Astra worried her bottom lip. She and Allan were still sitting inside the Utility room they had ducked into a while ago. They had been through some of the boxes that they had found, but, there was nothing noteworthy – just a few pieces of alien tech that Allan couldn't place.
To pass the time, she had asked him questions about the Doctor, and about herself. Sadly, being just a soldier, he didn't know much. Just that Torchwood was developed to protect the world from the alien threat after something the Doctor did with Queen Victoria years ago. She had a large mention, from research done on his companions, and that was it. She'd had half a mind to run to the TARDIS, but, then she remembered that she didn't have a way in, and that idea was quickly discarded.
They had heard the screams and seen the shadows pass of the Cybermen, and had also heard chatter between Cybermen and something that definitely wasn't human, but, she couldn't place it. God, she felt so useless! Allan kept glancing at her, as if expecting her to do something, and she didn't have the heart to tell him that she had no idea.
They had been sitting in silence for a while, when she heard it. Footsteps. Not Cybermen, but human. Getting to her feet, she cautiously peered out of the window and broke into a grin. He was there, the Doctor. He was walking into the room with the Sphere.
"Allan." She whispered, and the man looked up at her. "I think it's time we leave this room."
He grinned and got to his feet. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way!"
She reached for the handle and gave it a shake before her heart sunk. Rattling it again she groaned, "Oh, you have got to me kidding me. It locks from the inside!"
"Stand aside, Astra. I've got this." Allan said, swinging his gun around and aiming it at the door.
With a small squeak, she scuttled over to him, putting her hands over her ears as he fired. The door broke down, but, a large explosion echoed around the corridor as he did.
The two of them looked at each other. "That wasn't me." He said.
"The Doctor?" She replied, before turning and picking her way out of the debris. She emerged from the door and turned just in time to see the Doctor, Rose and a few other people come running from the Sphere room, as smoke and the sound of gun fire billowed out.
"Doctor!" She yelled and he paused, looking up at her. A large smile broke out on his face.
"Astra!" With a call back through the door, he turned and ran towards her, pulling her into a hug. "You and I are going to have words later, but, for now, I'm glad you're alive."
Loosening his grip he gave her one last smile before pulling away and running back to the door, pulling her along behind. Another man stumbled through and he aimed his sonic screwdriver at the lock mechanism, closing the door again. "Jake, check the stairwell!" He yelled, to another man who had ducked through just in time. "The rest of you, come on."
Astra smiled at Rose, and watched as the man next to her gave her a big grin as they started to run. Allan followed in behind and the Doctor gave him a look before looking down at Astra for an explanation. She shrugged. "I needed a guide and he stayed with me when we couldn't get inside the sphere room and the metal men started to appear."
The Doctor looked back at him and gave him a quick nod of thanks, which he returned. "It's a good thing you couldn't get in. Seems like the Daleks came to enjoy the party." He said.
"Daleks?" she asked and he grimaced.
"You'll see."
They rounded a corner and one of the men spoke up. "I just fell, I didn't mean it!"
"Mickey, without us, they'd have opened it by force anyway. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour." He responded, bringing the man close and kissing the top of his head, which Astra smiled about. "Now, run!"
Rose grabbed her hand and Astra looked up at the blonde who smiled encouragingly. "I knew you could take care of yourself." She said and Astra shook her head.
"I would have been dead without Allan."
"You're much stronger and more resourceful than you think, Sulley dear."
Suddenly the Doctor and the two other men in front of them started slowing down and Rose, Astra, and Allan followed suit. The Doctor turned and put his finger to his lips, as the older man pulled up his gun and aimed it at the two Cybermen in front of them.
"No, but you can't. Please!"
Astra was pretty sure it was Jackie's voice but, before she could make a motion, the older man fired and the two Cybermen collapsed. Seeing that it was indeed Jackie, through the smoke, she made a move to go and hug the distraught woman but Rose held her back.
Jackie took a few tentative steps before her eyes widened. "Pete?"
The older man lowered the gun. "Hello, Jacks." Roses hand tightened around hers, while one went up to clench under her head, over her heart.
"I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair. Why him?" Jackie complained.
"I'm not a ghost." Pete responded, lowering the gun further so that Jackie could take a good look at him.
"But you're dead." Jackie said, not moving, staring him down. "You died twenty years ago, Pete."
The Doctor moved at this point, to stand next to Pete. "It's Pete from a different universe." He said softly and Jackie's eyes widened. "There are parallel worlds, Jackie." He continued, still softly and slowly. "Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where – "
"Oh, you can just shut up." She hissed and the Doctor closed his mouth, semi-saluted, and moved back to stand where he was before, Mikey smirking at him. "Oh, you look old." Jackie said, turning her attention back to the man before her.
"You don't." Pete said, and Astra could hear the smile in his voice.
Jackie almost blushed. "How can you be standing there?" She asked, still in disbelief.
He half shrugged. "Just got lucky." He replied and half nodded. "Lived my life." He gestured to her. "You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or…" He trailed off.
"There was never anyone else." She said, and Astra watched as Mikey and the Doctor made a face and wondered what had happened. "Twenty years, though. Look at me. I never let that flat. Did nothing with myself."
"Brought her up. Rose Tyler. That's not bad." Pete responded and Roses hand squeezed Astras again, and she squeezed back.
Jackie smiled. "Yeah." She forced out.
"In my world," Pete started, "it worked. All those daft little plans of mine, they worked. Made me rich."
"I don't care about that." Jackie said quickly. Then there was a pause. "How rich?"
"Very."
"I don't care about that." Jackie said again, with another pause. "How very?"
The Doctor grinned and Rose just rolled her eyes. Astra forced down a smile. In the short time she had known her, she could tell that she was going to enjoy getting to know Jackie.
"Thing is though Jacks, You're not my wife." Pete continued, and Jackie's face fell a bit. "I'm sorry, but you're not. I mean, we both." He started to stumble then and Astra saw Jackie nod. "You know, it's just sort of." He tried again, still hesitating.
They stared each other down. "Oh, come here." He said, and started moving towards her, dropping the gun on the floor. Jackie took off at a run towards him and they met in the middle, her throwing herself at him, and crying a little as he held her as close as he could.
Roses' hand clenched tightly in hers and Astra smiled at the girl, who was looking a little overwhelmed herself. Eventually the pair let go and, as they were staring at each other, it was the Doctor who broke the moment.
"I'm sorry, but, we have to go. Daleks and Cybermen, remember?" With that, he motioned and took off at a run again. The others exchanged looks before following behind. Rose let go of Astra to catch up with her parents and Mickey fell in beside her as Allan brought up the rear.
"Glad to see you're alright Astra." He said to her and she looked up at him. He met her gaze before chuckling a little. "You don't know who I am yet, do you?"
She shook her head. "Sorry."
"It's okay, always good for you to meet me at my best." He winked. "The name is Mickey Smith, and you will get to know me. I travelled with the Doctor for a while too."
"Oh!" She wanted to ask more but the Doctor hissed back at them "Shhh!" so she kept silent. There would be time for questions later.
They continued running until they reached a door. It sounded like there was a battle on the other side and the Doctor opened it full blown to see the battle that was commencing. He halted and watched, before ducking through, Rose and Pete standing and watching, while Astra stayed out of sight. There were flashes of light and screams and Astra winced, hoping that the Doctor would be okay. Rose was muttering under her breath and, finally, the Doctor came back through, carrying two large objects, that Astra recognised as the Magnaclamps, and Rose shut the door behind him.
He passed the black clamps to Mickey before pulling out his 3D glasses and opening the door again, sticking his head through to observe the chaos.
"What are they doing?" Rose asked, and Astra wished she could see as well, but Mickey and Jackie seemed to be very sure about her not going closer. "Why do they need to get outside?"
"Time Lord science." The Doctor said and Astra frowned at the unknown name. "What Time Lord science? What is it?"
He shut the door again, and Astra noticed his 3D glasses were off again. "We've got to see what it's doing!" He yelled, grabbing the clamps from Mickey and starting down the corridor again. "We've got to go back up. Come on! All of you! Top floor!"
"That's forty five floors up!" Jackie yelled back. "Believe me, I've done them all."
From behind them, a ding sounded and a voice called out "We could always take the lift."
The Doctor skidded to a halt and turned around, the others nearly running into him. "Jake, my boy! Brilliant idea! Into the lift! Come on!"
He ushered them all in and Allan stood by and saluted. "Are you not coming?" Astra called out.
"Not this time. I need to help my friends. God speed Astra, Doctor." He replied, saluting, before taking off back down the hall. Astra felt her heart drop a bit but, before she could say anything else, the doors were closing and they were on their way up. The Doctor was still holding on to the devices and was now also tapping his foot impatiently. Astra found herself squished between Mickey and the blond who looked down at her and smiled before wrapping her into a hug and kissing her on the cheek. "Astra! Looking good! He said you were around."
She just smiled back, but, before she could say anything Mickey stated. "Jake, this is her first time travelling. This one hasn't met you yet."
The blond looked at her, holding her at arms length and she waved sheepishly. "Sorry. Hi."
He just shrugged. "Guess I have time to still win her over." He winked, and she blushed, which caused him to laugh.
The lift dinged and opened before any other comments could be made, the Doctor running out, everyone following him. They stumbled into Yvonne's office and he put the clamps down on the desk, making his way to the window. Rose stood by him and Astra wiggled her way through to be on his other side, standing just in front of Pete, so she could see what was happening.
There were two things hovering in the air; one black and one gold and spinning. From the gold dome a golden version of the black one was spat out. Followed by more and more.
"Time Lord science. It's bigger on the inside." The Doctor said, and Astra looked up at him and noted how concerned he looked.
"The Time Lords put those Daleks in there?" Mickey asked. "What for?"
'Oh, so that's a Dalek.' Astra thought, turning back towards the window and staring at the things that looked like salt shakers being ejected into the sky.
"It's a prison ship." The Doctor said, his eyes still on the sky.
"How many Daleks?" Rose asked hesitantly.
"Millions." The Doctor replied and Astra could feel the weight settle with those words as everyone stared and watched.
From below Cybermen started shooting up at the Daleks flying overhead. Almost all of their shots missed and, the ones that did hit didn't seem to do any damage. "Exterminate all life forms below. Exterminate!" The black Dalek commanded and the golden ones started to fire. Cybermen and people were being shot at and Astra closed her eyes at the sight, wishing to forget.
"I'm sorry, but you've had it." Pete said and Astra heard him move away and turned to watch him. "This world's going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home." He walked out of Yvonne's office, Jackie, Mickey and Jake following him. Rose turned to watch, while the Doctor kept staring at the sky.
"Jacks, take this." Pete continued, pulling out a yellow medallion from one of the people in black standing guard and tossing it at Jackie. "You're coming with us."
"But they're destroying the city." Jackie said.
"I'd forgotten you could argue." Pete said, almost fondly, while walking over and hanging the medallion around Jackie's neck. "It's not just London, it's the whole world." He put his hands on her face and directed her wandering attention to him. "But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach." He looked over to the man still standing by the window. "Doctor?"
He turned around and Astra looked up at him, wondering when he had managed to put the 3D glasses back on without her realising. He was smiling too. "Oh, I'm ready." He ran over to the computer terminal, Rose and Astra trailing along. "I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood." He started typing and the computer whirred under his fingertips. "Slam it down and close off both universes."
"REBOOT SYSTEMS." A voice said over the speakers in the room.
"But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?" Rose asked, as the Doctor kept darting around, his 3D glasses still in place.
"They're part of the problem and that," he said, pointing his finger, "makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!"
Rose laughed hesitantly while the others looked on confused. Astra moved to stand next to the blonde girl, more confused than the rest. The Doctor just looked at them all. "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask what is it with the glasses?"
"What is it with the glasses?" The two girls said at the same time, then grinned at each other.
"I can see!" The Doctor said, enthusiastically. "That's what. Because we've got two separate worlds, but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void. Look."
He took his glasses off and put them on Rose. "I've been through it. Do you see?" He moved back and forth in front of her, trying to make her see a point.
"What is it?" Rose asked, reaching her hand out towards him, seeing something the others couldn't.
"Void stuff." He said.
"Like, um, back ground radiation!" She said, smiling.
The Doctor nodded, "That's it." He spun her around. "Look at the others. Astra go stand over there with them. The only two who haven't been through the Void, your mother and Astra. First time your mothers looked normal in her life." The Doctor said while Rose moved the glasses off her eyes to see, then put them back on.
"Oi!" Jackie said.
"And Astra only doesn't have Void stuff because she's new! Otherwise, if she was one of her future selves, she'd probably have it on her too." He then smiled at them and ran over to the wall, Rose turning to follow him. "The Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void and reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."
"Pulling them all in!" Rose said excitedly and Astra could see why this was so addicting. He made it so exciting, with his words, and his actions.
"Pulling them all in!" The Doctor mimicked and Astra smiled, folding her arms in front of her.
"Sorry, what's the Void?" Mickey asked.
Rose turned to look at him and the Doctor opened his mouth, but Astra got there first. "The dead space. Some people call it Hell."
"Ooh, well done Sulley! Now you're learning!" The Doctor said and she flushed under the praise.
"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell." Mickey said, putting his own yellow medallion over his head. "Man, I told you he was good." He said to Jake with a smirk.
"But," Rose said, hesitating for a moment, "it's like you said. We've all got Void stuff, apart from Astra and Mum. Me too, because we went to that parallel world." She paused and looked at her hand. "We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in." he pulled off the 3D glasses to meet the Doctors eyes with her own.
"That's why you've got to go." The Doctor said, standing in front of her and meeting her gaze. Astra looked at the others, realisation crossing their faces. The unavoidable. "Back to Pete's world, as Astra called it all that time ago." He looked over, smiling at Astra and the others, lost in a memory temporarily that she had yet to make, before he turned back to Rose. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."
"And then you close it, for good?" Pete asked and the Doctor looked back over at the older man.
"The breach itself is soaked in Void stuff. In the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput." He responded.
"But you stay on this side?" Rose asked and the Doctor inclined his head slightly. "Astra too?"
"But you'll get pulled in. Both of you." Mickey said, as the Doctor held Roses' gaze for a few moments more.
He tuned to look at Mickey, "That's why I got these." He said, moving into Yvonne's office to pick up the black objects he had brought up with them. Astra moved to Rose and slipped her hand into the other girls and smiled at her softly, watching as the blonde's world seemed to collapse. "I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life. Astra can hide in the corner – the Void won't pull her in, she just has to not get caught up by anything."
"I'm supposed to go?" Rose asked calmly, her hand finally squeezing Astras tightly, betraying the anger and fear she was feeling and trying not to show.
"Yeah." The Doctor responded casually, putting the item on the floor loudly, causing Astra to wince at the sound.
"To another world, and then it gets sealed off." Rose continued her voice still calm.
"Yeah." The Doctor said again, and then stalked off to a computer terminal, determinedly not looking at the young woman.
"Forever." Rose said, and the Doctor ignored her. "That's not going to happen." She said, with a small, determined, smile.
A loud crash reverberated through the building at that point, causing them all to lose their footing temporarily and Rose to let go of Astras' hand. The newer companion stumbled for a bit, coming to a stop leaning on the wall. "We don't have time to argue." Pete said, speaking up and taking charge as the Doctor typed furiously away. "The plan works. We're going. You too Rose. All of us."
"No. I'm not leaving here!" Rose yelled as Jackie chimed in. "I'm not going without her!"
"Oh, my God. We're going!" Pete said to the older woman.
"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her." Jackie said back, facing him without backing down.
"You've got to." Rose said, catching her mothers' arm and pulling her to face her.
"Well, that's tough." Jackie responded.
"Mum." Rose said softly, and Jackie met her daughters gaze. "I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor and Astra, and all the things I've seen them do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. They do it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now they've got me. He's got me."
As Rose was talking, Astra watched as the Doctor started moving, taking a medallion out of his pocket and coming up behind the young woman with a solemn look on his face. As she finished, and backed up towards him, he placed it around her neck and Pete pressed his own, causing Jackie, Rose, and the others from Pete's World to get pulled through the Void to the other universe.
The Doctor stood, staring at the place where she had stood and Astra slowly moved to stand beside him, slipping her hand into his the same way she had done with Rose earlier. She may not be able to do much at the moment, but, it seems that providing comfort was something she did even in the future, as his larger hand threaded her fingers through his in a comforting gesture.
"Doctor." Astra said, looking up at him. He finally looked down at her, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and moved over to the computer terminal again, pulling his hand from hers as he got back to work. As the blue-haired girl went to move after to him, to ask him what she could do, a flash of light appeared and Rose was standing back inside the white room.
"I think this is the on switch." She said, and both the Doctor and Astra just looked at her for a moment, as she smiled at them. The Doctor nearly ran from the computer to Rose and gripped her upper arms tightly.
"Once the breach collapses, that's it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!" He said firmly, trying to make her understand.
"I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never going to leave you. Or Astra." Rose responded calmly. "So, what can I do to help?"
He stared at her for a moment, before pointing to the computer terminal he was at before she had appeared again. "Those coordinates over there, set them all at six. And hurry up!" Rose moved to the terminal and the Doctor locked eyes with Astra. "Right, Astra, I need you to monitor the security cameras here. Tell me if the Cybermen or Daleks are getting close."
"Got it." She responded, scooting over to the system that was monitoring the security feed and moving it so that the cameras she could easily see were the ones they needed. She breathed an internal sigh of relief that it was a pretty easy system to figure out. The Doctor moved and started working on something else on another terminal.
The computer beeped at Astra and she brought up a closer camera. "We've got Cybermen on the way up." She said, the other two looking up and coming over to her.
"How many floors down?" The Doctor asked, stopping to hover over her shoulder, while Rose ducked down to her arm.
"Just one." Astra said, the three of them watching the Cybermen march through the building and onto the stairwell. The Doctor only watched for a moment before darting away again, back to his own terminal, and started to type quickly.
Rose and Astra watched as another Cyberman stood in front of the advancing group and stood them down. Starting to shoot. There was no sound, so they couldn't hear what they were saying, but, both girls were grateful for the help from the rogue.
"LEVERS OPERATIONAL."
The computers voice sounded out from the room, causing the two girls to look up and over to the Doctor, who finally smiled. Rose and Astra exchanged looks, smiling at each other, before looking back at him and making their way over. "That's more like it," Rose said, "Bit of a smile. The old team.
"The Three Musketeers, The Golden Trio, Destiny's Child." The Doctor said, coming over with one of the Magnaclamps in his arms, pausing in front of the two.
"Which one of us is Beyoncé?" Astra asked and the Doctor grinned, handing the device to Rose.
"Oh, that's definitely me." He winked, then dashed into Yvonne's office and returned with the other one. "Right, over to that wall there, Rose, put the device against it."
The blonde moved and held it ready, waiting for further instructions. The Doctor pulled Astra along with him to the other wall, on his way from the office, and turned her so that she was standing behind the lever dial before mimicking Roses' position, so that they were both set up behind the two levers. "Press the red button." He said, and Rose pressed it, engaging the clamp.
"When it starts, just hold on tight. Astra shouldn't feel the pull like we do, so she should be fine crouching down and out of the way. It shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff." He moved to the lever in front of him and Rose followed with hers, Astra ducking down behind the Doctor's lever where he had steered her to stand. "Are you ready?"
"So are they." Rose replied, her eyes locking on to something outside the window which, when Astra moved so she could see, were Daleks, hovering.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Let's do it!"
Together, the two pushed the levers up into their 'on' position, then rushed to grab hold of the clamps stuck to the wall, as the computer announced that the Void was online. The Doctor nudged Astra with his foot and she looked up at him and met his smile, as wind started to rush through.
Glass crashed as the Daleks went careening through, bouncing off the walls, pulled in by the Void, and Astra watched as the Doctor and Rose were lifted from their feet by the force. She felt wind pull at her hair and clothes, but, it just felt like being outside during a very windy day – no tug to fall over like the other two were experiencing. "The breech is open!" The Doctor yelled, "Into the Void! Ha!"
Quickly the stream of beings being pulled in was thick and fast and Astra had stopped being able to make out if it was Cyberman or Dalek that was traversing past them. She met Roses eye and smiled encouragingly at the girl, who was holding on for dear life to her clamp. The Doctor seemed like he was struggling a bit too, and Astra hoped they could hold out. His foot came and braced itself on the lever dial, next to her, and she put her hand on his leg as if she could help hold him there.
But then, as things seemed to go well, sparks flew from Roses' side of the room and her lever started to slowly descend, while the computer stated that offline mode had started. The Doctor looked on, concerned, as Rose started to reach for it. "Hold on!" he shouted to her.
Rose stretched but wasn't quite able to reach it while holding onto the clamp. Astra bit her lip, looking between the two, before letting go of the Doctor and sprawling herself on the floor. Moving slowly, she started to crawl her way over to the other side of the room, determined to help her friend.
"Astra! Come back here!" The Doctor cried.
"I've got to help!" She shouted back and inched her way forward, keeping as low as possible to prevent a Dalek or Cyberman catching hold of her. Looking up she saw Rose let go of the clamp and hold on firmly to the lever, starting to pull it towards her with all that she had.
"I've got to get it upright!" She yelled, her feet sliding forward so that she was in front of the lever dial now, the Void looming behind her. As the lever was descending, the flow of aliens slowed enough for Astra to move a bit quicker, being able to watch them properly and duck when she needed to. She was almost there now! Rose, with her feet now firmly behind her, standing fully in front of the lever dial, was able to push the lever back into place.
"ONLINE AND LOCKED." The computer voice said and the flow sped up again, forcing Astra to drop quickly as a Dalek went flying over her head.
"Rose, hold on!" The Doctor yelled.
Astra looked up to see the blonde hanging onto the lever, the pull of the Void having her horizontal in the air. Gritting her teeth in determination she pulled herself forward and to her feet, clear of the danger.
"Hold on!" The Doctor yelled again and Astra ran over to the other girl and gripped onto her hands as they were about to slip.
Brown eyes met blue and Astra held onto Roses' hands as hard as she could, anchoring her feet behind the lever dial as she felt the incredible force trying to pull Rose in. Roses' grip faltered from the lever and Astra saw the look of fear in her eyes as their hands started to slip from each other's.
"No." She whispered and Rose just gave her a small, sad, smile before her fingers slipped fully from hers and she went flying towards the Void.
"No!" Both Astra and the Doctor cried out, Astra jumping over the lever dial and reaching for her, as if she could reach her in time to pull her back to safety. Suddenly Pete appeared, in Roses' path, and caught her. He met both of their eyes, nodded, and then zipped the two of them away, back to his own world. Astra came to halt, flattening herself against the sidewall, as the wind died down and the Void closed itself, the back wall appearing like rippling paper.
"SYSTEMS CLOSED." The computer announced and Astra felt her knees give out as she slid down the wall into a ball, her eyes shut tight, trying to stop the threatening tears.
The Doctor was silent as he walked past her in slow steps, making his way to wall where the Void had closed and Astra lifted her head slightly, unsuccessful at fighting back the tears that ran down her cheeks, as he placed a hand against the wall and rested his head against if, as if he could hear Rose on the otherside by doing so.
The sight caused her heart to feel like it was breaking and the blue-haired girl pulled her knees tight to her chest and dropped her head on top of them, letting the tears fall for the girl she hadn't been able to save and who had been so friendly and sure to her. Theirs was a friendship that Astra knew she was going to adore, as she travelled back through those years. But how could she keep it up knowing that she wouldn't be able to help the blonde when it mattered most?
After what seemed like hours, the Doctor moved and came to stand in front of Astra, hands in his pockets as he looked down at her with a solemn expression. She lifted her head to look up at him and he held out his hand silently, which she took and he pulled her to her feet and into his arms, where he held her crushingly close. Stunned for only a moment, her arms wrapped around his waist and Astra held the Doctor to her as tight as he was holding on to her.
Breaking apart, the Doctor took her hand in his and led them out of the lever room and back down to where the TARDIS was. Torchwood was a mess and Astra's thoughts jumped to Allan to wonder if he made it out alive. Still in silence, the pair reached the TARDIS and the Doctor unlocked the machine, guiding Astra inside and then started up the engines.
Astra didn't know what to do with herself. He wasn't saying anything and she felt so guilty, so torn up. The engines whirred and the TARDIS vibrated comfortly under her feet. When they came to a stop he walked back over to her and she avoided his gaze, looking down at her feet. Gently, his hand came under her chin, forcing her eyes to lift to meet his.
"You did what you could." He said softly, and she almost started crying again.
"It wasn't enough to save her. Doctor, I'm so sorry." She said quickly and his hand slid up to place a finger over her lips.
"Rose knew the risks. She's not dead, Pete saved her, just in another world. And I will find a way to say goodbye. But, I will find a later version of you, one who knows her better and can process what has happened here accordingly, and you can say your goodbyes then too." He said.
As questions built, the Doctor moved around her and opened the door of the TARDIS, stepping outside. Astra followed him, about to ask him what he meant, when she was stunned into silence at where they were. She spun around, taking it all in, before looking at him as he lounged against the blue box.
"We're back at the park." She said.
"Yes." He replied.
"But why?"
He sighed, and straightened himself, coming over and putting his hands on her shoulders. "I owe you answers, Astra. About me, about Rose, about your life. But right now, if I don't leave, I'm going to lose the only window of opportunity we have of talking to Rose one last time. This is the same park I picked you up from. We've moved in space, not time, and so, I'm sure there are people who will be worried about you with all that has happened."
She flushed, her mind turning to her family for the first time since he pulled her inside the TARDIS and tipped her world on its axis. "But what about the answers?"
"I will be back soon." He said, the first smile she had seen since Rose was taken appearing, although very small and very brief. "This is the start for you and you can't get rid of me, Astoria Hale. I promise, I will answer your questions then."
She stared at him, blue meeting brown, and marvelled over how like Roses' eyes his were. Nodding, in agreement, he let go of her and opened up the TARDIS door, reaching inside to grab her satchel that was hung there hours ago and pass it out to her.
Taking it, she slung it over her shoulder and stared at him, as he filled the doorway. "Where will you go?"
"Somewhere where there is still a hole between dimensions. I'll call to her then, and we can part as we should."
"She means a lot to us, doesn't she?"
A sad smile filled his face. "So much more than you know right now. But, you will see."
With a final nod, she waved and stepped back, as he brought the TARDIS door closed. Astra stayed, staring, and soon a wind started to blow and the wheezing sound she had heard right at the beginning filled the air as the blue box dematerialised in front of her.
Shaking her head in wonder, her hand fished into her satchel to pull out her phone and the smile on her lips died right there as she saw the missed calls and messages from her family. With one last look at where the TARDIS was, she adjusted her satchel and began her walk home, bringing up her father's number and wondered how she was going to explain this one.
Sorry for the wait! My Mum works overseas 8 weeks at a time and she was back this weekend, so spent the time with her before she went away again.
Doomsday seems to be much shorter and takes up only one chapter. Oh well. Hope you like it!