A/N: Well my tickets for Hamlet arrived yesterday! woohoo. And the T.V guides are talking about ""Learners" being on this autumn. It's just David Tennant overload!!! Anyway, where were we? Oh yes ...

Chapter 14

Jack held his pistol before him as he sidled into the house, keeping Martha tucked behind him.

"See now, if you'd done as you were told I wouldn't have anyone to watch my back," he whispered.

"So where are they?"

"Hang on……… upstairs, all the way up?! Well what on earth? Oh you have got to be kidding me? Sneaky critters aren't they? Okay….. right gotcha. Kitchen door. Yeah she is….uh no you can tell her that yourself! I am not a wuss!...You and me will be having words Space boy!...ooo promises, promises!"

"Sorry to break up this lovers quarrel you have going on but could we possibly get this over with, this place gives me the creeps!"

"Got your running shoes on Martha?"

"Don't we always?"

"Right and watch out for anything or anyone that looks familiar. Remember they aren't real."

"What if they turn into the Doctor and Rose?"

"We'll know."

"How?"

"Because they're not moving from upstairs and if in doubt try kissing the Doc, if these things are born from our minds then fake Doc will let both of us kiss him!" Jack winked and grabbed her hand, tugging her along the wall towards the staircase.

XxXxX

"What took you?" Rose asked cheekily as Martha and Jack finally fell through the door.

"Those stairs…..they're murder!" Jack panted. "By the way our friends are on the move."

"Told you it wouldn't last long," the Doctor's voice floated up though a hole in the floor.

"You been freezing the innocent again Doc?"

"No one is completely innocent Captain. Besides, they wanted to kill us. Dunno about Rose but it would have put a bit of a crimp in my day."

Jack chuckled and looked round at Martha who looked ready to collapse. "You know, for a doctor in training you're not very fit," he teased.

"Shut up," Martha gasped.

"So what's he doing down there anyway?" Jack asked turning back to Rose.

"Trying to disable the ship."

"And you found yourselves up here because…..?"

"He tracked the signal of the ship with the screwdriver, which lead us up here. The signal is coming from this part of the ship up here, the way in to the ship and the engine is all the way down there."

"Typical."

"That's what he said."

"Just a thought. Now that our not-so-friendly neighbours are mobile aren't they likely to be coming after you?" Martha asked finally catching her breath.

"Yeah, and they'll be headed up here," Rose nodded.

"Then shouldn't be getting somewhere else?"

Jack held his hand up to silence them and moved swiftly over to the door bracing his back against it.

"Doctor!" Rose hissed down through the floors and the buzzing of the sonic screwdriver stopped abruptly.

They all held their breath as the footsteps got closer. Voices murmured and muttered as the floorboards creaked.

A loud crash made them all jump; Rose and Martha both slapped a hand to their mouths to stop for squealing.

The approaching footsteps began running away, following the noise.

All four stood in silence as the seconds ticked by but their captors didn't return.

"What the hell was that?" Martha asked finally.

"No idea but it bought us some time. Need a hand Doc?" Jack called crouching to lean over the shattered floorboards.

"Don't think so."

"Why didn't we meet you down there?" Martha asked as she joined Jack and Rose in peering over the edge.

"Always meet upstairs," Jack told her. "That way you can lead the enemy away from the intended target. If you got straight for it they've got you all pegged."

"Exactly," the Doctor called distractedly then gave a yelp as the craft shocked him.

"Besides he's coming back up and the door down there is jammed."

"How do you know?" Martha asked.

"Doc told me. That's the other reason why we had to come all the way up here. The door must've got jammed in the impact of the landing." Jack regarded the craft for a moment. "It's not very big; it's a bit like a large trailer. You know; the ones that stay in one place, that people actually live in," he observed.

"Only needed to hold three," the Doctor announced appearing from the bottom of the ship. He stripped off his coat and threw it up at Jack before starting to climb back up towards the trio. "I'm guessing they are the last. They thought they'd only need it to retrieve their finds and return home after a few days at most. They weren't planning on living in it. So when you think about it, it's actually pretty big considering what they were using it for."

"Well, you know what they say about blokes and the size of their vehicles," Rose said as she took the Doctor's hand and helped him over the edge.

"No, what?" he asked absently dusting himself down.

"They're over compensating for something." She flicked her eyes down at his fly and back up as if emphasising her point.

"Oh." His brow furrowed for a moment. "What does mine say about me then?" he asked, feeling a little worried about her response as he thought of his blue police box.

"Well let's see," she looked him up and down with a mischievous glint in her eye before leaning closer and lowering her voice. "It says 'you get far more than you bargained for'. After all it is bigger on the inside." She laughed and moved towards the door, smiling at Martha, her tongue between her teeth, which caused the girl to choke back her own laughter.

"You okay Doc?" Jack asked, hiding his smile as he watched his friend's neck and cheeks take on a ridiculously red hue.

"Yes, yes. Fine, fantastic, brilliant even," the Doctor cleared his throat and tugged uncomfortably on his ear. "Shall we get out of here? Whatever distracted them isn't going to fool them forever, although if I ever find out who or what it was I may just kiss them." Shrugging his coat on, he paused at the door and listened. "Stay close and don't wander off."

All three nodded as he cautiously opened the door.

XxXxX

She nudged a door causing it to slam shut as she galloped by, hoping the aliens would continue to follow. A few more laps of the house and a couple of misdirection's she hoped would be enough for the other four to escape.

She could feel herself slowing and hear the Scopuli gaining on her so she did the only thing she could do; she hid in the shadows and prayed they'd run straight by which they did, only to turn up the back steps back towards the upper floors and the Doctor. Unsure of what else to do, she took off after them. If she could find a quicker route perhaps see could cut them off.

XxXxX

The Doctor led them through the growing shadows of the old building, Jack bringing up the rear. He was trying to lead them out without giving themselves away. The house had more corridors than the Doctor cared for in these situations. But more corridors also meant there were more ways down than just the front stairs. He'd noted the old servant's staircases and decided they would be a great way out if all else failed.

Rose gripped his hand tightly but he couldn't feel her fear, the grip was more of a reassurance that they were still together. So many times like this in the past they had been separated.

He stopped in his tracks as he heard something approaching.

"Jack," he hissed, "back stairs, now!"

Jack grabbed Martha's arm and yanked her back the way they came, eyes scanning for a stairwell.

This time Jack was the one to stop. "Uh, Doc? We've got problems."

The Doctor looked passed the group at the new obstacle. The Scopuli had pre-empted them. They had somehow misdirected the Doctor causing them to run straight into the trap.

Rose glanced at her surroundings; they were back at the room that hid the Scopuli's ship. If she could get them into that room she could drop them down to the bottom floor, leaving them with no option but to climb their way out. Taking a deep breath she stepped out from behind Martha and raised her hands.

Jack and Martha watched in amazement as golden tendrils shot forward, lifting their opponents clean off the floor and shooting them back through a door.

"Rose, no!" the Doctor cried as he rushed to the door frame, watching the three aliens fall down out of sight. The force of Rose's energy caused the ship to judder and shift it's already precarious position. "Move, move, move!" he yelled bundling the girls ahead of him as his mind raced through all possibilities, all of which resulted in big trouble. A loud rumble caused the group to pick up speed as they darted down the stairs.

Jack took the first turning off the service stairs, preferring the space of an open corridor to run through. He looked behind him to check the others were with him, just in time to see Martha lose her footing. As she tumbled down the last few stairs; the Doctor and Rose yelled out in surprise and worry as her head connected loudly with the skirting board.

Jack rushed to her side as the Doctor scanned her with his screwdriver.

"She'll be okay; she'll have a bit of a headache and probably a case of concussion. We need to get out of here."

As if on cue the building creaked and shook beneath their feet.

Jack scooped the unconscious girl up and took off again. The Doctor pushed Rose through the door, checking over his shoulder.

Rose ran so fast she overtook Jack who was struggling with Martha's dead weight in his arms. The main staircase was in sight spurring them all on. Then they heard the roof above them crack.

Jack glanced up first, and saw one of the support beams jerk downwards. "We need to get out of here."

As they neared the bottom of that flight the beam crashed to the floor narrowly missing them.

Rose spun round to see the beam breaking the already time worn floorboards. Jack pulled up beside her but someone was missing.

"Doctor?! Where is he Jack?"

"I don't know he was right behind me."

'Doctor? Doctor, where are you? Doctor, answer me!'

'I'm okay, just a little stuck.'

Rose sighed with relief as she saw her lover emerge from the floor behind the beam.

"Why do I have déjà vu?" she called, shying away from the fallen beam as sparks from broken electricity cables began to fall setting small fires on the stairs.

"California, about three weeks ago. You got blocked off by falling rocks. You okay?" the Doctor called over the creaking, shielding himself from the sparks that were falling fast and furious.

"A little on the hot side," she told him and stepped back further from the flames that had begun to lick up from the fallen beam.

"Oh great, now we gotta deal with fire?!" Jack complained. "When did that become fun?"

The Doctor was trying to find a way round the beam but soon realised it was impossible. "Jack, just go. Get out of here." He stared at them through the flames for a moment, neither one was moving. "Run!" he yelled over the rumbling that shook the building, causing the floor beneath him to creak ominously.

"Not without you!" Rose shouted.

"I'll find another way, just take Martha and go!" He staggered back up a few stairs as the floor shook and gave way, the floor boards disintegrating to ash beneath his feet. Jack and Rose heard his scream fade as he fell from sight.

"Doctor!!!" Rose screamed, the flames licking higher and closer to her by the minute.

XxXxX

The Doctor felt himself hit the floorboards below but instead of stopping him, they gave way and he fell down further before finally hitting something solid. He felt the air rush out of his lungs on impact and could just make out Rose and Jack shouting over the din of the collapsing building and the ringing in his ears.

He thought of the nice comfy spaceship he and Rose called home. Closing his eyes the Doctor tuned it all out and lay there, his body screaming with pain and feeling more tired than ever.

XxXxX

Next time:

There was another snort by his ear as he was hurriedly dragged into the surrounding undergrowth. Flexing his back he attempted to move the rest of his body but a growl from beside him and a jarring pain in his back halted all activity. He risked a look to his side feeling the world swim and he froze. "Well, this is new," he thought, "just please don't eat me."

A/N: Well another week and another chapter. Let me know what you think by pressing the button.

"Catch ya on the flip flop!"