and grinned, "Clara."

Mac breathed a sigh of relief at the recognition in his eyes. She'd taken to telling him stories about his old companions, more about the ones that she'd personally met and had adventures with, but she tried to incorporate all his past ones too. At times he forgot who they were, or got the adventures mixed up. He'd thought that it was Captain Jack Smith for the LONGEST time till he'd finally worked out it was Jack Harkness and Mickey Smith and no, they hadn't had a child together to make that name but were two separate men. It broke her hearts to see that, but one thing that made it slightly bearable, though she felt selfish for it, was that his memories of HER had never faded. He remembered each moment of their lives, of their relationship and journey with such crystal clarity that HE was the one reminding HER of certain things. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was the one still with him day after day, year after year, that he just remembered her more, but she liked to think it was also that he loved her.

"Hello, Doctor," Clara greeted, tears in her eyes to see him so old, appearing nearly 80 now. The roles were reversed it seemed, for so long it had been Mac that was older, that people assumed was his mother and he her son, now it was more that the Doctor was her father and she his daughter, "Mackenzie."

"Were you always so young?" the Doctor joked as he pulled off Amy's reading glasses and tossed them aside, Mac watching them go in sadness. He couldn't remember where they'd come from, insisted they were just some novelty he'd found in his pocket when she tried to remind him they were Amy's because sweet Amelia Pond didn't need glasses, she was only 7 years old!

"Nah," Clara knelt down, reaching out to touch his arm, "That was you."

"Ah..." he nodded.

"Welcome back Clara," Mac gave her an apologetic smile.

Clara looked at her in understanding. She'd had to walk through the battle, more like run, to get there. She couldn't imagine the hell it had been for them to live in the middle of a war for so long, she knew they were truly saving her this time, "Merry Christmas," she offered.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor grinned.

"Brought you something," she smiled tentatively and held up a large Christmas Cracker in front of her.

Mac reached out with the Doctor to take one end, knowing that he was weaker than normal and knowing he hated others seeing it, if he tried to pull it himself, he wouldn't be able to and she wouldn't let him suffer that. So she pulled it with him, the small cracker opening easily with a pop.

"Ah!" he laughed, "Is there a joke? Huh?"

"Extract from 'Thoughts On A Clock' by Eric Ritchie Jr," Clara read it.

"I love that poem," Mac smiled.

"Is it a knock-knock one?" the Doctor asked, settling back into his chair as though he hadn't heard her, "Those are best."

"It's a poem," Mac said slowly and a little louder, looking at the Doctor so he could see her lips moving as well, "'And now it's time for one last bow," she recited from memory, "Like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now," her voice caught, the irony of the poem hitting her, making her voice crack as she trailed off.

"'The clock is striking twelve's,'" Clara finished for her.

"I don't get it," the Doctor's face scrunched in confusion.

"Doctor!" a Dalek's metallic voice boomed outside, making them, even the Doctor, look towards the doors, "The Doctor will be brought! The Daleks demand the Doctor!"

"They're here!" a young boy called, rushing in, appearing to be in his late teens, "The Daleks, we can't stop them. They want you."

"Oh, alright, Barnable," the Doctor sighed, Mac offering the boy an apologetic smile.

"We'll be there in a moment, Clarence," she told him, nodding at him.

"Yes, yes, we've got a plan, don't worry," the Doctor smiled, the boy gave a nod in return and hurried out. But then he sighed, "We haven't got a plan, but people love it when one of us says that."

Mac handed him his cane and helped him stand as Clara frowned at them, "Doctor, what are you going to do?"

"Oh, I don't know," he winced, trying to stretch, "Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit. That's generally how it works unless it's one of Kenzie's plans," he kissed Mac on the cheek, "Then she gets the proper credit."

"Doctor..." Clara frowned.
"Not this time, though," he sighed, looking at Clara, "This is it."

"No!"

"Yes. We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends."

"Change it! Like Tasha said, change the future!"

"The only way to do it," Mac sighed, "Is if the Time Lord were back," she told Clara, "And even now, we can't pull them out of one war and into another."

"Now," the Doctor turned, slowly slipping out of Mac's support to point at Clara, "You're going to stay here. Promise me you will…"

"Why?" Clara frowned.

"I'll be keeping Kenzie's companion safe," he said simply, "One last victory. Allow me that. Give me that..." he hugged her tightly, "Our impossible girl. Thank you. And goodbye," he stepped back and looked at Mac, "And you, Miss Mackenzie of UNIT," he joked, reaching out to take her hand, "Get to the TARDIS," he whispered, his voice growing soft and quiet, "Get there and when this is over, stop them, save the town, do…something I couldn't. I know you can," he kissed her hand.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm going with you, I'm going to face them WITH you."

"You can't," he gave a sad smile, "Because I can't face them knowing you're not safe. Please," he dropped his voice, "Please, let my last moments be knowing that you're alive and safe. That is…that's all I want."

Mac felt tears in her eyes but she nodded, unable to deny him that request with him looking at her so pleadingly, with him begging her for his last moments to be of her safety, his last moments to be of her, "Give them hell."

He winked at her and turned to shuffle towards the doors, "The trouble with Daleks is, they take so long to say anything. Probably die of boredom before they shoot me."

Mac swallowed hard, wincing as the Daleks shouted, "The Doctor is required!" before she hurried to the doors after him, needing to get to the TARDIS, because he had asked her. But she paused, hearing Clara speaking behind her and turned, thinking, for a moment, the woman was talking to her, but she saw it, Clara was facing the crack in the wall.

"Listen to me, you lot, listen! Help him. Help him change the future. Do it. Do something," Clara knelt by the crack, "You've been asking a question... and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name...his name is the Doctor, just like his Chosen is Mackenzie. And that really is ALL the name either of them needs. Everything you need to know about them truly. And if you love him, and you should, help him. Help him."

Mac smiled at that, at how Clara was trying to help even now…but the crack just snapped shut. She swallowed hard and turned to run out of the door, to the TARDIS, unlocking it quickly and getting in, rushing to get the box going so that she could get everyone in the town inside, so that she could go get Clara from the clock tower…but then she saw her on the monitor, rushing out and to the towns people, urging them to get into town hall. She let out a breath, at least they'd be safe in the building for now, the Daleks, it appeared, were all focused on the Doctor as he reached the top of the bell tower.

"Sorry, I'm a bit slow," he called up to them, hunched over, leaning on his cane, so old and tired that she felt tears come to her eyes. She should be there, she should be there with him, but he'd wanted her here, where she was protected and where she could protect in return, "I may not be at my best right now."

"You are dying, Doctor," a Dalek hovered before him.

"Yes," he moved to sit back on a small bench that had been moved up there, "I'm dying. You've been trying to kill me for centuries, and here I am, dying of old age. If you want something done, do it yourself."

"You will die, and the Time Lords will never return."

She could see the smirk on his face, she knew he was thinking of her, that SHE could bring them back, but he wasn't going to remind them of it, "You still can't work up the courage to shoot me, can you?" he pointed his cane at them, "You're still worried I've got something up my sleeve. Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time."

Mac reached for a lever, about to pull it, about to send the TARDIS off, to stop the Daleks as they prepared to attack, TARDISes had been used in the wars and given how the TARDIS was humming now, the box wanted to go help to…

When something she was not expecting, something she didn't think was possible happened.

The crack, the same one the Time Lords had been calling through…opened right in the middle of the dark sky. And from that crack, a soft golden energy drifted down, right to the Doctor, entering him as he breathed in and swirling inside him. Mac put her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide as she saw his hands starting to glow with regeneration!

"You will die now, Doctor!" the Daleks cried, and Mac nearly literally cried at that, because it was true…the Doctor was going to die, he was dying right before her eyes…but this time…he would be coming back with a vengeance, "This is the end of you! The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives."

Mac laughed with joy as the Doctor nearly jumped to his feet, his energy back, "Sorry, what did you say? Did you mention the rules? Now, listen! Bit of advice. Tell me the truth if you think you know it. Lay down the law, if you're feeling brave, but, Daleks, never, ever tell me the rules! Only my Chosen gets to do that!"

"And you never listen when I do!" she shook her head, feeling tears glistening in her eyes, likely falling down her cheeks but she kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"Emergency!" the Daleks finally seemed to realize what was happening, "Emergency! The Doctor is regenerating! The Doctor is regenerating!"

"Oh, look at this!" the Doctor cheered, doing a little dance as the bell struck twelve, "Regeneration number 13. We're breaking some serious science here, boys. I tell you what, it's going to be a whopper!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate the Doctor."

The Doctor laughed darkly at that, "You think you can stop me now, Daleks? If you want my life...come...and…get it!" he wound his arm around in a windmill, before throwing it up to the sky, sending out a violent burst of regeneration energy, before doing the same with his other arm, each blast, each burst, destroying the Daleks whizzing in the sky around them.

"Get inside!" she could hear Clara shouting and nearly cursed herself for forgetting that Clara and the town were still out there, scrambling for the town hall, "Get off street, get inside, quick. Quick!"

The Doctor grinned, "Love from Gallifrey, boys!" he threw his head back, the regeneration energy shooting out of his head and neck, right up at the sky, at the large Dalek mother ship hovering right above him, destroying that, the energy shooting out of him in every single direction and taking out enemy after enemy.

Mac shook her head and turned, running around the console to get the box off…she had a Doctor to get to.

~8~

Mac looked up from where she was cleaning up a bowl of fish fingers and custard when she heard the doors to the TARDIS open and smiled when she saw Clara entre. The girl looked down at the clothing lying on the floor, the old clothes the Doctor had worn, all frayed and patched up, and then up at her, standing there, "Where is he?" Clara asked.

"Getting changed," Mac offered, "He um…he wanted to go out in his best form."

Clara nodded and moved beside her, grimacing at the fish fingers and custard, till Mac put a hand on her arm and nodded to the side where the Doctor, looking young as ever, just like when they first set down on Trenzalore, stepped up to join them in his purple outfit. Mac smiled softly at him, she'd seen his age regressing from the moment she had the TARDIS materialize around him as he laid on the floor of the clock tower's belfry. He'd woken up, looked at his hands slowly aging downwards, given her a kiss when she offered him his favorite food, and said he'd be right back before he hurried off down the stairs, calling something about looking his best to truly go out with a bang. Her hearts had broken, because she knew what it meant, he wasn't regressing in age, he was just regenerating to the point where he first encountered the crack before it would change him to the next him.

"Doctor," Clara breathed, smiling at him.

"Hello," he offered them a sad smile.

"You're young again. You're ok. You didn't even change your face."

"Not quite Clara," Mac squeezed her arm before letting go, "The regeneration's still going, it's resetting essentially."

"Yes," he pointed at her, "Gave me a whole new regeneration cycle, ooh..." he smiled and picked up the bowl of custard, eating one of the fish fingers in it, savoring what might be his last enjoyable bite of it, "Taking a bit longer. Just breaking it in," he moved to set the bowl down but wobbled shakily, so Mac took it and placed it down for him, before she moved to the console and pulled a lever to send them off,"It all just disappears, doesn't it?" he murmured, looking at the two of them, "Everything you are, gone in a moment, like breath on a mirror. Any moment now, he's a-coming."

"Who's coming?" Clara frowned, glancing from him to Mac and back.

"The Doctor."

"You... you are the Doctor," she turned to him.

"Yep," he winced, nearly hunching over as a pain hit him, only to stare at his hand, "And I always will be," he held it up, seeing it glowing with a softer regeneration energy, "But times change," he nodded, "And so must I," he took a breath and looked at Mac, "I wish Amelia could be here too," he admitted.

"…Amelia Pond?" Clara asked, hesitating a moment, recalling the name of his last companion.

He tapped his nose and pointed at her, before smiling at Mac sadly, "My companion, and yours," he mused with a sad sigh, "But," he reached out to Mac and took her hand, gently tugging her to him, "I've got you," he smiled, "The first face this face saw. I want you to be the first the next one sees too."

Mac looked at him with tears in her eyes, even with this being a natural process, it still hurt to know he was dying, "I should have given you those regenerations," she whispered, "You wouldn't have had to suffer growing so old or that regeneration," she knew it had hurt him more than any other, it was painful, it looked painful and she could see it in his eyes how much that last violent one had hurt.

"I didn't want you to," he told her, reaching up to touch her cheek, "I wanted that, I WANTED to grow old, with you."

"But I didn't," she reminded him quietly, "YOU grew old, and I stayed the same."

"I wanted it that way," he nodded, looking at her with eyes full of love, "From the moment I realized I loved you Naery," he said in Gallifreyan, "From the moment I realized I wanted you to be my Chosen…I made mistake after mistake. I pushed you away when, in my hearts, I wanted a life with you, I wanted you to be it for me. I wanted to be able to start my life with you, to grow old and end my life with you as well," he let out a small chuckle, "Seems to be the curse of our relationship, it's always out of order."

"Like our daughter," she gave a sad laugh, tears falling from her eyes.

"Yes," he nodded, "I see where she gets her luck from," he joked, but sobered, "I did get it though," he wiped a tear away, "I got to see myself grow old, I got to have that ending with YOU. And now…" he smiled, "Now I get to start my life with you," he gently brought her hand up to touch his hearts in the center, "My Kenzie, my Naery, my Chosen . I love you, Naey," he told her earnestly, "So much. In this life and the next."

"I love you too," she whispered as he leaned down and kissed her one more time before he pulled away, resting his forehead to hers for a moment, just taking a second to burn this into his memory, "And I will love the next you," she promised, "I will never stop loving YOU, Theta."

He grinned, nodding against her head before pulling back, "I'm glad," he took a breath and squeezed her hand, before he stepped back, not quite sure how the rest of the regeneration would go, if there might be another burst or if it would be quick, whatever it was he didn't want to be too close and harm her.

"We all change," he spoke once more, in English, for Clara's sake though judging by the tears in her eyes she had a general understanding of the meaning of their moment and had remained quiet for them, giving them their privacy and their last words together, "When you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's ok, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me."

He gave them a small smile before he reached up and gently tugged off his bowtie…and let it fall to the floor in a ribbon.

"No," Clara shook her head, tearfully, "No…"

"It's ok Clara," Mac moved to her side, putting an arm around her as Clara reached up to clutch the arm across her front, "It'll all be alright," she promised both the girl and the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled at them, giving Mac a wink…

Before he suddenly jerked back, nearly falling backwards onto the console, and shot back up again, a different man in the blink of an eye. Clara stared with wide eyes, but Mac just smiled at him as he looked at her. He was thin and tall, appearing to be about 50 to 55, nearly the age SHE appeared and she knew that the Doctor had likely had something to do with that given how much it had bothered her that he was so young looking compared to her. He had a few wrinkles, and a severe stare, his eyes were a brilliant blue and his hair a short, curly gray and…

"Oh dear," Mac nearly laughed.

"What?" Clara looked between the two, not sure what was so funny.

"Your eyebrows," Mac pointed at the Doctor.

He blinked, breaking his owlish stare at her, "What about them?" he asked, his voice deep.

"You HAVE them," Mac told him.

The Doctor straightened a moment and reached up to run a finger along them, before he gave her a small grin and held out a hand to her. Mac reached out and took it without hesitation, allowing him to look at it as though he hadn't seen it before, which he likely hadn't, not with his new eyes, before he threaded their fingers together and started to smile…

Before he hunched over and griped the side of his abdomen with his free hand, "Kidneys!" he gasped, "I've got new kidneys," and then he grimaced, "I don't like the color."

Clara blinked, "Of your kidneys?" but before he could answer, the TARDIS started to jolt and shudder, nearly knocking them all off balance, forcing the Time Lords to let go of each other's hands, "What's happening?!"

"We're probably crashing!" the Doctor shouted, frantic, "Oh!"

"There's no probably about that!" Mac called, already at the monitor.

"Into what?" Clara hurried to grab onto the console for support.

"Stay calm," the Doctor rushed about, reaching one side of the console and bracing himself on it, "Just one question…" he looked at them, "Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

"About as much as you do," Mac told him, pulling a lever and trying to stop the TARDIS as it when whizzing off to where…they didn't know.

To be continued...in...Searching the Stars!

A/N: Oh boy it's all over! O.O ...at least till Series 8 comes out lol :) This story will be picked up about 3 months after Series 8 finishes airing as I'll be updating Proffy's story first (2 weeks) then Evy (4 weeks) then Angel (about 7 weeks), which is round about 3 months ;) But I'll also be doing the UNIT files every other month so we'll have a bit of Mac to see before then :)

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you guys, to anyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story :') You all mean the world to me and I'm very glad you enjoyed it :) You're the reason I write and I love you all so much :)

If you're interested, on the 10th I'll be posting a Thor/OC story ;) And, if you'd like, check back around July 9th, I'll be posting TL7, the Doctor's Wife, as an OC then ;)

And...the 9th Mac's theme song is officially...Curious Developments, by Brand X Music :)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup, TL7 will be a bit involved in Torchwood :) I'm considering a spinoff where I might revise some Torchwood episodes (kind of like the UNIT files but the episodes) that would feature the OC so that we get more background of her, but it'll depend on if people are interested in that :)

I'm not quite overwhelmed just yet :) I feel like each OC is so different that they'd all react differently and have their own unique twists because of their reactions. It sort of just falls into place really, just kinda happens when they take over an episode :) I'm very much hoping that Gallifrey returns so we can see Mac with her family as they were such a big part of why she resented the Doctor and why she was so devastated to not have children :) When I first wrote TAS, I made Proffy Katherine just for the Kat(a) part in Human Nature/Family of Blood, I made her Stewart because of the Brig...but I honestly had NO idea that there was an actual Kate Stewart till Power of Three :) That was one of the very happy coincidences that I LOVED :) I probably wouldn't do 2 surviving mother/son thing, just because I feel like the Doctor is so complex to build a relationship with that a child would almost overdo it. I can't see the Doctor's son being there as another OC just because I truly feel that the Doctor's family died in the war, legitimately died, because he would NOT have done what he was preparing to do (or thought he did) if his family was alive, especially with how much children affect him, he'd have saved them at the very least. If he had time to walk across a planet, then I think he had time to find his last remaining family and get them off world. So I probably wouldn't write one where one of his children survived, I genuinely don't think they did :(

I can say there's a tiny twist for TL7 that would make her being there in Series 1 and on difficult, but we might see a potential AU around the end of Series 2, depending on how the story goes :) She probably wouldn't be able to be there through Classic Who as, I feel like the Doctor leaving for all his adventures with Susan might mean that someone had to stay home with the family and that was his wife :( But we'll have to see how TL7's story goes ;) I can't believe it's over too! :'( But it was a fun ride :)