The door shuddered and rattled and they could all hear the creature on the opposite side shrieking in anger and impatience. Jenny was leaning with her entire weight on it with Jack beside her trying to stabilize it against the blows.
"They're going to break through, Dad," she said worriedly, looking over her shoulder to the Doctor, who was exploring the room along its width. It was a smaller room, covered in an inch of dust and musty with age, although Ellie could see lights blinking in the machinery still kept within its walls. Alec had taken her by the shoulders and herded her into the farthest corner away from the door; he was the only one who wasn't standing. Instead, in the low flickering light she saw he was seated cross-legged on the floor in front of one of the machines. Its access door was hanging wide open and she could see a mess of wires and tubes jumbled together, and he was pulling them out one by one and playing with them, head bent down low as he wound them together in a colorful chord about an inch thick.
"We have about a minute," the Doctor agreed.
"A minute's all we need, Doc," Jack pointed out. The door shook horribly, jarring both him and Jenny back, and they immediately fell upon it again. The creature sounded angry now, and there seemed to be more than one. Ellie left her corner and slid in beside Jenny. "Any ideas?"
The Doctor answered by turning smoothly on his heel and pulling out a cylindrical device from his inner pocket, a sleek metal glowing blue, which he used to scan the door. A high buzzing emitted from it, startling Ellie.
"What the hell is that?" she demanded, eyeing it warily.
"Sonic screwdriver," Alec answered from his spot on the floor. He hadn't even bothered to look up from the wires in his hands, apparently oblivious to the banging and shrieks from the other side of the door.
"And what is that?"
"A screwdriver that's sonic," the Doctor retorted irritably.
"It's different from your old one," Jenny commented helpfully. "It's not as sleek, and the light's a different blue."
"Don't like it," Alec agreed.
"You never do," the Doctor snapped. "Always liked things blue and sleek, you did— didn't even care for a future console!"
"That's because Pinstripes didn't have to compensate for anything."
"What's that mean?" Jenny asked curiously, looking over at him.
Ellie's mouth dropped open; she was unable to believe how utterly blasé they were all acting, as if they did this sort of thing all the time— and were they really going in that direction?
"You'll find out," Alec assured her, but his attention turned to the Doctor, who was still poring over his options. "Your brilliant plans are taking a bit more time to figure out, aren't they?"
The Doctor's glare was acid as he turned to him. "If you have any suggestions, I'm sure I'd be glad to hear them," he said sarcastically, "but since we have thirty-three seconds left I really doubt you could—"
Ellie watched Alec lift up the chord of wires into view, one scathing eyebrow arched in response.
The Doctor's mouth clicked shut.
"Care to help me out here, Doctor?"
Alec's caustic question uprooted the Doctor's feet from the floor. His blue eyes flashed. "It won't kill them all, will it?"
The former's expression darkened so quickly it was frightening. That unspoken word hovered between them; beside her, Ellie heard Jenny breath sharply through her nose. Even Jack was looking shocked by the Doctor's harsh question.
The door buckled, effectively stopping any potential responses; with a speed Ellie had never seen before the Doctor grabbed hold of the chord of wires and grabbing hold of Jenny's hand dragged her away from it. Jack, realizing the plan, snatched Ellie's hand and pulls her away as well. The Doctor laid the wires up against the door and then ran back to the machine where Alec was just climbing to his feet. "Ten seconds," he called out. "Jack, get them back into the far corner in case that door goes."
The next ten seconds were the longest of Ellie's life. The lights flickered again, drowning them in darkness for just a moment, and the air was alive with the smell and crackle of electricity and the howls of the creatures outside. The Doctor stood in front of the machine, using the sonic screwdriver to pump up power into the wires. Jack, grim-faced, forced Ellie and Jenny behind him, placing himself between them and the door. Alec stayed where he was standing. Closing her eyes before the lights came back on Ellie thought of Tom and Fred suddenly, briefly wondering what they would do if she never came back—
And the world exploded in a burst of light and the hiss of live wires. The creatures shrieked in surprise and pain and she heard the crumpling of metal and the retreat of stumbling footsteps.
And then it was silent.
Opening her eyes she looked around Jack's shoulder to find the Doctor and Alec standing where they were a few seconds before, looking down at the remains of the door. One of the creatures lay unconscious upon the twisted sheet of metal, its skin smoking from the electricity that had just shocked it. Behind it several of its fellows lay in heaps as well.
"It worked," Ellie breathed.
Jenny slipped out from beneath the captain's arm, a wide smile spreading across her face as she raced forward. "You did it!" she exclaimed, pulling Alec in for an embrace. "You did it, you both did it!" Letting go of him she spun towards her father and hugged him too. "That was brilliant!"
"Glad one of us thinks so," Alec muttered, and looked back at Jack. "Not bad for improvising in thirty seconds."
"Not your best," the captain replied with a half-grin, "but not bad." Turning with a sly half-grin he called to the Doctor, "Cut it a bit close this time, didn't you?"
"No fun otherwise, Captain," came the short response, but even the Time Lord seemed rather giddy about the whole situation. He let go of Jenny and held her at arm's length, looking her up and down. "You're not a young woman anymore, I see."
"I'm five years, three hundred and five days, and sixteen seconds old," came the quick response. Standing at Jack's side Ellie heard Alec snort wryly, the only one not taken aback by Jenny's reply. Looking at said brother and sister Ellie realized that they had been created around the same time.
"But look at you, Dad— you've got lines on your face, and your hair's grey. You've changed! How did you do that? You used to look exactly like Alec."
"There was an accident," the Doctor explained quietly. "Radiation from a nuclear reaction. I changed to save my own life, see; it's a Time Lord ability."
Jenny frowned, thinking through his explanation; and abruptly her face fell. "I'm not a Time Lord then, am I?" she asked softly. "I didn't do that."
One of the creatures on the floor twitched, stopping the Doctor's answering. "We've got to move before they wake up. A trick like that isn't going to fool them a second time." Jack was already heading to the door, his hand resting on his pistol. Ellie followed after him but she could feel Alec's eyes on her, and she waited for him to step up beside her. She felt his fingers brush her elbow but just as quickly he drew them back; looking up at him she saw the vulnerability in his expression for a split second before it was smoothed carefully away.
"The Doctor," he said as they made their way down the corridor, "he told you."
"I should have realized it when you said he'd exiled you here. I suspected it then, but I didn't believe it." She tried to keep her voice even and calm but she couldn't help the tremor in her voice as she replied. She didn't want to talk about this now; she was too confused over everything, and although she believed him to be in the wrong she also thought the Doctor had a degree of responsibility in this too.
She needed time to think.
Either he realized that or he simply didn't know what to say. From the dark glance towards the Doctor she suspected it was the latter, and that there would be words exchanged sooner rather than later. They made their way through the winding halls, keeping lookouts for any other potential followers on their trail, but although they heard the distant roars of some more of the creatures they were too far away to be a threat. When they reached the Tardis standing in the shadows, Jenny raced forward as much as she was able to from the Doctor's side and skidded to a stop in front of the bright blue door.
"This is it, yeah?" she asked with a wide smile. "Your time machine?"
"The Tardis," he nodded. Withdrawing a key from his pocket he unlocked the door and pushed it open, one hand gesturing grandly into the wide space beyond the threshold. "Welcome home, Jenny."
She shot through the open doors without any further prodding, eager to see what the mysterious blue box looked like within its walls and it didn't disappoint. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, rushing up the walkway. Her innocent excitement was catching as they filed in behind her. The Doctor looked around proudly as the Tardis's lights blinked palely at them as if welcoming them back.
"You like it then." It was less a question than an outright remark and they all knew it. Jenny nodded.
"I love it. I'm glad I've seen it now." She turned back to the Doctor and her smile widened. "I've missed you, Dad." Rushing forward once again— did she ever run out of energy?— she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"I thought you were dead."
"I was, I think. But then I woke up and I stole a shuttle to come and find you. And then I ended up running into Alec and Ellie and here I am!"
The Doctor (stiff throughout her embrace as if unsure what he could do) pulled back and smiled, and it lit up his severe blue eyes. "I have so much to show you, Jenny. Who knows? Maybe we could even make a trip to Gallifrey."
"But- Gallifrey's gone," Jenny said blankly, drawing back in confusion. "You told me that. It was destroyed in the war."
"It wasn't."
Alec's quiet voice answered her before the Doctor could; they both turned to him where he stood closest to the doors of the Tardis. His attention had been on the new console but he met Jenny's gaze squarely as he spoke. Then his attention shifted towards the Doctor himself. "Why that face?"
The question meant nothing to any of them— all of them except for the Doctor himself, whose expression smoothed meeting his Metacrisis's eyes. He stepped away from Jenny. "I needed reminding," he said quietly, "of my promise." His voice was stiff, cold, a challenge embedded in the tone of statement. A jab.
Alec sneered. "And what a face to remind you of that," he retorted.
"You would know it," came the equally sharp answer, and then the Doctor volleyed with his own question. "Where is Rose?"
Alec's expression darkened in a way she hadn't seen since Danny's murder case. "Gallavanting around God knows where," he snapped bitingly. "She's not the perfect person you always thought she was."
"So you left her?" Anger was growing in the Time Lord's tone.
Alec's temper flared. "Don't you dare! You can't accuse me of abandoning anybody after you left us both at that godforsaken beach!"
"Hardy," Ellie muttered warningly from behind him.
By speaking aloud, however, she shifted the Doctor's attention to herself. "So you've left Rose for another woman then."
Ellie flushed but Alec beat her to a response. "She's a colleague. She's Ellie Miller, and she hasn't replaced anyone."
"No, of course not— only as your companion."
"If that's what you'd like to think, then yes," Alec snapped without missing a beat, "and she makes a damn good one too."
For a long tense moment the two of them openly glared at each other, two alpha wolves scenting challenge with Ellie watching them warily. Then the Doctor swung towards her again, appraisal high in his expression.
"You, Miller—"
"Ellie," she interrupted fiercely, thoroughly irritated with this whole ridiculous situation.
"Tell me again. What job do you hold, Ellie?"
"Detective Sergeant."
The Doctor's mouth curled with distaste. "You're police." He turned towards Alec once again. "Of all the things to choose you picked police?"
"Inspection. Working crime." Alec shrugged. "Couldn't keep my nose out of other peoples' business, so why not? I still get to solve the problem— and destroy a few lives while I'm at it."
"That's enough, Hardy!" Ellie barked. She wasn't going to stand for this, the two of them clawing at each other's throats. "Calm down and shut up before I make you, and you!" With the glare she'd honed perfectly against journalists during Danny's case she swung towards the Doctor with one finger pointed like a javelin at him. "You're supposed to be some ancient alien but you're acting like a child! Hardy was looking for a way to help Jenny find you— for your daughter— so focus on her before going after him! You've explained everything to me anyway, so help me if either of you start anything I'm kicking you both out of here until you cool off!"
The Doctor was staring at Ellie with a mix of shock and indignation. Alec, hidden behind her, had to hide the smile that was trying to show on his face.
Jack started to clap, startling away the silence that had so quickly descended upon them. "Well said, Ellie Miller! I knew there was a reason I liked you." She flushed as she realized what she had just said.
"That's us told," Alec muttered.
The Doctor gaped silently for a long moment before turning to look at him in open bewilderment. "Why is it that we attract the difficult ones?" he complained.