The TARDIS hummed and bellowed as it slowly faded from perception. The sound stayed in the mind of that Jackson Lake and his dear Rosita - as did the Doctor's valiance. To them, it was merely a forever. To the Doctor, it was a link to a chain of memories spanning countless distances and times. To the Doctor, it was beyond forever. No one was unimportant. Nothing was forgotten. The duty of a Time Lord. The curse of a Time Lord.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Right, well then!" I pipped, shrugging off any lingering feelings from the ordeal and returning my concentration.

I readied the TARDIS for another flight. Twisting, tapping, bobbing and rapping the right things in order to get this gorgeous creature to fly me to who knows where. Only, well, things aren't so easy eh? No, never are.

There's no challenge in easy, which makes it right fun. Only so much challenge I can take, though. Never seem to get a break.

"B-but wait, hey! What?!" I shouted as the TARDIS' engine slowly started to shut down in the most uncomfortable of ways. Said ways being when I told it not to.

I worked fast on getting it running again, but nothing I did worked. "I didn't mean YOU should give me a break! GAH!"

Granted, it could've buggered up at far worse times, but this still wasn't the right place for it. A coffee shop would be much better. Maybe that one by Whitechapel ... no, wait ... wrong time. Doesn't exist anymore. Better not to go try it out when it was popular.

"Bloody work!" I yelled out before hitting the base of the engine as hard as I could with my foot. Suffice to say it didn't do much to the engine. "GHhhf! Why?!"

After regaining my composure I was sure not to let this miniature disaster win. I used further intellect and decided the best course was to smack it with my hand. It didn't help. Dare I say it only made me rethink the situation and my physical well-being further.

For some reason the sonic screwdriver just came to mind.

"Have at thee!" I retorted against the mayhem-apparent whirls and sparks the ship made while pointing my activated sonic screwdriver at its core.

Thinking it could at least give me some sense as to what was going on, I didn't even remotely expect the sonic emissions would only further the ship's deactivation. It was beyond my comprehension and it got old real quick.

"Fuck!" I gasped upon saying. "I'm turning more human every day. This is not a happy moment for me."

Before I could finish another rancid thought about my future, the TARDIS finally gave up. For all intents and purposes it was fine. Power was everywhere but the one place it needed to be the most: the damned core. I hate being stuck in places. I especially hate being stuck in a place I'm usually impervious to being stuck in.

"This is going to take a while . . ." I sighed out before grabbing my repair kit and setting it down on the core's dashboard. I needed to see where I was, first, however.

I jauntily stepped over to the TARDIS door and opened it, hoping the protective layer around the TARDIS was intact like most of the ship's other systems. Good news was: yes, yes it was certainly was. Bad news being: I'm stuck in a location of space I've never been in before.

A nebula from the looks of it. Real colourful and if it was a better-terms-day, would even be a nice spot to stay and admire. Hard to admire something with overpowering stress, though, even if the stay part was covered absolutely.

I shut the TARDIS door with a realization that not only was I out of my element, I was away from my turf. Seeing as how my turf is so very large, this is quite the troublesome thing I have going against me right now.

Having K9 here would be a really nice thing in a few ways. Mostly his company. His engineering would help accentuate my own, as well.

I took off my coat and tossed it any which way, then set to work on fixing this mess. I can't seem to escape messes, even in my own sanctum. I guess I should've learned that lesson from Gallifrey's destruction: no home is safe for me. Not a very comforting thought and especially not one to have right now. I don't want to expect more to happen than what the universe has already thrown at me.

Troubleshooting unknown issues in a craft that only breaks down from unknown issues is perhaps the most frustrating thing ever. If it broke down in Wales, I could refuel and fix this while getting a muffin and an apple. It'd be a mini-vacation, not a mini-fiasco. Can't have every wish, I guess.

"Right, let's see . . . you're not liking the usual medicine so . . . hm." I pondered aloud as I started prodding various things to gauge the TARDIS' reaction. Silence was all it gave me and that was far from the answers I craved. I need to go deeper.

I started to pry the bolts from a panel when I heard two knocks on the TARDIS door. My hearts skipped a beat and I quickly went to open the TARDIS door. Floating there, just out of reach, was my pocket watch.

"How'd'ja get out there?" I said with dire confusion, stepping out of the TARDIS to grab the pocket watch. With a firm grip on it, I stepped back down into the TARDIS and shut the door. I looked around the ship for a spot that might explain its disappearance. Maybe a hole was blown and it slipped through into space?

After extensive search, I could find no hole nor gash of any type. Which just lead to further confusion that I just didn't need.

I opened the watch in hopes it might shed some light and shed light it did.

The watch's innards began to glow bright yellow for a few moments before the glow faded away for good. The aftermath was disheartening as the glass of the watch suddenly cracked and the usefulness of the essence-storing device was diminished. Diminished thoroughly as I witnessed the watch suddenly implode into a metal ball as if immense pressure squeezed on it.

A similar noise was heard in the background, causing me to flinch and turn towards it. It was the TARDIS door again, only this time it sounded as if there were voices on the other side. Very, very familiar ones.

- - - - -

"Is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save Earth?"

"He is too skinny for words! Give him a hug, you get a paper cut!"

"You need to be careful, because you know the Doctor's wonderful and he's brilliant, but he's like fire. Stand too close and people get burned."

"You see, Doctor, you're my intellectual equal. Almost. I have too few worthy opponents. When they've gone I always miss them."

- - - - -

I couldn't believe my ears. It was as clear as day, as if they were all right there. But then they stopped and I found myself feeling more alone, more stranded, more disabled than I have felt in a very long time.

"I don't like being toyed with!" I yelled furiously as I struck the wall before rubbing both my hand and head. "Am I going mad? Cabin . . . oh, TARDIS fever?"

I couldn't understand this day. Nothing was working as intended. Not even my own psyche. But then again, that's the only thing I expect to never work as intended.

I returned to my repair kit and resumed tinkering with the bare essentials behind the TARDIS' dashboard just earlier. I gratefully got a proper response from the ship after randomly tugging a wire.

"Oh, yes! Yes! That's more like it!" I grinned big and started to amplify the wiring's connection with my sonic screwdriver.

It was an absolute success. The engine was back online.

"ALLONS-Y!" I cheered before setting course for Earth. The fantastic sounds coming from the ship were the sounds I've been waiting for.

Only, I could hear something strange from the TARDIS' door yet a third time. Only it felt far more strange to hear. Four slow, precise knocks. After the final fourth knock, the TARDIS halted and the core exploded before my very eyes.

"W-what?! No!" I panicked and braced myself for what inevitably came next.

The TARDIS flung and twisted in what felt like a very rapid descent. But even the descent halted and I flew head-first into the ceiling of the TARDIS. A beam bolt made sure I was unconscious in an instant.