*AN: Hello, readers, it's been forever since an update. I'm very sorry, I've got caught up with school and probably won't update as often as you want me to. :( Well, please rate my work, it really does help me mentally and motivationally when you comment!*

It took us a moment, but I remembered that all the hoses led from the central being to the other experiments. If we followed the hoses, we'd find our way back home, or to our escape route that is. My grip on Tardis' bloody hand remained even though she kept trying to let go. "Dad, I don't want you to hold my hand..." She mumbled and I turned my head but was still walking forward as I did so. "You growing up on me already?" I joked, but she didn't laugh or even crack a smile. "I don't like seeing my hands like this..." "Then don't look at them. Just keep your eyes on me." I smiled, but her face was unmoved. "We're getting closer." I noticed the hoses were growing in numbers in the direction we were walking in and pressed on.

Soon enough we were back where we started. The glass case in which Jane's fiancée was still intact, but it was clear that it would shatter any moment. "Jane, Tardis, could you go check the entrance for me please?" They nodded and walked side-by-side to where we first came in this underground labyrinth. As they were doing that, I strolled around the room deep in thought, thinking of how we could defend ourselves. There must've been a computer around here somewhere... "Tardis!" I exclaimed to myself and noticed something on the ground. I fell to the ground and crawled towards it to get a closer look. In the ground was a small crack in which a panel of sorts was hidden. I pointed my sonic at it and with a click of a button, a metal panel shot up and locked into place. "Haha! Tardis! Jane! Come over here!" I heard their footsteps echo from behind me and Tardis slid on her knees beside me. "Get up!" I shot up and then picked her up to her feet. "Look!" I pointed to the metal panel and her eyebrows furrowed. "Let me show you." I turned to find another crack in the ground and repeated what I did to the other one. Up popped a metal panel and it locked shut to the ceiling. "It's protection!" I smiled and waited for a response from both of them. Jane looked really hopeful, Tardis? I wasn't sure what was going on in her brain at the moment.

"I'm going to put the rest of these up. What's the situation with the door?" Jane's hope was now replaced with concern. "There's a strange lock I've never seen before." A lock? No problem. "I don't think your sonic screwdriver can calculate how to unlock it that quick, Dad." Thanks, Tardis... I sighed. "We'll worry about the door later. Tardis, did you ever find a computer?" She shook her head. The odds weren't for us right now... "That's fine! Let's just get these metal panels up so the other experi-" I was interrupted by the howls of the nearby mutants, and immediately started to jump to each crack that held a metal panel.

One after the other they shot up and locked into place. Each time I closed a door for them to come through, they'd try to flood to another, only to have the same luck. Soon there was only one left; the way to the entrance. "Let's go!" I grabbed Tardis' hand, who grabbed Jane's hand, and made our way towards the exit. All we had to do was run towards the door and get us out of here. If I locked the panel behind me, Jane's fiancée would be trapped and we could get out before we were ripped to shreds.

My glory was short-lived. As soon as we stepped foot outside the metal box, I caught sight of a horde of mutants coming from both sides, and there was no way we'd outrun them to the exit. So I did only what I could; push Tardis and Jane back in the box and lock us in. With the king of all the mutants, yes. "Dad! What are we going to do now?" I bit my lip and frowned. Tardis was right. Even though I saved us from a horde of mutants, I locked us in with their king. He'd probably do more damage to us than them. To make matters worse, the cage was bound to break in any second, so I pulled Tardis and Jane into a corner and stood in front of them. "I'm sorry." I turn to the two of them, and almost looked away as soon as I did because of the looks on their faces. Whenever someone looked at me, it was always filled with hope and wonder, they relied on me to protect them and answer what questions they had. It was up to me to make sure they didn't get hurt, or... die. After all that effort and work I did to protect these two, we still ended up in this pickle. Cornered in a metal box like animals in the Roman Colosseum to fight for survival. We never got to do that. I planned to take Tardis to the Colosseum some time, and now that wasn't going to happen...

Tardis hugged me, and I kept a supportive arm around her tiny body and then felt a warm tear on my wrist. I freed my other arm from Jane to Tardis' head in order to comfort her in our last moments of adventure. And with a final roar the cage shattered into large shards of glass littered the floor. The three of us jumped and screamed shrilly simultaneously and hid behind a pillar in order to delay our fate. I kept Tardis and Jane out of sight as the footsteps slowly made their way towards our hiding spot. One by one they pounded closer and closer; louder and louder; as if a ticking time bomb were about to go off. "Dad?" Tardis cried into my jacket but I just rubbed her arm reassuringly.

Before I knew it, Jane pushed me away and ran out of hiding into the open. I didn't have any time to react in any way to save her, so she was vulnerable. "Jane! What in the world are you doing?" I hissed but she glanced back at Tardis and I, who were still stuck in our embrace, then waved her arms around as if to bring all the attention to herself. I then pushed Tardis in the corner as I pursued Jane . She tried to keep away from me, and unintentionally stepped closer to her once-fiancee. "Jane,"
"I know what I'm doing!" She insisted and I finally noticed that the mutant was still, terrifying, but still. Lance stood over us in a stance just like a gorilla's; fists digging into the ground and head held high.

With my eyes widened with fear as I backed away towards Tardis. Jane shut her eyes and took a deep breath in. Jane's fiancee stepped even closer to her, and I jumped back protectively in front of my quivering daughter. "Lance?" Jane stepped sheepishly closer to Lance's large arm that was about as tall as her. "It-it's me, Jane. Remember?" She held up a gentle hand to the thick silver fur on Lance's arm. In response, he swung his heavy arms above his head and gave out a bellowing roar. I instinctly jumped after her with a loud, "NO!" as Lance's fists came falling down and the resistance of the air blew my hair in front of my eyes. I was too late. When I opened my eyes, I expected to see a Jane-pancake, but Lance's fists were pounding as if in joy. Jane shut her eyes and covered her ears when he started to howl along with it. I hurried over to Tardis and tore her clenched fists away from the wall that she was hiding behind. "Hey, it's okay. Look," I pointed to Lance, who was cradling Jane like a baby. "He's tame. Just like a cat!" I smiled and she nodded skeptically.

Once we were out in the light, Tardis hid behind me as we advanced closer to the couple. "How did you know?" I asked a giggling Jane.
"Know what?" She managed to stifle out between laughs.
"That he'd remember you? That it was still him inside?" Lance gently kept tossing her around the air playfully. It wasn't until she patted his shoulder to stop when she shook her head.
"I didn't."

Jane's bravery was really compelling. Especially since we were complete strangers that just popped into her life. She had a good heart, that was for sure.

Well, the rest, as they say, is history: Lance fought off the mutants to give us time to get to the exit, and we ran up those stairs without looking back; well, Jane was insistent. She wanted to stay, which is not surprising, but I had to convince her to take down Rosenthal by exploiting her corrupt experimentations. As we ascended the staircase, Jane was more and more confident on confronting her boss, which made me smile. Our work here was done; she didn't need our help anymore.

"Wait, where are you going?" She frowned in confusion as Tardis and I passed Rosenthal's office.
"I have a feeling our work here is done." I smirked my I-know-what's-going-to-happen smirk more at Tardis than Jane.
"But-" She opened her mouth.
"You'll be fine. I'm sure." My smirk melts into a warm smile and I give her a big hug. "You'll be fine without us. It was very nice meeting you, Jane." I pull away and Tardis practically pushes me away to give her a hug as well.

Jane then looks from us to the door and back to us with a confident smile and a wave goodbye. Upon placing her fingers around the doorknob, she took a deep breath and walked into the office. Tardis and I began to walk away to the entrance of the secret mountain base.

"We never went sledding, Dad." Tardis slipped her hand into mine as we were pummelted with a bitter-cold snowy breeze.
"I know, I know." I reply absent-mindedly and start trudging through the dense snow while pulling her behind me.