Alien

The early afternoon air blew outside while Cameron traveled up a flight of stairs. She was currently heading up an apartment complex to visit Rose Tyler's flat.

It was the next morning after the explosion at Henrick's. She had given it much thought, and with nothing else to do today, Cameron decided to visit Rose Tyler's apartment.

They never really got to know each other the year they worked in the same building. Wilson introduced them one night when Rose was giving the man his lottery money and Cameron happened to pass by. They passed each other on occasion, too. They just stayed coworkers.

With the last flight of steps, Cameron was able to take a breather. She knew where Rose lived because she lived across the street. Funny coincidence, she knew.

Finally able to breathe again Cameron started to walk in the direction of Rose's flat. Only to stop at the sight of a familiar face in front of her door.

"Doctor?"

The man himself stood in front of Rose's flat door, about to crouch down near the kitty-door attached. He looked up at Cameron, bewildered. He straightened his posture and walked over to the girl.

"What're you doin' here?" he asked. He randomly reached up and thumped Cameron's forehead to which she flinched and glared at him.

"Not plastic. Hm." He looked down at his metal device Cameron saw the other night. "What's that?"

"Sonic screwdriver." He marched off back towards Rose's door. Cameron rolled her eyes at this. He couldn't stand still or answer anybody properly, could he?

How was he still alive?

"Alright, well why are you here?" The Doctor got on all fours in front of the cat door, pointing his "sonic screwdriver" at it. It lit up and made it's strange noise like before.

"I got a signal earlier that directed me here," he explained. "And if I'm getting a signal then it means I didn't finish the job."

Cameron furrowed her brows and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Job? What, with the living plastic? I thought you got rid of all that when you blew up the shop."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and huffed. He really hated explaining everything to people. He opened his mouth to answer back but Cameron cut him off.

"How are you still alive? You said you might die last night."

"Yeah. Might." the Doctor sassed. "Now shut up a minute." Cameron bit back a remark and watched the mysterious man do whatever it was he was doing.

He pushed the cat flap door open slightly to try and get a peek. There was movement from the other side of the door before the door was opened up from the other end. The Doctor met someone else's gaze before that person on the other end jumped up to open the door.

Cameron rushed over to stand behind the Doctor who got up as well. They were greeted by none other than Rose Tyler who opened the main door.

"What're you doing here?" the Doctor looked extremely confused at seeing Rose now. Great, he had to deal with the both of them now.

Rose furrowed her brows, "I live here."

"Well, what'd you do that for?"

"Because I do. I'm only at home because someone blew up my job!"

The Doctor raised his sonic, pressing its button and inspecting it. "I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" He knocked on Rose's forehead who reeled back, offended. "No, bonehead. Bye, then." He went to leave but Cameron grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him back around, gaining the help of Rose who pulled him into the flat.

"You. Inside. Right now." The Doctor looked surprised but entered nevertheless.

"Who is it?" Jackie Tyler called from the room next to them. Rose leaned on her doorframe.

"It's about last night. They're part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes." She went off to go inside the kitchen and Cameron followed her while the Doctor stayed back to take a look around.

"Why are you with him?" Rose started to prepare some coffee, per the Doctor's acceptance. While doing that she questioned Cameron.

Cameron threw up a hand in defense. "I only just saw him at your door. I was coming over to check on you." With her free hand she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"So you aren't, like, in on any of this or...?" Rose sent Cameron a suspicious look. It did look strange seeing both of them together at her door.

Cameron shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just as lost in the loop as you are."

Choking sounds came from the living room, catching the girl's attention. The Doctor had the plastic arm from last night at his throat but the two of them just thought he was messing around to try and be funny.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out." Rose walked in and set the mugs onto the coffee table. "You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. Anyway, I don't even know your name. Doctor what was it?"

The plastic hand retreated from the Doctor's neck, suddenly levitated in the air before it aimed itself onto Rose, grabbing her face. Rose let out a scream and reached to try and get it off. The Doctor took his sonic and tried helping her pull it off, aiming his device at it and clicking its button repeatedly. Cameron could only stand back and watch in shocked silence, now believing the thing was still alive.

Eventually the Doctor got the hand to stop moving and off of Rose's face. They sat trying to catch their breath.

"It's alright." the Doctor pocketed his sonic. "I've stopped it. There you go, you see? Armless." He tossed the arm at Rose.

"You think?" Rose whacked the Doctor with the hand, bemused by his humor.

"Ow!"

oOo

Before Rose or Cameron could question the Doctor further about what had happened-the man took off. He just up and left the flat and headed for the exit. But the girls were hot on his heels.

"Oho, wait a minute!" Cameron took the lead, being the closest to the door when the Doctor walked out. "You can't just leave-we've got questions!"

"Yeah," Rose spoke, right behind Cameron. "You can't just go swanning off!"

"Yes I can. Here I am. This is me, swanning off." the Doctor sarcastically replied, "See ya!" The girls ignored his sarcasm.

"But that arm was moving! It tried to kill me." Rose argued.

"Ten out of ten for observation."

A tense smile crossed Cameron's features as she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from firing some crude remark back at the man. She's always had a temper. And he was totally not helping at the moment.

"This isn't fair, Doctor," Cameron replied. "You've got to tell us what's going on. I mean, we've already seen enough of it."

The Doctor continued at his brisk pace, trying to leave the girls in the dust as they exited the building. "No, I don't."

"All right, then." Rose said. "I'll go to the police." Cameron rose a brow at the blonde, wondering where she was headed with this. "I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell us, or I'll start talking."

The Doctor glanced at her, amused. "Is that supposed to sound tough?"

"Sort of."

"Doesn't work." Rose fell silent and Cameron rolled her eyes. She jogged further to keep up with their pace, flanking the Doctor's other side. She looked up at him, although his gaze was set forward. "Who are you?"

"Told you. The Doctor." "Yeah, but Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor?", repeated Rose with a smirk.

The man waved, "Hello!"

The girls chuckled, Rose rubbing her forehead. "Is that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Sort of."

"Are you the police?" asked Rose.

"No." the Doctor shook his head. "I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"Well, what have I done wrong?" Rose wondered. "Why do those...plastic things keep coming after me?"

"Oh. Suddenly the entire world revolves around you!" the Doctor grumbled, "You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."

"It tried to kill me!"

"It was after me, not you! Last night in the shop I was there, you two blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on you is 'cos you've met me."Cameron's eyebrows raised, "So you're saying the entire world revolves around you?"

The Doctor grinned, "Sort of, yeah."

"You're full of it!", laughed Rose. "Sort of, yeah."

"So," Cameron pointed at the plastic hand the Doctor was still carrying with him. "Who else knows about this plastic stuff?"

"No one.", he answered.

Rose gazed at the Doctor, confused. "What, you're on your own?" Cameron looked into the girl's eyes, noting how sad they almost appeared. Cameron's own heart gave a small tug, but she blew it off. No, it wasn't like this, she told herself.

The Doctor threw his hands up at the question. "Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

"Hey," Rose snatched the plastic arm from the Doctor's grasp. "Start from the beginning."

oOo

The remainder of the trio's walk the Doctor opened up about the situation, albeit as much as he was willing to. He explained to the girls that there was something controlling the plastic arm, bringing it to life, until the Doctor cut off the signal. Effectively "killing" it.

It was a type of thought control which confused the girls even more but they went along with it. His explanation stopped there, the Doctor not willing to share anymore details.

Cameron understood his reluctance. The Doctor was trying to stop this thing on his own and he wasn't about to get anyone else involved. But he seemed a little less reluctant on sharing information-maybe he wanted help?

The three passed by an empty park on their walk, laughing at something Rose said.

"It's not a price war," they laughed some more. The Doctor's voice then became serious again. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you." He looked down at Rose, "Do you believe me?"

She scoffed, "No."

"But you're still listening."

The Doctor continued on but rose paused on the sidewalk. Cameron slowed her pace, stopping to stand next to her.

"Really, though, Doctor. Tell me, who are you?"

The Doctor stopped and turned around. He looked for the right words, a small hopeful smile crossing his face before he walked back towards them.

"Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving?" he said. "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 looked them in the eyes, both girls silently listening for him to go on. His eyes looked lost. He grabbed both girl's hands, before he spoke again. "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 round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it." His grip tightened for a moment, as if willing them both to fee what he felt. "We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go-" He dropped their hands. He then stole back the plastic arm from Rose, waving it at them. "That's who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler, Cameron Williams. Go home."

They watched as the Doctor, this even more mysterious man, walk across the street without a single look back. His words lingered in their minds, stunning them silent and still.

Cameron's eyes shifted to Rose for a second, uncertain. Was Rose going to forget him? Would she take his advice? Should Cameron do so also?

Would they ever see this man again?

Something in the back of Cameron's mind told her to keep him in mind, like he would return. She shook her head thinking it was just her being hopeful.

Rose turned and walked back the way they came, consumed by her own thoughts. Cameron sighed, rubbed her neck tiredly before she pulled the fur-lined hoodie on her jacket over her head against the cold air. Not that the cold bother her, but it comforted her. She turned to follow Rose, although at a slower pace. She didn't want to rush back home just yet.

Maybe this was just another one of those times, she thought. Where something spectacular or crazy happened but nothing came out of it in the end. She was used to that by now.

Suddenly, a sound interrupted the girl's mind with a rush of air. It was loud, so loud it hurt her ears. She covered them with a wince, the rustic whirring noise overwhelming her senses. She noticed Rose run back before she grabbed one of Cameron's arms to pull her along. They ran back to the spot the Doctor left them only to see nothing there. The old police telephone box was gone though, something Cameron only noticed was there when they stopped earlier.

Finally the air calmed and the noise was gone. The girls looked around, wondering if anyone else heard it. No one seemed to notice anything different, they just walked around minding their own business.

"You heard that, right?" Rose looked at Cameron, trying to calm her breathing. Her eyes were wide, bewildered. Cameron's were too as she rubbed one ear, an uncomfortable ringing left in it.

"Yeah."

"You think…?" Cameron nodded, knowing where she was going. She could tell Rose was back to thinking about the Doctor and had a feeling she was going to try and figure out more stuff about him.

Maybe it wouldn't be like before?

oOo

The next afternoon, Cameron ventured out of her flat to search for a new job. Earlier she woke up, dreading the next couple of hours. She had a late start after the other day's exhausting events.

She guessed that was one of the joys of living alone-she got to go at her own pace without worrying about anyone else.

She loved her family and deeply missed them. She's missed them for so long and wanted nothing more than to be with them again. Have them surround her again with love and light-hearted jokes. Oh, how she missed it.

But that was long gone now. She knew it was how life worked-no matter how strange it was. For her anyway.

She did appreciate the freedom, though. No matter how much of it she had now.

The town was busy today. It made Cameron think twice for coming out so late. Occasionally she would bump into a stranger, grumpily exchanging apologies depending on who it was that she encountered. No matter what town she lived in she always crossed rude people. She knew well enough from her years of traveling.

No place was perfect.

The only places hiring at the moment were fast food restaurants and gas stations, or at least in walking distance. Cameron wasn't happy to ride a bus across town for a job-she wasn't that desperate for a job. She was actually pretty well off in money-she's saved up enough over the years. But she needed something to do during the day otherwise she would go mad.

Cameron didn't have anyone, friends, family, or colleagues, to spend her free time with. She saw herself as a loner, an introvert if you will. She didn't like the drama or shared lifestyle they brought anymore so she never took it upon herself to really meet anyone either. Some people made fun of herself for it along the years. But she had her reasons.

oOo

Night came soon enough and Cameron still wandered around town. She applied to work at a local gas station for the cashier spot. It was the only logical choice, in her opinion. And also her last one, really. She knew not to be too picky with them nowadays.

The night air was cool and calm while she passed happy people on the street. Everything felt so relaxed-like nothing crazy happened just nights ago.

A fire alarm unexpectedly went off in the restaurant down the street, ruining the calm night. People's gazes switched to the building, a few stragglers walking towards the place to check what was happening. Cameron got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and her gut was telling her to go check it out for herself.

Closing in on the building, Cameron almost got ran over by a bunch of people running out of it. There was no sign of smoke or words or fire being spread about the victims and she grew confused. If there wasn't a fire then what was actually happening?

Words of an attack caught Cameron's ears finally and she decided it was worth investigating.

Inside the building tables were being tossed around and terrified people screamed while trying to take cover.

"Head outside!" Cameron helped a few people towards the door she just came through before she rushed through the kitchen and towards the back. She caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair before it disappeared again. She sprinted after them and towards the back door. Just as she was about to reach the door a commotion behind her caught her attention. She stopped mid run to spot a headless body aimlessly running in their direction.

"Oh my god." A hand grasped her arm and pulled her through the door before shutting it.

"Cameron?!" Said girl turned to see Rose, who she suspected was ahead of her before, looking at her in shock. Cameron turned to see the Doctor also, sonicing the door just in time for that thing to bang on it from the other side.

Rose ran over to the gate off to the side to try and escape. There was a chain and lock on it that she tugged on frantically.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing, come on!"

The Doctor was calm, almost dismissive of the situation. "Sonic screwdriver," he corrected.

"Use it!"

"Nah." Cameron noticed the Doctor holding something in his other arm while he pocketed his sonic. She furrowed her brows in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on her,

"Is that a head?"

"Tell you what, let's go in here." The Doctor ignored either of the girl's voices and headed for the police telephone box sat in the middle of the open space behind the building. Cameron recognized that phone box from the other day.

How'd it get here?, she wondered. Rose continued to pull at the gate as the Auton inside banged at the door. Cameron watched the Doctor walk into the box without hesitation.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box!" Rose cried, "It's going to get us! Doctor!" Cameron inched closer to the box, slowly opening to door to see where the Doctor had gone only for her eyes to widen.

Soon Rose ran inside the box. She stopped, wide eyes taking in the space around her in shock before she ran out again. Seconds later she came back in, shutting the door behind her.

"It's going to follow us!"

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried." The Doctor fiddled with the buttons and switches of some control panel that sat directly in the middle of the room. "Now, shut up a minute."

What both girls thought was just a simple outdated phone box was actually much more than that. The inside was much bigger, a whole entire dome-like room with Y-beams circling it. There was a control panel in the middle with various different switches, buttons, knobs and levers displayed all around it surrounding a glowing tube that shot up to the ceiling where a bunch of wiring dangled.

Cameron stared in awe, mind blown at the sight while Rose tried to make sense of it all. The Doctor kept his attention on his own task. He hooked the head up to his machine with different wires.

"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." He finally turned back to the girls. "Right. Where do you want to start?"

Rose stuttered a response, still trying to take everything in. "Um. The insides...bigger than the outside?"

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yeah."

Cameron's eyes caught the Doctor's, something hidden in her huge eyes. "And you're...alien."

The Doctor nodded, "Yes." He looked between the both of them. "Is that alright?"

Rose answered, albeit still in shock. "Yeah."

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing." He said, " S. That's Time and Relative Dimension In Space."

Rose looked down, catching a glimpse of the head hooked up to the center console before she suddenly burst into tears.

Cameron looked at her, alarmed at first before she shifted, uncomfortable. She decided to walk over to the console, her nerves frayed but slowly returning to normal. She ignored the conversation about Rose's boyfriend. Only noticing that it turned into a slight argument shortly after.

The console glowed, creating a nice blue hue around the circular device. Cameron admired the unique structure, absentmindedly running a hand along it. Despite being shaky with nerves, her hand touching the machine calmed her almost instantly. Her eyes curiously stared down at it, wondering why this alien contraption seemed to create that effect. It almost felt like something was reaching out-

"You alright?"

Cameron jumped, pulling her hand back to catch the Doctor staring down at her. Apparently she spaced out long enough for the others to notice. She saw Rose still looking around, not as overwhelmed anymore.

Cameron opened her mouth to reply before a sound caught her attention, pulling her eyes in the direction of the head that still sat on the console. "Um- is that suppose to be melting?"

"Melting?" the Doctor pulled a confused look before his head snapped back to the head.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" He ran over to the head.

"What're you doing?" Rose cried, worried for her boyfriend while the Doctor ran around pulling different switches. Cameron stepped out of the way.

The same noise from earlier, the whirring noise, started up again before the TARDIS started to rock back and forth.

"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 TARDIS shook and the girls held on, minds racing to catch up.