We finally landed the TARDIS in an unknown time and place, well unknown to me. The Doctor said he knew where he was. I didn't believe him. He never could fly her like I could. I had changed into the correct era of clothes that he requested I wear. I stepped back into the console room wearing pink, high heeled shoes, along with a big pink poodle skirt with layers of netting beneath, and a black top tucked in. I stepped out onto the pavement looking for the Doctor in my 50's regalia.
"I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era, you know- the white flares and the chest hair, judging by what you had me wear." I called back into the TARDIS, leaning on the doors. The Doctor poked his head around the door and looked at me and I laughed at his gelled back hair. He'd managed to get it into the teddy-boy style.
"You are kidding, aren't you? You wanna see Elvis, you go in the late 50's! The time before burgers." He said before disappearing back inside. "When they called him 'the Pelvis' and he still had a waist." I laughed at him. He always wanted to see the less popular times than what most people would want to see. "What's more, you see him in style!" I heard the sound of an engine from inside the TARDIS and watched as the Doctor rode out of the TARDIS on a blue late-50's moped! I laughed at him in his big sunglasses and a white helmet on his head. He stopped in front of me and smiled that big grin of his. "You goin' my way, doll?" he asked in a false Elvis accent and facial look. I put on a pair of pink sunglasses and walked to him.
"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o?" I asked him in an American accent. "Straight from the fridge, man!"
"Hey, you remember the lingo!" he said happily to me as he tossed me a pink helmet. I caught it and put it on as I sat behind him.
"Yeah well... 21 years of me, mum, and Rose watching Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday." I told him.
"Ah, Cliff! I knew your mother'd be a Cliff fan." The Doctor told me and I laughed as we drove off down the street.
"Where we off to?" I asked him over the engine.
"Ed Sullivan TV Studios, Elvis did 'Hound Dog' on one of the shows, there were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it." he told me and I looked around at the buildings confused.
"And that'll be TV studios in, what - New York?" I asked him.
"That's the one!" He said happily. Not too long later a red London bus drove past us. I looked and spotted a red post box and Union flags handing from rooftop to rooftop.
"New York?" I asked him again.
"Well... this COULD still be New York, I mean this looks very New York to me... sort of... Londony New York, mind.." he said trying to defend himself.
"I told you, you should have let me drive." I said remembering our conversation in the TARDIS.
"Oh, don't start that." he told me.
"What are all the flags for?" I asked him finally, switching subjects.
"Let's go find out." he said. We drove to another street and parked the moped before getting off and walking to a truck with some men around it.
"There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion." One of the men said.
"The great occasion? What d'you mean?" The Doctor asked him.
"Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course." the man told us.
"What Coronation's that, then?" The Doctor asked him.
"What d'you mean? THE Coronation." the man told him. The Doctor turned his blank face to me and I rolled my eyes at him. He was a genius but sometimes he could be so thick.
"The Queen's." I said and he shook his head slightly. "Queen Elizabeth!"
"Oh! Oh, is this 1953?!" He asked with a grin on his face.
"Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best." the man told us.
"Look at all the TV aerials..." I said looking at the chimneys. "Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird, my Nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house. That and I remember coming here one other time, there weren't this many of them around."
"Not round here, love. Magpie's Marvelous Tellies, only five quid a box." the man, Magpie I guessed, told us. I watched the Doctor wander a short way round the street.
"Why so cheep?" I asked the man. He was saved answering me the Doctor cutting in, all smiles and energy.
"Oh but this is a BRILLIANT year! Classic! Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration- The Nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!" he said and I had to laugh at him. Suddenly, a woman's shouts cut through the air.
"Someone help me, please! Ted!" I turned to see a man with a blanket over his head being bundled into a black police car by two suited men and ran over with the Doctor. "Leave him alone, it's my husband!"
"What's going on?" The Doctor asked but no one answered him. We watched as the man was pushed into the back seat and a boy ran out of his house and stood slightly in front of us.
"Oi, what are you doing?!" the boy asked.
"Police business, now get out of the way, sir!" The police said to the Doctor. I walked up to the boy and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Who did they take, do you know him?" I asked him.
"Must be Mr Gallagher..." he told me. The car suddenly drove off, leaving who could only be Mrs. Gallagher in despair. "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters..."
"Who is?" I asked him but a man shouted stopping him from telling me.
"Tommy! Not one word!" I looked at the man before turning back to Tommy. "Get inside now!"
"Sorry, I'd better do as he says..." he walked away as Mrs. Gallagher sobbed behind me and the Doctor put on his sunglasses and ran to the moped, kicking it to life.
"All aboard!" he said and I quickly joined him and we chased the black car as he hurtled round a corner. When we came round the corner on the moped we had to stop short of a market stall. "Lost 'em! How'd they get away from us?" The Doctor asked bemused.
"Surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving, have you actually PASSED your test?!" I asked him, knowing the answer.
"Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia!" The Doctor said ignoring my question.
"That's a no then." I said before remembering Tommy. "Monsters, that boy said... Maybe we should go and ask the neighbors." I suggested to him.
"That's what I love about you. The domestic approach." The Doctor said sweetly to me.
"Thank you..." I said grinning at him. We drove back to the street we had been on and I got off the moped, putting my helmet inside the seat after the Doctor had gotten up. "Tommy's dad came shouting at us from this house. The boy might be the only one to talk to us." I told him.
"Going very domestic then." The Doctor said grinning at me and I slapped his arm. We walked up to the house and rang the doorbell waiting on who would answer the door. When the door opened we both grinned at the man who'd come running out of the house to Tommy and myself.
"Hiiiiii!" He both said to him happily. The man regarded both of us suspiciously and I glanced behind him to see Tommy. Good, this was the right house.
"Who are you, then?" he asked us.
"Let's see then, judging by the look of you - family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war - therefore, I represent Queen and country!" The Doctor said holding up the psychic paper with a flourish. "I'm the Doctor, this is my wife the Hunter. Just doing a little check of Her Majesty's forthcoming subjects for the great day. Don't mind if I come in? Nah, didn't think you did, thank you!" The Doctor barged past the man before he could protest to us and I followed him into the living room. "Not bad, very nice! Very well kept! I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs... ?" The Doctor asked the wife, fishing for a name.
"Connolly." Mrs. Connolly said timidly.
"Now then Rita, I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative!" I glanced at the Doctor and knew I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut for long around this man. "Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit."
"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more." The Doctor said and I looked at both shocked faces to the other two men in the room, but the Doctor had more to say. "I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty." I looked to where he was looking to see flags waiting to be put up. "Nice flags. Why are they not flying?"
"There we are Rita, I told you - get them up, Queen and country!" Mr. Connolly said to his wife. I took a deep breath as the Doctor began to move to him.
"I'm sorry-" Mrs. Connolly said to us and her husband stopped any more words from coming out.
"Get it done! Do it now." he said.
"Hold on a minute-" The Doctor said but Mr. Connolly wasn't finished.
"Like the gentleman says -"
"Hold on a minute." The Doctor cut in again. "You've got hands, Mr Connolly. Two big hands! Why is that your wife's job?"
"It's housework, innit?" he asked the Doctor.
"And that's a woman's job?" The Doctor asked him.
"Course it is!" Mr. Connolly said, proud of himself.
"Mr Connolly, what gender is the Queen?" The Doctor asked him and I almost laughed. I knew where this was going.
"She's a female." Mr. Connolly answered him.
"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" The Doctor asked him. My laughter was getting harder to hold back due to this mans humiliation. It was obvious today how he treated his family and to continue treating them like this in front of strangers was unexceptionable.
"No! Not at all!" Mr. Connolly said and the Doctor handed him a string of flags while giving him an insistent stare.
"Then get busy." The Doctor told him.
"Right, yes sir." he said feigning enthusiasm. No one bought it. "You'll be proud of us, sir! We'll have Union Jacks left, right and center!" I chose this moment to give the man a hard look.
Excuse me, Mr Connolly, hang on a minute! Union Jacks?" I asked him.
"Yes, that's right, isn't it?" he asked me.
"That's the Union Flag. It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea." I reminded him and the man stumbled on what to say.
"Oh... oh, I'm sorry, I do apologize!" he said to me.
"Well, don't get it wrong again, there's a good man. Now get to it!" I said using the same force he had with his wife. He hastily got back to work and I gave the Doctor a coy smile. He looked at me slightly bewildered before we sat on the sofa making ourselves at home, grinning.
"Right then! Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty's leisure!" He turned to me and spoke quietly for a moment. "Union Flag?"
"Mum went out with a sailor." I told him just as quiet with my grin still in place.
"Oohohohoo! I bet she did!" he said before turning to the rest of the room. "Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose, and you are?" the Doctor asked looking at Tommy.
"Tommy." We shifted aside, making space for the boy to sit between us.
"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy." The Doctor said motioning for Mrs. Connolly to sit in another chair close by, and we all watched the telly. "Have a look at this. I love telly, don't you?"
"Yeah, I think it's brilliant!" Tommy told him.
"Good man!" The Doctor said as we watched the programm, apparently about fossils, silently for a few moments before the Doctor turned around to check on Mr. Connolly, who was still hanging the flags. "Keep working Mr C!" he suddenly grew serious and spoke quietly so Mr. Connolly couldn't hear us talk to his family. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"Did you say you were a doctor?" Mrs. Connolly asked him.
"Yes I am." he told her.
"Can you help her? Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?" Mrs. Connolly asked him.
"Now then Rita, I don't think the gentleman needs to know..." Mr. Connolly said but the Doctor cut him off.
"No, the gentleman does!" The Doctor shouted at him. Mrs. Connolly began to cry and I moved forward on my seat.
"Tell us what's wrong, and we can help." I told her. Mrs. Connolly's sobs grew louder and she just shook her head helplessly. I went to her and sat on the arm of the chair, wrapping a comforting arm around her as the Doctor watched us. "I'm sorry, come on, come on..."
"Hold on a minute! Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house!" Mr. Connolly shouted at us. He looked down at the flags in his hands, chucking them down. The Doctor propped his head on his forearm and balled fist, appearing calm but giving the distinct impression that he was restraining himself. "What the- what the hell am I doing? Now you listen here, Doctor! You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business!"
"All the people are being bundled into-" The Doctor tried telling him but he never finished.
"I am talking!" Mr. Connolly started shouting. The Doctor stood suddenly, rage covering his face.
"And I'm not listening! Now you, Mr Connolly, are staring into a deep, dark PIT of trouble if you don't let me help." Mr. Connolly was clearly shaken, and both Tommy and Mrs. Connolly looked scared again, unsure how to react. "So I'm ordering you - SIR! - to tell me what's going on!" Mr. Connolly tried to think of something to say, but was stopped by the sound of banging coming from upstairs. His eyes and the Doctor's rolled upwards, Tommy looked around nervously, and Mrs. Connolly sighed and shook her head.
"She won't stop." Mr. Connolly told us as the banging continued, louder this time. "She never stops."
"We started hearing stories, all round the place." Tommy said, finding the confidence to explain to us. His voice was slightly shaky as we all turned to him. "People who've... changed. Families keeping it secret 'cause they were scared. The police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does. They just... turn up, come to the door and take 'em. Any time of the day or night."
"Show me." The Doctor told him. We followed him upstairs to a room where he unlocked the door and peeked in. From over his head all I could see is darkness.
"Gran? It's Tommy." Tommy called to her. He opened the door wider, allowing us to see inside the darkened room. "'S all right Gran, I've brought help." His Gran was standing by the window, a silhouette moving slowly towards us. Tommy stepped a little further inside the room and turned on the light. What we saw shocked us. She had no face - all the features were gone, and it was smoothed over. The Doctor and I peered at the blank face.
"Her face is completely gone." The Doctor said fascinated. He scanned it with the sonic screwdriver. "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown, she's ticking over, like her brain has been... wiped clean." He put the sonic screwdriver away, but still examined her face.
"What're we gonna do, Doctor? We can't even feed her!" Tommy told him. We were interrupted by the crash of the someone entering the house.
"We've got company..." I said.
"It's them, they've come for her!" Mrs. Connolly cried out.
"What was she doing before this happened? Where was she?" The Doctor asked hurriedly. Mrs. Connolly hesitated as the policemen clambered up the stairs. "Tell me, quickly, think!"
"I can't think! She doesn't leave the house! She was just-" Tommy was cut off by the entrance of a big, burly man and some supporting officers.
"Hold on a minute!" The Doctor said trying to by some time. "There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One, -" Much to my horror, the burly man punched the Doctor in the face, hard. He collapsed, unconscious.
"Doctor!" I said falling to the ground with trying to wake him up. The men took the opportunity to throw a blanket over Tommy's gran and usher her to the stairs, as I slapped the Doctor's cheeks in an attempt to wake him up.
"Leave her alone!" Mrs. Connolly called to them but I wasn't paying attention to them.
"Doctor! Doctor!" I called to him slapping him. He suddenly sat up as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, hell of a right hook! Have to watch out for that!" he said before bolting down the stairs as I followed in my dainty shoes. "Hunter, come on!" he called to me as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I paused at the entrance to the living room, noticing red, buzzing tendrils of electricity coming out of the television. "Hunter, we're gonna lose them again!" I was torn between running to the Doctor and watching the television. The tendrils were absorbed back into the television, prompting me to move closer to it. I fumbled with the television set, turning it around to see the red electricity still buzzing along the aerial, and a large label saying 'Magpie Electricals'.
"How did they find her? Who told 'em?" I heard Tommy ask.
"You! Get the hell out of my house!" I turned to see Mr. Connolly and got up to leave,
"I'm going, I'm done! Nice to meet you Tommy, Mrs Connolly. And as for you, Mr Connolly, be careful what you say to your family. You never know when you wont have them around again. Also, only an idiot hangs the Union Flag upside-down. Shame on you!" I told him before grinning cheerfully and running out of the house. I walked all the way to Magpie's shop and saw Magpie adjusting a TV set on the counter. As I walked in he looked up nervously at me.
"Oh, I, I'm sorry miss, I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door." he told me and I shut the door behind me.
"Yeah? Well, I wanna buy a telly." I lied to him, looking around.
"Come back tomorrow. Please." he told me.
"You'll be closed, won't ya?" I asked him.
"What?" he asked me confused.
"For the big day? The coronation..." I reminded him.
"Yes, yes, of course. The big day." he said to me, trying to make me go away as I walked over to him. "I'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. Please go." he begged me again.
"Seems to me half of London's got a television, since you're practically giving them away." I said to him.
"I have my reasons." he told me.
"And what are they?" I asked him. Before he could answer, one of the televisions on display tuned itself, and a woman appeared on the screen.
"Hungry! Hungry!" she said.
"What's that?" I asked him, staring at her.
"It's just a television. One of these modern programs. Now, I really do think you should leave! Right now!" he told me and I turned back to him.
"Not until you've answered my questions. How comes your televisions are so cheap?" I asked.
"It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the Empire but we can still be proud! Twenty million people they reckon'll be watching! Imagine that!" he told me and I smiled, obviously not convinced. "And twenty million people can't be wrong, eh? So why don't you get yourself back home and get up, bright and early, for the big day?"
"Nah, I'm not leaving 'til I've seen everything." I told him.
"I need to close." he told me.
"Mr. Magpie, something's happening out there. Ordinary people are being struck down and changed, and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your television. What's going on?" I asked him.
"I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out." he told me as he locked the door.
"All right, then, it's just you and me... you gonna come clean, then? What's really in it for you?" I asked him.
"For me? Perhaps some peace." he told me and I looked at him confused.
"From what?" I asked him.
"From HER." He said glancing over at the woman on the television screen and I followed his gaze.
"That's just a woman on the telly, that's just a program." I said to him.
"What a pretty little girl." the woman said and my eyes widened slightly.
"Oh, my God - are you talking to me?" I asked it.
"Yes - I'm talking to you, little one. Unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?" she asked me.
"What are you?" I asked her.
"I'm the Wire. And I'm hungrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy...!" She bore her teeth - pinkish purplish bolts of electricity shot out of the screen and encompassed my face, sucking...
"Magpie, help me!" I told him, reaching for my gun.
"Just think of that audience tomorrow, my dear..." he told me and I moaned in pain. "All sitting down to watch the coronation. Twenty million people. Things will never be the same again. I'm sorry. So sorry."
"Help me." I told him.
"Goodnight, children. Everywhere." the Wire said and I shot the screen she was on before my world went dark.
When I woke up and I looked around and saw that I was sitting in a chair in an office. I looked out of the large windows to see a large group of people looking at each other, feeling their faces. I must have put myself into some sort of coma when I shot the screen with the Wire on it. I quickly began looking around. Where was the Doctor? I walked down to all the people and the officers and smiled.
"Let them out." I told the officer and he listened to me, opening the door. "Everyone if you'll just follow me. Let's get you back to your families." I said smiling at them. As we walked back to the street I was sure the Doctor was on others broke from our large group. People were coming out of their houses and ran to their loved ones. I scanned the sea of people for a familiar face and saw it. A wide smile spread across my face at the sight of him, which the Doctor returned as he quickened his pace towards me. I laughed, just so happy to see him again and we threw his arms around each other, kissing each other deeply. When we parted, he lifted me right off the ground in a huge hug. I clung to him, grinning widely and burying my face in his shoulder. We celebrated with everyone not just the coronation but being back with our loved ones. Trestle tables line the center of the road covered in pastries, cakes, drinks, etc.
"We could go down the mall, join in with the crowd." I said to the Doctor as we walked down the street hand in hand.
"Nah, that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here." The Doctor told me.
"The domestic approach?" I asked him.
"Exactly." he said and we laughed.
"Will it... the Wire... is it trapped for good - on video?" I asked him,
"Hope so. Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivaled knowledge of trans temporal extirpation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern."
"You're going to tape over it?" I asked him smiling.
"I'm going to tape over it." he told me and we laughed again. We saw Tommy sitting at one of the tables and we joined him. "Tell you what Tommy - you can have the scooter. Little present. Best... um... keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh?" Tommy was staring over the Doctor's shoulder and I followed his gaze to see Mr. Connolly walking down the street with his suitcase as Mrs. Connolly embraced her mother.
"Good riddance."
"Is that it then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world - no room for a man like Eddie Connolly." The Doctor asked him.
"That's right. He deserves it." Tommy said and I smiled slightly at him.
"Tommy, go after him." I told him.
"What for?" Tommy asked me.
"He's your dad." I said.
"He's an idiot." Tommy said and I laughed lightly.
"Course he is. Like I said, he's your dad. But you're clever. Clever enough to keep up with the Doctor and save the world so don't stop there. Be the better man. Go on!" I told him, smiling and giving him another nudge. Convinced, Tommy ran to join his dad. The Doctor and I watched as they walked side by side and Tommy took his dad's bag for him. They continue down the street together. The Doctor handed me a glass of orange juice and we chinked our glasses together, smiling.
Next time on the Doctor's Girl:
"We've gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS' knowledge..." The Doctor said as he opened the door. "OH!" We jumped in shock at the creatures we saw on the other side.
"ENTERING NIGHT SHIFT."
"This writing is old, impossibly old." I said running my hand over the lettering.
"People... look at that, real people." one of the woman said staring at us.
"That's us. Horray!" The Doctor said and I cheered lightly with him.
"The Beast and his armies shall rise from the pit." The Ood said, scaring me.
"Whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon." Toby said.
"We could revolutionize modern science." Ida said.
"We could use it to fuel the Empire." Jefferson said.
"Or start a war." I told them.
"That's a black hole." I said pointing at it.
"But that's impossible." The Doctor said looking up at it shocked.
Sorry about the shortness of this chapter. I was going to have her withstand the Wire but I couldn't place her anywhere with the Doctor during that time frame so I shall let you decide if her face was even gone before she shot the screen. Thanks for reading!