eighteen

Nina and The Doctor landed the TARDIS in Paris, France, 17th of November 2074. It was the day of one of the most beautiful meteor showers ever to be seen in France, and the four of them were on top of the Eiffel Tower. It was closed, so they were the only ones there.

Amy and Rory were sitting on a bench on one side of the third floor, and Nina and the Doctor were sitting on another bench, on the other side. Amy had told the two that she wanted a little bit of privacy with her newly married husband, but Nina saw the mischief in her eyes. She was definetly trying to set them up.

Nina and the Doctor watched in silence as the meteors flew and shone above them. Nina was sitting a few inches away from the Doctor, their hands almost touching on the bench. The Doctor suddenly pointed up at the sky.

"Did you know that these meteors are just debris from the minor planet Euros 2003?" He said, trying to appear clever. Nina chuckled at him.

"Yes, I did know," she revealed. His cheeks went red as he remembered that Nina wasn't just any companion he had. With anyone else, he could just throw around fun facts about stuff and he would appear intelligent, but Nina was already smart. She was a genius, just like he was. Nina grabbed his hand and pulled it onto her laps, holding it close.

The Doctor reached into his pocket to pull out the little Eiffel Tower. Nina looked at it, a warm smile on her face.

"I love it," she told him. "Thank you." Nina took off her bracelet to pass it through the small hole on top of her Eiffel Tower. The Doctor then secured it back onto her wrist.

Just as they locked their hands together once more, Nina felt another wave of pain wash over her. She let go of his hand to bring both if her hands to her hair, gripping it tightly. The Doctor had said that the whole instability would go away after 24 hours, and so would her headache. But he also said that it would get much worse before it got better, and she was already 22 hours in.

The Doctor threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her onto him. He knew that she was in some unspeakable pain, but he also knew there wasn't much he could do for her. He held her tight as her smaller body squirmed and she whimpered in agony.

"I'm right here," he whispered to her. Then, the Doctor had an idea. He reached to her head with his free hand and sent a telepathic pulse that immediately put Nina to sleep. She was maybe still in pain, but she wouldn't be awake to feel it. The Doctor pulled her onto his lap, laying her over him, and that's where they staye for hours. Soon enough, Rory and Amy went to found the two and they found them on the bench in silence, Nina sleeping on him. They sat by his side, keeping him company.

♧♧♧

Nina woke up in the room she knew was hers, because she had already been given it by the other, younger Doctor. She stood up slowly, realizing that the constant pain in her head was gone. She sighed in relief, going to her closet, where the TARDIS had prepared her a couple of outfits.

Nina changed into a black t-shirt and into some new Jean's, and threw a greenish blue plaid shirt on top of it all, keeping her bracelet and her shoes.

but as soon as she walked out the door of her room, her heart caught in her throat. The halls weren't the same anymore, this was the other TARDIS. The first TARDIS she met.

Wherever she was, this Doctor was younger than the other one. She walked to the console room, where she caught the sight of the Doctor. Martha was also there, sitting on the seat of the console.

As soon as the Doctor saw her, he froze. Nina frowned. Was this the first time she came back since she disappeared in his infirmary?

"What..." he mumbled, still staring at Nina.

"Yeah, maybe I should explain," she said, reaching behind her back to scratch her neck, chuckling awkwardly. Before she could understand what was happening, the Doctor had his arms around her waist. Nina wasted no time to wrap her own around his neck, letting out a squeal when he pulled her off the ground. "Oh, okay." 

He dropped her on the ground and pulled her into another hug. "God, I thought I had lost you," he mumbled into her hair. Nina chuckled.

"Oh, no, trust me," she said, an amused tone to her voice. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." 

The three of them sat down, letting Nina explain exactly what happened. The Doctor wasn't believing it at first, but as soon as she told him that she had been in his future, he started to believe her. The Doctor brought Nina to the infirmary once more, even though she protested it. A few minutes in and he realized that she was telling the truth, and her body was over the first shock. Her body was stabilizing just enough for her to stop having flashes of the future every now and then.

After all was finished, they walked back to the console. Apparently, the TARDIS needed a refuel of time-energy.

"So, you've met future him?" Martha asked with an amused look on her face. "Like him but with another face." Nina smirked, sending a look to the Doctor.

"Yep," she popped the 'p', imitating the future Doctor.

"How is he like?" Martha asked. Nina almost frowned, but didn't.

Oh, she thought. Martha liked him. Not only like, but like. Nina decided to ignore it for now. I mean, she wasn't even in her own universe, she couldn't just barge in and stand in the middle of people's business. 

"Funny," Nina told her. "And he dresses weird, but what's new?" Martha laughed, and Nina and Doctor locked eyes, both smiling. "Anyway, where is this rift in space you've been telling us about?" Nina changed the subject.

Almost immediately, Nina felt the TARDIS land, and they were all thrown backwards a little.

"Cardiff," he said, glancing towards the door.

"Cardiff?" Martha asked, a frown on her face.

"Ah, but the thing about Cardiff is that it's built on a rift in time and space-just like California and the San Andreas Fault. The rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel," he explained. Nina almost laughed at Martha's expression.

"So it's a pit stop," Martha guessed. Nina walked behind the Doctor and poped her head up from behind one of his shoulders.

"That's exactly what it is," Nina answered for him. He quickly turned around walked to the door. Martha and Nina were following him close.

"Wait a minute," Martha said after they walked through the doors. "They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple years ago. Was that you?" Nina shook her head with a laugh. Of course that would have been him. The Doctor shrugged.

"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen," he justified. "Long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then," the Doctor mumbled. Nina suddenly felt a shiver down her spine. She looked around and saw a man running towards them. At the same time, the Doctor opened the TARDIS door and pushed Martha inside. He must have felt it too. The man just felt... wrong. Like he wasn't supposed to be there. Nina silently agreed with the Doctor; she believed that they had to get as far away form that man as possible. "Finito, all powered up," the Doctor said.

Nina and the Doctor shared a look of panic when the man appeared on the monitor, running towards them. With only a look, they agreed to start the TARDIS and take off.

As they did that, the TARDIS shook.

"We're accelerating into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. 50 trillion. What? The year 100 trillion. That's impossible!" The Doctor yelled out, looking at the readings on the monitors. Nina's eyes were widened as she did so too. He was right.

"What the actual hell," Nina whispered.

"Why?" Martha asked. "What happens then?" Nina and the Doctor shared another worried look.

"Were going to the end of the universe," Nina told her. The TARDIS landed with a bang, sending everyone towards the console.

"Well, we've landed," the Doctor pointed out. Nina raised her eyebrows in fake surprise.

"Wait, really?" She asked sarcastically.

"So what's out there?" Martha asked them. Nina shrugged.

"I don't know," the Doctor said, no tone in his voice. Martha raised her eyebrows.

"Say that again. That's rare," Martha joked.

"Not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really, really... go," he said. Then, the three of them shared a look, grinning widely as before heading for the door. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the dark place they were in. It was night, and the deserted planet they were on looked almost dead.

As they stepped out, Nina noticed the unknown man with the WWII coat on the ground. Another chill went through her body, and the Doctor grabbed her hand.

"Oh my God!" Martha exclaimed as soon as she noticed the man. She lowered herself next to him, trying to check if he was alive. "Can't get a pulse. Hold on, you've got that medical kit thing."

Martha ran back into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor and Nina alone for a few moments with the man. Nina couldn't help but stare at him. Yes, he felt wrong. She felt her instincts telling her to run away. But damn, he was cute.

The Doctor approached the man, still keeping his distance.

"Hello again," he said to the 'dead' man.

"You know him?" Nina asked the Doctor, still holding the man's hand.

"I did," he confirmed, nodding gravely. "A long time ago. I'm sorry," he mumbled to the man, a frown on his face. Martha soon ran out of the TARDIS with a defibrillator in her hands.

"Get out of the way," she told them as she kneeled down next to the guy. "Its a bit odd, though, not very 100 trillion. That coat's more like World War II," Martha said, confirming what Nina had previously thought.

"I think he came with us," the Doctor told her. Martha was still dstruggling with the defibrillator. It wasn't a very earthly model.

"How do you mean, from Earth?" Martha asked him.

"What, like he clinged outside of the TARDIS?" Nina asked. It seemed quite impossible to do such thing, but she did see the man running towards then in Cardiff.

"Yep," the Doctor agreed. "All the way through the Vortex. Well, that's very him," he conceeded. Nina noticed that the Doctor was almost not keeping his eyes on the man. Almost as if he couldn't look at him. He felt the same way about this man than she did.

"What, do you know him?" Martha asked him incredulously.

"Friend of mine," he nodded. "Used to travel with me, back in the old days."

"But he's.." Martha took a breath. "I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead." She said, sitting down on her heels. As she said that, the man woke up, gasping loudly and grabbing Martha's arms, making her scream and jump in fear. "Oh, too much for me!" Martha yelled. "It's all right, just breathe deep. I've got you."

Nina and the Doctor shared a look. She frowned seeing his expression, almost like he already knew exactly what would happen. The man took deep breaths, before his breathing finally calmed.

"Captian Jack Harkness," the man presented himself. Nina was suddenly intrigued by his accent. "And who are you?"