The Doctor and The Nightingale {1}

the idiot's lantern 7.1

"The great occasion?" The Doctor repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course"

"What Coronation would that be?" Nova asked with a tilt of her head.

"What do you mean? The Coronation"

The Doctor and Nova gave each other confused glances. Rose and Tate, however, knew what Magpie was talking about. They gave each other a look, and Tate nodded at Rose, urging her to explain it to them. "It's the Queen's. Queen Elizabeth" She explained.

"Oh!" The Doctor yelped with excitement. "Is this nineteen fifty three?"

"Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best" Magpie said.

Rose began looking up at all the houses roofing. She noticed something similar about all of the houses. "Look at all the TV aerials. Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. My nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house"

"Not around here, love" Rose and Tate stayed put, as The Doctor and Nova took a few steps down the street. "Magpie's Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a pop"

"Oh, but this is a brilliant year. Classic!" The Doctor continued to cheer. He grasped Nova's hand. "Don't you think this a brilliant year, my Supernova?"

Nova agreed with a nod and a smile. "Of course. You've got Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration. The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future" 

"Someone help me!" a woman suddenly cried for help. Everyone looked to see two burly black men in suits bundle a person into the back of a car. The person had a blanket over their head. "Leave him alone!" The woman pleaded with the two men. "He's my husband! Please!"

The Tardis team ran over to the house. "What's going on?" The Doctor asked.

A boy ran out of the house next door. "Oi, what are you doing?" The boy demanded.

"Police business" one of the men answered. "Now, get out of the way, sir"

"Who did they take?" Tate asked, looking down at the boy who was now standing in between him and Rose. "Do you know him?"

"Must be Mister Gallagher" the boy answered. The car drove away. "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters"

Another man stepped out of the house. "Tommy!" It was the boy's father. "Not one word! Get inside now!"

"Sorry. I'd better do as he says" Tommy went back inside the house. The Doctor, Nova, Rose and Tate all got back on their scooters and began following after the black car. The four of them lost the car after it disappeared behind a vegetable barrow.

"Lost them. How'd they get away from us?" The Doctor wondered.

"Surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving" Rose said. "I saw you driving. Have you actually passed your test?"

"Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia"

"That boy said something about monsters" Tate spoke up. "Perhaps we should start asking the neighbors"

"Ah," Nova smirked, twisting her head around to look at her companion. "Tate Peltzer likes the domestic approach, I see"

Tate glared at her. "Watch it, Nightingale"

"I think Tate's got the right idea" Rose sided. "The neighbor's had to have seen something"

"Thank you, Rose" He looked over his shoulder to look at her. "At least I know you'll always agree with my ideas" She smiled in return, resting her chin on Tate's shoulder.

"I never said I didn't agree with you" Nova corrected. "I just said it's rather domestic of you. It was a compliment, if anything else" She faced forward again and gave The Doctor a tap on the arm. "Off we go then, my love?"

"Hold on tight, Supernova" The Doctor said. She held onto him tightly and rested her head against his back. They zoomed off. 

"So you know how Nova's got the van," Rose began. "She doesn't drive as bad as The Doctor, does she?"

"Once we decided to go on a cross country roadtrip once back in Ireland" Tate said. "Let's just say only ten minutes in, I had to take over the wheel. And we only just got out of the driveway"

Rose laughed hard with a snort. Tate smiled at her and he couldn't help but join in with Rose's laughter. "God! It's amazing that they can even fly their blue box and their van isn't it"

"It sure is, Rosie" Tate used his new nickname for Rose, which made her heart flutter in return. 
"Suppose we should follow after them, then" Rose made sure she was holding on tightly to Tate before they zoomed off, following after The Doctor and Nova.