Back again with another chapter for you all. So far, you all seem to be enjoying my version of Closing Time. I just hope that you can bear with me for the rest of it.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
The next day the Doctor and Jack Harkness head off to secure a job at the local department store; while Rose stays with the kids inside of the Tardis. Once at the store, the Doctor is assigned a position in the toy department, and Harkness is assigned to men's apparel.
Halfway through the work day, the Doctor finds himself entertaining children with several of the 'show' toys. One of them is a small helicopter that can actually fly in the air. So far, none of the children he has spoken to knows nothing about what has been happening in the council, except for the lights flickering.
"It goes up, tiddly-up. It goes down, diddly-down. For only 49.99, which I personally think is a bit steep." The Doctor says to the giggling group of children that have surrounded him. "But then again, it's your parents cash, and they'll only waste it on boring stuff. Like vegetables and lamps. Yawn."
The kids giggle some more as the Doctor plays with the controls, causing the toy to fly erratically around the room. Then the batteries begin to die out, which causes the Doctor to lose even more control of the toy.
"Nobody panic, but I appear to be losing control."
Suddenly the toy nearly hits a customer before falling to the ground. However, that customer is none other than Craig. This causes the Doctor to panic slightly and he quickly sends the kids off to find their parents.
"Craig!" The Doctor calls out as the children run off to find their parents.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Craig asks as he approaches the Doctor with a pram in tow.
"Oh, I'm the Doctor. I work in a shop now. Here to help." The Doctor says gleefully before pointing at the name badge pinned on the pocket of his shirt. "They even gave me a badge with my name on in case I forget who I am. Very thoughtful, as that does happen."
"Where's Rose? Does she know what you're doing?" Craig asks the Doctor, while looking around for any sign of the blonde woman from the night before.
"She's busy with the kids, and doesn't mind that I got a job at the shop. Always reminds me that I am broke and need money. Though her mother, Jackie, would have done me in if she saw me working in a shop. Always telling Rose that she could do better than me, even when I was mister big ears or sand-shoes. But who, in the entire universe, can do better than me with a Tardis? Don't answer that." The Doctor rambles at Craig before noticing just how run-down Craig looks.
"You look awful." The Doctor says to Craig, just as a wave of worry enters his mind from Rose.
"Well, I haven't slept, have I?" Craig replies with a hint of sadness and frustration in his voice. "I still can't stop him crying. I even tried singing to him last night."
The Doctor leans towards the pram as Alfie lets out a few coos at seeing the Doctor. This causes the Doctor to straighten back up and look at Craig.
"Yeah he did mention that. He thought you were crying, too. He didn't get a wink." The Doctor says before something metallic sounding echoes across the room where something had just zipped by.
Hearing this sound puts the Doctor on full alert, and causes his heightened curiosity to bleed through his bond with Rose. In turn to feeling the curiosity, Rose sends concern for the safety of others and himself. However, what the Doctor doesn't realize is that Rose and the kids are in the vicinity to do a little clothes shopping for Oliver and Donna.
"What was that?" The Doctor asks out loud as he turns around and crouches near the ground while slowly walking to where the sound came from.
"You're here for a reason, aren't you?" Craig says from where he is standing, watching the Doctor investigate the area where the sound came from. "You've noticed something and you're investigating it. And because it's you, it's going to be dangerous and alien."
By this point, the Doctor stands back up and looks over at Craig who has moved closer to where the Doctor is.
"It might not be."
"Doctor, I live here. I need to know."
"No, you don't."
"My baby lives here. My son." Craig pleads to the Doctor. He remembers what happened he last time he had seen the Doctor, and knows just how bad it could be if the Doctor has become involved.
The Doctor lets out a sigh, knowing that if the shoe was on the other foot, that he too would want to know if something dangerous and alien were involved. Especially if his own children were to become targets.
"Sheila Clark went missing Tuesday. Hadif Gosh, last seen Friday. Tom Luka, last seen Sunday." The Doctor tells Craig, with a stern but solemn voice before swiveling his head to take in his surroundings. He hears Craig fiddle around with something on the pram and when he turns back, Craig is holding up a newspaper.
"Why isn't any of this on the front page?" Craig asks the Doctor.
"Oh, page one has an exclusive on Nina. A local girl who got kicked off Britain's Got Talent. These people on pages seven, nineteen, twenty-two. Because no one's noticed yet." The Doctor says to Craig before walking over to push Alfie's pram. "They're far too excited about Nina's emotional journey, which, in fairness, is quite inspiring."
"And what else?" Craig calls out to the Doctor as he follows closely behind.
The two men make their way out of the toy department and are heading down the walkway towards another area of the store.
"These funny old power fluctuations, which just happen to coincide with the disappearances." The Doctor says as he keeps pushing the pram into the baby and toddler clothing department.
"But that's just the council putting in new cables, isn't it?" Craig asks as he catches up to the Doctor.
Coming to a stop in front of an out-of-order lift, the Doctor only allows Craig's suggestion a few seconds of thought before opening his mouth.
"Oh right. That's it." The Doctor says sarcastically to Craig. "Mystery solved. Wasting my time."
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor points it at the lift's buttons and has his tool repair the possible wiring issue that closed the thing in the first place.
"Now you can go home, and I can get back to my family. Goodbye, and here's the lift."
"It says it's out-of-order." Craig tells the Doctor, wondering what all is going on inside of the Time Lord's head.
"Not anymore." Answers the Doctor before ripping the caution tape away from the now opening doors. "See. Here to help."
Pushing Alfie's pram into the waiting lift, the Doctor watches as Craig follows after the thing.
"But it says Danger!" Craig exclaims while entering the lift in an attempt to bring the pram back out.
"Oh rubbish. Lifts aren't dangerous." The Doctor replies, becoming a bit annoyed that Craig hasn't left him alone.
"Do I look like I'm stupid?" Craig asks the Doctor sincerely.
Alfie decides to let out a coo, which causes the Doctor to let out a laugh. Realizing that Craig didn't understand what Alfie said, the Doctor tells the baby to be quiet. Then he turns as if to walk away but hearing Rose tell him off through their bond, the Doctor then turns back around to look at Craig.
"Alright. There's more." The Doctor says in a huff. However, what he wasn't expecting was for his daughter Donna to show up.
"Daddy!" Donna screams out just before barreling herself into her father's side.
"Omphf." The Doctor says as he tries to keep himself from being knocked over by his youngest daughter.
"What?" Craig says in surprise at seeing the light brown haired, golden brown eyed ten-and-a-half-year-old girl hugging the Doctor's waist.
"Donna. What are you doing here, and why aren't you with mum?" The Doctor asks his daughter while trying to pry his waist free from her.
"She took Oliver to the loo to change his nappy. Jenny is down in make-up, and Jack went off to go look at the electronics. Can I stay with you?" Donna replies, making sure to give her father the infamous puppy dog look that is previous body had.
"Oh alright, but I want you to stay close." The Doctor says sheepishly to Donna, trying to keep his tough guy façade in front of Craig. "What?"
"You… You have a daughter?" Craig says with wide eyes.
He never did believe what the Doctor and Rose said last night, about the Doctor being a father. But seeing the girl before him, Craig now believes it. She has a lot of Rose's features that Craig notices right away, but there are a few that aren't from Rose. The girl's eyes hold that same stare that the Doctor has, full of all-knowing knowledge. The shape of her eyebrows doesn't match either of her parents, but the way she wrinkles them is the exact same way that the Doctor does.
"Of course, I have a daughter. I have two of them, which thank the universe that the Tardis has multiple bathrooms. Plus, a son. Told you last night, Craig, that Rose and I have kids."
"Thought you two were pulling my leg." Craig replies back while his eyes bounce back and forth between father and daughter.
"Right then, where were we. Ah yes. There's more." The Doctor says as he ushers Donna into the lift also.
"But mummy is back there." Donna tells her father, giving him a questioning look as well.
"Yes, but I need to see my friend out." The Doctor tells Donna while pointing his sonic at the control panel inside of the lift. "It'll only take a jiffy."
As the lift lets out a ding before starting to operate, the Doctor looks over his shoulder at Craig.
"Just between me, you, stormy, and Donna, don't want to frighten the punters, someone's been using a teleport relay right here in this shop. Missing people last seen in this area. Before you ask, CCTV's been wiped." The Doctor softly tells Craig while he keeps his eyes on Donna, who is cooing over baby Alfie.
Though he doesn't want to interrupt his daughter's conversation with the baby, the Doctor can't help but feel something twinge in the Time Stream. Not even a millisecond after he feels the twinge, the rest of his family is bombarding him with questions through their bond. Everyone except Donna.
"A teleport?" Craig asks, pulling the Doctor's attention away from the Time Stream and his family. "A tele… a big… A teleport? Like a beam-me-up teleport, like you see in Star Trek."
Donna, whose attention moves from the baby to the baby's father, just stares at Craig while he moved his arms in explaining his idea of a teleport. Rolling her eyes, Donna looks over at her dad and proceeds to ask him a question.
"Are most human males this slow?"
Her comment makes both the Doctor and Craig to turn their heads and look at Donna. One with a frustrated face, the other with a smile. But when Craig looks at her father, the Doctor does a fake clearing of the throat sound before speaking.
"Donna! No need to be rude." The Doctor admonishes to his child before looking back at Craig. "Exactly. Someone's been using a beam-me-up Star Trek teleport. Could be disguised as anything."
"Like a lift." Donna whispers to herself, noticing that the adults are no longer paying any attention to her.
"But a teleport in a shop? That's ridiculous." Craig says to the Doctor.
Just then the lights begin to blink on an off, with them lasting longer being off. It's at this point that Donna inches her way back over to her father's side and takes hold of his left hand. She gives it a squeeze and gets not only a squeeze in return, but also the mental caress of feeling safe from her father.
"What was that?" Craig asks, now feeling a bit scared. "Was that the lights, again?"
Suddenly the walls of the lift change from their solid, silver color to more of a dark blue with electrical components in them. Donna lets out a soft gasp and squeezes her own body up against the side of her father before burying her face into his shirt. While still holding onto Donna's hand, the Doctor wraps his arm over her shoulder and pulls her even tighter to him as he looks at their new surroundings.
"Yes. That's it. That's all. It's the lights." The Doctor answers to Craig's question in a slightly higher pitched voice.
"Why'd you say that like that?" Craig asks, not realizing the possible danger that he or Alfie are in.
"Like what?" The Doctor asks before clearing his throat and dropping his voice a little. "Like what?"
"Like that, in that high-pitched voice."
Hearing, and feeling, Donna let out a whimper of fear, the Doctor decides that he needs to figure out a way to get them all out of there. Not just Craig and Alfie, but also his little girl. Rose would kill him if anything happened to Donna. Heck, he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to their youngest child.
Mustering his courage, and sending reassurances to a panicked Rose, the Doctor holds tight to his daughter before looking at Craig.
"Just keep looking at me, Craig. Right at me. Just keep looking."
"Why?" Asks a confused Craig, wondering why the Doctor is behaving strangely.
"Well, because. Because… Because I love you." The Doctor says, releasing his hold on Donna and grabbing Craig by the shoulders to keep the man from looking away.
"You love me?" Craig replies, suddenly surprised by the Doctor's admission.
"But you love mummy, dad." Donna whimpers out for the two men to hear.
"I do love your mum, Rose. However, Donna, you can still love other people. Just like I love you, Jack, Jenny, and the Tardis." The Doctor says to Donna while not looking away from Craig.
"But Craig isn't family, daddy. You must love your family and the Tardis. It's the rules." Donna counters back at her father's statement.
"Who says?"
"Mummy. And the Tardis." Donna scolds, wondering how her father forgot about the rules that the Tardis and her mum had set in place upon her family's return.
"Of course, those two conspired together to make up their own rules." The Doctor whispers to himself as he wraps his arms around Craig's neck so that he can fiddle with his sonic without Craig noticing.
Meanwhile, Craig is wondering why the Doctor is standing so close to him. So, he looks down at the little girl and notices that she is no longer hiding her face into her father's shirt, but is looking around instead. This peeks his interest and causes Craig to look around as well.
As he begins to see that they are no longer in the lift, Craig begins to panic.
"Oh, my God. What is happening?" Craig screams out at the Doctor, not realizing that his scream has alerted something to their presence.
"Well, first of all I love you as a friend. Secondly, Donna hold on tight to me and the pram." The Doctor says as he begins fiddling in earnest with the sonic.
The sound of metal footsteps becomes louder, and Donna, having done what her father asked, tries to get a glimpse of who it is that is coming. Having to squint, she can make out a silver suit of armor heading towards them. She's never seen anything like that before, and is a bit intrigued by it. Then, she feels her link to her father blaze red with anger and malice towards the suits of armor. The surge of his emotions is so strong that Donna has to close her eyes from the pain that is exploding in her mind. Faintly, she can hear Rose, Jack, and Jenny cry out to her as they are feeling her pain through the family link. The only one who hasn't noticed is her father.
Suddenly the sound of her father and Craig yelling fills her ears before her whole world begins to tilt. Then, just as her father's emotions recede back from their link, everything goes black.
The Doctor, having gotten Craig, Alfie, and his daughter back safely to the lift, hears a thud to his left. Looking towards the cause of the noise, the Doctor sees Donna lying unconscious on the floor with her back having taken the blow to the floor.
"Donna! Donna!" The Doctor shouts as he kneels down to begin having the sonic run a scan of his child.
With a ding, coming from the lift, the doors open to reveal the rest of the Doctor's family, including Oliver in his stroller, and Harkness. Rose rushes to Donna's side to check on her little girl. Seeing that there is no physical damage, she turns her attention to the Doctor.
"What the hell happened?" Rose snarls out at the Doctor.
"Cybermen." The Doctor says quietly to Rose, hoping that she will leave their discussion for when they're back at the Tardis.
"Not with you, with Donna. She was in pain, so much pain; and I couldn't figure out why. So, what happened, Doctor?" Rose glares at the Doctor as she speaks.
"What do you mean pain? She wasn't hit with anything. At least nothing the sonic can pick up." The Doctor retorts.
"Mentally, dad. Who hurt Donna telepathically?" Jack asks his father, having walked over and knelt down to place two fingers to Donna's temple before speaking.
"What?" The Doctor asks Jack, giving his son a questioning look.
"All of us could feel her pain from whatever had ripped through her mind. But why weren't you affected?" Jack asks his father.
"There wasn't anything telepathic in that place." The Doctor replies in frustration.
"No one but you and Donna." Jack verbally tosses you there.
"But I had my walls in place. I wasn't broadcasting anything through the bond. I made sure of it." The Doctor responds. Surely, he wasn't the one to blame for Donna's passing out.
"He had her hold on to him." Craig says, having moved himself and his son's pram out of the lift. "If that helps."
Nearly everyone went silent at Craig's words. Everyone, except the Doctor.
"Oh no." The Doctor groans out softly before shifting his young daughter into his arms. He places a gentle kiss to her temple, which causes the child to shiver slightly in his arms. "I did this to her."
"What?" Craig says out loud, not sure how the Doctor could have harmed his own child.
"You didn't mean to, Doc. It was an accident." Harkness tells his friend, knowing just how hard it is for a parent to realize that they have harmed their own child.
"Let's get her back to the Tardis." The Doctor says, holding Donna tightly to his chest.
As he prepares to leave the lift, he hands the sonic over to Jack before turning around to look at Harkness.
"See what the two of you can find out. Three, if Jenny goes with you." The Doctor says to the two males.
As fast as he can, the Doctor begins to walk away, with Rose and Oliver in hot pursuit behind him. This leaves Harkness, Jack, and Jenny with Craig and Alfie.
The older man of the three has brown hair with some gray at the temples, grey-blue eyes, and is wearing a crisp white button down shirt with black trousers. The younger man, with blonde wavy hair that stops just below his jawline, deep blue eyes, and wearing a navy-blue t-shirt beneath a brown leather jacket with jeans and black military boots, starts having the Doctor's sonic begin scanning the surrounding area. The young female, wearing a deep green t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and with layered blonde hair that is pulled back into a ponytail, crosses her arms as she waits for the younger man to say something.
"So, who are you three, then?" Craig asks these new people that he has never before met before.
The female gives Craig a smile before answering his question.
"I'm Jenny. Oldest daughter of the Doctor." Jenny says to Craig before gesturing towards the other two men. "This here is my younger brother, Jack. And this is Captain Jack Harkness, for who my brother was named after."
"Oh." Craig says, surprised that the Doctor has two older children besides Donna. "And who was that in the stroller."
"That would-be, Oliver. He's part of our family; we're just unsure as to whom he belongs to" Jack says before starting to walk away from the lift and follow where the sonic was leading him.
As the rest of the small group follows after Jack, he begins to explain what the sonic is telling him to Harkness, who is walking next to the young Time Lord.
"They must have linked the teleport relay to the lift. Or at least that is what the sonic is saying. But it looks like dad fused it. They won't be able to use it again."
"So, they're stuck, wherever they are." Harkness comments as he keeps pace with his namesake.
"What were those things?" Craig asks, hoping that the rest of the group won't ignore him.
"Whatever they were, it was bad enough for dad to accidentally go unhinged." Jenny says from beside the new father pushing a pram.
"There are only three things that would unhinge your father." Harkness says from over his shoulder to Jenny. "The Master, the Daleks, and the Cybermen."
"I'd take a guess that it's either Daleks or Cybermen. Dad's told me all about the Master and him going back with the Time Lords almost ten years ago. Well, ten years in our relative time. For dad, it could be ten years, or it could be a hundred years. Never really know with him." Jack says as he keeps walking through the department store till they reach outside.
Pointing the Doctor's sonic up to the sky, Jack allows the tool to take scans with the hope of something showing up.
"They've got to be up there somewhere." Jack mumbles out, trying to figure out why the sonic isn't picking anything up. "The sonic can't get a fix on it, so it must be shielded."
"Shielded really well if the Doc's sonic can't find it." Harkness says to Jack, letting his mind run through all the mechanical knowledge he has garnered over his very long life.
"But he fused the teleport. The Doctor sorted it." Craig says from behind the two men. "They can't come back."
"He bought himself more time." Harkness says, looking at Craig with a grin on his face. "The Doctor does that sometimes. Tells you what you want to hear, but never what you need to hear. He'll still need to work out what they are doing before he can stop it."
"But if they've got the teleport, and they're that evil, why haven't they already invaded?" Craig asks Harkness.
"Who says that they haven't tried to. Numerous times, in the past and possibly the future, Daleks and Cybermen have tried to invade. But every time they tried, dad was always there to stop them." Jenny says, placing a hand on Craig's shoulder. "You should take your son and go."
"No." Craig replies defiantly. "I remember last time. People were killed. People that didn't know the Doctor. I know where it's safest for me and Alfie, and that's right next to the Doctor. You're his family, so that also extends to you. We're safest near the Doctor and his family."
"Is that so?" Jack says, turning around to full look at Craig.
"Yeah. He always wins, always survives." Craig says with such belief in the Doctor that it takes the other three by surprise.
"You have such faith in me when you shouldn't, Craig." The Doctor's voice says from the distance.
All four people turn to their right and see the Doctor and Rose walking towards them. This causes Jenny to break away from the group and approach her parents.
"Where's Donna? Is she alright?" Jenny worryingly asks.
"She'll be alright, Jen." Rose answers back as she pulls her oldest into a hug. "Your dad just overloaded her telepathic synapsis. She's resting back in the Tardis, and Oliver is down for the evening."
"By the way," The Doctor says, looking pointedly at Jack. "You have a visitor waiting for you in the Tardis, Jack. I suggest you go on and see to them."
Jack lets out a sigh and walks over to his father. Holding out his father's sonic, Jack and the Doctor make quick eye contact with each other. Through their familial bond, the father and son speak to each other, while blocking out the rest of the family.
'What are you planning, Jack?' The Doctor telepathically asks his son.
'Nothing.' Jack lies.
'Then why was River Song waiting for you in the Tardis when your mum and I arrived with Donna and Oliver?'
'I don't know, dad. Perhaps she was just trying to mess with you? Besides, I already know that River Song is the one who kills you at Lake Silencio.'
'How do you know that?'
'You think mum was the only one that the Tardis told?'
'Do your siblings know?'
'Jenny does, but Donna doesn't. I don't know why, but the Tardis said that it wasn't Donna's time yet? I don't know what she meant by that.'
The Doctor lets out a sigh before reaching out to take the sonic from his son. Then he steps closer to Jack so that he can whisper into his son's ear.
"Whatever you two are planning, stop. It's a fixed point in time and it needs to happen." The Doctor whispers before stepping away from his son and plastering a large smile on his face. "Right, Jack, you know the rules. No girls in your room, or any room for that matter, while inside the Tardis."
"Dad." Jack growls out at his father before rolling his eyes and begins to leave the group to make his way to the Tardis.
"Should I go with him, Doc? Keep him out of trouble." Harkness asks the Doctor with a cheeky grin on his face.
"No. You'd be the one getting my son into trouble. You're staying with us." The Doctor retorts to the former Time Agent.
"So what are we going to do now?" Craig asks the Doctor, trying hard to hold in a chuckle at seeing the Doctor behaving like a family man.
"We're going to go and investigate." The Doctor says before splitting up members of the group. "Jenny, you will go with Jack and investigate together. Meanwhile, Rose and Craig will be with me."
"Why can't I investigate with mum? Surely Captain 'I can't keep my pants on' can investigate on his own." Jenny complains while giving Jack Harkness look of disgust.
"No. We need to be in pairs, and since young Alfie is too young to call for help, Craig needs a babysitter." The Doctor says, ignoring Craig's shout of 'Hey' as he hands his daughter a second sonic screwdriver from out of one of his coat pockets. "Now, this here is my spare sonic. Use it carefully, it's a bit temperamental with certain settings."
"Cool. I get a sonic." Jenny happily says once the tool is in her hands. "Jack is going to be so jealous."
The Doctor lets out a chuckle before heading back over to Rose. "Right then. Let's go investigate."
They head inside of the department store and split up at the first walkway intersection. Rose, Craig and the Doctor head straight, while Jenny and Jack Harkness head left.
Keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the possible invaders, Jenny keeps the sonic close to her body as she scans the surrounding area, which happens to be ladies underwear. Keeping to the walkway, Jenny doesn't notice that her partner has wandered off to one of the displays.
"I think you could pull this off." Harkness's voice calls out from Jenny's right.
Turning her head towards the voice, Jenny's eyes go big as she sees Harkness standing next to a mannequin that had on a sleek, see-through, black lace nightie. She also sees that the older man has on a wicked smile and one of his eye brows arched as if he is asking for trouble.
Deciding not to let her parent's friend get the mickey out of her, she makes her way over to him while letting her hips sway a bit more than usual. Doing this sensual walk towards the man, Jenny sees that his pupils are beginning to dilate. Coming to a stop, with barely any space between their bodies, tilts her face up to look directly into Jack's eyes.
"You'd like to see me in this, wouldn't you?" Jenny says, trying to add a little purr to her voice.
If she's going to play Harkness's game, she will do what it takes to come out the winner. So she slowly uses two fingers, from her left hand, to walk up the man's chest before placing one finger against his lips. Then she moves her face closer to his before whispering into his ear.
"What would my parents think, of their friend propositioning their daughter?"
All Harkness can do is let out an audible swallow from his throat before realizing that this young woman is trying to turn the tables on him. Sure, females and males have tried to seduce him which he happily would go along with. However, never before has a female actually respond to his sexual teasing by turning it back onto him. This not only intrigues him, wanting to see where this will end up, but it also scares the living daylights out of him because this young woman is the daughter of his two best friends. Isn't there a rule against seducing, or becoming sexually involved, with the child of your two best friends?
"Oh to hell with it." Jack manages to whisper out loud at the thoughts running through his head.
With quick movements, which take Jenny by surprise, Jack Harkness places his hands on either side of her face and gives Jenny a sound lesson in the art of kissing. A lesson that will be forever seared in Jenny's mind for years to come.
So I decided to break a very, very long chapter into two pieces instead. Mostly because it felt too long and too filled. Felt as if I might lose you all with all the words and excitement.
Reviews are welcomed, loved, and cherished.
Selene
