Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N I haven't disappeared! Shocking I know, but I have just started a new story and got a bit distracted. Sorry for the wait between chapters.

Anyway, the story will be moving along as we learn how Rose used the two days she had and then, her trip to New York. And we also find out who is plotting against our favourite Defender.

Happy Reading!


Chapter 8

'Zeppelin T344 from London to New York City boarding at gate E5. First class passengers, kindly make your way to the gate.'

Rose picked up her compactly packed bag and walked towards gate E5. "Good evening, Miss Tyler," greeted the attendant with a polite smile. "Enjoy your journey." Rose smiled in thanks and walked past her to board the zeppelin. The zeppelin wasn't too full and Rose was grateful to know that the seat next to hers was empty.

In the two days between her call to Mickey and now, Rose had drawn up a contingency plan. It had been difficult to come to that decision but Rose knew she could not ignore it any longer. She had to be prepared to vanish at less than a moment's notice.

Arranging the perfect escape was harder than she could have imagined. She could use nothing that could be traced back to her or worse, her family. Her family's safety was paramount. She could always disappear into the shadows but she could never drag them with her. Of course, she knew that they would come along voluntarily if she asked but she would never want them to give up their lives for her. Her mum and dad had got a second chance and now, they had Tony too. Rose knew that she had to part ways with them sooner or later.

As she was thinking of her plan, Rose realised the glaringly obvious. Nowhere on Earth would be safe for her. She was too well-known for that. Not to mention that she could never stay cooped up in one place for long. Getting off-world was not a huge deal for her. She had been doing that a few times over the past years. The technology of this universe had already been advanced during Lumic's time and everything that Rose and Torchwood had done in building relations with aliens around Earth, had only improved their technological scope.

Rose had made a list of allies and finally narrowed it down to one. She knew they would help her, come hell or high water. She trusted them, probably more than she trusted the humans. When they had last met, their Commander had given Rose a personalised radio in case she needed to communicate. Rose had used it to her advantage and got in touch with him a day ago.

She had been careful to mention that she could not be certain when she might require help. It could be a day, a week, a month, a year, or a decade from now. The Commander had been understanding, as she knew he would be. He had assured her that she could call on him anytime and he would respond.

And then came the hard part: telling Pete, Jackie and Tony. Rose was clear that she may not have to use the escape for years but it did little to stop Jackie from launching into a rant. It was only after Rose showed them her blood tests from over the years that Jackie burst into tears and actually started to listen to what Rose was saying.

Pete was already thinking of calling up Torchwood contacts when Rose stopped him. She trusted no one and didn't want to alert anyone that she had an escape plan. Better to let them think that she was helpless and hapless.

Tony understood better than her mum and dad, as she knew he would. He had memorised the files on 'The Shepherd Taskforce' when Rose had been studying them some time ago, and he explained in precise detail the protocol involved when dealing with an unexplained physiological anomaly in humans. Jackie had winced during his descriptions and then promptly banned him from reading anything that she hadn't approved beforehand.

She had then asked what Rose intended to do once she got away from Earth. It had been a dilemma for Rose because she knew that even her allies could only help her so much. The walls of the universe were still sealed and there was no way to cross over. Jackie had made her promise that she would find the Doctor. Rose had nodded along but knew there was logically not enough of a chance that she would find the Doctor as easily as she wanted. She was determined to try regardless.

The final thing she had done before leaving London was make a quick trip to the Torchwood Tower. She had needed one last thing before everything was ready.

Maybe she would have more time to decide exactly what to do, she tried to convince herself as the zeppelin flew over the Arctic ocean. There had been only so much she could have done in two days. At least, she prayed she had the time as she leaned back in her seat and tried to get some sleep. But the feeling of dread wouldn't let her sleep.


Mickey smiled hastily when he saw Rose at the zeppelin port. She had lost weight and looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her smile was tired but genuine as she hugged him. He hugged his best mate back, wishing for the millionth time he knew of a way to make things better for her.

Sometimes he felt guilty because he and Jackie had integrated themselves in their new lives so quickly, leaving Rose behind in so many ways. Throughout his life, Mickey had resented, admired, respected and even hated the Doctor. But he would never forgive him for not finding a way back to Rose.

"Good flight?" he asked her, once they had broken apart.

Rose nodded quickly. "Not too bad," she said.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked as he took her bag and led her to the carpark.

"Sure, yeah," she said.

"Liar," he countered, rolling his eyes.

She chuckled and shook her head. "I tried to," she said. "That ought to count for something. Where are we off to?" she asked him when they got into his car.

"Breakfast," he said as he started the car up. "Unless you want to go to your hotel room and get some sleep first."

"Breakfast sounds good," said Rose with a soft smile. "Where's Martha?"

"Tish has been in San Francisco for the past week so Martha's gone to the west coast," said Mickey. "She said she would have cancelled her trip if she had known you were coming to visit."

"Totally my fault," said Rose. "I should have given more of a notice."

"Nah, I heard what happened," said Mickey. He glanced at her through the corner of his eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. At Mickey's look, she shrugged lightly. "I don't know, Micks. The last week or so has been...awful, really."

"You are not here on vacation, are you?" Mickey asked her.

Rose shook her head. "I need your help," she said. At Mickey's encouraging look, she told him about James and what he had revealed.

Mickey was horrified at the idea of an alien from their old universe being here. But then he listened to Rose's suspicions of a leak in Torchwood and the nagging sense of dread, that had filled him ever since his research, intensified.

"You're quiet," said Rose, after they had driven in silence for a while.

"I think...you are right," he said at last. "You sounded worried and wouldn't tell me over the phone so, I did some digging. Have you heard of the Shepherd Taskforce?"

Rose's eyes snapped to him quickly. "That's confidential," she hissed.

"Not if I hack into it, it's not," said Mickey, sounding a bit smug about his accomplishment.

Rose snorted and shook her head. "No, I guess not," she said. "Yeah, I know what the Shepherd Taskforce is. So does Tony, as a matter of fact. He freaked mum and dad out when he started describing some of the 'processes' they used to examine those physiological anomalies in humans."

"That boy reminds me so much of the old Doc, you wouldn't believe," said Mickey, shaking his head. "Sure he wasn't yours and the Doctor's?"

Rose shot him a glare and Mickey gave her an apologetic shrug. "What's this about the Shepherd Taskforce then? It was disbanded back before I even came into this universe," she said.

"Yeah, Jake and I were there when it was shut down. But apparently, the thing has gone underground," said Mickey.

Rose stared at him. "Are you telling me they are operating without Torchwood's authorisation?" she asked.

"Without their 'official' authorisation," corrected Mickey.

"Meaning without Pete knowing," said Rose, her mind whirling. "But how? All the original members are dead. And I know Yvonne Hartman's sister. Lydia is on my team."

"Are you sure Hartman's dead?" asked Mickey.

"Of course I am," said Rose. "She was killed by Lumic's Cybermen in that raid in Glasgow."

Mickey sighed as he parked the car in a shopping mall's parking lot. "Look, all I'm saying is that Yvonne was a ruthless leader of the Shepherd Taskforce. She captured humans if she even suspected there was something not right about them. There is a reason that the Shepherd Taskforce was kept confidential. No one wants to acknowledge the dark stain in their history of when they conducted a witchhunt for anything remotely inhuman. If there would have been anyone to have kept it going now, it would have been Yvonne Hartman."

"Mickey, the woman is dead," said Rose as they walked into a cafe.

"But her sister isn't," said Mickey significantly.


"Good afternoon, Lydia."

Lydia chewed on her lips nervously. "The Commander should have arrived in New York by now."

The woman at the other end of the video conference looked pleased. "Excellent," she said. "I was getting bored by myself here anyway. New York is rather grey. What about our surveillance?"

Lydia opened an email quickly. "Yes, they have tailed the Commander from the zeppelin. She and Director Smith are having breakfast right now," she said, reading through the email quickly. "Should I tell them to continue surveillance?"

"Yes," said the other woman. "Good work, Lydia. Your sister would have been proud of you."

The call cut off and Lydia rubbed her forehead. She knew she was doing the right thing; protecting the cause that her sister had started. She just couldn't realise why she felt so guilty all the time.


"Lydia is not a traitor," said Rose as she and Mickey sat at a booth in the corner of the busy cafe. "I picked her out for the team myself."

"Rose, you give people too much credit sometimes," said Mickey. "If the Shepherd Taskforce is still operating then Hartman's sister is at the top of the suspect list."

"I don't like this," said Rose, stabbing her scrambled eggs repeatedly with her fork. "It's Lydia! I trust her. There's no way she's been involved with the Shepherd Taskforce."

Unnoticed by the two of them, a man sitting two tables away pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text message. Suspicions confirmed. L.H. compromised. Please advise.

"You didn't even know the Taskforce was up and running until I told you," snapped Mickey. "Rose, this is your life we are talking about. If Lydia has given you away..."

Rose fell silent and took a big gulp of her coffee, not even caring when she burnt her mouth. "Say, she did betray me," said Rose slowly. "And I'm not saying she did," she added hastily. "She had no way of confirming those suspicions. Nobody knows about the blood tests."

"But she could have put surveillance on you. Tapped your phones," said Mickey. "She was close to you, Rose. It makes her dangerous."

The man checked his phone when it buzzed back with a reply. Follow and capture the flower. Enact protocol vT5. He got up from the table and left the cafe.

"She couldn't have, Mickey," said Rose, but her argument sounded weak even to herself.

Mickey squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, babe," he said apologetically. "But if the Shepherd Taskforce is after you then we have to find a way to hide you."

"I already have one," said Rose, in a deadpan. "I was just hoping I had more time before I had to use it."

"What are you going to do?" asked Mickey.

"Can't tell you," she said firmly. At Mickey's hurt look, she clarified. "Plausible deniability, Micks. I haven't told anyone."

"Wouldn't be the first time I risked my neck for you, Rose," he said, with a small, sad smile.

"Maybe I don't want anyone to risk their neck for me anymore," she said sadly. "No, listen," she said when Mickey opened his mouth to interrupt. "You have a wife and a new baby on the way. Mum and Dad have a new life and Tony. I don't fit, Mickey, and I never have. I will not ruin your lives. This is something that I have to do on my own."

Mickey nodded sadly. "When?" he asked.

"I think I'll take a zeppelin back tomorrow," she said.

"So soon?" he asked.

"Why delay?" she asked with a forced smile. "Sooner I disappear into the shadows, the less everyone has to worry."

"Can I change your mind?" he asked her, already knowing the answer.

"No," she said firmly and then gave him a smile that reminded him of the old Rose. "Come on, I'll drop my stuff at the hotel and then you can show us around for a bit before it's time for me to go."

Mickey nodded as the two of them stood up from their table and left the cafe together. Back in the deserted carpark, Mickey started to unlock the car but the keys slipped from his hands. He groaned and bent to pick them up, hearing Rose giggle at his clumsiness.

When he stood back up, Rose was no longer in sight. "Rose?" he called, but then felt a sharp blow at his head that knocked him out.

A man caught him before he could hit the ground. The woman, who had been talking to Lydia via video conference before, emerged from the van next to Mickey's car and glanced at him. "Retcon him and drop him off home. Let him think that the Commander went to her hotel room after he picked her up from the zeppelin port."

"Yes, Miss Costello," the man answered her as he put Mickey in his car's backseat and closed the doors. "What about the Commander?"

Suzie Costello glanced at the unconscious form of Rose Tyler that had taken three Agents to achieve. "Take her to our private zeppelin port. And make sure that her hotel room is burnt to a cinder making an ID impossible."

"Anything else?" her agent asked.

"No," said Suzie with a small smile. "Just ask our scientists in London to prepare a bed. They are getting a new specimen."


A/N So, what did you think?

Suzie was Pete's assistant which would give her access to a lot of the Tylers' stuff. Presumably, she would have known about whatever they used to explain Jackie and Rose's presence in the world. And then Lydia is the traitor close to Rose. Stupid cow.

Anyway, Rose is captured and being taken to London. The next part will see her escape and leave Earth. Any ideas on who the allies are that are helping her? They are known Doctor Who creatures, I promise.

The next chapter will be up soon. See you then!

~ Phoenix