Through the Universe [2]

II. Rise of the Cybermen

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The Doctor, Rose and I are all crouched in some nearby bushes, watching as an expensive car pulls up outside Pete and Jackie's house. "They've got visitors." the Doctor points out from the right of me and I turn my head to the left to see Rose staring at the house. "February the first, mum's birthday. Even in a parallel universe, she still loves a party." I joke which makes Rose chuckle slightly.

"Well, given Pete Tyler's guest list, I wouldn't mind a look. And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside." the Doctor says before getting his psychic paper out of his pocket and waving it around. "Psychic paper!" Rose exclaims.

"Who do you wanna be?" the Doctor asks Rose and she grins.

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Several waiters and waitresses enter the party from the kitchens, all holding trays of refreshments, followed by the Doctor, Rose and me, dressed in the same clothes. A woman takes some food from Rose's plate and walks off and someone else comes and grabs a glass of champagne from mine. "We could've been anyone." Rose complains under her breath.

"Got us in, didn't it?" the Doctor asks and I roll my eyes.

"You're in charge of the psychic paper. We could've been guests. Celebrities. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose and Dame Galaxy. We end up serving. I had enough of this back home." Rose sighs before we all smile politely as people take champagne and cocktail sticks from our trays. "According to Lucy, that man over, there..." the Doctor begins.

"Who's Lucy?" I ask suddenly, feeling slightly jealous.

"She's carrying the salmon pinwheels." he tells me, nodding over to a young waitress on the other side of the room.

"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?" Rose asks, trying to make me even more jealous.

"... Yeah! Lucy says, that is the President of Great Britain." the Doctor explains.

"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?" I ask slightly confused.

"Seems so." the Doctor shrugs.

"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick." I growl quietly. We begin moving on our way with the trays around the room. "Excuse me!" a voice suddenly exclaims which makes me stop where I am and turn to see Pete Tyler stood on the stairs, addressing the room as a whole. "Thank you very much. Thank you, if I could just have your attention, please?"

"Pete! Go on, Pete!" a man in a crowd yells.

"Thank you very much!" Pete thanks.

"It's about time you did some work. I thought you liked them young!" the man in the crowd continues to yell.

The Doctor and Rose come over to me and stand either side of me before Pete continues to speak, halfway up the stairs. "Um, I'd just like to say, er, thank you to you all, for coming on this er, this very special occasion." Pete begins and we all look up at him. "My wife's... thirty-ninth..." he breathes out and we all laugh slightly. "Trust me on this..." he puts his thumbs up. "So, without any further ado, here she is. The birthday girl... my lovely wife... Jackie Tyler."

The Doctor, Rose and I all look at each other before turning back to the stairs to see Jackie descending the staircase, smiling at the crowd as we clap, cheer and take photos. Rose and I stare at her and Jackie stand next to Pete. "Now, I'm not giving a speech, that's what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black-market whiskies." Jackie begins as the crowd laughs again. "Pardon me, Mr President!" Jackie exclaims, spotting the President. "So, yeah! Get on with it, enjoy, enjoy."

More cheers are heard from the crowd. Pete takes Jackie's hand before the descend the stairs to mingle with the crowd. "You can't stay." the Doctor tells both Rose and me. "Even if there was some way of telling them."