Chapter 10

'Clara sometimes asks me if I dream. Of course I dream, I tell her. Everybody dreams,' he thought to himself. He was dreaming now wasn't he?

'But what do you dream about, she'll ask. The same thing everybody dreams about, I tell her. I dream about where I'm going. She always laughs at that. But you're not going anywhere, you're just wandering about,' he thought, as he walked out of the TARDIS to join his other incarnations.

'That's not true. Not any more. I have a new destination. My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's. It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going... Where I've always been going... Home, the long way round.' He walked up to the assembled group of previous Doctors and looked up at Gallifrey, hanging in the star studded sky like a golden Christmas tree bauble.

Doctors One through Nine had no recollection of the events in 1562. When the Moment returned them to their proper time lines, and they materialised where they should be, their journey through the Time Fissure never happened for them. All they knew was that their eleventh incarnation needed their help, and somehow they were able to converge on the same point in time.

"It's strange," Numberless said after a long silence. "I'm sure I regenerated."

Eleven looked sideways at him. "Not in my dream you didn't."

"But this isn't a dream," Numberless told him.

Eleven raised his eyebrows. "You know what that means then…"

Numberless rolled his eyes. "Please don't tell me its 'timey wimey'."

"Nah, this is more 'wibbly wobbly'," Ten said from Eleven's other side, flashing a mischievous grin.

Numberless chuckled. "Is this what I am to become in the future, Laurel and Hardy?"

"It could be worse," Eleven said, and saw Numberless's questioning look. "We could be the Three Stooges."

"Don't worry," Nine said. "I'm the Doctor you remember regenerating into, and trust me; you wouldn't catch me talking like that… Although, I think we've all said 'that's another fine mess you've gotten me into', to the TARDIS."

"Mmm, quite so," One said from behind them. "But does anyone know where this particular fine mess is, and how we got here?"

"Well, Chinny here seems to think we're in his dream," Numberless said.

"I don't think I'd have a dream as dull as this," Seven said, and then saw the questioning looks from the other Doctors as though he was calling them dull. "Present company accepted, of course."

"Could it be like the Miniscope I was in?" Three asked. "Could we be inside a projection?"

"I say, what a fascinating idea," Two said.

"Well, the Moment did it to us back in the barn," Eleven said, looking between Numberless and Ten. "I suppose we could be inside the Moment."

"Another question that comes to mind, is why we are here," Eight said, to which they all nodded in agreement.

"Well, all our time lines are out of sync, so it's a fair bet that we won't remember any of this," Six said, now recovered from his bad regeneration, but not his bad fashion sense.

"Maybe that's it," Four said. "Maybe the Moment has given us this opportunity to say thank you to the Doctor who ended the Time War before our time lines get back into sync."

"Which number are you by the way," Five asked.

"Oh, I don't think I deserve a number. After Eight there, I never considered myself to be the Doctor. I was an aberration, created by the Sisterhood of Karn."

"Tell me, why is it I'm always the last to arrive at these shindigs? Is the Moment discriminating against me because I'm Scottish?" Twelve said as he joined the group.

"I wouldn't have thought so," Nine said. "After all, you're not really Scottish are you? We're all Lungbarrowmas's."

"Hmmm, I suppose so." He looked around the assembled group. "So we did it then… Saved the old home world."

"Yes, we were just saying, it's all down to the Doctor without a number there, he had the nerve to break into the Omega Arsenal and take the Moment," Three said.

"No," Numberless croaked. "I was all set to destroy Gallifrey and everyone on it. It was these two remarkable Doctors here who saved it," he said, indicating Eleven and Ten with a sweep of his arm.

"We all did it," Eleven said.

"And we should all take comfort in knowing that although Gallifrey is lost somewhere in an alternative universe, she is safe." Ten said.

"Here, here." "Absolutely." "Fantastic." All the Doctors expressed their feelings of relief.

"Ah, can you feel it?" One said. "The time lines are starting to correct themselves. Points in flux are starting to become fixed." He slowly started to fade. "Farewell my fellow selves… farewell."

"Oh, I say… I can feel it too. Cheerio," Two said, as he also started to fade.

As they waited to say goodbye to Three, Four went to one side and looked up to the starry sky. "Er, Moment? I don't know if you can hear me, but I was wondering if I could have a word."

"Ah, it's my turn," Three said. "Goodbye and good luck to you all."

Four continued his one sided conversation. "It's just that I know you can bypass the Backtime Field Buffers and allow more than one time line to co-exist. It's just that I've taken up painting and sketching again... don't know why, just felt the urge one day. Anyway, I wouldn't mind being a curator of an art gallery… you know... if there's a position available. A nice little retirement plan so to speak."

Four started to fade. "Oh well, it was worth a try. See you all," he said with a wave. The fourth Doctor went back to his adventures with Leela, unaware that he was also curator of the Under Gallery at the National Gallery in London. It was the least the Moment could do as a reward for his part in saving Gallifrey.

"I suppose it's my turn next," Five said. "Can I just say that it's been a pleasure and an honour working with you all." The remaining Doctors waved and said goodbye as he faded.

Eight had a little laugh as a thought came to him. "This reminds me of being at a party, and waiting for the taxi to arrive to take you home."

"And here it is," Six said. "Taxi for the Doctor. Take care my friends."

"Hey Doctor," Twelve called out as he started to fade. "Don't let anyone stop you from wearing that coat, you hear me?"

Six looked down at his coat and pulled on his lapels. He looked up, nodded, and smiled, fading away like the Cheshire Cat.

Seven put his umbrella under his arm and prepared to leave. "Do you think you'll ever see Gallifrey again?"

"There's always time," Eleven said with a lopsided smile.

Seven gave a single laugh, looked up as he felt it, and raised his hat in salute. "Goodbye."

"And then there were five," Eight said with a melancholy air. "It's been good though, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. We were a bit awesome," Nine said.

Eight nodded and faded. "Awesome!"

"Yes, but we weren't just a bit awesome," Numberless said. "We were incredibly awesome."

"Yer not wrong there," Nine said with a laugh.

"Unbelievably awesome," Eleven said.

"Molto bene," Ten said.

"Ah, I think my ride is here." He faced Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. "Gentlemen, be outstanding." He bowed slightly and faded away.

"So… my turn next then," Nine said awkwardly. "Don't really like goodbyes."

"We know!" Ten, Eleven, and Twelve said together.

"Look, just get outta here," Ten said with a smile.

"Yeah," he said and gave an awkward wave as he disappeared.

"You two take care, yeah?" Ten said as he turned to face them, holding out his hand.

Eleven shook his hand. "Always strong and courageous."

Twelve shook his hand as well. "Always onward, always upward."

Ten touched his forehead in salute. "Allons-y"

"I suppose this is it then, the last goodbye," Eleven said.

"If you're expecting a monologue from 'Casablanca', you can forget it," Twelve said with a scowl.

"Hah! I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Doctor, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of thirteen awesome Doctors don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy universe. Someday you'll understand that. Now... now. Here's looking at you, kid."

Twelve grinned as Eleven faded away with a lopsided smile. "Yes, I've got a job to do as well." He looked around the misty scene. "Typical! Last to arrive, and the last to leave," he complained. "Hey, Moment? You and I have got to have a serious talk."

The Doctor was old, balding, and standing on a Trenzalor bell tower looking up at the Dalek Mother Ship. "Sorry I'm a bit slow. I may not be at my best right now."

"You are dying, Doctor," the Dalek voice screeched through the air.

"Yes, 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." It almost sounded as though the unemotional Dalek was gloating.

"You still can't work up the courage to shoot me, can you?" he said. He shook his stick in the air at them. "You're still worried I've got something up my sleeve," he shouted, before slumping against the parapet. "Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time."

Flying Daleks fired at the troops on the ground, making the townsfolk scream. Then a crack opened in the sky and golden regeneration energy entered the Doctor's mouth.

"You will die now, Doctor. This is the end of you," the Dalek screeched, but he wasn't paying any attention. He was watching wide eyed as his hands glowed with Artron energy.

The crack in the sky sealed itself as the Dalek spoke. "The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives."

"Sorry, what did you say?" he shouted at the ship. "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!"

"Emergency! Emergency! The Doctor is regenerating!" the Daleks screeched, almost in a panic.

The tower clock struck twelve. The Doctor was already feeling more youthful, although he didn't look it.

"The Doctor is regenerating!"

"Oh, look at this. Regeneration number thirteen. We're breaking some serious science here, boys. I tell you what; it's going to be a whopper!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate the Doctor."

"You think you can stop me now, Daleks? If you want my life, ha, ha, come and get it!" He swung his right arm around and around, before firing a long stream of energy out from his hand. He fired another stream from his left hand. The burning remains of flying Daleks tumbled to the ground like spent fireworks.

"Love from Gallifrey, boys!" he shouted as a stream of energy shot out of his mouth up to the Dalek Mother Ship. A massive shockwave from the exploding Mother Ship ripped open the remaining Daleks on the ground. It even rocked the TARDIS as it travelled out of the town and through the countryside. The energy stream stopped, and an eerie silence fell.

The revitalised Doctor made his way down the tower, onto the street, and along to the TARDIS. He could feel the Artron energy coursing through his veins, and he sagged against the door. It was time... time to make a special call to a special girl. He opened the cover of the police phone in the door, and dialled the number.

"Hello?" Clara said. Hang on; what was he going to say? "Hello?" she said again when no one answered.

"It's me," he said.

"Yes, it's you. Who's this?" She asked slightly annoyed that someone was messing about.

"It's me, Clara. The Doctor."

"What do you mean, the Doctor?"

"I'm phoning you from Trenzalore."

"I don't…"

"From before I changed. I mean it's all still to happen for me. It's coming. Oh, it's a-coming."

She remembered replacing the TARDIS phone back on its cradle when the Dalek attack had ended.

"Not long now. I can feel it."

"Why? Why would you do this?"

"Because I think it's going to be a whopper, and I think you might be scared. And however scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with, believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now and he, he needs you."

"So who is it?" a Scottish voice asked in the background.

"Is that the Doctor?" Eleven and Twelve asked together.

"Yes," she said to both of them.

"He sounds old. Please tell me I didn't get old. Anything but old. I was young. Oh, is he grey?"

Clara had to smile at his runaway mouth. "Yes."

"Clara, please, hey, for me, help him. Go on. And don't be afraid. Goodbye, Clara. Miss ya."

The Doctor regained consciousness on the side of a volcano. There was a face hugging Kantrofarri, or Dream Crab dead on the ground beside him.

"Clara!" he called out, realising that she was in danger of dreaming herself to death. He hurried into the TARDIS and set the coordinates for Clara's home.

He found her in her bedroom with a Dream Crab attached to her face, feeding on her brain tissue. He took out his sonic screwdriver and 'sonicked' the parasite to get it off her. He was relieved to see her young face as he remembered it, not as the sixty year old Clara of his enforced dream.

"Doctor," she said as she woke up. "Am I young?" She'd had the same dream where she'd been in her sixties.

What kind of question was that to ask a Time Lord who could regenerate? "No idea," he said. He looked around her bedroom and grabbed a hand mirror for her to look in. "Is that any good?"

She looked in the mirror and smiled. "Oh, that's good."

He was standing still, watching her, trying to gauge her reaction after the dreams she'd had. "The TARDIS is outside," he said hesitantly.

"So?"

"So, all of time and all of space is sitting out there. A big blue box. Please, don't even argue," he said gently. He hated it when humans argued with him. I mean, he had the intellect to talk rings around the greatest scientist on Earth. Why argue when they knew he was right?

She thought about his offer, and a big grin spread across her face. She gave him her hand and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Doctor."

"Merry Christmas, Clara Oswald," he said affectionately.

They ran out of the room like excited children and made their way outside into the snow, where the TARDIS was waiting. "Well, look at you, all happy. That's rare," she laughed.

"Do you know what's rarer? Second chances," he said, as he thought about his last, impossible regeneration and how he should be dead. He thought about Gallifrey, and how the Moment had given them a second chance to save it.

"I never get a second chance, so what happened this time? Don't even know who to thank," he told her.

The Time Lords? His previous incarnations? The Moment? Maybe even Santa Claus?

The End

For the Whovians out there;

The first Doctor is from 'The Keys of Marinus'.
The second Doctor is from 'The seeds of death'.
The third Doctor is from 'Carnival of monsters'.
The fourth Doctor is from 'The brain of Morbius'.
The fifth Doctor is from 'Resurrection of the Daleks'.
The sixth Doctor is from 'The twin dilemma'.
The seventh Doctor is from 'Survival'.
The eighth Doctor is from 'The vengeance of Morbius'. (BBC radio drama)
The ninth Doctor is from 'Bad Wolf'. (The Doctor mentions that they had left Kyoto and a white light came through the walls of the TARDIS. I made up a story about Kyoto)