I had gotten used to watching the Doctor run around the TARDIS console like a madman, but this was something I'd never seen before. He's running around talking to himself, too fast for me to even try to understand what he's saying.
While this new Doctor may be good looking, I think he's totally insane, and I'm a little scared of him at the moment. He's nothing like my Doctor. But he's still the same man, right?
As I sit in the jump seat, with my knees curled up under my chin, the Doctor finally stops his ranting, and looks over at me. The sad look he gets on his face, makes a pain take place in my chest.
"Right then, let's make a stop in London, shall we?" He says before he turns back to the console.
My heart lurches, "You're taking me home?" My knee fall from under my chin at the thought of him dropping me off there.
He looks over at me with a large smile, "Well, think of it as a Christmas present."
"You're taking me home for Christmas?" I say with a small chuckle, but it's abruptly cut off as the TARDIS lurches and sends me almost flying out of my seat.
I would have thought it impossible, but his driving seems to have gotten worse!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As Rose helps her mum set up the Christmas decorations, she can't help but think about how different it is without Lily around.
It seems so strange, the noticeable difference in her sister these days. Lily was never one to be loud, or to speak her mind, she kept to herself unless she could do something for Rose. She was quiet, and found her thrills through the books she always seems to have on her. There were times Rose had to literally bribe her with new books to even get her out of the house.
But now, with the Doctor, Lily seemed to have found her voice. She's not afraid to speak her mind, and comparing that to how she used to be, she seems, louder. She's always up for new adventures and seems to wake up excited. Her caring nature hasn't dissipated in the least, she feels for every creature she comes across, and always does whatever possible to help. And something Rose had never seen in her sister before, is the gleam of happiness that's always present in her eyes.
Without Lily in the flat now, it seems incredibly quiet, which would have never made sense for Rose to say before all of this happened to them.
As her mum looks down at a package meant for Lily, the sadness on her face is just a present as the happiness she knows her mum feels for Lily. They both knew that Lily was never truly happy, and it made them worry for her. But now, the happiness seems to roll off her in waves. And while she may not be in the safest of situations, neither of them would even entertain the thought, of trying to pull her away from it.
When the all too familiar wheezing of the TARDIS makes its way through the Tyler flat, they drop whatever they had in their hands and race out the door of the complex.
"Mickey!" Rose shouts as she notices him running in their direction, following the sound as well.
"Rose! Jackie, it's the TARDIS!" He yells as he makes his way towards them, searching the sky as he does.
"We know, we heard it, but where is it?" Rose asks as they spin in their spots, looking for the familiar blue box.
Suddenly, the TARDIS appears, it crashes into buildings and knocks over waist bins, and barely misses a car in its sporadic landing. Rose furrows her brows in confusion, the Doctor was never that bad of a driver, at least it never felt that bad on the inside.
When the doors fly open and a skinny man, a man who is not the Doctor, pops his head out, they all watch him in confusion.
"Here we are then. London, Earth, the Solar System- I did it!" He exclaims proudly as he stumbles out of the TARDIS. The door closes behind him as he realizes the three people standing there in confusion, "Rose! Jackie! Mickey! Blimey!" He smiles as he takes them in, before jerking back with a worried look on his face, "No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there, what was I going to say?" He questions himself as he circles them, trying to think through his muddled new brain. "There was something I had to tell you- something important. What was it? No, hold on, hold on." He walks towards them again and leans on Rose and Jackie's shoulders, like standing takes up the brain space he needs to remember what he wanted to say. "Oh! I know! Merry Christmas!" He shouts before passing out, Mickey barely catches him before his head hits the ground.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After taking a couple deep breathes to steady myself, and petting the console, thanking her for keeping us alive, I finally make my way outside.
The Doctor is on the ground with Mum, Rose and Mickey surrounding him, "What happened? Is he alright?" I ask as I run to check on him.
"I don't know, he just keeled over." Mickey tells me, sounding confused.
"Lily, who is he? Where's the Doctor?" Rose asks me carefully, like she's not sure she wants to know.
I sigh before I tell her, "That's him. Right in front of you. That's the Doctor."
"What do you mean 'that's the Doctor'? Doctor who?" Mum questions me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After finally managing to get the Doctor up to our flat and into the spare bedroom, I asked Mickey to change him into a pair of pajamas. Not sure why Mum had a pair of men's P.J.s but I went along with it anyway. And after tons of bitching, Rose finally convinced him to do it.
I hold his hand after having him tucked into bed, he's out cold. When Mum comes back in the room she hands me a stethoscope, "Here we go, Tina the cleaners got this lodger, medical student. And she was fast asleep so I just took it." I only spare my mum a quick glance for her thieving ways, before focusing back on the Doctor, "Though I still say we should take him to the hospital."
"We can't," I tell her as I check his hearts, "they'd lock him up. They'd dissect him, one bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race. No! Shh." I shush her before she can keep talking as I listen to his chest, and sigh when I hear them, "Good, both working."
"What do you mean 'both'?" Mum questions with high brows.
"Well he's got two hearts."
"Oh don't be stupid."
"He does." I tell her firmly as she stands up to leave.
"Wonder what else he's got two of." I can't help but let a small giggle slip, but scold her anyway, "Oh leave him alone." She smiles back at me as she leaves the room, and I look down at the Doctor, the smile falling from my face.
I take his hand in mine again before leaning over so I can whisper in his ear, "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I just wanted to help. If I had just listened"- I stop myself before the tears make an appearance, and sit back up.
I pull a chair over to the side of the bed and switch from my perch on the bed to the chair and take his hand back into both of mine. It's not till I get comfortable in the chair that I realize how tired I am. I rest my head just below our entwined hands, and drift off to sleep.
As the Doctor exhales regeneration energy in his sleep, most of it flies out the open window and into the sky. But not all of it- a small portion seeps its way into Lily's skin.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When Jackie comes out from the bedroom, Rose follows her as she makes her way into the kitchen.
"How can he go changing his face? Is that a different face or a different person?" Jackie asks Rose as she looks through the fridge.
"I don't know mum. He never said anything about it me, you'll have to ask Lily." Rose sighs as she answers and closes the fridge, finding nothing appealing.
"What's wrong sweetheart?"
"Thing is, I thought I knew him. I though he and Lily- well, I don't know. But I thought we could trust him, I thought we could count on him. And then he goes and does this. I just, I keep forgetting he's not human. I don't know how Lil is going to take it. She-mum I think she really cares about him." Rose shakes the heavy thoughts off as she hears a familiar voice coming from the telly.
She walks into the living room and watches as Prime Minister Harriet Jones gives a speech.
"Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?"
"Now that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree, if you don't mind. The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition- British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."
"The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make its final decent. Photographs of the Martian landscape should be received by tonight at midnight."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As Mickey and Rose walk about the streets, Rose's mind is still mostly back in the flat. She doesn't totally understand what happened back at the Game Station. Lily had only given her a brief overview of events before she'd passed out on the Doctor's bed. She said she's looked into the heart of the TARDIS, that it's poured the time vortex into her making her into the Bad Wolf. That with the vortex in her, she'd sent the words as a message to herself to eventually lead her back to the Game Station. She'd managed to defeat the emperor along with the rest of the Daleks, and to save her from burning, the Doctor had to take the vortex out of her. Although she wasn't sure how the Doctor changed, all she knew was that the man in her flat, wasn't the Doctor, not her Doctor, and definitely not Lily's.
Rose didn't even realize that Mickey had been speaking to her the entire time, and only tuned in as he grabbed her hand, "Just let it be Christmas, could you do that, just for a bit? Just you and me, and even Lily, and Christmas. No Doctor, no Lily-and-the-Doctor, no bog monsters or life and death."
"Okay." Rose tries to agree full-heartedly but knows not all of her mind will be out shopping with them.
"Promise?"
"Yes." She smirks at him.
"Right," He smiles back at her before looking around at the vendors, "what are you going to get for your mum? Any ideas about Lily's gift?"
Rose held Mickeys hand as he talked and led her about, looking at everything for sale. She looked over her shoulder when she noticed that the brass band dressed as Santa's, seemed to be following them around.
Watching them warily as the song ends, Rose watches them lower their instruments and face both her and Mickey as they seem to aim towards them. When suddenly, fire shoots out of their instruments, turning them into musical flame throwers.
The people in the square panic and try run out of the way of the flames. As Rose and Mickey duck behind vendors, the fire follows behind them.
"Us, they're after us." Rose realizes.
Mickey takes her hand and runs out of the square, dragging her behind him as they try and avoid the fire being thrown in their direction. As they get a safe distance away Mickey asks, "What is going on! What have we done? Why are they after us?"
Rose stops a passing taxi and shoves Mickey and herself into it, before explaining, "They must be after the Doctor, nothing's happened in months, and now the day he gets back? It can't be a coincidence."
"I can't even go shopping with you if he's nearby." Mickey pouts, "Who are you phoning?"
"My mum."
~ ~ ~
With Lily still passed out on the Doctor's bed, clutching his hand in her sleep, Jackie continues to talk on the phone as she brings a cup of tea into the Doctor's room. She sets the tea on the nightstand before brushing some hair off her daughters face, and giving her forehead a kiss.
She looks at their entwined hands and sighs, she knows how much Lily cares about the Doctor, no matter how hard she tries to hide it from herself. A mother always knows.
The beeping on the phone, announcing another call is coming in, is ignored as she worries about her daughter. And by the time he's pulled back into the conversation, the beeping has stopped.
~ ~ ~
"Get off the phone!" Rose yells before hanging up with a huff of annoyance.
"Who were those Santa things?" Mickey asks as he searches the windows for approaching St. Nick's.
"I don't know, but think about it, they were after us and what's so important about us? Nothing, except the one thing we got tucked up in bed- the Doctor." Rose explains as she glare at her phone, wishing she was able to warn her mother.
~ ~ ~
When the taxi finally drops them off, Rose and Mickey race up to the Tyler flat, bursting through the door just as they hear Jackie say over the phone, "So save us a chipolata."
"Get off the phone!" Rose scolds as she takes it away from her mum.
"It's only Bev," Jackie explains, "she says hello."
"Bev? Yeah, it'll have to wait." Rose dismisses into the phone quickly before hanging up and tossing it on the table, then explains to Jackie, "Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"
~ ~ ~
I'm woken by the sound of shouting in the living room, and check to make sure the Doctor is alright before I stumble out of the back bedroom, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, "What's going on?"
"My mate Stan, he'll put us up." Mickey offers Rose a solution before answering me, "Evil Santa brass band."
My entire face contorts into a look of confusion and I try to catch up with the goings on as I listen to their conversation.
"That's only two streets away. What about Mo?" Rose asks Jackie, "Where's Mo living now?"
"I don't know- Peak District." Jackie answers quickly, still not understanding the problem herself.
As Rose declares a visit to cousin Mo, I notice a different Christmas tree than the one I came home to, "Mum, where'd you get a new tree from? What was wrong with the old tree?"
Jackie turns to Rose and Mickey as she say, "I thought it was you two?"
"Us? How could it be us?" Rose questions as she stares down the tree.
"Well you went shopping, there was a ring at the door and there it was." She explains herself, worried about the looks Rose is giving the tree.
"That wasn't us." Rose denies with a shake of her head.
"Then who was it?"
Suddenly the lights of the Christmas tree turn on and Jingle Bells plays from somewhere within it as the different pieces being to spin.
"No freaking way." I whisper in disbelief as the tree starts to spin so fast it lifts off the ground and makes its way towards us. It tears the coffee table to wood chips and Mickey attempts to usher us out of the flat. But I run towards the back room, not planning on leaving the Doctor behind.
"Lily!" All three shout at my retreating back, and I don't even pause as I yells back, "I'm not leaving the Doctor here!"
After Jackie, Rose and Mickey run into the room, they try to block the door with every piece of furniture in the room, aside from the Doctor's bed. I lean over him and tried to wake him up, "Doctor, wake up! You have to wake up!"
I can feel my panic escalating when he doesn't even twitch and the door behind Rose, Mickey, Mum and the dresser begins to give way to the Christmas Tree. I run over to where I'd put his jacket, and pull the sonic screwdriver out of a pocket.
Just as the door bursts into pieces and the tree enters into the room, I race over and jumps up on the bed, kneeling next to the Doctor as I put the sonic in his hand and whispers in his ear, "Help me."
Immediately he sits straight up in bed, the motion would have knocked me off the side of the bed, but he caught me with the arm that didn't burst the tree into flames with his screwdriver.
"Remote control... but who's controlling it?" The Doctor ponders before letting go of my waist to jump off the bed and grab the dressing gown on his way out of the flat.
I follow directly behind him as he walks out onto the balcony, Rose, Mickey and mum not too far behind. When he notices three brass band Santa's below, he stops to stare down at them menacingly. I watch him, taking in this new man as he watches the ground below for warning signs.
"That's them." Mickey begins to explain, but I smack him to shut him up, without taking my eyes off the Doctor.
The Doctor raises the sonic screwdriver to point it in their direction, and they instantly back up a few steps before beaming up into the sky.
"They've just gone." Mickeys says astonished, "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offense, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver can run them off."
"Well it turned their Christmas tree into a pile of ash." I scoff as I remind him.
"Pilot fish," The Doctor says, drawing my attention back to him, "they were just pilot fish." He grunts in pain and collapses and I catch him to help to the floor.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" I can hear the worry in my voice, almost as strong as the worry that fills my chest.
"You woke me up too soon," He tells me through clenched teeth, "I'm still regenerating, I'm bursting with energy." He exhales and a swirl of gold dust floats up to the sky, "You see?" He watched me as he breathes heavily, "The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defense- that's you lot- and they carry me off."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know." I whisper but he still hears me, and he looks at me softly before shaking his head- he doesn't blame me.
"They could run their batteries off me for a couple ye"- He jerks forward mid-sentence as he yelps in pain, collapsing into my arms again, "Ahh, my head! I'm having a neuron implosion! I need"-
"What do you need!" Mum asks as she sits across from us, holding onto the folds of his dressing gown.
"I need"- he tries to tell her, but she cuts him off,
"Just say it! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
"I need"-
"Painkillers?"
"I need"-
"Do you need aspirin?"
"I need"-
"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"
"I need"-
"Liquid paraffin? Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"
"I need"-
"Is it food? Something simple; bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? A soup and a sandwich? Oh, soup and little ham sandwich?"
"I need you to shut up!" He gasps and a small smile spreads across my lips; same Doctor, and mum thinks the same, "Oh, well he hasn't changed that much, has he?" She looks at me as she questions him.
He jerks out of my arms and over to the wall across from us, but I race over and catch him again before he hits the floor. He's grunting and panting in pain, and I wish I knew how to help him. "We haven't got much time," He warns as he looks at me, "if there's pilot fish then- why is there an apple in my dressing gown?" He asks as he pulls an apple from the pocket of the dressing gown.
"Oh that's Howard, sorry." Mum explains, and my brows furrow in confusion as i ask, "He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"
"He gets hungry."
"What- he gets hungry in his sleep?" The Doctor questions and she shrugs, "Sometimes."
He drops the apple as another spasm of pain overcomes him, and he jerks in my arms, ending up with his head on my chest as he lays on the floor, panting as he tries to catch his breath. "Brain... collapsing. The pilot fish," he insists as he leans his to the side to look me in the eyes, "the pilot fish mean, that something, something is coming." He grimaces in pain before he passes out in my lap.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
With help, I managed to get him back into bed and tucked under the covers, hoping it'll help to break his fever. He's still unconscious, but his sleep is anything but restful, he twitches and groans and his eye roll behind his closed eyelids.
I kneel in the bed by his shoulders, and wipe his forehead with a cool rag, but he still whimpers and his teeth chatter, and I don't know if I'm doing any good. As I try to keep him cool I whisper in his ear, I let him know that he's going to be okay, that he'll get better, and that we will be able to take care of this while he can't. Sweet nothings, really, but I don't know what else to do.
I notice Mickey walk by with his laptop, and while I don't want to leave the Doctor alone like this, I need to know what's going on. So I wet the wash cloth once more, and set it on his forehead, promising to come back quickly, before I head to the living room.
"How is he?" Mum asks as she hands me a cup of tea and I breathe in the steam with a sigh before answering, "He's worse; only one heart beating now." Mum squeezes my shoulder in sympathy before plopping down on the couch next to me.
The telly is set to the news and the conference being held about the Guinevere One Space Probe is still on. Apparently they had lost contact with it for a while, but they've established the connection again, and it's made its landing on Mars and we can expect pictures from it soon.
"Here we go, pilot fish." Mickey announces from his computer, Rose and I stand over either of his shoulders as he shows us what he's found, "They're scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless- they're tiny, but the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."
"Something's coming." I repeat what the Doctor warned, in a whisper. And Mickey nods his head at my conclusion.
"Funny sort of rocks." Mum mumbles from the couch. I look up from the computer to the telly, and I let out a small gasp at what I see, "Those aren't rocks." I lean in to try and get a closer look, but the alien on the screen roars so loudly I jump back a few steps.
Mickey immediately goes back to the laptop and types furiously, "Rose, Lily, take a look; I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship, it's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way."
"Coming for the Doctor?" I question warily.
Before Mickey can answer, a screen on the laptop pops up to show us the aliens we had seen on the news. They were large, and seemed to be wearing some kind of skull as a mask. They began speaking and when I can't understand them, my heart brakes a little.
"Have you seen them before?" Mickey questions, and I shake my head but let Rose answer, "No, and I can't understand them either. The TARDIS translates alien languages right into our heads all the time, where ever we are."
"So why isn't it doing it now?" He asks.
"It must be the Doctor, like he's part of the circuit- and he's broken." I glare at Rose as she says that, not letting myself believe it and upset that she would. I storm out of the room and head to the back room with the Doctor.
I take the cloth off his head and wet it again before kneeling on the bed beside him, and wiping his face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know this would happen if I woke you. I didn't know this would happen if I came back for you. I did this, and now I don't know how to help you." The tears that I have trying to hold back all day finally appear.
I try and keep him as comfortable as I can, while I wallow in despair, blaming myself for the mess we're in now.
I hear Rose and Mickey come up and stand in the doorway, "The Doctor wouldn't do this. He'd wake up, he'd save us," Rose cries, and I whip my head around to face her, "the old Doctor, the proper Doctor." She tries to correct herself, but my blood is already boiling, "He's not doing this on purpose Rose! He didn't choose to be this way! He's sick, and he's trying to get better! He didn't just abandon us!" I can feel myself shouting, but I'm too upset to stop, "And he is the proper Doctor! The same Doctor! I saw it happen Rose, I was there! I can't believe that you've given up on him, you don't trust him. How, after everything we've been through, can you still doubt him?"
The tears come stronger as I yell at her. I turn back to face the Doctor after I finish my rant, and sag in my spot on the bed. I'm hurt that she lost her faith in him, I'm hurt that it's my fault that that happened. I killed him, I caused his death and then jeopardized his healing process.
And yet I still had that small shred of doubt. Would he be the same man, the man I fell for despite how I may have denied it? The man, I thought, may possibly have had some feelings for me, is he gone? This new Doctor, I may have felt that sliver of doubt for, but when Rose voiced them, I bristled. Any doubt that I might have had, disappeared. I was yelling more at myself. How could I have let myself, even for a second, not trust him? I saw it happen, I caused it, and yet I couldn't keep my faith in him.
As a sob escapes me, I rest my forehead on the Doctor's chest; I'm exhausted and weak.
I can hear Rose's quiet sniffles, and a small amount of guilt bubbles in my stomach, but I try to ignore it. I stand by what I said, whether I was yelling at myself, or at her, I stand by it.
"She really loves him, doesn't she?" I hear Mickey ask her and I freeze, trying to hear her answer, "Yeah, yeah she really does." She agrees with him, but I can't decipher her feelings behind her words, my own are too strung out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When I woke up the next morning, I realize that without meaning to, I had fallen asleep on top of the covers on the bed next to the Doctor. I blush with the realization before fixing the sheets and my hair and walking out of the room.
After carefully making my way out of his room, I head over to mine to shower and get ready for the day. I pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, a simple black shirt and a warm pullover white hoodie with black stripes, while slipping back into my combat boots.
I was in the kitchen with Rose and Mickey, when we heard shouting coming from outside. We ran to the front door and saw our neighbor Sandra, shouting at her husband's retreating figure.
"Sandra what's wrong?" I ask, and she sobs her reply, "He won't listen! He's just walking, he won't stop walking! And there's this sort of light thing." She waves a hand around his head, showcasing the blue light, and his unresponsiveness. "Jason! Jason please stop it!" she pleads as she follows after him, but he keeps going.
I look over the railing of the balcony, and notice how many other people are walking around with the blue energy pulsing around their heads, with their loved ones following behind them.
I run after Sandra, and hear Mickey and Rose follow behind me. As we make it to the roof, my breath catches in my throat as I see how many people are standing up to the edge of our very tall building. I lean over, just enough to see the long fall that would await all these people if they jumped. My long blonde hair swirls in the wind, blocking my view of the ground for just a second, before it comes into focus again, making me feel slightly dizzy at the thought of all the innocent people ending up down there.
"What do we do?" Mickey asks as we watch people grip onto their loved ones, hoping to keep them from jumping.
"Nothing, there's no one to save us." Rose says without any emotion. I have to hold myself back to keep from slapping her, "You can't give up Rose. We'll think of something."
After making our may back into the flat, I paused by the couch mum was sitting on she watched Harriet Jones give a speech, "Ladies and gentleman, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request- Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate." I tense as I hear the Prime Ministers plea for the Doctor, her plea for help. Rose flops on the couch and I can't take the void look on her face anymore. With my tears returned, I go back to sit by the Doctor's bedside.
After what feels like a huge earthquake knocks me off the bed, every window in the flat shatters. I rush outside and see its not just our flat, it's our complex, and every building around us, that has had every window shattered.
A shadow covers the ground, a large shadow that feels never ending. I look to the sky and see a ginormous spaceship fly, not too high in the sky, casting the shadow over everything.
I manage to shake myself out my stupor enough to realize that we can't just sit here. It's not safe and we're not going to be able to keep ourselves, or the Doctor safe.
"Alright, we can't stay here. Mickey you have to help me carry the Doctor. Mum, pack some of your things, and get some food, we're going. And Rose, snap out of it and help mum." I demand as I pull the covers away from the Doctor and prepare myself to carry him down to the TARDIS.
"Well, where to?" Mickey asks.
"The TARDIS, the only safe place on Earth." I explain while I put the dressing gown on the Doctor.
"What are we going to do in there?" Mum yells indignantly.
"Hide."
Rose scoffs in disgust, and snap at her, "Listen Rosie, I've had about enough of your bullshit. I get that your upset, but now you need to think clearly. There is a great big alien invasion out there, and I'm not sure what to do! I need your help! Yes, we might be hiding in the TARDIS, but it's the only thing I can think of to keep us safe till the Doctor wakes up. So I'm sorry, but move!"
Rose follows after mum to help her gather stuff up, and Mickey and I get the Doctor out of bed carry him out of the flat. We carefully maneuver out the door and down the stairs, making sure not to hurt the Doctor in the process, while Rose helps mum carry everything else.
Mickey and I softly lay the Doctor down the floor grating, and I kneel by him, putting his head in my lap.
"So there's no chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey as me, and I pause from brushing back the Doctor's hair from his forehead.
"Not anymore, I don't think." I dismiss his thoughts.
"But you did it before."
"I know, but it's sort of been, hidden. Like it's being kept secret. I feel like it's there, but I'm not supposed to know it, and if I try, I'll rip the universe in half." I continue to run my fingers through the Doctors hair when I hear Mickey chuckle, "Maybe not then."
"Yeah, maybe not." I smile up at him before turning back to the Doctor.
"So what do we do?" Mickey questions, "Just sit here."
"I'm sorry. I really am, but I don't know what else to do." I apologize as I try my hardest to keep from crying again.
"Right here we go, a nice cup of tea." Mum brings out a thermos and pours a cup for each of us.
"Mm, the solution to everything." Rose snarks, and even mum seems annoyed as she says, "Oh, stop your moaning. I'll go get the rest of the food." then she walks out the doors.
I keep brushing his hair back as I watch him sleep, glad to see that his sleep seems easier, like his in less pain.
"Tea," Mickey smirks, "like we're having a picnic at the end of the word; which is very British." I let out a soft chuckle as I continue to stroke the Doctor's hair back. "How does this thing work?" I look over my shoulder to see Mickey tapping the scanner, while Rose sulks in the jump seat. "Cause if it picks up T.V. maybe we could see what's going on out there."
"I'm not sure, it always kind of tuned itself, like the TARDIS knew what we wanted." I try to explain as Rose stands up and pushes different buttons. I watch as the scanner starts to beep, and furrow my brows in frustration, wishing the TARDIS could help us out a little more here.
"Maybe it's a distress signal." Mickey ponders about the scanner, and Rose scoffs comes to stand over me, "Fat lot of good that's gonna do."
I roll my eyes and Mickeys seems to be on the same page as me as he snaps, "Are you going to be a misery all the time?"
"Yes." She answers bluntly, nodding her head in confirmation.
"You should look at it from my point of view," Mickey tells her, "stuck in here with your mums cooking."
I tilt my head to the side as I think about it, "Speaking of mum, what's taking her so long?"
"I better give her a hand, it might start raining missiles out there." Rose pops off the jump seat as I tell her, "Give me a hand, I'll go with you." I carefully lay the Doctor's head on the grating before sticking my hands out, demanding Rose help me up. She smiles as she shakes her head at me, but grabs my hands and pulls me up anyway.
"Watch him for me, will you Mickey?" I ask over my shoulder as Rose and I make it to the door, he waves me off before yelling out, "Tell her anything from a tin's fine."
I laugh and flip him off as we step outside, "Wimp! Tell her yourself!" and the second the door close behind us, Rose and I are grabbed from behind and pulled forwards, causing Rose to scream.
"Get off me! Get your hands off me!" I shout as I try to fight out of their strong grip. I notice that Mickey has burst out the doors behind us, "The doors Mickey! Close the doors!" I shout at him, giving him just enough time before the Sycorax grab him, to get them closed. I let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that not only is the TARDIS safe, but so is the Doctor.
I look around and notice the few Sycorax in front of us, while the huge cavern behind them is filled, as though a stadium, with hundreds of them.
Rose and I are thrown towards a familiar face, "Rose! Lily! Oh, my precious things, I've got you." Harriet Jones grabs us both in a hug. And I allow it for a second before I pull out of her grasp and stand in front of them protectively. "The Doctor, is he with you?" I hear her whisper to Rose.
"No, we're on our own." Rose tells her glumly, but I scoff as I correct her, "He's indisposed at the moment, but we're not on our own." I send Rose a quick glare over my shoulder before turning back to the Sycorax.
What appears to be the leader of the Sycorax, steps forward and speaks to us. I feel another twinge in my heart when I realize that I still can't understand what he's saying; confirming how bad off the Doctor is.
The man behind Harriet uses his device to help translate what they say, "The stripped yellow girl, she has the clever blue box- therefor she speaks for your planet."
I look down at my stripped jacked and let out a not so silent curse.
"But she can't!" Harriet protests. And I turn to face her as I say, "Oh, but she can. Someone has to be the Doctor."
Rose grabs my hand, "Don't you dare." she warns me, so I squeeze her hand before letting it go, "Someone has to Rosie, I'll be okay." I reassure her before turning back to the Sycorax.
"They'll kill you!" Harriet tries to stop me again but I shake off her hand.
"Never stopped him." I counter in a quiet voice, and I swallow tensely as I try my best to hide my fear, and step forward.
I try to remember everything the Doctor has told me about space laws and politics, hoping I don't say something to get us in even deeper shit than we already are.
"I,uh- I address the Sycorax, according to Article 15 of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world, with all the authority of, the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorious, and the Gelth Confederacy as sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess, and the uh, the Daleks!" I spew off whatever I can think of that might sound slightly impressive. But as the leader begins to stalk towards me slowly, and I lose some of my composure, making my voice shake, but I shout in conclusion, "Now leave this planet in peace, and never return!"
The Sycorax leader stops where he's at, and I hold my breath, nervous about what he might do. But he laughs at me, he has a good laugh in my face, causing the rest of them to fill the large cavern with their echoing laughter.
It speaks again and I risk a quick glace over my shoulder to the translator, before facing the leading again, "You are very, very funny. And now you're going to die." I feel my face loose its color as Rose yells from behind me, "Leave her alone!" Mickey and Harriet kick up a fuss as well, but stop when the Sycorax go to restrain them.
The Sycorax leader walks closer and begins to pace in front of me as he speaks, and the translator speaks over him, "Did you think you were clever? With your stolen words. We are the Sycorax. We stride the darkness, next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your world can offer as champion"-
"then your world will be gutted," The Sycorax leader finish off, and the translator copies him slowly, before stopping as the leader continues and we can understand him, "and your people enslaved!"
I grin ear to ear as I figure out what this means and have to keep myself from laughing with relief. Everyone behind me confirms that they understand him, that he's speaking English, and he denies them, "I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile! I speak only Sycoraxic!"
My smirk only grows as explain, "But we can hear English, which means it being translated, which means..." I turn to face the TARDIS as the doors open and the Doctor stands there in his P.J.'s smiling, "Did you miss me?"
The giggle I'd been holding back slips through my lips at the sight of him standing there. The Sycorax leader cracks his electrified whip at the Doctor, but he catches it and yanks it out of his hands, before walking forward, "You could have put someone's eye out with that." He scolds before tossing the whip to the side and standing in front of the leader.
"How dare"- the leader snarls and tries to bring his staff down on the Doctor, but he stops it and yanks it from him before breaking it over his leg, making me smirk.
"You just can't get the staff. Now, you just wait! I'm busy." The Doctor commands as he points at him, before turning around to face the rest of us. "Mickey, hello!" He says with a smile before turning to Harriet, "And Harriet Jones, MP. For Flydale North, blimey, it's like this is your life!" I give a small chuckle as he turns to face Rose and I again, "Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea. A super heated infusion of free radicals and tannin- just the thing for healing the synapses." I shake my head as he spurts all that out at top speed with a small giggle, bring his attention back to me. "Now, first things first, be honest"- he tells me seriously, "how do I look?"
I feel a small blush on my cheeks, and he smirks when he notices it, "Different." I say truthfully.
He narrows his eyes as he continues smirking at my blushing face, "Good different, or bad different?"
"I mean, you weren't bad in the first place," I tell him, before I really look over him, "but good different." I say honestly, and his smirk grows into a smile as the blush on my face grows.
"Am I, ginger?" He asks seriously, no trace of a smile on his face.
"No, your, brunette."
He steps away as he complains, "Oh I wanted to be ginger! I've never been ginger before!" I smile as I watch him, he's already so different.
"And you, Rose Tyler," He shouts suddenly, pointing a finger at her, "fat lot of god you were! You gave up on me!" he drops his finger as he thinks it over, "Oh, that's rude! Is that what I am now; rude? Rude and not ginger."
I giggle again as I face-palm his thought process, and when I put my hand down I see him smiling at me. I give him a large smile back, and mentally curse my face as I blush. But he walks to me and runs a finger over my cheek, making me blush harder. He smiles at me before backing away and sending me a look I can't decipher.
"I'm sorry," Harriet interjects, "but who is this?"
"I'm the Doctor." He says, looking a little sad she didn't recognize him. I back him up as I say, "He's the Doctor."
"Well, what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?" Harriet asks confused.
He walks towards her as he explains, "I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face- well, new everything."
"But you can't be..." She denies in a whisper.
"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, wasn't the war- it was the thought of your mother being on her own."
Her eye widen in shock, "Oh, my god."
"Did you win the election?" He asks with a smile.
She stands a little taller, smiling as she says, "Landslide majority."
"If I might interrupt." The Sycorax says, bringing out attention back to him. The Doctor faces him and sticks his hands in the dressing gowns pockets as he says, "Oh yes, hello big fella." And I smirk at the cheeky look on his face.
"Who exactly are you?" The leader questions him.
"Well, that's the question."
"I demand to know who you are!" The Sycorax shouts, causing me to jump.
"I don't know!" The Doctor yells in an imitation of his voice, and I smile at the new man in front of me. "See, that's the thing, I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I-I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested." My smile grows a bit as he begins to ramble, "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He winks at me, making me blush and giggle, and Rose elbow me in the ribs as she wiggles her eyebrows at me.
He continues to make his way around the leader as he rambles, "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed? A gambler? A fighter?" He makes his way up a small case of stairs and I run to follow behind him. "A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." He says, making us both chuckle, before he notices a big button, "And how am I going to react when I see this; a great big, threatening button. A great big, threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances- am I right?" He questions as he runs up to it with a smile, me right behind him as everyone else follows further behind.
"Let me guess- it's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" He crouches down and opens a little door on the pedestal holding the button. I bend down next to him to see what he's doing. "And what've we got here, blood?" He dips his finger in the small bowl, and licks some liquid from his finger, making me scrunch my face in disgust, as he wipes the rest of it on his dressing gown, "Yep, definitely blood, human blood; A-positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means... blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years!" He grins as he jumps back up, helping me to my feet as well. "Your controlling all the A-positives. Which leaves us with a great big, stinking problem... cause I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button, which should never ever, ever be pressed... than I just want to do this!" He jumps forward and presses the button, causing everyone around us yell at him.
"No!"
"You killed them!"
I roll my eyes at them as I scoff, "Oh please." The Doctor looks at me shocked and asks, "Do you know what just happened?"
"No, but I know you wouldn't do anything to kill a third of the people on Earth." I say snarkily, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the mistrust they have in him. He grins at me and squeezes my hand before turning to face the Sycorax, "What do you think big fella- are they dead?"
"We allow them to live."
"Allow!" The Doctor repeats with a smirk, "You've no choice! See, that's all blood control is- a cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis- you can hypnotize someone to walk a chicken or sing like Elvis, but you can't hypnotize them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."
"Blood control was only one form of conquest." The Sycorax leader informs us, "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."
"Well, yeah, you could. You could do that, yeah. Of course you could." He says, making me quip under my breath, "Comforting." And he sends me a quick wink before continuing, "But why? Look at these people, these human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on this planet, blinking and stepping into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do"- I chuckle when I realize why his speech sound familiar, making him look over at me before he understands as well, "No, hold on, sorry, that's the Lion King. But the point still stands! Leave them alone!" he pushes away from the small wall he was standing by to stand next to a Sycorax nearby.
"Or what?" The leader challenges.
"Or..." He looks at the Sycorax next to him as he takes the sword from his side and runs down in front of the TARDIS where there's more room, "I challenge you!" The whole cavern laughs at him, causing him to take it all in as he says, "Well, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"
"You stand as this worlds champion?" The Leader demands as he removes his own sword and goes to stand in front of the Doctor. I race down and stand off to the side of the Doctor, making sure I can see him as this goes down.
"Thank you." He says as he takes off his dressing gown, and I catch it as he throws it to me, "I've got no idea who I am, but you've just summed me up perfectly." He raises his sword to point it at the leader as he says, "So, do you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"
Judging by the fact that the TARDIS didn't translate that, and the menacing hiss that came from the leader, I'd bet it wasn't a very nice thing to say, which makes me chuckle.
"For the planet?"
"For the planet." The Doctor agrees, and their swords clash, making me jump and hold the dressing gown tighter to me.
They go at it fiercely, and when it looks like the Sycorax is going to land a shot on the Doctor, both Rose and I shout, "Look out!"
"Oh, yeah, that helps. Wouldn't of thought of that otherwise." He says sarcastically, and I roll my eyes at him. He runs down a small tunnel as the Sycorax follows him, taking swings at him all the while, "Bit of fresh air?" He pushes a button that opens the end of the tunnel, and I race right behind the leader out onto the platform, overlooking the edge of the spaceship, a freefall down to Earth.
The Sycorax, a better swordsman it seems than the Doctor, gets him close enough to the edge to make my heart race. He gets a good hit with the hilt of his sword to the Doctor's face and I instinctively go to help him, "Stay back!" He shouts at me, making me stop in my tracks, "Invalidate the challenge, and he gets the planet."
They clash their swords fiercely, neither giving up easily, but the leader gives him another good blow to the face, knocking the Doctor onto his back, head hanging over the edge. Rose has to wrap her arms around my waist to keep me from running to him. The Sycorax raises his sword and in one fell swoop, brings it down, cutting off the Doctors hand. I watch in horror as his hand, and the sword fall down to Earth.
"You cut my hand off." The Doctor mutters in disbelieve. I had expected blood and screams, but he seems to fine, considering. He gets to his feet as the leader cheers for himself.
"And now I know what sort of man I am." The Doctor tells him, "I'm lucky, cause quite by chance, I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this..." he holds up his arm, and my eyes widen as I watch a new hand grow from his arm.
"Witchcraft!" The Sycorax accuses him. But he corrects the leader with a smile, "Time Lord."
I reach over and grab a sword from a Sycorax next to me, "Doctor!" I get his attention before tossing him the sword. He catches the sword and swirls it in his new hand as he questions, "Oh, so I'm still the Doctor then?"
"I never doubted you!" I shout back with a smile, making him smirk over his shoulder at me before quickly turning to Rose, "No argument from me." She tells him, and he nods before turning back to the Sycorax leader.
"You want to know the best bit?" He asks the leader as he gets into fighting position, "This new hand? It's a fightin' hand!" He shouts in a southern accent, and I chuckle at his antics.
And either the Doctor was extremely good at faking his inability with a sword, or it really was a fighting hand, because he goes up against the Sycorax with ease, disarming him. Ending up with the leader on the ground, head hanging over the edge like the Doctor was not too long ago.
"I win."
"Then kill me." The leader challenges.
"I'll spare your life if you take this champions command- leave this planet, and never return." He says as he holds the sword to the leader's neck. "What do you say?"
"Yes."
"Swear on the blood of your species!"
"I swear."
He smiles as he turns to face us, "Well there we are then, thanks for that. Cheers big fella." He walks towards us with a large grin on his face.
"Barvo!" Harriet cheers as he sticks the sword into the ground. I run up to him with his dressing gown as I tell him, "Couldn't have said it better myself- bravo!" and help him into the robe.
"Yeah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams; very Arthur Dent. Now there was a nice man." He says, and my jaw drops a bit, Arthur Dent? How cool! "Hold on, what have I got in here." He pulls his hand out of the pocket and pulls out another fruit, "A satsuma." He shows to me as we grin at each other, "Ah, that friend of your mothers- he does like his snacks, doesn't he?" I chuckle as I follow him back to the tunnel, "But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents, and right at the ends, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"
I hear a growl from behind us, and I turn to see the Sycorax coming at us with his sword raised. I squeeze the Doctor's arm but before I can warn him, he throws the satsuma at a panel on the side of the ship. A chunk of the wing opens up, and the leader plummets to Earth.
The Doctor takes hold of my hand as he says, "No second chances, I'm that sort of a man." We walk through the tunnel and make our way in front of the TARDIS, before he pulls me to a stop and turns us to face the rest of the Sycorax, "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, make sure that you tell them this- it is defended."
I can feel the pull of teleportation, and squeeze the Doctors hand. I look around as we land and ask, "Where are we?"
"We're just off Bloxham Road. We're just around the corner." Mickey smiles as he jumps in the air, "We did it!"
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." The Doctor warns them as he holds up his other hand.
The Doctor smiles as the spaceship flies off, before facing me as I smile at him. He pulls me into a strong hug, and I nuzzle my head just under his chin- perfect fit. I hear Mickey shout, "Go on my son! It is defended!" And I feel the vibrations of his chest as he chuckles. I pull back and smile at him again, before watching as Rose jumps on Mickeys back, "Yeah, and don't come back!" She shouts at the sky, and I chuckle as I squeeze the Doctors hand.
Rose and Mickey hug before she runs off to give the translator a hug as well, while Harriet walks over to us, "My Doctor." She smirks at him.
"Prime Minister." They smile before he lets go of my hand to give her a hug.
"Absolutely the same man." She commends him, and I take his hand back with a squeeze, I never doubted him. "Are there many more out there?" She asks warily as she looks out at the sky.
"Oh not just Sycorax," He tells her, "hundreds of species, thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Everyday your sending out probes and messages and signals- this planets so noisy. You're getting noticed, more and more. You'd better get used to it."
I chuckle as I smack his arm lightly, "You make it sound so ominous. It's not all bad." I reassure Harriet, "There are so many wonderful creatures and species out there. They don't all want to take over, they aren't all like the Sycorax. It's wonderful out there Harriet, it truly is." I tell her before looking back out at the sky. The Doctor squeezes my hand and looks down at me, with what looks like pride- though I can't understand why. But I lean my head on his shoulder as I think about all that's to come.
"Rose! Lily!" I hear mums voice, and lift my head from the Doctor's shoulder as I search for her.
"Oh, speaking of trouble." The Doctor mutters, and I chuckle at him.
When I spot her, Rose is racing into her arms, and I make my way over there as well. Mum opens her arms so she can hug us both at the same time, "Oh my god, you did it!" She shouts, and I take a step back to breath as I tell her, "You did it too, it was the tea. Fixed his head."
"That's all I needed," He smiles as he puts his hands in his pockets, "a cup of tea."
"I said so!" Mum scolds Rose for doubting her as we walk over to him. "Is it really him though?" She questions us, "Is it really the Doctor?"
He makes a face and I chuckle, letting go of my mum and run up to him to take his hand, and he looks down at me, beaming.
"Oh my god! It's the bleeding Prime Minister!" Mum shouts as she sees Harriet, making us all laugh at her.
"Come here you!" The Doctor beacons them over, lifting his other arm for a group hug. They all pile in and hug him as he squeezes my hand.
"Are you better?" I hear mum question as they all pull away.
"Yeah, I am." He tells her sincerely, smiling at Jackie's worry over him.
"You left me!" Mum scolds as she smacks Rose and Mickey, making me glad I'm not close enough for her to hit me as well. But noticing this, Rose reaches over and smacks me, just for good measure.
"Ouch!" I glare at Rose for how hard she hit me before facing mum, "Sorry mum, really, we didn't do it on purpose."
"But I had all the food!" She says indignantly, and I shake my head at her insistence.
I hear energy crackle and five green beams of light shoot out from the buildings around us, and hit the Sycorax ship. I jump and cover my eyes as the ship explodes, and drop the Doctors hand as I turn to face Harriet.
"What have you done!" I yell at her "You just murdered them all!" I shout in disbelief, she just killed the Sycorax, angry tears start to build up in my eyes. They may have been trying to take over the Earth, but that doesn't mean they all deserve to die. And I'm so mad that Harriet, the woman I thought I knew, the Prime Minister, killed them, that my eyes tear up with anger.
"That was defense." She counters. "It's adapted from alien technology-a ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."
The Doctor takes my hand again, in comfort and to hold me back, as I yell, "They were leaving!"
"You said it yourself Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell other about the Earth."
"He also said, that with all the noise we're making, we've already been noticed! So you killed them all for nothing!" I shout at her, and the Doctor holds tighter to my hand as I try to pull away from him.
"I'm sorry." Harriet apologizes, "But Doctor, you're not here all the time, you come and go. It happened today- Mr. Llwellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."
"Britain's Golden age." He scoffs at the title, and the woman who made it so.
"It comes with a price."
"I gave them the wrong warning," He says darkly, "I should have told them to run. Run as fast as they can because the monsters are coming- the human race."
"Those are the people I represent." She defends herself, "I did it on their behalf."
"Then I should have stopped you."
"What does that make you Doctor, another alien threat?" I tense at her question as I feel his hand tighten in mine, and watch as his eyes darken.
"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones," He says, almost growling, as he walks towards her, pulling me with him, "cause I'm a completely new man! I could bring down your government with a single word." He threatens her.
"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that."
"No you're right, not a single word- just six."
"I don't think so."
"Six words."
"Stop it!" She panics.
"Six." He leads me over to the translator and leans into his ear, whispering as he looks at Harriet, "Don't you think she looks tired?"
He leads me away from them and doesn't take his eyes off of Harriet till we pass by her. We walk past Rose, Mum, and Mickey and they all look at me questioningly. I mouth 'later' to let them know I'll tell them when we get home.
As we walk away I hear Harriet shout, "Doctor! Doctor, what did you do! What was it, what did he say! Doctor!"
"Rude, not ginger, and no second chances- I'll keep that in mind." I tease as I look up at him. He smirks down and me before letting go of my hand to wrap it around my shoulders.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We all sat around the table, serving Christmas dinner as we laughed and talked. And I couldn't keep myself from glancing at the doors every couple of minutes, waiting for the Doctor to walk back in.
When I do finally hear the door open, I can't help but gawk a little. He looks amazing in a brown pinstriped suit, a TARDIS blue tie, and a long brown over coat, and I chuckled a bit when I saw the Converse he was wearing. I blush when I noticed he'd been watching me check him out, and he smirked as he made his way to the open seat next to me.
We eat a wonderful meal and even the Doctor seemed to enjoy himself. At least I hoped he did- but he at least pretended he was having a good time. I wanted to know, but was afraid to ask, when the last time he sat down and enjoyed something like this, but I didn't want to bring up a touchy subject.
He pulled out a popper and hands it to me with a smile as he says, "That, is yours." I take it from him with a grin, but when I see the color of the crown I make a face, "It's pink, aw here Rose, it's yours." I tease as I sit it on her head. She glares playfully at me but fixes it on her head anyway. I look back at the Doctor to see him grinning at me.
But Rose brings our attention to the T.V. "Look, its Harriet Jones." And we all face the telly to watch as she holds a press conference. She gets question after question about whether she's fit to be Prime Minister still, about her health, and if she's going to resign. I watch the Doctor pull out a pair of glasses from his coat, and watch Harriet with a stern look on his face.
I'd told Rose, Mum, and Mickey what the Doctor said to the translator when he was still in the TARDIS, and they switch between watching him, and watching the screen.
Mum answers the ringing phone and announces, "Its Beth, she says to go and look outside."
"Why?" Rose questions, making mum roll her eyes, "I don't know, just go outside and look." We all make our way down the stairs and outside, and I gasp at the snow as I stand by the TARDIS
"Oh, that's beautiful." I whisper as I stand next to the Doctor, "What are they, meteors?"
"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere," He corrects me, "and this isn't snow, it's ash."
"Okay, not so beautiful then." Say as I watch Rose blanch and try to wipe her tongue of the 'snowflakes' she'd caught.
"And this is a brand new planet Earth," The Doctor muses, "no denying the existence of aliens now, everyone saw it. Everything's new."
"What about you?" I ask timidly, "What are you going to do next?" He looks down at me with a shocked expression.
"Well, back to the TARDIS, same old life." He says, watching for my reaction.
I ask quietly, hoping with all I've got, "Do you want me to still come with you?"
His eyebrows shoot up as he asks, "Why, don't you want to?"
"Well, yeah." I give a nervous chuckle as I grin at him.
"Well I just thought, cause I changed..."
"Well, I thought cause you changed, you might not want me- to come with, you might not want me to come with." I hurry to correct myself, but he chuckles at my blush as he reassures me, "Oh, I'd love you to come."
"Okay." My smile is huge and I can't help but giggle.
"You're never going to stay, are you?" I hear mum question sadly, but when I turn to face her, she has a small smile on her face.
"There's just so much to see- there's so much out there, I've got to." I tell her with a smile, but she seems to understand. She holds her arms out for a hug, and I run to her and hold on tightly before walking back to the Doctor. "Well, I reckon you're mad- it's like you go looking for trouble." Mum teases us.
"Trouble's just the bits in between!" The Doctor explains as he walks over to her, "It's all waiting out there Jackie, and it's brand new to me. All those planets, creatures and horizons- and I haven't seen them yet, not with these eyes." He smirks as he stands next to me again, "And it is gonna be, fantastic!"
I smile at his previous catchphrase, and hear Rose chuckle from behind me. He holds his hand out for me and I take it with grin, before leaning my head on his shoulder.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Not too long after that, the Doctor opens the door the TARDIS as he tells me he going to set things up for our next adventure.
I turn around to hug Mum and Mickey goodbye, and when I take Rose's hand to pull her back to the TARDIS, she stops me.
"I'm not going this time." She tells me softly, making me drop her hand in shock.
"What? Why? Rose I thought you understood, he's still the same"- I stop myself when I hear her laughing at me, "What? What's funny?"
"That's not why I'm staying here Lil." I give her a questioning look and she explains, "Look, I know it's him. I get that now, and I don't doubt it. And really, I'm sorry I ever did doubt him- doubted you. But I'm going to stay here with Mickey, catch up some. And I think you two should have some time."
I blush fiercely at her words, and before I can dispute them she stops me, "Listen to me Lil, there is something going on between you, there always has been. I think you should have some time to figure that out."
"Rose," I sigh sadly, "I highly doubt that he feels that way. And even if he did..." Rose smacks my arm, hard. "Ow, what the hell!"
"Why do you doubt yourself! Uhg, Lily, you don't see the way you two are around each other. All I'm saying is that I'm giving you both some time, just to thing some things through. Besides, I don't plan on staying here permanently, you have to come back and get me- soon." We chuckle together before she pulls me into a bone crushing hug. "Just take the time to really think about it. I know you Lily, I know you've been trying your hardest to avoid it, but now I want you to stop that, and honestly think about things. And then come pick me back up as soon as you can!" She pulls away from the hug, and I scrunch my face in confusion.
"I guess, I just don't get it Rosie, what changed your mind? Just because he looks younger, doesn't mean he actually is, and he's still going to live a hell of a lot longer than me."
"Like I said Lil, you two have always had some kind of connection. And although I only got to see it for a short time today, it seems to have gotten stronger. I want you to be happy, and I want him to be happy, and you do that for each other. And even if it's a short amount of happiness, you both deserve it. I'm not totally sure what happened at the Game Station, but it seems to have changed things between you. I heard you blaming yourself for it, and I think you both need to work that out. And I want you to explore it. So go out into space, and see if you can get yourself some Time Lord lovin." She jokes and I burst out into laughter, cupping my cheeks to hide the intense redness there.
"You're insane Rosie! But, if you're sure you won't come..."
"I'm sure. Just don't leave me here for long!"
I hug her once more as I promise her we won't abandon her here, before making my way into the TARDIS.
I close the doors behind me and shake my head at my crazy little sister. As I make my way towards the jump seat I watch as the Doctor fiddles with the console.
"Rose isn't coming?" He asks sounding upset.
"Not this time. She says she wants to catch up with Mickey, she also says that we are not allowed to leave her here for a long time." He gives a sad smile, and I don't think he believes me, "She said that she's sorry for doubting you. She says she holds no doubts that you, are you." He looks over at me with a look that I know means he wants more of an explanation. So to keep from having to explain that she wants me to get 'some Time Lord lovin' I say, "She heard me talking to you when you were unconscious."
His expression instantly changes, and I worry for the first time, that he could hear me as I spoke to him. He sets the TARDIS off and lets us drift before he walks over to me.
"I do not blame you Lily." He says so sincerely, that the godawful tears well up in my eyes again.
"You should, it's my fault. If I had listened"-
"Then I would have died on that Game Station with no chance of regeneration." He cups my face in his hands and wipes away my tears, "You saved this life Lily, you saved the rest of my lives. So no, I do not blame you." I look up at him through my tears, and he smiles down me reassuringly, wiping them away.
"God I feel like I'm always crying." I sigh in annoyance, and he chuckles as he lets go of my face.
"It's shows how much you care." He says simply, and I can't keep the blush off my cheeks as he looks down at me, before heading back to the console.
This new Doctor may be different; he's not so rough around the edges, and he seems to openly show more affection, but he is still the same Doctor. He's the same underneath, with new looks and new quirks, but he's still that same man I've always cared about.
~ ~ ~ ~
The TARDIS had heard Rose's and Lily's conversation, and she had listened to Lily's and the Doctor's conversation. She knew that while they may think what they want the most is impossible, it's only just out of reach for the moment.
She made sure neither of them noticed as she poured the time vortex into her wolf.
Her thief and her wolf would come together soon.