I honestly really don't like this episode in the show. It just irritates me for some reason, maybe because I felt like New Earth was special for Rose. Probably, but this fanfic made me really enjoy it. Written by Furyism.

Episode Six

Alone, Part I

After Rose showed Martha to her new room, she hurried back to the console room. There were proper tests to be run.

Recalling what Martha had done to test Lazarus' DNA, Rose plucked a hair from her head with a wince and waited with bated breath for the results. It took longer than she expected, but she supposed that not everything could be as instantaneous as they made it look on the telly.

The results were puzzling, to say the least. Her DNA strand almost looked like a normal human's, but a detailed analysis revealed that there were twelve extra pairs of chromosomes that shouldn't exist. The image fluctuated every other second, apparently even more unstable than Lazarus' had been. Her DNA kept trying to thicken, multiplying the sides of the double helix and twisting them all around the "rungs" until it resembled more of a rope than a ladder.

The TARDIS had samples of countless different species' DNA recorded in its archives. Rose searched until she found the one for Gallifreyans. She compared the record with her own DNA and found that Gallifreyans also had twelve more pairs of chromosomes than humans. However, the image of the Gallifreyan DNA strand looked nothing like what her own was apparently changing into. Theirs actually looked closer to a human's. She, apparently, was something else entirely.

Rose sat in the jumpseat and stared blankly at the screen, which displayed her rapidly flickering DNA. She just didn't have enough information. She couldn't possibly hope to search through the databanks to find the species that exactly matched her DNA; it was feasibly ridiculous, as there were simply too many. Hell, the TARDIS had archives for trillions of plants and animals, down to the grubbiest maggot. It could take her centuries to find what she was looking for.

She rubbed a hand tiredly over her face and found that the tears she had shed had dried and her cheeks felt like they were stretched taut. She was still wearing that dress, too. Her feet were throbbing.

First thing was first, she decided. She needed to change and wash up before worrying about anything else. After that, she needed to compile a list of things that had changed since – well, since she first started noticing the changes.

There were a lot, she realized upon merely thinking about making such a list. She'd simply pushed it all to the back of her mind like it hadn't mattered. It was brought more firmly to her attention by the Judoon in Royal Hope Hospital, but even then she hadn't thought of how extensively she had changed.

After the list, Rose continued her previous train of thought, there was research to be done. She couldn't do it all at once, unfortunately, as Martha was going to be ready to tackle their next adventure as soon as she had rested. But she could start, anyway.

So Rose took a quick shower and after dressing settled down on her favorite rug in the library with a spiral notebook and a pen.

It took nearly half an hour to think of everything she thought was worth noticing:

Some comm. w/ TARDIS after Sat 5

Lots of comm. w/ TARDIS after Battle

Insomnia?

Better memory

Erratic periods at first, then none

Faster/better healing?

Weird spidey-sense

B. Hos – Bad Wolf

Access to power that can kill me (BW?)

Senses better; details clearer, etc.

Regen. on Omega (ish)

Eyes can glow?

Music w/ heartbeat?

Age is wrong?

Threads (timelines?)

DNA's fucked

Rereading the list, Rose was satisfied with her notes. She started wandering around the library in search of a book or five that could start her on her research.

Mostly she found books about DNA and of what it was made. Although it wouldn't tell her anything much about the mutation she was undergoing, it was a beginning. Rose spent some time perusing these books and acquainting herself with a subject she was sure would take a lot more delving into in order to find any acceptable answers.

Before Rose knew it, there was a call from the hallway outside and she jerked upright in a sitting position. She knew that voice; Martha was awake already. Had she really been reading for that long? Rose grimaced; there had been a time when she wouldn't touch a book for fear of breaking out in hives. As it was, her muscles had grown stiff and there was a cramp in her right hand from writing.

"In here!" Rose shouted, stretching.

Then she blinked; her notes were lying scattered all around her. She hastily collected them into one semi-organized pile and had just finished stuffing the list into a dusty book entitled The Building Blocks of Identity when Martha opened the library doors and barged in.

"There you are," Martha exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you! Did you know that there's a room here that's completely full of water?"

"That's Squeegee's bowl," Rose explained as she took her armful of research and dumped it into a chintz armchair by the rarely-used fireplace.

Martha looked taken aback. "Squeegee?" She repeated with befuddlement.

Rose smiled. "Yeah. He sort of followed me around for a while an' when I left his planet - called Aguasta, interesting place – he stowed away on board, so the TARDIS made 'im a home."

"What sort of alien is he?"

Rose shrugged. "Not sure, really. He was a pet on Aguasta. Looks sorta like a cross between a squid an' a starfish. He likes to eat scraps of metal."

"Is that a...normal occurrence around here?"

"What, the stowaways? No. But starsquids are pretty common, yeah. On Aguasta, at least."

Martha's expression was one of amazement. She looked around as though just realizing where she was. "This is the library?"

Rose nodded. "Part of it, yeah." When Martha gave her a strange look, she pointed at the bronze spiral staircase in one corner of the room. "That leads to the second level, which is about twice as big as this one. Third level's three times as big, etcetera. Thirteen levels total."

Martha's eyebrows shot straight up. She walked around in a circle with her arms spread wide. "But this, this alone, is huge! How many books are in here?'

Rose laughed. "I have no idea."

Martha saw the old-fashioned desk and made her way over to it. She ran her hands over the huge four-foot tall stack of books that stood precariously in one corner. "What's this, then? Favorites of yours?"

"Er..."

Martha picked up a book and flipped through it. "Lot about the States in this one," she noted. "Great Depression's got a great big chapter."

She dumped the book back on the top of the stack and picked up another, Holes In The Universe by Dr. Samantha Carter.

"Do you read this stuff?"

Rose shrugged casually, trying to pull of a nonchalant look. "Sort of, yeah. That's my, er, 'read and memorized' stack. Some on the floor, too."

Martha leaned over to see the stack that continued on the floor, reaching just past the height of the desk itself. Her jaw slackened.

"You've memorized all of these?"

"I've thought about where we're going next," Rose changed the subject abruptly. Martha put Holes back and crossed her arms expectantly. "I thought, since it didn't really go so well last time, we could try for New Earth again. I think you'd like the cat nuns, if you can get past their experimental tendencies. I prefer dogs, myself. There's dog people on Kenla if you'd rather go there."

Martha shook her head and laughed. "Cat nuns? Seriously? No, New Earth is fine for me."

Rose applauded; why, she didn't know, but it felt like the thing to do. "Great! After you, then."

Martha preceded her into the hallway. As they walked to the console room, Martha continued to talk.

"Seriously, though, did you actually memorize everything that's in those books?"

"Mostly." Rose tapped her temple with a finger. "Got good memory, me. Not perfect, but it comes in handy."

"But what for? What d'you need all those books for?"

Rose sighed. "I just do."

"Some history, but most of them seemed to be about wormholes and black holes an' stuff like that. How come?"

"'Cos I like astrophysics, Martha, that's why. Now come on, are we going to New New York today or are we gonna stand around flappin' our mouths about dry pages?"

Martha, hurt by Rose's antagonistic rejoinder, said nothing in response. Rose felt a little bit guilty but was grateful she'd managed to get her off the subject.

Maybe deciphering genetic terminology had given her mind a rest from temporal physics, but piloting the TARDIS seemed a lot easier now than it had before. The TARDIS only gave her a nudge every now and then. She wondered if she should add this to her list. Humans weren't supposed to be able to pilot at all, after all.

"New New York," Rose announced when they landed smoothly. "One of the most beautiful places I've ever been." She smiled at Martha and Martha, despite still being a little angry at Rose, couldn't help but smile back. "Go on," Rose encouraged. "Tell me what you think."

Martha made her way to the doors and opened them, stepping outside without hesitation. She made a noise of disgust and Rose quickly followed her.

...Into a pouring rain shower. There was even a musty tarmac smell that was almost enough to convince Rose that they were just in the slums of any ordinary city.

"This is Rose-speak for beautiful?" Martha muttered sorely, zipping up her dark green hoodie.

"No, no, no," Rose insisted, looking up at the dark sky above. She couldn't see any stars. "I know I got it right this time! Besides, I like rain. Come on, get under cover."

They dashed through the junk-ridden street, past gigantic dumpsters and lines of old laundry.

"Well," complained Martha, "it looks like the same old Earth to me. On a Wednesday afternoon."

"Give me a minute," Rose said. "We'll find out what's goin' on. I know this is the right place."

There was a bit of roof hanging over the side of a building that provided some protection from the rain. On the wall of the building was a dead screen. Rose determinedly buzzed her sonic screwdriver at it. Static appeared on the screen. Rose frowned at it.

Martha rolled her eyes and pounded on the wall next to the screen; the static faded away and Rose shot Martha a grateful look.

A charming blonde news anchor appeared on the screen.

"– and the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway."

The image shifted to one Rose was much more familiar with: it was New New York as Rose knew it, a gorgeous spired city on the coast of a large river. Sleek vehicles flew through the air.

"Much better," Rose said, satisfied. "That was where we were before. I guess this a kind of city under the city, the ghettos."

"You've brought me to the slums?"

Rose grinned at her. "More dirt down here, though. Getcha hands dirty, play around a bit. It's all high-class, champagne, sparkly dresses an' fancy hospitals up there. Here, we get to see what makes it run."

Martha shook her head. "You'd enjoy anything."

"I've been in worse places, believe me. An' look! The rain's stopped."

Martha grabbed hold of Rose's arm before she could leave.

"When you say 'before', was that you and the Doctor?"

Rose really didn't like that question, but answered with a simple, "Yes."

"Are you – I mean, I don't want to presume anything, or – well, do you think maybe you're trying just a little too hard to bring him back, bringing me here?"

Rose wasn't sure what the right reply was for that.

"I mean, not that it's not great and all; I mean, except for the rain, and the smell, and the slums in general," Rose cracked a smile; "I just don't want you to mistake me for someone I'm not."

Rose was silent for such a long time that Martha immediately began to feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, just forget I – ,"

"Martha Jones," Rose said abruptly, taking her hand. "You've probably saved me from myself. That's something the Doctor never had to do. So yeah, I know who you're not, but I also know who you are." Martha was gobsmacked. Rose smiled at her. "All right?"

Martha nodded. "Yeah. Right. Thanks, I think."

A man suddenly flipped open his shelter to reveal a street vendor's cart.

"Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy! You want happy?"

All around them, others were doing the same, sticking their heads out into the street and shouting their wares.

"Customers! Customers! We've got customers!"

"We're in business! Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read!"

The first seller was still shouting, "Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!"

"Anger!" yelled the second; "Buy some Anger!"

"Get some Mellow," the third persisted. "Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long!"

The man closest to them leaned over and told them conspiratorially, "Younger, them. They'll rip you off. You want some Happy?"

Rose shook her head, confused. "Are you...are you selling drugs or something?"

He laughed at her along with the other vendors.

"Drugs, she says," said a woman. "She from last century or what?"

"It's moods," said Martha disgustedly. "They're selling moods as drugs. That's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals."

Some bedraggled people walked into the alleyway behind Rose and Martha. The pharmacists increased the volume of their offers. A very pale woman in a charcoal cloak walked purposefully toward the vendors.

"Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!"

"Oy! Oy, you! Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!"

"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"

The woman said in a voice hollowed with loss, "I want to buy Forget."

The pharmacist seemed to pity her choice but did not argue.

"I've got Forget, my darling," she said. "What strength? How much you want forgetting?"

"It's my mother and father," explained the woman. "They went on the motorway."

"Oh, that's so sweet." She reached behind her and pulled out a small disc. Handing it to the woman, she said, "Try this. Forget 43. That's twopence."

The woman took the disc and turned away.

"Wait," said Rose, coming up to her. The woman looked at her, her pale face shining in the streetlights. "What's worth forgetting? What's the motorway?"

"What are you, stupid?" The woman scathingly replied. "Everyone goes on the motorway in the end. I'll never see them again."

"But," Martha said confused, "they can just drive back. Or you can go after them, right? They can't be that far away."

The woman shook her head. "I've lost them."

"So what?" Rose said. "It's still better to keep them close to you, right? In your memory, you know, not forgotten?"

The woman stared at her and sighed, dropping her eyes. Rose grabbed her hand, the one that held the circular disc-thing, anticipating that she was going to do something with it. The woman looked angry and tried to pull her hand away, but Rose was stronger.

"Listen to me," she told her gently. "I've lost my parents too. But I wouldn't want to forget them for anything. It's better to just live with the pain than pretend that they never existed. Don't you agree?"

It was clear that the woman didn't. She struggled harder, but Rose refused to let go.

"All right," Rose tried with forced calm. "What's your name? Or did you want to forget that, too?"

The woman stilled. "Silva."

"Silva," Rose repeated. "That's a good start. What were your parents like, Silva?"

Silva looked away. "Kind."

Rose nodded slowly. "Getting better. Go on, what did they look like?"

"My mom was – my mom was beautiful. And my dad had this stupid beard."

Rose smiled. "My dad was ginger. Mum always did have a thing for gingers, even after he died."

Silva said nothing. Then suddenly she pointed over Rose's shoulder with a free hand.

"Car-jackers!" She shouted.

Rose let go of her and spun around just as Martha screamed. Two figures in dark clothing had come up from behind her. One, a man, grabbed Martha around the neck from behind while the other, a woman, stood in front holding a gun at Rose and Silva. They were already starting to drag her off before Rose could think of anything to threaten them with. She tried to make her eyes glow on purpose but she was sure it didn't work when the kidnappers didn't scream like little girls with pigtails and run to hide like she wanted them to.

"I'm sorry," the woman with the gun was saying. "I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all."

"Let go of her!" Rose screamed, running after them but wary of the gun pointed at her head. "I mean it, you better let go of her, or I swear to God you're gonna regret it."

Martha was kicking out and struggling but the kidnappers were just too fast and efficient.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Sorry."

The woman was practically crying by the time she and the man who held Martha escaped through a large green door, which was slammed closed behind them. Rose growled in wordless frustration and pounced after them. Unfortunately, the door was locked, and in her fury she fumbled with the sonic screwdriver.

Eventually she yanked the door open and flew up a flight of stairs after the kidnappers. She could hear Martha struggling and yelling at her captors.

"Wait!" Rose bellowed as she sprinted through the building and down a corridor. "Whatever it is you want, I can help you get it!"

A car was just rising into the air as Rose emerged from the building and out onto a fire escape. It powered up and sped off down the street and out of sight.

Rose kicked the railing in frustration and jumped back as the corroded metal tore off and plummeted to the ground below.

She stalked back to "pharmacy town" in a really bad mood and was surprised to see Silva still there, staring at the disc in her hand as though it were a foreign meal she was being made to eat.

"Thought you'd come back! Do you want some happy Happy?"

"Piss off," Rose told the vendor not so kindly. The man sputtered indignantly.

"Silva!" Rose called to get her attention as she approached. Silva looked up, startled. "Who the hell were those people an' where did they take Martha?"

Silva sighed, too forlorn to answer.

"They've taken her to the motorway," said one of the pharmacists helpfully. Rose turned and gave him such an acidic glare he quailed.

"Why?" She demanded of Silva. "You called them car-jackers. What for? What have they done with Martha?"

Silva shook her head. She had her eyes closed and was fingering the Forget in her hand.

"I'd give up now, darling," said a vendor. "You won't see her again."

Rose breathed deep through her nose before turning around.

"Used to be thriving in this place," said the man she'd told to piss off. "You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

"Three," Rose said sharply. "That's what they said, 'we just need three'. Why?"

"It's the car-sharing policy," answered the woman who'd sold the Forget to Silva, "to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."

"Where is the motorway? How do I get to it?"

"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it."

Rose started to turn and walk in that direction when the woman spoke again, "Tell you what – how 'bout some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love!"

Rose went stock still and took a deep breath. She clenched her teeth and tried very, very hard not to lose her temper, which seemed to be on an extremely short fuse lately. When she turned around, the woman flinched. Rose glared at all of the vendors.

"Pack up," she warned. "If you're here when I get back – an' I will be, with Martha – you'll never be happy again, you hear me? I'll stick those moods so far up your arses you'll be throwin' it up for days."

She turned on her heel and jogged away. Silva, curiously, followed her.

"Wait!" Silva stopped her. "You won't be able to breathe if you keep going that way!"

Rose glared at her. "I've done fine without my breath before, but thanks for your concern."

"But the pollution," said Silva, "it'll kill you!"

"Great," said Rose sarcastically, "I'll get to give my dad a hug. Meanwhile, I thought you were off tryin' to forget yours."

Silva looked at the disc in her hand and, to Rose's surprise, tossed it the side. "I don't think I'll be needing it after all," she said.

"Good job," Rose complimented, somewhat sardonically. "Breakin' the habit's always a good thing; congratulations. Now, what were you saying about pollution?"

"The fumes are like a sea of fog," Silva said. "Breathe it in and you can die in seconds."

Rose's eyebrows went up. "Really? That's...some real awful emissions testing you got here, then. How are cars that make that much pollution even legal?"

"What, outlawing cars because of exhaust? You've got to be joking."

Rose shook her head. "Look, it doesn't matter anyway. I'll just hold my breath and hitch a ride or something."

Silva laughed at her. Rose shrugged and left her there. Silva hurried after.

"You're insane! I've got to watch this."

"Suit yourself. Want some popcorn with that?"

"Some what?"

ΘΣ ... ΘΣ

They walked for a while until they came to a short, delapidated passageway at the end of which was a locked door with a sign reading "MOTORWAY ACCESS".

"It's locked for a reason," Silva warned. "No one comes through here anymore, it's too dangerous. If you want to keep going, fine, but I'm not coming with you to get myself killed, too."

Rose grinned at her. "What, have you got better things to be doing?"

"Damn right I do."

"All right."

Rose shrugged and used her customized sonic screwdriver to open the door. Just one step outside onto a platform and she was coughing violently. She forced herself to stop breathing and instantly felt better, apart from an uncomfortably still chest. It seemed she could go without oxygen for quite a while; something else to add to the list. She should have remembered that from her stint on the Moon.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Silva silhouetted against the door frame, holding her cloak over the bottom half of her face and watching Rose incredulously, not leaving but not putting herself in danger, either.

When Rose looked straight ahead, almost all she could see were the fumes. Silva hadn't been kidding; it was like a sea of fog. Her eyes burned just trying to see through it.

Alongside the platform was the vague outline of a flying car. As Rose studied it, a door slid open in its side and a large man covered from head to foot in protective gear stuck his head out.

"Hey!" He called. "You daft little street strut! What are you doing, standing there? Either get out or get in! Come on!"

Rose smiled at him and looked over her shoulder at Silva, who seemed hesitant to either stay or leave. Rose beckoned to her and finally she rushed towards Rose and past her, hopping into the floating vehicle. Rose jumped after her.

"Did you ever see the like?" Said the man to a dark-haired woman at the front of the car.

"Here you go." The woman handed Rose an oxygen mask, who gave it to Silva. Silva was looking pale as she greedily sucked in a breath. Rose released her lungs with a grateful sigh. She had no trouble breathing after that.

"Just standing there, breathing it in!" The man continued. He pulled off his aviator cap, scarf, and goggles, revealing a feline face. "There's this story says back in the old days, on Junction Forty-Seven, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet!"

Rose seriously doubted that.

"Oh, you're making it up!" The woman laughed at him.

The cat-man was making his way to the front of the car to sit in the driver's seat. "A fifty-foot head! Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose." Rose's lips twitched at the thought. Yes, imagine.

"Stop it. That's disgusting."

"What? Did you never pick your nose?"

Suddenly, the woman sat up straight and tapped the cat-man on the arm. "Bran, we're moving!"

"Right. I'm there, I'm on it." Bran pulled a lever and they shifted forward a bit. Others cars moved into places around them and horns beeped from every direction. After a couple of seconds, Bran drew the lever back.

"Twenty yards!" Bran claimed triumphantly. "We're having a good day."

The woman smiled. Then they both turned around to face Rose and Silva. Silva was starting to pull off her oxygen mask.

"Hi," said Rose before they could speak. "Thank you for giving my friend and me a ride; it's been a rough day. I'm Rose, and this is Silva."

The cat-man grinned at them. "My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."

"Nice to meet you," said Valerie.

"Likewise."

Silva was looking around them with sudden uncertainty. Brannigan gestured to something behind Silva. "And that's the rest of the family there."

Silva turned and drew back a curtain behind her, revealing a basket of mewling kittens. Silva immediately cooed sweetly and picked up a tiny black one, petting its fur softly. Rose felt more inclined to avoid the cats. She didn't really like them all that much. Hell, cat people were hardly tolerable, although Brannigan seemed all right.

She did think it a little odd that this couple were traveling with their young. "How old are they?"

Valerie answered, "Just two months."

"Poor little souls," said Brannigan softly. "They've never known the ground beneath their paws." Rose stared at him and Silva's sickening coos increased in intensity. Brannigan must have Rose's confusion, because he added, "Children of the motorway."

"What, were they born here?"

"We couldn't stop," Valerie explained. "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You've been driving for two months?"

Brannigan was incredulous. "Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for twelve years now."

"Say what?"

"Yeah! Started out as newlyweds! Feels like yesterday."

"Feels like twelve years to me," Valerie disagreed.

"Ahh, sweetheart, but you're still lovely."

He tickled her and she giggled.

Rose's brain was frozen on one subject. "Wait, what? Seriously, you've been driving for twelve years?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Brannigan. "Started in Battery Park about five miles back."

"Five miles?" Rose was so confused. "In twelve years, that's it?"

Silva put the kitten back and took to watching Rose, who was apparently very entertaining.

"I think she's a bit slow," Brannigan muttered to his wife.

"She is a bit mad," contributed Silva.

"Where are you from?" Valerie asked.

Rose shook her head, still dumbfounded. "What does it matter? Look, I need to find my friend, Martha Jones. She was taken an' I need to get her back. I probably would have had better luck in the TARDIS than this, though. Excuse me,"

She stilled her lungs and pulled open the door, but there was nothing but smoke and fumes and outside; no platform. Rose stared into the fog as though willing something to appear.

"You're too late for that," said Brannigan. "We've passed the lay-by." Rose closed the door and started to breathe unsteadily. "You're a passenger now, Little Missy!"

"When's the next lay-by?" Rose demanded.

Considering, Brannigan replied, "Oh...six months?"

Rose fell back against the wall of the car, seething.

"I'm sure there's a way to find your friend," said Silva. "We could try contacting the police."

Rose brightened up a bit. "Yeah, let's try that."

But it was no good calling the police. To Rose's immense disbelief, the robotic voice message echoed the words that appeared on the screen with the NYPD insignia when she tried to call them: "Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."

"But...but that doesn't make sense! You're the police!"

It didn't make a difference to them, apparently.

Rose sighed. "Is there anyone else? The Face of Boe, d'you know him? I met him last time we were here, if I could just get in contact he might be able to do something from his side that can help."

"You can't make outside calls," Valerie regretfully informed her. "The motorway's completely enclosed."

"All right, nobody outside, but what about other cars. Surely you know someone who can help me."

Brannigan grinned. "Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah. Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see – who's nearby? Ahh! The Cassini sisters!"

He picked up his transmitter and talked into it. "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."

An older woman responded with mock annoyance, "Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace."

"Oh, come on, now, sisters. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"You know full well we're not sisters." Rose had the thought, from the tone of the woman's voice, that she would be rolling her eyes. "We're married."

This seemed to be an old issue between them.

"Oooh, stop that modern talk! I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got a hitchhiker here, Rose Tyler."

Brannigan handed the transmitter to Rose, who grabbed it gratefully.

"Yeah. Right, erm, hi. I'm looking for a woman by the name of Martha Jones. She was carjacked by two people, she should be in a car somewhere, I just need to know which one and where I can find it."

Another woman responded this time, "Wait a minute."

A few seconds later, the woman asked, "Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"

Rose opened her mouth, couldn't come up with an answer, and looked to Silva for help.

"Pharmacy Town," Silva supplied.

Right, of course. Should've guessed.

"Pharmacy Town," Rose said into the transmitter.

"Let's have a look."

"Just my luck, to marry a car-spotter." The other woman sounded fond but rather exasperated.

Rose looked at Brannigan in askance. "What're their names?"

"Car-spotter's May," Brannigan answered. "And her lovely sister, Alice."

Rose almost berated him for calling them sisters but caught herself. Valerie was smirking as if she knew what Rose was thinking.

May finished looking up what Rose needed. "In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."

Fifty-three? She didn't have enough time to track down fifty-three cars!

"Can't you...I dunno, narrow that down a bit?"

"All in good time. You said she was carjacked by two people?"

"Yeah."

A moment later, May was victorious.

"There we are. Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And car number is four six five diamond six."

Rose repeated the number under her breath half a dozen times very rapidly.

"That's got to be it. How do I get to them?"

"Ah. Now, there I'm afraid I can't help."

Rose hung her head in disappointment. She looked at the transmitter and then at Brannigan. "You can call them on this, though, right? Now that we know their number? I can talk them."

Brannigan, however, shook his head. "Not if they're destined fast lane. It's a different class."

"You could try the police."

"They put me on hold!" Rose thought she could start laughing hysterically at any moment. The situation was so desperate; she had to get Martha back.

"You'll have to keep trying," said Alice. "There's no one else."

What, these people were just abandoned here? No police, no order, nothing but the universe's worst traffic jam? It was like some great cosmic joke.

"Thanks anyway," said Rose miserably. She gave the transmitter back to Brannigan and put her head in her hands, trying to think of a plan.

Silva put a hand on her shoulder, but that just made her feel worse.

"Take me down to the fast lane," she said to Brannigan and Valerie. "We've got four people in here now, that's enough to get us there."

"Not a million years."

And Rose had thought Brannigan was being so helpful.

"Why the hell not?" She demanded. Brannigan looked away from her quickly and he and Valerie exchanged looks.

"We're not risking the children down there," said Valerie simply. Rose glared at the kittens in question as if they were solely to blame for Martha's kidnapping.

"What's at risk?" She demanded. "More smog? You've got clean enough air in here. Biggest danger is getting squished between two cars."

Valerie shook her head with determination. "We're not discussing it! The conversation is closed!"

"How long do we keep driving?" Rose asked wearily.

"'Til the journey's end," said Brannigan.

That line gives me chills, I love it so much.