A/N: I'm back! I'm back and I'm very sorry that there was such a big delay in this story. A lot's been going on but I've got more on that in the ending A/N so be sure to check it out!

~8~

The Lazarus Experiment: They're Off

"That's not good, is it?" Martha swallowed hard.

"Well," the Doctor winced, though whether it was because of the situation or because Angel had accidently elbowed him in the shin he wasn't sure, "I was hoping it was gonna take him a little bit longer to work that out."

Martha gasped, hearing the small pillars outside the box starting to spin as it powered up more, "I don't want to hurry you, but…"

"Sorry!" Angel murmured, "Sorry, this…I'm better at TARDISes…"

"It's the same sort of thing isn't it?" Martha tried to glance down, recalling the Doctor's words that the wiring was apparently just like a TARDIS, easier than a TARDIS really.

"Not really, this is more complicated…"

"MORE complicated?" the Doctor, unlike Martha, DID manage to look down at her, "How is human technology more complicated than a TARDIS?"

"Because it's human," Angel glanced up at him, "I've spent my life around TARDISes, I've only been exploring Earth little more than a year!"

She HAD been there longer, on Earth that is, but she had not had much chance to acquaint herself with Earth tech, not in a way that would help. Oh she'd experienced some of Earth's technology, she had been on Earth for decades really, had crashed where the humans called the Ascension Islands were. She'd had the misfortune to be stuck with a Dalek for a good portion of those years, had been sold like an object at actions too. Thankfully the last auction had been what changed everything, the last auction had set her free, but it had been such a short time compared to the years she'd spent contained and examined.

The Doctor opened his mouth to ask how she had even gotten out of the war, how she'd escaped the Time Lock that he'd set on the planet, but Martha was more focused on what was happening right now, "What're you doin' anyway?"

"Like um…sorry," Angel glanced up at him, "You are?"

"The Doctor," he introduced.

She nodded and turned to Martha, "And you?"

"Martha Jones?" Martha sounded more like she was asking a question than really answering one, not at all sure what this had to do with what the girl was trying to accomplish with the box.

"Right," she smiled, "Nice to meet you, Doctor, Martha Jones," before she focused on Martha once more, "Like the Doctor said, I'm trying to get this box to reflect energy instead of take it in."

"And that's gonna kill him?"

"I hope not," Angel frowned at that, "We have no right to decide if he should die or not, just like he had no right to kill others. Death is…I don't like it," she shook her head and returned her attention to the wires, "Hopefully it'll just reverse the process."

The Doctor seemed uncomfortable with what he was about to say, "When he transforms, he's three times his size, cellular triplication, so he's spreading himself thin."

Angel paused a moment, just one more wire to cross and she would, hopefully, be finished, but his words…she knew what it was, a warning. He was trying to subtly tell her that there WAS a chance that what she was doing was going to kill Lazarus in the end. She swallowed hard, hesitating, not wanting to cross that last wire if it was really going to kill the man. Yes, he had turned into a monster, and yes, he had killed others, but she just…she didn't like death.

The War had been hell, all the fighting and death and destruction. She hadn't liked the idea of death, of something so permanent, of the idea of taking a life like that even before the War happened. Afterwards though, it was just worse. She still had nightmares of seeing the people around her dying, the Daleks destroying everything, the children screaming…

She didn't want to be that, she didn't want to be a murderer.

She bit her lip, taking a deep breath, hoping that what she was doing wasn't going to kill the man outside the box but the monster he'd become, hoping it would really just reverse the process and that they'd gotten to it in time to not affect him too badly.

"Angel, hurry!" Martha's voice cut through her thoughts, the box powering up almost to maximum, "We're gonna end up like him!"

Angel looked up at the Doctor, the man's face grim and sorrowful, full of regret. She shook her head and turned back to the wires, crossing the last one just as the energy built to the end and changed, flying out from the box instead of filling it.

They were silent, listening, only opening the door when a thump sounded from outside the walls, signaling something had happened to Lazarus. The Doctor pushed the door open and cautiously stepped out of the box, Martha after him though Angel remained in the box, sitting there with her knees to her chest, not wanting to go out there, not wanting to see if her actions had caused a death.

"I thought we were gonna go through the blender then," Martha muttered as she and the Doctor stepped further out, looking for Lazarus.

"Is he ok?" Angel called after a moment, when the two outside the box fell silent.

A moment later the Doctor's face appeared in the doorway once more, his face even more grim than before, "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Angel swallowed hard at that, tears in her eyes, "He's…"

The Doctor could only nod and hold out a hand to her.

Angel looked at it and then at him for a moment, as though weighing what she should do, before she took a breath and reached out to take his hand, allowing him to help her out of the box. He didn't let go of her hand, even as he led her around the box to view Lazarus, lying on the ground, sans clothing, face down, looking like a young human once more.

"He seems so…human again," Martha stared.

"He was always human," Angel countered lightly, "He just…forgot."

"It's kind of pitiful."

"Eliot saw that, too," the Doctor agreed with a small nod of his head, "'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.'"

Angel looked around, spotting one of the tablecloths lying on the floor and walked over to it, picking it up and bringing it over to Lazarus, "I'm sorry," she told the man gently, moving to lay the cloth over him, "I really am so sorry."

The Doctor could only watch on, his face sorrowful as he watched the Time Lady showing respect to the man that had tried to kill them, taking care to make sure he was covered as was per human custom.

~8~

Angel stood on the stairs of the lab, her arms crossed, hugging herself as she watched medical services wheeling Lazarus's body out on a stretcher, the man himself hidden in a body bag. She shifted, looking around, seeing not many people were left from the party, there was only a handful of them. She could see some reporters, some press, thankfully all more focused on the ambulance than her. Her escorts were there, waiting across the street for her but making no move to come to her till she went to them, those had been their orders, they were to remain at a distance unless she signaled them over or went to them. As her gaze continued, she could see Martha's family making their way over to them as well.

She couldn't help though that, despite the utter relief on Martha's siblings' faces as they reached Martha and hugged their sister, her attention was pulled more so to Martha's mother…who looked beyond furious.

She actually found herself stepping back a few paces from the glint in the woman's eyes that was directed at the Doctor. Oh she hoped he wouldn't get slapped…

The Doctor, though, didn't seem to notice anything was wrong at all as he just gave Mrs. Jones a wide grin, "Ah, Mrs. Jones, we still haven't finished out chat…"

The sound of the slap the woman doled out across his face made Angel flinch.

"Keep away from my daughter!" Mrs. Jones screeched.

"Mum, what are you doing?" Martha appeared horrified.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" Angel stepped over to him, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder for balance, moving on her toes to place her other hand on his cheek, turning his face to look at the angry red welt that was appearing on his face, "That looks bad…"

"All their mothers, every time," he sighed, his eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment. He knew he had wanted to say something else, reassure her that he was ok, that it wasn't something he hadn't been dealt before, but…her thumb was starting to stroke his cheek in an attempt to cool and soothe it and…well, he quite forgot exactly what he'd wanted to say.

Even Mrs. Jones' angry rants about how he was dangerous and how he caused nothing but death and destruction escaped his notice at the sensation of the light touch on his face, it was starting to make him tingle for some reason.

In fact it wasn't until the sensation stopped that he even realized he'd closed his eyes and might have possibly almost started to lean into the touch, which led to his eyes snapping open to see Angel frowning at him, her hand still on his cheek but not moving.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, knowing that he should have asked that ages ago, there had been so much going on and the way she reacted to Lazarus before was all that he should have needed to know that this whole thing was making her terribly uncomfortable.

"Do humans have a different definition of what a doctor is?" she countered his question with one of her own.

"What?" he blinked, confused.

"A doctor, that's a healer, a wiseman, isn't it?" she tilted her head slightly, "They help people, make them better…why would she think you bring death and destruction when you're a doctor?"

He felt himself start to smile at that, "No, no, I don't think she meant doctors bring that, I think she just meant me, as a person."

"Oh," she nodded slowly, though he could see she still didn't quite understand.

Before he could even open his mouth to try to explain more, a loud crash sounded just a short distance away. He reacted on instinct, turning and rushing towards the noise, not even realizing that he'd grabbed Angel's hand off his face but not let go of it as he tugged her with him. He was only vaguely aware of Martha's family shouting at her not to follow and her telling her sister to stay there as he and Angel reached the ambulance that had been set to take Lazarus away.

It was abandoned, no, not abandoned, partially destroyed. The doors were torn open on the back, the medical service men within dead, dried husks of themselves just as Lady Thaw had been. And Lazarus…he was nowhere to be seen.

"Lazarus, back from the dead," the Doctor muttered, "Should've known, really."

And he should have, something niggled in his mind telling him he should have, he really should have. It was like there was a thought or a recollection, faint though, that was trying to tell him that he'd been warned this would happen, that killing Lazarus would only bring him back from the dead, but he couldn't spend time trying to work out what that could be. Not now, not when Lazarus was on the loose and killing people, likely not even in control of it at the moment which made him infinitely more dangerous.

"Where's he gone?" Martha called as she ran over, just as the Doctor got the sonic out and began to scan for Lazarus's DNA just as before.

Angle glanced over her shoulder at a church across the street, unable to help but think that that was where humans tended to go when they needed somewhere safe to hide, when the Doctor's sonic beeped in the same direction.

"That way," the Doctor pointed at the building, "The church."

"Cathedral," Angel corrected as she squinted, trying to make out the building in the dark, "I think that's Southwark Cathedral," she could just barely read the sign set up before the doors.

"Right then," the Doctor slipped the sonic back into his coat pocket, looking at Martha and Angel before nodding, "Let's go."

The small trio ran across the street and up to the cathedral doors, cautiously opening them and walking down the center aisle, keeping an eye out for Lazarus lest he be hiding in the pews. There really wasn't many places he could be hiding so the Doctor decided to forego the use of the sonic, best to try and sneak up on the man than to have him hear the beeping and whirring of the device.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered to them as quietly as she could.

"It's the closest safe haven," Angel remarked, looking up at the stained glass windows, "All beings go where they feel safest when they're in danger or scared, don't they?"

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" the Doctor agreed.

"A TARDIS," Angel answered promptly, pausing to look over at the Doctor when the man stopped walking, "What?"

"Um, that was...it's a...it's a rhetorical question," he stated, eyeing her oddly, "Wasn't really expecting an answer," he added.

"Oh," Angel blinked, flushing, "Sorry."

"It was a good answer though. Really. My answer too."

"Fascinating as that is, if we could focus on the resurrected murderer, that'd be a bit better topic at the moment," Martha whispered to them, nudging the Doctor to get him moving again.

They neared the end of the aisle, slowing when they heard a wheezing noise, as though someone were struggling to breathe and moved closer to it, spotting Lazarus sitting, hunched over behind the altar, wrapped in a red shock blanket.

He didn't seem surprised at all to spot them approaching, "I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child…the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz," the Doctor nodded.

"You've read about it."

"I was there."

"You're too young," Lazarus gave a bitter scoff at that, as though he himself hadn't just succeeded in making himself younger.

"He looks young," Angel agreed, taking just a single step closer to the man than the Doctor or Martha were, "But so do you."

She closed her eyes and winced just as Lazarus's laughter at her words turned into coughs and groans of pain from his transformation on the horizon. Or so that was what the Doctor or Martha would think she was wincing at, truly though it was that ringing in her ears. They had been ringing since the Doctor tried to blow Lazarus up, but she knew it wasn't the typical ringing that one would hear. It literally sounded like bells…church bells now that she thought about it...

Just like the one right above her in the cathedral's tower, which slowly had her eyes drifting up to look at, her back to the Doctor and Martha so they couldn't see where she was gazing, a deep frown settling on her face.

"In the morning," Lazarus spoke, pulling her attention back to him, "The fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again," Angel looked over, seeing the Doctor had moved to walk around Lazarus, standing across from her by the man, Martha taking a leaf from his book and following, but stopping between them, as though boxing the man in with the altar behind him, "So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

The Doctor, with Lazarus's attention not on him, glanced up at the bell tower, a frown of concentration on his face as he seemed to work something out before looking at Lazarus once more, "That's what you were trying to do today."

"That's what I did today."

Angel shook her head at that, "What you did today was mutate and kill people."

"Oh pssh," he sneered, "Those people were nothing. I changed the course of history."

"Any of them might have done, too," the Doctor argued, nearly glaring at Lazarus, "You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that.'

"Why would you even want to?" Angel inquired, slightly missing the Doctor's point, "Being human is…amazing."

"No," Lazarus shook his head, "Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more…successful," he barely managed to get the last word out before he convulsed in on himself, groaning as his body twitched, the transformation looming closer.

"Look at yourself!" the Doctor gestured at the fallen man, "You're mutating! You've no control over it! You call that a success?"

"I call it progress," Lazarus hissed from his hunched position, "I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"Humans, by definition, are already extraordinary," Angel frowned at him, "There's absolutely nothing at all that's just ordinary about you."

She glanced over when she heard Martha whisper to the Doctor, the girl having shuffled closer and closer to the Doctor to be able to speak to him more quietly, Lazarus likely wouldn't hear her, but Time Lords had a bit better hearing than a human, "He's gonna change again at any minute."

"I know," the Doctor agreed, his gaze so fixed on Lazarus that he didn't notice Angel intently watching and listening, "If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

"Up there?" Martha looked up the tower above them, making the Doctor nod in agreement.

"You're so sentimental, my dear," Lazarus turned to look at Angel for her words, having regained his breath from his latest attack, "Maybe you are older than you look."

Angel blinked at that, "I DID say that I spent almost 800 years working on boxes, didn't I?" she looked at the Doctor confused, she was fairly certain she had and if she had then that would have been a rather large clue that she WAS much older than she appeared.

"We both are," the Doctor called, drawing Lazarus's attention back to himself, not feeling comfortable with the man focusing on the Time Lady, "I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust," he moved to squat down before Lazarus, looking the man in the eye and failing to see Angel's expression morph to one of sorrow at his words, "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying," Lazarus wheezed.

The Doctor hummed at that, "Is it?"

Lazarus just started to chuckle, "I will feed soon."

The Doctor shook his head, moving to stand, looking down at the hunched over man, "I'm not gonna let that happen."

"You've not been able to stop me so far," Lazarus grinned.

"So give me a go," Angel stepped up, placing her small clutch on the altar beside her and gently nudging Lazarus with her foot, feeling like she needed his attention on her and not Martha for some reason, "You want life force, Professor? You need one for energy, to live? I've got nearly 800 years worth of it so come on, come and get it!"

And with that, she turned and bolted across the cathedral to a door in the side that she could see some steps leading up through.

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted after her as Lazarus snarled and leapt up, darting after her.

"What is she doing!?" Martha gaped.

"I don't know!" the Doctor shook his head, rushing to the middle of the room, trying to listen for the two, "Angel!"

"The tower!" they could only just barely hear Angel's voice from the level above them, "You need him at the tower!"

"Oh my god," Martha breathed as a loud crash sounded and Angel screamed a bit, but they could see her dashing past an archway now two levels above them, "He's changing again!" she looked to the Doctor to see his eyes were equally wide and filled with just as much fear for the woman.

And she knew it had to be infinitely worse for him, because Angel, she was a Time Lady, she might very well be the last Time Lady out there, the last of his kind, and he'd only JUST found her. If anything happened to that girl, if Lazarus got to her…she didn't even want to think about what it would mean for the Doctor.

"Come on," the Doctor turned and hurried away, his face setting in a determined expression as he moved for the large pipe organ.

~8~

"Tower, tower, tower, tower," Angel murmured to herself as she ran as fast as she could, thankful that she'd decided to wear flats to the event instead of heels or boots.

It was odd, she knew that certain other heels would have worked better with her dress, but she'd just had a feeling that flats would be better, had insisted on flats. Now she knew why.

She winced, hearing a crash behind her and a roar as Lazarus fully transformed behind her. He was louder now, gaining on her, she could only hope that she made it to the tower before he caught up to her.

She really wished she had her clutch with her instead of leaving it down below with her mobile tucked firmly inside, this was probably exactly the sort of trouble she was supposed to call for help about…

~8~

"What are we doing?" Martha asked as she followed the Doctor's example the moment he reached the cathedral's pipe organ and sat down on the bench, helping him pull out all the stops she could manage.

But the Doctor didn't seem to have heard her, more mumbling to himself, "Hypersonic sound waves, inspired," before he pulled out the sonic and jammed it into a side slot of the organ, focused on the stops.

~8~

Angel gasped as she reached the top of the bell tower, looking around only a moment before rushing across the circular walkway, holding onto the wooden rail for balance, needing to get as far away from the door as she could as she knew Lazarus would be there all too soon. She bit her lip, looking every which way for some sort of escape…but she was trapped. The only way out was the door she'd entered through, a door that Lazarus would be at in mere moments, or down through the tower below the bells.

This was…not good, not good at all. She was trapped.

Her gaze snapped back to the door way as she heard Lazarus hissing and saw the skeleton creature appear within its archway, "My dear…" he grinned viciously at her.

She tried to step further back, tried to press herself against the wall, feeling more than a little afraid at the moment. And her fears were well founded when Lazarus lashed out, swinging his tail at her, forcing her to jump back away from the wall with a scream.

~8~

The Doctor and Martha looked up at the sound of Angel screaming, "Doctor…" Martha breathed, fearful for the girl that was trying to help them.

The Doctor shook his head, needing to focus, "I hope it's good acoustic in here," he muttered, before slamming his hands down on the keys, motioning for Martha to do the same.

~8~

Angel gasped as she leaned to the side to avoid another slash by Lazarus's tail, nearly toppling over the edge of the tower but managing to keep her balance enough to not fall…yet she stumbled back to the floor of the wooden walkway, leaving her all too vulnerable to Lazarus as he towered over her.

"No," she breathed, scrambling back, trying to put more distance between herself and Lazarus.

But the man was massive and dangerous and his tail was lethal…and he seemed to know that he was at the advantage at the moment and was taking his leisure to torment her, playing with his food it appeared.

She backed up as much as she could till her back hit the wall and she had nowhere else to go. Her hearts were racing in her chest as she looked up at Lazarus. She swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut tight, knowing he was going to try and finish her off.

She felt…regret and fear, but not fear of Lazarus's attack, more fear of what would happen after. There were two people out there waiting for her, two people that would be affected if she were to die here and now, one that would be angry if she regenerated, and another that would be relieved if she just managed to not die permanently. She would regret hurting them, putting them through this but also…

There was the Doctor too.

He truly thought he was the last one left, till he'd found her, he'd had his hope restored when he realized what she was. He had hope now, and that was a wonderful thing. If anything happened to her, if Lazarus managed to suck the entire life out of her, all her past lives and lives to come…the Doctor would believe he was alone now, he wouldn't know that he wasn't because she hadn't had a chance to tell him…not that she was really allowed to, it was supposed to be a secret.

But still…to have that hope and then have it taken away…that would be enough to make anyone dangerous, and she had no idea what it would do to a man like the Doctor.

And she was helpless to do anything to stop it, she was likely to die there, she could feel it now, a Time Lady on Earth, an angel in a church…

Fitting.

~8~

The Doctor nearly slammed his hands on the keys in frustration as the music and the volume wasn't doing anything at all to stop Lazarus.

"It isn't working…" Martha whispered, looking up at the tower in fear.

"Yes, I KNOW it isn't working!" he snapped, knowing he should feel badly for raising his voice to Martha when she was just trying to help, but the last of his species was trapped up there, luring a monster up to a key point in HIS plan and his plan wasn't even working! The very last person from his planet left alive might die on HIS watch and it would be all HIS fault!

And he couldn't bear that.

He couldn't survive having a Time Lord back and then losing them again, being alone after having hope like that…not again. He couldn't lose again.

"Doctor, what do you need me to do?" Martha asked him, her voice calm and level, knowing he didn't mean to yell, she could see how tense he was about this, how fearful and worried, and it was the heat of the moment. Being the calm one right now was imperative, "What do we need to do to make it work?"

The Doctor closed his eyes a moment, before shaking his head as the realization hit him and he reached out to grab the sonic out of the slot, "We need to turn this up to 11!" he quickly flicked it to the setting and jammed it back into the slot, the two of them pressing the keys once more, the music so loud it made THEM wince…

~8~

Angel let out a small cry of pain as the noise of the music echoed up to the tower, increasing in volume as it went from the setup of the tower. She could almost feel the soundwaves striking up at them leaving her ears ringing just as they had been after the Doctor tried to blow Lazarus up.

Her eyes snapped open as she heard Lazarus roar in pain himself even above the noise around her, the creature staggering back, trying to hold his hands over his ears. She gasped as he lost his footing and fell backwards down the tower's edge.

She closed her eyes tightly, almost thankful for the noise now, the last thing she wanted to hear was the sound of Lazarus hitting the ground below.

~8~

The Doctor stopped suddenly when a loud thump sounded behind him and Martha. They looked over to see it was Lazarus, now in his human form. He leapt up and turned around, rushing closer to Lazarus but looking up the tower, "Angel?!"

"I'm alright," came her distant voice, "Ears are ringing is all…"

The Doctor let out a breath of relief at that.

"Be down in a mo!" she added, making the Doctor nod at that even though she couldn't see it.

"Is he really dead this time?" Martha inquired quietly beside him, pulling his attention away from the tower and back to Lazarus's body which was now starting to morph into that of an old man once more.

The Doctor stepped closer, using the sonic to scan Lazarus, before he nodded, "He is," he agreed, reaching out to close the man's eyes.

Martha let out a breath at that, looking around, shifting as she now started to feel uncomfortable with the dead body lying right before her, "I didn't know you could play?"

The Doctor, who had gotten up to pull a cloth off the altar and place over Lazarus just as Angel had done earlier, glanced at her, "Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up."

"Hmm, especially about playing loud."

"Sorry?" he leaned in, touching his ear, faking hearing loss at the joke about Beethoven which earned him a small laugh from Martha.

"What are you laughing about?" Angel's voice cut into their laughter as she made it down the stairs to them, sounding more curious than chastising.

The Doctor fell silent as he looked over at Angel watching them with wide green eyes before he made his way over to her and stood before her. He said nothing for a long while before he just reached out and touched a lock of her blonde hair, curling it around his finger with the gentlest of tugs.

"You're real," he whispered, almost as though he'd convinced himself that her being there was just the result of his imagination, that the years of loneliness had finally caught up to him and he'd truly gone mad and imagined another Time Lord alive.

"And you're…" she frowned, thinking of the word as she reached out to touch his bowtie, "Different."

He blinked at that, "Different how?" he really wasn't sure what she meant at all.

She just smiled, "Bowtie," she patted the one he was wearing into place again, "Bowties are cool," she shrugged, "Not many people can pull off wearing one. You do it well."

The Doctor grinned at that, laughing a little, "I don't normally wear one though."

She frowned slightly, "You don't?" he shook his head, "Then what do you usually wear?"

He looked at her intently, before holding out his hand to her, "Come with me?" he asked her, offering his hand, "Travel with me…and find out."

Angel could only look between his hand and him, not sure what she should say…

~8~

The Doctor stood, fidgeting, before the TARDIS doors, the box still resting in Martha's flat, Martha herself standing before him, Angel nowhere to be seen. Well, she wouldn't be visible as she was in the TARDIS at the moment. He couldn't help but glance at the doors to his box at that thought. He'd asked her to travel with him, but…she hadn't agreed to.

Well, she hadn't NOT agreed to either.

Not yet at least.

He was trying to give her some time to decide without him standing there pressuring her to say yes, he didn't want to force her to stay in the TARDIS if she didn't want to, just…just knowing that another Time Lord was alive would be enough for him, but still…he didn't…he didn't want to leave her, not now. SO much could happen on Earth, too much had already happened on the planet, that would put her in danger and even though he knew that his life wasn't exactly safe, he still would feel better knowing that HE was there to help protect the last of his kind. It would be a reassurance to be able to see her every day, to know that he really wasn't alone. He never would have guessed that the Face of Boe would be correct, he'd given up all hope that there were other Time Lords out there…and yet here he was with another Time Lady alive and only feet away.

Oh he really hoped she would say yes, he just…he didn't want to be alone.

And, speaking of, if she did say no…well…

And Martha…she did deserve to come along after all this, especially after he'd put her family in danger, didn't she?

"Something else that just kind of escalated, then," he took a deep breath and forced himself to focus on Martha.

"I can see a pattern developing," Martha agreed, though the smile she gave him was fairly forced, "You should take more care in the future. And the past, and whatever other time period you find yourself in."

"It's good fun, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"So, what d'you say, one more trip?"

Martha's forced smile soon faded to a true frown, "No. Sorry."

"What do you mean?" he was soon mirroring her frown, "I thought you liked it."

"I do," she agreed, nodding firmly but that soon blended into a shake of her head, "But I can't go on like this. 'One more trip.' It's not fair."

He blinked at that, "What're you talking about?"

HAD he been doing that? He thought back on the last few adventures and realized…he really had. He'd told her one trip, just one, but then he'd tried to stretch it more into two trips, and he swore that would be it, but then he stretched it into three trips, all with some sort of reason for why, all with a logical explanation for why she should get to see what she had. He really hadn't realized he'd phrased it as he had and that he'd gone back on that phrase so often.

Well, now he really DID owe it to Martha to stick around more, it wasn't fair to string her along like that, always wondering if the next trip would be the last trip because the next one should, by the logic he'd put in place, be just another excuse to keep going. And really, that's what it was, an excuse to keep going, an excuse to keep Martha around. He hadn't wanted to call her a companion, a part of his mind and hearts wanting to reserve that for Rose, not wanting to replace her or fill her spot so quickly. If he didn't call Martha a companion or treat her like one then she wasn't one…but she already was one wasn't she? HE wanted her to stick around, he wanted her to be his next companion, and he hadn't even realized.

Rose hadn't been the first companion of his, logically he knew she wouldn't be the last and trying to force that sentiment that she would be the final one he'd take was ridiculous. Martha wanted to come, HE wanted her to come, Angel would hopefully travel with him and want Martha to come so…why not? Why not just let Martha come, let her be the companion she already was, just more officially.

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore," Martha continued to explain, "Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, well, I'd rather stay here."

"Ok, then. If that's what you want."

"Right," he couldn't understand why Martha's frown had gotten so deep at that, "But we've already said goodbye once today so it's really best if you just go," she turned around and stalked away from the TARDIS, standing across the room as though waiting for him to do as she'd said and leave, but he couldn't help but stand there and just smile, waiting till the penny dropped. Not even a moment later Martha was looking over her shoulder at him, "What is it?"

"What?" he shrugged, "I said ok."

"Sorry?"

"Ok," he gave a proper nod at the TARDIS, his face blooming into a wider smile as Martha's eyes widened, understanding what he was trying to get at.

"Oh, thank you!" she nearly jumped at him, pulling him into a tight hug, "Thank you!"

"Well," he gave a little chuckle, "You were never really just a passenger, were you?"

Martha just beamed at him and turned to head into the box with him, ignoring her phone as it rang behind them, letting the answer phone pick up as she had before.

"Hi, I'm out! Leave a message!"

"Martha!" Mrs. Jones gasped, "It's your mother. Please, phone me back. I'm begging you. I know who this Doctor really is. I know he's dangerous. You're gonna get yourself killed. Please, trust me. This information comes from Harold Saxon himself. You're not safe!"

~8~

Angel never thought she'd see another TARDIS in her lifetime, especially not after the War, especially not after what the High Council had done to nearly all the TARDISes on the planet, turned them into War TARDISes. To find one so unaffected had truly been a treasure and now, to be standing inside one once more…it was just…amazing.

The Doctor had offered her a chance to go with him, travel with him, all of space and time to see. She hadn't agreed or declined just yet though, had only asked if he even had a TARDIS and that was how she had ended up there where she was now, standing before the console of the TARDIS, her hand resting on the rotor as she looked up at it, the box humming gently but excitedly around her.

"Hello to you too, girl," she murmured, feeling a welcoming sense from the glow of the rotor and the tone of the hum around her. It was almost like the TARDIS was welcoming her back. She'd worked on so many in the past, this one was one of many, and it touched her that the box seemed to recognize and remember her.

Speaking of boxes, she glanced over at the door where she knew the pilot of said box was standing. The Doctor was just outside with Martha, either saying goodbye or asking the girl to stay on as well, she hoped it was the latter. She'd wanted to give them more privacy for that discussion. If she was there, in sight, it might make the Doctor more aware that, if she said yes, he wouldn't be as alone and…she rather thought Martha would make a lovely companion for him. She was…good, really good, though she got the feeling that neither Martha nor the Doctor could quite see it in the human just yet. It was a tempting notion, to stay on just for that, but…she had a life here, on Earth, she had…she had a family of sorts.

Could she really just...leave them?

Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there?

She sighed, pulling her hand away from the rotor and reaching into her small clutch that she'd taken from the cathedral earlier. She hadn't stopped to change, hadn't even gotten to do much save contact her escorts to let them know they could leave and went with the Doctor and Martha. She'd just wanted to see the TARDIS, to see which one it was, if it was one she'd worked on or an older model that her family had merely raised and harvested before her time. Her family had been TARDIS farmers, TARDISes were her life and she just…she just wanted to see one once more, to know it was being well cared for and, granted there was still quite a lot of work and more than a few faults in this TARDIS due to negligence and lack of knowledgeable care, it was still well loved and holding on.

She'd truly planned just to see the TARDIS and leave but…well…there WAS something missing in her life that couldn't be found on Earth. The TARDIS. A TARDIS. She'd spent her entire life around them, literally, she had been born in one, and going the years she had without being around one had left her feeling…hollow, empty, useless even. She wasn't very clever and she wasn't very pretty or skilled in much, but she was good at repairing TARDISes. It had occupied so much of her time, day in and day out, that not doing something related to them left her anxious and fidgety.

And now she was right there, in a TARDIS again, and it knew her, it wanted her to stay, she could feel that.

It was all a matter of if she should.

She took her mobile out of her clutch and called the first number on it, lifting it to her ear to wait for the answer.

"Everything alright?" came Harry's voice.

She had to smile at that, "Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"We were...concerned...when the escorts arrived without you."

She winced at that, "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I…the man, the one from my dreams, he's called the Doctor and…he has a TARDIS."

"Ooh," he teased, "I see. Leaving us for a man with a box, are you?"

She fell silent at that, something he picked up on quickly.

"Angel, what is it?"

She bit her lip, chewing it a moment before taking a breath, "He asked me to go with him," she told him, "The Doctor, he…he asked me to travel with him."

There was silence a moment, "...do you want to?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I wasn't much a traveler, I didn't care for exploring and I…I'd miss you, I'd miss you and Lucy and I don't…"

"Angel," he chuckled lightly, though there was a slight pain in it, as though he didn't want to say what he was about to, "We'll be fine," he reassured her, "Don't let Lucy or I influence you. Think about what YOU want to do. It's time you did, actually, I know you've worried for Lucy and I more than most…"

"I…I miss the TARDISes," she said in a whisper, "They were such a big part of my life and…"

"And it's not something Lucy or I can give you, we…we know," he sighed, "Angel, if you want to travel. Travel. If you want to stay in the TARDIS for a while, then stay. Lucy and I will still be here when you return and, with a TARDIS you could return 5 minutes ago."

She laughed a bit at that, "I'm not sure the Doctor's piloting is that good."

"But yours is," he countered, "Pop in from time to time, for Lucy, and we'll be ok."

She felt herself frown just slightly, "Just for Lucy?"

"...no."

She smiled at that, "I'll miss you Harry, the both of you, an awful lot."

"We'll miss you too."

She bit her lip again, "You…you really think I should go?"

"I think…" he sighed, "I think this could be the start of the greatest adventure of your life."

"You 'feel' that?" she teased.

He laughed, "You tell me."

"I'm not sure yet," she told him, "But…I think I'd like to find out."

"Then we'll see you later," she could almost hear the nod in his voice.

"I'll be back in time for the election," she promised, crossing her hearts though he couldn't see, "I promise."

"I know you will," he laughed, "Until then…be safe, Angel."

"You too, Harry," she smiled, before lowering the mobile and ending the call. She could never bring herself to say 'goodbye' at the end of a conversation with him, it just felt…odd.

As she put the mobile back into her clutch, as the TARDIS began to hum loudly in excitement, she felt her smile grow wider, felt a laugh bubble out of her at the thought of being there in the TARDIS and staying. She let out a giddy little laugh, clapping her hands together and jumping slightly in place before she spun around, hearing the doors open as the Doctor AND Martha entered once more.

"Well?" the Doctor looked at her, his expression a cross between anxious, hopeful, and fearful at what her answer would be.

Angel couldn't even bring herself to speak, only nod her head.

The wide grin that the Doctor gave, the small cheer of triumph, and the way he bounded over to her and pulled her into a hug that he spun her around in had even Martha smiling in joy.

Angel's smile only faded slightly when the Doctor had set her down and begun running around the console to send them off into the Vortex. The finality of her decision hitting her that she was leaving, right now she was leaving Harry and Lucy and she wouldn't see them for who knew how long. To them it could be mere hours but for her it could be as long as years, decades, centuries even! Well, it probably wouldn't take that long, she wouldn't want to not see them both for that long. No, she had to focus not on what she was leaving, what she might be missing, but what she'll be seeing, what she might be gaining.

Harry had said that this could be the start of the greatest adventure of her life...she could only hope that her brother was right.

A/N: BROTHER!? O.O Oh Angel, only you could see 'Harry' as your brother. I think you all know which Harry it is now what with a Lucy being around him and an important election coming up ;) So I bet you can guess Angel has a new last name now that she associates herself as having a brother, she's not a Jones this time }:) I put a minor hint in this chapter about how Angel wasn't in Van Statten's, but we'll get a clearer story about it in later chapters ;)

For this chapter, I can say that Angel has been on Earth almost the entire time that 'Harry' has been and they have formed something of a relationship, clear what sort based on how Angel views him, I think ;) In the original story, even as Angel was dying on the Valiant, even with the Master just visiting her cell a few times, she still managed to get under his skin and get him to somewhat care about her even just the tiniest bit if she could make him feel guilty but also find a way to startle him in caring about him too.

Now imagine what the Master would be like LIVING with Angel, non stop, 24/7 for a year and a half? Imagine what care he'd have for her then, with her healthy and innocent and being able to spend time with him and come to rely on him and see him as a brother despite knowing what he'd done in the past. That will have a serious impact on his mentality and cause a lot of issues for him in the future when he does things that get a poor reaction from Angel ;)

I think, if anyone could choose to see the Master as family without blood-ties between them, it would be Angel. She was able to love and become the Mate of the Doctor, despite thinking he'd destroyed their entire planet at the time and murdered every single Time Lord, including the children, knowing he was the Oncoming Storm, and knowing he had a darkness and pain and anger in him. If she could do that for the Doctor...I think it's realistic she could find a way to care for and love (as a brother) the Master too ;)

As for the rest of it, all my other stories, there's just a few little announcements I wanted to make. First is that I'm very sorry it took so long to get this story going again, a lot happened since the last chapter. My dad beat cancer, my sister moved out, my brother got engaged and is still engaged (to a harpy that hates our entire family, so we're not handling the engagement very well), I got a job, quit a job, got a different job at a Barnes and Nobles, started a side business making candles, got a tutoring spot, got another part-time job, had a few health scares in the family, but we've pulled through all of it and now I am back :)

So it mostly boils down to:

1. I'm going to try and keep this story being updated every other week for the time being. Most of my other main-stories will be updated when I can get time to edit them, but I'm going to try and at least keep with this and Proffy's AU and Merlin's sequel (and the spin-offs) on their set days.

2. If anyone is interested, my candle business is up on Etsy, for soy candles (in various scents) and even some custom paraffin ones (like the TARDIS, the Death Star, the black cubes inspired by The Power of Three). It's AnitaCandle on Etsy ;)

3. I'VE PUBLISHED A BOOK! :D It's an e-book so far, available on Amazon (they offer a free Kindle App so you don't have to buy a kindle to read their e-books). It is 'Patrapolis' by Elixabeth Xavier (my penname, which is derived from LizzeXX), and it is $3.99 ;) There is a URL for it on my profile ;)

I think that's the news that either relates to this story or that I haven't shared since the last update lol :) I'm very excited to be resuming this story :)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh River, I have some interesting plans for her and Angel }:)

Angel's abilities will still take some time to develop, yup, but she's a little better off than she might have been. Let's just say the Doctor isn't the only one who worked out she was a precog and she's gotten some surprising help/support in regards to it. But it would be hard to hone that skill on a planet as static as Earth (barring the occasional alien invasion), she'll have much more time and chance to practice and build her senses and power while travelling to dangerous planets and having adventures ;)

It'll definitely be interesting seeing Angel and her slight obliviousness dealing with the Doctor and Martha lol :) As for when the Mating might begin, let's just say neither of them expected the Mating to start as early as it does in this story...or in the way it does }:) Oh even if the Doctor doesn't stick up for Angel when River comes around, she's going to a very big supporter on her side helping her out that she didn't have before ;)

There'll definitely be an AU coming where no one forgets ;) I have 2 AUs planned for Angel, but this one is, unfortunately, the one where the Doctor still forgets :( The one where he remembers though...oh boy, I go into a sugar/fluff coma just thinking about how 11 acts around Angel as his Mate ;)

It makes sense, no worries ;) I think my use of exposition comes from my narration use. I've been aware for some time that I switch perspective and narrative voice without any scene or chapter breaks which I like to think is a little unique take on the omniscient third person and something that is a little stylistic mark of my writing. It's actually been something that a few people were able to use to realize plagiarism was happening in other stories, the feel of my writing seeming too familiar in someone else's work and making them realize something was wrong. So it's helpful in one way lol. I think from how I write that sort of narration comes a need I feel to describe what others are thinking or feeling during a moment or scene, switching from what Angel might think during a sweet moment to what the Doctor is thinking/feeling during that exact same moment. So it ends up with the exposition being longer than normal and more inclusive and more telling/not showing. I agree. It's something I'm trying to keep in mind as I go on, I think I just get too sucked into what the characters are thinking and what they want to express. Sometimes there can be no showing scenes because of a situation and all that's left is the telling scenes of inner thought/monologue. But I'm working on it, thanks! :)

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while :( Life got immensely crazy, but I've made some changes in how I'm updating other stories that should help me keep these stories going more regularly :)

True, you usually need a key to get into the TARDIS, but... it's not always true ;) Donna managed to get in without a Key. I like to think that River forked over the key to the TARDIS to Kovarian to plant the Silence in the first place. Clara knew the Doctor hid keys in the TARDIS, River's had chances to explore the TARDIS without anyone really watching her so she could have stolen one. Or, Amy and Rory likely both had keys that she could have stolen off of them at any point and they might not notice because they still had one key and didn't think anything of it ;) There are a few ways to break into a TARDIS, I think even Sarah Jane managed to get onboard without a key once ;)

Oh Rose :) I think she'll definitely not be able to be as mad/cross with Angel as she was with the Professor or the Linking with Evy ;) Angel seems the sort to want to know about Rose and other past companions and to be very, very excited to meet any of them. That might put Rose more at ease, to know the Doctor DID talk about her after she left (unlike with Sarah Jane and Rose's meeting). Turn Left is something I am VERY much looking forward to. Because events in this story that led to Angel not being with Van Statten won't happen if the Doctor dies with the Racnoss, which means she WOULD be with Van Statten when 9 is there with Rose and ooh, I'm just really excited. It might give a sort of AU of an AU feel, sort of like if the Angel of the main series became the AU/Turn Left version in this story. But Rose is from THIS story and hasn't met the Angel of the AU/Turn Left world and that Angel hadn't completed the Mating yet and…that probably sounds very confusing lol. All I can say is I'm dying to get to that episode! Danny and Clara's reaction to his death is something I'm looking forward to exploring in many different stories ;) Especially Angel's }:)

I'm not sure if I'd do a Bruce Wayne/OC just yet. I'm not much a fan of Batman, the movies just don't really pull me in :/ But there's always a chance that I'll rewatch them one day and be hit with an OC ;)

I can say Angel knows Harry is the Master, and she knows a lot of what he's done in the past too, which will make for an interesting confrontation when the Doctor works it out ;) I'm very eager to explore how different, if any, the Master might be after having been around Angel for a year and a half and her having even a slight influence on him like she did on the Valiant ;) We'll have to wait and see ;)