Hello readers! The next chapter is finally finished! Sorry it took so long. I had no free time the past six weeks. Hopefully the next semester will be less stressful. I will do my best to update as often as possible, but I don't know how often that will be. I really appreciate the reviews I've gotten and hope you will continue to provide feedback. I want to thank all those who have stayed with this story. It makes me feel good knowing people like my story. Anyway, on with the story.
Previously:
'It's the Daleks,' he finally replied.
'What about them?'
'They-they've created a human Dalek.'
'A human Dalek? But how? And why?' I asked.
'I don't know, but I intend to find out,' the Doctor replied. Our link went quiet as he did whatever he needed to do.
I headed for Solomon's tent where I could think in peace. Tallulah had decided to go find some food. I began to pace back and forth inside the tent. I had so many questions. Why were the Daleks kidnapping people? Why were they creating pig men? For what reason did they create a Dalek-human? That last question really had me puzzled. Daleks were against anything and everything that wasn't a Dalek. They were born to kill and to purge the universe of all that wasn't a Dalek. So why would they have merged with a being they so clearly despised? I sighed heavily. Hopefully, I would get the answers to my questions when the Doctor got back. I was shaken from my thoughts when I felt a spike of fear through the Doctor and I's bond.
'Theta, what's going on?!' I asked urgently, stopping in my pacing.
'Not now, Aryia!' He replied hurriedly. I started pacing again, waiting for the Doctor to tell me they were safe. After what seemed like forever, he finally answered. 'I've got Martha and Frank, oh and everyone else.'
My shoulders dropped as I sighed in utter relief. 'Good. Now get back here.'
'On our way.'
I walked outside of the tent to go find Solomon. "The Doctor is on his way back with Martha and Frank and some extras," I told him almost too excitedly.
"How do you know that?" Solomon asked me.
"I have my ways," I replied with a shrug. Solomon eyed at me skeptically, but nodded.
A short while later, a man came running over and alerted Solomon that a group of people was headed our way. I gleefully rushed in the direction the man had indicated. I grinned widely when I saw the Doctor walking towards Hooverville, Martha, Frank, and the rest of the people in the group from earlier in tow. I ran over and threw myself into the Doctor's arms. He staggered back slightly, but quickly regained his balance as he wrapped his arms tightly around me, burring his face in my hair. "Glad to see you in one piece," I told him.
"I told you I could manage," he reminded me.
I smiled. "Yes, you did." I let go of him and turned to Martha and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked her.
Martha nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she ansered in a somewhat strange voice; my hug was very tight.
I turned and tugged Frank in a hug. "And, Frank, good to see you again," I said. He stiffened, surprised by my sudden embrace, but he relaxed and hugged me back.
"Frank!" Solomon called as he came running over.
Frank looked up as I let him go. "Solomon!" He called back, grinning and running over to meet the older man. The two embraced.
"Solomon, we need talk," the Doctor said.
"These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares," Solomon remarked after the Doctor had finished telling us what happened. "And they wanna breed?"
"They're splicing themselves into human bodies," the Doctor informed us darkly. "If I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. We've got to get everyone out."
"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go," Solomon protested.
"I'm sorry, Solomon," the Doctor apologized. "You've got to scatter. Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state, just get out of New York."
"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," Solomon insisted desperately.
I shook my head. "Daleks can't be reasoned with, Solomon."
"There's not a chance," Martha agreed.
"You ain't seen 'em, boss," Frank added.
"Daleks are bad enough at anytime, but right now they're vulnerable and that makes them more dangerous than ever," the Doctor told Solomon.
Just then, a sentry that had been posted at the edge of Hooverville to watch for the Daleks came sprinting over. "They're coming! They're coming!" he shouted.
"A sentry. Must have seen something," Solomon said.
"They're here! I seen 'em! Monsters! They're monsters!"
"It's started," the Doctor said ominously.
"We're under attack! Everyone to arms!" Solomon shouted. Men ran all around, passing out guns and any other weapons they could find.
"Come back!" Solomon yelled after some men who started to run off. "We gotta stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!"
"We need to get out of the park," Martha said as we saw pig men attack the people who ran off.
"We can't!" I realized, looking around. "They've surrounded us."
"Then we stand together," Solomon decided. "Gather 'round. Everybody come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together. They can't take all of us." He turned to the conflict and started firing at the pig men that had surrounded us as the other men followed suit with a renewed sense of determination.
"If we can just hold them off till daylight," Martha said hopefully.
"Oh, Martha, they're just the foot soldiers," the Doctor corrected, looking at the sky. Everyone looked up.
"Oh, my gosh," Martha gasped. A Dalek could be seen flying towards us.
"What in this world..." Solomon said, staring at the Dalek in shock.
"It's the devil," the sentry declared. "A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation."
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Frank announced. He fired at the Dalek, but the bullets didn't do any damage to the its casing.
The Doctor shoved Frank's riffle. "That's not gonna work."
"There's more than one of them," Martha whispered to us. Suddenly, a second Dalek flew by and began firing on Hooverville. The Doctor quickly placed himself in front of me protectively. I wrapped my arms around my stomach despite knowing what little protection I was giving my unborn child.
"The humans will surrender," the first Dalek ordered.
"Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you!" the Doctor shouted. Solomon started to walk forward, but the Doctor grabbed his arm. "No, Solomon. Stay back."
Solomon ignored him. "I'm told that I'm addressin' the Daleks, is that right?" He asked the Dalek hovering in front of us. "From what I hear, you're outcasts, too."
"Solomon, please don't," I pleaded.
"Doctor, Wonder, this is my township, you will respect my authority," Solomon told us firmly. "Just let me try." He jerked his arm out of the Doctor's grasp and stepped forward. "Daleks... ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" The Daleks didn't say anything as Solomon paused to set his rifle on the ground, making sure to hold up his hands defensively. "'Cause, see, I've just discovered this past day God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah. Terrifies me. Right down to the bone. But it's got to give me hope... hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So I... I beg you now if you have any compassion in your hearts then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well... what do you say?" The Daleks focused more intently on him. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what was about to happen.
"Exterminate!" The second Dalek shouted. It shot a beam at Solomon, but I was already moving. I tackled Solomon to the ground and the beam hit right where he had been standing a just a second ago. The inhabitants of Hooverville screamed.
"Solomon!" Frank yelled, rushing over to make sure he was alright.
"Wonder!" The Doctor shouted. He ran over and helped me up, frantically looking me over for any signs of injury.
"They would've killed him," Martha gasped in horror. "They tried to shoot him on the spot." A wave of anger flowed over me and I looked up at the Doctor, knowing it was him.
"Daleks!" The Doctor snarled, glaring darkly at the Daleks. He moved forward, arms held out. "All right, so it's my turn! Then kill me! Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people!"
"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy," One of the Daleks declared.
"No!" I shouted in panic. I went to rush forward, but Martha reached out and grabbed me. "Let me go! I have to help him!" I shouted as Martha restrained me.
"I know you want to help him, but you have to think of the baby," Martha told me, causing me to freeze.
"Then do it! Do it! Just do it!" The Doctor demanded, beating his chest, ignorant of what Martha and I said. "Do it!" I struggled weakly in Martha's grip, my need to keep the Doctor safe colliding with my instinct to protect my unborn child.
"Extermin-" the Dalek began, but stopped mid sentence. "I do not understand. It is the Doctor." I tilted my head in confusion. What was going on? It must be receiving orders, but why didn't it kill the Doctor. I certainly wasn't complaining though. "The urge to kill is too strong." It was quiet for a moment. "I... obey."
"What's going on?" The Doctor demanded.
"You will follow," the Dalek ordered. My hearts stopped. He couldn't go with them, I didn't care if they had changed their minds.
"No! You can't go!" Martha protested before I could say anything.
"I've got to go," the Doctor insisted. "The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks never change their minds."
"But what about us?"
The Doctor glanced around at all the people of Hooverville, who stood cowering from the Daleks. "One condition! If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here!" he decided. "Do you hear me?"
"The humans will be spared," the Dalek agreed after a moment. I blinked in surprise and confusion. Did the Daleks just agree not to kill? "Doctor... follow."
"Well, then I'm coming with you," I said firmly, moving toward him.
"No, Wonder, you have to stay here," the Doctor told me, walking up to me and placing his hands gently on my shoulder. He looked deep into my eyes. "Please, stay here. Help Martha look after the people." I stared up at him, at war with myself, trying to decide if I wanted to argue or not. Eventually, my instincts telling me to keep my unborn child safe won out. I nodded reluctantly and he smiled softly. He leaned down and kissed me and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.
"Physical interaction will cease!" The Dalek ordered. "The Doctor will follow!"
The Doctor and I pulled apart and he went to follow the Daleks. He paused and turned around to Martha. "Oh, and can I just say, thank you very much," he told her, gripping her hand in both of his. He winked at her and sent me a furtive reassuring smile before following the Daleks. I stared after him, scared that this may be the last time I would see him.
I looked over at Martha and saw her looking at something in her hand. "What did he give you?" I asked.
"His psychic paper," Martha replied, a bit confused.
"He must have figured we would need it for something."
Martha sighed. "Come on, might as well start helping these people." She walked off towards Solomon's tent, Tallulah and I following.
I felt someone catch my arm and I turned to see Solomon. "That was a dangerous thing you did," he scolded me.
"You're one to talk," I retorted. "Even after all the things the Doctor told you about the Daleks, you still tried to reason with them."
"I had to try," Solomon insisted.
I smiled slightly. "That's what I love and hate about humans. You are so stubborn."
Solomon laughed softly. "Humans. So you and the Doctor really aren't human, huh?"
"Do we really stick out that much?" I asked.
Solomon chuckled. "A bit, maybe. You certainly don't blend in very well with that fancy talk of yours."
I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. I better go help Martha." He nodded and I walked off.
I walked into the tent just as Tallulah came in with a bowl of hot water. "Here you go. I got some more on the boil," she told Martha who was bandaging a man's arm.
"Thanks," the med student told Tallulah. She turned her attention back to her patient. "You'll be all right. It's just a cut. Try and keep it clean." The man nodded and thanked her as he left. "Where were you?" She asked me as I sat down in the chair the man had vacated.
"Having a talk with Solomon," I answered.
"So what about us? What do we do now?" Tallulah asked, leaning against the tent.
"The Doctor gave me this. He must have had a reason," Martha said, pulling out the psychic paper.
"What's that for?"
"Psychic paper," I told her. "Tells people whatever you want it to say. Very useful for getting into places."
"But where?" Martha wondered. "He must want me to go somewhere but what am I supposed to do?"
"I think you mean what are we supposed to do," I corrected.
"You're not coming with," Martha protested. "You're pregnant."
"I may be pregnant, but that doesn't mean I'm not perfectly capable of handling myself," I snapped. Martha glared at me, but I ignored it. "Now think, did the Daleks mention anything that might give us a clue as to what they're planning?"
Martha thought for a moment. "Uh, yeah. They said something about an energy conductor."
"What does that mean?" Tallulah asked.
"I don't know," Martha replied. "Maybe like a... lightening conductor or... Dalekanium!" she exclaimed in sudden realization.
"Oh," Tallulah said with a smile, then frowned as she realized she had no idea what Dalekanium was.
"They said the Dalekanium was in place," Martha continued.
"Did they say where?" I asked hopefully.
Martha shook her head. "No, but Frank might know." She darted out of the tent and Tallulah and I followed. "Frank?" Martha called as we spotted him talking to Solomon.
"Hm?" Frank hummed, turning his attention to us as Solomon wandered off.
"That Mr. Diagoras, he was like some sort of fixer, yeah? Get you jobs all over town?" Martha asked.
Frank nodded. "Yeah. He could find a profit anywhere."
"But where, though? What sort of things?" Martha pressed.
"You name it," Frank replied. "We're all so desperate for work, you just hoped Diagoras would pick you for something good. Building work. That pays the best."
"What sort of building work?" I asked.
"Mainly building that." Frank pointed to the Empire State Building.
I looked up at the still unfinished building. "Sounds like we need to get a look at their building plans." I grinned. "Anyone fancy a trip up the tallest building in the world?"
Martha rolled her eyes at me. "Let's go." The fours of us started making our way towards the heart of Manhattan.
"Think there's a 600th floor?" I asked. They all gave me a confused look. "Oh, right. That book doesn't come out till 2005," I mumbled sheepishly.
"I always wanted to go to the Empire State Building," Martha remarked as we rode up the elevator. "Never imagined it quite like this, though."
"Where are we headed anyway?" Frank asked.
"To the top where they're still building."
"How come those guys just let us through? How's that thing work?" Tallulah inquired, gesturing psychic paper I was holding. Martha had given it to me earlier since I knew how to use it.
"Psychic paper," I answered. "Shows them whatever I want them to think. According to this, we're two engineers, an architect, and an electrician." Frank took the paper from me and looked it over curiously. The elevator dinged an we stepped out onto an unfinished floor. I shivered slightly as the cold wind blew in.
"Look at this pace. Top of the world," Tallulah said in awe.
"Okay, now this looks good," Martha said as she spotted the building plans.
Frank and I walked over to join her. "Hey, look at the date," Frank noted, pointing to the date at the top of one of the pages. "These designs were issued today. They must've changed something last minute."
"Daleks must've changed one thing," I mused. I reached forward and flipped through a couple pages. "These ones are from before today, which means whatever they changed is on this top sheet but not on the other one."
"We need to check one against the other," Martha said. I nodded and helped her spread the sheets out.
"The height of this place! This is amazing!" Tallulah gasped, moving towards the open part of the wall.
"Careful, we're a hundred floors up. Don't go wandering off," Martha warned.
"I just wanna see," Tallulah insisted. She stopped and leaned against a nearby poll, staring in awe at the city spread out below us. "New York City. If aliens had to come to Earth, no wonder they came here."
Martha and I poured over the building plans, trying to figure out what was different. "I'll go and keep an eye out, make sure we're safe up here," Frank offered. "Don't want nobody buttin' in." He walked off and Tallulah came back over to help Martha and I.
"There's a heck of a storm movin' in," Tallulah commented.
"I wish we knew what we were looking for," Martha complained. "Do you have any idea, Wonder?"
"Well, you said the Daleks mentioned something about a lightening conductor. So, my guess that they must have added something to the lightening rod on the top of the building," I mused. Martha nodded and searched through the sheets of paper to find the plans for the top portion of the building.
"So tell me, where did you and him first hook up?" Tallulah asked me.
"Oh, the Doctor and I have known each other for a long time," I replied vaguely while scanning the two sheets in front of us for any differences. "Grew up together. We met Martha while on our travels."
"It was in a hospital, sort of," Martha added nearly as vaguely, smiling at the memory of our meeting.
"'Course, him bein' a doctor," Tallulah said.
"Actually, I'm a doctor," Martha corrected. "Well, kind of."
"You're a physician?" Tallulah asked in surprise. Martha nodded. "Really?"
"I was training. Still am, if I ever get back home," Martha said a bit forlornly.
"You could be doctors together," Tallulah suggested eagerly. "I have a feeling he will need all the help he can get when his baby is born," she added, smiling at me.
"Probably," I chuckled. "He's more of a scientist than a medical doctor anyway. Not that he doesn't know anything about medicine. He knows quite a bit, but you should hear him when he gets talking about one of his projects. He could ramble on for hours."
"He sounds like one of a kind," Tallulah remarked.
"You have know idea," I replied with a smile. "But we need to hurry up and find out what the Daleks added before he gets back."
"Wish I had your confidence," Tallulah said. "I really wish Laszlo were here. He always knew the right thing to say."
"Listen, if the Doctor's with Laszlo now, there's every chance that he could get him out," Martha told Taullulah.
"And then what?" Tallulah demanded. "Don't talk crazy. There's no future for me and him. Those Dalek things took that away. The one good thing I had in my life and they destroyed it." She got to her feet and walked off. I stared after her sadly. I could see how much she loved Laszlo. I really hoped there was some way, even slightly, to reverse what the Daleks had done to him.
"Gotcha! Look!" Martha suddenly exclaimed, causing me to jump. I turned back around to see she was pointing to a spot on the mast. Tallulah came back over. "There, on the mast. Those little lines? They're new. They've added something, see?"
"Added what?" Tallulah inquired.
"What else?" I said.
"Dalekanium!" We all finished together, triumphant grins on our faces.
"What's all the noise in here about?" Frank asked as he came back.
"We figured out what the Daleks added," I told him. "They added Dalekanium to the mast, question is, why?" We all looked around when we heard the elevator behind us ding. "Doctor!" I shouted, quickly getting to my feet and rushing over to said Time Lord as he and Laszlo stepped out.
"First floor, perfumery," The Doctor joked. I threw my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around me tightly.
"I never thought I'd see you again," I heard Tallulah say as she rushed over to Laszlo.
"No stopping me," Laszlo replied with a devilish grin.
"We worked it out," Martha told the Doctor as he let me go and rushed over to the building plans. "We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you too, by the way," she finished with a grin.
"Oh, come here," the Doctor said, grinning proudly at Martha. He grabbed her in a big hug and twirled her around. He dropped her abruptly, however, when the elevator dinged and the doors closed. He ran over to try and it, but it was too late. "No, no, no. See, never waste time with a hug," he groaned, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and trying to summon the lift. "It's a deadlock seal. I can't stop it." He smacked the wall in frustration.
"Where's it going?" Martha asked.
"Right down to the Daleks," the Doctor replied. "And they're not going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?"
"11:15," Frank answered, glancing at a nearby clock.
"Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits," the Doctor announced.
"Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" Tallulah asked. I ignored her as I led the Doctor to the unfinished portion with the scaffolding.
"Oh, that's high," the Doctor gasped as he looked out at the city below. "That's very... Blimey, that's high."
"Well, we've got to go even higher, so now's not the time to be developing a fear of heights," I told him. "There's three pieces of Dalekanium at the base of the mast and we've got to get it off before that gamma strike."
"That's not 'we'. That's just me," the Doctor corrected.
I glared at him. "You can't just expect me to let you go up there on your own."
"You can and you will," he replied sternly. "You're gonna have your hands full, anyway. I'm sorry, Wonder, but you and Martha have got to fight."
I stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Fine, but make sure you come back in one piece."
"I promise," he replied with a soft smile. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. I watched worriedly as he began to climb the ladder to the mast. Once he was out of sight, I hurried back over to the others. They were rummaging around the room, looking for weapons. I grabbed a metal pole and we all took our places in front of the elevator.
"The lift's coming up," Martha announced as we watched the small arrow above the elevator doors that indicated what floor the elevator was on.
"I shoulda brought that gun," Frank growled in frustration.
"Tallulah, stay back. You too, Martha and Wonder," Laszlo ordered. "If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill."
"The Doctor needs me to fight. I'm not going anywhere!" Martha snapped and I nodded in agreement. "Wonder, you need to stay back though," she added.
"I'm not going to leave you guys to deal with them on your own," I protested angrily.
"They're savages," Laszlo said. "I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth." He hefted the mallet he had found, ready to protect us. Suddenly, he collapsed to the floor.
"Laszlo? What is it?" Tallulah asked in concern.
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine," Laszlo insisted as he struggled to stand. "Just leave me." He fell back to the floor and leaned against a pillar, breathing heavily in a state of semi-consciousness.
Tallulah knelt beside him and put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, honey, you're burnin' up. What's wrong with you? Tell me."
"One man down and we ain't even started yet," Frank muttered.
"It's not looking good," Martha agreed.
"Nope." Outside, a storm was beginning to rage. I turned around to look and saw a flash of lightening streak across the sky.
"Wait a minute. Lightening," Martha murmured in realization.
"Martha?" I called in confusion as she ran to the open end of the room. I hurried over to her. "What are you doing?"
"Come on," she said, running around as starting to gather all the metal poles lying around. "We need to connect the lift to the mast."
I blinked in confusion. "I don't understand how-" I stopped mid sentence as I realized what she was doing. I grinned at her. "Oh, Martha Jones, you're a genius!" I began to help her.
"Frank, come over and help," Martha called. He gave her a confused look, but obeyed.
"Aw, you'll be all right, sweetheart. Don't you worry," Tallulah told Laszlo sweetly. She turned her head to us as we ran around, laying the metal poles end to end, using anything we could find to keep them off the floor. "What the heck are you three clowns doin'?" she snapped.
"This place is still going to get hit by lightning, even if the Doctor manages to get the Dalekanium off the mast," I told her. "If we connect the mast to the lift, all the pigs will get electrocuted."
"Oh my gosh, that could work," Tallulah exclaimed.
"Then give us a hand," Frank snapped. Tallulah quickly got to her feet and helped us get the last few poles connected.
"Is that gonna work?" Tallulah asked apprehensively as we finished.
"Oh, it will work," I assured her. "It has to."
"I've got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside," Frank announced as he jogged back into the room.
"Come here, Frank and sit in the middle and don't touch anything metal," Martha ordered. Frank crouched down and wrapped his arms around Martha and I. Tallulah and Laszlo scooted closer to us as we huddled together. We all watched the elevator as it continued to rise. The door dinged and opened, revealing a group of pig slaves. I pressed myself closer to Frank and prayed our plan would work.
'I'm sorry about this, Aryia,' the Doctor told me through our bond. I blinked in confusion, but didn't get to ask what he meant as a bolt of lightening struck the mast. Suddenly, my body erupted with pain. I clamped my eyes shut and curled in on myself, trying to get away from the sudden assault. Frank tightened his grip on Martha and I as the pig slaves writhed as they were electrocuted. Then, as soon as it had started, it stopped. Frank relaxed his grip as he slowly lifted his head. He, Martha, Tallulah, and Laszlo got to their feet and walked over to examine the now dead pig slaves. I didn't follow. My entire body was trembling and I was breathing heavily as I tried to recover.
"You did it, Martha," Tallualh congratulated.
Martha looked down at the bodies of the pig slaves sadly. "They used to be like Laszlo. They were people and I killed 'em."
"No, the Daleks killed them. Long ago," Laszlo corrected.
"What about the Doctor?" Martha said. She turned to run outside, but stopped when she saw me, still curled up on the floor. "Wonder? What's wrong?" She rushed over and knelt beside me. I didn't reply, but simply lay there as my body attempted to recover. "You didn't touch a piece of the metal, did you?" She asked in concern.
I shook my head as I slowly uncurled myself, the pain beginning ebb away. "No, but I think the Doctor did." I sat up with Martha's help. "I think he must have climbed onto the mast when it got struck."
"What?!" Martha exclaimed.
"What would he do that for?" Frank asked.
"He probably wasn't able to get the Dalekanium off in time," I mused. "Idiot probably dropped his sonic screwdriver." Feeling better, I got to my feet, swaying slightly before regaining my balance.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Martha asked me, looking at me as if I might collapse any second.
I nodded. "Yeah. Come on, let's go get him. He's rather quiet, so I think he must be unconscious." I headed to the open part of the room, but Martha stopped me.
"Uh uh," she said, moving to block my path. "You were just in a lot of pain and I'm not letting you climb up there while you're pregnant."
I smiled assuredly at her. "Martha-"
"No," Martha said firmly. I blinked and frowned, taken aback by her stern tone. "I'm putting my foot down on this one. The Doctor wouldn't want you climbing that ladder while you're pregnant with his child. You're staying here." With that, she made her way to the ladder and started to climb. Frank sent me an apologetic glance before following. I walked over to a chair and sat down with a huff, crossing my arms grumpily.
"She's right, you know," Tallulah told me as she knelt beside Laszlo who was once again slumped against the wall.
"I know," I sighed. "She usually is." Martha was right. I needed to worry about protecting my unborn child. Besides, the Doctor could take care of himself, usually.
"How far along?" Laszlo asked. I looked up at him. He was leaning against the pillar behind him as Tallulah stroked his head.
"About three months," I told him. "The Doctor doesn't know, though. Haven't been able to find the right time to tell him." Laszlo nodded, looking like he barely had the strength to do anything else. Just then, I felt the Doctor wake up and I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Evening, sleepyhead. Have a nice nap?'
'It was shockingly good,' he replied jokingly.
'I noticed. I would prefer a little bit more of a warning the next time you decide to hug a metal pole during a gamma strike,' I told him, a bit annoyed.
'Sorry about that,' he apologized. 'It was the only thing I could think of.'
'You dropped your sonic screwdriver, didn't you?'
'...Maybe,' he replied sheepishly.
I smirked slightly. 'That's what I thought. Now hurry up and get down here so we can deal with the Daleks.'
'Already on my way,' he responded. A few minutes later he, Martha, and Frank came back down the ladder.
I smiled and got to my feet, jogging over to great him. I jumped up, wrapping my arms around him and kissing him passionately. He responded immediately, wrapping his own arms around my waist and holding me so my feet dangled. "Don't do that again," I told him when we broke apart.
"No guarantees, but I'll do my best," The Doctor said, giving me another kiss. He set me down as Tallulah and Laszlo came over.
"So, what now?" Tallulah asked.
"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing," the Doctor announced. "They'll be using the sewers, spreading their soldiers out underneath Manhattan."
"How do we stop them?" Laszlo inquired.
"There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first," the Doctor explained. "Sorry again," he added to me.
"You did what you had to," I told him, patting his arm.
"But what does that mean?" Martha wondered.
"We need to draw fire," the Doctor explained. "Before they can attack New York, I need to face them." He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up. "Think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space, somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way. Tallulah!" he exclaimed, turning to the blonde.
"That's me. Three L's and an H," Tallulah responded.
"The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?" the Doctor asked her.
Tallulah shrugged. "Don't see why not."
"Is there another lift?"
"We came up in the service elevator," I answered quickly.
"That'll do. Allons-y!"The Doctor grabbed my hand and ran off towards the lift, the others trailing behind. "This should do it. Here we go," he said as we ran into the darkened theatre. He climbed onto one of the chairs and switched on his sonic.
"There ain't nothin' more creepy than a theatre in the dark," Tallulah grumbled. "Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for showtunes, but there's a time and place, huh?" She looked down as Laszlo sat down heavily in a chair beside her. "Laszlo, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Laszlo dismissed, though judging by his heavy breathing, it was something. "It's just so hot."
"But... it's freezing in here," Tallulah said, frowning in confusion. "Doctor, what's happening to him?"
"Not now, Tallulah. Sorry," the Doctor dismissed as he messed with the sonic screwdriver frequency. I rolled my eyes at his rude behavior and walked over to check on Laszlo. I sat down on his other side and placed my hand on his forehead. He felt unusually hot, causing me to frown in concern.
"What are you doing?" Martha asked the Doctor.
"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll wanna find their number one enemy. I'm just telling them where I am," the Doctor explained. He held up his sonic and turned it on. "I'm telling you to go. Frank can take you and Wonder back to Hooverville."
"Wonder can go back, but I'm staying," Martha told him firmly.
I looked up from examining Laszlo. "I'm not leaving without you," I told him.
"Wonder, I can't let you be in the middle of this. You and Martha have to go," the Doctor insisted.
"Who are you, then? Some sort of Dalek?" Martha snapped. Suddenly, the doors to the theatre burst open and the human Daleks marched in. They surrounded us, their guns at the ready. The Doctor moved to stand in front of me, shielding me as much as possible.
"Oh, my gosh!" Tallulah gasped. "Well I guess that's them then, huh?"
"Humans... with Dalek DNA," Martha murmured.
Frank moved to attack, but the Doctor stopped him. "It's all right," he whispered. "Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them."
"But what about the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo wondered. Just then, the stage exploded, throwing wood and debris everywhere. The Doctor grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down behind the seats, throwing his body over me protectively. The other four quickly followed suit and ducked down. Once things settled out, we very slowly peaked our heads over the back of the seats. Two Daleks rolled forward with a human Dalek Sec chained between them and walking on all fours. The Doctor stood up and stared darkly at the Daleks.
"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks," one of the Daleks demanded. The Doctor climbed over the chair in front of him and walked across the back of the chairs until he reached the front row. "You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age."
"Planet Earth will become New Skaro," the other Dalek declared.
"Oh, and what a world. With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt," the Doctor growled. "That's Dalek Sec." He gestured to the chained Dalek Sec. "Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new empire? Hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"
"My Daleks... just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you," Dalek Sec declared ominously.
"Incorrect. We will always survive," the first Dalek said.
"Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor," the second Dalek announced.
"No!" I whispered desperately, my hearts pounding in fear for my husband. Martha placed a hand on my shoulder, but it did little to comfort me.
"But he can help you," Dalek Sec insisted.
"The Doctor must die," the first Dalek declared once more.
"No, I beg you, don't," Dalek Sec pleaded. He crawled in front of the first Dalek.
"Exterminate!" Dalek Sec stood just as the first Dalek fired. He screamed and collapsed, now nothing more than a piled corpse.
"Your own leader," the Doctor snarled, disgusted at the Daleks' brutality. "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him." He turned to the human Daleks. "Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?" He turned back the the Daleks. "If I'm gonna die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The human Daleks. Their first blood. Go on, baptize them." The Doctor held out his arms challengingly.
"Dalek-Humans, take aim," the first Dalek ordered. I drew in a sharp breath as the Dalek-humans cocked their weapons and aimed at the Doctor.
"What are you waiting for? Give the command!" the Doctor snarled.
"Exterminate!" The second Dalek ordered. I gasped in horror and Martha wrapped her arms around me and Frank wrapped his arms around both of us. I closed my eyes, unable to watch. After a quiet moment I opened my eyes. "Exterminate!" The Dalek ordered again. Once again, nothing happened. I blinked. Had the Doctor's plan worked?
"Obey," the first Dalek commanded. "Dalek-Humans will obey."
"Not firing," Martha murmured in relief and confusion. She turned to the Doctor. "What have you done?"
"You will obey. Exterminate," the first Dalek ordered again.
"Why?" one of the Dalek-humans asked.
"Daleks do not question orders," the first Dalek declared.
"But why?" the Dalek-human repeated.
"You will stop this."
"But... why?" the Dalek-human asked once again, sounding as confused as a toddler. I stared at the human Dalek before a smile slowly crept onto my face. The Doctor's plan must have worked. Daleks never question orders.
"You must not question," the first Dalek said.
"But you are not our master. And we... we are not Daleks," the Dalek-human replied.
"No, you're not, and you never will be," the Doctor told him. He turned to the Daleks, smirking smugly. "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightening strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom."
"If they will not obey, then they must die," the second Dalek declared. The Dalek shot the hybrid.
"Get down!" the Doctor yelled. We didn't need telling twice. We all ducked down as the hybrids and the Daleks began firing at each other.
"Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Daleks screeched.
"Destroy the hybrids. Destroy," the second Dalek ordered. It screeched as its casing exploded.
"Extermin-" the first Dalek yelled before its casing exploded. The hybrids stopped firing. Frank, Martha, Tallulah, Laszlo, and I all stood.
The Doctor hurried over to one of the hybrids. "It's all right. It's all right. It's all right," he soothed. "You did it. You're free." I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. Suddenly, all the hybrids gripped their heads and screamed in pain. "No!" the Doctor yelled in horror as the hybrids collapsed and writhed in pain around us. "They can't! They can't! They can't!"
Martha and I joined him as he knelt beside one of the bodies. "What happened? What was that?"
"They committed genocide rather than let them live in peace," I said sadly, tears welling in my eyes.
"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed," Laszlo noted. "One of the Dalek masters must still be alive."
"Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one," the Doctor said darkly. He ran off to go confront the last Dalek. I sighed, hoping he would be able to stop the last Dalek in the universe. They have been around destroying lives for far too long.
"Laszlo!" Tallulah gasped. I spun around in time to see Laszlo collapse against Tallulah. Martha and I rushed over.
"Laszlo, what's wrong?" Martha asked.
"Can't breathe," Laszlo wheezed. Martha quickly checked his pulse and gave me a worried look.
"Come on," I decided, helping Laszlo to his feet. "We need to get him to the Doctor. Frank, go back to Hooverville and make sure everyone is okay." Frank nodded and ran off. With difficulty, Martha, Tallulah, and I managed to get Laszlo down to the basement.
"Doctor! Doctor! He's sick," Martha called as we staggered in. We carefully lowered Laszlo to the floor and Tallulah cradled him in her lap.
"It's okay. You'll be all right," I assured the wheezing Laszlo. The Doctor came over and knelt by him.
"It's his heart," Martha explained. "It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it."
"What is it, Doctor?" Tallulah asked, close to tears. "What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?"
"It's time, sweetheart," Laszlo told her.
"What do you mean 'time'? What are you talking about?" Tallulah asked in frantic confusion.
"None of the slaves... survive for long. Most of them only live a few weeks," Laszlo told her with difficulty. "I was lucky. I held on 'cause I had you. But now... I'm dyin', Tallulah."
"No you're not," Tallulah dismissed, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. "Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do somethin'?"
"Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H... just you watch me," the Doctor replied. He got to his feet and tossed his coat aside. "What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo, just you hold on." He ran around the lab, mixing up a solution, talking all the while. "There's been too many deaths today. Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you right now, I am not having one more death! Got that? Not one! Tallulah, out of the way." He pulled a stethoscope out of his pocket and I grinned at him. "The Doctor is in."
It took a bit, but the the Doctor managed to reverse the damage the Daleks had done to Laszlo, with some help from me of course. Unfortunately, we couldn't reverse everything. We were currently waiting a bit outside Hooverville for Frank to get back from his talk with Solomon. Tallulah stood next to Laszlo who had on a heavy coat and a hat pulled down to cover his pig ears. We looked up as Frank approached. "Well, I talked to Solomon and he talked to 'em and I reckon he shamed one or two of 'em," he said.
"What did they say?" I asked.
Frank smiled. "They said yes." Tallulah and Laszlo breathed sighs of relief and hugged. "They'll give you a home, Laszlo. I mean, uh, don't imagine people ain't gonna stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for, people who ain't got nowhere else."
"Thank you. I... I can't thank you enough," Laszlo told him gratefully.
We said our goodbyes and wished Tallulah and Laszlo luck before heading back to the TARDIS. Back on Liberty Island, Martha, the Doctor, and I stood admiring the Manhattan skyline. "Do you reckon it's gonna work, those two?" Martha asked ponderously.
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York, that's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig-slave-Dalek-mutant-hybrid too."
"The pig and the showgirl," Martha laughed.
"The pig and the showgirl," I giggled in agreement.
"Just proves it, I suppose. There's someone for everyone," Martha said.
"Suppose there is," the Doctor replied, looking down at me with a soft smile. I smiled back at him and leaned my head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around my waist. We both turned to enter the TARDIS.
"I wanted to say... sorry," Martha spoke up.
We turned back around. "What for?" the Doctor asked, confused.
"Just 'cause that Dalek got away," Martha explained. "I know what that means to both of you. Think you'll ever see it again?"
The Doctor unwrapped his arm from around my waist so he could unlock the TARDIS. "Oh yes," he replied. Martha walked past us into the TARDIS. "One day." He closed the doors and walked up to the console and started up the engines, sending us into the Time Vortex.
"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm going to go shower then take a well deserved nap," Martha declared. She started down the hall towards her room, but turned around. "Oh and, Wonder, I believe you have something to tell the Doctor." Martha disappeared down the hall leaving the Doctor and I alone in the console room.
The Doctor turned to me with a confused look on his face. "What did she mean, you have something to tell me?" He asked. I gulped nervously. While I was exited to tell him that I was pregnant with his child, I was also worried as to what his reaction might be. He had had kids before, he had even been a grandfather and I was worried that my pregnancy would bring back painful memories. The Doctor noticed my unease and walked over to me, gently taking my hands in his. "What is it, Aryia? What did you want to tell me? He asked softly.
I looked up into his chocolate brown eyes and knew I had to tell him, no matter what insecurities I had. "Well, you should probably sit down first," I told him. I led him over to the captain's seat and sat down next to him, my hands still in his. "So, you know how I've been getting sick a lot lately?" He nodded, gazing at me with a curious frown. "Well, Martha and I figured out why."
His grip on my hands tightened slightly as his body tensed. "It wasn't anything bad, was it?" He asked cautiously.
I gave him an assuring smile. "No it wasn't, quite the opposite actually."
The Doctor sighed in relief and relaxed. "That's good." He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "This doesn't have anything to do with that burst of happiness I got from you this morning is it?" He asked.
I blinked in surprise. I had completely forgotten to block our bond when Martha and I went to do the ultrasound. Oops. "It does," I admitted.
"Well, what is it?" He pressed, clearly eager to know what I've been waiting all day to tell him.
I took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."
The Doctor stared at me, wide eyed. Clearly, he didn't expect that answer. "You're...pregnant?" He asked slowly, as if not sure he had heard me right.
"Yes," I confirmed. He continued to stare at me, causing me to start to shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Just as I began to worry about his reaction, however, a wide grin spread across his face.
He jumped to his feet and threw his arms around me, picking me up in a tight hug. "We're going to have a baby!" He shouted gleefully. I laughed as he spun me, relieved at his enthusiastic reaction. Then again, why did I expect anything else. Sure, he made have had kids before, but this was different. He and his wife had had kids with the loom whereas he and I are having a natural born child, something only bonded Time Lords can do. The Doctor stopped spinning me and set me down, but before I had a chance to catch my breath he kissed me passionately. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck as he pulled my flush against him, tangling his hands in my hair. I played with the hair at the nape of his neck, causing him to moan into the kiss. I squeaked slightly in surprise when he grabbed my thighs and lifted me onto the captain's seat. We broke apart, both of us breathing heavily. He leaned his forehead against mine and smiled at me lovingly. He removed one of his hands from my waist and laid it on my still flat stomach. "How far along?" He asked.
"About three months," I told him, laying my hand on top of his. "So, only nine more months until we get to hold our little boy or girl."
"I can't wait," he said softly. He leaned down and kissed me again, celebrating the new chapter in ours lives.
Wonder finally told the Doctor she's pregnant! Please review! Till next time!