A Love Stronger Than Time

Chapter 2

"But she doesn't just travel through space. She also travels through time."

Tuomas' head snapped back to face the Doctor.

"Did you say time?"

(End of Chapter 1)

"Yes," the Doctor replied cheerfully. "Anywhere and any time you want to go, she can take you."

"So ... it could go back in time?"

"Yes," the Doctor said slowly, his smile fading slightly. "Does this interest you?"

"Well..." Tuomas began. An idea had come to him as soon as the Doctor had said that the TARDIS traveled in time. A crazy, insane, psychotic idea. "Yeah. It does."

"Any time specifically?" the Doctor asked.

Tuomas didn't respond immediately. This was insane. He was insane. This could never work. But ... it was worth a try. He could fix it. He could fix when had started everything going downhill. He could fix one of his greatest regrets.

He took a deep breath and recited the date and location he knew all too well. "July 28th, 2000. Roxy, Guadalajara, Mexico."

The Doctor began punching in the coordinates, and the TARDIS launched itself into space.

Tuomas cursed and grabbed onto the railing. "Are we ... are we flying?"

"Yep!" the Doctor grinned. "You'll get used to it, don't worry."

There was silence for a few minutes as the Doctor flipped various levers on the console to get them flying smoothly.

"So," the Doctor said, turning to face Tuomas. "What's so special about this date?"

"It's when I screwed everything up," Tuomas mumbled.

"Care to elaborate?" the Doctor asked gently after he realized that Tuomas wasn't going to say anything else.

Tuomas sighed, and then got a distant look in his eyes. "I fell in love with her the first time I heard her sing. She sounded like an angel. I thought that it was just a crush or an infatuation, and that it would fade when I actually got to know her. But then I fell in love with her for her personality. I never told her. All of the songs I wrote were about her, but she never knew."

"Is she the lead singer of your band?" the Doctor guessed.

"Was," Tuomas corrected, a lump rising in his throat. "I'll get to that. The date I gave you was one of our concerts. A guy came up on stage and attacked her in the middle of a song. It happened so fast and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move. So I just kept playing, and so did the other guys. Our manager and security finally got him off of her and I realized I should have ran forward and tried to protect her while I could have, but it was too late. After the show, I wanted so badly to go to her and comfort her, but I couldn't face her after I hadn't stopped playing earlier. I was so ashamed."

He paused and took a shaky breath. "Nothing was the same after that. She started dating someone else and then they got married. He changed her into someone she wasn't. She became distant to the point where it didn't even feel like she was in the band anymore. The two of us fought, all of us fought, it was a mess. Finally, after our biggest show to date at Hartwall Arena in 2005, we fired her. Another thing I regret, with an open letter we posted on our website. Some of the fans even knew before she did. I wish that I had handled that differently, but the concert in Mexico is when it all started."

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love," the Doctor said quietly. "It happened to me very recently."

"I'm so sorry," Tuomas said, his eyes meeting those of the Time Lord, and he could see the deep sadness within them.

The Doctor smiled slightly. "Thank you. I know that she is happy now. And that's what is most important to me."

They were silent for a moment, both lost in thought.

"Tuomas," the Doctor finally said, his expression serious. "You know that time travel is extremely dangerous. Anything you do, even if it seems insignificant, can change the future."

Tuomas nodded.

"You can't stop the man from attacking her. If you did that, everyone in the audience would see two of you."

Tuomas sighed. "I hadn't thought of that."

"However," the Doctor began slowly. "There could be a way you could go to her after the concert."

"I'll do anything," Tuomas said.

"You would have to make your way backstage after the past you had already gone. You couldn't let ANYONE see the two of you together, and you could not, under any circumstances, let your past self see you. And you can't let ... did you say her name?"

"Tarja," her name felt strange on his lips. He couldn't remember the last time he had said it.

"You can't let Tarja see that you're older. And you have to come right back to the TARDIS after you've comforted her. It will be too risky if you try to stay with her longer."

The TARDIS landed smoothly, and Tuomas and the Doctor stepped out of it onto the street. The sun was setting overhead and there was a slight breeze, but the air was still warm. They were about a block away from a building with people lined up outside of it.

"Is this the right place?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes," Tuomas swallowed. "This is it."