The TARDIS materialised between two gates, one saying DANGER – KEEP OUT and the other saying NO PARKING IN FRONT OF THESE GATES. The Doctor opened the door and prepared to step out when he saw the gate blocking the way. Jenna who'd also seen that their way was blocked, laughed.
"You'd think by now you would know how to park her properly. Didn't you have to pass a test or something?" she asked the Doctor.
"Yep. I failed it", the Doctor answered.
"Figures", Jenna muttered.
"I thought you loved my piloting?" the Doctor asked giving her a look as he set the controls to turn the TARDIS around.
"Well, it took me a while but I finally realised that I do love your piloting. Even if it's a little crazy at times", Jenna said.
Rose looked between the two of them as they exchanged smiles. Is something going on here? She thought. The Doctor and Jenna had always been close but after Jenna almost died, they seemed to be even closer. It made her wonder if their friendship had become something else.
The Doctor pulled a lever and the engines sounded for a moment when they stopped, the Time Lord went to the door and opened it. "Ah!" he said happily seeing that the way wasn't blocked anymore. The Doctor stepped out of the box, followed by Rose and Jenna.
"So, near future, yeah?" Rose asked noting the Shayne Ward poster on a fence as they walked.
"I had a passing fancy", the Doctor said looking at Jenna, whose hand he was holding "Only it didn't pass, it stopped. And I'm glad it did".
"Me too", she agreed.
~Dame Kelly Holmes Close~
The trio walked down the road, passing under a banner that said LONDON 2012. "30th Olympia", the Doctor said.
"No way!" Rose said delighted "Why didn't I think of this?" she asked linking her arm with Jenna's "That's great"
"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about…wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around begging…no, wait a minute…that was Club Med" the Doctor laughed at his own joke and Jenna giggled too "Just in time for the opening doo dah, ceremony, tonight…I thought you'd both like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch…lovely chap, what was his…?"
Rose noticed the missing posters tacked to a lamppost while the Doctor was talking and slipped away to have a closer look. Jenna glanced back at Rose as the Doctor continued on, oblivious to the fact that Rose had gone "Mark…? John…? Mark…? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet…"
Jenna wandered over to where Rose was looking at the missing posters. "So many kids missing", she murmured reading them "Doctor! You might want to see this!" she called, getting the Time Lord's attention.
"What's taking them, do you think?" that Doctor asked coming over "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold…? Is someone reducing the temperature…?"
"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?"
"What makes you think it's a person?" the Doctor asked noticing that Jenna was looking down the street at something.
Rose turned at the sound of a door opening. She watched as woman came out of her house, dumps a recycling sack on the pavement and then hurried back inside "Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. What…" she turned around only to find that the Doctor and Jenna were at the other end of the road.
"There's something here", Jenna said coming to a stop by a lawn, and coincidently it was the same lawn where Dale and Tommy had disappeared. The Doctor stepped onto the grass, crouched down and held his hand over the grass.
"Tickles", the Doctor breathed feeling something tickle his hand as he held it over the grass. He turned to Jenna and started tickling her. She giggled, falling onto her bum as she tried to push the Doctor's hands away.
"What's your game?" someone said behind them. The pair turned around to see a man standing of the lawn.
"My…um…Snakes and Ladders?" the Doctor floundered "Quite good at…squash. Reasonable".
"You're being a tad rude again", Jenna warned him.
"Yeah…" the Doctor agreed "There's no call for it".
The pair tried to explain to the man, who happened to be Tom's father but he wasn't having any of it. "We're…we're police officers!" the Doctor tried to argue as he and Jenna where being backed away from the house by the man "We've got a badge and…and a police car….you don't have to get….I can…I can prove it! Just hold on!" the Doctor dug through his pocket for his psychic paper.
"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look or sound like any of them" the man shouted.
Jenna spotted Rose and pointed at her "Look, we've got a colleague…uh…"
"Lewis", the Doctor said as Jenna tried to think of a name. Rose gave Tom's dad a policeman like wink, knowing to play along.
"Well, she looks less like a copper than you two do", Tom's father commented looking Rose over.
"Training. New recruit. It was either that or hairdressing, so…." the Doctor pulled out his psychic paper with a flourish and showed it to the man "voila!"
"What are you going to do?" a woman, Trish, asked as she joined them.
An elderly woman, Maeve, also came up "The police have knocked on every door. No clues, no leads, nothing"
"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do…" Tom's dad said.
"Dale Hixon in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then…" Maeve mimics something disappearing "Right in front of me, like he was never there! There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us"
"Why don't we…" the Doctor began when Trish cut him off.
"Why don't we start with him?" another woman asked pointing accusingly as Kel "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night"
"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" Kel said defending himself.
"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it", Tom's dad remarked.
"I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just…"the Doctor tried again.
"You don't…what you just said, that's slander!" Kel exclaimed.
"I don't care what it is!" the Neighbour shouted back.
"I think we need to just…" the Doctor said trying once more to cut in but he was interrupted once again.
"I want an apology off her!" Kel said pointing at the neighbour.
"Stop picking on him", Maeve said.
"Yeah, stop picking on me!" Kel echoed.
"And stop pretending to be blind! It's evil!" Maeve added.
"I don't believe in evil", the neighbour said glaring at Kel.
"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van…" Kel said angrily.
"Ay, ay, ay, that's not what she's saying"
"Would you stop ganging up on me?!" Kel cried.
"Feeling guilty, are we?" the neighbour said shrilly.
"Fingers on lips!" Jenna shouted cutting into the babble of their voices. She put her finger on her lips and glared at them all till they did the same. Jenna glanced at the Doctor who'd done what she'd asked with a smile. He was just about to do that before she beat him to it. He looked pointedly at Rose and she put her finger on her lips too.
"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen", the Doctor said "Snatched out of thin air, right?"
"Er…can I…?" Maeve gestured to take her finger off her lips. The Doctor nodded "Look around you. This was a safe street till it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"
Jenna looked up at a window where a little girl was watching them. Rose followed her gaze and saw the girl too. Trish noticed them both watching her daughter and hurried back inside.
~Back alley~
"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other", the Doctor explained as they walked down the alley. "Whoa, there it goes again!" he said as he felt the same thing that he'd felt on the lawn "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand", he added showing both Rose and Jenna.
"And there's that smell again", Jenna said catching a whiff of it in the air.
"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this"
The trio continued down the alley and back into Dame Kelly Holmes Close. "Aren't you a beautiful boy?" Rose asked spotting a rather adorable looking feline.
"Thanks!" the Doctor beamed, thinking that she was talking about him "I'm experimenting with back combing…" and then he noticed that Rose was referring to the cat "Oh"
"You're not a beautiful boy", Jenna said making him pout "you're a very handsome Time Lord".
The Doctor beamed at that "and you are beautiful girl" he gently placed a hand on her cheek as she blushed "a beautiful, clever, impossible girl".
"Stop it", Jenna said trying to stop her face from blushing from his compliments.
"Never" he gazed into her eyes and before they knew it, they were closing the already small gap between themselves. Their lips had just brushed together when…
"Doctor!" Rose shouted "Jenna!"
The pair jumped, the moment between them broken. Jenna hurried over to her friend who was standing by a box waving her hand in front of her nose, like she smelt something bad. The Doctor walked slowly over to them, internally grumbling about how Rose had bad timing.
He soon forgot all that when the burnt fuse smell hit his nose. It was a lot strong than before. It was coming from an empty box "Ion residue. Blimey!" he said picking it up "That takes some doing" he flipped the box over, impressed "Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like, 'I'm 'avin' some of that'. I'm impressed"
"So the cat's been transported?" Rose asked. Oh so that's what was in the box Jenna thought.
"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power. We need to find the source of that power"
"Find the source and we'll will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals", Jenna added.
"Exactly" the Doctor patted Rose on the shoulder before pointing his fingers at his eyes and then at her "See what you can see. Keep 'em peeled, Lewis"
"I'll stay with her. Two sets of eyes are better than one", Jenna said.
The Doctor nodded "alright but be careful", he said.
"I will", Jenna promised.
The girls walked down the road, Jenna on the left while Rose took the right. The blonde stopped when she heard something from one of the garages. She glanced over at Jenna to see if she'd heard the noise, but it appeared she hadn't. A second crash sounded as she approached the door "Is that you, puss cat? Are you trapped?" she asked but didn't get a response except the sound of something metal rolling across the floor.
Rose grabs the handle and slowly opens the door. Suddenly a ball of what appeared to be a tangled mess of wires jumped out at her. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way just before the object collided with her.
The Doctor, who'd just came around the comer at that moment, saw Jenna standing there protecting Rose from a rather strange object and ran. He points his sonic at the threat and it convulsed, collapsing into a small ball which Jenna caught.
"You two alright?" the Doctor asked looking them both over.
"Yeah I'm fine", Rose replied "I would've been flattened by that thing if Jenna hadn't pulled me out of the way".
"No problem Rose. That's what friends are for", Jenna said "and yes I'm fine too".
The Doctor nodded, accepting her answer. He looked down at the object in Jenna's hand "I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is, because I haven't got the foggiest".
"Well, I can tell you you've just killed it", Rose said.
"It was never living" the Doctor said taking it from Jenna "It's animated by energy. Same energy that's snatching people" he throws it up in the air and catches it "That is so dinky!" he said delighted "The go anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket…makes friends, impresses the boss…breaks the ice at parties" he pocketed it as the girls laughed.
~TARDIS~
"Oh, hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look" the Doctor said placing the object on the console for the TARDIS to scan it. The trio watched the monitor waiting for the results. "Get out of here", the Doctor said surprised as he read the results.
"What's it say?" Rose asked unable to understand what it said on the screen.
The Doctor picked up the ball and using the rubber end of the pencil that he'd taken out of his pocket, he rubbed out part of it. "It is! It's graphite".
"The same material as an HB pencil", Jenna said all too familiar with that type of pencil as it was the same kind she used.
"We were almost attacked by a pencil scribble?" Rose asked eyeing the object in disbelief.
"Scribble creature", the Doctor corrected "brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why make a scribble creature?"
"It was a mistake", Jenna said "when I'm drawing, if I mess it up or something I tend to scribble over it. I don't do it much now but when I was a kid, I used to do it all the time".
A look of realisation appeared on Rose's face at Jenna's words. "You said it was in the street", she said.
"Probably…."
"The girl in the window", Rose said looking at Jenna.
"You think she's responsible?" Jenna asked recalling the girl they'd both spotted earlier.
"Maybe", Rose replied.
"What girl?" the Doctor asked wondering who they were talking about.
"Something about her gave me the creeps", Rose replied.
"Even her own mum looked scared of her", Jenna added and Rose nodded in agreement.
"Are you deducting?" the Doctor asked them both.
"I think I am", Rose said "Permission to follow it up, Sarge?" she asked.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor, this Jen and this is Rose" the Doctor said after Trish opened the door "Can we see your daughter?"
"No, you can't!"
"Ok. Bye" the trio turned and walked away.
"Wait for it", Jenna said quietly to them. Sure enough a moment later, Trish called out to them.
"Why? Why do you want to see Chloe?"
The Doctor, Rose and Jenna turned back "Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought. Well, we thought, that she might like to give us a hand".
"Sorry to bother you", the Doctor added.
"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!" Jenna said. They turned and walked away, not getting very far until Trish called to them again
"Wait!" the trio turned back "Can you help her?" Trish asked, looking rather helpless and vulnerable.
The Doctor smiled "Yes, I can", he said.
~Living room~
Rose and Jenna makes themselves comfortable on the sofa while the Doctor opted to stand. "She stays in her room most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone", Trish explained.
"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.
"Chloe's dad died a year ago", Trish replied.
"I'm sorry", Rose said.
"You wouldn't be if you'd known him", Trish said quietly. Jenna looked at Trish understandingly, she knew what it was like to have a father who wasn't very nice. Rose took her friend's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She knew all about Jenna's father, William.
"Well! Let's go and say hi!" the Doctor said brightly.
"I should check on her first…she might be asleep", Trish said rather hesitant to let these people near her daughter.
"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" the Doctor asked seeing that the woman was so hesitant to let them meet her daughter.
"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid", Trish said.
"I'm sure she is", the Doctor nodded.
"She's never been in trouble at school…you should see her report from last year. A's and B's" Trish smiled at Rose and Jenna, proud. They smiled back.
"Can I use your loo?" Rose asked. Trish nodded and pointed up the stairs. Rose got up and left the room, the Doctor and Jenna watching her.
"She's in the choir. She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud" Trish continued "You…know I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor, because right now, she's not herself".
The Doctor popped his head around the corner, looking through the dining room into the kitchen. "All right, there?" he asked seeing Chloe in the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen followed by Trish and Jenna. "I'm the Doctor and this is Jenna", the Doctor said leaning against the table. Jenna stood next to him.
"I'm Chloe Webber", Chloe said.
"Nice to meet you", Jenna said politely.
"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm busy" Chloe stated "I'm making something, aren't I, mum?"
"And like I said, she's not been sleeping", Trish told the Doctor and Jenna.
"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men about my limit. But Jen here" he put his arm around the girl "is brilliant at drawing".
"I wouldn't go that far. I'm mediocre at best", Jenna said waving him off.
"Rubbish. I've seen your drawings they're amazing. Just like you are" Jenna smiled at his compliment, a faint dusting of pink of her cheeks. "I can do this, though", the Doctor said to Chloe holding up his hand in the 'live long and prosper' sign. "Can you do that?"
Trish nods to her daughter in encouragement. "They don't stop moaning", Chloe said.
"Chloe…" Trish began as the Doctor lowered his hand.
"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning", Chloe cut in.
"Who-"the Doctor began when Jenna suddenly ducked out from under his arm and ran towards the stairs. She ran into a bedroom, hearing a man growling
"I'm coming…" Jenna ran over to Rose's side and froze staring at the drawing of the man, his face contorted with fury. Jenna knew she had to shut the doors but she couldn't move, she was too scared. "I'm coming to hurt you…" the man growled as the Doctor ran in. He slammed the doors shut without so much as a glance inside.
Now the doors were shut Jenna backed away, sinking to the floor as he mind flashed back to her not so great childhood.
"How can she be my daughter? No normal child has her weird eyes"
"Daddy please stop! You're hurting me!"
"You're not my daughter. You're nothing to me"
A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. In front of her was the Doctor, his face full of concern. "Your father?" he asked quietly and Jenna nodded. He pulled her into a hug as she started to cry.
The Doctor tugged Jenna to her feet and led her out of the room, wanting to get her away from the drawing that had brought up those bad memories. Rose watched them go, torn between going with them and talking to Trish. She decided to do the latter knowing that the Doctor would be able to comfort Jenna. She also knew that they needed to figure out what was going on. "Trish, the drawings. Have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?"
"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" Trish asked coldly, her concern for the upset girl now gone "Get out of my house".
Rose ignored her, turning to Chloe "tell me about the drawings, Chloe", she said.
"I don't want to hear any more of this", Trish said.
"But that drawing of the man in her wardrobe…" Rose began.
"My dad", Chloe spoke up startling her mother.
"I heard a voice. He spoke", Rose said not wanting to let it go.
"He's dead. And these, they're kid's pictures. Now get out!" Trish shouted, getting angry.
"Chloe has a power. And I don't know how, but she used it to take Danny Edwards, Dale Hicks. She's using it to snatch the kids", Rose said.
"Get out", Trish ordered.
"Have you seen those drawings move?" Rose asked.
"I haven't seen anything", Tish said derisively.
"Yes, you have, out of the corner of your eye", Rose said knowing she had to get Trish to admit that Chloe was different and that she needed help.
"No", Trish said shaking her head.
"You just dismissed it because what else can you do when you see something you can't possibly explain? You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever again", Rose continued.
"She's a child…"
"You're terrified of her" Rose said softly "But there's nowhere to turn to, because who's going to believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except me, the Doctor and Jenna".
"Who are you?" Trish asked.
"We're help", Rose replied with a smile.
Trish and Rose went back down stairs to find the Doctor and Jenna sitting on the sofa. The girl was curled up against the Time Lord who had his arm around her. He spoke quietly to her, assuring her that she was safe, that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. The Doctor looked over at them as they entered the room. "Chloe's drawing people and they end up in her pictures", Rose told the pair having sort of figured it out from her conversation with Trish upstairs.
"Ionic energy. Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding pen made up of ionic power", the Doctor explained.
"What about you-know-who?" Rose asked not really wanting to bring up the d word especially after Jenna's breakdown.
"How many times do I have to tell you? He's dead" , Trish insisted.
"He's got a very loud voice for a dead guy", Jenna mumbled. She knew precisely who they were talking about and was glad for Rose's attempt to conceal the fact that she was talking about Chloe's father.
"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things. Chloe's real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world" the Doctor rubbed Jenna's arm when she stiffened as he spoke about Chloe's father. He didn't want to bring it up either but he also wanted to explain about the drawings.
Chloe always got the worst of it when he was alive Trish thought but didn't say aloud due to the still upset brunette girl on her sofa. Seeing Jenna breakdown like that reminded her of everything she and Chloe went through while her husband was still alive.
"Doctor, how can a twelve year old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked.
"Let's find out" the Doctor looked at Jenna "I'll be back in a moment", he said before he put her to sleep by placing his fingers on her temple. The Doctor then gently laid her on the sofa. She probably wasn't going to be happy with him for doing that but he didn't want her going back upstairs and he also didn't want to leave her alone to be plagued by bad thoughts. If she was asleep then she wouldn't be thinking about her father.
The Doctor, Rose and Trish went upstairs to Chloe's bedroom. The girl in question was sitting on her bed. She gives the Doctor the 'live long and prosper' sign as he entered. "Nice one", he said coming over to the bed. He kneels down, taking her head in his hands and put her to sleep the same way he did to Jenna. "There we go", he said laying the girl back on her bed.
"I can't let him do this…" Trish said concerned for her daughter.
"It's okay. Trust him", Rose said stopping her from moving forward. The Doctor stood up.
"Now we can talk", he said addressing Chloe.
"I want Chloe" Chloe whispered, her voice sounding not like her own. The Doctor and Rose knew it was whatever was inside the girl, that's what was speaking at the moment "Wake her up. I want Chloe"
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.
"I want Chloe Webber!" the girl whispered loudly, with passion.
"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish cried, upset.
"Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked.
The Doctor walked slowly around the bed, all the while looking down at Chloe "I'm speaking to you, the entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation", he said.
"I don't care about shadows or parleys", Chloe said.
"So what do you care about?" the Doctor asked.
"I want my friends", Chloe said.
The Doctor knelt by her "You're lonely, I know", he said completely understanding. With all his people gone, he used to feel lonely too. But now he had someone who he loved and who loved him in return, he no longer felt lonely "Identify yourself".
"I am one of many. I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair, and I hate it!" Chloe's eyes snapped open.
"Name yourself!" the Doctor ordered.
"Isolus", Chloe said.
"You're Isolus. Of course", the Doctor said as if that explained everything.
"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family", Isolus said drawing on a piece of paper next to her on the bed.
"What's that?" Trish asked looking at the drawing.
"The Isolus Mother, drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone", the Doctor explained.
"Our journey is long"
"The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up", the Doctor continued.
"Thousands of years just floating through space…poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?" Rose asked feeling sorry for the Isolus.
"We play"
"You…play?" Rose asked.
The Doctor sat down on the bed "While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make believe worlds in which to play", he replied.
"In-flight entertainment", Rose nodded.
"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each others love. Without it, they're lost" he turned to Chloe/Isolus "Why did you come to Earth?"
"We were too close" she rips off another piece of paper and starts drawing.
"That's a solar flare from your sun" the Doctor said looking at this new drawing "Would have made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods".
"Only I fell to Earth. My brothers and sisters are left up there, and I cannot reach them. So alone", Chloe/Isolus said.
"Your pod crashed…where is it?" the Doctor questioned.
"My pod was drawn to heat…and I was drawn to Chloe Webber. She was like me, alone. She needed me, and I her", Chloe/Isolus explained.
The Doctor stroked her head "You empathised with her. You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you", he said softly.
"I want my family. It's not fair"
"I understand. You want to make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself", the Doctor said.
"I am alone"
Suddenly a crash came from the wardrobe causing Trish to gasp. When Chloe started to shake, the Doctor had her come over and sing to her, just like she'd do whenever Chloe had nightmares.
The singing seemed to work as no more noise came from the wardrobe and Chloe fell asleep. "He came to her because she was lonely…" Trish said in tears "Chloe, I'm sorry…." the woman buried her head into her daughter's shoulder, sobbing.
~Living room~
Trish strides into the living room and started gathering up the pencils that were lying around, Rose helping her. The Doctor on the other hand went straight for the sofa where Jenna was, still asleep. "Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink. The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over"
"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked handing her a bunch of pencils.
"I didn't want to", Trish said.
"But maybe that's why Chloe feels so alone. Because she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can't talk to you about them", Rose said.
"Her and the Isolus" the Doctor said from where he sat perched on the arm of the sofa "Two lonely kids who need each other".
"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor?" Rose asked "It'll just keep pulling kids in".
"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family", the Doctor said.
"How big?" Rose asked.
"Say around…four billion?" the Doctor guessed, he missed the stunned looks from Rose and Trish as he moved to kneel by the sofa. He brushed her hair away from her face and touched his fingers to her temple "time to wake up", he said. The Doctor watched as Jenna's face scrunched up as she started to stir.
~Dame Kelly Holmes Close~
"We need that pod", the Doctor told the girls as they walked. After waking up Jenna, they explained everything as briefly as they could to the violet eyed girl.
"It crashed. Won't it be destroyed?" Rose asked.
"Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can…hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch. It must be close" the Doctor replied "It should have a weak energy signature that the Tardis can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus".
~Open ground~
"We can scan for the same trace that I picked up from the scribble creature. We'd need to widen the field a bit", the Doctor said as he, Rose and Jenna walked towards the TARDIS. The trio entered the box, unaware that Chloe was watching them.
The Doctor fumbled with the device, putting it together with Jenna trying to help the best she could. Rose on the other hand just sat in the captain's chair next to the console. "You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" Rose asked.
"I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own", the Doctor said as Jenna slotted an object into the device.
"Sounds like you're on its side", Rose said chewing on gum absent-mindedly.
"I sympathise, that's all", the Doctor said.
"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people", Rose reminded him.
"It's a child!" the Doctor blows on the device "That's why it went to Chloe. Two lonely mixed up kids".
"Feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way", Rose remarked.
"Rose it's scared. You must know what that's like. We were kids once", Jenna pointed out popping the binary dot onto the device.
"Yes! And I know what kids can be like…right little terrors"
"Gum", the Doctor said holding his hand out for Rose's gum. She spat it into his hand and he stuck it to the device.
"I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family", Rose continued.
"What about trying to understand them?" the Doctor asked.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have kids", Rose shot back.
"I was a dad once", the Doctor said off-handedly. Unlike Rose, Jenna didn't look surprised or even shocked this piece of information. It was like she already knew he'd been a father. But this was the first time he'd told her. Naiyah. It must be.
"What did you say?"
"I think we're there!" the Doctor said happily looking at the finished device, completely avoiding answering Rose's question. "Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy" he handed the device over to Jenna so he could work at the controls on the console "There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe" Jenna shifts the device in so that one of her hands was free to point the monitor "Warp drive…wormhole refractors…You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold".
The Doctor noticed Jenna holding her hand out and takes it with a smile. "No!" Jenna laughed "Look, I'm pointing" .
The Doctor looks at the monitor where she was pointing and saw the flashing whit light on a map of the neighbourhood which indicated the location of the pod. "It's the pod!" the Doctor said excitedly "It is in the street. Everything's coming up Doctor!"
The Doctor dashed off down the ramp and out the door. Rose and Jenna followed him.
~Open ground~
"Okay. It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light…" the Doctor explained as they walked, Jenna slightly behind himself and Rose.
"So these pods they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah? So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need heat?"
Before the Doctor could answer her, there was a crash behind them. The pair spun around, their eyes widening when they saw that Jenna was gone, the device that was in her hands now in pieces on the ground. To make matters worse the TARDIS was gone too.
The Doctor stared at the pieces of the device, his anger starting to rise at the fact that the Isolus had just taken the girl he loved. And that was a very bad move.
The Doctor stormed up the path, whipping out his sonic and using it on the front door. He shoved the door open and sprinted up the stairs to Chloe's room. He charged into her room, crossed the floor and snatched the paper away from Chloe. On it was the TARDIS, Jenna and even a little of himself. "Leave me alone!" Isolus said "I want to be with Chloe Webber! I love Chloe Webber!"
"You bring her back, now!" the Doctor demanded.
"No", Isolus said.
The Doctor turned away and held out the paper to Rose who carefully took it. He then spun around and grabbed Chloe's shoulders "Don't you realise what you've done?" he snapped viciously "I was going to help you! Then you go and take the girl I love!" Rose stared at him, in shock about what he'd just admitted in his anger. He was in love with her best friend. "Now bring her back!"
"Leave me alone! I love Chloe Webber!" Chloe shouted squirming in his grip.
"Doctor", Rose said quietly stepping forward "you need to calm down…"
The Doctor let go of Chloe to turn to Rose "Calm down? Calm down?! Jen has been taken!" he snapped.
"I know that!" Rose shouted back "you're not the only one who loves her Doctor. She's my best friend" she held out the paper with Jenna's picture on it "if the roles were reversed and you'd been taken, would Jenna be here shouting at the Isolus? Or would she be trying to find the pod?"
The Doctor looked at the sketch of Jenna, his anger lessening "she'd be trying to find the pod", he said.
"So that's what we need to do. Find the pod and the Isolus can leave and we get Jenna back", Rose said.
The Doctor slowly nodded, his eyes fixed on Jenna. He then turned back to Chloe and snatched up all the pencils she had on her desk, pocketing them. "Don't leave her alone", he said to Trish and then left the room. Rose quickly followed him, still clutching onto the picture. She didn't want to leave it behind in case Chloe did something that would end up making the Doctor angrier.
"Heat. They travel on heat", the Doctor muttered pulling out his sonic to scan for heat sources. Rose glanced down at the picture of Jenna.
"Wish you were here", she mumbled. Rose didn't realise how much she relied Jenna's feeling until the girl wasn't with them. She frowned as words started to appear next to her friend.
KEL
Rose looked up and saw Kel smoothing down a piece of road not far from them. As she ran over, Kel noticed her "Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump", he said proudly.
"Kel, was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?" she asked holding the paper out to the Doctor as he joined them.
"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this. Beautiful. So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftsmanship as I did this one…" Kel continued as if Rose hadn't spoken.
"Well, when you've worked it out, put it in a big book about tarmacking, but before you do that, think back six days"
"Six days…" his eyes widen as he remembered "When I was laying this the first time round!"
"What?" the Doctor asked looking up from the paper.
"Well, that's when I filled in this pothole for the first time", Kel elaborated.
"Six days ago…" Rose looked at the Doctor as she figured it out "Hot fresh tar…"
Coming to the same realisation as she did, the Doctor crouched down pulling out his sonic. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Kel asked as the Doctor pressed the sonic against the tarmac and pushed the button. Rose watched the Doctor dig around in the now broken tarmac, smiling as he pulled out the Isolus' pod.
"It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar!" Rose said happily.
"What is it?" Kel asked.
"It's a spaceship", the Doctor replied simply standing up.
"Ok, so we have the pod, we give it to the Isolus and then we get Jenna back!" Rose said excitedly.
"It's not that simple, the pod needs charging up", the Doctor told her.
"But I thought it just needed heat?" Rose asked frowning.
"It needs more than that. It needs love", the Doctor replied.
Rose glanced down at the paper and smiled seeing a drawing of the Olympic torch with Jenna pointing at it "and Jenna's just given us the answer" she said showing him.
The Doctor looked at the picture feeling a sense of pride at the fact that even though she was trapped as a drawing, Jenna still managed to help them. "Looks like the Torch is coming past here", Kel commented spotting the number of people congregating at the end of the close. The Doctor and Rose took off towards the people.
"Sorry, sir you'll have to watch from here", a policeman said stopping the Time Lord from getting any closer. The Doctor just pushed past him, not about to let a human stop him when he was so close to getting Jenna back.
The pod chirped in his hands as the torch bearer passed by "feel the love", he said before tossing it into the air, in the direction of the torch. The torch bearer staggered as the pod fell into the flames but dismissed it.
He made his way back to Rose who distracted by all the missing children that suddenly appeared. If all the children were back… the Doctor didn't even finish that thought before he took off to where he'd parked the TARDIS.
His face broke out in a huge smile when he saw Jenna standing near the TARDIS rubbing her head. The Doctor ran over to her and pulled her into a tight hug, very relieved that she was back. "I'm glad you're back".
"Me too", Jenna said.
The Doctor pulled back to look at her for a moment before crashing his lips against hers. Jenna stood there in his arms, slightly stunned by this move to kiss him back. The Doctor pulled away and seeing the look on her face, he started to apologise "I'm sorry it was just that I'm relieved to have you back and well I wanted to kiss you before there was another interruption like how Rose-" he was abruptly cut off from his rambling by Jenna kissing him. The Doctor didn't hesitate to kiss her back.
When they eventually broke away, they were both a little out of breath. The Doctor rested his forehead against Jenna's closing his eyes savouring the moment, committing it to memory. "Doctor?" Jenna said after a moment.
"Yes?" the Doctor asked.
"We need to help the torch bearer out", Jenna said.
He opened his eyes and looked at her "a feeling?"
"Yep", Jenna said popping the p.
The Doctor grinned, took her hand and said "lead the way", he said.
The Doctor picked up the torch from where it lay and ran, hand-in-hand with Jenna. Nobody stopped them, in fact they were all cheering them on, thankful that two strangers had taken it upon themselves to make sure the torch reached the stadium.
~Olympic stadium~
They sprint up the stairs, a spot light trained on them as they ascended to the top. Together they lit the Olympic Flame. "Go on. Join your brothers and sisters. They'll be waiting", the Doctor says as the pod zooms up into the night sky.
~Dame Kelly Holmes Close~
The Doctor and Jenna leisurely wander down the street, the former's arm around the latter's waist. "Cake?" Rose asked from behind them. The pair turned to see the blonde standing there holding out a cup cake.
"Top banana!" the Doctor said taking it. He took a bite out of it with both girls watching him "Mmm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat, masterpiece!"
Rose pulled Jenna into a hug "I'm glad your back. Jenna", the blonde said happily.
"Me too Rose"
"What now?" Rose asked as they walked down the road, her arm linked with Jenna's.
"I want to go to the Games. It's what we came for", the Doctor replied.
"Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?" Jenna asked.
"Well, I will tell you this. Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put", the Doctor answered.
"Really? You're joking, aren't you? Doctor, are you serious or are you joking?" Rose asked.
"Wait and see!"
Fireworks exploded overhead, lighting up the dark sky in various colours. "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will", Rose said.
The Doctor looked at her coming to a halt "Never say never ever", he warned.
"Nah, we'll always be okay", Rose said confidently "us three. Don't you reckon?" she looked at both Jenna and the Doctor who were now looking up at the sky.
"There's something in the air. Something's coming", the Doctor said quietly.
"What?" Rose asked wondering if she should be worried.
"A storm" Jenna replied seriously.