A/N I don't own BBC or DW
Book of the Update: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

P.S. I skipped quite a bit of this episode; maybe 20 minutes before this part because it was dull and I didn't want to write it all out so just pretend it happened between the chapters.

Chapter 8

"The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything," she said just before opening her arms wide and falling into the pit.

"No!" The Doctor cried, and he leaned over wrestling with the clip to make the cord stop, which it did just in time.

"I decide when I stop, thank you," she said, her voice echoing up through the tunnel.

"No, you were about to hit the security grid, look," Rose said, pushing a button to make it visible.

Christina gasped. "Oh. Right. So what do I do now?"

"Try the big red button," the Doctor told her helpfully, albeit a bit sarcastically.

She hit it and the sound of the grid powering down reached Rose's ears a few moments later, along with a "well done".

"Now, come back up, I can do that," he told her but she just laughed.

"Oh don't you wish."

"Slowly! Bit strange though, isn't it?" he asked Rose loudly, "Lady Christina DeSuza carrying a winch in her bag."

"No stranger than you, spaceman," came the echo up the tunnel.

"Oh, if only Donna were here," Rose teased, "They could make a club."

"Donna? Does she call you spaceman as well?" Christina teased right alongside Rose. "But was she right? Do you zoom around space in a rocket ship?"

He laughed. "Well, more of a little blue box, but yeah. Guess we do. But it travels through more than space, Christina," he added as he saw the corner of something suspiciously golden poking out of her bag, "It travels through time. Oh the places we've been. I've been to the creation of the universe. And the ending of the universe. And I've been in World War One and I've been to the first human colony on the planet Zoroster. And funny enough, I've also been to the court of King Afflestan in 924 A.D., but I don't remember you being there," he said as he pulled out the golden chalice from her bag. "So what are you doing with this?"

Rose's eyes grew wide as she saw the ancient cup.

"Excuse me. A gentleman never goes through a lady's posessions."

"It's the cup of Afflestan," he explained to Rose, "It was given to him as a coronation gift from the Welsh. Only thing is that it's been held in the international gallery for 200 years. Which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief."

"I like to think I liberated it."

"'s not like you need the money," Rose said incredulously.

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"No no no no no. Rose, if she wanted money, she would've robbed a bank. Stealing something like this, now….that's a lifestyle." The Doctor whistled softly and placed the cup back into her bag.

A loud hissing clang echoed from down by Christina. "What the blazes was that?"

"We never did find out why this ship crashed. I think you should come back up Christina."

"Not a chance! I can see it."

"Have you got an open vent system?" the Doctor asked and the fly clicked out a yes.

"What's that mean?" Rose asked him, looking down the tunnel for Christina.

"'S like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft-"

She gasped. "One of the creatures."

He stood up, pulling out his sonic and tossing it to Rose. "Got stuck in the vent system, caused the crash. Christina, get out!"

"No, I think it's sleeping," she mumbled, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's dormant because it's so cold down there, but your body heat is raising the temperature."

"Almost got it."

"Not just the crystal; I need the whole plate and everything."

"I've got it!"

Rose turned the sonic on the wench clip, willing it to pull the cord faster. "Come on, come on," she mumbled, hearing the sounds of the creature smashing around below.

The Doctor ran over to a control panel thing and began frantically pressing buttons, effectively turning back on the security grid, just in time to stop the creature from catching Christina.

She finally reached level with them and got out and handed the Doctor the crystal with a smile.

They convinced the fly-creatures to come with them and together they all began to run down the hallway, but stopped when a portion of the ceiling broke open and a creature flew down, killing one of the fly-creatures and eating the other as it tried to shoot the thing.

Rose covered her mouth with shock, but the Doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her along, saying there was nothing they could do, so RUN!

They ran until they got to the bus once more and Malcom tried to call them halfway there, to which the Doctor yelled "NOT NOW MALCOM" and promptly hung up on him.

When they got to the bus, the Doctor told Rose and Christina to get inside as he stuck the clamps on and followed them as quickly as he could.

Christina handed the Doctor the hammer he asked for and then said, "So what do the clamps do? Turn the wheels?"

"Yeah something like that," he said, and then turned to Rose and handed her her mobile. "Press redial."

"Hey Malcom, it's me."

"I'M READY!"

"Ready for what?"

"I don't know; you tell me!"

"I'm going to try to get back, but listen there might be something following us. You need to find a way to close the wormhole!"

"Would that be a compressed wave on a counter-oscelation purtich?"

"Oh Malcom, you are brilliant."

"Coming from you, sir, that means the world! Doctor, what sort of something? That wormhole is growing and I need to know the exact nature of the threat," Captain Montgombo asked, but the Doctor made a face.

"Sorry, got to go." And Rose hung up the phone. The Doctor made a frustrated noise as he bent the metal arms on the contraption he had stuck onto the steering wheel. It sparked and he growled, banging it. "UGH! It's not compatible. Well, bus, spaceship, different things I suppose. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?" Christina asked from over his shoulder.

"I'd need something metal, something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile…gold."

She backed up, holding her backpack close. "Oh no you don't."

"Christina," Rose said, "What is it worth now? You could save all of our lives," she stressed the last part and Christina gave her a long hard look before reaching into her bag and pulling out the chalice.

"It's over 1,000 years old, worth 18 million pounds, so promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," said the Doctor, right before taking the hammer and smashing it into the cup, denting the sides over and over.

Christina sighed. "I hate you. Both of you."

"This is your driver speaking," the Doctor announced, "Hold on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

He turned the wheel and the bus began to rise into the air. "Anti-gravity clamps, didn't I tell you?"

"Oh God, I love you," Rose said with a laugh.

"I know," he answered cheekily, giving her a wink. "Alright, hold on, everyone! Round we go!" he turned the bus so sharply that everyone was nearly on their sides and then it righted itself, facing the invisible wormhole.

"Doctor!" Carmen shouted, looking out the back window, "They're coming!" Sure enough, thousands of the creatures were soaring towards them.

"D'ya think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina shouted and Rose answered, laughing:

"Well, there's only one way to find out! Next stop, planet earth!"

They were all plunged into darkness as the bus shot through the wormhole and out the other side, flying up over the policemen and into the night sky, followed by 3 or 4 of the creatures. Shots sounded below them as UNIT opened fire on the creatures.

Rose pressed redial on her mobile and shouted over the noise. "Malcom? Message from the Doctor: close that wormhole, now!"

"I will, ma'am."

She moved the phone from her ear. "He's hung up on me!"

"Well, call him again!" The Doctor said and she did.

"MALCOM!"

"Not now! I'm busy!"

She called again when he hung up.

"MALCOM LISTEN! He says he needs the signal! He told me to tell you to bump it up 500 Burnens!"

"Yes ma'am tell him I will. YES! IT'S WORKING!"

"DOCTOR IT'S COMING FOR US!" Shouted Nathan, pointing out the window at the creature flying straight toward them.

"Oh no you don't," the Doctor said and turned the steering wheel to swing the bus around and hit the creature like a golf club hitting a ball.

"Did I say I hated you two?" Christina asked. "Well I lied," she answered with a grin, giving Rose a quick hug.

"Ladies and gentleman, you have reached your destination," the Doctor announced, "On the mighty 200."

He slowly landed the bus and they all piled out to the sound of clapping and cheering crowds and a UNIT soldier led them all over to be screened, save for Christina, who was taken away to be dealt with as a criminal. The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at him and breezed by the screenings, bringing Rose with him.

A short man resembling a baby monkey with glasses came up and hugged the Doctor. "And you must be Malcom Taylor, I presume?"

"I love you. I love you!"

"To your station, Doctor Taylor," said Captain Montgombo and Malcom released the Doctor and walked away, stopping once to call back that he loved him. The Doctor just sort of waved.

"Doctor," said Captain Montgombo, "I salute you whether you like it or not. And your friend…?"

"Rose Tyler," she said, giving a nod.

"I salute you as well, Ms. Tyler. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"They'll start again, generate a new doorway. 's not their fault; it's their natural life cycle. But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes onto uninhabited planets. Closer to home, Captain," he added, pointing out Barclay and Nathan, "Those two do very well in a crisis. And…" he trailed off, looking at Christina who was being scanned and clapped in irons.

"I'll see what I can do," the Captain promised. "Here, something for you," she gestured to the Tardis, being rolled around in a little cart. "Found it outside the gardens in Buckingham Palace."

"Oh, she doesn't mind. This is a lot better than a bus, yeah Rose?"

"Now Doctor, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clean up, you two fancy helping with the paperwork?"

"Not a chance," said the Doctor immediately and she laughed and shook his hand with a quick farewell before walking away.

"Doctor, you be careful," Carmen said as she walked by, "Because your song is ending soon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose asked.

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. Oh but Doctor….oh but then, he will knock four times."

The Doctor got a funny look on his face, but the thoughts faded to the back of his mind when he looked over and saw Christina being put into a police car, handcuffs on her wrist.

He looked at Rose. "Should I?" She nodded and he flicked the sonic to unlock her handcuffs. Christina went in one door, out the other and ran over to the empty bus, shutting herself inside. The Doctor and Rose came over and the head policeman yelled at them as well, saying they were under arrest.

"Yeah. Of course," Rose said. "We'll just…step inside this police box. Arrest ourselves. Save you the trouble."

They walked back to the TARDIS, hand in hand and waved at Christina in her big red double-decker bus as she flew across the sky. They unlocked the door and went back inside their little blue box called home.

"Oh! I should call Donna; she's probably worried sick!" Rose picked up her phone to call but the Doctor pushed it out of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Time machine, remember? For all she knows, we were gone twenty minutes."

Rose pushed his arms away. "No, Doctor. We ought to be good friends and go back right this moment and tell her the truth."

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her again. "Yes, but Rose, people never seem to do as they ought to, haven't you noticed?"

She gasped. "Doctor, you dirty old man!"

He leaned in close to her ear. "Oh you know you love me."

"Oh, yes I do…"