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Chapter XX - Meridaians

Rose had just finished texting Pete about the bet. The Doctor's phone rang next to the bed.

He rolled over and looked at it. It was Jake.

He answered the call. "Jakey-boy. What's got you calling me at four in the morning?"

Jake said, "Well, Sinatra! We have a problem with a Zeppelin and need you to pop over. Can you come? Like now?"

Rose looked at him, curiously.

"Yeah. Be right there in ten minutes. I'll pop into my office. Meet me there."

He ended the call and rolled out of bed. He pulled his pants back on as he walked away from the bed. He wandered around for a few minutes. Rose watched as he stopped walking, put his hands on the side of head and said, "Ah!"

She laughed at him. "I figured you would be suffering."

He walked into the bathroom. Rose heard his voice in her head. 'Jake needs me for something. I'm going to pop over to Torchwood. Do you want to come?'

'Do you need me?' Rose asked.

'Sweetheart. I always need you.'

'I mean, can I use an option to stay here and sleep instead?'

He laughed in her head. 'I don't blame you. I feel like I could sleep a bit more, too. Stay here and sleep, love. I'll be quick and pop right back. If you need me, well...just tell me. I'll be able to hear you.'

'If I don't answer, don't worry. I'm just asleep.'

He came out of the bathroom wearing his jeans, and an oxford black shirt. He picked up his leather jacket that Rose had given him earlier that night and put it on. He was wearing his red trainers.

"Oh sweetheart, I can tell when you are asleep through our connection. The more you sleep, the more rest it gives me as well. It's one of those funny things. So, yeah. Stay and sleep for us both."

He climbed into the bed and kissed her. He smiled as he rubbed her cheek. "Get some rest." He kissed her on the end of the nose and disappeared in front of her.

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The Doctor popped into his office. Jake stood there.

"Hey! I like that jacket!" Jake told him as soon as he saw him.

They walked quickly out of the Doctor's office and started down the hall. The Doctor wasn't 100% sure where they were headed, but imagined it was the situation room where they had been before when there was trouble.

He laughed, "Yeah, Rose says I look like Han Solo."

Jake laughed and looked at the jacket. "Nah, I don't see it."

"Anyway. What's going on?"

"Big ship has appeared right along side a Zeppelin that's currently in flight. It's just hanging out looking at them. The FAA in the United States is wanting Howie to scramble soldiers because they think it's hostile."

The Doctor stopped walking. "Wait. This is in Alaska. Is that right?"

Pete rolled his neck back. "Yeah! How the hell did you know that?"

"It's happened before. We need to hurry!"

They ran to the situation room.

As they came inside, the Doctor looked at the screens. There was a video displaying of a huge ship that was just hovering next to the Zeppelin. The ship was easily four times the size of the Zeppelin.

The Doctor rubbed his beard and asked, "Where is this image coming from?"

Someone answered from the front of the room. "A helicopter nearby."

"Right." the Doctor said as he watched.

"Can we talk to the Zeppelin?"

"Yes, sir! Patching you in now." a lady said.

The Doctor put his hands on his hips and listened. Howie Shepherd's voice was speaking.

The Doctor smiled. "Howie! It's the Doctor. They got you out of bed for this, too?"

Howie laughed, "I'm so glad to hear your voice, my friend!"

Apparently, there was a lot of people talking to the Captain of the Zeppelin at the moment. He could hear the chatter of many voices.

He waved his hand, "Hang on, hang on. Everyone calm down. Who's the Captain of this Zeppelin?"

"I am, sir. Captain Kenju Terauchi. Air Lines flight 1628." a frightened voice said.

The Doctor smiled. "Don't worry, Captain. I'm the Doctor. Doctor Johnathon Smith. I'm going to help you out of this situation. Stay on course. Don't alter it at all. It won't hit you. No one has made contact with the ship, have they?"

"Sir, this is General Franklin J. Johns of the United States. That thing is sitting near Eiselson Air Force Base in Alaska. Do we need to scramble our troops?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sure! If it makes you feel better, point a gun at them. They haven't contacted anyone, right?"

Howie spoke. "Nah, they won't answer anything we are saying to them."

The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Yes! I've always wondered about this! Come on Jake. Fancy a field trip?"

Jake smiled at him and rocked on his feet. "Oh, hell yeah! Let's hit it!"

The Doctor smiled. "Howie! Curly Wolf and I are going to chat with our visitors. Do not shoot at me. Rose will be pissed."

"Hear that General. Do not fire at that ship!" Howie demanded.

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The Doctor and Jake walked into the hallway.

The Doctor was almost gitty with excitement. "Oh, I love this watch! Makes losing my TARDIS halfway tolerable. I've always wondered about this. It happened back in 1986 in the other dimension. But there were three objects. This is just one. Take off your sling. Give it to me."

Jake gave his sling to the Doctor. He put it in his pocket.

"I know it will be hard, but keep your hands out of your pockets unless I tell you it's alright."

Jake was excited, too. "What happened before?"

"Nothing it just disappeared."

"Let's be careful not to disappear with it, then." Jake said.

The Doctor smiled as he looked around to ensure no one would see them. "Yeah, that's the fun!"

They disappeared out of the hallway.

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They reappeared in the middle of a dim, metal room. The Doctor looked around. "Yep. A Draconis ship! Let's see who's flying her.

They ran into some humanoid aliens almost immediately. They looked human, but were a deep pink color with glowing green eyes. The Doctor laughed. "Oh, cool! Alfecca Meridaians! From Cepheus!"

The Meridaians were very surprised to see the Doctor and Jake on their ship. The Doctor told Jake, "Hold out your hands in front of you, palms up. It shows that we are peaceful."

Jake and the Doctor held out their hands to the Meridaians. One of them spoke to the Doctor. He put his hands on his hips and spoke back to them in a strange language. It was high pitched and almost sounded like a bug squeaking. He tossed his head back and forth, hitting his cheeks with his hands with his mouth open, to create a popping sound when necessary. Jake laughed at him.

The Doctor looked at him. "What?"

"You just look crazy. That's all." Jake told him.

The Meridaians asked him something.

He held up his finger and reached in his pockets. He was looking for something he couldn't find. "Err... oopps... we have a problem, Jake."

Jake looked surprised. "What?"

Then the Doctor remembered he could talk to Rose. "Hang on a minute. Let me ask Rose something. She might know."

He rolled his eyes and looked to side of the room like he was thinking about something.

'Rose, sweetheart. Did I leave my psychic paper at home?' he asked her.

'You might have. There's two pieces of that paper. One is in your wallet. I figured you wasn't used to carrying the psychic paper anymore, so I put that extra piece in there for you. I didn't want it to get lost.'

'Woman, I love you! Thank you.' he said as he reached around and pulled out his wallet. There it was in the pocket with a window.

"Rose might have just saved our lives, Jake. Remind me to thank her proper for both of us."

"Ew! Leave me out of that!" Jake complained.

The Doctor laughed at his friend as he showed the Meridaians the psychic paper in the wallet. They welcomed them in their ship and took them to their captain.

The ship was cold and dim until they got to the main control room. It was spotlessly clean and looked extremely advanced. The crew stood up to welcome them as they came aboard. They all bowed.

The Doctor tapped Jake's forearm and told him to bow, too. They both did. A Meridaian approached them and spoke to the Doctor and Jake. The Doctor spoke back to the female looking captain.

She asked him a few things and then ran her hand across his face.

Jake rolled his head back and said, "Oh, Rose wouldn't like that at all."

The Doctor laughed at his friend. "I know."

The Doctor spoke to the woman. The woman looked disappointed, then looked at Jake. The Doctor laughed and said something else to her as he rubbed his hand through his hair.

The woman asked the Doctor something else. He laughed and answered her proudly and held up one finger, then rubbed his beard. The captain smiled and clapped her hands together.

She pointed at Jake. The Doctor smiled and shook his head. But, then patted Jake on the back.

The Captain lead them over to a computer in the wall of the ship. She asked the Doctor something. He nodded and spoke. He turned to Jake and explained. "They are lost. They are trying to figure out where they are. I'm going to point them in the right direction and then we can leave."

Jake had his gun in his belt, but was relieved it looked like he didn't have to use it.

The Captain turned and ordered someone to go get something. The Meridaian ran off quickly. The Doctor used the computer to bring up a star chart. He pointed at the screen and spoke to the Meridaians. Several of them listened and nodded. He pulled up another screen and spoke to them again. He was clearly giving them directions.

He stepped back. The Captain bowed to him. He bowed back.

The person who had ran out of the room earlier, returned with a brown, square box that was just a bit bigger than a football. He gave it to the Captain. The Captain turned and gave it to the Doctor and bowed again. She spoke. The Doctor bowed and spoke back to the Captain.

He turned to Jake, still holding the box. "Alright, ready to go? All done here. Bow together with me, and we'll disappear."

Jake nodded. "Sure! What's in the box?"

"I don't know. It's rude for me to open it in front of them. I'll have to be surprised."

They both bowed as the entire room bowed to them. They disappeared back out of the ship.

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They popped back into the hallway outside of the situation room. Some poor secretary was standing too close to their reappearance and threw her files all into the air with a scream.

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "Sorry. So sorry. I'll be back to help with that."

He and Jake rushed into the situation room. The Doctor asked, "Are you still there?" He still held the strange box under his arm.

Howie and about twelve other people acknowledged that they were.

"They will leave in just a minute. They are peaceful. Just needed some directions. I'm classifying this incident according to the laws of the People's Republic of Great Britain by the authority given to me by President Harriet Jones and Director Pete Tyler of Torchwood. Understood?"

Howie agreed. "Yes. I'm classifying here as well! It happened over our skies! No one needs to know. Everyone clear?"

The Doctor smiled and said, "Captain Terauchi. Hear that? Don't tell a soul. Have a safe trip home. The skies will remain clear for you."

The Meridaian's ship disappeared.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, Doctor Smith!" the Captain said.

The Doctor smiled, "Howie, my friend! Go have a drink!"

"Oh, I intend to!" Howie assured him.

The Doctor turned around and walked back to his office with Jake.

"Man, that was awesome! I haven't done anything like that in forever it seems." the Doctor exclaimed.

Jake was smiling too. "Is that what happened before?"

"Nah, I didn't see it before. I just heard about it. Before they appeared next to an airplane in our dimension. Just hung out there. No one ever knew why. The Captain of the plane later spoke to the press about it. He lost his job and everything. Hopefully, this time around. He will keep his mouth shut."

Jake nodded as he held the door for the Doctor's office open. The Doctor walked over to the sitting area and dropped the box on the coffee table. He poured himself and Jake a glass of the damn whiskey. He toasted, "To easy situations, that don't involve gunfire!"

"Hell, I'll drink to that!" Jake exclaimed.

The Doctor stood over the box and rubbed his chin.

"What's in the box, Doc?" Jake asked him.

"It's a gift from the Meridaians for Rose and me. The Captain fancied me, and well... asked me to stay with her."

Jake laughed. "Oh, God! Hilarious! We can't take you anywhere, can we?"

"It must be the beard. Women love it." the Doctor drank.

"Tickles their thighs, right?" Jake laughed.

The Doctor spit his drink across the room and laughed. "Oh, bloody hell! I can't believe you said that!"

Jake laughed at him and pointed. "Hey, mate! But, you aren't denying it!"

The Doctor poured himself another glass, "Well, I'll never deny that." he admitted proudly.

Just then, Pete popped into the room. He held out his hands. "What the hell is this? Jumping onto an alien ship? The hell? They could have flown away with your damn asses and what the actual fuck would I tell Rose?" he yelled.

Jake gritted his teeth. "Sortof expected that."

Pete pointed at Jake. "I'll deal with you in a minute! I know this was his idea!"

The Doctor laughed at Pete. "Don't worry. I knew what I was doing. They are peaceful people."

"They might not have been! They could be someone who stole a peaceful people's ship! Have you always been like this?"

"Like what?" the Doctor asked him.

"Impulsive?" Pete asked as he came over and poured himself a drink and sat down.

"Pete Tyler! Don't treat me like a child! Up until a month ago, I had socks older than you! I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to do a runner. I'm not going to leave Rose."

"What would she say about you doing that?" Pete demanded.

"She's going to probably be mad she wasn't with me!" The Doctor yelled.

Jake laughed under his breath.

Pete rubbed his face and took a drink. "Ugh. I just can't have her as unhappy as she was without you again. I don't think she will survive it."

The Doctor smiled at him. "Don't worry, Pete. I can't survive without her either. I'm not going to do anything really stupid. But, you need to trust that I do know what I'm doing. I have lived a very, very long time. You don't become as old as me by doing stupid stuff. Well... not really stupid stuff at least."

Pete looked at him. "Sorry, you're right. I just..."

"You just are being a father. I wouldn't expect any less."

Jake spoke up, "Yeah, the Doctor really helped them out! They were lost and needed directions. He spoke their strange language and even caught the eye of their Captain." Jake winked at the Doctor.

The Doctor pointed angrily at him, "Really not helping here!"

Jake laughed as he poured himself another drink. The Doctor sat back and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out the arm sling and threw it at Jake.

"And I know you have a video of last night! How much did you drink? An $1,200 tab?" the Doctor asked.

"You're one to talk! Eight pints in 24 minutes? That has to be a record!" Jake laughed.

Pete held up his hand. "Hang on a damn minute. One argument at a time, please. Who was drinking, what?"

The Doctor looked at Jake and began to laugh. "Nevermind, Pete. It was actually pretty damn funny."

Jake laughed, "The Doc and Rose went on a date last night. Me, Shakes, Lewis, Sam, John and..."

"Gobbo and Lavatch." the Doctor helped.

"Yeah, all of us went out together. Rose and the Doc sat away from us and the Doc told us that if Rose didn't see us, he would pay our tab. Well, those Quauhtin can drink!"

The Doctor looked surprised. "What? They were drinking? That explains the tab now! Okay, nevermind! That's completely fine! Shakes needs to relax more."

Jake asked, "Lewis come home yet?"

"Beats me. I imagine Fraulein is still keeping him entertained." the Doctor laughed.

Pete exclaimed, "What?! Lewis went home with a woman?!"

They both nodded.

"Oh yes." the Doctor said. "And good for him! I was hoping one of you guys would learn something."

Jake laughed. "I did. I learned that the Doctor can sing! Oh, Pete! You should hear it. I have a video I'll send you!"

"No! No! No!" the Doctor said as he poured himself another drink.

Pete laughed. "What?!"

The Doctor explained, "I finally got Rose to agree to let me read that paper, but I had to get up to sing to the entire pub to win the bet to do it."

"That's why you drank so much?" Pete laughed.

"Oh, yes! I'll never do it again."

Pete was laughing hysterically. "I don't know why I was worried. I've never met a woman I would do that for. You have it worse than anyone I've ever met! What did he sing?"

Jake said, "A Sinatra song...what was it?"

The Doctor was rubbing his face, "Witchcraft."

Pete was doubled over laughing. "Oh Jesus! Yes! Send me that video, Jake! Oh my God!"

The Doctor smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

Pete claimed down and stood up. He patted the Doctor on the shoulder. "Oh, Doctor I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know you love that daughter of mine. I just never knew that much. Are we good?"

The Doctor smiled and stood up. He shook Pete's hand. "Yeah, mate. We're good. No problem."

"How did he sound?" Pete asked Jake.

"He can really sing. It was great!"

Pete laughed as he poured himself another glass and sat down. The Doctor stood over the box, rubbing his beard.

Pete looked at the box. "So, what's this?"

The Doctor explained. "The Captain of the ship we popped onto fancied me and asked me to come with her. I told the Captain that I was flattered by her offer, but was engaged to be wed. So, this is her wedding present to Rose and I."

Jake spoke. "It would be better to open it here, in case it's something dangerous."

"Oh, I really doubt it's dangerous. Alfecca Meridaians are extremely peaceful. I think I'll wait and open it with Rose. There's no telling what it is. Rose would love that."

He sat down in a chair and drank the rest his whiskey with Pete and Jake.

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