"Cassandra, get out of her!" The Doctor yelled as they climbed, and Cassandra groaned: "Oh, would you two shut up? You're like a stuck recording or something, both of you saying the same thing over and over."

"Maybe you should listen!" The Doctor and Teresa retorted at the same time. Teresa suddenly yelped as she felt a tug on her ankle and she glanced down in terror to see Matron Casp holding her.

"Oh, really?!" Teresa asked desperately while Casp hissed: "All our good work. All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything."

"Let her go!" The Doctor snarled at her from above Teresa, while Cassandra snapped irritably: "Go and play with a ball of string."

Casp hissed: "Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness!"

She gasped and began to moan in pain as boils appeared on her face. Teresa's eyes widened and she cried: "No!"

But Casp let go of Teresa's ankle and fell to her death, screaming. She stared for a moment until the Doctor ordered: "Terry, move!" She saw the patients climbing up after her and quickly climbed after him, when they reached the end of the ladder, having reached the top floor. Cassandra knocked on the door desperately, but it wouldn't budge.

"Now what?" She cried as the Doctor and Teresa caught up and Teresa ordered: "Let the Doctor get past."

"Why would I do that?" She demanded and the Doctor snapped: "Just get out of Rose, save us all the trouble."

"Would you two quiet down? Cassandra, he's the only one who can open that door." Teresa called impatiently.

Cassandra made a face but moved out of the way, but the Doctor didn't move as he ordered: "Not until you're out of that body."

"Oh, for God's sake." Cassandra grumbled and then Rose and the Doctor jerked as Cassandra moved. Teresa and Rose stared at Cassandra in horror as 'the Doctor' said to Rose impatiently: "God it was tedious inside your head. Hormone City. At least the other blondie was somewhat logical. Now hurry up!"

"You're the one with the sonic!" Teresa cried as Rose shifted across quickly and Cassandra climbed up beside her but didn't know what else to do.

"Oh, for- Cassandra, get back into me." Rose ordered.

Cassandra sighed as she answered: "Hold on tight."

They shifted again as Teresa watched from below, anxious and annoyed as Cassandra said in Rose's voice: "Oh, chavtastic again. Open it!"

She ordered the Doctor and he said tightly: "Not till you get out of her."

"We need the Doctor." Cassandra pointed out.

"I order you to leave her." He snapped and they switched again.

Teresa was now furious and annoyed as Cassandra said in the Doctor's voice: "No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout."

"Cassandra, get out of him!" Rose shouted and Cassandra whined: "But I can't go into you, he simply refuses. He's so rude."

"I don't care!" Rose shouted and Teresa yelled: "Cassandra, come back into me."

"It doesn't help does it? He continues to refuse." Cassandra pointed out and Teresa yelled desperately: "I don't care! Just do something!"

"Oh, I am so going to regret this." Cassandra whined but she moved into the patient woman right behind Teresa.

"Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting." Cassandra complained while the Doctor quickly unlocked the door and hopped through. Teresa indicated for Rose to go quickly, and the girl did just as Teresa felt Cassandra re-enter her. Her mind was shoved unceremoniously back once more, and she wriggled uncomfortably there as Cassandra threw her body to safety beside the Doctor.

The Doctor quickly locked the door behind them with his sonic as Rose leaned down to help 'Teresa'. But she pulled back as the Doctor shouted furiously: "That was your last warning, Cassandra!"

But he paused as well as he stared at the utterly desolate expression on Teresa's face.

"Inside her head." Cassandra whispered. "They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched."

Rose's eyes softened as she stared at Cassandra. Teresa's familiar grey eyes were filled with sadness and a hint of guilt as Cassandra sat there dejectedly. The Doctor slowly lowered his hand, offering it to her.

Cassandra stared at it for a moment before taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. There was a banging on the doors behind them and the Doctor quickly led them back into Ward 26.

As they walked in, a furious Frau Clovis, assistant to the Duke of Manhattan, came charging at them, growling as she lifted a metal stool so that its legs were pointed at the trio. Rose yelp while Cassandra flinched and backed away quickly.

The Doctor quickly lifted his hands to try placate the woman as he cried: "We're safe! We're safe! We're safe!" Frau Clovis stopped, staring at them warily and the Doctor added quickly: "We're clean! We're clean! Look, look."

He showed them his hands, Rose following and Cassandra doing the same more timidly, terrified.

"Show me your skin." Frau Clovis ordered, and the Doctor lifted his hands: "Look, clean."

Cassandra began showing every inch of exposed skin that she could, making Teresa and Rose roll their eyes. The Doctor didn't notice as he told Frau Clovis firmly: "Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead."

Frau Clovis lowered her stool, satisfied and the Doctor asked as he tucked his sonic away: "So how's it going up here? What's the status?"

"There's nothing but silence from the other wards." Frau Clovis replied tightly. "I think we're the only ones left. But I've been trying to override the quarantine." She showed them a small tablet as she explained: "If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."

"You can't do that." The Doctor replied firmly. "If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine."

"I am not dying in here." Frau Clovis snarled, and Rose told her: "You can't risk those people's lives."

Teresa agreed silently as the Doctor told Frau Clovis sternly: "We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There are ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!" He ordered as he pointed at the tablet.

"Not if it gets me out." Frau Clovis spat, and Rose stared in disbelief while the Doctor muttered angrily: "All right, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Terry," he ordered as walked off quickly, "Rose, novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace."

He stopped by the Duke's bed as he ordered sharply: "Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!"

'Come on!' Teresa ordered Cassandra tiredly and she muttered sulkily: "He called you, not me."

Teresa didn't care and Cassandra quickly moved to grab as many of the brightly colored bags as she could. The Doctor removed the winch on the Duke's bed and quickly tied a curtain rope around his body. Cassandra ran up to him with all her bags, bumping into him slightly as she tried to just hand them over. He quickly began to hang them on his body, and Cassandra followed his lead, Rose soon following and then the others.

"How's that? Will that do?" The Doctor asked as Cassandra fumbled with the last bag, and she answered confusedly: "I don't know. Will it do for what?"

He rolled his eyes but left the ward, sonicing the elevator to make its doors open.

"The lifts aren't working." Cassandra pointed out as she and Rose followed the Doctor out, and Teresa called to Cassandra in alarm: 'Cassandra! Please, tell Rose to get back inside.'

Cassandra blinked in confusion while the Doctor pointed out to her: "Not moving. Different thing."

He backed up and Rose asked: "What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer, just saying: "Here we go."

He placed his sonic in his mouth and ran at the elevator as Rose's eyes widened and Cassandra asked in disbelief: "But you're not going to-"

He jumped in and grabbed the lift cable.

Teresa repeated desperately: 'Cassandra, please tell Rose to get inside.'

"Oh, all right!" Cassandra snapped as the Doctor removed his sonic from his mouth. She turned to the surprised Rose and said irritably: "Your friend is highly insistent that you get back inside."

Rose stared, hesitating but the Doctor called: "Rose, do it!"

She ran inside Ward 26, joining Frau Clovis uncertainly, while Cassandra asked the Doctor curiously: "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going down!" He told her like it was obvious- which it was- as he soniced the winch onto the cable.

"Come on!" He called to Cassandra impatiently, and she scoffed: "Not in a million years."

"I need another pair of hands." He told her and Cassandra snapped: "So get blondie to help you."

She pointed behind her at Rose standing by the doors to Ward 26.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight." The Doctor warned her. She scowled at him but he asked sarcastically: "What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?"

"Seal the door!" Frau Clovis called from behind as the diseased patients made it onto their floor.

Cassandra whirled around to see that she was trapped and she gasped, before running at the Doctor.

"No!" She complained as she did, jumping onto his back and making him grunt as she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, staring down in terror at the drop below.

"You're completely mad." Cassandra told him, and then she paused.

"I can see why they like you." She added, and the Doctor ignored that comment as he just shouted: "Going down!"

He released the clamp on the winch, letting them drop down at an incredible speed. Cassandra began to scream in fear while the Doctor whooped with delight. He choked just a little as Cassandra's grip on his neck tightened, only loosening when he cinched the winch again and slowed them to a halt above the elevator.

She let him go and said a little breathlessly: "Well, that's one way to lose weight."

"Now, listen." The Doctor ordered, ignoring her words. "When I say so, take hold of that lever."

He pointed at it distractedly, but turned to face her when Cassandra said in exasperation: "There's still a quarantine down there, we can't-"

"Hold that lever!" He shouted at her irritably and she jumped. He felt a twinge of guilt in seeing Teresa's body flinch from him, it brought back terrible memories of that day on Platform One. He quickly turned around and muttered: "I'm cooking up a cocktail. I know a bit about medicine myself."

Cassandra knelt down, holding the lever and watching as the Doctor poured the contents of every intravenous bag into the tank on the elevator roof. As he poured the last bag in, he told Cassandra firmly: "Now, that lever's going to resist. But keep it in position. Hold onto it with everything you've got."

He opened the hatch to climb into the elevator and Cassandra asked skeptically: "What about you?"

"I've got an appointment." He replied lightly. "The Doctor is in."

With that, he dropped down into the lift, disappearing from their sight.

Cassandra waited, when suddenly the Doctor shouted from below: "I'm in here! Come on!"

"Don't tell them." Cassandra snarled, and Teresa sighed in her mind despite the waste of energy that cost her.

The Doctor shouted at Cassandra: "Pull that lever!"

She did as he said, pulling at it with all her might as the Doctor shouted at the diseased patients outside the lift: "Come and get me. Come on! I'm in here! Come on!"

"Commence stage one disinfection." The intercom called and it sprayed down all the contents of the tank. Cassandra gasped, holding onto the lever with all her might as it protested, wanting to switch off.

"You need to work these muscles some more!" She gasped at the girl as she felt the strain on her body.

'Gee, thanks.' Teresa told her sarcastically as Cassandra threw her whole body's weight onto the lever to keep it there.

"All they want to do is pass it on. Pass it on!" The Doctor crowed from below and Cassandra bit out at him in confusion: "Pass on what? Pass on what?"

"Pass it on!" The Doctor shouted triumphantly, ignoring her. The tank finally emptied and Cassandra let go to peer down inside the lift. The Doctor lifted his hands, offering to help her down.

She hesitated but dropped down, the Doctor catching her and setting her safely on her feet. It was only then that he really noticed how revealing her outfit was and he gulped. The feeling quickly disappeared when Cassandra asked: "What did they pass on?"

He almost sighed as he turned back out, but paused when she asked almost hesitantly: "Did you kill them? All of them?"

"No." He corrected. "That's your way of doing things."

He walked out, missing the slight stunned look on Cassandra's face.

'Is it your way?' Teresa questioned quietly and Cassandra made a face, but she didn't reply. She mutely followed the Doctor out to see the whole reception full of people being healed as they passed the medicine on.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said proudly, "and I cured them."

A woman came over numbly and hugged him, and the Doctor cooed: "That's right. Hey, there we go, sweetheart. Go to him." He urged her onwards to pass on the medicines through touch. "Go on, that's it. That's it."

She moved and the Doctor walked on through the reception as he told Cassandra: "It's a new sub-species, Cassandra. A brand new form of life. New humans! Look at them. Look! Grown by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, but completely, completely alive."

'Told you he's amazing.' Teresa whispered and Cassandra smiled just a little.

The Doctor suddenly whirled on them as he said to Cassandra delightedly: "You can't deny them, because you helped create them."

Cassandra swallowed as she looked around and the Doctor crowed as he took in the view around them: "The human race just keeps on going, keeps on changing. Life will out! Ha!"

He cried ecstatically, and Cassandra smiled softly once more.


They made their way back up to Ward 26, avoiding the police as they rounded up the nuns and helped soothe the shocked people who had been trapped inside. They'd just made it to the Ward in time to see Novice Hame being led off, and they stared after her pensively as she glanced back.

"Doctor! Terry!" Rose cried as she ran up. The Doctor smiled as she hugged him, and Cassandra frowned a little.

'Why aren't you reacting?' She asked Teresa, puzzled and she felt the girl's surprise although she didn't reply, too tired out.

Rose let go of the Doctor, beaming as she turned to Cassandra and hugged her. Cassandra blinked, stiffening unsurely, but she slowly lifted her arms to return the embrace. Before she could, however, Rose broke away, leaning back as she peered into the other girl's eyes and she sighed: "You're still Cassandra, aren't you?"

Cassandra pulled a face, but suddenly the Doctor said as he thought of something: "The Face of Boe!"

He ran off towards the empty ward, and stopped before the great big tank, Rose and Teresa/Cassandra following.

"You were supposed to be dying." The Doctor teased as he took in the much healthier-looking face.

The Face of Boe chuckled: "There are better things to do today. Dying can wait."

"Oh, I hate telepathy." Cassandra complained. "Just what I need, a head full of big face on top of the annoying girl."

"Shh!" The Doctor and Rose snapped at her.

She went quiet as the Face of Boe said: "I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you and Terry have taught me to look at it anew."

The Doctor raised his brow, wondering how the Face of Boe knew her name.

He slowly approached closer as he prompted: "There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old."

"There are? That would be impossible." The Face of Boe chuckled, and Teresa thought with her last bit of energy: 'Never done teasing, Jack?'

Cassandra looked puzzled while the Face of Boe chuckled again, while the Doctor murmured unaware: "Wouldn't it just." His voice became more serious as he added: "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

"A great secret." The Face of Boe murmured and the Doctor answered lightly: "So the legend says."

"It can wait." The Face of Boe murmured, and the Doctor whined: "Oh, does it have to?"

Teresa chuckled as she sent her final thought: 'Goodbye, Jack.'

The Face of Boe answered: "Goodbye, sweet Terry. And we shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day…"

He beamed away, leaving them confused. Teresa had picked up on his exclusion of her when he mentioned his final meeting with the Doctor. She wondered if that meant she'd see him again before his inevitable death, or if that meant she would never see her to-be friend die.

The Doctor sighed as he pouted: "That is enigmatic. That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic." He sulked for a second before standing up, turning to Cassandra as he said sternly: "And now for you."

Cassandra blinked at him, and backed away a little as he strode over to her. "But…" she tried, "everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"

She pleaded but the Doctor told her firmly: "You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."

Cassandra pressed a hand to her mouth and she cried: "I don't want to die."

"No one does." Rose pointed out, and Cassandra begged: "Help me."

Rose looked at her pityingly as the Doctor told her flatly: "I can't. Now give her back to me."

Rose stared at him, hurt, but it went unnoticed as they heard a call from behind: "Mistress!"

Cassandra whipped around to see Chip running over in his strange little way, and she said in actual relief: "Oh, you're alive."

"I kept myself safe for you, mistress." Chip said happily and Cassandra's face immediately turned thoughtful.

"A body." She murmured. "And not just that, a volunteer."

"Don't you dare." The Doctor warned her angrily. "He's got a life of his own."

"But I worship the mistress." Chip snapped at him before turning to Cassandra with an adoring face. "I welcome her." He said happily.

Cassandra winked at them, greatly disturbing Rose and the Doctor to see Teresa act that way, and the Doctor said urgently: "You can't, Cassandra, you-"

She simply breathed out, closing her eyes as she left Teresa, making him groan in exasperation. He quickly moved as Teresa collapsed, catching the blonde girl as her legs gave out.

"You all right?" He asked her quickly and Teresa nodded dazedly.

"Terry?" Rose asked anxiously and the girl just nodded again, gasping and unable to actually speak. Cassandra had been in her mind too long and she was exhausted. She slowly tried to stand, only for her knees to buckle and the Doctor caught her quickly.

"Whoa! Okay?" He checked as she breathed heavily, leaning against him as she tried to find her bearings.

Rose felt a twinge of jealousy, but pushed it down firmly as Teresa's eyes finally focused and she gasped out: "Yeah. I'm fine."

She glanced up at the Doctor, startled to see him so close and she murmured: "Hello."

"Hello." The Doctor replied with a grin. "Welcome back." He added as she stood upright on her own and she smiled as she turned to Rose.

"Rose. You okay?" She asked and Rose nodded mutely.

Teresa frowned in confusion, when they were interrupted as Cassandra complained: "Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle."

They turned to her as she held up her hands to show them Chip's markings. The Doctor rounded on her as he scolded: "You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

Teresa's heart tugged, knowing what was going to actually happen. Cassandra pretended to think about it as she said lightly: "Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time."

The Doctor frowned in confusion, and Cassandra explained: "Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so."

She paused, blinking as she realized: "He's failing. I don't think he's going to last-"

She was cut off as her knees collapsed beneath her. Teresa jumped forward to catch her, Rose and the Doctor helping swiftly as they placed her carefully on her knees.

"Are you all right?" The Doctor asked quickly and Cassandra replied lightly: "I'm fine."

They all paused, the trio's faces turning grim as they realized what was happening. Cassandra admitted softly: "I'm dying, but that's fine."

She smiled bravely, glancing at Teresa before looking down at her lap.

"I can take you to the city." The Doctor offered quietly and Cassandra replied quickly: "No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me any more."

She looked back down at her hands before she added softly: "You're right, Terry… Doctor. It's time to die." She looked back at her hands as she finished bravely. "And that's good."

"Come on." The Doctor murmured as he and the girls helped Cassandra up. "There's one last thing I can do."


The Tardis landed in a side room to the party, and the Doctor led Cassandra, covered in a thick black cloak, into the party room. Teresa followed right beside Cassandra, holding the dying woman's hand as she tugged her along gently.

They stepped out, Teresa moving beside Rose so that Cassandra could see. She stared in wonder at her young, beautiful self, laughing and flirting with the other guests just as Teresa had seen in the clip. Cassandra turned to the Doctor and whispered sincerely: "Thank you."

"Just go." He told her quietly. "And don't look back."

"Good luck." Rose added.

Cassandra nodded, hesitating before she turned to Teresa and murmured tearfully: "You were right. I am an idiot."

Teresa just smiled and kissed the woman's cheek in farewell.

"Now, go. Go on." Teresa encouraged and Cassandra left them to go see her young self.

Teresa took Rose's hand, squeezing it tightly as they watched Cassandra meet her younger self. Rose squeezed back and Teresa leaned against the Doctor's shoulder sadly as Chip-Cassandra collapsed.

Young Cassandra cried for help, rocking Chip's body gently and Teresa swallowed back tears as they watched Cassandra die in the arms of her past self. The Doctor gently touched the girls, urging them to move. They turned away, and with one last look back each, they left the party quietly.