Wormholes and a dead planet

by Salexhyraamilorquajyno

The Doctor and Rose are contacted by an old friend to investigate disturbing reports.

Jenny stayed with the Doctor and Rose for about ten years while the Doctor taught both women how to be Time Ladies. During that time they found a room the TARDIS had hidden from them that had baby TARDIS's growing. This excited Jenny that one day she'd be able to have her own TARDIS.

For the last five years, it had only been the Doctor and Rose so they decided to take an extended honeymoon. Still showing up for dinner with the rest of the family every Sunday but they didn't need to know how long they spent between visits.

It was during one of their down times on the TARDIS, that Rose received a call from Sarah Jane. "Hey, Sarah," Rose greeted.

"Hi Rose," Sarah greeted. "Are you and the Doctor busy at the moment?"

Rose sat up straighter which got the Doctors attention as he listened in. "What's up?"

Sarah sighed. "It's just that Luke's got something happening at his school, Martha and Mickey are still in New York, packing up and Jack has his own problems at the moment."

Rose grinned as they got up and headed for the console room. "Just tell us, we don't mind helping out," she assured her.

They could hear the smile in her voice as she continued. "Mr Smith has picked up a strange signal coming from the middle of London, I thought you'd be able to check it out for us."

"Don't worry, Sarah," Rose assured her. "We'll handle it for you. Send us the information."

Sarah sighed in relief. "Thanks so much," she agreed as she hung up. A moment later and the Doctor had sent the TARDIS to the coordinates before heading to his work room. He walked out a moment later with one of his gadgets in his hand.

"What's that for?" Rose questioned.

"It picks up any anomaly's," the Doctor replied as he led them out the door.

They had been walking around for a few hours and Rose's feet were starting to hurt. She finally noticed the decorations. "Oh, it's Easter," she realised. "Huh, it's been years since I bothered with Easter, it tends to be a forgotten holiday."

The Doctor bounced up to a chocolate shop and stared at a large egg. "Oh, I'd like that."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "It's chocolate, it's bad for you."

"But Rooose," the Doctor whined. "Where Time Lords, nothings bad for us."

Rose sighed. "Fine," she agreed. "But only if we could find a place to rest for a bit. I may be a Time Lady but new boots still hurt."

The Doctor grinned as he followed Rose into the shop where she paid for his egg. It was as they walked out of the shop that the Doctor noticed the bus just pulling up. "Tell ya what, how about taking the bus around town for a bit?"

Rose noticed the bus as well and shrugged. "Sure why not."

They jumped on the bus just as it was about to pull away. "You're just in time," the bus driver told them as Rose paid again then followed the Doctor down the aisle.

The Doctor found a seat behind a dark haired woman and Rose sat next to him. "Hello, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor greeted. "And this is my wife, Rose. Happy Easter!" He held up what was left of his egg but the woman turned away and ignored him.

Rose noticed the worried looks, the woman was throwing out the window so looked out herself to see cop cars lining the street. She sent a suspicious look back to the woman while the Doctor continued to eat his Easter egg. The woman just stared back at Rose.

"Funny thing is, I don't often do Easter," the Doctor continued, oblivious to the exchange between the two women. "We can never find it, it's always at a different time. Although I remember the original," he leaned closer to them. "Between you and me, what really happened was. . ." The Doctor broke off as a beeping noise came from his pockets. "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me please Rose, and don't eat it all," the Doctor fished his gadget out of his pocket. "Actually, go on, have it, finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he shook the device as it lit up. "Oh, we've got excitation! Rose, we have excitation. I'm picking up something very strange."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I know the feeling," she snarked as she noticed the police cars now trailing the bus.

"Rhondium particles, that's what I'm looking for," the Doctor continued on as he picked up on what Rose had noticed about the woman. "This thing detects them," the Doctor explained as he reminded Rose that they are on a very important mission as he tapped a piece of the gadget. "The little dish should go round, that little dish there," the Doctor pouted. "Rose, why isn't it going round?"

The woman sighed. "Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy," the woman snarked. "Can you detect me one of those?"

Another woman on the bus, caught Rose's attention. "Lou," the woman called. "Can you hear them?"

Lou turned to her. "Hear what, sweetheart?"

"The voices," she insisted. "So many voices, calling to us. Calling so far."

The Doctor snapped Roses attention back to him when he exclaimed. "Oh, the little dish is going round!"

"Fascinating," the woman in front snarked.

"And round, whoa," the Doctor stood up as the gadget sparked.

"Excuse me," the woman across from them complained. "Do you mind?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "Sorry, that was my little dish," he didn't sound sorry at all."

"Can't you turn that thing off?" The woman in front of them complained.

The Doctor pointed at her. "What was your name"

"Christina," she told him.

"Christina, hold on tight," the Doctor warned. "Everyone, hold on!" The Doctor yelled out as he grabbed Rose and held on.

The bus started shaking as a blue light filled the interior. The woman behind them started shouting. "The voices! Oh, the voices, they're screaming!"

"What's going on?" Another passenger questioned as a bright light filled the bus.

The Doctor made sure that the bus had come to a complete stop before getting up and checking Rose over. "I'm fine, love," Rose assured him as they realised that it was now daylight outside.

The Doctor moved to the front of the bus and opened the doors as he stepped out. "End of the line," the Doctor stated as Rose and Christina followed him. "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton," they looked around but all they could see was desert.

"We should get out!" Lou insisted. "Even if that's the Sahara, we can't stay on board this thing."

His partner shook her head. "I'm not going out there! They're still calling, all around us. The voices are crying."

Lou took her hand. "What voices, sweetheart?"

She turned to look at him. "The Dead, we're surrounded by the Dead."

While the Doctor checked to see if the sand was sand, the lady that complained about the Doctor glanced at the sky. "That's impossible," she insisted. "There are three suns, three of them!"

Another dark skinned man pointed. "Like when all those planets were up in the sky!"

"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" Another passenger pointed out.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!" The dark skinned man complained.

The driver looked at the bus. "It's still intact, though! Not as bad as it looks," the driver assured them. "The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!"

"Can you still drive it?" The complaing woman questioned.

The driver looked to the wheels. "Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never gonna budge."

Christina pulled out a pair of sunglasses from her bag. "Ready for every emergency."

Rose did not like the way that Christina was looking at the Doctor. She stepped up next to him and pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket. "Me too!" She grinned.

The Doctor grinned at Rose as he used his sonic on his glasses to tint the lens. "Me three!"

Christina seemed to ignore Rose. "And what's your name?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced as he realised why Rose felt annoyed. He pulled Rose closer to himself. "And this is my WIFE, Rose," he made sure to emphasise the wife part.

Christina still seemed determined to ignore Rose as the Doctor went back to examining the sand. "Name, not rank," she ordered.

"The Doctor," he stated distractingly.

"Surname?" Christina persisted.

Rose stood in front of the Doctor with her arms folded, to make sure she had Christina's attention. "His names the Doctor, got a problem with that?"

Christina mimicked her stance. "That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."

The Doctor got their attention with his next remark. "Funny sort of sand, this," he commented. "There's a trace of something else," he tasted a bit of sand before trying to spit it out again. "Ack, eurgh. Blah, that's not good," Rose pulled out a bottle of water from his pocket and handed it to him. He swirled the water around in his mouth before spitting it out again and handing the bottle back to Rose who also took a sip before sticking it back into his pocket.

Christina rolled her eyes. "Well, it wouldn't be, it's sand," she snarked.

"No, it tastes like. . ." The Doctor broke off as he realised what it tasted like. "Never mind," he dismissed as he stood back up.

Christina frowned at him. "What is it, what's wrong?"

Another passenger interrupted them as he pointed his finger at the Doctor. "Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate! You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me," he complained. "If you must know, we were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby," the Doctor shrugged.

"But Doctor," Rose pointed out. "The info we had suggested it was a tiny hole, remember?"

The Doctors face brightened. "Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it," the Doctor looked around again.

"But then where is it?" The driver questioned. "There's nothing, there's just sand!"

The Doctor nodded his head as he moved to the back of the bus. "All right, you want proof? We drove through this," he threw sand into thin air and a vortex shape appeared.

"And that's?" Christina questioned.

"A door!" Rose answered for the Doctor as she stood next to him. "A door in space."

The driver walked closer to them. "So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" He realised. "We can get to London through there?"

The Doctor shook his head. "The bus came through, but we can't," the Doctor denied.

The driver apparently didn't listen to him. "Well, then what are we waiting for?" The driver demanded as he marched towards the vortex.

The Doctor tried to stop him. "No,no, no, don't."

"I'm going home, mate!" The driver decleared.

The Doctor lunged for him but it was too late. "I said don't!"

The bus driver turned to a skeleton right before their eyes which panicked the other passengers.

"He was a skeleton, man!" The man that accused the Doctor yelled out. "He was bones, just bones!" The man sat in the sand.

Rose turned to the Doctor. "I'll call Jack," she suggested. "See if he could get UNIT involved with protecting the other end," the Doctor nodded his head as Rose pulled out her phone and called.

"What's up gorgeous," Jack greeted with a grin.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Don't start Jack," he complained.

Jack laughed. "What can I do for you?"

"We're in a bit of a bind," Rose explained what had happened. "Can you get UNIT involved, make sure they protect the other end.

"Funnily enough, I'm just on my way to do just that," Jack replied. "Talk to you later, sweetheart."

Christina had been listening in to their conversation and now she marched upto them. "We're on a different planet," she demanded. "How could you possibly get a signal."

Rose just smirked at her. "Frequent flyer privileges," Rose snarked back.

Before the women could get into it he thought he better bring them back to the topic at hand. "It was the bus," he pointed out. "Look at the damage, that was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal."

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina pointed out.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" Another male passenger spoke up. "Safest place is inside a car, cause the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school," he explained.

Christina turned back to the Doctor. "But if we can only travel back inside the bus. . ." She broke off. "A Faraday cage needs to be closed," she pointed to the bus again. "That thing's been ripped wide open."

The Doctor shrugged. "Slightly different dynamics with a wormhole," he explained. "There's enough metal to make it work, I think, I hope."

"Then we have to drive five tonnes of bus, which is currently buried in the sand," Christina pointed out. "And we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "I'd say nine and a half tonners, but the point still stands, yes."

Christina smiled suddenly. "Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader."

The Doctor sighed. "Yes, at last, thank you, so. . ." The Doctor started, only to be interrupted by Christina.

"Well, thank goodness you've got me!" Christina addressed all the passengers. "Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!"

"Is it safe in there?" A passenger questioned.

Christina sighed as she addressed him. "I don't think anything's safe any more, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower," she pointed out. "Come on! All of you, right now!" She noticed the Doctor and Rose not moving. "And you two."

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor snarked as he held Roses waist and walked with her towards the bus.

Christina walked up to the passenger sitting in the sand. "Up! Come on!" Once everyone was on board she addressed them again. "Point five, the crucial thing is, do not panic," she pointed out. "Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels, we don't need to add any more. Point six, Team identification. Names," she pointed to herself. "I'm Christina, this man is apparently 'the Doctor'."

"Hello," the Doctor waved as he pulled Rose in front of himself. "And this is my ,WIFE, Rose," he emphasised again for Christina's benefit since she didn't seem to be getting the message.

Christina huffed as she pointed to young light skinned male next to her. "And you?"

"Nathan," he waved.

"I'm Barclay," the dark skinned man introduced.

"Angela," the complaining woman introduced. "Angela Whittaker."

"My name's Louis," a dark skinned man at the back introduced. "Everyone calls me Lou, and this is Carmen," he pointed out his wife next to him.

Christina grinned at them all. "Excellent, memorise those names. There might be a test," Rose rolled her eyes at Christina trying to prove that she was in charge. The Doctor tried to hold his laugh in at that thought when he noticed Christina giving them dirty looks before carrying on. "Point seven, assessment and application of knowledge," she addressed the Doctor this time. "Over to you, the Doctor."

The Doctor's brow rose. "I thought you were in charge," he pointed out.

"I am," Christina agreed. "And a good leader utilises her strength. You seem to be the brainbox, so, start boxing."

The Doctor waved her off as he gestured to Rose. "How about I let Rose talk," he wanted to show everyone that Rose was more than just a pretty face.

Christina didn't seem to happy about that as Rose stood up. "So, what we came through is called a wormhole," Rose explained as she shrugged. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, it was just an accident."

"No, it wasn't," Carmen called out. "That thing, the doorway. Someone made it for a reason."

"How do you know?" The Doctor questioned her.

Lou took up a defensive position next to her. "She's got a gift," he insisted. "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week."

Christina scoffed. "You don't look like millionaires," she snarked.

Rose glared at her before urging them to continue. "No, but we win ten pounds, every week, twice a week, ten pounds," Lou finished. "Don't tell me that's not a gift!"

Rose sat near Carmen and sent her a warm smile to relax her so the Doctor could test her. "Tell me, Carmen," the Doctor stated as he put his hand behind his back so the others can see them but not Carmen. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," she stated without hesitation. "Four," she changed as the Doctor changed the fingers.

The Doctor grinned warmly at her. "Very good! Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun," he explained for the others. "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me. What's out there?"

"Something. . ." She hesitated so Rose grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze to encourage her. "Something is coming, riding on the wind and shining."

"What is it?" The Doctor pushed.

Carmen looked everyone in the eye before turning back to the Doctor. "Death, death is coming."

Angela started crying. "We're gonna die!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, I knew it, man, I said so," Barclay insisted.

"We can't die out here," Nathan insisted. "No-one's gonna find us."

Christina sighed. "This isn't exactly helping," she complained.

Barclay pointed to her. "You can shut up too, we're not your soldiers."

"It's not doing any good," Christina insisted.

Lou yelled out. "Your upsetting her, be quiet!"

"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?" Angela wailed.

"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina yelled but everyone ignored her.

The Doctor stood up. "All right now, stop it, everyone, stop it!" He insisted but they were reaching panic mode.

The Doctor covered his ears as Rose let out a piercing whistle that shut everyone up. "That's enough, no point in panicking, now listen to the Doctor."

The Doctor decided to start with Angela first since she was still crying. "Angela, look at me," he urged her. "Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me," he urged as she lifted her eyes to look at him. "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"

Angela shook her head. "Doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Just answer the question," the Doctor encouraged.

Angela shrugged. "Just home."

The Doctor grinned. "And what's home?"

"Me and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18," Angela explained as she calmed down.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Suzanne, good," he pointed at Barclay. "What about you?"

Barclay shrugged. "Dunno, going round Tina's."

The Doctor wiggled his eyebrows. "Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

Barclay grinned back. "Not yet."

The Doctor chuckled. "Good boy," he praised before he moved on. "What about you, Nathan?"

Nathan looked down as he shrugged. "Bit strapped for cash, I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in, watch TV."

The Doctor grinned. "Brilliant, and you two?" He moved onto Lou and Carmen.

Lou shrugged. "I was going to cook," he explained.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen added. "Then I clear up."

"What's for tea?" The Doctor questioned.

"Chops," Lou answered. "Nice couple of chops and gravy, nothing special."

The Doctor still grinned at him. "Oh, that's special, Lou," he assured him. "That is so special, chops and gravy," then he moved to the last member. "What about you, Christina?"

Christina shrugged. "I was going so far away," she sighed.

The Doctor grinned at them all. "Far away, chops and gravy, watching TV, Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina."

"Hey!" Barclay protested.

The Doctor ignored him. "Just think of them," he insisted. "Cause that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people, hold on to that," he insisted. "Cause we're gonna get there. I promise," the Doctor took Rose's hand and kissed it. "We're gonna get you home."

The Doctor directed Nathan and Barclay to find metal sheets they could lay under neath the wheels so they could move the bus.

"Here we go!" Barclay told him as they walked up to the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned at them. "That's my boys!" He praised. "We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!"

"Let some air out of the tyres, just a little bit," Christina added on. "Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip," she explained.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Oh, that's good!" He agreed.

Christina grinned? "Holidays in the Kalahari."

Rose rolled her eyes and sighed as she noticed something on the horizon.

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay pointed out.

"Then start digging," Christina countered.

Barclay looked around himself. "With what?"

Christina pulled a spade out of her bag. "With this," she handed it to him.

The Doctor looked at her in suspicion. "Got anything else in there?"

Christina pulled out a small axe. "Try that, might help with the seats," she explained as she handed it to Nathan.

"Thanks!" Nathan grinned as he entered the bus.

Angela's voice rang out. "I can't find the keys," she explained.

The Doctor ran to the front of the bus. "Buses don't have keys," he explained. "There's a master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop, yeah?"

"Right, hold on, oh, I've got it," Angela informed him. "Here we go, hold tight, ding ding!"

The Doctor grimaced as the engine made a groaning sound. "Oh, that doesn't sound too good," the Doctor and Christina opened the hood of the bus and smoke poured out. "Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse? Sand," he complained. "Tiny little grains of sand, the engine's clogged up."

Christina addressed the rest of the passengers. "Anyone know mechanics?"

Barclay put his hand up. "Me! I did a two-week NVQ at the garage," he explained. "Never finished it, but. . ."

The Doctor interrupted him. "Off you go then, try stripping the air filter, fast as you can," he explained as he finally realised that Rose had noticed something. "Back in two ticks," the Doctor walked towards Rose who was staring into the distance.

"Wait a minute!" Christina complained. "You're the man with all the answers, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and they started walking towards what Rose had noticed. The Doctor glanced to Christina's backpack then back to her. "Easier if you left that backpack behind."

Christina scoffed. "Where I go, it goes," she insisted.

The Doctor raised his brow. "A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

Christina scoffed again. "You can talk," she countered.

The Doctor shrugged. "Let's just say we're two equal mysteries," he insisted.

Christina grinned flirtatiously. "We make quite a couple."

The Doctor pulled Rose closer. "We don't make any sort of couple, thank you very much," he spat out as he walked next to Rose and laced their fingers together.

Christina watched them but they seemed to be just walking and staring into the distance. She sighed. "Tell me," she started. "If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it?" The couple continued to ignore her so she grabbed the Doctors arm to get him to look at her but Rose's hand flashed out and grabbed her wrist, hurting it and she could swear that she heard a growl coming from the woman. The moment Christina let go of the Doctors arm and backed up, Rose let her wrist go. "Has someone done this on purpose?" Christina continued on, refusing to be intimidated.

The Doctor shrugged as he pulled Rose into his arms as they walked to sooth her. "I don't know," he answered. "But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet, right now."

"And do you think we can?" Christina questioned.

The Doctor finally turned to look at her. "I live in hope."

Christina sighed. "That must be nice. It's Christina de Souza, to be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

The Doctor nodded his head. "Ooh, that's handy. Cause wer're a Lord and Lady."

Christina looked shocked. "Seriously? The Lord and Lady of where?"

"It's quite a big estate," the Doctor pointed out.

Christina stared at them in confusion. "No, but there's something more about the two of you," she realised they wouldn't say more so she changed the subject. "That device you were carrying, and the wormhole, like you knew. And the way the two of you stride around this place, like. . . Like? Like you're not quite. . ." She shook her head. "Anyway! Come on!"

"Allons-y!" The Doctor agreed.

Christina grinned. "Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar."

Rose glared at her. "Ne pas insister," Rose spat out.

The Doctor suddenly noticed something on the horizon. "Ah, don't like the look of that," he pointed out.

Christina scoffed. "Storm clouds, must be hundreds of miles away."

"But getting closer," the Doctor warned them.

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds," Christina pointed out.

Rose scoffed. "It's not a sand storm," she pointed out.

"What makes you say that?" Christina challenged.

The Doctor had already seen what Rose had. "It's shining," the Doctor realised as he grabbed Rose's hand and ran back to the bus.

"Closer and closer and closer," Carmen insisted as the Doctor ran onto the bus.

"Rose," the Doctor called out.

"I'm already on it," she assured him as she rang Jack.

Jack answered in his usually way. "Hello, gorgeous."

Rose skipped the niceties. "Not now, Jack are you at the wormhole?"

Jack suddenly turned serious. "Yeah, why?"

"Get to the UNIT person in charge, now!" Rose insisted.

Jack managed to get close to the commanding officer but ended up being stopped by some UNIT grunts so he yelled out. "Urgent call, Captain."

The Captain turned to look at Jack. "This is not something for Torchwood," she dismissed.

"But the Doctor and Rose are calling," Jack yelled out which got the Captains attention.

"Doctor," she breathed before ordering her soldiers to let him go and taking the phone from him.

Rose handed the phone to the Doctor as she noticed something again on the horizon.

"This is Captain Erisa Magambo," the Captain stated. "Might I say, sir, it's an honour," she saluted.

The Doctor stared at the phone suspisciously. "Did you just salute?"

"No," she hesitated to answer.

The Doctor sighed. "Erisa, it's about the bus," the Doctor informed her. "Since Jack was at the tunnel, and he gave you his phone I'm guessing you're at the tunnel, yeah?"

"And where are you?" Erisa questioned.

The Doctor looked around. "Rose and I are on the bus, but apart from that, not a clue, except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous."

"A body came through here," she pointed out. "Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

The Doctor shook his head as he took Rose's hand. "No, but we're stuck, we haven't got the Tardis, and I need to analyse that wormhole."

"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr Malcolm Taylor," Erisa informed him. "Just the man you need, he's a genius."

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, is he? We'll see about that," the Doctor suggested.

Erisa handed the phone over to Dr Malcolm. "It's the Doctor," she informed him.

Malcolm shook his head. "No, I'm all right now, thanks," he denied. "It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice."

Rose tried to cover her laugh as she listened to their conversation.

Erisa sighed in exasperation. "It's THE Doctor," she emphasised.

Malcolm blinked a few times in shock before statturing. "Do you mean the Doctor-Doctor?"

Erisa rolled her eyes. "I know, we all want to meet him one day but we all know what that day will bring."

Rose was still trying to contain her laughter and it looked like the Doctor was as well. "I can hear everything you're saying," he pointed out.

Malcolm took the phone with trembling hands. "Hello, Doctor? Oh, my goodness," he seemed to squel like a fan girl.

"Yes, I am," the Doctor agreed. "Hello, Malcolm!"

Malcolm stared at the phone in shock. "The Doctor! Cor blimey," Malcolm exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"

"Really?" The Doctors questioned. "What was your favourite, the giant robot?"

Malcolm shook his head. "No, but I would like to talk to Rose, find out how she puts up with you cause I can't seem to get anyone too, and I'm not as smart as you."

Rose leaned closer. "Don't worry, Malcolm, you'll find the right girl one day," Rose assured him.

Malcolm was back to gapping at the phone. "I just talk to Rose Tyler," he gasped out.

Erisa grew irritated. "What about the wormhole?" She pointed out.

The Doctor shook his head. "Yes, let's sort out that wormhole. Excuse me," the Doctor stated as he left the bus and walked towards the wormhole.

"On speakerphone, please," Erisa insisted. "I don't want anyone keeping secrets."

"Malcolm, something's not making sense here," the Doctor stated bluntly. "I've got a storm and a wormhole, I can't help thinking there's a connection. I need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing."

Malcolm nodded his head as he explained. "I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator, I thought it could measure the energy signature."

The Doctor sighed. "No, that'll never work," he insisted.

"Listen It's quite extraordinary, though!" Malcolm countered. "I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."

The Doctors look turned to confusion. "Fifteen what?"

"Fifteen Malcolms," Malcolm explained. "It's my own little term," he explained. "A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."

"You named a unit of measurement after yourself?" The Doctor stated.

Malcolm shrugged. "It didn't do Mr Watt any harm," he pointed out.

Rose grinned as she leaned towards the phone. "That's right Malcolm, you tell em."

The Doctor mock glared at her as he heard Malcolm exclaiming. "Rose Tyler likes my work," before getting back to buisness. "Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?" The Doctor questioned, Rose nudged him to be nice.

Malcolm scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."

"Right," the Doctor stated in shock before shaking himself out of it. "Fine, but before I die of old age, which in my case would be quite an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone else I can talk to?" Rose frowned at him as she reprimanded him.

"No, no, no, no, but listen!" Malcolm insisted. "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."

The Doctor blinked in astonishment. "You did what?"

Rose could hear Malcolms worry as he responded. "Is that wrong?"

"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant!" The Doctor praised. "So you can actually measure the wormhole? OK, I admit, that is genius!"

They could hear Malcolm gloating. "The Doctor called me a genius."

"I know, I heard," Erisa sighed in exasperation.

"Now, run a capacity scan," the Doctor ordered him. "I need a full report. Call me back when you've done it and Malcolm? You're my new best friend," the Doctor stated.

"And you're mine too, sir," they heard Malcolm say as the Doctor hung up.

The Doctor handed Rose her phone and noticed how distracted she was. "Rose, what's wrong?"

Rose showed him the images she had seen of something to the left of the bus, against the horizon. The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her along as they walked in that direction. The Doctor sighed as he noticed that Christina was tagging along again.

The Doctor took a video of the storm as it headed their way. "There's something in those clouds, something shining," the Doctor explained.

"Looks like metal," Rose pointed out.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina questioned. Christina looked around as she heard chirping. "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor dismissed. "Busy."

Christina ignored him. "There was a noise, like a sort of. . ." She broke off as a creature appeared on the sand dune. "Doctor," she called out.

The Doctor turned around and found a creature standing in front of them with a gun. The Doctor said something in its language then translated. "That's wait, I shout wait, people usually wait."

Christina scoffed. "You speak the language?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Every language," he pointed out as he said something to the creature. "That's begging for mercy," the Doctor translated as the creature said something else.

Christina rolled her eyes. "That means 'move," she translated as the creature indicated with its gun. "These fly things, they must be responsible, they brought us here."

Rose scoffed. "Do they look like metal to you," she pointed out.

The Doctor agreed as they saw their ship. "No, no, no, no, no! Look at the ship, it's a wreck. They crashed, just like us," he explained as they entered the ship.

Christina hugged herself as she noticed that neither Rose nor the Doctor seemed affected by the drastic change in temperature. "But this place is freezing!"

The Doctor nodded his head. "The hull's made of Photafine steel," he explained. "Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside," they entered into the cockpit. "Oh, this is beautiful!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!"

Christina rolled her eyes. "I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured, at least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"

Rose scoffed as she glared at her. "Why do all humans think that every Alien is out to get them?"

The Doctor pointed Rose back to the front where there are two aliens now. "Oh, right, good, yes, hello!" The Doctor greeted as he explained. "That's a telepathic translator, he can understand us."

Christina shrugged. "Still sounds like gibberish to me," she complained.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever listen, the Doctor said that he can understand us not that we can understand him."

The Doctor started translating. "You will suffer for your crimes "etcetera. You have "committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race," the Doctor grinned. "Tritovores, they're called Tritovores," he told them as they continued to chirp. ""You came here in the 200 to destroy us," here the Doctors look turned to confusion. "Sorry, what's the 200?"

"Their talking about the bus, Doctor," Rose pointed out.

It suddenly clicked for the Doctor. "Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is my wife Rose," he introduced.

"And I'm Christina, the Honourable Lady Christina," she put in.

Rose scoffed quietly. "Hasn't been acting very honourable!"

"We got pulled through that wormhole," the Doctor explained. "The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

Christina eyed their guns as they lowered them. "What are they doing?"

The Doctor shrugged. "They believe me," he answered.

Christina scoffed. "What, as simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face," the Doctor grinned.

Rose chuckled. "Some races are smart enough they have translators that also tell the truth. And their translator says that he's telling the truth."

"Plus, the face," the Doctor pouted before getting down to buisness. "Right! So, first things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?" The Doctor listened to their chirping. "Ah, they've lost power," he translated as he heard more chirping. "Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch," the Doctor explained. "But if I can jiggle it back. . ." He broke off as he tried to kick a machine part and the power came back on. More chirping came his way. "I thank you!" The Doctor grinned. "Yes, I am! Frequently."

Rose grinned as she got the aliens attention. "Please, don't give him a bigger head than he already has," Rose begged.

"Hey," the Doctor complained before looking at the controls. "Okey-doke, let's launch that probe," he pushed a button and while they waited for the probe to reach the storm he brought up a map of where they are. "The Scorpion Nebula," he realised. "We're on the other side of the universe," he turned to Christina. "Just what you wanted, so far away," he turned back to the map as it zoomed in to the planet they were on. "The planet of San Helios."

"And that's us?" Christina questioned. "We're on another world."

The Doctor shrugged. "We have been for quite a while," he pointed out.

"I know, but seeing it like that. . ." She broke off at the wonder off it.

The Doctor grinned. "It's good, isn't it?"

Christina grinned back. "Wonderful," she breathed out.

The Doctor backed off as he realised how close she had gotten and turned as Rose walked up to them. He could feel her annoyance at Christina's continued advances towards him even with her right there.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," Rose explained. "Population of one hundred billion, plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

Christina's grin dropped. "By waste matter, you mean?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "They feed off what others leave behind, from their behind, if you see what I mean," the Doctor shrugged. "It's perfectly natural, they are flies."

Christina grimaced. "Charming, just remind me never to kiss them."

The map moved onto the city. "San Helios City," the Doctor pointed out.

"That's amazing," Christina breathed out. "But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?" She pointed out.

The Doctor shrugged. "Thousands of times, haven't we Rose?"

Rose grinned at him. "Absolutely."

Christina sent him a confused look. "That Lordship of yours, the Lord of where, exactly?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Of Time," he pointed out. "I come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're an alien?" Christina stated in disbelief.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Yeah," he agreed.

"You look human," Christina pointed out.

The Doctor looked affronted. "You look Time Lord," he countered.

"And Rose?" Christina questioned as she looked towards her.

"I was human," Rose explained. "Now I'm a Time Lady."

Christina looked shocked. "You can change species?"

The Doctor noticed Rose's hesitation and changed the subject. "Anyway!"

"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city," Christina pointed to the Tritovores. "They can help us!"

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't think it's that simple, we're in the city right now."

Christina's look turned to confusion. "But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

"The image was taken last year," the Doctor explained.

"It became a desert in one year?" Christina questioned.

The Doctor shrugged. "I said there was something in the sand," he pointed out. "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife and 100 billion people, turned to sand."

"All those voices in Carmen's head," Rose pointed out. "She's hearing them die."

Christina started playing with her hair. "But I've got sand in my hair."

The Doctor nodded. "That's dead people!"

Christina grimaced. "Oh, that's disgusting!"

The Doctor ignored her as he continued. "Oh! Something destroyed the whole of San Helois."

"Yes, but in my hair!" Christina complained.

Rose's mobile rang so she passed it to the Doctor. "Malcolm! Tell me the bad news!"

"Oh, you are clever!" Malcolm agreed. "It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."

The Doctor frowned. "How can it get bigger by itself?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Well, that's why I'm phoning! You'll work it out, if I know you, sir."

Erisa came on the phone then. "Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London, we can't risk anyone else falling through."

The Doctor nodded his head. "Good work, both of you," the Doctor praised.

"But I have to know," Erisa continued. "Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

"Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go," the Doctor insisted as he hung up on her.

The Doctor switched to the other line. "Doctor, it's Nathan. We got those duckboard things down, but . . ." He hesitated as they heard someone in the background.

"What's happened?" The Doctor questioned.

"We kept on turning the engine, but we're out of petrol, used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out, this bus is never going to move."

Christina noticed the worried look on the Doctors face. "What is it, what's wrong? Doctor, tell me," she demanded.

"You promised you'd get us home," Nathan reminded him. "Doctor? Are you still there?"

Rose took the phone out of the Doctors hands and hung up as she sent him reassurance that they'll find a way out.

"Doctor, tell me, what did he say?" Christina demanded.

Rose threw her a glare. "We just need to find another way home."

Christina glared back at her. "I'll let him tell me since you didn't even hear the conversation."

Rose frowned as she tapped her ear. "Not human, remember."

Before Christina could respond a beeping sounded from the controls. "It's the probe," the Doctor explained. "It's reached the storm," he translated as the Tritovore continued to chirp.

"And what's he saying?" Christina questioned.

"It's not a storm," Rose spoke up. "It's a swarm, millions of them, Billions," the picture suddenly cut out. "Ah! We've lost the probe, I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten."

Christina pointed at the screen. "How far away is that swarm?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Hundred miles, but at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes," the Doctor shook his head as the Tritovores chirped. "No, they're not just coming for us, they want the wormhole."

"They're heading for Earth!" Rose pointed out.

"Show the analysis," the Doctor asked as he read the screens. "Incredible! They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world. Start the life cycle all over again."

"So they make the wormholes?" Christina questioned.

The Doctor nodded his head. "They must do."

Christina frowned at him. "But how? They don't exactly look like technicians and if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"Because they need to be?" The Doctor realised. "No, that's bonkers," the Doctor dismissed until something occurred to him. "Hang on! Yes! Oh! Do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet. Round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, till they generate a rupture in space! The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size all of that rips the wormhole into existence."

Rose nodded her head in agreement. "And the wormhole's getting bigger? Because they're getting closer!"

"But how do they get through?" Christina questioned. "Cause that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it!"

Rose shook her head at her. "Don't you see! the exo-skeleton is Metal, they've got bones of metal! They eat metal, and extrude it into the exo-skeleton! So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe! Perfect design! Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert."

The Doctor grinned at Rose proudly.

"So why exactly are you smiling?" Christina questioned the Doctor.

"I'm just so proud," the Doctor stated. "After all my teaching."

The Doctor and Rose were trying to figure out what to do when Christina walked up to them "The thing is, Doctor, you're missing the obvious," she pointed out. "We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't, they came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"

A light bulb seemed to go off for him. "Ah, good question!" The Doctor agreed as he turned to them. "Like she said, why did you crash?" The Tritovores showed them their engine. "Oh, yes," the Doctor agreed. "Gravity Well, look, goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?" He listened to the answer. "He says the drive system stalled, ten miles up, they fell out of the sky."

"But what caused that?" Rose questioned.

The Tritovores shrugged. "Which means, no idea," Christina pointed out.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed as he looked back down. "But wait a minute, that's a crystal nucleus down there, yes?" The Tritovores agreed. "And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact. . ." The Doctor broke off.

Rose grinned as she caught his thought. "It's better than diesel!"

Christina looked between them. "What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a Crystal drive a bus?" Christina questioned.

"In a super-clever outer-spacey way, just trust me!" The Doctor assured her, the Doctor checked the terminal. "There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well," the Doctor turned to the Tritovores. "Have you got access shafts?" He sighed. "All frozen? Maybe I can open them!" He suggested as he noticed two ear pieces. "Internal comms, put that on," he handed one to Rose. "You both stay here, keep an eye on the shaft, tell me if anything happens," The Doctor ran back to the control room. "If I can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance. Rose? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know."

"Nothing yet," Rose answered as she watched Christina carefully.

"Anything now?" The Doctor questioned.

Rose sighed. "Nothing, Doctor."

"Any sign of movement?"

"Nope," Rose popped the p.

The Doctor flicked more switches. "How's that?"

Rose shook her head. "Nothing," she noticed as Christina took her backpack off and pulled out a wench. She hooked it to the top of the shaft.

"Any result?"

Rose sighed again. "Not a thing, Doctor."

Christina was looking down the well. "So let me get this right, you need that crystal?" Rose nodded her head slowly as she watched her. "Then consider it done."

"What d'you mean?" Rose questioned.

"Rose? Rose!" The Doctor called out. "What has she done?"

Christina grinned at Rose. "The aristocracy survives for a reason, we're ready for anything," Christina fell into the shaft.

Rose tried to grab her but she missed so she pulled out her sonic screwdriver and stopped the line just as the Doctor came running. "That's better," she sighed as the Doctor looked down the shaft.

"I decide when I stop, thank you," Christina complained.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You're about to hit the security grid, look!"

Christina grinned. "Excellent, so what do I do?"

"Try the big red button," the Doctor snarked as he watched her turn the grid off. "Well done! Now come back up! I can do that," the Doctor ordered.

Christina scoffed. "Oh, don't you wish?"

The Doctor sighed. "Slowly!" He ordered.

"Yes, sir," Christina snarked back.

The Doctor decided that while she was busy he'd have a peak in her bag. "Quite the mystery, aren't you? Lady Christina de Souza," the Doctor pointed out. "Carrying a winch in her bag."

Christina scoffed. "No stranger than you, spaceman," she countered.

"We had this friend, once," the Doctor explained. "She called me spaceman."

"And was she right?" Christina guessed. "Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"

The Doctor shrugged as he grinned at Rose. "Well, a little blue box but it travels in more than space, it can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places we've been," he explained. "World War One, the Creation of the universe, end of the universe, the war between China and Japan and the Court of King Athelstan, in 924 AD," he pulled a ornate gold cup from her back pack. "But I don't remember you being there, so what are you doing with this?"

"Excuse me," Christina complained. "A gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions."

The Doctor ignored her. "It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain, as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh but it's been held in the International Gallery for 200 years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief."

"I like to think I liberated it," she defended.

Rose scoffed. "Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything," Christina explained. "Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

The Doctor scoffed. "No, no, no, if you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this, that's a lifestyle."

"I take it you disapprove?" Christina sighed.

"Absolutely," the Doctor agreed. "Except, that little blue box, I stole it from my own people."

Christina smirked. "Good boy," she praised.

Rose scoffed as she sent the Doctor a glare. "I think she would say that she stole you."

Christina heard something. "What the blazes was that?"

Rose stood up. "We never did find out why the ship crashed," she reminded him.

"Christina, I think you should come back up," the Doctor urged her.

"Too late," she explained. "I can see it."

The Doctor looked around them. "Careful, slowly," the Doctor urged as he turned to the aliens. "Have you got an open-vent system?" They nodded at him. "I thought so."

"What does that mean?" Christina questioned.

"It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft," the Doctor explained. "One of the creatures got trapped in the vents, caused the crash. Christina, get out," the Doctor insisted.

Christine looked up and saw the creature lying nearby. "It's not moving, I think it's injured," she explained.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it's dormant, because it's so cold down there but your body heat is raising the temperature."

"I tend to have that effect," Christina flirted. "Almost there," she explained.

Rose sighed. "I wish she'd just give up," Rose stated.

The Doctor let her feel all the love he holds for her as he instructed Christina. "Not just the crystal, I need the whole bed, the plate thing."

"I've got it!" She confirmed.

The Doctor used his sonic to raise her as fast as he could as the creature lunged. "Come on, come on! Come on, come on, come on, come on!" The Doctor urged as he moved to the terminal. "It's gonna eat its way up!"

Christine hit the security grid button on the way past and trapped the creature down there. "Oh, she's good!" The Doctor complimented. "That's it, that's it."

Rose helped Christina out of her harness and they ran for the control Center. "Commander! Mission complete!" The Doctor agreed. "Now we've got to get back to the 200, all of us," the Tritovore chirped at him. "Oh, don't be so daft!" The Doctor scoffed. "A captain can leave his ship, if there's a bus standing by," they heard another noise. "What the hell was that?" He turned back to the Tritovore. "Is this place safe?" He listened to them chirping. "It's the creature!" He translated. "It's not dead. Maybe you didn't hit just one of them, if you hit a swarm," he stopped as he listened to their chirping. "Do you mean there's more on board? This ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure, all around us," a loud thumping was heard. "And they wake up hungry."

Rose grabbed the nearest Tritovores arm. "You've got to come with us now! You can come back to Earth, we'll find you a home!" The alien gently pushed her away and shook its head.

"Come on!" The Doctor called out as he grabbed Rose's hand and ran. "There's nothing we can do.

Run!"

The Doctor, Rose and Christina were running towards the bus when Rose's mobile started ringing. "It's for you," Rose threw the Doctor her phone.

"Doctor," Malcolm questioned.

"Not now, Malcolm!" The Doctor complained as he hung up.

The others came out to met them. "At last! Where've you been?" Nathan complained.

"Get inside, get them sitting down," the Doctor ordered as he ran to the closest tyre. "Now then, let's have a look."

"So what does that crystal do?" Christina complained.

The Doctor shrugged. "Oh, nothing, don't need the crystal," he stated as he threw it away.

Christina watched the crystal. "I risked my life for that!" She complained.

"No no, you risked your life for these," the Doctor explained. "The clamps! One there, one there, one there and one there!" He finished clamping them to the tyres.

"But what are the clamps for?" Christina persisteted. "Do they turn the wheels?"

The Doctor shrugged again. "Something like that," the Doctor stated vaguely. "I just need to fix this," he eyed Christina's bag. "Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

Christina smirked. "Funnily enough," she handed him a hammer.

"Rose, your phone, press redial," Rose did as he asked then held the phone to his ear.

As soon as he heard someone pick up he started. "Malcolm, it's me!"

"I'm ready!" Malcolm insisted.

"Ready for what?" The Doctor questioned.

Malcolm shrugged. "I don't know! You tell me!"

"I'm gonna try to get back, but there might be something following us," he explained. "You need to find a way to close the wormhole."

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?" Malcolm questioned.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, Malcolm! You're brilliant!"

Malcolm grinned. "Coming from you, sir, that means the world."

Erisa entered the conversation. "Doctor, what sort of something? That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing. I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

"Sorry, gotta go," the Doctor stated as Rose closed the phone. The Doctor started hitting the device. "Ah, it's not compatible! Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

Rose grabbed his head and sent soothing waves to him to slow his mind down.

"You need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile, something Gold," Rose read his mind then they both looked at Christina's bag.

Christina hugged her bag to her. "Oh, no you don't," she denied.

"Christina, what is it worth now?" The Doctor pointed out.

Barclay interrupted. "Hey, hey, use this!" Barclay insisted as he held out his watch.

"I said gold," the Doctor pointed out.

"It is gold," Barclay confirmed.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, they saw you coming," he explained as he turned back. "Christina!"

"It's over 1,000 years old, worth £18 million," she explained. "Promise me you'll be careful," she asked as she handed the cup over.

The Doctor nodded his head. "I promise," he agreed just as he took the hammer to it.

Christina crossed her arms. "I hate you."

The Doctor finally manages to weld the two systems together. "This is your driver speaking!" The Doctor explained. "Hold on tight!"

"What for?" Barclay questioned. "What's he doing?"

"Do as he says!" Rose assured them.

The engine started cranking. "What are you doing?" Christina questioned.

"Come on, that's it," the Doctor urged. "You can do it, you beauty! One last trip!"

The bus started up and then lifted into the air. "Ah, you are so kidding me!" Barclay exclaimed.

"We're flying! It's flying!" Nathan added on.

"He's flying the bus!" Lou explained.

Angela grinned. "It's a miracle!"

"Anti-gravity clamps," the Doctor answered Christina's unspoken question. "Didn't I say? Round we go," he explained as he turned the bus towards the wormhole.

"Doctor! They're coming!" Carmen yelled out.

Christina gasped as she saw them. "Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?"

"Only one way to find out!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Next stop planet Earth!" Rose helped the Doctor to keep the steering wheel straight as they flew through the wormhole and out into the sky.

"It's London!" Barclay exclaimed.

"We're back home!" Angela concurred as they looked down on London.

Nathan laughed. "He did it! He did it!"

The Doctor turned the bus back towards the tunnel as Rose called the number and passed the phone to the Doctor. "Malcolm! Close that wormhole!" The Doctor ordered.

"Yes, sir! My pleasure, sir!" Malcolm agreed as he hung up the phone.

The Doctor stared at the phone. "He's hung up on me!" The Doctor rang him back. "Malcolm?"

"Not now, I'm busy," Malcolm complained.

The Doctor again stared at the phone in shock. "He's hung up again!"

Rose chuckled. "Now you know how it feels," she pointed out.

The Doctor glared at her as he rang again. "Malcolm! Listen to me!"

"It's not working!" Malcolm complained.

"I need that signal," the Doctor explained. "We've got billions of those things about to fly through!"

Malcolm sighed. "Well, what do I do?"

"Loop it back through the integrator, and keep the signal ramping up," the Doctor explained.

"But by how much?" Malcolm insisted.

"500 Bernards!" The Doctor answered. "Do it now!"

"Doctor, it's coming for us!" Nathan pointed out.

The Doctor turned the bus around. "Oh, no, you don't!" The Doctor hit the creature with the bus.

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina smirked. "I was lying," she stated as she pulled the Doctor to her for a kiss.

Rose strode forward and yanked her away from him then slapped her as hard as she could. She felt satisfaction when she saw a red hand print immediatly start to appear.

The Doctor very deliberately wiped his mouth as he grimaced. "That was disgusting," he stated as he also glared at her. "Don't ever do that again, I thought you were smart but your the stupidest person I've ever met."

Rose scoffed. "You know, I thought she did help us, why not help her but then she deliberately kissed my husband when it wasn't wanted," Rose shrugged. "So now she can rot in prison."

He smirked at Rose as she leaned into him. "Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination," the Doctor landed the bus to see the soldiers clapping for them.

Soldiers directed the people off the bus. "Welcome back, everyone," a soldier greeted. "If you could step away from the bus to be safe, as fast as you can, thank you. It's standard procedure," he assured them. "We need to screen you, and then you'll all be taken to debriefing."

The Doctor held up his psychic paper. "We don't count," he told the soldier.

Rose glanced back and saw that Christina had a very prominent hand mark on her check as she glared at Rose. Rose just smirked back.

"With me, thank you," a soldier detained Christina.

"I take it, that's your handy work, gorgeous," Rose grinned as she turned around and saw Jack.

"Jack," she threw her arms around him in a hug.

The Doctor extracted Rose from Jack as he noticed a scientist walk up to them. "Doctor!"

The Doctor grinned. "You must be Malcolm!"

Malcolm threw his arms around the Doctor. "Oh! Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you."

"To your station, Doctor Taylor," Erisa complained.

"Yes, ma'am," Malcolm agreed as Rose walked up and took the Doctors hand.

Malcolm opened and closed his mouth a few times, he seemed to be struck speechless as he stared at Rose.

Rose took pity on him and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Malcolm, for helping us come home," Rose thanked.

Malcolm touched his cheek slowly as Erisa turned him around and shoved him towards his work space. They could hear him mumbling, "Rose Tyler kissed me," he turned around suddenly. "Oh, I love you!"

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, wondering who he ment when Erisa stood in front of them and saluted. "Doctor, I salute you, whether you like it or not," she demanded. "Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

The Doctor shrugged. "They'll start again," he explained. "Generate a new doorway, It's not their fault, it's their natural life cycle but we'll see if we can nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets," the Doctor stepped closer to her. "Closer to home, Captain, those two lads, very good in a crisis," the Doctor assured her. "Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines, you could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

Erisa smirked. "I'll see what I can do," she assured him. "And I've got something for the two of you."

Rose ran up to the TARDIS and hugged her. "Better than a bus, any day!" Rose called out.

The Doctor walked up, grinning. "Hello!" He greeted.

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Erisa questioned.

The Doctor waved it off. "Oh, she doesn't mind," he assured her.

"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up," Erisa pointed out. "I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"

Rose snorted a laugh as the Doctor shook his head. "Not a chance!"

Erisa grinned like she knew what his answer would be. "Till we meet again, Doctor, Rose."

"I hope so," the Doctor agreed.

Rose and the Doctor watched as Christina was arrested by the police. She seemed to be trying to stare Rose down but Rose showed her the true power of a Time Lady and Christina turned away in defeat.

"Lady Christina de Souza," the détective inspecter stated. "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away," he ordered as Christina was taken away.

Carmen walked up to them then. "Doctor? Rose? You both take care, now."

Rose grinned as she hug Carmen and Lou. "You too!"

"Chops and gravy, lovely!" The Doctor agreed.

Carmen shook her head. "No, but you be careful because your song is ending, sir."

The Doctor stood up straight as he grabbed Rose's hand tightly. "What do you mean?"

"It is returning," Carmen continued on. "It is returning through the dark and then, Doctor. Oh, but then. He will knock four times."

Rose and the Doctor stared at each other before stepping inside the TARDIS and sending her back into the vortex.