Kissing Rose Tyler, Part Two

by ilianacatspawn

Doctor 10.5 and Rose embark on their first new adventure together which leads to a dangerous discovery and potential disaster for Pete's World.

Summary: The Doctor and Rose embark on their first new adventure together which leads to a dangerous discovery and potential disaster for Pete's World.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Wouldn't own 'em if I could. Too high maintenance.

Spoilers: Nothing's sacred. Watch the series (starting with the first Doctor in 1963) if you don't like surprises.

Characters: Doctor 10.5, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Jake Simmonds.

Rating: Teen for very mild language.

Author's note: This is a post-Journey's End AU and the next part of a story that begins with Kissing Rose Tyler.

Kissing Rose Tyler II

by Iliana

The sanctity of a man's private study was supposed to be... Well... Sacred, Pete Tyler thought as he entered the room only to find the Doctor comfortably ensconced in his chair, at his desk and going through his files.

"Make yourself at home," Pete commented -- the sarcasm of his words completely lost on the Doctor.

"Right. Thanks. Will do." He barely glanced up as he worked his way through the contents of Pete's personal computer, aiming his sonic screwdriver at the machine -- a maestro with his baton.

"Anything I can help you with?" Pete asked tartly. He strode over to a side table where a drinks tray sat and poured himself a whiskey.

"Is this all of it?" the Doctor inquired several minutes later, sounding somewhat vexed.

"All of what?"

This earned a look from the Doctor which, had Pete been a younger, less self-assured man, might have made him flush with chagrin. Instead, he just felt slightly stupid.

"All of what you know, they now know," the Doctor explained pedantically. "Which means I need to know it all as well -- if I'm to figure out what's actually worth knowing and for what it can be used."

Pete frowned at the Doctor's tone and finished his drink in one swallow. "No, that's it. Except for the encrypted files." Another look from the Doctor -- this one included a raised eyebrow and a sardonic quirk of the lips -- made him falter. "Which you've already been through." The eyes twinkled merrily. "First."

"It's a learning curve," the Doctor cheekily confided.

"I'll bet," Pete muttered, deciding against the refill he'd been about to pour.

"The good news is," the Doctor went on, "I've hardened your defenses. Nothing should be able to get through your firewall again. Well, I say nothing-- Just don't run any hairdryers in the vicinity and your files should be perfectly safe."

"Not much chance of that." Pete slid a hand across his balding pate with a heartfelt sigh.

The Doctor nervously touched his own scalp at the gesture. "Could be that's in the future for me," he commented, running a hand through his hair. "Hadn't thought about it. Well, not for a while." He rose from the chair, ambling over to peruse the shelves of Pete's extensive music collection. "Did have the chance to experience life as an old man. Once. Briefly. Aged by one hundred years." He left out the extra eight hundred the Master had added on at the end of his ordeal as being superfluous to the conversation. "Funnily enough," he went on. "I didn't mind the loss of hair, or the wrinkles. It was the loss of mobility irked most." He sighed ruefully. "I expect when it does happen I'll be too busy worrying about-- Oh, I don't know... Bursitis and broken hips? Much too busy too indulge in narcissistic bouts of vanity." He pulled a handful of CDs by artists unique to this universe from the cabinet and began examining them more closely.

Even as the Doctor spoke Pete went to his desk and repossessed his chair. He remained quiet for several long moments as he considered the Doctor's words. He knew from Mickey's tales, at least in theory, about regeneration. And from Rose he'd learned that Time Lords didn't age -- not like Humans at any rate. Which explained a lot, he thought. Especially why the original Doctor, the full Time Lord, had tried to send Rose away before he'd closed the breach. And why he'd ultimately left her here with this physically flawed copy of himself. One that would wither and die right along side a woman he himself couldn't bear to watch do the same.

"What you said last night..." Pete began curiously.

"Hmm?"

"About being part Human."

The Doctor inclined his head. "You want to know if I'm okay with it now?"

Pete started to nod then stopped when he noticed the Doctor's expression. It was the eyes did it -- piercing him like a pair of tightly focused lasers.

"Probably none of my business," Pete mumbled as he hastily waved away the question, hoping the alien thing he'd inadvertently invoked would simply leave. Human body or not, Pete belatedly recalled, the Time Lord's mind, in all its power and self-possessed glory, was still in there. "Just-- You know... Worried about Rose," he temporized.

"Yeah, about Rose," the Doctor changed the subject. "How's that working out for you? She seems quite happy with the arrangement."

Pete slowly released the breath he'd been holding as the aggregated millennia of knowledge that was the Doctor's consciousness shuttered itself away inside the mundane niceties of its quasi-Human life.

"Sort of hard not to care about someone so willing to love you just because you look like--" Pete inhaled deeply as he suddenly understood. To Rose, a difference that made no difference was no difference. Point taken. Lesson learned.

"The thing of it is," he went on. "I kept insisting she wasn't mine. But then Jacks came up with that long lost daughter stuff and I thought... You know, why not? Approach it that way. 'Cause that's pretty much what she is. Legally speaking, in this universe. The lawyers say her DNA makes her mine and Jackie's, just like Tony. And Rose is just so..."

"Open to caring?" the Doctor supplied knowingly.

"Yeah," Pete agreed. "That. And she just feels right. The way she wanted to save my Jackie." He swallowed hard at the still painful memory of that awful night. "I think she was more upset than I was when we saw her in that Cyber suit. I was in shock, but Rose seemed..."

"Devastated?"

"Angry," Pete corrected. "I kept thinking about that after she and Jackie came here. Kept thinkin' how she'd said she was helping me for her parents' sake. And well..." He sighed in befuddlement, as if he didn't have the words to describe what he felt. "She's never actually asked me for anything. You know, in terms of money. Not once." He shook his head, still amazed. "So it wasn't like it was some strange kid found out she had a rich dad and came here looking to get something for nothing. In the end," he shrugged, "I just sort of found her here," he tapped his chest lightly. "In my heart."

The Doctor smiled warmly. "Rose does have a tendency to do that."

"Do what?" The lady in question entered the room, startling them both.

"Barges in unannounced whilst others are in the midst of a private conversation," the Doctor sniffed disapprovingly.

"Oi! You want privacy, hang a sign."

"Everything ready?" Pete asked, smiling just a little when Rose casually moved to the Doctor's side and took his hand.

"Yup. It's a go."

The Doctor sneered in derision. "Three hours, twenty-seven minutes and forty-six seconds since I gave you the coordinates? Call yourselves a secret organization for keeping Britain safe? I've seen revolutions fought and won in less time."

Rose glared at the Doctor then shook it off to share a bemused glance with her father as the cupboard beside the Doctor slid open to reveal a secret passage.

"Oh." The Doctor cocked his head. "Well... That's sort of secret organization-y I suppose." He smiled broadly, shoved the CDs back on their shelf then pulled Rose along beside him. "Allons-y!" he cried, leading the way. A few paces inside he stopped abruptly, staring at the clean, well-lit, smoothly plastered tunnel walls. "Takes all the fun out, doesn't it?"

"What does?" Rose asked, moving to take the lead.

"No choking layers of dust, no smoky torches, no giant spider webs or shadowy corners for timely lurking and the occasional cheap thrill. Seems a bit...sterile," he frowned. "A bit boring for a secret tunnel."

"Not really secret. Just a previous owner's very private entrance." Rose looked over her shoulder and flashed him a toothy grin, clipping her accent to sound properly snooty. "A penchant for male prostitutes and politics do not generally mix well."

"Oh, very Cassandra," the Doctor laughed approvingly.

"Works a charm at those snob-nobs I have to attend. Jackie and her charities." She rolled her eyes. "Mum loathes 'em even more than I do, but it's usually for a good cause, so we just put up with it."

They followed a gentle downward incline with a few twists and turns for another forty meters until reaching their destination -- a heavily bomb proofed door that opened into an underground garage.

"There you are!" Jackie called, sounding very much annoyed. "We've been waiting!"

"We?" the Doctor asked, his brows rising at the sight of Rose's mother standing near a battered mini-van.

"Hello again, Doctor," a familiar voice called out. A fair-haired man with a cheerful grin stepped to the front of the vehicle.

"Jake! Good to see you."

"Sorry, Mum," Rose apologized as Jake Simmonds and the Doctor shook hands. "Was waitin' on the new ear pods to be delivered."

"Waitin' on himself more like," Jackie retorted. "What you two get up to in the privacy of your own--"

"Mum!" Rose hissed.

Jake grinned. "So it's like that now, eh?" The younger man's smile broadened even further at the Doctor's discomfiture.

"E tu, Jake?" he muttered.

"Only want to say congratulations. I'll be tyin' the knot myself soon enough."

"We're not--" the Doctor started. A sharp glance from Jackie rendered him mute on the subject. "Right. Moving on. Ear pods?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah," Rose grinned, producing four of the devices and offering one to the Doctor.

He put on his glasses. Now that's not right, he silently observed, carefully examining the item. These weren't really ear pods, the Doctor noted. More like military grade ear buds with microphones of... Mono-filament plasti-wire? Sheathed in translucent epithelium fibers? That-- Yes, he frowned-- Adapted to both bind and blend to the wearer's skin, tus making them virtually undetectable to the naked eye. "No. No. No!" he shouted angrily. "You can't have this kind of technology. Where did you get these?" he demanded.

"Mickey invented them," Jake stated bluntly, daring the Doctor to contradict him.

He dared.

"The hell Mickey Smith invented these! So answer the question. Properly." He shoved his glasses into a pocket, crossed his arms and waited.

Rose sighed, handing out the devices to her mother and Jake. "Mickey did come up with the idea," she admitted. "But some friends of ours designed and implemented the actual production."

"What friends?"

"You wouldn't know them."

"What. Friends."

"They're aliens, if you must know."

"I must," he insisted. "What kind of aliens?"

Rose climbed into the van and started the engine, leaving the Doctor to scramble inside with the others. "They're refugees," she explained tartly. "The Titanic that nearly crashed in your universe almost did the same here. Except we shot it down before it could breach the atmosphere. Some of the passengers escaped in a life pod. A few wanted to stay, so we gave them sanctuary."

"How many passengers?" Astonished, the Doctor leaned forward in his seat, gripping Rose's shoulder. "What were their names?"

"Well there's Foon and Morvin Van Hoff."

"Hah!" The Doctor gave a joyous shout. "Who else?"

"Just Mr. Copper," she added. "The rest went back with the salvage ships."

"What about Astrid Peth? Tiny woman. Blonde hair. One of the wait staff. Was she...? Did she...?"

"Don't recall an Astrid Peth," Rose shrugged. "Why? Was she important?"

"No." The Doctor looked away. "Not important. Just someone I met. Bought me a drink, that's all." It doesn't mean she's dead, he told himself. Could be in this universe Astrid never left the spaceport diner on Sto. But, he doubted it -- so much else being similar.

"There was some fella with a mobile kept complainin' about everything," Jake added helpfully. "Couple of others in posh gear. And a little red bloke. Banana Cafe Latte, or some such they called 'im."

"Bannakaffalatta," the Doctor corrected.

"Yeah, but he were dead though when they landed. Somethin' about an EM pulse and life sized angels servin' up murder for Christmas dinner. Never did get the whole story, but Mr. Copper wanted him buried proper so we left him to it."

The Doctor slumped back in his seat. "No Midshipman Frame either, I suppose?"

"Nope," Jake went on, oblivious to the Doctor's mood. "Mickey and me got to the crash site first, so we had a chance to keep everything quiet like. Moved the survivors out and made it look like the pod malfunctioned. Which I suppose it did, because Mr. Copper said it were fixed so they couldn't escape."

"And Torchwood?"

"Doesn't know a thing. Morvin, Foon and Mr. Copper work for us," Rose stated blandly.

"Work for--"

"Lovely people, Mr. Copper and the Van Hoff's," Jackie interrupted. "But you'll meet them at Sunday dinner."

The Doctor's head snapped around to stare at Jackie. "Sunday dinner?" he repeated, appalled.

The others ignored him as the van pulled out and turned away from the main exit heading toward what appeared to be a rock wall.

"Hologram," Jake supplied. The Doctor nodded just before they passed through it into another tunnel. "Mickey's idea. Said he got it from some movie. We come out a bit of a ways from the property and no one's the wiser."

"Batman," the Doctor commented absently. "Michael Keaton. Best of the lot. Well, darkest anyway. Except maybe for that Christian Bale fellow. But his was a different series of films."

Jake chuckled. "Right naffed Mickey was when he found out we didn't have that here. But he reckoned without a Second World War the Americans didn't need superheroes."

"Batman isn't a superhero," the Doctor explained, frowning again as he turned the ear pod over in his hands. "He's a vigilante."

"So the tech, yeah?" Rose interjected, wondering at the Doctor's expression. "Mickey wanted a way to communicate that was outside any government range. He built the radio set up you saw so's all the Preacher cells could communicate on different channels. No overlap, less likelihood of detection. But these," she tapped the ear piece she was wearing, "are for special operations. You know, infiltration stuff. Specially designed not to register on government scans. Bit of a prototype, but--"

"Good. Good," the Doctor nodded, though he still seemed somewhat perturbed. "Well, not good. Not really."

"What's not good?"

"Nothing. Well, everything. But not that you lot can do much about it." He grimaced. "Back in our universe I told Mr. Copper to keep his head down. Not to interfere. And now you go and--" He shook his head in disgust and tried to let the matter drop.

Rose glanced over at him as they left the underground tunnel, pulling into a car park several miles past the estate. "But Mr. Copper-- Well, the Mr. Copper Foundation in the old universe... Harriet said they developed the sub-wave network. That worked okay, yeah?"

The Doctor ran a hand across his face, scrubbing his chin. "No one ever listens," he muttered. "Still, never mind that now. Allons-y," he added with a bit less excitement, practically vaulting out of the vehicle almost before Rose had time to break.

Chapter 2

Rose led them over to an SUV parked across the blacktop. "Now here's how this is gonna happen, Doctor. Jake's our backup. He'll be coming in with us. Mum's driving and--"

"She's what?" The Doctor stared at Jackie, now in the driver's seat. She gave him a saucy wink as they all piled into the car.

"And keeping in radio contact with Dad," Rose finished. "He'll be monitoring government and police frequencies. Relaying any pertinent information to her so's we're not distracted. Any problems, she'll let us know. Once we're done she'll meet us at the rendezvous or supply an alternate escape route if needed."

"Jackie's in charge." The Doctor's expression told everyone just what he thought of that notion.

Rose squeezed his hand just a little too hard. "It was Pete's idea to train her," she whispered. "Might help to know the other Jackie nearly survived the Cybermen attack by hiding in the cellar. If she just hadn't been wearing those bloody ear pods! She'd have saved herself, just like me mum did at Canary Warf. So you might want to show a bit of respect."

"I see," the Doctor murmured. Well, Jackie was somewhat clever he had to admit -- though never to her face.

"And she hates Torchwood more than we do," Jake added softly.

"But I thought..."

"We work for Torchwood." Jake folded his arms and sat back as Jackie pulled out of the car park. "Doesn't mean we trust 'em."

"Any large powerful organization will eventually become complacent. As soon as that happens," Rose opined, "corruption is bound to set in. Doesn't matter if they think they're benefiting mankind, they eventually start making choices that don't."

Jake nodded. "We reckon that's what happened in both universes. No accountability to the people they were supposedly protecting. So we keep the Preachers around just in case."

"Makes sense. Well done all of you," the Doctor complimented.

"Thought you'd approve." Rose grinned. "Subversive, that's what you are."

"Notorious for it," he agreed.

***

An hour later they were pulling off onto the shoulder of the road about a mile from their destination.

"This is as good a vantage point as I think we'll get," Jackie announced. "Oh, I forgot to ask. Everyone remember to use the loo before we left? Passed a service station a little ways back. I could always..."

"Mum, we're fine," Rose muttered, reaching up to close the Doctor's mouth.

"Right," Jackie went on. She sorted through a pile of items on the seat next to her and handed a rucksack to Rose. "Here's your kit, sweetheart. I've charged that taser thing you like. And there's extra batteries in case you run out. Jake." She passed his pack over the seat.

"Thanks, Mrs. T."

"Doctor." She looked up to find him backing away as far as the confined space would allow. "There's a clean set of Pete's sneak-about clothes in here for you to change into. Used that new fresh scent fabric softener with aloe so's you won't chafe and--"

The Doctor nearly fell out of the car in his haste to escape. Rose and Jake followed, laughing.

"What sort of an operation is this?" he complained.

"She's just winding you up," Rose grinned.

He looked past her to see Jackie, blonde head resting where her hands held the steering wheel, shoulders shaking with mirth. Irritated, the Doctor stalked into the sparsely wooded field that acted as a barrier between the desolate side road they were on and the small industrial estate below. He stared at the place, a part of him assessing the security, another part considering the new Jackie Tyler. A woman who was apparently brave enough to cross universes for the sake of her daughter and follow Sarah Jane Smith into the heart of a Dalek Empire. The Jackie he remembered would never have done anything remotely similar. Then again, as Rose reminded him, she had indeed gotten herself away from the Cybermen in her own universe -- and promptly gone with an alternate Pete into another sight unseen -- merely on faith, hope and the memory of a lost love.

Rose took his hand and he smiled.

"What's your mother got against me anyway?" the Doctor asked as they began to move toward the complex.

"Nothing. She really likes you."

"Funny way of showing it," he groused.

"Honestly, Mum only ever teases people she likes."

So, if Jackie were indifferent to his presence she wouldn't bother to torment him? The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the notion. And yet, Donna had often called him spaceman or alien boy. Sometimes she wasn't even angry when she did it. And there had been a certain warmth in her tone on those occasions.

"Why me?" he finally asked.

"Because you're a lot like my father."

The Doctor guffawed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Rose frowned. "Ever wonder why Mum married Pete the first time 'round?"

"Never thought about it," he shrugged. "Wondered why he married her. A man who likes to take chances with a woman who doesn't? Don't really seem to suit, do they?"

"You're thinkin' of her twenty years on after my dad died. Not the girl, Jackie Prentiss, who loved Pete Tyler because he wasn't like all the other blokes. He was mad and fun and nothing ever seemed to get him down. That's how she talked about him anyway -- when I was growing up. A lot like you, yeah?"

"I suppose," the Doctor admitted cautiously.

"That's also why she couldn't stand you at first."

Startled, he looked down at Rose. "That makes no sense. Humans! Totally illogical. You'd think she'd have adored me, wouldn't you?"

"She lost him, Doctor. And maybe it wasn't because one of his daft ideas went wrong, but the reminder... Me takin' up with a bloke just like him, and never mind the travelin' through time and space. She didn't want what happened to her to happen to me. You know, left on her own with a broken heart?" Rose glanced away. "But then it did, didn't it? And it was like she could see it coming, yeah? But that's Mum. She just wanted to protect me like she's been doin' all my life."

The Doctor sighed. "I'm so sorry, Rose. You know if there'd been any way..."

"I know," she smiled, gently squeezing his hand. "Have to send Davros a thank you note for makin' all this possible," she joked.

The Doctor laughed. "That really would drive him completely bonkers! Maybe we should invite him to the--"

They reached the chain link fence that separated them from the complex of warehouses and low rise office buildings.

"The what?" Rose asked.

But the Doctor was already kneeling by the fence with his screwdriver out. And the thought, which had come unbidden to his lips, was discarded; replaced by his relief at being able to focus on something entirely different.

***

"Rubbish security," the Doctor commented once they were through the barrier.

"That's the beauty of an industrial estate," Rose remarked. "Nothing really important ever seems to go on in 'em. That building there," she gestured toward an unremarkable four story concrete and glass structure. "That's where we're headed."

"And what happens in there?"

They stopped, crouching behind a row of neatly landscaped bushes.

"Lots of paper pushing, I expect," Jake answered while Rose examined a handheld wireless device that appeared to show the building's floor plan in detail. "That's HQ for a plastics manufacturer, a dental equipment sales company, couple of small architectural firms and an American import/export business."

"Doesn't sound very suspicious," the Doctor admitted. "Nothing on the surface to link them with TRIAD. Although... What sort of import/export?"

"Mainly American food coming in, British spirits and ale going out."

"Think they'd have any of those jalapeno flavored crisps? Martha adored those. Rather nice actually."

Rose and Jake stared at him.

"No? Well, maybe I'll just have a quick peek in their staff kitchen, see what turns up."

Rose frowned. "Never mind your stomach, Doctor, we've more important things to concentrate on. Like who hacked my dad's computer."

He exhaled in a long-suffering sigh. "Right then. Let's get to it. This way."

She grabbed his arm and yanked him back down.

"What?"

"Just 'cause the security's rubbish on the outside doesn't mean it's easy gettin' inside."

"But I have this," he held up his sonic.

"And they have security cameras." Rose pointed to the recording devices perched above the doorways. "Have to live here, remember?"

"So I'll disrupt the video signal. To anyone watching it'll look like a spike in the electrical grid. Well, it will be a spike in the electrical grid. Not a big spike. Wouldn't want to damage anything. But spiky enough for our needs."

"And then what?"

"What do you mean, and then what? Do what we always do. Have a poke about. See what we find. Rose," the Doctor asked, quietly concerned. "Have you lost your nerve?"

Jake suddenly found something very interesting about his shoe laces. Untying and then retying them repeatedly as Rose sputtered in anger.

"Lost my--! You're kidding, right?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he said gently. "We haven't done this in a while. Just like riding a bicycle, you'll see."

Rose inhaled deeply, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists in an effort not to simply reach out and slap some sense into him. "Fine!" she spat. "We'll do it your way on one condition."

The Doctor grinned happily. "What?"

"You put this on." She pulled a kevlar vest out of the extra pack Jackie had made up and shoved it into his arms. "Now!"

Chapter 3

Cold. He felt cold just looking at the thing. As if the icy hand of death were already clawing at his swiftly beating single heart. No. Wait. That was his hand, locked against his chest, fingers helplessly curling and uncurling in the fabric of his shirt. The spasmodic reaction stopped and he looked down to see Rose's warm hand laid over his own.

Her words were quiet though not very comforting. "You've been runnin' on adrenaline, Doctor. Still thinkin' like a full Time Lord. The container housing that one heart shouldn't matter -- but it does. Doesn't make you Human, 'cause you weren't born to it. Does make you mortal though. And right now... I'm sorry, Doctor. I can't-- I won't let you ignore the obvious."

"Rose, why aren't you moving? Is there a problem?"

Jackie's voice in his ear made him start, but it broke the spiraling fear that was beginning to choke the Doctor. Most Time Lords were terrified of dying. Or, more to the point, terrified by the utter finality of death. They'd reprogrammed their own DNA to make regeneration possible in order to avoid that very thing. But too many regenerations and the mind decayed, even if the body didn't. So they'd limited the ability and created the Matrix to store the minds, the very essence they prized the most, of those Time Lords deemed worthy of the honor. And now he had neither. Not even the hope of joining his mind to The Library.

"No problem. Just prepping the Doctor."

"He's not giving you any trouble about that bullet proof vest, is he?"

Rose turned her steely-eyed gaze on him and the Doctor glanced away.

"He is, isn't he?" Jackie went on, sounding very much annoyed. "Now you listen to me, Doctor. That vest there is a slim-line. Fits right under your shirt. Won't notice it at all. So you just put it on and--"

The Doctor removed the ear bud and shoved it into a pocket.

"That's it!" Rose scowled. "The mission's off."

He held up a hand. "Just wait!" The Doctor hurriedly removed his jacket and pulled off his shirt. Rose reached over to help him figure out the vest's fastenings then made sure it was secure.

"Thank you," she said softly when he was once again dressed.

"Don't mention it," he grinned tightly.

The vest was cool against his skin and it made him feel all the more fragile for its presence, though he was certain the manufacturer meant it to have the opposite effect. He straightened his collar, trying vainly to push away the distasteful and distressing thought that he was somehow less a Time Lord than the Doctor Prime. Come to think of it, perhaps that particular fact was one of the reasons he'd been dumped here. Like the idiot child in the family tree needing to be locked away in some ghastly institution; hidden from prying eyes and wagging tongues. It might be unfair, but then he'd been unfair to Jack Harkness when he'd been changed into a fixed point in Time through no fault of his own. Was it possible, the Doctor wondered, having been raised in a xenophobic society, that he should feel prejudice toward a flawed version of himself? Considering his own feelings about this new body, he shouldn't wonder that such an uncharitable thought might be true.

Rose tapped lightly against the device in her ear. "All set, Mum. We're moving now."

The Doctor started to replace his own ear bud and in a small fit of rebellion decided against it. Instead, he pointed his sonic at a nearby transformer. A moment later the electrical spike registered in the computers of the nearest power station and the lights suddenly dimmed then went off in response to an automatic failsafe.

"That's it!" He grabbed Rose's hand and they were off, running to a service entrance where the brief power cut allowed them easy access to the building without any danger of setting off the alarm. A moment later they'd made it inside just as the lights flickered on.

"Quick!" Rose hissed, pushing the Doctor back against the wall so they were in the security camera's blind spot.

"Where to now?" Jake asked.

The Doctor peered at the readings on his sonic screwdriver. He'd managed to get the general location easily enough using nothing but a tracer program and Pete's old computer. But narrowing it down, first to an exact floor and then to an individual office, required proximity to the source.

"Down," the Doctor finally answered, looking for the stairs.

"There." Rose pointed to a door at the end of the hall. "But first," she jerked her chin toward the camera above them.

Jake took a small translucent disc from his pocket and gave it to Rose. Making a foothold out of his hands, he lifted her up so she could place the device on the side of the camera.

"EMI," Rose explained at the Doctor's raised brow when she was back in place beside him. "Sends an intermittent signal along the cable. Every two to five minutes Security gets thirty seconds of rolling screens and we get freedom of movement. It's a bit random -- no real pattern so's they can't be sure it isn't normal electromagnetic interference from some passing zeppelin. But that means you gotta keep an eye out for the red light to start flashing. That's when you know it's safe to move."

"Random's good. I like random," the Doctor murmured as the light blinked and they moved to the stairway entrance. "Now, what's down here?" he asked, eyes barely leaving the sonic as they carefully made their way down.

"Mostly storage facilities for the companies leasing space upstairs," Rose responded, glancing at her handheld. "Probably the usual building maintenance offices along with Security."

"That's queer," Jake muttered, pointing at the ceiling when they reached the lower level. "That camera's not working."

"Why's that queer?" the Doctor asked.

"Standard security protocol," Rose explained. "By law, all non-residential buildings and common areas are required to have working CCTV cameras posted at every entrance and exit, including all staircases and lifts. Every floor. At all times. Licensed security guards are liable for a hefty fine or losing their permits if they fail to report violations. And all non-military security personnel are required to be licensed. Even at pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels."

"Licensed doormen and bouncers?" The Doctor frowned. "Rose, do we live in a police state?"

She waggled her hand as if to say it was six of one, a half dozen of the other. "Not so's you'd notice if you've enough dosh to avoid living where there's military checkpoints and curfew enforced. But yeah, compared to our London, even with CCTV, it's pretty difficult to move around without being observed here."

"Which means," the Doctor surmised. "Someone is paying a lot of money to make it worth a lowly security guard's wages to keep whomever comes down here off the government radar."

"Seems like," Rose agreed. "Which way now?"

"This way." The Doctor gestured to his right. "About 20 meters."

Rose took point while Jake watched their backs, but they had no trouble getting where they needed to be. Nor was finding the specific computer a problem once the Doctor overrode the access coded lock to the building's mail center. The computer in question, obviously used for tracking packages and deliveries, sat innocuously on a counter.

"Something's wrong," Rose insisted as the Doctor aimed his screwdriver at the machine while Jake waited near the door keeping an eye on the corridor. "It's too easy."

"Maybe not," the Doctor offered, putting on his glasses. "Look here. This computer's got hundreds of others linked to it via remote access," he explained as desktop after desktop opened and closed on the screen. "All it does all day is passively gather information about what other people are looking at on their computers. During the course of the day all that information gets sent out via a compressed and encrypted data stream piggy-backed on the mail center's normal transmission. I'm guessing it goes to a virtual dump which in turn is later accessed in some anonymous way. The mail clerk probably doesn't even know it's happening every time he schedules a pick up or delivery. And given what most of the businesses do here, I'd bet that happens fairly frequently. Each transmission erases the previous data packet and anyone -- well, anyone but me -- attempting to access the computer's real memory, wouldn't find a shred of evidence to prove it had been done. Perfect place to set up an operation of this sort. No need to secure it because it appears to be totally benign. Extra security would defeat the purpose."

"So TRIAD did set this up," Rose nodded.

"Can't say for sure. But from the looks of it, it doesn't seem very likely."

"Come again?"

"When I reversed the remote access on Pete's computer, it froze the program in place, leaving us with a view of some other poor bloke's desktop. The one who actually works for TRIAD. See," he added, shifting their view to the desktop they'd seen on Pete's laptop. "And here." He switched to the mail center's network log. "No information's come in and nothing's been sent out since early this morning. Right around the time I went shopping."

"You broke it," Rose grinned.

"Yup!" The Doctor matched her smile.

"But why hasn't it been fixed? They must know--"

"It's Saturday!" Jake called out softly.

"Yes it is!" the Doctor called back just as quietly.

Rose nodded slowly. "Not a lot of work going on over the weekend," she commented and the Doctor nodded for her to continue. "No need for a clerk. So no weekend data dumps."

"And since I haven't released the system yet, whoever's in charge probably won't notice anything's wrong until Monday."

Rose sighed. "So there's nothing here to tell us who's behind this."

"I didn't say that," the Doctor grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"Rose Tyler, I am truly disappointed you didn't notice."

"Notice what?"

"Who puts a state of the art computer with a multi-terabyte hard drive in a mail room?"

"The bad guys, obviously."

"Well of course they would! But how did it get here? Who installed it? And why are there no cameras in the basement?"

"Oh." Rose ran a hand through her hair, looking a bit stunned. "How did I miss that? Must be suffering brain rot or something," she muttered.

"Or something." The Doctor winked and Rose blushed prettily. "I'm thinking two drink limit?"

Jake cleared his throat from the door. "Flirt later, Doctor. We've got work to do."

"I wasn't--!"

The other man rolled his eyes. "Just get on with it! We haven't got all night."

Rose was grinning widely, eyes shining with unexpressed laughter. The Doctor frowned and her eyes just grew brighter.

"Anyway," he said testily. "By checking the model number and cross referencing it with factory production, purchase orders, narrowing it down to shipping dates in this area, and finally," the Doctor gave a toothy grin. "Deliveries to this particular industrial estate, we find..." He tapped the screen. "Viola!"

"What?" Rose asked eagerly.

"Six weeks ago the warehouse next door accepted a delivery from the manufacturer of five new computers -- this exact model."

"Bit of a coincidence that," Jake remarked.

"Just a bit," the Doctor nodded.

"Who owns the warehouse?" Rose asked.

"Well, it's not obvious, but dig deep enough and you find... Hah! AJE Limited." He snapped off his glasses.

"But that's," she pointed to the ceiling.

"Import/export business must be a front." Jake grimaced in disgust. "Bloody Americans spying on us."

"I think it's gone beyond that," the Doctor said, hurrying past the other man and back into the corridor. He quickly got out his stethoscope and began moving it along the walls.

"You think there's a passage down here?" Rose asked, glancing up and down the corridor.

"Why else no cameras?"

"Right," Jake nodded. "Who'd know if they went straight to the offices upstairs?"

"The guards would," Rose said. "But they probably think it's all just a cover for black marketers."

"Gotcha!" The Doctor found himself standing before a rusty iron door with a flaking, hand painted sign labeled No Exit.

"How clever is that!" he exclaimed, pointing at the words. "Tells you what it isn't, but not what it's for. I love Americans! You could pass this way every day for a year and never wonder. And if you did, you'd think, oh it's just some rubbish to do with the janitor or an electrical closet. Definitely not an entrance, because it says it's not an exit! Classic reverse psychology. Brilliant!"

"Yeah, very clever," Rose commented sarcastically. "Now can we open it, or we just gonna stand here admirin'?"

Frowning, the Doctor opened the lock. "Whatever happened to professional regard? You know, honor among thieves and all that?"

"What, like good sportsmanship in football?"

"Cricket," the Doctor muttered, leading the way inside. "Now there's a sport for gentlemen."

But Rose wasn't listening. "Mum, we're moving. Mum?"

Jake tried to contact Jackie as well. "Just static," he reported. "Must be interference from the structure," he shrugged.

"Maybe," the Doctor said, casting about with the light of his sonic. "Or there's something else down here."

"Somethin' else?" Jake asked worriedly. "Not--"

The Doctor shook his head, moving slowly down the dark, almost claustrophobic corridor. "No, not Cybermen. Something more technologically developed. Something more like--" They'd reached the end of the passage and he opened the next door. "That."

Chapter 4

"A Jathaa sunglider?" Rose stared in astonishment. "What's it doing here?"

"It's not yours," the Doctor explained as he sealed the door behind them. "At least, not the one your lot, or Jake's lot as it were, recovered." The place was huge, though not as big as Torchwood's Canary Warf underground storage depot. It was still just a medium sized warehouse encompassing no more than half a small city block. And it was crammed full of boxes, bins, crates and containers of all shapes and sizes.

"How'd you know?"

"Because it's transmitting," he replied, looking at his screwdriver. "Signal's weak though -- lucky for us. Been covered up too long. Power cells are dying."

"How's that lucky? We could have picked it up months ago and raided the place."

"It hasn't been here for months."

Rose frowned and turned to Jake. "Keep a look out by that loading bay," she gestured to the far side of the room. "And keep tryin' to reach my mum. You were saying?" She turned back to the Doctor.

"How long ago did you first notice the effects of the reality bomb in this universe?"

"About a year," she responded, following the Doctor as he moved deeper into the facility.

"And the dimension cannon started working when?"

"Just in the last couple of months."

The Doctor paused to examine the contents of one of the boxes. He picked out an object about the size of his fist and scanned it with his sonic. "This is incredible! Look at that detail." He showed it to Rose, who gaped in astonishment. "A bit like Latin, isn't it? And most definitely not of this universe."

"I know those symbols!" She looked through another couple of boxes and found similar inscriptions on other pieces of equipment. "This stuff's from Rome World!"

"Rome World?"

"One of the parallels I passed through where the Roman Republic never ended. They just spread across the planet. Really advanced technology. Except for the swords," she mused. "But I reckon those were just meant to be decorative. They all wore 'em, even the women."

"So Imperial Rome never existed there? No endless internecine warfare? No Christian uprisings to overthrow the old order and bring on the Dark Ages?"

"Only had thirty minutes to explore, but from what I could tell, no."

"Fascinating," he said softly, tucking the item into his pocket. "And well, they would be more advanced, wouldn't they? Way more advanced than Humanity in our universe, or this one. Batteries date back as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century BC. And the Greeks invented an early version of the analog computer for calculating astronomical cycles only a century later. You know, with a bit of inspiration, the Romans might even have developed the printing press more than a thousand years before Guttenberg by simply retooling the ones they had for stamping talc into togas." He sighed wistfully. "What I would have given to see an Earth like that. Still, at least one of us got to. Even if she couldn't really appreciate the opportunity," he sniffed.

"Oi! I wasn't on holiday!"

"You could've at least taken pictures. And-- Ooh, look at that!"

He was off again, racing across the room to a small bank of computers. He soon had his sonic out and his glasses on. "Looks like someone's been trying to catalog all this stuff. What's this?" He whizzed through the machine's contents, leaning in closer to the screen. "Schematics?"

"Rose, it's your mum!" Jake called.

But the Doctor was chortling over whatever he was looking at and she was trying to follow his lightening fast commentary.

"Tell her we're fine!"

"Rose!"

"Busy here, Jake, just--" She glanced his way and froze.

"--but if they try to connect it they'll lose containment and--"

"Doctor."

"Not now, Rose! Just listen, because--"

"Doctor!"

"What?"

"It's my mum."

"So tell her hello, we're fine and--"

"No!" Rose's fingers were digging into his shoulder and he looked up, irritated by the interruption. Seeing the expression on her face, he followed her gaze across the room. "It's my mum."

"Oh," he said, taking in the big, burly guards and the large caliber pistol currently aimed at Jackie's head. "Damn."

Chapter 5

"Dude, you wanna, like, step away from the computer?"

The Doctor's brows rose even as he lifted his hands into an appropriately harmless position. The beefy blonde with the gun not only looked the part of a stereotypical California surfer "dude" but sounded like one as well.

"Apologies," he offered politely as one of the guards came forward, snatched the sonic screwdriver from his hand and patted him down. His pockets were searched and a wallet removed then Jake and Rose received similar treatment.

"Pair of tasers, one semi-automatic," the Doctor glared at Jake who merely shrugged at the guard's accounting, "couple of torches and this thing."

"Cool...penlight?" the blonde inquired, turning the item over in his hand.

"Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor announced quite proudly.

"Riiiight," the man nodded. He shoved Jackie forward and gestured for her to join the others. "Because, like, everyone knows, sound waves will open anything."

"They will open anything," the Doctor insisted. "Well, I say anything, I mean most anything. Did a rather nice job on your security."

"Not good enough--" The man looked at his wallet. "Doctor?" He held up the billfold. "Who has ID that says, Name: Doctor?"

"Apparently, I do."

"Dude, that ain't even legal."

"Is too!" Jackie retorted. "'Course I probably should've gone with Doctor Comma The considering his attitude. But Mr. and Mrs. The was just too... Well, even I couldn't keep a straight face imagining that."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Not now Mum!"

"Why not now? Your father went to a lot of trouble to get those papers. Kept insisting if Prince could be a symbol, the Doctor could be a profession."

"Prince?" the Doctor asked. "Oh, you mean The Artist Formerly known as Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." The high pitched squeal made everyone wince, but it was worse for the guards and Blondie who were all wearing standard ear pods which picked up the noise and amplified it.

"What the hell was that?" Jake demanded.

"Hmm? Oh, that's how it's pronounced. That symbol. It's Sanskrit for ohm. Means God. But you wouldn't say ohm unless you were actually meditating," the Doctor confided. "A bit histrionic, really, if you say, 'catch you up later, Joe, I'm going to God.' Everyone thinks you're about to do something awful to yourself. And you wouldn't want to take the Lord's name in vain, would you? So you have a different pronunciation outside of religious practices. And that symbol is pronounced--"

"No!" Six people shouted at the Doctor.

"--the way I originally said it," he finished, grinning smugly.

"Dude, you are one whacked out loony tune."

"Never much cared for Loony Tunes," the Doctor admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets and launching into another fine bit of prattle. "Always found Bugs Bunny annoying. 'What's up, Doc?'" he mimicked. "I know it was meant to be a compliment, but removing a pair of Ichthyosaurs from someone's bath isn't nearly as dangerous, or as dramatic as Tex Avery made it sound. Still, comparatively speaking, it's somewhat more difficult than say, a wily coyote catching a giant roadrunner. But only if you admit the possibility that giant roadrunners exist to be caught by wily coyotes. It simply isn't--"

"Dude!" the blonde shouted, rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand. "Doctor! Whatever your name is. Could you like, not speak for a few minutes? You know, just shut the hell up. Because you're makin' me crazy and, uh," he waved his other hand in their direction. "I've got a gun."

"Right. Of course. Shutting up now."

"You." Surfer dude pointed at Rose. "I know you."

She raised an eyebrow, remaining silent as the man took a seat in front of the computer the Doctor had been examining.

"Rose Tyler." The man grinned. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Should I?"

"Chuck Wood. We met at the--"

"Oh, right!" Rose laughed. "How much wood could a wood chuck chuck...." Even the man's bodyguards were hard put not to snicker. "Sorry," she coughed, getting her amusement under control when Wood cocked the gun. She winked at the Doctor whose eyes were bulging with suppressed laughter. "I remember. You bought me a drink." She leaned in close to the Doctor and whispered under her breath, "at a free bar."

"Ha!" The Doctor barked a laugh and the gun suddenly went off.

They watched in horror as Jake was knocked back against a pillar by the force of the shot and slid to the ground. A protest sprang to the Doctor's lips, but died as the business end of the weapon was pointed at Jackie.

"There now," Wood smiled coyly. "I think I've made my point. Feel free to talk, but don't wander too far off the path or I'll just have to beat you back."

"You didn't have to kill him," the Doctor said bitterly.

"No," Wood admitted. "Could've knee-capped him. But all that screaming would have gotten on my nerves."

"Look, I don't mean to be cold," Rose interjected. "Jake was a friend. But can we just get on with the twenty questions?"

"You mean you still haven't figured it out?" Wood laughed.

"If I had, I wouldn't be asking."

"How 'bout you?" Wood gazed at the Doctor.

"Of course," the Doctor sighed and nodded. "Not hard to do once you admitted having met Rose."

"What?" she asked.

"You crossed universes to find me, Rose Tyler. Mr. Wood here crossed behind you."

"But that's not--"

"Possible?" the Doctor shrugged. "Of course it's possible. Anything's possible, Rose. While you and Torchwood were focused on finding me for the good of the planet, Mr. Wood and his backers were focused on finding technology capable of shifting the balance of power on this planet. That's the plan, right?"

"On the money," Wood grinned. "And Ms. Tyler here was immensely helpful."

"I wouldn't help you!" she insisted.

"May I?" The Doctor reached for his sonic and Wood shrugged. After a minor adjustment the Doctor began scanning Rose then showed her the results. "Biochemical marker in the drink he gave you. Nothing so's you'd notice. Keyed to activate whenever you made a jump. Sent all the pertinent information to Mr. Wood's identical dimension jump. A few minutes lag time and he jumped right along behind you." Rose looked appalled and disheartened.

"What did you mean," Jackie asked quietly. "He wants to shift the balance of power?".

The Doctor offered her a brief, sad smile. "America isn't a superpower in this universe. Not even close. She has to put up with whatever your lot does, am I right?" He turned to Wood.

The man nodded. "Every freakin' alien menace comes to Britain but we get the fall out. People standing on rooftops and bridges in the middle of the night. Global warming that half drowned Alaska and caused flash floods across the country. Messin' about in our elections, too. Gotta have some dude as your lap dog -- screw what my country needs. And then those Cyber-freaks showed up. Twenty-two thousand dead! Well we've had enough of takin' British crap. Seems your universe," he gestured at Rose and Jackie, "they got it right. Look around you. This is Fortress America ascendant."

"So you followed Rose," the Doctor frowned. "And along the way you appropriated whatever technology you thought might be useful?"

"Sure did!" Wood grinned.

"But you can't have all of this!"

Wood snorted derisively. "Not your call, dude. We'll decide what we can have."

"It's not that simple," the Doctor snapped. "Here, let me show you."

Wood reached out to snatch back the sonic screwdriver, but was a fraction of a second too late. The sound, amplified by the old fashioned ear pods the Americans used burst their eardrums, driving like stilettos into the center of their brains, while Jackie and Rose desperately covered their ears and survived with barely more than a headache.

"See to Jake," the Doctor ordered Jackie. "Rose, with me!"

"They're not dead," she glanced at the three unconscious men as the Doctor led her over to the stack of boxes they'd been examining earlier.

"No," he agreed. "And they've got Jackie to thank for that."

"Doctor?" Rose sounded shocked.

He tapped the kevlar under his shirt as he looked over to see Jake coming around. The younger man would be bruised, but the vest had done its job well. "You two," he called. "Over here. Now!"

"We're coming, alright!" Jackie chided. "What's the rush?"

"Their back up crew," Rose reminded her. "Probably headed this way as soon they lost contact with Wood and his guards."

"Take these." The Doctor shoved one of the Rome World boxes into Jake's arms and strode across the room closely followed by the others.

"Like so," he explained, removing a circular device -- rounded on one side, flat on the other -- and slapped it against the wall. He twisted the round upper portion until it stopped moving then pulled hard until he heard it click into place. "Anchor, activate and lock. Got it?" The others nodded. "Good. Jackie, Jake -- you two take the outer walls. Do the entire space. Place 'em high as you can, but no more than 15 meters apart. Rose, take these." He passed her a half dozen of the objects. "Straight down the center of the room. Same parameters. Meet me at the glider when you're all done. Now hurry!"

No one asked and the Doctor didn't bother to explain. He headed for the Jathaa ship digging out the ear pod he'd shoved in his pocket earlier in the evening.

"Pete?"

"Doctor! What the hell is going on? I lost contact with--"

"Never mind that now!" the Doctor interrupted. "We're fine. All of us. Bit of a rush though. I need to know--" He mentally calculated the space required and sighed.

"Know what?"

"Just how big is your bat cave?"

"My what?"

Chapter 6

Rose found the Doctor already aboard the ship and hunkered down next to some piece of alien equipment -- a thick bundle of cables casually tossed over one shoulder, sonic clenched between his teeth while he sorted through a mass of loose wires. Without a word she pulled out her mobile and took a picture.

"March," she announced, kneeling beside him. "Or maybe April." She cocked her head. "All those glowing yellow tips," she gestured at the wires. "Sort of reminds me of Easter."

"Wha--ah--oo--aw--in--a--out?" he slurred around the sonic. The query in his tone just about made his words comprehensible. Or maybe she was beginning to understand Doctor-speak again.

"What am I talking about?" He nodded. "My new calendar," Rose explained, showing him the image. "Had loads of you working away in the TARDIS. Makes a great desktop. One for every month. Geek chic, Mum called it. Need a new one now, though. New, new, new Doctor, right?"

The Doctor grimaced and pulled the screwdriver from his mouth. "Geek chic? Rose Tyler, what did I ever do to deserve being your... Your... Pin-up?"

"More like what haven't you done," Jackie complained as she and Jake entered the ship's cramped flight deck. "Caught naked in the loo I'd understand, but done up like a Christmas tree? Turned my daughter into a bleedin' pervert, you did!"

"Oh, I don't know." Jake grinned, looking over Rose's shoulder at the candid shot. "Toss the jacket. Lose the shirt. You'd make a nice centerfold for Men's Monthly -- Mechanics in May Edition."

The Doctor's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally gave up, compressing his lips into a thin line while he glared disapprovingly. He shook his head and got to his feet. Humans!

"Right," he squeaked, trying to ignore Rose's bemused smile and the pink tip of her tongue caught between her teeth. "Everything set?"

The others nodded just as a loud boom sounded through the warehouse and the ship shuddered.

"Those doors won't hold for long," Rose said, crouching down beside her mother, who huddled low on the deck. "Doctor, if you're going to do something, do it quick."

"Just about there," he told them and pointed his screwdriver at the ship's console. The main hatch sealed itself shut while the blast windows slid closed. Another explosion -- this one, by the sound of the deep metallic screech, had breached the loading bay doors. The Doctor knelt beside Rose and slapped one of the Rome World devices on the floor.

He tapped his ear pod. "All ready for us, Pete?"

"The security system's off, but I don't see how--"

The Doctor pointed his sonic at the top of the little silver dome. "Hold on!"

There was a sharp cracking sound followed by a deep rumble and what felt like an earthquake. The world seemed to sway and the ship bucked wildly. An instant later the movement stopped, though loud thuds and bangs could be heard as several heavy somethings hit the outer hull of the glider. When that ceased as well, the Doctor released the breath he'd been holding.

"What the hell?" Jake demanded.

"Did they get in?" Jackie asked.

Rose sniffed the air, a slow smile creeping across her face. "I smell guano."

"So do I," the Doctor grinned.

He detached the gadget from the floor and held it up. "Simple matter transport apparatus," he explained. "For shifting trade goods and such. A bit like your dimension jumpers, but much more sophisticated and a lot less damaging to the fabric of space. Place enough of these anywhere and you could move a mountain. Well, I say a mountain, I mean, the entire contents of a medium sized warehouse. Well, any sized warehouse come to that. To be exact, the one we were just in."

"But--"

"Knew this cave would come in handy. Perfect use for the place." The Doctor jumped to his feet, shoving open the hatch to have a look about. "Rather nice, in fact. Bit of a tight fit," he commented, squinting into the darkness. "Might have had a slight cave in," he shrugged. "Still, nothing to worry about." A low rumble and a fall of loose stone came from outside. "Second thought, maybe I'd best check the structural integrity. See if there's anything we ought to worry about."

***

Pete stared in disbelief as he shone a torch around the cavern. Mounds of natural rock mixed with the remains of shattered concrete walls and plaster dust. The man was absolutely mad, he thought.

"Who steals a warehouse? You steal the contents, not the whole bloody building!" he shouted at the Doctor.

"Just the basement," the Doctor offered calmly, as if that somehow made it all the more reasonable. "Didn't have time to do a proper sorting. Men with guns and explosives at the door. Ever so distracting."

"You couldn't just..." Pete ran a hand through what was left of his hair. "I don't know! Blow it up?"

"Blow it up?" The Doctor repeated, scandalized. "Humans!" He gave a disappointed head shake and wandered off to examine several more bins, completely ignoring Jake and Rose, who were helping Jackie make her way to the carved stone staircase that led up and out of the caves.

But Pete wasn't about to let this go. "Do you have any idea of the kind of mess you've landed me in?" he demanded.

"Not to worry." The Doctor barely glanced at the space. "A bit of heavy lifting. Couple of passes with a dust broom. I'm sure it'll sort itself out."

"Not this mess," Pete answered tersely. "Doctor, the authorities are at the front gate. They want to know why two localized, if minor earthquakes, occurred near simultaneously. One of them right beneath my house! How do I explain that?"

"Spatial reflective oscillation recoil on an analogous locale."

"What?"

"Their basement collapsing shook your bat cave."

Pete thought for a moment then nodded. "Could work. And why'd the basement collapse?"

The Doctor's brows rose.

"Right," Pete nodded. "How would I know that."

"Take 'em months to figure it out," the Doctor cheerfully pointed out. "Probably won't believe it even if-- Oh look!" he suddenly exclaimed, diving head first into one of the larger bins and coming up with his prize. "Jalapeno flavored crisps!"

Chapter 7

The Doctor sat alone in the semi-darkness of the alien cockpit staring out at the empty cave. The others had all gone. Jake and Rose with Wood and his companions to dump their unconscious bodies somewhere near the warehouse -- they'd been banged up and bruised, but not too much worse for wear. He didn't much care for the idea of taking their memories, but Rose insisted it was standard procedure and who was he to argue such a minor point as that? In truth, the Doctor had to admit, he didn't much care what happened to them. As long as they stayed out of his business he was willing to let their actions pass. Besides, to whom would they complain of the loss? The Americans? Torchwood? In all likelihood they'd probably only remember having gone on a late night coffee run -- which was how and why they'd come across Jackie -- and the rest would be chalked up to whatever explanation the authorities gave the public. Then again, perhaps they'd imagine Torchwood had raided the place, or one of their ill-gotten alien artifacts had inexplicably destroyed all the rest. It wouldn't really matter in the end, he reckoned. The handwriting was already on the wall -- or the galactic news feed as it were.

The Doctor scrubbed at his face, sighing deeply as he felt the first inkling of despair. Behind him he heard a step and quickly reached to switch the monitor to a less damning read out. Not that it would matter to Pete. The galactic feed was always delivered in Basic. He didn't even need the TARDIS to read the thing. And certainly no Human on Earth would be capable of deciphering it at present.

He forced a smile and turned to face the other man. "I've set the deflectors to well... deflect. Any scans the authorities do will simply register this place as filled with stone. If you can hold them off a little while longer I can create a couple of small rock falls to make it look as though all the entrances have caved in as well. A little longer and they won't even notice there was ever anything here. Especially if this place was never on any maps."

Pete waved away his concern. "Not necessary. They might try a few scans, but they won't come nosing around down here."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Gave 'em what for and a lot of grief about what they might have been doing that shook my house. Angry homeowner waves insurance claims at low wage government employees. Definitely not worth their jobs to argue."

"Not bad," the Doctor admitted, impressed. "The best defense is a good offense, eh?"

"Something like," Pete nodded. "Me, I've just got one of those faces. People think I'm not too bright, but very honest." He gave his trademark thumbs up. "You can trust me on this."

The Doctor laughed. "Pull up a chair," he offered then gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry. Jathaa don't sit," he explained, patting the raised and rounded beam he was sitting on. "They perch."

Pete looked around and found a half-empty crate filled with crumpled crisp wrappers which he tossed on the floor before flipping it over and taking a seat.

"So," Pete began once he was settled. "Barely been here forty-eight hours and already you've saved the world -- again."

"Oh, hardly that I should think," the Doctor demurred.

"Still," Pete went on. "This lot's best kept out of the hands of the Americans. In a few days, once the furor's died down, I'll have Torchwood come round and cart it all away."

"You'll do no such thing." The Doctor crossed his arms, casually stretching out his legs.

"I beg your pardon?" Pete's anger was obvious -- as was the Doctor's adamant stance on the subject.

"How many times have I tried to tell you people," he growled in frustration. "You cannot havethis kind of technology!"

"Oh, and I suppose you know best? You're forgetting something. It's not your world, Doctor!"

"And it won't be yours for very much longer, either!"

The Doctor rose, looming over Pete. "When I say you can't have it, I don't mean you shouldn't have it because you don't know how to use it. I bloody well mean you can't have it because just possessing this kind of technology at this stage in Earth's development is dangerous! Blimey!" He rubbed his head roughly and started to pace the small confines of the area. "Just once I'd like some Human -- well, some Human other than Albert Einstein -- to ask, 'Why Doctor? Please tell me why we can't?' But no, never that. Never a sensible question. You lot! You never think!"

Pete crossed his arms, echoing the Doctor's earlier pose. "Okay. So tell me why. Come on, Doctor. Why can't we have all this technology?"

The Doctor stood absolutely still and took a deep breath. There was no choice. Not really. Not anymore.

"Because you've changed Earth's planetary designation."

There was a long considered pause before Pete spoke again. "What does that mean exactly?"

"Exactly?" The Doctor huffed a laugh and leaned back against the bulkhead, hands shoved into his pockets, head tilted back so that he stared at nothing in particular. "Earth's currently a level five planet. What that means exactly is that you aren't technically a member of the galactic community. You're exempt from certain laws and have jurisdictional independence. In a word, you're free to develop at your own pace without interference from other species. A level five designation also affords you a measure of protection from races like the Sycorax and Sontarans. The only problem with that is if you'd actually contacted the Shadow Proclamation for assistance your designation would automatically change from a five to a four. And you don't ever want your planet to be given a level four designation."

"Why not?"

"Because you'd be ripe pickings. Level four is... Well, it's not what you want. Believe me. You want to go from a five to a three and avoid the benevolent guidance of the galactic community a four would impose. You'd get Judoon peacekeepers enforcing galactic law -- not Earth law -- across the planet. Judoon advisors determining what technology was safe for you to have and which species would be allowed to supply it. And trust me when I say you do not want Judoon anywhere on Earth. And certainly not any species they deemed acceptable as trading partners. They're scrupulously honest Judoon, but thick. No subtlety. No nuance. No mercy. Just plain thick."

"But you said we'd already changed our designation," Pete quietly responded.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes and sighed. "It's in the works. I checked the galactic news feed. There's a petition in the Senate to have Earth's status changed to a Level Four B. B for belligerent," he added.

"Belligerent?"

"Yes, belligerent. As in hostile. A danger to yourselves and other species."

"But why?" Pete asked in all sincerity. "We haven't done anything to anyone that didn't come here looking for trouble."

"Not as such," the Doctor admitted. "At least from your point of view."

"And the other point of view?"

"Now that's where it gets complicated. I'm assuming your Torchwood like the one back in our universe also shot down a Jathaa ship subsequently recovered from Mount Snowdon?" Pete nodded. "Rose implied as much, but I had to be sure," he went on. "That was the first really big mistake Torchwood made."

"How's that?"

"The Jathaa are peaceful traders. There's plenty of black market off world trade going on here, Pete -- always has been. But that's mostly just aliens buying from clueless Humans and selling to other aliens. Art, food, fashion, popular entertainment -- that sort of thing. Earth culture is a bit of a cult phenomena in certain quarters. Not many planets have as much variety as your world. Something for everybody. A veritable smorgasbord of creativity," the Doctor added with obvious delight. "But," he continued more seriously. "Jathaa traders always travel in pairs for safety. Peaceful, not stupid, see? When Torchwood brought down the first ship, the second pilot," he gestured at the control panel, "landed to recover her partner and their goods if possible. There's not much in the ship's log, but I'm guessing she found her associate and was either captured or killed in the process."

"I couldn't say," Pete admitted. "The battle to take Torchwood Tower destroyed a lot of the old records."

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor shrugged. "Well it does, but there's nothing to be done now. Let's just hope the Jathaa never find out about it or they'll be after compensation from you lot. And with a level four designation they'd get whatever they asked for."

"So it's not the Jathaa we need to worry about," Pete stated.

"Not yet. With any luck and a timely apology, maybe never."

"The Sycorax?"

"Nah," the Doctor shook his head. "Fair fight that was. Even warning shots were legitimate under the circumstances. Of course," he added ruefully. "On my side of the void it didn't turn out to be quite so easy. Could've led to a Level Four B designation, but I got ahead of the transmission and dispersed the signal. The armada never received it. Never saw me beat their champion or the ship destroyed. Best of all, Sycorax tend to wander pretty far afield with little contact unless they're sharing war stories. Probably be years before the fleet even notices they've got a missing ship. Never tie it to that Earth."

"Well if it wasn't the Sycorax," Pete asked, clearly frustrated. "What the hell was it?"

The Doctor exhaled slowly. It made no sense, and yet it made perfect sense. "You shot down an unarmed passenger liner killing more than two thousand innocent civilians without provocation."

"Without provocation? But that was self-defense!"

"I know that!" the Doctor retorted.

He pointed to the console. "But they don't! There's no record of foul play. No proof that Max Capricorn was behind the destruction of the Titanic. No distress signal ever got out."

"But there's witnesses." Pete got to his feet.

"Who saw what exactly?" the Doctor demanded, standing almost nose to nose with the other man. "Were those meteors or missiles heading for that ship? Could be disputed, sure. But that energy weapon of yours, Pete. It left a signature the insurance investigators were bound to discover. And it's not like Torchwood took the trouble to hide what they'd done. It's a first class cock up, that's what it is," he muttered in disgust.

"But you can fix it, right?"

"Yes. No! Maybe. I don't--" The Doctor growled in frustration. "If I had my TARDIS I could. Yeah. Easy. No problem. But with only this junk to work with!" He kicked an innocuous bit of bulkhead. "I'd be lucky to make it to Andromeda and back in less than a week."

"So you contact that Shadow Proclamation of yours," Pete suggested. "Give 'em a statement. Tell 'em what happened."

"And they'd believe me?" the Doctor scoffed. "Not on the passenger manifest, remember? And not a Time Lord either. One heart." He slapped his chest. "No magic blue box."

Pete nodded slowly and sank back down to sit on the crate once again. "And even if you were, you've got no standing in this universe. No Time Lords, no historic authority, no reason for them to listen."

"About sums it up," the Doctor agreed, sliding down to sit cross-legged on the floor.

They were silent for awhile. "I'll have to inform the government," Pete spoke at last.

"Are you mad?" the Doctor asked, astonished at the sheer stupidity of the idea. "They'll just make things worse. Arming the planet to the teeth is the last thing you want to do. Belligerent. Bad. Get it?"

"But if you can't help..."

"I didn't say that," the Doctor calmly pointed out.

"Then you do have a plan." Pete heaved a sigh of relief.

The Doctor smiled brightly. "Of course I've got a plan. It'll take a bit of work, but..."

"Doctor?"

The two men stared guiltily at the hatchway.

"Don't tell Rose," the Doctor whispered as they both got to their feet. "Don't tell anyone!"

Pete gave him a long assessing look. "How long before this galactic Senate of yours makes a decision?"

"Six months, maybe a bit more. Certainly within the year. Lots of red tape and reports. Typical bureaucracy."

"Okay." Pete responded. "You have a week to come up with a viable strategy that will convince me to keep silent. Otherwise..." He let the threat hang in the air.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. Don't really have much choice, he thought bitterly, plastering an eager smile on his face as Rose popped her head in the door.

"There you are! Come look what I've found!" He took her hand, leading her out of the cockpit.

"A week," Pete repeated quietly as the Doctor passed.

"A week for what?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"To clean up this mess. Tidy my room. Make sure his very nice house doesn't fall down," he lied sweetly.

Rose laughed. "No worries," she told her father. "I'll help him put his toys away. Utterly useless with a broom though. Maybe we can run the electric down and hoover the rest."

"Brilliant plan! Now where did I see that generator..."

Pete watched the pair of them leave, frowning at the Doctor's back. In general, he wasn't averse to keeping secrets. Yet, even if he did attempt to inform the government of the danger he also knew that, just like the Doctor, he wouldn't be able to prove a word of it.

***

It was not quite daybreak when the Doctor rose to stand in the tall windows of Rose's bedroom. Dawn was slowly creeping over the horizon and he could sense the whole of this side of the planet lazily awakening. Behind him, Rose was still asleep. Her quiet snoring a sign of just how exhausted she'd been after their little escapade. He smiled to himself, remembering the indefatigable nineteen year old who could race from adventure to adventure on a few hours sleep and a seemingly endless supply of adrenaline. At twenty-seven, no matter what she believed, those days were gone for good. Just as his days of running were limited by the margins imposed on him by a Human life span. Still, he mused, life was about compromise. Not so much when it came to ideals and principles, but in the way one lived one's very existence.

The same could be said for relationships. Despite what some of his companions might have thought, he'd understood this fact long before he'd begun his mad travels through time and space. His life back on Gallifrey, when he'd had a family to consider, had been one long compromise. Of course, he hadn't minded so much then, not having truly experienced life out in the universe. He'd only had the vaguest inkling that there was something more; something better than an endless parade of tedious meetings, meaningless decisions and pompous ceremony. But Gallifrey had been static. A society trapped in an illusion of profound self-importance. Not that they hadn't been entitled to feel self-satisfied considering all they'd achieved. But too much resting on the laurels of the past had left them inherently weak and open to catastrophe.

His own complacency, the Doctor knew, had led to many foolish decisions as well. Had he the right to commit genocide? In fulfilling the prophecy of Dalek Caan he'd believed he was correcting a mistake made long ago. And no matter what the Doctor Prime might wish to believe, it was a decision he'd made as a Time Lord -- not an angry, bloodthirsty, vengeful man. He'd been in full possession of his faculties then. Just as he was now.

Sacrificing the Daleks for the sake of all Creation had been an easy choice for a man who'd destroyed his own civilization when faced with the same conundrum. Still, the Doctor felt it more than a bit hypocritical to be cast out for doing the equivalent in similar circumstances. But, unlike the Doctor Prime, he could see that Martha and Jack had understood the danger the Daleks represented all too well. Sacrificing the Earth or destroying twenty-seven planets along with the Daleks still seemed to him a fair, if terrible, exchange when it came to preserving the rest.

And therein lay his own paradox. The contradiction of being a Time Lord who wasn't really a Time Lord making a decision for a planet the wasn't his own, but was now the only home he was ever likely to have. The rational choice would be to let events play out as they were meant in this universe -- even if he was having trouble clearly perceiving what those events might be.

He quickly discarded the idea as being more of the same complacency that had led to the downfall of Gallifrey in the first place. Humans were meant to be the driving force in the universe. For good or ill they brought an incredible amount of energy to every endeavor. Energy that galvanized other races and other worlds to exceed whatever they believed they could accomplish and to push the boundaries of their achievements. Humans, stretching out their curious minds, would revitalize dying civilizations. Which would in turn give rise to new arts and sciences. Dizzying heights would be attained by some, though others might burn brightly and briefly only to be consumed by the bland banality that Humans would also bring to the stars. Even so, too many great and wonderful things would be lost to the future if he chose not to act.

Behind him, Rose mumbled in her sleep. He moved to her side, gently touching her temple to remove the offending dream. She'd be angry if she knew he'd interfered, but Rose needed her rest and he was not above making certain his one link to this tiny planet remained safe and sane -- even if it cost him something.

Compromise. It was the reason he'd chosen to send Rose away in the first place. He'd needed her, but she'd needed her family more. No matter how capable she might think herself, he'd known exactly what that loss would eventually do to her. She'd become just as cold and hard as he was inside. Had, in fact, started down that path already. She'd become inured to the danger and violence of his existence, much more so than most of his companions. And, like him, she'd reveled in the joy of experiencing new people, places, planets and eras that offset the darkness they'd so often found. Her life on this Earth had been no safer or easier from what he could determine. Materially better, perhaps, but working for Torchwood had toughened her. An older, wiser Rose had come back to him -- armed, dangerous and in possession of a particle gun.

He didn't like it. Not at all. Although, he admitted somewhat ruefully, and again unlike the Doctor Prime, he found the mature Rose infinitely more attractive than the girl he'd once known.

The Doctor let himself out of the room and into the garden beyond. He inhaled deeply, turning his face to catch the first feeble rays of sunlight peeking over the edge of the world. The grass beneath his bare feet felt soft and cool. The morning dew felt clean, and the fresh air was crisp against his skin. What a wonder this world was, in all its many variations throughout time. And the truth, if he cared to acknowledge it, was that he did not wish to live under the omnipresent heel of the Shadow Proclamation or the Judoon. He liked Earth just the way it was. Sure, the people were a bit barmy. Well, a lot barmy he grinned. Yet, it was in that hint of insanity where the best of Human genius lay -- and he wasn't about to see it stifled. So he would be selfish and save them yet again -- whether they approved of his methods or not.

But first things first he determined, turning back to stare at the room he'd just left. If he was to proceed as quickly as he would like, he'd have to peel Rose away from Torchwood -- immediately.