Chapter 7

"I have to call the Doctor, right now," Rose said frantically.

"Hey, why, what's wrong?" Alex asked. Rose picked up the drawing and brandished at Alex.

"Because I've seen this before and it's trouble, trouble worse than you can imagine," Rose breathed. She began dialing her phone as Alex looked at the drawing.

"But, but it's just a toy, Johnny said, it's just a toy," Alex disagreed.

"Come on, Doctor, answer the bloody phone!" Rose slapped the phone against her palm in disgust. "He's not answering." She looked at the phone again. "No signal, what do you mean 'no signal'?" she screamed at the phone in frustration.

"Come on, we can use Johnny's phone, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay because this phone," Rose held up her cell phone, "this phone is the only one that will work. The Doctor did something to it, made it a super-phone." She dropped her hands to her side in disgust. "And he's not answering, which means something's wrong. Do you have a car?"

"Sure it's parked out front."

"Well, let's go then. I know where the TARDIS is, or was, we have to go there and see what's happening," Rose stated as she ran for the door. She turned back to Alex. "And you'd better bring that bloody drawing."

Alex snatched up the drawing and stuffed it in her jacket pocket as they ran out of the house. Alex followed Rose's directions to the abandoned farm outside of town where Rose said the TARDIS was. They saw Johnny's SUV but no sign of the TARDIS.

"Well, it looks like he's gone whatever," Rose said in a defeated tone as she kept looking at the spot where the TARDIS had been as if hoping it would be there.

"Well," Alex began.

"Yeah?" Rose prompted. "Look, if you have an idea, any idea at all tell me because I have no idea what to do."

"I could, well, see if I have a vision," Alex offered.

"Yeah, course, brilliant," Rose brightened.

"This Tardis thing was here right?" Alex indicated a slightly flattened patch of grass.

"Yeah, right there."

"Now, my power doesn't work exactly like Johnny's. My visions come most of the time from emotion energy and not necessarily from touch." Alex was waving her hands over the flattened area of grass.

"Yeah, okay, just anything, anything," Rose urged.

Alex's eyes widened as she saw a figure walking up behind Rose. She stood up and stared at the approaching apparition in amazement.

"I'm seeing something, there's someone there, just behind you, in the shadows right there," Alex said.

"What?" Rose jumped away and turned around, looking frantically at the spot where she'd just been standing and the small grove of trees that had been behind her.

"It's not a person exactly, it's more a spirit." Alex walked over to where the figure stood waiting. "Hello?" Alex said. "Who are you?"

The figure stepped closer and into the sunlight. Alex gasped. "I've seen you before, I know you."

"Who, who is it?" Rose asked nervously.

"It's one of those men," Alex turned to Rose, "remember, one of those past lives he mentioned before."

"What's he look like?" Rose wanted to know.

"Well, he doesn't look anything like the man you're with now. He looks sort of," Alex cocked her head as she studied him, "older I guess. He's got dark brown hair, just over his ears. He's wearing a sweater with," she tilted her head again, "with question marks all over it." She giggled.

Rose simply stared.

"He's wearing baggy sort of pants and a jacket and a hat and he's carrying an umbrella," Alex finished. "Oh, he's moving, over that way," Alex indicated the car. "I think, I think he wants us to follow him." Alex looked at Rose who could only stare back wide-eyed.

"Right, so, we're going to follow a ghost, a ghost of the Doctor's yeah? And go where, exactly?"

"I don't know, but I think to help us find the Doctor and Johnny."

"Sure, right, whatever, brilliant," Rose threw her hands up in surrender and started toward the car.

"Hey, look, this is what I do, this is how my abilities work." Alex paused as an idea came to her. "You, you didn't know about this did you?"

"About what?"

"About him and the whole different lives thing."

"No, no I didn't. There's actually a lot about the Doctor I don't know. He won't tell me very much about himself at all." Rose sounded sad.

"Uh huh," Alex replied as they got in the car and drove away from the farm.

******

The TARDIS shook and tilted before coming to an abrupt halt, flinging both its occupants to the floor.

"I think we've stopped," Johnny wheezed as he pulled himself up against a railing.

"Time to find out where," the Doctor spat through gritted teeth as he picked himself up off the floor and strode to the door.

"Wait, shouldn't you check outside somehow?" Johnny asked quickly.

"No, I want to know who did this to my TARDIS and see that they answer for it," the Doctor snarled.

"But, hang on," Johnny stuck his arm out in front of the Doctor. "Maybe, maybe I can look first," he offered.

"All right, be my guest," the Doctor said heatedly, backing away.

"Just, be calm," Johnny held his hand up to the Doctor in a back off gesture, then turned toward the door of the TARDIS. His hand shook slightly as held it just away from the door and slowly moved it in a circular motion. Then he took a deep breath and rested his palm flat against the door.

The Doctor watched as Johnny stood there for a moment and then reached out to grab him as Johnny jerked and stumbled away.

"No, no," Johnny held up his hand, still not wanting to touch the Doctor. "I'm okay. I don't think it's trouble, but who's to say. There's people out there, in some sort of military uniform, and they've got guns pointed right at us. And there's a woman out there, she looks like she's in charge but I don't," he broke off, "I don't think they're going to shoot us if we walk out there."

"Right then," the Doctor said in that near-angry tone again, "let's go meet the neighbors." He strode to the door, opened it, looked back at Johnny and then went through. Johnny sighed and followed after. Neither of them heard the phone in the TARDIS begin to ring behind them.

"Hold your fire!" the woman in charge commanded the soldiers as the Doctor and Johnny emerged from the TARDIS, the Doctor with his hands balled into fists at his side and Johnny's hands raised and open in surrender.

"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded.

"Well, I suppose I should have expected that," the woman replied dryly. Johnny noticed she had a British accent. And he thought the military uniforms were British as well.

"How did you bring me here and where is here?" the Doctor railed, flinging his hands out.

"Please, please calm down and I will explain," the woman said placatingly.

The Doctor folded his arms across his chest. "This better be good," he challenged.

"Oh, it's better than good," she replied with a smile. "It's brilliant."