Welcome. Thank you very, very much for your interest in this story, especially because it is a crossover.

The main premise of this work has been portrayed a few times in the past in this site. However, it's a crazy fantasy that I've had for a while, and I know I'm not alone. I simply had to write it. It is also my first real multichapter. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.

Familiarity with both shows is strongly recommended. For a disclaimer, please see my profile.

In Doctor Who, this story begins at the very end of the 2015 Christmas Special, "The Husbands of River Song". It has many spoilers from it and mentions facts from the whole modern series, particularly the episodes: "Silence at the Library/Forest of the Dead" and "Human Nature/The Family of Blood".

In Criminal Minds, this story begins during the hiatus between Seasons 10 and 11. I found that it was the ideal place to start it; you'll see why. There are references to facts from the whole series.

I took a bit of artistic license regarding timelines and details in both shows so they could fit together. Some places are real and some others, a product of my imagination.

Warnings: Some angst, lots of friendship, lots of fantasy and sci-fi.

Thanks a lot to my amazing (You know who you are) beta reader, who helps me to learn something new every chapter.

I'm not a native English speaker. Every review will be highly appreciated.

THE DARKNESS WITHIN.

A Doctor Who/Criminal Minds Crossover Fan Fiction.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."

Edgar Allan Poe

-v-v-v-

CHAPTER 1

In Bradley Hayman's opinion, that cold September night was just perfect.

It was pitch black and just after midnight in the middle of the forest that lay at the outskirts of the small town of Nighthawk, Washington- a few miles away from the border with Canada, and a lot of miles away from the rest of civilization.

The moon was waning, just a narrow silver ring close to the horizon. The dim light of the stars made the sky look bright, in contrast to the absolute blackness of the woods below. There was no wind. Every leaf in the forest was still. It was something that really didn't happen often in this part of the planet. These were the best conditions for the National Geographic photographer to do his job. He was excited, whistling an endless version of "Happy" by Farrell Williams, while he was adding yet another camera to the two he had set up in the middle of that isolated clearing, using a very small flashlight to do so.

Brad, as all his friends used to call him, wanted to make a time-lapse video of the Milky Way and was hoping to take a few nice stills, as well. It would be really great if he could catch the Aurora Borealis on top of everything else, even if the forecast he checked on the internet earlier said that today that was highly unlikely to happen. "Hope is the last thing to die" was his philosophy.

He just had started the camera and switched off his flashlight, when he saw it.

He shut up instantaneously and kept watching, open mouthed.

There, right at the top of the sky, was a flare. It was unknown, unnatural and many times brighter than all the stars around. It was descending, and it was red, rather than green or yellow like the majority of the meteorites the man had filmed or photographed in the past. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding hard in his chest as he saw the indefinite brightness slowly growing, approaching… It looked like it was actually… flying, decreasing speed as it drew near the Earth. Brad had never seen anything like this in the forty-two years of his life, something so, so amazing and scary at the same time. For some crazy reason, he started to think about that movie that captivated him as a child, Close Encounters of the Third Kind…

The light disappeared from his sight behind the treetops ahead. Brad prayed with all of his might that this was being caught by his cameras, or no one would ever believe what he saw.

For a few seconds after that thing disappeared into the forest, he remained still; something like disbelief, uncertainty and maybe fear paralysed him. When he could react, all he did was smile. "Oh, how beautiful…" He whispered joyfully.

Those were the last words he pronounced in his life.

He didn't even realize when the skin, the flesh, the blood and the internal organs were stripped away from his bones, in just one millisecond. His skeleton fell limply to the ground, still wearing his untainted clothes and clutching the small flashlight in his hand.

The thought repeated itself for a moment, like an echo… the last trace of Bradley Hayman's life.

Oh, how beautiful…
Oh… how…
Oh…

-v-v-v-

A little more than ten hours had elapsed since the first fateful encounter.

The gorgeous dark skinned woman approached the large window of her very expensive apartment for the umpteenth time, paying no attention at all to the breathtaking view of the London skyline before her, or the lovely colours of the sunset. She was exasperated, holding her iPhone to her ear with her left hand and almost tearing out her long, curly hair with the other, while pacing around in the luxurious living room like a caged lion.

"Mickey… this is a useless argument," she said to the phone, her voice was broken. She was holding back tears, but she wouldn't allow him to notice. "You know it's not working and never will, so please stop it."

"But I love you." She could hear the pain in the words of the man who was still her husband. "Please Martha, let's try again, just once more, one last chance… I can't be without you…"

"Of course you can… and you will. I tried, not one but many times… I lost count. No more. I loved you… I really did, but your jealousy killed everything I felt for you."

"For God's sake, woman… How can I not be jealous? He is ever present, like a damned shadow in our lives! I know you're always thinking about him and the good old times, even if you don't mention it! I bet you still dream about him and his bloody time machine!"

She rolled her eyes, withholding her sudden desire to throw the phone right out the window.

"Now I know you never got to know me, if that's all you think of me." She said in a low voice, her exasperation turning quickly into anger. "If it wasn't for him and his bloody time machine, you and I would've never met in the first place. I loved my job at UNIT… but I resigned anyway. I left everything behind to start anew. I did it for you, because I knew how much it hurt you to remember the Doctor… and what happened to Rose. I did all that because you were so important to me. You and I, together… but you're the one who could never get over it. Goodbye, Michael."**

"No Martha, please don't…"

She hung up and tossed the phone on the couch with a groan. Her eyes filled with tears as she plopped down next to the device. She covered her face with her hands and started to sob.

Was Mickey right? Was she, after all these years, after all this absence, after all this bitterness, still in love with…?

No! No, it can't be…

The phone ringing again startled her, bringing her back to the present.

Damn it… She thought, sniffling and cleaning her face harshly with the back of her hand. Now, she was angry not only with her husband, but with herself, for her uncertainties and her failure to control her feelings.

She answered quickly, without looking at the caller.

"Michael, I told you! It's useless! Please, leave me alone!" She was about to hang up and throw the phone away again, when she heard the familiar voice.

"Wow, wow, wow… Hold on a second. Michael? Not Mickey? There's trouble in paradise, then… Who would've imagined?"

Her face softened almost immediately.

"You…" She said and sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh, my dear Jack I'm so happy, so ecstatic to hear your voice again after all this time…" Captain Harkness said, in a very bad impression of Martha's accent. "It's been years… and in the right order, too! Thank God you're still alive."

The woman smiled softly, in spite of herself. Had it really been that much time? In fact, the last time she spoke with him was right after her resignation from UNIT, more than six years ago. It was hard to believe for people that used to be so close, as they had been. The woman presumed they drifted apart because the link, the one person that would've kept them united, was not there anymore.

"Sorry, Jack. I… I really can't talk right now… As you may have noticed, I'm not the finest conversationalist at the moment. I'm not in the mood to reminisce. I´ll call you back as soon as I can, I promise."

"Of course if I was only calling for a cup of tea, biscuits and a chat, I would understand you perfectly, but right now I need you more than that. Please, listen…"

"I'm not coming back. We talked about that. It doesn't matter that Mickey and I are not together anymore. The past is something that should remain there, even if we were taught to think otherwise."

"I remember our last conversation, my friend, as if it happened yesterday. I can assure you that I wouldn't have called you if there were another possibility, but you're the only one that can help us now. I need to see you, tonight."

"There's no way for me to get to Cardiff right now. You'll be fine chasing alien monsters without me."

"I'm not in Cardiff. I'm in London. I really, really need to see you… This is not about remembering our adventures together at all, Martha. Not even about UNIT, or Torchwood. This is all about him."

-v-v-v-

"Finally!" Spencer Reid exclaimed, raising his hands excitedly. He got up from the blue plastic chair where he had sat down barely a minute before, after pacing back and forth in the waiting room at the hospital for the better part of the last three hours. Waiting had never been his specialty, much less when a beloved one was involved.

William LaMontagne Jr. approached quickly the group of FBI Agents reunited there, wearing light blue scrubs and a wide smile on his face.

"How is JJ?" The youngest of the group asked, not caring at all about showing his concern and eagerness. "Do I have my second godchild already? Is it a boy, or a girl? Is everything OK?"

Behind him, Kate, Penelope, Aaron, David and Derek got up too.

"It's a boy!" Will said with delight. "Both the baby and his momma are fine!"

There was a chorus of chuckles and congratulations and a small queue to embrace Will. When it was Reid's turn, JJ's husband stopped for a moment, his blue eyes fixed on the young man's brown ones.

"Spencer… I truly appreciate what you did for my wife." He said, grinning like a child. "Thank you so, so much… I don't know where we'd be right now if it wasn't for you, man."

"It was nothing. Anyone on the team would've done what I did. We are all family and love her so much. I'm so glad they're all right… Is there anything else you need right now? Does Henry have a babysitter? When are you going back home?"

Morgan stood next to the still visibly nervous young genius and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling. "Hey, calm down, Reid. The storm has passed. One question at a time. This is not an interrogation."

"I'm sorry." Spencer said, blushing. "It's just that with all the work we have, I got distracted and didn't realize that we were so close to the due date. JJ shouldn't have kept working up until the last minute, anyway. I mean, I had to bring her to the hospital straight from the office! She almost scared me to death when her water broke in front of me!"

"Kid, I thought you knew how to deliver a baby." David joked, eliciting laughs from more than one of his colleagues.

"It would be awkward if he didn't!" Kate voiced then, playfully.

"I do, but there is a difference between helping a stranger and seeing it happen to a woman you practically consider your sister!"

"Ok… Now I feel guilty…" Callahan whispered, with an impish smile. "I know she kept working because she didn't want to leave the team two members down. Things are difficult enough as they are."

"Kate, please don't feel guilty for wanting to spend as much time as possible with your son," Aaron said, with a nostalgic expression on his usually unreadable face. "That is one of the hardest decisions people in law enforcement have to make, and I'm happy you did so. You will not regret it, I promise. We will find someone to cover for you, and if you want, you can come back to us in the future, whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Hotch. I'll think about it."

"Anyway…" Garcia spoke then, smiling fondly at a memory from six years ago. "This isn't even the first time JJ has done this. When Henry was born, it was almost the same. She's turning that into a habit, almost giving birth behind her desk, you know?"

Will exhaled a chuckle.

"Can we see them?" Reid asked.

"Of course. I can only take three people at a time with me, so who will be first?"

"The godfather, obviously." Derek patted Spencer's shoulder brotherly, making the young man smile. "Hey kid, why don't you go on ahead with the girls?"

"This way." The proud father said, beckoning them to follow him.

-v-v-v-

TO BE CONTINUED.

** In the Doctor Who universe, the Unified Intelligence Taskforce — UNIT — is a military organisation which operates under the auspices of the United Nations. Its remit is to investigate and combat paranormal and extra-terrestrial threats to the Earth. UNIT is not the only alien defence organisation, but it is the one with which the Doctor has the closest personal involvement.