Chapter 2 folks! As blackhairdye pointed out, much to my amusement, writers usually offer cookies, not chainsaws! Well, I'm a very violent (but talented) person and therefore have an attatchment to chainsaws. Seriously though, the reviewing response has been amazing (you guys LIKE fluff don't you? I'm on a steep learning curve today...)so everyone who reviewed gets one of those big American cookies with chocolate chips in... but that won't stop me getting my chainsaw out at the end!
One note: I discovered the little Italics button on my computer today when I was half-way through this, so up until then the telepathy goes unmarked.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 2
Rose grabbed Theta and laid him down on the couch, whispering soothing words down the link until he stopped shaking and lay motionless on the couch. She stroked his hair gently, and then turned to face Jackie, who was standing with her hands on her hips, counting up to ten and taking deep breaths.
"Right... Rose, you are gonna tell me EXACTLY what is going on here..."
The Doctor, beginning to regain consciousness, lifted his head off the sofa and croaked, "Jackie - "
Jackie whirled around as fast as lightening and bellowed. "YOU! I'M GONNA KILL-"
Theta squeaked and flopped back on the couch as the blue-purple sparks engulfed him again with a crackling sound. Rose rolled her eyes. Exactly how old was this guy? 903 years, 7 months and 10 days, her ever-active mind informed her. Rose told herself very firmly to shut up. Her mother had no right to terrorize the love of her life like that... even if he was a right wimp. Absoloutely furious with Jackie, Rose looked at her fingertips and groaned as white sparks shot forth.
Jackie paled and stammered, "Wh-what are those things? Are they dangerous? What's that man done to you? Has he poisoned you? With his alien blood? Oh my god - is he diseased? Does he have fleas? I always said-"
"MUM... SHUT UP!"
"...of COURSE he doesn't have fleas!"
Jackie fell silent and Rose turned back to Theta. She needed him up - now. He was gonna have to help her explain the events of yesterday to Jackie, and convince her that her daughter was no longer human. Struck with an idea, she reached into his head, and found him on his knees at the back of his mind, shaking so bad he could hardly hear her. She yelled through the mental fog,
"Listen, I love you, but if you don't wake up RIGHT NOW I'll stand back and let Jackie murder you..." Hearing her, he turned blue-purple again, but fought it and muttered,
"Help me up..." Rose took his hand and as they both exited his mind, Jackie appeared to come to a decision, having seen her daughter go into a telepathic trance for several minutes.
"Something tells me this is gonna take a while. Sit down... I'll put the kettle on."
The Doctor put his hand up gingerely, like the new boy sent to the head's office. "Jackie..."
"What?"
"Can I... can I have a banana milkshake?"
At this, Rose burst out laughing, while Jackie shook her head and muttered, "I'll see what I can do..." before going to the kitchen and opening cupboards.
Harold chose that moment to walk down the hallway yawning stretching very loudly.
"Jackie! How's my wonderful wife-to-be?"
He strode into the living room looking a complete mess. His hair was dishevelled and he was wearing a dressing gown. Stopping dead when he saw the Doctor and Rose, he said, "Ah", and hurriedly wrapped the dressing gown tightly round himself. Apparantly, he wasn't wearing pyjamas. Jackie took one look, smiled at him and said to the pair on the sofa, "Not one word. I'll explain later..."
Harold looked at the floor and muttered, "Guess I'll go and get dressed then..." before dashing back to the bedroom.
Jackie re-appeared with three cups of tea, a pot, milk and sugar, and a banana milkshake. Theta eyed it with interest.
"It's only Nesquik I'm afraid... and the use-by-date was 1991..."
"No, it's fine!" beamed the Doctor. He picked up the bowl of sugar, took out the spoon and emptied the entire thing into the milkshake, stirring vigorously. Jackie lifted her hands in despair and went back to get a refill as Rose grinned.
He asked down the link, "Did... I do something wrong?"
Rose smirked. "Only pissed Mum off without even realising it!"
Theta gulped. "Oh... Rose, you gotta help me, I don't know anything about human behaviour..."
"Calm down! Drink that thing, I know what sugar does to you..."
He took a large gulp and smiled blissfully. "Synthetic bananas and sugar! Does wonders to your mind!"
"I'm sure it does... can I try it?" Rose asked as she suddenley felt a strange attraction to the drink. Theta grinned.
"Ah, there's the joining at work! Yes, suddenely I have a strong liking for... chips!" he pronounced, eyes twinkling.
Rose sipped the drink cautiously and was amazed at how much she liked it. That thing set her adrenalin on fire! MAJOR sugar rush!
"Mum, have you got any more Nesquik?"
Theta looked at Rose. "I never told you what happened on that planet, did I? Have a look..."
Rose put her fingertips on Theta's temples and instantly accessed his mind. The memory of his time on Genesis swam to the front of his brain and she watched Theta reject their offer, how it was too late, how he missed her, facing certain death, when the Tardis appeared and told him about the prophesy before whisking him back to Earth. She heard Theta's voice-over. "No-one knew I'd been injected with that drug except the Leader, until I collapsed." Watching him collapse on the Tardis mainframe, the memory ceased and Rose exited his mind.
"And that's where you come in..."
"The Tardis told me everything... thank you." The yellow sparks began darting around both their fingertips as they smiled blissfully at each other. As their feelings intensified, the yellow mist began to spread and they both shook themselves out of their trance.
While Jackie was in the kitchen, Harold came in, now thankfully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He slumped in an armchair and kept quiet, apparantly still embarassed by the events of the morning, when he thought he and Jackie were the only ones in the flat. The Doctor eventually broke the silence.
"Er... congratulations!"
Harold looked at him. "Thanks - I only proposed last night, ya know. I was driving Jackie home on that motorbike - it's parked outside in the carpark, actually - when 'er head hit a tree, and I felt so sorry for her, I kinda said the first thing that popped inter me head... she didn't seem to mind though!"
They heard Jackie singing happily in the kitchen.
"Oh yeah?" Theta gazed at Rose suddenely, and idea in his head, and she laughed down the link,
"I can hear your thoughts remember?"
Theta groaned and put his head in his hands. Rose pulled him up again and kissed him.
"Aww, don't be embarassed, it was a lovely idea, but ask me later, OK?"
"OK!" he agreed with a delighted expression on his face.
Jackie walked in carrying another milkshake and sugar bowl. Rose picked up the bowl, removed the spoon, chucked the contents in and stirred with a mischevious smile on her face. Jackie looked like she was about to explode, and looking at her, Theta was starting to glow with fear again. Rose nudged him.
"You're glowing again, now stop it, she's only my mother!"
Jackie sat down next to Harold and glared at the Doctor across the table, who looked at his shoes. Rose decided she should start the proceedings.
"Right, now Mum there's no easy way to say this OK, but if you listen to me for a whole - she thought about it - 3 minutes and 56 seconds, WITHOUT interrupting, we should be able to get through everything."
Jackie nodded and reached for Harold's hand.
"You know the Doctor is an alien? A Time-Lord - from Gallifrey - looks a bit like Mars doesn't it? All the red ground..." She glanced at Theta who nodded, startled.
"Right, well this morning he left me on Earth - don't ask why, it's complicated - and then he went to visit Genesis..."
She briefly explained what happened on the planet.
"So after the Tardis told the Doctor about this prophesy, she took him back to Earth but the Spectres injected him with this drug he didn't know about, that kills you after 10 minutes if you leave the planet's atmosphere. So when he landed on Earth he'd already collapsed. I lost Harold, and was about to be barbecued by one of those alien bastards when the Tardis appeared - with impeccable timing - so I hopped aboard..."
She then narrated the events that took place inside the Tardis, watching her mother's expression change from confused to dread to all-out-horror.
"...so as you've probably guessed, Mum - I'm not human anymore."
As she heard this Jackie began hyper-ventilating and yelling incoherently, becoming more hysterical by the minute. As she began shaking, Harold began to yell for someone to call an ambulance. While everyone panicked, Theta picked her up effortlessly and dumped her on the sofa, where she collapsed. Forcing her mouth open, he grabbed his milkshake and poured in a large quantity, then slammed her mouth shut again, poured a little milkshake on her face for good measure, then stepped back a few paces and calmly waited for a result.
As Rose and Harold asked him together, "What did you do?", he explained with a shrug, "I treated her my way. They don't call me a Doctor for nothing, you know. It'll work, trust me."
A few seconds later, Jackie opened her eyes and sat up.
"Why is there milkshake on my face?"
Rose laughed and kissed Theta. Sensing her gratitude, he turned red. "It was nothing. Really."
Rose turned back to Jackie. "Right, now that I've told I'm not human, do you want me to explain what I am?"
Upon Jackie's assent, Rose and Theta sat down on the sofa.
"The thing is... I really don't know. And having the same brain as genius over here, - she gestured at Theta, who grinned - that's saying something. My best guess would be a mix of Time Lord, human and... Vortex? And whatever I am, the Doctor's exactly the same."
"Oh Rose, hold on - " The Doctor grabbed his coat from behind the sofa and produced a rectangular scanner. Running it over Rose, the scanner beeped cheerfully.
"Should identify her species any second now..." As he said this the scanner turned green, made a high-pitched whiring noise and suddenely exploded in the Doctor's hand.
"Ah... apparantly the scanner doesn't know. So... I am forced to conclude that - "
" - we are a new and unidentified species." Rose finished for him. He turned to her and told her down the link,
"Stop finishing my sentences! Just 'cos you're thinking exactly the same thing!"
"Actually, my mind worked it out before yours did!"
"Did not!" He pulled a face at her.
"Did so!" She pulled one back.
Jackie interrupted. "Listen, I'm sorry to break up this NUTTER'S CONVENTION, but since when did people make faces at each other for no reason? And since when did white sparks start flying out of your fingers?"
Rose looked at her hand briefly, blew on it to cool it down, and started off, "Right, well being a new species altogether, there's loads of things we can do... we're actually more joined than-"
"-any other beings in the universe." Rose glared at Theta, who smirked. White sparks shot from her fingertips, and without realising it, she changed to Gallifreyan, calling Theta several violent expletives.
Theta chuckled at the expression on her face when she realised she was no longer speaking English.
"Interesting... apparantly, when the anger senses overload, there's a danger of switching temporarily to Gallifeyan OR English, I think. You probably tend to switch to the one you prefer though." He grinned. "Glad to see you like Gallifreyan so much!"
He proceeded to explain to Jackie and Harold, who to his credit had formed a shaky belief in their story, and was now listening intently, the 'quirks' they both had and the many more that would probably appear. This took a long time, with Rose constantly finishing his sentences, and the telepathic conversations that followed. He realised they were now beginning to look into each other's minds automatically, without thinking about it. This joining thing was stronger than he thought.
When he finally finished, Jackie was silent for a moment, digesting all the information, then she folded her arms and spoke.
"Okay. So now there's no chance of Rose leaving you? My daughter's stuck with you forever!"
"Jackie, at this point in time she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She wouldn't be able to cope with a human life, not any more. Besides, she NEEDS me - and I need her. There's this physical pull on both of us that draws us in - more than any two people in the universe, we need each other. We're the most powerful beings in existance but we have a weakness - we just can't be apart. We can save the universe together but we can't even live alone. That's more than love, Jackie..."
The Doctor had mumbled all this with his hands in his pockets, looking at the floor, but his words contained so much undisguised emotion that everyone in the room was stunned. The words reverberated in Rose's head,
"We can save the world together but we can't even live alone."
She heard his voice down the link, "Rose..."
"Theta..." Rose ran straight into his arms, looked into his eyes and saw his overpowering fear that Jackie would take her away. Every word he had said was true - she knew that now. They looked at each other, and said, "I know." at exactly the same time. Rose stroked Theta's hair. He was clearly incredibly upset - his mind was in a fog and she couldn't understand what he was thinking.
"I'm sorry - I was afraid I'd be alone again. I love you. I can't help it-"
"Woah! Don't you dare apologize... I love you too. And Mum's not that cruel - she's not gonna take me away, don't worry now, shh..."
She held him quietly for several minutes while he cried and eventually managed to think clearly again. Pulling her up he kissed her gently.
"Thank you."
Jackie, truly touched by the Doctor's little speech, made her decision. She held her arms wide.
"Come 'ere you!"
The Doctor, truly terrified, was nudged by Rose, who giggled.
"Go on, she won't bite!"
The Doctor stepped gingerely into Jackie's embrace, and found it surprisingly tolerable. It reminded him, for the first time in oh, 850 years, of his own mother, and he carefully hugged her back before stepping away. His mood changed like lightening as he suddenely remembered the alien invasion.
"Right, first things first." He switched the telly on and slumped on the sofa with the remote. Rose landed next to him as he pulled out his glasses and stared at the screen. The images were of London under several feet of water, an entie city on the rooftops, the explosion and fireworks that followed, and, to their intense embarassment, of both of them in each other's arms on the rooftop.
Theta groaned. "I'll never live this down. Every single villian I ever meet's gonna hear about this - I have a reputation to uphold..."
The press were having a field day. Media streamed into Central London as the world's attention was focused on the city, which was now determined to prove to the world that aliens exist. Footage was shown of people hammering on TV studio doors, eager to tell their stories. The Internet was being flooded with blogs on the
The image went back to Theta and Rose on the roof with the Tardis as the Prime Minister made his speech.
"Hey look, it's Tony Blair! That guy who replaced Harriet Jones, remember?"
"On behalf of this country and the world, I would like to thank these two people, wherever they are, for saving us all. I can't express my gratitude enough-"
At this point, Theta and Rose both collapsed on the sofa, covered in white and purple-blue sparks and shaking violently.
Inside their heads, they could see the Spectral leader, still very much alive on the Genesis planet. A being of light with a dark band around his head, exactly as the Doctor remembered him. He painfully broke down their mental defences and entered their minds, sneering at the Doctor.
"WHAT A PITIFUL LITTLE THING YOU ARE DOCTOR! So you escaped my planet... destoyed my army... was that all? You killed a load of clones and thought you had defeated me?"
He laughed mockingly. "Well, I'm still here. Still with my big secret. And I can assure you, Doctor, that if you do not come back I will use my... secret... to unleash all conceivable terrors upon Earth - I still have the power to destroy it. What choice do you have? Stay where you are, everyone dies. You've no option, Doctor. I await your return..."
As he left their minds, Theta and Rose stopped shaking and woke up. Sitting on the couch, they stared at each other, lost for words and very, very afraid.
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Right! - gets chainsaw and sets it on fire - now review and you will get chocolate digestives!
