World War Three Part 2

A few hours went by, and Harriet well into a resting sleep as Rose was dozing, laying her head of Eliza's shoulder. The Doctor was in the chair opposite to Eliza, fiddling with his Sonic Screwdriver. Silence was all that could be heard outside. They couldn't hear the Slitheen, but they were almost certain that they were there.

Eliza knew that the Doctor had already come up with a plan, he always played with his Sonic like that whenever he did, but didn't know what to do.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" The Doctor asked when he noticed her looking at him.

Eliza let out a soft chuckle so not to wake either of the women. "This mind thingy is very useful."

"Eliza." The Doctor said. Being around her for roughly two months, he knew her habits, changing the subject was one of her famous ones. "You should be sleeping."

"I'm not tired." Eliza replied. She waiting for another message, but didn't receive one. Instead she got an odd feeling, tingling at the back of her head. "What's up?"

"Nothin'. Just go to sleep."

"And if I say no?" Eliza replied, feeling his frustration quickly heightening. "Look, I know I'm not a nine hundred year old with all the knowledge to prove it, but I'm not an idiot. I know what you're thinking. You know how to get into the Military, you could get Mickey to do it. Only thing is why you haven't done it yet."

"It's too dangerous." The Doctor insisted. "The Slitheen will be stopped, yes, but we'll be killed."

"'We'?"

"Well, you. You're, apparently meant to be important later on. I'm not letting you die."

This time, Eliza did chuckle enough for Rose to move from her shoulder. Subconsciously leaning foreword, Rose used her arms as a pillow and continued to sleep soundly. "Don't gimme that. I'm not who you're thinking about at all."

The Doctor stayed quiet at that comment, not wanting to go further into the subject. But Eliza, being Eliza, decided it was a good idea. "I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her sometimes. Remember 1869? 'You look beautiful!'"

"Eliza, stop." The Doctor warned. He knew what she was doing, but there was no way. She was a nineteen year old human from London, and he was a nine hundred year old Time Lord from a planet long since gone. He had nothing to offer her, and besides, she was a mere human, and humans wither away and die too quickly.

"Fine, but you ain't hiding anything from me, gramps." Eliza said, sticking her tongue out like a spoilt kid.


The next couple of hours went by slower than either of then had wanted. The Doctor was fixed playing with his Sonic, Rose came in and out of consciousness every once in a while, and Eliza was diving into Harriet mind, watching as she had a nightmare.

To Eliza, it wasn't really that big of a deal, but to Harriet, it scared her more than anything. The nightmare was based around an elderly woman, closely resembling Harriet, but with different colour eyes. She was sat in a wheelchair in the middle of a room, no one else there. Along the shelf and the windows were photographs of many people, most of them of the same woman; Harriet. The woman herself was holding a photo of Harriet at the age she was now. Clutching the photo tightly in her hand, the woman let out a loud wail, no one around to hear her cry, no one ever around to hear her cry.

Eliza could feel herself being pushed out, as she did when she went into Wolf's dreams, just as he was about to wake up.

Harriet looked around the room to find she was back in Downing Street. She gave out a sigh of relief and instantly went foreword to grab the nearest bottle to her.

Rose came fully awake roughly twenty minutes later, rubbing her eyes from the sleep.

After talking to the three others in the room, Rose grabbed her phone and put it back on the speaker, Jackie's tired voice answering.

As Rose was talking to her mother, the Doctor found they were running out of options. As the Slitheen were smart creatures, they would have this all planned out. For all he knew, they had the defence codes right that second, just about to press fire on the button, nuking all the countries on Earth.

"All right Doctor," Came Jackie's voice from the speaker. "I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."

"If we could ferment the drinks, we could make acetic acid." Harriet suggested.

Rose gave a small sigh as Eliza watched the Doctor closely. He was leaning against one of the steeled windows, over viewing what could happen.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked.

"There's loads of emergency numbers, they're all on voicemail." Mickey replied as he clicked on his mouse and scrolling through the web pages.

"Voicemail dooms us all." Harriet said, putting down her glass.

"If we could just get out of here…" Rose said in a strangled voice.

"There's a way out." The Doctor muttered. He looked over at Eliza, who nodded encouragingly.

"What?" Rose asked.

When the Doctor gave no reply, Eliza continued for him. "There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?"

The Doctor left his place against the window and walked closer to the speaker. "Because I can't guarantee that your daughter will be safe." He said to Jackie, who instantly replied with, "Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare!"

"That's the thing you see, if I don't dare, everyone dies." The Doctor tried to reason with her.

Jackie gave no reply, and even the Doctor didn't say anything else. Without hesitation, Rose walked foreword. "Do it."

Both the Doctor and Eliza looked at her, surprise evident in their faces. The amount of trust that was supporting her voice was unbelievable, especially from the amount of time Rose knew the Doctor. She barley knew him, and this was how much she trusted him?

"You don't even know what it is." The Doctor said gently. "You'd just let me?"

Rose nodded, her eyes fixed with his. "Yeah."

Eliza had said she saw the looks he gave her nearly all the time, but none of them even came close to comparing to this one. She knew that the Doctor thought Rose was beautiful, stunning even. She saw that all the time in the way he looked at her, but this one was completely different. This one wasn't filled with just admiration or flirtatious glances, but with something else… love?

Eliza had never thought she would witness it, but the Doctor let one of his mind barriers down by mistake, letting Eliza feel what he felt.

She was right. Every emotion he was feeling at that second flooded into Eliza mind, the blow just about making her stumble back. Not only was it love, but he was terrified, worried.

"Please, please, Doctor. She's my daughter, she's just a kid."

Tearing his eyes away from Rose, he looked down at the speaker. "You think I don't know that? 'Cause this is my life, Jackie, it's not clever, it's not smart, it's standing up and making a choice because no one else will."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Rose asked, her voice a lot more softer than it previously had.

The Doctor took a chance and looked at her again. "I could save the world but lose you."

A few silent and acknowledgeable moments passed between everyone. Eliza had pulled out a chair and sat down, an image flashing in her mind. The look the Doctor was giving her, she had seen it many times, but not between Rose and the Doctor.

A young woman, probably in her mid teens, her hair raven black, eyes green as fields, looking up at a man around her age, who arms she was encased in. The man had blond hair, most of it in his brown eyes, but in Eliza's opinion, it made him look adorable. Leaning down, the man trapped her lips with his.

Before she could follow the scene further, Harriet snapped her out of her mind. "Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine."

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie demanded.

"Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North." Harriet introduced herself in the usual way, only this time a little different. "The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people, I command you; do it."

The Doctor and Rose exchanged another glance, the Doctor smiling from ear to ear. "Okay!" The Doctor said cheerfully as he grabbed the emergency protocols.

"So how do we get out?" Rose asked as she sat up on the table.

"We don't." Eliza replied.

"We stay here." The Doctor said as he searched through the files. "There should be a tab up on the top left corner on the screen, got an 'm' on it, click that."

Mickey knew what he was being told to do before he even clicked on the icon. "Password."

"Buffalo, it over rides everything." The Doctor said as he pull the papers down.

"What are you doing?" Jackie asked.

"Hacking into the Royal Navy." Mickey said slowly, as if trying to wrap his head round the thought. "Alright, we're in. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Okay, we need to select a missile." The Doctor said.

"We cant go nuclear, we don't have the defence codes."

"We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?" The Doctor asked.

"Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A."

"That's the one. Select." The Doctor commanded.

Shuffling could be heard, and then they heard Jackie's cowering voice. "I could stop you."

Silence passed for a few seconds, the only noise hears was Mickey's heavy breathing. "Do it then."

The Doctor, never one for domestics, made them change the subject. "You ready for this?" He asked Mickey.

Mickey hesitated, placing the phone back to his ear and replying, "Yeah."

The Doctor took a breath and stood up, no longer leaning on the table. Rose was still sat on the table, Eliza in a chair next to her and Harriet waiting expectantly. "Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands. Fire."

Roughly twenty seconds passed before they heard the clicking of the button. They heard Mickey give out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, and Jackie murmur, "Oh God…"

"How solid are these?" Harriet asked after a few moments.

"Not solid enough." The Doctor replied. "Built for short range attacks."

"Nothing like this." Eliza ending, looking down at the table.

Rose shook her head and got off the table, heading towards the cupboard. "Alright, now I'm making the decision. We're not gonna die, we're gonna ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes, you can survive 'em by standing under a doorframe." She opened the door and peered inside. "Now, this cupboard is small, so it's strong." She looked back and pointed to Harriet. "Come and help me, come on!"

Harriet went to Rose's side, helping her drag the two dead men out of the cupboard.

"Well, looks like no one's gonna like after all." Eliza said to the Doctor, who was leaning on a chair as she went to help the other two.

"It's on radar." Mickey said through the phone. "Counter defence, five five six."

"Stop them intercepting it." The Doctor said as he was handed a drawer file.

"I'm doing it now." Mickey replied, followed by the keyboard being typed.

"Good boy." The Doctor praised, not believing he just did that.

A few seconds later, Mickey's voice came back, confident. "Five five six neutralized."

The Doctor took the phone from the speaker, pressing it to his ear. "I'll have to let you go now."

"Alright, boss." Mickey replied, his voice a little more edgy. "G'luck."

The phone went silent, indicating Mickey had hung up. Rushing into the cupboard, the Doctor gave Rose her phone back, herself slipping it into her pocket. The whistling of the missile could be heard load and clear now, getting closer and closer to Downing Street.

They all sat in a line, Eliza and Harriet on the ends, the Doctor and Rose in the middle. "This'll be fun." Eliza said, clutching Rose's hand.

"Nice knowing you." Harriet said as she held the Doctor's. She looked towards the ceiling, as did the others. "Hannibal!"

The missile hit the building a couple of seconds later, making the cupboard rumble and shake violently. Soon, they were tossed and turned around the room, not able to control where they went or what movements they made. Eliza was very aware, however, that someone's heel had placed itself firmly in her back, and judging by the feel, it was Harriet.

The landing was not so smooth. Eliza and Harriet had crashed to the ground in a heap, but the Doctor had found a position where he was able to put his hands one side, and his feet the other, making it so he didn't move much at all. Beneath him was Rose, who buries her head in his shoulder while clutching his jacket.

When everything stopped, the Doctor realized what position he was in and jumped up immediately as if he was burned, but helped Rose up anyhow.

The other two, who had not landed so peacefully, got up more difficultly.

"Erm… Harriet… if you could get off of me, that would be well… appreciated." Eliza struggled out as Harriet was able to untangle herself from Eliza's weapons.

Harriet pushed the door open, watching as it clumsily landed on the ground. She looked at the undamaged metal box and said proudly, "Made in Britain."

A man in black clothing and helmet ran up to them, asking on the way, "Are you alright?"

Harriet held up her badge, him looking right at it. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale north. I want you to contact the UN immediately, tell the Ambassadors that the crisis is over, they can step down."

When the man didn't move, only stood there in confusion, Harriet hurried him off. "Go on, tell the news!"

The man rushed away, leaving the three to stand in the rubble. "Someone's got one hell of a job sorting this lot out." Harriet said as she looked around. "Oh, lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"

"Maybe you should have a go." The Doctor suggested. He now remembered where he had heard the name before, and was looking at Harriet Jones in a totally different light.

"Me? I'm only a back bencher." Harriet said with a laugh.

"I'd vote for you." Rose said encouragingly.

Harriet became serious as she replied, "Now, don't be silly." She looked over to the crowd of people who had gathered at the sight of Downing Street, or more, what was left of Downing Street. "I better go and see if I can help." Harriet made her way down and out of the rubble and walked with purpose towards the people.

"I thought I knew the name." The Doctor said back to the two women as he walked through the cars and vans that surrounded the area. "Harriet Jones. Future Prime Minister, elected for three successful terms and the Architect of Britain's Golden Age."

The three watched as Harriet walked towards the people, claiming that everything was now fine and addressed the people of the world with pride as she said that the human kind stood tall and proud.

The Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS as Rose and Eliza walked back to the Powell Estate. Only Rose had gone all the way up as Eliza waiting downstairs for Wolf. Eliza felt that she and her mother needed some time on their own.

Eliza heard the Tyler's door open, Rose moving out of the way and looking down the hall as Wolf bounded out of the flat. The patter of his paws reached Eliza's ears quickly as Rose shut the door. Soon enough, she saw Wolf rush through the unlocked door and run straight for Eliza, nearly knocking her over in the process. No words were exchanged as they had their reunion, but Eliza held Wolf as tightly as possible. A few minutes after, they head back towards the TARDIS, talking about everything that had happened. They entered the TARDIS in time to see the Doctor on the phone, talking to Rose. "But right now there's this Plasma Stone brewing in the Horse-head Nebular. Fires are burning ten million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it and rise the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere." Eliza thought he was just telling Rose what he was planning to do, if he didn't finish the sentence. "Your choice." All of it came together in her head. He was making her choose between her mother and him.

He put the phone down, and looked up at Eliza. "See you two are finally back together!"

"That was not fair." Eliza said firmly. She walked over to the hallway and opened the door. "You can't just do that. You can't make her choose between the life she loves and her mother, because that's just being ignorant and cruel." She walked through the door, closing it firmly behind her.

After that, she and Wolf ran to the kitchen, not stopping to kick the TARDIS walls as she had changed the layout again.

"Did Jackie feed you, give you anything to eat?" Eliza asked Wolf.

"Oh yes, Mistress. She and the boy gave one some meet; rabbit." Wolf replied as he licked his lips, remembering the taste.

"Good." Eliza replied out loud, opening a door, which was finally the kitchen. She looked through the freezer, finding an open pack of chicken Kiev's, and stuck them in the oven.

After eating, they went back to the TARDIS to see the doors open and the Doctor talking to Mickey, who was sitting on a bin.

"Present for you, Mickey." The Doctor announced as he pulled a disc from his pocket. "It's a virus, put it online, it will destroy any mention of me and Eliza. We'll cease to exist. But you were right. I am dangerous and I don't want anyone following me."

Mickey shook his head as Rose came from the stairway, a large backpack on and her mother walking with her. "How can you say that and then take her away?"

"You could look after her." The Doctor suggested. "Come with us."

Again, Mickey shook his head as Eliza approached. "I cant. This life of yours, it's just too much. Don't tell her I said that." He motioned towards Rose.

"I'll get a proper job." Jackie said. "I'll work weekends, I'll pass my tests and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will."

"I'm not leaving because of you." Roes claimed. "I'm travelling, that's all, then I'll come back."

"But it's not safe." Jackie battled, trying desperately to get her daughter to stay with her.

"Mum, if you saw it out there, you'd never stay home." Rose replied gently. She shook of her backpack and turned towards the Doctor.

"Got enough stuff?" The Doctor asked sarcastically.

"First time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment." Rose said as she dumped the bag in his arms. "Now, I'm signing up. The pair of you are stuck with me. Ha!"

"Oh, how will we live?" Eliza asked dramatically.

Rose walked up to Mickey, seeing the look on his face. "Come with us. Plenty of room."

Mickey, looking to the Doctor and Eliza for silent help, stayed quiet.

"No chance." The Doctor said, carelessly dumping the backpack in Eliza arms.. "He's a… erm… liability. I'm not having him on board."

"But we'd be dead without him." Rose protested.

"My decision is final." The Doctor insisted.

"And his word is law." Eliza ended, peering over the heavy bag.

Rose sighed and then turned back to Mickey. "Sorry."

Mickey gave a weak smile and shrugged. He leaned foreword, giving her a quick kiss. Eliza smiled, not at the two, but at the small spark of jealousy the Doctor let slip through his barrier.

"You still can't promise me." Jackie said, taking her attention from the couple and back at the Doctor. "What happens if she gets lost? What happens if something happens to you, and she's left standing on some moon a million light years away. How long do I have to wait then?"

"Mum, you're forgetting that's a time machine," Rose butted in, turning away from Mickey and placing her hands on her mothers shoulders. "I could go around sun and planets and all the way out to the edge of the Universe, by the time I get back, ten seconds would have passed. So stop worrying, alright? See you in ten seconds time."

Rose and Jackie shared a quick, but tight, hug before Rose ran back into the TARDIS, leaving only Eliza outside.

"Erm… thanks for looking after him." She said, looking down at her dog. Jackie nodded in acceptance, but couldn't manage a smile. Eliza walked back into the TARDIS and closed the door behind her. Once it was closed, she dumped the bag on the ground, finally giving her arms a rest. "So, Horse-head Nebular?"