AN: Hey guys! Back with another chapter! I'm on a 2 hour bus ride, so who knows how long this chapter will be. Anywho, here you go! Enjoy!

Chapter 25

(Rose P.O.V)

"Doctor! Alice!" Rose shouted frantically, pounding on the door. Meanwhile, the corpses continued their slow march towards her. She was banging so hard that her hands were red. One of the zombies grabbed her as the door was kicked in, revealing the Doctor and Alice, followed by an older man. "I think this is my dance," the Doctor smirks and yanks her away from the dead man's grasp. "It's a prank," the elderly man is murmuring. "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence!"

Rose snickered. The poor man looked like he was going into cardiac arrest. "No we're not. The dead are walking." He looks down at her grinning. "Hi!" Rose pants a bit. "Hi, who's your friend?" Alice speaks up, replying giddily, "Charles Dickens!" She beams. Rose doesn't show much of a reaction. Even though she's been traveling with the Doctor for only about a day, she's seen weirder. "Okay," she says lamely. The Doctor finally releases his grasp and Rose feels kind of sad. Wait, what? Rose could not possibly like this strange man. At least, not in that way. She shakes her head as the Doctor addresses the corpses. "My name's the Doctor. Who are you then? What do you want?"

Both corpses open their mouths and reply, "Failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us!" They screamed and the gas floated back into the lamp. Rose shuddered. Even though only two people were talking, the aliens had sounded like thousands of lost souls. The corpses fall to the ground with a loud thud. Everyone is silent.

"I'm not cleaning those up," Alice states, earning a small chuckle from the Doctor.

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We are all seated in the living room on various couches and arm chairs. It's kind of an awkward situation and everyone sits in silence as Gwyneth pours tea. I thank her when she hands me a cup. No one really knows what to say after the encounter with the gaseous beings. I can tell Rose can't take it any longer, so I let her explode. "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!" She crosses her arms and glares at Sneed. "I won't be spoken to like this!" he exclaims.

"Your own fault," I mutter, then allow the conversation to continue like normal. "Then, you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave me to die! So come on, talk!" She is red and the face and breathing heavily. I pat her back comfortingly. Sneed hesitates for a few moments before answering. "It's not my fault-" He falters when I shoot him a glare deadly enough to kill a horse. I guess, if you wanted to kill a horse, with a glare. Anyway, "It's this house! It always had a reputation. Haunted! I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs," this time, a glare from the Doctor, "er, dear departed, started getting restless."

"Tommyrot!" Dickens exclaims, and I literally had to cover my mouth to stop from spitting tea everywhere. I don't know why, but really British words like that make me giggle like crazy. They just sound so funny. "You witnessed it!" Sneed argues. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. It's the queerest thing, they hang on to scraps." Gwyneth finally makes her way around to the Doctor who had been surprisingly silent this entire time. "Two sugars, sir, just the way you like it." He nods gratefully. I kind of forgot that she was a psychic for a second and knew his tea order. The Doctor seems to have realized that he didn't tell her and stares quizzically. He looks over to me and I just shrug. He'll figure it out.

"I saw nothing but an illusion," Charles is saying as I rejoin the conversation. "If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time," the Doctor says seriously. "Just shut up. Now what about the gas?" Before Charles can reply, Sneed says, "That's new sir. Never seen anything like that." The Doctor sighs. "Means it's getting stronger. The rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through. No one likes the sound of that. Rose asks, "What's the rift?"

"A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."

"That's how I got the house so cheap. Stories go back generations," Sneed explains. Dickens, obviously fed up, flees the room, slamming the door behind him. Sneed continues warily. "Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine." Really? Is this the time to comment on the economy?

The Doctor stands up and leaves. Rose and Gwyneth start to clean up the dishes and I help, eager to hear the conversation that follows. We head to a sink and Gwyneth says timidly, "Please, misses, you shouldn't be helping. It's not right." I glance at Rose and raise an eyebrow. She shrugs and replies, "Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death. How much do you get paid?"

"Eight pound a year miss."

"How much?"

"I know! I would have been happy with six."

Rose looks at me like Is she serious? and I nod. I clear my throat. "So, you go to school right?"

She smiles. "Every Sunday, nice and proper."

"What, once a week?" Rose asks incredulously. I forgot that Rose is not really accustomed to the customs of these times. "We did sums and everythin'! To be honest," she lowered her voice. "I hated every second." I whistled. "That's nothing! See, where I come from, we go to school 5 days a week! And, we do multiplication and all that." Gwyneth looks amazed. "I commend you for your patience," she giggles. "Sometimes, I would even skip," I say, getting back on track. "I'd go look at the boys playing sports and such." Her face goes red. "Well, I don't know much about that miss." I wish cameras were invented yet so I wouldn't surprise her with my polaroid. Her face is priceless. Rose jumps in. "Oh, come on. I bet you've got your eye on someone."

Rose and I lean in expectedly. "Well, I suppose. There is this one lad. The butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him." I smile. I haven't gossiped in forever. "You should ask him out," I prod. "You two…." she trails. "It's strange. You've got the clothes and breeding but you're wild things!" We laugh together. I sigh contentedly, savoring this moment.

After all, this was only the start of the downhill journey.

AN: Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than what you were expecting. My computer's dying and I want to write a quick Supernatural one-shot while I've still got the juice. Review and I can't wait to see you next time!