A-Levels and Aliens

OK, here's your last chapter until a week on Sunday at the earliest- sorry! But I will write while I'm on holiday and probably finish the story- not too far to go now (I think!). Hope you enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me

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The silence that followed Matt's statement was deafening. Nobody could quite believe the situation that they suddenly found themselves in. Rose was in danger- the scale of which none of them were aware of- and the only person who could really help her had quite simply disappeared. Suddenly, Jackie snapped into action.

"Keep trying, Matt. Girls, go and sit down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. It's saved the world before, hopefully it will again…"

The teenagers obeyed her; Kirsty and Lauren throwing her an odd look. There was something that they didn't quite understand and it all seemed to be centred around Rose. Why had she even been captured, or whatever had happened, in the first place? But something told them that not even Rose's mother or Matt knew the full answer to that.

Meanwhile, Matt had hit redial and he held the phone hopefully up to his ear, only to lower it again thirty seconds later.

"Still nothing," he frowned,

"They must be out or something. Keep trying every five minutes," Jackie instructed, bustling around the kitchen, trying to keep her mind occupied. She didn't want to think about reality too much. Her Rose was out there in trouble and she couldn't do a thing about it.

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Matt shook his head after his eighth attempt proved unsuccessful.

"It's been over half an hour," he said, wiping his forehead of the nervous sweat that had gathered there, "What are they doing?"

Jackie shrugged.

"Why doesn't the Doctor have his mobile on him?" asked Lauren,

"His mobile..? Oh! I suppose he must have left it in his… accommodation," Matt replied nervously, exchanging a look with Jackie.

Kirsty crossed her arms. "Well that's a bit stupid. The point of a mobile is to take it with you! Something about this doesn't add up and I know that you know what it is, Matt."

Matt sighed. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry. I promised Rose and the Doctor that I wouldn't,"

"How do you know then?" Lauren asked.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck, an action eerily reminiscent of the Doctor and said nervously, "Look, do you remember back at the start of term when I was ignoring Rose?"

His friends nodded curiously.

"Well, it was 'cause I had found out something about her and the Doctor and it scared me. And what I found out, it's basically that Rose and the Doctor, they're…special… and because they're special, Zoë and her uncle have kidnapped her. I don't know why exactly; you're just gonna have to trust me on this."

Lauren and Kirsty nodded slowly, still not completely understanding but satisfied for the time being.

Matt suddenly jumped up. "I'm going to go back out and see if I can communicate with Rose again and let her know what's going on,"

"Is that such a good idea?" Jackie asked, cautiously, "These people seem dangerous…"

"I need to, Mrs. Tyler," Matt said, earnestly, "I'll be careful. Keep trying the Doctor and if he picks up, tell him what's happened and to get his arse back here right now!"

The others nodded and watched as he marched out of the flat.

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Rose couldn't remember the last time she had been this bored. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever been this bored before. There was nothing for her to do but think and even that had grown boring and desperate now. Her spirits had risen earlier when she'd seen Matt at the window and she'd known help was on its way. But as more time passed, she grew more and more anxious and afraid. Rose knew that the minute Matt told the Doctor that she was in trouble, he'd move heaven and earth to get back to her and he'd come tearing in to save the day as always within fifteen minutes of hearing the news. But over four times that amount of time had passed now. Something must be wrong.

Rose's head jerked up suddenly as she heard a loud crashing and banging coming from the house above her. Wondering what was happening and hoping that it was the Doctor on his rescue mission, she got to her feet and limped over to the bottom of the steep steps, her legs not being used to motion.

The door opened swiftly and three figures appeared; the middle one seemed to be struggling.

"Get off me!"

Rose gasped as she recognised Matt's voice. He was pushed down the steps by who Rose identified to be Zach and Zoë's so-called attacker from the club.

"We bought you a friend," Zach sneered,

"Have you thought about our proposal?" asked the other man,

"The answer is still no," Rose replied evenly, quickly throwing out her arm to catch Matt.

The man growled and walked swiftly out of the room.

"You will change your mind, Rose," Zach said softly, before following him.

Rose exhaled heavily and turned to look at Matt, who promptly pulled her into a hug.

"Are you alright?" he asked,

"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened to you?"

"I came back to see if I could talk to you again but Zoë and her cronies ambushed me on the way to the window. I guess they must have been expecting me," Matt answered, with a shrug,

"Oh," Rose said, "Did you tell the Doctor? Is he coming?"

"He wasn't answering!" Matt exclaimed, watching as his friend's face fell, "I left Kirsty and Lauren with your Mum and they're gonna keep on trying. He'll come, Rose, I know he will."

Rose sighed. "Yeah, I believe he will. I just hope it's soon. I don't think my hosts are going to be patient for very much longer."

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Back at Jackie's flat, the atmosphere had gotten very tense and agitated. It had been almost an hour since Matt had left and the occupants were fearful that something had happened to him as well. The three females were very pale even with endless cups of sweet tea. They had still not had any success with the Doctor, which was beginning to irritate the younger two at least. For Jackie, it only increased her worry that the man or alien or whatever that she had come to like, had also gotten into some sort of trouble.

"OK, it's time to try again," she muttered, breathlessly, picking up the well-used 'phone and re-dialling again. They all held their breath as the line connected and began ringing.

Three, Four, Five

Jackie counted the rings in her head, knowing from experience that it cut off after fifteen.

Nine, Ten, Eleven

'Please be there. Please pick up.'

Thirteen, Fourteen, Fift…

"Hello!"

"Doctor!" Jackie gasped,

"No, its Jack… is that you, Jackie?"

"Yes, I need to speak to the Doctor immediately,"

"Alright, I'll go get him…"

Jackie and the two listening teenagers breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's up, Jackie?" the Doctor's curt tone echoed in her ear.

"Rose is in danger! One of her friends- the new one- they've got her and now Matt's disappeared as well!"

The Doctor's breath hitched and Jackie could almost feel his hearts plummeting. "What's the new friend's name?"

"Zoë," Jackie replied, "Zoë…"

"Ziola!" Kirsty hissed, her eyes wide,

"Zoë Ziola," Jackie completed,

"Ziola?" the Doctor breathed, "Rose mentioned that name… it rang a bell… hang on, I'll do a search…"

Jackie waited patiently, listening to the beeping and soft hum of the control panel and the muffled murmuring of the Doctor and Jack. Suddenly, she heard him swear loudly.

"Damn it! Why didn't I do a search the minute Rose first told me?" he berated himself, "This is not good. We're coming back immediately. Stay in the flat, Jackie. Don't let anyone in or answer the door; that is extremely important. I'll be there in five minutes, alright?"

"Yes Doctor," Jackie managed,

"I'll be there, Jackie. I promise. I will save her."

With that, the 'phone suddenly fell dead and Jackie sank shivering to the sofa. Time was suddenly very much of the essence.

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Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received