Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Suddenly the Slitheen was enveloped in an electric current and screamed as it dropped the body of the Indian man to the floor. Cassie took that chance to grab Harriet and Rose's arms and pulled them from the room. She said a silent prayer in her head for the man now dead on the floor and a promise to find out his name.
All of sudden Harriet pulled against her and started to head back, "No, they're still in there-the Emergency Protocols, we need them-"
"Quickly!" Cassie called. Her insistent wasn't needed when the electricity disappeared and the alien began to chase after them. Harriet double backed and ran with Rose and Cassie down the hall running into rooms and slamming the doors behind them, only for the Slitheen to crash through. They ran past the elevator only to be cut off by the Slitheen that had been following them. Suddenly, the elevator pinged and the doors opened to reveal the Doctor.
"Hello!" As the alien lurched forward, he whirred his screwdriver against the control panel and the doors shut.
"Come on!" Cassie said as she jerked Rose, using the distraction to escape.
CLDW
They ran into a room that looked very prestigious. It held plush couches and velvet curtains. There were no other doors in the room except the one they had just come through.
"What do we do?" Harriet asked as she looked around frantically.
"Hide!" Rose blurted as she went behind a desk. Harriet took cover behind a screen and Cassie sped behind a curtain. The door clicked as the Slitheen entered. It giggled as it looked around the room.
"Oh such fun. Little human children, where are yoooou...? Sweet little humeykins. Come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big green lips." Cassie put her hand over her mouth to silent her deep breathing. Two more Slitheen entered the room.
"Happy hunting?" One of the Slitheen asked. This one sounded like a man.
"It's wonderful, the more you prolong it...the more they stink." Cassie breathed in sharply in fear. She heard the same reaction from Rose and Harriet ever so slightly. Luckily, Slitheens don't have good hearing.
"Sweat and fear!" A different Slitheen declared.
"I can smell an old girl. Stale perfume and brittle bones." Cassie hoped Harriet wouldn't make any offended sounds.
"And two ripe youngster, all hormones and adrenalin... And something else?" All three Slitheen took another deep breath.
"One of the youngsters doesn't smell the same. She smells...different?"
"Yes, all the humans have the same underlying scent. Mixed with a plethora of different ones. But this one..."
"This one smells of a different world," The Margaret Slitheen turned toward the curtain and walked toward it slowly.
"But not of any world I've smelled." Cassie's breathing sped up as she pressed her hand harder to her mouth in an effort to stay quite. Her heart thudded in her chest and a ringing began in her ears.
"Oh smell that?" One of the men Slitheen asked, "She's so scared. Dripping with hormones and peroxide."
"Precious child!" The Margaret Slitheen cooed as she raised a claw to the curtain.
"No, take me first, take me!" Harriet popped out from her hiding spot in desperation. She didn't want either girl to die in her place. She was grateful to them for helping in her. And she'd be damned is she let any freaky alien kill them.
Margaret turned around and bared down on Harriet. Cassie took her chance and pulled the curtain down over the alien as the door was kicked open and the Doctor entered with a giant fire-extinguisher. He aimed it at the other two Slitheens that weren't tangled up in curtains and blasted them with it. They shrieked as they fell back, giving the humans in the room ample time to escape.
"Out! With me!" Cassie immediately ran to the Doctor followed by Harriet.
"Come on, Rose!" Cassie called as the blond was lagging behind. When they all reached him he blasted the extinguisher again.
"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked, looking over at Harriet.
"Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North," Cassie and Harriet recited simultaneously. Harriet gave her a look when she only smiled back.
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." The Doctor gave a final blast and turned to run, dragging Cassie by the hand behind him.
CLDW
"Got to get to the Cabinet Room-" The Doctor yelled as they ran through the halls of Downing Street.
"That's what I said, the Emergency Protocols are in there – they give instructions, about aliens," Harriet said in-between deep breathing.
"Harriet Jones, I like you."
"I like you too, I think."
"Yes, we all like each other! Now shift!" Cassie yelled as she yanked opened another door and ran through it.
CLDW
They reached the Cabinet Room and slammed the door shut as they saw the aliens galloping behind them. The Doctor immediately ran over to the tray with different alcoholic drinks.
"You better be using that for a plan other than drinking it!" Cassie yelled with her back still pressed up against the door.
"Move!" He yelled. The Slitheen opened the door on the adjoining room just as the Doctor opened the door and lifted his screwdriver, "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of the alcohol. Woomph, we all go up. So back off." The Slitheen immediately stopped and stared at them. The Doctor gave a searching look before continuing, "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
"They're aliens," Harriet interjected.
"Yes I got that, thanks."
"And who are you? If not human?" A male Slitheen asked.
"Who's not human?" Harriet interjected again.
"He's not human," Cassie said nonchalantly.
"He's not human?" Rose added with shock.
"Could I have a bit of hush?" The Doctor asked to quiet both women.
"Sorry," Harriet and Rose said as Cassie nodded.
"So what's the plan?" The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen in question.
"But he's got a northern accent," Harriet jumped back in, just as curious.
"Apparently lots of planets have a north," Cassie answered back.
"I said hush!" He had a stare down with Cassie as she was the most defiant of the group. When she just smirked back it him, he turned back to the aliens, "Come one! You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. And you've murdered your way to the top of the government, what for? Invasion?"
"Why would we invade this godforsaken rock?" One of the Slitheen sneered.
"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here, what is it?" But the aliens just began to laugh.
"The Slitheen race?" One choked out in-between laughs.
"Slitheen is not out species," Another one chimed.
"Slitheen is our surname."
"Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen. At your service," One of the Slitheen introduced with a bulky bow.
"So...you're a family?" The Doctor reasoned.
"A family business."
"Then you're out to make a profit. How d'you do that, on a godforsaken rock...?" The Doctor tried to figure out. Cassie would have told him if she remembered. She knew it had something to do, as it always did, with burning the Earth to a crisp and selling it in lumps of rock. She just couldn't remember how they wanted to bring it about. She was jumped out of her thoughts as the Slitheen stopped laughing and gained a threatening presence.
"Excuse me. Tell me again, your sonic device will do what? 'Triplicate the flammability'?"
"Is that what I said?" The Doctor said with a questioning look.
"You're making it up," another Slitheen accused.
"Oh well. Nice try. Harriet, have a drink, you're going to need it." He started to pass the bottle over to Harriet before Cassie piped up.
"Rude, to the left." She held her hand out for the bottle as the Doctor changed directions and gave the bottle over to Cassie.
"It's true."
"Now we can end this hunt. With a slaughter," a Slitheen said and forced itself into focus. The whole family in the doorway began to creep forward.
"Don't you think we should run...?" Rose asked from her place next to Cassie who only smiled at her in a 'you have so much to learn' way.
"Fascinating history, Downing Stress." The Doctor began one of his many, many lectures to the aliens that kept creeping closer and closer, "Two thousand years ago, this was marshland, it was called the Island of Thorns. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr. Chicken. Nice man. And since 1796, this has been the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session, and in danger, then these four walls are just about the safest place in the whole of Britain." Cassie saw his hand go to the side of the door and open up a secret hatch that housed a button, "End of lesson." He pressed it, and a solid plate of steel slammed into place. More sheets began covering all doorways and windows in the room.
"Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel, lining every single wall. They'll never get in." The Doctor grinned as he knocked on the door to showcase his theory.
"And...the getting out part of the equation?" Cassie said as she raised her eyebrow.
The Doctor's face slowly faded from his smile to a thoughtful look, "Ah."
"And there's the lightbulb!" Cassie cheered as she patted him on the shoulder and went to put the bottle down. Even in the danger of the situation, Harriet couldn't help but smile at the easiness of the relationship between Cassie and the Doctor.
"Oh, Doctor," Cassie called, "If you think you can take on three eight-foot aliens, there are probably more. So I wouldn't recommend rushing them."
CLDW
"What was his name?" The Doctor had keeled down in front of the man the Slitheen had killed earlier.
"Who?" Harriet asked as she looked up.
"This one. The secretary, or whatever he was."
Harriet's face became more grave with sadness, "I don't know. I spoke with him. I brought him a coffee. I never asked his name."
"Indra Ganesh," Cassie said was she looked out the window.
"What?"
"His name," she pointed at the body, "It's Indra Ganesh."
"How do you know that?" The Doctor asked. He was suspicious again. Thinking back to the conversation that was cut short by the spaceship crashing.
She held up a square shape in her hand that she had been fiddling with, "Wallet fell out when he hit the floor." She placed it on the table and returned back to the window.
"Oh," The Doctor had a guilty look on his face as he turned back to Indra, "Sorry." His demeanor changed suddenly as he turned to assess the room, "Right then, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?"
"Uh, no. This place is antique," Rose answered as she, too, looked around the room, "What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"
"Have you seen them?!" Cassie called as she went to the Doctor's side.
"He's to slim," the Doctor agreed, "They're big old beasts, they've got to fit inside big humans."
"But the Slitheen are about eight feet, how do they squeeze inside?"
"That's the gadget round their necks, a compression field. Literally, shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."
"I could use one of those, fit into a size six," Cassie joked as she rifled through random papers on the desk.
"Excuse me!" Harriet interrupted indignantly, "People are dead, it's not the time for making jokes."
"Sorry. This is a normal day with him. Kind of goes with the friendship," Cassie said.
"Well that's a strange friendship."
"Tell me about it," Rose muttered.
"Harriet Jones," the Doctor continued, not bothering to pay attention to the two other women, "I've heard the name before, Harriet Jones, you're not famous for anything, are you?"
"Hardly!" She scoffed bitterly.
"Rings a bell. Harriet Jones...?"
"Lifelong backbencher, I'm afraid," She sighed helplessly, "And a fat lot of good I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list people who could help, but they're all dead downstairs."
"Or in the hospital," the Doctor chimed in.
Cassie turned abruptly and quickly rushed over to the Doctor, "Really! Some survived?"
"Yeah, I watched out for the ID cards," he smirked sadly. He had questioned her knowledge of things to come, but who was he to question it when something dangerous was around.
Cassie hugged him enthusiastically and jumped up and down in place. The Doctor grinned at her antics and Rose rolled her eyes but laughed none the less before turning back to Harriet.
"Anyway, hasn't it got like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we launch a nuclear bomb at them?"
"You're a very violent young woman," Harriet remarked.
"My little sister is in danger. And there is nothing I wouldn't suggest to get her out safe," Rose said seriously. Harriet searched her face for any sign of jest, but was met with dead seriousness. She quickly turned away and continued.
"There's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but they're kept secret by the United Nations."
"Say that again," the Doctor said as he looked at her with a fierce intensity.
"What, about the codes...?"
"Anything, all of it."
"Um, well. The British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."
"Never stopped them before," Cassie muttered, leaning on the table.
"Well exactly, given out past record-and I did vote against that, thank you very much-the codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN...Is it important?" Harriet questioned as she relayed information concerning the nuclear weapons.
"Everything's important," the Doctor muttered.
"It would help if we knew what the Slitheen wanted. Look at me! I'm saying 'Slitheen' like it's normal," she walked around the table in thought.
"But what do they want, though?" Rose asked.
"Well they're just one family, so it's not an invasion, they don't want Slitheenworld. They're out to make money. That means they're going to use something. Something here on Earth. Some sort of asset..."
"What, like gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet thought.
"You're very good at this," the Doctor grinned over at her.
"Thank you."
"Why do I know the name Harriet Jones...?" Cassie was about to tell him and put him out of his misery of smacking himself in the face when he figured it out, but her phoned beeped.
"Sorry, that's me-"
"But-we're sealed off, how d'you get a signal?" Harriet asked as she went to look at the phone.
"He tricked it out. Super, smartphone now."
"Then phone for help!" Rose quickly ran over to the group.
"You must have contacts!" Harriet agreed.
"Dead downstairs, or in the hospital." The Doctor reminded them.
"It's Mickey," Cassie said as she clicked into the message.
"Tell her stupid boyfriend we're busy."
"I told you," Cassie said as she looked at the picture, "He's not stupid." She turned her phone toward him to show him the picture of a Slitheen being electrocuted in the Tyler's kitchen.
CLDW
"...Not just alien, but like, proper alien, like all stinking and wet and disgusting," Mickey was on the phone with Cassie, who was holding the phone in-between Rose and her, "And more to the point, it wanted to kill us!"
"I could've died!" Jackie chimed in.
"Is she all right though?" Rose asked.
"Don't put her on, just tell us-" Cassie cut in.
"Is that Ricky?" the Doctor asked as he took the phone from in-between Cassie and Rose, "Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer."
"It's Mickey!" Mickey and Cassie yelled at the same time.
"And why should I?" Mickey finished.
"Mickey the idiot. I might just choke before I finish this sentence-OW!" the Doctor yelled when Cassie hit him in the arm. He glared at her before continuing, "I need you."
There was silence on the other end of the line before the sound of clicking on a keyboard began, "It says password," Mickey said.
The Doctor fumbled with the phone before Cassie took it out of his hands and put it on speaker for him, "Say again." The Doctor said as Cassie put it on the table.
"It's asking for the password."
"Buffalo. Two Fs, one L." More clicking.
"So what's that website?" Cassie heard Jackie asked through the phone.
"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years, and they've kept us in the dark," Mickey answered.
"Mickey, you were born in the dark."
"Be nice," Cassie warned.
"Thank you. Password again," Mickey said between clicks.
"Just repeat it, every time." The Doctor was silent as he listened, "Big Ben. Why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"
"You said, to gather the experts, to kill them," Harriet voiced.
"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, you don't need to crash-land in the middle of London."
"The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on red alert," Rose mused.
"Question is, why would they do that?" Cassie agreed.
"Oh listen to them!" Jackie put her two-cents in as always.
"Oi! Least we're trying," Rose defended.
"We'll I've got a question, it you don't mind. Cos since that man walked into our lives, I've been attacked in the street, I've had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and I've had one of my daughters disappear off the face of the Earth-" Jackie nagged.
"I already told you what happened-"
"I'm talking to him! Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, and maybe you get off on it-"
"Oh, God," Cassie face-palmed herself in embarrassment.
"Maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but tell me, just answer me this. Is my daughter safe?"
"She's fine-" Rose tried, but with a worried look on her face as if she was thinking the same thing.
"Is she safe? Will she always be safe, can you promise me that?" The Doctor remained silent as he watched Cassie. A far away look in his eye as if he was remembering something.
"Well? What's the answer?" A bleep was heard on the phone.
"We're in," Mickey called.
"Now then, on the left, at the top, there's a tab, an icon, little concentric circles-click on that." They heard a click on the line. A strange noise started filtering through the speaker.
"...What is it?" Mickey asked, confused.
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea, and it's transmitting that signal, now hush, let me work out what it says."
"He'll have to answer me one day," Jackie voiced.
"Hush!" Mickey scolded her.
"...It's some sort of message."
"What's it say?" Rose wondered.
"Don't know, it's on a loop, keeps repeating." A doorbell was heard in the background.
"Hush!"
"That's not me," Mickey defended, "Go and see who it is."
"It's three o'clock in the morning," Jackie complained.
"Well go and tell them that," Mickey countered.
"It's beaming out into space. Who's it for...?" The Doctor continued, not worried about the late night caller. A few minutes later they heard Jackie's hysterical voice on the line.
"It's him, it's the thing! It's the Slickeen!"
"They've found use!" Mickey yelled. The signal the Doctor was listening to, was cut off as Mickey shut the laptop.
"Mickey, I need that signal-"
"Never mind the signal, get out of there! Mum, get out!" Rose called in anxiety.
"We can't, it's by the front door!" Mickey yelled. They heard running and Cassie and Rose waited nervously, "It's unmasking. Oh my God. It's going to kill us."
"There's got to be a way of stopping them! You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!" Harriet thought quickly. She may not have known the people on the other end of the phone. But they were important to Rose and Cassie. So they were important to her.
"I'm trying!" The Doctor spat in frustration.
"I'll take it on, Jackie, you just run. Don't look back. Just run." Mickey yelled.
"That's our mother," Rose almost pleaded. The Doctor looked over at Cassie and saw the look on her face. It was the face of fear, honest to God fear. Fear for Jackie and Mickey, fear for Rose, fear for Harriet, for him, but never for her. And that was when he sprang into action.
"Right! If we're gonna find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from, what planet, so!, judging by their basic shape, that narrows down to about five thousand planets within travelling distance, what else do we know about them? Information!"
"They're green!" Rose blurted out.
"Doctor," Cassie tried.
"Yep, that narrows it down-"
"Good sense of smell-"
"Narrows it down-"
"Doctor."
"They can smell adrenalin-"
"Narrows it down-"
"That pig technology-" Harriet jumped in.
"Narrows it down-"
"Doctor!"
"It's getting in!" Mickey yelled.
"They hunt, like it's a ritual-"
"Narrows it down-"
"Doctor!"
"Wait a minute, did you notice, when they...fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a...fart. If you'll pardon the word, it's something else, what is it?, it's more like..."
"Bad breath!" Rose cheered.
"That's it!" Harriet cheered too.
"Calcium decay! Now that narrows it down!"
"We're getting there, mum!" Rose called into the phone.
"Too late!" Mickey yelled as a crash was heard.
"For the love of God, Doctor!" Cassie yelled, "They're Raxacoricofallapatorians!" The Doctor stared at her wide eyed and mouth hanging open slightly.
"What?"
"Never mind that! What does it mean?" Rose yelled. Even though she was wondering how Cassie knew that, too.
"We know their planet of origin," the Doctor whispered.
"Oh great, we can write to them!" Mickey hysterically joked.
"Get into the kitchen!" The Doctor said, snapping back into the moment. They waited as they heard a rhythmic pounding of the Slitheen on the door.
"Calcium, weakened by the compression field-acetic acid! Vinegar!" The Doctor trilled out.
"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet made the connection.
"Just like Hannibal! Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"
"How would I know?!"
"It's your kitchen!" The Doctor accused.
"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf!" Rose immediately said. Knowing her boyfriends kitchen better than him.
"Oh give it here-" Jackie called. A shuffling was heard as the phone exchanged hands, "What d'you need?"
"Vinegar! And a lot of it!" The Doctor called.
"Gherkins!" Jackie called as she pulled out food items, "Pickled onions! Pickled eggs!"
The Doctor made a disgusted face, "And you kiss this man?" He flinched slightly, waiting for Cassie to hit him or tell him off. But nothing happened. He looked over at Cassie who was just sitting there staring at the phone, chewing on her thumb slightly in nervousness. She was purposely avoiding his gaze. She had been quiet ever since she had told them about the planet. He would talk to her about that later. A long with a heap load of other topics.
They heard a roar on the line and Cassie stiffened slightly, there was static then a giant splashing sound.
"They got it," Cassie breathed as she slouched down in a seat. The Doctor, Rose, and Harriet also let out a breath they were holding in.
"Hannibal?" Rose said after a while.
"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Harriet answered from her seat.
"Oh. Well there we are, then."
CLDW
"I beg of the United Nations. Pass an Emergency Resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival. Because as of this moment, it is my solemn duty to inform you, that Planet Earth is at war." The Doctor had linked the TV set in the room up to the news channel that was showing footage of Joe Green (the acting Prime Minister)/Slitheen telling the world the direness of the situation.
"He's making it up!" The Doctor burst out saying, "There's no weapons up there, there's no threat, he just invented it!"
"D'you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.
"Well, you did last time," Rose pointed out.
"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle-they want the whole world panicking, cos you lot, you get scared, you lash out and..." He raised his hand as he saw Rose was about to answer, "Cassie?" The girl had still yet to speak up since the planet guessing incident. He knew the girl would have answered most of the questions he had been passing around, but she had been silent and had let Harriet and Rose answer them. The only reason he saw was she didn't want to upset him anymore then she already had. But her silence was more upsetting.
"Um...releasing the defence codes?" She answered hesitantly. She had been surprised that he had wanted her to speak. She had been trying to give him room enough to cool down from her previous revelation. The Doctor gave her an easy smile and pointed a finger at her telling her she was right.
"And the Slitheen go nuclear!" The Doctor finished.
"But why?" Harriet's question was cut off when the Doctor marched over to door, Cassie in tow, and punched the button to release the steel. Three out of skin Slitheens plus Margaret were standing just beyond the door.
"You get the codes. Launch the missiles. But not into space, cos there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate. Fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked." The Doctor told them. No hint of question in his voice.
"And we can sit through it, safe in our spaceship, waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked, barely two minutes away," Margaret gloated.
"But you'll destroy the planet. This beautiful place. What for?" Harriet asked horrified and curious.
"Wait, Doctor," Cassie cut across what the Doctor was about to say, "You said that they were out for profit. And then there's that signal beaming into space. It's an advert. For the fuel the Earth'll make when its nuked to a crisp." The Doctor slowly gained a smile as he watched her figure it out. It was the most she'd said in a while. And it made him happy.
"Oh, very good, little hormone house," Margaret simpered as the Doctor pushed Cassie behind him slightly. He didn't like the alien calling her that, "Sale of the century! We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chunks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor, people are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."
"At the cost of five billion lives." The glare the Doctor was giving Margaret would have made a tougher alien quiver in fear.
"Bargain," Margaret stated simply.
"Then I give you a choice. Leave this planet. Or I will stop you."
"What?" Harriet laughed, "You? Trapped in your box?"
"Yes. Me." And he hit the button again, watching the steel slam back into place. He breathed heavy; slowly turning away from the door. But he did turn to Cassie and put a hand on her shoulder, "You were fantastic." He was referring to her figuring out the advert.
"Thanks."
CLDW
They had gotten back on the phone with Mickey and Jackie after the confrontation with the Slitheen, "All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you. But there must be something you can do," Jackie said. Being helpful and patronizing in the same sentence.
"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet chimed in.
"Mickey, any luck?" Rose called.
"There's a hundred emergency numbers, but they're all on voicemail."
"Voicemail dooms us all," Harriet mused.
"If we could just get out of here," Rose muttered.
"There is a way out," the Doctor said quietly, almost to himself.
"Then why don't we use it?" Rose insisted.
"Because I can't guarantee your daughters will be safe."
"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare," Jackie shrieked through the phone line.
"But that's the thing. If I don't dare, then everyone dies." The Doctor told her seriously.
"Do it," Cassie told him.
"You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?" He said with a slight tickle in his mind. This was always they way with his companions. They always trusted him too much. Even to their death.
"It doesn't matter," Cassie repeated from their travel to Cardiff.
"Oh please though. Doctor, she's, my daughter, her and Rose, they're just kids-" Jackie begged.
"D'you think I don't know that? Cos this is my life, Jackie. It's not clever, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision. Because no one else will." He looked at Cassie through his whole speech. Searching for any sign of doubt in her features. He found none.
"I'm telling you do it," she insisted.
"I could save the world but lose you." He cast his eyes down when he said those words. He had never admitted anything so personal, to anyone. It was hard to say. There was a pause as Cassie processed this. It was almost mind-blowing to hear the Doctor saying things like that to her.
"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine," the silence was broken by Harriet's declaration.
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie's screech came over the phone.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North," she said proudly for once, "The only elected representative in this room. Chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it."
There was an awkward silence before the Doctor gave one of his 'devilish' smiles.
CLDW
"...So how do we get out?" Rose questioned, not really following the whole conversation.
"We don't. We stay here!" The Doctor cheered before he called into the phone, "Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything-"
"...But what are you doing?" Jackie asked, just as clueless as Rose.
"Hacking into the Royal Navy-" Mickey said nonchalantly. A few more clicks were heard, "We're in! Here it is-HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."
"Right, we've got to select a missile-" The Doctor prompted.
"We can't go nuclear, we haven't got defence codes-" Mickey protested, starting to worry about the Doctor's plan.
"Don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile, what's the first category?"
"Sub Harpoon, UGM-84A."
"That's the one! Select!" The Doctor cheered.
"I could stop you," Jackie stated.
"Do it then," Mickey offered as he continued with his work.
"Mom?" Cassie called over the phone, "You know it's right." There was silence except for deep breathing on the line. But the Doctor was getting restless.
"Ready for this?"
"Yup," Mickey agreed.
"Mickey the idiot," the Doctor mused, "The world is in your hands. Fire!" They heard a sharp stab of a key.
"...Oh my God," Jackie breathed.
"How solid are these?" Harriet asked suddenly, knocking on a shutter.
"Not solid enough. Built for short-range attack, nothing this big," the Doctor said.
"Enough talk," Cassie called as she made her way over to the closet that she remembered from the show, "My decision now is to survive. I'm not letting my sister die because I dragged her into something." She came out of the cupboard with a stack of books, cleaning out the contents.
"Oh," Rose exclaimed as she ran forward to help Cassie, "It's like they say about earthquakes, you can survive them by standing under the doorframe-this cupboard's small, so it's strong, help us, come on!" Harriet immediately ran to help them clean out the rest of the files and books and coats. The Doctor just looked on with a smile on his face. Loving every minute.
CLDW
"It's on radar!" Cassie heard Mickey call as she rushed out of the cupboard.
"Stop them intercepting it!" The Doctor yelled into the phone.
"Doing it now!"
Cassie, Rose, and Harriet had finished clearing out the closet and had taken refuge in there. Cassie rushing back out to haul the Doctor into the cupboard. The Doctor slammed the door shut and crouched down, clasping Cassie's hand in one hand and Harriet's in another. Cassie took Rose's hand to give comfort.
"We're ready," she stated as they all looked to the ceiling in anticipation.
"Nice knowing you all. Hannibal!" Harriet stated as her might-be last words. It took a little while as the waited on pins and needles. They breathed deeply in anxiety when suddenly-Bang-The whole place shook as the missile impacted. The Doctor clutched at Cassie's hand, not wanting to let it go. Wanting some reassurance that she would make it through this alive. But her fingers slipped from his gripe when they toppled from their places and bounced around the cupboard. They were suddenly in free fall when the Cabinet Room, only a metal box know, fell through the floor. There was one final jolt as the box hit the ground. They all looked around. Silently waiting for more crashing and banging. But none came.
CLDW
Harriet held a hand out for Cassie through the door they found in the box. Cassie then helped out Rose and the Doctor who looked around like they were surprised to be alive. Considering they were now standing in the middle of rubble.
"Made in Britain!" Harriet declared happily. She patted the box with genuine pride in her country's workmanship. They picked their way through the destruction of Downing Street and made their way to the street. Where they were greeted by a soldier.
"Oh my God," He exclaimed. Surprised to see anyone walk away from the flattening of the building, "Are you all right?"
Harriet immediately held up her card, "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. You must contact the UN immediately, tell the ambassadors, the crisis has passed, they can stand down. Tell the news, go on!" The soldier rushed off to the mass of police cars and media trucks, "Someone's got a hell of a job, sorting this lot out-oh my Lord," she realized something, "We haven't even got a Prime Minister."
"Maybe you should have a go," the Doctor suggested.
"Me! I'm just a backbencher," Harriet insisted.
"We'd vote for you," Cassie countered.
"Now don't be silly-look, I'd better go and help, hold on-" She rushed off toward the people down the road calling down to them, "We're safe! The Earth is safe!"
"Did you remember where you heard Harriet Jones from?" Cassie questioned as she watched Harriet. Swinging her arms in passion.
"I did," he admitted, "Harriet Jones. Future Prime Minister, elected for three successive terms, the architect of Britain's Golden Age."
"Ladies and gentlemen, spread the word, tell your neighbours, tell your children, tell your friends, the crisis has passed! Mankind stands tall! Undefeated and proud! God bless the Human Race!"
CLDW
Cassie was in about her fourth Tyler hug that day. Jackie had just about pounced on them when they entered Mickey's flat. Cassie broke away from hug and went to hug Mickey as he exited his bedroom. Before Rose could get to him Cassie asked him an important question.
"Could you drive me down to Leadworth? I need to see them." Mickey nodded and then turned to Rose to ask her if she would like to come, too. She nodded of course.
CLDW
Cassie held her breath as she raised a fist to knock on the door in front of her. Amy's door. After dealing with the Slitheen and telling the Doctor she had something she needed to do before heading off again, she'd asked Mickey for a ride down. He was, at the moment, browsing through the tiny shops in the main Leadworth town area with Rose. They had both understood that she needed to do this alone.
Cassie knew they would all be there. Amy, Rory, Mels, Lily, and...Him. It was Saturday, their weekly movie night. Cassie had been the one to first instigate it. Starting it off a girls night only, but after thinking it over and arguing it with Amy and Mels (and a substantial amount of whining from the boys) Amy and Mels had relented and allowed the boys to join. So this was it. She was facing them all at once.
She breathed deep again as she heard the sound of a clicking lock before her and a voice.
"Ya know," a muffled Scottish accent drawled through the door, "It's been 30 minutes, that pizza is..." The red-head trailed off as she fully opened the door and saw Cassie standing there with a sheepish grin on her face, "Free."
Cassie lifted her hand in greeting, "Hey, Amy," giving a little wave. When Amy continued to stare at her, she awkwardly put her hand down. They stood there like that for what felt like an hour. Amy staring with wide eyes and Cassie who held her hands uncomfortably behind her back.
"It's you," Amy breathed, breaking the silence. She came a little out of the door way to get a better look at the girl who was on her stoop. The impossible missing girl that had been gone for a year then just waltzed on to her stoop and looked guilty as hell, "Oh, my God!" The fiery red-head lunged forward and enveloped the auburn haired girl into her arms, "Oh, my God."
Cassie wound her arms around Amy's waist as she returned the hug and buried her face in her friends familiar shoulder. It was like her hug with Rose and Jackie. Travelling in the TARDIS might be amazing, but it would never feel as at home like this did.
Amy abruptly pulled back to look deep into Cassie's face, as if to memorize it, "It's really you?"
"Yup, it's really me," Cassie said, "Just got back today."
"Thanks for calling," Amy laughed out as she gripped Cassie's wrists tighter.
"Got busy," Cassie giggled as well.
"We've got to tell the others," Amy yanked Cassie into the door and closed it behind her, "Everyone! Come quick," she called down the hall as she lead Cassie to the family room door.
"Amy, what is it?" Rory called, coming into the hallway, only to stop dead. He looked at Cassie as if he'd seen a ghost, "Oh, my God." Rory mimicked Amy who only laughed as he quickly came forward to give her a hug. It wasn't as lengthy as Amy's, but it was nice, "Come on!" He dragged Cassie closer toward the door, "The others'll want to see you!"
"Rory, Amy, what's taking so long?" Cassie heard Mels' voice coming from the door Rory had exited. Rory's only answer was to push Cassie first into the room and crowd into the doorway with Amy. The three people in the room glanced up and gained the wide-eyed syndrome that seemed to be going around. The two black women that were sitting on sofa sprang up like rabbits. The taller one, Lily, almost charged Cassie and tackled her to the ground in a hug, Cassie giving a surprised scream as she fell.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Lily kept repeating over and over again as she buried her face in Cassie's hair that had fallen over her shoulder.
Cassie giggled slightly after she recovered from the shock, "I missed you too, Lily." Cassie said, making her way to a standing position again, bringing Lily with her as she went. When Lily finally let go, Mels was next in line to come up to her. Cassie didn't expect a hug from Mels. She wasn't a hugging person. However, she was a hitter when you got her mad.
"Where. The. Hell. Have. You. Been," Mels said through gritted teeth as she pointed each word with a smack to Cassie's arms.
"OW! Mels that hurts! I'm sorry I didn't call! I meant to I really did! I just forgot!"
"A year!" Mels paced away from Cassie as she hollered a lot like Jackie had before, "For a year it never crossed your mind to call and tell your family and friends you weren't dead!"
"Yes, I know. I already went over this Rose and mom." The people in the room she could see (there still was one person still standing in the corner) jerked to look at her in surprise, "What?"
"That's the first time you've ever called her mum in front of us. It's usually Mrs. Tyler or Jackie even," Amy voiced, a smile coming to her lips at Cassie's acceptance of her new family.
"Just been through some stuff." Cassie said absentmindedly. Her attention had been caught by the person still in the corner. Looking on the scene with almost a distant look. She went to stand in front of the boy and put her hands on either side of his face.
"Hey, Chris." She looked right into his green eyes and saw all the fear and happiness. Fear for what might have been done to her in the year she'd gone missing. Happiness for finally having her back.
"Hi, Cas." His voice was scratchy, as if from disuse. He put his hands over hers and leaned into them.
"Been a while," she mused. Her mind going somewhere she hadn't been for a couple of days. Or a year. However you wanted to look at it.
"Yeah," his eyes had a glint in them. Saying they knew what she was thinking, "It has." He brought his hands to her face and pulled it toward him til their lips met. It was passionate and fiery, yet sweet and endearing. It was everything one hoped for in a kiss when they had been away from their love. They broke apart when some throat clearing and coughing could be heard. Cassie looked to see Amy and Rory in each others arms smiling at them. Lily had a far away sad/happy look on. Mels was the only annoyed one, the source of the clearing and coughing.
"Yes, we know. It's been a while since you two sucked faces, but can we please get on with interrogating Cassie about where she's been for the past year. Or are none of you curious as to why she just dropped off the face of the Earth and then just dropped back on."
"Oh, Mels. Still as charming as ever I see," Cassie rolled her eyes, Chris bringing her closer to his chest, "I taught you well."
"You taught me!?" Mels snorted, "If anything I taught you!" The group laughed with ease.
"I would like to know actually," Chris said after the laughter had died down, "Where my girlfriend has been for the past twelve months."
"Oh, so I'm officially your girlfriend now, am I?" Cassie joked, trying to avoid the question.
"You've always been my girlfriend," Chris stated simply, "But don't change the subject. Where were you?"
Cassie bit her lip. This was going to be tough to explain. For one thing, she couldn't tell them it was THE Doctor 'cause that might tip Amy off as to what she knew. Plus, Mels was there and it was a little early for her to be super obsessed with the Doctor yet. This Melody/River/Mels wasn't scheduled to meet the Doctor til his eleventh incarnation. Cassie had to be careful of what she said. Then a thought struck her. She'd already thought about taking a page out of River's book with the diary idea. Why not take a sheet out of Jack's?
"Let's just say," Cassie said as her stream of thinking whizzed through her brain, "I was with a doctor." She saw Mels stiffen like she predicted she would. What was odd was that Amy didn't seem to perturbed by the name. It looked like it didn't mean a thing in the world to her. And odder still, Lily and Chris stiffened also at the name. Of course, she wasn't quite sure she'd actually saw Lily, but Chris she'd felt right next to her freeze. Now what did that mean?
"Like in a hospital?" Amy questioned.
"No, more like travelling." Mels, Lily, and Chris stiffened even more.
"Oh, so it was like a research thing, yeah?" Rory chimed in with his theory. Why not? Cassie thought. Travelling with the Doctor was like one big research trip.
"Yeah. He's a doctor of history, physics, and biology."
"So you went to tombs and things?" Amy asked interested.
"Oh, yeah. Love a tomb." Just then, her mobile began to vibrate. She looked at the caller ID and nearly laughed when it said TARDIS, "Sorry, got to take this. It's Doctor...Smith!" She used his pseudonym John Smith just to give him a name and maybe drop some suspicious looks she was receiving from Mels. She quickly answered the call once she was in the hall. Not noticing three pairs of eyes following her out.
CLDW
"Hello?"
"Where are you? I'm only gonna be a couple of hours, then we can go," The Doctor practically shouted into the phone.
"Sorry, I had to go do something. But, hang on. When did you get a phone?"
"What, d'you think I can travel in time and space but haven't got a phone? Like I said, couple of hours-I've just got to send out a dispersal-" There were noises that crackled through the phone, "There you go! That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert. Just in case any bargain hunters turn up."
"I just came to talk to some friends I haven't seen in technically a year."
"I said I was sorry. All of time and space I have to choose. Sorry I can't pick one point precisely."
"Okay, okay. Sorry I mentioned it. But anyway, when I get back to London, mom's cooking tea. For us."
"I don't do that," the Doctor said simply.
"She and Rose just want to know somethings about you," Cassie defended.
"Well, tough, I've got better things to do."
"It's only tea."
"Not for me, it isn't."
"They're my family," Cassie really wanted to at least get them on speaking terms with each other.
"They're not mine!"
"Fine be mister grumpy pants! But right now I'm about two hours away from you. So you'll just have to wait till I get back. At least go and talk to them!"
"No, I don't do domestic. You can always stay, if you want!" Cassie took a sharp breath in at hearing those words. There was silence from him as he thought about what he said. The Doctor hadn't meant it. He truly hadn't, but he sometimes spoke in the heat of the moment. He continued with a softer voice, "But right now, there's this plasma storm brewing, in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning, ten million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it. Then ride the shockwave all the way out, hurtle right across the sky and end up...anywhere. Your choice." The line clicked when he hung up. Cassie sighed. He could really be stubborn when he wanted to be. But she couldn't just leave again.
She dialed Mickey's number and waited as she listened to the ringing tone, "Hello?" Mickey answered on the fifth ring.
"Mickey, can you get to Amy's house in 10 minutes?"
"Yeah, easy."
"Good, see you then." She hung up the phone before going to stand in front of the door to her friends. She opened it only to reveal Chris standing there looking sad.
"You're leaving so soon?" The other four people in the room jerked their head over to where Cassie and Chris were standing.
"I have to. Dr. Smith just called and got a dig out in...Peru. Uncovering some Incan tomb. He needs me," she tried to make them understand. Even if it was a lie.
"But we just found out you were alive!" Amy exclaimed from her place in Rory's arms.
"You can't just go!" Lily agreed.
"You at least have to tell us something," Mels joined into the gang up.
"I promise I'll call you! I wont ever forget you guys. I'll call ever week I'm away. If I don't, you have my full permission to kick my ass Mels, Amy, and Lily."
"I'm holding you to that," Amy said as she wagged her finger at Cassie. She then went to hug her and began the line of hugs from Mels, Lily, and Rory. Chris held back from the group and watched them. Cassie finally pulled out of the last hug and went over to Chris.
"Can I talk to you?" Chris only nodded as he went into the hallway followed by Cassie. Chris wouldn't look at her when the door had shut. So she pulled his head to look into his eyes, "I'm sorry I have to go. But I do. It's my only chance of getting out of this...boring existence." She held up her finger as Chris opened his mouth with a flash of anger in his eyes, "I'm not saying that life with you is boring. Being with you are the times I feel most alive in my life. But...Seeing the world. That's amazing! Don't you think?"
Chris looked reluctantly at her, "Yeah. I want you to have the best experiences life has to offer, but I'm gonna miss you."
"I'll miss you, too," Cassie touched his face with tenderness, "But I also wont have you wait around for me to come back one day. You deserve to have your own life. Without me wrecking your heart anymore than I have." Chris looked sadly down at her when a horn was blared outside, "That's me, I guess." She turned to the door to go, only to turn back and see Chris leaning against the wall. She quickly made her way back to him and pulled him in for a kiss. The passion in that one kiss held everything that neither of them were saying. Good-bye, you'll never be replaced, I'll miss you. All communicated in the pressure of their lips together. It lasted for so long, that Mickey pressed the horn again. twice. They finally broke apart and smiled at each other, "You know, just because we're not dating anymore, doesn't mean you can't buy me dinner when I get back."
She quickly ran away from him, leaving him in stunned silence, "Say good-bye to everyone for me." The door quickly shut and Cassie hurled into the backseat of Mickey's bug.
CLDW
Jackie heard the front door open from where she was in the kitchen, "Cassie? I was thinking, I've got that bottle of Amaretto from New Year's Eve, does he drink?" She walked into the family room, only to see Rose, who pointed to her and Cassie's room. Jackie followed her finger and saw Cassie packing. Cassie heard Jackie behind her and turned to look at her, "I was just wondering. Whether he drinks or not."
"I think he does?" She said questioningly as she continued shoving clothes into her bag.
"Don't go sweetheart," Jackie pleaded, "Please don't go.' Cassie just kept packing.
CLDW
"-Don't tell her I said that," Cassie heard Mickey tell the Doctor as she, Jackie, and Rose approached them.
"I'll get a proper job, I'll work weekends. So'll Rose. I'll pass my test. And if Jim comes round again, I'll say no, I really will," Jackie continued to plead as Rose followed silently.
"I'm not leaving because of you or Rose. I just want to travel and see the stars. I swear I'll be back."
"But it's dangerous," Rose said, having seen the Doctor's life first hand.
"But you only saw one side of his life, Rose," Cassie said as she handed a her suitcase to the Doctor, "There's a whole flip side to it. I get to go see different worlds."
"Got enough stuff?" The Doctor joked as he felt the weight of her suitcase.
"When I went the first time, it was because it was offered out of the blue. Now that I'm staying, I need a wardrobe." She went and led Rose over to Mickey, "You, know there's room on here for both of you."
"No chance," the Doctor called from the TARDIS, "I could do your sister, but if she comes he comes. And he's a liability, I'm not having him on board."
The Doctor was giving Mickey a funny look during his whole speech, giving Cassie an idea of why he was saying it. She turned and looked Mickey in the eye, "You may not think you can handle it now, but you will." She kissed him on the cheek then turned to Rose and did the same.
"You still can't promise me," Jackie piped up. Looking at the Doctor, "What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone, standing on some moon, a million light years away? How long do I wait then?" The Doctor looked awkwardly out of place before Cassie cut in.
"Mom, you and Rose are forgetting that he lives in a time machine. I can travel to the year fifty billion or thirty-two B.C. All over the universe and the world and be back in a minute. Just relax and I'll see you in a minute." She went over to kiss Jackie, then followed the Doctor into the TARDIS.
CLDW
Cassie sat on the captains seat in the console room with a light purple book sitting on her lap. Purple was her favorite colour and if she was going to be writing down her memories what better way to remember the book if it was your favorite colour. She opened the book and poised the pen she had found to write, but paused.
There was nothing a writer feared most than a blank page. What was she to write? Should she write about the adventures she'd already had? Or should she just write what was to come? And how should she write it? Specific words and phrases, or full out story mode? So many questions.
"Wha'cha doing?" A voiced asked behind her. She slammed the book shut, even though she had yet to write anything, and turned to see the Doctor standing on the plank that led to the rest of the TARDIS. He was holding an amalgamation of frayed wires and mechanical looking pieces of equipment.
"Nothing! Uh, nothing at all," she quickly sat on the book to hide it. If he saw it, even once, he would always want to know what was in it.
"What's that, then?" He came towards her, fiddling with the mass of machinery.
"It's just a book."
"Oh, alright," he made his way back up the gangplank. But then he paused, "While we're here, we should have that talk."
"And what talk would that be?" Cassie asked, avoiding his look. She was not looking forward to that particular talk.
"You know what talk," he came to sit beside her and watched her play with the book in her hand, "The one that was interrupted by the Slitheen ship crashing.
"Oh, that one."
"Yes that one," he pushed, "Why is it that you know so much about what's gonna happen?"
"I don't know!" Cassie lied, "Ever since I started travelling with you, I just get these...feelings."
"Feelings?"
"Like, the right word at the right time. Or an event that's coming."
"So, you know exactly what's gonna happen," the Doctor tried to gather enough information about the mystery surrounding her.
"Not all the time, and not about everything. Like, I only knew about the ID cards and Raxacoricofallapatorius. But I didn't know the Slitheen's plan til I put it all together."
"You knew about Jabe's death," the Doctor stated.
"Yes, I had a feeling about that. I couldn't be entirely sure, but it was a strong feeling," she stared at the floor in thought, "And I didn't know how to tell you about it. It was only our first trip and I could tell you still didn't trust me. Plus you'd think I was insane."
"I'd never think you were insane," he said as he watched her carefully, "Though I might scan you with my trusty screwdriver." She gave him a petulant look, "It wont hurt." She kept looking at him until she sighed dramatically and held her arms in a stance of surrender.
He took the screwdriver from his jacket and adjusted the settings. He pushed the button and pulsed the blue light all over her body. She stayed as stiff as a board.
When the scan completed, he brought the screwdriver back to him and looked at the results.
"Hmmm."
"Hmm bad, or hmm good?" Cassie asked.
"Hmm interesting," the Doctor answered back, "It seems that you're slightly psychic. Amplified by the background radiation of the TARDIS."
"And that means?"
"It means that it's normal for you to have feelings about things. Also explains why the psychic paper is blank to you. It can't mess with your mind."
Cassie silently let out a breath she had been holding in. She hadn't exactly wanted something to be wrong with her, but she wanted something to explain her memories. Other than the truth.
"You might be a little over whelmed by the feelings sometimes. You might want to find an outlet for them."
"Oh, I already had an idea for that. It's what the book's for," she held up the book in her hands, "I was just gonna write down all my feelings I have."
"Oh, good idea," he said absentmindedly, thinking he had figured out her secret, "I'll be in the scrap room, if you need me." His attention was now fully on the wires in his hands as he left the control room. Cassie sighed and opened the book again. She wrote the first thing that came into her mind.
Dalek.
A/N: I know this is so soon after my last update, and I know a lot of you are probably happy about it. But I was just so excited about writing this chapter. I got a lot of reviews, favorites, and follows from the last chapter. It was amazing! It's like I keep saying. More reviews = sooner chapters. Just saying.
So there we have it. The Doctor knows Cassie has 'feelings' about the future, so that will appease him for now. But have no fear, he will question Cassie's knowledge again. And the most of the secret will come out. So keep reading and remember, good things come to those who wait.
I'd also like to say (so I don't get accused of plagiarism) I got the idea of the companion being slightly psychic from RememberMeWhen's "The Companion Who Never Was". It's an amazing story! You guys should check it out if you haven't already.
So, ta ta for now. I'll see you guys soon. Review!
P.S. What did you guys think of my original scenes with Amy, Rory, Mels, and the other two OC's I created.