The Doctor Dances II

Previously:

The radio speaker on the shelf next to her crackled to life. In a sing-song voice, Jaime replied, "And I can hear you! Coming to find you, coming to find you."

Without thinking, Callie punched the radio. She cursed, but it seemed to work as Jaime's voice disappeared with the speaker destroyed. She cradled her hand to her chest, careful not to get blood on her shirt.

"Can you two hear that?" Jack asked.

You're gonna kill yourself one day, I swear. The Doctor chided her silently. Let me have a look.

Callie surrendered her slightly-bloodied hand for him to examine. To Jack, she said, "Yeah, we hear him."

Of course, that was when Jaime hacked the signal on her phone. "Coming to find you, Mummy!"

"I'll try to block out the signal," Jack offered. There were a few more button clicks. "Least I could do. Remember this, Calliope? Our song."

Calliope? The Doctor asked incredulously. Callie shrugged as a familiar song started to play over the phone. It was the same song she and Jack had danced to on top of his spaceship.

Nothing.

You told him your full name? Callie felt a stab of hurt, and after a second realized it had come from the Doctor. You didn't tell me your first name for ages after you met me!

Does it matter? Callie asked. I was still half-drunk and had almost died.

Yes, it matters. The Doctor pushed himself off the wall and turned so Callie couldn't see his face. He started to sonic the bars on the window, though there was no visible difference.

Are you mad at me? Callie asked after a few minutes of silence. She could still feel his mind, but he wasn't transmitting any thoughts to her.

"Just trying to set up a resonation patter in the concrete," he replied, but out loud. She furrowed her eyebrows as he shut her out of his mind completely. "Trying to loosen the bars."

"Jack will get us out of here," she said quietly. The Doctor snorted.

"Oh, he will, will he?" he asked. "Sure are changing your opinion of him pretty quickly. Thought he was mean."

"He's not the only one." If she was being honest, they were all being a little mean today.

The Doctor paused, then dropped his sonic.

Callie sighed, drawing her knees up so her heels sat on the edge of the desk. She rested her chin on her knees, hugging them close. "How do you do it? Deal with me when I'm so young?"

The Doctor turned, staring for a moment. His shoulders slumped. "I haven't had all that much experience," he said. "Plus, I'm a tad more tempermental in this regeneration. So, not well, sometimes."

"I just— fuck it." She ran a hand through her curls (thoroughly messing them up, but she didn't care). She picked at her nails so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I know him in his future. I've met him— and he had his own spin-off show, so I knew him that way too. I know him like I know you, but… I don't know. He's so young, I guess. And not half the man he will be, and that sucks. Like, there are times I look at him and I hardly recognize him as the Jack I know. And it's like— I keep thinking of him as the Jack I know, but he's not that man yet. It's just… disappointing."

She chanced a watery glance at him. "And then I think about how disappointing I must be for you. I haven't known Jack half as long as you know me. I bet I'm nothing like I will be. I bet you wish an older version of me were here." That last line was a whisper.

The next thing she knew, he was standing in front of her. Carefully, he took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Callie, any time you're with me, I'm happy," he said seriously. "Yes, sometimes it sucks when you don't know something you will in the future, or when you—" He cut himself off. "It doesn't matter. I don't care how 'old' you are, how long you've been traveling with me. I just care that you're here with me. I get a little snappy sometimes, but you don't just take it. You snap back, and I need it."

"She always sends us where we need to go," Callie murmured into his chest, thinking of a line in the show. But she was tied to the Time Vortex, not the TARDIS itself, so maybe that wasn't quite as accurate, but it sounded nicer than fate. More believable, anyway.

They stood like that for a long moment, hand-in-hand, chest to chest. If they swayed, they could have been dancing to the soothing music in the background.

"Barrage balloon," the Doctor mused softly. He lifted her uninjured hand.

"Yeah," Callie said. "Not as much fun as it sounds."

She looked up at him to see his eyebrows knitted together. He turned her hand over in his, stroking her palm.

"Hanging from a rope, thousands of feet above London," he said, shooting her a look. "Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Jack's got these nanogene-things in his spaceship, they…" Callie's eyes went wide. She smacked the Doctor's chest in excitement. "Oh! That's it! I couldn't really remember the details, but that's it."

"What's it?" Jack asked, making them both jump. Instinctively, Callie took a step backwards. "You know, most people notice when they've been teleported. You guys are too sweet."

Callie flushed, tucking a curl behind her ear. Something tingled her hand and she lifted it to see nanogenes swarming it, healing the scrapes and bruises she'd gained from punching the radio.

"Sorry about the delay," Jack continued. "I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security."

"You have to spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols?" The Doctor asked in disbelief. "Maybe you should remember whose ship it is."

"Oh, I do," Jack said dreamily. "She was gorgeous. Like I told her— back in five minutes." He ducked out of view, fiddling with something in the hull.

The nanogenes were just about done healing Callie's knuckles.

"What did you mean, that's it?" The Doctor asked. Callie nodded to the yellow glow as it subsided, her hand heal completely.

"I couldn't remember all the details," Callie explained. "From the episode, I mean. I couldn't remember exactly how this all started, just that Jack's ambulance was the one that started it. But it's the nanogenes."

"Not possible," Jack interrupted, sitting back up. "Like I said before, that ship was empty."

"So you thought," Callie corrected. It was all flooding back to her now. "But there were millions of nanogenes in there. Nanogenes that had never seen a human before. That's why Jaime is the way he is."

"No," Jack said, going pale. Finally, he was starting to believe her. It felt like a victory, however small.

"He was already dead," Callie said softly as she remembered, "so I guess you were right— the ship didn't kill him. Just landed on his body."

"And because of the crash, the nanogenes activated," the Doctor surmised. "Emergency protocol. They got to work fixing the first body they found."

"But they didn't know what a human looked like, not like yours do, Jack." Callie repeated sadly. "They saw a little kid with cuts on his hand and a mask on his face, and they didn't know what was right and what was wrong. So they stitched him together best they good, woke him up, and sent him back into battle."

"So, then, why are the others changing?" Jack asked.

"Because now the nanogenes think they know what humans are, and every human they encounter are wrong," the Doctor said fiercely. "So they'll 'fix' them all until they all fit what they think is right. Until they're all like Jaime."

"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops," Nancy sang, swaying just a bit. The Doctor, Callie, and Jack slid into the room silently, motioning for her to continue. She nodded, increasing her volume a tad. "When the wind blows, the cradle will rock."

Callie knelt down next to her, using her phone to sonic the handcuffs trapping her.

(She didn't see it because they were behind her, but later she would learn that Jack mouthed something about sonic phones being way cooler than sonic screwdrivers, and then the Doctor slapped him upside the head.)

"When the bough breaks, the cradle with fall," Nancy sang, standing up slowly and silently. She crept away from the guard, Callie by her side. "Down will come baby, cradle and all."

They slipped outside without the gas mask guard waking up.

With all the guards otherwise occupied (read: turning into gas mask people, as the nanogenes were now airborne), they walked easily to the ambulance.

"You're sure the ambulance did this?" Jack asked once again. Callie could tell that he knew it had, but he just didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to believe he caused all this.

"You'll need to activate it," Callie said, nodding. "We need to call them here."

"Call who?" Nancy asked fearfully. She clutched her jacket close to her body, eyeing all of them warily.

"The child," Callie said carefully. Nancy shook her head frantically. Her braids whipped back and forth as she did, practically slapping herself in the cheeks.

"You can't! We'll all end up like him," she insisted.

"Disease is airborne now," the Doctor said grimly. "We'll end up like him, anyway."

"No, you're wrong," Nancy shouted fiercely. She stepped back, shaking her head. She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head back and forth.

"Nancy," Callie said softly. She waved to the Doctor to get to work. He started to sonic the ambulance. Gently, she put her hands on Nancy's shoulders and squeezed in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "We can stop this. We can fix Jaime."

Nancy's eyes shone with tears. "You can?"

The ambulance started to beep horribly, waking every gas mask person and calling them to the bomb site. Jack and the Doctor ran around, securing the fences and doors to keep them all at bay until Jaime arrived.

"Actually, you can," Callie said, trying to sound upbeat. "Jaime's been asking you a question, Nancy. When he gets here, you need to tell him the truth."

Nancy rubbed at her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. And I promise you, if you tell him the truth, he can be fixed."

Callie knew it was a risk, explaining all this ahead of time. She was skipping a couple steps, but none of that mattered. It was pure luck that none of them had been changed so far. If they changed before Jaime got there, it would be game over for the human race.

"Jaime's dead," Nancy insisted, still backing away. "There's no bringing him back."

"Nancy—" With that, Nancy bolted. Callie cursed, calling her name again. She started to run after her, but the Doctor grabbed her.

"We're surrounded," he told her grimly.

"We need Nancy!" Callie insisted. "She can fix all this!"

"How?"

Callie hadn't fully explained anything, deciding that time was of the essence. Now, she was interrupted by all the gas mask people banging on the barbed fences, moaning for their mothers. Now, Callie opened her mouth to explain, but something caught her eye.

One of the gas mask people was wearing a T-shirt with a Union Jack on it.

"Mummy?" she asked, her voice just barely familiar.

"No," Callie gasped. The Doctor looked and sucked in a breath. "No!"

Callie broke free of the Doctor's arms, scrambling towards Rose.

"No, no, no, no!" She cried. She slowed just three feet in front of the fence blocking Rose, who stood at attention like a good soldier would. Callie felt hot tears slip down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with her hands. "Rose, I'm so sorry," she whispered. Rose showed no indication she heard her, or understood what was going on.

"How do we save her?" the Doctor asked lowly. Callie shook like a leaf, terrified eyes never leaving the gas mask that had replaced her friend's face. Her friend's beautiful face, gone.

"I—" Callie swallowed hard. "Without Nancy, I'm not sure we can."

"I've got her!" Jack shouted, carrying Nancy around the waist. Nancy thrashed, kicking her legs and throwing her head back. Anything to break his grip— but Jack was bigger than her, and stronger. Nancy sobbed, a sound that was pure agony. It was a miracle Jack kept a grip on her, but Callie knew it was futile. As much as she wanted, they couldn't force Nancy to speak to Jaime. Still, she had to try.

"How long until the bomb falls?" the Doctor asked him. Jack grimaced.

"Any second."

"Great," Callie muttered, wiping at her eyes. She settled her gaze on Nancy. "You need to step up. All it takes it answering one question and this is all over."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Nancy sobbed. "Let me go, please."

The section of gas mask people in front of them had broken through the fencing, and now began shuffling to the side, making way as Jaime walked forward.

"What do we do?"

Callie wasn't sure who asked the question, but it didn't matter. She looked to Nancy's tear-streaked, but resolute face, then to Rose's gas mask, then to Jaime.

Nanogenes only change physical appearance, right? She asked the Doctor.

Yes, why?

I'm physically human, right?

What does that have to do with anything?

That wasn't a no.

"Guys, that bomb is going to drop at any second," Jack warned.

"You can teleport out," Callie replied absently.

"Not you two," Jack corrected. "Nav-com's back online. It would take too long."

"So, it's volcano day," the Doctor said grimly. He shot Jack a look. "Do what you have to do."

Callie knew it might not work— did the nanogenes in the show actually read Nancy's DNA to determine she was Jaime's mother? Or did they just take her word for it? She had no way of knowing, but if Nancy wasn't going to step up, it was worth a try.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy," she murmured, stepping forward. The Doctor and Jack both protested, but she waved them off. She walked towards him.

God, he was so small! He couldn't have been more than four or five years old. He was just a baby, and this war had killed him.

Jaime looked up at her with those giant, empty, gas mask eyes.

"Are you my mummy?"

Callie nodded, kneeling down so she was on his level. "Yes, I am your mummy."

"Mummy?"

"Yes, Jaime," Callie repeated, opening her arms. "I'm your mummy. Oh, you sweet little boy."

"Mummy? Are you my mummy?" Jaime repeated, but he didn't fight as Callie scooped him into her arms.

"I'm here, I'm your mother," she repeated over and over, drowning out his repeated questions. She cried into his hair, rocking him back and forth.

"There's not enough of him left," the Doctor said sadly. Nancy let out a loud sob, crumpling to the ground.

Callie felt the nanogenes surrounding them, but didn't open her eyes to look as they scanned her. "I'm your mummy, Jaime. You're going to be okay. Mummy's got you."

She just kept repeating it over and over, praying the nanogenes would get the picture. Praying they would believe her lie.

"Come on, please," the Doctor whispered from behind. "She's the mother— her DNA trumps all else. Mother knows best."

"What's happening?" Nancy asked. "What is she—" The Doctor shushed her.

The air got very, very warm around them. For a scary moment, Callie couldn't tell if the lump in her throat was from her tears or from a gas mask forcing its way out. But then, the heat cooled and Jaime went limp in her arms. Callie opened her eyes, looking at the small child through her tears.

"Please," she whispered. The Doctor was by her side.

"Oh, come on," he said like a prayer. "Give me a day like this one. Give me this one."

He pushed at the bottom of the gas mask, and it slid off easily. Jaime blinked up at them, then brightened when he saw Nancy. He launched himself from Callie's arms and into Nancy's. The Doctor cheered, slapping his hands together and shouting a hearty, "Welcome back!"

He scooped both Nancy and Jaime into a hug, whooping.

"What happened?" Nancy asked, ecstatic as she held Jaime close. She looked like she could hardly believe he was alive and well.

"The nanogenes— that yellow light— it recognized that the mother's DNA trumps all else. It was the only thing that could prove that Jaime wasn't what humans are supposed to look like— Callie is. They didn't change her because she changed them."

Callie finally realized that she did it and let out a hysterical sob. It was half a laugh and half a cry. Shaking, she stood and hugged the Doctor.

The joyous moment was almost ruined by a whistling bomb, but it stopped just half a foot above the ambulance. They all looked to see Jack sitting on top of the bomb, in the middle of the same blue beam that had caught Callie earlier that night.

"Good lad!" The Doctor called with a grin. He waved.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation," Jack yelled out. "I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long."

"Change of plan," the Doctor said. "Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"

Jack set his mouth, but nodded. He turned his gaze to Callie.

"Callie?" She met his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I'll never be the me you met in the future," he said. Callie blinked. She hadn't realized he'd heard her say that. "I would have liked to see you again."

With that, he and the bomb vanished into the spaceship, which then flew off into the night sky. Callie watched the lights from the ship grow smaller and smaller. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor summon the nanogenes to him, updating them so they would change back all of the other gas mask people.

"Everybody lives," he breathed, his voice full of utter joy. He met Callie's gaze, his eyes teary. "Just this once, everybody lives!"

The inside of the TARDIS was a welcome sight. The Doctor, Callie, and Rose stood inside, soaking up the warmth. It had been many minutes after the nanogenes fixed all they'd broken where Callie had just stood there, hugging Rose tightly. Never again was she going to let Rose wander off without her. Now, Callie plopped herself on the captain's chair.

"Mickey never called," she said. She dialed his number and held her phone to her ear. No answer. Of course.

"Always trouble, that one," the Doctor clucked. When both girls gave him a look, he rolled his eyes. "We'll find him."

"We need to go get Jack, too," Callie said. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Who's Jack?" Rose asked, looking back and forth between them. Fortunately, Rose remembered nothing of being a gas mask person. Callie was not looking forward to the conversation where they had to explain that to her— or to Mickey, for that matter.

"No one," the Doctor said at the same time Callie said, "Our new friend."

They shared a look.

"Time can be—"

"No."

The Doctor sighed, pressing a button on the console. "Fine, but he's your responsibility! I'm not cleaning up after him."

Rose giggled. "You're acting like he's a pet or something." She paused. "Please tell me you're not talking about a dog."

"He's not a dog, he's a Time Agent," Callie said primly, dialing Mickey yet again.

"Ex-Time Agent turned con man," the Doctor corrected, flitting around the console. Callie rolled her eyes.

Mickey's phone rang multiple times. Callie almost gave up and hung up the phone, but at the last second there was a small click.

"Hello?" Someone answered uncertainly, but it wasn't Mickey. Callie balked when she recognized the voice. "Uh, hello? Callie?"

"Clara?"

A/N: Ooh, how's that for a cliffhanger? I would love to hear what you think is going on, and what might happen next! (Also, thank you so much for 100 reviews! Keep it up!)

Also, let me know what you think about how this episode resolved. I personally think it's a good learning moment for Callie, having to see the hard way that she can't just jump ahead and expect everyone to do as she says. She's lucky it worked out this time, but it's a dangerous game. Now she has seen both sides of the coin: what it's like to not to anything and what it's like to jump too much ahead of the story. Would love to hear your thoughts on the matter, though!