Love and Monsters: Infiltration

Kennedy pulled some files out of his briefcase, handing them around, "Right then, homework! Using the Torchwood files, we're able to look at all the old databases in a completely new light. We're able to build up a more detailed profile of the Doctor and the Angel. I've allocated tasks to each of you. I'd like you to…" he pulled back as Mr. Skinner nearly brushed his hand, "Careful! Watch the eczeema! I'd like you to complete your targets and meet back here this time next week, one step closer to catching the Doctor and the Angel," he turned and sat behind the main desk, "Well don't just sit there, MOVE!" they jumped up and got ready to leave when he called out, "Er, Bliss? It is Bliss, isn't it?"

"Yeah?" she smiled, looking up..

He grinned, "Could I have a word with you in private, please?"

"Course you can, yeah," she nodded.

"Thank you," he waved to the others, "Goodbye, goodbye."

The others turned and got onto the lift, taking it up to the streets, "Better get to work!" Elton remarked, "Lots to do."

"I never thought of it as work," Ursula replied, frowning just a bit.

"It's what we've always wanted, though. To find the Doctor and Angel."

"Yeah, I suppose," she shrugged, all of them walking off as Bliss screamed in the distance.

~8~

"All of a sudden, without anyone saying so, we were working for Victor Kennedy. Though we had to admit, he was right. His methods were much more rigorous. It felt like we were getting closer and closer to the Doctor and Angel."

~8~

Elton raised his hand in the air to get Kennedy's attention as they worked away at the desks that had been moved to the basement, him, Ursula, Mr. Skinner, and Bridget, "Mr. Kennedy?"

He looked up, "Yes?"

"We...we were wondering...no sign of Bliss. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, didn't she tell you? She's getting married! She left a message. It'll never last. Stupid girl. Come on, back to work!" and they all got to work again.

~8~

"But we did get lucky once."

~8~

Ursula was working at Elton's desk when Mr. Skinner ran in with a piece of paper, "A police box! Newly arrived, it says newly arrived today! And it's in Woolwich!"

Kennedy grabbed the paper from him, "Well don't just stand there, move! Move, go, go!"

~0~

"Sarah Jane!" Angel beamed as the monitor blinked on, an incoming call from the woman.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, flicking a switch and turning on the monitor.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane smiled as soon as she saw him, "Angel?" her eyes widened, guessing the ginger was Angel regenerated, "You regenerated?"

"Yeah," she blushed.

"Into a ginger!" the Doctor had to add with a pout, "I've never been ginger before, been trying for ages, and she gets it on basically her second go!"

Angel laughed and patted his shoulder, "Well you went on about it so much I thought, why not?" she smiled, before leaning over to kiss his cheek, "But I'm sure you'll be ginger one day."

His eyes widened as he looked at her, growing excited, "A feeling?"

"No."

His face fell comically.

"I just know you," she nudged him, "When you want something badly enough, eventually you get it, don't you?"

He smiled at her softly, "Oh yes," he agreed, before tilting her chin up with his finger and kissing her, neither of them noticing Sarah Jane grinning on the monitor.

Rose laughed, getting off the captain's chair to join them near the monitor, "Hello Sarah Jane," she waved. She'd developed a newfound respect for the woman after having actually gotten the Doctor to sit down and TELL her about Sarah Jane. The woman was amazing and she felt so badly for having treated her the way she had.

"Hi Rose," Sarah Jane waved.

"How are you?"

"Right!" the Doctor pulled away from Angel, his arm moving around her shoulders as he faced the monitor, "How are things?"

"Is anything the matter?" Angel asked, concerned.

"Oh everything's fine!" Sarah Jane smiled, "More than fine really, but Mr. Smith, that's my computer," she gestured at it, "Picked up Hoix sighting in Woolwich. I'd investigate myself but I'm a bit strapped for time right now," she looked at her watch, "I really do want to check it out but..."

"It's fine Sarah," the Doctor cut in, "We just touched down in London actually..." he looked at Angel who shrugged, she'd set the coordinates, but it was more for Rose to visit her mum than the feeling of an adventure coming, "We'll give it a look."

"Thanks!" Sarah Jane smiled, before she turned, hearing the front door shut, "Got to go!"

She waved and the feed cut off, "Right then," the Doctor turned to them, putting in the coordinates Sarah Jane had sent them, sending the TARDIS there, "We're gonna need some supplies for this one," he remarked, turning to lead them further into the TARDIS, heading for the kitchens.

"So what's a...Hoix, was it?" Rose asked.

Angel shrugged, "An alien. I think it eats a lot."

The Doctor smiled at that, Angel was much more involved in adventures, in helping him explain things, it seemed having helped tell Mickey what was going on all the time had carried over. She was more adept at explaining certain areas, though she was still out of her depth in other areas. Like science and maths and most alien species. But she was getting much better at explaining the situation at hand, the way the TARDIS worked, anything really to do with space and time and history she took more charge at. He'd found that, as much as she claimed she loved hearing him talk, he loved to hear her talk as well.

"A Hoix is a humanoid alien with brown skin and sharp teeth," the Doctor explained, "Mostly carnivorous. Very aggressive. Pretty strong..."

"And we're going to fight it off with...water?" Rose asked, eyeing the Doctor as he filled up a blue bucket.

"Water and vinegar!" he cheered, adding it to the mix, before pausing, "Or was it water and oil?" he sighed, moving to fill another one, a red one, with that mixture too, "Best have both to be safe. Now! We just need..."

He turned around to see Angel holding up a raw pork chop, smiling, "Bait?"

He beamed. That was another thing he'd noticed. She seemed to absorb a lot of what he was saying as he babbled. Like just now, he saw it in her mind, he'd mentioned carnivorous so she'd grabbed a piece of meat. Before she'd regenerated, she might have done the same, but not realized why. It seemed her drive to learn new things and meet new people had carried over as well.

"Exactly!" he cheered, taking her free hand and the red bucket before dashing off, "Rose! Grab the blue one!"

Rose did as she was told and followed them out, right outside, to a row of disused warehouses, "And a great big carnivorous alien is allergic to water, oil, and...vinegar?"

"The Slitheen are allergic to vinegar," the Doctor shrugged.

"And a werewolf in 1879 was allergic to mistletoe," Angel reminded her as they headed into one.

The Doctor put the bucket down by the door, "Best keep these here," he muttered, pulling out the sonic, "If it's here...it'll smell it if we get too close and react."

"Don't want that," Rose murmured, setting her bucket down.

The Doctor scanned around, before leading them further into the warehouse, through quite a few rooms when the sonic starting to beep quickly as it aimed up a flight of stairs, "Come on," he reached back and took Angel's hand, leading them up...only to hear growling coming from the door at the end of the hall. He glanced abck at her, "Ready?"

Angel held up the pork chop, nodding.

He nodded, "Right, Rose..." he looked at her, "Get the bucket."

"Which one?" she asked as they headed over to the door to distract the alien as she turned to go get the bucket.

"Not the blue one," he mumbled, before throwing open the door, the two of them dashing inside.

"What?" Rose called, but the door had already shut.

~0~

"Don't get excited, that's where you came in. Woolwich. Police box. Red bucket, blue bucket. Police are stupid, etcetera…"

~8~

Kennedy towered over Elton as he sat at his desk, "Useless!"

"I just...froze," Elton said.

"You met them…and you froze? You stupid man!" he raised his hand, about to smack him.

"You can't hit me! 'Cos you don't touch, you said so, you get a rash and an itch and…"

Kennedy just grabbed his cane, "I can use this!"

Ursula stood and stalked over to him, "Use that cane on him and you'll get one hell of a smack off me! And then a good kick! Is that completely understood, Mr. Kennedy?"

He eyed her a moment, "Duly noted. Ursula...Blake. Most likely to fight back," he stared a bit longer, "Right then! We'll change tack, we'll approach this sideways," Elton cast Ursula a grateful smile, "If we're to discover the truth about the Doctor and the Angel, then we need to try and find…her," he turned to a projection where a low quality digital photo of the blonde woman appeared, "Now when it comes to the Doctor's companion, the Torchwood files are strangely lacking," the photo changed to an image of her just outside Downing Street, "It seems the evidence has been corrupted, something called 'Bad Wolf' virus. At least we've got these photographs," he clicked a remote and the photo changed again, "They're first hand evidence. Elton?"

"It was a London accent," he affirmed, "Definitely. She's from London."

"So we hit the streets. We get out there, we take the photographs. Someone's got to know who she is somewhere."

"Yes, but London's a big place," Bridget countered, "I mean I should know, my own daughter's out there."

"Bridget, don't make this personal," Kennedy sneered, "I don't like to be touched literally OR metaphorically, thank you very much, I haven't got the time. Bleeding hearts outside! Find me that girl!" he handed them each a printed photo, "Go. Now, move!"

~8~

"So it began. The impossible task. To scour the mean streets, to search a major capital city for an unknown girl. To hunt down that face in a seething metropolis of lost souls. To find that one girl in ten million…"

~8~

Elton held up a photo to an old woman on the street, "Oh, that's Rose Tyler. She lives just down there…" she pointed, "Bucknell House, number 48. Her mother's Jackie Tyler. Nice family. Bit odd..." she walked off, leaving Elton stunned but satisfied. He quickly ran through the streets in the direction the woman pointed.

~8~

Elton danced around his room to ELO.

~8~

He dashed between two parked cars, stopping short when he heard a woman call out, "Oi, Jackie!"

He looked up to see a blonde woman with two plastic bags of clothes across the street.

"Hello sweetheart!" Jackie shouted as he lifted the photo to compare Rose to her, "I'll see you down the Spinning Wheel tonight, yeah? Pub quiz, get 'em in!"

"Alright then," the woman called, waving to her as Jackie turned and entered a laundry mat.

Elton quickly pulled off his jacket and his outer shirt, putting his jacket back on and gathering the shirt in his hands, heading to the laundry mat as well.

~8~

"I'd been trained for this. Victor Kennedy's classes covered basic surveillance and espionage."

~8~

Elton strode in, past Jackie as she sorted her wash, and over to a machine, putting his shirt in.

~8~

"Step one: engage your target. Find some excuse to start a conversation. But how was I gonna do this? How?"

~8~

"Excuse me love," Jackie called, "You couldn't give us a quid for two fifties, could you?"

He quickly dug in his pocket, "Yeah...just a...ah, ta da!" he pulled out the money and traded.

"Oh lovely!" she smiled in thanks, "Cheers!"

He nodded and turned back to his wash.

~8~

"Step two: without provoking suspicion, get on first name terms with the target."

~8~

"My name's Jackie," Jackie called, "By the way."

"I'm Elton," he introduced.

"Ah, you don't meet many Eltons, do you? Apart from the obvious!" they laughed.

~8~

"Step three: ingratiate yourself with a joke or some humorous device."

~8~

Jackie held up a black pair of panties in her hand as she turned to him, "I tell you what, Elton. Here we are, complete strangers, and I'm flashing you me knickers!"

He fumbled a bit for a reply to that and settled on just laughing.

~8~

"Step four: find some subtle way to integrate yourself into the target's household."

~8~

He turned to speak to her but Jackie was already talking, "Mind you, I'm only down here because my washing machine's knackered. I don't suppose you're any good at fixing things, are you?"

~8~

Elton was crouched behind the washing machine in Jackie's flat, changing the plug as she watched him, "Here we are," he held it up, "It was a fuse. There's nothing wrong with the machine. That's fine. All working!"

He stood up as she flicked her hair, "Oh Elton, I should have you on tap! I used to have this little mate called Mickey, he did all that stuff," she looked off in thought, "He's gone now. Bless him."

"Well, if you need me, give us a call. I'll jot down my number."

"Well you do that, and I'll make us a cup of tea. Go on, go and sit down. Put the telly on if you want, can't bear it silent," Elton nodded and walked into the sitting room, looking around. His gaze immediately went to photos of Rose growing up on the mantelpiece, "It's just me these days, rattling about," Jackie called from the kitchen as she came out and sat down on the sofa, gesturing for him to do so as well as she handed him a cup. She smiled, seeing him glance at the photos of Rose, "There's my daughter, she's gone travelling. I keep her bedroom all nice and ready though, just in case she comes back."

"And her name is?"

"Rose."

"It's a nice name, Rose," he took a sip of tea, "So where's she...travelling?"

"All over," she sighed, "She got a mobile, I get a call now and then. Not so often as I'd like. Still, that age, who can be bothered phoning home?"

"Who's she with, is it mates, is it, or..."

"Just mates. Yeah."

"Well, if I had you making a nice cup of tea like this, I wouldn't stray far from home."

"You're a charmer," she laughed, "Say it again."

~8~

Kennedy was very happy with the news, "Magnificent! Oh I could kiss you! Except I can't, of course. The eczeema."

"I've even got a picture of her on my phone," Elton replied, showing them.

"Oh it's amazing!" Skinner blinked, "You've achieved steps one to four in precise order! How did you manage it?"

"Well, I had to work very hard. She keeps everything very close to her chest."

"That's a hell of a chest," Ursula frowned.

"But how do you move on?" Bridget asked Kennedy, "Step five, that's the problem..."

"Step five!" Kennedy cried, "That's this week's homework. I want a full plan of attack from each of you. Now go on, vamoose!" he banged his cane down onto the desk, "Avanti! There's work to do!" the group turned to leave, "And Elton, keep infiltrating, you will do anything to get that information, boy, anything!"

"Yes sir!" Elton smiled.

"Oh, oh Bridget! Bridget, oh yes..." Bridget and Mr. Skinner stopped by the lift and turned, "Could I have a word with you in private, please?"

"Er, Mr. Skinner's giving me a lift," Bridget murmured, hesitant.

"Oh, I can drop you at the station, I'm sure Mr. Skinner won't mind, will you?"

"Not at all...er...well, Bridget, I'll see you next week," he smiled at her.

"Alright then," she nodded. Mr. Skinner gave her a small kiss on the cheek, Elton and Ursula smiling at the sight, before the three of them left, "Bye bye!" Bridget called to them as the lift brought them to the street.

"Now Mr. Skinner," Ursula began as they walked off, "I don't mean to pry, but did you give Bridget a little kiss back then?"

"I think I did," he nodded.

"And if you get your way, might there be more little kisses between the two of you?"

"I think there might…"

"I knew it!" Ursula cheered.

"That's brilliant!" Elton patted him on the back.

"Now, let's not get excited," Mr. Skinner said modestly, blushing, "We'll see."

Unnoticed by the three of them, Bridget screamed from the basement.

~0~

"I thought he was gonna eat me!" Rose laughed as they talked about their latest adventure dealing with the Hoix, sitting outside a quaint little eatery, munching on Fish 'n' Chips.

"Don't worry Rose," Angel smiled reassuringly, reaching out to put her hand on top of Rose's for a moment, squeezing it, "I wouldn't let anything hurt you."

Rose smiled, yup, EXACTLY the same Angel.

And then the Time Lady snagged one of the Doctor's chips, taking a bite of it.

"Oi!" he laughed, "And you call ME the thief!"

She smiled, "Because you are!" she held up the other half of her chip, popping it into his mouth.

He grabbed her hand gently around her wrist though, before she could pull away, kissing her fingertip before turning her hand to hold it in his, lacing their fingers together, both of them continuing to eat as Rose smiled at them.

"Thank God you had that pork chop Angel," Rose added, taking a bite of her fish.

"I wonder who that boy was though," the Doctor frowned.

It had been bothering him the last hour or so, that blonde man who had been there. He'd stared at them as though he recognized them, as though he couldn't believe they were truly there, before just taking off. The fact that he'd hardly flinched at the actual alien in front of him made it seem like he'd encountered aliens before which, given that it was London, he probably had. Shop window dummies, the Sycorax, London knew they existed now.

But there was just something more to him.

"Elton," Angel answered, moving to toss a chip into the air, she seemed to have developed a fondness for doing that. Tossing a small bit of food up and trying to catch it, it was fun! She hardly ever managed to do it, but it was fun to try. She liked trying, trying and failing helped you learn what NOT to do next time. She smiled, trying made her a better person, something she was, admittedly, still trying to become. THAT hadn't changed much, she still thought the Doctor was far too wonderful to want plain old her, but still...she wouldn't trade his love for anything in the world. She'd just try harder to be that amazing person he seemed to think she was.

She smiled wider, realizing she JUST might do it this time, catch the chip…when a hand snatched it as it fell.

"Doctor!" she laughed, turning to him, mock-cross, "NOW you see why I call you a thief! You stole my chip…"

He moved his hands behind his back, shifting a bit, "Which hand?" he grinned, moving his closed fists out before him. She just reached out and turned his left hand over, gently opening his fingers to reveal her chip. He held it up to her to eat as he winked, "And that's why I call YOU a psychic."

"Who's Elton?" Rose asked, that part of the conversation just catching up to her, having been distracted by their moment. She missed Mickey in a way. She knew they were both better off friends, close friends, but she missed having a bloke around to act sweet with.

"Mrs. Pope's son," Angel turned to her, "The little boy from that house," her smile faded a bit, though now a mourning for the loss that had come about it rather than a disappointment in herself, "With the Elemental Shade…"

The Doctor moved closer, putting his arm around her shoulders and hugging her to his side, "Well, he looks like he's grown up into a fine man."

Angel smiled, "Could we go meet him?" she asked him, "I just…I want to talk to him, explain what happened. He was so young, I doubt he understood what was going on. When...when my mum died, I just...wanted to know."

The Doctor nodded, the boy had been about 3, maybe 4, years old at the time. Watching a nightmare come to life before him, not knowing what had gone on while he slept…yes, the boy did deserve to know, "Alright," he nodded, "Let's make a house call!" he leapt up, pulling Angel with him…when he paused, "Which house though?" he doubted the boy still lived at home.

Angel laughed, picking up her small bit of food to toss away, not about to leave a mess as the Doctor seemed fond to do, "The TARDIS should be able to help, she got a read off of everyone in the house last time to make sure the Shade hadn't infected them, should still have a bit of the trace left to track him down with."

"Right," he beamed, leading them to the TARDIS. He knew the TARDIS would help, of course he did...but he'd asked that just because he knew she'd answer. He loved hearing her talk so confidently, that was something he was determined to do, build up her confidence. He could hear it in her mind, her lingering disbelief that he really HAD picked HER, he would get her to see how wonderful she was if it was the last thing he did.

~0~

Jackie brought over a plate of biscuits and a mug of tea as Elton fixed another plug.

~8~

"Infiltration went well, 'cos Jackie kept phoning up needing this and needing that."

~8~

"Down a bit," Jackie commented as Elton hung up a shelf.

~8~

"It was strange, the amount of things that needed doing."

~8~

He stood on a stool, changing a light bulb. Jackie walked past, eyeing up his stomach, before offering him some tea.

~8~

"It's like that flat was jinxed."

~8~

He'd changed quite a few fuses before checking the bathroom. He buried his head under the sink as Jackie entered, eyeing his bum.

~8~

"It's weird these fuses keep blowing," he commented as he was wedged between the sofa edge, "Must be near a substation. Then you get the power surges still...there we go! Fixed!"

Jackie entered in a very short black skirt, smiling down at him as Elton turned, coming face-to-face with her stomach and stood quickly, "Here we are! A little reward for my favorite handyman," she handed him a glass of red wine, smiling at him, her makeup done, her hair perfect, a tight top on…

"I shouldn't really, I've got the car outside."

"Well, you could always splash out on a taxi, or…" she smiled, suggestive, "Whatever. See what happens."

He nodded a little, nervous, "Right...cheers?"

"Cheers," she clinked their glasses.

"Very nice," he sipped, "What's that, French?"

"I s'pose so. They know how to do things, the French..."

"Is it from Rose? I mean, is she in France?"

"My daughter won't be coming back tonight. Just in case you're wondering. We've got the place to ourselves."

"Right..." he paused, hearing Il Divo playing softly, "Nice music."

"Il Divo."

"Yeah."

"You were saying, power surges," she advanced on him, backing him into the wall.

"From the substation, yeah," he swallowed hard, very uncomfortable.

"Is that why it gets so hot in here?"

"Is it hot?"

"Oh I think so," she smirked, "Should take your jacket off."

"No," he said quickly, "I'm fine, I'll just…"

"No, look, you must be boiling!" she insisted, 'accidently' spilling wine on his shirt, "Oh, look at your shirt! Sorry..."

"I'm...I'm...I'm fine, it's alright…"

"I've ruined it."

"No, no," he shook his head, "Honestly, it's…it's fine."

"Take it off, I'll put it in the wash."

"Oh come on, it's only a little drop," he tried to smile.

Jackie just sloshed the rest of her glass all over his shirt, deliberately, "Oh...there now. Ruined."

~8~

Elton scooted into the bathroom, shrugging off his jacket.

~8~

"And there I was. The ultimate step five."

~8~

He pulled his shirt off and preened himself, doing his hair, spraying deodorant…

~8~

"The perfect infiltration."

~8~

He gargled some mouthwash and made some boxing moves to psych himself up.

~8~

"Target: Jackie Tyler."

~0~

Apparently the TARDIS's tracker was a little off…well…not working at all would be a better word for it. It seemed that the Doctor, while using his trusty mallet, had whacked a button so hard it got stuck and that caused a short-circuit which prevented the monitor from connecting to the tracker. It could still pinpoint a location coming from another source, like when Sarah Jane had sent her own track of the Hoix, but not when it came from the TARDIS herself.

"I'm sorry Rose," Angel smiled at the blonde apologetically as the girl sat on the captain's chair, watching her working on the console. The Doctor had wandered off...more like hiddedn...when he realized he'd technically broken the TARDIS with the mallet Angel warned him against using, "It doesn't normally take this long to fix a circuit but I also have to pop the button out and re-install it and…"

"It's alright," Rose smiled, waving her off.

"It's just…I know you wanted to stop in and see your mum," she sighed, moving to kneel before the console panel she was working half-in. They were planning to go and meet Elton, have a little sit down with him, tell him what happened when he'd been a child before they went off to drop Rose in to see her mother.

That hadn't quite gone to plan.

Which, even if she wasn't a precog, she should have seen coming.

This was the Doctor they were talking about.

"I can see mum whenever I want," Rose tried to reassure her. This Angel, it seemed, felt guiltier for smaller things than the other her.

"You should call her though," Angel added, "Just so she doesn't worry."

Rose sighed but pulled out her phone, "Mum?" Angel glanced back at her work, half-listening to the one-sided conversation going on behind her, "No, no, mum I'm fine. Yeah," she laughed, "I'm alright, but listen...I won't be able to make it in like I said. There was this Elemental Shade and then a Hoix was attacking and the TARDIS needs some work..." Rose paused, "No, I'm not making it up. The TARDIS is parked for the moment...well no not parked, it's sort of drifting in the Time Vortex and..." she sighed, "Yes, it's a real place. No, I can't just pop out of it. And...is that Il Divo playing? Why've you got that on for, you hate that music...oh, right," she winced a bit, "Well tell him I say hello. No, no I don't need to come meet him. Mum, no, mum, listen...look, I'll come see you later, I promise," she nodded to herself, "Yeah, I know, I'll call later, I swear. Ok, I'll see you soon too. Course I'll be careful. Bye!" she snapped her phone closed and sighed before laughing.

"Well that saved me a nightmare," Rose remarked, when Angel looked at her, confused, "I'd rather learn how to change the oil in a car than listen to mum yap on and on about this new bloke she's got hanging round the flat, 'fixing' things," she grimaced…especially when her mother had told her the boy was her age, "He's there right now."

Angel smiled at that, "Well…I don't know much about changing the oil in a car, but how would you like to learn how to fix a TARDIS?"

Rose stared at her, "Seriously?" her eyes widened at the prospect.

"Yeah," she waved her over.

Rose jumped out of her seat and ran over, eager to learn even more about the old box, kneeling beside Angel as she turned…before she frowned, "What is it?" Rose asked.

"It's a bit cramped…" she muttered, eyeing the small panel compartment, before beaming, "I know!" she jumped to her feet, pulled the grilling beside her up, and hopped down, "Come on!"

Rose moved over, dropping down into the underside of the grilling with Angel. It was a small space, she had to hunch over to move, but there was a wider area ahead of her, the technology spread out, not crammed in a tiny little compartment.

"What are we doing?" Rose asked, excited.

"You, Rose Tyler, are going to learn how to change the thermo-couplings," Angel smiled.

Rose laughed, "I have no idea what they are but bring it on!"

~0~

Elton pointed to himself in the mirror, clicking his fingers, and rushing out, over to Jackie's bedroom door, "You're right, it is a bit hot. But it's about to get hotter!"

He stopped short, seeing Jackie sitting on her bed, talking to someone on the phone, "I'll see you soon. Alright, be careful," Elton frowned, concerned, "Bye."

"Everything alright?" he asked as she put the receiver down and sighed.

"That was my daughter," she replied, turning to look at him, standing there, half-naked and sheepish, "Oh, look at you. I'm sorry. I was just being stupid."

"Is she ok?"

"She's...so far away. I get left here sometimes and, um...I don't know where she is, anything could be happening to her, anything. And I just go a bit mad," she paused, "Put your shirt back on."

"Where is she?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm sorry. You'd better go."

He turned to leave, when something struck him, "Actually..."

~8~

"That's when it struck me. Funny the things you think of with your shirt off. But that's when I realized what was really important."

~8~

He turned back to her, "Never mind about Rose. I'm not even gonna ask. And I will put my shirt back on, because I'm going to go out and get us both a pizza. 'Cos I reckon you need cheering up. She goes swanning off and who's left to care about you, eh? So I say a nice bit of pizza, we'll put the telly on nice and loud and annoy that woman next door, just you and me as proper mates. Yeah? Mates. Go on. Say yes."

Jackie beamed, "Yes!"

~8~

"All of a sudden, a lot of things made sense. I'd got so lost in conspiracies and aliens and targets, I'd been missing the obvious. 'Cos I DID like Jackie, but I liked someone else even more!"

~8~

Elton danced along to 'Mr. Blue Sky,' thinking about Ursula.

~0~

Angel laughed at something the Doctor said to her and Rose as she worked on something in the console, having moved her and Rose back there after he'd come to join them, showing Rose how to check that the thermo-couplings were working. She blinked, the smile fading from her face as she looked out into space…

'…that's what you become, hard…'

'…thought you liked me…'

'…just get out of here!…'

"Angel?" Rose asked, putting a hand on Angel's shoulder, seeing the woman's distraction, "You alright?"

"You might want to call your mum again Rose," she looked at the girl, blinking quickly as she swore she'd just heard Jackie as though she'd been standing right beside her in the TARDIS, and she just knew something was wrong, something had happened, "I think something's upset her…"

Rose's eyes widened and she quickly pulled out her mobile.

"What was that?" the Doctor asked, making his way to Angel's side as she stood, frowning. In his mind he'd heard...well...he wasn't sure...

"I dunno," she breathed, shaking her head before looking at him, "Do you think..."

He nodded, her thoughts racing across his mind, unable to keep them out at the moment, "I think so..." he smiled at her, amazed, "I think you just got a little actual sneak of the future."

"I saw the future?" she gaped at him, absolutely stunned at that. She knew he called her a precog and psychic and thought she might have been a Visionary on Gallifrey, had she been tested and trained, but...this had NEVER happened before...

"More like heard I'd say," he joked a bit, it had been a bit of a blur to him, neither of them had been expecting it, so when it happened, neither had really gotten much chance to look at it more, it was over too suddenly, "But yeah, I think you really did."

"Huh..." she blinked, not quite sure what to think about that...if she HAD just seen, well, heard, the future then her feelings were most certainly getting stronger, but...she wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing, so, instead, she said, "Well isn't that wizard."

~0~

Elton smiled as he walked towards the Powell Estate with two boxes of pizza, spotting Jackie standing outside, waiting for him with his jacket, "Right. Let's get inside then, the pizza's getting cold."

"I went in your coat," she said coldly, "For once in my life I thought 'I'll pay.' I thought 'He's such a nice man, he won't accept anything, so I'll just slip a tenner in his pocket.' And look what I found," she pulled out a photo of Rose, "A photograph of my daughter."

His eyes widened, "No, no, no, no, no, it's not like that. I can explain!"

"I bet you can."

"I wasn't being pervy or anything. I wasn't after her! I was looking for the Doctor and the Angel."

"Oh I know that. I worked that out. 'Cos it's never me, is it?"

"No, but that's how it started, but I changed my mind!"

"Let me tell you something," she glared, "About those who get left behind. Because it's hard. And that's what you become, hard. But if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that I will never let her down. And I'll protect them until the end of my life. So whatever you want, I'm warning you: back off."

"But Jackie, I only wanted to meet them."

"I thought you liked me," she said, blinking back tears.

"I do!"

"Just get out of here!" she shouted, upset, before throwing his jacket at him, "I said get OUT! And leave me alone!" she turned and ran back into the flat in tears as her mobile rang, leaving Elton standing there.

A/N: Ohhh...we're starting to see a little bit more of the next level in Angel's abilities here. There'll be a bit more about that in the next chapter, as well as the rest of the saga as Angel continues to grow stronger. Keep in mind, that's just her 'feelings' not the glowing which...will appear in quite a few episodes to come :)

Next chapter will probably only have one of the Doctor/Angel original scenes, where we see what actually happened inside the house with the Elemental Shade :) Along with a surprise for Elton :)

Some notes on reviews...

Hmm...I'm not sure I'd do the child-married-to-River thing here in this saga. I sort of/kind of did that already in my Lunar Cycle stories featuring my OC/Time Lady Evy. She eventually has a son with the Doctor, LJ/Sigma, who is best friends with River Song (so not quite married, but they love each other in a different way) and my last chapter of TAOSAT (a spin-off of the Lunar Cycle focusing on LJ and River) has an 'open for interpretation' ending where he just might have saved her from the Library :)