"I still don't think this is a good idea Elle", the Doctor said for the third time. They were currently in Cardiff using the rift to refuel the TARDIS. Instead of having a wander around Cardiff, as it was going to take 24 hours for the TARDIS to be refuelled, they were waiting for Rose and Mickey to show up.

"I heard you the first two times", Melanie said. She knew that the Doctor wasn't particularly happy about seeing Rose again because of the whole Reaper incident and it took her while but she managed to convince him to give the blonde at least 5 minutes to apologise. She walked down the ramp and opened the door when they heard a knock.

"Hey Elle", Mickey greeted smiling at the brunette.

"Hey Mickey, Rose", Melanie said stepping back to allow them in. Mickey walked in with no problems but when Rose stepped in, the lights in the console room dimmed slightly. That told Rose, the TARDIS wasn't happy about her being there.

"You've got 5 minutes", the Doctor told Rose.

The blonde took a breath to calm herself before she spoke "I'm really sorry for what I did, I didn't even consider the consequences of saving my dad. It was wrong and it was selfish. I never meant for Elle to be taken by the Reaper. I don't expect you to forgive me Doctor. And I don't expect you to let me travel with you two again. I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry, for everything"

Melanie could tell by the way she spoke, that she was being sincere. She really was sorry. The brunette glanced at the Doctor wondering what he was going to say. "You're right Rose. I can't forgive you, at least not yet", the Doctor said "And you've got a long way before I can trust you again. But I do accept your apology".

"Thank you" Rose was pleased that at least the Doctor had accepted her apology even if he couldn't forgive her.

"So who's this then?" Mickey asked nodding to Jack wanting to break through the silence that followed Rose's words.

"Captain Jack Harkness", Jack said holding out his hand. Both Rose and Mickey shook it. The American didn't bother with any of his usual flirting, knowing it wasn't really the right time.

"Rose would you like to grab a coffee?" Melanie asked wanting to have a chat with the blonde teen without the Doctor around.

"Sure", Rose replied.

"We won't be long", Melanie told the Doctor and Jack. And with that the two females left.

"Thanks for that Elle", Rose said as they walked.

"You're welcome. I had a feeling that you might've wanted to get away from all that uneasiness and tension", Melanie said.

"I did", Rose said. They walked in silence for a while before Rose spoke again "I guess you're not going to forgive me either", she mumbled.

"Rose, I never held it against you", Melanie said making Rose stop and look at her in surprise.

"Seriously?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, why do you think I was defending you Rosie? The Doctor may be angry with you about it, but I never held it against you. Never", Melanie told her. Rose grinned and hugged her friend.

"Thanks Elle!"

"You're welcome Rose", Melanie stepped away "Now, how about that coffee?"

"Sounds great", Rose agreed stepping back "but it's on me. It's the least I can do".

"All right", Melanie said and they continued on their way. As they walked, they passed by a charity shop where a very familiar looking jacket was in the window.

"Why would anyone wear a celery?" Rose asked shaking her head at the jacket. I know someone who would Melanie thought touching the key around her neck with a fond smile. Most people wouldn't be able to pull off a decorative vegetable but the Doctor could.

The two females continued on and soon they reached the coffee shop. Before long they were laughing, having a good time. Melanie's laughter suddenly stopped when she noticed what or more specifically who was on the front page of the newspaper that the man on the table next to them was reading. "Elle?" Rose asked as she got up and snatched the paper from the man, ignoring his protests.

"We need to go. Now", Melanie said and without waiting for Rose, she walked out of the coffee shop. Rose quickly got up and chased after the brunette.

"Elle what's wrong?" she asked when she caught up with her.

"There's a Slitheen in Cardiff", Melanie replied giving the paper over to Rose. The blonde's eyes widened when she saw the plump woman that they'd met in Downing Street on the front page.

"How can this be?" Rose asked "I thought she was destroyed when the missile blew up 10 Downing Street".

"Well it seems like she survived somehow", Melanie said picking up her pace.

They burst into the TARDIS minutes later, startling all three males who hadn't expected them back so early. "Elle what's wrong?" the Doctor asked. He knew something had to have happened for her to have come running into the TARDIS like that.

"Show them", Melanie panted. Rose held out the paper while she too tried to catch her breath. The Doctor took the paper and scanned the front page.

"You've got to be kidding me", he muttered seeing the photo of Margret the Slitheen.

~City hall foyer~

"According to intelligence" Jack gestured to Melanie and Rose who'd filled him in on who Margret really was "the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic 57-56 strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor and Elle, you two go face to face. That'll designate Exit 1, I'll cover Exit 2. Rose, you Exit 3. Mickey Smith, you take Exit 4", Jack ordered "Have you got that?"

While Jack rattled all that off, the Doctor eyed him with mild surprise at his impertinence. Rose and Melanie looked at him trying to make the effort to look like they understood what he was going on about. Mickey on the other hand, just looked plain confused.

"Excuse me. Who's in charge?" the Doctor asked sternly.

"Sorry", Jack said apologetically "Awaiting orders, sir".

"Right, here's the plan" the Doctor paused realising that Jack's plan was the best and only one they had "Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?"

"Slight amendment to the plan", Melanie said "I'm going with Rose".

The Doctor was a bit surprised by her choice to go with Rose instead of staying with him but didn't say anything about it. "Present arms", Jack said pulling out a phone.

The Doctor, Melanie, Rose and Mickey do the same. "Speed dial?" Jack said and they all press a button on their devices, connecting them all.

"Yup", the Doctor said popping p.

"Ready", Rose said.

"Check", Mickey added.

"Mate", Melanie said with a grin.

"See ya in hell", Jack said giving them a lazy grin before strolling off to the right. The Doctor, Rose and Melanie walk straight ahead. Mickey hesitated for a moment before heading off to the left.

Melanie and Rose hung around in the corridor, phones in hand waiting the Doctor to give them the signal to move. They weren't waiting long before the Doctor's voice came over the phones "Slitheen heading north"

"On our way" the pair said together. They hung up their phones and took off down the corridor. In their haste to reach their designated exit, Melanie and Rose pushed past two secretaries, sending paperwork flying.

"Sorry!" Melanie called back.

The pair burst out of the door and only ran a short distance when they saw Margaret. The plump woman turned to head the other way, only to have that direction blocked off by Jack who was running towards her. Her eyes widen with shock and she runs back the way she came only to discover that the Doctor was climbing down the scaffolding.

Seeing there was only one way left to go, Margaret took off as fast as her legs can carry her. "Who's on Exit Four?!" Jack asked the others as they converged at one end, watching the Slitheen run away.

"That was Mickey!" Rose exclaimed.

The man in question ran up, panting from the run "Here I am", he said.

"Mickey the idiot" the Doctor shook his head.

"Oh, be fair. She's not exactly going to outrun us, is she?" Rose pointed out.

At those words the Slitheen vanished in a flash of blue light "you just had to say that didn't you?" Melanie asked.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her!" Jack cried, annoyed.

"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports", Rose assured him.

The Doctor took out his sonic, holds it up and pressed the button. Margret reappeared, this time running straight at them. The moment she realised this, she turned and hurried away, vanishing once again. The Doctor brought her back with a single press of the button on his sonic.

This went on for a few times before Margret gave up, completely exhausted. "I could do this all day", the Doctor said cheerfully.

Margret put her hands up "This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet", the Doctor stated.

"Apart from that"

The 5 of them escort Margret back into Town Hall. "So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station", the Doctor gestured to the model in the middle of the room. Rose, Jack and Melanie looked at it interest "But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways", Margaret replied.

Melanie scoffed "I highly doubt that very much", she said.

"I have", Margret insisted.

The brunette shook her head. "Not that long ago you were trying to destroy our planet. I find it very hard to believe that you built this", she gestured to the model "because you 'learned the error of you ways'. You built this for another purpose".

Margret stayed silent which told them all that Melanie was right. The Doctor went over to the model and examined it "This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity", he said "and as it's on the rift, it would destroy the entire planet".

"Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?" Rose asked thinking that surely someone must've noticed, there is no way Margret had managed to get away with creating a nuclear power station as dangerous as that without anyone being aware.

"We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care!" Margaret cried "The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice… Oh… I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native".

"But why would she do that?" Mickey asked "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself".

"She's got a name, you know", Margaret muttered.

"She's not even a she, she's a…thing", Mickey retorted eyeing the disguised Slitheen.

The Doctor eyed Margret "Oh, but she's clever…." And in one swift movement, he pulled off the middle section of the model, flipping it over to reveal a giant circuit board underneath "Fantastic".

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?!" Jack asked excitedly.

"Couldn't have put it better myself", the Doctor said.

Jack took it off him for a better look "ooh, genius!" he looked at Margret "You didn't build this"

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering…"

"No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you", Jack said waving her off.

"I bet she stole it", Mickey accused.

"It fell into my hands", Margaret said defensively.

"Meaning you stole it", Melanie stated.

"Is it a weapon?" Rose asked worried.

"No. it's a transport", Jack replied, putting it on the floor "the extrapolator protects you with a force field so when the power station explodes, you'd be safe. You can ride the resulting shock wave all the way out of the solar system".

"It's a surfboard!" Mickey exclaimed.

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah", Jack agreed.

"And it would've worked. I'd have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation", Margaret said bitterly.

"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?" Mickey asked incredulous.

"Like stepping on an anthill", Margaret shrugged.

"How'd you think of the name?" The Doctor asked drawing their attention to the banner.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh", Margaret replied.

"I know, but how did you think of it?" the Doctor pressed.

"I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?" the Slitheen asked confused.

"Blaidd Drwg", the Doctor muttered frowning at the banner. He knew what that meant, it was a phrase he'd heard and seen several times before.

"What does it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf", Melanie replied looking at the banner. For some reason those two words weren't in Welsh to her, it was in English.

"But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times…" Rose said staring at the banner.

"Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf"

"How can they be following us?" Melanie asked worried. She had seen/heard that phrase a few of times but never really thought too much about it. But now the words were staring at her in the face, she couldn't help get an uneasy feeling about the phrase.

The Doctor glanced at Melanie's worried face. "It's just a coincidence", he assured her "Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do" the Doctor clapped his hands, turning to Margret "Margaret, we're going to take you home"

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Mickey asked.

"Wait does that mean we're going to…. Melanie thought for a second, trying to remember the name of the Slitheen's "Raxa….uh Raxacor…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius", the Doctor said slowly.

"Raxacorico…" Melanie tried again.

"…fallapatorius" the Doctor finished.

"Raxacoricofallapatorius. I did it!" she cheered.

"Well done", the Doctor said picking her up and spinning her around making her giggle. He set her down with a smile, he loved it when she was laughing and happy.

"They have the death penalty", Margaret told them and all smiles fade at that "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor?" she fixed the Doctor with a hard look "Take me home and you take me to my death"

The Doctor shrugged, indifferent "Not my problem".

~TARDIS~

The TARDIS wasn't particularly happy about having Margret on-board being a threat to not just her pilot, but Melanie as well. She showed her unease by the slight flashing of her lights and letting out a low warning hum. "It's ok. She won't be here long", Melanie assured her placing a hand on the console.

"This ship is impossible. It's superb", Margret remarked skimming her hand over a few controls, although she had to quickly withdraw her hand when she got shocked "How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret", the Doctor scoffed as Jack sat on the floor with the extrapolator, starting to wire it up to the console.

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods"

"Don't worship me, I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters… Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range" Jack peers around at Margret "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know… Some airlock sale…?" Margret said vaguely.

"In other words, you stole it", Melanie corrected, repeating what she said earlier.

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power", Jack remarked.

"But we can use it for fuel?" the Doctor asked.

"It's not compatible…but it should knock off about twelve hours", Jack replied "We'll be ready to go by morning".

"Then we're stuck here. Overnight", the Doctor stated. He wasn't too happy about having Margaret in the TARDIS overnight especially with Melanie present but he didn't have a choice.

"I'm in no hurry…"

"We've got a prisoner! The police box is really… a police box", Rose said sounding rather excited about that.

Margaret smiled at them unpleasantly "You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you…"

"Well, you deserve it", Mickey said coldly.

"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly…?" Mickey doesn't have an answer for this "Long night ahead…" she said walking around the console to sit on the captain's chair, under the watchful eye of the Doctor.

Melanie also kept an eye on her knowing how uneasy the TARDIS felt about having the Slitheen on-board "Let's see who can look me in the eye".

Margaret fixes Mickey with a calm, collected gaze. He managed to hold it for a few seconds before adverting his eyes. Margret then looks at Rose, who glances guiltily at the Doctor. The Time Lord glanced up from the console briefly before going back to his work. Margaret looked at Melanie who met her gaze. The brunette wanted to look away too however, for the sake of her friends and Bonded, she kept staring at the Slitheen. Eventually, it was Margaret who became uneasy under those hazel eyes.

Melanie continued to watch Margret even after Rose and Mickey left. "I gather it's not always like this…having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences… How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them", the Doctor calmly replied. Melanie moved to stand next to him, knowing that her words had bothered the Time Lord.

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants", she told him quietly, placing a hand on his arm. "So how come you survived Margret?" Melanie asked the Slitheen.

"Emergency teleport", Margaret replied.

"If you had a teleport why didn't you zap the rest of your family to safety with you?" the Doctor questioned.

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs", Margaret explained. The Doctor, Jack and Melanie sniggered at that. "It wasn't funny", Margaret said sharply.

"Nope Margret. It's hilarious", Melanie countered still laughing.

"Do I get a last request?" Margret asked when the three of them finally calmed down.

"Depends what it is", the Doctor said.

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they… cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine", Margaret informed them.

"Is that what you want, a last meal?" the Doctor asked.

"Don't I have rights?" Margaret retorted.

"Oh, like she's not going to try to escape", Jack said.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" Margret said bitterly "I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough", the Doctor said.

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies… now dine with them", Margaret challenged.

"You won't change my mind", The Doctor told her.

"Prove it"

Melanie trailed behind the Doctor and Margaret as they headed the restaurant. The Doctor would've preferred if she stayed in the TARDIS where she'd be safe but Melanie had insisted that she came with them. The young woman sat next to him at the table "Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name", the Slitheen said as they studied the menus.

"It's not a date" at least not with you he thought casting a glance at Melanie who was still looking at her menu "What's your name?"

"Blon. I am Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen. That's what it'll say on my death certificate", Margaret answered.

"That's kind of a mouthful. I'm just gonna stick to Margret", Melanie said lowering her menu. Margaret put hers down and looks out of the window.

"Look…that's where I was living as Margaret" the Doctor and Melanie turned around to follow her gaze "Nice little flat, over there, on the top. Next to the one with the light on".

Behind their backs, Margaret opened her ring and tipped some powder into Melanie's wine glass. "Two bedrooms… bayside view…" the Doctor and Melanie turned back around to face her "I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again"

"Suppose not", the Doctor said as he swapped Margaret's and Melanie's glasses over. Margret was less than pleased while Melanie was glad he'd noticed that the Slitheen had done something to her drink.

The Doctor returned his attention to the menu while Melanie kept her focus on Margaret. "Thank you", Margaret said sarcastically.

"Pleasure", the Doctor replied matching her sarcasm.

"Tell me then what do you know of our species?" Margaret asked them.

"Only what I've seen", the Doctor replied.

"Did you know, for example…in extreme cases…when her life is in danger… a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger…" Margaret suddenly points her finger at Melanie and a dart flies out which is snatched out of the air by the Doctor.

"Yes, I did", he said pocketing the dart.

"Just checking", Margaret said pleasantly looking at Melanie who looked rather shaken up by the attack. She knew that it was pointless to try and attack the Doctor directly so she'd decided to hurt him by harming his human companion. Ok, he stopped 2 of her attacks but she still had 1 more trick that she was sure the Doctor didn't know about.

"And one more thing…between you and me..." Margaret cast a look around the restaurant before leaning in. "As a final resort", she whispered "the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs" the Slitheen breathed green gas out of her mouth. Without even flinching, the Doctor whipped out a bottle of breath spray and gives her mouth a squirt.

"That's better", the Doctor said relaxing in his seat taking Melanie's hand and rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of it to calm her down. It was not only meant to calm her down but himself as well. He'd been close to bringing out the Oncoming Storm because of those three attempts to harm his Bonded. "Now then, what do you think?" he asked her showing her the menu, still holding her hand.

"How about Steak and chips?" Melanie suggested feeling calmer from the Doctor's touch.

"Sounds good to me", the Doctor agreed.

"Oi stop taking my chips", the Doctor said crossly as Melanie stole yet another chip from his plate. The teenager smiled cheekily before reaching over and pinching another. The Doctor pouted at that but immediately brightened when Melanie gave him a quick kiss. Margaret made a face when she did that, rather disgusted. But neither the Doctor nor Melanie noticed. The brunette popped some of her chips onto the Doctor's plate. Margret watched this before trying to plead her case.

"Public execution's a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid…lower me into the cauldron and boil me…" Melanie pushed her plate away completely put off her food. "The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid, and I become soup. And still alive, still screaming"

"Excuse me", Melanie said getting up and running to the bathroom. She was hoping to get there before throwing up. She was pretty grossed out by Margaret had just said.

"I don't make the law", the Doctor said turning to face Margaret after watching Melanie run off.

"But you deliver it. Will you stay to watch?" Margaret asked.

"What else can I do?"

"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe", Margaret begged.

"But then you'll just start again"

"I promise I won't", Margaret whispered.

"You've been in that skin suit too long. You've forgotten", the Doctor said "there used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips"

"Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life, an ordinary life. That's all I'm asking" the Doctor fixes her under his gaze "Give me a chance, Doctor. I can change"

"I don't believe you", he said before looking back over in the direction Melanie had run off as the girl still hadn't come back. The Doctor wondered if he should go and make sure she was ok. Margaret wasn't going to give up persuading him to let her go.

"I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl… just today… a young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then…I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around this city because I can change. I did change. I know I can't prove it…

"I believe you", the Doctor said calmly. There probably was a girl out there alive because of Margaret's choice to let her live. But that wasn't the human girl on his mind right now, his Bonded was.

The teenage in question was splashing water over her face, gasping when she felt her key heat up under her shirt. She pulled it out to find it glowing gold, like it did in the church. Her phone buzzed which she took out of the pocket to see short but simple message in caps.

HELP!

EXTRAPOLATOR!

BAD!

Melanie stuffed her phone back into her pocket and took off running. The teenager had just exited the restaurant when a low rumbling sounded in the air "that doesn't sound good", Melanie muttered.

She burst into the TARDIS, startling Jack. "Jack! Remove the extrapolator now!" Melanie shouted.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" the girl ordered. Jack darted over to the now flashing extrapolator and started to tear out the wires connecting it to the console, Melanie helping him. They both flinched from sparks coming from the console.

Moments later the Doctor ran in dragging Margaret behind him. The entire console room was now shuddering and lights were blinking. "It just went crazy!" Jack yelled at the Doctor.

"It's the extrapolator! She warned me it was bad!" Melanie added as the Doctor ran to the console.

"We disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine!" Jack shouted. They all jumped back from the small explosions that had erupted from the console.

"Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!"

"Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet!" Jack corrected him, stepping up to the console to try and help the Doctor stop the rift from destroying the city. Melanie was forced to watch, knowing that she was out of her depth when it came to the TARDIS. She was too focused on watching the men that she'd completely forgotten about Margaret who'd sidled up to her.

Rose then entered the shaking TARDIS "What is it? What's happening?!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, just little me", Margaret said gleefully freeing one of her arms from her skin suit and grabbed Melanie by the neck with her claw. The moment she did that, a low warning hum reverberated through the console room, the lights flashing even more. It was as if the TARDIS was angry at Margaret's action. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise", she threatened when the Doctor darted forward.

"I might've known", the Doctor said glaring at the Slitheen holding Melanie hostage.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it" Margaret moved closer with Melanie "You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet", she ordered looking at Jack.

"Don't do it", Melanie choked out causing Margaret to tighten her grip on her neck. Jack looked at the Doctor for help and he nods. Jack places the extrapolator near Margaret's feet.

"Thank you. Just as I planned"

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station", Rose pointed out.

"Failing that, if I were to be… arrested…then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B!" Margaret grabbed Melanie's braid and tugged it, hard, making teenager whimper in pain. The Doctor's hands closed into fists when she did that but he knew he couldn't afford to lose his temper. If he did, Margaret would kill her. "To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift" she looks around the TARDIS in awe "And what a power source it found… I'm back on schedule… thanks to you"

"The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet", Jack snapped at her.

"And you with it!" Margaret stepped onto the extrapolator still holding Melanie by the neck "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys… Surf's up"

The panel in front of Margaret suddenly bursts open and a blinding light floods out. It hits the Slitheen forcing her to release her grip on Melanie. The Doctor pulled her away, into his arms, feeling her tremble as he did so. Melanie turned away, burying her face into the Doctor's chest when Margaret screamed as she was destroyed by the heart of the TARDIS.

Rose and Jack both stared at the spot where Margaret once stood, rather shocked about what had just happened. Neither had expected the TARDIS to destroy the Slitheen like that. "It's ok Elle", the Doctor said softly to the young woman in his arms as he watched the panel that contained the heart closed on its own "it's over". He wasn't surprised that the TARDIS had done that. She was his Bonded after all and the TARDIS would do anything to protect her. Unknown to anyone, the panel containing the heart cracked open slightly and a small wisp of golden light floated out. It drifted over to Melanie who was still clinging onto the Doctor and entered the key around her neck, making it glow faintly.