Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Just Poppy my o/c.

A/N: A big thank you to everyone who followed/favourited and reviewed the previous chapter. And another thank you goes to Maethoriel Artemis and Saberbladeprime for reading over this chapter for me and giving me feedback.

CHAPTER 3

The Unquiet Dead

The Tardis shook heavily as she spun haphazardly through the vortex, jerking the three gathered around her central console about as they clung to it, "What's wrong with her?" Poppy exclaimed a moment after almost losing her footing for the umpteenth time since the heavy shaking had started mid-flight.

"Nothing," the Doctor replied shooting the ginger a quick grin, "Just a bit of turbulence through the old vortex, nothing to get worked up about."

"You consider this a bit?" Rose exclaimed, eyeing him dubiously from where she stood across from him.

"Yeah, just a bit," the Doctor grinned wider as he twisted another knob and flicked a switch on the console, enjoying the ride as he told them, "Bit of fun!"

"Not exactly the word I'd use for it!" Poppy grumbled as she clung tighter to the console with her one free hand whilst doing her best to keep a firm pressure on the button she was keeping held down.

A warning alarm blared through the ship, and the Tardis shuddered under their feet as her shaking increased, "Ahh," the Doctor muttered, "Oops," he moved his hands over the controls, eyes going to the monitor.

The twins peered at him, their eyes a bit wide with alarm now, "What do you mean, oops?!" they demanded.

"Nothing," he tried, glancing away from the monitor to look at them as they stared at him in disbelief, "Just…" he gestured towards one of the buttons across the console from him, "Hold that one down!"

"I'm holding this one down!" Rose protested in response, glancing at the button he'd gestured at… definitely not within easy reach.

"Poppy, then!" the Doctor urged, yelling over the blaring alarm as he gestured urgently at the button again.

"But," Poppy began as she glanced at the button he was pointing at frowning at how far it was from her, before she turned her gaze back to the Doctor, "I'm holding this one down!" she reminded him.

"Well, hold them both down!" he insisted.

"What do you want me to do?!" Poppy yelled incredulously over the noise of the alarm, "Climb the console like it's a jungle gym?"

"If you have too!" the Doctor yelled back as he made a 'go for it' gesture as the ginger eyed him a little dubiously.

"This had better work!" Poppy grumbled, before she shifted her hold on the button she was already holding down, before launching herself on top of the console stretching herself across it, slamming her hand down on the button with an effort, her arm straining and fingers aching from the pressure she was putting on them to keep the button held down.

"It's not working!" Rose shouted over the noise as Poppy almost slipped from her precarious position stretched across the top of the console as the Tardis gave another heavy jerk, the entire ship shuddering unhappily.

"It's working fine," the Doctor retorted, his eyes on the console monitor.

"Then why isn't the alarm stopping…?!" Poppy let out a yelp as she was almost knocked off the Tardis console by a particularly violent shudder, "Or the shaking for that matter!" she yelped again, desperately trying to cling to the console with her knees now.

"Oi!" the Doctor huffed peering about the console to stare at the two of them, "I promised you both a time machine and that's what you're getting! Now," he grinned at them as they eyed him, "You girls have seen the future, let's have a look at the past. 1860," he suggested, "How does 1860 sound?"

"Sounds amazing," Poppy replied, "You know," she let out another yelp as she half slipped as another shudder threatened to turf her from atop the console, "If we don't crash land or anything first!" she snarked.

"We're not going to crash land," the Doctor assured her, gaze flicking to the monitor again before he flicked a switch and turned another dial whilst Poppy let out a breath of relief.

"What happened in 1860?" Rose shouted over to him, curious despite the shaking that was threatening to upset her stomach and more than a little glad that they wouldn't be crash landing, despite all the nauseating shaking.

"I don't know, let's find out!" the Doctor exclaimed with excitement, "Hold on!" he warned with a grin.

"Hold on to what?!" Poppy shouted with alarm as she eyed him, she didn't have any spare hands to hold on with! But it came too late as the Doctor exclaimed.

"Here we go!" and yanked down a lever that sent the Tardis careening haphazardly through the vortex faster, headed now for a fixed destination.

*O*O*O*

The Tardis came to a stop with a lurching jolt, and Poppy who'd somehow managed to cling to the console through the last stretch of the journey tumbled off the console with a cry that turned into a bit of a groan as she landed heavily on the grated floor. The Tardis wheezing as she finished materialising at their destination.

Poppy blinked up at the ceiling and then grinned before she broke into laughter, the Doctor and Rose joining her as the three of them lay on the floor where they'd fallen. That had actually been kind of fun the ginger decided as she pushed herself back up to her feet, still grinning.

"Blimey!" Rose exclaimed as she too got back onto her feet with an exhilarated grin, rather thrilled now that it was over.

"Bit of a rough landing," Poppy commented a she brushed herself off.

"You're telling me!" the Doctor exclaimed as he bounded up to his feet with a grin, "You two alright?" he asked, his gaze drifting to Poppy who'd fallen the farthest of them having been on top of the console when she had.

"Yep!" Poppy nodded as she straightened out her denim jacket so that it was sitting on her shoulders properly, before she turned her eyes to him and grinned back, "No damage," well, a bit of a bruised backside from the fall, but that wasn't worth mentioning.

"Yeah! Think so!" Rose replied, "Nothing broken…" she added as she checked herself over, straightening out her clothes as she did so.

"Good," Poppy murmured with a nod, before she started stretching out her arms and then her legs, loosening the muscles that had tensed up in her desperate effort to keep herself anchored to the top of the console. Her eyes went to it, and her brow creased slightly at seeing it smoking lightly, she stepped closer to it and peered down at it, eyes squinting as she tried to see if she could identify where it was coming from…

"Did we make it?" Rose asked as the Doctor stepped towards the monitor, "Where are we?"

The Doctor peered at the screen, "I did it!" he grinned as Poppy bent a bit closer to the console peering intently as the light smoking dissipated a bit more, "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860."

"And burned out some wiring in the process," Poppy called, her eyes locked on what she could see of the wiring. Her fingers twitching slightly at her sides with the same desire to fix that had had her visually searching for the source of the smoke.

"What?" the Doctor asked, a touch sharply, frowning, as he moved around the console towards her.

"Yeah…" Poppy murmured as he came to a stop beside her, "Just here, see?" she pointed to a small crevice in the console where some wiring had been exposed at some point during the rather bumpy flight, forcing herself not to touch, no matter how much her fingers wanted to twitch closer and even just brush her fingers against the wires. But she knew better than to mess with something she didn't understand… and here she was so far out of her depth it wasn't funny. So, she lowered her hand and shifted out of the way slightly as the Time Lord leaned in to look at where she was pointing, hands at her sides.

"So there is," the Doctor muttered, eyeing the definitely burned out wiring that was peeking through where it shouldn't be. He glanced up at her in mild surprise, "Well done."

Poppy blinked, eyes narrowing slightly on him, was he patronising her? "Just a bit of burnt out wiring…" she muttered, glancing at the console again that had thankfully stopped smoking completely now, "I just thought that there could be more…"

The Doctor nodded, still eyeing her, bit of a grin quirking up his lips, "So there could."

Poppy blinked again and turned her gaze back to him, eyeing his expression, "And…" she scratched at her forehead as she realised he'd been humouring her, "I'm telling you what you already know, huh…"

"Sort of, yeah," the Doctor grinned, patting the console fondly, "A few burnt out wires throughout. Easy fixed. Do that at some point before we head off again."

"Head off…" Poppy trailed and her eyes widened in realisation, "Wait…" she breathed a bit of a grin curving up her lips, "You said, Naples?!"

"I did," the Doctor nodded, still grinning.

"As in Naples?!" Poppy repeated, with excitement.

"That's right, Naples is right outside those doors," the Doctor grinned again, gesturing towards the doors of the Tardis, "Just waiting for you," he added as Poppy turned to look at them, teeth sinking into her lower lip as she grinned widely.

"And it's Christmas," Rose murmured with a smile, breaking her silence, having been eyeing them from her spot by the console, a bit contemplatively.

"Naples at Christmas," Poppy murmured as her gaze flicked from the Time Lord to Rose and the twins shared an excited grin.

"All yours," the Doctor urged them, gesturing towards the closed Tardis doors again.

"But, it's like... think about it, though. Christmas. 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you," Rose contemplated him thoughtfully, "You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago... no wonder you never stay still..."

"I know I couldn't," Poppy commented.

"You never could though," Rose replied, eyes going to her twin again.

"True," Poppy agreed, with a tongue in teeth grin lighting up her face.

"It's not a bad life," the Doctor commented with a shrug as he eyed them.

"Better with three," Rose grinned her own tongue in teeth grin, "Come on, then!" she urged and turned for the door. Poppy swiftly darting round the Doctor, following her twin eagerly towards the doors.

"Oi, oi, oi!" the Doctor called after them making them pause, "Where do you think you're going?!" he asked as they turned back around to look at him.

"Naples," Poppy replied, gesturing over her shoulder at the doors.

"1860," Rose added.

The Doctor shook his head at them, grinning in amusement at the impatience and excitement he could see on their faces as they stared at him, "Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarellas!" he chided them and Poppy glanced down at her casual twenty-first century attire and made an 'o' face before looking back up as he continued, "There's a wardrobe through there," he gestured up the stairs behind him, "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left," he told them as the twins exchanged a look at the swiftly spoken directions, before darting forward, "Hurry up!" he called after them, grinning, as they darted past him and up the stairs venturing in to the corridor beyond at a dead run.

*O*O*O*

Poppy smiled as she shifted through one of the many racks of the massive wardrobe as she searched for something to wear, pulling out a vivid blue dress taking in its many frilly ruffles with a grin, before she put it back. She pulled out a brown dress next looking it over a bit more seriously before it too found itself back in its spot on the rack. Honestly, she could probably spend hours on end in here, just looking through all the many clothes and bits and bobs. The ginger honestly wasn't sure if there was an actual end to the massive wardrobe the Doctor had directed them too or if it was actually as endless as it looked.

She moved to the next rack and shot a quick grin at Rose as she headed towards her, "Any luck?" she asked as she turned back to the rack she'd moved to.

"I found these," Rose replied, holding up a pair of black heeled boots to show her as she shifted a couple of dresses around on the rack without taking them off.

"Nice," Poppy nodded, glancing at the shoes.

"Yep. Just gotta find something to match..." Rose turned from the rack, smiling at her twin a bit sardonically as she added, "Something that won't cause a riot."

"Hmm, good luck!" Poppy grinned.

"Mmm, think I'll need it," Rose nodded, grinning back, "This place is huge!"

"Tell me about it!" Poppy exclaimed glancing about the wardrobe again as Rose moved off once more to continue her search, "Dunno how he expected us to hurry!" Poppy murmured as she turned her attention back to the rack, shifting about a couple more of the dresses, before she turned to move to the next rack only to catch sight of one out of the corner of her eye and turned back she pulled the dress off the rack and grinned as she looked it over, "Now... shoes..." she murmured as she walked out from between the racks in search of shoes that would go with it...

A bit later Poppy stood in front of a mirror as she finished adjusting the long sleeved corseted red jacket that helped give the creamy white material of her dress shape, cinching it in at her waist. The ruffled ends of the skirts of her dress just whispering over the floor. The toes of the creamy white heeled shoes she'd chosen to go with it just peeking out from beneath them. A silver bracelet with a red jewel embedded in the centre on her left wrist along with matching earrings augmenting the look of her chosen attire. Dressing it up.

"Look what I've found!" Rose called as she stepped out from between a couple of racks, approaching Poppy from behind, looking down at the hair pins she had in her hands, "Oh," she smiled as she looked up, Poppy turning to look at her, "You look nice, Pop. Almost like a real lady," she grinned a cheeky tongue in teeth grin.

Poppy rolled her eyes, lips quirking up, "And you," she eyed her twin over, "Look the same as ever. Still haven't found anything?"

"I'm looking! Think I've just about cobbled something together now," Rose waved her off, "But never mind that, look at these," she insisted.

"Oh," Poppy blinked at the hair pieces in her twins hands, "A rose and poppies," she commented and looked up with a bit of a smirk, "How original."

"Oh, shut up," Rose huffed, "If you don't want it I'll just go put it..."

"Shut up and give it here,' Poppy cut in as she grabbed the hair pin that was a bunch of four poppies set in black lace, "I love it!" she grinned.

Rose grinned back, "Thought you would."

"It'll go nicely with what I've got planned for my hair," Poppy mused as she looked the pin over.

"What you got planned?" Rose asked.

"Bit of a bun with a poof at the front..." Poppy gestured and then paused eyeing her twin, "Don't copy it!"

"Would I do that?" Rose asked, all innocence.

"Yes!" Poppy stated as her fraternal twin started away cheeky tongue in teeth grin in place once more, "Rose!"

"Gotta find the last bits of my outfit," Rose called over her shoulder waving a flippant hand back at her twin.

Poppy rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror, "Sisters," she huffed under her breath with mild irritation, shaking her head, before she brought the hairpin up to her head testing positions for it, whilst imagining her hair up in the bun she was planning.

*O*O*O*

The Doctor was standing, stooped over with his back to the stairs, working on the wiring under the console, sonic whirring, fixing the damage done whilst he waited for his companions to find their way back out of the wardrobe.

"Oh, you repairing her?" Poppy asked with interest as she and Rose crested the top of the stairs, their eyes landing on his stooped over form.

"Just finished actually," the Doctor replied switching off his sonic and straightening up as he continued, "You've got…" he trailed as he looked over his shoulder his mouth going dry as his eyes landed on Poppy, "Blimey!" he exclaimed as he took in the sight of her as he turned to face the stairs completely.

Poppy quirked her brows upwards in question as she smiled at him, "Is that blimey good or blimey bad?"

"You look beautiful!" the Doctor told her and Poppy's smile turned into a pleased grin, teeth sinking into her lower lip, "Er… you both do…" he added a bit awkwardly, his gaze flicking over to Rose belatedly realising that she was also standing on the stairs beside her twin. A single brow arched up at him and a tiny knowing quirk to her lips. The Doctor cleared his throat and glanced away from the two of them awkwardly, "Considering…" he muttered as he flicked on his sonic again to distract himself.

Rose cocked a hip as she shot him a look, eyes slightly narrowed as she regarded him, "Considering what?"

"That you're humans!" the Doctor replied switching the sonic off again. Giving up on pretending that he was going back to work on the console. His eyes drifting back to Poppy with a will of their own. The ginger regarding him with light amusement.

Whilst Rose glanced from the Time Lord to her twin and back again, not missing the way he was staring at her sister, a bit amused and perhaps the tiniest bit disappointed.

"That's a bit funny coming from you," the ginger mused as she eyed him over, "Considering you look human yourself."

"Nah," the Doctor grinned at her, "You've got that backwards. You look Time Lord," he gestured to himself, "We came first."

"Well, regardless of who came first," Rose mused with amusement as she linked her arm through her twins, "I think that was a compliment," she teased, grinning.

Poppy glanced at her twin, "I'd say so," she agreed with a tongue in teeth grin as her eyes returned to the Doctor.

"Aren't you going to change?" Rose questioned as she looked him over a bit critically.

"I've changed my jumper!" the Doctor waved her off.

Poppy arched a brow at him, "Bit of a double standard going on here, Ro-Ro," she glanced at her twin with a cheeky grin, "We get all dressed up and he just changes his jumper."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a bit of a smirk and jumped out of the space beneath the console, tucking away his sonic, "Come on!" he urged them, starting for the doors.

"You, stay there!" Rose demanded bringing him up short as he turned back to look at them, "You've done this before. This one's ours!" she declared with a grin as she and Poppy hurried down the stairs hands fisted in their skirts so they wouldn't trip on them as they went down the steps and ran for the doors. The Doctor grinning after them as he watched them open the doors and peer out at the street beyond before they stepped out of the Tardis almost gingerly, before starting for the doors himself.

Poppy grinned, practically thrumming with excitement as she glanced about the snow covered street. A snow covered street in Naples… she glanced down, moving a couple of steps and she couldn't have stopped the giddy giggle that escaped her if she'd tried. She was leaving footprints in the snow in Naples! She looked up eyes going to her twin, "Oh my God, Rose!" she breathed as the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, "We're in Naples!"

The Doctor grinned as he turned from locking the door and stepped up beside her, eyeing her delighted expression, "Ready for this?"

Poppy's eyes shot to him, brown shining up at him with delight, "Is that a trick question?" she asked as she took his proffered arm with a tongue in teeth grin.

The Doctor glanced at Rose who was standing on his other side and returned her wide beaming grin as she accepted his arm, "Here we go. History!" he exclaimed and Poppy let out a joyous laugh as they set off down the street, her head resting briefly against his shoulder as she glanced about the deserted street they were on with excitement, missing the way the Doctor grinned warmly at her as his eyes returned to her.

The three strolled into a square Poppy and Rose glancing around with amazed excitement, eyes darting around trying to take everything in whilst the Doctor grinned, even as he took in the square with a little confusion. His changed direction as he spotted a lone vendor amongst the other people that were milling about.

Rose shot Poppy a wide excited grin as they followed the Doctor across the square, only to pause at the sight of the small confused crease to Poppy's brow. She shifted closer, linking their arms drawing her twins attention from the square, "What is it?" she asked in a low whisper.

Poppy shook her head, "Nothing," she replied just as lowly and grinned, "This is brilliant!" she assured and got an arched brow and a look from her twin as they came to a stop, the Doctor digging about in the pockets of his jacket for a couple of small coins to pay the street vendor with, "I was just expecting it to look more like the pictures," Poppy shrugged and grinned at Rose again, "Probably got remodelled over the years or so…"

"I got the flight a bit wrong," the Doctor cut into their low conversation and the twins turned their eyes too him to see him looking at an unfolded newspaper.

"How wrong?" Poppy asked curiously as he peered up at them a little sheepishly.

"Well, it's not 1860, for starters," he admitted as he folded up the newspaper again and they started along the street again, "It's 1869."

"Don't care," the twins replied, walking on either side of him once again.

"And…" the Doctor continued a little more hesitantly as his glancing at Poppy briefly, "It's not Naples."

"Still don't care," Rose replied.

"Where are we?" Poppy asked, eyeing the Doctor curiously and blinking as he tugged at his ear a bit uncomfortably.

"Cardiff," he admitted as his eyes focused on her again.

"Right…" Rose muttered after a brief pause looking about the square again just the tiniest bit disappointed.

"Still," Poppy murmured, smiling, after another beat of silence had passed, "It's 1869! We're in 1869!" she laughed.

The Doctor shot her small smile, before grimacing as he glanced about the street, "Still it's Cardiff," he groaned, "Not funny," he griped as Poppy laughed again, though his lips twitched upwards into a small half smile.

"Oh," Poppy grinned, "It's a little funny."

"No it's not," the Doctor insisted as Rose started laughing at him too as he continued to complain, "It's Cardiff! It's…" he trailed as screams echoed through the night and he grinned as the girls laughter died, "That's more like it!" he exulted, tossing the newspaper over his shoulder and darting off.

Poppy and Rose exchanging a look before hitching the skirts of their dresses up above their ankles and running after him.

The three ran into the rapidly emptying theatre, Poppy and Rose gaping as they watched a blue gas-like substance zoom about the room whilst the Doctor grinned, "Fantastic!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm as he watched the phenomenon. He started for the stage and the man that was standing atop it, "Did you see where it came from?"

"Ah," the man focused on him, "The wag reveals himself, does he?" he chastised, "I trust you're satisfied, sir!"

The Doctor stared, slightly taken aback by the accusation by the irritated man whilst Poppy caught movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see an old man and young woman picking up the crumpled form of an elderly woman before they started hurrying for the doors, "Oi!" she shouted after them.

"Oi!" Rose echoed having spotted the same thing, "Leave her alone!" she exclaimed as her twin started after them.

"Oi! I'm talking to you two!" Poppy called after them, frowning as she picked up her pace as the two hurried on.

"Doctor, we'll get 'em!" Rose called over her shoulder as she hastened after her twin, frowning rather heavily herself.

"Be careful!" the Doctor called after them, before he leapt agilely up onto the stage, "Did it say anything?" he asked the man who was staring at him dubiously, "Can it speak?" he continued, "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Doctor?" the man questioned dubiously, eyeing him over critically, "You look more like a navy," he scoffed.

The Doctor frowned glancing down at his jumper, pinching the material between his fingers, before looking indignantly back up at the man, "What's wrong with this jumper?" he demanded to know. First Rose and Poppy and now him.

*O*O*O*

"Oi!" Poppy called as she raced down the steps, Rose trailing a few steps behind her, as the duo loaded the body into the back of a hearse, "What're you doing?!"

"Oh," the young woman turned to her, "It's a tragedy, miss. Don't worry yourself, me and the master will deal with it," she tried to assure as she attempted to bar Poppy from seeing inside the hearse, "The fact is, this poor lady's been taken with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary."

Poppy arched a sceptical brow at the young woman, "She's far too pale to have any kind of fever," she refuted before she pushed the young woman aside and touched a hand to her forehead, "She's cold," she murmured with a disquieted frown before she checked for a pulse and her eyes widened with alarm, "She's dead!" she exclaimed as the young woman twisted her hands together fretfully, "What's going on?!" she demanded to know, frowning heavily as she turned to the young fretful woman, "What's happened?"

Rose eyes widened in alarm and paused in her hurried stride as the old man snuck up behind her twin, "Poppy?!" she cried in warning a second before the man had her, pressing a cloth over her the ginger's mouth and nose.

Poppy shifted, an elbow slamming back even as darkness encroached on her vision, her nose filled with a sickly sweet scent, struggling a bit uncoordinatedly, fighting to stay awake even as she mentally cursed herself for not paying more attention to the old man. She shifted a leg backwards to try and kick his legs out from under him, but her consciousness was already fading and she slumped as she succumbed to the chemicals she was breathing in.

"Oi!" Rose started forward again, marching swiftly across the snow covered street, heeled feet threatening to slip as the old man and young woman murmured lowly to each other as they moved to bundle Poppy into the back of the hearse, "Just what do you think you're doing to my sister?!" she demanded, "I said," she grabbed at the young woman's arm as she glowered, "Just what do you think you're doing… oi! Get off! Get off me, you…" she struggled briefly as the old man managed to get the chemical dampened cloth over her nose and mouth, before she slumped as she fell unconsciousness.

"Oh, Mr. Sneed," the young woman fretted, "What did you do that for?" she bemoaned again as her gaze flicked to the unconscious body of the first unfortunate woman already bundled into the hearse and then the blonde slumped in Sneed's arms.

"They've seen too much," Sneed replied shifting the slumped body in his arms, "Get her in the hearse!" he demanded, "Legs," and just as before the young woman bent, grabbing the unconscious woman's legs to get her bundled into the hearse along with her sister and the elderly dead woman they'd been chasing after.

*O*O*O*

"Gas!" the Doctor exclaimed as the zooming blue light made a sudden dive and entered one of the many gas lamps that illuminated the theatre, "It's made of gas!" he grinned as he jumped back off the stage and started back across the theatre to the doors. He stepped out of them and paused, his expression falling at the sight of Rose's blond head being shoved out of sight into the depths of the hearse by a young woman and Poppy nowhere in sight. He started down the steps as the young woman slammed the door shut and she and the old man with her hurried around it, "Poppy!" he shouted with alarm, breaking into a run as he tried to catch the hearse before it started off down the street, "Rose!"

"You're not escaping me, sir!" the man from the stage marched down the stairs after him, "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm?" he demanded to know as the Doctor stared after the hearse as it drove away his companions inside of it, "Projection on glass, I suppose," the man hypothesised into the Doctor's stony silence, "Who put you up to it?"

The Doctor glanced at him irritated, "Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks," he waved him off impatiently eyes scanning the night and spotting a coach he swiftly started across the street towards it, "Oi, you!" he called to the driver as he yanked open the coach door and clambered inside, "Follow that hearse!"

"I can't do that, sir!" the driver protested.

"Why not?" the Doctor demanded impatiently, his eyes going to the hearse that was getting further and further away.

"Why not?!" the man huffed indignantly having followed the Doctor over to the stationary coach, drawing the Doctor's attention back to him, "I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!"

The Doctor, unwilling to argue any further with the man, impatience to be off simmering, swiftly reached out and grabbed him, "Well, get in then!" he demanded and yanked him up into the coach, "Move!" he shouted to the driver and in the next moment there was the crack of a whip and the coach lurched into motion, "Come on," the Doctor urged with impatience at what felt like a crawling pace, "You're losing them!"

"Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?" the driver called as the coach rumbled down the street, keeping the coach moving at a steady pace.

"No! It is not!" Dickens huffed.

Whilst the Doctor who'd been shifting about in his seat impatiently, stilled, distracted, "What did he say?" he asked, shocked.

"Let me say this first," the man rounded on his unwanted companion again, glowering with irritation, "I'm not without a sense of humour…" but he was cut off by the Doctor, who was staring at him with new eyes.

"Dickens?" the Time Lord questioned.

"Yes," Dickens nodded, eyeing him a little strangely.

"Charles Dickens?" the Doctor sought to confirm. It'd be embarrassing if he was mistaken… he'd done that before… "The Charles Dickens?" he persisted, a grin beginning to light up his expression once again.

"Shall I remove the gentleman, sir?" the driver called down again, a little concerned that he'd heard no more from the man who'd employed him.

"Charles Dickens! Your brilliant, you are! Completely 100% brilliant!" the Doctor gushed, grinning from ear to ear, "I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"

"A Christmas Carol?" Dickens deduced.

The Doctor shook his head, "No, no, no, the one with the trains… The Signal Man, that's it, terrifying!" he exclaimed and Dickens couldn't help but be rather pleased by the praise, irritation fading as he smiled a bit smugly, "The best short story ever written!" the Doctor continued, "You're a genius!"

"You want me to get rid of him, sir?" the driver called again, still not hearing anything from Mr. Dickens.

"Er, no, I think he can stay," Dickens conceded.

"Honestly, Charles, can I call you Charles?" the Doctor asked and Dickens barely had time give a nod of agreement before the Doctor continued, "I'm such a big fan."

"…what? A what?" Dickens asked rather confused, once again eyeing the Doctor like he was more than just a little bit mad…

"Fan!" the Doctor exclaimed, still grinning, "Number One Fan, that's me," he explained without really explaining at all.

"How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means to keep oneself cool?" Dickens demanded to know.

"No, it means 'Fanatic', devoted to," the Doctor expounded, his expression turning a bit thoughtful as he continued, "Mind you, I've gotta say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about?! Was that just padding or what?" he asked as Dickens started to frown again, "I mean it's rubbish that bit."

"I thought you said you were my fan," Dickens muttered, eyeing the man, disgruntled by him all over again.

"Ah well," the Doctor shrugged, "If you can't take criticism… go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up," he stated flippantly, "No, sorry," he muttered as his mind snapped back to the issue at hand realising that he'd become more distracted than he'd intended, "Come on, faster!" he shouted to the driver and they obligingly picked up a bit of speed.

"Who exactly is in that hearse?" Charles asked eyeing the Doctor with curiosity now.

"My friends," the Doctor replied, "They're only 19, and it's my fault. They're both in my care, and now they're both in danger."

Dickens started at him aghast, "Why are we wasting time talking about dry old books?" he demanded, "This is much more important," he turned calling up to the driver, "Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!"

"Yes, sir!" the driver complied, urging the horses on faster once again.

"Thatta boy, Charlie!" the Doctor exclaimed with delight as the coach jostled about with the increase of speed. This was more like it!

"Nobody calls me Charlie," Dickens told him, a bit bemused by the familiarity of the man's address.

"The ladies do," the Doctor replied.

Dickens narrowed his eyes on him, "How do you know that?"

"I told you…" the Doctor grinned, "I'm your Number One…"

"Number One Fan, yes…" Dickens muttered, eyeing the man who'd commandeered his coach a bit dubiously.

*O*O*O*

"The poor girls are still alive, sir!" Gwyneth fretted as she gripped her end of the woman, helping Mr. Sneed carry Rose into a room, "What're we going to do with them?" she asked they set her down on a table normally used for the dead, a short distance from where they'd laid out Poppy on an identical table.

"I don't know!" Sneed huffed, "I didn't plan any of this, did I?" he asked disgruntled, "It isn't my fault if the dead won't stay dead."

"Then whose fault is it, sir?" Gwyneth asked as she followed Sneed back towards the door, "Why is this happening to us?" she questioned as Sneed closed the door behind them, twisting a key in the lock. Locking the two young women in with the dead as the gas lamp flicked and ghostly ethereal voices whispered through the air.

"I did the Bishop a favour, once," Sneed muttered as they walked back through the corridor, taking his top hat off as he continued, "Made his nephew look like a cherub even though he'd been a fortnight in the weir. Perhaps he'll do us an exorcism on the cheap," master and servant paused looking up in alarm at the sound of a knock on the front door. Sneed turned back to Gwyneth, "Say I'm not in," he ordered, "Tell them we're closed. Just… just get rid of them," he turned and started back down the corridor whilst Gwyneth swallowed and continued on, heading towards the front door.

*O*O*O*

Poppy slowly sat up, rubbing at her eyes groggily and grimacing at the unnatural heaviness of the feeling. She opened her eyes and glanced about the room she was in, her eyes almost immediately skimming over the coffins in the room as her gaze landed on her sister as she lay still unconscious, chest rising and falling softly with her breathes. Poppy shifted across the table she'd been placed on, stumbling a bit unsteadily to her feet and walked over to her, almost tripping over the ruffled hem of her skirts in her haste.

"Ro-Ro!" she called and reached out as her sister didn't react, grasping her by her shoulders and giving her small shake, "Ro-Ro!" she tried again whilst behind her a blue-gas like substance escaped from one of the gas lamps beside one of the coffins. It wended through the air, entering the lifeless body inside of it…

*O*O*O*

The Doctor shifted a bit impatiently as Dickens picked up the doorknocker, rapping it against the solid wood of the Undertakers front door a second time. A moment later the door opened just enough for the maid to frame herself in the doorway as she peered out it at the two men that were staring back at her. She swallowed a bit nervously once again, "I'm sorry, sir," Gwyneth murmured uncomfortably, "We're closed."

"Nonsense!" Dickens scoffed, "Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master."

"He's not in, sir," Gwyneth insisted and moved to shut the door on them before either man could pose any more questions. Questions she didn't have a proper answer for.

Dickens shifted, pressing a hand against the door forcing it to remain open, glowering angrily at the young woman who stared up at him eyes wide with anxiety, "Don't lie to me, child!"

"I'm awful sorry, Mr. Dickens," Gwyneth tried nervously, "But the master's indisposed," she hated to think of just how disappointed Mr. Sneed would be if she failed to send the two gentlemen away like he'd asked.

Behind Gwyneth a gas lamp suddenly flared, drawing the attention of the Doctor and Dickens. The Time Lord looked back to Gwyneth, "Having trouble with your gas?" he asked and Gwyneth shifted anxiously in the doorway.

"What the Shakespeare is going on?" Dickens demanded as he eyed the oddly flaring lamp, perplexed and irritated.

*O*O*O*

Rose groaned and Poppy helped her into a sitting position as the blond shifted groggily, "You alright?"

Rose gave a nod and grimaced, "My head feels all…" she made an 'ick' gesture with a hand as she rubbed at her eyes with the other.

"Yeah. Mine too…" Poppy muttered, before a strange groaning sound came from one of the coffins and Poppy looked up whilst Rose shifted on the table turning so she could see, their gazes landing on the body of a dead man sitting up in his coffin. He made a groaning sound again as the three stared at each other.

"Oh, you're kidding me…!" Rose gaped, staring uneasily as the man shifted in the coffin groaning again as he clambered out of it.

"Yeah…" Poppy swallowed as Rose got to her feet and the man started shambling step towards them, "Not kidding."

The two turned and ran for the door, trying to get it open, "Oh, bleedin' hell!" Poppy cursed as she jiggled the handle of the locked door.

They glanced behind them at the dead man that was still shambling slowly towards them, groaning, before turning back to the door with alarm…

*O*O*O*

"You're not allowed inside, sir!" Gwyneth protested startled as the Doctor brushed past her, ignoring her entirely as he walked over to the wall and pressed his ear against it.

"There's something inside the walls," the Doctor murmured as he listened intently, "The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas."

*O*O*O*

"Ooh, this is so not funny!" Poppy groaned as the elderly woman that had been taken from the theatre clambered out of a second coffin joining the man in shambling slowly towards them, before she turned back to the door and yanked on it aggressively.

Rose snatched up a vase and lobbed it towards the advancing dead, only for the projectile to merely make the man stumble slightly before shambling on, "Oh my God," she breathed before she whirled back to the door and Poppy who was still yanking on it, "Get it open!" she shouted frantically, "Get it open!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Poppy shouted back throwing her weight against the door desperately making it rattle but otherwise remain unmoving, she glanced back at the two advancing dead as she rattled the handle again.

*O*O*O*

Gwyneth closed her eyes in dismay as the shouts of the two women locked deeper in the house reached them. Whilst the Doctor paused in what he was doing, ear lifting from the wall, "That's them," and he took off running in the direction the shouts were coming from, Dickens running after him.

*O*O*O*

Poppy glanced back at the advancing dead as they slowly staggered closer and closer, "Keep trying!" she told her sister as she turned from the door to face them.

"What are you gonna do?!" Rose asked anxiously as she turned to look at Poppy.

The ginger shook her head as she eyed the two that were shambling closer, honestly not entirely sure, "If I have too… hold 'em off," she replied as she stepped forward a couple of paces to give herself some room, just in case she did end up needing it. Though she was kind of hoping that she wouldn't need to. She wasn't dressed for any kind of fight… but she'd make it work. If she had too.

Rose nodded eyes flicking anxiously to the advancing dead before she turned back to the door and started yanking on it as she shouted, "Please, please, let us out!"

*O*O*O*

The Doctor raced down the corridor towards the alarmed voices of his companions, running right past old Mr. Sneed, barely sparing him a glance as the man gaped after him, "How dare you, sir!" Sneed exclaimed before turning to Dickens as he came running down the corridor towards him, "This is my house!"

"Shut up!" Dickens demanded as he ran past him too.

Sneed gaped, before he turned to Gwyneth who'd been following the two gentlemen down the corridor and wagged a scolding finger at her, "I told you!" she cast him a helpless look before continuing on Sneed huffing under his breath as he went after the two men intruding into his home as well.

*O*O*O*

Rose glanced anxiously over her shoulder at her sister and the dead that were staggering closer, getting fairly close to her sister. The corpse of the young man reached out a hand towards her and Poppy shifted her stance, adjusting it, getting ready to quickly kick off her heels so that they'd be one less thing hampering her movements.

Rose turned her attention back to the door hammering a hand against it desperately, "Let us out! Somebody open the door!" she yanked at the handle again, "Open the door!"

"Move away from the door!" the Doctor's voice called back and Poppy couldn't help but risk glancing back over her shoulder at that, seeing Rose quickly sidestepping away from the door. The ginger jerked her head back as icy cold fingers brushed against her cheek and she raised an arm knocking his aside in a quick move, a second before the door to the room was kicked open and the Doctor was stepping into the room.

"I think this my dance," the Doctor stated, his eyes on the animated dead as he reached for Poppy and pulled her back from them, his arm about her waist as Dickens stepped into the room behind them.

"It's a prank!" the writer stated as he stared with disbelief at the two corpses that were stood before them.

"It doesn't feel like a prank," Poppy muttered as she brushed a hand over her cheek where the icy cold fingers of the young dead man had touched her, the sensation of it lingering on her skin a bit eerily.

"It must be," Dickens insisted still eyeing the dead stood before them, "We're under some mesmeric influence," he reasoned.

"No, we're not," the Doctor stated as Rose came to stand on the other side of him, "The dead are walking," he glanced at Poppy and grinned, "Hi!"

"Hi!" Poppy replied as she turned her head to look at him, "Good timing," she couldn't help but smile back, his grin rather infectious.

"I have fantastic timing," the Doctor agreed before turning to look at Rose, "Hi!"

"Hi!" Rose responded, tearing her eyes from the dead to look at him briefly before her gaze went to the man standing behind him, "Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens," the Doctor replied as he turned his eyes back to the dead that had yet to make another move since he'd kicked in the door.

Poppy glanced back at the man, eyes a little wide with surprise, before she looked to the Doctor again, "Really?"

"Really," the Doctor confirmed.

"Ok," Rose murmured, swallowing as she focused back on the dead that was staring at them rather disquietingly in her opinion.

"My names the Doctor. Who are you, then?" the Time Lord questioned, eyeing the walking dead curiously, "What do you want?"

The man opened his mouth and voices that sounded like they were coming from somewhere in the ether spoke, "We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form, cannot sustain, help us!" the voices pleaded, before both the elderly woman and the young man's heads were forced back, tilting up towards the ceiling as the gas-like entity possessing their bodies were expelled with a wailing scream, filled with pain and suffering as the possessing force left and the two once again lifeless corpses crumpled to the floor as the gas-like beings zoomed back through the air returning to the gas lamps they'd come from.

"So…" Poppy blinked down at the crumpled still forms of the dead, her brows quirked a bit perplexed, "Not zombies, then…?"

"No," the Doctor agreed as he eyed the still forms brows high on his forehead before he glanced up at the gas lamps the blue gas-like light had disappeared into, "More of a possession I'd say…" he paused and glanced at Poppy who'd turned her head to look at him at that, "Not demonic," he stated and smirked slightly as she pouted, just the tiniest bit.

"So what, then?" Poppy asked and Rose tore her eyes from the still lifeless dead, a bit more assured that they weren't going to start moving again to look at the Doctor with curiosity.

The Doctor frowned thoughtfully, "Some kind of gas creature," he murmured and Dickens let out a derisive scoff that went ignored as the Time Lord turned, eyes immediately going to the old man standing in the doorway. The same old man he'd run past, "You," he started towards the still indignant man, "You said this was your house."

"Yes it is, and you are intruding, sir!" Sneed blustered.

"Fantastic," the Doctor ignored him, grinning a bit at Sneed as he started helping him back down the corridor, "I've got some questions for you."

"But I…" Sneed tried as Poppy, Rose and Dickens followed the Doctor out of the room and down the corridor, "I don't know anything… I…"

The Doctor ignoring Sneed and his blustering completely, glanced at the young maid who'd answered the door, "And you are?"

"Gwyneth, sir," she replied as she followed after her master, hands clasped together in front of her anxiously.

"I think my friends could do with a spot of tea, Gwyneth," the Doctor suggested glancing back at them, taking in their slightly pale complexions, "If you don't mind."

"I…" Gwyneth swallowed and nodded glancing at the two unfortunate women she'd had a hand in kidnapping, "Of course, sir," she bobbed a small curtsy and hurried off towards the kitchen as Sneed blustered again about it being his house as the Time Lord continued to guide him effortlessly along the corridor.

*O*O*O*

Poppy stood with her arms crossed, her back to the parlour fire place. The crackling flames warming her back as they licked against the wood. Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed on Mr. Sneed, glowering at him, as her twin tore strips off him with her tongue. Her fingers digging into her arms as she fought the urge to lay into the man herself. She'd already disappointed her Sensei once that night already by not paying enough attention to her surroundings earlier, letting the old man get the best of her. Something she could have avoided had she been paying attention. She didn't want to do it again by giving into the simmering burn of her anger.

"First of all, you drug my sister and me!" Rose glowered at Sneed as he stared up at her from where he was sitting on a sofa, rather taken aback, "Then you kidnap us, and," the blond jabbed an accusatory finger at him, "Don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!"

The Doctor sniggered in amusement at the man's predicament before he found himself glancing at Poppy, eyeing her darkening expression and he straightened up from his lean and stepped away from the wall by the fireplace mantle to stand beside her, "Surprised you aren't over there having a go at him too," he murmured with amusement.

Poppy grimaced, "Better if I don't," she muttered glancing at him, "Not sure I'd be able to refrain from punching him if I went over there," she narrowed her eyes on Mr. Sneed again, "His hands really did have a quick wander," she groused, jaw clenching as she recalled the feeling and her fingers dug into the flesh of her arms as she tightened her grip on them, "Dirty old codger!" she groused.

"I won't be spoken to like this!" Sneed tried, affronted at being spoken to in such a way and by a woman no less.

"Then you stuck us in a room full of zombies!" Rose exclaimed, continuing like he hadn't spoken as she glowered at him, "And if that ain't enough, you swan off!" she jabbed her finger at him accusingly again, "And leave us to die! So come on, talk!"

"It's not my fault, it's this house!" Sneed cried despondently, "It's always had a reputation. Haunted," he explained, "But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs…" he trailed at the mildly offended look he received from Dickens at his callousness, "The er, dearly departed started getting restless."

"Tommyrot," Dickens scoffed.

"You witnessed it!" Mr. Sneed objected, "Can't keep the beggars down, Sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps…"

Gwyneth approached the fireplace where Poppy and the Doctor where standing a cup of tea in each hand, "Just milk for you, miss," she murmured as she gave one of the cups to Poppy, "And, two sugars, sir," Gwyneth handed the second cup to the Doctor, "Just how you like it," she murmured without really thinking and walked away again to continue her duties, missing the curious looks the two gave her retreating form.

Poppy took a sip of hers and blinked surprised. The Doctor glanced at her, "What?"

Poppy glanced at him, "It really is exactly how I like it," she mused, "Right down to the temperature."

The Doctor glanced down at his own cup and took a sip, before giving a nod, his too. Exactly as he liked it.

"One old fella," Sneed continued insistently as he stared at the disbelieving Dickens, "Who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service! Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy," Dickens waved him off.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the man's stubbornness and in disappointment in the brilliant man's seeming narrow mindedness, "Oh, Charles you were there."

"I saw nothing but an illusion," Dickens insisted.

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time," the Doctor demanded, his patience waning, "Just shut up," he said tersely as he shifted setting his tea down on the fireplace mantle before he turned back to Sneed ignoring the stunned look on the writers face as he pressed for more information from the home owner, "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that," Sneed admitted.

The Doctor nodded, "Means it's getting stronger, the rifts getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose questioned.

"A weak point in time and space," the Doctor explained, "A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories."

Poppy's brows quirked upwards as she eyed him with curiosity, "Really?"

"Well," the Doctor hedged, "Most of the time," he adjusted as Dickens got to his feet and started across the room towards the door.

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Sneed exclaimed in wide eyed realisation as Dickens walked out the door closing it behind him, "Stories going back generations. Echoes in the dark," Sneed explained with a disquieted frown, "Queer songs in the air and this feeling like a… shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you," his tone lightened slightly, "Truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

*O*O*O*

The Doctor watched from the doorway of the room Sneed had locked Poppy and Rose in, leaning against the doorframe his arms crossed as Dickens poked and prodded around the coffin of one of the deceased that had risen, "Checking for strings?"

"Wires, perhaps?" Dickens replied glancing at the Doctor as he continued to fumble his hands under the coffin, frowning as he glanced away again as he continued his search, "There must be some mechanism behind this fraud!"

"Oh, come on, Charles," the Doctor sighed as he straightened up and uncrossed his arms as he stepped into the room, walking towards the other man turned from the coffin to look at him, "Alright, I shouldn't have told you to shut up," the Doctor conceded, placing a hand on Dickens shoulder, "I'm sorry. But you've got one of the bests minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures."

Dickens shook his head, "I cannot accept that."

"And what does the human body do when it decomposes?" the Doctor questioned and Dickens turned his eyes back to the body in the coffin brow furrowed in thought, "It breaks down and produces gas," the Doctor continued, "Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it!" Dickens exclaimed trying to shake the idea of it being more than a clever trick out of his head before he paused, "Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

"Not wrong," the Doctor assured, "Just more to learn."

"I've always railed against the fantasies," Dickens told him, "Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them, but that's exactly what they were. Illusions!" he exclaimed, "The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices. Great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack o' lanterns. In which case – have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?"

*O*O*O*

Gwyneth lit a gas lamp in the kitchen for some much needed light and turned, her eyes widening with alarm at seeing Poppy and Rose in the kitchen starting the washing up, "Please, misses, you shouldn't be helping!" she started over to them, "It's not right!" she insisted.

"It's fine," Poppy soothed glancing at her with a smile.

"Don't be daft," Rose agreed.

"We insist," Poppy told her as she picked up a cloth to start drying dishes, "No harm in giving you a bit of a rest."

"Sneed works you to death," Rose nodded.

"But… uh," Poppy continued eyeing Gwyneth's alarmed expression at the very idea, "You can put away if you like," she said holding out a dried dish and smiled as Gwyneth relaxed ever so slightly as she took the dish from her.

"How much do you get paid?" Rose questioned in the next moment, eyeing Gwyneth herself. The house wasn't small and she'd yet to see any other help about the place.

"Eight pound a year, miss," Gwyneth replied easily and the twins stilled.

"How much?" Rose blinked dumbfounded at how happy Gwyneth seemed over her yearly wage.

"I know," Gwyneth smiled a bit wider, misunderstanding the shock in Rose's tone, "I would've been happy with six," she divulged.

"Well…" Poppy murmured as she went back to drying, shaking off her own lingering shock, "As long as your happy."

"I am, miss," Gwyneth replied as she set the dish in its place on a rack for her to wheel away and to put in its cupboard later, and accepted the next one.

"So," Rose changed the subject as she too went back to helping with the clean-up, "Did you go to school or what?"

"Of course I did," Gwyneth nodded, before peering at Rose, "What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper."

"What," Rose blinked surprised all over again, "Once a week?"

"Must've been nice," Poppy mused, glancing at Gwyneth again as she moved the drying cloth over another dish.

"We did sums and everything," Gwyneth nodded, before peering about a bit cautiously and lowering her voice, "To be honest, I hated every second."

"Me too," Rose smiled.

"Used to count the minutes," Poppy agreed, before the three of them laughed lightly.

"Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own!" Gwyneth admitted.

"Oh, we did plenty of that," Rose grinned, "I used to go to the shops with my mate Shareen whilst Poppy covered for me."

"And I'd go with my mate Lucy," Poppy added with a grin of her own as Gwyneth giggled at how outrageous it all was, "Less suspicious if we didn't skip together."

"We used to go look at boys!" Rose grinned.

Gwyneth went quiet, scandalised as she stared at the two women, "Well, I don't know much about that, miss," she murmured uncomfortably and turned back to the dish in her hand, putting it on the rack.

"Come on," Rose insisted lightly, eyeing Gwyneth, "Times haven't changed that much! I bet you've done the same."

"I don't think so, miss," Gwyneth murmured, not looking at her.

"Gwyneth! You can tell us!" Rose persisted and grinned a friendly grin, "I bet you've got your eye on someone."

"Even if she does, she doesn't have to say," Poppy nudged her twin as Gwyneth shuffled her feet a little shyly.

Gwyneth glanced at them with a small smile, "I suppose," she started a bit hesitantly, "There is one lad…" Rose grinned rather pleased and Poppy gave her a grin of her own and made a small 'go on' gesture of encouragement, "The butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday," Gwyneth smiled, a light flush to her cheeks, "Such a lovely smile on him!"

"I like a nice smile," Rose nodded, and grinned a bit cheekily, "Good smile, nice bum."

"Those," Poppy mused as she nodded in agreement, "And good hands," she grinned just as cheekily as Rose, "I like a man with good hands."

"Nimble fingers," Rose nodded.

"Well, I have never heard the like!" Gwyneth exclaimed shocked and the twins laughed, Gwyneth soon followed, shaking her head a bit perplexed by the two of them.

"Ask him out!" Rose insisted as their laughter died down, before continuing as Gwyneth gave her another shocked look, "Give him a cup of tea or something," she suggested helpfully, "That's a start."

Gwyneth shook her head, "I swear it's the strangest thing," she murmured eyeing the two well dressed women, "You've both got all the clothes and the breeding, but you both talk like some sort of wild things."

"Maybe we are," Rose shrugged, "Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mr. Sneed."

"Oh, now that's not fair," Gwyneth defended the man, "He's not so bad, old Sneed," Poppy raised a sceptical brow, "He was very kind to me to take me in. Because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was 12."

"Oh, sorry," Poppy and Rose murmured their expressions falling with sympathy for her loss.

"Thank you," Gwyneth murmured before smiling slightly, "But I'll be with them again, one day, sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for the two of you too," she offered kindly.

"It's possible…" Poppy trailed with a bit of a nod.

"Maybe…" Rose agreed with a nod of her own, "Um…" she eyed Gwyneth, "Who told you our dad was dead?"

Gwyneth's eyes widened with realisation of what she'd said and whirled back around, focusing once more on the washing up, "I don't know," she murmured as lightly as she could manage, "Must've been the Doctor."

"He doesn't know," Poppy murmured and glanced at her twin who shook her head, "We haven't told him."

"We've only really just met him…" Rose continued, peering at Gwyneth once more, "And our father died years back."

Gwyneth turned back to them, her eyes focusing on Rose, "But you've been thinking about him lately, more than ever."

"I s'pose so…" Rose murmured.

Poppy glanced at her twin with mild concern, "You have?"

Rose glanced at her too, "You haven't?" and Poppy shook her head in the negative still eyeing her twin with concern. Rose turned her eyes back to Gwyneth peering at her with disquieted curiosity, "How do you know all this?"

"Mr. Sneed says I think too much," Gwyneth murmured, "I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, miss?"

"Nah," Poppy shook her head as they laughed again.

"No, no servants where we're from," Rose confirmed as Gwyneth turned to them completely again, eyeing them.

"And you've both come such a long way," she murmured, her eyes widening slightly in surprise at what she was seeing.

"What makes you think so?" Rose asked, glancing at Poppy, the two exchanging a brief look.

"You're both from London," Gwyneth murmured, "I've seen London in drawings, but never like that," she stared at the blond intently as her mind continued to fill with strange things… "All those people rushing around half-naked, for shame. And the noise… and the metal boxes racing past…" her intent gaze flicked to Poppy as more and more images flooded to her, "And birds in the sky… they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And you… you - you've both flown so far, further than anyone!" she exclaimed, "The things you've seen… the darkness… the big bad wolf…"

Poppy's brow furrowed slightly, "Big bad wolf?"

Gwyneth staggered back a hand going to her forehead, fear in her eyes, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss!" she pleaded.

"S'alright…" Rose assured,

"It's fine…" Poppy agreed, "It's… are you alright?" she asked with concern as Gwyneth slowly lowered her hand from her forehead.

"I can't help it ever since I was a little girl," Gwyneth said in a fearful rush as she eyed Poppy and Rose, the two them staring with concern, "My mum said I had the sight," she explained, "She told me to hide it!"

"But it's getting stronger," the Doctor interjected, surprising the three, making them jump, their heads turning to see the Time Lord standing in the doorway of the kitchen, "More powerful, is that right?"

"All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head," Gwyneth replied, a little uncertain as she stared at him.

"You grew up on top of the rift," the Doctor murmured with realisation, "You're part of it. You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir," Gwyneth assured, "Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts."

"Well, that should help," the Doctor remarked, "You can show us what to do."

"What to do, sir?" Gwyneth asked with a bit of confusion.

"We're going to have a séance," he announced cheerily earning looks from all three women.

*O*O*O*

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists. Down in Mid Town," Gwyneth explained as they all sat at a circular table back in Sneed's parlour, "Come we must all join hands," she instructed.

Poppy felt the Doctor's right hand touch her left and she shifted her hand grasping it in return as she took hold of Sneed's with her right. Whilst Rose who was sitting on the other side of Sneed took his right hand and was reaching for Dickens' left when the writer abruptly stood from the table, unable to maintain his uneasy silence any longer, "I can't take part in this."

"Humbug," the Doctor retorted easily, "Come on, open mind," he chided jovially whilst giving the writer a pointed look.

Dickens shook his head adamantly, "This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask. Séances?" he scoffed, "Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl," he gestured at Gwyneth, "Knows nothing."

"Now don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium," the Doctor punned lightly.

"Oh, you didn't," Poppy groaned.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" the Doctor questioned and then grinned as Poppy shook her head with amusement.

"I can't believe you just said that," Rose muttered, pulling a face, even as her lips quirked up with amusement.

"Come on," the Doctor urged, his attention returning to Dickens who was still standing, "We might need you," and with reluctance Dickens seated himself again. This time he took his neighbours hands, "Good man," the Doctor beamed a grin, before turning his attention back to Gwyneth who was waiting patiently, one of her hands now clasped in Dickens', whilst the other was clasped in the Doctor's, "Now, Gwyneth, reach out," the Time Lord instructed.

Gwyneth nodded her agreement, before she looked upward, picking a spot across from her as she focused, attempting to reach, using what she'd seen done before she spoke, "Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits?"

Dickens rolled his eyes and huffed out a low scoffing breath, fully expecting nothing beyond the cheap mummery he'd seen done in other such workings.

"Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden," Gwyneth tried again and this time whispered murmurings filled the air around them.

Rose glanced about a bit nervously, "Can you hear that?" she asked.

Poppy nodded, her hands tightening about those she had a grasp of, "Yeah," she muttered feeling the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end as the whispers seemed to curl through the air about them from everywhere.

"Nothing can happen!" Dickens insisted, "This is sheer folly."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure this is something," Poppy murmured, her eyes locked on Gwyneth and Dickens scoffed.

"Look at her," Rose gestured at Gwyneth with her head and Dickens focused his gaze on the young maid and his eyes widened.

"I feel them. I feel them!" Gwyneth exclaimed with a small happy smile. The gaseous beings started to take form in the room, gliding about the air above the table.

"What are they saying?" Rose urged.

"They can't get through the rift," the Doctor stated and stared intently at the maid, "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through," he urged.

"I can't!" Gwyneth cried, her voice straining with the effort of trying to force contact with the beings that were struggling to take shape.

"Yes, you can," the Doctor urged instantly and Poppy glanced at him, "Just believe it. I have faith in you."

"Doctor?" Poppy murmured, brow furrowing ever so slightly with concern as she glanced from the straining Gwyneth to him.

The Doctor squeezed her hand reassuringly as he glanced at her briefly before refocusing on Gwyneth, "Make the link."

Gwyneth expression contorted as she concentrated, pushing on relentlessly, determined to help those who were lost… her head suddenly lowered, before her eyes snapped open as she raised her head again, "Yes," she murmured as three blue gas-like people sized figures shimmered into being behind her.

Dickens' gaped in shock as he stared at the three in wide-eyed disbelief and Mr. Sneed who remained silent, willing to take part if only to set his house to rights again, gasped, his own eyes wide with shock, "Great God," he breathed not sure if he was more awed or horrified at such an ungodly thing happening in his house, "Spirits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor corrected a bit absently as he stared at the three figures curiously.

"Pity us!" the figures cried, their voices that of children as they used Gwyneth to speak, "Pity the Gelth!" they cried with desperation, "There is so little time, help us!"

"What do you want us to do?" the Doctor asked, staring at the gaseous figures.

"The rift," the Gelth cried without missing a beat, "Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge," they urged.

"What for?" the Doctor queried with a small frown.

"We are so few," the Gelth cried pitiably, "The last of our kind. We face extinction."

The Doctor stiffened, his hand unintentionally tightening about Poppy's, making the ginger glance at him and she tightened her hand about his in return, "Why, what happened?" he asked more urgently now.

"Once we had physical form like you. But then the war came," the Gelth cried.

Dickens broke his silence as his confusion grew, "War? What war?"

"The Time War," the Gelth responded and the Doctor, Poppy and Rose exchanged a look before the Gelth continued, "The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms," they cried, "Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses," the Doctor murmured with realization, his mind spinning rapidly and his hand loosening around Poppy's.

"We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!" the Gelth pleaded.

"But we can't!" Rose exclaimed as she stared aghast.

The Doctor tore his gaze from the ghostly forms to stare at Rose with conviction, "Why not?" he questioned.

"It's not… I mean, it's not…" Rose floundered she really hadn't been expecting to be questioned on it.

"Not decent? Not polite?" the Doctor cut her off disinterested in her argument as the blond eyed him incredulously.

"Well, it's certainly not something!" Poppy muttered, eyeing the Doctor her brows quirked at him a bit incredulously.

"It could save their lives," the Doctor insisted adamantly eyeing his two companions with a level unwavering stare.

Poppy looked away glancing at her twin before her eyes returned to the ethereal figures behind Gwyneth, teeth sinking into her lower lip.

"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!" they urged, before the tenuous connection broke and Gwyneth's eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed back against the back of her chair, out cold.

"Gwyneth!" Poppy and Rose exclaimed, getting up out of their chairs and rushing around the table to check on her.

"All true," Dickens gasped, gaping at the spot the Gelth had been.

"Gwyneth?" Poppy tried.

"Are you ok?" Rose tried.

"It's all true," Dickens muttered whilst, the Doctor remained silent as the room burst into motion around him, his expression solemn and eyes old and pained. His thoughts in the moment a universe away.

*O*O*O*

Poppy dabbed at Gwyneth's forehead as she lay, unconscious still, on the chaise longue in Sneed's parlour, whilst behind her Rose paced back and forth, shooting the Doctor irate looks as she did, something which the Time Lord ignored with ease as he leaned against a wall, body tense, as he stared off into space, ignoring the room at large for the moment, though his eyes snapped to Poppy and Gwyneth when the ginger spoke. Whilst Rose paused in her pacing and turned to face the chaise lounge.

"Oh, hold on," Poppy murmured as Gwyneth stirred trying to sit up, steadying her with her hands, "Take it easy. How are you feeling?"

Gwyneth focused her eyes on her, "But my angels, miss," she murmured ignoring her question as she sat up a bit more, "They came, didn't they? They need me?"

The Doctor nodded, straightening up from his lean and shifting away from the wall, "They do need you Gwyneth. You're there only chance for survival," he told her and earned himself another irate look from Rose.

"I've told you!" the blond snarled as she turned back around, rounding on him again, "Leave her alone! She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles!" she growled and the Doctor sighed out an irritated breath as he stepped back and leaned against the wall again, heavier than before. Rose turned back to Poppy and Gwyneth, her expression softening, "Here," she held out a glass to her sister, "She should try and drink this."

Poppy nodded, glancing briefly at the Doctor taking in his impatient expression as he leaned, his arms crossed now. She took the glass from her sister with a low sigh and a small uneasy furrow to her brow, before turning to Gwyneth and offered her a small but warm smile, "You should try and drink something," she urged gently as she held it out to the other woman, who took it a little reluctantly.

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Sneed broke the awkward heavy silence. Still rather confused by the entire thing, "Explain it again. What are they?"

The Doctor focused his gaze on Sneed and straightened up for a second time with a sigh, "Aliens," he reiterated.

Sneed frowned, "Like… foreigners, you mean."

The Doctor shrugged willing to go with it, if it helped the man understand, "Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there," he pointed upwards.

Mr. Sneed stared at him, "Brecon?" he guessed, it was the farthest he could imagine someone coming from.

"Close," the Doctor replied with a shrug as Poppy stood and turned to look at him, listening intently as he explained again, "And they've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl," Dickens murmured.

"They're not having her!" Rose exclaimed, bristling.

"But she can help," the Doctor insisted.

"Did you miss the part were 'helping' knocked her unconscious?" Poppy questioned sarcastically as she eyed the Doctor with a frown.

The Doctor stared at her a moment, eyes meeting, before he looked to Gwyneth, "You're alright, aren't you, Gwyneth?"

"Yes, sir," Gwyneth nodded, a bit of a headache but nothing she wasn't willing to endure for her angels.

The Doctor nodded his gaze going back to Poppy, "See? She's fine," he turned his eyes away again whilst Poppy gaped at him. He'd half missed her point! "Living right on the rift," the Doctor continued, "She's become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through."

"Incredible," Dickens breathed despite himself, "Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in ours by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system," the Doctor nodded and smiled, "It might work."

"No," Poppy pinched the bridge of her nose, "It won't," she sighed.

The Doctor focused on her again, a brow arching at her as he met her gaze again with a flat but level stare, "Why not?"

"Because you can't let them run around inside of dead people!" Rose all but snarled before Poppy could respond.

The Doctor shrugged gaze flicking to her again, completely unmoved by her anger, "It's like recycling."

"It's not as easy as that!" Poppy exclaimed, staring at the Time Lord with incredulity, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Yes, it is," he refuted.

"Seriously though, you can't!" Rose glared at him harshly.

"Seriously though, I can," the Doctor insisted without missing a beat.

"It's just… wrong!" Rose tried aggravated, "Those bodies were living people! We should respect them even in death!"

"Do you carry a donor card?" the Doctor asked pointedly.

"That different, that's…" Rose trailed.

"It different yeah," he nodded, "It's a different morality. You both need to get used to it or go home," he stated firmly.

Poppy swallowed against the small flash of hurt and rubbed at her forehead in exasperation as she eyed his stony expression, before she shook her head arms crossing defensively, "I don't like it," she muttered.

"Yes, I'm hearing that," the Doctor retorted, "But you heard what they said," he continued his voice softening slightly as he eyed Poppy's and Rose's uneasy expressions, "Time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"And I'm not saying that I don't care…" Poppy began only to be cut off by her twin who was glowering at the Time Lord.

"Well, I don't," the blond huffed, "I don't care," she reiterated adamantly as the Doctor gave her a look and Poppy glanced at her, Rose's chin jutting out stubbornly as she attempted to stare the Doctor down, "They're not using her!"

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth asked, finally breaking her silence, earning the rooms attention.

"Of course you do," Poppy replied with a nod and a small slightly strained smile, "We're just worried about you."

"And, I appreciate that, miss," Gwyneth murmured, "But…"

"But," Rose cut in, shooting her sister a look before focusing on Gwyneth again, trying to be as gentle as possible as she said, "You don't understand what's going on."

"You would say that, miss," Gwyneth nodded as she focused on Rose, "Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid."

Rose shifted uncomfortably, glancing at her twin again who was glancing at her in turn brows quirked at her, she turned back to Gwyneth, "That's not fair!"

"It's true though. Things might be very different where you and your sister are from. But here and now, I know my own mind," Gwyneth stated with confidence, "And my Angels' need me," she turned her eyes to the Time Lord, "Doctor, what do I have to do?" she asked, her face set with determination.

"You don't have to do anything," the Doctor assured her.

Gwyneth gave him a look full of her determination and love for her Angels, "They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So, tell me," she urged.

The Doctor smiled at her, relieved that she was happy to help, having been half worried that she wouldn't, "We need to find the rift," he stated, before approaching Mr. Sneed who was standing close to Dickens, "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed. What's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?" he described as clearly as he possibly could for the man.

"That would be the morgue," Mr. Sneed replied not even needing to think about it for longer than a second.

Rose frowned still rather disgruntled by it all, "No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?" she groaned.

Poppy shook her head, "Nope," she sighed still not all that happy herself, ignoring the looks that the two of them where receiving, "None," she muttered, her brow furrowed slightly with her unease. Her own moral compass aside and personal feelings about the Gelth using the bodies of the dead to live in… she just couldn't see how it would work in the long run. She couldn't see many people if any being happy or at ease with the dead walking among them, with creatures. The Gelth inhabiting the bodies of their deceased loved ones. So… what kind of life would the Gelth lead if Gwyneth managed to open the rift and let them through…?

*O*O*O*

"Urgh!" the Doctor groused as he opened the door to the morgue and stepped inside, "Talk about Bleak House."

"It's the morgue," Poppy retorted as she followed him in, glancing about the space taking in the white sheets covering the bodies of the recently dearly departed laid out on tables, "What where you expecting?" she glanced at him, "A red carpet?" she snarked lowly.

"Just because it's a morgue doesn't mean it has to be bleak," the Doctor replied as he turned to look at her.

"The thing is Doctor," Rose said as she came up beside Poppy unable to help trying again, "The Gelth don't succeed. 'Cos I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"At least, not according to history," Poppy agreed as she rubbed at her arms as a chill seemed to enter the gloomy morgue, "And I think something like that would have been documented."

The Doctor shrugged a bit carelessly as he stared at them, "Time's in flux. It's changing every second," he explained, "Your cosy little world could be rewritten like that," he clicked his fingers together as an example, "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

Poppy swallowed, brow furrowing slightly again, hands still rubbing over her arms, "Really not comforting," she muttered.

"Good," the Doctor nodded, eyeing her, "It wasn't meant to be," he stated.

"Doctor, I think the room is getting colder," Dickens called as he shivered against the chill despite his suit jacket.

Rose swallowed as the Gelth began to enter the room, expelling themselves from the gas lamp by the door, "Here they come," she muttered as she followed their progress with her eyes.

One came to a stop in an archway across the room from them, "You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!" the childlike voice sang with joy.

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose demanded.

"Hurry! Please! So little time! Pity the Gelth," the Gelth pleaded, urgency and panic entering its young voice.

"That wasn't a promise," Poppy told it, frowning at the ethereal form that had appeared in the archway, "Is this going to hurt her?"

"Pity us!" the Gelth cried again with urgency, panic sharp in its tone, "We're failing! Pity the Gelth! Pity us!" it pleaded with urgent desperation.

The Doctor swallowed, hearts clenching in his chest at the sound of such a young child so afraid, a child that could be dying as they spoke, "I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies," he promised, "This isn't a permanent solution, alright?" he informed them, already thinking of what worlds he could take them too.

"My Angels. I can help them live," Gwyneth murmured her gaze transfixed to the Gelth in the archway.

"Ok, where's the weak point?" the Doctor asked.

"Here beneath the arch," came the Gelth's quick response and without hesitation Gwyneth moved towards it with steady steps.

Poppy swallowed, "Be careful," she called with concern and Gwyneth paused.

The young maid turned, a serene smile on her face, "My angels, miss. I can help them," she turned away again and continued towards the arch, stepping under it a moment before Rose rushed forward, coming to a stop directly in front of her.

"You don't have to do this," Rose urged.

Gwyneth smiled serenely at her, "My angels," she murmured and reached up touching her hands to Rose's cheeks and the blond staggered back.

Poppy frowned, concerned, hands reaching out to steady her twin, "You alright?" she asked, eyeing her twin.

"Yeah," Rose muttered, touching her hands to her cheeks, that had been a little weird, "Just some kind… electric shock type… thing… static," she muttered, struggling to find a proper word to describe just what had happened.

"Establish the bridge," the Gelth cried.

"Will it hurt her?" Poppy questioned only for the Gelth to speak over her.

"Reach out of the void let us through!" they demanded with urgency.

"Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!" Gwyneth called, beckoning them.

"Bridgehead establishing," the Gelth cried.

"Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!" Gwyneth called.

"It is begun! The bridge is made!" the Gelth declared and Gwyneth's mouth dropped open and the Gelth poured out of it in a seemingly never-ending stream, "She has given herself to the Gelth!" they cried.

Dickens swallowed thickly and forced himself to remain steady, even as he stared with wide fearful eyes, "There's rather a lot of them, eh?" he commented, trying to sound unaffected and failing in the attempt.

"The bridge is open. We descend!" the Gelth swore, the gaseous being in the archway turned demonic and the blueish glow gaseous beings had worn turned red, "The Gelth will come through in force," they declared.

"You said that you were few in number!" Dickens protested quickly.

"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses," the Gelth replied and the bodies that had been left in the morgue rose as the gaseous beings possessed them.

"Gwyneth… stop this!" Sneed called, "Listen to your master!" he demanded, "This has gone far enough," Mr. Sneed continued with desperation, "Stop dabbling child, leave these things alone. I beg of you…"

Poppy catching movement out of the corner of her eye turned, before immediately ducking under the reaching arms of a Gelth possessed dead man, before shoving him back with a quick movement of her arm, making him trip, "Oh, not good!" she muttered as she backed up a bit.

"Mr. Sneed! Look out!" Rose cried with alarm making Poppy turn to look in Sneed's direction just in time to see him grabbed by another of the risen dead, neck snapping, before one of the gaseous forms of the Gelth zooming about the room abruptly shifted course, shooting for the newly made corpse.

"Oh, really not good!" Poppy muttered as she, the Doctor and Rose leapt backwards putting more space between them and the possessed dead, the Time Lord urging his companions behind him, arms thrown out across them protectively.

"I think it's gone a little bit wrong," he admitted, unnecessarily as they slowly continued to back away from the advancing dead.

"You could say that, yeah," Poppy muttered, swallowing heavily, heart pounding against her ribcage as fear swelled.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth," the possessed Mr. Sneed said in a monotone, "Come. March with us,"

"No!" Dickens denied as the living dead advanced on the Doctor, Poppy and Rose, the three continuing to back away.

"We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead," the Gelth declared as one as the three were backed up against the dungeon like morgue's door.

"Gwyneth!" the Doctor shouted, glancing past the dead briefly to the young maid in question as she continued to stand under the arch, "Stop them!" he called, "Send them back! Now!" he urged his eyes returning to the living dead.

"Four more bodies. Make them vessels for the Gelth."

Dickens shook his head in mounting horror at the situation that he'd found himself in, "I… I can't! I'm sorry!"

The Doctor chanced a quick look behind them, spotting where they were, he grabbed Poppy and Rose and pushed them in there with him, before slamming the door shut… creating a barrier between them and the advancing dead.

"It's too much for me! I'm so…" Dickens trailed off as he jumped with terror and ran from the morgue as one of the air born Gelth swooped and dived at him.

"Give yourself to glory!" the Gelth demanded as they rattled against the gate, clamouring to get to the three behind it, "Sacrifice you lives for the Gelth!"

"Uh, yeah… no," Poppy shook her head, eyes narrowing on the dead as her jaw clenched, "Not happening."

"I trusted you!" the Doctor shouted, the betrayal really starting to sink in and the consequences that they now faced, "I pitied you!"

"We don't want your pity! We want this world and all its flesh!" the corpses rattled at the door again.

The Doctor shook his head, steely determination sinking in, "Not while I'm alive," he declared.

"Then live no more."

"But," Rose swallowed as the three of them flattened themselves against the wall away from the reaching hands of the Gelth possessed dead, "We can't die!" she shook her head, "We can't die!" she looked at the Doctor hoping for reassurance, "Tell me we can't die!" she exclaimed her eyes wide with fear, "Neither of us have been born yet," Poppy tore her eyes from the dead and their reaching hands to look at him too, "It's impossible, right?"

The Doctor swallowed as he stared at his two companions, looking from one to the other as they stared back at him. All so aware that this was his doing… he'd been so determined. Had wanted to save what he could of at least one race so effected by the Time War… a war that had taken all so much from him, "I'm sorry."

"But it's 1869!" Rose exclaimed in incredulous denial, whilst Poppy let out a shaky breath, "How can we die now?"

Poppy swallowed, "Flux? Right?" she almost croaked out her throat felt that tight with her fear in that moment, "Time changing every second."

The Doctor nodded regretfully as he continued to eye his companions with old eyes, "Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you both here," he said sorrowfully. Wishing he had the words to truly express how truly sorry he really was. He hadn't meant for this. He'd just wanted to help… to save them.

Poppy let out a low sound that was attempting to be scoffing but fell short, "I don't recall you forcing me into that incredible fantastic blue box of yours," she stated and offered him a slightly trembling smile, "So, it's not your fault. I wanted to come."

"Me too," Rose murmured swallowing heavily, "I wanted to come too."

The Doctor stared at them, almost not daring to believe them, before he blinked as another rather horrifying idea hit him, "What about me? I saw the fall of Troy! World War 5! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now I'm going to die in a dungeon!" his expression twisted in growing horror, "In Cardiff!"

"It's not just dying," Rose reminded returning her uneasy gaze to the Gelth possessed bodies that were still trying to get past the gate to get to them, "We'll become one of them."

"Well, we're not dead yet," Poppy murmured, her eyes narrowing on the Gelth possessed dead again, this time with determination.

Rose nodded with determination and she glanced at the Doctor and her sister, "We'll go down fighting, yeah?"

"Yeah," Poppy agreed, smiling as she looked at the Doctor and Rose.

"Yeah!" the Doctor agreed, silently marvelling at the pair of them in that moment as he took their hands in his, intertwining their fingers, "Poppy, Rose," he murmured with sincerity as he looked from one to the other again, "I'm so glad that I met the both of you."

Poppy smiled, eyes meeting his as he looked at her again as she squeezed his hand, "I'm so glad that I met you too."

The Doctor squeezed her hand back as Rose nodded, smiling at him too, "Me too," she murmured and got a smile from the Time Lord.

Poppy looked past the Doctor at her twin, "Hey Ro-Ro?"

Rose focused on her, "Yeah, Pop?"

Poppy smiled, "I love ya."

Rose smiled back, lips trembling slightly, "Right back at ya," she replied a second before Dickens ran back into the morgue, a handkerchief pressed to his mouth and nose.

"Doctor!" he shouted, "Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!" he ordered as he raced to the wall.

The Doctor stared at him confused, "What are you doing?"

"Turn it all on!" he declared as he turned off the flames and allowed gas to begin filling the chamber, "Flood the place!"

The Doctor stared for a second longer before he began to smile as hope filled him as realization took hold, "Brilliant. Gas!"

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose asked as she and Poppy stared at the two of them with confusion.

"Kinda hoping there's more to it than that," Poppy muttered.

"Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous!" Dickens asked.

The Doctor nodded, "Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!" he explained.

The possessed dead turned on Dickens, forgetting their desire for more bodies in their more pressing need to keep from being expelled into the air.

Dickens sweated and backed away slowly with alarm, "I hope… oh, Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated soon, "If not immediately!"

Poppy glanced around the alcove they were in, the morgue filling up with gas to slowly as the possessed bodies of the dead advanced menacingly on Dickens. Her eyes landed on a pipe and she moved towards it, reaching up and wrapping her hands around it as best she could and yanked, before putting a foot up against the wall at feeling the amount of resistance and trying again before a second pair of hands joined hers. She glanced at the Doctor to see him grinning at her rather widely in amusement.

"Need a hand there muscles?" he quipped.

"Ah, shut up and pull!" she huffed at him, looking away from him again her cheeks flushing slightly as she tugged at the pipe again.

"Right," he agreed, pulling with her, "Plenty more in here!" he called and the two of them ripped the pipe free of the wall, spilling a sudden influx of gas into the room that had the Gelth expelled from the bodies they'd been habituating with a piercing wail of a scream, the bodies slumping to the floor, lifeless once more.

"It's working," Dickens breathed in relief, before clamping the handkerchief quickly back over his mouth and nose.

The Doctor, Poppy and Rose moved quickly out from behind the gate, "Gwyneth! Send them back!" the Doctor ordered, "They lied, they're not angels."

Gwyneth slowly met his gaze, her expression confused, "Liars," she parroted.

"Look at me!" the Doctor urged as she went to look away again, "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"

Rose coughed, "Can't breathe," she gasped as Poppy coughed herself, the two of them struggling to breath with all the gas filling the air.

The Doctor glanced at them with concern before he turned to Dickens, "Charles, get them out of here."

Dickens took their arms to lead them out to safety but Rose shook off his hand, "We're not leaving her!"

Poppy pulled her arm free of Dickens too, "Yeah" she agreed, "And I'm not leaving her," she nodded at Rose as she gave another cough, "Mum would kill me," she added and Rose rolled her eyes as she coughed again, whilst the Doctor briefly closed his eyes at the wilful stubbornness of humans as the two coughed again.

"They're too strong," Gwyneth stated.

The Doctor quickly turned to her focusing on her again, "Remember that world you saw?" he spoke urgently, "Poppy and Rose's world? All those people, none of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

Gwyneth stared at him, "I can't send them back," she stated firmly as her face set in a determined line, "But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out," she ordered as she slowly forced her arm into her apron pocket and pulled out a box of matches.

Poppy shook her head with alarm at the sight of the little box Gwyneth was clutching, "This place is full of gas!"

"I know, miss," Gwyneth murmured and Poppy gaped horrified.

"You can't!" Rose exclaimed.

"Leave this place!" Gwyneth shouted.

The Doctor whirled around, grasping the pair by the shoulders preventing them from moving past him, "Poppy, Rose, get out now, I swear I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!" he demanded.

Poppy swallowed, eyes meeting his for a moment, before she nodded and grasped her twins hand, the blond gripping her hand tightly in response before they turned and joined Dickens by the door of the morgue the three running out the door and into the corridor making their way through the house.

The Doctor stared after them until they'd disappeared from sight before he turned back to Gwyneth, "Come on," he urged and held out a hand for the little box of matches, "Give that to me," Gwyneth stared at him blankly, unmoving.

*O*O*O*

"This way!" Dickens called to Poppy and Rose as he led them back through the now dark house that was filling with more and more gas at a run.

*O*O*O*

The Doctor swallowed heavily, a horrible thought occurring to him as Gwyneth remained motionless, just staring at him. He reached up and placed his hand against her neck, feeling for a pulse and his face fell at finding none, "I'm sorry," he apologised heavily, before he pressed a grateful kiss to her forehead, "Thank you," he told her before he turned and ran for the door, whilst Gwyneth slid open the box and plucked out a single match, her eyes going up to the Gelth that were swirling angrily in the air around her, before she moved to strike the match against the side of the box, to set the tip aflame…

*O*O*O*

Poppy, Rose and Dickens watched from the street as the house went up in a fiery explosion, flames chasing the Doctor as he dove out the doorway just in time and Poppy felt herself relax at the sight of him even as she scanned the night… unable to help but note that he'd come out of the now burning house alone. "Oh no…" she breathed horrified as her gaze returned to him, before going back to the burning house, before squeezing tightly shut for a moment.

"She didn't make it," Rose murmured, the unwanted realisation setting in as her own gaze slid past the Doctor, resting on the burning house once more.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor apologised as he stared at them, Poppy's eyes opening to look at him, whilst Rose turned her gaze back to him, "She closed the rift."

"At such cost," Charles murmured just as sadly for the young woman who'd risked all to save them, "The poor child."

"I did try," the Doctor assured, his gaze still locked on his companions, "But Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least 5 minutes," he informed them as gently as he could.

Poppy frowned a bit perplexed, "5 minutes?" she parroted, "But she…" her eyes widened in horrified understanding, "Oh…" she muttered head bowing… she'd been under the breach for about 5 minutes, hadn't she? She'd sort of lost track of time for a bit there… what with the Gelth trying to kill them.

Rose glanced at her sister and then back to the Time Lord still a bit confused, "What do you mean?"

"I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch," the Doctor explained.

"But… she can't have, she spoke to us. She helped us – saved us," Rose protested in confusion, "How could she have done that?"

Poppy shook her head, honestly not having a clue as to the how and the why behind it… so instead she just placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and squeezed a second before the blond leaned into her and she wrapped her in a hug instead, taking as much comfort from the embrace as she was giving.

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Dickens quoted before glancing at the Doctor, "Even for you, Doctor."

Rose stared at the burning house sadly, her head resting against her twins, "She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know."

"Well," Poppy murmured softly as she stared up at the burning house, "I don't plan to ever forget her."

"No," Rose agreed, "Me neither."

"Never forget," the Doctor agreed and the four of them stood staring at the house for a long moment, before they were forced to move away before they were discovered by the authorities that would no doubt be incoming, drawn by the blaze.

*O*O*O*

In the alleyway where the Tardis stood awaiting them. The Doctor, Poppy, Rose and Dickens came to a stop by the blue box.

The Doctor gave the other man a smile, "Right then, Charlie-boy, I've just got to go into my um... shed. Won't be long!" he lied through his teeth as he fitted his key into the lock.

"What're you going to do now?" Rose asked as she eyed Dickens curiously.

"I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital," Dickens exclaimed.

Poppy smiled at him and nodded, "No better time of year for making amends," she observed.

"You've cheered up!" the Doctor observed in turn as he eyed the man with a bit of a grin, hesitating in pushing open the now unlocked Tardis door.

"Exceedingly!" Dickens enthused, "This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them!"

"Do you think that's wise?" Rose asked a little concerned.

Dickens waved her off, "I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!"

"Good luck with it. Nice to meet you," the Doctor shook his hand, "Fantastic," he beamed before turning back to the Tardis door.

"Real pleasure," Poppy smiled at Dickens, stepping towards him and pressing a quick friendly parting kiss to his cheek, "Bye," she said as she pulled back, her smile turning amused as Dickens gaped, whits a bit scattered in his shock.

"Bye, then," Rose grinned stepped forward herself and pressing a friendly parting kiss to his other cheek, "And thanks."

"Oh, my dears, how modern," Dickens murmured, eyeing them as he gathered himself, "Thank you, but, I don't understand, in what way is this goodbye?" he asked as his gaze flicked back to the Doctor who was grinning a bit amused himself, "Where are you going?"

The Doctor grinned, "You'll see. In the shed," he pushed open the door slightly.

Dickens huffed good naturedly, "Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this: who are you?"

The Doctor hesitated a moment, eyeing him as he pondered what to say, "Just a friend. Passing through," he settled on.

"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?"

The Doctor grinned "Oh, yes!"

"For how long?" he asked.

"Forever!" the Doctor exclaimed and Dickens attempted to look modest even as he felt rather pleased at the knowledge, "Right. Shed," he turned to Poppy and Rose, "Come on, you two."

"In, in the box?" Dickens questioned, spluttering just slightly as he swept his gaze over them, "The three of you?"

"Down boy," the Doctor grinned as he started to step into the Tardis, "See ya!" he called before disappearing inside. Poppy and Rose giving Dickens a last smile before following the Doctor inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" Rose mused as she and Poppy joined the Doctor around the console.

"Flux," Poppy reminded her twin, nudging her a little and got an equally playful nudge back from the blond.

"In a week's time it's 1870," the Doctor told them, "And that's the year he dies. Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story."

"That's a shame," Poppy murmured, her eyes going to the monitor the three of them where standing in front of, where they could see Dickens still standing, staring at the Tardis waiting to see what the Doctor had meant.

"He was so nice," Rose murmured.

"But in your time, he was already dead," the Doctor reminded them, "We've brought him back to life! He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy. Let's give him one last surprise," he hit a button that had the engines coming to life, rota rising and falling rapidly. The three smiled as they watched the astonishment on Dickens face as the Tardis wheezed as she began to dematerialise from the street, disappearing before the writers eyes, leaving no trace that she'd ever been there at all.