Raelle watched, leaning against the doorframe, the Doctor asleep in bed, in blue pin striped pyjamas and a navy dressing gown. Rose sat next to him, worryingly peering down on him to make sure he doesn't suddenly drop dead.
"Here we go." Her mum entered the room, carrying a stethoscope. "Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to hospital."
"We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race. No! Shush!" Rose snapped, using the stethoscope to check his heart. "Both Working"
"What do you mean, both?" Raelle queried.
"Well, he's got two hearts."
"Oh, don't be stupid." Their mum patronised.
"Mum, he's an alien who can time travel across space. Wouldn't be the biggest surprise if he had 2 hearts, would it?" Raelle exhaled, criticising their mum.Rose looked at her younger sister gratefully, a small smile on her face.
"Anything else he's got two of?"
"Leave him alone" Rose huffed, storming out of the room towards the kitchen, Jackie following en suit. Raelle watched the man, peacefully sleeping, wondering what caused him to collapse. Rose had explained briefly he had changed, bright yellow energy engulfing him, emerging a completely different face. Raelle felt sorry for her sister, she truly did, she had grown so attached to the 'previous' doctor and was having a hard time adjusting. Their mum's nagging definitely didn't help. She left, listening in on her mum and Rose's bickering, collapsing down on the sofa.
"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose asked, walking into the living room to sit beside her sister. Harriet Jones was giving a press conference on TV, about a space project commencing. "Why's she on the telly?"
"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Rose has met her." Jackie babbled, admiring the TV.
"Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones." Rose smiled, fondly remembering their run in with the Slitheen.
"It always amazes me what you manage to get up to" Raelle admired her sister, snuggling into her side, all 3 watching the TV.
REPORTER: 'Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?'
HARRIET: 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.
LLEWELLYN: This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle.
The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make it's final descent. Photographs of the Martian Landscape should be received by midnight tonight.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
Rose and Mickey had left for town for christmas shopping, leaving Raelle to peacefully sleep on the sofa. After a day like today, a nap wasn't too much to ask for. Apparently, it was.
Rose and Mickey burst into the flat, panicked looks on their faces. Raelle peeked her eyes open to watch them rush into the living room and decided their problem can wait; her nap took priority.
"Get off the phone" Rose snapped.
"It's only Bev. She says hello." Jackie replied, not catching onto the panicked tone in her daughter's voice.
Rose snatched the phone out of her mum's hand. "Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait. Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"
"My mate Stan, he'll put us up." Mickey replied eagerly.
"That's only two streets away." Rose turned to her mum. "What about Mo? Where's she living now?"
"I don't know. Peak District"
"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then."
Raelle had had enough. With her eyes still closed, from the sofa, the younger sister snapped "No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere!"
She expected her sister to argue back, but an eery silence took course. She huffed and open her eyes to see Rose looking at the Christmas tree in the corner, an alarmed look in her eye. That's odd. The tree wasn't there before Raelle went to sleep.
"Mum. Where'd you get that tree?" Raelle asked.
"That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?" Rose interrogated her mum.
"I thought it was you." Jackie responded to Rose.
"How can it be me?"
"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!"
"No, that wasn't me or Mickey" Rose answered, the panic look getting worse by the second.
"Then who was it ?" Raelle questioned, starting to feel unsettled by this.
As if on cue, the tree lights up by itself and starts to play Jingle Bells. What on earth is this tree?
"Oh, you're kidding me" Rose exclaimed.
The Tree starts to rotate in different directions, creating a strong force of wind, heading towards the group.
"Get out! Go! Now!" Mickey yelled, grabbing a chair to fight the tree. Rose yanks Raelle from the sofa towards the door. Jackie runs to the door, frantically trying to open it.
"We've got to save the Doctor." Rose yelled.
"What're you doing? We've got to go!" Jackie exclaimed.
"We can't just leave him." Raelle defended.
Raelle and Rose dart into the bedroom to try and save the Doctor, with their mum shouting at them to leave him. Frantically, the pair try to lift him up, not working at all. Mickey screams at Jackie to get into the bedroom, pulling a wardrobe across the closed door.
"Doctor, wake up!" Rose pleads.
Raelle can't help but think this is not the christmas she had in mind.
Rose scrambles in the dressing gown the Doctor is wearing and emerges a silver device, placing it in his hand. Rose looks at the Doctor to her sister, with concern laced across her face. She thinks they're going to die. At that moment, the tree smashed through the door, the group taking cover as parts of the door and wardrobe fly towards them.
"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie screams as the tree violently gets closer to them. Raelle looks around the room to find her mum and Mickey on the floor, bracing from the tree. She looks to Rose to see she is covering beside the edge of the bed, holding onto the Doctor's hand for dear life. The Doctor wasn't waking up, they were going to die.
Raelle jerked over to the Doctor, whispering in his ear "Help me." Within an instance, the Doctor sits up, aiming his device at the tree, causing it to explode. Raelle sits back in absolute shock of what has just happened.
"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" The Doctor queries, racing out of bed and out of the flat. The group all spring into action, following after him, still in a somewhat dazed state. The Doctor leads the trio out, peering over the balcony. Down on the ground, three Santa's gaze up, one holding a radio controller. Creepy looking santas.
"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked the Doctor. Rose shushed Mickey. The Doctor proceeded to aim the screwdriver at them and the Santa's back away, beaming away into the sky.
"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off." Mickey exclaimed, laughing. Raelle couldn't help but feel this was definitely not the end of this.
"Pilot fish." The Doctor stated, looking at the group.
"What?" Rose questioned, confused.
"They were just pilot fish." The Doctor explained. Suddenly, the Doctor howls in pain, keeling over. Raelle down on the Doctor, concerned.
"Whats wrong" She asked.
"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." The Doctor then exhales golden energy from his mouth. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of ow!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Jackie exclaimed.
"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"
"What do you need?" Jackie asked frantically.
"I need-"
"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? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"
"I need you to shut up." Raelle couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Jackie replied, somewhat offended.
"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then. Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" He asked distracted.
"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry." Jackie replied.
"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"
"He gets hungry."
"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"
"Sometimes."
"Argh! Brain collapsing. The pilot fish." He turned towards the 2 girls. He clutched both of their hands. "The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming."
The Doctor then collapsed again. Rose lept forward, concerned, repeating his name in the hopes he would wake up. Raelle's eyes were transfixed on the Doctor's limp body. When he held her hand, the same feeling from before had occurred. The wave of energy. Maybe she was imagining it. It was probably because of his 'regeneration' energy, an overload that seem to overlap into her. Nothing important surely?
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
Rose and Raelle sat at the Doctor's bedside, Rose mopping his brow with a flannel, while Raelle comforted the man by holding his hand. Even though they never really had met, she couldn't help but gravitate towards him. There was something about him that provided her with a sense of comfort.
"It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?" Jackie asked, entering the room. Her heart did break slightly at the look of devastation on Rose's face.
"He's worse. Just one heart beating." Rose replied, worried for the Doctor.
REPORTER ON TV: Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes.
LLEWELLYN ON TV: Yes, we are. We're, we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success.
But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?
LLEWELLYN ON TV: She is fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks.
"Rose, Rae, have a look at this" Mickey grabbed their attention, gathering around his laptop. "Here we go, pilot fish. Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."
"Do you mean like sharks?" Raelle asked, looking at the screen intently.
"Great big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that."
"Something is coming. How close?" Rose queried worryingly.
"There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their daddy."
"Funny sort of rocks." Jackie piped up from the sofa, staring at the TV.
"That's not rocks" Rose replied.
TV: The first photographs. This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning.
The group creeped closer and closer to the TV. Raelle peered at the TV with absolute interest - are they..? The 'rocks' on TV screamed, scaring everyone in the flat. Aliens of course.
"Rose. 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 what, though?"
"The Doctor, surely?" Raelle responded. Having an alien cooped up fast asleep in the bedroom seemed like a logical explanation for aliens to invade the planet.
"I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us." Mickey answered, a clearer picture of the four aliens appearing on his computer screen." Have you seen them before?"
"No." Rose replied flatly. This is going to be a long day. "I don't understand what they're saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am."
"So, why isn't it doing it now?". Raelle asked.
" I don't know. Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's, he's broken." Rose replied. Raelle pulled her older sister into a side hug, comforting her.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
Raelle sat by the Doctor, massaging his hand, in an attempt to wake him up. She always like to comfort people, this was no different, but his touch bought a sense of comfort and familiarity after the events of today.
"What do you need? What is it you need? If only you could tell me"
"The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us." Rose said, leaning against the door, making Raelle jump.
"You really miss him, don't you?" Raelle asked turning towards Rose, her heart breaking for the girl.
"Oh Rae." Rose pulls her sister into a hug, letting go of the strong mask she's had on since they've been back. Raelle embraces her sister, stroking her hair in attempts to comfort her.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
The family had assembled on the sofas in the living room, watching the world panic over the aliens as people were standing on rooftop edges against their will. Raelle sighs, squeezing Rose's hand, Christmas couldn't get any worse
HARRIET ON TV : Ladies and gentlemen, 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 knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God help us.
Rose bursts into tears. Her young sister hugging her side.
"He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left me, mum. He's left me Rae." Rose sobbed.
"I'm so sorry Rose. So, So Sorry" Raelle comforted her sister. Jackie and Mickey watched the sister, sad looks stricken upon their faces.
Rose jumps up from the sofa. "No, No, we cant sit around and do nothing. Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We're going." She scrambled around the flat, determined to do something.
"We need to get to the Tardis. It's the only safe place on Earth."
"What're we going to do in there?" Jackie queried.
"Hide." Rose simply stated as if it was obvious.
"Is that it?" Jackie argued. Rose is starting to lose her mind Raelle thought.
"Mum, look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move. Oh, lift him up." Rose ran into the bedroom in an attempt to get the Doctor out of the flat.
With the help of Rose, Raelle and Mickey, they managed to carry the Doctor out into the courtyard while their mum struggled with half a dozen carrier bags.
"Mum, will you just leave that stuff and give us a hand?" Raelle shouted at her mum- now was really not the time.
"It's food! You said we need food."
"Just leave it!" Raelle argued back, as they entered the TARDIS.
Raelle had seen the TARDIS before, when the Doctor stranded Rose in Earth, but every time she entered
the TARDIS, she couldn't help a feeling of glee. The effects never wore off.
"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey grunted, assembling the Doctor on the floor.
"Not anymore, no." Rose sighed.
Not since she looked into the time vortex to save the doctor. 59 days"It's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the universe rips in half."
"So, what do we do? Just sit here?" Mickey exclaimed.
"That's as good as it gets." Rose replied glumly.
"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." Jackie piped up, carrying a flask.
"Mmm, the solution to everything." Raelle whole heartedly agreed.
Mickey watched as Jacki left the TARDIS to collect the rest of the bags. "Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British. How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"
"I don't know. It sort of tunes itself." Rose explained, perched on the arm of the jump seat, next to her sister, who listened in. The scanner started beeping at that moment, an odd pattern appearing on the scanner.
"Maybe it's a distress signal." Raelle tried to depict it.
"A fat lot of good that's going to do." Rose sarcastically responded, bumping her sister's shoulder.
"Are you going to be a misery all the time?" Raelle argued back.
"Yes." Rose replied, looking at her sister, a small smile on her face. Raelle smiled back up at her, taking her hand and squeezing it.
"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking." Mickey laughed.
"Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there." Raelle jumped out of the seat, heading towards the door.
"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Rose laughed after her.
"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Raelle joked back, looking over her shoulder to playfully glare at her sister.
"I'm not that brave, especially as you're the favourite now." Her sister laughed, not wanting to get on the bad side of her mum. Mickey and Rose glance at each other, sharing the same sentiment.
"Oh I don't know, just so glad you aren't in denial anymore- I've always been the favourite" Raelle chuckled, opening the doors as she left. As she left the TARDIS, a figure grabs her, pulling her out as she screamed in shock.
Rose and Mickey both look at each other, worried for the smaller girl, racing down to the doors, Mickey knocking over the flask of tea, nearby the doctor.
"Raelle!" Rose shouts.
Raelle can't help but think they are totally and utterly screwed as she looks up to thousands of aliens laughing at her. Christmas couldn't get any better.
Word Count- 3084