Chapter 34: Back to You

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

Don't Lose Your Love- Ivan & Alyosha

Don't you lose your attitude

Don't ever lose that smile

Don't you lose your tenderness

Oh, but most of all

Don't lose your love

There is was. It was just staring at them. One important question went through Kit's mind: Why are children so creepy? It felt like it was looking into your soul. It made Kit shiver uncontrollably. Everyone was silent for a second; staring at the child in shock.

Finally, Rose spoke up with undeniable fear in her voice. "Doctor?"

"Okay, on my signal make for the door," Jack instructed, clearly having a plan in mind. He walked slowly behind the Doctor. "Now!"

Kit and Rose watched in shock and mild amusement as Jack took out a banana instead of his gun. The Doctor was the only one who didn't look perplexed by it. Instead, the Doctor laughed and took Jack's gun from his own belt. He pointed the gun at the wall and made a square hole in the wall.

"Go now!" The Doctor ordered. "Don't drop the banana!"

"Why not?" Jack asked as they ran out the hole and into a new hallway.

"Good source of potassium!"

"Jesus Christ! What's with you and bananas?" Kit cried out loud.

"Give me that!" Jack shouted and took his gun from the Doctor. He pointed it at the hole and closed it. Everyone sighed in relief.

The Doctor turned to Kit and held the banana up. "Bananas are good. Everyone should have a banana with them."

"Yeah but maybe not in a crisis situation," Jack argued. "Nice switch though."

The Doctor shrugged. "It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."

Jack just shook his head. "There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?"

"Like I said, Bananas are good."

Suddenly there was a loud slam against the wall. All of them snapped their head towards it and saw the wall had cracked. It was clear that the empty child was trying to get out. It was also clear that, yes, the child really did have a lot of strength. The child slammed against the wall again and it started to crumble. The wall wasn't going to last much longer.

"This thing just doesn't quiet, does it?" Kit gasped.

"No, which means we got to get out of here now!" The Doctor declared.

None of them needed to be told twice. They took off running down the hall and towards a door at the end. Unfortunately, just as they were about to reach the door, the patients made their way through and started to make their way towards them. Everyone stopped in their tracks, running into each other.

They turned around and headed back to where they came from. Suddenly, another patch of patients came out from all different direction cutting off their only exist. In front of them was the wall that the empty child was trying to destroy. They were trapped.

"It's keeping us here till it can get at us," the Doctor explained quickly.

"It's controlling them?" Jack asked, pointing his gun at the wall.

"It is them. It's every living thing in this hospital!"

"How's that possible?" Kit questioned.

"It shouldn't be!"

"Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?" Jacked inquired pointing his blaster in every direction.

"I've got a sonic, er," the Doctor said taking out his sonic. He looked down at it with embarrassment. "Oh, never mind."

"What?"

"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that." The Doctor turned to one of the group of patients like he was ready to fight.

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?"

"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am soniced up!"

"A sonic what?!"

"For the love of God! He has a sonic screwdriver!" Kit yelled, getting annoyed. "Now someone think of a plan before we're fucked!"

Just then the wall broke and the empty child started climbing through. The patients were closing in and no one could think of what to do.

Just as it looked like all hope was lost, Rose grabbed Jacks blaster and pointed it down. "Going down!" She shouted and then pressed the trigger. A hole opened up and they all fell through.

Kit landed on her stomach with a loud thud, knocking all the wind out of her lungs. She groaned and turned onto her back. She saw the empty child and the patients looking down at them. Before they could react, Jack used his blaster to close the hole.

Kit let out a sigh of relief. "Good plan, Rose. Bad execution. More warning next time."

Rose rolled her eyes and stood up. "I save your life and all I get is complaints on how I did it." She stuck out her hand to Kit and helped her up.

Kit shrugged and gave Rose a grin. "There's always room for improvement."

Rose shook her head and tried to hide her smile. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Kit's smile widened. "Yep!"

"Just help me find a light switch. It's too dark in here."

As Kit and Rose moved around in the dark trying to find any source of light. As they did this the Doctor and Jack started to argue again.

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack accused.

"I do," the Doctor defended.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ooo, this could be a little more sonic?"

"It's actually more useful then it looks," Kit cut in. She knew from experience but she wasn't going to voice that.

"See? Thank you, Kit"

"For what?" Jack kept pushing. "Putting up cabinets?"

"Sometimes you have a lot of cabinets to put up!"

"Kit!" Rose called. "I think I found a light switch!"

No body was really paying attention as Rose turned on the lights. Nobody realized at first that the room wasn't empty. They though they were safe but as the room was illuminated by light, the patients in their bed that they didn't see all sat up in their beds. "Mummy?" They called.

Kit looked around in shock. "Oh, of course."

"Door," Jack pointed.

They rushed to the door. Jack tried to open it but it was locked. He took out his blaster and pointed it at the lock but when he pulled the trigger nothing happened.

"Come on, Jack!" Kit cried. "Hurry!"

"It's not working," he grunted.

"What do you mean it's not working?" She questioned. She looked back to see the patients getting out of their beds and coming towards them. "It was working a couple of minutes ago!"

"Yeah well, that was then and this was now," Jack argued. "It's the special features. They really drain the battery."

"Oh wow, thanks for using those special features! It's sure helping us now!"

"Hey! Those square hole are cool."

"You are so lucky we have the Doctors sonic screwdriver!"

"Why?"

Kit didn't need to answer because the Doctor took out his sonic and used in on the door. It unlocked without any problem. The Doctor pushed open the door.

"And you said a sonic screwdriver was useless," Kit commented as they made their way through the door.

The door led to a small room. It had only one window that had bars on it and no other doors. It was covered with medical equipment and supplies which meant that it was a storage room. That also meant they had no way out. Kit gulped down her fear.

"I still think it's useless," Jack kept arguing, clearly not seeing the mess they were in. "The sonic blaster's great. Its just a little old. I was going to send for another one, but somebody's got to blow up the factory." Jack looked pointedly at the Doctor as he was locking the door behind him.

"Oh, I know," Rose piped in. "First day I met him, he blew my job up. That's practically how he communicates."

The Doctor was paying attention them. "Okay, that door should hold it for a bit."

"Doesn't matter how long it'll hold it for we're still screwed!" Kit voiced.

"Little Red's got a point," Jack agreed with her for once. "The wall didn't stop it! You really think this door will!"

"It more than that!" She snapped. No one was seeing the whole picture. No one was seeing what she was seeing yet. "Look around you guys. There are no doors. We have one window that has bars on it and a sonic blaster that doesn't work." She paused to see if they were getting it. They were. "We're stuck. We have no way out."

"Couldn't we get the bar off some how?" Rose suggested "There has to be something in here we can use."

Kit shook her head. "And then what? Fall seven stories?"

Rose bit her lip. "We really don't have a way out."

Both of them looked over at the Doctor to see if he had a plan. By the look of frustration on his face she assumed it was a no. She would always feel a little better when it looked like the Doctor had a plan but when she knew he didn't her hope would always diminish slightly. Right now it was almost gone but she had to remind herself that she always managed to get out of dangerous situation before and she can do it again.

"Let me think," the Doctor scratched the back of his head. "Okay. One, we've got to get out of here. Two—"

But Kit never heard the rest because suddenly there was a bright flash. For a second she felt like she was free falling but just as that sensation came, it was gone. She landed on her butt on some sort of metallic ground. It suddenly didn't smell like a hospital. It still smelled of alcohol but more like an alcoholic beverage then rubbing alcohol. There was also a waft of men's cologne. Her vision was covered in black dots and she had to blink several times.

When her vision finally cleared it was obvious she was not in the hospital. Instead, she was in some sort of spaceship? She wasn't sure. For someone who has traveled through time and space, she really hadn't been in a lot of actually space ships. The floors were metal and so were the walls. There were buttons and flicking lights everywhere. There was also a large window looking outside with a captains chair in front of it.

"Sorry about the rough landing. The younger you are the more you feel it." The Captains chair turned around to reveal Jack.

"What just happened?" Kit asked in confusion. She looked around. "Where's the Doctor and Rose?"

"Well, to answer you first question, I teleported us into my ship."

"You can do that? And you didn't think of it sooner?" Kit snapped.

"Hey! I was a little preoccupied being cased by creepy hospital patients," he said defensively. "Anyways, my emergency teleporter can only take me and one other person. So, I thought women and children first. Plus, I thought I would be more helpful from my ship. I can figure out how to teleport the others to my ship once I was on."

Kit bit her lip. She supposed that made sense. "Why didn't you take Rose with you then? I'm sure you would have a lot more fun with her."

"True but I know when I'm beat."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on! You may be young but I'm sure you see it too. The Doctor and Rose… the flirting and long stares. I know when I've got no chance."

"Finally!" Kit shouted. "Finally someone's here notice what I have to see everyday!"

"It gets that bad, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Jack gave her a charming smile. "You know, Little Red, you're not that bad."

Kit was once again hit with a sense of familiarity. This time, though, she could also feel the memory of him trying to resurface. It was like a word being on the tip of your tongue. This was going to bother her all day if she didn't figure it out.

She bit her lip. "Are you sure we've never met?"

"Like I said before, I would remember someone like you."

Kit shook her head and muttered, "Yeah… but maybe I've met you but you haven't met me."

"You okay, kid?"

And with that one question, the memory finally came to her like a slap in the face.

She had been lost. So unbelievably lost. The Doctor and five-year-old Kittredge had stopped in Cardiff. The Doctor had said it was something to do with recharging? She really didn't know what that meant. He had just been rambling on and on about it.

It had been taking so long! She'd only been with the Doctor a couple of day but it felt like weeks to her. They had gone on so many awesome adventure and she wanted to go on more. She was bored just waiting around. She wanted to do something exciting. All the Doctor was doing was fiddling with the Tardis and it was boring!

"Can I go outside?" She finally asked.

"What?" He looked up from whatever he was doing.

"This is boring! I'm bored," she huffed. "I want to go outside."

The Doctor sighed. "Children and their impatience. Alright, go outside but don't go too far away from the Tardis. And if anyone offers you candy, don't take it."

"Yes!" She jumped up and down.

She ran outside and breathed in the fresh air. She had only been out there for a couple of minutes pretending she was on some space adventure when a lady bug landed on her arm. She stopped and smiled. She'd only seen lady bugs in pictures.

She held it up to her face. "Hello. My names Kittredge. What's yours?" She pretended to listen. "Oh, it's Penelope! Nice to meet you, Penelope," she laughed. Unfortunately, her laugher was too loud for the little lady bug and it took off from her arm. She gasped. "Wait! Don't leave!"

She followed the lady bug. It was fast and hard to see but Kittredge was determined to catch it. she ran and ran without thinking about where she was or where she was going. All she had in mind of the lady bug. The lady bug clearly didn't want to be chased because it suddenly made a sharp turn and was out of sight.

Kittredge stopped and looked around for the lady bug but it was gone. She huffed in annoyance. She was going to have to ask the Doctor to show her a planet of lady bugs. She was sure he would know of a place.

With that thought in mind, she decided to go back to the Tardis. She took a step in one direction and then realized she had no idea where she was. She looked around franticly. She couldn't see the Tardis anymore. She couldn't see anything she recognized. She was lost. She didn't know where she was or how to get back. What if the Doctor left without her?

This thought caused tears to spring from her eyes. Before she knew it she was sobbing uncontrollably. Different people walked by and gave her strange looks but none stopped.

Suddenly a voice broke through her cries. "You okay, kid?"

She looked up and saw a man's face through her tears. She wiped away the water from her eyes to get a better look. He was crouched down to her level and wore a kind but charming smile. He was old but not as old looking as the Doctor yet the both had similar eyes. He wore a long blue jacket with spenders underneath.

"I—I'm l—lost," she managed to get out between sobs.

"Are you now? Well, we can't have that," he smiled warmly. "Where did you last see your mum or dad?"

She hiccupped. "I wasn't with my mom or dad."

"Well, where did you last see… whatever person you were with?"

Tears started falling down her cheek again. "I was waiting outside and there was a lady bug but it flew away and I tried to catch it but it was too fast and then I looked around and I didn't know where I was!" She rambled out.

"Okay, okay, kid. Slow down and take a deep breath," the man instructed and Kittredge did a she was told. "Now, think real hard. What was around you before you ran after the lady bug?"

Kittredge shut her eyes tight and thought. "There was a big thing with water falling down from the top."

"Ah, I think I know exactly where that is."

Her eyes widened. "You do?"

He laughed. "I've lived here a long time. I knew this place very well. I can take you back."

Kittredge was about to thank him when a woman with black hair ran up behind the man. She seemed to be in a panic.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" She snapped in an accent Kittredge had never heard before. "We have a development."

The man frowned. "What kind? Can it wait? I promised this young lady I'd help her find her way back."

"There is a major…" the woman looked down at her and pressed her lips together. "Disturbance around this area. Kinda like the one you ran off to the last time. Remember?"

Realization dawned on the man. "They're back? Didn't think I'd see them so soon. We didn't do anything big in the last month that would make him want to come back to shut us down?"

The woman's face turned sour. "Well there was that… thing."

"Oh right, that thing. That would catch his attention."

"Should we go see if it's him for sure?"

"He'll find us even if we don't." The man turned back to her. "Don't worry, kid. I can still take you back. It's on the way."

Kittredge looked down shyly. "Thank you."

"But Jack—"

"She's lost. I'm not going to leave her. He can wait," he argued with the women.

The women sighed. "Fine."

The man stood up and held out his hand for her to take. "Follow me."

She took it with a smile and followed him down the street with the women walking nervously behind them.

"Love your hair by the way," Jack complemented after a moment of silence. "It really suits you. Reminds me of a friend of mine."

"I hate it," Kittredge grumbled as she tried to pat it down. "It's too messy even when I brush it."

He laughed. "That's exactly what my friend would say."

"Where did she go?" She asked in curiosity. "Adults say 'would' when someone's gone."

"Traveling probably. Running from one place to the next." He sighed. "I just hope she's doing okay. She's been through a lot." He looked of to the distance. "Too much. I worry about her." He shook his head and put on a smile. "She's also got a knack for getting in trouble and I can tell that so do you."

"That's what my friend always says!" She laughed.

He grinned. "You know I never got your name and I—well—never gave you ours. I'm Jack and the grump behind me is Gwyneth," he introduced. She heard the woman, Gwyneth, huff.

"I'm Kittredge," she smiled up at him. She expected a smile back but instead he stopped in his tracks.

He looked over at Gwyneth with a strange expression and then back to her. "Your name's Kittredge? Do you have a last name?"

Kittredge scratched the back of her head. "Yeah but I don't like to use it."

He knelt down in front of her. "Kittredge, what's the name of the person you're looking for?"

"He has a weird name. He calls himself the Doctor."

Jack said nothing at first but then laughed. "So that's what she'd been talking about!"

Kittredge gave him a confused look. "What?"

His eyes soften. "Look at you. Look how young you are. Look how—how… happy you are. I'm so glad to see you this way."

"Wait," Gwyneth interrupted. "This is her. The same girl you talk about all the time… but how?"

Jack shrugged. "Time travels a complicated thing."

This caught Kittredge's attention. "Time travel?"

"Don't worry about it, Little Red. It'll make sense one day," he winked.

Kittredge's face grew sour. "Little Red? I don't like that."

Jack laughed whole heartedly. "Oh, trust me, I know."

"You're weird," she observed.

"Not the worst thing I've been called," he smiled but then grew serious. "I need to talk to you about some… important things."

Kittredge was becoming nervous. This man was weird. He talked to her and looked at her like he knew her. It made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Can't we just find my friend?" She questioned, wanting to get away.

"We will—just—I need you to just listen, okay?" He pleaded and gripped her shoulders.

She nodded. "O—okay."

He pressed his lip together like he was having trouble finding the words to say. "I wanted to warn you that—" He stopped and sighed. He watched her for a moment like he was analyzing her. His face grew sad but then he forced a smile. "Never lose that smile of yours, not for anything. Life's going to hit you with some pretty crappy things… remember to smile. Remember the best of times. Don't dwell of the worst. Alright, Little Red? Promise me."

"I promise."

He seemed to relax. "Good. Now let's find your friend."

They walked back the rest of the way in silence. Kittredge kept looking up at Jack with a curious expression but Jack never looked at her. Finally, after a couple minutes of walking, Kittredge could see the Tardis with the Doctor outside looking around for her.

"I see him!" She cheered. "Thank you!"

"I told you I could find him," he grinned.

Kittredge shifted from one foot to the other. "Goodbye, I guess."

"Goodbye, Kittredge." He leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head. "But only for now."

Before she could have asked what he meant, both him and the women walked away.

"Hey, Little Red, you in there. Hello?" Jack's voice snapped Kit out of her memory. "You spaced out there for a moment."

Kit looked at him wide eyed. "Oh… shit."