A week had passed since they had left Rose behind on Earth, and the Doctor had decided that they had had enough time to recuperate at this point. Aneres had disagreed at first but decided that if it made her Tether happy she would go along with it. That is, to an extent.

And so the two Time Lords had not gone back to retrieve Rose and instead were having a slight back and forth on where they were going to go next.

"Well how about we visit the Royal Court at St. Petersburg, maybe go to a party?" The Doctors asked, flipping a switch back and forth as he spoke.

"We've met royals before though," Aneres shot him a mischievous grin, "Unless you want to go visit Queen Victoria?" She cackled at the Doctor's face, now a pale white with a grimace on it.

"I'm good, thanks, just thought you might want to go dancing again. Last time we danced was with Reinette and the time before that was centuries ago," The Doctor stared wistfully at the monitors. Aneres blushed at the thought and walked over to him.

"We haven't gone swing dancing before," She leaned in to whisper in his ear, "how does that sound? Maybe we go see Elvis perform and go to a dance club afterwards?"

"That sounds like it could be fun," He turned to look into her eyes, and brushed a stray curl from her face, "You go get dressed, I'll plug everything in."

His lips split in a grin as she gave his cheek a quick peck before dashing off to their rather large closet to select an outfit.

TEotOS

Aneres shimmied out of her casual clothes for that day, a simple t-shirt and jeans, and then started wandering the closet for the 50s section. Finally her eyes landed on several colorful a-line dresses, skirts and some beautiful blouses.

"There we are! Now, Sexy, what do you suppose I would look best in?" She asked, rifling through the garments with ease. Polka dots, flowers, stripes, swirls, all of the patterns gleamed with excitement that tempted Aneres to the point where she could not make a decision. That is, until something started rattling further down the rack.

The Time Lady wandered over to the jiggling item, and gasped at the garment she had found. A starlet swing dress the color of blush pink gleamed under the light of the Tardis. Sitting on the floor below its place on the rack was a pair of heeled Mary Janes made of a navy blue patent leather. She positively beamed at the complete outfit and immediately grabbed all the components to go change into them.

Once everything was comfortably situated on her body Aneres turned to stare at her reflection in the mirror. She swayed side to side for a moment before doing a full twirl and giggling as the skirt billowed up and fluttered around her legs.

"Absolutely perfect, thank you Sexy. Now, jewelry."

TEotOS

"Annie, let's go!" The Doctor shouted as he landed the Tardis. He quickly finished combing his hair into a Teddy-boy quiff before grabbing a white crash helmet and some shades from the console.

"Be patient, I'm almost ready!" She shouted back as she fastened a pearl necklace around her neck and inserted some pearl earrings into her ears. Her heels clicked against the grating of the Tardis' floor while Aneres did one more turn in front of the mirror. "Perfect."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, excitement getting the better of him, and pushed the Tardis doors open to make way for the blue Moped that he mounted immediately after. He grinned as he revved the engine and rode it out into the secluded alleyway where he had parked, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the breeze on his face. He did a few circles before stopping as Aneres exited the Tardis, a wondrous sight to behold.

"Wow…" His eyes roamed her figure as he removed his sunglasses, "You look stunning darling." The Doctor's mouth transformed to a smug grin as Aneres blushed in response.

"You're not too bad yourself, dreamboat," She purred, sauntering over with her own special grin on her face. "C'mon, let's go see Elvis!" The Doctor laughed and kissed her cheek as she climbed onto the Moped and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"I was thinking we'd go to Ed Sullivan TV Studios," The Doctor started steering them through the crowded city streets, "Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows. There were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it."

"And that's in New York right?" Aneres questioned, frowning as lots of Union Flags started cropping up around them

"That's the one," The Doctor replied. He turned his attention back to the road only to slam his feet on the brake as a red double decker bus drove past them. Aneres let out a soft oof as he body was slightly slammed into his from the sudden stop. She looked up and giggled at the sight of Union flags between every house in sight.

"So, perhaps you missed the mark ever so slightly?" He pouted at her remark and slumped slightly.

"Well, this could still be New York," Aneres raised an eyebrow at his defense, "I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of Londony New York, mind." He wilted even further as a couple walked past them, their British accents clear as day.

"Well, we love London, and it's not like there won't be any swing clubs," The Time Lady looked around, "Let's go for a drive, see if we can't stumble across one." The Doctor nodded and started the moped up again.

TEotOS

The Doctor and Aneres drove for a short while before pulling off onto a residential street to take a break. Turns out, mopeds were not the most comfortable things in the world to ride on for very long. Once they both had clambered off, they decided to approach a nearby man in order to get an idea of what year they had landed in.

"There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion," The man was finishing up the sale of a television as they approached and flashed his customer a happy smile before turning away.

"The great occasion? What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, his arm entwined with Aneres' as they stopped right in front of him.

"Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course," The man, Magpie, they assumed after glancing at the truck, replied.

"What Coronation's that then?" The Doctor asked. Aneres shook her head slightly.

"You are incredibly thick, there was only one Coronation in England during the 50's," Aneres snarked mentally. The Doctor rolled her eyes at her comment before turning his attention back to Magpie.

"Oh! Is this 1953?" He asked with slightly false excitement. Magpie nodded once with a large smile.

"Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best," Aneres nodded at the salesman's reply. From what she'd seen after centuries of going to Earth there was no country better than Britain at pomp and circumstance. She then stared glancing around the neighborhood only to frown.

"Look at all the TV aerials," The Doctor followed her finger as she pointed them out, "Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. Sarah Jane said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house." Aneres looked over at Magpie as he started shaking his head.

"Not around here, love. Magpie's Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a pop," He replied before clambering off into his truck and driving away.

"Oh, but this is a brilliant year. Classic! Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration," The Doctor pulled Aneres closer as they continued up the street, "The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future."

A scream cut through the air, dampening the Doctor's mood and forcing them to look further up the street as a man was being dragged from his home with a blanket over his face. Aneres' eyes widened and she broke into a run, the Doctor not far behind as they approached.

"Someone help me, please! Ted!" The man's wife shrieked as he was bundled into a waiting car by the curb. "Leave him alone! He's my husband! Please!"

"What's going on?" The Doctor shouted.

"Yeah, what has he done wrong?" Aneres cried out, glaring at the burly men. Her head turned slightly as a teenaged boy sprinted out of his own house and joined them.

"Oi, what are you doing?" He shouted as he blocked the leader with his skinny body.

"Police business. Now, get out of the way, sir, ma'am," The leader replied before pushing past them and getting into the car with his cohorts and the poor detainee.

"Who was that man? Do you know him?" Aneres asked, turning to the teenager and grabbing his shoulders.

"Must be Mister Gallagher," He replied, his eyes locked on the car as it started to drive away, "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters."

"Tommy!" They all turned to a man with dark hair and eyes standing in the doorway that the boy had run out of, "Not one word! Get inside now!"

"Sorry. I'd better do as he says," Tommy replied before rushing back inside, avoiding eye contact with the man all the while.

"C'mon Annie, we might be able to catch up with them!" The Doctor shouted, his hand grabbed hers to tug her back to the moped. Once situated, the Doctor quickly sped up and started chasing the black vehicle down like a hound with a fox.

TEotOS

In the end, their attempt was for naught as they rounded the same corner as the other vehicle only for it to have disappeared, with only a vegetable stand in sight.

"Lost them. How'd they get away from us?" The Doctor mused with a frown. Aneres sighed.

"Well it looks like we've found yet another cover-up," She muttered before dismounting the moped and stretching her legs for a bit.

"Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia," The Doctor pointed out. Aneres straightened her back and rolled her head a little to stretch her neck.

"That boy, Tommy, he seemed to know at least a little bit about what's happening. We should go ask him," Her Tether nodded in agreement and readjusted his helmet.

"Good idea, let's go," Aneres hopped back on with barely a moment to adjust before they were speeding off again.

TEotOS

Aneres hopped off of the moped almost as soon as they parked and took a moment to fix her dress and hair after riding around so quickly. The Doctor also took a moment to tidy his suit a bit before he offered his arm. She took it with a smile and approached the house with him. They rang the doorbell and waited until the man from earlier opened the door.

"Hi!" They chorused, bright smiles flashing up at him. The Doctor slowly reached into his pocket for his psychic paper while Aneres simply stood still and smiled.

"Who are you, then?" The man behind the threshold demanded, glaring at the two of them suspiciously.

"Let's see, then. Judging by the look of you, family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore we represent Queen and country," The Doctor rambled before holding up the psychic paper, "Just doing a little check of Her forthcoming Majesty's subjects before the great day. Don't mind if I come in? Nah, I didn't think you did. Thank you."

Aneres and the Doctor pushed past the man into the front room, frowning at the sight of a very timid woman and an equally alarmed Tommy.

"Not bad. Very nice. Very well kept," The Doctor looked around the room, "I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs?" his voice trailed off as he turned back to look at the woman perching on a chair in the corner.

"Connolly," She answered. Aneres smiled at her and held out her hand.

"Absolutely wonderful to meet you Mrs. Connolly. My name is Annie, I apologize for my husband's rambling." Mrs. Connolly waved away the apology and returned the smile tentatively as she shook Aneres' hand. However, the smile disappeared as her husband reentered the room.

"Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." Aneres and the Doctor's faces turned stony at the comment and their spines stiffened slightly.

"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more," Mr. Connolly gave the Doctor a puzzled glance, "I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. Nice flags. Why are they not flying?"

"There we are Rita, I told you, Get them up. Queen and country," Mr. Connolly snapped, glaring at his wife. He didn't notice Aneres' eyes sharpening to narrow slits of barely concealed fury as they gazed upon him.

"I'm sorry," Rita whispered before standing and grabbing the string of flags. Aneres moved forward to help, only to be blocked by the Doctor's grip on her arm.

"Let me help her, she doesn't deserve this," She muttered across their connection.

"I agree, so let me do something about it," The Doctor replied silently. Her eyebrow raised but she sighed and stopped trying to move forward.

"Get it done. Do it now," Mr. Connolly continued to snap.

"Hold on a minute," The Doctor said gently, only to be ignored.

"Like the gentleman says."

"Hold on a minute. You've got hands, Mister Connolly. Two big hands. So why is that your wife's job?" Aneres grinned slightly as the Doctor started to tear into Mr. Connolly and sent Rita a wink. The woman gaped at the two of them like a fish.

"Well, it's housework, innit?"

"And that's a woman's job?"

"Of course it is," Aneres barely suppressed a sneer at Mr. Connolly's words.

"Whatever you're planning to do, I'd suggest doing it before I break his nose," She snarled mentally. The Doctor took a slow, deep breath before he continued.

"Mister Connolly, what gender is the Queen?" He demanded. Mr. Connolly looked confused, but replied all the same.

"She's a female."

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?"

"No. Not at all," Mr. Connolly stammered, his face flushing a deep red at the Doctor's remark. Tommy, still sitting just behind everyone, joined his mother in gaping at the scene before them.

"Then get busy," The Doctor spat out as he passed the flags over from Rita to her husband.

"Right. Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and centre." Aneres turned to stare at Mr. Connolly.

"I'm sorry Mr. Connolly, but I believe you meant the Union Flag. The Union Jack is only flown at sea," She said, a sugary sweet politeness coating her tongue.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I do apologise," He stammered out, his deep red flush darkening with each passing second.

"Right then! Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty's leisure," The Doctor took a seat on the sofa, followed by Aneres, "Union Flag?"

"You're not the only one that picks up random factoids you know," She winked at her Tether before smoothing her skirt out and turning her attention back to the humans around them.

"Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Annie, and you are Tommy, right?" The Doctor asked, staring at the young man opposite him.

"Yes sir," He replied, a shy smile on his face.

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy. Have a look at this," The Doctor watched him sit down and then looked over at the television, "I love telly, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think it's brilliant."

"Good man!" The Doctor turned to send Mr. Connolly an indulgent smile, "Keep working, Mister C! Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" The last bit of his statement was directed towards Rita, who Aneres had been watching very carefully.

"Did you say you were a doctor?" The timid woman asked. The Doctor nodded gently in response and leaned in to hear her slightly better.

"Yes, I am," He murmured.

"Can you help her? Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?" Aneres' brow furrowed as Rita's voice became desperate and Mr. Connolly started listening in.

"Now then, Rita. I don't think the gentleman needs to know," The Doctor cut him off.

"No, the gentleman does." Aneres moved to kneel in front of Rita and took her hands within her own.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. We won't say a word to anyone, we'll just help and then be on our way," She whispered soothingly while her hands gently massaged Rita's. It was at that moment the poor woman burst into tears. Aneres sighed sadly and moved one of her hands to rub Rita's back gently.

"Hold on a minute. Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house!" Mr. Connolly looked down mid-rant and stared at the flags as if he was seeing them for the first time, "What the? What the hell am I doing?" He threw down the flags and marched over to them, "Now you listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business."

"A lot of people are being bundled into-" The Doctor winced as Mr. Connolly began to shout over him while Aneres shot him a dark look as his wife sobbed harder.

"I am talking!" His shout was thunderous and cause a normally well composed Aneres to stand up, quick as a light, and snarl at him.

"And we're not listening! Now, Mr. Connolly, you are looking at a broken nose at the very LEAST if you don't stop terrorizing your family, my husband and myself, so for God's sake, TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" She shrieked, her eyes fiery emeralds and her hands clenched at her sides. Rita and Tommy gaped at her while the Doctor was practically shining with pride and Mr. Connolly looked like he was about to piss himself. And then came the noise.

Thump. Thump. Thump. All of them turned their heads up to the ceiling, the fear in the Connolly family mounting ever higher.

"She won't stop. She never stops," Mr. Connolly eventually croaked out as he looked back down at the still fuming woman before him.

"We started hearing stories, all round the place," Everyone turned to look at Tommy while he spoke, "People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then the police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does. They just turn up, come to the door and take them, any time of the day or night."

"Show us," The Doctor demanded as he stood up. Aneres turned back to Mr. Connolly with a dark smirk.

"Well, you heard him."

TEotOS

The five of them slowly climbed the stairs until they reached the first room at the top of the landing. Tommy then took the lead and inserted the key into the lock. His fingers slowly turned it until a click sounded and he was able to open the door.

Inside, the room was dark and contained minimal furnishings along with a stationary figure. Tommy spoke up gently.

"Gran? It's Tommy. It's all right, Gran. I've brought help," He whispered before flicking the lights on. The Doctor and Aneres gasped at the sight of the figure that had once been Tommy's grandmother. The both of them moved forward, the former with the sonic screwdriver in hand.

"Her face is completely gone," The Doctor murmured. He brought the screwdriver up to her skull and allowed it to scan the elderly woman, "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean."

"What're we going to do, Doctor? We can't even feed her," Tommy's voice cracked slightly as he fought past the lump in his throat. Aneres sent him a sad look before turning back to his grandmother and tried to ascertain the damage.

CRASH. Rita gasped as the front door caved in. Aneres immediately whipped around and pulled her and Tommy away from the bedroom doorway. Once they were tucked away she shut the door and moved the nearby nightstand in front of it as well as her own body as a barricade.

"I hope you have a plan darling, otherwise your investigation is about to be cut very short," She groused as her ears picked up the sound of the men making their way upstairs.

"It's them. They've come for her!" Rita cried out in despair.

"Quickly. What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think!" The Doctor shouted at Tommy.

"I can't think! She doesn't leave the house! She was just-" Tommy was cut off as the door thumped loudly. Aneres winced and continued to hold it shut.

"Annie move!" The Doctor shouted, but the door crashed open a moment later. Aneres yelped as she was forced out of the way, the motion causing her to roll her ankle slightly.

"Hold on a minute," The Doctor attempted to distract the men who had entered, "There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One-" Aneres screamed as the leader from earlier decked the Doctor right across the face and sent him falling to the floor.

"Doctor!" Her shout was drowned out as Rita and Tommy yelled at the police and attempted to retrieve their Gran from them. She scrambled over and started shaking him frantically. "You idiot wake up!" There was no response from their mental connection.

Until he popped up like a fresh daisy. "Ah, hell of a right hook. Have to watch out for that!" The Doctor scrambled to his feet and ran out to the moped. His fingers danced across the controls as his eyes stayed locked on the departing vehicle.

"Annie, come on!" Aneres looked up at the shout and pulled herself upright, only to wince at the twinge of pain the shot through her ankle. She leaned against the wall as she began trying to leave the house, and did make it all the way down the stairs before something gave her pause.

A spark of red energy that closely resembled lightning was snaking through and around the television set in the living room. She frowned and walked over to the set, kneeling in front of it to get a better view. In the background the Doctor, Tommy, Rita and Mr. Connolly were bickering away, until eventually the Doctor drove off after the car and the Connollys came back inside.

"Dad, they took her! That was Gran and they took her!" Tommy cried out.

"Come on, back inside, now," His dad ordered. He ushered his wife and son back into the living room and glared at Aneres' figure as she continued to inspect the television.

"You! Get the hell out of my house!" The Time Lady turned to regard the man with visible distaste.

"So rude to a lady, tsk tsk. I would've thought your mother taught you manners, but I suppose not." And with that, she dashed off into the street as best she could with her aching ankle.

TEotOS

The bell hanging above the doorway to Magpie's Electrics rang out clear as day, confusing poor Magpie until he saw Aneres enter the establishment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss. I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door," He explained while Aneres crossed the shop floor to stand in front of his desk.

"Yes, well, since the Coronation is tomorrow I need to get a telly tonight. I've been meaning to for a while and my poor family will be so disappointed if they don't get to see it," She explained, her voice once again adopting that same sugary sweet tone.

"Come back tomorrow, please," Magpie whispered.

"But that still leaves me with the same problem, and you'll be closed anyways," Aneres reminded him with a pout.

"What?" His voice rang with confusion.

"The Coronation, everyone will be closed for it."

"Yes, yes, of course. The big day. I'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. Please go."

"Well, how about I take one tonight and swing by with the money the day after the Coronation? After all, you're practically giving them away to half of London."

"I have my reasons."

"Well, I'd be very interested to hear them since this all seems very arbitrary." Aneres paused as the telly next to her switched on to display a woman shouting.

"Hungry! Hungry!" The Time Lady raised her eyebrow and turned back to Magpie.

"And who's that?" She whispered.

"It's just a television. One of these modern programmes. Now, I really do think you should leave. Right now!"

"Not until you explain your reasonings. How come your televisions are so cheap?" Aneres demanded.

"It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the Empire but we can still be proud. Twenty million people they reckon'll be watching," He paused to run his hand down his face, "Imagine that. And twenty million people can't be wrong, eh, so why don't you get yourself back home and get up, bright and early, for the big day."

"Oh Magpie, I'm not leaving till you give me a better explanation. After all, we both know that's not the real reason."

"I need to close," He pleaded. The Time Lady leaned in and sneered at the man before her.

"Mister Magpie, something is going on and you know more than you're claiming to because the only thing in common amongst the poor families that are being attacked is a television. Your television. What's going on?" Aneres demanded, her hands once again closing into fists.

"I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out," Magpie walked over to the door and locked it softly. Aneres tensed, praying she could break the shop window if she needed to escape.

"What's really in it for you?" Aneres asked, thinking that a change in wording would lead to answers.

"For me? Perhaps some peace."

"From what?"

"From her." Aneres frowned and looked back over at the woman on the telly.

"She's just a moving picture-" The woman on the telly cut her off.

"What a lovely lady," She crooned, her eyes roaming Aneres' body hungrily.

"Of course there's an alien involved," Aneres whispered as she turned to face the telly, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?" The woman asked. Aneres' face darkened further.

"I won't ask again, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Wire, and I'm hungry!" Aneres screamed as the red tendrils of energy shot out mere seconds before she could even try to escape. Burning pain seared across her face and mind, devouring every inch of what it could touch and slowly leaving her an empty shell.

"Help!" Her voice ripped through her vocal cords, making Magpie wince in pain and pity.

"Just think of that audience tomorrow, my dear, all settling down to watch the coronation. Twenty million people. Things will never be the same again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Magpie continued to stand away from her, and merely watched as her body stiffened and her voice slowly trailed off to a desperate croak.

"Goodnight, children, everywhere," The Wire quipped, grinning as she eventually released Aneres and allowed Magpie to throw her out into the street, where she wandered for a short while. Unable to think, to speak or to eat.

I will say, getting the flu makes it easier to update this story! It does suck though and I hope to be updating at full health in a few days. Please leave a review, I love to get them. Comments, questions, concerns, those can all be included in one or you can PM me as well! Thank you for reading and have a lovely evening! Bye bye!

-Angel