The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Three

"So what do we do now?" Martha asks.

"Now?" the Time Lord asks, spinning to look at Jack.

The immortal feigns thinking, smiling at the Doctor's face, "My guess is that this building is full of laboratories. We can run our own tests."

Sophie holds up the hand that Lazarus kissed, "Well then, it's perfect timing, seeing as I've collected a DNA sample."

The Doctor grins, "Remind me later to tell you just how amazing you are."

As the group makes their way up to some laboratories, the conversation tapers. Sophie lags behind the others, her thoughts drawn to her friend, and the terrible image of her death that haunts her every time she closes her eyes. Jack notices her face, and slows his walking so he can be beside her. Leaning toward her, he whispers, "You alright?"

She shakes her head, "No, but I can't worry about that now."

The immortal takes her hand in his, "Hey, you need to talk, I'm here. You're important to me Soph, not to mention, my office could use a good cleaning." She grins up at him, nodding. At that moment, the Doctor opens a door to the lab, ushering his companions in.

Martha takes a swab of the DNA on Sophie's hand, and gets to work putting it on a slide. The Doctor follows her, handing different things to her. As they get to work on the DNA, Jack rests his elbow on the desk. "So, uh, Doctor," he starts, before hesitating. "Just got to ask. The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

The Doctor looks up from the microscope, "Oh, that, don't worry. She's fine, tucked away safe in a parallel universe, with Mickey, her mum, and her dad."

Jack smiles, grabbing the Doctor by the lapels, he presses a kiss to the Time Lord's lips, before letting out a whoop. The Doctor takes a step back, wiping a hand over his mouth, and looking affronted. When Jack notices the look he grins at the Doctor, who rolls his eyes before turning back to the DNA. Martha rolls her eyes, transferring the data to the computer. All four gather around a monitor, as Martha pulls up the DNA strand. The Time Lord produces his brainy specs, perching them on his nose. He grins, "Amazing."

"What?" Martha asks, studying the strand closely.

"Lazarus's DNA."

Sophie squints at it, "Not that I even know what I'm looking at, besides a double helix, this looks pretty normal to me."

The Doctor nods at the image, "Look at it."

The group watches, as before their eyes, the DNA strand morphs, and then resumes its shape. Martha's eyes widen, "Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have."

"But it did," Jack nods.

"It's impossible."

Sophie smiles, "And that's the second impossible thing we've seen tonight."

The Doctor grins at his companions, "Don't you love it when that happens."

"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns."

"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands."

Sophie stares at the Time Lord, "You're talking to someone who got a B in biology, could you say that in English, maybe."

Jack chuckles, "Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."

"But they're still mutating now," Martha points at the DNA as it changes again.

"Because he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him," the Doctor states.