What would happen if it turned out Rose's presence in the parallel world caused a misbalance?
(No Martha or Jones family in this one)
Chapter 2: The Shakespeare Code
The TARDIS materialised and the Doctor and Dani stepped out.
'1599?' Dani asked.
'1599,' the Doctor agreed.
There was suddenly a yell from above and the Doctor and Dani stepped back as the contents of an Elizabethan toilet were dumped at their feet.
'Or thereabouts,' the Doctor said. 'Sorry about that.'
'Nah.' Dani shrugged. 'That's nothing. I once saw few psychos that kept welding themselves to each other. Girl I was with ended up in a mental institution 'cause she couldn't stop rambling about it.'
The Doctor chuckled sympathetically and led her on. 'We're right near Southwark,' he told her. 'Which means we're right next to the Globe. Strictly speaking though, it's not a globe. It's a tetradecagon. 14 sides.'
'Why 14?' Dani asked.
'No idea,' the Doctor answered. 'Never asked.'
'And you've met Shakespeare how many times?' Dani almost laughed.
'This will be the first time for him,' the Doctor answered.
XXX
The Doctor and Dani stood in among the crowd as Shakespeare came out.
'Isn't he supposed to be bald?' Dani asked as the crowd cheered.
'He's pretty young at the moment,' the Doctor answered.
'Shut your big, fat mouths!' Shakespeare yelled and Dani jumped.
The Doctor just chuckled. That was actually pretty funny, but, unfortunately, Shakespeare hadn't been talking to them specifically.
'Tomorrow night, we'll have a new play for you,' Shakespeare announced. 'Loves Labour Won!'
The Doctor and Dani looked at each other. Dani tapped her nose, telling the Doctor something in the air had changed an instant before he made the announcement. The Doctor nodded.
It was time to make a house call.
Rose stood in front of Pete, Mickey and Jake.
'About three years ago I was under the Salt Plains of Utah, in a museum owned by a man called Henry Van Statten,' Rose explained. 'He owns the internet. It was full of alien relics and he had a Dalek in there. He kept the relics there because he was scared of them and he protected them by hiring an entire army. He existed in my own dimensions, he'd definitely exist here.'
Pete nodded. 'Yeah. And he shouldn't be holding alien relics. Or Daleks. When did you remember this, Rosie?'
'While we were fighting the Slitheen,' Rose answered.
'So, we ought to take this guy out while we can,' Mickey said.
'First we ought to determine if he is there or not,' Jake added.
'Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?' the Doctor asked.
'Oh no,' Shakespeare grumbled. 'No, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs, you can't have yourself sketched with me and please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for your interest, now be a good boy and shove…oh.'
He'd seen Dani.
XXX
Dani found it real amusing. The minute Shakespeare had seen her he'd kicked the actors out and asked her and the Doctor to sit down. Then, when the Doctor flashed him a wad of paper, he'd said, 'That paper's blank.'
'You really are a genius,' the Doctor responded.
'Optical illusion?' Dani asked. 'That doesn't work on smart people?'
'It works on smart people,' the Doctor responded. 'But not on geniuses.'
'Okay.' Dani crossed her arms and leaned back.
'What do you use it for?' Shakespeare asked. 'Generally.'
'Getting in places, getting past guards and getting out of trouble,' the Doctor answered.
'God knows you need it.' Dani laughed.
Shakespeare grinned at her. 'You're a very colourful woman, aren't you?'
'Dani comes from Fredonia,' the Doctor stated. 'People are more liberated there than they are here, especially women.'
'I've not heard of it,' Shakespeare commented. 'But it's nice to meet someone from a different place.'
'William Shakespeare!' an angry voice called from the doorway.
Shakespeare looked up and the Doctor and Dani twisted around and looked at the large bearded man standing in the doorway.
'Ah.' Shakespeare looked a little worried. 'Lanley.'
'This Loves Labour Won business!' Lanley snapped. 'I haven't seen it. Nothing is performed without passing through me.'
'You'll have it in the morning,' Shakespeare promised.
'I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine,' Lanley stated. 'Now give it to me.'
'It isn't finished,' Shakespeare insisted.
'Then it is cancelled,' Lanley stated. 'If it's the last thing I do, Loves Labour Won will never be played.'
It was only then that Dani noticed the worried-looking young girl to the side had neither a human life-force nor a human scent. Lanley walked out. Shakespeare leaned back.
'So, tell me about this Fredonia,' He asked Dani.
'Very sunny place in the day.' Dani leaned back too. 'And very dark and cold at night. Women who do wear skirts usually wear them fairly short and atheism is rather common.'
'Atheism?' Shakespeare asked.
'No religion,' Dani answered. 'A lot of people believe when you die. That's it, you're gone and nothing happens. I suppose you'd call it heathen.'
'Hm.' Shakespeare nodded, the concept seeming fascinating to him.
Their conversation was cut short by a scream from downstairs and all three leapt out of their seats and bolted for the source. Their feet carried them down to the courtyard where Lanley appeared to be choking on something.
'Stand back!' the Doctor called to everyone. 'I'm a doctor!'
Dani stopped short and watched as he ran over to Lanley. He checked him over before standing up and announcing that he died of a natural case of the humours. But the look in his eyes was one Dani knew well.
XXX
'Poor Lanley,' Shakespeare said. 'So many strange incidents. You, Doctor. A man who has no name. How can one so young have eyes so old?'
'I do a lot of reading,' the Doctor answered.
'A trite reply,' Shakespeare remarked. 'I do that, yeah. And you, Dani. You look at him as if you know everything and nothing at the same time. Where he's more of an enigma to me, he's more of a living paradox to you.'
Then Dolly Bailey came to the door. 'I've got a room for you, Sir Doctor. You must be tired from your journey.'
'I agree,' Dani said. 'I'm knackered.'
He could see she wasn't really. She'd just noticed something and she wanted to be away from human ears before she told him. She went ahead as the Doctor wandered after her. As he got to the door Shakespeare spoke, 'I bid you goodnight. I've a play to complete. But I'll find my answers tomorrow, Doctor.'
'All the world's a stage.' The Doctor quoted something he hadn't written yet.
'I might use that,' Shakespeare told him. 'Goodnight, Doctor.'
'Nighty-night, Shakespeare,' the Doctor responded.
XXX
'You got a toothbrush?' Dani asked as he came in.
'Um…' The Doctor patted his pockets before pulling out a toothbrush that looked like it was made out of yellow see-through plastic and handing it to her. 'Contains Venusian spearmint.'
'Don't need toothpaste, then?' Dani asked with a laugh in her voice.
'Nah.' The Doctor lay down on the bed as Dani started brushing her teeth.
'So, what do you really think?' Dani asked around the toothbrush. 'You had your "I'll-lie-to-them-so-they-won't-panic" face on when you told them it was a case of the humours.'
'This lot still have one foot in the Dark Ages,' the Doctor answered. 'If I told them the truth, they'd panic and think it was witchcraft.'
'Is it?' Dani asked.
'Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't,' the Doctor answered. 'It can't be.'
'Funny,' Dani commented. 'I know this girl that got possessed by her ancestor a few years ago. Her ancestor was prosecuted as a witch in Puritan America.'
'What'd her ancestor want?' the Doctor asked.
'I don't know.' Dani shrugged. 'Just to wreck destruction as far as I could tell.'
'And you're sure she was a witch?' the Doctor asked.
'Well, it's not every human that can destroy an entire town by staring at it,' Dani answered. She waved her hand to illustrate a town exploding. Then she frowned. 'Two questions though. Humans are not fitted for powers like that, so wouldn't they draw have to the powers from somewhere? And more importantly, where from?'
He looked directly at her and smiled partially proudly and partially sadly. She could see he was thinking about Rose. She'd probably say something like that to make him think about what he'd just thought about.
'You're right,' the Doctor said. 'Humans could never tap that power on their own. They'd have to draw it somewhere. I've got a feeling I know. But I want to be sure. Now, what did you see?'
Dani knew exactly what he meant. 'That girl. The young one that was in the room when Lanley came in and left a second after him. She wasn't human.'
The Doctor sat up. 'If she wasn't human, what was she?'
'Not a clue,' Dani said. 'I've never felt that life-force before. But she smelt about as old as the Time Lords.'
The Doctor's eyes narrowed in thought. 'An ancient race. How many more can you feel?'
Dani closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. 'Two.'
Then there was a shill scream and Dani felt a Dolly Bailey's life-force blink out.
XXX
The Doctor ran in. Shakespeare had dozed off and just woke, lifting his head.
'Wha…?' he muttered.
The Doctor dropped down and checked Dolly's pulse and vitals. Her eyes were open and wide.
'She died of fright,' he stated.
Dani ran past him and looked out the window. 'Oh, real original!' she yelled to whatever was out there.
The Doctor ran over and looked out. 'What did you see?'
'A witch on a broomstick,' Dani answered.
Yelling was something his 6th form would've done. It made him proud to know Dani had used his influence.
Everything was set. They were camping on top of the Salt Plains of Utah. It had been confirmed that Henry Van Statten, his army and his Museum of Aliens were indeed beneath the Plains.
Rose shared her tent with Pete, Jake and Mickey, head of Torchwood. It had three compartments. The two separate sleeping compartments and the office compartment. Pete, Jake and Mickey shared one compartment and Rose had her own.
She'd long ago made a habit of carrying pictures of her friends around in her wallet because Shireen and Mickey constantly got lost in huge shopping complexes and she had to ask if people had seen them and their appearances were common enough that she needed photos. She remembered, with a painful pang, that the Doctor had found that pretty hilarious. In both forms. Now, she pulled out a picture of him and looked at it.
He'd been sitting on the console floor, fiddling with something. But when she'd snapped the photo he turned his head slightly and grinned a bit. She pressed a kiss to her first two fingers and then pressed them to the image's lips.
'Goodnight, Doctor,' she murmured, so it was barely audible, even to her.
'The fact is, Lanley drowned on land and Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you,' Dani told Shakespeare.
'You're accusing me?' Shakespeare asked.
'No,' Dani said. 'But whoever is doing this, their motive, it's something to do with you. Maybe you've got something they want.'
'Me?' Shakespeare asked. 'But all I've got is words.'
'And maybe that's all they need,' the Doctor stated.
XXX
Shakespeare and Dani stood on the stage as the Doctor paced below.
'14 sides,' the Doctor mused. 'I've always wondered, but I've never asked. Why 14?'
'It's just the shape that Peter Streete thought best,' Shakespeare answered. 'Said it carried the acoustics well.'
'Peter Streete the architect?' Dani asked.
'Yeah,' Shakespeare answered.
'14,' the Doctor went on. 'Why does that ring a bell?'
'Well, if we're really dealing with witches,' Dani said, '14's like 7. Some people believe it has magical qualities.'
'True,' the Doctor agreed. 'Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen sides, fourteen facets. Oh, my head. Tetradecagon. Think, think, think. Letters, numbers.'
'This is just the theatre,' Shakespeare stated.
'Oh, yeah.' The Doctor came to the stage. 'But the theatre's magic, isn't it? You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words, with the right emphasis at the right time…oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy…change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place.' He turned around. 'And if you exaggerate that…' He turned around again. 'Tell you what. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?'
'You could, but you won't get any answers,' Shakespeare agreed.
'Why not?' Dani asked.
'A month after finishing this place he lost his mind,' Shakespeare answered. 'Started going on about witches and things.'
'Where is he?' the Doctor asked.
'Bedlam,' Shakespeare answered.
'Bedlam?' Dani asked.
'Bethlam Hospital.' Shakespeare clarified. 'The Madhouse.'
'I wanna talk to Peter Streete,' The Doctor stated, turning and running.
Dani followed him and Shakespeare followed both of them.
'I'm coming,' he said. 'I want to witness this first-hand.' As they left the actors entered. 'Here's the script,' Shakespeare stated. 'As promised. Lots of teeth. The Queen might show up.' As he followed the Doctor and Dani he muttered, 'Doubt it. She never does.'
XXX
'You're married, aren't you?' Dani laughed as Shakespeare started flirting with her.
'Wife's not in town,' he commented, grinning. 'What are men like in Fredonia?'
'Not that much different from here,' Dani answered. 'Circumstances change, people don't.'
'Come on!' the Doctor called back. 'We can all have a good flirt later!'
'Is that a promise, Doctor?' Shakespeare teased.
'Ugh.' The Doctor groaned. 'Fifty-seven academics just punched the air. Now move!'
Dani just laughed.
XXX
'Do you want some entertainment, my Lord?' the guard asked. 'I can whip these men. They'd put on a good show.'
'No, I don't,' the Doctor snapped.
Dani kept her face neutral. The stench of fear was thick in the air. It made her want to gag in all honesty.
'I'll just make him decent for the lady,' the guard stated, moving off.
'Were you ever here as a patient?' Dani asked Shakespeare, knowing he had been anyway.
'Yeah.' Shakespeare answered, 'Not too long ago. My son was taken by the plague. I started questioning mortality, to be or not to be…oh. That's quite good.'
'You should use that,' the Doctor stated.
'Maybe not,' Shakespeare commented. 'A bit pretentious?'
'Not at all,' Dani responded.
That was when the guard called them to the cell.
XXX
The Doctor placed his hands on either side of Peter's head.
'Peter, I'm the Doctor,' he said. 'Now I want you to remember. Way back to a year ago when everything was nice and shiny. Everything that has happened since has since happened to someone else. It's just a story. A winter's tale.' He gently pushed Peter down. 'That's it,' he urged. 'Let go.'
The Doctor stood up.
'Tell me the story, Peter,' he said.
'You can't do this! I am Henry Van Statten!' Van Statten insisted.
'And we are Torchwood,' Rose stated, no mercy or weakness in her eyes. 'You're just a little boy that's playing with toys he shouldn't be touching. We're the adults that have to take them away, before someone gets killed.' She turned away from him. 'Take them all away. Wipe their memories and leave them in hospitals all over the world.'
She listened to the sounds of loud arguing as Van Statten and his people were dragged away. She gleefully watched Adam be dragged away. Then Jake's voice came over the com. link.
'Bad Wolf. This is Preacher. Over.'
'Go ahead, Preacher,' she answered it. 'What did you find? Over.'
'We found the Dalek. Over.'
'Good,' Rose told him. 'But I want to know if the Doctor has ever existed in this dimension. If he has, information about him will be in the Dalek's data banks. Over.'
'Right,' Jake agreed. 'What do I do to find out? Over.'
'Mention his name. Over.'
'The witches spoke to Peter in the night,' Peter stated. 'They whispered, whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The fourteen walls. Always…fourteen. When the work was done…' He let out a dry laugh. 'They…they snapped poor Peter's wits.'
'But where did Peter see the witches?' the Doctor asked. 'Where in the city? Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me. Where were they?'
Peter looked at him. 'All Hallows Street.'
'Too many words!'
The Doctor whipped around. What he saw made him jump back in shock.
'A witch!' Shakespeare exclaimed. 'I'm seeing a witch!'
'One touch,' the "witch" wheezed. 'Just one touch to the heart.' She reached down and touched Peter over the heart.
'No!' the Doctor yelled when he saw what she was going to do.
But it was too late. Peter Streete was dead.
'Oh, oh.' The "witch" cackled. 'I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals. Who would die first, hmm?'
'No one,' Dani answered.
'So, it'll be you, hmm?' the "witch" asked her.
'Well.' The Doctor stepped forward. 'If you're looking for volunteers.'
'You know what she is?' Dani asked.
Shakespeare gave her a look.
'"Witch" is too weak a word,' she explained. 'She's not even human. She doesn't come from Earth.'
'Doctor, can you stop her?' Shakespeare asked.
'No mortal has power over me,' the "witch" gloated.
'No, but there's power in words,' the Doctor responded. 'If I can find the right one. If I can just know you…'
'None on Earth had knowledge of us,' the "witch" stated.
Dani smirked.
'Then it's a good thing I'm here,' the Doctor said. 'Now, think, think, think. Humanoid, female, uses shapes and words to channel energy…Ah! 14! That's it! 14! The 14 stars of Rexel Planetary Configuration! Creature I name you…Carrionite!'
The Carrionite screamed and vanished.
'The power in a name,' Dani stated. 'Is that where witches draw their power from?'
'That's old magic,' the Doctor answered. 'It's another kind of science. The human race uses mathematics. Give the right string of numbers, the right equation, you could split the atom. Carrionites use words instead.'
'Use them for what?' Shakespeare asked.
'The end of the world.'
Jake walked into the room where the Dalek was being held, gun at the ready.
'Know anyone called the Doctor?' he asked into the darkness.
'Doc-tor…?' Two lights lit up as the Dalek spoke. '…does not register.'
The whole area lit up as someone behind him hit the lights.
'Just checking,' Jake said an instant before firing.
He watched in satisfaction as the Dalek was blown to bits. Then he left the room and called Rose up on the com. link.
'Bad Wolf. This is Preacher. Over.'
'Did it know the Doctor?' Rose's response was all business. 'Over.'
Not that he could blame her. He remembered when Rickey died. It'd hurt so damn much. But Rose loved the Doctor more than he'd ever loved Rickey. She'd do anything to get back to him.
'I'm afraid not,' Jake said. 'His name didn't register.'
'Okay.' She sighed. 'Get back up here with the rest of us. Over.'
'The Carrionites vanished at the Dawn of the Universe,' the Doctor explained as Shakespeare washed his face. 'No one could decide if they were real or legend.'
'Well, I'm going for real,' Shakespeare stated.
'So, what do they want?' Dani asked.
'A new Empire on Earth,' the Doctor answered. 'A world of blood and bones and witchcraft.'
'And there's power in words,' Dani concluded. 'They need the right words in the right shape at the right time with the right emphasis.'
'Yes, they do,' the Doctor agreed, looking at Shakespeare. 'And I'm looking at the man with the words.'
'Me?' Shakespeare asked. 'But I've done nothing.'
'Not consciously,' Dani said.
'What happens at the end of the play?' the Doctor asked.
'Uh…' Shakespeare looked thoughtful. 'The guys get the girls. It's all as funny and thought-provoking as usual…except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't remember writing them.'
The Doctor and Dani looked at each other.
XXX
'They're somewhere in this street,' Dani told the Doctor as the walked into the street.
'Are you sure there's only three?' the Doctor asked.
'Reasonably,' Dani answered. 'Two of them are already at the Globe. But one's still here.'
'But which house?' the Doctor asked. The door of the house right in front of them opened. 'Make that Witch House,' The Doctor quipped.
They both headed inside.
XXX
'You're a Carrionite, I presume?' Dani asked, as she followed the Doctor in.
'Yes, I am,' the young-looking Carrionite answered. 'Strange. Neither of you are human.'
'And neither are you,' Dani retorted. 'What are you doing here?'
'What are you doing here?' she asked.
'Saving the world,' Dani answered.
The Carrionite smirked and pointed. 'This one's out of her time. I gaze upon this girl on a penny, hence I name you, Dani.'
Dani yelled out in pain and dropped to her knees. The Doctor dropped down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently laying her on the ground, as he did when she was a child.
'A strong mind and a strong will,' the Carrionite remarked. 'Rare to meet one who can take our powers.'
The Doctor's eyes hadn't left her. 'There are more out there than you could ever understand.'
'And you…' She pointed at him. 'Strange. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair.'
'The naming won't work on me,' he stated.
'There's still one name that has the power,' she announced.
'No, there isn't,' the Doctor argued.
'But your heart grows cold,' the Carrionite taunted. 'A north wind blows and carries down the distant…Rose.'
Anger flared in the Doctor as he stood up and angrily marched over to her. 'Oh, big mistake,' he snapped. 'Because that's the one name that keeps me fighting. The Carrionites vanished! Where did you go?'
'The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness,' the Carrionite stated, turning away.
'Then, how did you escape?' the Doctor asked.
'New words.' The Carrionite turned back to him. 'New, and glittering. From a mind like no other.'
'Shakespeare,' the Doctor murmured, then looked into the cauldron as an image of Shakespeare appeared, looking distraught and the Carrionite spoke again.
'His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance.'
'How many of you?' the Doctor asked.
'Just the three,' the Carrionite answered curtly. 'But the play tonight shall restore the rest. The Human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world, we will lead the Universe back into the old ways of blood and magic.'
'Hm.' The Doctor cleared his throat. 'Busy schedule. But first, you'll have to get past me.'
'Well then,' she whispered seductively, coming very close and pushing her fingers through his hair. 'I'm lucky my enemy comes in such a handsome package.'
'Now that is one bit of magic that is definitely not going to work on me,' he told her.
Then there was a snip as she pulled away and the Doctor's hand flew to where she'd cut some hair from.
'Hey!' he exclaimed. 'What…? Give that back.' He ran at her and she jumped out the window. 'Oh, that's just cheating,' he remarked.
'Men, to Carrionites, are merely puppets,' the Carrionite stated, pulled out a straw doll and twisting the Doctor's hair around its neck.
'You may call that magic,' the Doctor stated. 'But I call that a DNA replication model.'
'Goodbye, Doctor!' the Carrionite cackled, jamming a needle into the model's heart.
The Doctor cried out and collapsed and she flew off.
XXX
Dani waited until the Carrionite flew off before she got up. Coming from the ultimate warrior race, she could quickly recover from pain and be all right within a few minutes. She walked over to the Doctor and crouched down beside his prone form.
'So, how long are you going to lay there?' she asked.
'Can't fool you, can I?' he asked in a jocular tone.
'I've known you way too long,' Dani answered. 'But you probably still can.'
The Doctor laughed and started to stand up, but only got half-way before he cried out in pain and stumbled back to his hands and knees.
'I've only got one heart working!' he exclaimed, before looking at Dani. 'How do you people cope?'
'Which one do I have to hit?' Dani asked.
'Left.' He moved his arm so she could access it.
Dani whacked him in the chest, over his left heart and he bent over.
'Now the back!' he yelled.
She whacked his back, over the left heart.
'Ah!' The Doctor jumped up and cracked his back.
'Bada-boom-ba!' he yelled. 'Nice work. Let's go!'
They ran out of the house.
XXX
'Stop the play,' the Doctor reproached Shakespeare. 'Yeah, I think that was it. I said, stop the play!'
'I hit my head…' he responded weakly.
'Yeah, don't rub it,' the Doctor answered. 'You'll go bald.'
XXX
'But…these Carrionite phrases!' Shakespeare yelled over the noise. 'They require such precision!'
'You're William Shakespeare!' the Doctor yelled back. 'If anyone can do it, you can! Think, when you're in your study words just come to you, they're like magic. You're the one man that can stop them! Now, do it!' He pushed Shakespeare forward.
'Close up this den of hateful, dire decay!' Shakespeare yelled. 'Decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy! My doting Doctor tells me I am not! Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points…' He looked back at the Doctor.
'7-6-1-3-9-0!' the Doctor called.
'7-6-1-3-9-0!' Shakespeare repeated, 'Banished like a tinker's cuss! I say to thee…' He looked at the Doctor.
'Uh…' He looked at Dani and she said the first thing that came into her head.
'Expelliarmus!'
'Expelliarmus!' the Doctor repeated.
'Expelliarmus!' Shakespeare concluded.
'Good old J.K.!' the Doctor yelled as the Carrionites seemed to implode and vanish.
It took a few seconds but soon the applause started.
XXX
Shakespeare looked up at the Doctor. 'All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing.'
'I wouldn't complain,' Dani told him.
'I'm not,' Shakespeare answered. 'It's marvellous.'
'Well, good.' Dani laughed.
'Anyway, time we were off,' the Doctor stated. 'I've got a nice attic in the TARDIS where this lot can scream for all eternity and I've got to get Dani back to Fredonia.'
'You mean travel on through time and space?' Shakespeare asked with a knowing look in his eyes.
'You what?' the Doctor's eyes widened.
Dani's eyebrows flew up.
'You're from another world, like the Carrionites,' Shakespeare stated. 'Both of you and you're also from the future. It's not hard to work out.'
'That's…incredible,' the Doctor murmured. 'You are incredible.'
'We're alike in many ways, Doctor.'
XXX
'What'd you do to brass her off?' Dani yelled as they ran.
'Don't know!' the Doctor responded. 'Something to look forward to.'
'Yeah, really,' Dani agreed as she ran into the TARDIS.
The Doctor quickly followed.
'Look mummy!' Tony yelled, pointing. 'Daddy and Rose and Unca Mickey are coming home!'
'Yeah, I see them, sweetheart,' Jackie told him.
They watched the truck come up the drive.
XXX
When Rose walked into her room, she found Carly propped up on the bed. Carly had long chocolate brown hair and green eyes. From what Rose could tell, she came from a rich family. Carly looked at her.
'You're getting desperate,' Carly commented.
'No, I'm not,' Rose argued.
'No, you're not.' Carly frowned, 'That's just what they want me to say.'
Rose frowned. Whatever Carly had to do, she didn't like it.
'What do they want you to do?' Rose asked.
'They want me to remove your soul from your body and temporarily tie it to the Doctor,' Carly said. 'That means you'll have no communication at all. You won't be able to touch each other and he'll neither see nor hear you.'
'Then why send me like that?' Rose asked.
'They didn't tell me,' Carly answered. 'But if we don't do it you'll probably never see him again. One or both of you will die before you can.'
'How can anything that does that be good?' Rose asked.
'With difficulty,' Carly answered.
'What about my body?' Rose asked. 'When I'm in there, I mean.'
'It'll be like you're asleep,' Dani answered. 'Except you won't be able to be woken up. And there'll also be the briefing.'
'Briefing?' Rose asked.
'We'll talk properly in the higher plains, then I'll send you down there and you'll be like an unnoticed ghost,' Carly explained.
'How long will I be unconscious for?' Rose asked.
'To this world?' Carly responded. 'A few hours. Not long enough to scare them.'
Rose looked her right in the eye. 'All right.'
