The Star in the Sky Saga: OLD VERSION

by BlackRoseBooks

First in The Star in the Sky Saga - 9th Doctor/OC (Time Lady - Astra Nyx) - What if the Doctor found someone else in the shop? What is it about her that draws him to want to protect her and why does she feel so familiar? When they end up travelling together what will they discover? What secrets will be uncovered? Goes through all the episodes from Season 1. (In-Progress)

1. Astra

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

Astra

In a top floor flat in Central London. A young woman called Astra Nyx awoke to the early morning radio. The sun shone through her blinds as she looked to her bedside cabinet at the alarm clock. Reading the time, she sat up and stretched languidly, releasing the stiffness from her body caused by a good night's sleep. She got out of bed, turned off her alarm and headed to the kitchen.

She headed straight for her coffee maker. She turned it on before she leaned back against the counter and took a moment to simply enjoy the peaceful morning view from her window, which was overlooking the central London skyline.

The coffee machine buzzed gently in the background. Astra stood there for a moment before coming to a decision, nodding slightly to herself she set about gathering the ingredients she needed from the fridge and her cupboards. After making the batter for some blueberry muffins, she distributed it evenly into muffin case lined trays. She placed the trays in the oven to bake before going to the bathroom to have a shower.

Once finished she wrapped her hair in a towel and put on her dressing gown, before returning to the kitchen. Taking the trays from the oven she removed the muffins and placed them on a cooling rack.

She finished just as her phone buzzed, alerting her that it had just turned 7.15am. This meant she had half an hour left to finish getting ready for work. She left the muffins to cool as she went to her bedroom to finish getting ready.

~*0*~

In a different flat a couple of blocks away, a slightly younger girl called Rose Tyler jumped awake from her bed. She looked around her bright pink room slightly dazed as her loud alarm blared, breaking the morning silence with its obnoxious ring.

She flopped back down on the pillows as she slammed her hand down on the clock, silencing her alarm before picking it up and focusing on it.

She cursed under her breath as she read the time. It was 7.30am. She was running late, again. She threw her duvet off of her and raced into the bathroom, pushing past her mother as she went. She quickly scrambled to get ready, internally moaning to herself about how her mum should have woken her up sooner.

~*0*~

Astra pulled on a black and white stripy jumper, a pair of faded blue-grey boot-cut jeans and some brown leather ankle boots. She blow-dried her hair into loose curls before adding a hint of mascara and eyeliner to make her eyes stand out. She added a touch of lip balm before she tucked her Claddagh locket under her jumper. She nodded to herself, deeming herself ready for the day.

She went to the kitchen and boxed up her muffins, putting them in her brown satchel bag before she threw it over her shoulder.

She grabbed her keys and exited the apartment, locking the door behind her. She walked across the car park and got into her little mini. Checking all her mirrors she started the engine before setting off to work.

~*0*~

Rose rushed around the flat trying to find an outfit for the day. She grabbed the first thing she could find that smelled clean and put them on.

Now wearing a dark pink tracksuit jacket, a pale pink vest top, baggy jeans and trainers she raced into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of toast off the table and took a big gulp of her mum's tea.

Ignoring the look on her mums face she gave her a kiss on the cheek before running for the door shouting a quick "Bye!" over her shoulder as she slammed the door shut, not hearing her mother answering "See you later" as she rushed down the stairs and out the building.

~*0*~

Astra calmly pulled into the multi-story car park down the road from her work. She grabbed her things, exited the car, making sure to lock it up before she headed down the stairs out of the car park.

She walked down the road and into Henrik's department store. As she passed the security guard she paused with a smile. "Hello" she greeted as she pulled out the box of muffins from her bag and offering one to the man. She chuckled slightly as the guard made a show of great debate as he hovered over the muffins before settling on the one he wanted with a look of delight and playful greed on his face.

He took a big bite groaning with exaggerated satisfaction making Astra laugh out loud, as he said with a charming smile "Gorgeous as always, Az".

Her laughter trailed off as she waved away the compliment with a smile before turning to head towards the offices. She dropped off her handbag and things in her locker before she headed to the cash registers and got to work.

~*0*~

Rose jumped on the bus headed to Central London, biting her lip as she prayed for the bus to go faster. As the bus pulled up outside the department store she raced off it not bothering to acknowledge the people she pushed out of the way as she raced for the doors.

She rushed in, straight past the security guard ignoring the fact he was rolling his eyes at her as she ran in late again. She threw the manager a pathetic look as she apologized, noticing he was looking at her with a raised eyebrow before he just sighed and shook his head at the girl.

She dropped off her bag in the office before taking her time making herself a cup of tea. She went to the changing rooms to keep an eye on them for the first couple of hours of her day.

~*0*~

As the morning past, Astra worked the register, answered any telephone calls or internet queries that came in, and assisted any customers who couldn't find the items they were looking for. She only paused briefly to go to the office for a quick lunch break.

After finishing her home-made lunch of prawn chorizo spaghetti, she tidied up after herself wiped down the table and put her things away. Once done she headed straight over to the staff organizing the window displays in order to offer her assistance in setting them.

~*0*~

Rose, having finished her shift in guarding the changing rooms, she began moving and organizing piles of shirts and jeans around in the ladies' wear section before being given permission to go for her lunch.

She headed out to meet her boyfriend for a pasty lunch in Trafalgar Square but quickly lost track of time as they played about. She finally realized she was running late again when she heard Big Ben ring out in the background alerting her to the fact it had gone 1 o'clock.

She rushed through the doors, avoiding her boss's stare as she went over to the counter, picked up the sales tags and started to hook them onto the hangers in the sale section.

~*0*~

At about 7.45pm the announcement system clicked on and Astra's voice could be heard throughout the store.

"This is a customer announcement. The store will be closing in fifteen minutes. Thank you." she clicked off the system and gave customers another ten minutes before she shut down the till and took all the money and paperwork for the day into the office for the manager to tally the next day.

Rose and some of the other girls headed for the main doors only for Rose to be stopped by the guard who shook a clear plastic bag containing several lottery tickets and some money in front of Rose, with a grunted "Oi" to get her attention.

Rose reluctantly took the bag with a groan before she turned and ran back to the staff lift.

Astra ran over and quickly stepped inside just as the doors began to close having just come from the office where she had finished filing the sales receipt and locking up the till money.

Astra was on her way to take a cup of coffee and some of the muffins left over from this morning down to the Chief Electrician Wilson, like she did every day she worked. She and Rose both stood in semi-awkward silence as they travelled down to the basement.

~*0*~

Rose left the lift immediately once the doors had opened. "Wilson? Wilson, I've got the lottery money. Wilson, are you there?" she shouted as she stomped out of the lift and looked around for the man.

Astra stepped out of the lift cautiously from behind Rose. She didn't know why but there was something about the basement today that had her instincts flaring in warning. She stayed quiet and on alert as she looked around the unnatural quiet of the basement trying to find what could be the cause of her unease.

Rose walked down to a grey heavy-duty industrial door that had a large 'danger of electric shock' sign on it below a plaque that label the room the office of H P Wilson Chief Electrician.

Astra cautiously followed after Rose making sure to keep a constant eye on her surroundings. She jumped slightly when Rose suddenly started to bang on the door loudly while she shouted.

"I can't hang about 'cos they're closing the shop. Wilson! Oh, come on" she groaned to herself as she looked around trying to find the man.

There was the clattering sound of falling hangers from further down the corridor made both Rose and Astra both turn in that direction. Rose immediately started stomping in that direction while Astra followed a little more cautiously. Astra was trying to remain calm and alert as she looked around making sure to keep quiet.

This was very quickly rendered useless as Rose shouted "Hello? Hello, Wilson, it's Rose. Hello? W..Wilson?"

Walking down the corridor Rose glanced to the side at the pile of hangers that had seemingly fallen before heading to a nearby door that led to the storeroom. She threw the door open and marched still shouting "Wilson? Wilson" as Astra turned on the lights revealing the walls were lined with boxes full of extra stock and half-dressed shop window dummies.

Astra cautiously made their way into the room as Rose stormed ahead shouting for Wilson all the way. She couldn't contain the shudder that passed through her body as the hairs raised on the back of her neck with the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

She glanced around cautiously her unease shifting to anxiety. Suddenly the door slammed shut behind them which caused her to almost jump out of her skin as she spun to face the door. She just barely managed to contain the startled shriek that tried to work its way out of her mouth.

Rose ran straight back to the door and pulled futilely on the handle trying to get it open.

Astra span back around, her eyes searching the room for anything that could explain what was happening. She frowned as she saw nothing out of the ordinary her anxiety rising with the lack of answers. She glanced over her shoulder as she heard the muttering of the other girl in her company, wondering how Rose could be so oblivious to the atmosphere the seemed to be closing in around them.

Rose, finally giving up on the door muttered to herself "You're kidding me". She turned around suddenly as there was another sound of falling hangers coming from further down the corridor. She saw Astra looking towards a section of male shop window dummies. "Is that someone mucking about? ... Who is it?" she yelled as she walked past a row of dummies.

Astra followed closely behind the younger girl just in case she needed to react quickly. She did not see as she passed the dummies. One of their heads had turned to follow the two girls, nor did she notice when the dummy stepped off the wall rack and started to follow behind them staggering slightly as it adjusted to the ability to walk.

"Yeah, you got me. Very funny" Rose trailed off slightly quieter as she started to think something may not be quite right with this situation. Neither girl noticed when a second dummy joined the first or a third.

"Right, I've got the joke. Who's idea was this? Is it Derek's? Is it? Derek, is this you?" Rose started to shout again having very quickly shaken off her feeling of unease as her mind rationalized that there couldn't be any danger down here.

Astra caught the sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned around only to momentarily stare in shock at the site of the herd of dummies behind them. She snapped herself out of it quickly and spun around; catching the still oblivious Rose by the wrist she started to drag the girl away through the storage area. She headed to where she knew was an emergency service left and hoped they would be safe there.

Rose looked over her shoulder in confusion at the abrupt movement only to see the herd of dummies behind them both making her shriek out in surprise as she started to run as well, Astra kept a firm grip on the girl's arm as she managed to pull ahead of her, who had been tipping over boxes and things as she went to try and slow them down.

Finally, the dummies had managed to box them in from all sides, trapping them with their backs against a pipe covered wall. The dummy at the front of the pack raised its arm ready to bring it down on their heads.

Astra closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen to them and trying not to listen to Rose fearful whimpering, a hand grabbed hers. Her eyes sprang open as she turned her head left to see what had grabbed her hand.

What she saw surprised her, as it was a man, a remarkably calm man, with very short dark hair, crystal blue eyes and a rather large nose and ears, who was dressed mostly in black with his leather jacket, jeans and doc martin boots a red jumper not making much of a contrast with its dark colour.

The man looked her straight in the eyes and gave a single order, an order that Astra had no problem following. He simply said, "Run!"

He pulled Astra by the hand, dragging her through the herd of dummies and by default dragging Rose with them as Astra had yet to release the girl's hand. The man had managed to drag them out of the way just as the arm of the dummy slammed down breaking the pipe clean in half and releasing a gust of steam right into the dummy's face. This caused the dummy to stumble back from the force of the blast before it caught its balance and started to chase after them.

~*0*~

The dummies followed them down the corridor as they ran for the service lift. The man pointed a silver tube with a bright blue light at the end at the lift making it open ready for them. They ran into the lift the Doctor in the lead with Rose following straight after, having been shoved through first by Astra who followed close behind.

The dummy threw himself at the doors as they were nearly closed, just managing to fit his arm through as he made a grab for them. He just missed Astra's hair when his arm was grabbed by the man from inside the lift. The man gave several harsh tugs before he managed to pull the arm right off the body allowing the doors to finally shut.

The man then turned around tossing the arm carelessly at Rose, which she hastily caught before he turned to Astra and grabbed her by the shoulders. He looked her up and down running his gaze over her checking for injuries now that it was relatively safe for them to do so. As he reached her face their eyes met and time seemed to pause for a moment as they got lost in a haze of familiarity and warmth that both of them where feeling but neither of them could quite explain.

"Thanks," Astra said with a smile breaking the spell that they had seemingly fallen under and his lips lifted into a small but sincere smile in return.

"You pulled his arm off" Rose gasped suddenly, staring at the disembodied arm in her hands, seeming to come out of her shock from where she was stood frozen against the back of the lift where she landed when Astra pushed her through. This caught both of their attention to her, both feeling slightly guilty for having completely forgotten she was there for a moment.

With a roll of his eyes the man turned and faced the lift door and crossing his arms, finally releasing Astra as he realized he still had his hands on her shoulder "Yep, its Plastic"

"Very clever. Nice trick! Who were they then? Students? Is this a student thing or what?" Rose demanded angrily, assuming he was responsible for scaring her.

"Why would they be students?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at the anger suddenly directed at him.

"I don't know" Rose defensively yelled.

"Well, you said it. Why students?" he asked, genuinely curious. He finally turned toward her as he tried to understand.

"'Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students", Rose said calming down seeing the confusion on his face and wondering if she got the situation wrong and thinking that that might be a reasonable explanation.

"That makes sense. Well done" he answered sarcastically, turning to face the front so she wouldn't see him as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Thanks" answered Rose, his sarcasm to sharp for her to notice.

The man in the leather jacket heaved a sigh, resigning himself to trying to explain it to her. "They're not students…"

Rose interrupted before he could finish, "Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police".

"Who's Wilson?" he asked, turning to Astra for an answer, both annoyed at Rose for cutting him off but also wanting to know.

"Chief electrician," Astra said him seeing his attention turn to her for an answer.

"Wilson's dead" he stated, continuing to ignore Rose as he turned to face the doors again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Astra close her eyes and look down in grief. This sent a pang of something through the man that he didn't understand but he knew he wanted to comfort the girl in some way. So, uncrossing his arms he reached out to take her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze to express his sympathy. Not understanding at all the feeling this girl seemed to be evoking in him but deciding it didn't really matter, he just didn't like seeing her upset besides he had time to think about it.

"Hold on. Mind your eyes" he warned, more to Astra than Rose.

Keeping hold of Astra's hand, the man pulled her out of the lift. He took the metal tube out of his jacket pocket and pointed it straight at the lift call button panel. The end of the tube glowed a violent bright blue and emitted a high-pitched buzz until the button panel sparked violently. He then started running down the hall toward the fire exit, Astra close on his heels as he dragged her, his hand still in hers, leaving Rose to hurry to catch up, trailing behind them.

"I've had enough of this now. Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there? I said who are they?" Rose demanded, wanting to get answers from the man who seemed to actually know what was going on, only to be ignored.

"Are they robots, like a remote control on a grander scale than just mini cars? And who is in control of them?" Astra asked rather more inquisitively than Rose.

The man seemed mildly impressed with her deductions and logic, at least enough to reward her with an honest explanation. "They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures called Autons. They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this". At this, he held up what appeared to be a small bomb that they hadn't noticed he was carrying. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed".

"But we can't just leave you to die! Can't you set it to a timer or something?" Astra exclaimed, not wanting to leave the man that had just saved her to do something so dangerous alone.

After shoving Rose out the fire exit, he let go of Astra's hand, realizing that he still had hold of it. He ignored the sense of loss that came with letting go as he comforted the girl "Like I said, don't worry about me" he smiled reassuringly at Astra for her concern before he shut the door behind him, only to open it again a moment later as he asked "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?" looking straight at Astra, seeming to have forgotten Rose was even there.

"Rose", she answered anyway, earning a dismissive look from the Doctor before he focused his attention back on Astra.

"Astra. Astra Nyx" the girl answered softly with a small worried smile.

The Doctor froze, shocked for a moment as his mind automatically went to the memory of a girl who used to use that very name before he shook it off and looked at the girl in question who now wore a concerned frown at the Doctors reaction making the Doctor smile at her in reassurance as he said "Nice to meet you, Astra Nyx" before he shook the bomb at them and said far too cheerfully for the current situation "Run for your life!" before he slammed the door closed again.

~*0*~

Astra and Rose both made their way across the main road, Astra glancing around nervously at all the dummies in the shop windows. Rose almost becoming a hood ornament for a black cab. Ignoring the taxi driver's shouts of "Oi! Watch it lady!" as she legged it across the road. They ran up the street constantly looking back at the building waiting for whatever the Doctor had planned to come into effect. Walking up a side alley that led Rose to her bus stop they both paused part way and just waited. When nothing seemed to happen they shared a look before they turned to go off in different directions, Rose for the bus and Astra for her car, when...

KABOOM!

An enormous fireball exploded from the roof of the shop taking out the top ten floors of Henriks. Rose turned and ran away leaving Astra stood there staring at the shop for a moment hoping the Doctor truly was OK.

Astra turned and started toward the car park when she spotted a 50's Police Box out of the corner of her eye, feeling the niggling sensation of familiarity in the back of her mind, the same way feeling she got from the Doctor. She shook her head and carried on towards her car ready to head home, feeling the need for a nice glass of wine to help her calm her nerves.

~*0*~

Back at the Tyler flat, Jackie was on the phone talking to one of her many friends, enjoying a good old gossip about what had happened to Rose's workplace, thrilled to have the main news to share.

Rose was sat slumped on the settee staring at the TV with a magazine in her hand, watching the news about her job being blown up. Occasionally she glanced at the arm from the Auton on the armchair next to her to make sure it wasn't still moving.

"I know, it's on the telly," Jackie said into the phone as she walked in with a cup of tea, which she handed to Rose before giving her daughter a considering look "It's everywhere. She's lucky to be alive. Honestly, it's aged her. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was her daughter. Oh, and here's himself". Jackie rolled her eyes as Mickey ran in continuing to gossip over the phone as she turned and walked back out again.

"I've been phoning your mobile. You could've been dead. It's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!" Mickey rushed over to her and knelt on the floor next to the settee, sounding genuinely upset and concerned.

"I'm all right, honestly, I'm fine! Don't make a fuss" Rose waved him off as he leaned in and gave her a hug.

"Well, what happened?" he asked, wanting to make sure for himself that she truly was okay.

"I don't know!" she shrugged

"What was it though? What caused it?" Mickey continued questioning; not willing to give up until he knew for sure she was as safe and as calm as she claimed.

"I wasn't in the shop. I was outside with that Astra girl. I didn't see anything" Rose shrugged him off again, not noticing the concern that had entered his eyes at the mention of Astra being there too.

"It's Debbie on the end. She knows a man on the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview" Jackie cheered enthusiastically, covering the mouthpiece on the phone, trying to get her daughter's spirits up.

"Oh that's brilliant! Give it here," Rose said, tired of her mother's behaviour. She took the phone from Jackie, who handed it over willingly and ended the call, slamming the phone down on top of the magazine now lying on the coffee table, ignoring the disapproving look her mother threw at her for her rudeness.

"Well, you've got to find some way of making money. Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out" Jackie exclaimed as she shook her head at her daughter's behaviour. The telephone rang again and Jackie picked it up immediately, walking out of the room as she answered it.

"Bev! She's alive. I've told her, sue for compensation. She was within seconds of death" they heard Jackie say before she is out of hearing range.

Mickey noticed the cup in Rose's hand "What're you drinking? Tea? Nah, Nah, that's no good, that's no good. You're in shock. You need something stronger" He stated, grabbing the cup out of her hand and putting it on the coffee table.

"I'm all right," she said, looking up at him with a shake of her head.

"Now, come on, you deserve a proper drink. We're going down the pub, you and me. My treat. How about it?" Mickey asked, seeing that he wasn't going to get much more out of her tonight.

"Is there a match on?" Rose asked, smiling up at him.

"No, I'm just thinking about you, babe" Mickey answered, making a show of mock offense.

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose asked a huge grin on her face.

"That's not the point, but we could catch the last five minutes" he shrugged, looking hopeful.

"Go on, then. I'm fine, really. Go. Get rid of that" Rose said, pointing to the Auton's arm on the chair.

Mickey gave Rose a quick kiss before he picked up the arm and headed for the door. He turned back towards her, waving the arm at her and said in a high pitched voice "Bye, bye".

"Bye" Rose laughed as Mickey made a choking sound as he pretended to be strangled by the arm, and then he left.

~*0*~

Mickey threw the arm into a rubbish bin as he passed. He overheard a couple having a blazing row before he pulled out his phone and called Astra.

"Hey, you alright? I heard you were near the shop when it exploded" He blurted down the phone the minute she answered.

"I'm fine, Mickey, just calming myself down with a nice glass of wine and making some cookies for tomorrow" Her voice was soft and calm, which reassured Mickey instantly; she really was alright, he knew the girl couldn't lie to save her life and her emotions always shone through in her voice.

They talked for a while about what she was going to do tomorrow and discussed some possible job opportunities before they hung up, not before Mickey secured her promise that if she needed him for anything that she would call him. Mickey headed off to the pub to watch the football with some friends.

~*0*~

After hanging up the phone with Mickey she smiled a little grateful someone cared enough to check on her before it fell into a small frown of worry as she thought of the Doctor and wishing she had some way to check on him.

She let out a sigh and shook her head trying to get rid of her thoughts on the Doctor as there was nothing she could do about that before she continued to mix the ingredients together for the cookie dough.

Once the cookies were done and in the oven to bake she decided to curl up on her settee, settling down she pulled out her well-loved copy of the first of the Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher to enjoy some reading while she enjoyed her wine.

~*0*~

The next morning Rose's alarm blared at the usual time of 7:30 am. She smacked her hand down on the buttons to turn it off as she sat up in bed and looked around the room, wondering what to do with herself.

"There's no point in getting up, sweetheart" Jackie called as she walked passed her daughter's bedroom through to the kitchen, where she immediately put the kettle on. "You've got no job to go to"

Rose looked at the door for a moment, her sleepy mind trying to process her mother's words before realizing she was right, she flopped back down in bed, pulled the duvet up over her head and went back to sleep.

~*0*~

Astra woke up a little later than normal at 7 o'clock. As she relaxed in bed for a bit not feeling the need to get up straight away, she thought about what she was going to do with her day. She needed to look for a new job, that much was obvious and she thought she might go and check on Rose to make sure she was OK after the previous night's events.

Decision made she got out of bed and showered before getting ready for her day. Deciding to visit Rose first she dressed in her blue chequered shirt tucked into her black jeans and black ankle cowboy boots. She put on her make-up and put her hair up in a ponytail before heading to the kitchen for some breakfast.

She makes herself a coffee, which she enjoys with a couple of toasted croissants and blackcurrant jam. Then she packs up some of the cookies she made the night before to take to Rose's and heads out for the start of her day.

~*0*~

At about 9 o'clock Rose was sat at the kitchen table playing with an apple as her mother walked in with a mug of tea, talking away at Rose about all the different place she knew she could find a job. She continued to offer suggestions to her daughter who just continued to ignore her "There's Finch's. You could try them. They've always got jobs"

"Oh, great. The butchers" Rose answered, not paying any attention to her rambling mother as she rolled the apple between her hands, she was too busy wondering if she was ever going to see the mysterious Doctor again. She found herself strangely drawn to the man after she had calmed down last night and wanted to find out more about him.

"Well, it might do you good. That shop was giving you airs and graces. And I'm not joking about compensation. You've had genuine shock and trauma. Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!" Jackie said as she walked over to drop her cup in the sink before leaving the kitchen to get dressed. "I know she is Greek, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim" she called back over her shoulder.

There was a knock at the door, which Rose was set to ignore until her mother shouted down asking her to get that for her. Heaving herself off the table where she had slumped with a groaning sigh she went to the door. She opened the door only to find Astra stood on the other side wearing a pea coat and holding a Tupperware box full of cookies in her hands.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," Astra said to the surprised look on Rose's face.

Rose stepped aside to let her in, taking the box offered to her by Astra as she passed. After closing the door, Rose asked out of nothing else really to say "Would you like a brew?" before leaving Astra in the sitting room.

"Tea, please. A touch of milk and one sugar" Astra called.

Rose headed to the kitchen and put the kettle on, absentmindedly chucking the box of cookies on the table.

The cat flap on the door rattled slightly as if something had come through it, which made both Astra and Rose jump and look toward it. "Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays" Rose called to her mum in annoyance as she headed back over to the door.

"I did it weeks back!" Jackie exclaimed, not knowing what Rose was going on about. She was far too used to the way her daughter spoke to her.

"No, you thought about it" Rose answered back quietly, distracted now by the sight of the screws that had once been used to fasten the cat flap shut where now lying on the carpet. The flap rattled again as Astra approached from behind her. Rose knelt down in front of it and pushed it gingerly with her fingers, nudging it open fully only to see a familiar face looking through it from the other side.

Rose stood up quickly and flung open the door delighted to see the man and explore what she was feeling. Only she didn't get a chance to say anything as the Doctor spoke in confusion "What're you doing here?"

"I live here" Rose answered the abrupt question, taken aback.

"Well, what do you do that for?" the Doctor asked as he began rooting around for something within his jacket before spotting Astra over Rose's shoulder and shooting a small smile.

"Because I do. I'm only at home because someone blew up my job" Rose answered getting defensive.

"I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" the Doctor knocked his knuckles against her forehead like he was knocking on a door "No. Bonehead. Bye, then!"

Before he could turn away, Rose grabbed him by the lapel of his leather jacket and pulled him inside the flat "You. Inside. Right now" she demanded.

"Who is it?" Jackie called out from her bedroom, having just come out of the bathroom. She sat putting on her moisturizer at her dressing table and looked over to the door just as Rose poked her head through the doorway.

"It's about last night. He's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes" Rose said before heading toward the kitchen and leaving Jackie's bedroom door open.

"She deserves compensation" Jackie called perking up as the Doctor passed into view.

The Doctor leaned against the door frame. "Oh, we're talking millions," He said, not recognizing the look on her face, but Astra, who was stood behind him, did and paused wanting to see what occurred.

Jackie looked him up and down before she stood up and started fiddling with her dressing gown saying in what was clearly supposed to be a sultry voice "I'm in my dressing gown"

"Yes, you are" the Doctor nodded his head absently, not realizing what she was implying and his expression clearly showed that he thought she was just stating the obvious.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom" she continued to play with the strap on her dressing gown, thinking he was interested as he... Well as he hadn't run away yet.

"Yes, there is" he replied with a nod of his head.

"Well, anything could happen" Jackie purred her voice full of implications, only to be put down by the Doctor immediately answer of "Err... No"

This caused Astra to snicker as the Doctor headed straight for the sitting room. Astra headed for the kitchen to see if Rose needed any help making the brews.

"Don't mind the mess. Did you want a brew?" Rose asked as she moved around the kitchen making the two teas she had already set up for.

"Might as well, thanks. Tea, just milk" the Doctor called back as he looks around the room.

"We should go to the police. Seriously. All of us" Rose talked, as she worked waving away Astra's offer of help.

The Doctor was looking at the copy of Heat Magazine that had been on the coffee table, flipping through the pages. He stopped on a picture of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, commenting to himself "That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien" he was saying before Astra waked back into the room as he closed the magazine and put it back down on the table looking at the girl sheepishly.

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong" Rose continued to talk as the Doctor picked up a paperback book.

He flips through all the pages quickly before tossing it back down "Hmm. Sad ending" he continued to comment to himself about things around the room while Astra watched from where she had settled on the settee, not listening to Rose as she rambled on in the kitchen.

"They said on the news they'd found a body" Rose continued, not realizing she was being ignored.

"Rose Tyler" he read off a letter he had just picked up, he put it down again as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and reacted as if he was just seeing his reflection, or perhaps himself for the first time. "Ah, could've been worse. Look at the ears" he said as he tugged on his ears.

"All the same, he was nice. Nice bloke" Rose carried on.

The Doctor picked up a pack of cards and started to shuffle them, singing slightly to himself as he swayed "Luck be a lady" as he shuffled the cards between his hands.

"Anyway, if we are going to go to the police, I want to know what I'm saying," Rose said.

Astra briefly left the room to grab her cookies off the table before re-entering the sitting room carrying the box she brought; the pack of cards went flying as the Doctor jerked slightly in surprise at her sudden entrance having not seen her leave. He looked a bit sheepish at her while she just smiled at him and asked: "Would you like a cookie?"

"I want you to explain everything" Rose went on, now being ignored by the both of them as the Doctor enjoyed the offered cookie.

"Very nice, did you make these?" he asked while looking directly into her eyes, he had not been able to stop thinking about her from the previous night. At her nod, he smiled and complimented "they're delicious".

This earned a smile and a quiet "Thank you" from Astra.

They heard a scurrying noise that seemed to be coming from behind the settee. They both turned to look at it frowning. "What's that, then? You got a cat?" the Doctor called over to Rose.

"No" Rose answered, confused by the seemingly random question.

The Doctor knelt on the settee and lent over to peer down the back of it. Astra stood not far behind him looked on curiously when the disembodied arm from the night before flew from behind the settee and latched around the Doctor's neck. Astra cried out in shock before she ran over to try and help pull the arm off him as he struggled to breathe through its grip.

"We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off the estate" Rose said as she walked in from the kitchen with two mugs of tea. She took no notice of the Doctor being strangled as Astra tried in vain to pull the arm off of him.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out. You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. Anyway, I don't even know your name. Doctor what-was-it?" asked Rose, not even taking any notice of the fact that he was turning red from lack of oxygen.

The Doctor and Astra managed to throw the arm off. However, it suddenly halted in mid-air, this finally caught Rose's attention, as the Auton's hand latched on to Astra's face, throwing her back into the wall.

Astra got knocked back into the mantle knocking off a few ornaments. The Doctor grabbed the arm and pulled at it repeatedly trying to get it off her before pulling too hard, and dragged both of them down on top of the coffee table and smashing it, the Doctor astride Astra as he tried to wrestle the arm away from her.

The Doctor rolled them so Astra was lying on top of him as they continued to try and wrestle the arm off of her face before it threw her back against the settee. The Doctor pulled out his metal tube device as Astra continued to struggle with the arm. He ran over and buzzed it with his device which loosened its hold and seemed to weaken the arm before he jabbed it directly into the palm of the hand. The palm glowed blue and there was a high-pitch buzz. The fingers stop flexing and froze in position.

"It's all right, I've stopped it. There you go, you see? Armless" the Doctor joked, as he tossed the arm to Rose, who caught it automatically again, not knowing what to do. The Doctor turned back around to check on Astra.

"I'm fine," she told him a little breathless. He nodded at her as he got up and then turned to help her up and lifted her over the remains of the coffee table.

"Do you think?" Rose asked angrily, she ignored the interaction between the Doctor and Astra and had come out of her shock, hitting him with the disembodied arm.

"Ow!" The Doctor exclaimed rubbing his arm. He frowned at Rose before he took the arm from her and headed for the door.

~*0*~

The Doctor ran out of the flat and down several flights of stairs, Astra not far behind him. Rose hurried to catch up to them, shouting "Hold on a minute. You can't just go swanning off!"

"Yes, I can. Here I am. This is me, swanning off. See you" he said, jogging down the stairs. Astra managed to keep up with him as Rose struggled behind her.

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill us" she exclaimed. Astra shot her an incredulous look at the inclusion of herself in that comment.

"Ten out of ten for observation," the Doctor said sarcastically with a roll his eyes as he continued down the stairs.

"You can't just walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on" Rose demanded.

"No, I don't," the Doctor said simply in a smug tone, as he reached the door he let Astra through first before heading out himself.

"All right, then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said if I did that, I'd get people killed. So…your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking" Rose threatened, trying to blackmail him into cooperation.

The Doctor wasn't buying it. With a raised eyebrow he scoffed at her "Is that supposed to sound tough?"

Looking very unsure after his reaction, she sheepishly muttered "Sort of".

"Doesn't work" the Doctor stated with an amused smile.

"Who are you?" Rose questioned, changing the topic completely to try and throw the Doctor off.

"Told you. The Doctor" the Doctor stated throwing a frown over his shoulder at the girl.

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose continued to try and get any answers from him.

"Just the Doctor," he said, speeding up as he got closer to his escape.

"The Doctor" Rose said, her voice hinting at the fact that she didn't believe him.

"Hello!" the Doctor said with a big grin, waving mock-cheerfully at her.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose scoffed in disbelief.

"Sort of" he grinned.

"Come on, then. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?" she asked, feeling as if she was getting closer to the truth.

"No! I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home" the Doctor answered.

"But what have I done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after me?" Rose exclaimed earning her raised eyebrows from both the Doctor and Astra.

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you. You weren't even attacked. You were just there, that's all" the Doctor said.

"It tried to kill me" She exclaimed hysterically completely forgetting Astra was even there.

"It didn't go anywhere near you" the Doctor scoffed "and besides it was after me, not you. Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered in shouting your head off, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on your place is 'cos you've both met me"

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you" Rose concluded in disbelief.

"Sort of, yeah," the Doctor said, his big grin almost splitting his face.

"You're full of it!" she snorted inelegantly.

"Why hello pot, meet Kettle" Astra mumbled under her breath to herself as the Doctor scoffed amused as he heard Astra's quiet comment.

"But, all this plastic stuff. Who else knows..." Rose started, only to be interrupted by Astra who had finally had enough.

"Never mind that, are people in danger from these Auton's?" she asked, looking directly at the Doctor.

The Doctor paused and turned to face Astra grabbing her hands in the face of such a serious question "No, well yes but I swear I'm working on it" looking at her directly in the eye so she could see his sincerity "I promise I'll stop them"

"What, you're on your own?" Rose said with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, work, go to bed and watch telly, while all the time underneath you there's a war going on" the Doctor continued walking, looking a little surprised at the question.

Not liking the fact, she was being brushed off that easily by someone she was interested in, Rose reached across him and grabbed the dummy arm. "Okay. Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal; dead" the Doctor said as if it should be obvious.

"So that's radio control?" Rose guessed.

"Thought control. Are you all right?" he asked Astra, who was looking around worriedly at the small family walking along the opposite side of the street toward the small play park.

"Yeah. So, who's controlling it, then?" Rose interrupted Astra who had opened her mouth to answer but instead chose to nod as the Doctor continued to look at her wanting her answer and ignoring Rose.

"Long story" the Doctor waved her off sure that even if he tried to explain she would not understand.

"Why shop window dummies though? What's that about?" Astra asked, "I mean why would anyone want to take over shops?"

"I know. Believe me, I know. They want to overthrow the human race, so they control the material that is the most widely used: plastic. There's so much of it in highly populated areas but it's often overlooked. Because of this, they will be able to catch you off guard and destroy you. Do you believe me?" the Doctor asked as he turned to look at Astra as he walked, not noticing he had grabbed her hand as he went.

"No" Rose answered the same time Astra nodded with a vocal "Yes" as if to emphasize the point.

The two shared a look with each other before turning to the Doctor, who was smiling at Astra.

Rose stopped as he carried on walking a few steps ahead "Really, though, Doctor. Tell me, who are you?"

The Doctor looked back at her before he decided on what to say "Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still" he turned to face Astra and gripped her hand tightly "I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world and if we let go..." he let go of Astra's hand abruptly startling the girl who had been staring at him intensely "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Astra Nyx, Rose Tyler Go home" he said very seriously, grabbing the arm off of Rose, he waved at them with those last words.

The Doctor walked off toward a big blue police box that had been in the alley the other day, the words 'Police Box' written across the top, with the Auton's arm. Rose turned to walk off sullenly, looking even more confused, towards another block of flats. Astra, on the other hand, stood there watching the Doctor, feeling like this was something she needed to see but also curious as to why he was going into a tiny police box.

Suddenly there was a rush of air and a strange whooshing noise coming from the place where the police box has just faded in and out of existence. Rose turned and ran back to try and see what had made the noise only to see nothing there. Not even acknowledging Astra, she frowned before turning and walking away.

Astra stood staring at the place the box had vanished from, unable to understand why everything about that man and the box seemed so familiar. It felt as if she'd seen him in a dream or something, a vague recollection she just couldn't grasp, she shook her head, every time she felt like she was getting closer to an answer it just seemed to slip away.

Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts completely, Astra turned and headed off to her own flat to change ready to go job searching. She stopped to get her car at Rose's before heading off to a newsagents and grocery shop before she headed home.

~*0*~

"Hey, hey, here's my woman. Kit off!" Mickey said cheekily, opening the door to see Rose.

"Shut up," she said with a smile, appreciating the attention after getting nothing from the Doctor. She pushed past him, giving him a quick kiss.

"Coffee?" he offered.

"Yeah, only if you wash the mug. And I don't mean rinse, I mean wash. Can I use your computer?" Rose asked as she headed over to it, not waiting for an answer.

"Yeah. Any excuse to get in the bedroom." Mickey joked as he headed to the kitchen, only to seemingly come to a realization "Don't read my emails!" Mickey called back to her almost guiltily.

Rose opened the internet browser and typed 'Doctor' in a search engine. Which only seemed to produce 17,700,000 results on all the different doctors and scientists in the world, so she tried searching 'Doctor Living Plastic', only to receive 55,300 results of all the plastic surgeons and doctors who have successfully used plastic prosthetic.

Lastly, Rose tried typing 'Doctor Blue Box'. This produced only 493 results. The top result said 'DOCTOR WHO? ...DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? CONTACT CLIVE HERE'. In all capitals which made Rose click on the link and a fuzzy picture of someone who looked remarkably like the Doctor appeared.

~*0*~

Mickey and Rose pulled up on Clive's street in Mickey's bright yellow VW Beetle.

"You're not coming in. He's safe. He's got a wife and kids" Rose said, putting a stop to her ongoing argument with Mickey about meeting this Clive person.

Mickey, still not sure about this random man Rose seemed determined to meet even after having Astra do a little background check for him and confirming his family status "Yeah, who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say" Mickey shouted after her, as she had already left the car and was heading over to Clive's house.

One of Clive's neighbours, who had been taking out his black wheelie bin, shot Mickey a nasty look.

Rose knocked on a door across the street from where they parked. A boy of about fourteen opened it and looked her up and down curiously.

"Hello, I've come to see Clive. We've been emailing" she asked politely, miming using a keyboard as if the boy might not understand otherwise.

The boy looked at the girl as if she were stupid before shouting over his shoulder "Dad! It's one of your nutters!" before giving Rose one last once-over and frowning.

A rather large man came to the door and said "Oh, sorry. Hello. You must be Rose. I'm Clive, obviously" as he reached out to shake her hand.

"I'd better tell you now. My boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill me" Rose laughed slightly.

"No, good point. No murders" Clive chuckled in response, taking it in good spirits before he waved over at Mickey who was still sat in his car frowning at him.

"Who is it?" shouted a woman's voice from upstairs, presumably his wife.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor. She's been reading the website" Clive shouted back before gesturing for Rose to follow him through to the back. "Please, come through. I'm in the shed"

"She? She's read the website about the Doctor? She's a she?" said the woman incredulously, a pretty brunette walked down the stairs with a basket full of washing and an indulgent grin on her face at her husband's antics.

~*0*~

Clive led the way into his small shed in the back garden, the walls decorated with anything and everything that could possibly be related to the Doctor. Folders stacked up high on shelves with all the research he had done about the Doctor.

"A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive. I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it if you know what I mean. If you dig deep enough and keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just 'the Doctor'. Always 'the Doctor'. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son. It appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" he said walking around the table in the shed and pulling out an old photograph from one of the folders before showing it to Rose.

"Yeah" Rose answered, seeing the same photo that was on the website.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive just last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original" he said, showing her the original photo, it was of the assassination of President Kennedy. The Doctor was one of the faces in the crowd.

"November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. You see?" Clive continued excitedly.

"It must be his father," Rose said frowning, not quite able to believe it herself even though she had seen the man.

"Going further back. April 1912. This is a photo of the Daniels family of Southampton and friend" he showed her a photo of 4 children and three adults posing on a dock, one of the men looking like the Doctor "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived" he said, before turning and pulling a drawing off the wall to show to Rose

"And here we are. 1883. Another Doctor. And look the same lineage. It's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded" he explained seeing the confusion on her face "The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion".

"Who's that?" Rose asked, fear starting to grip her as she stared at all the photos in disbelief.

"Death," he said bluntly. "If the Doctor's back, if you've seen him, Rose, then one thing's for certain. We're all in danger"

~*0*~

Out in the street, Mickey was lent against his car, idly glancing around the neighbourhood, what he didn't notice however was the wheelie-bin that the neighbour had brought out earlier starting to move slowly toward his car.

When Mickey noticed that the bin seemed to have moved closer and was now facing in his car's direction he stepped up off the car to investigate. He walked up to the bin and lifted up the lid shouting "Come on, then." he looked inside and frowned as he saw nothing in there to explain how it had moved.

~*0*~

"If he's singled you out, if the Doctor's making house calls, then God help you," Clive said leaning closer to the girl with his intensity, making Rose even warier.

~*0*~

Mickey shut the bin lid warily and turned to walk back toward his car again, only to find his hands were stuck to the plastic lid. It stretched out from his fingers as he pulled at it like it had melted and sealed itself to the tips.

The bin growled, seemed to puff up slightly before it snapped and finally whipped Mickey up into the air and inside itself with a loud burp.

~*0*~

"But who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose questioned slightly scared, wanting to get this visit over with now so she could leave the man.

"I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world" Clive explained, truly believing everything he was saying and wanting this girl to be very very careful if she was ever around the Doctor again.

~*0*~

Rose stormed away from the house her expression full of exasperation as she returned to the car. 'Mickey' is still sat behind the steering wheel. It doesn't look like he had moved since she went into the house.

"All right, he's a nutter. Off his head. Complete online conspiracy freak. You win! What are we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza" Rose starts to rant as she opened the door and got back into the car.

"Pizza! P-p-p-pizza!" 'Mickey' rolled the word over his tongue; as if it's the first time he had ever said it.

"Or Chinese" Rose mused, not really paying all that much attention to 'Mickey' as she considered what food they should go and get.

"Pizza!" 'Mickey' stated as he started up the car and drove off, weaving dangerously down the road.

~*0*~

Rose and 'Mickey' were sat together at a fancy pizza parlour in central London, 'Mickey' looking rather... shinier than usual, with a grin perpetually attached to his face. Having just come from Clive's, Rose was busy telling Mickey all about the mad conspiracy-theorist and his theories, that the Doctor is an immortal alien from another world who has been spotted throughout several points in history: the assassination of JFK; persuading the Daniels family from going onto the Titanic; Krakatoa in 1883.

Rose hadn't seemed to have noticed anything different about 'Mickey'. She decided to drop the whole thing as a lost cause and started talking about what she could do in her hunt for a job.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had jobs going in the canteen. Is that it then, dishing out chips? I could do A-Levels. I don't know. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault." Rose muttered, jumping from thoughtful to regretful. "I only left school because of him and look where he ended up. What do you think?" she asked finally looking up at 'Mickey' from where she had been playing with a salt pile on the table.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" 'Mickey' queried, Rose's question ignored.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?" Rose huffed, irritated at being ignored.

"Because I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Was he something to do with that?" 'Mickey' continued forcefully.

"No," Rose said with a shake of her head. She looked 'Mickey' in the eyes.

"Come on" 'Mickey' insisted, a smile etched on his face.

Rose hesitated, eyes averted. She manages a guilty 'sort of' as she tried to brave meeting 'Mickey's eyes before failing.

"What was he doing there?" 'Mickey' questioned, a slight hint of aggression underlying his entire demeanour.

"I'm not going on about it, Mickey. Really, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft, but I don't think it's safe. I think he's dangerous" she said to him, trying to turn him off the topic, knowing if she said anything about it she would probably go into it more than she meant to which would lead to revealing the truth about her slight obsession with the man.

"But you can trust me, sweetheart-babe-sugar-babe-sugar." 'Mickey' tried to reassure her, his voice was skipping and contorting into higher and lower pitches, sounding almost like a broken record. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart-babe-babe-sugar-sweetheart"

"What're you doing that for?" Rose asked, completely baffled by Mickey's out-of-character behaviour.

A bottle of champagne appeared beside 'Mickey', held aloft by a leather-clad arm. 'Your champagne' the waiter politely asked.

"We didn't order any champagne." 'Mickey' instantly dismissed the waiter without even looking up as he continued to interrogate Rose, any semblance of friendliness vanishing as he gripped her hand violently and glared at her "Where's the Doctor?"

"Madam, your champagne" the waiter offered to Rose, having moved over to her side of the table.

"It's not ours'" she said, waving off the persistent waiter as she tried to free her hand from 'Mickey's' grip. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?" 'Mickey' demanded, his voice getting louder and more aggressive by the word, catching the attention of all the other diners.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" the waiter questioned in a mockingly innocent voice which finally gets their attention.

"Look, we didn't order it" 'Mickey' growled, finally turning to face the waiter a glare ready on his face for the irritating waiter, only to see that the waiter was, in fact, the Doctor himself "Ah. Gotcha" he said his face splitting into a very stretched looking grin of satisfaction.

The Doctor started shaking the champagne bottle vigorously as Rose turned around with a gasp at the sight of the man; he continued to shake the bottle a little more before he said

"Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple". He aimed the bottle at 'Mickey', exclaiming loudly "On the house!" before releasing the cage around the cork and letting the cork fly hard and fast into 'Mickey's' forehead.

The cork hit 'Mickey' with the sound of bouncing rubber, making Rose look on in horrified disbelief as it disappeared into his forehead. A few moments after he was hit, 'Mickey' started to manoeuvre and twist his mouth and head around in an almost swilling motion before he spat the cork out of his mouth with a resounding pop.

"Anyway" 'Mickey' said as he stood up. He lifted his hand up in front of him, at which point his hand morphed into a rubber wedge, which he slammed violently down on the table in front of him. Rose fled over to the bar looking for a place to hide screaming loudly as she ran away trying not to watch as Mickey wrecked the tables around the restaurant.

The Doctor grabbed the Auton-Mickey in a headlock and, after a few tugs, he finally managed to twist its head from its body.

The rest of the customers all got up from the tables and were screaming and running around in a panic, all of them trying to get away from the destruction.

"Don't think that's going to stop me" the head spoke from between the Doctors hands, making the man behind the Doctor yelp in frightened shock. The body rose seemingly undeterred without its head and begins flailing around the restaurant causing even more damage.

Suddenly Astra came running out from behind the bar now wearing a professional suit and set off the fire alarm, she yelled over the sound of the alarm "Everyone out! Out now! Get out! Get out! Get out! NOW!" all the while directing people to the fire exit at the side out of the way of the danger.

Rose ran toward the back of the restaurant where she had spotted a door in that direction so she didn't have to go near 'Mickey' again, she was followed close behind by the Doctor, who had grabbed Astra's hand on his way past. They ran through the kitchens, the Doctor still carrying the head, while the body wreaking havoc on the restaurant behind them, eventually lumbering after them to the back exit.

~*0*~

They rushed through the back door, the Doctor sealing the door shut with his metal device while Rose ran down the alley straight past the same blue police box she had seen earlier in the park, to the end where there was a double corrugated metal gate secured by a thick chain and padlock. The Auton started banging on the metal door that the Doctor had just sealed denting it with every hit.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!" she cried hysterically, visibly scared.

"Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said, wiggling it at Rose. He turned to Astra and asked, "What were you doing there?"

He ignored Rose's shout of "Use it!" she answered him "There is, well, was a waitress job going" she waved absently behind her toward the now ruined restaurant.

"Ah," He said with a nod of his head "Tell you what, let's go in here" he nodded toward the police box and led Astra over to it.

The Doctor unlocked the doors and went inside; dragging Astra in before she had a chance to protest, not that she was going to, while the Auton hammered on the metal door practically bending the door in half under its relentless strength.

They could vaguely hear Rose shouting "You can't hide inside a wooden box. It's going to get us! Doctor!" but the Doctor was focused on Astra, who was staring around the huge room she had just been bundled into. She showed little reaction apart from the widening of her eyes and a slight parting of her mouth as she gazed around the impossible room she was seeing.

Astra wasn't paying attention to him though, she was too busy standing at the top of the ramp at the entrance to the impossible room and gazing around in wonder at her surroundings. Even though she was astounded by what she was seeing she still felt the now familiar pang of familiarity, even though she was sure she had never seen a place like it.

It was a huge dome-shaped room that looked almost organic in texture, with hexagon shapes embossed on the walls; the roof looked as if it was being held up by a variety of coral-like Y-shaped beams. It would have been very dark if it wasn't for the large glowing blue cylinder in the centre that leads down to what appeared to be a control console made up of various odds and ends, from a bicycle pump handle to a spiral-corded dial-wheel telephone. It also included a monitor which displayed a circular pattern and was plastered in sticky notes.

Out in the alley, Rose was still trying to get through the gate. Giving up, she ran inside the box after the Doctor, almost knocking Astra over as she ran up the steps. She stopped, took one look around the vast room inside before she immediately turned and ran back outside again. Backing away quickly, Rose ran around the box, noting its small size and how impossible it was to fit such an enormous room in such a tiny box.

Finally, the Auton succeeded in smashing through the metal door, this forced Rose to make up her mind. With the decision pretty much made for her, she ran into the box. "It's going to follow us!" Rose said as she entered the box, she swallowed with intimidation at the sight before her and resisted the urge to run back out again.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried." The Doctor said as he patted the console proudly. "Now, shut up a minute!" He took out his Sonic Screwdriver and directed the light at Mickey's disembodied head.

After scanning the head, he put his screwdriver down and then began wiring it up to the console, he came to a stop next to Astra, who was now leaning slightly against the console, she had been watching what he was doing after she finally shook herself out of her shocked state.

"You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." the Doctor explained to Astra as he dragged the screen around the console "Right. Where do you want to start?" He asked in an attempt to address the confusion on both faces, he did not realize that Astra's confusion was the constant feeling of familiarity that surrounded this man and this blue box.

"Err, the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose interrupted.

"Yep," the Doctor said fiddling with the console, only turning to face Rose with a sigh when Astra nudged him for being rude.

"It's alien," Rose said breathlessly, still trying to wrap her head around the impossible thing she was seeing.

"Yeah" he answered, smirking at her reaction.

"Are you alien?" Rose said in disbelief

"Yes. Is that all right?" the Doctor asked, looking toward Astra.

"Yeah" Rose answered looking around again, not even noticing that the question was towards Astra.

Astra's lips form a mischievous smile as she said: "It explains the ears". The Doctor shot her a smirk when he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space" the Doctor explained.

Astra flinched slightly as his words send a sharp pain stabbing through her head, and a voice, disembodied, rang through her mind: this is a type-40 TARDIS... grown by specialists... travel through Time and Space... The pain and the voice disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving her confused and curious about what had just been said as it trickled out of her head like a dream. By Astra's side, Rose burst into loud, dramatic sobs, catching the attention of both Astra and the Doctor.

"That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us" the Doctor said in an attempt to sound sympathetic and comforting, not really succeeding.

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" Rose sniffled.

"Oh. I didn't think of that" the Doctor said, frowning when he saw the worry in Astra's eyes at his answer.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think?" Rose started.

"Doctor, is the head supposed to melt?" Astra interrupted abruptly getting up from where she was lent against the console to get a closer look, anxious and more than a little bit fascinated.

"Melt?" the Doctor repeated, alarmed. He whipped around quickly and saw Mickey's plastic head quickly melting into the console. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor cried before he started running around the console, switching things on and pulling on levers, setting the TARDIS in motion.

"What're you doing?" Rose shouted over the noise of the TARDIS whirring.

"Following the signal. It's fading. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there. Almost there. Here we go!" The Doctor ran erratically down the ramp and for the door, grabbing Astra's hand and pulled her out with him.

"You can't go out there. It's not safe!" Rose yelled but followed along quickly not wanting to be left alone in the strange box, only to see that they had somehow moved to the south bank of the river Thames.

~*0*~

"I lost the signal, I got so close" the Doctor grumbled exasperatedly, he walked over to the wall of the bridge overlooking the Thames, pulling Astra along with him.

"We've moved. Does it fly?" Rose asked, her voice going high from her incredulity.

"Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand" the Doctor said.

"If we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose" asked Rose as she visibly attempts to calm down, seeing that Astra seemed quite composed, as she had pulled herself up to sit on the wall next to the leaning Doctor and looking around curiously.

"It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night?" the Doctor huffed.

"I'll have to tell his mother" Rose whined, at the Doctors questioning look she said, her voice getting louder and higher as she went "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again! You were right, you are alien" Rose ranted, as she waved her finger at the Doctor as he continued to look out over the Thames and the surrounding area as if he was looking for something.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey" the Doctor started, clearly irritated.

"Yeah, he's not a kid" Rose tried to shout over him.

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, all right?" the Doctor continued, annoyed, pretending not to hear Rose's interruption.

"All right" Rose shouted going back to being hysterical.

"Yes, it is!" The Doctor said, glaring at her.

Rose, seeing his glare decided to change tactics "If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?" Astra stared at Rose in shock, wondering how she could go from worrying about Mickey's death to questioning the Doctor's about his accent.

"Lots of planets have a north" the Doctor answered, clearly offended before smiling at Astra as she scoffed not believing his answer for even a moment.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose continued to throw out questions to keep the Doctors attention on her, completely oblivious to the looks of confusion that the other two were sending her way.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950s. It's a disguise" he said as he wandered back over to the TARDIS patting the corner of the box fondly, wondering why she was curious about that when he'd just told her he was trying to save the entire planet.

"Okay. And this…this living plastic. What's it got against us?" Rose asked.

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner!" the Doctor said far too cheerfully whilst miming eating with a knife and fork.

"Is there any way of stopping it?" Astra asked.

The Doctor pulled out a corked test tube of blue liquid from inside his leather jacket and held it up to her. "Anti-plastic," he said to her questioning look. "But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hide what?" Astra asked jumping down from her place on the wall "What exactly is it that you're looking for?"

"The transmitter." the Doctor said, walking back over to her and looking out over the river. "The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal".

"What would it look like?" Astra asked, she looked up at the London Eye, an idea sparking in her mind.

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible. What? What?" he stumbled to a stop as Astra nodded her head toward the Eye.

The Doctor turned around and looked trying to see what Astra was trying to point out to him on the south bank but he didn't see what she could.

"What? What is it? What?" he said, he turned to look again as Astra pointed and moved her arm in a circle following the shape of the Eye, at this point, he finally caught on to what she was looking at.

"Oh, fantastic!" the Doctor cried, he grabbed Astra's hand and pulled her along as they ran across Westminster Bridge, Rose trailed along behind them, as she tried to keep up.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies"

"the phones,"

"the mp3 players,"

"the televisions,"

"the computers,"

"the wires,"

"the cables". The Doctor and Astra alternated, not even realizing that they were doing it.

"The breast implants" Rose put in, as she tried to be helpful but she only succeeded in making both the Doctor and Astra look at her curiously.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath" the Doctor shook his head.

Astra ran over to the parapet that overlooked the base of the eye and looked down to see a large man-hole at the bottom of a set of stone steps. "What about down here?" she called back over her shoulder to the Doctor.

The Doctor ran over to join her, peeping curiously over her shoulder. "Looks good to me, you're very good at this," he said with a grin before he grabbed her hand and led her down some steps toward the entrance.

He opened the door, took a quick cursory glance around but saw nothing but a short ladder and a hellish red light that seemed to be emanating from further inside.

~*0*~

They climbed down the short ladder into a large brick-built room with a mass of chains hanging from the roof. From there they went through a door located a few feet away from the ladder, they continued down a flight of steps into a multi-level chamber.

Immediately in view was a huge pit, directly in the middle of the chamber's lowest level that seemed to be filled with a molten mass of some sort, writhing and wriggling with unnatural liveliness.

"The Nestene Consciousness." the Doctor whispered to Astra, who was stood directly next to him, one hand gripping the Doctors and the other nervously holding onto the railing "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature"

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go" Rose said her voice laced with urgency.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance" the Doctor stated visibly disturbed at Rose's callousness.

He started down a set of steps on to a steel catwalk overlooking the seething, pulsating vat, keeping a tight hold on Astra's hand and dragging her down with him. He vaguely noticed that she was shaking and kept her eyes averted so as not to look at the ground but decided he would ask her about it later "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation" he announced grandly as he released Astra's hand and stood straight with his arms clasped behind his back.

The Consciousness flexed and gurgled in an answer which no one but seemingly the Doctor could understand as he immediately responded "Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?"

Rose slowly followed the other two down before spotting Mickey on a lower level, crouched nervously behind a crate. She ran over to him, crying out loud "Oh, God! Mickey, it's me! It's okay. It's all right".

Before she could comfort him, however, Mickey put a finger to his lips, shushing her. "That thing down there, the liquid. Rose, it can talk!" Mickey whimpered, clearly terrified.

"You're stinking. Doctor, they kept him alive" Rose shouted toward the Doctor.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy" the Doctor answered off-hand, earning him a slap on the arm from Astra.

Rose was noticeably upset by this comment "You knew that and you never said?" she asked irritably.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" the Doctor replied, frustrated at how she could still be moaning when he was very clearly trying to save the world.

The Doctor continued down another level, grasping Astra's hand as they went down another level. As he reached the platform directly above the vat, he pulled her closer, squeezing her hand reassuringly as she was now shaking rather violently.

The Doctor turned his attention once again to the living liquid, which was still rolling unpleasantly like a bubbling bog. "Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" the Doctor questioned, asking in a mockingly cheerful voice, but didn't lose his serious undertone.

The liquid, now positively bursting upward, forming a shape not unlike a grotesque face, with protrusions that looked remarkably like eyebrows and lips. It churned and frothed in reply.

"Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights" the Doctor said to the Consciousness, which was apparently attempting to justify its actions.

"I am talking!" the Doctor commanded firmly. "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learned how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go" the Doctor exclaimed, his tone betraying his exasperation.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted in warning as a pair of mannequins grabbed the Doctor and Astra from behind. Astra let out a yelp of shock. The dummy holding her takes the vial of anti-plastic out from the Doctor's pocket and held it up for the Consciousness to see.

"That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it." The Consciousness roared in anger, swishing and gurgling with fury. "I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not" The Doctor rambled as he tried to calm the irate alien.

The Consciousness bubbled violently in reply. "What do you mean?" the Doctor questioned, worry etched in his voice. Just as he asked the question, the doors of a storage container swung open, revealing the familiar blue face of the TARDIS.

"No. Oh, no. Honestly, no. Yes, that's my ship. 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!" the Doctor pleaded desperately with the Consciousness.

"What's it doing?!" Rose shouted in horror.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene's identified it as superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!" the Doctor warned Rose.

As the plastic in the vat kept roaring at the Doctor, the world threatening to end, Rose instead of running pulled out her mobile phone and called her mother.

"Mum?" the Doctor heard Rose say. He glanced back only to sees her yelling loudly into the phone. Perplexed, he turned back to the vat still struggling to get free.

A huge amount of energy started building up, creating a dome over the vat as a giant electrical surge launched straight up through the base of the London Eye.

"It's the activation signal. It's transmitting!" the Doctor shouted to Astra as they both tried to shake the Auton's off.

Outside the chamber, the London Eye started crackling with blue energy.

"It's the end of the world" Rose whimpered, trembling as she curled up behind the crate with Mickey.

The plastic in the vat became extremely agitated as the signal started broadcasting from the Eye.

"The stairs have gone" Rose shouted hysterically as she finally tried to look for an escape.

The Auton's wrestled with their captives as they tried to throw them both into the vat, the Doctor and Astra fighting back as best they could under the unrelenting hold they found themselves in. Rose and Mickey ran to the TARDIS.

Rose pulled at the handle to try and get the doors open "I haven't got the key!" she shrieked as she realized they wouldn't open.

"We're going to die!" Mickey moaned as he and Rose huddled near the base of the TARDIS. Rose leaned up to peer down at the Doctor and Astra as Mickey, who had his eyes averted in horror, clung to her leg.

Astra and the Doctor both finally managed to shake the Auton's off, throwing them both and the vial of anti-plastic into the vat. They would have taken Astra with them if the Doctor hadn't caught and steadied her in time. The Consciousness screamed as it started to turn blue and crack with the same energy it had just been broadcasting.

"Now we're in trouble," the Doctor said grinning insanely as he held Astra pressed up against him, making her smile back completely exhilarated.

Explosions erupt throughout the chamber and the signal from the Eye stopped. The Doctor and Astra ran to the TARDIS, where Mickey was still clutching onto Rose for dear life, quickly unlocking the door, they all rush to get inside. The TARDIS de-materialized just as the pipes on the ceiling started to burst and chunks of concrete started to fall down.

~*0*~

The TARDIS materialized on the embankment by a row of shuttered kiosks and Mickey ran out, terrified of what he had just been through and desperate to be as far away from the bigger on the inside blue box as possible.

Exiting the TARDIS, Rose called her mother again. Jackie answered, sounding distressed. "Rose, Rose, don't go out of the house. It's not safe. There were these things, and they were shooting! And they…" but Jackie doesn't get to finish as Rose hung up the phone, laughing.

She wandered over to Mickey, who was hiding behind a pallet and tried to get him to stand up, murmuring "fat lot of good you were" affectionately.

Astra walked out of the TARDIS, straightening out her ruffled and torn suit, but other than that looking perfectly fine, looking over at Rose and Mickey she chuckled. The Doctor stood in the doorway of the TARDIS, leaning against its frame as he looked toward Astra.

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy." he smiled at her with a snap of his fingers at the last word as she smiled back.

Astra rolled her eyes with a smirk "Sure it was. The fact that we spent the majority of the time held down and I was the one who knocked the Auton holding the anti-plastic into the vat was absolutely no help what's so ever" sarcasm lacing her voice as her lips twisted into a crooked yet mischievous smile, "face it, you'd be dead without me there"

"Yep, yes I would," the Doctor said sincerely "Thank you. Right then, I'll be off, unless, err, I don't know, you could come with me. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge".

Rose frowned over at the two of them, not like the fact he was only speaking to Astra when she had been there and had helped too, interrupted before Astra could say a word. "What 'bout me? I helped too" she demanded.

"Alright One trip" he said thinking perhaps that it would be some extra incentive for Astra to come as it seemed she was friends with the girl as they always seemed to be around each other, the Doctor not realising that t was mostly coincidence that led them to always be together when the Doctor saw them. He then waved his hand toward Mickey whilst saying "And he's not invited" He turned back to Astra "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?" She asked, the corner of her mouth betraying her excitement.

"Yeah" the Doctor grinned, seeing her poorly-disguised smile and finding he was unable to resist returning it.

Rose interrupted again by pushing past the both of them and walking into the TARDIS like she owned the place.

"Well?" the Doctor asked, shaking off his annoyance before remembering something else he should probably add "By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?"

Astra smiled at him and said cheekily "As long as we can go pick up some of my stuff first?"

The Doctor, unable to resist in his excitement, grabbed her hand and dragged her inside, he pulled her over to the console all the while ignoring Rose, who stood on the other side of the console scowling at the two. He began setting everything up ready to go before he remembered something. "What's your address again?" he asked, looking over at Astra sheepishly making her laugh at him.

AN: I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review. BlackRoseBooks :) x