THE GALLIFREY CHRONICLES, THE FALL OF GALLIFREY

A/N I do plan to link this story in with series 5/6 and Gallifrey series 4 in some way but as I hated Gallifrey series 4 it will be a little different.

Beta read by Lady Catkin

Disclaimer I don't own anything

Emmaline scowled at her reflection in the mirror, the ridiculous Academy uniform looked terrible on her. She could not even believe she had somehow let Brax or Romana convince her this was a good idea to finish her education, but in the end they had won.

Brax stood behind her. "You look-"

"Ridiculous" Emmaline finished his sentence flatly, as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck softly.

Brax laughed. "I was going to say gorgeous."

"I hate the academy"

"Doesn't everyone? You are smart, the time will fly by" he breathed into her hair.

"You are a rubbish liar"

He turned her round and kissed her softly. "I love you, and I am proud of you for going back."

She kissed him back.

"Romana you can't possibly be serious!" shouted Narvin. "Did you learn nothing from opening the academy to off worlder's? Now you are flinging open Gallifrey for foreigners to work and live on Gallifrey. You are Gallifrey's protector, and you are once again putting her at risk. I must object in the strongest of terms."

"I will not! But, if this means that Gallifrey is dragged into the future, not dragging its heels, I will not hesitate to do this, and I will push and push until this happens. My Chancellor will back me, my-"

"Romana, have you heard yourself? I mean listen to yourself this is not you. You do not need to talk like this. I will vote against this every time. I will not allow this, I am still the Co-Ordinator of the CIA, the agency can still refuse entry."

"I never doubted you wouldn't, now you may leave."

"Madam President."

"Now Co-ordinator."

Narvin, full of anger that Romana would speak to him like that, turned round and stormed out of the room whacking the door shut behind him, as if to punctuate his words.

Romana sighed; she was convinced she was right about this. On her Gallifrey. It was normal to conduct business with other species but this Gallifrey had idiots like Narvin always dragging their feet, almost like she had suggested letting 'undesirables' on Gallifrey.

"Trouble in paradise?" said a smug sounding Awen.

"Not you again - and what do you want?" he snapped pointedly.

"Oh, I thought come by and see my all so loving mother."

"Don't play your mind games here, and stay away from Emmaline. Nobody wants you here. The Doctor doesn't want you, Emmaline certainly doesn't want you, ha, even Brax has no interest in you being part of his family."

"Oh yes, Brax, the so brilliant Brax who sleeps with his own student then claims he's in love with her. Why would I want to be a part of that? Not to mention how he dragged me outside the grounds of Gallifrey ordering me to leave. That wasn't very nice, now was it?"

Awen smirked at Narvin, her bright, alert eyes flashing with danger.

"Like I said, nobody wants you here, now, if you would excuse me, I have work to do" he dismissed himself with a casual wave of his hand.

"I am Gallifreyan. This is my home planet"

"You think I care. Emmaline is my daughter. You make an enemy out of her, you make an enemy out of me."

"Whatever" she pushed straight into the Presidential office.

Romana glanced up at her. "Emmaline" she said.

"Awen, I mean", Romana blushed as she spluttered her words. This was no good she knew it; she could never keep this lie up for much longer.

The two stared at each other for quite a while. This was especially hard for Romana, to see her own daughter there and yet not be her daughter. She had to remind herself this girl was not really her daughter.

"I am not expecting you to be my mother. If that's what you are worried about" said the girl with an icy expression. "I know you feel nothing for me and why would you? You were not there for me when I was growing up."

A bitter expression passed briefly over Awen's features before resuming a calm and resolute expression once more.

"I don't' remember." Romana's head hurt with the lies and not knowing what happened.

"And you replaced me with another child."

Now the buried anguish was seeping like a bead of water trickling out of a crack in a dam.

"It wasn't like that Awen. It was never like that, however you are not my child," the words fell from her mouth without her meaning to say it like that.

"Did you ever think about the child you lost?"

"I do Awen, all the time, I mean" she sighed "I did".

"Emmaline basically lived the life I was supposed to live."

"I don't know what you even want from me", Romana said. They was a long pause between the two of them.

"Awen, I need to know, did Rassilion ever hurt you in any way?" Romana unfroze her feature's long enough to look sad. Saying hurtful things to this girl was becoming frighteningly second nature to her now and she hated herself for it.

"He was my father" she shrugged "he was hard, cruel even, but I loved him and-"

Awen broke off mid-sentence as her voice caught in her throat.

"Awen, please tell me?" pleaded Romana in as soft a voice as she could manage without it also cracking.

"He said I was weak, that I needed to be tough. I had to fight in the wars."

Awen had to breathe deeply for a second to compose herself. These knotted emotions were getting the better of her. Her brain was beginning to swim with the hot and cold attitude of Romana and Narvin telling her no-one wants her one moment, then appearing visibly distraught about her welfare the next.

"Go on," Romana encouraged as she desperately wanted to break down the walls Awen had built around her over the centuries.

"It's your fault," hissed Awen glaring at Romana with that look of hate in her eyes.

"Oh Awen, I am so sorry."

"Save it. Do you think a paltry 'sorry' is going to make up for everything that I have lost and endured? Then you expect me to cope with seeing everyone, especially you, trip over yourselves to pander to that girl? I hate you! You are not my mother. You are just someone who gave birth to me".

With that, she got up and ran out of the office.

"I am sorry," whispered Romana, burying her face in her hands, before allowing herself to weep for the child she had left behind on her world, before she managed to pull herself together.

This was going to be a difficult time thought Romana to herself.

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