TIME AFTER TIME

Author: Elanor

Beta: Angela

Feedback - yes please. I'm begging! Oh come on, this is my first Doctor Who story!

Author's note: This is in the way of catharsis. I was 14 when Adric died and it affected me – probably because my mum died that year too. Through the years I always wanted to write an Adric story for two reasons: to redress the balance against this companion who seems to be so disliked - to show the positive Adric, my Adric; and to explore just why the Doc could not go back in time for him.

Note on names: So as not to give the game away, if anyone is interested in the derivation of the agents' names, please see separate chapter entitled Names. I didn't want to give the game away here!

Disclaimer: Doctor Who, the TARDIS and lots of other things are copyright of the BBC. I make no profit from this story.

Things had settled into a routine. The three companions travelled to many spectacular destinations in that time: Ancient Egypt where they sailed down the Nile past the Great Pyramid and to the Court of Henry VIII for a banquet but they also spent time just being together, trying to heal the wounds left by their friend's death. After her initial disbelief and anger at the Doctor's refusal to go back in time, Tegan began to realise just how much Adric's demise had affected the Time Lord. She could see it in unguarded moments when he seemed to just stare into space and in the long sleepless nights when she would find him pacing the Cloister Room.

After a morning shopping at the Dome, an enormous intergalactic shopping mall which stretched for 25 miles, they materialised for a lazy afternoon in the Yorkshire Dales. Nyssa and the Doctor were currently engaged in a ferocious game of chess. Tegan glanced up from the game as a familiar sound penetrated the meadow, the keening whine of a TARDIS, which was followed by the materialisation of a huge oak tree. The tree looked every bit as organic and alive as the oak trees she had climbed in the park behind her grandfather's house. She could hear the wood creaking, the leaves rustling. That was impressive enough but a few seconds later the leaves changed colour, from lush green to gold and russet to perfectly blend in with the season. She cast an almost pitying glance back at their own TARDIS and heard the Doctor mumble, "That's just showing off."

The trunk of the tree split open and two men stepped out of the aperture and strode towards where they were sitting. They wore identical black suits of severe tailoring, dark sunglasses and an elaborate collar ruff which swept behind their heads. "You are the Time Lord known as the Doctor?" asked the taller man, removing his sunglasses.

"I am indeed. How do you do?" The Doctor proffered his hand which was ignored.

"I am Agent Atropos," the first man continued and flipped open a hand-held identification device. "This is Agent Lachesis."

"Does that thing self-destruct in ten seconds?" Tegan asked. Agent Atropos's uncompromising gaze snapped to her and she reared back in her chair slightly at such a cold, clinical inspection – she felt like a bacterium being studied in a laboratory.

"Identify your companions, Doctor."

"Oh, certainly," the Doctor flustered. "This is Tegan Jovanka and this is Nyssa."

"I can speak for myself, Doc, thank you," Tegan snapped. "Who the hell are you guys and what's with the Mission Impossible routine?"

The Doctor intervened, flashing his best boyish grin placatingly. "You must excuse Tegan, she's from Earth," he said, with the same tone that Basil Fawlty adopted when he told people Manuel was from Barcelona. "What can we do for you, gentlemen?"

"We are agents of the CIA," agent Atropos said, as if that made everything clear.

"The Celestial Interference Agency," the Doctor explained to his companions.

"Intervention," Atropos corrected.

"Sorry, intervention. The Time Lord equivalent of the FBI. They monitor the time stream and interfere – ah, intervene where they deem the Laws of Time have been broken. Listen, gentlemen, if it's about Romana, it's the funniest thing. You see, we were on our way back to Gallifrey in response to the summons when we were sucked into E-space through a CVE and – "

"We are aware of Romanadvoratrelundar's current situation."

"Of course you are. Silly of me."

"We require your compliance with regard to another matter," Agent Atropos stated, making it sound like an ultimatum. Agent Lachesis remained silent, as immovable as a statue; Tegan fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Atropos laid a slimline briefcase on the table next to the chess game and flipped it open to reveal some sort of keypad. His fingers danced across the keys and suddenly a 3D hologramatic image filled the air before them. The image appeared to be frozen like a video on pause, but it showed the TARDIS above a planet which, to Tegan, looked vaguely like Earth until she noted the formation of the continents was wrong.

"Pangaea," the Doctor murmured softly by her side, suddenly tensing.

"Is this recording taken from the TARDIS' memory banks?" Nyssa asked.

"Apparently," the Doctor said, although his eyes remained fixed on the hologram.

Atropos depressed a key and the image began to move. The camera panned to reveal another craft being sucked inexorably into the gravitational pull of the planet. Nyssa sprang to her feet, uttering a cry of denial as she finally recognised the image – the Cybermen's freighter burning up in the atmosphere of the prehistoric Earth.

The Doctor fumbled for the off switch and the image thankfully faded. His face was flushed with anger and grief. "There's no need for this. We know what happened."

"And we didn't break any of your precious Laws of Time either." Tegan turned her accusatory stare to the Doctor. This had been a bone of contention between them with Tegan unable to understand why the Doctor couldn't go back in time to rescue their friend. "Did we, Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head, trying again to form the words that would help Tegan to understand. "I can't, Tegan, not even to save Adric. It goes against everything I believe in."

"Funny," the airhostess replied, "I thought you believed in loyalty. He was depending on us."

Nyssa squeezed Tegan's hand. "You're not helping."

"The Agency has satisfied itself that the Doctor is blameless in this matter," Atropos continued, unmoved by the companions' grief. "Nevertheless the Laws of Time have been transgressed."

The Doctor had already arrived at the same conclusion. He had an almost wry smile on his face. "Let me guess – the Master."

"Precisely. When our suspicions were first aroused, we analysed the data carefully and discovered the time traces of not one but two time vehicles; the second, as you surmised, belonging to the renegade known as the Master. He travelled back in time to change the outcome of this particular space-time event. In doing so he has flagrantly transgressed the First Law of Time and the timeline must be restored."

"May I?" The Doctor eagerly took Atropos's keypad and scrolled through the data. It was the most animated he had been since Adric's death. "Think! Why couldn't we save Adric?"

"Because you wouldn't let us go back in time," Tegan replied truculently, ignoring the flash of hurt in the Doctor's eyes.

Nyssa's reply was more constructive. "The fight with the Cyberleader in the Console Room caused too much damage to the controls. We couldn't materialise on board the freighter in time to rescue him."

"More than that. The controls were jammed." The Doctor was warming to his subject. "At the time I assumed the controls were frozen due to the damage sustained in the fight. I was wrong." He pointed at a string of formulae on the screen. "This proves the controls were jammed by an outside source – the Master. His TARDIS has always been more powerful and accurate than our poor old Type 40." He paused as he thought it through. "He must have monitored the original event and decided it presented him with a perfect opportunity for revenge."

"That's monstrous!" Tegan cried.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," the Doctor quoted sadly. "He hates me so much. It wouldn't be the first time that he has jeopardised my companions to hurt me – he kidnapped Jo once." The Doctor gazed off into the distance, thinking of Adric and how much he had suffered because of the Master's all consuming hatred.

"He's destroyed everyone I ever loved," Nyssa said quietly. The Doctor seemed to take a moment to register her words then he put his arms round her a little awkwardly. While Agent Lachesis, still unspeaking, closed the keypad, Agent Atropos slid his sunglasses back in place and reached into his breast pocket to remove a flat circular object which he passed to the Doctor.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "This is the High Council's seal."

"The High Council, after consultation with the Agency on this matter, has granted you leave to restore the timeline." He stood up, regarding the three companions from down his long nose. "I will transfer the data relevant to the case to your TARDIS' memory banks. I bid you farewell, Doctor, ladies." With a dry bow, he walked back to his oak tree. Lachesis made to follow, hesitated, and moved the black knight on the chess board. "Checkmate," he said and turned to follow his counterpart.

Nyssa stared after the two as though she couldn't quite grasp what had happened. "Doctor? Are they serious? Can we really do it?" There were tears shining in her eyes, tears of hope.

The Doctor nodded and squeezed her shoulders. "Let's go and rescue our young friend, shall we?" The women eagerly tipped the chess pieces back into the box and dismantled the table in a matter of seconds, all but sprinting back into the TARDIS. The Doctor grinned at their enthusiasm and began to follow them. Something caught his eye on the ground and he stooped to pick it up – a white pawn that must have fallen off the table. He pocketed it hurriedly as Tegan stuck her head round the door and demanded to know why he was dawdling.

The Doctor had set the co-ordinates and the TARDIS had arrived at its destination. All that remained was for the Time Lord to hit the materialisation sequence to bring the TARDIS out of its holding pattern in the time vortex. He was, however, staring distractedly at the remains of Adric's Badge cupped in his hand.

"Doctor?" Tegan prompted when she couldn't stand the tension any more. "Are you going to materialise or not?"

"What?" He glanced at her as if noticing her for the first time. He drew in a deep breath. "There's something distinctly wrong here," he pronounced, "I can feel it."

Tegan exchanged a worried glance with Nyssa then ploughed in. "Who cares? We have a gold-plated invitation by the High Council to rescue Adric." She shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, if you're having second thoughts, I'll …" She couldn't think of anything suitably threatening to say. She relived those last few moments on the freighter before the Cyberleader had marched her away from her friend. She took his arm. "This is for Adric. Adric!"

The Doctor met her gaze and she saw her own self-recrimination and guilt mirrored in his.

"Every waking moment I think of what I did to him," he said quietly. He glanced once more at the Badge then slipped it into his pocket. Making the decision seemed to energise him because he strode round the console to pick up his space suit's helmet. "Do you both know what to do?"

"You've been over it a million times," Tegan said, her nervousness coming out in anger as usual. Nyssa frowned at her and she gave a half-shrug of apology. "Sorry, Doc."

He waggled his finger at her, dropping into lecture mode. "The mission relies on split second timing, remember. 4 minute 18 seconds to be precise. That is when the pressure will become too great to sustain life. Any longer than that and Adric …" He trailed off uncomfortably.

"At lease we're giving him a fighting chance," Tegan muttered truculently.

"Anyway, once we materialise, I'll attempt to find Adric." He held up the bio-sign tracker which he had cobbled together to aid his search. "You two will remain here. On no account – "

"- Are we to follow. Roger."

The Doctor adjusted the oxygen for a second time as he said, "And if I don't return?"

"The co-ordinates are pre-set," Nyssa said briskly as though she were reading from a technical manual. "I dematerialise the TARDIS which will take us to Gallifrey for safety."

"Good, good." The Doctor ran his hands over the console and then began flicking switches to initiate the materialisation sequence. Nyssa moved to man the viewscreen, a stop watch in her hand. Tegan who was to see to the doors noted that her friend's hand shook only slightly.

The time rotor slowed. Split second timing, Tegan reminded herself as she watched it stop completely. She depressed the door release and the Doctor with a deep breath strode through. She immediately transferred her gaze to the viewscreen and wished she hadn't: the flight deck was an inferno.

"Time starts now," Nyssa said crisply.

The Doctor sucked in a breath and held his hands up in front of his face instinctively. Dropping an emergency flare as a marker, he clambered over a ceiling strut and plunged through the fire's heart, knowing the suit would protect him. He held his gadget up, closing his eyes in relief as it beeped shrilly, indicating there was life very close. He moved off. The freighter gave a massive downward jerk and he lost the gadget and his footing, slipping and sliding through the debris until he hit something solid – the dead body of a Cyberman.

"Adric!" he yelled and immediately thought how stupid it was. If the Alzarian was even conscious, he wouldn't be able to hear over the engine's sawing whine. He squinted but couldn't see anything through the thickly rising smoke. The suit's readout informed him the freighter's pressure was passing beyond critical.

It was then he heard the scream. With renewed energy and hope, he struggled to his feet and saw Adric. He was hunched against the side of the main console, holding his hands over his ears. The Doctor caught him, slammed the spare helmet over his head and hefted him over his shoulder in one move. He glanced at the timer – almost out of time. Again. He saw the flare guiding him to the TARDIS through the choking smoke, and pushed against the door. A moment later Tegan was dragging them both inside.

"Nyssa!" he called and his companion hit the dematerialisation sequence.

"You made it!" he heard Tegan say but his only concern was for Adric.

He pulled off his own helmet and pressed his fingers against the other's neck: a pulse, weak and thready but definitely there. Tegan made to remove the Adric's helmet but he stopped her. "It's feeding him oxygen. Leave it on for now."

"Is he all right?" Nyssa asked, her face paling at the burns evident on her friend's hands.

The Doctor shook his head non-committaly. "Let's get him to the medical unit."

The Doctor glanced over at the monitor display, reassured himself that Adric's vital signs were stable, and returned to Adric's Badge which he was painstakingly reconstructing. Nyssa came in with a cup of tea. "How is he?"

The Doctor fiddled with the fragments. "Oh, fine, fine," he said vaguely.

"Then what is wrong?"

He made the mistake of glancing up; Nyssa's eyes were very candid. He sighed deeply and switched on a monitor. "These are the system files from the Starliner." He offered a wry smile. "As a social essay they are absolutely fascinating. Very autocratic, very by the book – literally."

"Yes, Adric told me about the Great Book Room."

"There was a Manual for everything. I even found one on how to chew your food."

Nyssa smiled dutifully. "Please tell me, Doctor."

He perched his glasses on his head. "I read through them earlier. I was rather hoping they would provide some answers as to why he isn't recovering."

"You said he suffered massive lung and organ damage." Nyssa glanced uncomfortably at the ventilator which was currently breathing for him.

"True, but Alzarians heal quickly. Do you remember when he twisted his ankle in 17 century Earth? It took less than 10 minutes for the leg to heal completely – and believe me it was a nasty fall." The Doctor stared thoughtfully at the medical displays. "His lungs were seriously damaged but not beyond the capability of the instruments to heal. He should have returned to consciousness by now, he should be able to breathe on his own too. Frankly it's due to the continual intervention of the autodoc that he is holding his own, never mind progressing."

"I see." Nyssa noticed the Badge under the powerful magnifying glass. "What are you doing?"

Her companion spared her an irritated glance. "What does it look like I'm doing, dear girl?" he said, a touch of the first Doctor coming out. "Trying to mend his Badge."

"But surely you do not have all the pieces."

"Mmmm?" The Doctor was picking up a microscopic sliver with a pair of tweezers. "Ah, well I'm having to use new gold to patch it where necessary." He tipped her a wink before returning to his fiddly work.

"I know he will appreciate it when he wakes up." Nyssa sat on the bed and, a little awkwardly, took Adric's hand in hers, careful of the shiny syntheskin that was covering the burns. "He looks so vulnerable," she murmured almost to herself.

"Why don't you go to bed? I'll call you both if there is any change."

Nyssa felt the tears sting. She had left her father only for a few minutes and in that time he had been kidnapped and brutally murdered – she didn't want to leave Adric. The Doctor seemed to sense her concern for he said gently: "This is a sophisticated medical unit. If anything can save him, it's the TARDIS. You're not going to help him by collapsing from exhaustion. I will call you if his condition changes."

"You won't leave him?" she said almost fiercely.

"I won't leave him." Nyssa released Adric's hand and, blushing a little, kissed his pale cheek. The Doctor returned to his painstaking reconstruction work.

It had been Nyssa's suggestion that one of them should remain at Adric's bedside until he recovered. "Don't ask," Tegan said shortly when the Doctor arrived for his stint, and jabbed him in the ribs with the book she had been reading out loud. Once the air hostess had left, the Doctor checked a few monitors, mentally reviewing Adric's progress: after nearly two days, the ventilator had finally been removed since the instruments showed that Adric was able to breathe for himself, and all his internal organs were functioning normally. The Doctor, however, was still concerned over Adric's condition. Physically he appeared to be making steady, if markedly slow, progress but mentally he appeared to have given up. Scans revealed no brain damage but he still had not regained consciousness; indeed he seemed to be slipping further and further into unconsciousness. It was as if Adric had emotionally given up or accepted his death.

Sighing, the Doctor made himself comfortable in the chair. Adric habitually sucked in data; he was curious about anything and everything from Chaos Theory to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. He read extensively and avidly, his thirst for facts never satisfied. Tegan, characteristically, had refused to read out dry mathematical theorems, opting instead for 'The Hobbit' which she said her grandfather had read to her when she had German measles. The Doctor balanced his spectacles on his nose and began chapter six. He had got no further than a page or so when he let the book fall closed. He again regarded Adric, feeling the now familiar pang of guilt and concern.

"Perhaps you'd like to hear about the Ogrons?" When Adric didn't immediately stir into consciousness, the Doctor sighed. "No, perhaps not." He adjusted the IV feeding his patient nutrients. "Tegan and Nyssa are worried about you – as am I." He coughed uncomfortably. Emotions were not his strong suit, never had been. He stroked back Adric's hair and said quietly, almost unwillingly, "I never told you, did I? How proud I was of you, how I admired your loyalty and strength." A smile touched the corners of the worry. "Of course, you drove me up the wall sometimes too." The smile faded. "I'm sorry. I should never have allowed you to stay on that freighter, there had to be another alterative."

As though the Doctor's confession had triggered something, Adric gave a soft moan and the monitors registered a surge. The Doctor gripped his hand, both his hearts pounding. "Adric? Come on, fight. You can do it, fight."

Adric's eyes fluttered. "Now I'll never know if I was right," he murmured then he gave a sigh and slipped into peaceful, healing sleep.