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The Greatest of These is Love

Part Two

by

BlackFury



The countdown was going on. Inside the TARDIS, Grace knew what she had to do. The spark from Davros wasn't enough to activate what Grace knew was inside Donna so, Grace made her move, knowing what it could cost her. The panel on the console flew open with an audible 'bang!' and everyone was looking around when a familiar, golden light began streaming from the TARDIS. Rose gasped, "What is happening?" The Doctor shrugged, "I don't know, Rose."



Then, a golden beam shot out to the center console in the vault, shorting it out. The countdown stopped and the Daleks were confused. The Doctor realized the holding cells were down and he ran to Donna just as another golden beam touched her. Her eyes flew open and The Doctor saw a familiar golden glow in her eyes, the same one his Ninth self had seen in Rose on Satellite five.



He drew back, "This can't be happening again." Then, Donna smiled, "Hello Timeboy, your twin here?" The Doctor helped her to her feet just as the Meta-Crisis Doctor reached her. "Ok then, you skinny boys in suits, let's get to work!" They flew to the console to begin. Grace smiled as she flew in and out among the Daleks, disrupting their power flows, rendering them weaponless and only able to spin in circles.



Only when they started sending the 27 planets back to their proper places in space and time did Davros scream at them to stop. The Supreme Dalek fired, right at Grace's beloved Doctor and she managed to deflect it just enough to miss him but, it destroyed the Magnatron. Then, Davros asked Dalek Khan why he did not forsee this.



The Doctor said that he probably did when Dalek Khan himself spoke, "This I did not foresee, this was not in the time space I looked into." Everyone was stunned and then, the golden light that had been darting about stopped in front of them and began to take shape, the shape of a woman. The Doctor and his twin looked up with identical expressions on their faces. "No," they said in unison, "It can't be."



All of them looked up, Davros open-mouthed in shock. "Hello, my Doctor." They both looked up but, it was the original Doctor that spoke. "Grace?" He asked. Rose suddenly smiled, she should have known. Grace had joined to the TARDIS after her death in the Time War to always be near 'Her Doctor' and she had encouraged Rose to love him. "We said 'Forever' remember? You have her now and that makes me glad."



Then, she turned to Davros and her entire manner changed. "You created creatures with no soul, no feelings, thinking to make them invincible but, you were wrong the whole time. What you thought was their strength was actually their greatest weakness. You talked about him turning ordinary humans into murderers? No," she laughed, that laugh the Doctor remembered so well, "He didn't make them that way, you did."



Davros tried to laugh, "Me?" Grace nodded, "Yes, you did by your actions. Humans protect those we love, those we care for. You never understood the power of love. To love one person so much," She glanced back at her Doctor, "So much that you are willing to give your very life so that they can live. You see his companions around you? We are all willing to give our lives to save him and each other. That is something you can never experience, Davros. No one has ever loved you so much, so totally that they would give their life to save yours. That makes me sad because, everyone should be loved at least once in their lifetime."



She was silent for a few minutes as everyone there thought over what she said. Sarah Jane was thinking about Harry Sullivan, Jackie about Pete and so on. Rose looked up at the Doctor and saw his eyes were bright with tears, remembering the many times he had loved and been loved. Grace continued, "We have a saying on Earth, from one of our greatest books, "These three remain, Faith, Hope and Love. These three and the Greatest of these is Love."



Grace looked at her Doctor. "It's time, get everyone into the TARDIS." He looked at her, "What about you?" Grace smiled, "What happens will happen. Just remember how I loved you now, go, all of you." The two Doctors started to move off when Grace looked at them, "You, in blue." The Meta-Crisis Doctor looked back. Grace smiled, "I have a final gift for you." She swirled around him and suddenly, he was engulfed in the golden light.



The others watched until the glow faded. He collapsed to his knees and Rose was on one side of him, Jack on the other. They helped him to his feet. He shook his head for a few seconds then, he smiled and looked up. "Thank you." he whispered. Grace smiled, "Now, go, all of you." They did. Once the TARDIS doors closed there was a violent shaking and the noise penetrated the walls, the noise of a violent storm.



The Doctor threw the lever and the TARDIS demateralized, disappearing from the Crucible. On the main view screen, they all watched as the Crucible and Dalek ships did not explode, they melted into nothingness. Rose looked at the Doctor, "Why does that look familiar?" He shook his head, not wanting to remind her.

Then, the walls of the TARDIS began to glow and the Doctor ran to the doors, throwing them open. "Grace?" he called. They heard her laugh, "I'm home and they are no more, forever."



The Doctor looked at her, "Gone? How?" Grace was sad, "They are back, locked in the Time War, never to escape again. I'm sorry, Doctor." He nodded. Then, he began rushing around so that they could take Earth back home. Grace floated over to Rose and gently settled around her. "I need to talk to you, please." Rose nodded and she moved to the side of the control room.



Grace smiled, "It's about the Doctor's twin. I gave him a gift, I severed his connection to the Doctor. He retains the memories up until then but, now, they are truly seperate beings. He's also human , Rose. He has only one heart and will never regenerate. He can grow old and die with you. You know you're going back to the parallel universe." Rose nodded, "I figured he would take us back. But..." Grace smiled, "I know, you came looking for him but, he can't stay with you, you know why."



Rose nodded sadly, "I know but..." Grace finished, "You love him, believe me, I know. I died to protect him but you have to live for him to be happy now. If you died, he couldn't go on. You have to live, Rose Tyler. As for his twin brother, love him, he needs you, more than you might realize." Rose nodded and Grace began swirling around them all again, darting in and out between them until she got to Donna.



She swirled around her gently. She could see what all of that knowledge was doing to the woman and she acted. She slowly and gently began drawing the Timelord part from the red haired companion until Donna sank to her knees. The Doctor and Rose went to her and helped her stand up. Donna was quiet and then looked up at the golden cloud, "Thanks." Then, the TARDIS panel opened and the light darted back to where it belonged. The panel closed with a bang.



The Doctor looked at Rose and then at Donna, "Are you all right?" He asked. Donna looked at him and smiled, "Yeah, that's a smart girl you've got there, "She said, patting the console. "She knew what to do. I'll be all right." The Doctor looked at her, "What did the old girl do?" He asked. Donna smiled again, "Took out what was hurting me but, left me all of my memories. " She smiled at the Doctor and he nodded.



Now, they had to get Earth back where it belonged and there was only one way to do that. Grace smiled watching them all work together, one cohesive unit, all working towards one purpose. Once Earth was back where it belonged, she watched as the Doctor took Sarah Jane, Jack, Martha and Mickey home. Then, she saw his face change as he set course for the parallel universe.



Grace spoke in her beloved Doctor's mind, "It's all right, my love, Rose understands. It still hurts but, she understands. You're not alone my sweet, never, you know that. " The Doctor smiled, "I know, my angel, I know." He whispered. Soon, they materialized in Bad Wolf bay and stepped out onto the sands. Grace watched them talk, saw Rose slowly come to accept what had to be and realized that this duplicate loved her as much as the Original Doctor did. Then, Grace smiled and swirled out of the TARDIS.



They watched as she swirled around the duplicate Doctor in a playful manner. As she did, she spoke to him, in his mind and he grinned that ear splitting grin Rose loved so well. "Thanks again, Grace." He said as she swirled back into the TARDIS. Rose looked at him, "What did she do?" He smiled, "She named me. Said I needed my own name and not that 'John Smith' stuff. Said that was too common." Rose smiled, "So, what did she name you?"



He looked at Rose, "She asked if she could name me after someone who meant a lot to her and I said of course so, she named me Robert Arthur Holloway, after her father." The Original Doctor had tears in his eyes, remembering, as he could see his duplicate was, Grace talking about her father, an eminent surgeon and one of the reasons she herself became a surgeon. The Duplicate smiled a soft, sweet smile, "I told her I would be honored."



Rose threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely. The Original Doctor smiled sadly as he and Donna headed back into the TARDIS. When the doors closed, Rose broke away for a moment to watch them leave then, Robert came and took her hand. She looked at him, saw what was there just for her, and smiled. She had her happy ending and her forever.



In the TARDIS, Donna was watching the Doctor as he set controls and such. "You ok?" She asked quietly. He looked at her and she was shocked by the depths of loneliness and pain in his eyes. "No Donna, I'll never be totally ok, I've loved and lost so many times." Donna nodded, unable to fully comprehend what he lived with day after day.



He was lost in his own thoughts for a few minutes then, totally out of the blue he asked, "Donna, do you want to go home?" She looked at him, "Do you want me to?" She asked back. He sighed, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I don't know, you've seen what can happen, with Davros, the Daleks, you've seen other things that are extremely dangerous out here. I've lost a few companions that way and it rips me apart everytime it happens. I don't want it to happen to you."



Donna nodded and looked at him, "Give me a few to think about it, ok?" The Doctor nodded and Donna left the control room to think about what she wanted to do. After she had gone, The Doctor just stood there, thinking, Then, he heard a voice in his mind, Grace. "Why are you afraid all of a sudden, my love? I've seen you at your lowest and I know your best days are ahead. But, why now, why this fear?"



He leaned back againt a wall support, "I don't know, love. I think seeing what happened at the Crucible, all of them willing to do all of that, for me. It scares me." Grace smiled, "I know, my sweet, I remember when we fought that last battle, I thought I would lose you for good and I just couldn't let that Dalek kill you." He looked straight at the console. "Grace, you knew you were pregnant and yet..." his voice trailed off.



He felt a gentle caresses on his face, "I know but remember, I was also a physician. I had assessed your condition when they carried you to me and I knew if that Dalek hit you, there would have been no regeneration, no Doctor. I didn't want to have our child without you there. I didn't want to live if you died. I loved, still love you that much my sweet. Rose did what she did out of love for you, you know that, don't you?"



He nodded, he knew, knew better than he thought he did. That's what always puzzled him and he heard Grace laugh, "My dear sweet Time Lord. You wonder why we love you so much. It's because we see the best of what we can be in you. You show us just how much we can live and enjoy living and yet, you don't shrink from what you have to do. You show us that we can do the same thing that we have the same capacity within ourselves. You just do it on a grander scale. Don't take Donna home unless she asks to go, don't be alone."



He looked up at the ceiling and smiled, "I'm not really alone anymore, am I?" Grace chuckled, "Never, my love, never." Again, he felt that light caress across his face then, there was silence. Then, Donna came back in and looked at him. He raised his eyebrows. "Well?" he asked. Donna smiled, "I'd like to stay." The Doctor grinned and threw the lever, "Ok then, what do you say to the planet Rekoreson Five in the year 2869? has five moons and two suns." Donna grinned, "Sounds like fun!" He laughed, "ok, then, off we go!" The TARDIS took off into the vortex with the sound of silver bells across water, the sound of Grace Holloway's laughter.



FINIS