A/N: so, there is more hints to Annamae's life here between her re-birth and finding the Doctor. And I've been getting comments on Rose, she's still travelling with the Doctor because Annamae's family orientated and Rose is growing and developing into her own person. From the naive teenager... to someone more aware of what's happening around her. In tine, Rose will grow into the strong independent woman who doesn't need her sister's help.
Chapter Thirteen: New Doctor
"Doctor?" I asked softly as he started running around the console and flicking switches.
"There we go, Barcelona." The Doctor answered brightly, his eyes dancing slightly insanely and not really focusing. The TARDIS was humming worriedly in my mind, obviously picking up on the same sense of wrongness that I was.
"Doctor, we need to go back to Earth. I need to let my family know I'm okay, and I need to rest. The Vortex did quite a bit of damage before you pulled it from me." I said gently, hoping to get the Doctor to rest at the same time. I knew the Doctor's concern for me was deeply ingrained, hopefully, it was ingrained enough to cut through whatever was wrong with him so that I could use it against him for his own good. The fact that my body had sustained damage from taking in the vortex, and the straining on my mind, was secondary to my concern for the Doctor. I would recover, but I didn't know what was wrong with the Doctor or how to help other than to get him to stop and rest. Perhaps, he just needed time for his regeneration to settle?
"Yes, yes of course." The Doctor agreed, dancing around the console once more. "Destination, Earth, 2006, 24th December. Home in time for Christmas. How about that as a Christmas gift?" the Doctor asked smiling brightly.
"Doctor," I hesitantly approached him, hoping that proximity wouldn't trigger anything. "What's wrong? You're acting very sporadic."
"Nothing's wrong, I'm perfectly fine." The Doctor responded. Suddenly he gasped in pain and the TARDIS lurched sideways in response. I reached forwards and grabbed his upper arms to steady him. The Doctor gasped in pain again and released a golden breath.
"What is it Doctor, what's happening? How can I help?" I asked, my eyes dancing in panic. This was something I hadn't ever experienced before, and I didn't know what I could do to help, I couldn't even guess. Instead of answering, something caught his eye on the console.
"Oh, I haven't used this one in ages." He announced before flicking the switch. Immediately the console lurched sending me flying back into one of the coral struts while the Doctor grabbed the console in order to stay on his feet having anticipated the action.
I groaned in pain, well that didn't help lessen the damage done to my body. There was only so much I could ignore for so long and I was very much aware that I was reaching my natural limit and my magic was now doing its best to limit the damage, repair current damage and further strengthen my body from further damage which was stretching my passive magic to its limit and leaving me vulnerable to other areas as well as increasing the further likelihood of me collapsing due to exhaustion or injury. If I attempted to use my magic, actively, that would just quicken the process.
Slowly climbing back to my feet with the aid of one of the coral struts in the console room, I looked to the Doctor. "Doctor, what are you doing?" I demanded, clinging to the coral strut for support. Something was wrong with the Doctor, it was affecting his behaviour and making him act crazy.
"Putting on a bit of speed! That's it." The Doctor shouted back crazily as he turned more knobs.
"Doctor, please, you're losing control of the TARDIS. You need to slow her down!" I shouted, trying to make my way back to the console without being thrown around too much.
"Nah, she's fine. My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl." The Doctor answered, his voice still coming out as crazed. "Faster!" The Doctor turned his head to look at me. "Wanna break the time limit?!"
"No Doctor, please! I need you to calm down and talk with me. Tell me what's happening so that I can help? Please." I pleaded with him, trying to get the Doctor to focus for a minute. I didn't want to stun or subdue him encase I did more harm than good.
The Doctor paused for a moment, his gaze and posture calming but there was fear there now. "The regeneration's gone wrong. I can't stop myself." His face twisted in pain. "Ah, my head…" he moaned for a moment before he violently sprang up and his voice returned to the crazed personality of before. "Faster! Let's open those engines!"
"Doctor, please, you're going to crash if you keep trying to go faster." I shouted over the sound of the warning bell and the TARDIS hummed loudly in my head in a way that it was like she was screaming at me to do something.
The Doctor laughed manically. "Too late, we're going to crash land." The Doctor ran around the console, giggling insanely, even as I was thrown to the side once more. "Oh, I love it! Hot Dawg!"
"Doctor, the shields." I shouted from where I lay on the floor, bracing myself for the impact I knew was coming and not attempting to get up again because it would be pointless and probably lead to more injury. Hopefully, my warning would be enough to prevent some damage to the TARDIS. The Doctor wouldn't be impressed when he regained control of his mental faculties if he had harmed the TARDIS.
"Hold on tight, here we go!" the Doctor said, grabbing some leathers on the console and meeting my concerned gaze across the TARDIS. "Christmas Eve…"
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The Doctor left the TARDIS before me. I hesitated a moment, resting my hand on the column at the centre of the console, once I had painfully regained my feet.
"What is it, Beautiful? What's wrong with him?" I asked her sadly. The TARDIS just hummed in my mind, unable to say anything to me. Although their connection was slowly strengthening, and I was finding it easier to get impressions of what she was communicating, such a complicated question was beyond our current communication abilities. All I could get in response was her worry.
"It's okay, I'll figure it out. And then we'll both get to know this new Doctor." I told her, trying to smile but it faltered as my own worry was playing on my mind. Of all the times to regenerate (badly) he chose a time when I wasn't physically, mentally, emotionally or magically at my strongest. "We'll be back soon." I promised before heading out of the TARDIS only to find the Doctor collapsed on the floor, Mickey, mum and Rose staring down in shock.
"What happened?" I asked, rushing forward to kneel next to the Doctor and check him for injuries.
"I don't know, he just keeled over. But who is he?" Mickey asked, confused.
"Where's the Doctor?" Rose added, looking towards the TARDIS hopefully.
"This is the Doctor." I answered, carefully lifting the Doctor's head and shoulders off the ground once I was sure he hadn't been injured. It seemed that he had been caught (probably by Mickey or mum) before he could hit his head on the pavement and cause himself injury.
"What do you mean, that's the Doctor? Doctor who?" Mum demanded confused.
"I'll explain when we're back in the flat. Rose, Mickey, could you help me carry him? Mum, could you go and find him something to wear." I gave them orders, hoping to delay the explanation until I could check the Doctor over properly.
"Right." Mickey nodded, as mum ran off. Once Mickey and Rose had gotten a good grip on one of the Doctor's legs, I lifted his upper body, making sure his head and neck was supported against my chest and shoulder.
"Be careful, I don't want him hurt anymore then he already is." I told them as we slowly started moving. Since neither Mickey nor Rose would be able to carry the Doctor up twelve flights of stairs, I was forced into the lift with them.
Once we entered the flat, I directed them to my bedroom, which was emptier compared to the other rooms in the house – having only a bed and a wardrobe, no junk. Once he was on the bed, I accepted the blue and white stripped pyjamas from mum before kicking her and Rose out of the room.
"Mickey, I need your help getting him changed," I told Mickey who was standing awkwardly.
"What?" Mickey demanded horrified as I sat on the bed, lifting the Doctor's upper body and resting it against my own so I could remove his leaver jacket and shirt which no longer fit his match-stick thin body. Although he was just as tall as his previous incarnation, or perhaps a little bit taller.
"I can't get him changed on my own." I answered, rolling my eyes as I placed the leaver jacket to one side. "Lift his shirt off him, I'll support his weight."
"Right." Mickey muttered with a blush.
Together, it took them about five minutes to get the Doctor changed into the pyjamas that mum had gotten, and then tuck him into my bed. Mickey went to get Rose and mum who had been waiting outside the door.
"Here." mum said handing me a stethoscope while Rose sat on my desk chair that she pulled up next to the bed. "Tina, the cleaner, she's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to the hospital."
"We can't." Rose answered for me as I placed the Stethoscope on the Doctor's chest and started counting the heart beats off his left heart, while discounting the echoing beats of his right before doing the same the other way round. "They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race."
"Okay, both his hearts are working." I sighed, looking down at the Doctor sadly. There was nothing I could do to help him right now. All I could do was make sure he got some rest and was comfortable while doing so. Hopefully once he had gotten enough sleep whatever had gone wrong with the regeneration would be corrected because there was no one I could consult.
If he didn't wake up in the next twenty-four hours, I would go to the TARDIS library and see if there was anything in there about regeneration, and regeneration's gone wrong. If he did wake up before then, I would still make sure that such a topic was on my reading list so that I could be prepared for the next time this happens. Practising my healing magic was useless if I couldn't use on the Doctor because I didn't understand his biology or how regeneration impacts his cells for the time after. The scan I'd done told me his cells were in a state of flux, which meant I couldn't even find a way of helping him with what I did know.
"What do you mean, both?" Mum asked shocked.
"He's got two hearts." I answered, not really paying attention as I checked the Doctor's temperature, channelling some magic through my hand to make the reading accurate.
Humans have a natural body temperature of 36.5 to 37.5 Degrees Celsius. Because of my magic, my natural body temperature is normally around 38 or 39 degrees. The Doctor, runs at a higher temperature of around 42 degrees which allows him to be in relatively cold conditions in his normal attire without being bothered. I frowned in concern to find his temperature at 43.2 degrees. Although it was still within his normal bodily rang, it was near the upper limit and I really didn't want his temperature to rise any higher, because then that could be a sign indicating that his internal organs are struggling to cope with the strain.
"Oh, don't be stupid." Mum said in disbelief.
"He has," I rolled my eyes at her before leaving the room with the expectation that everyone would follow me.
Talking around him wasn't going to help the Doctor rest since I knew he was very cautious about who he let his guard down around and I doubted that would have changed with his face. Subconsciously his body would be fighting to wake him up and keep him aware of his surroundings if Mickey and mum remained in the room, and there was even the possibility that he wouldn't rest well with Rose in the room as well.
"How can he go changing his face? Is that a different face or is he a different person?" Rose asked, as I stood in the kitchen. She had tears in her eyes, I noted distantly.
"It's something his species dose when they're about to die." I answered in a tone of forced calm that I had developed over the years for dangerous or emotional situations. I was trying to recall the conversation we had had so long ago while suppressing my emotions until I had the time and silence to actually deal with them. "This isn't the first time the Doctor's changed his face. But he's still the same person, just with a different face and a slightly different surface personality. From what I've seen so far, this Doctor is likely to be more energetic and talk more." Wanting to divert the conversation away from the Doctor I turned to mum. "Where did you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?" I asked her curiously.
"Howard's been staying over." Mum answered with a pleased smile.
"Howard? How did that start?" I asked, encouraging her to continue talking so that I could allow my thoughts to drift and sort themselves out. If this didn't work, I was going to have to shower, which would give me the time I needed to emotionally balance myself temporarily, without my family distracting me with their questions and worry.
"A month or so ago, he starts delivering to the door and I thought that's odd. Next thing you know, it's a bag of oranges." Mum said happily with a smile.
"Harriet's on." Rose suddenly interrupted, grabbing my arm and puling me out of the kitchen. "You'll like this."
"Why's she on the telly?" I asked, crossing my arms and frowning at the TV.
"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Rose and Anna has met her." Mum answered proudly.
"Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones." Rose responded with a smile.
"Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?" a reporter on the TV asked.
"Now, that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree if you don't mind." Harriet responded, as blunt and polite as always. "The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."
"This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle." A man took Harriet's place on the stand.
"The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make its final descent. Photographs of the Martian Landscape should be received by midnight tonight." Another voice took over as the graphics of a space probe appeared on the screen.
Leaving the living room, I ducked into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes before heading to the shower. I put the temperature up as high as I could get it, so the heat and steam would relax my muscles.
While showering I noticed the bruises across my back, the burn on my stomach and what was shaping out to be bruises across my arms and legs from being thrown about in the TARDIs. Once I stopped, that was so going to hurt since my magic didn't have the time to heal the tissue damage while it was focused on supporting my internal organs from the damage that they had taken during the time I had the vortex in my body.
Once my muscles had been forcible relaxed and I was as red as a raspberry, I got changed into the new clothes before returning to the Doctor's side.
I grabbed my laptop and started working. The first thing I did was update myself on everything I had missed while travelling with the Doctor the last couple of months since we stopped off on Earth (nearly six months ago, since it was nearly three months since I left Rose behind). While I worked, I hummed softy under my breath not liking the silence. Once I was caught up, I turned to the files that UNIT, NASA, MI9 and various other government agencies had sent me and started going through them.
When the Doctor's breathing hitched slightly, I shifted so I was leaning against the headboard, the Doctor's head on my lap as I ran my figures through his hair soothingly. It took a few minutes for him to calm down, but once his breathing had evened out, I returned to my work with one hand, the other still stroking through the Doctor's hair soothingly.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Rose and Mickey burst into the flat. "Get off the phone." Rose shouted at mum.
"It's only Bev. She says hello." Mum responded as I closed my laptop, carefully shifting the Doctor, and headed to the living room.
"Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait." Rose said, hanging up and looking around the house in worry. "Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"
"My mate Stan, he'll put us up." Mickey offered.
"What's wrong? What happened?" I demanded to know.
"That's only two streets away." Rose told Mickey before turning to mum and ignoring me. "What about Mo? Where's she living now?"
"I don't know. Peak District." Mum answered with a frown. Something behind her caught my attention. Every year for the last five years we had had the same white tree. Mum nether saw the point in getting a new one. And the tree had been white when I came home, but now stood in its place was a large green Christmas tree.
"Mum. Where'd you get that tree?" I asked, cutting Rose off.
"That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?" Rose added, her voice turning from frustrated to worry.
"I thought it was you." Mum said, looking at Rose confused.
"How can it be me?" Rose asked back just as confused.
"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!"
"No, that wasn't me." Rose answered.
With that one sentenced, I grabbed mum and Rose, pushing them behind me with Mickey.
"Get to the Doctor, now." I ordered them.
"What? Why?" mum asked confused as the tree started lighting itself up and playing Jingle Bells.
"Just do it." I snapped as the tree started spinning.
"You've got to be kidding me." Rose muttered.
"GO!" I shouted, pushing everyone out the room as the tree started moving, cutting through the coffee table.
"We've got to save the Doctor." Rose said, running into the Doctor's room while mum went for the front door. I pushed Mickey after them, now wasn't the time for foolish actions.
"What're you doing?" Mum asked, pausing in the Doctor's door way.
"We can't just leave him." Rose snapped back.
"In." I pushed the lot into my room, slamming the door behind me before pushing the wardrobe across the door with Mickey's help.
"Doctor wake up!" Rose shouted, jostling the Doctor.
With Mickey and mum holding the door, I grabbed the Doctor's leaver jacket and searched through the pockets for the screwdriver.
"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Mum shouted as the thing finally broke through the barricade. I was thrown back by a piece of wood from the wardrobe that hit me square across the chest. This really wasn't my day I mentally grumbled as I ended up landing on the Doctor's lap.
Rose snatched the screwdriver from me, before placing it in the Doctor's hand and whispering something in his ear.
The Doctor immediately sprang up, pointing the screwdriver at the Christmas tree which proceeded to explode. The Doctor paused for a moment, frowning while I sat up.
"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" the Doctor climbed to his feet, I threw him the nightgown from the chair, not wanting him to leave the house without something to keep him warm even if there was nothing that I could do to keep him in the bed.
Outside the flat, the Doctor stood tall and threateningly as he looked down at three Santa robots who were standing on the ground, holding a remote control.
"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked confused.
"Shush!" Rose ordered as the Doctor aimed his screwdriver at them and the Santa's backed away. Then they were beamed away.
"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off." Mickey asked in disbelief.
"Pilot fish." The Doctor answered darkly.
"What?" Rose asked confused.
"They were just pilot fish." The Doctor answered, moments before he doubled over in pain. Acting quickly, I caught him and lowered the Doctor to the ground, keeping a strong grip on him encase he was hit with another surge of pain.
"What's wrong?" Rose asked, kneeling in front of the Doctor in concern. I gritted my teeth slightly, as I shifted the Doctor so he was practically sat on me but so that I could keep my arms around him securely. He would do himself more harm lunging forward in pain.
"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." The Doctor answered, breathing out a breath of golden energy to prove his point. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So, they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of… ow!" the Doctor lurched as a wave of pain hit him again, but I was able to keep a secure hold on him to stop him from going more than a couple of inches forward.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Mum said in worry, joining the huddle around the Doctor.
"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion." The Doctor said through gritted teeth. "I need…"
"What do you need?" mum took the Doctor's slight pause and started asking questions in panicked worry.
"I need…" the Doctor tried again.
"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."
"I need…"
"Painkillers?"
"I need…"
"Do you need aspirin?"
"I need…"
"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"
"I need…"
"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"
"I need…"
"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"
"He/I need you to shut up." The Doctor and I said at the same time in frustration.
"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Mum said to Rose, who smiled back amused.
"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then…" the Doctor paused, pulling his hand from the gown pocket and revealing an apple. "Why is there an apple in my dressing gown?"
"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry." Mum apologised.
"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?" the Doctor asked confused.
"He gets hungry."
"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"
"Sometimes."
"Argh!" the Doctor exclaimed, suddenly trying to curl in on himself but my arms prevented him from doing so. Looking up through panicked, pain filled eyes, the Doctor looked to me desperately. "Brain collapsing. The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something… something… something is coming."
The Doctor suddenly collapsed having reached his limit.
"Mickey, your laptop, search pilot fish. Mum, could you clean up some of that wood. Rose, the glass." I gave my orders, lifting the Doctor up, and ignoring the pain that doing so caused me. Since I didn't have far to walk, I was able to carry the Doctor's weight without help.
With the Doctor resting in bed once more, I grabbed a cool cloth to mop his brow. His temperature had sky rocketed, and his right heart had stopped working. It was starting to really worry me, but I trusted the Doctor was strong enough to pull through. I hesitated about leaving the Doctor alone, but I needed to get some information from Mickey so I headed into the living room where Mum and Rose were tidying up.
"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?" Mickey asked mum, as he booted up his laptop having run to retrieve it from his flat.
"Yeah. Keep a count of it. It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?" mum asked me when she spotted my figure in the doorway.
"He's worse." I answered grimly.
"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes." A reporter was saying on the TV.
"Yes, we are. We're… we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success." Llewellyn, the professional who had taken over from Harriet, answered looking slightly nervous and stressed.
"But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?" the Reporter questioned and I frowned. This wasn't a coincidence. Whatever had picked up on the Doctor's presence would probably come via spaceship, which meant it may have intercepted the space-prob.
"Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it, it was just a blip. Only disappeared for a few seconds. She is fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks."
"Here we go, pilot fish." Mickey announced, turning the screen so everyone could see the animation of a small fish that was swimming around his screen. "Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."
"Do you mean like sharks?" Rose asked in worry.
"Great big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that." Mickey pointed at the screen as the great big shark appeared on the screen.
"Something is coming. How close?" Rose asked in worry.
"There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their daddy." Mickey answered.
"Can you hack into the UNIT or NASA satellites?" I asked. "If something's coming, it will appear on radar."
"I can try." Mickey answered.
"Funny sort of rocks." Mum said frowning at the TV.
"The first photographs" the Reporter said.
"That's not rocks." I told them seriously with a frown as the image began clearing.
"This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning."
The image cleared completely to show a red-eyed alien with a head like a goat's skull. It growled and gurgled at the screen, like it was saying something but I couldn't understand the words.
"Mickey, I need access to UNIT." I said urgently as I grabbed my phone. I had a phone call to make. Heading out the flat, I hit speed dial three. Just before I had returned to the Doctor's side, Jack had sent me a text with his new number on, which I had attached to his old mobile number and placed as the primary.
{Annamae.} Jack greeted me calmly but his tone suggested he was expecting the call.
"Did you see the news?" I questioned, just as calmly. Now wasn't the time for panic. Without the Doctor, I needed to keep my head and find a way of stopping these aliens.
{Yeah, Toshiko, my technician just showed me. I'm putting you on speaker} Jack warned me. {What do you know?}
"They're close, probably hours away from earth's orbit. Mickey's getting access to UNIT, I have no doubt that they are currently having a fit. And the alien said something when it hijacked the signal. I don't know what, I couldn't translate. Would you mind trying to put out a cover story, calm the public?"
{We're on it.} Jack promised. {Did you recognise the species? And why couldn't you translate it?} Jack asked, his voice taking on a note of worry, I had always had a closer connection to the TARDIS, and he knew that meant I found it easier to understand alien languages where it could sometimes take him and Rose a moment to adjust.
"No, it's not one I've come across, nor have I researched them. And Jack…" I hesitated a moment, turning to look back at the flat.
{Annamae, what's wrong?} Jack questioned in concern.
"The Doctor regenerated. And he's currently unconscious. But Rose woke him up, and now his physical condition is declining. Jack, they've already tried to kill him once, and I haven't slept in nearly fifty hours. I'm tired, injured and stressed." I admitted. I trusted Jack to cope with the knowledge that I wasn't coping physically or mentally in a way I didn't trust my family.
{Have you eaten?} Owen asked sharply.
"I had a couple of chips about nine hours ago." I answered reluctantly.
{And before then, what did you eat?} Owen questioned in complete doctor mode.
"Bacon and cheese pasta." I answered reluctantly.
{That was before you went to bed.} Jack said sharply in realisation, recognising the dish as one the Doctor had made before they had turned up in Cardiff. {You haven't eaten in nearly sixty hours and in the intern hours you've fought a Slitheen, been kidnapped by Daleks and presumable wiped out the Dalek race!}
"It's a day that just hasn't ended." I responded, closing my eyes briefly.
{I can't order you to sleep, not with this crisis going on, but I can order you to eat. You will collapse if you don't and you'll be no good to anyone. And when this crisis is over, you will eat a full meal and sleep. Even if I have to come to London myself and make you.} Owen said in his doctor mode. He didn't have great bedside manner but he took the health of those around him very seriously.
"I will." I reassured them with a sigh. "Jack, you picking up anything?"
{Yes.} A women's voice answered, I assumed that this was the Toshiko Jack mentioned. {We've gotten an unknown object approaching Earth's atmosphere. At their current speed they're probably five, maybe six hours out.}
"Right." I sighed. "It will probably stop over London, phone me if you get anything important. Mickey should have access by now."
{Be careful, and good luck. I'm on my way to London.} Jack said.
{They've closed down the train lines} the women warned Jack. {You'll have to drive}.
{I have to be in London anyway so it's easier with the SUV.} Jack answered flippantly. {I'll contact you soon.} Jack promised me before hanging up.
When I entered the flat, Mickey waved me over. "Take a look. I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way."
"Right, five hours. Six at the most before they get here." I sighed. "See what else you can get; I need to know as much about these aliens as I can and about what they want. I doubt they've come just for the Doctor."
"Then what are they coming for?" Rose asked concerned.
"Judging by past experience, I would imagine the human race."
Mickey was able to bring up a clearer picture of four aliens. The alien that they had seen on the TV, was stood front and centre, obviously the leader.
"Have you seen them before?" Mickey asked Rose and me.
"No." Rose answered with a frown, while I leant over Mickey and started typing as the alien leader began speaking in what reminded me of a softer version of Klingon.
"I don't understand what they're saying. The TARDIS translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am." Rose said, frowning when she realised that she couldn't understand what was being said. I didn't respond, simply continuing with the translation software I was making. I needed to know what was said, and I would prefer not having to phone the military.
"So, why isn't it doing it now?" Mickey asked confused.
"I don't know. Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's… he's broken." Rose answered hesitantly.
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"What are you doing?" Mum asked, handing me a cup of tea, I had retreated to the Doctor's room with my own laptop which was faster. Mickey and Rose were sat with me, talking softly, since I couldn't convince them to leave the Doctor be while he rested.
"Translating. I need to know what the aliens are saying." I answered, finally hitting enter and getting a rough translation. It wasn't perfect, given the time constraint and lack of sample, but it was close enough. "People, you are our cattle. You belong to us. To the Sycorax. We own you. We possess your land, your minerals, and your precious stones. You will surrender, or they will die. Sycorax strong, Sycorax might, Sycorax rock."
"Sycorax?" Mickey asked.
"I think that's the name of the species." I answered grimly, grabbing my phone and sending a text to Jack to update him. "They want to rule the planet."
"The military are sending a response to the Sycorax." Mickey suddenly reported having been monitoring the situation on his computer.
"And I imagine they're going to piss them off." I sighed. "There's nothing we can do about that. I need food, I can't think properly." I sighed before heading to the kitchen to grab a quick sandwich. When the sandwich was made, I paused a minute resting my hands against the side, and bowing my head. I spent a few minutes like that, just breathing and trying to keep myself together.
When I returned to the Doctor's room, it was to find mum asleep in the chair next to the Doctor, Mickey stood hugging Rose in the doorway and a voice shouting outside.
"What is wrong with you? Jason? Jason?"
Concerned that there was another problem we had to deal with, I led Rose and Mickey outside.
"Sandra?" Rose asked in concern, when they saw Sandra trying to stop her husband from walking. Him, and various other people from around the estate were walking as though they were in a trance.
"He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking! There's this sort of light thing. Jason? Stop it right now! Please, Jason, just stop."
"Sandra, don't try and stop him" I cut in, moving forward so I was walking in front of Jason, facing him. I hadn't used my magic very much in this world, but without the Doctor I was resorting to the tactics of my old world to cope and deal with the situation.
Carefully, I reached out to the man's mind to find out what sort of control was over him. It was strong, linked to his very being and enlaced with one order. To get to the highest point he could find and to wait at the edge. Moving away from Jason, I did the same to various other civilians who were also making their way to the roof of the building. All of them where under the same orders.
"What do we do?" Mickey asked, looking around at the hypnotised people and their loved ones who were trying to get them away from the roof's edge.
"There's nothing we can do. They've been hypnotised and the only way to break the connection is to face the Sycorax." I told them grimly, turning and heading to the flat while phoning Jack.
{Am I glad to hear from you?} Jack's relieved voice greeted me.
"Where are you?" I asked him.
{I'm on the Seven Bridge. I can't make it across. People have stopped their cars and are standing on the edge. Tosh is telling me it's a third of the population.}
"They're being hypnotised." I informed him. "A third? Is it possible for Tosh to bring up the medical records of some of the people stood at the edge?"
{Hold on,} Jack responded. While I waited, I grabbed my laptop, looked sadly at the Doctor for a moment, praying that he would get better soon, because I wasn't sure how to break the hypnotism. {Okay, we've got a selection of medical records, what are we looking for?}
"Blood group." I answered grimly, not sure if I should be praying that I was wrong or praying that I was right.
{Blood group?} Tosh asked, and I assumed that Jack had patched me through to his com system so that we could talk directly instead of having to relay the information. {A positive. A positive. My god, they're all A positive}.
{What the hell does that mean?} Owen demanded.
"Blood control. Which is good news for us." I answered grimly.
{How is that good news?} A new voice asked, female and confused.
"It means that they can't kill anyone. The human instinct to survive is too strong. They order the people to jump, they'll break free of the control. Which means this is a scare tactic to get the people in control to concede a defeat without resorting to war."
{I'll contact the Queen, let her know} Jack promised.
{You eaten yet?} Owen asked before Jack could hang up.
"I've had a sandwich. But I don't think this will last much longer." I responded before hanging up.
"Annamae!" Rose shouted. I entered the living room to find Rose, Mickey and Jackie watching the Prime Minister make an official announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech. I'm afraid that's been cancelled." Harriet looked to the side, obviously addressing someone in the room. "Did we ask about the royal family?... Oh. They're on the roof. But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God help us."
Rose burst into tears, heading to stand in the doorway of the Doctor's room, while I typed the number on the screen into my phone.
"He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left me. He's left me, mum."
"It's all right. I'm sorry." Mum said, pulling Rose into a hug.
{Doctor?} Harriet's hopeful voice greeted me.
"Not quite. The Sycorax are attempting to enslave the human race. They want the people to submit to their control which is why they're using blood control to control all the A positives. I need you to stall for time, the Doctor and I are working on it." I told her quickly, urgently.
{Can you free the people who are being controlled?} Harrier asked hopefully.
"I don't need to. I need you to be strong Harriet. Stall for time. See you soon." And I hung up, heading to the Doctor's room only to stumble as a shock wave suddenly blew out the windows and very nearly my eardrums.
Running out of the house I looked up to see that the space ship had finally breached the atmosphere. It was a large rock, with its engines burning brightly. The ship was probably as big as Westminster, indicating that it could hold thousands of aliens inside.
"Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We're going." Rose said running into the house, and throwing the quilts off the Doctor.
"Where to?" Mickey asked confused, while I grabbed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to put in my pocket. I also grabbed the nightgown to put the Doctor in to protect him from the cold.
"The TARDIS. It's the only safe place on Earth." Rose answered grimly.
"What're we going to do in there?" Mum asked, confused.
"Hide." Rose answered.
"Is that it?" I asked her, tilting my head as I observed her.
"Just look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move."
I sighed; Rose needed to do something. She was feeling useless and scared. I lifted most of the Doctor's weight, making Rose take his legs so that they could get him down the stairs. Once we made it down to the TARDIS, I let Mickey and Rose take all the Doctor's weight so I could unlock the door.
"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked me. I removed my coat from the back of the pilot's chair and made a pillow for the Doctor.
"No, the Doctor whipped the knowledge from my mind." I answered, adjusting the Doctor to make him as comfortable as possible on the grating.
"So, what do we do? Just sit here?" Mickey asked.
"For now," I agreed.
"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." Mum said, handing me the flask she had brought. I smiled slightly at her in thanks, pouring myself a cup and gently running my fingers through the Doctor's hair while I thought.
"Mmm, the solution to everything." Rose said grumpily.
"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food." Mum ordered before leaving.
"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." Mickey said, putting on a fake posh accent, before he spotted the screen. "How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What did you do to it?"
"I don't know. It sort of tunes itself." Rose answered pushing a couple of buttons on the screen causing a beeping to sound through the TARDIS.
"Maybe it's a distress signal." Mickey suggested, frowning at the screen, not understanding what it said.
"A fat lot of good that's going to do." Rose grumbled.
"Are you going to be a misery all the time?" Mickey demanded.
"Yes." Rose answered bluntly.
"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking." Mickey said, trying to get Rose to smile.
"Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there." Rose said, heading to the door since she didn't like being confined to the one place – especially since the Doctor wasn't conscious and this was the Doctor's space and it just didn't feel right without his chatter.
"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Mickey called.
"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Rose paused at the door with a smile.
"I'm not that brave."
"Oh, I don't know." Rose smiled before she stepped outside. Immediately a scream was heard. I jumped to my feat, knocking the tea over and running after Mickey outside the TARDIS.
Exciting the TARDIS, I found myself in a space ship, surrounded by Sycorax. I closed the TARDIS door behind me to protect the Doctor, and threw the Sycorax who attempted to grab me to the floor.
"Leave them alone." I snapped at the Sycorax who was holding a struggling Rose. A swift punch when he didn't do as ordered, had the Sycorax on the ground, and Harriet grabbed Rose in a hug, which had the consequence of stopping the next Sycorax from going for her. I barely blinked at the fact that Harriet was on board the space ship, but judging by the two skeletons on the floor the negotiations weren't going well. Harriet was still accompanied by a young man who was suited and booted.
"You will not harm them!" I snapped at the leader who was watching me with narrowed eyes. He had removed the bone mask he was wearing before to reveal the tight red skin and prominent bones that made up his face.
"The female warrior, she has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet." The suited man said, translating the alien words.
"But she can't." Harriet denied, looking at me with wide eyes.
"It's okay," I told her softly. "What's your name?" I asked the suited man. Although I was sometimes able to feel the names of other people, I preferred to ask for the names of the people I was acquainted with, especially if we happened to be in danger together, because it generally calmed civilians down to do introductions.
"Alex." He answered hesitantly.
"Right, Alex, pleasure to meet you," I smiled at him before stepping forward, away from the group of humans to face the Sycorax leader.
"Am I addressing the Sycorax leader?" I inquired, standing tall and proud just as I had seen the Doctor do so many times before. Just as I had once done when I faced those in my world. If you didn't project confidence, in yourself or your ideas or even your planet, then that's half the battle lost already. Because I wasn't just trying to appeal to the leader of the Sycorax, I was also appealing to the people of the race who were sat watching. If the consensus was to leave the planet alone, it would be political suicide (and possible actual suicide depending on the culture) to continue trying to take over – a war can't be fought with soldiers or support after all.
"Yes." Alex translated for me.
"You've invaded a class five inhabited planet with the intention of enslaving the inhabiting race. In accordance with article 51 of the Shadow Proclamation, you are in violation of the intergalactic law. From the power invested in the people by the Shadow Proclamation, defenders of all, I command that you leave this planet in piece." I ordered, pulling on the knowledge I had gathered from the Doctor and the TARDIS library.
The Sycorax around the room burst into laughter after a pause.
"You are very, very funny. You foolish human with your stolen words. And now you're going to die." Alex translated for the leader, but I frowned. I had understood the words before Alex spoke.
"Leave her alone!" Harriet shouted.
"Don't touch her!" Mickey added.
"Leave her alone." Rose joined in the shouting, but they were held back by some guards.
The Sycorax leader approached me but I didn't back down and show him the worry I was feeling. Because now I knew that the Doctor was recovering.
"Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion then your world will be gutted." Alex translated the Sycorax's words only a sentence behind, but I was smiling now.
"I don't know the customs of your people." I told the Sycorax, letting my eyes drift from the leader to address the others who were sat, observing the confrontation. "I don't know anything about your home world, your history, your language. But the same lack of knowledge and information works in reverse. You don't know of this planet and her people. You see, Earth had a protector, a guardian angel, a champion, if you will." I was still smiling as I moved away from the Sycorax leader. "And he's been resting, waiting but now, he's himself once more."
"Then where is this champion?" the Sycorax leader demanded.
Alex went to translate, but paused. "Hold on, that's English."
"He's talking English." Harriet agreed.
"No, he's still talking Sycoraxic, but we're hearing English." I answered, turning to face the TARDIS doors. The other's followed my line of sight in time to see the Doctor open the doors.
"Did you miss me?" the Doctor asked brightly with a cheeky smile.
At the face of this new threat, the leader cracked its whip at the Doctor who didn't look remotely worried as he caught the whip and pulled it out of his hand. This was more than just superior strength, since that whip had run with electricity. And yet the Doctor hadn't been affected by it.
"You could have someone's eye out with that." The Doctor scolded in the same way he would a child that was being reckless with its toys.
"How dare!" the Sycorax said in angered disbelief.
The Doctor grabbed the club off another Sycorax that tried attacking him. With the Sycorax disarmed, he broke it across his knee.
"You just can't get the staff." The Doctor quip and I smiled in amusement, pleased that the Doctor's humour was still present, even if slightly different. "Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." The Doctor ordered the Sycorax leader, turning to Mickey, Rose, Alex and Harriet who were still stood together. "Mickey, hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This Is Your Life. Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses. Now, first thing's first." The Doctor turned to me. "Be honest, how do I look?"
"Different." I answered him. "Handsome, younger."
"Am I ginger?" The Doctor asked, dead seriously.
"No, you're brown." I informed him, aware that the Doctor had always wanted to be ginger and he would be disappointed with the answer. Perhaps he would be ginger one day, but it was not in this regeneration cycle.
"I wanted to be ginger." The Doctor whined. "I've never been ginger. And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me." the Doctor pointed at Rose who looked shocked for a moment. "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger."
"I'm sorry. Who is this?" Harriet asked, looking between Rose and I for answers.
"I'm/he's the Doctor." he answered offended, while I answered at the same time with a smile on my face and pride in my voice.
"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?" Harriet asked confused.
"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything." The Doctor answered, his hands in his pockets.
"But you can't be." Harriet denied softly.
"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being on her own." The Doctor said seriously.
"Oh, my God." Harriet breathed in shock, acknowledging that he was the same man because there was no other way that he could have known that.
"Did you win the election?" The Doctor asked excitedly.
"Landslide majority." Harriet admitted proudly.
"If I might interrupt." The Sycorax said, angrily drawing everyone's attention.
"Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow." The Doctor turned to face the Sycorax with a smile.
"Who exactly are you?" The Sycorax demanded.
"Well, that's the question." the Doctor answered, smiling over at me.
"I demand to know who you are!" the Sycorax shouted.
"I don't know!" the Doctor shouted back, in a deep throaty voice, before snapping back to his normal voice. "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" he winked over at me with a click of his tongue and I smiled back indulgently. I was aware that they should probably talk about their kiss at some point but I was finding this new flirty Doctor quite interesting. "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed? Left-handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob."
The Doctor suddenly spotted a button by the leader's chair and he ran up to it. "And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm?"
"Blood. Blood control." I informed the Doctor as he opened the base of the pillar under the button.
"Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron." The Doctor agreed, putting his finger in the blood and licking it. "Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this." The Doctor slammed the button, making Rose and Harriet shout out in alarm.
"You killed them!" Alex accused in shock.
"What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?" The Doctor questioned the Sycorax confidently.
"We allow them to live." The Sycorax's said grudgingly.
"Allow? You've no choice. I mean, that's all that blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong." The Doctor explained.
"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force." The Sycorax said in response, not liking how much control he had lost with the entrance of this man.
"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, off course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than…
"Lion King." I coughed, interrupting the quote before the Doctor could get carried away.
"Yes, right sorry. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!" the Doctor shouted at the Sycorax in frustration.
"Or what?" the Sycorax demanded.
"Or…" the Doctor ran forward, stealing a sword and standing proudly in front of the TARDIS. "I challenge you."
There was laughter from around them again.
"Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?" the Doctor questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"You stand as this world's champion." The Sycorax questioned.
"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." The Doctor took off the dressing gown and tossed it to Rose. I smiled, pleased that the Doctor could still identify who he was as he was finding his feet. "So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"
The insult on the Sycorax's owner and pride provoked him into drawing his sword and facing the Doctor, the both of them kneeling.
"For the planet?"
"For the planet." The Doctor agreed.
They stand together on some unknown signal and ran at each other to begin their fight. After a few seconds the Sycorax's superior strength allowed him to throw the Doctor to the side. Although the Sycorax laughed, the Doctor straightened himself up and began the fight again.
"Look out!" Rose shouted when the Sycorax swung its sword at the Doctor who had been thrown to the floor.
"Oh, yeah, that helped. Wouldn't have thought have that otherwise, thanks." The Doctor said sarcastically, as he scrambled to his feet and blocked the next attack. The Doctor led the fight up the stairs, the rest of us following behind him in worry. Only three of the Sycorax guards came with us. We all stood as witness.
"Bit of fresh air?" the Doctor hit a button and the door behind him opened, leading them to a platform outside the spaceship.
They continued their fight. The Doctor was holding his own, but only just. Suddenly, the Sycorax leader managed to catch the Doctor on the nose with the hilt of his sword. The Doctor groaned in pain and stumbled back. Rose went to go forward, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her. I had been in enough duels in my previous life to know that was a bad idea.
"Stay back!" the Doctor shouted, holding his arm out to us. "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet."
He wipes his nose, and he and the Sycorax leader run towards each other, clashing swords. They both grimace with the effort, and the Doctor was knocked backwards to the ground. Taking advantage, the Sycorax leader slashes the Doctor's wrist, succeeding in chopping his hand off. It fell from the side of the spaceship, along with the sword.
"Doctor," I shouted in stunned worry. The Doctor watched his hand and sword drop to London far below, his face expressing disbelief and anger. He turned back to the Sycorax leader and climbed to his feet.
"You cut my hand off." He stated, staring at the Sycorax leader. I relaxed slightly as I realised that there wasn't a pool of blood and the Doctor seemed to be taking it calmly.
"YAH! Sycorax!" The leader yelled, triumphantly.
"And now I know what sort of man I am." The Doctor said seriously, making the Sycorax leader turn back to him. "I'm, lucky. 'Cos quite by chance… I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy… to do this." He held up his stump, which was surrounded by the same golden energy he had been releasing for the last twelve hours as the Doctor regrew his hand.
"Witchcraft." The leader hissed.
"Time Lord." The Doctor corrected as I turned around, grabbing a sword from one of the guards.
"Doctor!" I shouted, tossing him the sword. He caught it with his knew hand and span it around, to test the weight.
"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?" he asked me happily.
"Always." I responded with a smile.
The Doctor turned back to the Sycorax leader, refocusing the attention.
"Wanna know the best bit? This new hand… it's a fightin' hand!" he said in a mock Texan accent.
The Doctor ran at the Sycorax leader, and the fight commenced once more. They clashed swords for a few more moments, then the Doctor caught the hilt of the Sycorax's sword and disarmed him before jabbing him hard in the stomach with the handle of his sword. The Sycorax groans and stumbled back. The Doctor does the same twice more, causing the Sycorax Leader to fall to the ground. The Doctor pointed his sword at his throat
"I win." The Doctor declared with a dark expression.
"Then kill me." The leader said with difficulty.
"I'll spare your life if you take this champion's command: leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?" the Doctor asked him.
"Yes." The Sycorax agreed.
The Doctor grew more serious and angry then he had been since waking. It reminded me of some of the anger that he had as the old Doctor. "Swear on the blood of your species."
"I swear." He laboured.
"There we are, then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow." The Doctor said lightly, lifting his sword and resting it on his shoulder.
"Bravo!" Harriet cheered as the Doctor imbedded the sword into the ground on the way towards them.
"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose cheered, helping the Doctor put his gowned on. I didn't say anything, I simple stood on my tip toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek, congratulating him in the same way I had thanked him the first time we met.
"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams." The Doctor said with a smile, offering me his arm as had become normal for them. I didn't hesitate for a moment; I simply looped my hand through the crook of his elbow with a smile. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" the Doctor pulled his left hand from his pocket to reveal a satsuma. "A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mothers. He does like his snacks, doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"
From behind them, there was a roar as the Sycorax charged at the Doctor's back. The Doctor's smile faded and became serious. He threw the satsuma at a control on the wall, making the floor below the Sycorax open up and sending him to his death.
"No second chances. I'm that sort of a man," the Doctor said grimly.
They were stood before the TARDIS, and the Doctor turned to address the Sycorax who had been waiting for the results of the fight.
"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended." He declared strongly before turning to enter the TARDIS.
=^^= = ' . ' = =^^= = ' . ' =
=^^= = ' . ' = =^^= = ' . ' =
The Doctor returned the TARDIS to Earth. Harriet and Alex stepped out, their eyes wide in shock, but considering everything they had been through, they weren't as affected as they would have been before that day.
"Where are we?" Rose asked looking around the abandoned road.
"We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!" Mickey cheered.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." The Doctor held up his free hand to prevent anyone from celebrating.
I was leaning quite heavily on the Doctor, with the majority of the danger gone, the lack of sleep and food was starting to catch up with me. That combined with the fact that my body had taken a lot of damaged from the Daleks, the Vortex and then the normal bruises and impacts I had taken over the last few days meant I was lucky to still be standing. My magic had been the only thing keeping me going for quite some time now and I knew that even that wouldn't last for much longer. If I pushed it, I could probably get another hour from my magic before I would have to pull it back or risk permanent damage to my muscles and nerves.
The spaceship flew away.
"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey cheered.
"Yeah! Don't come back!" Rose added, shouting at the sky.
"It is defended!" Mickey tagged on as he and Rose hugged. Rose then turned and hug a very surprised Alex.
"My Doctor." Harriet said with a smile.
"Prime Minister." The Doctor returned with a smile of his own.
"Absolutely the same man. Are there many more out there?" Harriet asked, looking to the sky to indicate aliens in general.
"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet is so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it." the Doctor warned, just as mum came around the corner and spotted Rose.
"Rose!" Mum shouted.
"Mum!" Rose said, hugging her. The Doctor and I walked over with a smile.
"Oh, talking of trouble." The Doctor greeted with a smile.
"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Anna! Oh." Mum hugged me as well, pulling me away from the Doctor.
"You did it too! It was the tea. It healed him." I told her, pulling back from the hug and stepping back to the Doctor's side and retaking his arm. I doubted I would remain standing without that support.
"That was all I needed, a cup of tea." The Doctor said with a smile, putting his free hand in his pocket as he shot me a concerned look out the corner of his eye. However, he didn't draw attention to me since he knew I didn't like my family worrying about me.
"I said so." Mum said happily, before turning to Rose. "Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor? Oh, my God, it's the bleeding Prime Minister!" Mum spotted said women stood back with Alex.
"Come here, you." The Doctor said, pulling mum into a hug with his free arm. This resulted in a group hug.
"Are you better?" Mum asked when we pulled back.
"I am, yeah." The Doctor nodded.
"You left me." mum accused us.
"I'm sorry." Rose apologised.
"I had all the food." Mum said.
Suddenly, I gasped in pain, fulling to my knees as five green beams shot up into the sky and destroyed the Sycorax's ship. With my mind and body having taken such a beating, I couldn't cope with the sudden influx of violent deaths. The Doctor's strong arm's wrapped around my waist, and pulled me close to his chest.
"Is she okay?" mum asked in worry.
"She'll be fine." The Doctor reassured, lifting me up into his arms have recognised what had probably caused me to collapse. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, focusing on the Doctor's unique heartbeat and trying to block out the pain. To help me with this the Doctor extended his mind to enshroud my own. This act was easier in his knew body but still not as easy as it had been before the war.
"What is that? What's happening?" Rose asked, looking up to the smoke which was curling in the air.
"That was murder." The Doctor turned to Harriet angrily, especially since her actions had not only killed off part of a race, but had also injured Annamae who had been through a lot in a short amount of time with protecting him and the human race.
"That was defence." Harriet responded strongly. "It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."
"But they were leaving." The Doctor reprimanded her, frustrated with Harriet's lack of empathy and understanding.
"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves."
"Britain's Golden Age." The Doctor said condescendingly.
"It comes with a price."
"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race." The Doctor said bitterly.
"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf." Harriet responded.
"And do you honestly think the human race would have agreed?" I demanded, opening my eyes and trying to gather some strength but I knew my voice was wavering and I was struggling to keep my eyes open let alone support my own head. "They were leaving. If they had been the German soldiers of World War II, would you have killed them all? The Sycorax were soldiers, following the orders of their command. And they deserved to have the chance to return to their home, to their families and live their lives."
"And I should have stopped you." The Doctor added when Harriet couldn't respond to what I was saying. Alex was stood to the side, watching what was happening with guilty eyes.
"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?" Harriet demanded.
"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word." The Doctor said darkly.
"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that." Harriet said with a cynical smile.
"No, you're right. Not a single word, just six." The Doctor agreed, but the darkness in his voice didn't leave.
"I don't think so."
"Six words."
"Stop it!" Harriet demanded angrily.
"Six." The Doctor said before wondering over to Alex and whispering in his ear. "Don't you think she looks tired?" he then wondered back to the TARDIS, needing to do a medical scan on Annamae and make sure she was okay.
"Doctor! Doctor, what did you? What was that? What did he say? What did you say, Doctor? Doctor!" Harriet shouted after us. The Doctor ignored her.