xxᴠ. ɴᴀɴᴏɢᴇɴᴇꜱ
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Nancy makes her way to the tarpaulin covered spacecraft. Just as she starts to pull it back, the spotlights come on and rifles are pointed at her.
"Halt! Don't move!", A soldier stops her.
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"So, you used to be a Time Agent now you're trying to con them?", Rose asks Jack.
"If it makes me sound any better, it's not for the money."
"For what?", Juliet asks.
"Woke up one day when I was still working for them, found they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like them back."
"They stole your memories?", Juliet asks.
"Two years of my life. No idea what I did. Your friend over there doesn't trust me, and for all I know he's right not to. Okay, we're good to go. Crash site?"
"Stolen memories. I can't imagine what you're going through.", Juliet shakes her head.
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Nancy is escorted in. An unwell soldier tries to stand up.
"As you were. Feeling any better?", The leader, Algy, says.
"Just a touch, sir.", His soldier, Jenkins, responds.
"Chain her up where Jenkins can keep an eye on her."
"No, not in here. Not with him.", Nancy shakes her head.
She has spotted the scar on Jenkins' hand. She is handcuffed a chain wrapped around the table leg and sat in a chair opposite him.
"You shouldn't have broken in here if you didn't want to stay.", Algy says to her.
"You don't understand. Not with him."
"This is a restricted area, Miss. You can just sit here for a bit. We're going to have to ask you a few questions.", Algy tells her.
"Found these, sir.", A soldier hands him the bolt cutters.
"Very professional. A little bit too professional.
Didn't just drop in by accident then, did you?"
"My little brother died here. I wanted to find out what killed him.", Nancy tries to explain.
"Take the men, check the fence for any other breaches and search the area. She may not have come here alone."
"Yes, sir."
"Please! Listen, you can't leave me here.", Nancy cries.
"Watch her, Jenkins."
"Yes, Mummy.", Jenkins responds with a nod.
"Jenkins? Sorry, sir. I don't know what's the matter with me."
"Look, lock me up, fine, but not here. Please, anywhere but here!"
Algy leaves.
"You'll be all right, miss. I'm just a little. Just a little, just a little. What's the matter with you?"
"Please, let me go.", She begs.
lWhy would I do that?", Jenkins asks.
"Because you've got a scar on the back of your hand."
"Well, yes, but I don't see what that's got to do with anything."
"And you feel like you're going to be sick, like something's forcing its way up your throat. I know because I've seen it before.", She tells him.
"What's happening to me?", Jenkins asks with a scared look on his face.
"In a minute, you won't be you anymore. You won't even remember you. And unless you let me go, it's going to happen to me too. Please."
"What're you talking about?"
"What's your mother's name?"
"Matilda."
"You got a wife?"
"Yes."
"Wife's name? You got kids? What's your name? Please, let me go. It's too late for you. I'm sorry, but please let me go.", Nancy starts apologizing as he starts repeating the words.
"What do you mmmmm. Mummy."
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"There it is. Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important.", Jack says.
"We've got to get past him.", The Doctor says.
"Are the words distract the guard heading in my general direction?", Rose asks.
"I don't think that'd be such a good idea."
"Don't worry I can handle it."
"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town. Trust me, you're not his type. I'll distract him. Don't wait up.", Jack informs her.
"Relax, he's a fifty first century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing.", The Doctor says to the girls.
"How flexible?", Juliet inquires.
"Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."
"Meaning?"
"So many species, so little time."
"What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life, and, and-", The Doctor cuts her off.
"Dance."
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"Hey, tiger. How's it hanging?", Jack smirks at Algy.
"Mummy?"
"Algy, old sport, it's me."
"Mummy?", Algy repeats.
"It's me, Jack."
"Jack? Are you my mummy?"
Algy starts to retch, then falls to his knees before his face turns into a gas mask. Rose, Juliet and the Doctor run forward from the sidings.
"Stay back!", The Doctor shouts.
"You men, stay away!", Jack orders the soldiers.
"The effect's become air-borne, accelerating.", The Doctor concludes.
The air raid sirens start up.
"What's keeping us safe?", Rose asks.
"Nothing.", Juliet guesses based on The Doctor's solemn expression.
"Ah, here they come again."
"All we need. Didn't you say a bomb was going to land here?"
"Never mind about that. If the contaminants airborne now, there's hours left.", The Doctor waves off the bin threat.
"For what?"
"Till nothing, forever. For the entire human race. And can anyone else hear singing?", The Doctor asks suddenly, confusing the whole lot.
"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops."
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Jenkins is fully transformed and slumped across the table.
"When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. Down will come baby, cradle and all.", Nancy is singing to him.
The Doctor enters and gestures to her to keep singing.
"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops. When the wind blows the cradle will rock."
The Doctor frees her from the handcuffs.
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They light up and uncover the spacecraft.
"You see? Just an ambulance.", Jack says.
"That's an ambulance?", Nancy asks him.
"It's hard to explain. It's from another world.", Rose starts.
"They've been trying to get in.", Jack adds.
"Of course they have. They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What're you doing?"
Jack is keying in the access codes.
"The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it."
Bang! Sparks, and an alarm. The access panel has a red flashing light.
"Didn't happen last time.", Jack mutters.
"It hadn't crashed last time. There'll be emergency protocols."
"Doctor, what is that?"
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"Mummy?"
All the patients get up.
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The patients start battering at the hospital doors.
"Doctor!"
"Captain, secure those gates!", The Doctor orders.
"Why?", Jack asks.
"Just do it! Nancy, how'd you get in here?"
"I cut the wire.", She says.
"Show Rose. Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D."
The Doctor throws Rose the sonic screwdriver.
"What?", She asks.
"Reattaches barbed wire. Go!", He waves her away.
Juliet tries to go with her, but The Doctor grabs her arm and stops her from going any further.
"I need you here."
"But-"
"She'll be fine. I need you."
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As the patients leave the hospital, Rose mends the cuts in the barbed wire. Bombs fall on London again.
"Who are you? Who are any of you?", Nancy asks Rose.
"You'd never believe me if I told you."
"You just told me that was an ambulance from another world. There are people running around with gas mask heads calling for their mummies, and the sky's full of Germans dropping bombs on me. Tell me, do you think there's anything left I couldn't believe?", Nancy asks.
"We're time travellers from the future.", Rose says simply.
"Mad, you are.", Nancy mutters.
"We have a time travel machine. seriously!"
"It's not that. All right, you've got a time travel machine. I believe you. Believe anything, me. But what future?"
"Nancy, this isn't the end. I know how it looks, but it's not the end of the world or anything-"
"How can you say that?? Look at it."
"Listen to me. I was born in this city. I'm from here, in like, fifty years time."
"From here?"
"I'm a Londoner. From your future.", Rose tells her.
"But, but you're not-"
"What?"
"German."
"Nancy, the Germans don't come here. They don't win. Don't tell anyone I told you so, but you know what? You win.", Rose assures her.
"We win?"
"Come on!"
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Jack gets the ambulance open.
"It's empty. Look at it.", Jack says.
Juliet and The Doctor glances inside.
"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Juliet?"
"I don't know.", She shrugs.
"Yes, you do."
"Nanogenes!", She exclaims.
"It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species.", The Doctor explains.
"Oh, God."
"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gasmask."
"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?", Rose asks.
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because, you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"
"I didn't know.", Jack says.
The Doctor works on the ambulance while the patients approach.
"Mummy. Mummy."
"Rose!", Nancy cries.
"It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?", Rose asks.
"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."
"But the gas mask people aren't troops."
"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you."
That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing.", Rose works it out.
"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."
The patients surround them, outside the barbed wire.
"Why don't they attack?", Jack asks.
"Good little soldiers, waiting for their commander.", The Doctor mutters.
"The child?"
"Jamie.", Nancy correct him.
"What?"
"Not the child. Jamie.", She repeats herself.
"So how long until the bomb falls?", Rose asks.
"Any second.", Jack tells her.
"What's the matter, Captain? A bit close to the volcano for you?"
"He's just a little boy.", Nancy says.
"I know."
"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy."
"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can.", The Doctor says.
"So what're we going to do?", Juliet asks.
"I don't know."
"It's my fault."
"No."
"It is. It's all my fault.", Nancy repeats herself.
"How can it be your-", The Doctor is cut off by the patients cry's again.
"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy."
"Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty one? Older than you look, yes?", The Doctor asks her.
The bombs get closer.
"Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds.", Jack warns him.
"You can teleport us out.", Rose says to Jack.
"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols.", Jack tells her.
"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do
"Jack?", Juliet asks.
Jack vanishes.
"How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him.", The Doctor turns back to Nancy.
The bomb site gate opens and Jamie stands there.
"Are you my mummy?"
"He's going to keep asking, Nancy. He's never going to stop."
"Mummy?"
Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him.
Nancy and Jamie walk towards each other."
"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"
"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy."
"Mummy?"
"I'm here."
"Are you my mummy?"
"I'm here.", Nancy tells him.
"Are you my mummy?"
"Yes."
"Are you my mummy?"
"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left.", The Doctor says.
"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry.", Nancy cries as she hugs Jamie and a cloud of nanogenes surrounds them.
"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her, we should-", The Doctor cuts Rose off.
"Shush! Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out."
"What's happening?"
"See? Recognising the same DNA."
Jamie lets go and Nancy falls on the ground.
"Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one."
The Doctor removes Jamie's gas mask.
"Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music - you're going to love it.", The Doctor grins as Nancy comes to.
"What happened?", She asks.
"The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!", The Doctor explains.
"Oh, Jamie.", Nancy looks at her son.
"Doctor, that bomb.", Juliet reminds him.
"Taken care of it.", He says simply.
"How?"
"Psychology."
The bomb hurtles towards them, and gets caught in Jack's light beam just before impact. Jack is sitting astride the bomb.
"Doctor!", He calls out.
"Good lad!"
"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."
"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"
"Juliet? Rose?"
"Yeah?", The girls look up at him.
"Goodbye.", He smiles.
Jack and the bomb vanish then reappear.
"By the way, love the tee-shirt. And the fit, never did say anything about it but funky.", He winks at them both before he vanished again.
The spaceship sucks up the light beam and flies off. The Doctor summons some nanogenes to himself.
"What are you doing?", Rose asks him.
"Software patch. Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves.", He smirks.
He throws the nanogenes to the waiting patients, who fall to the ground..
"Everybody lives, Juliet, Rose. Just this once, everybody lives!", The Doctor exclaims loudly.
The patients stand up again, back to normal.
"Doctor Constantine. Who never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor. The world doesn't want to get by without you just yet, and I don't blame it one bit. These are your patients. All better now.", The Doctor greets him.
"Yes, yes, so it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?", Doctor Constantine replies.
"Yeah, well, you know, cutbacks. Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're probably going to find that they're cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it. Okay?"
The Doctor leaves them and an old woman hobbles up.
"Doctor Constantine."
"Mrs Harcourt. How much better you're looking.", Doctor Constantine smiles at the woman.
"My leg's grown back. When I come to the hospital, I had one leg.", The woman smiles brightly.
"Well, there is a war on. Is it possible you miscounted?", Doctor Constantine jokes.
"Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don't forget the welfare state! Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?", The Doctor says.
"Usually the first in line.", Rose mutters causing her and Juliet to both start laughing.
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"The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off, because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!", The Doctor grins proudly.
"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas."
"Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve?"
"What?"
"And everybody lives, Rose! Everybody lives! I need more days like this.", The Doctor sighs happily.
"Doctor."
"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire."
"What about Jack? Why'd he say goodbye?", Juliet asks.
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"Okay, computer, how long can we keep the bomb in stasis?", Jack sighs.
"Stasis decaying at ninety percent cycle. Detonation in three minutes.", The computerized voice speaks to him.
"Can we jettison it?", He asks.
"Any attempt to jettison the device will precipitate detonation. One hundred percent probability.", The computer is only giving him bad news.
"We could stick it in an escape pod."
"There is no escape pod on board."
"I see the flaw in that. I'll get in the escape pod."
"There is no escape pod on board."
"Did you check everywhere?", Jack asks.
"Affirmative."
"Under the sink?"
"Affirmative."
"Okay. Out of one hundred, exactly how dead am I?", Jack closes his eyes as the computer somewhat seals his fate.
"Termination of Captain Jack Harkness in under two minutes. One hundred percent probability."
"Lovely. Thanks. Good to know the numbers."
"You're welcome."
"Okay then. Think we'd better initiate emergency protocol four one seven."
"Affirmative."
A martini appears. Jack drinks it.
"Oo, a little too much vermouth. See if I come here again. Funny thing. Last time I was sentenced to death, I ordered four hyper-vodkas for my breakfast. All a bit of a blur after that. Woke up in bed with both my executioners. Mmm, lovely couple. They stayed in touch. Can't say that about most executioners. Anyway. Thanks for everything, computer. It's been great.", He says.
Moonlight Serenade plays. Jack looks down the spaceship and through the open doors of the Tardis, where the Doctor and Juliet are dancing, while Rose watches with a big smile on her face.
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"Well, hurry up then!", Rose chuckles.
Jack runs in.
"Okay. And right and turn. Okay, okay, try and spin me again, but this time don't get my arm up my back. No extra points for a half-nelson.", Juliet is trying to teach The Doctor to dance properly.
"I'm sure I used to know this stuff. Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draught.", The Doctor says to Jack.
Jack shuts the door and the Doctor starts up the engine.
"Welcome to the Tardis."
"Much bigger on the inside.", Jack says simply.
"You'd better be.", The Doctor scoffs.
"I think what the Doctor's trying to say is you may cut in.", Rose smiles at Jack.
"Juliet! I've just remembered!", The Doctor exclaims.
"What?"
The music changes from waltz to swing - Glenn Miller's In The Mood.
"I can dance! I can dance!", He grins like a madman with a box.
"Actually, Doctor, I thought Jack might like this dance.", Juliet says.
"I'm sure he would, Juliet. I'm absolutely certain. But who with?", The Doctor looks to Jack.
Juliet dances with the Doctor while Jack dances with Rose. This style he can do, and Juliet loves it when he dips her. Rose is the same way with Jack.
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Author's Note: This episode is finished! We have three more episodes and one of those is a two parter, so stay tuned. Sadly, our time with 9 is coming to an end. But we have 10 to look forward too, and so much more!
Hope you don't hate me for that last bit, anyways, as always I hope you enjoyed it!