~revised~

Chapter XLI

Mira

Of course she had left the TARDIS together with the Doctor. No way she would have staid behind and watch on the screen what was happening. She and the Doctor raised their hands as the soldiers aimed their weapons at them. Though she could feel right now that something was odd. The soldiers didn't seem to be particularly hostile. More cheerful. Excited. But, nevertheless, she decided it would be better to play along. Right at this moment a blonde woman came running into the room, right through the bunch of soldiers and stopped in front of them.

"Oh...! Oh, how marvellous," she exclaimed and clapped. "Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day!" Now the soldiers were applauding as well.

"She knows you?" she whispered, but the Doctor only shrugged.

"Um. Thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm... the Doctor," he finally said as they had stopped clapping, only giving them a reason to start again.

She examined the woman closer. She might be in her forties, and, at least in this universe and at this time, it didn't seem to be too common to wear something underneath a tight-fitting jacket. Well, apart from a bra, or she just had a good plastic surgeon. Or nature had just been exceptionally kind to her.

"Oh, I should say! Hurray!" the woman replied.

"You... you've heard of me, then?" the Doctor asked.

"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor and the TARDIS...!" she said cheerfully and they all started to clap once more.

The Doctor waved for silence and said, "And... and... and you are?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that. And, according to the records, you're indeed not travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern isn't it, right? So, who is she?"

"I am Mira," she said. She could very well speak for herself.

"Ah. From Earth?"

"Yes."

"Future?" the woman asked after she had examined her appearance.

As if that hadn't been obvious somehow. "No," she said and tucked at her blue jacket. "1637. I thought the trousers and the uniform jacket would give it away. But obviously I was wrong."

Great. She should really try to hold her tongue. But she just couldn't help herself, something about the appearance of that woman was just provoking. Suddenly, the woman looked past them and through the half open door of the TARDIS.

"There's another one. So, you're travelling with more people? Come on, there's no point hiding anything. Not from us."

She and the Doctor turned their heads around, and indeed, Jackie was standing behind them.

"Um... Yes! Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all," he said, grabbed Jackie by the upper arm and pulled her out.

"Rose Tyler," he said and looked at Jackie. "Hmm. She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that. And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years. But she'll do."

"I'm 40!" Jackie said indignant.

"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well. I say not bad... anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

The woman looked for a moment at Jackie before she turned around to lead the way. Mira and the Doctor were following, as well as Jackie, who hissed at the Doctor, "I'll show you where my ankle's going!"

She couldn't help herself but smirk at him. Well, he might have taken it a little too far this time. They were following the blonde woman through a doorway and down a corridor, whilst she kept on talking, "It was only a matter of time until you found us. And at last you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor." She pushed open another doorway, and they entered a large factory floor, full with artefacts that could only be alien. Including... a spaceship.

"Welcome... to Torchwood," the woman said proudly.

"That's a Jathar Sunglider," the Doctor said and stared at the spaceship.

"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago."

"What, did it crash?"

"No, we shot it down," the woman said casually. "It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us! Now if you'd like to come with me."

"Always better to shoot first and ask questions later, hm?" she really couldn't help herself. She didn't know if that was what had actually happened, but she had a certain suspicion.

The woman looked at her in surprise. "Well, as said, it violated our airspace."

"No wonder that humanity here hadn't come any further by now," she whispered to the Doctor as they were following the woman. He just gave her an inscrutable glance. If humanity in her universe would have acted like that as they had found the crashed Arkon spaceship on the moon, they would have died out centuries ago. Killed themselves.

"The Torchwood Institute has a motto: "if it's alien, it's ours". Anything that comes from the sky - we strip it down, and we use it. For the good of the British Empire," Yvonne said.

British Empire? It was getting better and better. Someone here definitely was delusional, but certainly not Jackie. Right now, she really had to bite her tongue to not say something highly inappropriate. Or something that would not only put herself in danger, but the Doctor and Jackie as well. Torchwood obviously was collecting alien technology, and she was wearing a piece of very alien they probably would be very interested in. Though it certainly wouldn't serve them well.

"For the good of the what?" Thankfully Jackie didn't seem to worry as much as Mira did.

"The British Empire."

"There isn't a British Empire," Jackie stated the obvious.

"Not yet. Ah, excuse me...," the woman said and took the weapon off a soldier. "Now, if you wouldn't mind... do you recognise this, Doctor?"

Mira looked at it as well. It seemed to be some sort of energy weapon.

"That's a particle gun," the Doctor said coldly.

"Good, isn't it?"

Jackie tried to touch it, but the woman quickly brought it out of her reach. "Took us eight years to get it to work...," she said.

"It's the twenty-first century. You can't have particle guns," the Doctor said disbelievingly.

"We must defend our border against the alien." She gave the particle gun back to the soldier. "Thank you... Sebastian, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Sebastian," she smiled at him. "I think it's VERY important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days." she said to them. "I'm a people person."

"Oh, so shooting down alien spaceships is a people skill now? Say, what happened to the poor pilot?" Mira asked. "Or are aliens not considered people here?" Oh hell. She definitely had to separate her own emotions from what she was getting from that nasty woman, or it would go horribly wrong.

"Have you got anyone called Allonzo?" the Doctor intervened.

"No, I don't think so. Is that important?"

"I suppose not. What was your name?" he asked and walked off to examine some of the other things that were stored here.

"Yvonne. Yvonne Hartman," she called after him.

He took some large device, that could almost be some antigrav device for carrying things.

"Ah yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tonnes of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric," Yvonne explained.

"I could do with that to carry the shopping," Jackie said as the Doctor put it back.

Well, at least she was thinking practically.

"All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit. Not the general public's," Yvonne said as if talking to some stupid child.

She looked around herself. This certainly was heaven for anyone interested in alien technology. Or anyone who was in need of some of it. Such a shame that they had stripped the Sunglider. On the other hand, it probably was for the best if mankind in this universe wouldn't make it further into space any time soon. At least not Torchwood.

"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor asked.

"As yes, the ghosts. They're er... what you might call a side effect."

"Of what?"

"All in good time, Doctor. There is an itinerary, trust me."

At this moment, the TARDIS was brought in on the back of a truck.

"Oi! Where're you taking that?" Jackie yelled.

"If it's alien, it's ours," Yvonne repeated, and Mira felt the sudden urge to slap her.

"You'll never get inside it," the Doctor said and looked after his ship.

"Hm! Et cetera," Yvonne replied and walked away.

Just then, the TARDIS door opened a crack and Rose peered out. The Doctor nodded at her, and she closed the door again.

They were following Yvonne through another corridor, flanked by armed soldiers, as the Doctor asked, "All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you."

"But of course not. You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

"1879... that was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland."

"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf," Yvonne said.

"Oh shit. She really wasn't very amused in the end, was she," Mira remembered.

"I think he makes half of it up," Jackie threw in.

"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great. And fighting the alien horde."

"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh yes," Yvonne replied lightly.

They rounded a corner and stopped in front of a large, black door.

"But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this," she said, pressed her ID card against the digital lock and the door opened.

They followed Yvonne into a rather large hall. And then she saw it. It was a sphere of a strange grey colour. No, it wasn't a colour, it was more like the absence of any colour. And although it clearly was spherical, it seemed to be strangely flat. It was hovering a few feet above the ground, and she could immediately feel it. It didn't belong here. Just like she herself, but in a different way. A very different way.

"Now, what do you make of that?" she heard Yvonne's voice like coming from a distance, because she was solely focused on the sphere.

Just as the Doctor was, he was gazing open mouthed at it, completely ignoring the scientist who was approaching.

"You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir," he said and held out his hand – in vain.

"Yeah...," the Doctor replied, without looking at him. He was still staring at the sphere, just like she did.

"What IS that thing?" Jackie asked.

"We got no idea," Yvonne said.

"But what's wrong with it?" Jackie wanted to know.

"What makes you think there's something wrong with it?" Rajesh asked.

"I dunno... just feels weird."

"Bloody hell," she finally whispered and walked closer to the sphere. "That can't be." She had never thought she would be able to tell what that object was. But then again, she had never encountered anything like it before.

"Well, but it is. Don't worry, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden," Yvonne said to Mira and Jackie.

"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable," Rajesh explained. "But - according to our instruments - the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat. No radiation. And - has no atomic mass."

She had expected that. Well, almost. Hearing it was still a bit of a shock.

"But I can see it!" Jackie insisted.

"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off... nothing. It is... absent," Rajesh said.

"It's not absent. It just has no dimensions," she finally said quietly.

"Yeah, as said, basically it doesn't exist. Yet it's here," Rajesh said.

"I don't think you understand," she replied absently, watching the Doctor who had put on his weird 3D specs and was examining the sphere closer. Then she turned her head to Rajesh. "It has no dimensions. The mere definition of this universe – the existence of dimensions like time and space – doesn't apply to it." She was searching for a trace of understanding in his face, but she could feel that he wasn't getting it. He was certainly brilliant, but he was missing one crucial detail.

"So? What does that mean?" he finally asked.

She looked at him and considered if she should tell him. Probably not. On the other hand, they already had enough alien technology here to cause severe damage to the world.

"This is a Void Ship," the Doctor finally said, as quietly as she had been talking, and took the decision out of her hands.

"And what is that?" Yvonne asked.

Mira turned to the Doctor, who was folding away his specs. She was as eager to hear his answer as Yvonne and Rajesh were. Eager to have her thoughts confirmed. This couldn't be true. No way this could ever be true.

"Well, it's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory, but... it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space. Just as Mira said. It's not part of this universe. Any universe. It's meant for travelling through the Void," he said worriedly and sat down on the bottom of the steps that were leading to the ship.

She was still standing, looking to the ship, her arms crossed because her hands had started to shake. A Void Ship. Meant to travel between the universes. She was now certain that this could be the way back home. Probably the only way back for her. Was it all coming down to this now? How did the ship get here in the first place? Who had brought it? Where had it come from?

"And what's 'the Void'?" Rajesh asked.

"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions - billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in-between. Containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that - nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down. No life. No time. Without end. My people called it the Void, the Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell," the Doctor answered.

"But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?" Rajesh asked.

Good question, she thought and smiled slightly. Why not go there? For a scientist he was a bit lacking in imagination.

"To explore. To escape. You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang... end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation," the Doctor said.

"You see, we were right. There is something inside it," Yvonne said smugly.

"Oh yes," the Doctor replied, looking right at her.

"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh asked.

The Doctor suddenly jumped up and said, "We don't! We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"

What? Wait. Back to hell? Certainly not. She had been captivated by the sphere but his statement snapped her out of it.

"Well, that's how it all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake," Yvonne said.

"Show me," the Doctor said and was about to storm out, but she caught hold of his arm.

"A word, Doctor," she said, and something in her voice or her eyes – she couldn't say what it was - made im stop dead in his tracks. She dragged him into a small office at one side of the room. A window was in the wall between the office and the hall with the sphere, but she didn't care if they could watch them and slammed the door shut.


Doctor

He knew that this was about to come, from the first moment he had seen the Void Ship. And he also knew that she would be able to identify it just as quick as him. But he had been hoping to postpone the discussion that was now about to happen; or to avoid it completely. Somehow he even dared to hope she would be able to see that this was impossible.

"Why, for all planets, do you want to send it back to 'Hell'?" she yelled at him as soon as she had slammed the door shut. He took a quick look through the window – Jackie, Yvonne and Rajesh were watching whilst he was thinking about what to say. Then he looked back at Mira. She was really upset, he could see how her hands were shaking, even though she was trying to hide it. And not only upset, but enraged as well, judging from the look in her eyes. He really should say something, and do so fast, or she would certainly lose her temper.

"Mira, you know just as well as I do that this ship doesn't belong here. It's dangerous, it-"

"Dangerous? What the hell? You're not sending it anywhere. If you want it gone, fine. Let me take it and it'll be gone. You might have forgotten, but I don't belong here as well!"

"Oh, let you take it? Seriously? They can't even open it. There's something inside, we don't know what. And, apart from that, what makes you think you can fly a Void Ship? You've just tried to fly a TARDIS, but don't you think that qualifies you to-"

"That's certainly not your problem," she replied, suddenly all calm. Almost dangerously calm. Her hands were still shaking slightly, but that didn't change the impression she was giving. Suddenly she didn't look like a young woman, but like the immortal, sixteen-hundred year old being that she was. He couldn't put is finger on it, but something about her posture, her eyes and her face had changed. Her facial expression and the look in her eyes now was completely at odds with her young features. He was wondering if other humans were able to see that as well or if it was just him. And he was afraid he probably wouldn't be able to stop her if she really was about to try to get home with the Void Ship.

"Mira," he tried to reason with her and slowly approached her, causing her to take a step back. "You're old, even older than I am. You certainly have a lot of experience. You must be able to see that this will never work. That's way beyond everything you and I know. You'll never make it. You'll die, or get lost in the Void, you-"

"I rather die trying," she said quietly.

"What!?"

"I said I rather die trying."

"Rather than what?" For a moment his eyes were locked with hers, and he could see all that deep sadness and despair again, she was trying to hide all the time. Then she looked away and slightly shook her head.

"Mira, talk to me, please. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

She drew a shaky breath and crossed her arms again. Then, as he was almost certain that she would remain silent, she said, "That's right, you can't help me. There's nothing you can do. You said so yourself. The universes are sealed off."

"Mira, please...," he sighed. "I know. But you can't seriously want to try this? It's madness!"

"I said it. I'll rather try it and fail than to stay in a universe that reminds me every waking second that it's not mine. That constantly reminds me that I'm not a part of it, never will be, and that I don't belong here."

She glared at him defiantly, but he could see that she was only trying to hide her true feelings. Not very successfully.

"I know you miss your friends, your world. Trust me, if anyone can understand that, it's me," he said gently. "But running into your certain death is not the answer. I mean, it's not that bad here, is it? There's Earth, and humans, and-" He stopped as he saw the look in her eyes. "What? That's not it, is it?"

"No, it-" she began and was obviously searching for words, "It's shifted. Everything here. Down to the smallest particle. There are no two universes that are exactly the same, you of all people should know that. I can feel it. It feels wrong. We're on a planet that looks like Earth, but it's not mine. With people on it who look human, but aren't my people. I shouldn't be here. And I rather die trying to get home than being forced to stay here for ever."

He hadn't expected that. Well, he knew about her abilities, her sense for the universe, but he hadn't been aware how much she was obviously suffering. It hurt him, and it hurt him almost as much that she hadn't turned to him, but would rather go through all this alone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, still somehow dumbfounded.

"What for? Things are as they are, it wouldn't change anything," she said quietly, her eyes turned to the floor.

Now he was not only stunned, but absolutely heartstricken. No, it certainly wouldn't change a thing, but he could have been there for her. But she obviously didn't want that. Had it been like that all the time or was it because what he had done and said on Kroptor? Right now he wasn't sure he knew her at all. What else was going on in her head that she wasn't telling him or anyone else? Anyway, he couldn't let her do that, it was just too dangerous.

"Mira, listen. We'll find another way. If there is one, and you seem to be certain about that, we'll find it. But that Void Ship isn't the answer. Even if it opens, it's too dangerous. You'll get yourself killed, and I won't let you do that."

He watched her as his words sunk in. She looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time, and the expression on her face went from bewilderment to anger.

"You can't let me?" she asked and slightly shook her head in disbelief. "I can't remember asking you for your permission. But, in case you haven't gotten it by now, that ship is the way back. Maybe that's the only chance I have, I'll certainly not letting you stop me."

"That ship isn't a chance! It's not even a plan, it's madness! It's your certain death and I won't let you kill yourself. It's so way above everything not only your people, but even my people have ever-"

"What makes you think it's your decision?" she yelled at him before he could finish the sentence.

Well, that was a valid question, somehow. He just won't let someone - anyone - kill themselves or even worse, get lost in the Void. And certainly not her. It was not only because he wanted to keep her at his side, this would have been selfish, but...

"I... Because I..." Now it was his turn to search for words. He looked at her for a long moment and she looked back, inviting him to continue. He ran his hand through his hair, before he shoved his hands into his pockets because he suddenly didn't know what else to do with them.

"Because I care about you," he eventually said quietly. Now he had said it. Of course, caring for someone could mean a lot of things, but it had been as clear as he was able to say it. And it was true, even though she could really drive him mad sometimes. But he somehow liked even that about her. Mira on the other hand looked like she just had gotten slapped.

"What!? You care about me? You hardly know me! Is it because we kissed? Great timing for bringing it up, I have to give you that," she said, her voice shaky.

He couldn't help himself but she seemed to feel somehow cornered. Cornered and frightened.

"No, apparently I don't know you. But I want to. And I want to help you, but-" he pointed through the window at the sphere, carefully avoiding the kiss-topic, just as she interrupted him.

"Then help me now. I can't stay here, I told you. I can't leave everyone behind, and even more so without them knowing what happened, not-" She suddenly stopped as if she had already said to much.

"Again?" he asked.

"Don't go there," she warned him.

"Why not? Have you ever given it a thought that maybe what happened in the past is clouding your judgement now?"

"Clouding my judgement? Seriously? I don't think I've ever seen things clearer than I do now. Help me or not, I don't care. But I won't let you stop me."

With that said, she walked past him and out of the small office, leaving the door open behind her. He rubbed his face and then followed her. She was about to do something incredibly stupid, and he could only hope to stop her before something really bad would happen. It was not only her life that was at stake, but the whole universe if things really went bad. Would she really go that far? Despite what she had said, he was convinced that she wasn't able to think straight right now. Not with what he knew about her past.

"Everything all right?" he heard Yvonne say to Mira, as he left the office as well.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" she replied.

"Well, I just thought... Anyway. Follow me, please."


Mira

A few minutes later they where at the top floor of the building. Yvonne led them to a white wall.

"The sphere came through here. A hole in the world," she explained.

She watched as the Doctor ran his hand over the empty white wall. She was still on edge, not only because of the Void Ship, but also with everything the Doctor had said. Well, they had had an argument, and she would stick to her plan no matter what, but what the hell had he meant by saying he did care about her? Wasn't it complicated enough already? They had crossed the line once already, and that was more than enough for her. But, to be honest, even before that she had told him too much. Too much about her and her past and she had only made herself vulnerable by doing so.

"Not active at the moment. But when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up," Yvonne added and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black-spot. So we built this place. Torchwood Tower. The breech was six hundred foot above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it."

"You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?" he asked and put his strange 3D glasses on once more.

"Enough," Yvonne replied.

The Doctor removed the specs, folded his arms and looked thoughtfully at the wall as Yvonne walked away.

"So much for 'the universes are sealed', hm?" Mira asked him quietly.

"It's a hole in the fabric of reality. It shouldn't be here, it-" he said as quietly, but got interrupted by Jackie.

"Hold on a minute... we're in Canary Wharf! Must be! This building, it's Canary Wharf," she said.

"Well, that is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood," Yvonne replied.

"So, you find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through. Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, "oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe?" Nah, you think "let's make it bigger!" the Doctor said to Yvonne after following her.

"It's a massive source of energy. If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes."

Independent? That was enough. This woman had been infuriating from the first moment she had seen her, and now she couldn't stop herself any more.

"Britain will become independent? Your great British Empire? You know what really amazes me about you and Torchwood?" she asked Yvonne.

The other woman only shook her head slightly. She obviously had no clue.

"That, despite all the alien technology you've found, despite knowing that you're not alone in the universe, despite knowing that some of these aliens might even be hostile, despite the assumption that probably a great deal of them isn't hostile but could help mankind, all you can think about is some small island and a wanna-be Empire!"

"Oi! It's not small!" Jackie said.

Well, fine, she had obviously hurt the pride of some people in here, but well. Yvonne on the other hand looked just shocked, but her expression was slowly turning to repulsion.

"But, in case you haven't noticed yet, there's comes a time for every civilisation. A time when it'll be decided if they make it or not," she continued. "When their technological evolution exceeds their ethical evolution. You're right at this point now. All your dreams of a British Empire won't help you when the whole world lies in dust and ashes. You're intelligent, Yvonne. You know very well that this planet and most people on it won't survive a third world war. Mankind wouldn't be the first species suddenly possessing more firepower than what's good for them. Or an alien attack. You may be able to shoot down single space ships. But have you ever thought what might happen if there's a whole fleet? You don't even have space ships of your own yet. So, if I were you, I would really stop provoking aliens as long as Earth is more or less defenceless. The only chance mankind has is to stick together. But with people like you, this is certainly not going to happen." She could think of even more to say, but she caught the warning glance of the Doctor.

"Well, for you're here, and you're from the future, we'll obviously make it for a little longer," Yvonne finally said coldly and looked at her watch. "Ghost shift time, you'll excuse me." She left the office-space and entered the main area.

"Cancel it," the Doctor went after her.

"I don't think so."

"I'm warning you, cancel it," he said, now clearly angry.

"Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the rights of Man."

"Let me show you." He took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it on one of the glass partition between the office and the main area. "Sphere comes through," he continued and activated the screwdriver. Instantly, there was a crack in the glass, extending as the Doctor continued to speak. "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension, splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours. With the Human Race hoping and wishing and helping them along! But too many ghosts, and..." He placed his fingertip on the glass and the whole thing shattered, falling out of its frame.

"Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful," Yvonne said, and then to the staff, "Positions! Ghost Shift in one minute."

"Ms Hartman, I am asking you - please, don't do it," he tried to pursue her.

"We have done this a thousand times!"

"Then stop at a thousand!"

"We are in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breech, but equally they can close it."

They were staring at each other for a few moments, then the Doctor suddenly gave in. "Okay."

"Sorry?!" Yvonne said in disbelief.

"Never mind! As you were."

"What, is that it?"

"No! Fair enough. Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?" he said after he had sat down in a chair.

"Ghost Shift in twenty seconds," a woman of the staff announced.

Mira looked at her for a moment. Something was not quite right with them, but what?

"Mm! Can't WAIT to see it!" the Doctor said and drew her attention back at him and Yvonne.

"You can't stop us, Doctor," Yvonne said suspiciously.

"No, absolutely not! Pull up a chair, Rose! Mira! Come and watch the fireworks."

Jackie walked over to his chair, but Mira remained were she was standing, a few feet away from him, her arms crossed.

"Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine... eight..." the same woman as before announced.

Yvonne was still staring at the Doctor, obviously uneasy. Fascinating how reverse psychology was working every time. By now Mira was certain that Yvonne would stop the ghost shift.

"Seven... six... five... four... three... two..."

"Stop the shift. I said stop," Yvonne commanded.

"Thank you," the Doctor said and managed to give er a warm smile.

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything," she replied.

"I'm glad to be of help."

Yvonne had already turned around and said into the room, "And someone clear up this glass." Then she turned to the Doctor once more, "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess."


d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n, time-twilight, AxidentlGoddess, Keeperofhounds, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Falling Right Side-Up, oXxgergiaxXo, bored411, PiperRoseHalliwell, Jenba and Dove: Thanks for reviewing :-)

Jesse Wales: Ouch? Is the sentence really that odd? XD If so, sorry. Sounds not that bad to me, but on the other hand, I'm not a native speaker.

Twinkitty2: I've already sent you a PM, but just in case someone else wants to know: I try to update at least every weekend.