Gabriella, Rose, and 'Mickey' were sitting at a table in the pizzeria, looking over their menus. Rose was trying to figure out what to do now that her job had been blown up. "Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen... that's it, then? Dishing out chips," she murmurs. "I could do A Levels..." she tilts her head thoughtfully. "I don't know," she shakes her head. "It's all Jimmy Stone's fault; I only left school because of him and look where he ended up..." she sighs. "What do you think?" she looks between Gabriella and Mickey.
Gabriella was barely listening, staring at the menu but not really seeing what was on it. She didn't understand why she was so disappointed with the information - or lack thereof - that Clive had given them. She had thought that he would really know about the Doctor or at least have an idea of how to find him, but he turned out to be an obsessive conspiracy theorist. What Gabriella really wanted to know, though, was why she felt this insistent need to see the Doctor again. It was a bit unnerving if she were being honest with herself.
'Mickey' on the other hand, was giving Rose his full attention, his mouth stretched in an unnatural-looking grin, "so, where did you meet this Doctor?" he asks.
The name gets Gabriella's attention and she rolls her eyes, "none of your business," she snaps, setting the menu down and folding her arms.
"Because I reckon it all started back at the shop, am I right?" 'Mickey' leans forward, ignoring Gabriella's comment. "Is he something to do with that?"
"No..." Rose mutters, biting her lip.
"Come on," 'Mickey' presses.
Rose sighs, "... sort of..."
"What was he doing there?"
"How about you drop it?" Gabriella huffs, leaning her elbows on the table and putting her chin in her hands. "He's gone, alright?" she scrunches her face up when the thought makes her stomach twist unpleasantly.
Rose frowns at her friend's mood, wondering what it is about the Doctor that's caused it. She reaches over, placing her hand on Gabriella's arm, "... he did say that you'd see him again," she tries to console her.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Gabriella shakes her head.
"But you can rely on me, Gabriella!" 'Mickey' cuts in, making both girls frown. "Gabs- Gabi- Ella," he shoots off in quick-succession, his voice glitching out. "You can tell me anything! Tell me about the Doctor and what's he's planning and I can help you, Gabs, because that's all I really want to do, Ella- Gabi- Gabriella-"
"What're you doing that for?" Rose asks her boyfriend worriedly.
"Yeah, what's wrong with you, Mick?" Gabriella frowns, looking him over with equal concern.
At that moment, a waiter approaches the table and holds out a bottle to 'Mickey', "your champagne," he offers.
The voice makes Gabriella's heart pick up and she looks over to see the Doctor standing there. The Time Lord smirks, putting a finger to his lips so she doesn't let on that he's there. Gabriella bites her bottom lip, messing with the chain on her jeans under the table nervously.
'Mickey', doesn't notice anything, "we didn't order any champagne," he waves off, grabbing Rose's hand. "Where's the Doctor?"
The Doctor shrugs, moving over to Rose, "ma'am, your champagne," he offers to her instead.
"It's not ours..." Rose waves off, not taking her eyes off her boyfriend. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"
"I need to find out how much you know," 'Mickey's' hold on Rose's hand tightens. "So where is he?"
"Hm... Gabriella, would you like the champagne?" the Doctor asks, waving the bottle with a wide grin.
"Very much, thanks," she nods, scooting away from 'Mickey'.
The Auton looks up and smirks when he finally sees the Doctor, "ah, gotcha!"
"Don't mind me," the Doctor smiles, shaking the bottle. "I'm just toating good friends! On the house!" he pops the cork.
The cork flies straight into the Auton's forehead - literally straight into it as the plastic stretches to absorb it. Gabriella and Rose watch in horror and disgust while the Auton chews for a moment and then spits the cork out. 'Mickey' rolls his eyes, "anyway," he lifts his hands and they both turn into paddles that he uses to smash the table.
Gabriella and Rose both scream, the former grabbing the latter's hand and pulling her up and away from the Auton. The customers all scream and start to run around in a panic, but the Doctor jumps into action. He moves forward, grabbing 'Mickey' in a choke-hold and he rips the Auton's head off. The Doctor looks down at the head in his hands and the eyes open, "don't think that's gonna stop me," the Auton warns.
Rose stares at the disembodied head of her boyfriend while Gabriella rushes over to a fire bell and pulls it. The fire alarm starts to go off and she shouts to the customers, "Everyone out! Out now!"
The frightened crowd scrambles to get out of the restaurant and the Doctor looks around at all the chaos, not being able to help a wide, almost excited grin from forming. Gabriella's shouts for everyone to run snaps him out of his little moment and he tucks the Auton head under his arm, grabs her hand, and runs.
"Rosa!" Gabriella calls to her friend as she's dragged through the kitchen and Rose is quick to follow after.
***
Outside in the alley behind the store, the trio hurries out the back door. The Doctor lets go of Gabriella's hand to pull his sonic out and lock the door so that they have time to get away. Gabriella stays beside the Doctor while Rose goes over to a pair of padlocked gates, "open the gate!" she pulls on them frantically. "Use that tube thing! Come on!"
"What? This?" the Doctor holds it up. "This is a sonic screwdriver," he corrects calmly, slipping it back into his pocket.
"Use it!" Rose screams, continuing to pull on the gates.
"Nah," the Doctor shakes his head, grabbing Gabriella's hand again. "Tell ya what, let's go in here," he smiles, pulling the older blonde over to the TARDIS.
The blue box hums in anticipation of the girl seeing her for the first time. The Doctor smiles as he unlocks the door, feeling his machine's excitement and it amplifies his own. He was a bit nervous as well for Gabriella's reaction to the TARDIS, but he couldn't wait to see her face when she saw the console room. Maybe she'd even say the 'it's bigger on the inside' phrase he loves to hear so much.
"Erm... that's gonna be a pretty tight squeeze," Gabriella points out, not seeing how they could all fit in such a small box.
The Doctor smirks, pushing the door open for her, "think so?"
Gabriella raises a skeptical eyebrow. She should not be getting in a small box with a stranger... even if he was good-looking and had saved her life twice now. Shrugging, she steps inside and her eyes widen as her breath hitches in her throat. It was impossible... it was gorgeous... it was... "it's- it's- it's-" she stammers, not being able to get her brain to function properly.
"Go on, you can say it," the Doctor smirks, walking up to the central console and beginning to hook the Auton head up to it.
"It's bigger... on the inside..." she breathes out.
The Doctor nor Gabriella pay attention to Rose screaming at them from outside while she continues to pull on the gates. Gabriella walks up the ramp, sliding her hand along the railing almost reverently. Warm air spreads around her as the TARDIS gives a few ecstatic trills.
"She's very thrilled to meet you," the Doctor explains to her curious glance around the room.
"She's magnificent," Gabriella whispers, making the TARDIS hum in a 'thank you'. "Oh... erm... you're welcome," she frowns, feeling a bit stupid for talking to a machine.
"Your accent's perfect," the Doctor compliments while he works on the Auton's head.
"That's because I'm Italian," Gabriella shrugs with a slight smirk, moving to look at all the different types of controls on the console. "Born in Rome and moved to Florence we I was three and lived there until I was eight, then we moved to Liverpool for my erm... my father's job..." she murmurs.
The Doctor notices the mood shift when she mentions her father and decides to pocket that for later. He wanted to know everything about her: what she likes, what makes her tick, how she grew up, her passions, her dreams.
The two of them are brought back to the situation when Rose screams, "Gabi!" and rushes into the box before stopping just a few feet in. Her heart beating in her chest, she runs back outside and does a quick run around the box, trying to wrap her head around what was going on.
Gabriella moves over to stand beside the Doctor, watching him work curiously.
A second later, Rose runs back in, "it's gonna follow us!" she shuts the door.
"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door and believe me, they've tried," the Doctor waves off, smirking a bit when he sees Gabriella's confused frown. "Now... shut up a minute," he orders the blonde teen and she leans against the railing, trembling in fear. "You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect," he starts to explain to Gabriella and she listens intently. "I can use it to trace it back to the original source," he grins.
"So... whoever's using that thought control you told us about? That's who you're trying to find?" Gabriella asks, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Exactly," the Doctor beams. "Right," he nods, turning to the silent blonde. "Where do you want to start?" he asks, knowing she'd have questions.
"Um... the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose mutters shakily, looking around.
The Doctor sighs, good enough, "yes," he nods.
"It's alien..."
"Yup," the Doctor nods again, putting his hands behind his back and glancing at the other blonde for her reaction.
Gabriella simply tilts her head curiously as she eyes the Time Lord, "... are you alien?"
"Yes," the Doctor nods once again. "Is that alright?" he asks hesitantly.
Guess Clive wasn't a nutter, after all, Gabriella thinks to herself. "Yeah, that's fine," she nods and the Doctor breathes out in relief; that was one thing down.
"It's called the TARDIS, this thing," the Doctor smiles, patting the console lovingly and it makes Gabriella's lips twitch up. "T-A-R-D-I-S: that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space," he explains.
"So it's a spaceship?" Gabriella tilts her head, smiling.
"And a time machine," the Doctor nods, smirking when he sees her eyes light up.
"No way," she breathes. "Ok, spaceship I can get behind, but time machine? That's too mad," she shakes her head.
Rose letting out a sob grabs the attention of the pair. Gabriella frowns before the Mickey-head catches her eye. "Oh, Rosa!" she gasps, running down the ramp to wrap her best friend up in a hug.
"That's ok... culture shock... happens to the best of us," the Doctor tries to assure her awkwardly.
Gabriella rolls her eyes at the oblivious Time Lord, consoling Rose as she cries into her neck. "No, she's crying because of Mickey... is he dead? Did they kill him?" she asks. "Shh, Rosa," she coos, stroking Rose's hair.
The Doctor's eyes widen a bit, "oh... didn't think of that," he admits.
Rose lets out a strangled noise, pulling away from Gabriella to glare at the Doctor, "he's my boyfriend! You pulled his head off! They copied him and you didn't even think?" she snarls. "... and now you're just going to let him melt!?" she gestures to the console.
"... melt?" the Doctor frowns, turning and his eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees the Auton head bubbling. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he cries, rushing around the console to try and salvage the signal.
The TARDIS starts to jolt, forcing Gabriella and Rose to grab onto the railing to stay upright. "What're you doing?" Gabriella calls.
"Reviving the signal, it's fading! Wait... I've got it..." he moves to the monitor and his face drops. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he shouts, running around the console even faster now. "Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!" he flips a lever, making the TARDIS land and he runs out the door without saying a word.
"You can't go out there, it's not safe!" Rose shouts, groaning when Gabriella follows the Doctor.
***
Outside, they were by the Thames embankment on the opposite side of the London Eye. The Doctor was running a hand over his buzzed hair, "I lost the signal... I got so close," he sighs miserably.
"We've moved!" Rose points out the obvious. "Does it fly?"
"Disappears there, reappears here; you wouldn't understand," the Doctor shakes his head.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Gabriella asks curiously.
Before the Doctor can reply, Rose cuts in, "but if we're somewhere else... what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose," she frowns, worried about the people that could be hurt by it.
The Doctor sighs in annoyance, "it melted with the head," he explains quickly. "Are you going to witter on all night?"
"Cut her some slack," Gabriella narrows her eyes, making the Doctor look at her with slightly wide eyes. "The two of us just got attacked by a plastic version of Mickey and for all we know, he could be dead!"
"Who?"
"Rosa's boyfriend... the original of the plastic bloke you ripped the head off of," Gabriella huffs in annoyance. "And you just went and forgot him!" she glares, turning away from the Doctor and his hearts tighten... fantastic job, not even a day in and you've already pissed her off.
"You were right, you are alien," Rose glares as well, folding her arms as she tries to keep her tears at bay.
The Doctor takes a breath, trying to calm down, "look... if I did forget some kid called 'Mickey'-"
"Yeah, he's not a kid," Rose cuts in and the Doctor snaps.
"-it's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright!?"
"Alright!" Rose shouts incredulously.
"Yes! It is!"
"Ok..." Gabriella trails off as she eyes the two, who were acting more immature than her four-year-old. "First off: don't call Humans stupid apes," she narrows her eyes at the Doctor and he murmurs a quiet and sheepish apology. "Second: is there... is there any possibility that Mickey could still be alive?" she asks nervously.
"They could've kept him alive to maintain the copy... but there's no guarantee," the Doctor replies, trying not to give the girls false hope.
"See, Rosa?" Gabriella turns to the teen and puts her hands on her shoulders. "Mickey could still be alive... so let's figure this out, ok?" she rubs her shoulders, giving her a small smile.
Rose takes a deep breath, "ok," she nods, reaching up to squeeze Gabriella's hands. "So, if you are an alien..." she trails off, eyeing the Doctor. "Then how comes you sound like you're from the North?" she asks curiously, trying to distract her mind from her possible dead boyfriend.
"Lot's of planets have a North," the Doctor answers indignantly, folding his arms.
"Right," Gabriella bites her lip to keep from laughing.
"What's a police public call box?"
"It's a telephone box from the 1950s," the Doctor smiles, moving over to pat the side of the TARDIS fondly. "It's a disguise," he explains.
"Ok," Rose nods, moving over to him with Gabriella. "This living plastic... what's it got against us?"
"Nothing, it loves you," the Doctor shrugs.
"Then why is it trying to kill us?" Gabriella raises an eyebrow, leaning against the TARDIS next to the Doctor.
"You've got such a good planet," he leans on the TARDIS, turning to face her and she nearly gets lost in the depth of his eyes. "Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... perfect, just what the Nestene Consciousness needs-"
"Is that what's controlling the living plastic?" Gabriella asks.
The Doctor hums an affirmation, "it's food stock was destroyed in the war... all it's protein plants rotted; so Earth... dinner!" he mimes eating, smiling when he gets a quiet snort out of the older blonde.
"Any way of stopping it?" Rose cuts in, making the two jump slightly.
The Doctor clears his throat, pulling a vial of blue liquid from his jacket, "anti-plastic," he holds it out for her to see.
Rose looks at it, "... anti-plastic..." she mutters disbelieving. This is what he plans to save the planet with?
"Anti-plastic!" the Doctor repeats with a grin, running his finger along the vial. "But first I've got to find it..." he murmurs, moving to pace around - searching. "How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"
"Hold on... hide what?" Gabriella frowns.
"The transmitter," the Doctor replies and turns to face her when her frown doesn't leave. "The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal," he explains.
"What's it look like?" Rose asks curiously, both girls wanting to help find it.
"Like a transmitter," the Doctor answers bluntly, making Gabriella mutter under breath in italian... and it was not a compliment. "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London," he rolls his eyes as he goes back to pacing. This girl has an attitude, he thinks to himself. "A huge circular metal structure... like a dish... like a wheel, close to where we're standing," he stops in front of the girls and Rose and Gabriella consider the Eye that was directly behind him. "Must be completely invisible," he sighs before catching the girls glancing at each other, trying not to smile. "What?" he frowns, looking behind him and seeing nothing. "What? What is it? What?" he looks behind him twice more before it finally clicks. "Oh..." he breathes, looking back at the girls. "Fantastic!" he beams.
***
The trio run across the bridge, the Doctor reaching out for Gabriella's hand as they run. They stop right in front of the Eye and the Doctor looks around, "think of it: plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come to life; the shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"
"The breast implants..." Rose murmurs with a smirk, making Gabriella snort loudly.
"Still, we've found the transmitter," the Doctor smiles, choosing to ignore the teen's comment. "The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath..."
Rose and Gabriella walk off to look around and Gabriella girns when she sees a manhole cover down below a short wall. "What about down here!?" she calls.
The Doctor and Rose run over to join her and the Doctor grins, "looks good to me!"
Gabriella, the Doctor, and Rose run down the small set of steps that lead down to the manhole. The Doctor opens it up and a deep red light shines and smoke billows out of the hole. The Doctor decides to go down the ladder first to be safe and Gabriella goes next. When she reaches the last few rungs of the ladder, she squeaks as she feels large hands grab hold of her waist.
"Careful," the Doctor warns softly, helping her down the rest of the ladder.
"Erm... grazie," Gabriella murmurs, messing with her jean's chain and ignoring her quickened heart rate and pink cheeks.
Rose startles them both by jumping off the third-to-last rung, "ready?" she eyes them.
As worried as she was about Mickey, she wasn't going to let that stop her from worrying about her best friend as well. Gabriella's had a lot of trouble with men in the past... not many stuck around after finding out there's a kid that comes with the twenty-one-year-old. Gabriella hadn't gone on so much as a first date in a year because of it and she didn't think she and Noemi needed anyone to get by, anyway. So Rose couldn't help but be concerned about the way Gabriella was looking at the Doctor... or the way he was looking at her back.
"Right..." the Doctor clears his throat, running a hand over his hair as his ears burn. "Let's try this way," he points to a metal door that he opens with his sonic.
The door leads to a huge chamber and the three of them go further down into it. Down below in a huge vat was what looks like molten lava. "The Nestene Consciousness, that's it inside the vat; a living, plastic creature," the Doctor points down to it.
"Well, then," Rose looks down at it, wrinkling her nose. "Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go," she folds her arms, making Gabriella stare at her in slight horror.
Seeing the look, the Doctor places a hand on her shoulder, "I'm not here to kill it," he shakes his head. "I've got give it a chance," he tells her firmly.
The Doctor leads them down a few more stairs and he leans on the railing to address the Nestene, "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract, according to convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation!" he announces and the Nestene makes a gurgling sound in reply. "Thank you," he nods, obviously able to understand the goo.
"Oh, my God!" Rose gasps suddenly, running down the steps as she spots her boyfriend. "Mickey! It's ok! It's alright!" she kneels down in front of him.
Gabriella follows quickly and the Doctor follows as well, though at a more leisurely pace. "Mick!" Gabriella kneels down beside Rose, bringing the scared young man into a hug. "Oh, you're stinking," she wrinkles her nose at the burnt plastic and sweat smell coming off him.
"That thing down there, the liquid, Rose, Gabs - it can talk!" Mickey shakes.
"Shh, it's alright, I've got you," Rose coos, helping him stand and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
The Doctor couldn't help but roll his eyes at the scene as he walks down to the platform directly above the Nestene. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" he makes sure and the Nestene gurgles. "Thank you," he nods, his hands behind his back. "If I might observe: you infiltrated this civilization by means of shunt technology... so may I suggest with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" he grins cheekily and the Nestene gurgles angrily. "Oh, don't give me that," he rolls his eyes. "It's an invasion! Plain and Simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" he scoffs and a head appears in the goo as the Nestene gurgles. "I AM TALKING!" he shouts and the Nestene quiets, making Gabriella raise her eyebrows, impressed. "This planet is just starting! These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk but they're capable of so much more! I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go!"
Gabriella's eyes widen when two Autons approach, "Doctor!" she shouts.
The Doctor looks a second too late and the Autons grab hold of him, one grabbing the vial of anti-plastic from his jacket pocket. "That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it!" the Doctor tries, but the Nestene wasn't having it as it roars. "I was not attacking you! I'm here to help! I swear I'm not-" he frowns at something the Nestene says. "What do you mean?"
Huge metal double-doors slide open to reveal the TARDIS and the Doctor's hearts drop, "oh... oh, no - honestly no! ... yes, that's my ship," he admits and something the Nestene roars makes his face pale. "That's not true! I should know, I was there! I fought in the war - it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" he shouts, his voice cracking as tears well up.
Tears prickle Gabriella's eyes at the raw emotion coming from the Doctor's voice and how broken his expression is. It hurts and her stomach knots up as some deep instinct tells her to console him. Scrunching her face up, she chooses to ignore that for now, "what's it doing!?" she calls down to the Doctor.
"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final base! It's starting the invasion!" he shouts. "Get out, Gabriella! Just leg it! Now!" he orders, not wanting her anywhere near the Nestene.
Gabriella shakes her head, pulling her mobile out of her batman drawstring bag. She dials Jackie's number and holds the phone up to her ear, "Jackie!?"
***
"Oh, hi, Gabi! I was just gonna phone!" Jackie calls happily as she walks down the pavement to Queen's Arcade. Noemi was bouncing beside her, holding onto her hand with her unicorn in her free one. "Is Rose with you? Tell her you can get compensation! I said so! I've got this document off the police for her!"
***
"Jackie, where are you and Emi?" Gabriella demands, ignoring the woman's rambling.
***
"We're in town! Girls night, remember?" she smiles, Noemi chanting 'girls night' happily.
***
"Go home! Just go home, right now! Take Noemi and get out of there!"
***
"Darling, you're breaking up! Look, we're gonna have a bit of late-night shopping! I'll see you later! Ta-ra!" Jackie hangs up the phone. "Now, come on, sweet girl," she smiles, tugging Noemi along.
"Can I get mamma a present, nonna?" Noemi looks up at Jackie with her 'power puppy-eyes'. "Ooo, a shirt!"
"Course, we'll get her something nice," Jackie grins. "How about a black one?"
"With skulls!" Noemi cheers, throwing her little fists in the air.
***
"Jackie!?" Gabriella screams. "Jackie!" she pulls the phone away, trying to dial again, but not getting through. "Rosa, try calling your mum," she turns to the blonde teen.
"Oh, God... she's got Emi..." Rose's eyes widen and she pulls out her own mobile. "She's not answering!" she groans.
All of a sudden, the whole chamber shakes as blue electric currents come from the Nestene and shoot up into the ceiling. "What's happening?" Gabriella shouts.
"It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!
"The end of the world..." Rose whimpers, her and Mickey holding onto each other.
"Get out, Gabriella! Just get out! Run!"
She looks to the stairs and part of the ceiling falls on them, "the stairs have gone!" she shouts.
"Come on!" Rose calls, running with Mickey to the TARDIS and Gabriella was quick to follow, but they find it locked. "I haven't got the key!" she hits the door.
"We're gonna die!" Mickey whimpers.
Gabriella pushes her fists against her eyes, listening to the chamber fall apart all around her. She has to get out... she has to get the Doctor and Rose and Mickey out... she has to get to Noemi. Taking a deep breath, she looks around and smiles when she sees a chain with an axe by it. Running over, she grabs hold of the axe, ignoring Rose and Mickey's shouts for her to come back. Weighing the axe in her hand, she draws it back and swings it down on the chain, "I got drunk at some stupid party and wound up pregnant at sixteen," she mutters under her breath as she brings the axe down again. "I had to run away from home cause my mum tried to force me into an abortion against my will," she brings it down again, tears prickling her eyes. "I've not talked to my parents in five years... but I'll tell you what I have," she brings it down yet again and the chain breaks. "Noemi, the best thing that's ever happened to me and there's no way in hell I'm leaving her to die," she wraps her hands around the chain, taking a deep breath. "I really hope this works..." she runs, jumping and screaming as she swings down to the Doctor.
The Doctor watches in slight awe as Gabriella kicks one of the Autons off him and into the Nestene. It gave him enough of a distraction to get a hold of the other one so he could throw it over his shoulder into the Nestene as well. The anti-plastic it was holding falls with it and the Nestene begins to turn blue as it writhes and screams in pain. Gabriella swings back to the Doctor, still screaming and he holds his arms out, "Gabriella!"
She swings right into his arms and she leans her head against his chest, breathing heavily, "that was terrifying..."
"That was fantastic," the Doctor beams, pulling away so he could take her hand. "Now we're in trouble," he nods down to the Nestene.
"Right..." Gabriella looks down at the Nestene, wincing at its pained screams.
***
Gabriella, the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey get into the TARDIS. Mickey stares around in shock at the bigger on the inside box and Rose wraps her arms around him, trying to calm him down. The Doctor rushes up to the console to get them away and Gabriella follows, her heart beating frantically, "can you take me to Queen's Arcade?" she asks.
The Doctor frowns, glancing at her while he pilots them off and his hearts tighten when he sees unshed tears in her eyes. "Of course," he smiles softly, confused by the request but not about to deny her anything.
***
The second they land in an alley just to the side of the shopping center, Gabriella runs out the doors, "Noemi!" she screams, running through the chaos; double-decker buses and cars crashed, small fires, shop dummies everywhere, and people crowding the street. "Noemi! Where are you!? Noemi!"
"Mamma!"
Gabriella turns on her heel and sees a flash of brunette space-buns and a tiny leather jacket. She lets out a relieved sob and the mother and daughter run to each other through the crowd. "Noemi!" Gabriella catches her in her arms when she jumps on her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Please, tell me you're ok!" she checks Noemi over frantically.
"The dummies came to life! They tried to hurt me and nonna!" Noemi cries, burying her face against Gabriella's neck and nearly ripping her unicorn with the grip she has on it.
"You're safe, mamma's got you," Gabriella breathes out, hugging Noemi close to her.
***
Across the street, Rose was reuniting with her own mother, "mum!" she cries, holding her close.
"Oh, Rose! You're alright... there were all of these things and they were shooting! I almost lost Emi- oh, God, Emi!"
"Gabi came with me... she's with Emi," Rose assures Jackie, having seen the two running toward each other.
***
At the opening of the alley, Mickey was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and staring at the TARDIS in shock and fear. The Doctor was leaning against the other wall, not paying any mind to the young man as he watches Gabriella in shock. She had a daughter - one who was maybe four or five by the looks of her. Looking down at the soul mark on his left wrist, he runs his fingers over it. It didn't matter to him that she had a child... but did he deserve that? He had hardly dared to believe that he deserved her after what he's done, but to deserve another chance at being a father... could he do that? Was that part of himself even still there?
Looking back up at the mother and child, he decides that it doesn't matter what he feels at all... it only matters what she feels and what her daughter needs. The Doctor would never force something like this on Gabriella in the first place, but maybe... maybe they could talk and she could give him a chance. Maybe they could be a family. A small smile pulls at his lips at that possibility. Steeling himself, he waves to catch Gabriella's attention. Once he does he motions for her to come back to the TARDIS. Gabriella was quick to run to the blue box as she wanted to thank the man for bringing her to Noemi.
Stepping into the alley, Gabriella completely bypasses the still trembling Mickey and walks over to the Doctor, who was now leaning against the TARDIS. "Nestene Consciousness? Easy," he smirks, clicking his fingers.
Gabriella bites her lip to keep from smiling, "you were useless in there... you'd be dead if it wasn't for me," she teases, shifting Noemi on her hip, who was eyeing the Time Lord curiously.
"Yes, I would," the Doctor admits, rubbing a hand over his hair. "Thank you," he smiles softly.
"Thank you as well," Gabriella chews on her lip, tears welling up. "I was so worried... I just- I just-"
"I get it," the Doctor cuts in gently, seeing the blonde struggling to find her words.
"Oh, right!" Gabriella smacks herself on the forehead. "Erm... this is my daughter, Noemi," she smiles down at her. "Noemi, would you like to meet mamma's new friend?"
Noemi narrows her eyes at the Doctor, "mamma says boys are icky," she holds her unicorn closer to her chest.
"Your mum's right about that," the Doctor smiles, glancing at Gabriella as she snorts loudly. "I'm not a boy, though..." he leans in to whisper. "I'm an alien," he smirks.
"Really?" Noemi's eyes widen. "Down, mamma! Down!" she squirms out of Gabriella's hold and jumps down. "I'm Noemi, call me 'Emi'!" she beams. "I'm four!" she holds up four fingers proudly.
"Hi, Emi, my name's the Doctor," he kneels down to the girl's height, shaking her hand. "And what's this little fella's name?" he points to the unicorn.
"His name is Jewel! He has magic!" Noemi smiles, twirling from side to side. "Nonna says he's a angel, just like me!" she giggles happily.
"I'm sure you are," the Doctor grins, patting the girl on the head and his smile widens when she squeals. "Right... I'll be off, unless, um," he clears his throat, standing and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't know... you could both come with me?" he asks hesitantly. "This box goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge..."
Gabriella chews on her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed. Mickey scoffs, pointing at the Doctor, "don't! He's an alien! He's a thing!"
"Mick!" Noemi gasps, looking at the man in horror. "How could you say that? Bad, Mickey!" she scolds with a glare.
"Good job, colibrì," Gabriella smiles proudly, patting her daughter on the head. "That was harsh, Mick, considering he could've just left you down in that chamber," she glares.
"He's not invited," the Doctor cuts in, smirking at the girls standing up for him. "What do you think? You could stay here... fill your life with work and food and sleep or you could go... anywhere?"
"Is it always this dangerous?" Gabriella frowns.
The Doctor pauses, "... yeah," he admits.
"I... I couldn't," Gabriella shakes her head. "If I came, then how can I trust you'll keep my daughter safe? I don't even know you," she points out.
"Come to dinner with me, then," the Doctor offers. "... or lunch? Maybe a park where Emi can play? I... I need to explain something..." he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.
"What could you possibly have to explain to me? We met last night," Gabriella frowns.
"This," he raises his left hand, pulling down his jumper sleeve a bit so his soul mark shows.
Gabriella's breath hitches in her throat and she moves forward to grab his hand, turning it and looking at the mark at all angles. It was so similar to hers, but the symbols were slightly different... it even had the same golden sheen as hers. "What... what is it?" she looks up at the Doctor.
"Mamma," Noemi frowns. "It's like your... your birthprint?" she wrinkles her nose, not sure if she got the word right.
"Birthmark, colibrì," Gabriella corrects distractedly.
"It's not a birthmark," the Doctor shakes his head. "Come with me, let me explain and then... if you still don't want to travel with me after, I won't argue and you'll never see me again."
Gabriella looks between the Doctor and her daughter, chewing on her bottom lip as she tries to decide what to do. Noemi frowns, tugging on Gabriella's jean's chain to get her attention, "can we, mamma? I want to go with the Doctor," she pouts up at her mother.
"I'll go to lunch with you," Gabriella decides and a huge grin breaks out on the Doctor's face. "You have an hour to explain whatever it is you need to explain and then I'll choose whether or not to come with you..."
"That's all I ask," the Doctor beams. "Now, Emi," he looks down at the little girl. "Do you want to see my spaceship?"
"Sì! Sì! Sì!" Noemi jumps up and down excitedly. "Can Jewel come?"
"Don't see why not," the Doctor shrugs.
"Yay!" she squeals before holding her arms up to the Doctor. "Up," she orders.
Gabriella covers her mouth with her jacket sleeve when she laughs. The Doctor smiles, reaching down to pick the girl up and settle her on his hip. Noemi immediately nuzzles into him, making his hearts swell up and he smiles softly. Opening the door, he carries Noemi into the TARDIS and her jaw drops to the floor, "it's so big!" she squeals, jumping down from the Doctor's arms and running up to and around the console.
"No, no, no, don't touch anything!" the Doctor's eyes widen as he runs up to chase her away from the controls.
"Noemi, stop now," Gabriella tells her sternly and Noemi skids to a stop. "We're guests on the TARDIS and you can't touch any of the controls, they're sensitive, ok?"
"... sorry, mamma..." she hangs her head, shifting on her feet guiltily.
"That's alright, she can just sit up here," the Doctor smiles, patting the jump-seat.
A hum sounds and a child's safety belt appears on the middle cushion. The Doctor goes over and picks up Noemi and then sets her on the seat, buckling her in. "That good? Not too tight?" he makes sure.
"Perfect!" Noemi smiles. "Grazie, Doctor!"
"Grazie," Gabriella smiles, moving to sit beside Noemi.
"So..." the Doctor grins, moving to the start the engines. "Lunch?"
"Lunch," Gabriella nods, her and Noemi giggling when the TARDIS jolts as it moves through the vortex.
A/N: there will be an interlude where the Doctor explains that they're soulmates, so be on the lookout for that! :D Let me know what you guys think of it so far by dropping a comment or a vote or ya know, just be your lovely ghost-reader self! Thanks for reading! :*