Nina really liked the school's new secretary. She'd only been there two days, but so many of the teachers were new, it wasn't that short of a time by comparison. What she (and all the other students at Ferryvale) liked about Miss Laurin was that meeting her often meant not meeting Mr. Finch. Now there was nothing wrong with Mr. Finch, except, generally, he wasn't nice to be around.
Nina approached Mr. Finches office slightly worried. It was nearly lunchtime, so Miss Laurin might not be there. Luckily for Nina, Miss Laurin was still at her desk.
"Hullo, Miss Laurin," Nina said as she approached.
"Hello," Miss Laurin said in her American accent. Another reason the students were so fond of her. "What do you need, dear?"
"The nurse sent me, ma'am," Nina said. Miss Laurin's pleasant smile faltered. "I was in English and I got a headache."
"Well, if she sent you here, then you should probably go home. Who can I call for you...um?" Miss Laurin's hands hovered over her keyboard.
"Nina Johns," Nina said. Miss Laurin typed her name, and frowned.
"I'm sorry, Nina. It says here you live in Ambrose Hall?" Was it just Nina, or did Miss Laurin sound panicked?
Nina dug in her pocket to find the paper her Grandmother had given her that morning. "I got adopted last week, ma'am," Nina said, smiling despite her pounding headache.
"Oh, congratulations!" Miss Laurin said, genuinely happy. Nina handed her the slip of paper, and Miss Laurin called the number. "Why don't you sit down, Nina. Whose number is this?"
"My Grandma, Miss Laurin."
The conversation with Grandma went fairly quickly, although Miss Laurin looked confused the entire time. "She'll be right over," Miss Laurin said, three minutes before Grandma walked into the office.
When she walked in, Miss Laurin stood quickly from her chair, shock flitterting across her face before it vanished behind a smile. Grandma smiled back, her smile lines wrinkling around her warm brown eyes.
"I'm here to collect my grandaughter?" Grandma said, her own not-from-here accent standing out. Nina rather liked her Grandmother's accent too.
"Of course," Miss Laurin breathed. "H-how is the shop?" Nina looked between the two women. Did they know each other? Wouldn't that be fun!
"Oh, I closed it," Grandma said. "How's the locket?"
"Right where it should be," Miss Laurin answered. Grandma nodded, apparently satisfied with the vague answer, and reached for Nina's hand.
"Let's go home, dear."
...
Despite there being a much cleaner staff room for the Doctor and I to eat in, we took our lunch in the cafeteria. I'm not sure what the students or staff whispered was the reason (although I'd heard one student whisper that we simply hated the rest of the staff, which was much tamer than the rumors I remembered from middle school).
I had a habit of getting there first, and thus picking where we sat. This meant I had a great view of the Doctor getting in line and giving Rose the smuggest look when she spooned what was only legally Mac and Cheese onto his plate.
"If we're here much longer, I think she's going to murder you," I told the Doctor when he sat down next to me. "If you could fake our credentrails, why didn't you fake hers too?" The Doctor raised his eyebrow, a move slightly undercut by the fact that he was chewing.
"We agreed we needed eyes in different places," the Doctor reminded me. "I've got the children in class, you've got them in administration, and Rose can watch them here." I looked over his shoulder to see Rose advancing on our table, cleaning cloth in hand.
"Try telling her that," I mumbled, turning back to my own food. Food I had made myself on the TARDIS. I'd only just escaped school food. I did not intend to go back.
"Two days," Rose spat as soon as we were in earshot.
"Sorry, could you just?" The Doctor gestured with his fork to a spot on the table. "There's a bit of gravy." Rose ignored him. "No, no, just, just there."
"Two days, we've been here," Rose repeated.
"Blame your boyfriend," the Doctor said. "He's the one who put us on to this. And he was right." The Doctor dropped his voice and looked between Rose and I. "Boy in class this morning, got knowledge way beyond planet Earth."
"You eating those chips?" Rose asked, distracted as always by fried potatoes. She snatched one before the Doctor could even answer.
"Yeah, they're a bit...different," the Doctor admitted. I grabbed one as well, two days of curiosity finally beating out my apprehension.
"I think they're gorgeous," Rose said. I hummed my agreement because holy shit they were good. "Wish I had school dinners like this."
"It's lunch, Rose," I corrected on instinct, snatching another chip before the Doctor could stop me.
"It's very well behaved, this place," he said. Rose and I hummed our agreement, since our mouths were full. "I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones." The Doctor grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Eh? Eh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in."
"I have literally no idea what you just said," I deadpanned. "You do not fit in with human children." Rose shook her head at us, smiling.
"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting," one of the dinner ladies said. Rose shot to her feet
"I was just talking to this teacher and the secretary," Rose defended.
"Hello," we said.
"He doesn't like the chips," Rose whispered conspiratorially to the lunch lady.
"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance," the lunch lady snapped at the Doctor. "Now, get back to work." Rose sighed and walked to the next table.
"See?" Rose gestured to her outfit. "This is me. Dinner lady."
"I'll have the crumble," the Doctor called after her.
"I'm so going to kill you," Rose responded.
"Told you," I said. Before I could take another bite of my food, my phone went off in my pocket. "Fuck, already?" I whispered. It wouldn't do for the kids to hear me swear. I pulled my phone out, muted the alarm, and stood up. "Here, I packed the last of the snicker doodles."
"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked, stuffing the bread in his mouth.
"Got to greet a reporter," I answered. "Someone's doing a profile on Finch." I pretended to just notice one of the Krillitanes walk in. "Wagner just came in." That distracted the Doctor well enough that I could slip away without him asking more questions.
My only goal for the day was to make sure the Doctor didn't know I knew what was happening. I didn't need to add to the drama of the Doctor's past being dredged up. Nina was the only one I could remember being in danger, and somehow, she'd already been saved.
Who was that woman? Why did she feel so… familiar? I'd only seen her once, and not even for that long or in any life threatening situation. Was it really just her sympathy and open ears that endeared her to me?
I started playing with the chain of my locket, as I walked to the door to greet Sarah Jane Smith.
...
"Mathematics. That's the cornerstone of our work here," Finch explained. My job as the lone secretary was really 'Headmaster's personal assistant', so instead of sitting at my desk taking calls like I remembered the brilliant secretaries at my highschool doing, I was following Mr. Finch and Sarah Jane. I had work, dammit, and just because this job was a cover to get into the school didn't mean I was going to slack off. There was a school to run.
"My improvements aren't confined to the classroom," Mr. Finch continued. "Oh, no, no, no. We've introduced a new policy. School dinners are absolutely free, but compulsory."
"Do try the chips," I added when Finch paused to breathe. He nodded in my direction.
"Oh, I'd love to. Thank you," Sarah Jane said. "And it's got to be said, the transformation you've brought about is amazing. I mean, maybe you're working the children a little bit too hard now and then, but I think good results are more important than anything."
"Exactly," Finch agreed. He sounded proud of his accomplishments, and knowing what they were made my stomach churn. "You're a woman of vision, Miss Smith."
"Oh, I can see everything, Mr. Finch. Quite clearly," Sarah said.
We walked through the rest of the school, Finch telling Sarah Jane about all the improvements he'd made. Despite all his boasting about the new math program, we carefully avoided the math department.
"If you'd like to interview the staff, Miss Smith," Finch offered as we passed the teacher's lounge.
"Yes, thank you." We went in, where about half of the staff was gathered. Maybe half of the gathered were the new staff. One of them was the Doctor. He gave me a curious look.
"Excuse me, colleagues. A moment of your time," Finch announced as we entered. "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith." The Doctor's eyes slide over, going unbearably soft as they settled on Sarah Jane. There was a little surprise, but mostly it was joy and pride that lit the Doctor's expression. He'd never looked older.
"Miss Smith is a journalist who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times," Finch continued, unaware of the bombshell he'd just dropped on the Last of the Time Lords. "I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak. Don't spare my blushes." Finch turned to leave. "Katelyn, if you'd stay here, in case Miss Smith needs anything."
"Of course, sir," I responded, because that's what one says to their boss.
Sarah walked over to the Doctor, who was still staring at her. "Hello."
"Oh, I should think so," he said, dumbly.
"John Smith," I introduced, while the Doctor took some time to turn his brain back on. "Our new physics teacher."
"John Smith," Sarah almost laughed. "I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."
"Well, it's a very common name," the Doctor said, voice full of emotion.
It's not, I had told him two days ago. The parts are, but not together.
Well, I've been using it with no problem, the Doctor had defended.
I'm not saying it's a problem, I'm just saying your wrong, I had said..
"He was a very...uncommon man," Sarah said fondly. I smiled. What an understatement. "Nice to meet you." Sarah held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you," the Doctor agreed, shaking her hand longer than was appropriate. "Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant."
"John," I interrupted. The Doctor blinked before looking at me, like he'd forgotten I was there. "I think Miss Smith would like to get past greetings at some point."
"Right, yes, sorry."
"Oh, it's nothing," Sarah dismissed. "Miss Laurin said you were new. How long have you worked here?"
"It's, um, only my second day."
"Oh, so you're very new," Sarah realized. "What do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill? Doesn't that strike you as odd?" The Doctor was practically vibrating with energy, face the picture of pride.
"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile," he whispered. Sarah smiled.
"Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here," Sarah whispered back.
"No," the Doctor agreed. "Good for you." His mad grinning appeared to finally get to Sarah, who went over to another teacher without saying goodbye. "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith." He laughed, just once, then turned to me. "Did you…?"
"I didn't know," I lied, smiling. "I just recognized her when I opened the door." I looked over to where Sarah was slowly charming her way through the entire staff. "Should we tell Rose?"
"Why?" the Doctor asked.
"You really think Sarah Jane's gonna leave this here?" I asked. "Don't think Rose could use a little heads up?"
"Is that a suggestion or a warning?" the Doctor asked. Suggestion meant 'I have a higher wisdom stat than you, and thus understand people'. Warning meant 'I've seen this before, and don't much like the outcome'.
"Suggestion," I lied.
...
We waited in the TARDIS until it was dark, snuck to a back entrance to let Mickey in, and gathered in the center of the building. Lively buildings that were suddenly empty and dark were always creepy, but there was something about this place that was even worse.
"Oh, it's weird seeing school at night," Rose laughed. "It just feels wrong. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school." I giggled. "Oi."
"No, it's just, my parents were teachers," I said. "Believe me, the teachers are just as eager to get home as the students."
"All right, team," the Doctor said, then cringed. "Oh, I hate people who say team. Er, gang?"
"Implies illegal activities," I countered.
"Er, comrades," the Doctor tried.
"Implies communism."
"Anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil," the Doctor directed. "Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers. Go and check out the Maths department. We're going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes." The Doctor jogged up the stairs, and I followed, since apparently that was my job.
At the top of the stairs, the Doctor turned left, which was not right. "Doc? Finch's office is this way?" I pointed behind us.
"You were right about Sarah Jane," the Doctor said, still walking in the wrong direction. "And I'll bet she's here already. It's a small school. She'll find the TARDIS."
"Why not just stay there, then?" I asked. The Doctor didn't answer, which meany one of us wouldn't like his answer. There had been a period of about an hour when I'd been making dinner, and the Doctor and Rose had been alone in the Library. I'd hoped they'd talked about Sarah Jane or about seeing her tonight. I couldn't think of a single reason not to. But then, I wasn't a complete buffoon, so who knows?
The TARDIS was in a storeroom in the back of the gymnasium. We watched Sarah Jane run in the room, and make straight for the TARDIS. The Doctor took a deep breath and walked in behind her. I stayed back, hid in the shadows. This was not my scene.
Sarah Jane stumbled back out of the storeroom, breathing hard. She turned slowly, eyes widening when she saw the Doctor. "Hello, Sarah Jane."
"It's you," she breathed. "Doctor, oh, my God, it's you, isn't it." She smiled for a second, then it vanished. For a second, she looked like she was going to cry. "You've regenerated."
"Oh, half a dozen times since we last met," the Doctor agreed, the tiniest smile creeping onto his face.
"You look...incredible," Sarah said.
"So do you," the Doctor said.
Sarah laughed. "I got old. What are you doing here?"
"Well, UFO sighting, school gets record results. I couldn't resist," the Doctor said. He glanced back at me for a second, but I shook me head. This wasn't my entrance. "What about you?"
"The same," Sarah whispered. She looked like she was going to cry again. "I thought you'd died," Sarah sobbed. The Doctor's smile disappeared. "I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died."
"I lived," the Doctor said mournfully. "Everyone else died."
Of course, I realized. Of course he didn't want to talk about Sarah Jane Smith. He'd been a different man when he'd known her. And now here was his past, dredged up and in his face, a reminder of all he'd lost. And what was I doing? The Doctor was my friend. I should be helping him, not preemptively shaming him.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"Everyone died, Sarah," the Doctor repeated. Sarah opened her mouth to say something, then wisely decided to swallow that comment.
"I can't believe it's you," she whispered instead. No sooner had the words left her mouth than someone screamed. I snorted, because you could just tell it was Mickey. "Okay, now I can!"
We ran from the room, me ahead of the Doctor and Sarah only because I was closer to the door. Rose met us at the first intersection.
"Did you hear that?" she asked. Then she spotted Sarah Jane, did a double take at where the Doctor was holding her hand, and narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "Who's she?" The Doctor was beaming, oblivious to Rose's mood.
"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose," the Doctor introduced. "And you've met Katelyn."
"Please never call me Miss Laurin again," I said, offering my hand. Sarah Jane shook it, but wasn't really focusing on me.
"Nice to meet you both." She turned to the Doctor. "You can tell you're getting older. Your assistants are getting younger."
"I'm not his assistant," Rose spat.
"It's not the word I would use-" I tried.
"No?" Sarah said, sounding sceptical. "Get you, tiger."
The Doctor said nothing, opening and closing his mouth several times before gesturing down the hallway and leaving without waiting for us. I jogged to catch up to him.
"Would it kill you to listen to my advice in a non-life threatening situation just once?" I hissed. The Doctor said nothing, again. God, it was like managing toddler sometimes.
We found Mickey in one of the science classrooms, stumbling around with armfuls of rats, trying to put them back in the closet.
"Sorry!" He said when he saw us, dropping the rats he was holding. "Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me." The Doctor crouched and picked up a rat.
"Oh, my God, they're rats," Rose observed. "Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."
"And you decided to scream?" the Doctor asked Mickey.
"It took me by surprise!" he protested.
"Like a little girl?" the Doctor teased.
"It was dark! I was covered in rats!"
"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."
"Hello, can we focus?" Rose interrupted. "Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"
"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons," Sarah Jane said, as if we were all stupid. "They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet," she said to Rose. "How old are you?"
"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore," Rose shot back. "They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?"
"Anyway!" I said loudly. "We never did get to Finch's office. C'mon, guys." I started making my way over to the office. The Doctor followed right behind me, but we were maybe four steps into the hallway when Rose and Sarah Jane sped in front of us.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything," Rose lied. "But who exactly are you?"
"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor."
"Oh! Well, he's never mentioned you," Rose said.
"Oh, I must've done," the Doctor said, scratching his ear. "Sarah Jane. Mention her all the time."
"Making it worse," I muttered.
"Hold on," Rose said, pretending to think. "Sorry. Never."
"What, not even once?" Sarah sounded rightly hurt. "He didn't mention me even once?"
"Ho, ho, mate." Mickey sounded delighted. "The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare."
...
Because it was quieter than the sonic, I used my administrative key to unlock Finch's door.
"Maybe those rats were food," the Doctor offered out of nowhere.
"Food for what?" Rose asked.
I pushed the door all the way open slowly, never taking my hand off the handle.
"Rose?" the Doctor asked. We looked at him. He was looking up. "You know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school? Well, they do." We looked up.
The creatures hanging from the ceiling didn't really look like bats, but they didn't really look of Earth at all, so any comparison would be a little off. E.T./Gargoyle/Bats was the best description my brain could feed me.
"No way!" Mickey said, turning and running out the door and down the hallway again. Rose and Sarah Jane followed a little slower. I pulled the door silently shut before following.
Mickey didn't stop running until he was outside the building. The rest of us walked out after him. "I am not going back in there," he declared. "No way."
"Those were teachers," Rose gasped.
"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen," the Doctor explained. "Thirteen big bat people. Come on." The Doctor turned back toward the school. We all started our way back in.
"Come o-? You've gotta be kidding!" Mickey protested.
"I need the TARDIS. I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen," the Doctor explained.
"I might be able to help you there," Sarah said, jogging toward the parking lot. "I've got something to show you." Sarah Jane ran over to her car, unlocked it, popped the trunk, and pulled a blanket off the tin dog sitting inside
"K9!" the Doctor cried, delighted. "Rose Tyler, Katelyn Laurin, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K ni- well, K9 Mark Three to be precise."
"Why does he look so...disco?" Rose asked.
"Vaguely 80s," I agreed.
"Oi! Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge," the Doctor protested. Rose gave me a long suffering look. I sighed. "What's happened to him?"
"One day, he just-" Sarah shrugged. "-nothing."
"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" the Doctor asked, sounded deeply offended on K9's behalf.
"Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro," Sarah protested. "Beside, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone."
"Couldn't take him in to UNIT?" I asked. "They know about the Doctor and stuff."
"I'd never get him back," Sarah said.
"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?" the Doctor cooed, scratching around K9's head. I shook my head.
"And you judged me for wanting to pet those Andorran wolves," I said.
"No, I judged you for calling them 'harmless little babies' when they'd already tried to bite your hand off," the Doctor corrected. I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head, then walked around him to pet K9.
...
Somehow, we all managed to pile into Sarah Jane's tiny car. We drove around until we found the one chippy open this late, wrestled K9 onto one of the tables, and sat down. I decidedly did not mention that the Doctor had put K9 on a table with only two chairs. Knowing him, he hadn't even noticed.
Rose and Mickey went to the counter to order some food. "You see, what's impressive is that it's been nearly an hour since we met her and I still haven't said I told you so," Mickey teased, sounding delighted.
"I'm not listening to this," Rose muttered.
"Although, I have prepared a little I was right dance that I can show you later," Mickey continued.
"Lay off, Mickey," I warned. Rose paid for our chips and sat down at the table I'd picked.
"All this time you've been giving it, he's different, when the truth is, he's just like any other bloke," Mickey continued.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Rose muttered, passing me my serving of chips and digging into hers.
"Maybe not. But if I were you I'd go easy on the chips," Mickey whispered. Rose stopped dead, a chip halfway out of her mouth. I glared at him and dumped part of my serving into Rose's.
"Lay off, Mickey," I repeated, with more force. We sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, before K9 beeped.
"Oh, hey!" the Doctor cheered, playing the table in front of him like drums. "Now we're in business."
"Master," K9 said in his adorable little robot voice.
"He recognises me!" the Doctor said, delighted. Sarah Jane beamed.
"Affirmative," K9 agreed.
"Rose, give us the oil," the Doctor said, holding his hand out to the side and not looking away from K9. We walked over, and Rose fished the oil out of her pocket and handed it over. The Doctor opened the lid and went to stick his finger in.
"I wouldn't touch it, though," Rose warned. "That dinner lady got all-" Rose gestured down her body. "-scorched."
"I'm no dinner lady," the Doctor said. "And I don't often say that." He smeared a bit of the oil on to K9's probe, then wiped his hands off on a napkin. "Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go."
"Oil," K9 tried. "Ex-ex-ex-extract. Ana-ana-analysing."
"Listen to him, man. That's a voice," Mickey laughed. Rose grinned.
"Careful, that's my dog," Sarah warned. Our smiles faded a little.
"Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krillitane Oil," K9 said. The Doctor stood up straighter and stared out the window, all business now that there was a real threat.
"They're Krillitanes," he breathed.
"Is that bad?" Rose asked, knowing full well it was.
"Very," the Doctor answered Rose's real question. "Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad."
"You're underestimating my creativity," I joked. One of us had to be the comic relief.
"And what are Krillitanes?" Sarah asked.
"They're a composite race," the Doctor explained. "Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy." The Doctor paused, biting his lip. "That's why I didn't recognise them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks."
"What would be the benefit of long necks?" I asked.
"What're they doing here?" Rsoe asked. Frankly her question was much better. Probably why the Doctor ignored mine.
"It's the children," the Doctor whispered in horror. "They're doing something to the children."
With that horrifying remark, we made our way back out to Sarah's car. Mickey and I lugged K9 out this time, and damn he was heavy. Tin my ass, there was no way that dog was made of anything lighter than steel.
"So what's the deal with the tin dog?" Mickey asked.
"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage," Sarah Jane explained, sitting down in her trunk. "Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens, and sometimes they're tin dogs. What about you, Mickey? Where do you fit in the picture?"
"Me?" Mickey scoffed. "I'm their Man in Havana. I'm the technical support. I'm...Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog." Mickey dropped to sit on the edge of the trunk, as that finally occurred to him. I giggled. Sarah Jane patted Mickey on the shoulder and turned to me.
"And you?"
Their third wheel, mainly, I thought. In the pause, I could hear Rose say "I thought you and me were...I obviously got it wrong."
"Comic relief," I offered, wanting some laughter to block out the Doctor and Rose's conversation. "And occasionally I have good ideas. I must, if the Doctor keeps me around." I smiled at Sarah Jane. "He only brings the best, after all." She smiled back. And then he losses us. Three steps forward, two steps back. Always moving on.
"That's the curse of the Time Lords," the Doctor finished. A Krillitane screamed, and we all looked up to where it was perched on the roof of a nearby church. It swooped down, straight at the Doctor, but he was more concerned with pushing Rose down and out of harm's way than protecting himself. How could she think he didn't love her?
The Krillitane flew away.
Those of us by the car ran over. "Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah asked.
"Is it weird that I hope it was?" I asked.
"It didn't even touch you. It just flew off," Rose observed. "What did it do that for?" We watched it flap away, back toward the school, before it was out of sight.
"I have some ideas," the Doctor said.
...
We marched into school the next morning. I was dressed in jeans and a hoodie for once, because the pantsuits I'd worn to be "Miss Laurin, secretary" was not particularly conducive to running. I don't know how the Doctor did it. Rose had similarly ditched her lunch-lady outfit for her own pair of jeans and a jacket.
We paused in the throng of students to get our roles in the Doctor's plan. "Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this." Rose held out her hand, but the Doctor passed the screwdriver to Sarah on his right. To be fair, Rose usually stood on his right. "Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside."
"Just stand outside?" Mickey complained.
"Here, take these. You can keep K9 company." Sarah tossed Mickey her car keys.
"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," the Doctor said.
"But he's metal!" Mickey protested.
"I didn't mean for him."
"What're you going to do?" Rose asked.
"It's time I had a word with Mister Finch," the Doctor answered. "Katelyn, with me."
We split off as soon as we were inside. It didn't take the Doctor and I long to find Mr. Finch. Or rather, Mr. Finch found our lurking spot, stopping in the middle of the hallway to look up a flight of stairs.
He locked eyes with the Doctor first, then with me. Mr. Finch's eyes widened slightly. After all, I'd had to interview with him personally. He'd approved me. This must feel like a betrayal to him.
Eventually, Finch looked away and started walking in the direction he'd come from. The Doctor and I followed at a distance, until we made it to the pool. There were no students, and I wondered if the pool had just been closed, or if it was a lucky break in the schedule.
We stopped and stood at opposite ends of the pool.
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.
"My name is Brother Lassa," Finch answered. "And you?"
"The Doctor."
"Still Katelyn Laurin."
"Since when did Krillitanes have wings?" the Doctor asked.
"It's been our form for nearly ten generations now," Finch explained walking toward us around the edge of the pool. "Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings." We walked in the same direction, always keeping distance. "They made a million widows in one day. Just imagine."
"I'll pass, thanks," I said.
"And now your shapes human," the Doctor said.
"A personal favourite, that's all," Finch dismissed.
"And the others?" the Doctor asked.
"My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath," Finch explained. The Doctor nodded, like that had been the answer he was expecting.
"And what of the Time Lords?" Finch asked. His eyes flicked back and forth between the Doctor and I. Oh. Of course. "I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos." The Doctor nodded, and we started walking to meet Finch. "And of course, they're all but extinct. Only you two. The Last." Finch finished like he was just realizing something.
"This plan of yours," the Doctor said calmly, not rising to Finch's bait. "What is it?"
"You don't know?" Finch asked.
"That's why we're asking," I said.
"Well, show me how clever you are," Finch said, still advancing. "Work it out."
"If we don't like it, then it will stop," the Doctor said.
"Fascinating," Finch whispered, now so close our toes were almost touching. I fought the instinct to back up. "Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence." He tilted his head. "You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us?"
"Children," I breathed. "Don't think I won't protect them."
"I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy," the Doctor said, sounding more tired than I'd heard him sound since he regenerated. "You get one warning. That was it." The Doctor turned to leave, so I followed.
"But we're not even enemies," Finch said to our backs. We stopped walking. "Soon you will embrace us. The next time we meet, you will join with me." I just suppressed a shiver. He was so creepy. "I promise you." Finch walked past us and out of the pool.
As soon as he was out of sight, I let myself shiver.
"Cold?" the Doctor asked.
"Creeped out," I corrected. "He's taking the vampire bit too far." The Doctor smiled.
"Come on. Let's go see what Rose and Sarah Jane found.
We were ten steps out of the pool when I felt the need to ask. "Is that why you wanted me to come with you?" I asked quietly. "Because you knew he was going to ask about the Time Lords?"
"No," the Doctor answered.
"You're lying," I whispered. "Look, I'm sorry I don't have answers for you, but if I don't, what makes you think the greater universe will?"
"Someone has to know," the Doctor answered.
We heard Sarah Jane and Rose laughing from halfway down the hallway. It was a welcome sound compared to the heavy silence that had fallen between the Doctor and I.
"How's it going?" the Doctor asked. The women kept laughing. I fought my bodies instinct to join in. "What? Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these." Rose pointed with the sonic, and they only laughed harder. "What?" Hysteria was starting to set in. "Stop it," the Doctor whined.
...
Ten minutes later, the tannoy called the students back to their classrooms, and the staff to the staff room. The Doctor paused. Oh, the staff. None of them would survive this, would they?
Katelyn sucked in a pained breath and sat down in a chair. So, no.
Rose ran to the door to turn students away. The Doctor yanked one of the computer's hard drives, tossed the wires around his shoulder, and got to work.
"I can't shift it," he muttered.
"I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!" Sarah Jane said.
"Anything except a deadlock seal," the Doctor explained. "There's got to be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?"
About 30 seconds after the words left his mouth, every computer screen in the room lit up green. Symbols and letters and numbers scrolled by impossibly fast. He could just read them.
"You wanted the programme?" Sarah said. "There it is."
"Some sort of code," the Doctor realized. A breath, then "No. No, that can't be. The Skasis Paradigm." This was.. This was about as bad as it could possibly be. "They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."
"The Skasis what?" Sarah asked.
"The God maker. The universal theory," the Doctor explained. "Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control." This was bad. This was far worse than he'd been imaninging. Katelyn didn't look shocked. Maybe he had underestimated her imagination.
"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked.
"Yes," the Doctor breathed. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil!" he realized, pacing. "That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."
"But that oil's on the chips," Rose said. "We've been eating them." She looked at Katelyn. Katelyn's eyes widened.
"What's fifty nine times thirty five?" the Doctor asked, knowing full well that math was not either one of their strong suits.
"Two thousand and sixty five," the girls answered in unison. The Doctor tilted his head as if to say, 'see, there'.
"Oh, my God," Rose said.
"But why use children? Can't they use adults?" Sarah asked.
"No, it's got to be children," the Doctor said. "The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code, they're using their souls."
"Let the lesson begin," Finch said. They all turned to him. "Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it." The Doctor almost rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure, 'improve it'.
"Oh yeah, the whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch?" the Doctor asked. "Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are." Finch shook his head.
"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order?" he asked. That's my job now, the Doctor thought. "Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."
"What, by someone like you?" the Doctor laughed.
"No, someone like you," Finch said. The Doctor's smile vanished. "Or you." Finch turned to Katelyn. She shot to her feet, eyes going even wider. "The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom." Katelyn stepped closer to the Doctor's side. He grabbed her hand. If Finch wanted them to be in this together, then great. They worked better together anyway.
"Become Gods at my side," Finch continued. "Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords...reborn."
The Doctor looked over at Katelyn. Could that…? Could that really be it? She met his eyes, panic overtaking everything else in her expression.
"No," she said, voice shaking. She turned back to Finch. "Nice try, boss, but you're offering power to the person who least wants it. I'm quite content to bounce about the universe saving lives. Making reality just that much kinder."
And she was, the Doctor knew. Katelyn wanted nothing to do with power. She'd shown it time and time again. She'd turned down the opportunity to be the Roman Empress several weeks ago. And she loved Ancient Rome
"But you could," Finch said, never breaking eye contact with Katelyn. Oh, he never blinked, that's what made him creepy. "You could make reality kind. How many lives could you save as a god?"
"Not enough," she whispered. But the Doctor was not standing as firm.
"I could save everyone," the Doctor realized. He… he should stop this, but… but if he didn't?
"Doctor, don't listen to him-" Sarah tried. Finch walked around the Doctor, over toward the humans.
"And you could be with him throughout eternity," he said. "Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die. Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes." Finch turned back to the Doctor and Katelyn. "How lonely you must be, Time Lords. Join us."
"I could stop the war," the Doctor whispered. What could he do with all that power? No. The better question was what couldn't he do?
Gallifrey, shining and back in the sky.
Rose Tyler, forever at his side, if she wanted.
He could open the walls between worlds, let Katelyn go back home. Answer the question of who she was.
How many companions had he lost? He could save them all with that power.
"No." Sarah Jane Smith's firm voice broke into his thoughts in a way Katelyn's shaking one had not. "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love." Finch dropped his head, broke eye contact. The Doctor lowly looked over to Sarah. And Rose, standing over her shoulder, looking so concerned. "Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."
The Doctor eyes trailed over to the board, where the Skasis Paradigm was on full display. Suddenly, he was angry. A deep, burning rage that only the most evil in the universe could provoke in him.
The Krillitanes were about to learn why he was called the Oncoming Storm.
The Doctor ran forward, grabbed a chair and threw it through the board before he could regret it. Finch hissed. "Out!" the Doctor shouted, running and praying the human followed.
...
We ran down toward the entrance, but Mickey met us halfway. There were still a few shards of glass clinging to his jacket, which was to be expected when one drove through a glass wall, and one of the kids was trailing behind him. Kenny, I remembered. Kenny had been sent to Finch's office a few time for "misbehavior" which was really just non-compliance. Good kid.
"What is going on?" Mickey asked, falling into step with the Doctor. We tried going down one hallway, but the Krillitanes were coming from that way. We spun as fast as we could and took off in the other direction.
They were fast, but the school's narrow hallways were not conducive to flying, so we were faster. We ran into, and most of the way across the cafeteria. The door on the other side was locked. The Doctor started searching his pocket for his sonic.
Finch three the door open so hard it hit that wall. Three Krillitaines flew in after him. We all froze and turned to him, crouching, on edge, ready to fight.
"Are they my teachers?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah. Sorry," the Doctor said.
"We need the Time Lords alive," Finch commanded. "As for the others? You can feast."
The Krillitanes dove. We dove too, except to hide under the tables. The Doctor picked up a chair and started swinging. Rose kicked at one that got to close. I'm pretty sure Mickey screamed again.
Suddenly a laser beam shot one of the Krillitanes, and it fell to the ground. Finch started screeching this horrible, grating noise. I covered my ears.
"K9!" Sarah shoute. I looked up to see K9 roll in and fire randomly into the air.
"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress," he said in his adorable little robot voice. We all scrambled back to our feet and ran.
"K9, hold them back!" the Doctor shouted over his shoulder.
"Affirmative, master." We ran out the door. The Doctor sealed it behind us.
We ran all the way back to the Doctor's classroom, where we locked but didn't barricade the doors. We sat down, just thinking for a moment.
I can't believe I… Back when the Paradigm was still on the wall… I'd very nearly let the Doctor take it. I wanted so badly to let him have that. Not the power, but the relief. I hadn't tried to stop him. I wouldn't have.
Maybe I didn't want the power for myself. But was compliancy any better?
"It's the oil," the Doctor said out of nowhere. Rose and I shot to our feet. "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"
"Barrels of it," Rose said.
The Krillitanes started battering at the door.
"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens," the Doctor said. "Mickey-"
"What now, hold the coats?" he complained.
"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school," the Doctor ordered.
"I'll go with Mickey. The kids know me," I offered. The Doctor nodded, never looking away from the door.
"Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" the Doctor asked. Kenny jammed his elbow into the fire alarm. On the other side of the door, the Krillitane screeched in pain. The Doctor laughed and soniced the door open.
Mickey and I peeled off from the main group immediately, running into the nearest classroom. The fire alarm stopped.
"Okay, listen, everyone. We've got to get out of here!" Mickey shouted. The children didn't react, hear him, or notice when he walked forward and waved his hand in front of their face.
"They're hardwired in," I explained. Mickey ran to the teacher's computer and started typing.
"Even if I can get in here, it'll take too long," Mickey explained. We both stopped dead in our frantic movements. We made eye contact.
"Power cable!" we shouted, running toward the other end of the room. Mickey got there first, and yanked the cable out of the wall. It sparked a few times, and all the computers went dead.
"Everyone get out. Now!" Mickey repeated. The children threw their headsets off and ran for the doors.
"Tell everyone else to get out!" I shouted. "Check every classroom. There's a fire and the alarm broke!" The children moved a little faster at that.
We waited until every child was out of the room, then ran and checked every classroom we could on our own way out. Each and every one was empty. I prayed that was true of the whole school.
The crowd outside certainly looked the same size as the crowd that waited to get in every morning.
"Miss Laurin!" someone shouted. I turned in a wild circle, searching. That had certainly been an adult's voice… and that accent…
The antique store woman was standing at the back of the crowd, waving to me. I wormed my way through the children, back to her. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't know where-"
I was interrupted by the school exploding. The children immediately started cheering. One shouted "Kenny blew up the school!", which turned the cheers into chants of Kenny's name.
"Nina didn't go in to school today," the woman said. I turned back around, not bothering to hide the relief on my face. "And I think you'll find, if you do a headcount, that every student is present and accounted for." She was smiling so kindly, I had to believe her.
"How-how do you know," I had to ask. She just smiled a little wider, eyes sparkling with secrets.
"Oh, look, here come your friends," she said. I turned to see the others coming toward me, and when I turned back, the woman was gone.
...
I'd climbed onto my TARDIS strut to think (Read: brood) while the Doctor moved it and called Sarah Jane. Mickey had not been a fan of the trip, but seemed fine now, chatting with Rose while we waited.
The door creaked open, and Sarah Jane walked in.
"You've redecorated," she noticed.
"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked.
"Oh, I, I do. Yeah," Sarah said, walking around. "I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do."
"I love it," Rose said. I leaned back on my perch, just to feel the TARDIS hum her joy a little louder.
"Hey, you what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?" Sarah asked Rose.
"No idea," Rose sid happily. "It's gone now. The oil's faded."
"But you're still clever," Sarah said fondly. "More than a match for him."
"You and me both. Doctor?" Rose prompted.
"Um, we're about to head off, but you could come with us," he offered, smiling.
"We'll have to add you to the breakfast roster," I added. Sarah laughed quietly, but shook her head.
"No," she breathed. "I can't do this anymore." Rose and the Doctor's smiles faded. "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."
"Can I come?" Mickey asked. Sarah gave him a Look™. "No, not with you," Mickey clarified. "I mean with you." The Doctor stood up straighter. "Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."
"Oh, go on, Doctor," Sarah said. "Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board."
"Okay then, I could do with a laugh," the Doctor said.
"Oi! I'm the comic relief here!" I protested.
"48 slip-ups," the Doctor sing-songed.
"I'm going to strangle you with your tie," I deadpanned. "'Oi' shouldn't count."
"Rose, is that okay?" Mickey asked. Rose wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Oh, yeah, Katelyn threatens the Doctor's life at least once a day," Rose said. That wasn't what Mickey was asking about, and we all knew it, but no one commented.
"Well, I'd better go," Sarah Jane announced. She hugged Rose goodbye, whispered something to her, and turned to leave. I waved from my perch. The Doctor saw her out.
"Hey, Mickey!" I called. He looked up at me. "I wasn't kidding about the breakfast roster."
(A/N: Sorry this is a bit late, but it did make me realize something. School will be starting again for me soon, so I'm gonna change the upload schedule. New chapters will come up every OTHER Saturday, not every Saturday.
Anyway, thanks as always for reading! See you in two weeks!)