The Doctor disappeared into the floor grate of the TARDIS, and I crouched down beside the opening, glancing down at him.
"I have a bad feeling about this." I said, looking around the TARDIS. He stood up, poking his head out of the grate.
"I know," He agreed, "So do I. Its like..."
"That storm you mentioned?" I asked, sitting on the floor and dangling my feet into the hatch, "I feel it too...Do you think this is it? That something has gone wrong, universally and we're only just now catching on?"
"Its hard to say," He said, folding his arm over my legs, "It could be a typical, alien disturbance or...it could be something greater. Either way, we have to look into it."
I nodded, averting my eyes to my lap.
"Its going to be alright, you know," He said, "With both of us here, looking into this I have to say I like our odds."
"I know, its just..." I sighed. "I trust my gut, Doctor. Its gotten me this far, and right now its telling me that this is going to be really bad-"
"According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds," Rose said, strolling into the TARDIS. The Doctor immediately disappeared into the hatch again, and I stood up, trying to appear as unphased as possible, "Now don't tell me you two are gonna sit back and do nothing."
The Doctor popped out of the hatch again, now wearing a backpack device and holding a scanner.
"Who you gonna call!?" He exclaimed, jumping out of the hole.
"Ghostbusters!" Rose laughed, leaning a hand against the console.
"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" He did a little dance, leaving the TARDIS and prompting Rose to follow him, laughing hysterically the whole way.
I sighed, trying to push down my overwhelming concern before following them out of the TARDIS.
~~~
I crouched down, positioning one of the positional temporalstasis cones on the ground of the public park while the Doctor rushed outside armed with the other one.
"When's the next shift?" He asked Jackie.
"Quarter to," She answered, "But don't go causing trouble. What does this lot do?"
"Triangulates their point of origin." The Doctor replied.
"I don't suppose its the Gelth?" Rose asked as the Doctor picked up one of the cones, flipping it over to look at the bottom.
"Nah," He said, "They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."
I reached into my bag, grabbing my brand new sonic and scanning one of the wire inputs. I glanced up at the Doctor, who was watching me do this, smiling proudly at the sight. I smiled back.
"You're always doing this," Jackie said, "Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real? Just think of it though. All the people we've lost, our families coming back home. Don't you think its beautiful?"
"I think its horrific," The Doctor told her, "Rose, give us a hand!"
The Doctor began unspooling the coil of wire back into the TARDIS, and Rose chased after him. I stepped up beside Jackie.
"Its a beautiful thought, Jackie," I told her, "And I wish that could be the case, I really do but...its not. I promise, its not, and if its not, then that means something dangerous is going on, and we have to look into it."
"And what if you're wrong?" She asked sadly. I smiled.
"Then I will gladly accept that option," I told her, "And I promise, the Doctor will too."
She nodded, allowing me to wrap my arms around her and lead her into the TARDIS, where the Doctor and Rose were standing at the console.
"Soon as the cones activate, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop," He pulled his sonic out of his coat, holding it out to her, "Setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop."
"15B, eight seconds." She repeated.
"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left, Mary can help you with that, now what've we got, two minutes to go?"
Jackie checked her watch to confirm this.
~~~
"What's the line doing!?" The Doctor called from outside.
"Its alright, its holding!" Rose reported. I stood over her shoulder, monitoring the screen and keeping a hand on the deep scan settings in case I needed to activate them.
"You even look like him." Jackie said, her arms crossed as she leaned back against one of the pillars. "Like them."
"How do you mean?" Rose asked, her eyes on the screen.
"You've changed so much."
"For the better."
"I suppose."
"Mum, I used to work in a shop." Rose told her, turning around to face her while I took her place in front of the monitor.
"I've worked in shops, what's wrong with that?"
"No, I didn't mean that..."
"I know what you meant," Jackie said, "What happens when I'm gone?"
"Don't talk like that."
"No, but really. When I'm dead and buried, you won't have any reason to come back home," She continued, "What happens then?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think you'll ever settle down?"
"The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling."
I bit my lip, trying to focus on the task at hand, pretending like I wasn't hearing every painful word of this conversation.
"And you'll keep on changing," Jackie pointed out, "and in 40 years' time, 50 they'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human."
"Mum!" Rose scolded, glancing back at me.
"Its fine, Rose, don't worry about it." I said, adjusting the monitor in my hands.
"Oh, Mary, I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant, Jackie," I told her, "You're her mum, you worry about her. That's your job. I'm not offended."
It wasn't entirely true though...because I had a feeling that what she'd been saying was true. Was this life really sustainable for someone like Rose? For a human, who only has so many years in their lifetime? I mean, look what happened to Sarah Jane, she spent her entire life waiting for the Doctor. She's only just now really giving herself a chance to live her own life, and she's well into her old age. Is that what the Doctor is turning Rose into? What we are turning her into? And if so...
Are we doing right by her?
"Here we go!" The Doctor reported.
"Delta one six!" I called out the door.
"Come on then, you beauty!" I heard him exclaim. I could hear the crackling sound of electricity from outside, so I tapped into the TADIS sensor cameras, giving us a clear view of what was happening. Rose and Jackie crowded around me as we spotted the Doctor, his back to us. The PT cones were creating a cone of their own, made up of electricity and standing right in the center, trapped, was one of the ghosts.
The Doctor put on a pair of, what seemed to be 3D glasses, and then reached down, adjusting the triangulation scanner range in an attempt to figure out exactly where the ghosts were entering from.
"Look at that," He said, "Don't like that much, do you? Who are you, where are you coming from.
The ghost began wiggling and jerking, before attempting a swipe at the Doctor, prompting me to put a hand over my mouth.
"Whoa! That's more like it!"
The ghost and the cone slowly phased out and the Doctor grabbed the cones, running back into the TARDIS and shutting the door behind him.
I instantly began typing, formatting the data into coordinates as the Doctor put down the equipment and ripped off his coat, tossing it over the railing.
"I said so, those ghosts are being forced into existence from one specific point, and I can track down the source!" He said, coming over to stand beside me. "Mary?"
"Good to go." I reported.
"Allons-y!" He flipped off the brake and the TARDIS shook off with a violent shake, knocking the Doctor, Rose and I into a pile on the jump seat.
The Doctor and I climbed to our feet again as quickly as possible, running around the console to continue flying it.
"I like that, allons-y, I should say allons-y more often. Allons-y! Look sharp Rose Tyler, Allons-y!" He quipped, "And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso. 'Cause then I could say 'Allons-y, Alonso" every time! You're staring at me."
I looked up as he came to a stop in front of Rose.
"My mum's still on board." She pointed out. The Doctor looked over her shoulder, where Jackie was sitting on the ground in the upper level deck.
"If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you." She told him.
"You mean...us?" The Doctor asked, gesturing between us.
"Nope, just you," She said, "I like her."
The Doctor looked at me and I smirked, flipping the brake once again as the TARDIS landed.
"Come on, let's get it! Covered, sir!"
I furrowed my eyebrows at the sound of voices, and the Doctor and I ran over to the monitor to see that the TARDIS was now surrounded with uniformed men with guns, all pointed right at us.
"Ooh, well, there goes the advantage of surprise." The Doctor commented as Jackie climbed down to join us. "Still, cut to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie."
He grabbed my elbow, pulling me towards the door.
"I'm not looking after my mum!' Rose exclaimed, following after us.
"Well, you brought her!"
"I was kidnapped!" Jackie protested as Rose ran around in front of us, pressing her back against the door.
"Doctor, they've got guns." She said softly.
"And I haven't, which makes me the better person, don't you think?" He asked, grabbing her waist and pulling her out of the doorway.
"Maybe she should go, and I should say," I suggested, causing them both to look at me, "In case something happens. We don't want another Sanctuary Base situation, with someone getting trapped in a ship they can't fly."
"Right then...let me go out first, read the room," He said, "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine."
I rolled my eyes as he stepped out, closing the door most of the way behind him. Rose and Jackie crowded around to look through the crack and I walked over to the monitor, pulling up the cameras again.
"Oh, how Marvelous!' I furrowed my eyebrows as a blonde woman in a black skirt-suit ran through the soldiers, applauding the Doctor, who had his hands up. "Oh, very good. Superb, happy day! "
She looked at the men and they all began clapping too, causing me to shake my head.
"Um, thanks," The Doctor said, putting his hands down, "Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor."
"Oh, I should say. Hooray!"
They all started applauding again and I reached up, pulling my ribbon out of my hair, and pulling it into a ponytail.
"What in the fresh hell?" I muttered.
"You've heard of me, then?" The Doctor asked.
"Well, of course we have," She replied, "And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor and the TARDIS." They began clapping again.
"Wait..." I narrowed my eyes, zooming the camera in on a crate that was positioned behind the soldiers. It had a sort of grid logo on it, in the shape of a 'T', and beside it was the word...
Torchwood.
The Doctor waved a hand over his neck, cutting them off.
"And...and...and you are?" He asked.
"Oh, plenty of time for that." The woman replied. "But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's the pattern, isn't it, right? There's no point in hiding anything. Not from us. So where is she?"
"Yes, sorry, good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." The Doctor opened the door,, and I looked up as he reached inside and grabbed Jackie, pulling her out with him. I raised my eyebrows, and Rose looked up at me with a shrug. "But here she is, Rose Tyler! Hmm, she's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins, lot of that."
He moved his hand like a mouth, earning a dirty look from Jackie.
"And just last week, she stared into the heart of the time vortex and aged 57 years, but she'll do."
"I'm 40!" Jackie protested.
"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in, do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good. I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad. Anyway, lead on! Allons-y! But not too fast, her ankle's going."
"I'll show you where my ankle's going!"
Rose ran away from the door and I rushed over to the Doctor's coat, pulling the psychic paper out of it, along with mine and the Doctor's sonic screwdrivers.
"What do we do?" Rose asked.
"Stay put for now," I said, rushing back to the monitor, "They'll want to put the TARDIS somewhere safe, if they know what it is, and I have a feeling they'll take it exactly where we want to go. hang onto this, you might need it."
I handed her the Doctor's sonic.