"Go to your room!" the Doctor ordered the patients, causing me to look up from Jack's shoulder. The patients were surrounding us, but they seemed hesitant. "Go to your room!" the Doctor demanded again. I was surprised to see them tilt their heads to the side as if contemplating his words. "I mean it! I am very, very angry with you. I am very, VERY cross. Now GO. TO. YOUR. ROOM." he commanded, pointing harshly to another part of the hospital. I felt the fear slowly drain out of my body as the patients moved back to their beds and laid down. He turned back to us with a bright smile and said "I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words!" He glanced over at me, and I couldn't believe how infectious his smile was.
With a small, relieved grin, I let out a little laugh and told him that I completely agree. I let go of Jack's hand, having forgotten I was holding it and sat on one of the empty beds in the room.
"Why are they all wearing gas masks?" Rose asked from the bed next to mine.
"They're not. They're made out of flesh and bone," Jack explained, taking a seat as well. The Doctor was quiet for a moment, looking between Jack and I.
"How was your con supposed to work?" he questioned.
"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space-junk... let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth. Convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% up front - oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroying it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."
I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, having slightly helped Jack with his con during my time with him. I know he had everything set up and had lured them in by the time I arrived, but I still went along with it. The impulse to help my father had been a bad one, it was starting to seem.
"Yeah, perfect," he muttered.
"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners - Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day," Jack laughed, but none of the rest of us followed suit. "I'm getting a hint of disapproval."
"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space junk did," the Doctor sneered.
"It was a burnt-out medical transport. I was empty," Jack tried to reason, but the Doctor sent him a dark glare. He turned his gaze to me, and it made my stomach churn slightly. Over the past year, I'd seen the Doctor give multiple aliens and people that look, but I had never been on the receiving end of it. I couldn't help the rising guilt rising through my body.
"Rose," I could hear the Doctor say in the distance.
"We getting out of here?" she questioned.
"We're going upstairs."
Jack got up from his seat and raced after the pair. "I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living - I harmed no-one! I don't know what's happening here, but believe me - I had nothing to do with it."
"I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day," the Doctor glared yet again.
I opened my mouth to defend Jack and me, but an alarm sounded in the distance, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "What is that?" Rose asked.
"It's the all-clear," I explained, but the Doctor shook his head and said
"I wish". He walked away, and the three of us quickly followed.
I stayed close to the Doctor, but somehow we got split up from Jack and Rose. "I don't really believe you when you say that you had nothing to do with this," the Doctor spoke as he began walking up a flight of stairs that led us to a large door.
"Why is that?" I asked, trying to sound casual as we looked around.
"First off, you're not exactly dressed for the 1940s," he said, nodding at my outfit. I couldn't help but think back to the Doctor and Rose's looks when I showed them my outfit all those weeks ago. "I'm assuming you were staying with Jack in his spaceship right? How do I know you didn't help him plant the Chula ship?"
He stopped halfway up the stairs for a moment to look back at me as I spoke. "I'm from the future, and I found my way here thanks to a friend. When I arrived, I showed up in Jack's ship with a gun pointed to my head. We figured out our problem, and he explained that he had just lured you guys in with the ship. My only job was to stay on the ship and watch for any signs of time travelers. I didn't have any actual hand in what happened," I glanced over at him "But if it's any consolation, he really didn't mean any harm. I know what he did wasn't right, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone."
He stared at me, his look softening as he looked at my face, searching for a lie. "I believe you," he told me after a moment. I felt relief flush through my body, but I couldn't stop the tears from welling in my eyes. "What's wrong? Why are you cry-" he was cut off by Rose and Jack calling out for him. I watched as they ran past us, and the Doctor walked the rest of the way down the stairs and popped his head around the banister. "Have you got a blaster?"
He turned back to look at me and his look told me that we would finish this later. He turned back around to see the pair running back to the stairs. "Sure," Jack called out. They ran up the stairs and stood with us in front of the door.
"The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken," he said, turning to look at Jack.
"What happened?" Rose asked.
"Let's find out," he said before nodding at Jack. "Get it open."
The Doctor, Rose, and I stood back as Jack pointed his blaster at the door. I could barely hear Rose whispering to the Doctor, asking him what was wrong with his sonic screwdriver. I hadn't seen Jack use his blaster before, and was shocked to see a perfect square cut around the lock of the door. "Wow."
"Sonic blaster, 51st century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?" the Doctor asked, and I tilted my head, trying to figure out why that sounded familiar.
"You've been to the factories?" Jack asked, looking back at the Doctor in surprise.
"Once," he said vaguely, having grabbed the blaster to look it over.
"Well, they're gone now. Destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vapourized the lot."
"Like I said - once. There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good," he said with a bright smile, and I couldn't help but gasp a little at the realization of where I knew the name.
It was the Doctor's favorite place to get bananas, and he had taken me there a few times while Rose was visiting her mum. The Doctor took that moment to walk into the room, and I followed behind, noticing that Rose stayed behind to flirt with Jack. I shook my head with a grimace and walked into the room.
The Doctor flipped the light switch to show a room that looked ransacked. "What do you think?"
"Something got out of here," Jack responded, looking around the room.
"Yeah and?"
"It's powerful. And angry," I added, walking through a door. Inside, the room was covered in children's drawings.
"A child? I suppose this explains 'mummy'," Jack muttered.
"How could a child do this?" Rose asked softly, looking at the pictures closely.
I heard the Doctor push in a button, and turned to see him playing a large tape recording. I stayed back towards the wall, watching as the Doctor paced around the room. The longer we were there, I began feeling an odd tension in my stomach. It felt like something was there, or at least close. There was something… painful coming from the walls.
"Can you sense it?" the Doctor asked, and I looked over at him.
"Sense what?" Jack asked at the same time as I answered with
"Yes."
Everyone looked at me, and I closed my eyes, trying to ignore them. I shouldn't have said anything. I reached into my pocket and gently grasped my pocket watch, knowing that some of the essence had been entering my body over time.
"Coming out of the wall, you can feel it?" The Doctor asked again, a cautious growing in his eyes as I nodded my head.
"Mummy," a voice called out.
"Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?" the Doctor remarked, somewhat rudely.
"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species," Rose explained, presumably to Jack.
"Rose, I'm thinking", the Doctor scolded.
"Cuts himself shaving, does half an hour in life forms he's cleverer than…" Rose said again, and I couldn't stop myself from nodding. Even in my time, he cut himself shaving. A lot.
"There are these children living rough around the bomb site. They come out during air-raids looking for food."
"Mummy please."
"Suppose they were there when this thing - whatever it was - landed?" the Doctor mused aloud.
"It was a med-ship. It was harmless," Jack tried to stress again.
"Yes, you keep saying. 'Harmless'. Suppose one of them was affected - altered?" the Time Lord questioned.
"How could they be altered?" I asked, opening my eyes finally.
"I'm here."
"It's afraid. Terribly afraid, and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will," the Doctor let out a humorless laugh. "It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room." The realization hit me as he said those words. We were standing in the child's room, and he got sent to his room.
A loud, crackling noise filled the air, signifying the end of the tape, but it seems like the only other person to notice was the Doctor. "Doctor…" Rose trailed off, obviously scared.
"I'm here, can't you see me?" the child's voice echoed in the room. I turned slowly to look behind the Doctor, slowly tensing in fear.
"What's that noise?" she asked, looking up to the Doctor.
"The tape ran out about 30 seconds ago. And he sent the child to it's room. This is it's room," I stressed, pointing to the tape player behind the Doctor. The others spun around to come face to face with the child.
"Are you my mummy?" he asked, turning his head towards me. "Mummy?"
"Doctor?" Rose called out, terrified.
"On my count, make for the door." Jack said, staring at the child. "Now!" he called out, pulling a banana out of his pocket. I looked over at the Doctor to see him holding Jack's blaster and blasting a square into the wall.
"Go! Don't drop the banana!" the Doctor called out, and I couldn't help but laugh. It really wasn't the time, but boy did he know how to make a dark situation just a little bit brighter. "What are you laughing at?" he called after me as I jumped through the hole, making me laugh more.
"Why can't I drop it?" Jack asked, stopping to look at the Doctor.
"Good source of potassium!"
I looked back through the hole to see the child approaching. "Give me that," Jack demanded, pulling the gun from the Doctor's hands to close the gap. "Digital rewind," he said, tossing the Doctor the banana back. "Nice switch."
"It's from the Groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate," he sent a cheeky grin back to Jack.
"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?"
"Bananas are good," the Doctor told him simply, and I couldn't help but voice my opinion. "The bananas from the Groves of Villengard… I mean, they really are good. Best bananas I've ever had." The Doctor shot me a surprised yet wide grin, and I sent him one back.
However, at the sound of a thumping coming from the other side of the wall, I couldn't help but grimace. Rose called out for the Doctor, urging him to move. Thankfully, it worked, and soon we were all running down a flight of stairs and a corridor. The Doctor took a left turn, causing us to almost run into a group of patients walking our way. We tried to turn around but found that they were coming from all directions.
"Shoot," I muttered, fearing beginning to climb up my spine.
"It's keeping us here so it can get at us," the Doctor explained.
Jack pointed at a group of patients with his blaster and asked if "it" was controlling them.
"It IS them. It's every living thing in this hospital", the Doctor corrected.
"Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and a triple-enfolded sonic disruptor. Doc, what you got?" Jack asked after admiring his blaster. I watched with a small grin as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, but hid it from Jack.
"A sonic, er… oh, nevermind."
"What?"
"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that."
"Disrupter?" Jack guessed. "Cannon? What?"
"It's definitely sonic. I am sonic-ed up."
"A sonic WHAT?" Jack urged, not looking at him but at a group of patients approaching.
"SCREWDRIVER!" the Doctor exclaimed, and I snorted as Jack turned around immediately, a dumbfounded look on his face. A loud crunch sounded behind us, and I looked over to see the child walking through a hole in the wall.
"Going down!" Rose called out.
As I went to turn and ask her what she meant, the floor disappeared from beneath us. A string of curse words flew out of my mouth as we fell down to the next level. I landed on my back, and felt all the air in my body escape me. I closed my eyes in pain and I struggled to catch my breath.
I could hear the others talking, but I couldn't bother to listen to what they were saying. There was a lot of shuffling, and I could tell that someone had found the light switch.
I vaguely noticed Rose gasping, and the next thing I knew the three were kneeling next to me. "Up and at 'em," Jack said
"You okay?" she asked and I nodded slowly.
"Landing on your back from about a fourteen foot fall really freaking sucks," I muttered, beginning to sit up. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at me, checking the damage the fall had.
"It looks like it's just a bruised back, it doesn't seem like you broke anything. I can give you something for that afterwards if you'd like," he said, offering his hand. I took it and let him pull me.
"Mummy," I heard from behind me. I saw the look on the group's faces as they looked at what was behind me.
"Run," the Doctor muttered, and we all raced to the door, which just so happened to be lost.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rose asked from beside me as the Doctor and Jack argued.
"I'll definitely be feeling this for a few days. But I've been through worse," I told her with a grateful smile.
Rose, however, got distracted by Jack's blaster and its inability to hold a charge. As the Doctor soniced the door open, Rose shook her head in disappointment. "That's so lame."
We ran into the next room, and after we all were inside, the Doctor slammed the door shut and soniced it locked. "I was gonna send for another one but SOMEONE blew up the factory," Jack threw the Doctor a glare from his spot by a window.
"Oh, I know - the first day I met him, he blew my job up. That's practically how he communicates," Rose pointed over at the Doctor, a teasing grin on her face.
"Okay, the door should hold for a bit," the Doctor said, moving away from the door.
"The door? The wall couldn't even stop it!" Jack mentioned.
"Well, it's gotta FIND us first! Come on, we're not done yet! Assets, assets!"
"Well, I've got a banana, and at a pinch you could put up some shelves," Jack responded, his sarcasm scalding.
I stood against the wall with Rose, watching Jack and the Doctor walk around. The Doctor ran up to the window to inspect the bars when Jack told him that it was seven stories off the ground.
"And no other exits," Rose muttered.
"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?"
"So, where'd you pick these two up, then?" the Doctor asked Rose, pointing over at Jack and I.
I crossed my arms and glared at him, not appreciating how he was treating Jack and I. Well, I understood, unfortunately, his problem with Jack. But I hadn't done anything.
"Doctor…" Rose trailed off with a glare.
"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a CHANCE," Jack called out, and I rolled my eyes. I knew he was a flirt, but this is disgusting.
"Okay, one, we want to get out of here," the Doctor began to list but my attention was on Jack. Or rather, the lack of him. "Is there anything I'm missing?"
"Yeah, Jack's gone," I grumbled. I can't believe he just left me like that. The Doctor looked over at Jack's empty seat in surprise before grumbling like me. He shook his head before sitting down.
"Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the GREAT looking ones who do that?" Rose asked.
"I'm making an effort not to be insulted," the Doctor retorted, looking up at the blonde. I couldn't fight the small bit of jealousy gnawing at me. In the moment, I finally understood Rose's anger towards the Doctor and I when she found out that he told me all about his past. I never truly understood how close they were before I arrived, but when I arrived it was like that never mattered.
"I mean… men," Rose waved her hand dismissively.
"Okay, thanks. That really helped," the Doctor smiled at her sarcastically.
"Victoria? Rose? Doctor? Can you hear me?" Jack's voice called out, albeit somewhat staticy. "I'm back on my ship."
"Some warning would have been nice," I snapped at him, somewhat hurt that he left me behind.
"Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you," he apologized. I rolled my eyes, but stayed silent. "It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it - hang in there."
"How are you talking to us?" the Doctor asked, moving the ripped out wires from the radio he was speaking through.
"Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grille."
"Now there's a coincidence," the Doctor commented.
"What?"
"The child can Om-Com too."
"Really?" I asked, looking over at him.
"Anything with a speaker grille. Even the TARDIS phone," he said, and I assumed that meant the child had called him earlier through that phone.
"What, you mean the Child can phone us?" Rose asked, and I could hear a small hint of hysterics in her voice.
"And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to fiiiiind you," the Child took over the com, and I felt chills run up my arms.
"Doctor, can you hear that?"
"Loud and clear."
"I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do," he told us.
"Remember this one, Rose?" he asked, causing the Doctor and I to look over at Rose. 'Moonlight Serenade' by Glenn Miller began filling the air, and I couldn't help but snicker at her blush.
"Our Song," she smiled, somewhat embarrassed. The Doctor nodded his head, but he was obviously not pleased by that. After a moment of silence, he walked over to where I was next to the window and pulled out his sonic.
"Is there any way to loosen the bars?" I asked, watching him study the information coming from his sonic.
"I might be able to set up a resonation pattern, but I'm not certain it'll work."
"So even you don't think Jack will be back?" Rose asked as she swiveled around in a wheelchair, obviously bored.
I shook my head as I pulled my jacket around myself. "I never said that. But who knows how long it'll take. It doesn't hurt to try instead of waiting around."
"Well," the Doctor began, looking back to Rose for a moment. "I wouldn't bet my life on him coming back."
"Why don't you trust him?" Rose asked, causing him to stop again.
"Why do you?" he retorted.
"Saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing," she trailed off, waiting for the Doctor to respond.
"I trust him 'cos he's like you. Except with dating and dancing," Rose added after a moment.
I smiled wistfully to myself, knowing how wrong she was. He didn't date often, but he loved every companion, perhaps some in more ways than one.
"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Of course. Why do you ask?" I responded, tilting my head to the side.
"That look on your face says otherwise. Add on your little episode back in the hospital, and I'd say that you aren't". I tried to respond, I really did. But every time I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I bet I looked just like a fish out of water.
After a moment, I managed to get the words out. "I miss my family is really all it is. We… learned of some life changing news recently and it's been hard on all of us. We all agreed that we needed to spend some time apart, which is why I ended up with Jack. My ride should be here soon," I told him, tugging at the zipper on my leather jacket.
He placed his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure it'll get better. Right, Rose?" he asked, turning to look at the blonde. She smiled and nodded.
"Of course!"
I smiled gratefully at him, reaching up and patting his hand that was on my shoulder. "Thank you."
With that, I removed his hand and walked over to where Jack had sat earlier, taking a seat and closing my eyes, tuning in and out of the pair's conversation. From what I gathered, the Doctor wanted to know how and why her hands were okay after falling from a barrage balloon.
My peaceful rest was sadly interrupted by the loss of my seat, which caused me to land straight on my butt. "Oh come on. Can't I just get a break?" I cried out, rubbing my butt briefly from the pain.
"Where are Rose and the Doctor?" I asked, looking around.
"I almost got 'em. I just wanted to get you first," he smiled at me, holding out a hand to help me up.
"Thanks for that. The flirting, it's way too much," I grumbled, moving to sit on my cot as Jack got back to work.
"I think someone's jealous," he said with a sing-song voice, causing me to roll my eyes.
"I think not. It's just annoying me a third wheel."
"Sure, that's what's the problem," he teased.
"Oh, just get them already," I glared, only partially annoyed. I snapped my fingers, letting the nanogenes in the ship take care of my bruised butt and back while Jack got to work. It was silent for a moment before there was a small popping noise that filled the air as the Doctor and Rose were teleported to the ship.
"If ever he was a captain, he's been defrocked," he told Rose, standing incredibly close together, swaying slightly as they danced.
"Yeah?" she smiled. "Shame I missed that."
"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock," Jack butted in, startling the pair. "Most people notice when they've been teleported. But anyway, sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security,"
"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship it is," the Doctor remarked, looking at Jack distastefully.
"Oh, I do. She was gorgeous," he smirked, causing Rose to smile. "Like I told her, 'Be back in five minutes'" .I grimaced as he ducked into a compartment under the console and the Doctor began inspecting the ship.
"This is a chula ship," he commented after a moment. From his spot under the console, Jack responded with
"Yeah, just like that medical transporter. Only, this one is dangerous."
The Doctor then snapped his fingers, causing nanogenes to surround his hand. "They're what fixed up my hand! Jack called 'em…" Rose trailed off, trying to remember.
"Nanogenes," I supplied, causing her to shoot me an appreciative smile.
"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed - all better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws," the Doctor added, waving his hand to get rid of the nanogenes. "Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk," he told Jack who had come back from under the console.
"As soon as I get the nav-com back online," Jack began. "Make yourself comfortable. I'd say carry on with what you were doing, but I don't particularly want to see that."
"We were talking about dancing," the Doctor defended himself.
"It didn't look like talking," Jack responded, throwing me a glance.
"Didn't feel like dancing," Rose muttered, giving the Doctor a look who returned the look.
He shook his head and moved and sat next to me while Rose took a seat next to Jack. While the two talked, the Doctor watched me with scrutinizing eyes, looking me up and down.
"Back in the Child's room, how could you sense it?" he questioned, a cold, cautious look in his eyes.
"That's pretty personal, don't you think?" I questioned sharply, pulling my jacket tight to my body. Of course I felt guilty for how I was treating him, but this was the only way around him finding out prematurely.
He opened his mouth to respond but I cut him off. "I don't know you, so I don't see why I should tell you something that personal." He snapped his mouth shut and his face set into a frown. I didn't like seeing him look so… sad. "Maybe if you buy me a pint later, I tell you a bit more about myself," I told him with a small joking smile so hopefully he wouldn't be so grumpy now. My grin grew wider as I saw a small grin pull at his lips.
His gaze then moved from me over to Rose and Jack, signaling the end of our conversation. I looked over as well to hear them talking about Jack's past with the Time Agency.
"Your friend over there doesn't trust me. And for all I know... he's right not to. But Victoria… She trusts me too much," Jack said, nodding in my direction without looking at me.
A beep then came from the computer, peaking the Doctor's interest.
"Okay, we're good to go," Jack told the Doctor, causing him to sit up straighter. "Crash site?"
The Doctor walked over and stood by Jack and talked to him quietly as he flew the ship to the site. I stood up and started getting all of my belongings together, which wasn't a lot. Jack had gotten a bag for me, as well as a pair of pajamas to wear. Inside the bag is where I kept my vortex manipulator, my sleep wear, and my dad's medal.
Thank god Jack was from the fifty-first century since he had a quick and easy way of washing clothes. He really was holding out on me as I grew up, hiding all the cool inventions he knew from home. There was no way he wouldn't be hearing about this when I got back.
"Whatcha doing?" Rose asked from behind me, startling me. I held my hand to my chest in surprise and I looked back at her.
"Oh, I'm getting my bag together."
"Wait, you're leaving?" Rose asked, and I saw Jack frown a little bit. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at her interest.
"I already told you guys, I'm heading home once this is all over, so I was getting my things together." I told them, lifting up my small bag to show them.
With that, I pulled the strings of the bag and closed it tightly. I turned to the Doctor and hesitated. "Would you… would you mind putting this in your pocket? I don't trust myself to keep it on the ship, not with us right under an air raid."
He reached out after a moment and slid it into his pocket without a word. "Thank you," I smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder as I walked over to the door.
"So," I began, pushing open the door. "Shall we?" As I walked out, Jack made his way beside me. The four of us walked as quietly as possible as Jack led us to the bomb site.
"There it is," he told us. His face grew worried as he noticed a man pacing the platform. "Ay, they've got Algy on duty. Must be important."
"We gotta get past," the Doctor said, scanning the area.
"The words 'distract the guard' head in my general direction," Rose said, causing Jack to shake his head.
"I don't think that'd be such a good idea."
"I can handle it," Rose told him.
"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town. Trust me. You're not his type. I'll distract him," Jack replied, walking away from us. "Don't wait up!"
"Jack," I hissed, moving to run after him. I was shocked to have the Doctor grab my arm, stopping me.
"He'll be fine," the Doctor reassured me before looking over at Rose. "Relax, he's a 51st century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing."
"How flexible?" Rose asked with a grin.
"Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."
"Meaning?"
"So many species, so little time," the Doctor grinned suggestively.
I turned away from the two and pretended to throw up. No one, and I mean no one, wants to hear about how much her dad gets laid. "What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life, and... and…" Rose struggled to find the right word.
"Dance," the Doctor finished for her.
"You guys, now isn't the time," I moaned, watching Jack intently.
"Oh, come on, Victoria. Surely you've danced a bit?" Rose asked with a teasing grin.
I couldn't stop the head from rushing to my cheeks at her words. "W-What? I… uh… No I haven't. I'm getting there, mind you, but I haven't actually, you know, danced," I stuttered out, refusing to look at the two.
"No way! So you have a boyfriend but you haven't gotten to it then?" she pressed on.
"Well, that's the thing. It's quite complicated, Rose. We're just…" I trailed off as I watched Algy's face turn into a gas mask in horror.
The three of us rushed over to Jack and Algy, who was now lying on the ground, not breathing.
"It's airborne now, and it's excellerating. There's nothing we can do to keep us safe," I told them, and the Doctor nodded in agreement.
"The raid should be starting any minute now," I said, looking up at the sky to see planes moving in. Just then, the sirens began going off, and people rushed out of their houses.
"Did you say a bomb was going to land here?" Rose asked slowly in horror, looking at Jack who simply nodded.
"Never mind about that. If the contaminants air-borne now, there's hours left," the Doctor told Rose.
In the distance, just barely, I could hear a woman singing. It seemed to be coming from a shed somewhere nearby. "For what?" Jack asked.
"'Til nothing. 'Til forever. For the entire human race. And can anyone else hear singing?" the Doctor asked, looking between the three of us. I nodded, and pointed in the direction of the singing.
The Doctor listened for a moment before walking towards the noise. Rose, Jack, and I stayed back in the doorway as the Doctor slipped inside. Handcuffed to a table was a girl, probably Rose's age, singing 'Rock-A-Bye-Baby'. Across the table from her was a soldier that had grown a mask, fast asleep. The Doctor worked quickly, and as quietly as possible, to get the girl out of the handcuffs. Upon them falling, he ushers her out of the shed and we continued on our way to the crash site.
We all walked in silence, the impending doom lingering over us. When we got to the site, Jack and the Doctor walked up to the ship that was covered by a tarp and pulled it off. "You see, just an ambulance," Jack said, gesturing to the ship.
"That's an ambulance?" the girl asked. Rose put her arm around her shoulder and gently explained how it was from another planet.
"They've been trying to get in," Jack said, looking inside.
"What do you mean?" "Of course they have," the Doctor and I spoke at the same time. Jack shook his head as he began punching numbers into the controls.
"They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What're you doing?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, the sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll see I had nothing to do with it," Jack muttered as he worked with the controls. As he punched in the last number, the console exploded with sparks, causing an alarm to go off. "That didn't happen last time," Jack said, looking back at the Doctor and I.
"It hadn't crashed last time. They're the emergency protocols," the Doctor explained, his face growing somewhat cold.
"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asked, her voice full of tension. "Doctor!" Rose called out again after not getting a reply.
"What's that noise?" I asked, looking around, having begun to hear some sort of rattling.
"Captain, secure those gates!" the Doctor ordered, ignoring my question.
"Why?" he asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.
"Just do it!"
"Now Nancy, how'd you get in?" the Doctor asked.
"I cut the wire."
"Show Rose," he said, tossing his sonic to her. "Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D."
"What?"
"It reattaches barbed wire. Now go," I said off handedly, moving to look closer at the ambulance.
The Doctor reached out and grabbed my arm, once again stopping me. "How'd you know that?"
"You're not the only person I know with a sonic screwdriver, Doctor," I said, pulling my arm out of his grip. Without waiting for an answer, I moved forward and kept looking. The Doctor was all over the place, it was beginning to drive me crazy. One minute he's all nice to me and the next he's cold and bitter. I understood that this body was born out of the Time War, but I was beginning to worry a little bit.
It didn't take long for Jack to close the gates and to return to the ship. He looked between the Doctor and I, both of us not having spoken since he questioned me, before shaking his head. He moved forward and opened the door to the ship."It's empty. Look at it," he said, gesturing into the empty compartment.
"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?" the Doctor said, looking at Rose expectantly.
A pit began to form in my stomach as I looked at the ship longer. "Oh no," I whispered in horror.
"I dunno," she told him.
"Yes, you do," he said, snapping his finger, causing nanogenes to surround his hand.
"Nanogenes!"
I looked over at Jack, the dread and horror in my eyes making him flinch. "It wasn't empty, Jack, there were nanogenes inside waiting to fix someone up."
"There was enough to rebuild a species," the Doctor added, his voice becoming deeper.
"Oh, god," was all Jack could muster as we looked at him.
The Doctor shook his head with a humorless laugh. "Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gasmask."
"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?" Rose questioned.
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though - these nanogenes - they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do, they patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly - off they go, work to be done. 'Cos you see now they think they know what people should look like and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire Human Race is gonna be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!" the Doctor explained, progressively getting louder and more aggressive, to the point of almost yelling.
"I didn't know," Jack told him apologetically. However, all the Doctor did was send him a dark, cold glare.
I had moved back to Rose, not wanting to pull the Doctor's attention to myself again. I looked over at Nancy, who was standing a bit away from us, to see she looked terrified.
"Rose," the girl called out in terror, causing Rose to run over to her immediately. I followed behind, wondering what was happening, to see the patients making their way towards us.
As Rose went to tell the Doctor, I moved closer to Nancy and wrapped an arm around her, hoping to calm her down.
"Come on, let's see if we can help," I said, and together we walked closer to the ship.
As we approached, we heard the Doctor explaining exactly what was happening.
"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old that's looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."
"Why aren't they attacking," I asked, looking at all the patients surrounding the fences.
"Good little soldiers. Waiting for their commander."
"The Child?" Jack asked, which irritated Nancy.
"Jamie. His name is Jamie, not 'The Child'," she snapped at him.
"So, how long until the bomb drops?" Rose asked, fear obvious in her voice.
"Any second."
The Doctor turned his gaze from Nancy to Jack, becoming annoyed with the man again. "What's the matter, Captain? Bit close to the volcano for you? "
"He's just a little boy," Nancy spoke softly, pain drenching her words.
"I know," the Doctor told her empathetically.
"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy," she spoke again, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can," the Doctor said, looking at Nancy intently.
"So what're we gonna do?" Rose called out, drawing the Doctor's attention for a moment.
"I don't know."
"It's my fault," Nancy voiced, the tears beginning to fall.
I shook my head and grabbed her hand comfortingly. "No it's not."
"It is. It's all my fault," she spoke, her voice cracking.
"How can it be your-" the Doctor cut himself off, looking between the patients and Nancy. "Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?" the Doctor asked, causing me to gasp.
Nancy was Jamie's mother. He wanted her, he wanted his mummy. A loud explosion came from behind us, causing me to flinch. "Doctor, the bomb is gonna drop. We have seconds," Jack tried to tell the Doctor. I let go of Nancy, finding that I'd probably be more help to Jack and Rose.
"You can teleport us out," Rose said to Jack with a nod.
He shook his head, his face growing pained. "Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Gonna take too long to override the protocols."
My eyes widened with horror as Jack looked down at his vortex manipulator. "Jack, no please," I cried out, rushing towards him. "I came here to help you, not to let you kill yourself!"
"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do," the Doctor told Jack, barely any emotion in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Victoria, but I need to make up for this," he said, grabbing my shoulder. "Don't cry, you'll see me again soon."
"Not if you die!" I cried, not wanting him to go. If he died, none of it would ever happen, him raising me, me meeting the Doctor. I would lose my dad for good.
"Thanks for all your help this past month. I don't know if you noticed, but it made a difference," he smiled at me, his eyes shining with tears, before taking his hand off my shoulder and activating his teleport.
Rose rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I couldn't help the sob that escaped my mouth and the tears that streamed down my face.
"Dad, no," I cried, not caring if Rose could understand me or not.
"Victoria, it'll be okay," Rose whispered, trying to calm my cries. "Look, Nancy's doing something."
I wiped my eyes, trying my best to calm myself as Nancy kneeled down in front of Jamie, crying. "I'm your mummy," she told him repeatedly.
"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left," the Doctor told us, having walked over as Nancy spoke with the boy.
"Wait, Doctor. Look," I said, pointing at the nanogenes beginning to surround Nancy and Jamie as she hugged her child.
"Doctor, it's changing her, we should-""Rose, shush."
"Come on, please. Come on, you CLEVER little nanogenes - figure it out! The mother. She's the mother! There's gotta be enough information, figure it out!" the Doctor spoke to himself, excitement radiating off of him.
"What's happening?" Rose asked again.
"See? Recognizing the same DNA."
We watched as the nanogenes slowly disappeared, leaving the mother and child hugging. We raced over, the Doctor taking the lead, and stared at the two. "Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one". He reached forward and pulled the mask off of Jamie, showing the face of a four year old boy. The Doctor jumps up, laughing ecstatically. "Ah-ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years 'til pop music - you're gonna love it!" the Doctor beamed while pulling Jamie in for a hug.
"What happened?" Nancy asked.
"The nanogenes recognised the superior information - the parent DNA. They didn't change YOU because YOU changed them! Haha!" he laughed again, placing Jamie in front of Nancy. "Mother knows best!"
"Doctor, the bomb," Rose spoke up, hearing a bomb fall somewhere nearby.
"It's been taken care of," the Doctor said with a grin.
"How?"
"Psychology!" he said, gesturing towards Nancy and Jamie. A whirring noise sounded above us, and I looked up to see the bomb falling straight for us. However, before it reached us, a bright blue beam shot out of Jack's ship and caught it mid-air. After a moment, Jack popped into the beam as well to look down at us.
"Doctor!"
"Good lad!" the Doctor grinned.
"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long," Jack explained.
"Change of plan - don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it? Safely as you can?" the Doctor asked, and I saw Jack nod.
"Victoria?" he called out.
"Yeah?" I asked, the tears welling in my eyes again.
"Thank you for everything. Goodbye," he said before disappearing back into his ship. "Oh, and Rose," he said, reappearing for a moment. "Love the t-shirt. Goodbye." He disappeared once again, and his ship flew away, carrying the bomb. The Doctor then walked a few feet ahead of us and stared intently at his hands. With the snap of a finger, nanogenes flew to his hand, flying around it.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked, moving closer to him.
"Software patch. Gonna email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves," he smiled before throwing his hands out in front of him, causing the nanogenes to fly towards all the patients. Although overwhelmed with sadness, I couldn't help but smile. Here the Doctor was, saving hundreds of lives. I couldn't be prouder of the Doctor for saving everyone.
"Everyone lives, Rose! Everyone lives, Victoria! Just this once, everybody lives!" he smiled brightly, watching as everyone turned back to normal. Rose and I hung back as the Doctor went and talked to a few people in the mix, sharing a smile at the happy ending. "Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?" the Doctor smiled at the two of us as he tinkered with the controls of the ambulance.
"Usually you're the first," Rose grinned. Together, the three of us walked to the TARDIS. On the way, the two had talked about how at the moment the Doctor was beaming like Father Christmas. The Doctor paused right as he was about to push the doors open. He looked back at me with a smile and asked, "Are you ready?"
I simply nodded, smiling lightly as he pushed the doors open for me to see the TARDIS. It looked the same as it did with my Doctor, but perhaps it was just a bit darker.
"She's beautiful," I said, looking over at him with a small smile.
He smiled back before moving to the console, putting in the coordinates for the vortex it seems."Doctor?" Rose asked after a moment.
"Go on, ask me anything! I'm on fire!"
"What about Jack?" she asked softly, rubbing my arm as she walked by me "Why'd he say goodbye?"
"Because he was sacrificing himself. He wanted to make up for what he caused. And now he's gone. He's… gone," my voice cracked as the tears began to fall again.
"We can save him! Right, Doctor? We can save Jack?" Rose asked, staring at the Doctor.
"Please, Doctor. He's practically my family. I can't lose him. Not like this," I pleaded, grabbing the Doctor's hand "Please". The Doctor stared at the console, trying to make up his mind.
"Fine," he said quietly after a moment.
"Oh, thank you, Doctor! Thank you," I sobbed, taking a step back so he could pilot the ship. The Doctor looked at me for a moment, looking me hard in the eyes. After a moment, he simply nodded and moved around the console.
Rose stood next to me, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly. "Thank you," I whispered to her, causing her grin.
"You're welcome."
Upon arriving at Jack's ship, the Doctor turned on 'Moonlight Serenade' and pulled Rose in for a dance. I got up and rushed to the doors and pulled them open. "Jack," I said, a grin growing on my face. "Come on!" I smiled. He jumped out of his seat and into the TARDIS where I pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad you're not dead."
"Thanks, Victoria. Me too."
"Close the door, will you. Your ship's about to blow up - there's gonna be a draft," the Doctor called out as he danced, horribly I might add, with Rose around the room. After Jack closed the door, the Doctor and Rose stopped dancing, her going to stand against a pillar and the Doctor to fiddle with the console."Welcome to the TARDIS," the Doctor grinned.
"Much bigger on the inside," Jack said, glancing around the room in awe.
"You'd better be," the Doctor said, patting the console lovingly.
"I think what the Doctor's TRYING to say is... you may cut in," Rose grinned slyly at Jack, holding out a hand for Jack to take.
"Rose, I just remembered!" the Doctor called out.
"What?"
Suddenly, 'In the Mood' begins playing through the speakers, causing the Doctor to snap his fingers along with the beat. "I can dance!"
"Actually, Doctor... I thought Jack might like this dance," Rose told him, but he didn't even react.
"I'm sure Victoria wouldn't mind dancing with him," the Doctor suggested, causing me and Jack to look at each other. I could help but blanch as we shared a look, and apparently neither could Jack. Obviously the Doctor had feelings for Rose, it was clear as day by the way they looked at each other. And I'm guessing the Doctor was jealous and didn't want Rose to 'dance' with Jack.
"You know what," I said, slipping towards the hallway. "I think I'm good for the night. I need to head out tomorrow, so if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna sleep," I said, barely waiting for a response.
The Doctor looked over at me for a moment, telling me that if I asked the TARDIS, she'd show me to a room, but I had barely stayed long enough to hear him speak. She led me to my room, the same one as in my time. "Thank you, Sexy," I smiled, placing a hand on the wall.
The lights in my room glowed brighter and I could hear a hum radiating from the walls. "Good night," I spoke as I got into my bed, not bothering to change into my pjs. Another hum radiated through the air, lulling me to sleep.