Loose Threads

The

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“I never met a older version of you.” Martha explained.

I frowned, looking down at my charms. “They’re for my kids.” I said. “Lilac has the amber charm, Cookie has the emerald, Hannah has the garnet, Harry has the turquoise, and the twins have the rubies.”

Martha reached out, taken the gold bracelet in her hand. “But what about this one?” She pointed at the sapphires.

“That one is mine.” I said. “Mine and...” I dragged off the last sentence.

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“71.”

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The Doctor “Cardiff.”

Martha “Cardiff?”

The Doctor “Ah, but the thing about Cardiff, it’s built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault, but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel.”

Martha “So it’s a pit stop.”

The Doctor “Exactly. Should only take twenty seconds. The rift’s been active.”

(A man in a great coat is running across the plaza.)

Martha “Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?”

The Doctor “Bit of trouble with the Slitheen.”

(It is Jack Harkness. He has a rucksack on his back.)

The Doctor “A long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then.”

The Doctor “Finito. All powered up.”

(The Doctor sees Jack on the scanner. He sets the time rotor moving. Jack leaps for the TARDIS and something goes bang! on the console.)

Martha “Whoa! What’s that?”

The Doctor “We’re accelerating into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one hundred trillion? That’s impossible.”

Martha “Why? What happens then?”

The Doctor “We’re going to the end of the universe.”

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==LT==

(More)

The Doctor “Well, we’ve landed.”

Martha “So what’s out there?”

The Doctor “I don’t know.”

Martha “Say that again. That’s rare.”

The Doctor “Not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really, really go.”

(Then he grins and runs to the door.)

(Okay, it’s a quarry. Martha spots someone lying on the ground near the TARDIS.)

Martha “Oh my God!”

(It is Jack.)

Martha “Can’t get a pulse. Hold on. You’ve got that medical kit thing.”

(She runs into the TARDIS)

The Doctor “Hello again. Oh, I’m sorry.”

(Martha returns with the medical kit.)

Martha “Here we go. Get out of the way. It’s a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat’s more like World War Two.”

The Doctor “I think he came with us.”

Martha “How do you mean, from Earth?”

The Doctor “Must have been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex. Well, that’s very him.”

Martha “What, do you know him?”

The Doctor “Friend of mine. Used to travel with me, back in the old days.”

Martha “But he’s. I’m sorry, there’s no heartbeat. There’s nothing. He’s dead.”

(Jack gasps and grabs Martha, who screams.)

Martha “Oh, so much for me. It’s all right. Just breathe deep. I’ve got you.”

Jack “Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?”

Martha “Martha Jones.”

Jack “Nice to meet you, Martha Jones.”

The Doctor “Oh, don’t start.”

“And I called dibs!”

Jack “I was only saying hello.”

Martha “I don’t mind.”

(She helps Jack stand up.)

Jack “Doctor.”

The Doctor “Captain.”

Jack “Good to see you.”

The Doctor “And you. Same as ever. Although, have you had work done?”

Jack “You can talk.”

The Doctor “Oh yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know this was me?”

Jack “The police box kind of gives it away. I’ve been following you for a long time. You abandoned me.”

The Doctor “Did I? Busy life. Moving on.”

Jack “Just got to ask. The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler.”

The Doctor “Oh, no! Sorry, she’s alive.”

Jack “You’re kidding.”

The Doctor “Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey, and her mother.”

Jack “Oh, yes!”

(Jack hugs the Doctor.)

Martha “Good old Rose.”

(More)

==LT==

(More)

Jack “So there I was, stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me. But I had this.”

(A sort of bracelet.)

“It’s one of those vortex manipulators, like Terra has.” Martha said. She eyed Jack warily. “Are you like her too?”

“Mine’s broken.” I reminded her. “No access to the basic programming. It’s all mapped out for me, and I just get to coast along the time stream.” I turned to Jack. “I do it better, though.”

Jack grinned, holding his manipulator. “I used to be a Time Agent. They use these all the time. They’re not the only ones who can time travel.”

The Doctor “Oh, excuse me. That is not time travel. It’s like, I’ve got a sports car and you’ve got space hoppers.”

“Are you saying I can’t travel as well as you?” I questioned him.

The Doctor was ready to argue, until he saw the look of mock hurt in my eyes. “No-No. You do it wonderfully.”

Jack snorted. “You still have him trained, I see.”

“Baby blue, you got no idea.”

Martha “Oh ho. Boys and their toys.”

Jack “All right, so I bounced. I thought 21st century, the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless.”

The Doctor “Told you.”

Jack “I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me.”

Martha “But that makes you more than one hundred years old.”

Jack “And looking good, don’t you think? So I went to the time rift, based myself there because I knew you’d come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this detecting you and here we are.”

Martha “But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?”

The Doctor “I was busy.”

Martha “Is that what happens, though, seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?”

Jack “Not if you’re blonde.”

Martha “Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise!”

The Doctor “You two! We’re at the end of the universe, all right? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and you’re busy blogging! Come on.”

(They look down over a cliff onto a high tech construction of some kind.)

Martha “Is that a city?”

The Doctor “A city or a hive, or a nest, or a conglomeration. Like it was grown. But look, there. That’s like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago.”

Martha “What killed it?”

The Doctor “Time. Just time. Everything’s dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn’t just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing.”

Jack “They must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death.”

The Doctor “Well, Martha and I, maybe. Not so sure about you, Jack.”

Martha “What about the people? Does no one survive?”

The Doctor “I suppose we have to hope life will find a way.”

Jack “Well, he’s not doing too bad.”

(The running man is dashing through the city, pursued by the tribe.)

CHIEFTAIN “Human!”

The Doctor “Is it me, or does that look like a hunt? Come on!”

(The Doctor, Jack and Martha run to help.)

Jack “Oh, I’ve missed this.”

(They meet up with the running man.)

Jack “I’ve got you.”

Padra “They’re coming! They’re coming!”

(Jack aims a revolver at the tribes people.)

The Doctor “Jack, don’t you dare!”

(Jack fires into the air, and the noise stops the tribe in its tracks.)

Martha “What the hell are they?”

Padra “There’s more of them. We’ve got to keep going.”

The Doctor “I’ve got a ship nearby. It’s safe. It’s not far, it’s over there.”

(More tribesmen appear on the cliff.)

The Doctor “Or maybe not.”

Padra “We’re close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we’re safe.”

The Doctor “Silo?”

Jack “Silo.”

Martha “Silo for me.”

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==LT==

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(Padra shouts whilst running.)

Padra “It’s the Futurekind! Open the gate!”

The guard “Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!”

Padra “Show him your teeth.”

(Everyone grimaces, displaying their chisel incisors.)

The guard “Human! Let them in! Let them in!”

(The metal gates are opened and the trio run through.)

The guard “Close! Close! Close!”

(A guard fires his machine gun at the ground in front of the tribe as they get too close.)

CHIEFTAIN “Humans. Humani. Make feast.”

The guard “Go back to where you came from. I said, go back. Back!”

Jack “Oh, don’t tell him to put his gun down.”

The Doctor “He’s not my responsibility.”

Jack “And I am? Huh, that makes a change.”

CHIEFTAIN “Kind watch you. Kind hungry.”

(The tribe back away and leave.)

The Doctor “Thanks for that.”

The guard “Right. Let’s get you inside.”

Padra “My name is Padra Toc Shafe Cane. Tell me. Just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?”

The guard “Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can.”

(More)

==LT==

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The Doctor “It looks like a box, a big blue box. I’m sorry, but I really need it back. It’s stuck out there.”

Padra “I’m sorry, but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafe Cane. My brother’s name is Beltone.”

Atillo “The computers are down but you can check the paperwork. Creet! Passenger needs help.”

(A young boy appears with a clipboard. Padra goes to him.)

Creet “Right. What do you need?”

Atillo “A blue box, you said.”

The Doctor “Big, tall, wooden. Says Police.”

Atillo “We’re driving out for the last water collection. I’ll see what I can do.”

The Doctor “Thank you.”

Creet “Come on.”

Martha “Sorry, but how old are you?”

Creet “Old enough to work. This way.”

(They follow Creet.)

Creet “Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane and Biltone Shafe Cane? We’re looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane.”

Padra “The Shafe Canes, anyone? Kistane from Red Force Five? My name’s Padra.”

Creet “Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane? Anyone know the Shafe Cane family? Anyone called Shafe Cane?”

Martha “It’s like a refugee camp.”

Jack “Stinking. Oh, sorry. No offence. Not you.”

The Doctor “Don’t you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans.”

Creet “Kistane Shafe Cane.”

The Doctor “End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That’s the word. Indomitable! Ha!”

Creet “Is there a Kistane Shafe Cane?”

(A woman stands up.) Kistane “That’s me.”

Padra “Mother?”

Kistane “Oh, my God. Padra.”

Padra “Beltone?”

Martha “It’s not all bad news.”

(A young man stands up. Jack shakes his hand.)

Jack “Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?”

The Doctor “Stop it. Give us a hand with this. It’s half deadlocked. I need you to overwrite the code. Let’s find out where we are.”

(Together, the Doctor and Jack open the door which turns out to be part way up a giant rocket silo. The Doctor nearly falls in.)

Jack “Gotcha.”

The Doctor “Thanks.”

Jack “How did you cope without me?”

Martha “Now that is what I call a rocket.”

The Doctor “They’re not refugees, they’re passengers.”

Martha “He said they were going to Utopia.”

The Doctor “The perfect place. Hundred trillion years, it’s the same old dream. You recognise those engines?”

Jack “Nope. Whatever it is, it’s not rocket science. But it’s hot, though.”

(They shut the door again.)

The Doctor “Boiling. But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?”

(Yana arrives.)

Yana “The Doctor?”

The Doctor “That’s me.”

Yana “Good! Good! Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.”

The Doctor “It’s good apparently.”

(Yana drags the Doctor away. A woman with pointed teeth watches.)

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==LT==

(More)

(Yana takes the Doctor to various pieces of equipment straight away.)

Chantho “Chan welcome tho.”

Yana “Now, this is the gravitissimal accelerator. It’s past its best but it works.”

Chantho “Chan welcome tho.”

Yana “And over here is the footprint impellor system. Now, do you know anything about endtime gravity-”

Martha “Hello. Who are you?”

Chantho “Chan Chantho tho.”

Yana “But we can’t get it to harmonise.”

Jack “Captain Jack Harkness.”

The Doctor “Stop it.”

Jack “Can’t I say hello to anyone?”

Chantho “Chan I do not protest tho.”

Jack “Maybe later, Blue. So, what have we got here?”

The Doctor “And all this feeds into the rocket?”

Yana “Yeah, except without a stable footprint, you see, we’re unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?”

The Doctor “Well, er, basically, sort of, not a clue.”

Yana “Nothing?”

The Doctor “I’m not from around these parts. I’ve never seen a system like it. Sorry.”

Yana “No, no. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. There’s been so little help.”

(Over in the corner with chairs, a table and a drinks machine, Martha pulls a transparent container from Jack’s backpack. It contains a hand.)

Martha “Oh, my God. You’ve got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag.”

The Doctor “But that, that, that’s my hand.”

Jack “I said I had a Doctor detector.”

Chantho “Chan is this a tradition amongst your people tho?”

Martha “Not on my street. What do you mean, that’s your hand? You’ve got both your hands, I can see them.”

The Doctor “Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day, in a swordfight.”

(Reminder of when the Sycorax leader chopped of the Doctor’s hand and it fell from the spaceship in Christmas Invasion.)

Martha “What? And you grew another hand?”

The Doctor “Er, yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah. Hello.”

Yana “Might I ask, what species are you?”

The Doctor “Time Lord, last of. Heard of them? Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling.”

Chantho “Chan it is said that I am the last of my species too tho.”

The Doctor “Sorry, what was your name?”

Yana “My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge.”

The Doctor “The city outside, that was yours?”

Chantho “Chan the conglomeration died tho.”

The Doctor “Conglomeration. That’s what I said.”

Jack “You’re supposed to say sorry.”

The Doctor “Oh, yes. Sorry.”

Chantho “Chan most grateful tho.”

Martha “You grew another hand?”

The Doctor “Hello, again. It’s fine. Look, really, it’s me.”

Martha “All this time and you’re still full of surprises.”

Chantho “Chan you are most unusual tho.”

The Doctor “Well.”

Jack “So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?”

Yana “We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but it’s feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia.”

The Doctor “And Utopia is?”

Yana “Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?”

The Doctor “Bit of a hermit.”

Yana “A hermit with friends?”

The Doctor “Hermits United. We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It’s good fun, for a hermit. So, er, Utopia?”

(Yana shows them a display on the gravitational field navigation system.)

Yana “The call came from across the stars, over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originating from that point.”

The Doctor “Where is that?”

Yana “Oh, it’s far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night.”

The Doctor “What do you think’s out there?”

Yana “We can’t know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it’s worth a look, don’t you think?”

The Doctor “Oh, yes.”

(Yana hears the drumbeats again, all but drowning out the Doctor’s words.)

The Doctor “And the signal keeps modulating, so it’s not automatic. That’s a good sign someone’s out there. And that’s, oh, that’s a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you. Professor? Professor? Professor.”

Yana “I, er, ahem, right, that’s enough talk. There’s work to do. Now if you could leave, thank you.”

The Doctor “You all right?”

Yana “Yes, I’m fine. And busy.”

The Doctor “Except that rocket’s not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it’s not working.”

Yana “We’ll find a way.”

The Doctor “You’re stuck on this planet. And you haven’t told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they’re going to fly.”

Yana “Well, it’s better to let them live in hope.”

The Doctor “Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor er, what was it?”

Yana “Yana.”

The Doctor “Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?”

(He sonics the end of a cable and pulls. Power surges through the machines.)

Chantho “Chan it’s working tho!”

Yana “But how did you do that?”

The Doctor “Oh, we’ve been chatting away, I forgot to tell you. I’m brilliant.”

(More)

==LT==

(More)

(The Doctor sniffs one of the wires.)

The Doctor “Is this?”

Yana “Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together.”

The Doctor “That’s food. You’ve built this system out of food and string and staples? Professor Yana, you’re a genius.”

Yana “Says the man who made it work.”

The Doctor “Oh, it’s easy coming in at the end, but you’re stellar. This is, this is magnificent. And I don’t often say that because, well, because of me.”

Yana “Well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn’t been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I’ve spent my life going from one refugee ship to another.”

The Doctor “If you’d been born in a different time, you’d be revered. I mean it. Throughout the galaxies.”

Yana “Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. Yes, just a little, just once.”

The Doctor “Well, you’ve got it now. But that footprint engine thing. You can’t activate it from onboard. It’s got to be from here. You’re staying behind.”

Yana “With Chantho. She won’t leave without me. Simply refuses.”

The Doctor “You’d give your life so they could fly.”

Yana “Oh, I think I’m a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep.”

Atillo “Professor, tell the Doctor we’ve found his blue box.”

The Doctor “Ah!”

Jack “Doctor?”

(The TARDIS is on the monitor.)

The Doctor “Professor, it’s a wild stab in the dark, but I may just have found you a way out.”

(The drumbeats return as Yana looks at the monitor. A little later, the TARDIS is in the laboratory and the Doctor is dragging a power cable out of it.)

==LT==

The Doctor “Extra power. Little bit of a cheat, but who’s counting? Jack, you’re in charge of the retro feeds.”

(Martha and Chantho enter.)

Martha “Oh, am I glad to see that thing.”

Chantho “Chan Professor, are you all right tho?”

Yana “Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Just get on with it.”

Jack “Connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot. But quicker.”

Martha “Ooo, yes, sir.”

The Doctor “You don’t have to keep working. We can handle it.”

Yana “It’s just a headache. It’s just, just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head.”

The Doctor “What sort of noise?”

Yana “It’s the sound of drums. More and more, as though it’s getting closer.”

The Doctor “When did it start?”

Yana “Oh, I’ve had it all my life. Every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked.”

(Martha and Chantho put circuit boards into a rack.)

Martha “How long have you been with the professor?”

Chantho “Chan seventeen years tho.”

Martha “Blimey. A long time.”

Chantho “Chan I adore him tho.”

Martha “Oh right, and he”

Chantho “Chan I don’t think he even notices tho.”

Martha “Tell me about it.”

Chantho “Chan but I am happy to serve tho.”

Martha “Do you mind if I ask? Do you have to start every sentence with chan?”

Chantho “Chan yes tho.”

Martha “And end every sentence with-”

Chantho “Chan tho tho.”

Martha “What would you happen if you didn’t?”

Chantho “Chan that would be rude tho.”

Martha “What, like swearing?”

Chantho “Chan indeed tho.”

Martha “Go on, just once.”

Chantho “Chan I can’t tho.”

Martha “Oh, do it for me.”

Chantho “No.”

(Chantho bursts into giggles.)

(More)

==LT==

(More)

(Atillo goes to a monitor.)

Atillo “Professor.”

(The screen remains blank, so he types in Yana.)

Atillo “Systems are down. Professor, are you getting me?”

(Yana appears on the monitor.)

Yana “I’m here! We’re ready!Now all you need to do is connect the couplings, then we can launch.”

(Atillo’s face disappears from the screen.)

Yana “God sake! This equipment. Needs rebooting all the time.”

Martha “Anything I can do? I’ve finished that lot.”

Yana “Yes, if you could. Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes.”

Martha “Certainly, sir. Just don’t ask me to do shorthand.”

Yana “Right.”

(Atillo’s face returns.)

Atillo [on monitor] “Are you still there?”

Yana “Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We’ll keep the levels down from here.”

Atillo [on monitor] “He’s inside. And good luck to him.”

Yana “Captain, keep the dials below the red.”

The Doctor “Where is that room?”

Yana “It’s underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation.”

The Doctor “Stet? Never heard of it.”

Yana “You wouldn’t want to. But it’s safe enough, if we can hold the radiation back from here.”

(They watch the monitor showing the man connecting up equipment. An alarm sounds.)

Yana “It’s rising. Naught point two. Keep it level!”

Jack “Yes, sir.”

(The second connection is made. The tribal woman opens a wall box marked electricity hazard and sabotages it.)

Chantho “Chan we’re losing power tho!”

(The woman uses a piece of equipment to smash other control panels.)

The Doctor “Radiation’s rising!”

Jack “We’ve lost control!”

Yana “The chamber’s going to flood.”

The Doctor “Jack, override the vents!”

Atillo “Get out! Get out of there! Jate!”

(Jack pulls out two power cables.)

Jack “We can jump start the override.”

The Doctor “Don’t! It’s going to flare!”

(Power surges through Jack as he holds the live ends together. He is electrocuted.)

Atillo “Jate, get out of there! Get out!”

(Jate’s organic molecules disintegrate, and the suit falls to the floor.)

Atillo “No!”

Martha “I’ve got him.”

Chantho “Chan don’t touch the cables tho.”

Yana “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

The Doctor “The chamber’s flooded with radiation, yes?”

(Martha gives Jack mouth to mouth resuscitation.)

Yana “Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing.”

The Doctor “Oh, I don’t know. Martha, leave him.”

Martha “You’ve got to let me try.”

The Doctor “Come on, come on, just listen to me. Now leave him alone. It strikes me, Professor, you’ve got a room which no man can enter without dying. Is that correct?”

Yana “Yes.”

The Doctor “Well-”

(Jack gasps as he returns to life.)

The Doctor “I think I’ve got just the man.”

Jack “Was someone kissing me?”

(More)

==LT==

(More)

(The Doctor and Jack run in.)

The Doctor “Lieutenant, get on board the rocket! I promise you’re going to fly.”

Atillo “The chamber’s flooded.”

The Doctor “Trust me. We’ve found a way of tripping the system. Run!”

(Atillo leaves. Jack takes off his shirt.)

The Doctor “What are you taking your clothes off for?”

Jack “I’m going in.”

The Doctor “Well, by the looks of it, I’d say the stet radiation doesn’t affect clothing, only flesh.”

Jack “Well, I look good though. How long have you known?”

The Doctor “Ever since I ran away from you. Good luck.”

(Jack goes inside the radiation chamber and continues connecting things up.)

Martha “We lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, are you there?”

The Doctor “Receiving, yeah. He’s inside.”

Martha “And still alive?”

The Doctor “Oh, yes.”

Yana “But he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?”

Martha “I’ve only just met him. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are.”

Yana “He travels in time?” (Yana hears voices whispering in his head.)

Martha “Don’t ask me to explain it. That’s a TARDIS, that box thing. The sports car of time travel, he says.”

The Doctor “When did you first realize?”

Jack “Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin. In the end, I got the message. I’m the man who can never die. And all that time you knew.”

The Doctor “That’s why I left you behind. It’s not easy even just looking at you, Jack, because you’re wrong.”

Jack “Thanks.”

The Doctor “You are. I can’t help it. I’m a Time Lord. It’s instinct. It’s in my guts. You’re a fixed point in time and space. You’re a fact. That’s never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you.”

Jack “So what you’re saying is that you’re, er, prejudiced?”

The Doctor “I never thought of it like that.”

Jack “Surprised Terra hasn’t slapped you for that.”

The Doctor “Yeah.”

Jack “Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?”

“I did.” I spoke up.

“I thought Doc sent you and Rose home?” Jack asked.

The Doctor turned to me. “Are you sure?”

My hand went to his, giving it a reaffirming squeeze. “He needs to know.”

The Doctor relented. I walked up to the window, looking Jack in the eye. “I opened the heart of the TARDIS, and absorbed the time vortex itself.”

Jack “What does that mean, exactly?”

The Doctor “No one’s ever mean to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he’d become a god. A vengeful god. But she’s human.” The Doctor smiled. “Everything she does is so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn’t control it.” “She brought you back forever. That’s something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life.”

Jack looked over at me. “Do you think you could change me back?”

The Doctor “I took the power out of her.”

“It was killing me Jack. Burning my mind from the inside.” I explained. The immortal looked horrified. “He was saving my life, and ended up giving his own. And as horrible as it sounds, I don’t want to change you back.” I admitted.

Jack looked at me curiously. “The Bad Wolf was just me, a glorified version of me. She was sick and tired of all her friends dying around her. I killed Seven, I killed Eight, I killed Wa-” I stopped myself from talking about the War Doctor “I killed Nine. I killed Ten, and I killed Eleven. I have lost people, Jack, that you have never met and they meant the universe to me. I saw a chance to save one, and I took it! So do not ask me to take the power out of you. That is as good as killing you. And I won’t take part in killing you Jack Harkness!”

She protected her pack, and you’re in that pack. Finding a way to change you back would be like killing you, and that terrifies me.”

“But what about Rose? What happened to her?”

“She’s gone, Jack. She’s not just living on a parallel world, she’s trapped there. The walls have closed.

Jack “I’m sorry.

The Doctor “Yeah.

Jack “I went back to her estate, in the nineties, just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello. Timelines and all that.

The Doctor “Do you want to die?

Jack “Oh, this one’s a little stuck.

The Doctor “Jack?

Jack “I thought I did. I don’t know. But this lot. You see them out here surviving, and that’s fantastic.

The Doctor “You might be out there, somewhere.

Jack “I could go meet myself.

The Doctor “Well, the only man you’re ever going to be happy with.

Jack “This new regeneration, it’s kind of cheeky.

The Doctor “Hmm.”

“He’s got cheeks alright.”

(More)

==LT==

(More)

(The final connection is made.)

Jack “Yes!

The Doctor “Now, get out of there. Come on!

(The Doctor uses the telephone.)

The Doctor “Lieutenant, everyone on board?

Atillo “Ready and waiting.

The Doctor “Stand by. Two minutes to ignition.

Atillo “Ready to launch. Outer doors sealed.

COMPUTER “Countdown commencing. T minus ninety nine, ninety eight

(Jack and the Doctor rush around, flicking switches. Martha enters.)

The Doctor “Ah, nearly there. The footprint, it’s a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It’ll take the both of us to keep it stable.”

I screamed. “Doctor. I have to tell you something.”

“Not now Terra.” The Doctor said.

“Doctor. Remember what the Face of Boe said?” I whispered, trying to keep Jack from hearing.

“What? Terra, please I am trying to-”

“You are not alone.” I repeated.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” He asked, turning to me and looking tired.

“How do you spell Yana?”

“Again, what’s that got to-” The Doctor paused. He turned to the machine.

Martha “Doctor, it’s the Professor. He’s got this watch.