Chapter 14: Aliens of London

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it belongs to BBC

Alright, Alright- Havelin

I've tried to kill the pain, and

A thousand ways before, I

Realized there was nothing,

I needed to kill,

And so I'll say that it's all fine,

That it's all fine.

Kit gripped the railing tightly as the Tardis whipped around. The Doctor and Kit had spent about an hour in comfortable silence before Rose came back. She looked exhausted and it was obvious that she'd been crying. So, it wasn't surprising when the Doctor asked if she wanted to go home, Rose didn't hesitate to say yes. Kit could tell the Doctor wasn't too happy about the answer but knew Rose needed to be home. So, now they were traveling back to London, 2005.

The Tardis finally jerked to a stop, throwing Kit to the ground.

"I swear to God, you're the worst pilot," she groaned, getting up slowly.

"I'm a great pilot, thank you very much," the Doctor responded with an eye roll.

"Are you guys going to argue all day or can we go?" Rose questioned making her way to the door. She seemed impatient to get home.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Kit grumbled and followed Rose.

All of them exited out of the Tardis. Rose looked around her in wonder and amusement. The Doctor leaned up against the Tardis and smiled.

"How long have I been gone?" Rose finally asked.

"About twelve hours," he responded.

Kit raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

He hesitated slightly. "Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes."

"Because last time you were sure."

"Well, I'm sure this time."

"But, like, a hundred percent sure?"

"Yes!"

"… Bet you twenty pounds you're wrong."

"… Deal." They shook hands.

Kit smiled. It was almost a fact that the Doctor always landed in the wrong time. This was easy money for her.

"Well, I believe the Doctor," Rose piped in.

The Doctor smiled triumphantly. "Thank you, Rose."

Kit rolled her eyes. "I'm not giving you twenty pounds just yet."

Rose shook her head at them. "Right, I won't be long. I just want to see my mum." She started to walk away from them.

"What're you going to tell her?" The Doctor inquired.

She stopped. "I don't know. I've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours?" She joked. "No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later," she waved and then stopped again. "Oh, don't you disappear," she pointed at the Doctor.

They watched Rose run down the street until she disappeared behind a building.

"Do you live close by or do you want me to drop you off?" the Doctor suddenly asked.

Kit gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

"Your house? Is it close by?" He repeated. "I figured you wanted to go home too."

Kit's eyes widened. She almost forgot that the Doctor thought she had a family and lived in a house with a white picket fence. Not to mention, back in 1869 she yelled at him about wanting to go home. What was she suppose to do? Say yes and then walk around London like an idiot… again! She really didn't have much of a choice.

"Oh, right! Yep, I live really close by and I'm sure my… parents are… worried," she lied.

"Do you want me to come with you?" The Doctor asked. "I'm sure your dad will be amazed when he meets me."

"What? No!" Kit exclaimed in panic. "He would not like to meet you. In fact, he would hate it."

The Doctor gave her a confused look. "I thought you said your dad did lots of research on me? Why wouldn't he be excited to finally meet me?"

Kit wanted to smack herself. "You're right! I did say that but don't you think it'll be all too much for him? He might have a heart attack and no one wants that. No, I'll go home and- and… tell him. You know, ease him into meeting you." She was rambling and lying really badly.

He narrowed his eyes. "You're acting really strange right now."

She forced a laugh. She needed to calm down. She'd been able to lie well enough so far but the Doctor was making it hard this time. She needed to collect herself.

She took a deep breath in. "You're right. I am acting weird. It's just… I'm stalling. You see, twelve hours is a long time and I know they'll be mad. It's one thing for a nineteen-year-old, like Rose, to be gone for twelve hours, it another thing for a twelve-year-old. I just know there'll be a lot of yelling." She prayed that lie would be enough to convince the Doctor. "And coming back with a strange man claiming he's the Doctor would probably just make it worse."

The Doctor watched her for a moment and then grinned. "Didn't think about that. You should still go. The longer you wait, the madder they'll get, I'm sure. Plus, you need to go home and get me that twenty."

Kit crossed her arms. "Ha ha, very funny. I'll go but that doesn't mean I think you landed in the right time." She started to walk away but then remembered something. "And I will be back Doctor. I promise, I'll come back."

He gave her a sad smiled and nodded. "I know."

She nodded and started to walk in the opposite direction Rose went. She really didn't have any destination in mind. She thought maybe she could find a place to eat and sleep. At this point, Kit was running on adrenaline alone. She was surprised that she was still standing. It wasn't like she had slept or ate much and she'd been running her butt off in the last couple hours. Even when she was with her Doctor she didn't go this long without a break.

Kit was deciding what she wanted to eat when she went past a pole with a poster on it. She gave it a quick glance, not thinking much of it. However, she stopped dead when she realized the poster had a picture of Rose on it. She moved quickly to it and read the poster. The words 'Can You Help' were in bright red ink.

"Oh no," she muttered. "Doctor!"

He ran up behind her. "What's wrong?"

"I think you owe me that twenty quid."

He gave her a puzzled look. "What?"

She pointed at the poster. "Twelve months, Doctor, not twelve hours!"

"And Rose went to see her mum!"

Nothing can be simple, she thought.

They took off running, hoping to catch Rose before she entered her house. They ran up the stairs and burst through the door of Roses house. In front of them was Rose and her mom hugging. Her mom was in tears.

"Hey, Rose, so I was right. It's not twelve hours," Kit explained awkwardly. Rose broke the hug with her mom and stared at them in confusion. "In fact, it's actually been 12 months," Kit finished glaring up at the Doctor.

The Doctor forced at laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Rose mom looked between the three of them. "What? What are they going on about? Who are these people"

"They're friends, mum," Rose reassured her. "Just ignore them. Why don't we sit down and talk, yeah?"

Her mom nodded numbly and sat on the couch. Rose sat on the other couch across from her while the Doctor and Kit stood in the same spot awkwardly.

"Oh Rose, I've missed you so much!" Rose mother exclaimed. "I thought you were hurt or dead."

"I'm fine mum. I'm not hurt or dead, see?"

Rose mom shook her head, still in shock. "Did you get kidnapped?"

"No, no, I didn't get kidnapped."

Rose mom gave her a confused look. "Then what happened to you?"

"Well, I was… I was traveling," Rose lied.

Kit winced. She knew there was no way that her mom was going to believe that. Her thoughts were confirmed when Rose mothers face went from astonishment to pure fury.

"What?!" She shirked. "Traveling? I don't believe you, Rose."

"It's true, I swear!"

"I can't believe you would lie to your own mother!" She kept yelling and then grabbed the phone. "I have to tell the police now! They've been looking for you for a year! You can lie to them or maybe you'll tell them the truth!"

"Mum, I'm not lying! You don't have to call the police."

"Oh yes I do!"

Rose's mother dialed the number on her phone. Rose looked over to Kit and have her a 'help me' look. Kit just shrugged. She doubted she could say anything that would make the situation better. Not the mention, her mom scared Kit a little bit and she would rather not draw attention to herself.

"The police are on their way," Rose's mom suddenly told them. "They are very interested in knowing where you've been."

Rose's mom continued to yell at Rose as they waited for the police. Kit had never heard so many swear words come out of someone's mouth. She had unconsciously moved behind the Doctor. Kit stayed absolutely still. So far Rose's mother hadn't turned her focus on her or the Doctor. She figured her mom was like a T-Rex, if they didn't move a muscle she wouldn't eat them or, it this case, yell at them.

The Police finally came. Kit felt kind of bad for him. He had just entered a hurricane. Rose's mom started yelling at the police about Rose and the man just stood there completely speechless. He got Rose's mom to calm down and sat on a chair across from Rose. He tried to ask questions but Rose's mother just kept yelling.

"I should say something," the Doctor whispered to Kit.

"What? No! Don't direct her anger at us," she whispered back. "You'll make things worse."

"It's not fair to Rose. It's my fault."

"Fine but it's your funeral."

They went back to watching Rose's mom yell. "The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead, and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer. You ask her," she told the police officer. "She won't tell me. That's all she says. Travelling."

"That's what I was doing," Rose responded but it didn't sound very convincing.

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone. I really did. I just I forgot."

"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?" She yelled, pacing the room.

"Actually, it's my fault. I sort of er, employed Rose as my companion," the Doctor cut in, smiling.

Kit groaned. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath. That was probably the worst thing he could have said.

This seemed to peak the police officers interest. "When you say companion, is this a sexual relationship?"

"No!" They both replied at the same time.

"Then what is it?" Rose mom questioned, walking up to the Doctor. "Because you, you waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! How old are you then? Forty? Forty-five? What, did you find her on the Internet? Did you kidnap this young girl too?" She yelled, pointing to Kit. "Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a Doctor," he argued.

"Prove it. Stitch this, mate!" She then smacked the Doctor across the face, sending him stumbling backwards.

Kit covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. She'd never seen the Doctor getting beat by someone's mom.

"It's not funny," the Doctor grumbled, holding his cheek.

"Yeah, it kinda is."

Rose mom suddenly turned to Kit who paled. "And you, have you been gone a year as well?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Do your parents know where you've been?"

"No, not exactly but—"

"So you've been back as long as Rose and haven't seen your family?"

"No, I just thought—"

"Don't you think you should see them?'

"I guess, b—"

"Don't you owe them an explanation on where you've been?"

"Um, Yes?"

"Well then why have you been standing here this whole time?!"

"I—"

"Well? Go before I get the police officer to escort you." She turned to Rose before Kit could say another word. "Rose, can I see you in the kitchen?"

Rose nodded dumbly and followed her mother into the kitchen. Kit, on the other hand, stood in the middle of the living room with her mouth hanging open.

She looked up at the Doctor who was still nursing his cheek. "What just happened?"

"I'd say you just got metaphorically slapped," he joked. "But she is right. You should go and see your family. It might be bad but, I mean, it can't be any worse then what we just witnessed."

"Right, see my family," she muttered. It felt weird to say it out loud.

She nodded and gave the Doctor a forced smile. She exited the apartment and the cold air hit her. She breathed in deeply.

She didn't really think about her family much but all this talk was making her contemplate them. It wasn't like there was much to remember about them. They died in a fire when she was a baby along with her two older brothers. She doesn't remember them, doesn't know what they sounded like or if they were good people. All she had was a picture of them that she kept in her room. She didn't know anything about them and that was why she didn't use her last name. Was she really part of a family she knew nothing about? This only seemed to make her miss her Doctor more.

She walked over to the railing and looked out onto the street. She blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"You okay?" Someone asked.

Kit jumped around and came face to face with the Doctor. "Yeah, just, um, trying to build up some courage to see my parents."

He gave her a suspicious look. "Are you sure?"

She forced a smile. "Of course, why wouldn't I be? What are you doing out here anyways?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I felt like I needed to give Rose and her mum some space."

Kit grinned. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. You don't want to get slapped again."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled rubbing his cheek.

A silence descended over them and Kit shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Well, I should probably go before Rose mom yells at me again."

"Wait, before you go I wanted to give you something," the Doctor told her and started to rummage around in his pocket.

She gave him a puzzled look. "And what would that be?"

He took something out of his pocket and took her hand. He placed a cool object in it. She looked down at it in shock.

"It's a key, a key to the Tardis," he explained. "It's about time you got one."

Kit stared at they piece of metal in her hand. She kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish. She could feel her Tardis key that was tucked away under her shirt. She felt all different kinds of emotions. She felt fear. Fear that having two Tardis keys from different points in time was going to rip the universe in half. Warmth because the Doctor wanted her to be his companion. Most of all though, she felt a great sadness. This key meant that he trusted her. He trusted her and she was lying to him. She thought back to when she first got her key.

Nine-year-old Kittredge sat on a bench and watched the snow fall from the sky. People walked passed her engrossed in their lives. They didn't have a clue that their Christmas was almost ruined by the Cybermen. They had no idea that the girl sitting on the bench had almost died so they could eat turkey and open presents.

Everyone had their Christmas traditions. Some people went to church, other people visited family. Kittredge's just happened to be saving the world. Every time they landed on Christmas or near Christmas, something bad always happened. Cybermen trying to take over the world, weeping angles trying to consume everyone's time energy and Dalek trying to destroy earth were just some of her many Christmas adventures.

She watched a family walk by laughing. Christmas always made her feel weird. It made her miss having a family. She didn't have a mom to bake her cookies or a dad to pretend to be Santa. She didn't have an extended family to eat turkey with. Christmas always made her realize what she missed out on. While most kids were opening presents, she was trying not to get killed.

The Doctor suddenly plopped down beside her. "All lose ends are tied up. I'd say it was another successful Christmas, don't you?"

Kittredge just watched the family throw snow balls at each other. "What? Oh, right, super successful."

She could feel the Doctor's eyes on her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she muttered, watching the family disappear down the street. "I'm just tired."

"I don't believe you. Usually you're bursting with energy after our, as you call it, Christmas adventures," he pushed.

"Well, I'm not this time, Okay!?" She snapped. She stood up and made her way to the Tardis.

"No, not okay!" The Doctor argued, making Kittredge stop in her tracks. "What's wrong? And don't lie to me this time."

She wiped around to face him. "I'm so tried of watching all these families laugh and be together. Why do they get to be happy? Why do they get to have a family and not me?! I want a family too so why was mine taken away!?" She felt tears run down her face.

The Doctor sighed and walked over to her. "I was going to wait until you were older but I think this is a good time."

He rummaged through his pocket and fished out a key.

"A key?" Kittredge questioned.

"No, your Christmas present."

"My Christmas present is a key?"

"No, well, yes but it's more than that. It's a key to the Tardis and in a way it's a promise."

"A promise?"

"Yes, a promise. A promise that I'll always be here for you. A promise that you will always have a home. A promise that you will always have family with me."

Kittredge looked at the key and then at the Doctor. "You want to be my family?"

"Since the moment I met you."

Kittredge smiled and took the key. "I promise to be your family too," she told him as she gave him a hug.

Kit stared at the key and swallowed a lump in her throat. She looked back up at the Doctor. "Thank you," she choked out. She placed the key in her pocket. It felt oddly heavy. "I should probably go."

"One more thing before you do," he stated then rummaged through his pocket again. He pulled out twenty quid. "A deals a deal. You were right."

She took the money and grinned. "And don't you forget it."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you in a couple of hours."

She waved goodbye and left the complex. She wondered down the street aimlessly. She figured she should probably find something to eat. She thought that maybe she could even find a bench in the park again and try to sleep. She even contemplated going to see some tourist sites. She'd been to London all the time but she was too busy with aliens that she never got to have a look around London. She needed to do something that would waste some time. She knew that if she came back too early the Doctor would be suspicious.

Kit took out the key in her pocket and then took the key around her neck off. Both represented two different things to her. One represented family, the other represented trust. Both were a promise. Both were important. Neither of them were something she deserved. She signed and put the keys back where they were.

She walked around for about an hour until she could see Big Ben in the distance. She was going to start looking for a place to eat when she heard a loud horn coming from above her. She looked up to see what looked like a spaceship. She'd seen a lot of spaceships over her life but this one looked like one straight from the movies. It was trailing black smoke and descending to the ground quickly. She watched as the wing of the ship took out the clock town and then crash into the river.

Kit just stood there in shock. "You know, one of these days I'm going to have a normal day."

A/N: So, I hope you liked the beginning of Aliens of London and finding out a little bit more about Kit. I'm finally finished exams and more importantly, I'm finished the school year. Hopefully now I'll have a little bit more time to write. I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review!