Chapter Four: So Close

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            The Doctor hadn't told he whole truth when he had revealed to Mickey and Jackie that he thought the homeless girl that had visited them was a Time Lord. 

Ahem, a Time Lady

            It was true that when he had entered the Tyler flat, his mind—the telepathic bond that all Time Lords shared—sparked and alerted him of another of his kind.  He could feel it in his very bones that another with the swirling time vortex in their veins had been near and so very close to him!  That thought alone caused his hearts to palpitate for joy.

           But there was another reaction in his body to something wholly different; something that budded up from deep within his soul!  A yearning and an unfathomable need to love and hold and care for this person whom he had never even seen!  He knew what it was—hell, all Time Lords knew what it was!  It was the call of their---  Well, the Gallifreyan word didn't translate into anything in English (or any other language, for that matter since it was exclusive to Time Lords) so the Tardis translator took words from Earth that closest resembled it.  And it just so happened that the words it chose were from the languages invented by JRR Tolkien for his books about Middle Earth! 

           The Amarthin (coming from the Sindarin word for 'Fated') was the name of the soul-bond between two Time Lords.  It transcended all of time and space and lasted through all regenerations.  Humans may call the two 'soul mates', but truthfully, this bond was so much more that.

            From the beginning, when the first Time Lords looked into the Untampered Schism and were given their regenerations and all of time and space at their fingertips, they began to evolve.  Like all humanoid species, Time Lords had a yearning for family and loved ones.  But because of their new horizons, the chances of a Time Lord and Lady keeping up a relationship across all of time and space was depressingly small!  Therefore, when the small time-tot looked into the schism, a bond was formed within their very soul with one—only one—other who alone could provide them solace and love.  Their bodies were given an extra sense that enabled them to feel their bonded's presence in order for their chances of meeting to be greater.  The Amarthin was sacred and breaking it (for whatever unfathomable reason that may be) was punishable by death, as the abandoned partner had nothing else to live for and would almost always end up killing themselves.  Once the first spark of the bond was felt, Time Lords would never rest until their bonded was found.

And he sensed--- he knew--- that his was nearby! 

             The Doctor made another sweeping scan of the whole of London with the Tardis before being forced to give up.  It was only because of his unblock-able bond with her that he could recognize her when she was near.  But now that she was so far and the bond had not yet been established (and she didn't even know he existed) his senses were dulled and she was lost to him.

The Doctor, for the next few days, couldn't decide if he was infinitely depressed or overcome with elation.   On one hand, he had not only found a living Time Lord, he had also found his bonded, whom he had given up all hope of finding after the destruction of Gallifrey!  But on the other hand, he was still so far from finding her and he wasn't even quite sure what to do once he did!  The poor Time Lord spent all his energy either wandering the streets of London in vain hope, or in his ship trying to distract himself from his agony.

          So when the phone on the consul rang, three days later (for him), the Doctor all but threw himself at it, grabbing the receiver and bashing it to his ear.  "Hello?"  He asked, holding his breath. 

           "Hey, it's Mickey.  I'm at Jackie's house and Per—the homeless girl you wanted to see is here.  I don't know how much longer she'll stay or if she'll spook and run off, but you can try to stop by.  Oh, and don't park the Tardis in the living room again, I don't think she'd respond well to that."  Mickey's voice was low, like he was trying to talk on the phone without anyone else hearing what was being said.  The Doctor wondered why that was.  Could it be because his bonded was easily scared?

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