A/N Io non proprio DW o la BBC.

Book of the Update: The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George

Chapter 25

"Doctor!" Rose cried, running into the dungeon room, "stop!"

His head snapped up, sorrow etched onto his face but a burning pain alight in his eyes.

"You don't have to do this," she said, a bit helplessly, her hand reaching out as if to comfort him, but dropping back to her side before she made contact. His body was rigid, his knuckles white on the edge of the control panel before him.

"What else do you expect me to do?" he yelled, somewhere between hopeless and furious, "I have three options. One, I don't do anything, and the starwhale lives on forever in unendurable agony. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can." His head dropped and his eyes darted around madly. "And then I-I find a new name, 'cause I won't be the Doctor anymore."

"But there's got to be something we can do, some other way!" she cried, her eyes flicking over to where the whale's brain was visible, pulsing with the torturous energy. She stretched out her hand to him, saying, "Doctor, you can't-"

"No, no, no!" He yelled, slamming his fists into the machine. "Nobody say anything! Nobody human has the right to say anything to me today!"

Rose's hand dropped, her mouth falling open slightly, and she stepped back. Away from him. "I thought you would try 'n look for a different way. For anything else," she mumbled, turning away from him, "I guess I was wrong."

They watched in painful silence as the Doctor turned knobs and pulled out wires on the control panel, preparing the machine for what it was about to do. Rose sunk down next to Donna and Amy, her eyes wet and conscience heavy. Her head dropped into her hands and she took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling Donna's hand rubbing her back comfortingly. No words were spoken.

The girl, Mandy, got up and ran to her friend, Amy standing up and following, but Rose and Donna took no notice of this until she said, "Doctor, stop."

Rose lifted her head to see Amy running over to the Doctor, crying, "Doctor, whatever you're doing, stop it now!" She grabbed the woman with the curly hair – Elizabeth the Tenth – and dragged her over to a table hosting a television screen and two buttons. "Sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm gonna need a hand," she explained, and Donna stood up to see what was going on, pulling Rose with her.

The Doctor lunged towards the queen. "No, no, no, don't!"

But he was too late. Amy smashed the queen's hand down onto the button with the word 'protest' printed on it. Donna shrieked, bringing her hands up to her mouth, but Rose only stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before looking back to where Mandy and her friend had just been playing with the starwhale's claw-like limb. She turned her head and looked at the Doctor, remembering what he'd said before. Last of his kind…old and tired…..children crying….she almost whooped at the brilliance of it all when the whole plan dawned on her. Amelia Pond was a star.

But then the entire ship shuddered violently, sending her careening into Matthew VanHooris, who caught her just before she slammed into the stone wall, and Rose's faith in Amy's plan wavered a bit. Or more than a bit. Quite a lot more than a bit.

"What've you done?" Donna shrieked, clinging to a pillar beside her for dear life.

Amy stood up as the ship righted itself, apparently still confident in her plan. "I haven't done anything," she said, looking around at everyone. "Am I right?"

The man in the black cloak – Hawthorne – checked something on a screen and then looked back at them, astonished. "We've increased speed," he said incredulously, looking back to the readings, as if to double check.

"Yeah, well you've stopped torturing the pilot," Amy said, a smirk on her face, "Gotta help."

"It's still here," Donna said, walking over to look at the whale's brain, "Why didn't it leave?"

"The starwhale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago – it volunteered. You didn't hafta trap it or torture it," she said, walking towards Elizabeth the Tenth, "that was all just you. It wanted to help, 'cause it couldn't stand to-"

"See the children crying," Rose joined in, finishing for her. "Cause it was really kind and really old, and it couldn't stand to see the children crying," she said with a smile and Amy nodded earnestly, picking up with:

"What would you do," she asked, looking directly at the queen, "if you were really old and really kind, and your whole race was dead? What couldn't you do? If you were that old and that kind, and the very last of your kind," she added, turning around to face the Doctor, "you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

The Doctor's mouth was open and his eyes wide and he looked at a loss for words. How had this girl, who'd only met him once or twice before, come into his life and lay out his whole existence as simple as that? As simple as the solution for Starship UK? He didn't know how to respond.

"That's…Amy, that was bloody brilliant!" Donna said softly, in an awed voice, a bit contradictory to her word choice.

Amy just smiled at her, but Rose was looking just at the Doctor. He met her eyes for a moment before turning suddenly and walking away, out of the room. Rose made a step as if to follow him, but saw Amy going after him, and figured that maybe it wasn't her turn to be the focus of the Doctor's attention right now. Instead, she turned and walked back to Donna. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. You?"

"Fine."

They were silent for a few more minutes before Donna spoke again, "he didn't want to, you know."

"Hmm?"

"You should'a seen him. Before you came runnin' in, he was 'bout to lose it. Finally did, but you know what I mean. Looked like it was gonna be waterworks and everything," she said, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice. "He was pretty upset."

Rose smiled grimly. "Think he still is."

"Think we oughtta talk to her?" Donna asked, jerking her head towards the queen, who was speaking quietly with Hawthorne, Matthew standing beside them a bit awkwardly.

Rose groaned. "Aww, I thought I was done with cleanup," she whined, putting her face in her hands. "Had enough a' that back with Torchwood," she mumbled, even as she turned and walked over to them, Donna right on her heels. "Right then, so things are gonna change around here, yeah?"

Elizabeth the Tenth nodded. "Yeah. There'll be no more secrets on Starship UK," she said, handing over the mask.

Rose blinked, a bit surprised. She hadn't expected her to be so quick and resolute about it. "Oh. Umm, yeah. Okay. That's really great then," she said, taking the mask from her.

Donna smirked and pushed her way in front of Rose. "What I think she's tryin' to say is thanks. And there's not gonna be any more harm done to that poor creature, is there?" the woman shook her head no, and Hawthorne readily agreed, shaking his head as well. "Now, I think you're gonna need to tell the truth to everyone on this ship – give a speech or somethin', I dunno, but no more secrets. That's gotta be a promise that's kept now, Your Majesty, otherwise it ain't gonna do a thing."

The queen nodded earnestly and said something in reply, but Rose wasn't really listening. She'd walked over to where Matthew stood, and she tapped his arm and smiled, giving a little wave with the tips of her fingers. "Hey. Me again."

"Hey," he said, waving as well.

"I um... I just wanted to say thanks," she told him, fiddling with her hands, "Thanks for believing me. And for helping me get down here and all."

"Well you were right," he said, grinning, "Better to at least try to help. Don't think I'll be sittin' 'round watchin the telly all day anymore. I've been thinking. Shame about the starwhale bein' the last. Wouldn't want any other species to come to that too, so maybe I could…go out and, I dunno, help them? Ah, never mind, that sounds really stupid now," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Forget I said anything."

"No it doesn't!" Rose protested, "It sounds fantastic! Helpin out like that…it sounds really great. Much better than watchin telly and eating beans on toast," she said, smiling as if she'd made a joke. He didn't understand.

"So really, it's me who should be thanking you, I suppose. Thanks for inspiring me, Rose." He pulled her into a hug, and Rose didn't say anything else, blinking in astonishment. She'd never…inspired anyone before. Especially not to do something brilliant like what Matthew was planning.

Someone cleared their throat behind her and she pulled out of the hug, smiling up at the Doctor behind her, who put an arm around her shoulders and smiled at her, his expression becoming somewhat frowny when he looked at Matthew. "Do you want to introduce me to your friend, Rose?" he asked, tightening his grip around her shoulders possessively.

Rose rolled her eyes. She thought he'd outgrown the jealousy. Apparently not. "This is Matthew VanHooris. Matthew, this is the Doctor."

Matthew's eyes widened a bit when he took in the Doctor's expression and he hurriedly held out a hand for him to shake. "I've heard a lot about you from Rose," he said awkwardly.

The Doctor looked unimpressed. "Mm. We'd better get going," he said, turning away and tugging Rose with him. "Donna! Amy! Come on, hurry up! You humans spend so much time chatting. Wasting your lives away chatting, you will," he grumbled, making Rose laugh and shove him playfully, getting a grin out of him as well. He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, opening his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Donna screaming – squealing? – from behind them and he swung around, eyes wide. "What," he asked, "was that?"

"Amy's getting-"

"Um, Doctor," Amy said, cutting off whatever Donna had been about to say, "You know what I said about being back for tomorrow?" a phone began to ring from somewhere inside the TARDIS and Rose slipped out from under the Doctor's arm to unlock the door and get the phone. If only she could find it.

"I'm sorry, is that actually a phone?" Amy asked from outside and the Doctor scoffed.

"Course it's a phone. It is a phone box," he said, pushing on the door for them to go through.

"Doctor, where have you moved the phone to?" Rose asked, "I've looked everywhere!"

"Here it is," Donna called out, holding up the offending object. Rose glared at it, but Donna just ignored her and answered it. "Hello?" her eyes widened. "It's who?" A warbled murmur came from the other end of the call and Donna raised her eyebrows. "Nawh," she said, eyes wide, "Who is it really?" Another murmur and she turned to the Doctor, putting the phone against her chest to muffle it. "Says it's the bleedin' prime minister!" she said in an awed sort of stage whisper.

Amy's eves widened and she stepped up to where Donna stood. "First the queen, now the prime minister? You get up there, huh, Doctor?" she asked him teasingly, still looking at the phone as if the prime minister himself would pop out of it and stand before them.

"What do I do?" Donna hissed, pointing at the phone.

The Doctor hardly looked up from the bit of the console he seemed intent of altering. "Which prime minister?" he pulled down a lever. "Rose, would you get that right there – yes, that – lovely! Ta."

Donna blinked at him for a second, mouth open a bit. "Which prime minister?" more murmuring from the other end and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know that," she said, exasperated, "But which British one?" her eyes bugged and she took the phone away from her ear, handing it to the Doctor with a sort of shocked reverence. "Winston Churchill. Think it's for you."

Amy's jaw dropped. "No way. Winston Churchill?"

But the Doctor was ignoring her. "Ahh, hello dear, what's up?" there was a bit of murmuring from the other end and the Doctor nodded, grinning. "Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister. We're on our way."

And he promptly hung up the phone.

"Winston Churchill? Really? You know Winston Churchill and you never thought to bring me to meet him?" Donna asked indignantly, but the Doctor just shrugged.

"You never asked."

Donna gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, until Rose broke in, giggling, "He knows an awful lot of people, Donna; you'd never have the time to meet all of them!"

The Doctor grinned at her and purposely bumped her hip with his as he leaned across the console to ding the bell. "Fantastic point," he told her with a wink, making her laugh even more as the ship took off, jerking and rocking everywhere as they sped through space and time, all the way back to London, Earth, during an era dominated by bombs and metal. They were headed to the Blitz.

DOCTOR WHO

Rose stepped out and immediately flung up her hands in surrender with a little screech. She was staring down the barrel of a gun. The Doctor appeared at her side in an instant, stepping out between the guns and her. "Hello, boys," he said cheerfully, waving to the soldiers around them. "Might want to put those down."

A man with a cigar in his mouth stepped through the line of soldiers, eyes wide. "Doctor," he said, "is it you?"

The Doctor smiled and motioned for the others to come on outside. "Amy, Donna, Rose...Winston Churchill," he told them with a flourish, gesturing to the man before them. Said man smiled and held out his hand to the Doctor who laughed and shook his head. "Every time."

"What's he after?" Amy asked and the Doctor responded without looking away.

"TARDIS key."

"But think what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor," Winston said, trying to plead his case, "Think of the lives that could be saved."

"Doesn't quite work like that," Rose mumbled, still standing behind the Doctor with her hands up in unnecessary surrender.

"Must I take it by force?"

"I'd like to see you try."

The two men had a bit of a stare-off for a while until Winston finally gave in, grumbling 'at ease' to his men and leading the Doctor and friends down a long hallway. "So you've changed your face again?" he asked the Doctor who shrugged, looking at Donna and Rose.

"Yeah, well. Had a bit of work done."

Amy squealed in excitement, looking all around. "Got it, got it, got it! Cabinet war room, right?"

"Yep! Top secret offices right under London," the Doctor told her, doing a little spin.

"You're late. Again!" Churchill informed them, pausing briefly to sign some document on a clipboard a girl handed him.

"Late?" the Doctor cried in indignation. "I'm never late!" Rose exchanged a glance with Amy and Donna snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I rang you a month ago."

"A month? Sorry, sorry, it's a type 40 TARDIS, I'm just…running her in," he said sheepishly. Rose's brow furrowed. She thought the TARDIS was perfectly fine.

"No, you're just never on time," Donna argued. The Doctor glared at her.

"Something the matter?" Winston asked the girl who'd handed him the clipboard. "You seem a little down in the dumps."

She shrugged. "No sir. Fine, sir."

"Right. Back to work, then," he said, looking unconvinced.

"Yes, sir," she said before scurrying off.

Rose had been watching her as she walked off, trying to guess what had happened to upset her, but someone slipped their hand into hers and she lost her train of thought.

"Come on. Going upstairs," the Doctor said, tugging on her hand to lead her away, following Churchill.

They stood in the lift, choking on the smoke from Winston's cigar, in a loud silence before anyone spoke. "We stand at a crossroads, Doctor. Quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over an enemy attack."

"Such as?" the Doctor asked calmly, albeit a bit suspiciously.

Churchill didn't answer, only slid open the grate and stepped out, muttering 'follow me' to the group –Donna, Amy, Rose, and the Doctor – behind him.

They followed him out onto what looked to be the roof of the building. Armed soldiers stood everywhere, watching the skyline for enemy planes. "Blimey," Donna said quietly, looking around her. She'd heard about the Blitz in school – everyone had. But to see people actually in the middle of it, standing around prepared for attack….there were blimps. All around them, in the sky. The world below seemed brown and dull. The sky was grey.

"Doctor!" Winston shouted over the noise of the wind, "This is Professor Edwin Bankwell, head of our newest project."

"How d'you do?" he called in greeting before turning his attention back to scouring the skyline through a rather large set of binoculars.

"S'like we're standin' right in the middle of history," Donna muttered to Amy, who looked a bit lost. She was standing with her hands over her mouth, trying to take it all in, when there was a violent boom and the world seemed to flash yellow and red for a moment. A bomb.

"Open fire!" Churchill hollered, and the soldiers did just that, impossibly futuristic energy beams shooting up into the sky, hitting every single one of the enemy planes above them. A shudder went through Rose at the sound they made, because it sounded just like…..it was a bit familiar, that's all.

"Hold on," Donna started, "Isn't that a bit space-agey for the 1940s?"

The Doctor's brow was furrowed and the hand that held Rose's was clammy and squeezing tightly. "That wasn't human. It almost sounded like…"

He looked at Rose with fear in his eyes and she had to bite back another shudder. "But….it couldn't've been," she said, still holding tightly to his hand, waiting for confirmation to what she'd said.

But there was no confirmation.

"Show me!" the Doctor demanded, dropping Rose's hand to climb up a ladder to the level that the shots came from. "Show me!" When he reached the top, he froze and his blood ran cold.

"Our new secret weapon!" Churchill proclaimed in a bragging tone. "What d'you think? Quite something, eh?"

But the Doctor didn't reply. He stepped over to the creature and looked right into its eye. "What are you doing here?"

"I AM YOUR SOL-DIER."

"What?"

"I AM YOUR SOL-DIER," it repeated, but that only aggravated the Doctor.

"Stop it! Stop now. You know who I am," he said in a low tone, anger apparent in every one of his features.

"I-DEN-TI-TY UN-KNOWN."

He turned around, his lip curled in disgust, unable to look at the creature that had ruined his life. Lives.

"Hold on now, let me clarify some things," Professor Bankwell said, coming over to them. "This is one of my ironsides."

The Doctor swung around at once. "Your what?"

"You will help the Allies in any way you can," Professor Bankwell said, addressing the creature, "until the Germans have been utterly defeated."

"YES."

"And what is your-" he started to say but he was cut off by a shrill shriek as Rose Tyler ascended the ladder and got to her feet, her breath stopping at the sight of the deadliest enemy standing right before her. Rose Tyler shrieked because she was staring down the eyestalk of a Dalek.

A/N Ciao. So, some reviews maybe? Love you all lots and just wanted to thank you so much for 300+ reviews – made me so happy!