trigger warnings: none, i think

*

Someone snaps their fingers right between MJ's eyes and, acting on instinct, she kicks.

"Ow!" Rose whines. "That was my shin!"

"Sorry," MJ says but she's not sure she means it. She's not even sure she's saying it. She feels detached from her own body. From the present.

Rose squats down to be at eye level with MJ. Wait, since when was MJ sitting down on Jack's bed? Rose grins at her. "Think you could come back to us? We need your big brain to help save the day."

Just her brain. That's all MJ will ever be to anyone outside her family. A brain. A tool. A weapon. A pawn in a game of chess and she can't see the board. Gods, she's losing it.

"MJ?" Rose pokes her in the shoulder. "MJ, are you in there?"

Maybe this is what it means to be empty. Maybe this is how Jamie feels. Cold and alone and outside himself.

The Doctor's hand settles on her shoulder, big and heavy. "MJ, what's wrong?" When she doesn't answer, he heaves a great big sigh. "Don't make me pull out the full name. Though, actually, I can't, because I still don't know what your middle name is. I mean, I know it starts with a J, but there are millions of names that start with J. Is it Jane? Janet? Jasmine? Jillian? Jessica? Jessie? Jennifer? Jenny? Josephine? Josie? Josette?"

For some reason, the sound of her middle name acts as an anchor. It pulls her back to the here and now. She is not outside herself. She's sitting on Jack's bed, and her friends are crouching down in front of her, looking very worried. Her friends who were just flirting with each other even though the Doctor claims he has feelings for MJ and they both know MJ has feelings for him.

They're touching her. Rose's hand is on her left knee and the Doctor's is still on MJ's right shoulder. They're touching her, and normally, that's fine, but she can't do it right now.

"Get your hands off of me," she snaps, shoving them away.

She gets up and stomps over to the other end of the ship, as far away from them as she can get. She leans against the wall and takes deep breaths. She doesn't want to be angry right now. But maybe she should be. Because if she's not angry, then what is she?

Jack clears his throat. "Sorry about the delay. Had to take the Nav-Com off-line to override the teleport security."

"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols," the Doctor says, wrapping his hand around some part of the ship. "Maybe you should remember whose ship it is."

Maybe you should remember which girl you kissed last week, MJ thinks snidely.

Jack grins. "I do. She was gorgeous. Like I told her, be back in five minutes."

He ducks down into a compartment under the console.

"This is a Chula ship," the Doctor points out, glancing around.

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter," Jack calls up to him. "Only this one is dangerous."

The Doctor snaps his fingers and honestly, MJ half-expects someone's head to open up. But no, instead, a swarm of tiny golden glowing lights appear around his hand.

"They're what fixed my hands up," Rose says. "Jack called 'em, um..."

"Nanobots?" the Doctor guesses. He shakes his head. "Nanogenes."

"Nanogenes, yeah," Rose confirms.

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here, see?" The Doctor turns his hand this way and that to demonstrate. "Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws."

He waves the bots away.

MJ's hand instinctively smooths over her scars. Luke's voice ringing in her ears, she asks, "What do you mean physical flaws?"

"Injuries, illness," he lists.

"Scars?" she presses. I guess I didn't realize how much of a turn-off they are.

The Doctor looks at her strangely. "Depending on their coding, possibly." His eyes flit down to the hand she has pressed over her abdomen and his face softens. "Scars aren't flaws, though. They're natural. Beautiful. They're proof you've healed."

"I know," she says, throat tight. She shoves her hands into her pockets and turns away.

"Take us to the crash site," the Doctor orders Jack. "I need to see your space junk."

There's a very easy joke there, but MJ's not in the mood to make it.

"Soon as I can get the Nav-Com back online," Jack says. "Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were...doing."

"We were talking about dancing," the Doctor claims.

Jack raises his eyebrows skeptically. "It didn't look like talking."

"Didn't feel like dancing," Rose says.

MJ grits her teeth, twisting her ring around her finger and glowering at the floor. Gods, she's spent way too much time with these white people. The last Black person she spoke to was...fucking hell. Was it Cathica? And then before that, Mickey. In the weeks, maybe months now, that she's been traveling with the Doctor, she's only met two Black people. That just doesn't seem right, statistically speaking.

"Hello," the Doctor says quietly, leaning against the wall next to her. He's smiling. She wants to smack it off his face.

MJ very pointedly refuses to make eye contact or acknowledge his presence in any shape or form.

The Doctor bends over and forces himself into her line of sight. "Penny for your thoughts, guv'nor?"

Oh, a callback. How sweet. She rolls her eyes and turns her head.

"Okay, so you're mad at me," the Doctor says. "Not sure why, but I'm sure I accidentally gave you a good reason and for that, I'm sorry."

She makes a big show of checking her nails.

"Sticking with the silent treatment, then," he says, nodding. "Okay. Uh, could you at least tell me what I did to upset you so I know how to fix it and to not do it again? Or if you don't want to talk to me, maybe we could do charades. Or you could tell Rose and Rose could tell me."

MJ pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks her texts.

"Yeah, okay," the Doctor says with a little sigh. "Well, if you're not going to talk to me, I'm just going have to talk enough for the both of us, aren't I? I think I mentioned it earlier, but you look very nice today. That shade of green is a good color on you. Well, all colors look good on you. A byproduct of looking like a supermodel, I s'pose."

When blatant flattery shows no signs of working, he switches tracks. "You're really good with Jamie, you know. I...it's easy to forget that he's not some horrible monster. He's not malicious. He doesn't know what he's doing, and he can't stop himself. We need to help him, not fear him. And as always, you figured that out before everyone else. That's one of the reasons why I l..." He clears his throat. "Why I like you so much."

MJ's only half-listening, too busy texting with Cilla and Silena to pay too much attention to the Doctor's groveling.

ughhh he won't shut up

like u literally just slow-danced w/ my friend in front of me and now u don't know y i'm mad????

cilla: men are stupid

burn him at the stake

silena: no!!! don't do that!!!

cilla: set his car on fire

ASSERT UR DOMINANCE

y do so many of ur 'solutions' involve fire???

cilla: i wuz an arsonist in a past life :)

silena: past?

don't listen to cilla. be open and honest w/ him

then set his car on fire if he ever pulls that shit again

cilla: YESSSSSSS

FIRE SOLVES ALL PROBLEMS!!!!!!

thanks besties <3

silena: omg literally any time!!!

i can't believe our little mj has a BOOOOYYYFRIENDDDD

he is NOT my boyfriend

silena: ok ok

...but if he DOES become ur bf and u guys get married can i be 1 of ur bridesmaids :)

obviously

cilla: nooooo you can never get married

why??

cilla: bc annabeth and me agreed that we'd duel over who gets to be ur maid of honor

and i really don't want to get beat up by ur little sister

silena: y did u make that deal??

cilla: she wuz shorter back then :(

u kno u can just NOT duel her right??

cilla: the only thing more embarrsing than losing a fight 2 ur little sister

is not even trying 2 win a fight against ur little sister

"Hey, MJ!"

MJ looks up from her phone and sees Jack smiling at her. The Doctor and Rose are nowhere to be seen, and the hatch is open.

"We're at the bomb site," Jack says. "Ready to do some investigating?"

He holds out his hand. She hesitates.

Jack's face softens. "Hey, I'm sorry about what I said back there, coming on to you like that. My instinct when I see a gorgeous woman with a knife is to flirt with her, but I obviously made you uncomfortable and I'm very sorry about that. Flirting's only fun if both parties are okay with it."

MJ takes his hand.

"Apology accepted," she says, and then they exit the ship.

*

MJ keeps her hands in her pockets as they walk past trains and over rails. They stop at a barbed wire fence. Up ahead is the gate to the bomb site. It's guarded by two white men, both in military uniforms, though one is clearly of a higher rank than the other.

"There it is," Jack says. "They've got Algy on duty. Must be important."

"We've got to get past him," the Doctor says.

"Are the words 'distract the guard' heading in my general direction?" Rose asks.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," Jack says.

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Rose assures him.

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town," Jack tells them. "Trust me, Rose, you're not his type. I'll distract him." He starts toward Algy. "Don't wait up."

Then he jogs off. Rose has a vaguely homophobic look on her face.

"Relax," the Doctor says. "He's a 51st century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing."

Okay, now they're definitely using it as a euphemism.

"How flexible?" Rose asks.

"By his time, you lot are spread out across half the galaxy," the Doctor says.

Rose arches her eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"So many species, so little time," he jokes.

"What, that's what we do when we get out there?" Rose scoffs. "That's our mission? We seek new life and...and..."

The Doctor finishes her sentence for her. "Dance."

Then he snickers like a schoolboy who's just said his first naughty word. MJ rolls her eyes. Have these two always been this annoying and she just didn't notice until now, or is this a recent development? No matter what it is, she swears every word they say grates her nerves. Like nails on a chalkboard.

Or maybe that's just her wounded pride talking.

"I don't like it when you're quiet," Rose says, wrinkling her nose at MJ. "Freaks me out." She bumps her hip into MJ's. "C'mon, give us a fun fact. Can't go an adventure without a fun fact."

"Your brain is constantly eating itself," MJ deadpans.

Rose's smile fades. "What?"

"It's called phagocytosis," MJ explains, tone bored. "Cells envelop and consume smaller cells or molecules to remove from the system. It helps preserve gray matter."

The Doctor shoots her a look. "Any other cheery fun facts you got up your sleeve, Wednesday Addams?"

"Chainsaws were first invented for childbirth," MJ says. Her eyes narrow and she leans over their barrier. "Something's wrong."

As soon as she says it, Algy falls to his knees. MJ's stomach roils at the sight of his face morphing into a gas mask. Oh, that never gets any easier to witness, does it?

"Stay back!" the Doctor shouts.

"You men, stay away!" Jack yells.

MJ, Rose, and the Doctor run down to Jack and Algy. Rose gapes at Algy in horor.

"The effect's becoming airborne, accelerating," the Doctor says.

MJ grimaces. "Bad time to say 'I told you so?'"

"What's keeping us safe?" Rose asks.

"Nothing," the Doctor says.

To make matters worse, the air-raid siren sounds again.

"Here they come again," Jack sighs.

"All we need," Rose grumbles. The irritation fades from her face, replaced by fear. "Didn't you say a bomb was gonna land here?"

"Never mind about that," the Doctor says.

He says more after that, but MJ's stopped paying attention. She hears singing. The information is gifted to her. It's Nancy. Nancy broke into the bomb site with wire cutters, and now she's handcuffed to a table right next to a gas mask zombie.

MJ follows the sound of Nancy's voice to a shed. When MJ slips in, Nancy stops singing, but MJ gestures for her to continue. She kneels by Nancy's feet and goes digging for that lockpick she'd forgotten she made until they were stuck in that storeroom. It takes MJ only a few seconds to find it, and a few seconds longer to pick the lock on Nancy's handcuffs. All the while, Nancy sings Rock-a-Bye Baby.

"Got it," MJ hisses when the handcuffs fall open.

She rises to full height and offers Nancy her hand. To her surprise, Nancy not only takes her hand but keeps it. They slip out of the shed just as the Doctor, Jack, and Rose are about to come in.

The Doctor frowns. "How'd you—"

"Homemade lockpick," MJ says, holding it up for them to see. Once they've gotten a good look, she stows it away. "Forgot I had it 'til now."

Jack grins. "Very nice. C'mon, this way."

He leads MJ, Nancy, Rose, and the Doctor to the tarpaulin-covered object Nancy had pointed out to MJ and the Doctor hours earlier. Was that really only hours ago? It feels like it's been days since they stood on those steps, peering through the Doctor's binoculars.

One of the remaining soldiers turns on the lights, just in time for MJ, Jack, and the Doctor to pull the tarpaulin off. The ambulance looks pretty much just like it did in the hologram Jack showed them. It's oddly cylindrical. Makes MJ wonder what a Chula looks like. Half the ambulance is buried in the dirt from impact.

"You see?" Jack gestures to the med-ship. "Just an ambulance."

Nancy eyes the ship dubiously. "That's an ambulance?"

"It's hard to explain," Rose says. She has her arm around Nancy's shoulders. "It's from another world."

Jack is examining the control panel — luckily, it's on the exposed end of the ambulance. "They've been trying to get in."

"Of course they have," the Doctor says. "They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon."

MJ peers over Jack's shoulder as he starts to punch in the code.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asks.

"The sooner you see this thing's empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it," Jack tells him.

The controls spark and explode. MJ jumps back, pulling Jack with her. Whatever he just did, it set the alarm off. A red light on the control panel flashes angrily.

Jack winces. "Didn't happen last time."

"It hadn't crashed last time," the Doctor says. "There'll be emergency protocols."

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asks, taking a shaky step forward.

The gates at the other end of the bomb site start to shake — they're being pushed open, MJ realizes.

"Captain, secure those gates," the Doctor commands.

Jack scowls. "Why?"

"Just do it!" the Doctor snaps at him. Jack obeys, albeit reluctantly. Jack dealt with, the Doctor turns to Nancy. "Nancy, how'd you get in here?"

"She cut the wire," MJ blurts out before Nancy can answer.

The Doctor hardly notices. "Show Rose," he tells Nancy and tosses Rose the sonic screwdriver. "Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty-eight D."

Nancy takes off, but Rose stays and gapes at him. "What?"

"Reattaches barbed wire," the Doctor says. "Go!"

Rose follows after Nancy. Jack slams the gates shut. MJ feels incredibly useless.

"What can I do?" she asks.

"Nothing," he says. "For now, anyway."

MJ's hands curl into fists. Nothing? She's just supposed to stand around while everyone does something? No, absolutely not! That's not what she does. She's the girl who makes the plans and carries them out. She's the girl on the front lines and the last one to safety. That's what it means to be a child of Athena. MJ was born a soldier and strategist.

War is in her blood.

But she looks around the bomb site, and she's got nothing. No ideas, no schemes, not even a half-baked plot. Her mind is both whirring and completely blank, just white noise on full blast. What happened to the girl who treated Capture the Flag like life or death? Preparing for an attack, battening down the hatches, this should be like breathing to her.

She can't breathe. Oh gods, she can't breathe.

At first, she thinks it's just an anxiety attack. Makes perfect sense, right? She's had them plenty of times before. There's no reason to panic, she tells herself. You know how to handle this. Just do a deep-breathing exercise and everything will be fine.

Then she sees the faint outline of a scar on the back of her hand.

No. No, no, no, no. This is not happening. How is this happening? No, it can't be. She's seeing things. She tilts her hand this way and that, but the scar remains. It's not some trick of the light. She's infected. She's actually infected.

Movement out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. Jack's got the hatch to the Chula ambulance open. MJ glances at her hand, then tugs the sleeve of her stolen coat down to cover it. Just a little longer now. Just a little bit longer, and the Doctor will have saved the day, and she'll be fine. She's going to be fine.

"It's empty," Jack says, gesturing to the med-ship. "Look at it."

Rose and Nancy come back over, having finished repairing the fence. MJ completes their little circle while still keeping her distance. The hand without the scar is in her dress pocket again, rummaging around for the canteen of nectar she keeps on her. If her symptoms worsen, she'll take some nectar and that should fix everything.

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter?" the Doctor asks. "Bandages? Cough-drops?" His gaze lands on Rose. "Rose."

She shrugs. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do," he says, doing a gesture MJ doesn't recognize.

"Nanogenes!" Rose exclaims.

"It wasn't empty, Captain," the Doctor says, turning his burning gaze unto Jack. He folds his arms over his chest. "There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

The color drains from Jack's face. "Oh, God."

"Getting it now, are we?" the Doctor sneers. "When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them. Ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gas mask."

MJ subtly checks the back of her hand. The scar is widening. Chills run down her spine, and cold sweat beads on her forehead. Fuck, this isn't good.

"And they brought him back to life?" Rose asks incredulously. "They can do that?"

"What's life? Life's easy," the Doctor says. "A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do, they patch it up. Can't tell what's gas mask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly — off they go, work to be done. 'Cos you see, now they think what people should look like and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire Human Race is gonna be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

MJ bites down on her lip to stop a scream from coming out. Holy Hera, it feels like she's been torn apart from within. Is this how it felt for all of the victims, or does this have something to do with her godly DNA? She doesn't know. All she knows is that she's shaking really badly and she's drenched in sweat and her heart is racing and her mouth is dry and there's something forcing its way up her throat.

And she wants her mummy.

Gods, when this is over, she's going to have to have a talk with the Doctor about saving the dramatic speeches for after the danger's been taken care of. How much time are they wasting because he's grandstanding instead of fixing everything?

"I didn't know," Jack insists.

They lapse into tense silence. MJ can feel the nanogenes in her, crawling under her skin and through her veins like insects. Her godly DNA doesn't like it. You can't rewrite godly DNA, it's as stubborn as the gods themselves. So what do nanogenes do when they meet DNA that can't be rewritten? Do they retreat? Admit defeat and move on? No, of course not. 

They go to war.

"Rose?" Nancy calls out.

MJ snaps out of her funk to see a horde of gas mask zombies coming their way. Will she become one of them, or will she just die?

Rose runs to the Doctor and glances at the flashing red light. "It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?"

"The ship thinks it's under attack," the Doctor explains. "It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."

MJ can feel the gas mask lodged in the base of her throat. She can't wait any longer. Turning away from her friends, she unscrews the cap on her canteen and takes a swig. In the time between her swallowing the nectar and its taking effect, she manages to screw the cap back on, which is good — because when the nectar takes effect, the shaking worsens and she drops her canteen. She scrambles to pick it up and shove it back in her pocket, thanking the gods she didn't spill her entire supply of nectar all over the ground.

"But the gas mask people aren't troops," Rose says.

"They are now," the Doctor tells her. "This is a battlefield ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the frontline. Equip you, program you."

"That's why the child's so strong," Rose deduces. "Why it could do the phoning thing."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes," the Doctor says. "All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old, looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

MJ is dying. She knows she's dying. She's dying and her 'friends' haven't even noticed. Pressure builds up in her throat and she has to cough. She tries to do it discreetly into the crook of her arm. Something wet comes out when she coughs. There are remnants on her bottom lip that she wipes away with her thumb. Her eyes widen in horror.

Blood.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Jack asks.

She wants her mummy.

"Good little soldiers," the Doctor says. "Waiting for their commander."

"The child?" Jack presses.

"Jamie," Nancy corrects.

Jack shoots her a look. "What?"

"Not the child," Nancy says, eyes filled with tears. "Jamie."

Her name is MJ Winslow. She is eighteen years old. Her mother is Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, and her mom is Caroline Parker, a grade school teacher. She has two moms. Two mummies. She wants them. Their faces blur in her mind's eyes. She wants them, but who are they?

"So how long until the bomb falls?" Rose asks worriedly.

"Any second," Jack reports.

MJ is crying. She's been crying for a while, she thinks. It's been so long since she's spoken, and none of them have checked on her. She's standing ten feet away from them, and none of them have thought that's odd. She's going to die in a German air raid, surrounded by gas mask zombies and her fake ass friends. 

No, no, she's not being fair. Her friends aren't ignoring her, they're just focusing on fixing things, and she's intentionally suffering as silently as she can manage. Where is this anger coming from? Is it Jamie, trading out her wisdom for petulance? It doesn't matter, she decides. It doesn't matter where the anger is coming from. It only matters that she nips it in the bud. If this is truly her end, she doesn't want to die angry.

"What's the matter, Captain?" the Doctor snarks. "Bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy," Nancy says.

The Doctor's voice softens. "I know."

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy," Nancy cries.

"I know," the Doctor says. "There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

"So what are we going to do?" Rose demands. "MJ, you must have an idea. You always have ideas."

MJ turns to face them, her eyes unblinking and her mouth agape. Her gaze latches on to Nancy. MJ's heart is beating so fast she thinks it might give out, and she sees Nancy, and she knows.

"Mummy?" MJ wheezes.

The Doctor's eyes widen. "MJ?"

MJ coughs so violently that it brings her to her knees. She can't cover her mouth this time — her blood sprays the ground.

"Oh my gods," Rose gasps. "Doctor, she's coughing up blood!"

MJ grasps at the dirt beneath her. The scar on the back of her hand is red and open and weeping pus. Why won't the nanogenes just give up? Why can't they just accept defeat?

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor rambles. He starts to rush to her side, but skids to a stop a couple of feet away from her. "MJ, c'mon. Stay with us."

Fresh tears spring to MJ's eyes. A sob leaves her blood-smeared lips.

"I want to go home," she weeps. Blood trickles from her nostrils. "I want my mummy."

Nancy gapes at MJ, tears welling in her eyes. "It's my fault. This is all my fault."

MJ nods. "Mummy."

"This isn't your fault," the Doctor tells Nancy. He's crying too. "How could it be your fault—"

"Mummy!" MJ exclaims, trying to pour as much meaning into the word as she possibly can. Her eyes lock on Nancy and she gasps out, "Mummy!"

She knows the Doctor gets it when he looks around wildly at the army that surrounds them.

"Nancy, what age are you?" he asks urgently. "Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?"

A bomb lands nearby, shaking the ground. MJ collapses onto her side, clawing at her throat. It's getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Doctor, that bomb, we've got seconds," Jack warns.

"Fuck the bomb!" Rose yells. "MJ is dying!"

Another bomb lands. The reverberations travel through the dirt and into MJ. She feels it everywhere.

"You can teleport us out," Rose suggests. "Get MJ to hospital."

"Not you guys," Jack says. "The Nav-Com's back online. Gonna take too long to override the protocols."

"So it's Volcano Day," the Doctor says, gaze flickering between Nancy and MJ. "Do what you've got to do."

"Jack?" Rose presses, voice cracking.

Jack hardly hesitates. He vanishes in a flash of blue light.

MJ doesn't have the emotional capacity to be disappointed in him. No honor among thieves and all that. She rolls onto her back. She wants to see the stars.

"How old were you five years ago?" the Doctor asks Nancy. "Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he?"

MJ's view of the stars is blocked by Rose's worried face.

"I don't care about getting infected," Rose says fiercely, and she grabs MJ's hand — the one with the scar. She's so beautiful, even when she's not in focus. "If this is it, if the Doctor can't fix you, I'm not letting you die alone."

"A teenage single mother in 1941," the Doctor says. "So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

A new wave of pain crashes over MJ like a fucking tsunami. She writhes, face contorted in agony, screaming as loud as she can. She will not go quietly. Her grip on Rose's hand tightens tenfold, but Rose doesn't let go. She babbles about how everything will be okay, that the Doctor will figure something out, that MJ will be just fine, and despite the fire in MJ's veins, she almost believes her.

The gates open. Jamie stands at the front of the horde. "Are you my mummy?"

"He's gonna keep asking, Nancy," the Doctor says through gritted teeth, frantic. "He's never gonna stop."

"Mummy," Jamie calls out.

"Tell him," the Doctor orders. "Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. MJ's life is in your hands. Trust me and tell him!"

He shoves her forward.

"Are you my mummy?" Jamie asks, walking toward her. "Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"Yes," Nancy confesses. "Yes, I am your mummy."

"Mummy?"

"I'm here," Nanncy tells him.

"Are you my mummy?"

Nancy falls to her knees. "I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you my mummy?"

"He doesn't understand," the Doctor says, looking as though he's been slapped. "There's not enough of him left."

MJ stops screaming to cough up more blood. Rose rolls her onto her side so she doesn't choke on it. MJ lays her head in Rose's lap and Rose wipes MJ's face clean with her jacket sleeve. MJ has a perfect, albeit blurry and fading, view of Nancy and Jamie.

"I am your mummy," Nancy declares. "I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry." She hugs him, and they're surrounded by a cloud of golden nanogenes. "I am so, so sorry."

MJ manages to smile.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Rose calls back to him. Her hand wraps around MJ's wrist, taking her pulse. Whatever it is, it upsets Rose further. She sobs, leaning over MJ. "No, no, no, MJ, please. Please don't die. You're my best friend, okay? You're my best friend and you're not allowed to die."

MJ tries to check her own pulse, tries to figure out why Rose is so upset, but she can't move. MJ can't move, and she can't blink, and she's not breathing. Her heart has stopped. So that's why Rose is so upset.

MJ's dead.

She's dead, and the only thing tethering her to this wretched Earth, the only thing keeping Thanatos at bay, are those stupid fucking nanogenes still trying to 'fix' her.

"Come on, please!" the Doctor begs. His voice is raw with desperation. "Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out. The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out."

"It's too late," Rose cries. "MJ's dead. Doctor, she's dead!"

"No," the Doctor says. "No, no, no! Come on!"

Nancy falls back and the nanogenes disperse.

"Come on," the Doctor pleads. "Give me a day like this. Give me this one."

And then he pulls off Jamie's gas mask. He lets out a triumphant cry and picks Jamie up, swinging him around. "Welcome back! Twenty years to pop music, you're gonna love it."

"What happened?" Nancy wonders.

"The nanogenes recognized the superior information," the Doctor explains joyously. "The parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them!" He sets Jamie down. "Mother knows best!"

"Doctor," Rose calls out, eyes red and cheeks tear-stained. "Doctor, what about MJ? And the bomb?"

"The bomb's taken care of," the Doctor says, almost dismissively.

"How?" Rose demands.

"Psychology," the Doctor tells her, gesturing grandly to Nancy and Jamie.

And lo and behold, Jack's ship swoops out of nowhere and catches the bomb in some kind of tractor beam. Jack's in the beam, holding the bomb.

"Doctor!" he calls down.

"Good lad!" the Doctor calls back.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation," Jack reports. "I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."

"Change of plan, don't need the bomb," the Doctor says. "Can you get rid of it? Safely as you can?"

"Rose?" Jack yells.

Rose lifts her head and looks at him, sniffling. It's written clear as day on her face: MJ's dead. Mostly, anyway.

"I'm sorry," Jack tells her. "Goodbye."

And then he's gone. MJ should be too. But she's still lying there, both dead and not. She's glad she's on her side. It lets her see all the things she shouldn't be seeing like Nancy hugging Jamie, Jack's ship flying off, and the Doctor staring intently at his hands. Nanogenes flock to him, fluttering around him like fireflies.

Rose scowls at him. "What are you doing? MJ's dead and you're just—you're just standing there?"

"Software patch," the Doctor says. "Gonna email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose. I'll give you moves."

He throws his hands out and the nanogenes surge forward. They encase the gas mask people and they all fall to the ground. A cloud of nanogenes settles over MJ and she wishes she could close her eyes. She doesn't want to see the looks on Rose and the Doctor's faces when they realize the software patch doesn't matter. Not for her. The nanogenes may understand human DNA now, but they could never hope to understand godly DNA. They'll keep trying to 'fix' her and it'll never work.

MJ Winslow is dead. She has been for a few minutes now. She's just waiting for the rest of the world (and the Underworld) to catch up.

The Doctor is still riding his victory high. "Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody—"

"Doctor, I don't think it's working!" Rose cuts in, her voice shooting up an octave.

The Doctor's face falls. "What?" He rushes to MJ's side, caresses her face, and checks her pulse. She watches his heart break and it kills her all over again. "No, no, no, no, it should be fixing her too! Why aren't they fixing her too?"

"She wasn't like the others," Rose points out. "She was coughing up blood, and she never turned, Doctor. She just...died." Rose's voice cracks. "Why was it different for her? Why aren't the nanogenes bringin' her back?"

There's a rustle of fabric, and everything slows to a stop. Ah. This must be Thanatos. Finally. Though, it's probably her fault it took him so long considering she was born in 1988 and died in 1941. Ugh, the paperwork's going to be awful.

A woman built like an Olympic runner crouches by MJ's side. She's absolutely gorgeous. She has the darkest skin MJ's ever seen, almost pitch-black, and her hair flows down her back in beaded braids. She's wearing a white chiton and leather sandals. Slung over her back is a familiar shield. She's not Thanatos.

She's Athena. She's MJ's mother.

"Who are you?" Athena asks, her voice low and smooth as glass. She examines MJ much like a scientist would a specimen in their lab.

There's a flash of golden light, and a Black man crouches next to Athena. He's wearing a well-tailored yellow zoot suit with a plaid long coat. His locs are pulled back in a bun. The golden pin on his wide lapel — a smiling sun — is a dead giveaway as to his identity. "She's your daughter."

"I know all of my children," Athena says. "She is not one of them. And yet..." She tilts her head curiously, eyes glinting silver. "And yet she is."

"She's from the future," Apollo explains. "She hasn't been born yet. She traveled through time to get here."

Athena's expression softens ever so slightly. "How did she die?"

"Alien technology," Apollo says casually.

Athena reels back. Lightning flashes in her eyes. "Aliens did this to her? Aliens killed my daughter?"

"Alien technology," Apollo corrects. "And she's not exactly dead."

"What do you mean?" Athena demands. "Her heart has stopped. Her lungs take in no air. Her brain..." She falters. "Low-level, but yes, still brain activity. Can she—?"

"Hear us?" Apollo nods. "See us, too. But that's about it, I'm afraid."

"How did this happen?" Athena asks him. "How did she encounter alien technology?"

Apollo points out Jamie. "She was trying to save a little boy." He gestures to the other former gas mask zombies. "And them, too. She gave her life to save the world."

"You are the god of healing," Athena says. "Tell me how to save her."

"We can't," Apollo says. He cracks a grin. "But we can help them save her."

Athena looks at the Doctor and Rose and arches a haughty brow. "Her questmates?"

"Something like that," Apollo says, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He leans in and presses his hand over MJ's heart. The skin beneath his hand glows golden, so bright it shines through the fabric of her dress. "Your story's not over just yet, little owl. You've still got a whole lot of life left to live."

MJ gasps for breath, sitting up.

"Oh, thank the gods," Rose sobs, burying her face in the crook of MJ's neck and rubbing MJ's back soothingly. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."

The Doctor takes her face in his hands and peppers it with kisses. "If you keep dying on me, I'm going to roll you up in bubble wrap and lock you in a padded room in the TARDIS."

"If I keep dying on you, there's going to be a line out the door to kick your ass," MJ jokes weakly.

"And I have no doubt Annabeth will be at the front," he says. He kisses her forehead again and then pulls back. "Think you can walk?"

She shakes her head. She's alive, but she's exhausted. Getting torn apart from the inside really takes it out of you.

"Okay, love," the Doctor says. "I'll carry you back to the TARDIS, but I've just got a few more things to do first, okay?"

"Okay," she mumbles.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Rose says. She pulls MJ into her arms and lets her lean on her. "Oh, MJ, I'm so sorry. I just—I'm just always like, 'It's MJ. I don't need to check in on her. She's fine. She's always fine.' It's like a part of me thinks of you as invincible, but you're not and I'm sorry for thinking you can handle everythin' on your own. 'Cos maybe you can, but you shouldn't have to, you know."

Tears well in MJ's eyes. "I thought you just forgot about me."

"No, never," Rose says sternly. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way. You're my best friend, okay? My best friend."

"Right, you lot!" the Doctor hollers. He's kneeling on top of the Chula med-ship, grinning like a madman. "Lots to do! Beat the Germans, save the world, don't forget the Welfare State!" He hunches over and starts messing with the controls. "Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

"Usually, the first in line," Rose teases.

MJ cracks a smile. The Doctor spares Rose and MJ a mischievous grin. As soon as he's done setting the med-ship to self-destruct, he scoops MJ into his arms and bridal carries her all the way back to the TARDIS. It's by no means a short trip, but he never falters in his step. He murmurs sweet nothings to her the entire time, makes promises about where they'll go next and what historical figures they meet, and tells her about a restaurant on a planet called Glonnook that has the best burgers in the universe.

Rose unlocks the door and holds it open for them, and the Doctor carries MJ over the threshold. He sets her down on the pilot's seat.

"I just have to take us into orbit and then I can bring you to your room," he says softly.

She nods and he kisses the top of her head. With MJ settled in, his triumphant smile makes a quick return. He practically skips over to the console.

"The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off, 'cause I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Dr. Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

Rose grins at him. "Look at you beaming away like you're Father Christmas."

"Who says I'm not, red-bicycle-when-you-were-twelve?" He winks at MJ. "Snoopy plush when you were six."

MJ and Rose gape at him. Rose furrows her brow. "Wait, what?"

"And everybody lives, ladies, everybody lives!" the Doctor crows joyously, arms spread wide as if waiting for a hug. He hits a switch on the console. "I need more days like this."

Rose hasn't moved from her spot at the top of the ramp. "Doctor..."

"Go on, ask me anything," the Doctor encourages her. "I'm on fire!"

"What about Jack?" Rose asks. The Doctor's smile fades and he goes quiet. Rose takes a couple of steps forward, eyes big and sad. "Why did he say goodbye?"

*

It takes the Doctor a couple of minutes to park the TARDIS in Jack's ship — just enough time for Rose to help MJ out of her blood-splattered stolen coat (now draped over the railing) and for MJ to sneak a sip of nectar. Suddenly, she has much more energy. She leans against the console, stretching languidly as Rose runs to open the doors.

"Feeling better?" the Doctor asks.

"Much better," she sighs happily.

He holds out his hand. "Good enough to dance?"

She hums, scrunching her face up in thought. "Don't know. Might have to stand really close and lean on you a little. Is that okay?"

"I'm sure I'll find a way to survive," he says, beaming at her.

She takes his hand. He intertwines their fingers and places his other hand on the small of her back. Her other hand comes to rest on his shoulder. Once they're in position, he turns on Moonlight Serenade.

As they begin to waltz — albeit a bit clumsily — Rose calls out to Jack, who's only just noticed them, "Well, hurry up then!"

Jack doesn't need to be told twice. He leaps up from his seat and sprints into the TARDIS. MJ can see his awestruck expression out of the corner of her eye.

"Shall we try a spin?" the Doctor asks in a pompous voice.

"I think we shall," MJ answers in an equally pompous voice.

The Doctor attempts to spin MJ — attempt being the keyword. He ends up twisting her arm behind her back.

MJ just giggles and leans back against him, peering up at him through her eyelashes. "Are we fighting now? Because I'm much better at that than dancing."

The Doctor releases her with a sheepish smile, then pouts. "I'm sure I used to know this stuff." Jack is still just standing there, gaping at the TARDIS interior. The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up, there's gonna be a draft."

Jack rushes to close the doors. Rose leans against one of the coral pillars, watching him closely. The Doctor flicks a switch and takes them into flight.

"Much bigger on the inside," Jack comments.

"You'd better be," the Doctor snarks.

Jack just grins. "And MJ! You're alive!"

She beams and does a little twirl. "I was only mostly dead! There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive."

"Is that Princess Bride?" Rose asks, laughing. "Did you just quote Princess Bride after dying?"

"I've never actually seen the movie," MJ admits. "I just know all the famous lines 'cos it's my friend Priscilla's favorite movie."

Jack frowns. "Princess Bride? Never heard of it."

Three heads snap to look at Jack, all gaping at him like he's just said the most absurd thing they've ever heard. Which, he kind of has.

"You've never heard of Princess Bride?" Rose demands. "Do you not have movies in the 51st century? Do you not have fun or love or happiness?"

"Well, that seems a tad extreme," Jack scoffs, but the twinkle in his eyes makes it clear it's all in good nature. "I take it you love this movie?"

"Oh, it's the best!" Rose gushes, bouncing on her heels. "I always wanted to be Princess Buttercup for Halloween, but I could never find the right dress. That'll have to be our next movie night then. You're going to love it, seriously." Rose pokes her cheek with her tongue. "I'd suggest we watch it now, but I'm pretty sure MJ's about to pass out."

MJ smiles sleepily, her nectar-induced adrenaline boost having most definitely worn off. "Yeah, I wanna go to bed." She bats her eyes at the Doctor. "Carry me?"

He pulls a final lever, then bows deeply. "As you wish."

The Doctor scoops her up again — this time, she has the energy to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Goodnight," she calls out to Rose and Jack as the Doctor carries her off. They echo her sentiments, sounding strangely amused.

MJ leans her head on the Doctor's shoulder. She studies his face, admiring the blue of his eyes and his strong nose, his laugh lines, and the pink of his lips. He's so beautiful. Maybe others can't see it, but she can. Knowing how good of a person he is makes him even prettier. And he's strong enough to carry her like she weighs nothing, which is really hot.

"You're staring," the Doctor chides. He shifts her closer to him so he can open her bedroom door.

"I like the view," she says with a cheeky smile.

His whole face flushes pink.

The Doctor sets her down on the bench at the foot of her bed. Before she can even ask, he's kneeling to take her shoes and socks off for her. She works on unbuttoning her dress from the top down to her waist. She doesn't think it'll be a big deal since he's seen her boobs before, and this time, she's wearing a bra. It isn't until she hears the breath hitch in his throat that she remembers that his seeing her boobs happened in her sex dream-turned-nightmare, not real life.

Oops.

He's being very gentlemanly and not looking, which she appreciates. Though she wouldn't mind terribly if he snuck a peek. Heat rises to her cheeks and she squirms a little in her seat at the thought. The Doctor's eyes meet hers and gods, it feels like her face is on fire. The way he's looking at her, the hunger in his eyes...it makes her want to press her thighs together to ease the sudden ache.

It makes her wonder how he might look at her if she was actually naked.

He stands up, breaking the heated contact. "Well, I should go."

MJ wants to ask him to stay. She wants him to show her how pleasurable sex can be. She doesn't want to die having only ever had sex with Luke. She wants the Doctor. They don't even have to go all the way, she just wants him to touch her.

But then she remembers the bile that rose in her throat the last time she tried to touch herself, the pressure alone bringing back painful memories. MJ's not ready for anything like that with him. It might take her years to be ready for something like that with him. And frankly, even if she was ready, she's too exhausted to enjoy it properly.

So MJ doesn't ask him to stay. She smiles and says, "I'll see you in the morning, Doc."

He bends down and kisses her forehead. "'Night, MJ."

She watches him leave. Once the door's shut, MJ stands up and lets her dress fall to the floor. She sheds her bra, pulls on an oversized shirt and pajama pants, and covers her dirty hair with a bonnet. She knows she needs to shower, but she needs to sleep more.

MJ crawls into bed, the TARDIS getting the lights for her. Hypnos claims her quickly. She dreams about a picnic. All her friends are there, and her family too — even her mom, Caroline. Mom and Mrs. Tyler are swapping recipes. Her siblings, Thalia, Percy, and Grover are playing a game of tag. Rose and Silena are making flower crowns. Priscilla and the Doctor build a pillow fort in the almost cartoonishly green grass. Everyone she loves is there, and everyone is happy.

And then Luke shows up and burns it all down.

*

sorry for the shorter chapter today. it originally went on much longer, but the tonal shift was insane lol

thank you everyone for reading and for leaving comments!!! i promise next chapter will be (mostly) all good times :)