Notes: Oh, I'm so happy with how all of this is turning out! Thank you all so much for the reviews and the number of follows is staggering. So, as Jamie is getting older, it's time to reveal that in my mind, he is portrayed as an adult by Eddie Redmayne... so picture a miniature version of him for this Jamie. Rose's smile, the Doctor's freckles.. he's perfect. BTW, for the guest reviewer, I ship Rose with EVERY Doctor... River can have someone else ;) Enjoy!
Chapter Ten – The Waters of Mars
"So, Jamie, today we're going to explore one of the planets in your mother's home system - Mars. We'll all need spacesuits for this one because we're visiting before the colonization," the Doctor told his son as he finished fastening the clasps on his little orange suit.
"Are we going to see Ice Warriors?" Jamie asked excitedly. The five year old already exceeded most human teenaged children in his knowledge thanks to his Time Lord brain and the eager teachings of his father.
"No, I don't think that would be a good idea for a field trip just yet. Maybe when you're older," he added with a wink.
Rose walked into the console room, already wearing her own orange suit, and talking on the phone. "Yes, mum, we'll visit soon... I promise. Yes, here's Jamie," she said as she handed the phone to her son.
"Hi gran! We're going to Mars today! And I get to wear a spacesuit, but daddy says there won't be any Ice Warriors. I really wanted to see them. They're big and green and they hiss when they talk!" Jamie babbled at Jackie on the phone.
"That's great, sweetheart. You be careful and tell your daddy that he needs to bring you round to visit me soon, ok?" Jackie replied as soon as she could get a word in.
"But careful is so boring, gran. Yesterday, we went to an amusement park with the biggest roller coaster in this galaxy!" the young man informed her. His parents smirked as they listened to him voice their own opinions on being careful.
"Well, boring or not, I want to see you back here alive, young man. And soon besides," Jackie responded.
"Yes, gran. Love you," Jamie said as he handed the phone back to his mother.
"Alright, mum. See you soon," Rose said as she turned off the phone and put it away in her pocket before closing up her spacesuit.
Once all of their suits were sealed and their helmets on, the little family exited their time ship onto the surface of Mars.
"The red planet," the Doctor announced.
"It's beautiful," Rose said as she looked around. She squinted against the sunlight that glinted off of the rocks scattered around them and the hills in the distance.
"Let's try this way," the Doctor suggested and with Jamie held between them, they swung him happily over the rocky terrain.
As they climbed the hills, Jamie ran ahead to explore. Rose and the Doctor watched him with happy smiles. They had spent the last few years just playing it safe. Family trips and educational outings had filled their days as Jamie was learning everything his father could teach him.
"Mum! Dad! You've got to come see this!" Jamie shouted.
"You don't need to shout, you know. We are using comm systems in the space suits," Rose chastised and wished that she could rub her sore ears from the outburst.
"Sorry, but really, come see!" he replied more softly. He was generally quite soft spoken, but easily excited.
Looking over the pile of boulders he had climbed up on, they saw a group of domes and a small rocket.
"Oh, beautiful," the Doctor sighed happily.
"I thought you said we were coming before the colonization, dad?" Jamie asked.
"Well..." the Doctor started, but suddenly felt something poke him in the back.
They heard a mechanical voice come over their comm systems, "Rotate, slowly."
Rose, the Doctor and Jamie all turned to see a small, white robot that seemed to be pointing a weapon at them. "You are under arrest for trespassing. Gadget gadget," the robot said and directed them to precede it down the escarpment and head toward the central dome of the base.
Once inside, they were instructed to remove their spacesuits and came face to face with a rather angry looking blonde woman. Rose and the Doctor were trying to be cautious in the face of weapons, but Jamie thought it was fantastic. Perhaps they shouldn't have kept all of their trips quite so trouble free.
"This is so cool!" he exclaimed as he started looking at a nearby computer terminal.
The angry woman powered up a gun and pointed it at the Doctor as she ordered, "State your name, rank, and intention."
"Jamie, come here please," Rose thought to her son worriedly. He stopped what he was doing and ran to huddle between his parents, concerned by their feelings now that he was paying attention.
"The Doctor, doctor, fun," came his direct reply.
"And you?" she asked with a nod to Rose.
"Rose, umm... mum, I suppose, and fun as well," she answered, hoping the honest answers would appease the woman long enough for her to put the gun down.
"Why the hell would you bring a child out here?" she demanded to know.
"It's a field trip," Jamie replied innocently. "We were having a great time until that silly little robot came along."
A young man suddenly came running into the room, gaping at the newcomers. "What the hell? It's people. People on Mars? How?" he sputtered. Rose was reminded suddenly of the responses of the crew on the Sanctuary Base on Krop Tor. Hopefully, things would go a little more smoothly this time.
"They were wearing these things. I have never seen anything like them before," a young woman with a strong German accent said from behind them as she up held their orange suits.
"What did Mission Control say?" the young man asked.
"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares," the woman holding the spacesuits replied.
"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the angry woman with the gun interrupted.
"Actually, chat's second on my list. The first being gun, pointed at my family. Which then puts my family second, which is generally not the case, family comes first usually, you know. But in this case, for the sake of my family's safety, let's put priority on removing said gun from being pointed at my family and put cutting the chat into third place on the list. Yeah, I hate lists, but you could hurt someone with that thing. Just, put it down, please," the Doctor babbled nervously. He was terrified really, this was the most danger his son had been in since the incident with the Cybermen, years ago. The Doctor knew that angry, frightened people and guns were not a good combination.
"Oh, you'd like that," the woman responded.
"Can you find me someone who wouldn't? Or do you make it a habit of executing people in front of their children?" the Doctor asked, hoping that his concern for his son's safety would earn him a little more respect in this woman's eyes.
"Why should I trust you?" she demanded, her tension apparent in the frown lines on her face.
"Why wouldn't you?" Rose questioned in return as she wrapped an arm around Jamie's shoulders. He was only five, but he was tall and thin, like his father and was already as tall as Rose's chest.
The woman glanced from one face to the next in the little group, finally settling on the little boy. She looked into his wide eyes and her own became slightly glassy. With a sigh, she powered down the gun and put it away.
"Keep Gadget covering them," she ordered another young man who seemed to be wired into some kind of computer system.
"Gadget gadget," the little robot acknowledged.
"Oh right, so you control that thing. Auto-glove response," the Doctor said as he moved his attention to the other weapon still being aimed at his family.
"You got it. To the right," the man told them as he moved the controls and the robot turned. "And to the left," he added as the robot wobbled and sparked a bit when it turned.
"It's a bit rubbish," Jamie said as he walked around it. "I could probably fix it up a bit for you, if you want," he added as he began to reach for the sonic in his pocket.
"No! Jamie, I think we'd best leave their toys alone, yeah?" Rose stopped him before he revealed too much of their own technology.
"Gadget gadget," the robot repeated.
"Does it have to keep saying that?" the Doctor asked with a grimace.
"I think it's funny," the man controlling the robot replied. He seemed grumpy at having a child insult the machine he considered to be cutting edge.
"I hate funny robots," the Doctor replied.
Another woman's voice suddenly came over the communication system, "Excuse me, boss. Computer log says we've got extra people on site. How's that possible?"
"Keep the Biodome closed. And when using open comms, you call be Captain," the older woman responded into a handheld device, seeming more and more frustrated by her team's lack of discipline.
"Yeah, but..." the voice sounded before the Captain flicked a switch to disconnect the channel.
An older man and a young Asian woman entered the room to see the impossible visitors for themselves. The man immediately started trying to work out who they could be and how they got there.
"They can't be a World State flight, because we'd know about it. Therefore, he's got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years," the man ranted.
The Doctor tried to keep quiet and not lie to these people, but he also couldn't tell them how they really got there either. He urged Jamie and Rose to stay silent as well through their telepathic links. Eventually though, he needed answers and decided to let them think whatever they wanted to about who they might be.
"Right, yes, ok, you got me. So, I'm the Doctor, and you are?" he asked the man ranting in his face.
"Oh, come on. We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are," the Captain told him, obviously not believing that they didn't know who they were talking to.
The Doctor and Jamie looked at each other quickly, with wide eyes. "You're the first?" the Doctor asked quietly and glanced at all of the people again. "The very first humans on Mars? Then this is..."
"Bowie Base One," the Captain, the Doctor and Jamie all said in unison.
Jamie took his father's hand and held it tightly as the Doctor started rambling facts about the mission, "Number one. Founded July first, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater. You've been here how long?"
"Seventeen months," the Captain replied suspiciously and Jamie gasped.
"2059. It's 2059, right now. Oh! My head is so stupid. You're Captain Adelaide Brooke. And Ed... you're Deputy Edward Gold. Tarak Ital, MD. Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett. You're only twenty-seven years old," he named each of them in turn as the anguish in his features grew. He picked up Jamie and held him tightly, knowing that the lessons for today would be the hardest ones for any Time Lord to learn.
"As I said, Doctor, everyone knows our names," the Captain said, not sure how to take his sudden change in demeanour.
"Oh, they'll never forget them. What's the date, today? What is it? Tell me the exact date," the Doctor requested.
"November twenty-first, 2059," Adelaide replied.
"Right. Ok, fine. Just... excuse us a moment," the Doctor said tightly as he turned to take Rose's hand and addressed his family silently, "I can tell from your anxiety, Jamie that you remember what happens here today. This is the day that Bowie Base One explodes. No one ever knew what happened, but it has GOT to happen. Can you feel the time-lines, Jamie?"
"Yes, daddy. It feels tight and uncomfortable. Is that right?" Jamie asked as his eyes lost focus in concentration.
"Yes. That's what it feels like as we approach a fixed point. Rose, you know what can happen if we try to mess with one of those," the Doctor replied.
"Reapers. We've got to get out of here," his wife responded, fear evident in her eyes.
They all nodded and the Doctor turned to address the others in the room again. "We need to go. Really, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry with all my hearts, but this is one of those very rare times when I've got no choice. It's been an honour. Seriously, a very great honour to meet you all. The Martian pioneers," he said as he moved to shake all of their hands, but the scientists seemed to sense that something wasn't quite as it should be.
"Is there something wrong?" Steffi, who had been holding their spacesuits earlier, asked the Doctor.
"What's so important about my age?" Mia wondered.
"What about the other two, daddy? Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone," Jamie asked.
Ed moved to a nearby computer station and pressed a few buttons before speaking, "Maggie, if you want to meet the only new human beings that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look."
There was nothing but silence for a moment before a low, rumbling growl was heard over the speakers.
"What was that?" Mia questioned fearfully.
"Oh, we really need to go," the Doctor lamented, despite his desire to help these people.
"This is Central. Biodome report immediately," Ed called into the comm system. There was no reply as Adelaide rushed to his side.
"Show me the Biodome," she demanded.
"Internal cameras are down," he replied as he typed frantically into the system.
"Show me the exterior," the Captain ordered in frustration. They all watched as the lights inside and outside of the Biodome extinguished.
"I'm going over. Doctor, with me," Adelaide stated authoritatively.
"What?!" Rose exclaimed. They needed to leave, this place was going to explode today and if it didn't, then they'd all likely be consumed by Reapers instead.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Er, I'd love to help, but we are leaving right now," the Doctor informed her.
"Take their spacesuits and lock them up. This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me," the Captain ordered.
"Rose, keep Jamie close," he told his wife as he handed the boy in his arms to her. "And try to gain some sympathy so we can get out of here," he added silently. She nodded and kissed him lightly.
The Doctor left with Captain Brooke and Doctor Ital, followed by the little white robot to relay a video feed back to the central dome. Rose and Jamie watched the feed over Roman's shoulder as he controlled the robot.
The Doctor chatted with the people about his dislike of people making robots look and act silly. He knew they were capable of some really remarkable things if they were taken seriously. He did mention finding robot dogs alright.
"Can we have a robot dog, mummy?" Jamie asked excitedly.
"You'll have to ask your father, I'm afraid. He used to have a robot dog named K9, but he gave it to Sarah Jane," Rose replied and ruffled his messy hair. Jamie's brown mop of hair rivalled his father's some days for how artfully rumpled it could be.
Over the comm channel, they could hear the Doctor talking with Adelaide, "I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide. But one thing they never said. Was it worth it, the mission?"
"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," she responded professionally.
"No, but all of it. Because they say you sacrificed everything. Devoted your whole life to get here," he pressed, needing to know that this woman was satisfied with the life she lived as she approached the end of it.
"It's been chaos back home. Forty long years. The climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. Then to fly above that... to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight? Yes. It's worth it," she admitted finally and the passion could be heard in her voice even through the comm.
"Ah. That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul," he said admiringly.
"What's that?" she asked suddenly, looking further down the hallway.
They ran towards a body lying lifeless on the floor and the little robot raced to catch up with them. Tarak immediately began to check her over and the Doctor reminded them continuously not to touch her. Maggie was unconscious but breathing and seemed to have some kind of head injury.
Ed and Yuri retrieved her with a stretcher and she was placed in isolation while the Doctor, Tarak, and Adelaide continued towards the Biodome to find Andy. The robot was left to monitor the entrance to the dome, so Rose and Jamie decided to take a look at what was happening with the patient. They were directed towards the medical dome by Ed, who felt that the petite blonde and her son couldn't do much harm.
Maggie had dark skin and wore dark green coveralls. As she started to stir, Yuri contacted Captain Brooke, "Captain, good news. It's Maggie. She's awake. She's back with us."
Maggie tried to sit up from the bed and Yuri called to her, "Hey, how are you, soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"
"I was just working. Then I woke up here," Maggie replied. Rose and Jamie just watched her for now, taking in all the information they could while trying to stay out of the way.
"What about Andy? We can't find him. Was he alright?" Adelaide said over the comm.
"I don't know. I just..." she replied in confusion.
"If you remember anything, let me know straight away," the Captain ordered.
Ed came on the channel then and asked, "Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?"
"And keep the comms clear!" Adelaide ordered crossly. "Everything goes through me, got that?" The discussion disconnected suddenly and Yuri was unruffled by the outburst seemed accustomed to the harsh interactions between Ed and Adelaide.
"Come on. Just let me out of here. I'm fine. Just groggy," Maggie coaxed Yuri.
"You know the rules. Twenty-four hours," he answered with a friendly and understanding smile as he entered her vital statistics into the panel in front of him.
"Who are you two?" she asked through the isolation glass when she noticed the strangers in the room with Yuri.
"Oh, we're just... visiting," Rose replied with a slightly nervous smile. "I'm Rose and this is Jamie."
"Hello," Jamie said softly with a small wave.
Maggie looked at the computer in front of Yuri where a video was playing and asks, "Is that your brother?"
Jamie and Rose turned to look at it and saw a man speaking Russian. The TARDIS translated it for them, of course, but Jamie asked the TARDIS to let him hear it properly so he could practise his Russian.
"It's only a repeat. The solar flares are still up. Are you ok?" Yuri asked Maggie, noticing that she seemed a little shaky.
"Yeah, just... you know," she replied quickly with a reassuring smile.
Yuri, Rose and Jamie turned back to the screen to watch the Russian man telling a story. Yuri roughly translated for everyone, unaware that all but Maggie could understand it already. Maggie began to ask questions about his brother and became more and more interested as Yuri described where he lived by the Caspian Sea.
"Earth is so much water," she said eerily. Jamie felt a tingle go up his spine at her words, but kept his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.
"Yeah. Just look at her. Forty million miles away," Yuri agreed, dreaming of home.
"It has so much beauty. We should like that world," Maggie said and her voice suddenly changed, dropping to a low frightening timbre.
Yuri, Rose and Jamie all turned to look at her and saw that her lips looked black and grey. The skin surrounding them was severely cracked and there was water pouring out of her mouth continuously. She gave them all an evil smile and Jamie leapt into his mother's arms, wrapping himself around her and burying his face in her neck.
"This is Sickbay. We have a situation! Maggie's condition has... I don't know. I don't know what it is. It's water, just pouring out!" Yuri called into the comm system in a panic.
Maggie sneered at them through the glass.
"Yuri, calm down. Just tell me what's happened to her," Adelaide replied through the speakers.
"The skin is sort of broken around the mouth... and she's exuding water, like she's drowning," Yuri answered, obviously frightened.
They heard Adelaide start issuing orders, "Tarak, this area's unsafe. We're going back. ... Tarak? ... Tarak!"
"Where was he?" the Doctor was heard to say.
"Yuri, keep her contained. Seal the door at maximum. I'm on my way!" Ed called over the comms.
Rose backed into the corner with Jamie, but stayed in the room so that they could get as much information about what was happening as possible. Any little clue might help the Doctor.
Ed entered the infirmary and looked at Maggie through the glass to the isolation room. She stared back at him with wide eyes, her hands on the glass. There was water pouring out of her sleeves and down to the floor.
"What the hell?" Ed asked quietly.
Over the comm system, they heard Mia ask, "What's happened to her? Yuri, what is she?"
"Captain, we need you back here," Steffi added.
"Just tell me that Maggie is contained. Can you confirm, Ed?" Adelaide demanded.
"Confirmed. She's locked in," he replied, still staring at his transformed co-worker.
"Keep surveillance 'til I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets. Don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it, not one drop," she ordered firmly and disconnected.
The four people in the infirmary watched the woman in isolation warily as she stared back at them with large eyes and water pouring over blackened teeth. The silence was deafening, but none of them knew what to say.
Suddenly, Adelaide came back over the comm system and startled all of them, "Biodome Tunnel is out of bounds. Andy and Tarak are infected. Repeat, infected. Make no contact and if they make the slightest move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome."
Rose and Jamie were relieved that the Doctor was on his way to their location, but the others felt no such consolation. When the Doctor and Adelaide arrived, there was some discussion about the door seals and Maggie's condition as the Doctor watched her through the glass. Adelaide tried talking to her but there was no response other than staring.
The Doctor began to speak in another language. To the scientists it sounded like gibberish, but Jamie understood it and Rose heard the translation, "Can you understand me now? What is it you want?"
Maggie looked at him curiously then, and Ed asked, "What language is that?"
"Ancient North Martian," Jamie answered. The scientists looked at him in surprise.
"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide said.
"No, it is. Very good, Jamie," the Doctor praised.
"It's like she recognized it," Ed admitted with his arms crossed protectively across his chest.
"Where do you get your water from?" the Doctor inquired, needing a few more facts.
"The ice field. That's why we chose the crater. We're on top of an underground glacier," Adelaide replied.
"Tons of water. Marvellous," the Doctor said sarcastically.
"But every single drop is filtered, screened; it's safe," Yuri insisted.
"Oh, you think so?" Rose interjected. She had moved to the Doctor's side with Jamie still in her arms and he placed an arm protectively over her shoulders.
"If something was frozen down there. A viral life form held in the ice for all those years..." Ed postulated.
"Look at her mouth. All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it creates water," the Doctor explained.
He looked back at Maggie curiously and requested in English, "Tell me what you want."
There was no response, so Yuri told him, "She was looking at the screen. At Earth. She wanted Earth. A world full of water."
"She did say something about that, Doctor. She said... umm..." Rose began.
"We should like that world," Jamie finished. "That was the first thing she said when her voice changed. They want to go to the Earth and infect everyone."
"Captain, with me," Ed said as he pulled her aside by the arm. "I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading. That demands Action Procedure One."
"Do you think I don't know that?" Adelaide replied angrily, pulling her arm out of his hold.
"I think you need reminding," he said sincerely, glancing worriedly back over his shoulder.
"Yeah," she sighed.
"Well, at least I'm good for something," he said teasingly.
"Now and again," she admitted reluctantly, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"That's almost a compliment. Things must be serious," Ed told her. Seeming relieved at her apparent softening towards him.
"Sorry, sorry, but Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?" The Doctor interrupted, having overheard their conversation.
"We're going home. This is Captain Brooke, I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crew members, this is Action One with immediate effect. Evacuate the base," she announced over the comm system.
The crew immediately jumped into action, packing food and essentials for their trip home. The Captain gave them a ridiculously short time limit, but everyone just pushed to accomplish it without complaint.
The Doctor knew however that this wouldn't be enough. "Of course, the only problem is..." The Doctor began to tell her.
"Thank you, Doctor. Your spacesuits will be returned, and good luck to you," Adelaide cut him off shortly as she rushed to get things ready.
"The problem is, this thing is clever. It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the Biodome, it chose the humans. You were chosen. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected, it stayed hidden inside her. No doubt so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..." The Doctor explained and waited for her to draw the conclusion necessary.
"Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water," she said, horrified by the realization.
"And if you take that back to Earth, one drop... just one drop..." he added, in warning.
Adelaide insisted on determining whether it was possible for anyone else to be infected, by establishing when and how the infection started. Rose and Jamie stayed out of everyone's way and got their spacesuits on while they waited for the Doctor.
They had determined that the contamination should have been contained in the Biodome and the rest should be fine, but Maggie was successfully breaking out of isolation and Andy and Tarak were trying to break in from outside the domes. The crew were frantically trying to get everything into the rocket to evacuate, but time was running out.
The Doctor put on his spacesuit sadly and ushered his family into the airlock to leave. As they were about to go through the exterior door, however, the computer said, "Access denied."
Over the comm, Adelaide said, "Tell me what happens."
"Captain, this is one of those times where what happens, has to happen. I can't change it. You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures, and Action Five is...?" the Doctor prompted.
"Detonation," she whispered.
"The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. I've taught you what happens here today, Jamie. Tell her what happens and why it must be," the Doctor encouraged the young Time Lord to show his understanding of fixed points.
"Today, on the twenty-first of November, 2059, Captain Adelaide Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all of her crew members with her. No one ever knows why, but you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy because you die on Mars. You die today. She flies out there trying to meet you," Jamie tells her sadly.
"But..." Adelaide tries to argue.
"And why are WE here, Jamie? What do the timelines tell you?" The Doctor prompts further.
"If we hadn't been here, they may not have discovered the infection in time or may not have taken enough action against it and all life on Earth could have been lost. If we try to change any of it, the fabric of reality will warp and Reapers will come to consume the cause of the paradox," Jamie explained, showing just how fully he understood the losses to come.
They could hear her sobbing before she said, "Goodbye, Doctor, Rose, you keep that little boy safe."
The family sadly and reverently left the airlock and hurried back to the TARDIS. From safe within her walls, they monitored the situation and the base as it was indeed destroyed by a nuclear blast. The rocket never left the Martian surface.
Rose and the Doctor held Jamie in a tight hug, as they all sat together on the jump seat. All of them were crying, but they also knew that it all needed to happen. Rose learned this lesson when her father died, Jamie learned it now.
They were all surprised when abruptly an Ood appeared in the console room.
"What?!" the Doctor asked incredulously. This was like Donna's appearance all over again.
Jamie ran toward it and when he tried to touch the Ood's hand, his went right through. It seemed to be only a projection or vision of some kind.
"It is time, Doctor. The Ood have an important message for you. You must come," the alien announced, then disappeared.
"We'll see about that," he mumbled to himself as he threw the switches to take the TARDIS anywhere else. The words that had been following echoed through his mind. The Ood telling him his song was ending, Carmen's words and the warnings of someone knocking four times, all of it haunting him. He shook his head to banish the thoughts and plastered a smile on his face as he danced around the console to take them somewhere fun.