So . . . before we start . . . explanation time.

I could have gotten this done sooner. I know I could have. But to those of you who do not follow me, I found out my book "Running Through the Stars" was plagiarized over the weekend word for word, italic for italic. After that, I was just completely scatterbrained. Couldn't do homework, couldn't write. And it was sick, considering not only were the background and author's notes copied as well, but Jessie's name was in there five times. FIVE!

The good news is that after I filed a copyright report Saturday, I got an email just before noon today saying the copied work had been taken down. I felt much better afterwards, and I think fellow Order members can agree when I say I've been back to my normal self. :)

So . . . onto thank yous.

Thank you to CooperHChurch, Gryffindor_Fangirl, SpectacledRavenclaw, and AboveAndBelowAverage for your support on my profile. It meant so much to hear support from you all. Every word of encouragement helped these last few days. :)

Thank you to my amazing Order: Miss Gatiss (shavingforsherl0ck), Miss Greenie (Tje1415), Miss Hayley's OTPs (TrashforFandoms_704), Miss Tyler (MariaCrockett), Miss Foxtrot (Hannah_Hatter), Miss Oreos (amadmanwithanimpala), Miss Malone (HalfBlood_of_the_Sea), Miss Maddstar (Maddythewriter), Miss Enchanted (The_Enchanted_Girl), Mr. Doyle (SephtheWriter), Miss Rogers (TAngel96), Miss Panda (MirPanda45), Miss Barton (kkgertz), Miss NinjaStar (ExtrovertedNinjaStar), Miss Novak (XoXAnnabethXoX), Miss Cat (_SpaceCat_), Miss Marvel (LauraEdsss), and Miss Lively (just_lively). I never expected you all to become so close to me. From those of you I ranted to on PM or were just being yourselves on our thread, you guys were there. Thank you all so much - long live the OTPs!

And I cannot thank you enough, raggedy_man_always, for being the one to catch the plagiarism. I am in your debt for that. :)

On another note . . . thank you to RohanSoldier, Annabeth316, and others for agreeing with me that "Doctor Strange" was absolutely AMAZING! :D Totally stoked to explore that in "The Bad Wolf Chronicles" . . . yeah, he'll be big there. ;)

 . . . and I think I just beat the A/N on "The Day of the Doctor and the Bad Wolf" now . . . 

Oops. XD

MAIN EVENT TIME! Our heroes are stuck with carnivorous shadows . . . and warning: quite a bit of blood. For me, anyway.

Enjoy "Forest of the Dead!"

***

"Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Well, I'm making the decision," the Alchemist yanked River's blaster away from her. "I'm not dying today." She shot at the wall, opening a hole in it. "This, way, quickly. Move!"

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave asked as they hurried through.

The Alchemist sealed the wall up and took off through a few more walls before looking around the next rotunda. "Got a clear spot," she announced, stepping in.

"OK, in, in, in!" River ushered everyone else through. "Right in the center. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor?"

"I'm doing it!" the Doctor went past her to crouch on the ground, using his sonic screwdriver to scan.

"There's no lights here," River looked around, taking back her blaster. "Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe," the Doctor frowned as he scanned. "It's getting hard to tell." He scowled at her screwdriver, smacking it against his palm. "What's wrong with you?"

"We're going to need a chicken leg," River looked around. "Who's got a chicken leg?" Other Dave looked through his bag and handed one over. "Thanks, Dave." She crouched by the Doctor and tossed the chicken leg in, only for it to be a bone when it hit the ground. "OK. OK, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

"They shouldn't attack unless there's enough of them," the Alchemist frowned. "But they've got our scent now. They're coming."

River was pulled back by the others, and she glared at them. "Oh, yeah, who are they?" Other Dave asked. "You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust them?"

"They're the Doctor and the Alchemist," River shrugged.

"And who are the Doctor and the Alchemist?" Lux frowned.

"The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive them."

"You say they're your friends, but they don't even know who you are!" Anita scowled.

River sighed. "Listen, all you need to know is this. I'd trust those two to the end of the universe . . . and actually, we've been."

"They don't act like they trust you."

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem. They haven't met me yet." River turned on her heel and walked over to the Doctor, frowning when she noticed the Alchemist was trying to fiddle with it. "What's wrong with it?"

"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it," the Alchemist answered.

"Then use the red settings."

The Alchemist frowned. "It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers, either."

River handed over her screwdriver. "It will do one day."

The Doctor took it, narrowing his eyes. "So some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver?"

"Yeah."

"Why would I do that?"

River scoffed. "I didn't pluck it from your cold, dead hands, if that's what you're worried about."

"And I know that because?"

River narrowed her eyes. "Listen to me. You've lost your friend. You're angry. I understand that. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor, right now."

"Less emotional?" the Doctor leapt to his feet, eyes narrowed to slits, the Alchemist looking up at them, eyes wide. "That was my sister, and you're telling me to be less emotional?"

"There are six people in this room still alive!" River shouted at him. "Focus on that! Dear God, you're hard work young!"

"Young?" the Doctor spat. "Who are you?"

"OK, let's just - " the Alchemist began, standing up as well.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Lux shouted. "Look at the pair of you! We're all going to die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple!"

"We're not married!" River said hotly, narrowing her eyes. "Never me! And how dare you accuse him of abandoning a woman like her!"

The Alchemist jumped when River pointed right at her. "Thanks?" She wasn't sure how to respond to that.

River sighed and turned back around, closing her eyes. "Alchemist, one day, I'm going to be someone that the two of you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really, very sorry."

The Alchemist frowned, opening her mouth to say something when River whispered in her ear. All the blood drained from her face, and her eyes widened. "Alice?" the Doctor asked, scowling at River as the woman pulled away. "What did she say?"

"Are we good?" River asked as the Alchemist stared at her with wide eyes. "Misty, are we good?"

The Alchemist swallowed hard. "Yeah," her voice cracked. "We're good."

"Good," River nodded.

The Alchemist cleared her throat and turned to the Doctor. "Trust her."

The Doctor nodded slowly, handing River back her screwdriver. "Know what's interesting about my screwdriver?" he asked. "Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough."

"Hairdryers," the Alchemist corrected.

"Yes, but I'm working on that. So, there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So, what's new? What's changed?"

The Alchemist looked around. "New room, new lighting . . . " She looked up. "And there's a moon."

"The moon!" the Doctor spun around. "Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real," Lux answered. "It was built as part of the Library. It's jus a Doctor Moon."

"And what's a Doctor Moon?" the Alchemist asked.

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

"Well, if this thing is anything to go by, it's still active," the Alchemist took the Doctor's screwdriver, fiddling with it. "It's signaling. Look. Someone somewhere in the Library is alive and communicating with the moon . . . and no, Doctor, no one is drying their hair."

"Well, it's a thought!" the Time Lord protested.

"Who in this Library would be drying their hair?"

"Alice!" he whined, pouting.

"You bozo," she sighed fondly, kissing his cheek before going back to messing with his screwdriver. "Anyway, this signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through - "

She jumped back when an image of Donna appeared. "Donna?" the Doctor asked hopefully, eyes lighting up at his sister.

"Donna!" the Alchemist cheered, only for the image to disappear.

"That was her," River looked at them. "That was your friend!"

"Sister!" the Doctor corrected.

"Right, sorry," River nodded. "Can you get her back? What was that?"

"Hold on, hold on," the Alchemist scrambled to use the screwdriver. "I'm trying to find the wavelength . . . " She scowled. "How am I being blocked? I'm never blocked! The Doctor's the one usually getting blocked!"

"OI!" the Time Lord complained.

"Well, aren't I right?"

As the Time Lords bickered, Anita looked down, and froze. "Professor?"

"Just a moment," River shook a hand, unable to help herself from shaking in laughter as she watched the Time Lords.

"It's important," Anita swallowed. "I've got two shadows."

That shut the Time Lords up right away as they all turned to see Anita. "OK," River instantly took charge. "Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours."

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good," Anita said miserably.

"Just keep it together, OK?"

"Keeping it together," she nodded. "I'm only crying. I'm about to die. It's not an overreaction."

River put Anita's helmet on her, and the Doctor took his screwdriver back. "Hang on," he said.

River's eyes widened as the visor went black. "Oh, God, they've got inside!"

"He's just tinted her visor," the Alchemist shook her head. "Why did you do that?"

"Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone," he shrugged.

"Do you think they can be fooled like that?" River asked.

"Maybe," the Doctor growled. "I don't know. It's a swarm! It's not like we chat."

"Can you still see in there?" Other Dave asked.

"Just about," Anita nodded.

"Just, just, just stay back," the Doctor warned before pausing. "Alice, Professor, a quick word, please."

"What?" River asked as she walked over.

"Down here."

"What is it?" she asked as they crouched.

"Look, you said there are six people still alive in this room."

"Yeah. So?"

"So why are there seven?"

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave's voice asked from behind them, making everyone jump.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted, the Alchemist sprinting and taking the lead.

"Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Sides!" the Alchemist called, spinning around.

"What?" the Doctor blinked.

"You heard her!" River tugged him aside.

The others did the same thing, and the Alchemist clenched her hands. "No!" the Doctor shouted, realizing what she was about to do, when she flung out her hands, the Vortex flinging out and shimmering on the floor. "What did you do that for?" the Doctor shouted, freeing himself from River's grasp and running to her, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her on as she tripped over her feet.

"It'll slow him down!" she answered as they ran on, she wincing.

"It's going to slow you down more!"

"Have you got a better idea?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have chat with a swarm." The Doctor paused and turned as the others caught up. "Professor, take her and go ahead. Find a safe spot."

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit!" River protested. "You can't reason with it!"

"Five minutes," the Doctor answered, nodding at the Alchemist.

River scowled. "Other Dave, stay with him. Pull him out when he's too stupid to live." The Doctor nodded and passed the Alchemist to River. "Two minutes, Doctor," she warned before leading them all off.

The Doctor nodded, then turned as Proper Dave came through. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" he asked.

"You hear that?" the Doctor pointed at him. "Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy. Neural relay. Just point and think. Use him. Talk to me."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?"

"We should go," Other Dave told him. "Doctor!"

"In a minute!" the Doctor waved him off. "You came to the Library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why."

"We did not," a low voice came from the suit.

"Oh, hello," the Doctor blinked, surprised the Vashta Nerada had actually figured it out.

"We did not."

"Take it easy. You'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

"We did not . . . come here."

The Doctor snorted. "Well, of course you did! Of course you came here!"

"We come from here."

The Doctor blinked. "From here?"

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from trees," the Doctor frowned. "From spores in trees."

"These are our forests."

"You're nowhere near a forest! Look around you!"

"These are our forests."

"You're not a forest, you're in a library! There are no trees in a - !" He cut himself off, eyes widening. "Library."

"We should go," Other Dave insisted. "Doctor!"

"Books," the Doctor realized, looking around. "You came in the books! Microspores in a million million books."

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Oh, look at that! The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million million books hatching shadows."

"We should go. Doctor!"

The fourth time Other Dave said that, the Doctor did a double take, then spun around. "Oh, Dave!" he groaned as the polarizing filter lifted, showing Other Dave was now a skeleton. "Oh, Dave, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave asked.

"We should go. Doctor!" Other Dave joined in.

"Thing about me, I'm stupid," the Doctor remarked, looking from skeleton to skeleton. "I talk too much. Always babbling on. This gob doesn't stop for anything. Want to now the only reason I'm still alive? Always stay near the door!"

He pointed his sonic screwdriver down, opening the trapdoor under his feet and falling through. He grabbed onto the support strut underneath, put his screwdriver between his teeth, then started pulling himself along.

***

"Alchemist?" River asked as the Alchemist stumbled when they reached one of the other rooms.

"Tired," she mumbled, her face tinged slightly green. "Sick . . . "

River hurriedly found a rubbish bin and brought it under the Alchemist's mouth just in time for her to throw up whatever she had in her stomach. "Oh, my God," Lux blanched, noting the blood as well. "What is happening to you?"

"Vortex," the Alchemist closed her eyes, heaving a bit more before collapsing to her knees, River and Lux grabbing onto her. "Vortex - "

Her eyes slid shut before she could say anything else. "Is she going to be all right?" Anita asked as River laid her down on the ground.

"I don't know," River swallowed. This . . . she had never seen the Alchemist like this before. "You know, it's funny. I've started wishing the Doctor was here."

"The Doctor is here," Anita said. "Isn't he? He is coming back, right?"

River sighed. "You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them, and it's like they're not quite finished? They're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor and the Alchemist are here. They came when I called, just like they always do, but not my Doctor and Alchemist. Now, my Doctor and Alchemist . . . I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And they'd just swagger off back to their TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of the fingers. The Doctor and the Alchemist, in the TARDIS. Next stop, everywhere."

"Spoilers," the Doctor's voice said, and they turned to see him coming down the stairs into the room. "Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their - " He broke off, eyes widening. "Alice!" he shouted, running the rest of the way down to her side, bending down over her. "What happened to her?" he demanded to River.

"When we got here, she just doubled over and vomited whatever she had," River gestured to the rubbish bin.

"How much blood was there?" the Doctor asked, noting the red stain around the Alchemist's mouth.

"A fair bit," Lux grimaced.

"Brilliant," the Doctor growled, glaring down at his still unconscious Bonded. "You see, this is exactly why you don't use the Vortex."

"What is it about the Vortex?" River asked, frowning.

The Doctor glared up at her, only to pause, seeing genuine confusion on her face. "You really don't know?" he asked.

"Does it look like I know?" River snapped.

"It's killing her!" the Doctor snapped back, making River's jaw drop. "It's been killing her ever since The Year That Never Was, and I'll bet with just the twice she's used it today, she's gone from having three months left to live to one!"

"What?" River breathed in horror, looking at the Alchemist with wide eyes.

" . . . too much noise . . . "

The Doctor looked down, putting his hand on the Alchemist's cheek. "I've got you," he whispered, seeing her eyes flutter. "Come on, Alice, you've got to open your eyes. You've got to keep on fighting. I need to see you, Alice. Please, don't leave me yet." The Alchemist's eyes flew open suddenly, and she hacked and retched, sounding like something was clogging her throat as she curled in on herself. The Doctor recognized the sound immediately. "Bucket, now!" he demanded. River grabbed the rubbish bin and slid it over, the Alchemist pushing herself up and throwing up even more blood into the bin, the Doctor quickly pulling her hair back. All four of the others grimaced as the Alchemist threw up way too much blood for her to be all right.

A few moments later, she spat one last time into the bucket and put a hand over her mouth. "Never again," she croaked, squeezing her eyes shut and turning into the Doctor.

"Finally, we agree on something," the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her tightly.

"Hold on," River looked up and around. "Where's Other Dave?"

"Not coming," the Doctor shook his head. "Sorry."

Anita sighed. "Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference all right. No one's ever going to see my face again."

"Can I get you anything?"

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"

"I'm all over it," the Doctor promised.

Anita's helmet turned in River's direction, to where she was now speaking with Lux. "Doctor, when we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song, and then she whispered a word in the Alchemist's ear, and you both did. My life so far, I could do with a word like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

The Doctor blinked. "Safe!" he shouted.

"Loud," the Alchemist mumbled, wincing.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"What?" Anita asked.

"Safe," the Doctor answered, standing up, carrying the Alchemist bridal style. "You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe. The data fragment, what did it say?"

"Four thousand and twenty two people saved," Lux answered. "No survivors."

"Doctor?" River frowned, seeing him grin.

"Nobody says saved," he told them. "Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved!" He turned around and pulled up an image on a monitor. "See, there it is, right there. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport four thousand twenty two people?" River frowned.

"Did," the Alchemist mumbled. "Nowhere safe."

"Nowhere safe in the whole Library," the Doctor confirmed. "Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty two people all beamed up, and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So, what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It saved them," River breathed.

The Doctor nodded, reaching out to draw on a polished table. "The Library," he explained as he drew. "A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

An alarm went off in the room, making them look up. "What is it?" Lux asked. "What's wrong?"

"Autodestruct enabled in twenty minutes," a computer voice answered.

"Bad," the Alchemist mumbled.

"Very bad," the Doctor agreed. "Night night." He put his fingers to her temples, and her head lolled back as she fell unconscious, the Doctor putting her on the ground before going to check the terminal.

River peered over his shoulder to take a look. "What's maximum erasure?"

"In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg," the Doctor blanched.

"No," Lux shook his head. "No, it's all right. The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL."

Right when he finished, the terminal went blank. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor groaned.

"All Library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly - "

"We need to stop this," Lux took a deep breath. "We've got to save CAL."

"What is it?" the Doctor frowned. "What is CAL?"

"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you."

"It's at the core of the planet!"

"Well, then, let's go!" River pointed her screwdriver at the logo in the middle of the compass rose in the floor, and it opened, revealing a way down. "Gravity platform."

The Doctor eyed her. "I bet we like you."

River smiled sadly. "Oh, you do."

The Doctor carried the Alchemist bridal style, and all of them got on the platform and went down.

***

"Autodestruct in fifteen minutes."

"The data core," the Doctor said quietly, looking up at a globe with swirling energy above them. "Over four thousand living minds trapped inside it."

"Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer," River remarked. "We're running out of time."

"Help me! Please, help me!"

All of them looked up at the girl's voice. "What's that?" Anita asked.

"Was that a child?" River blinked.

"The computer's in sleep mode," the Doctor said as he worked on a terminal one-handed. "I can't wake it up. I'm trying . . . "

River looked over his shoulder to see, then blinked. "Doctor, these readings . . . "

"I know," he nodded. "You'd think it was dreaming."

"It is dreaming," Lux nodded. "Of a normal life and a lovely dad, and of every book ever written."

"Computers don't dream," Anita said.

"No," Lux agreed. "But little girls do."

He pulled a breaker down and led them into a new room, and the Node there turned to face them. "Please help me," the little girl from the terminal said. "Please help me."

"Oh, my God," River blanched.

"It's the little girl!" Anita pointed. "The girl we saw in the computer!"

"She's not in the computer," Lux shook his head. "In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is CAL."

"CAL is a child?" the Doctor asked sharply. "A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family!" Lux snapped. "CAL: Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside with a moon to watch over her and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent. You were protecting her."

Lux nodded. "This is only half a life, of course, but it's for ever."

"And then the shadows came."

"The shadows," CAL said. "I have to. I have to save. Have to save."

"And she saved them," the Doctor nodded. "She saved everyone in the Library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being - " He blinked. "Well . . . me."

"So what do we do?" River asked.

"Autodestruct in ten minutes."

"Easy!" the Doctor ran back to the data core room, laying the Alchemist by a terminal and running to work on it. "We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space."

"Difficult?" River protested. "It'll kill you stone dead!"

"Yeah, it's easy to criticize."

"It'll burn out both your hearts, and don't think you'll regenerate!"

"It's a way out with her!" the Doctor snapped, looking down at the Alchemist.

River swallowed hard. "Doctor!"

"I'm right! This works!" he glared. "Shut up! Now listen, you and Luxy boy, back up to the main library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here? Shut up!"

"Oh, I hate you sometimes!" River growled.

"I know!" he said as he worked.

River narrowed her eyes. "Mr. Lux, with me. Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him!"

"What about the Vashta Nerada?" Anita asked as the duo left.

"These are their forests," the Doctor shrugged. "I'm going to seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content."

"So you think they're just going to let us go?"

"Best offer they're going to get."

"You're going to make 'em an offer?"

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "They'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what? I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying, and she never gave in . . . and you ate her." He pointed his screwdriver at Anita, clearing her visor to reveal she was just a skeleton now. "But I'm going to let that pass, just as long as you let them pass."

"How long have you known?"

"I counted the shadows. You only have one now. She's nearly gone. Be kind."

"These are our forests. We are not kind."

"I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go."

"These are our forests. They are our meat."

The Doctor shifted in front of the Alchemist as shadows extended from Anita. "Don't play games with me," he warned. "You just killed someone I liked. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up."

Anita paused, then the shadows withdrew. "You have one day," she declared before collapsing.

River burst back in, eyes wide. "Oh, Anita!"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor shook his head, turning back to the terminal. "She's been dead a while now. I told you to go!"

"Lux can manage without me," River shook her head. "And I know exactly who can't manage without you."

The Doctor blinked, turning to her, only for her to punch him and knock him out.

***

"Autodestruct in two minutes."

The Doctor came to, feeling metal around his wrist. Blinking, he sat up to see he was handcuffed to a table nearby . . . and River was twisting wires together. "Oh, no, no, no, no," he whined. "Come on! What are you doing? That's my job!"

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River raised an eyebrow.

"Why am I handcuffed?" the Doctor held up his wrist. "Why do you even have handcuffs?"

River just smiled sadly. "Spoilers."

"This is not a joke. Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any!"

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I," River shook her head. "I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way, it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River, please," the Doctor begged. "No!"

River just sniffed. "Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here." She closed her eyes. "The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you . . . I mean, you turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang . . . " She took a shaky breath. "And the Alchemist cried."

The Doctor blanched. "She's there?" he asked in disbelief. "She survives?"

"She was never sick in my time," River shook her head. "It may be changed now."

"Autodestruct in one minute."

"She wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose she knew it was time," River sighed. "My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver," she nodded to where the screwdrivers and her diary were out of reach. "That should have been a clue. There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this," the Doctor answered.

"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you," she shook her head instantly.

"Time can be rewritten."

"Not those times," River shook her head. "Not one line. Because as much as I have hated your guts for what you'll do . . . the Alchemist I know will not be who she is without you there. It's not over for either of you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. The two of you, time and space. And we'll watch you run."

The Doctor frowned. "River . . . what did you tell the Alchemist, in the beginning?"

"Autodestruct in ten."

"You whispered something in her ear."

"Nine, eight, seven - "

"What did you whisper in her ear? What could you have told her?"

River just smiled sadly. "Hush, now."

"Four, three - "

"Spoilers."

"Two, one."

The Doctor shielded his eyes as River joined power cables, a blinding light flashing through the data core.

***

"Please be patient. Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in your designated slot."

"I hate you for that," the Alchemist grumbled as she rubbed her head.

"You didn't want to see what I did," the Doctor winced.

"Here she comes," the Alchemist straightened.

The Doctor smiled sympathetically as Donna walked up, looking slightly depressed. "Any luck?"

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day," she said glumly, referring to her dream world husband. "I suppose he could have had a different name out here . . . but let's be honest. He wasn't real, was he?"

"Maybe not," he shrugged.

"I made up the perfect man," she sighed. "Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Don't say it," the Alchemist said abruptly.

The Doctor closed his mouth. "Don't say what?" he asked innocently.

"Good boy."

Donna frowned, but looked at the Doctor, tilting her head. "What about you? Are you all right?"

"I'm always all right," the Doctor brushed it off.

Donna frowned. "Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?"

The Doctor tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because I'm all right, too."

The Doctor sighed. "Come on." He led them back to where they had come in, laying River's diary and sonic screwdriver on the balcony rail.

Donna eyed them, then said, "Your friend, Professor Song. She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me - "

"Donna, this is her diary," the Alchemist put her hand on it. "Our future. We could look you up. Shall we peek?"

Donna considered, then shook her head. "Spoilers, right?"

"Right," the Doctor nodded. "Come on. The next chapter's this way."

The Alchemist squeezed his hand, leading him back towards the TARDIS.

+++

"When you run with the Doctor and the Alchemist, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor and the Alchemist. She accepts it. She knows how it feels. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment, accepts it."

+++

The Doctor ran back, picking up the screwdriver. "Why?" he paced. "Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?"

The Alchemist peered at it, then flipped the screwdriver over, pointing to the blinking green lights on the other side. "Neural relay," she grinned. "You've still got it!"

"What's he still got?" Donna asked. "What's he done?"

"Saved her!" the Doctor cheered, running off, the Alchemist watching him go with a smile.

***

"Stay with me," the Doctor watched one light go out. You can do it! Stay with me! Come on, you and me, one last run!" He skidded into the reading room. "Sorry, River. Shortcut!"

He disabled the gravity platform and dove into the well, running into the data core.

+++

"Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day."

+++

The Doctor plugged the sonic into the data core, and the neural energy transferred, and he sagged in relief.

+++

"Not today."

+++

The Doctor looked up and smiled tiredly, and CAL smiled back.

***

River shielded her eyes against the sudden sun, looking down at the white robe she was wearing. "It's OK," a voice behind her said, and she spun to see Charlotte approach, along with a black man that had to be Doctor Moon. "You're safe. You'll always be safe here. The Doctor fixed the data core. This is a good place now. But I was worried you might be lonely, so I brought you some friends." She smiled. "Aren't I a clever girl?"

"Aren't we all?" a familiar voice asked.

River gasped and spun to see Evangelista leading the Daves and Anita towards her, all of them with smiles on their faces. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" she breathed, even as she ran over with a smile to greet them. "He just can't do it, can he? That man. That impossible man. He just can't give in."

+++

"Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all."

+++

"You did it?" the Alchemist asked as the Doctor walked back towards where she was waiting outside the TARDIS.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "She's safe now." He paused. "I've been meaning to ask . . . what did she whisper in your ear?"

The Alchemist froze, then closed her eyes. "My name," she answered quietly. "She whispered Namara in my ear."

The Doctor blanched, looking at her. "There's only one time you could ever say that name."

"I know."

The Doctor slowly turned to the TARDIS, then took a shaky breath. "Well. The Doctor and the Alchemist, in the TARDIS." He held up one hand, extending his other one. "Shall we?"

She smiled and took his hand. "Yes, we shall."

The Doctor smiled and snapped his fingers. His grin widened as the door to the TARDIS opened.

+++

"Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Time Lords come to call . . . "

+++

Donna smiled at them as the duo walked into the TARDIS side by side. The Alchemist never once looked back, raising her hand and snapping her fingers, the doors closing behind them.

***

"Everybody lives," River finished, closing her diary and kissing Charlotte on the top of her head. She stood and headed for the door, smiling sweetly at Charlotte and Donna's dream children, Ella and Joshua. "Sweet dreams, everyone," she wished before turning out the light.

***

I bloody love that ending. I nearly cried when I wrote it.

So, I've had a rough weekend. However, I'm beginning to get my mojo back, so we'll see when we get "Smith and Jones" for Mara. :)

See everyone later! And if anyone wants to hardcore fangirl "Doctor Strange," I'll gladly join you. ;)