Ties Between Freedom and Love

✦39✦

Chapter Thirty-Nine
Unexpected Trip Home

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Emma stopped working as a thought crossed her mind, she stared down at the wiring she was stripping before glancing over at the Doctor. "Suppose. . .

The Doctor carried on working as he asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Emma answered.

"You said 'suppose'," he looked up at her and she shook her head.

"No, I was just thinking. . . And I mean, obviously you can't but you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?"

"Soon as the TARDIS lands, in that second, I become part of events. Stuck in the timeline," the Doctor explained.

"Yeah," Emma laughed to herself. "I thought you would say something like that," she sighed.

"There's another thing the TARDIS could do," he suggested and Emma looked back at him. "It could take us away. We could leave," she smiled at him. "Let history take its course. We go to Marbella in 1989."

"He loves you, and you love him. Protect each other." Jack told her. Protect him, even from his own mind. "Yeah, but you'd never do that."

The Doctor looked at her. "No, but you could ask." She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the wires in her hands. "Never even occurred to you, did it?" he asked, smiling.

"Well," she forced a calm expression and then a smile. "I'm just too good. . . and I would never ask you to do something I know you'll regret."

He knew she was right and he hated it. A sound interrupted them and he quickly stood, glancing around. "The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need?"

Emma climbed to her feet and slid into the chair, pulling up the console's schematics. Numbers, calculations, and variations, none of it was making sense. She looked at the Doctor and watched as he read it over before stiffening.

"It's that bad?" she asked and he dropped his head, sighing. "Okay, it's bad," Emma nodded to herself. "How bad is it?"

He didn't answer, then suddenly turned to her and grinned. "Emma Winchester, you're a genius!" he kissed her forehead. "We can do it!" and Emma smiled at his excitement. "If I use the TARDIS to cross my own timeline. . . Yes!" He ran off toward the TARDIS and Emma quickly followed as he unlocked the door and they rushed in.

The Doctor made it over to the console and started setting a destination. "Hold that down and keep it in position."

"What does it do?" Emma asked as she flipped the switch.

"Cancels the buffers," he replied. "If I'm very clever, and I'm more than very clever, I'm brilliant. I might just save the world. Or rip it apart," he muttered.

"I'd go for the first one," Emma suggested.

"Me, too," the Doctor agreed. "Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station. Hold on!" he called after her as he ran out of the doors.

He stopped, taking a deep breath and staring down at the cables as he slowly turned back around. He lifted his arm and pointed his sonic at the TARDIS. He knew as soon as the engines sounded Emma would know exactly what he was doing and she wouldn't be happy.

But he was willing to live with that.

He clicked the button in and the whirring sound of the TARDIS filled the air, and he was right Emma did figure it out and he was also right about her not being happy.