Yes, that's the end of Nine. Sad but here comes Ten. Can't wait for Piper x Eleven. I decided to add more to the Xmas Invasion which included the special where Rose and the Doctor talk in the Tardis and he proves it's really him. I also decided to make it a little more realistic and interesting (hopefully) by changing Rose's reaction to his change a little. I thought that she accepted him in the episode far too quickly with only a few minor problems then proceeded to travel again, not even bothering to look back at Nine and basically forgetting him. I thought it was a bit too much and wanted to see the problems between them as well as this being the starting point where he begins seeing Rose slightly different light (more naive than he originally thought, not all that accepting as he though she'd be etc). They will have problems and the relationship shifts and they grow apart a little at first. He also notes Piper's reaction and the differences between the two girls. I've got MANY plans for S2 and S3 that I think you're gonna love. Stay tuned and enjoy!

P.S I also changed the word he first said to her as it's the word he said to Piper, so instead of 'Run', he said 'Move' instead. You have to remember that Nine was a bit rude but then again, so was Ten at times. Oh well.

The man dashed to the console and flicked at the switches. Rose was hidden half concealed against a pillar, watching him mistrustfully. "6pm...Tuesday, October...5006...on the way to Barcelona!" He finally straightened up, grinning as if he were please with himself. That didn't make Rose feel any better. "Now then...what do I look like? No, no, no, no. Don't tell me." He's crazy! Where's the Doctor? Rose thought to herself. "Let's see...two legs, two arms, two hands...slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle. Hair! Good, I'm not bald! Oh, Oh! Big hair!" He ran his hands through his brown hair gleefully. "Sideburns, I've got sideburns or really bad skin. Little bit thinner...that's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it. I've got...a mole. I can feel it between my shoulder blades. There's a mole." He didn't notice Rose breathing heavily because she was scared. "That's all right, love the mole. Go on then, tell me. What do you think?"

"Who are you?" Rose asked timidly.

The Doctor was crestfallen. "I'm the Doctor," he told her.

Rose didn't believe him. "No...Where is he? Where's the Doctor? What have you done to him?" Her voice rose slightly.

"You saw me, I-I changed...right in front of you."

"I saw him sort of...explode and then you replaced him, like a-a teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something." He seemed at lost for words and didn't try to interject as she continued. She took a few steps towards him, keeping him at arm's length and pushed him gently in the chest. "You're not fooling me. I've seen all sorts of things. Nano genes...Gelth...Slitheen..." He raised his eyebrows at the last one. "Oh my God, are you a Slitheen?"

Her question made him want to laugh. Surely she wasn't this naïve to believe he was actually a Slitheen. For one thing, no other alien but himself could get inside the Tardis as he'd stated to both Rose and Piper before and for another, the Slitheen needed big people to fit into and call him crazy but his new regeneration was a bit on the thin side. Speaking of Piper..."I'm not a Slitheen. And where's Piper?"

"Send him back. I'm warning you; send the Doctor back right now!" She shouted, ignoring his question about their missing friend. No way in hell would she expose her friend to a stranger.

He gripped her shoulders pleadingly. "Rose, it's me. Honestly, it's me. I was dying. To save my own life, I changed my body. Every single cell, but...it's still me."

"You can't be," she whispered.

He stared into her blank brown eyes. "Then how could I remember this? Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies, oh, such a long time ago. I took your hand..." He took her hand to emphasis his point. Rose glanced briefly at their joint hands and then back up at his face. "I said one word, just one word. I said...move."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Doctor?"

He smiled gently. "Hello." He let go of her hand and she fell back against the beam, the impact of everything catching up with her. "And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running. One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives?" He starting hopping up and down like a little kid but Rose didn't join in. Yeah? All that hopping? Remember hopping for your life? Yeah? Hop? With the...No?" The silence was awkward and he really wished Piper was there with them. He winced at the though of her reaction to him now if Rose's reaction were anything to go by it might not be a good one. The thought of her rejecting him like that sent a pang of heartbreak through his hearts. She wouldn't reject him...would she?

"Can you change back?"

The question hurt him more than he wanted it to but he did his best to hide it and seem indifferent. Rose wasn't the first companion to travel with him or break his hearts (not that she knew that) and he doubted she would be the last. He loved all his companions in different ways but he knew it could be a strain on them. The travelling, meeting new people and aliens, all that running even witnessing regeneration sometimes before going back to their old lives or worse. He's had companions who've gone back to their old lives for one reason or another but he's also had companions that have died on him. He just hoped none of that would happen to his current companions. "Do you want me to?" He may have looked indifferent but he sure as hell didn't feel like it. Hurt laced his tone and he swallowed.

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Can you?" No, no I can't. Sorry.

"No," he said in disappointment. His eyes fell to the floor. "Do you want to leave?"

Rose was shocked and hurt. "Do you want me to leave?"

The Doctor was quick to put her at ease. "No! But it's your choice...if you want to go home...cancel Barcelona. Change to...London, the Powell Estate. Ah...let's say the 24th of December. Consider it a Christmas present." If he noticed Rose edging slowly closer the console, he didn't comment on it. The Tardis took off and he leaned against the console feeling vulnerable and defensive at the same time.

"I'm going home?" In all honesty, she wasn't sure she wanted to go home. Not even with...whatever was going on here. She was so confused and didn't know what to do.

He shrugged. "Up to you. Back to your mum. It's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast, no, Christmas! Turkey! Although... having met your mother, nut loaf would be more appropriate." Rose hid a smile but he noticed. "Was that a smile?"

"No."

"That was a smile," he said knowingly.

"No, it wasn't."

"You smiled..." he teased.

"No, I didn't."

"Oh, come on, all I did was change, I didn't..." he shuddered and gagged.

"What?" She asked, finally looking up.

"I said I didn't-" he retched almost violently. "Uh oh."

"Er, are you alright?" She asked awkwardly. Golden light escaped from his mouth. "What was that?"

"Oh...the change is going a bit wrong." He contorted in agony.

"Look...maybe we should go back. Let's go and find Captain Jack, he'd know what to do." She suggested quickly.

"Nah, he's busy! He's got plenty to do rebuilding the Earth!" A lever on the console caught his eye. "I haven't used this one in years." The Tardis shuddered violently and they were thrown on their backs.

"What're you doing?!" Rose demanded harshly.

"Putting on a bit of speed! That's it! My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl!" Rose grew more and more alarmed as he looked more and more crazed with every moment. "Faster! Wanna to break the time limit!"

"Stop it!" She screamed. "You're gonna kill us!"

"Ah, don't be so dull...let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!" His gaze softened for a moment. "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself. Ah, my head!" The Tardis crashed and he ran out, leaving her behind to struggle with her thoughts and memories. When she managed to collect herself enough, she opened the doors and stepped out...to find him lying unconscious on the ground with Mickey and her mum hovering over him.

"Who's he?!" Jackie demanded. "And where's the Doctor?"

"That's him in front of ya. That's the Doctor," she replied flatly.

"Doctor? Doctor who?"

Weeks went by with no sign of the Doctor or Rose which left Piper wondering if they'd abandoned her to travel together on their own. This cut into her deeply, not that she'd ever admit it. Rose was supposed to be her best friend - her sister even, so to do that hurt her deeply. If hearing voices in her head and her 'friends' seemingly abandoning her without warning or reason wasn't bad enough then being committed to a Psychiatric ward for being schizophrenic because the voices would whisper things every now and then to her was worse. It was Jackie that had admitted her, the older blonde worrying the travelling and the Doctor had gotten to her in a negative way. Piper knew Jackie meant well but couldn't help but feel a little resentful and angry towards her. She was stuck in a place she didn't belong and she was all alone.

Some days the voices would be quiet and other days they would talk about impossible things like there was no tomorrow. It was difficult to turn it off so to speak because there was so many of them talking. Anyone else would think they were losing their mind but not her. She was as stable and logical as they came. So she listened. Pretty soon, weeks turned to months and still no sign of the Doctor and Rose. Jackie, Penny and Mickey visited her often but it wasn't the same. Of course, with them being unable to hear what she could, they were more than a little skeptical of what she told them. That didn't stop them from wanted to help her though and visiting her when they could and for that she was eternally grateful. It could have gone the other way after all. It hadn't taken too long to learn if she wanted to get 'better' and get out of there she would have to tell the doctors what they wanted to hear. Unfortunately, the doctors were smarter than she gave them credit and they didn't believe her. At least, not completely anyway. She realized she would have to prove it to them if she were ever going to get out of this place. October went by then November and pretty soon Christmas was coming up.

She stared out of her window sadly. She was gutted she wouldn't be spending her Christmas with her family or friends. The only consolation was Jackie and maybe her Grams visiting her. Hopefully with a cake or something, she thought licking her lips hungrily. She kneeled down beside her bed and pulled out an old rectangular box. She opened the box which consisted of some old pictures of her growing up, pictures of her and her family from when Lilith was still alive, pictures of her and Rose and more recently, her, Rose and the Doctor. She picked up a dark purple stress ball and squeezed it, delighted when it changed color. Mickey brought if for her not long after she was committed, hoping it would help with the stress of everything and she had to admit, it did help to an extent. It was difficult to show the doctors she was stable to go home but she was getting there...slowly. They were starting to believe her so hopefully she would be released soon.

She could practically taste the freedom but couldn't quite catch it. The slow development kept her on edge. She wanted out ASAP and patience wasn't always her specialty but in this case, she would have to be. She was forced to take the drugs they gave her in order to make her 'better' no matter how much she hated them. The side affects they caused her were inconvenient too. There were a few times where the medication caused her to have relapses which made her freak out and lash out because of the voices. She would awaken later on to find herself restrained to her bed after having what they deemed an 'episode'. The effects caused drowsiness and restlessness which often left her either pacing the room or being unable to pay attention or interact with anyone else or even move well but she supposed it was better than the weight gain. Not that she gained too much weight mind you as she was one of those that just didn't put much weight on no matter what she ate. The voices were quiet today and she was grateful for the peace it gave her. Just a few more days until Christmas Eve.

Rose was downcast as she helped Mickey drag the now unconscious Doctor to a bed in their flat. She watched silently as Jackie checked him to make sure he was fine or at least as fine as could be. She was still shaken by his actions and reeling from his change. She still couldn't get over the fact the her Doctor was gone forever - the man with the pale blue eyes, big ears and leather jacket. The man replacing him was so different. He looked different and he acted different and she didn't like it. She felt drained and collapsed on the arm chair, her hands on her face. How could he do this to them, to her? How could he go and change? Was he even still her Doctor or was he just a complete stranger. She didn't know and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. She decided not to dwell on the situation for too long and focused on the living room instead.

The living room was covered in decorations A small tree was place near the wall with a few presents underneath it. Jackie and Mickey were talking in the kitchen and the Doctor...well, he was unconscious. She stepped into the kitchen and tilted her head when they instantly stopped talking. "What's wrong?"

Jackie turned away, picking up a sponge to clean the sides. She couldn't blame her daughter entirely for not being there for Piper when she needed her but the voice at the back of her mind kept telling her they could have come back sooner but didn't. "It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," she replied. She would tell Rose later. Preferably when the whole situation was dealt with.

"Okay. Hey, where's Piper? I haven't seen her."

Jackie and Mickey stiffened. "She's uh, busy, Rose. You can see her later."

Rose narrowed her eyes. They're hiding something from me, she thought. "Busy doing what? Does she know I'm here?"

"No, she doesn't."

"Hmm, I'll call her." She pulled out her phone and opened her contacts. She scrolled down until she found Piper's name and was startled when Jackie snatched her phone from her hands.

"No! You can't call her," Jackie said quickly. Too quickly.

"Why not?" Rose demanded. They looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong? Has something happened?" Their faces said it all.

Jackie reached out and grabbed her hand gently. "Not exactly, sweetheart. You'll find out later."

"Why later? If something's happened I wanna know about it."

"Rose, not now. Besides, we've still got to deal with the Doctor," Jackie told her daughter firmly. She felt guilty about not telling Rose the truth and felt even more guilty she might not be able to visit Piper. She only hoped Piper would forgive her.

Rose froze. She'd forgotten about the Doctor. She felt conflicted between the two. She sighed and dropped the subject. "Fine."

Jackie looked down, unsure of how to broach the subject of the Doctor. She could tell it was a sore subject for Rose and it was obvious she was having a difficult time. "How can he go changing his face? Is that a different face or is he a different person?"

"How should I know?" Rose lashed out. "Sorry. The thing is...I thought I knew him, Mum. I thought me and him were...and then he goes and does this. I keep forgetting he's not human." She was close to tears and sniffed, keeping her tone light. "The big question is where'd you get a pair of men's pajamas from?"

Jackie blushed. "Howard's been staying over."

"What, Howard from the market? How long's that been going on?"

"A month or so. First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought, that's a odd. Next thing you know, it's a bag of oranges..."

The TV distracted Rose, who dashed to the living room after hearing Harriet Jones's voice. "Is that Harriet Jones?"

Jackie rolled her eyes at her daughters behavior. "Oh, never mind me."

"Why's she on the telly?"

"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Rose has met her."

Rose smiled softly in remembrance. "Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones." She stopped paying attention when Mickey dragged her Christmas shopping. She was eager to learn what happened since she'd been gone and she wanted to get her mum and Piper a christmas present.

Jackie was tidying up the flat when Rose barged in and snatched her phone from her hands. "Get off the phone!"

"What?"

"Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up."

"That's only two streets away. What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

"I don't know. Peak District."

"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then."

Jackie didn't know what the hell was going on and was quickly growing tired of Rose's distant behavior. "No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere What're you babbling about?!"

"Mum..." she started. "Where'd you get that tree?" Jackie turned to look at the big Christmas tree. "That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?"

"I thought it was you."

"How can it be me? "

"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!"

Rose shook her head. "No, it wasn't me."

Jackie paled. "Then who was it?" She asked, her voice going small.

The tree's lights turned on by themselves. "Oh, you're kidding me," Rose muttered, pulled Jackie closer to her. Sections of the tree began to spin around faster and faster. Rose's long blonde hair blew around her face as the tree moved around the room.

"Get out! Go, go! Get out!"

Rose and Jackie made for the door, Rose stopping by the Doctor's room. "We've got to save the Doctor!"

"What?! What're you doing?"

"We can't just leave him!" She snapped.

"Mickey!" The tree broke through the walls and headed for them. "Leave it! Get out! Get out!"

"Mickey!" Rose shouted.

"Get out of there! No, leave him. Just leave him!"

"Doctor, wake up!" Rose begged. There was no response. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled the sonic screwdriver out of a pocket and placed it in his hand. She closed the hand and was thrown backwards against the wall when the tree broke in through the bedroom.

"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie whined.

Rose bent down and whispered, "Help me," into the Doctor's ear.

He sat up abruptly and pointed the sonic screwdriver at the tree. The tree exploded. "Remote control. But who's controlling it?" He grabbed a dressing gown and wrapped it around him then walked outside. Down below, were three Santa's in a triangle formation looking up at them. One held a controller.

"That's them. What are they?"

"Shh!" Rose's eyes never left the Doctor.

He aimed the sonic at them and they stepped back, disappearing in a beam of light.

"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish," he muttered.

"What?"

"They were just pilot fish." He grimaced in pain. "Ahh!" His back hit the wall.
"What's wrong?"

"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." He exhaled and golden energy wisped out. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defense, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of ow! My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"

"What do you need?"

"I need-"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need-"

"Painkillers? Do you need aspirin?"

"I need-"

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"

The Doctor needed her to shut up. "I need..."

"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

"I need..."

"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up!"

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" She grumbled.

"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then. Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?"

"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?" Any other time the moment would have been funny but now was not that time.

"He gets hungry," she defended.

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometimes."

"Ahh!" He dropped the apple and clutched his head. "Argh! Brain collapsing. The pilot fish..." They crowded around him and he grabbed Rose. He would have grabbed Piper but she wasn't there. Something he would have to look into later. He hadn't seen the brunette yet. "Mean that something, something...something is coming."

And then he passed out.

Piper fingered her gown despondently. It was past midnight and Jackie never showed. She hugged her pillow tightly, tears flowed down her cheeks. Never had she felt so alone and forgotten. She hadn't cried since the incident with Lilith but she reasoned being abandoned was a good enough reason to cry. She could feel her heart slowly hardening bit by bit and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Her sobbing died down to hiccups. She felt insignificant and small and it didn't exactly help that the only company she was now used to was the voices in her head. Against her better judgement, she gave in and allowed the voices in completely.

If she were going to be alone, she might as well do it properly and give in.

Jackie had fallen asleep beside the Doctor's bedside. Rose stood in the doorway, a look of dejection on her face. "The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us."

"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey murmured softly. Rose didn't answer but leaning in for a hug, not realizing that the Doctor had heard every word she'd said.

The next morning, Rose and Mickey stepped out of the flat to see people hysterically begging family members to stop walking and get back inside. "What do we do now?"

"Nothing. There's no one to save us. Not anymore."

"Wait a minute. There is a pattern. All these people tend to be father and son, mother and daughter, brothers and sisters. Family groups, but not husbands and wives."

"Oh, my God. It's Guinevere One. Have you got medical records on file for all your staff?"

"Of course we have, yes."

"What about Torchwood?" Harriet questioned.

"Still working on it. Bear in mind they have just lost a third of their staff."

"But do they have what we need?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, tell them to hurry up," she urged.

"Here it is. Sally Jacobs, blood group A Positive. Who else walked out?"

"Luke Parsons."

"Luke Parsons, A Positive."

"Jeffery Baxter."

"Baxter, A Positive. That's it. They're all A Positive."

"How many people in the world are A Positive?"

"No idea, but I bet it's one third."

"What's so special about that blood group?"

"Nothing, but it's my fault." The man admitted. "Guinevere One. It's got one of those plaques identifying the human race. A message to the stars. I mean, you don't expect anything to come of it, but I put on maps and music and samples. There's wheat seeds, and water, and-and blood. A Positive. The Sycorax have got a vial of A Positive blood. And, well, I don't know how, but through that-"

"They control the blood." Harriet finished.

"Oh, my God."

"There's only one more thing I can try. Major, with me."

"But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God help us."

Rose steeped outside the bedroom and burst into tears. "He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left me, mum. He's left me, mum."

Jackie pulled Rose into her arms. "It's all right. I'm sorry." They lost their balance as the glass from the windows shattered around them. Looking outside, they could see the same everywhere else.

Rose's eyes grew hard and steely. "Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We're going."

"Where to?"

"The Tardis. It's the only safe place on Earth."

"What're we going to do in there?"

"Hide."

"Is that it?"

"Mum, look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him and I've seen all that stuff but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide and I'm sorry. Now move!" They carried him to the Tardis, Rose rolling her eyes as she caught Jackie carrying shopping bags. "Mum, will you just leave that stuff and give us a hand?"

"It's food! You said we need food."

"Just leave it!" They all packed into the Tardis and closed the doors behind them.

"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked hopefully.

"Not anymore, no."

"Well, you did it before."

"I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the Universe rips in half."

"Ah, better not, then."

"Maybe not."

"So, what do we do? Just sit here?"

"That's as good as it gets."

"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea."

"Mmm, the solution to everything." Rationally, Rose knew her mum didn't deserve her attitude but she couldn't help it. She felt lost and useless. One of her best friends had changed his face and the other was currently missing. Not to mention they were in the middle of an invasion! So yeah, Rose was testy.

"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food." She left the Tardis to get the rest of the bags.

"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British. How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"

Rose leaned in and fiddled with the scanner. "I don't know. It sort of tunes itself."

"The noise. The bleeping. They say it's machinery. Foreign machinery. They're accusing us of hiding it. Conspiring. Bring it on board..."

Down on Earth, the Tardis was enveloped in a beam of light.

"Rose?" The Tardis disappeared into the sky. "Rose!" Jackie cried.

"Maybe it's a distress signal."

"A fat lot of good that's going to do."

"Are you going to be a misery all the time?"

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking."

Rose almost forgot her mum had gone to get the rest of the stuff. "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine."

Rose looked back and grinned teasingly. "Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave."

"Oh, I don't know." She stepped outside and was immediately grabbed by an alien. She screamed loudly.

"Rose?" Mickey dropped the flask he was holding and ran outside.

"Get off! Get off me! The door! Close the door!" He ran back and managed to close the door just in time before being grabbed too.

"Rose. Rose! I've got you. My Lord. Oh, my precious thing. The Doctor, is he with you?"

"No. We're on our own."

Harriet looked around and noticed one person missing. "And where's Piper?"

"I don't know." She answered truthfully.

"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your Planet."

"But she can't."

Rose pulled away. "Yeah, I can."

"Don't you dare!"

"Someone's got to be the Doctor."

"They'll kill you!"

"Never stopped him. I, er, I address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with all the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorius, and er, the Gelth Confederacy as er, sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess and, oh, the Daleks! Now, leave this planet in peace! In peace."

There was a moment of silence and then the Sycorax started laughing. "You are very, very funny. And now you're going to die."

Harriet rushed forwards as did Mickey. "Leave her alone!"

"Don't touch her!"

The leader began to speak again with the man - Alex translating. "Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion..."

"Then your world will be gutted..."

"Then your world will be gutted..." Alex trailed off.

"And your people enslaved." The leader finished in English.

"Hold on, that's English."

"He's talking English."

"You're talking English."

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!"

"That's English. Can you hear English?" Rose wondered to the others.

"Yeah, that's English."

"Definitely English."

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" He boomed.

"If I can hear English, then it's being translated. Which means it's working. Which means..." She trailed off and turned back to the Tardis. Everyone else followed her gaze.

The doors opened. "Did you miss me?" The leader cracked his whip but he caught it in one hand and pulled. "You could have someone's eye out with that."

"How dare..."

"You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." He pointed at the leader then turned his back on them. "Mickey, hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This Is Your Life. Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses. Now, first thing's first. Be honest, how do I look?"

"Er, different." Was that seriously what he was asking right now? People were about to jump off buildings and he wanted to know what he looked like?! Her Doctor wouldn't do that. This only further proved to her he was different.

"Good different or bad different?"

Rose shrugged indifferently. "Just...different."

"Am I...ginger?"

"No, you're just sort of...brown."

"Oh, I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger. And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me!" The shock on Rose's face made him rethink his words. "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger."

"I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Apparently, he's the Doctor." Rose repeated.

"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

"But you can't be."

"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God." It was him.

"Did you win the election?"

"Landslide majority." She smiled.

"If I might interrupt."

"Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the question."

"I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

"I DON'T KNOW! See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy? Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob. And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it? And what've we got here? Blood? Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this!" He slammed his hand on the button.

"No!" Harriet and Rose cried simultaneously.

"You killed them!"

Rose honestly could not believe what he'd just done. She shivered, realizing for the first time ever, she felt fear. Fear of him. Maybe her mum was right...maybe she should stop travelling, at least until she could get her bearings.

The Doctor was unaware of her inner meltdown as he stared the leader of the Sycorax down. "What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live."

"Allow? You've no choice. I mean, that's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotize someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotize them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than. No, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!"

"Or what?"

"Or..." He pulled a sword from the nearest alien. "I challenge you." There was more laughter but he didn't seem to fazed. "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"You stand as this world's champion."

"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up. So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

Rose guessed this was an insult judging by the hiss he earned. "For the Planet?"

The Doctor's voice was hard. "For the Planet."

"Look out!"

"Oh, yeah, that helps. Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks. Bit of fresh air?" He opened the door and led them outside. The fighting continued until he got hit in the face. Rose made to rush forward but he stopped her. "Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the Planet." The two lunged at each other, ending with the Doctor on his back and to their utter horror, his hand cut off. "You cut my hand off."

"Ya! Sycorax!"

He got to his feet. "And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this..." They watched in fascination as his hand slowly grew back.

"Witchcraft."

"Time Lord," he corrected.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled, throwing him a new sword.

He caught it. "Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?"

"I guess."

Her unenthusiastic reply made his hearts sink. Surely she would get over the change? It wasn't that bad after all. He gripped the sword tighter and put all his energy into focusing on the battle in front of him. Rose could wait until later. "Want to know the best bit? This new hand? It's a fighting hand!" This time the Doctor managed to disarm the Sycorax leader. He held the sword to his throat. "I win."

"Then kill me."

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command. Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

The Doctor wasn't going to let him off so easily and pressed it tighter against his throat. "Swear on the blood of your species!"

"I swear."

The Doctor's serious demeanor turned cheerful. "There we are, then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow."

"Bravo!" Harriet cheered.

"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams. Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here? A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mothers. He does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" A loud roar came from behind them and without even looking, he threw the satsuma at a control on the spaceship hull and a piece of the wing opened up. The leader falls to his death. "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." He didn't notice Rose shrinking away from him. "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this Planet, when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It. Is. Defended." He warned, addressing the Sycorax.

A beam hit them and they found themselves back on Earth. The spaceship began to leave. "Where are we?"

"We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it! Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!"

Rose jumped on Mickey's back. "Yeah! Don't come back!"

"It is defended!"

Harriet stepped over to the Doctor. "My Doctor."

"Prime Minister." He grinned and hugged her.

"Absolutely the same man. Are there many more out there?"

"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This pPanet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it." He failed to notice the guilty look on her face.

"Rose!"

"Mum!"

"Oh, talking of trouble."

"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!"

"You did it too! It was the tea. Fixed his head."

"That was all I needed, cup of tea." He wasn't as enthusiastic as he would have been if things had been slightly different.

"I said so. Are you better?"

"I am, yeah." As annoying as Jackie could be, he was touched by how much she seemed to care about him.

"You left me," Jackie accused Rose.

Rose looked sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"I had all the food." A beam shot out, interrupting their celebrations. It was followed by another beam and another, all hitting the fleeing spaceship. They could hear the terrified screams of the Sycorax as the ship was destroyed.

"What is that? What's happening?"

But the Doctor didn't answer. He was furious! "That was murder."

"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving!"

"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves." She defended.

"Britain's Golden Age."

"It comes with a price."

He was disgusted. "I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf!" She argued.

"Then I should have stopped you."

"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?" She challenged despite knowing she was on thin ice as it was.

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man! I could bring down your Government with a single word."

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that." Wrong thing to say, Rose thought.

"No, you're right. Not a single word, just six."

"I don't think so." She replied, growing nervous.

"Six words."

"Stop it!"

"Six." He stepped over to Alex and removed his ear piece and whispered in his ear. "Don't you think she looks tired?" Without another word, they walked away.

"What did he say?"

"Oh, well, nothing, really."

"What did he say?!" She demanded frantically.

"Nothing. I don't know."

"Doctor! Doctor, what did you? What was that? What did he say? What did you say, Doctor? Doctor!...I'm sorry."

The Doctor took his time picking a new outfit out. He wasn't sure how Rose felt about him and vice versa. Her behavior had been off putting and now he wasn't sure how he felt having her around. If she couldn't accept he'd changed, if she couldn't accept him then what was the point? The only thing keeping him there at the moment was Jackie's invitation for Christmas dinner and Piper. He wanted to know where she was and how she'd been since he last saw her. Hopefully her reaction would be better than Rose's. He could hope, couldn't he? He settled on a long brown trench coat, a pinstripe suit and a pair of running shoes. Then he headed back.

Mickey was carving the turkey when he arrived. They sat around the table in between Mickey and Rose and frowned. Jackie noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Piper? I haven't seen her since we got here. Shouldn't she be here?"

Jackie and Mickey exchanged looks and stopped. "Um-"

"About that, see-"

"She's in the hospital right now, so-"

"She can't be here. But we're going to see her-"

"Tomorrow. You can come if you want."

It was like a tennis match. Their eyes going back and forth as the two finished each others sentences. Rose was the first to speak. "What do you mean in the hospital?"

"Uh, well, we had her admitted because-"

"She was hearing voices. The doctors diagnosed her with-"

"Schizophrenia. Hearing voices and having delusions. She's been there for months now."

"Jackie was supposed to visit her last night but she obviously couldn't, so..."

"What?!"

"She's not delusional. There's nothing wrong with her!"

"Well, that's what the doctors said." Thankfully, the phone rang, sparing them from more questions. "It's Beth. She says go and look outside."

"Why?"

"I don't know, just go outside and look. Come on, shift!"

They trudged outside but the Doctor's heart wasn't in it. Their words echoing in his head. She's not delusional. She's the most put together person I know. She's not schizophrenic. What the hell were they thinking when they admitted her?! I'm gonna find her and when I do, she's staying with me.

"Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?" Rose's voice dragged him away from his thoughts. He stared at the young blonde's head sadly.

"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash."

"Okay, not so beautiful."

"This is a brand new Planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new."

Rose shifted slightly. "Um, Doctor? I think I might stay with mum for a bit. I just-I just need a bit of time to think. Time for myself, yeah?"

He nodded sadly. After everything that had happened so far, it was something he'd expected. He could feel his hearts breaking a little but there was nothing he could do about it so he obliged. It was her choice at the end of the day. He would miss her and it would be painful without her but he reasoned he could always pop in for a visit.

"Wait, you're staying?" Mickey couldn't believe his ears! Could this be an opportunity to get Rose back? If it was, he was taking it.

"Yeah," she smiled warmly.

Jackie perked up at hearing her daughter say she was staying with them. She hated it when Rose went of gallivanting through time and space, never knowing if she was safe or even alive til she visited. As a mother, she felt relieved but that relief didn't last long.

"Right, well, I'm gonna go now. Got to find Piper and all that. See you around, I guess." He said and waved before stepping into the Tardis once more.

Jackie's face fell. She didn't want him taking Piper with him. Especially if she was ill. It was too late to say anything though because the Tardis was already leaving. Rose took Mickey's hand and the two eagerly headed back inside. Jackie stared at the space the Tardis had been previously parked and silently prayed. Please let her stay safe. Please don't let anything happen to her.