They quickly grabbed a nearby log of wood and pushed it towards the gates to stop the others from getting through and rushed back over to the Doctor.
"It's empty. Look at it" Jack announced, as he opened the hatch to the ambulance.
"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?" The Doctor questioned.
"I don't know" Rose shrugged.
"Yes, you do" The Doctor insisted, making a gesture with his hands.
"Nanogenes!" Rose realised.
"It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species" The Doctor explained.
"Oh, God" Jack frowned, when he realised what that meant.
"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gasmask" The Doctor went on.
"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?" Rose asked.
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because, you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!" The Doctor shouted.
"I didn't know" Jack sighed.
"That's not good enough" The Doctor glared at him.
"Doctor!...He didn't know" Katerina insisted, giving him a look.
"Mummy. Mummy" They heard nearby calls, as the patients from the hospital walked towards them.
"Oh god" Katerina cringed, as they got closer.
"It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?" Rose realised.
"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol" The Doctor exclaimed.
"But the gas mask people aren't troops" Rose insisted.
"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you" The Doctor went on.
"That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing" Rose pieced the puzzles together.
"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them" The Doctor explained.
"Why don't they attack?" Jack frowned.
"Good little soldiers, waiting for their commander" The Doctor stated.
"The child?" Jack suggested.
"Jamie" Nancy corrected him.
"What?" Jack asked.
"Not the child. Jamie" Nancy insisted, as Katerina felt she was more over protective of the boy than a sister would be.
"So how long until the bomb falls?" Rose inquired.
"Any second" Jack groaned.
"What's the matter, Captain? A bit close to the volcano for you?" The Doctor mocked.
"That's not helping" Katerina glared at him.
"He's just a little boy" Nancy stated.
"I know" The Doctor replied.
"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy" Nancy said, her voice wavering.
"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can" The Doctor exclaimed.
"So what're we going to do?" Rose questioned.
"I don't know" The Doctor admitted.
"How about we say yes? That one of us is his mummy?" Katerina suggested.
"That would never work. He'd know" The Doctor shook his head.
"Have you got a better idea?" Katerina retorted.
"It's my fault" Nancy cried.
"No" The Doctor shook his head.
"It is. It's all my fault" Nancy told him, beginning to cry.
"How can it be your-" The Doctor was cut off, as all the gas mask people began to call out.
Everything suddenly connected for both the Doctor and Katerina. There was only one bond that could break through something like this.
"Nancy, what age are you?" Katerina queried.
"Twenty? Twenty one? Older than you look, yes?" The Doctor suggested.
"Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds" Jack insisted.
"You can teleport us out" Rose stated.
"Not you guys. Only Kat and I. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols" Jack explained.
"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do. Take Kat with you" The Doctor told him.
"No way. I'm not leaving you" Katerina retorted.
Jack then took out a remote from his pocket and winked at her, before pressing the button, as she realised he was going to come back.
"How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him" The Doctor went on, as the gates opened to reveal Jamie.
"Are you my mummy?" He asked, approaching them.
"He's going to keep asking, Nancy. He's never going to stop" The Doctor sighed.
"Mummy?" He queried, stopping in front of them.
"Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him" The Doctor begged.
"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?" He repeated.
"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy" She admitted.
"Mummy?" He queried.
"I'm here" Nancy nodded.
"Are you my mummy?" He said once again.
"It's not working" Katerina sighed.
"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left" The Doctor realised.
"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry" Nancy cried, as she hugged her child, a cloud of nanogenes surrounding them.
"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her, we should-" Rose started, but Katerina cut her off.
"Wait" She told her.
"Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out" The Doctor pleaded.
"What's happening?" Rose asked.
"Their mother and child. They have the same DNA" Katerina replied, as Jaime let go and Nancy fell to the ground.
"Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one" The Doctor insisted, as Katerina went to help Nancy stand up.
The Doctor cautiously stepped forward and removed the gas mask from the boys head, as they saw the little boys face for the first time.
"Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music - you're going to love it" The Doctor cheered, picking him up.
"So embarrassing" Katerina mumbled.
"What happened?" Nancy questioned.
"The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!" The Doctor explained.
"Doctor, that bomb" Rose insisted.
"Taken care of it" He grinned.
"How?" Rose frowned.
"Psychology" The Doctor replied, as Katerina coughed.
"And maybe a little bit of help from Kat" The Doctor rolled his eyes.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I also hope you like Jack and his interactions with Katerina. Please leave a review:)
Andrey258: I'm glad you liked the twist! There will be massive repercussions for this later on, and the Master will use it as an advantage over the Doctor! Thanks for the review:)