Chapter 33: The Doctor Dances

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

Little boy- Vance Joy

Little boy, don't be scared

Now your father is waiting in the next room

Little boy, don't be sad

Now your mom's on her way, you'll be out of here soon

They were screwed. Absolutely, positively screwed! Kit couldn't think about anything else other than that thought; they were screwed. She couldn't see how they could get out of this one.

The empty patients started to close in around them and there was nothing to do but back away. Unfortunately, backing away became pointless as their backs were now against the wall. She couldn't even think of a way to get out of this. Usually she had some idea even if it was stupid or risky but she had nothing. Yep, they were screwed.

Just when she thought all hope was lost the Doctor suddenly shouted, "Go to your room!" The patients stood still like they were confused. "Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room!" The Doctor scolded like a parent to a child. It kind of reminded Kit of how the Doctor used to scold her when she was a kid.

Kit thought there was no way that would work but much to her amazement, the patients hung their heads and shuffled away. Some went back to bed while others left the room.

Kit looked up at the Doctor with her month hung open. This man would never stop amazing her. Every time she though she knew his mind, thought she could guess his next move she's proven wrong. Who knew that would work? Only the Doctor could come up with something so bazar and random.

"That worked?" Kit wondered out loud. "How'd you know that would work?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I didn't but I'm glad it did. Those would have been terrible last words."

Kit grinned and shook her head. Figures, she thought.

"Well, look at that," Jack smiled. He sat on a chair and put his feet up on the desk. "Problem solved. We should celebrate! I'm sure we can find some sort of alcohol in here."

The Doctor glared at him. "The problem is far from solved. I doubt what I did will hold them off forever."

"Fine then but I think we should drink while we can. Except you, Little Red, can't let a minor drink," He shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll live," Kit rolled her eyes. "And I told you to not call me that!"

"Too late now. I've made it a thing," Jack smiled deviously.

"It's definitely not a thing," she argued.

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"I say it is."

"I say it's not!"

Jack grinned at her anger. "You know, it's really easy to get you riled up."

Kit balled her hands into a fist. "I'm not riled up, you cocky son of—"

"Kittredge!" The Doctor snapped.

Rose shook her head. "Do you have to get into a fight with everyone you meet?"

"Yes, if they're as annoying as him," she glared at Jack.

"We need to stay calm if we plan on getting out of this," the Doctor ordered. "So no more arguing." He looked pointedly at Kit. "And Jack, stop bothering Kit. She's still a kid so I expect this but you're a grown man, so act like it."

Jack crossed his arms and grumbled something under his breath. Kit gave him a triumphed smile which got her a glare back.

"Now that we got that sorted out," Rose cut in. "Can someone tell me why all the patients have gasmasks on?"

"They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone," Jack replied.

"How was your con supposed to work?" The Doctor asked randomly.

Jack shrugged. "Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put fifty percent up front, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."

"Yeah. Perfect," the Doctor muttered.

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." Jack started laughing but stopped when he realized that everyone was just glaring at him. "Getting a hint of disapproval."

"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did," the Doctor accused.

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty," Jack became defensive again.

"Rose. Kit." The Doctor started walking to the door and gestured the two of them to follow him.

"Are we getting out of here?" Rose questioned.

"We're going upstairs."

Jack stood up. "I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it!"

"I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day."

A loud siren rang out, only slightly breaking the tension.

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"The all clear," Jack replied.

The Doctor shook his head. "I wish."

He left out the door with Kit and Rose right behind. Jack came up close behind them.

"Come on, we better hurry. I have a feeling that this siren will woke the patients up," the Doctor told them.

The Doctor started running with Kit close behind. She thought that Jack and Rose were right behind them until they were running up the stairs and she look back. She couldn't see them and she sighed.

"Doctor!" She shouted. "Slow down! I think we lost Jack and Rose."

"What?" He questioned, coming to a stopped. He looked around and sighed in frustration. "Of course."

"They'll find us sooner or later," Kit said between heavy breaths.

"Hopefully sooner. We don't have time to wait too long," he grumbled.

They were silent for a moment until Kit spoke up, "So I noticed you had an argument with Jack."

"Yes and?"

"I thought you said no arguing," Kit joked.

"Normally I wouldn't but you were right, he's annoying," the Doctor grinned and Kit smiled back.

This was the first time in a long time that they were connecting again. Usually he would ignore her comments. Maybe their argument earlier helped or maybe having someone they both didn't like gave them something to connect with. Whatever it was she was happy to have it.

Kit was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Rose and Jack shouting. She looked down the staircase just in time to see them run past it.

"Honestly," She heard the Doctor mutter. "Have you got a blaster?" He shouted.

Jack and Rose came running back to the staircase.

"Sure," Jack replied and the two of them caught up with the Doctor and Kit. "What do you need the blaster for?"

"Not sure," he told him. "Just have a feeling we'll need it."

They walked down a long hallway towards a metal door. The Doctor had been right; they were going to need a blaster. Although another thought came to her mind: did they really want to know what was behind that door?

"The night your space-junk landed," the Doctor began. "Someone was hurt. This was where they were taken."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Let's find out. Get it open," he told Jack.

Jack smiled smugly. He took out his blaster and pointed it at the lock.

"What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

He shrugged. "Nothing."

Jack pulled the trigger and blue light hit the lock. The lock disintegrated and the door opened.

"Sonic blaster, fifty first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?" The Doctor inquired looking over at the weapon.

Jack looked impressed. "You've been to the factories?"

"Once."

"Well, they gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."

"Like I said. Once. There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good." That was all he said and then he slipped into the room.

Kit cringed with the mention of bananas. Why was the Doctor so obsessed with them? He used to feed her so many of them when she was younger. She could barley look at them now. Even the idea of them made her want to puke.

"Nice blast pattern," Rose commented.

"Digital," Jack replied flirtatiously.

Ugh, Kit thought. More flirting. Why is there so much flirting with this Doctor?

"Squareness gun," Rose kept talking.

"Yeah."

"I like it."

"Rose, we're dealing with a crisis right now," Kit cut in annoyance. "A crisis, Rose. No flirting when we have a crisis."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I wasn't flirting."

"I was," Jack interrupted with a cheeky smile.

Kit looked between the two and then shook her head. "Adults are weird."

She left the two and walked into the room with Jack and Rose right behind her. The place was a mess. Papers were everywhere and electronic equipment was smashed. In front of them was an observation window with the glass broken.

"What do you think?" The Doctor asked to everyone.

"Something got out of here," Jack replied.

"Yeah. And?"

"Something powerful. Angry."

The Doctor nodded. "Powerful and angry."

The walked into the next room cautiously. Inside was child's crayon drawings scattered on the floor. There was a small bed at the other side of the room with a teddy bear on it.

"A child?" Jack questioned out loud. "I suppose this explains Mummy."

"How could a child do this?" Rose mused.

"I don't know," Kit muttered. "Superman was super strong as a child."

"Yeah but we're not dealing with Superman," Rose countered.

Kit shrugged. "Just saying."

"Do you know where you are?" A voice suddenly said behind them that sounded like Constantine.

They all turned to see the Doctor had turned on the tape machine and was playing a recording.

"Are you my mummy?" The child in the recoding asked. It was the same voice from before.

"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"What do you want? Do you know—"

"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy!" The child said more impatient and angry. "Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"

"Doctor, I've heard this voice before," Rose told him.

"Us too," he responded but wasn't really paying attention.

"Mummy?" The child in the recordings kept asking.

"Always are you my mummy? Like he doesn't know," Rose muttered.

"Mummy?"

"Why doesn't he know?"

"That's a good question, Rose," the Doctor said with an unreadable expression. "That's a very good question."

The Doctor entered the room everyone else was in. He stared pacing back and forth with a look of deep thought.

He stayed like that for a minute before Rose spoke up. "Doctor?"

He stopped. "Can you sense it?"

"Sense what?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Coming out of the walls. Can you feel it?"

"Mummy?" The recording said which sent a shiver down Kit's spine.

"Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"

Jack looked like he was going to retort when Rose cut in before he could. "When he's stressed, he likes to insult species."

"Rose, I'm thinking," the Doctor snapped.

"She's right," Kit added. "I once burnt pancakes and he gave me an hour lecture on the limited attention span of humans."

"Kit," the Doctor warned.

She shrugged. "What?"

"I'm trying to be clever here!"

Kit rolled her eyes. "Sorry, don't want to disturb you from that."

The Doctor shook his head but went back to his thinking. "There are these children living rough round the bomb sites. They come out during air-raids looking for food."

"Mummy, please?" The voice kept going.

"Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed?"

"It was a med-ship. It was harmless," Jack said once again.

"Yes, you keep saying harmless," the Doctor said annoyed. "Suppose one of them was affected, altered?"

"Altered how?" Rose asked.

Kit heard the tape run out. She was relieved. She really hated hearing the child's voice. It really did give her the creeps.

"I'm here!" The child's voice said.

Kit went ridged. The tape had ended. It ended, she could have sworn and if it ended that meant that they were very much not alone. She wasn't sure if anyone else noticed.

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do. It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to it's room," the Doctor laughed.

Kit saw Rose look at her from the corner of her eye. "Kit, you okay? You're looking very pale."

"I'm here. Can't you see me?" Said the child.

"That's because I'm not okay, Rose."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters, the tape ran out a couple of seconds ago," Kit gulped. "And the voice hasn't stopped."

The Doctors smile dropped. "I sent it to it's room. This is its room."

They all turned to look at the smashed observation window. There, standing absolutely still, was the empty child.

"Are you my mummy? Mummy?"