Chapter 6

"So, how bad exactly is the situation?" Jack asked, settling down in a chair.

"If you count being surrounded by Daleks and crashed on their home planet bad, I would say very bad."

"Doctor, you told me I destroyed them past, present and future, if we're in the future how come they're still -"

The Doctor put up his hand to silence her. "No," he said quietly to himself. "No. they couldn't have. Unless they did it as backup…"

"Did what?" Rose asked.

"I don't think they're Daleks out there." The Doctor told them.

"But you saw them," Rose said. "We're on their home planet."

"I was mistaken, clearly that I thought it had been destroyed. I reckon it was blown to another galaxy, the Daleks gone though, but then as backup, they created or brainwashed aliens into looking like them to guard the planet they ever should return. Only they don't know they're dead."

"So then… we have to find out who they are?" Jack asked.

"I don't think they'll tell us," The Doctor said. And then he grinned. "Unless we capture one."

"It'll never talk," Rose said. "It's too dangerous -"

"Not unless we snap them out of it," the Doctor argued. He walked over to the TARDIS doors and made to open them.

"STOP!" Rose yelled going after him, Jack in pursuit "I won't let you go!"

"I have no choice," The Doctor said angrily. He swung open the doors but she pulled him back by the jacket and the doors shut. He fell back.

"Don't!" he snapped.

"Make me!" she cried.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor breathed, standing up slowly, dusting himself down. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"I just want you safe. You're always there for me. Ok, not all the time; but you always come back to save me no matter what the consequences."

"I understand Rose." He gave his companion a hug, which she returned gratefully and then she turned around. Jack was already at the controls. He glanced over his shoulder and seeing the pair were ok again he said, "So, how did all this time-skipping start?"

"We don't really know," Rose said. "It just sort of… happened. One minute we're heading to the year 2007 then we're… why don't you explain." She asked the Doctor.

"No, go on, you're doing well."

Rose gave a small smile and then continued. "Where was I? Oh yeah, then we're shooting straight past that to the end of Time then jump to the end and start coming back again."

"Ooookay a little too much info there, but that works," Jack nodded. "You think someone or something tampered with the TARDIS?"

"Yes," the Doctor said, going up the stairs to stand by Jack. Rose went to sit down and observe them. "And my bet is, before the Daleks died out, they programmed these fake Dalek things to stop any machine approaching the planet to stop it being at risk."

"Impressive thinking there," Jack told the Doctor. Jack smiled again, eyes shining. "Let's find out what's wrong with this baby."

An hour later Rose came out of the wardrobe in changed clothes. She was wearing the same trousers but a different t-shirt. It was getting hot in the TARDIS. "Can't you turn the heating down in here, it's boiling."

The Doctor's head appeared on the other side of the control panel. His body was hidden. Jack came downstairs with a toolbox. A big one.

"Sorry," the Doctor told her. We've been melding the metal after we took some pieces out, looked around, you know."

Rose gave him a questioning look. "How's it going?" she asked. "Found anything?"

"Yep," the Doctor replied. "The fake-Dalek things created an error on the TARDIS system but not to worry, we're fixing it."

Rose hesitated before asking, "What are you going to do about the Time Lords?"

"Tell them the truth, I suppose." The Doctor admitted.

"Time Lords? I thought you said they were gone." Jack said.

"I thought so too, but a couple survived, they were hiding out and bred more."

"You mean Time Lords can have babies?"

"Don't look so surprised, Jack," The Doctor told him. "Almost every race can have babies. Look at humans. If an alien came and looked at one, one day they would wonder: can humans have babies?"

Rose laughed.

"What are you laughing at; I had to give you the same talk when you asked about it."

Rose stopped laughing and frowned at him.

Jack's expression was blank, then he said, "Okay, moving on, shall we try and communicate?"

The Doctor stood up and walked over to the screen. He touched the screen and accessed the communications programme. The screen went on for a second and then flickered off again.

The Doctor smacked his fist on the control panels in frustration. "They're trying to over-ride it!"

"You know there's only one way to do this." Rose said.

"No," the Doctor said. "No Rose."

Jack's eyes flicked between them. The Doctor was begging Rose. "Ah, what's going on?"

Rose looked at Jack. Her eyes were filled with sadness. "You when I killed the Daleks. It was the TARDIS working through me."

"It nearly killed you," the Doctor said desperately.

"How? How did you manage it?"

"I opened it and looked into the heart of it."

Jack didn't say anything, thinking things through. "Let me do it."

"Do what?" the Doctor asked.

"Look into the TARDIS."