The Last Time Lord and The Impossible Girl Classic Edition

by Smaug25

The Doctor and Clara Oswald. The Hybrid. They will laugh, cry, love but most of all, run. They shall run from the beginning to the end of time and beyond, and if anything tries to stand in their way, their worlds will burn. *STORY BEING RE-WRITTEN*

27. The Christmas Invasion

The Christmas Invasion

The regeneration faded away, causing him to gasp for breath before glancing around the room, his vision returning as he blinked. He saw Clara and Rose staring at him in disbelief, Rose more so. The Doctor then swallowed and opened his mouth. "Hello." He blinked again. Not northern anymore. English, but not distinctly so. "Okay-oh." He ran his tongue around his mouth and furrowed his eyebrows. "New teeth. That's weird. So, where was I?" Dammit. I hate this regeneration amnesia. Why couldn't they invent something to counter that? Bloody hell. Ummm, oh right, I remember. "Oh, that's right…Barcelona." He beamed at them, his smile bright and childlike. Remember Doctor…regeneration. Dear god, I'm not looking forward to the next few days. He cleared his throat, moving to the console and gazing into the monitor as he flicked a few switches. "6pm…Tuesday…October…5006…on the way to Barcelona!" He looked at them, still beaming his bright smile. "Now then…what do I look like?" Clara blinked while Rose's shock restrained her from dropping her jaw at his words, but he held up a hand as if they would respond. "No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't tell me." He rambled before comically running his hands over his body. "Let's see…two legs, two arms, two hands…" He rolls his right wrist around in a slow circle. "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle." He put his hands to the top of his head, his smile growing into a blinding grin. "Hair! I'm not bald!" He ran his hands through his hair in appreciation. "Oh. Oh, big hair." His hands moved down to his cheeks. "Sideburns. I've got sideburns!" His smile lessened a tad. "Or really bad skin." He patted his stomach, looking down at himself. "Little bit thinner, that's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it." He glanced at them with widening eyes like a child who found a brand-new present under the Christmas tree. "I have got…a mole. I can feel it. Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole." He smiled again. "That's all right. Love the mole. Go on then, tell me. What do you think?" He straightened up, looking at them, his hair ruffled from his assessment as he waited, not hiding his glances towards Clara for her opinion.

"Who are you?" Rose asked timidly.

His face falls somewhat. "I'm the Doctor."

Rose shook her head. "No…where is he? Where's the Doctor? What've you done to him?"

He pointed over his shoulder, blinking incredulously. "You saw me, I…I changed, right in front of you."

Rose took a breath, clenching her jaw. "I saw him sort of…explode and then you replaced him like a…a teleport or a transmat or body swap or something." She moved forward and pushed his chest, just making sure he's there.

The Doctor blinked in some shrinking fear. Please don't go all Jackie on me. I've had enough of that in one lifetime, let alone two.

"You're not fooling me. I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes…Gelth…Slitheen." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh my god, are you a Slitheen?"

He glanced down briefly, holding back a snigger at her words. "I'm not a Slitheen." He said calmly.

"Send him back." She growled. "I'm warning you, send the Doctor back right now!"

"Rose, it's me. Honestly, it's me." He gave her a kind smile, which made her blink at his calm nature. "I was dying. To save my own life, I regenerated, changed my body. Every single cell but…it's still me."

"You can't be." Rose denied.

He took a few steps closer and grasped her hand. It made her calmer, yet uncertainty still shone in her eyes. "Then how could I remember this? Very first word I ever said to you, trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies. Oh…" He glanced off distantly for a moment, "such a long time ago. I took your hand and I said one word. Just one word. I said…"Run"."

Rose gazed at him, her eyes slowly widening in realization. It's the eyes, Rose. They're the same eyes. So old, so sad and yet…so kind. "Doctor?" She whispered.

His smile was now warm. "Hello." She sighed in almost exasperated relief, letting go of his hand as she leant back against one of the coral pillars. He turned to look at Clara, who was still gazing at him with wide eyes of disbelief. "Clara?" He asked softly. She said nothing, so he moved to stand in front of her, cupping her cheek with one hand. She glanced at it with uncertainty, more so than Rose did, which made him recoil slightly with a crestfallen look. "It's me, Clara."

She looked at him, smiling softly as she nodded. "I know." But she was still staring straight through him, as if he wasn't there.

Remember, Doctor, give her time. So, instead of pressing the matter further in worry for Clara, he bounded back to the console with a wide grin. "We ran so far, didn't we? And we never stopped. Across the universe. Running, running, running. One time, we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives." He hopped up and down on the spot with an overabundance of enthusiasm, while they blink at him in confusion. "Yes? All that hopping. Remember, hopping for your life?" His enthusiasm faded at their lack of reaction. "No?"

"Can you change back?" Rose asked. Clara's eyes briefly echoed that question before being replaced with a heavy amount of self-guilt.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, more so to Clara.

"Yeah." Rose nodded; Clara's eyes gained a glint of pleading before returning the self-guilt again. "Can you?" Rose asked.

"No." He said simply. Rose just sighed while Clara emoted nothing. "Do you want to leave?"

"No!" Clara burst suddenly, shocking Rose, while the Doctor felt relief. She caught herself, gulping. "I meant…do you want us to leave?"

"No!" The Doctor burst out, and he could see just for a second, a glimmer of relief in Clara's eyes. "I was…I was asking Rose if she wanted to. I mean…" He stammered, while Rose stared at him in shock. "I mean…you know, if you wanted to take a break…you know and visit Jackie for a couple of days."

Rose relaxed as his clarified words, mulling it over. "A couple of days? Just to…"

He nodded, knowing what she meant. "All right then." He turned back to the console. "Cancel Barcelona. Change to London…the Powell Estate. Uh…let's say the 24th of December. Consider it a Christmas present." He flicked the dematerialisation lever, sending the TARDIS on their new course before crossing his arms together. "There."

Rose shuddered. Oh my god. What's Mum going to say? How long have I been away this time? "I'm going home?" She asked.

"Up to you." He shrugged. "Back to your Mum. Fish and chips, sausages and mash, beans on toast. No, wait, Christmas. So…turkey. Although…" He blinked for a moment, "having met your Mum…nut loaf would be more appropriate." Rose smirked. "There we go." The Doctor said knowingly.

"I did not smile." She said, now not hiding it.

"Ah well, don't worry. You've still got Mickety Mick Mickey." Clara giggled, causing him to cock an eyebrow at her. "Was that a giggle?"

"No." She mumbled.

"You just giggled."

"No, I didn't."

"Oh, come on." He said playfully. "All I did was change, I didn't-Aaah!" He clenched his chest suddenly as his body jolted in pain, making them, especially Clara, blink in worry.

"Doctor?" Clara asked, making him almost smile in relief. "What's wrong?"

Before he could answer, his mouth jolted shut for a few seconds before he gasped, letting out a small wisp of golden regeneration energy. They blink at it in surprise for a few seconds before returning their worried gaze to him. "I think the change is going a bit wrong-" He gagged, feeling his body shudder and jolt, causing him to grip the console.

"Okay." Clara said, rushing to the console, flicking switches to hurry the process.

"Wait, let's find Captain Jack. He could help." Rose offered.

"But he's dead." Clara shook her head.

"No, I brought him back to life." Clara looked at her with wide eyes. "We should-"

"Nah!" The Doctor waved at her. "He's busy. Got plenty to do, rebuilding the Earth."

"You can't leave him behind, Doctor." Clara almost shrieked.

He ignored her, gaining a glint of madness in his eyes as he gazed at the console. "Oh." He said, like someone finding money on the sidewalk. "I haven't used this one in years." He flicked a small black switch, causing the TARDIS to jolt, making them grip the console.

"What're you doing?!" Clara demanded.

"We're putting on a bit of speed! That's it!" He exclaimed madly as his hands danced across the console. The TARDIS groaned but he took it as an agreement. "Oh, my beautiful ship! Come on, faster there, girl! Come on, faster! Let's break the time limit!"

"Doctor stop it!" Clara demanded.

"Oh, don't be so dull! Let's rip through that Vortex!" Yet as he gazed at her, the madness faded from his eyes, bringing up a glimmer of guilt. "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself." He scrunched his face as he grimaced in pain, gripping his forehead. "Oh, my head." He groaned, before springing up again, the mad glint back in his eyes. "Faster! Let's open up those engines!"

Suddenly, the TARDIS cloister bell began to ring through the room, making Clara and Rose dart their gaze to the ceiling in worry. "What's that?" Rose asked.

The Doctor moved to her. "We're going to crash land!" He exclaimed, laughing manically as he did.

"Clara, stop him!" Rose demanded.

"Too late! Out of control!" The Doctor darted around the console, giggling like a kid. "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!" He jumped in the air, clicking his fingers as he did.

"You're going to kill us!" Rose exclaimed.

"Hold on tight! Here we go! Christmas Eve!" He flicked another lever, causing Clara and Rose to stumble to the floor, while he raced around the console, unconcerned either for them or his safety.

Powell Estate
24th December 2006

Jackie finished placing the decorations on the small Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, before moving to the table where the wrapped presents lay. One of them was a box for Rose, which made her pause, grabbing it to sit down on the sofa. She gazed out of the window with a sad look. Please, come home, Rose. Please. As if on cue, or an answered prayer by the universe, she blinked as the distant groaning of the TARDIS came to her ears. She had to silence her own brain, which for Jackie always took a lot of tedious effort, but the sound came more clearly, causing her heart to lurch in relief. "Rose!" She ran out of her flat, down the stairs outside towards the ground floor pavement. She ran across it, looking around frantically for any sign of the big blue box. Out from around the corner came Mickey, dressed in a blue work suit from Joe's Garage, who raced towards her with the same expression. "Mickey!"

"Jackie!" He bounded up to her, taking one of her hands in a grasp. "It's the TARDIS!"

"I know, I know, I know! She's alive, Mickey! I said so, didn't I? She's alive!"

"Just shut up for a minute!" They went silent, still searching for the TARDIS. Then, electricity crackling above their heads drew their attention, the blue box appearing out of nowhere. It went off course and bounced off the walls of one of the flat buildings, leaving behind cracks as it flew over their heads, bouncing off another wall and narrowly missing a mail van, coming to rest in the corner of the Estate, knocking over a few large rubbish bins in the process. The doors opened, the Doctor, whom they didn't recognise, stumbled out, still bearing the mad glint in his eyes.

"Here we are, then." He said, looking around. "London! Earth! The solar system, I did it!" He moved out, looking at the two who stared at him in bewilderment. "Jackie! Mickey, blimey! No, no!" He said suddenly, making them exchange confused glances with each other. "No, no, hold on. Wait there. What was I going to say? There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on. Hold on." He grasped their shoulders, making them lean into him as he gazed at the ground. "Hold on, shh, shh, shh, shh." He started to pant, when they realised, he had sweat perspiring on his forehead. "Oh!" He exclaimed, making them jump. "I know!" He then beamed at them with a blinding smile. "Merry Christmas!" Then, he keeled over into their arms, who caught him just before he could hit the pavement. Clara and Rose moved out of the TARDIS, looking at the Doctor in worry.

"What happened?" Clara asked. "Is he all right?"

Mickey shrugged. "I don't know. He just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"That's him." Rose said. "Right in front of you. That's the Doctor."

Mickey's eyebrows furrowed while Jackie's eyes widened. "What do you mean, "That's the Doctor"? Doctor Who?" She asked incredulously.

---

They carried him back to the flat, Clara changing him out of the leather jacket and into a bizarre pair of men's pyjamas, before tucking him into Jackie's bed. He just lay there, peaceful, and silent while Clara sat at his side, Rose watching from the door. Jackie bounded back to the doorway, handing a stethoscope to Clara.

"Here we go." She said. "Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it." Jackie glanced at the Doctor. "Though I still say we should take him to hospital."

"We can't." Clara snapped, making Jackie flinch. Clara sighed. "Sorry. We just can't take him there. One bottle of his blood could change the future of humanity." Clara inputted the stethoscope ear plugs and placed the small diaphragm drum against the left side of his chest.

*Thump Thump* *Thump Thump* *Thump Thump*

She then moved it to the right side of his chest.

*Thump Thump* *Thump Thump*

"Both working." She reported, taking out the buds.

"What do you mean "Both"?" Jackie asked.

"He's got two hearts." She said simply.

"Oh, don't be stupid." Jackie tutted.

"Here." Clara handed the stethoscope to Jackie with a soft look. Jackie sighed and took it, placing the diaphragm drum on each side of his chest. When she finished, she looked at Clara with wide eyes.

"You weren't joking." Jackie muttered. Clara just shrugged, moving to the doorway. "Anything else he's got two of?"

"Leave him alone." Clara defended, making Jackie throw her arms up in a "Well, I don't know" motion as she and Rose followed Clara out of the room. As they left, the Doctor sighed, expelling more regeneration energy, which flew out of the window and into deep space. In the kitchen, Jackie fixed Clara and Rose a cup of tea each, Clara taking it gratefully, offering Jackie a gentle smile as the TV new channels played in the background.

"How can he go changing his face?" Jackie asked. "Is that a different face or is he a different person?"

"How should I know?!" Clara exclaimed

"Well…" Jackie started softly. "You know him better than us."

Clara sniffed, making them sigh, Rose placing a hand on Clara's shoulder. "I thought I did." She said sadly. "I mean…I know how the change works and he's done it before but…right now, I'm not sure if I know him anymore. And yet, I still do." She ran a hand over her face. "He still…pisses me off to no end." The two gave a small smirk at that. "But his smiles…" She continued. "They're too…" She struggled to find the words. "Bright. But then I also feel like he's really there, and I don't know what to do." She admitted.

"Why did he change then?" Jackie asked.

Clara had to take a breath. "His people, they do this regeneration whenever they're about to die. It's how they live for so long. And he…we had to..." She trailed off.

"Clara." Rose started. "What happened up there?"

Clara stared at her sadly. "Everyone died, Rose. Everyone died and there was nothing we could do to save them and…Lynda." Her lips quivered as she sniffed again. "Poor Lynda." She let out a sob, Jackie at once moving to rub her other arm. "We were going to kill, to save the Earth." That made her loose it. "We were going to be…" She couldn't speak for a few moments, the sobs racking her body. "And now, he went and died, and I feel like he's not even there." Rose nodded to Jackie hastily, who took Clara in a hug as she sobbed, none of them able to see the Doctor whimpering in his sleep at her words. After a while, and a few more sips of tea, they managed to calm Clara down again, so Rose took initiation.

"I think that the big question here is this: Where did you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?" Rose asked Jackie. Clara smirked, letting them feel a bit of relief at her better mood.

"Howard's been staying over." She patted Clara's back before they parted, taking her empty cup of tea over to the sink.

"What, Howard from the market?" Jackie nodded. "How long's that been going on?"

"A month or so. First, he starts delivering to the door and I thought "That's odd."

"But the savings can be implemented." A familiar voice floated in from the TV, but only Rose noticed.

"Next thing you know, there's a bag of oranges."

"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose asked suddenly, making Jackie roll her eyes.

"Oh, never mind me." She said as Rose moved into the living room.

"Why's she on the telly?" Rose asked, gaining an impressed smile at Harriet's neat black dress and brushed hair.

"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it "Britain's Golden Age". Keep on saying "My Rose has met her"."

"Did more than that. We stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones." She mumbled, Clara and Jackie moving into the living room to watch.

"She looks like she's keeping herself well." Clara commented and the two nodded.

"Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One space probe a "Waste of money"?" A reporter asked.

"Now, that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree, if you don't mind." She added, the three smirking at her words. "The Guinevere One space probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there amongst the stars."

The TV switched to a bearded welsh man in a blue suit named "Daniel Llewellyn", the Project Manager of Guinevere One's production. "This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age and that is what we're achieving fifty million miles away, our very own miracle."

The TV then switched to an animated reel of a space probe orbiting around Mars. "The unmanned probe, Guinevere One is about to make its final descent. Photographs of the Martian landscape should be received by midnight tonight."

The door opened, Mickey moving into the room, now dressed in mundane clothing of jeans and a black hooded jumper. "I've got some money for Christmas shopping. You wanna come?" He asked.

"Sure." Rose said, moving to the door. "Clara?" She called.

Clara shook her head with a smile. "No thank you. But have fun out there, you two."

Rose nodded. "Want anything, Mum?" Jackie shook her head. "All right. We'll be back later tonight. See ya later."

"Bye." Jackie called as they closed the door behind them, before moving back into the kitchen to fix another cup of tea.

Clara however started blinking rapidly, her head beginning to pound and throb from an oncoming migraine. Dear god. Where the hell did this come from? She sat on the sofa, rubbing her forehead with her hands. Jackie came back into the room with another cup of tea, before gaining a look of worry at Clara's state.

"Are you all right?" She asked, setting the tea down.

"I feel like I've just woken up after a night of drinking." She mumbled. "Worst thing is, I've no idea where this came from?"

Jackie cocked an eyebrow playfully. "You didn't drink anything, did you?"

"No, Mum." Clara groaned. That made Jackie grasp one of her hands.

"Hey." She said sternly, gaining Clara's attention. "I'm not trying to be your Mum, okay? I'm just trying to help."

Clara almost shrunk in guilt. "Do you have anything for headaches, please?" She whimpered softly.

Jackie smiled gently at her, before placing a hand on her head. "Blimey, your head's burning up. You need to lay back for a bit." She moved off into the hallway. "You sure nothing else happened back there?" She called.

"No. It was only…" She muttered before trailing off as she furrowed her eyebrows. Bad Wolf-I mean…Rose did something. What did she do? I don't feel totally different. Except for…that odd silence. Why is that? And what's causing it? She didn't end up pondering this further, falling asleep into the couch.

---

"So, what do you need, twenty quid?" Mickey asked as he pulled out a few notes.

"Do you mind? I'll pay you back." Rose said, taking some of the money and putting it in her pockets.

"Call it a Christmas present." Mickey smirked.

"God, I'm all out of sync." Rose muttered, looking around in confusion at some of the different shops. "You just forget about Christmas and things in the TARDIS. They don't exist, you get sort of…timeless."

"Oh yeah, that's fascinating, because I love hearing stories about the TARDIS." Mickey said sarcastically, Rose smirking at his words. "Oh, go on Rose, tell us another one, because I can listen to it all day, TARDIS this, TARDIS that."

"Shut up." Rose said playfully.

Then Mickey adopted his best impression of her. "Oi, Mickey did you know that one time the TARDIS landed in a big yellow garden, like a proper yellow garden, all bleeding yellow full of balloons. And the balloons were bouncing around doing such and such in the name of what's-his-face."

Rose scoffed. "I'm not like that."

"You so are."

"It must drive you mad." Rose smirked then she got an idea that made her grin wolfishly. "If it drives you mad-"

"It does not." Mickey interrupted.

"Is it because you want to travel in the TARDIS?" She asked, smirking.

He blushed sheepishly. "Well, I-I mean…maybe not now-"

Rose burst out into laughter. "You just have to ask. They'll be fine about it."

Then Mickey frowned. "Speaking of, what was up with Clara earlier?"

That made Rose sigh. "She's…trying to wrap her head around everything. I don't blame her really, but I don't blame the Doctor either. Look, we're just going to give her some time to herself. Just to let it sink in properly."

Mickey nodded before taking her hands. "Now, Rose, I know we aren't…" He let that bit slide, not needing to mention it again. "But just for now, if we're giving them time, just let it be Christmas. Just as friends, for a bit, you know. No aliens, no worrying about the Doctor or Clara, no…bog monsters or life and death."

Rose smiled. "Sure." They resumed their walking through the crowds of people, passing by a brass Santa band, playing "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" on trumpets.

"I'm around here all the time, you know. Jackie does a dinner for us on a Sunday, yet she talks about you all afternoon, you know, yap yappity yap." Mickey mocked playfully as he let go of her hand to check a few stalls. "Oh, I love these things." He said, eyeing a few electronic gadgets on for sale.

Rose however glanced at the Santa band, who turned to look at her and started moving in her direction. As they got closer, they stopped playing their trumpets and…aimed them towards her. She now could see under their drawn hoods and through their massive white beards, their faces were carved from pure metal, yet they still stared at her. She grabbed Mickey's hand to draw his attention again. "Mickey." She said, and he followed her gaze to the Santa's staring at them in confusion. "I'm sorry, but Christmas may have to wait a bit longer." On cue, one of the Santa's spewed fire from his trumpet, causing everyone around to dart away in fear, while the other's fired their trumpets like shotguns, as Rose and Mickey raced away, hiding behind one of the stalls. "It's us. They're after us." The Santa's turned their fire towards the stalls, making them move in haste to avoid getting hit from the onslaught. One of the Santa's took a large trumpet and aimed as they passed the giant Christmas tree in the middle of the shopping centre and fired. Rose and Mickey raced away just in time to avoid the blast, while the tree's stand burst apart, causing it to fall onto the Santa who just fired, shattering it into pieces of machinery and metal.

"What's going on?" Mickey demanded as they raced away. "What've we done? Why're they after us?"

Rose spotted a taxi racing up towards them. "Taxi!" She called and the man inside swerved to the sidewalk, allowing them to jump in without a hassle. "Powell Estate, and be quick please!" The man complied without a word, while Rose took out her phone to call Jackie.

"All we were doing was shopping and we get a brass band attacking us. Who were those Santa things?"

"I don't know. But think about it, they're after us. What's so important about us?"

Mickey shrugged. "Nothing."

"Except for who we have."

"But that means-"

"Yes, they're after the Doctor." She placed the phone by her ear.

"Phone line currently in use." An automated female voice responded.

"Ugh, get off the phone!" She growled.

---

"Yeah. She turns up, no warning. I've got nothing in. I said "Rose, if you want a Christmas dinner of meat paste, then so be it." Jackie rambled into the phone as she moved about the flat, being careful not to wake Clara. "Oh no, don't come around, darling. No, the flat's all topsy-turvy. Yeah, she just barges in and litters the place. No, I'll have to come around and see you after boxing day, one of her friends has this tremendous headache, the poor girl."

Clara groaned as she sat up from her lying position on the sofa. "Doctor?" She mumbled.

"Oh, I've got to go. See ya later." Jackie said cheerfully before putting the phone down and moving to Clara's side. "How're you feeling?"

Clara smirked. "Bloody fantastic."

"Now, don't get snappy with me missy." Jackie retorted.

Clara blinked as she laid eyes on the Christmas tree in the corner. It was much greener than she remembered and was tall enough that its top almost brushed the ceiling. "Did you get a different tree?" She asked.

Jackie blinked as she looked at the tree. "Well, I thought it was Rose."

Clara got up, looking around the flat despite her throbbing head. "Is she even back?"

"Well, she went shopping, there was a ring at the door and there it was."

"But if it was Rose, she'd have finished her shopping." Clara clarified.

"So…who was it?" Jackie asked as they stepped back cautiously from the tree. Suddenly, the decorations flared to life making their eyes widen, before it started to slowly spin all its branches around, in different directions. "You're kidding me." Jackie muttered as the speed of the branches grew faster, the song "Jingle Bells" being played from the Christmas tree at a tremendously high volume, making them wince and cover their ears. The speed of the tree grew so fast that it created an artificial wind in the room, anything loose being picked up and flown everywhere, and the hair on their own heads began whipping about as Jackie began to shriek. "Get out!" Jackie yelled, the two rushing from the room, but Clara was moving to Jackie's room where the Doctor laid. "Oi, what're you doing?!" Jackie exclaimed.

"I can't leave him!" Clara yelled. "Now, get in!"

Jackie shrieked, rushing in, and slamming the door behind her, as Clara searched the Doctor's leather jacket for his sonic screwdriver. "Do something! Quick!" Jackie yelled as the tree came closer, pushing a large wardrobe in front of the door.

"I…I don't-" Clara gasped, clutching her head as the pain increased. "I can't figure out which one it is!"

"Which one what?!"

"The settings!" Clara gasped again, jolting onto her knees as she clutched her head, the sonic falling out of her grasp and onto the floor.

The wardrobe began to throttle about as the tree started to slice through it, Jackie pushing it back before it shattered, splitting the back in two which fell to the ground, shoving Jackie into the wall. The tree carved its way through the door, advancing on Jackie. "I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" She shrieked.

"I'm sorry, Jackie! I'm so sorry!" Clara yelled. None of them noticed the Doctor shooting up off the bed, grabbing the sonic on the floor, aiming it at the tree and pressing the button, the tree bursting apart, causing the two to jump. They glanced at the Doctor, who moved down to Clara's side instantly.

"Are you all right?" He asked, pressing a hand against her forehead.

The pain in Clara's head started to dull away, making her nod weakly at him. "What was that…tree about?"

"Would've been remote control." He muttered, helping her up off the ground. "But who's controlling it?"

The front door opened, and a pair of footsteps entered the flat. "Oh my god! What the hell happened here?" Mickey asked as Rose came rushing into the room.

"What happened?" Rose moved to Jackie's side, helping her off the ground. "Mum? Are you all right?"

"Now I am, yeah." She nodded as they all followed the Doctor out of the flat as he put on a dark blue dressing gown.

"What happened?" Rose asked as Mickey joined them.

"A Christmas tree tried to kill us." Jackie said.

As they stood outside, they gazed down at the group of Santa's on the ground, one of which was holding a remote. "That's them." Mickey said, pointing to them. "What are they?"

"I bet you that remote was for the Christmas tree." Jackie said.

"Shh!" Rose hushed as the Doctor raised his sonic and pointed it at them menacingly, sending a cold gaze which made them back away a few paces. Then, they disappeared in a flash of blue light, which shot up to the sky.

"They've just gone." Mickey scoffed. "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence." He said quickly to the Doctor, but he was still staring up at the sky with his cold gaze. "But they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish." The Doctor muttered.

"What?" Clara asked, everyone looking at him.

"They were just pilot fish." He gasped, clutching his head as he collapsed to the ground, the four moving to help him.

"Doctor talk to me. What's wrong?" Clara asked with worry.

"You woke me up too soon." He panted. Even though his voice was devoid of accusation, Clara still gave him a guilty look. "I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." He sighed, breathing out another wisp of golden energy, Mickey and Jackie looking at it with surprise before returning their attention to the Doctor. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it, a million miles away. So, they cut away the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of years!" He gasped again, still clutching his head as Jackie moved to his other side. "Aaah! My head! I'm having a neuron implosion! I need-"

"What do you need?" Jackie asked urgently.

"I need-"

"Just say it. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me."

"I need-" Now the Doctor bore an aggravated face, Clara looking at Rose and Mickey for help, who just shrugged at her.

"Painkillers?"

"I need-"

"Do you need Aspirin?"

"I need-"

"Codeine?"

"I need-"

"Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"

"I need-"

"Liquid paraffin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E?"

"I need-"

"Is it food?" She gasped. "Something simple? Bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? A soup and a sandwich? Oh, soup and a little ham sandwich?!"

"I need you to shut up!" The Doctor gasped.

Jackie looked at them with an exasperated face. "Well, he hasn't changed THAT much, has he?"

The Doctor gasped again, one of his hands slipping and clutching onto his dressing gown. "We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish then-" Despite his panting, he stopped, pulling out of his gown with a bewildered face, a green apple. "Why is there an apple in my dressing gown?"

Everyone blinked…except Jackie. "Oh, that's Howard. Sorry." They all sent her confused looks.

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry." Jackie shrugged.

The Doctor's face grew even more bewildered. "What? He gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometimes." Jackie nodded.

The Doctor gasped again, collapsing down onto the ground, leaning into Clara who held onto him tight. "Ah! Brain…collapsing!" He groaned, before turning his gaze to Clara. "The p…the pilot fish…" He panted, struggling to get his words out. "The pilot fish mean…that something…something…"

"Something is coming?" Clara finished for him. He visibly relaxed at that, before he passed out again. They tucked him back into bed, this time however his breathing was more ragged, his body shivering like he was freezing despite the warm temperature inside the flat. Rose helped Jackie prepare a few cups of tea while Mickey strode into the flat with a laptop, Clara taking the stethoscope to check on the Doctor. She placed it on the right side on his chest, hearing the ragged sounds of his heart beating. She checked his left and gained a look that mixed worry with guilt as she couldn't hear his other heart. She placed her hand where the stethoscope was to clarify, and she couldn't feel his left heart.

"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?" Mickey asked in the living room.

"Yeah. Keep account of it." Jackie said, passing a cup of tea to him while she gave one to Rose. "It's midnight. Christmas day." Jackie sighed as Clara came out of the room and into the kitchen with a solemn look, Jackie and Rose looking to her at once. "Any change?" Jackie asked, passing her a cup of tea.

"He's worse. Just one heart beating." Clara gulped a sip of tea, but Rose stopped her before she could continue her guilty talk.

"Don't, okay? It wasn't your fault." Rose said sternly. Clara weakly nodded while Jackie smiled approvingly at Rose as the three moved to sit on the sofas. Jackie picked up the remote and flicked the TV back on, which was still on the BBC news channels.

"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes."

The TV flicked to Daniel, who had removed the vest of his suit, his tie a little loose as he spoke in a few pants. "Yes, we are. We're-we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One, the Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."

"But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?" A reporter asked.

"Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it-it was just a blip, only disappeared for a few seconds. She's fine now, we're-we're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I better get back to it, thanks." Despite some reporters protesting and calling out more questions, he walked away, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Here we go. Pilot fish." Mickey called as he brought over his laptop to them, which was playing a program involving fish and sharks. "They're scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless, they're tiny, but the point is, the little fish swim alongside the massive fish."

"Do you mean like sharks?" Rose asked.

"Great big sharks." Mickey nodded. "So, what the Doctor means is: We had them, now we get that." He pointed to the large shark on the program.

""Something is coming."" Rose quoted. "How close?"

"There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their Daddy."

"So, it's close?"

"Funny sort of rocks." Jackie said, drawing their attention back to the TV screen. It was flickering with static, blurring over something coloured red and brown and…light pink.

"That's not rocks. That's a face." Clara said, the four of them staring at the screen with wide eyes as the static faded and sure enough, it was a creature dressed in red warrior robes and a bone mask with crimson eyes staring at them. He snarled menacingly, the four gasping in surprise, jumping out of their seats.

Underneath the Tower of London

Daniel Llewellyn was escorted in two sleek black cars to the Tower of London, exiting the car to see a dark-skinned military man wearing the name tag "Major Blake" walking up to him out of the building.

"This way, sir." He motioned for Daniel to follow him. They walked through the door, towards a large, double wooden door, behind that was a wall of steel. Blake entered a code into the panel on the wall beside them and the wall slid apart, revealing a large room of bustling workers and soldiers, all bearing the name "U.N.I.T" aka "Unified Intelligence Taskforce". Daniel and Blake walked into the room, but Daniel stopped briefly, looking around in surprise at the advanced technology they had. "Mr. Llewellyn." Blake called, making Daniel move to follow him again.

"You've got better facilities than we do." Daniel remarked with a slight hint of disdain. "I've spent all that time asking for funds and…you've built your own mission control. How long's this been here?"

"I'm sorry, all information's on a strictly need to know basis." Blake said. They came to a large work area surrounded by glass with a white desk inside. Within was also Harriet Jones and a young man in a suit. "Mr. Llewellyn, ma'am." Blake said, gaining Harriet's attention before he left the room. Daniel stepped forwards but before he could introduce himself however, Harriet at once held up an I.D card.

"Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."

Daniel blinked in surprise. "Well-well yes, I know who you are." He cleared his throat quickly. "I suppose I've ruined your Christmas."

"Never off-duty. Now, we've put out a cover story, Alex has been handling it." She introduced the young man beside her.

"We've said it was a hoax." Alex inputted. "Some sort of mask or prosthetics, students hijacking the signal, that sort of thing."

"Alex is my right-hand man. I'm not used to having a right-hand man. I quite like it, though." Harriet smiled.

"Quite like it myself." Alex said in agreement.

"I don't suppose there was any chance it WAS a hoax?" Daniel asked.

"That would be nice, then we could all go home." Harriet moved to a coffee machine as Daniel slouched. "I don't suppose anyone's offered you a coffee?"

"Umm…no." Daniel blinked again.

"But, no, the transmission was genuine." Harriet handed a cup of coffee to Daniel. "And this is a new species of alien. At least, not one we've encountered before."

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows. "You seem to be talking about aliens…as a matter of fact."

Harriet smirked. "There's an act of parliament banning my autobiography."

Blake re-entered the room. "Prime Minister." His tone was urgent, making the three straighten their backs.

"I'm with you." They followed him out of the room and back to the mass group of workers, standing behind a young blonde woman.

"Miss Jacobs can explain." Blake motioned for the woman to stand up.

Jacobs took of her headset and stood up from her seat, Harriet speaking at once. "I don't think we've been introduced. Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."

"Yes, I know who you are." Jacobs said without hesitation. "The transmission didn't come from the surface of Mars. Guinevere One was broadcasting from a point five thousand miles above the planet."

"In other words, they've got a ship and the probe is on board." Blake clarified.

"But if they're not from the surface then they might not be from Mars itself. Maybe they're not actual Martians." Daniel reasoned.

"Of course not." Blake retorted. "Martians look completely different." He muttered to himself. "We think the ship was in flight when they came across the probe."

"And they're moving." Jacobs inputted. "The ship's still in flight now. We've got it on the hubble array."

"Moving in which direction?" Harriet asked.

"Towards us."

"How fast?"

"Very fast." She turned and clicked a few codes into the computer, bringing up on the large screen in front of them a schematic map of outer space Earth and the ship, leaving the proximity of Mars.

"What was your name again?"

"Sally."

Harriet gave her a sad smile, remembering Indra. "Thank you, Sally." At that, the schematic was replaced by a transmission of the alien, this time he had three accomplices standing behind him. They heard him growl at them indecisively, the others joining in with a triumphant roar as he finished.

"Translation software." Blake said to Alex without looking. Alex moved off at once.

---

"Rose, Clara." Mickey called them over. "Take a look, I've got access to the military." And indeed, he did, bringing up the same schematic map that Harriet's team was looking at in the Tower of London. "They're tracking a spaceship. It's bit, it's fast and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what? The Doctor?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us."

Then, the schematic was replaced by the transmission of the alien. Then the first began to speak, his growling voice modulated by the feedback into Mickey's laptop. "Gatz tak ka thaa! Ka zu me fedrok, ka zu me Sycorax!"

"Have either of you seen them before?" Mickey asked.

"No." Rose said.

"Adzeek. Kwadra fi peloodza, kwadra fi milzon bor, zu pedra kayi, zu bandak. Zu masak jal ban, kulja jiyi sykora jak. Di-ga gah! Di-ga gah!"

"I don't understand what they're saying." Rose muttered. "The TARDIS translates languages you don't already understand inside your head; all the time no matter where you are."

"So, why isn't it doing it now?" Mickey asked.

"It must be the Doctor." She shrugged.

"It's not his fault." Clara said, making Rose sigh. "He just needs time."

---

Harriet stood patiently inside her glass office, hiding her look of concerned agitation at the message sent by the aliens. Blake knocked on the door, making her move quickly to exit and stand before him. "I'm getting demands from Washington, ma'am. The President is insisting that he take control of the situation."

Harriet clenched her jaw. "You can tell the President, and please use these exact words: He's not my boss, and he's certainly not turning this into a war." Blake nodded and so they moved over to Alex's desk. "What've we got?" She asked.

"Nothing yet. Translating an alien language is going to take time." The translation software on his computer was working frantically, bringing up and discarding words in translating the message.

"How far off is the ship?" Blake asked.

"About five hours."

---

Jackie sat beside her bed where the Doctor lay, still shivering and breathing raggedly. "Oh, come on, sweetheart." She cooed. "What do you need? What is it you need? Tell me."

Clara stood at the doorway, looking on with a sad face before moving away. It can't be him. The Doctor would never do this. He'd wake up and help us.

No, Clara, this IS the Doctor. You just need to see him.

But I can't see him. I just see some skinny pretty boy.

Clara shook her head to stop her internal argument, hearing Jackie sigh as she took her cup of tea and moved to the door.

"Can't see me." The Doctor murmured.

"What?" Jackie whispered.

"She can't see me. Can't see me." And then, he was silent again. Jackie thought for a few moments, before turning her gaze and looking back down the corridor to Clara, who sat on the sofa again.

---

As Alex worked, Harriet moved to speak privately with Blake. "I don't suppose we've had a Code 9. No sign of the Doctor?"

"Nothing yet." Harriet sighed, prompting a look from Blake. "You've met him, haven't you?" She nodded. "More like the stuff of legend." He quipped lightly.

"He is that." Harriet smiled. "Should've seen him and Clara. Now THAT is the stuff of legend."

Blake blinked. "Clara? Who's Clara?"

"Let's just say…she's his carer." Harriet thought for a moment, letting the smile drop into contemplation. "Failing them…what about Torchwood?" Blake's eyes widened, and she spoke at once. "I know I'm not supposed to know about it, I realize that. Not even the United Nations knows. But if ever there was a need for Torchwood, it's now."

"I can't take responsibility." Blake shook his head.

"I can. Now, see to it. Get them ready." She said sternly. Blake gave a hesitant nod before moving off.

"Prime Minister?" Alex called as he walked over, carrying his laptop with him.

"Has it worked?" Harriet asked.

"Just about." He placed it on the table, Daniel, and Sally walking over to join them. He clacked a few keys to bring up a side by side view of the message, one side the alien language, the other, the translating English version. ""People"…no, that could be cattle." He clacked again, correcting the error. ""You belong to us, to the Sycorax". They seem to be called "Sycorax", not Martians. "We own you. We now own your land, your minerals, your precious stones. You will surrender, or they will die. Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax…rock."" They looked at him in confusion for a moment. "As in the modern sense, they rock." He clarified.

""They will die". Not "You will die", "They will die". Who's "They"?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know, but it is the right personal pronoun, it's "They"."

"Send them a reply." Harriet said, and Alex pulled out a small notepad. "Tell them, "This is a day of peace on planet Earth". Tell them, "We extend that peace to the Sycorax"." She took a moment to straighten herself before continuing. "And then tell them, "This planet is armed, and we do not surrender"." They looked at her with shock for a moment as she walked away, Alex begrudgingly writing it down.

---

Mickey sat at his laptop, replaying the Sycorax message repeatedly, almost hoping that it would translate by itself, but it never did.

"Mickey, could you give it a break for a second, please?" Jackie asked as she and Rose finished making new cups of tea. Mickey conceded, turning off the message. Rose handed a new cup of tea to Clara, who took it gratefully and then…her eyes widened. She began to blink rapidly, rocking back and forth slightly in her seat.

"Clara?" Rose asked, Mickey and Jackie looking at her as well.

Clara didn't acknowledge her as she started to breathe heavily, sweat perspiring on her forehead. "I…I…I feel…" She stammered as her breathing turned into hyperventilating, Rose quickly moving to her side, taking the cup out of her grasp.

"Clara, what's wrong-"

Clara cut her off by shrieking in agony as she clutched her forehead, the pain from earlier now increased tenfold. "Aaah!" Rose and Jackie rushed to Clara, who shrank back into the sofa as Mickey shot up out of his seat. They fruitlessly tried to help her as Clara kept screaming, none of them noticing the Doctor's breathing become more hitched as he listened helplessly. After a single minute, and their ears now pounding, Clara's screams turned hoarse and her panting shallow before she passed out cold. Jackie placed a hand on Clara's forehead, feeling it burning with heat.

"Get me a cloth! Quick!" She demanded, Mickey rushing into the kitchen while she and Rose moved Clara into a more comfortable position on the sofa. Mickey came back with the cold cloth, which Rose used to put on Clara's forehead. Jackie placed a few fingers on Clara's throat, before her eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't find a pulse. She tried again, then again but on Clara's wrist, yet it bore the same result. Clara, despite her body being warm and flowing with blood, had no pulse. "Bring me that stethoscope." She said to Rose.

---

"They got the message. Here comes the response." Sally reported, everyone in the room looking at the massive screen where the Sycorax stood. The leader, now carrying a large, wooden staff stepped forward and held out his left hand. The hand glowed with blue light before the connection cut off again.

"What was that?" Harriet asked. "Was that a reply?"

"I don't know. Maybe some sort of energy or static?" Alex said.

"Almost like someone casting a spell. It could be a different form of language. Some sort of ideogram or pictogram." Daniel tried to reassure but he stopped as people started to walk out of the office, Sally included. "What the hell?" He moved out his chair to follow Sally, noticing that she along with the others bore a blank look and a halo of flickering blue light around her head. "It's the light. It's the same light." He muttered, moving up to take her arm, but she didn't even blink. "Sally? What're you doing? Sally?" He tried to tug her back, but it didn't faze her.

"Don't. You could hurt her." Harriet called. "She may not even know what she's doing."

The U.N.I.T soldiers raised their rifles at them. "Let them pass." Blake ordered.

They lowered their rifles again, still staring at the people in confusion as Harriet moved up to them. She saw them for a few moments, noticing that they were all heading for the same exit door. "They're all heading in the same direction." She deducted.

"It's only certain people. Why isn't it affecting us?" Daniel asked. He hurried past the line, seeing them moving into the stairwell, where they started ascending upwards. Moving into the stairwell, he watched them moving past every door, still moving up. He hurried back into the room. "They're going all the way up. To the roof."

"Prime Minister." Alex came up, a finger pressed against his earpiece. "It's happening all over the world. According to reports, one third of the world's population, that's two billion people, are moving to stand on the edges of any high-rise building, ready to jump."

---

Rose came back into the room, passing the stethoscope to Jackie. "She'll be all right, won't she?" Rose asked.

"Of course, she will." Jackie snapped, making Rose flinch. "We've already got one mad alien to look after, now we have Clara, so stop worrying."

"What is wrong with you?" They heard a female voice outside the flat. "Jason? Jason?"

Jackie sighed. "Okay, I take it back." She then motioned to the door. "Don't worry. I'll look after her."

Rose nodded, motioning for Mickey to join her as they moved out of the door. They saw a brunette woman in a pink dressing gown following a man with a blank face, a flickering halo of blue light over his head. "Sandra?" Rose called.

Sandra glanced back at Rose. "He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking. There's this sort of light...thing." Sandra moved back to catch up with Jason. "Jason. Stop it." She pleaded to no avail. "Please Jason, just stop."

Then, a sudden rush of slammed doors came through the Estate as people came rushing out of their flats, hurrying after, and pleading to their family and loved ones, who walked away from them with blank looks and shimmering blue halos. Rose and Mickey followed them, moving slowly up the large staircase until they reached the top, moving out the door and onto the roof of the building. The people with blank looks moved towards the edge and then stopped, still staring straight ahead as everyone else tried to urge them back.

"What do we do?" Mickey asked Rose as they watched.

"Nothing." Rose said, her voice deadpanned. "The Doctor's out, and now Clara's with him. There's no one to save us, not anymore."

---

Daniel moved up onto the roof of the Tower of London, following the blank faced Sally. "Sally stop it!" He demanded, rushing in front of her. "It's Danny Llewellyn. Daniel Llewellyn. Sally just concentrate. You're being controlled. Stop it, Sally! We need you!" Sally ignored him, moving past and towards the edge where she stood completely still. Daniel looked at her and everyone else that mirrored her, before turning around with wide eyes. ""Surrender or they will die"." He muttered, before his eyes widened even more in horrifying realization. "Oh my god. It's Guinevere One." He then rushed back to the door and down the stairwell before re-entering the main room, hurrying over to Harriet, Alex, and Blake. "Wait a minute. There is a pattern." He said, drawing Harriet and Blake's attention, yet Alex was turned away, pressing a finger against his earpiece.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked.

"He's right." Alex inputted, taking his finger away from his earpiece and moving up to them. "All these people tend to be father and son, mother and daughter, brothers and sisters, family groups but not husbands and wives."

"It's Guinevere One. It has to be." Daniel agreed. "Have you got medical records on file for all your staff?"

"Of course, we have, yes." Alex nodded, moving over to one of the computers with Daniel.

Harriet motioned Blake to join her in a private part of the room. "What about Torchwood?" She asked.

"Still working on it." He swallowed. "Bear in mind, they have just lost a third of their staff."

"But do they have what we need?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, tell them to hurry up." She said sternly. Blake nodded before they re-joined Alex and Daniel.

"Here it is." Daniel said, bringing up Sally's medical file. "Sally Jacobs, blood group: A+. Who else walked out?"

Alex clicked his fingers for a moment. "Luke Parsons."

"Luke…Parsons." Daniel muttered as he found the next file. "A+."

"Geoffrey Baxter." Daniel suggested.

"Geoffrey…Baxter." Daniel muttered for a moment. "A+. That's it, they're all A+."

"How many people in the world are A+?" Blake asked.

"No idea…but I bet it's one third." Daniel said shakily.

"What's so special about that blood group?"

"Nothing, it…it's my fault." They blinked at him. "Guinevere One, it's got one of those plaques identifying humanity. A message to the stars. I mean, you don't expect anything to come of it, but I put on maps and music and samples. There's wheat seeds and water and…blood. The Sycorax have got a vial of A+. I don't know how but through that…"

"They control the blood." Harriet finished for him.

"My god." Daniel mumbled, putting his face in his hands.

"Don't." Harriet said sternly. "Don't beat yourself up over it, especially not now." Daniel nodded weakly before she glanced at Blake. "Major, with me. There's only one more thing I can try."

---

Jackie placed the stethoscope's diaphragm drum against Clara's chest, and her eyes widened. She had no pulse and no heartbeat. That made her mind race at a thousand miles an hour. If she has no heartbeat, she should be dead. But she feels alive. Hell, she's breathing for Christ's sake! How do you get the Doctor out from sleep when you need him? Unknowingly, her thoughts were echoed by Rose, who with Mickey re-entered the flat. Mickey at once picked up the remote and flicked the TV back on, still on the BBC news channels. Now, it was showing Harriet Jones at a desk in front of the camera.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queens' speech, I'm afraid that's been cancelled." She gave a quick smile for reassurance before her own eyebrows furrowed, glancing off camera. "Did we ask about the royal family?" The answer wasn't picked upon the microphones, but her eyes widened as she nodded. "Oh. They're on the roof." She quickly fiddled with her fingers for a moment, contemplating her next words. "But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique and I'm afraid to say it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm, but it may be fruitless, knowing what your all going through. I just have one request: Doctor." The three exchanged glances, knowing who she was talking about. "If you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor, if anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please Doctor, help us."

The three looked at each other in silence before Jackie went to sit beside Clara. "Sweetheart." She cooed. "What's wrong?"

Clara shifted slightly in her sleep, still whimpering from the dull pain in her head. "Doctor." She whispered hoarsely. "Doctor, please." Then, aside from her hoarse whimpering, she was silent again. Then without any warning, an earthquake ravaged through the ground accompanied by a booming sound like rolling thunder, causing the windows of the flat to shatter, making the group scream and gasp in shock.

"What the hell was that?" Jackie demanded.

"It's the spaceship. It must be." Mickey said, moving over the broken glass towards the front door. Rose and Jackie got up to follow him outside, onto the glass covered walkways. They leaned over the railing to gaze up past the roof, seeing a mass of charcoal rocks moving over London. This spaceship, they presumed must've been as wide as London, was hovering over the city, casting a dark shadow over every building, blocking out the sun.

"Back inside, now." Rose ordered. Jackie and Mickey followed her as they moved into Jackie's room. "Mickey, we're going to carry him, then we're coming back for Clara. Mum get your stuff and some food."

"Well, where are we going?" Mickey asked.

"The TARDIS. It's the only safe place on Earth."

"What're we going to do in there?" Jackie demanded.

"Hide."

"Is that it?"

"Mum look at the sky!" Rose snapped, making Jackie blink. "There's a great big alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right?! I've travelled with them and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless! All we can do is run and hide and I'm sorry! Now move!" Jackie sighed but for once didn't argue, moving into the kitchen. Rose took the Doctor by his shoulders while Mickey grasped his legs as they hauled him slowly out of the room.

---

"They're transmitting another message." Alex reported.

"Onscreen." Harriet said. He clicked a few keys in one of the computers, bringing up the Sycorax again.

"Bi kon zu padros paliu ji-kor peldra pelomni."

""Will the leader of this world stand forward"?" Alex translated.

Harriet cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "I'm proud to represent this planet."

"Zu kal fulak."

""Come aboard"."

Harriet exchanged a confused yet worried glance with Alex before turning back to the screen. "Well…how do I do that?" The answer came in a shimmering blue light appearing around her, Alex, Daniel, and Blake.

"W-w-what's happening?" Daniel asked.

"I would imagine it's called a teleport." Harriet quipped lightly.

What came next was a flurry of blinding blue lights for them as the ground beneath faded away, floating in distinct nothingness until the ground returned. However, it was changed into hardened rock, which was echoed by the room they were in when the lights faded away. The room, or cavern, was a large expanse of brown rock formed of ledges, where hundreds of Sycorax stood, all cheering in their language at the arrival of their guests, who stared around in a mixture of wonder and fear. The leader, the one they recognised from the messages, stepped forward. He was cloaked in red robes, covered in bones and trophies of conquest, his fingerless gauntlets showing his clawed hands. He thrusted his staff into the ground, letting it stand upright beside him before raising his hands to his face.

"It's a helmet." Daniel realised. "They might be like us." He said, more in reassurance to himself. Yet the Leader took off his helmet to show a gaunt face behind, with pale crimson eyes and skin, wearing a bone mask that bared his eyes and jaw to them. "Or not." Daniel muttered. The Sycorax Leader gave him a grave smile, baring for them to see, his sharp filed teeth.

---

Rose and Mickey carried the Doctor out of the flat, seeing the TARDIS still sitting silently down on the ground floor of the estate. Jackie came out of the flat carrying four bags worth of food and supplies.

"Mum, will you just leave that stuff and give us a hand?!" Rose shrieked.

"It's food! You said we need-"

"Just leave it!"

Jackie rolled her eyes. She really doesn't know how long we're going to be in there. Well…better have enough food than none at all. She then picked up the bags again and followed them to the TARDIS.

---

The Sycorax Leader went over to the ship's console and hovered his hand over a large red button. "Jal van korast akus bahkta."

""You will surrender, or I will release the final curse…and your people will jump"." Alex translated with a frown of worry.

"If I can speak." Daniel said, mustering courage as he stepped forward.

"Mr. Llewellyn, you are a civilian!" Blake urged, grabbing onto Daniel's arm.

"No, I sent out the probe, I started it. I contacted these people, this whole thing's my responsibility." He yanked his arm out of Blake's grasp, before turning back to the Leader, straightening his tie in nervousness. The Leader moved his hand away from the button and took a few steps forward, looking at Daniel in curiosity. "With respect, sir, humanity is taking its first step towards the stars but…we are like children compared to you, children who need help, children who need compassion." The Leader blinked at him. "I beg of you now, show that compassion."

Silence fell for a few moments as the Leader stared at him, before he smiled. That smile was indecipherable. Admiration? Respect? Or something else? Then, he took a curled whip from his robes, which turned bright blue at his touch. He reared it back and lashed against Daniel, the whip coiling around his neck as Daniel screamed, his body disintegrating and leaving behind only ash and bone. Harriet breathed shakily while Alex stared with wide eyes of fear, Blake with a look of shock plastered across his face.

"That man was your prisoner!" Blake exclaimed. "Even your species must have articles of war, forbidding-" The Leader lashed again, the whip now disintegrating Blake, who screamed as he joined Daniel's bones on the floor. Alex went to move forward, but Harriet stopped him. She took a breath and pulled out her I.D card.

"Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."

"Ja. Gunavijejo zu."

""Yes. We know who you are"."

"Jal wan kulja ji." The Leader walked back up to the button again.

""Surrender, or they will die"."

"If I do surrender, how would that be better?" Harriet asked.

"Ka tros gaven kivi lisi kul racha."

""One half is sold into slavery or one third dies"."

"Zu kolsia." The Leader hovered his hand over the button again, his face set in a patient grimace.

""Your choice"."

---

Rose and Mickey, huffing and out of breath, entered the TARDIS and laid the Doctor beside the console. Jackie came in, hesitant with uneasiness at the interior of the TARDIS.

"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked as Jackie put the bags down by the console.

"Not anymore, no." Rose said, rubbing her sore muscles.

"Well, you did it before."

"I know, but it's sort of been…wiped out of my head like it's forbidden. If I try it again, I think the universe rips in half."

"Ah, better not then." Mickey said with a nod.

"Maybe not." Rose huffed, not understanding his tone which made Mickey and Jackie roll their eyes.

"So, what do we do, just sit here?"

"That's as good as it gets."

"Now stop your whining!" Jackie snapped, making Rose flinch with guilt as Jackie pulled out a warm flask. She opened the lid and took a whiff of the smell of tea inside. "Here we go, nice cup of tea."

"It's like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end, which is very British." Mickey said.

"What's wrong with being British?" Jackie retorted, making Mickey shrug. "I'm going to get Clara, come give me a hand, Rose." She called, racing for the doors.

"With Clara?" Rose asked. "You know she's smaller than all of us."

Jackie shook her head with a smirk. "I didn't mean that. I meant that if Clara's got a migraine, she'll need something to help her out, won't she?" Rose nodded at that, Jackie closing the doors of the TARDIS behind her.

"How does this thing work?" Mickey asked, pulling the console monitor over. "Cause if it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. We could've surrendered. And like, what do you do to it?"

"No idea. It sort of tunes itself." They flicked a few switches creating a loud bleeping noise, making them jump slightly. "Okay, no idea what that is." Rose muttered.

---

The Leader looked at the console with alarm as a bleeping noise rang out into the cavern. "Vebkas fula. Kazful! Sten fa fran. Zu kist."

"The noise, the bleeping, they say it's machinery, foreign machinery." Alex said as the translated words came too fast on his device for him to read. "They're accusing us of-of hiding it, conspiring."

"Kres ta forok si!" The Leader roared.

""Bring it on board"."

---

Jackie came to the Estate courtyard, carrying a bag full of medical supplies. "It's okay, Jackie, just tell her. Even though she's smaller, Clara's still too heavy for you. That's all, Rose will understand." Jackie rambled to herself. She noticed too late however that the TARDIS glowed with a blue light. "Rose?" Jackie called as the light turned the box into a blur before it disappeared in a flash, leaving a trail that zipped up to the ship. "Rose!"

---

"Maybe it's a distress signal." Mickey offered.

"Fat lot of good that's going to do."

"Are you going to be a misery all the time?" Mickey asked.

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your Mum's cooking. Hell, if Clara was awake, she'd set you straight."

Rose shuddered, already starting to feel sorry for the Doctor when she got on Clara's bad side once. Then, Rose blinked. "Where's Mum?" She asked. Mickey shrugged, making Rose get up to move to the doors. "I'd better give her a hand with Clara. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Mickey called as he picked up the flask of tea.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave."

Rose smiled sadly at him. "I don't know. You're braver than you give yourself credit for." Mickey went to protest but Rose raised her eyebrows at him. "Do I need to set Clara on you to get yourself straight?" Mickey shook his head in haste, making Rose snigger. "Thought so." Rose then opened the doors and exited the TARDIS, her expression turning into bewilderment as she saw the cavern of the Sycorax before one grabbed her neck from behind. "Aaah!" She shrieked in terror. "Get off! Get off me!"

"Rose!" Mickey lost his grip on the flask and hurried out the door, his face also growing wide with shock at their suddenly different surroundings.

"The doors! Close the doors!" Rose called as she was hauled away to a worried Harriet and a confused Alex. Mickey raced back to the TARDIS, pursued by another Sycorax warrior, closing the doors just in time before he himself was put in a hard grasp and hauled away to Rose, Harriet, and Alex.

"Yas vil!" The Leader called, earning a loud bellow of applause from the Sycorax watching them.

"Rose." Harriet said, pulling a fearful but relieved Rose into a hug. "I've got you, my precious thing." Harriet and Rose glanced at the Leader, who was watching them with predatorial patience. "The Doctor. Is he with you?"

Rose shook her head. "No. He's out of it."

Harriet held back the urge to slouch. "And Clara?"

"She's on Earth. We're on our own."

---

Inside the TARDIS, the spilt tea flowed into the circuits underneath the floor railing, sparking, and creating steam that flowed up and around the Doctor's head. He took a deep breath of the fumes before exhaling, expelling an enormous amount of regeneration energy, his body relaxing to a calm stillness.

---

"Vos koonik, del panja zu krimit tak saya. Vol…kufa zu prendis."

""The yellow girl, she has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet." Alex translated.

"But she can't." Harriet protested.

"Yeah, I can." Rose denied despite her insides shaking with nervousness and fear.

"Don't you dare." Mickey muttered.

"Someone's got to be the Doctor, even if Clara's not here to do it." Rose stepped forward and Harriet grabbed her arm.

"They'll kill you." Harriet pleaded, but Rose yanked her arm away.

"Never stopped them." The applause in the room swelled in anticipation before the Leader held up his fist, the room calming into dead silence. This didn't help Rose in the slightest, whose anxiety heightened to new, uncomfortable levels. She gulped and took a shaking breath, noticing the Leader already getting a look of irritation in his eyes. "I address the Sycorax…according to Article 15 of…the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world…with all the authority of…the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorius and, um…" The Leader now looked at her with wide eyes of bewilderment, while everyone else just looked confused. "The Gelth Confederacy as, uh…sanctioned by the mighty Jagrafess and…oh, the Daleks. Now, leave this planet in peace!"

The Leader glanced at his fellows for a moment, before looking down, as if checking that he really was there before he burst into laughter, the rest of the Sycorax joining in with him. "Zu gang an frak jil ay."

""You are very, very funny"." Alex translated.

"Zu gan chak chifuki!"

""And now you're going to die"."

"Leave her alone!" Harriet roared, stepping forward but was held back by a Sycorax warrior.

"Don't touch her!" Mickey mirrored and was also held back.

"Zu gas gil fayna metsu felsta beena?"

""Did you think you were clever with your stolen words?""

"Gora ve Sycorax!" The Leader proclaimed. "Gasak selfilick."

""We are the Sycorax. We stride the darkness"."

The Leader hissed at Rose in disgust, who gasped in shock. "Be korakal zulfenals fineach."

""Next to us, you are but a wailing child"."

"If zul fan fasch your planet castreak as champion…"

""If you are the best this planet can offer as champion…""

"Then your world will be gutted…"

""Then your world will be gutted…" Unknown to the Leader, Rose, Harriet, and Mickey's eyebrows furrowed at him, as he began speaking English.

"And your people enslaved."

""And your people enslav…" Alex trailed off as he too caught on. "Hold on, that's English."

"He's talking English." Harriet nodded in agreement.

"You're talking English." Rose agreed despite her confusion.

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!" The Leader snapped.

Rose shook her head. "That's English. Can you hear English?" She asked the three behind her.

"Yeah, that's English." Mickey agreed.

"Definitely English." Alex agreed as well, Harriet nodding.

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" The Leader roared in frustration.

Rose put the pieces together in her head, which made her nerves pulse with hope. "If I can hear English…then it's being translated…which means it's working. Which means…" She trailed off, trying to not let her hope rise too much in fear of disappointment. She turned around to gaze at the TARDIS, Mickey, Harriet, and Alex following her example. To Rose and Mickey's relief, along with Harriet and Alex's shock, the doors swung open, the Doctor standing there completely fine and with a blinding smile on his face.

"Did you miss me?" He asked. Rose and Mickey smiled, while Harriet and Alex blinked. The Leader however, roared with rage, drawing their attention to him again, as he took his whip and lashed at the Doctor. However, he caught the whip with his hand, wrapping it around his wrist and tugging hard, the Leader loosing grip on his weapon as he held onto the staff for balance, while the Doctor wraps the whip up with a look of disappointment. "You could've had someone's eye out with that." He walked up to the Leader, tossing the whip aside.

"How dare-" The Leader went to use his staff against him, but the Doctor yanked it away out of his grasp, snapping it in two on his thigh like a matchstick before tossing it aside, the Leader's expression of glowering disbelief.

"You just can't get the staff." He quipped. "Now, YOU just wait." The Leader went to protest. "I'm busy." The Doctor interrupted, pointing a finger at him, making the Leader stare at him in silent shock, his jaw down as he blinked. The Doctor turned around and walked back to the group, his blinding smile back. "Mickey! Hello!" Mickey smirked at him while the Doctor turned to Harriet. "And Harriet Jones, M.P for Flydale North. Blimey! It's like "This is your life". Tea!" Before Rose could say "What?", the Doctor continued. "That's all I needed, good cup of tea. A superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin, just the thing for healing the synapses. Whose idea was that?" He asked.

"Mums." Rose inputted.

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really?" Rose nodded, and he shrugged at her. Then his face went serious in an instant. "Now, first things first, be honest. How do I look?"

Rose blinked at him. I really should not be the one answering that question. "Um…different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"Just…different." Rose shrugged.

"Am I…ginger?"

Rose had to hold back a snort, thinking that might've ruined the mood. "No, you're just sort of…brown."

His face and voice fell into a childish whine. "Aww, I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger. And you, Rose Tyler!" He said suddenly, pointing a finger at her. "Fat lot of good you were! You gave up on me-oh, that's rude." He caught himself with a look of shock, while Rose stared at him with a half glare of death. "Is that the sort of man I am now, am I rude?" He shrugged at that. "Rude and not ginger." He flinched with a gasp suddenly, making everyone blink at him as he glanced around. He looked at them with a sheepish blush. "Sorry. It's just…Clara normally has a go at me when I'm rude." Then, his face fell into confused worry as he glanced around at everyone present for a double check. "Hold on…where's Clara?"

"Still on Earth…with Mum." Rose informed.

The Doctor breathed out. "Blimey. How's she going to live?" He muttered. Rose went to tell him of Clara's predicament, but Harriet interrupted.

"I'm sorry. Who is this?" She asked.

"I'm the Doctor." He said with a slightly down face.

Rose nodded. "He's the Doctor."

"Well, what happened to MY Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm him. Same man, new face. Well…new everything."

"But you can't be." Harriet denied.

"Harriet Jones." The Doctor started; his tone serious again. "We were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, wasn't the war…it was the thought of your Mother being all on her own."

Harriet's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god." She mumbled.

The Doctor's blinding smile came back again. "Did you win the election?"

Harriet smiled with a slight blush. "Landslide majority."

"Oh, that's fanta-" He stopped himself, blinking in confusion. "No, hold on, fanta…fanta-f-f-fantas…fa-fa…" He waggled his tongue around to clear his mouth, everyone, even the Sycorax Leader, looked at him in puzzlement. "I can't say it anymore; it doesn't fit the teeth." He clacked his teeth together a few times before whining. "Aww, I like that word. What am I going to say now? B…brilliant? Brilliant. Bri-lli-ant. Brilliant!" He tried with enthusiasm before his face fell again. "No, um, um, excellent. Oh, that's-that's-that's excellent, nah. Uh, superb. M…marvellous, m…uh…molto bene, oh, I don't know." He sighed. "Let's just settle for "Very, very good". Yes, that's very very good. That's really very very good-no, it's not taking off is it?"

"If I might interrupt?" The Leader asked with irritation.

Everyone looked at him, the Doctor's smile back again. "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fella."

"Who exactly are you?"

The Doctor held back a snigger. "Well, that's the question."

"I demand to know who you are!" The Leader roared.

"I don't know!" The Doctor roared back, impersonating his voice before calming down again. "See, that's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I-I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am, it's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He went to wink before realising that Clara wasn't there. Blimey, will she still think of me as a looker…even without the ears? "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed? A gambler, a fighter, a coward, a traitor, a liar, a nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." Then, he glanced at the console and the red button, grinning again. "And how am I going to react when I see this? A great big threatening button." He said before walking to stand up next to the button, everyone moving closer to watch. "A great big threatening button, which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right?" He winked playfully at the Leader, who clenched his teeth together in irritation. "Let me guess…it's some sort of control matrix, hmm?" He looked down at the button's stand, seeing wires through the cracks in the side. "Hold on…what's feeding it?" He knelt, pulling open a latch door in the side, seeing a small pod holding a broken vial of blood, hooked up to wires moving into the ship's console and latched into the red button. "And what've we got here?" He dabbed a finger inside the blood, standing back up again. "Blood?" He tasted the blood, making the group scrunch their faces in disgust. He ran his tongue through his mouth, before his face scrunched into disgust as well. "Yep. Definitely blood. Human blood. A+, with just a dash of iron." He waggled his tongue about, wiping his finger on his gown. "Oh Doctor, why did you do that?" He muttered to himself. Then his eyes went wide, looking at Rose in horror. "Don't you dare tell her." He warned.

"Don't I dare what?" Rose said innocently, nudging Mickey when he looked back at the button, making Mickey send a knowing smirk her way.

The Doctor shuddered briefly, before clearing his throat. "Sorry. That means…blood control." His eyes now went wide with childish glee. "Blood control! Aww! I haven't seen blood control for years!" He looked at the Leader, still grinning. "You're controlling all the A+'s." The Leader hissed at him, but he could detect in his eyes…worry, and fear. That made his own eyes glint with delighted madness. "Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. *Clicks tongue* Cause, I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So, if I see a great big threatening button, which should never, ever, ever be pressed…then I just want to do this." He slammed his hand down on the button, the red light from within fading away.

"No!" The group yelled in unison at him.

"You just killed them!" Alex said in horror.

"*Scoffs* Come on." He drawled. "Try to keep up. Where's Clara at when you need her?" He muttered under his breath, no one bothering to retort to that. "What do you think, big fella?" He asked the Leader, who gulped at his words. "Are they dead?"

"We allowed them to live."

""Allow"?" The Doctor scoffed again. "You've no choice!" He turned back to the group, who looked at the Leader in relieved surprise. "See? That's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. It scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes." He stared distantly for a moment before moving to lean against a nearby rock. "It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotize someone to walk like a chicken, or sing like Elvis, but you can't hypnotize them to death. The survival instinct's too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest." The Leader growled. "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well…yeah, you could. Yeah, you could do that. Of course, you could, but why?" The Leader glanced off briefly in questioning, making the Doctor inwardly sigh. "Look at these people, these Human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than-no hold on." Everyone glanced at each other in amused confusion as he gazed off distantly again. "Sorry, that's "The Lion King". But the point still stands: Leave them alone!"

"Or what?" The Leader asked.

"Or…" He snatched a large broadsword from a nearby soldier, rushing back to the main area with the TARDIS and holding the sword up for all in the cavern to see. "I challenge you!" He proclaimed. The Leader laughed heartfully, the whole of the chamber erupting into pleased applause. "Oh, that struck a chord." He muttered to himself. "Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

The Leader unsheathed his own sword, moving to stand opposite the Doctor, the rest of the group moving to watch. "You stand as this world's champion?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you've just summed me up." He took off his dressing gown and tossed it to Rose, before grasping the broadsword with two hands. "So, do you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

The Leader hissed at him, before they grasped their swords below the hilt and raised them, the crowd cheering before they knelt on the ground, the swords held upright in their grasp. "For the planet?" The Leader asked.

"For the planet." On that, they stood and grasped their swords, moving slightly on both feet to keep on the edge. The Doctor struck at his right side, the Leader parrying before he tried again with the left. The Leader blocked the strike, placing pressure on the Doctor's sword as he tried to wrench the sword free, only succeeding in spinning their joined swords in front of each other. The Leader then shoved with his weapon, sending the Doctor stumbling back with a grunt. He clenched his jaw as the Leader struck a hawk's guard pose with his sword, allowing him to block the Doctor's next two swipes with ease. After he does, he swings the sword, making the Doctor stumble again to get out of reach. He then ducked as the Leader swung over his head, then swung for his side, which he barely parried, causing him to stumble to his back on the floor. Then the Leader raised the sword above his head.

"Look out!" Rose called as the Doctor rolled out of the way, the Leader's sword hitting right where his arm had been.

"Oh yeah, that helps. I wouldn't have thought of that otherwise. Thanks." The Doctor called sarcastically before returning to the fight. He struck two more blows against his opponent, before pressing down onto his sword with all the strength he could muster. The Leader grunted and snarled as he tried to push the Doctor back. Unfortunately, the Doctor took the opportunity to try and take his sword out of his opponent's grasp, who merely elbowed him in the ribs, making the Doctor stumble back with a gasp. The Leader regained his balance and chased after the Doctor with murder in his eyes. The Doctor however had to buy time to dull the pain in his ribs and bring back his stolen breath. He looked around the chamber frantically before grinning, despite his panting. "Bit of fresh air?" He called, rushing through the Sycorax warriors, and pressing a red button in the cavern wall. This opened a hidden door in the rock wall, streaming bright white light and rushing wind into the cavern as he charged through, the Leader and the group following swiftly behind with a few Sycorax warriors. The Doctor calmed himself as the pain in his ribs dulled, regaining his breath to a relaxed stillness. The Leader laughed, twirling his broadsword in his hands before advancing on the Doctor, each strike increasing with pressure as the Doctor neared the edge of the ship's wing. The Doctor rolled out of the way to escape falling to his death, allowing the Leader to take a sudden swipe at the Doctor, who's block caused his grip on the sword to loosen. The Leader sent a backhanded fist at the Doctor, striking his head, causing him to groan in pain. Rose went to rush forward, but Mickey held her back, just as the Doctor held out a hand. "Stay back!" He warned, the Leader briefly stopping to see the commotion. "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet!" The Leader growled in irritation, rushing at the Doctor again with a sudden strike, the Doctor blocking it but holding his ground with clenched teeth. The Leader spun their swords with a steading pressure, then without a moment's hesitation, twirled the swords downward, causing the Doctor's to stab into the rock wing. He then head butted the Doctor, causing him to stumble away from the sword before backhanding him across the face again, sending him to his back, his head hanging over the edge of the wing. The Leader raised his sword again and struck down, severing the Doctor's right hand at his forearm, sending the limb tumbling down towards the Earth. When that happened, silence fell as the Doctor stared at his empty sleeve with disbelief while the Leader gazed at him triumphantly. "You cut my hand off." The Doctor breathed.

"Jah! Sycorax!" The Leader proclaimed, the soldiers present roaring and raising their swords in honour of him. Rose, Mickey, and Alex looked at them with shock, while Harriet had a hand over her mouth to cover her own.

The Doctor, clenching his face together to fight off the pain in his arm, stood up on shaking feet, gazing at the Leader's turned back with a cold grin. "And now, I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky." The Leader turned to gaze at him in irritated puzzlement. "Quite by chance, I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got enough residual cellular energy to do this." He held out his empty sleeve, as he felt a numbing coolness spread through his right arm. The energy flowed through his body into his arm, re-growing what had been removed with a golden light into a brand-new hand. He clenched his new hand together, before twiddling his fingers around to test them. Everyone, including the Leader, stared at him in awe filled disbelief.

"Witchcraft." The Leader muttered, his shock now turning into a new-found anger.

"Time Lord." The Doctor said with newfound arrogance…and coldness. His new hand felt stronger than the last, and he reached his arm out without even looking at Rose, who had stolen a sword from a nearby soldier and tossed it to him.

"Doctor!" She called as she did, who caught the sword's handle without even looking at it, twirling it around before grinning in her direction.

"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?!"

"No arguments from me!"

"You want to know the best bit?" He asked, turning back to the Leader. "This new hand…it's a fightin' hand!" He yelled in a perfect Southern accent, his mind going wild with glee. Yes! I can do accents now! Whoo! He lashed at the Leader with new, renewed strikes, each one more pressured than the last. The Leader, desperately parrying each blow, found himself striding backwards to stay a distance from the advancing Time Lord, the mad glint in his eyes now burning bright. The Leader tried to get the Doctor's sword into a pressured block again, but he simply twirled his sword away, forcing the Leader to withdraw his own to protect his exposed wrists from his blade. But as he did, the Doctor swung hard, causing the Leader to stumble, losing his grasp on his sword which the Doctor took hold off just below the hilt, wrenching it out of his grasp before impaling the Leader on his own sword. The group watching winched in unison as the Leader gasped in pain, falling to his knees as he grasped the sword imbedded in his side, while the Doctor held his own blade against the Leader's throat. "I win." He said coldly.

"Then…kill me." The Leader gasped, the pain burning in his side, the pouring wound unnoticeable against his red robes, yet his exposed sword shined with a dull crimson glow in the sun.

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command: Leave this planet and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species!" The Doctor demanded, pressing the tip of his blade harder against the Leader's throat, a drop of blood already showing on his skin.

"I swear." He choked with a strained voice.

The Doctor then shrugged, taking the blade away and jamming it into the ground. "There we are then. Thanks for that. Sorry about the wounds, big fella." He said before turning away to walk back to the group.

"Bravo!" Harriet applauded, while Rose and Mickey grinned with Alex bearing an impressed look.

"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose said, tossing the gown back to the Doctor.

"Yeah? Not bad for a man in his jim-jams. Very Arthur Dent." He put the gown back on as the group gathered around him. "Now, that was a nice man." He paused, wringing his new hand about in his pockets. "Hold on. What have I got in here?" He pulled out a satsuma to his bewildered eyes, Rose and Mickey rolling theirs while Harriet and Alex looked confused. "A satsuma. That friend of your mother's, eh Rose? He does like his snacks, doesn't he?"

"I'm sorry, but did we miss something?" Harriet asked.

"My Mum had a *Clears Throat* "Friend" around, and he likes to keep snacks in his gown in case he gets hungry." Harriet sent her a puzzled look, which just made her shrug.

"But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?" The Doctor asked as they walked back to the door. "Big bloody tree in your living room, all the presents piled up underneath it by good ol' Papa Crimbo. Once you've gone through them all, then you find, tucked away at the bottom, there's either a pointless tangerine or one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma? I'd rather have a tangerine than a satsuma." At that moment, all but the Doctor turned at the sound of an enraged growl, seeing the Leader standing up with a glowering face of rage, the sword imbedded in his body removed, now back in his grasp. He stood up on shaky legs before moving to charge. The Doctor, without looking behind, tossed the satsuma at a button beside the door, which drew back part of the wing, causing the Leader to fall off the ship, screaming as he descended to his doom. "No second chances." The Doctor said, his voice cold again. "I'm that sort of a man." They moved back inside the cavern, which had now fallen completely silent as they stopped in front of the TARDIS, turning back to look at all the warriors inside. "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time." He proclaimed to the Sycorax, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. "And when you go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth, of its riches, its people, its potential, then make sure you tell them this: It. Is. Defended." On that, the blue light that transported the TARDIS onto the ship appeared all around them and the box, the group disappearing from the ship and reappearing back on the Earth. The Doctor gazed around, seeing the familiar buildings of the Powell Estate and the Sycorax ship, still hovering above their heads.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"We're just off Bloxham Road." Mickey answered, before beginning to laugh with joy. "We're just around the corner! We did it!"

"Wait a minute!" The Doctor called, everyone still looking at the ship. The ground began to rumble beneath their feet as the ship slowly slugged forward, building momentum as it moved up towards the sky before racing away, growing smaller and smaller as it did. That made everyone, including the Doctor relax.

"Go on, my son! Oh yeah!" Mickey whooped, Rose laughing as well.

"Yeah! Don't come back!" She called.

"It is defended!" Mickey and Rose embraced in a hug before she raced over and took a bewildered Alex in one too.

"Sorry." She quickly muttered before racing back over to Mickey, laughing with joy as she did. The Doctor turned and walked up to Harriet, both of them grinning as they looked at each other.

"My Doctor." She said.

"Prime Minister." They embraced in a quick hug before parting again.

"Absolutely the same man." They turned back to look where the ship had been, their faces growing calmer as they did. "Are there many more out there?"

"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species, thousands of them. And the Human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day, you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. Every single day, you're getting noticed by many more. You'd better get used to it." The Doctor missed Harriet's look becoming sullener at his words, as he saw out the corner of his eye, Jackie rushing up the street.

"Rose!" She called.

"Oh. Talking of trouble." He muttered, walking back to Mickey as Rose rushed to Jackie.

"Oh my god!" Jackie exclaimed as she took Rose in a hug.

"We did it, Mum!"

"Oh, Rose!"

"You did it, too! It was the tea, fixed his head."

"Really?" Jackie asked the Doctor as he walked over, Mickey loosely hugging Jackie with one arm while Rose mirrored him on her other side.

"That was all I needed. Cup of tea." The Doctor nodded.

"I said so!" Jackie proclaimed.

"And look at him!"

Jackie sent Rose a small, blinking look. "Is it really him, though? Is it really the Doctor?" The Doctor nodded behind him, where Jackie saw Harriet standing with Alex behind her, who was talking into his earpiece. That made her jaw drop. "Oh my god, it's the bleedin' Prime Minister!"

"Come here, you!" The Doctor said, opening his arms. Jackie laughed, rushing in, and grasping him in a tight hug, while Rose and Mickey joined in.

"Group hug." Mickey quipped, making them smirk.

"Are you better now?" Jackie asked.

"I am yeah."

Behind them, Alex walked up to Harriet, giving her a grim look. "It's a message from Torchwood. They say they're ready."

Harriet looked down sadly, not able to look at the group for a moment. "Tell them to fire." She said, her voice breaking as she did.

Alex nodding before moving to the side again. "Fire at will." He said into his earpiece.

"You two left me behind." Jackie accused to Rose and Mickey as they all parted their hug.

"I'm sorry." Rose quickly said, Mickey nodding.

"I gave you all the food. I couldn't carry Clara on my own, even if she's smaller than me."

Rose scoffed. "You serious?" She quipped.

"Woah, wait, hold on, "Carry"? What do you mean, "Carry Clara"?"" The Doctor asked, his voice now filled with worry?

Everyone glanced at each other awkwardly, Jackie deciding to be the one to speak. "There's something wrong with her. And I don't mean like how you were. She's…" She trailed off, still not sure how to explain it.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked. "What's wrong with her-" The Doctor was cut off as five beams of bright green electricity shot out from around them, converging together before pulsing three times then firing a sixth beam straight into space.

"Wait. What's happening?" Rose asked as they looked up, their looks filled with puzzlement and worry as they did. The beams continued firing into space before it exploded in a blaze of fire and rock, the group already guessing what the laser had destroyed. "What is that? What's happening?" Rose asked again.

The Doctor didn't answer her question, instead turning an accusing but cold gaze towards Harriet. Everyone saw who he was looking at and what he was emoting, allowing them to fill in the blanks before giving their own gazes of disdain towards her. "That was murder." The Doctor accused.

"That was defence." Harriet explained. "It's adapted from alien technology, a ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving!"

"You said yourself, Doctor. They'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time, you come and go. It happened today. Mr. Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's golden age." The Doctor growled.

"It comes with a price."

The Doctor clenched his jaw. "I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming, the Human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf." Harriet said, her voice raising higher while the Doctor's remained the same.

"And I should've stopped you."

"What does that make you Doctor?" Harriet asked with squinting eyes. "Another alien threat?"

That made him burst. "Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man!" He roared, Harriet blinking a bit before composing herself again. "I could bring down your government with a single word." He said, back in his cold tone again.

She smiled sadly. "You're the most remarkable man I've ever met…but I don't think you're quite capable of that."

"No, you're right, not a single word…just six."

"I don't think so."

"Six words."

"Stop it!" Harriet snapped

"Six." He said, ignoring her outburst, and moving straight past her towards Alex. Without taking his eyes off Harriet, he took Alex's earpiece out, placed it into his hands and leaned into his ear. "Don't you think she looks tired?" He whispered. Alex blinked at him before flickering his gaze between the Doctor and Harriet for a few moments. The Doctor then without a word, strolled past him and Harriet before silently motioning for the group to follow him back to their flat.

Harriet rushed over to Alex with a terrified look on her face. "What did he say?"

"Oh, well, nothing really, he…" Alex stuttered.

"What did he say?!" She freaked.

"I-I-nothing. I don't know, he…"

"Doctor!" Harriet called, but he simply ignored her. "What did you say, Doctor?! Doctor!" The group kept walking, not glancing back at Harriet until they were out of sight. Harriet slouched her shoulders, Alex walking away and leaving her alone. "I'm sorry." She said, her voice full of guilt as she stood there, silent, and alone.

---

The Doctor, followed closely by Jackie, Rose and Mickey, opened the door to the flat, finding the living room empty. "Clara?" He called, receiving no answer. "Clara?" He moved slowly into the flat, glancing around before moving into the hallway towards the bedrooms. "Clara? You in here?" He opened the only closed door, Jackie's room, finding Clara sitting on the bed with the stethoscope in her hand. "Clara?" At the sound of his voice, she glanced up at him with wide eyes, before they dulled into weariness. He moved slowly to sit beside her, taking her shaking hands in his. "What's wrong?" He asked. She said nothing, just pushing the stethoscope into his hand. He blinked at it before plugging the ear plugs in, using it to check her heartbeat. Just like Jackie, he couldn't find any. He checked again, this time for her pulse, but it bore the same result. He quickly stood and grasped his old leather jacket, pulling out his sonic and doing a quick scan on Clara, which once again, bore the same result. Alive, but not exactly Human. Alive, but her aging is…slower. Practically as slow as a Time Lord's, yet she still carried a faint trace of Human DNA in her. Alive, but her heart was dead.

"What's happened to me?" Clara asked, her voice hoarse and broken from her earlier screaming. The Doctor went to place a hand on her cheek, but she recoiled slightly, uncertainty and confliction in her eyes as she gazed at him.

"Clara, I can't help you if you don't let me in." He said gently.

Clara choked out a sob, leaning into his hand with pleading eyes. "I don't know how." She said. "I want to but I…" She closed her eyes, trying to hold off another sob. "Is it me? Is it me that's wrong?" She asked.

"There's nothing wrong with you Clara." He said earnestly.

"It must be." She cried. "I don't want to let you in, and yet I want to. I don't know why I'm thinking this, because you're right here, but you can't be." She sniffed, trying her best not to give in and dive in for a hug. "Please, just tell me what's wrong with me." She pleaded.

The Doctor just gave her a sad smile. "If I can't convince you otherwise, then I know someone who can."

"Who?"

He blinked. "Didn't you already figure it out, Clara?" Clara shook her head, but then, without warning, her phone rang. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the noise blared in the room. "I told you I needed to phone someone." He smiled warmly before moving up from the bed, holding off his inward relief as Clara indistinctively reached for his hand again. "You'd better get that." He walked out of the door and into the hallway, Rose, Jackie, and Mickey standing there, staring at him incredulously.

"What're you doing?" Rose asked in a hush voice.

"Just give her a moment." The Doctor said, holding up a hand as they leaned back into the doorway, watching as Clara picked up her phone and answered the call.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone. No answer came, making her blink incredulously. "Hello?" She tried again; her voice only able to become slightly clearer due to its overuse.

"It's me, Clara." If she had a heartbeat, it would've rocketed through her chest into her throat. It was the Doctor, specifically, it was her Doctor. His instantly recognizable northern voice put her into a state of calm she tried to deny to the new Doctor. But how can it be him?

"When are you phoning me from?" She asked. She missed Rose, Jackie and Mickey's eyes growing wide as they heard faintly the voice on the phone. The present Doctor just smiled in unison with his past self.

"Two words, Clara: Bad Wolf. I just took the Vortex out of Rose. We're orbiting around the Earth and I'm…" She heard him wince in pain, knowing he would've grasped the door to steady himself. "What you may have seen Clara, it's all still about to happen for me, and it's coming. I can feel it coming, Clara, and let me tell you…" He gasped out a small sob in the pain of the Vortex burning the insides of his body. "It's not going to be very fun for me. And I'm sorry, but I can't stop it."

Clara wiped a tear from her eye, restraining her urge to sob at the pain in his voice. "Why would you do this?"

"Because I think…you might be scared right now. But remember, Clara, however scared you are, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with…believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now. And he…he needs you, Clara. If you are in anyway conflicted on how you feel towards him…towards me…you need let it go. Let him in, Clara and I promise you, that everything will be all right."

The present Doctor, number Ten, at that moment decided to interrupt. "So, who is it?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Is that the Doctor?" Nine asked.

"Is that the Doctor?"

"Yes." Clara answered to the both of them.

"He sounds young. Real young." She heard him groan before whining. "Oh, please tell me I didn't become some pretty boy teenager. I don't want to go through that ever again, please!" He whined, Clara giggling slightly. "Hold on, does he have any hair?" He asked.

Clara smirked. "Yes."

Nine had to ask, and she could hear him stammer awkwardly as he spoke. "Is he…you know…good looking? Like…I mean…you know…do you-"

"Yes." Clara admitted.

She heard him sigh in relief, while Ten smirked out of the corner of her eye. "Now, you know what to do, Clara. Help him and he will help you. Please, do it for me."

"I don't know what to do." She admitted, whatever happy feeling she had now drained back to sadness.

"You really don't?" Nine quipped lightly. "You need to keep up, slow poke." Clara didn't answer to that, so he took a small breath. "He…I will tell you. And you don't need to be afraid, not anymore. Okay?"

"Okay." She sniffed.

"Goodbye, Clara. I'll see you soon." Then, he hanged up, the dial tone now ringing through the phone, so she put it down.

"Well?" The Doctor, the present Doctor, asked as he stepped back into the room again.

"Well what?"

"He…I asked you a question. Will you…let me help you?"

"How?"

He sighed. "You look at me, Clara, and you can't decide if you want to see me or not. Do you have any idea what that's like?" He asked, and her eyes shone with guilt through her tears. "I'm not on the phone and I didn't die on the TARDIS, Clara, I'm right here, standing in front of you." Her eyes now radiated with pleading, and he already knew what she was thinking. "Clara, all you have to do…is see me. That it. Please, just see me."

Clara blinked away the tears and moved to stand directly in front of him, searching his face with uncertainty. Young. Different accent. Ears aren't as big, nor is the nose. Hair is much thicker that it was. Then her gaze shifted to meet his own, and as she stared into his eyes, it all fell into place. Those eyes. Still so old, so sad and yet…so kind. She smiled, feeling relieved as her own inner conflict finally ended. "Hello...Doctor" She choked.

He returned her smile. "Hello Clara." He then pulled her into a hug, Clara crying with joy and relief as the Doctor stroked her hair, the both of them calming down with relief at each other's presence.

"Thank you." She mumbled.

He blinked with confusion. "What for?"

"Phoning." She said simply, and he smiled at that. He pulled back slightly to cup her cheek.

"Now, I believe you have a question to answer. Will you let me in?"

She almost shrugged at that. "How do you mean?"

"By this." He placed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. Clara's widened as she felt the Doctor not only still in a loose hug with her, but he was now inside her own mind.

"How?" Clara breathed.

"Touch telepathy, Clara. Another Time Lord trick." He explained simply.

"Do you know what's happened to me?" She asked.

"Your heart isn't beating anymore yet your body still behaves as if it did. Your mind as such can't comprehend it, that's why you keep getting migraine attacks."

""Migraine attacks"?"

He almost shrugged. "Couldn't come up with a better name."

She suddenly felt her mind throb again, another mind attack coming on and yet…it never did. She opened her eyes to briefly see a small amount of regeneration energy being poured into her head. "What'd you do?" She asked. She still felt tired, considering how much actual energy she has used over the course of one day, but her mind felt so…calm now.

"I just healed your mind, so you wouldn't get those attacks ever again."

"Thank you." She said gratefully. "But I have to ask, what happened to my heart?"

"It was Rose." He said, but his voice was now inside her mind, not coming from his own body. "When she became the Bad Wolf, she wanted to turn you into a Time Lady, but…let's just say that she barely knows anything about my kind."

"Is that why my heart isn't working?" She asked in her mind. "It was meant to get another, but it didn't work?"

"That's the simplistic version, but yes."

Clara sighed. "Is there anything else that's different about me?"

"Well, if it's good news, you've got a compensation. You can live forever and never age if you want to, but you can still die."

She thought of a comparison. "Like an elf?"

"A bit, yeah." He shrugged.

She giggled with disbelief in her mind. "I'm an immortal. It feels…not that much different."

"Well, you've only just found it out. Check back in a few hundred years and things might seem different compared to now." He parted from her mind, cutting off their psychic connection.

"What the hell was that about?" Jackie interjected, making them jump. They almost forgot about those three standing there, who looked at them with small smiles.

The Doctor looked between her and Clara awkwardly. "Well…we…I…"

Clara shook her head. "It's all right. We figured it all out now."

"Well then, I don't give a bleeding damn what you think, you two are staying here until she gets better."

"We weren't going to go anywhere." The Doctor defended, acting like a guilty kid trying to prove his innocence.

"Doesn't matter. Until she gets better, you two are staying." Jackie said. "Besides, me, Rosie and Mickey can't eat Christmas dinner by ourselves, now can we?" Jackie then left for the kitchen before Rose could retort.

"Looks like we're going to help her out." Rose said to Mickey as they left the room.

Clara looked at the Doctor and motioned to his state of dress. "You should fine something better to wear than…that."

He nodded. "I'll be right back. I'm sure the TARDIS can find me something nice."

"You could just change right here in front of me." She flirted.

The Doctor gave her a dark look. "I'm holding you to that." He said before leaving.

---

The Doctor stood inside the TARDIS wardrobe, gazing helplessly at the hundreds of options on display. Everything from flowered flannel shirts to raincoats, normal coats, fur coats, dress robes, suits, Victorian clothes, Shakespearian clothes, medieval armour, hell even a construction hard hat, which still confused him as to why it was there. The Doctor took out a glamourous, red shirt and tried it, scrunching his face in disgust at it. "Blimey, it's going to take ages to find something decent. What would Clara think? Would she like this?" He tried on a white shirt, with a blue coat and red scarf before shrugging. "Nah. That's for the old days." Come on, Doctor. What would Clara like-no, stop it. It's just clothes. He smacked his head with his hand to stop his inner conflict before flicking on a music box in the corner. "Something nice." He flicked through the many options before smiling at one choice, so he played it before returning to his browsing.

Well I woke up today

And the world was a restless place

It could have been that way for me

And I wandered around

And I thought of your face

That Christmas looking back at me

I wish today was just like every other day

Cause today has been the best day

Everything I ever dreamed

And I started to walk

Pretty soon I will run

And I'll come running back to you

Cause I followed my star

And that's what you are

I've had a merry time with you

The Doctor almost gave up with a childish sigh, but he pressed on. More flannel shirts, woman's dresses, woman's nightwear, thick winter coats. He searched and searched until one finally caught his fancy. A brown suit with blue pinstripes, a matching overcoat, and a pair of cream white Converse All Stars trainers. "Brilliant." He grinned, running off and changing quickly into his new clothes. As he finished, he stepped in front of the wardrobe mirror. Putting his hands in his pockets, he twirled around a tad, being pleased with his new getup. Then, he looked at his face. He ran a hand over his jaw, feeling his sideburns with a blink then ran his tongue over his new teeth. His hair was brown, just as Rose said, and had a messy, spikey attitude. He tried to brush it down, but it fought back and simply stayed where it was. Giving him a final once over, he muttered with a shrug, "I can work with this." Then, he turned and left the wardrobe.

---

As the Powell Estate was bathed in night, another new Christmas tree in the flat was lit up as Jackie, Clara, Rose, and Mickey raced around to prepare their Christmas dinner, complete with a steaming, stuffed chicken. Jackie and Clara placed the rest of the meal down, while Rose brought out all the glasses, cutlery, and plates while Mickey tried, albeit poorly, to carve the chicken.

"How long does it take for him to change?" Jackie asked.

"No idea." Clara shrugged, moving to pass a bottle of wine to Jackie, while she grabbed a cold glass of water. She took a long sip, feeling it cool and refresh her weary throat. It still burned, but the pain had long since dulled. Then the door to the flat opened and closed, the four turning to see the Doctor standing there in his new getup.

"So…what'd you think?" He asked Clara.

She smiled, flittering her eyes up and down his body appreciatively. "Foxy." She said simply, and he winked at her. The Doctor then took off his overcoat and laid it on the sofa, before moving to the table where they all sat. There was only five chairs at the table, so the Doctor improvised, sitting down at one and pulling a shrieking Clara into his lap.

"God can you guys please do the flirting in your own time?" Jackie asked with a groan, Rose nodding with her.

""Our own time"?" Clara giggled. "We haven't had much-"

"You know what I mean."

Mickey, to their confused eyes, stood up and raced from the room, before momentarily returning with a handful of Christmas crackers. "You can't have Christmas without these!" He exclaimed.

"Don't we know about it?" The Doctor said, sending Clara a wink. The Doctor and Clara took one in both their hands and pulled, Clara almost falling out of her seat as she received the reward. "Oh, bugger!" The Doctor retorted playfully.

"What'd I get?" Clara muttered, pulling out an orange hat. "Ooh! I like orange." She placed it on her head, noticing the Doctor gaining a thoughtful look. "What?"

"Nothing." He smiled.

"Come on, spill it. What were you thinking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "I got an idea."

"What idea?"

"Oi! It's a surprise! And it'd be spoilers if I revealed it!" He admonished.

Rose then picked up a cracker and handed one end to Jackie. They pulled, Rose receiving the award. "Oh!" Jackie groaned as Rose pulled out a pink hat.

"It's pink!" Rose awed. "Mum! It should be yours!" She placed the hat on her head, while Mickey grabbed the remote and flicked the TV on.

"Look!" Mickey pointed to the TV. "It's Harriet Jones." They turned to the TV, the Doctor blinking as he found he just couldn't read the words on the screen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of dark tortoise-shell rectangular frame glasses and put them on.

"Prime Minister is it true you're no longer fit to be in position?" A reporter asked an agitated Harriet.

"No. Now, can we talk about other things?"

"Is it true you're unfit for office?"

"Look, there is nothing wrong with my health. I don't know where these stories are coming from. And a vote of no confidence is completely unjustified."

The flat phone rang, Jackie getting up to answer it. "Are you going to resign?"

"On today, of all days, I'm fine. I'm fine. Look at me, I'm fine. I look fine, I feel fine."

"Aww." Clara mumbled. "I liked her."

"You wouldn't have liked what she did in the end." The Doctor grumbled.

Clara blinked. "What did she do?"

He sighed. "I'll tell you later." Clara turned her gaze to him, to encourage him to explain now, but she didn't. She just stared, a small blush growing on her face. "What?" He asked, moving to take his glasses off, but she stopped him.

"I'll kill you if you take those off." She whispered playfully, and he smiled.

"I'm not getting rid of them." She chuckled at that, allowing him to pocket the glasses.

Jackie returned into the room; the phone pressed against her shoulder. "It's Bev. She says, "Go and look outside"."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Just go outside and look. Come on, shift!" She clapped her hands, everyone moving to do as she said. They put on appositely warm clothing, the Doctor putting his overcoat back on as they exited the flat and descended the outside stairs to the ground floor of the Estate. Snow was falling all around them, already an inch of it covering the ground, creating a delicate crunching sound as they walked. They strolled along to the outside of the Estate, getting a more unobstructed view of the world around them. In the sky, amidst the darkness of night and the blowing of snow in the wind, they saw golden streams of light in the sky.

"Oh, that's beautiful." Rose awed. "What are they, meteors?"

"It's the spaceship, breaking up in the atmosphere." The Doctor explained as he and Clara stood side by side. "This isn't snow, it's ash."

Rose slouched her shoulders. "Okay…not so beautiful."

The Doctor carried on. "And this is a brand-new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now, everyone saw it. Everything's new."

"And what about you two?" Rose asked. "What're you up to next?"

"Well…back to the TARDIS, same old life. Why? Do you not want to travel anymore?" He asked.

"What? No." Rose said obviously. "I don't want to stop."

"You're very welcome to at any point." Clara agreed.

"Ugh, that's it. I'm done with you two, you drive me bonkers." Rose groaned, making them chuckle.

"You're never going to stay, are you?" Jackie asked sadly.

Rose slouched her shoulders, taking her Mum's hands. "Mum, there's just so much out there, so much to see. But I'm not leaving, okay? I'll always come back, even if I have to drag them down with me."

"You'd better." Jackie agreed. "Besides, I reckon you're mad, all three of you. It's like you go looking for trouble."

"Nah, come on, Jackie, trouble's just the bits in between!" The Doctor said with glee. "It's all waiting out there, and it's brand-new to me. All those planets and creatures and horizons, I haven't seen them yet, not with these eyes." He glanced down at Clara with a beaming grin. "And it is going to be…fantastic."

Clara smiled and hugged his side, leaning her head into him as he wrapped an arm around her. "Where are we going to first?" She asked.

"Umm…" He pointed a finger out to their right. "That way. No, hold on." He retracted again, moving the finger towards their left a bit more before nodding. "That way. What'd you think?"

"Time or space?" She asked.

"How about both?" They chuckled at that.

"Well, sorry to break up the moment, but we've got a chicken to finish." Jackie admonished. "And it's freezing out here, so come on!" They followed her and moved back towards the flat.

"Oh, by the way…" Rose started with a smirk.

"Don't you dare." The Doctor warned, Clara's gaze flickering back and forth with bewilderment.

"He got his hand chopped off in a sword fight." She grinned with her tongue in her teeth.

Clara's jaw dropped before it turned stern. "You didn't?"

"You're not going to hit me, are you?" He squeaked, making Rose, Mickey, and Jackie snort.

Clara sighed. After that regeneration energy hit, she was beginning to feel a bit tired again. "Maybe later."

He breathed out at that. "Okay, fair enough."

---

The entire group had feasted that night, devouring every morsel of food that was offered until they felt so tired, even Mickey decided to crash on the sofa for the night. The Doctor however, decided to carry Clara all the way back to the TARDIS and into their own room. They quickly changed into nightwear before snuggling into each other in the bed. Clara, to his surprise, whimpered and she drew closer to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I keep thinking at any moment, you'll leave." She said. She looked up at him as he cupped her cheek, her eyes were trying to fight off her sleep, but she was beginning to fail. "I've missed you." Clara said softly.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." He returned her tone, pulling her into a hug.

"I…" Her voice grew weary as well, her body slouching but she still tried to fight it.

"It's all right, Clara, you can sleep. I'll be right here where you need me." He said, and he drew her in tighter. He felt her relax and sigh, before her body calmed completely and the only sound that filled the room was her soft breathing as she drifted away. He kissed her forehead and leaned his head onto hers, before following her into the realm of Morpheus.

---

AN: Welcome to the TARDIS, David! *Squeals before clearing throat* Sorry. I do hope you managed to understand what I was trying to with Clara there, in order to keep her in the Doctor's life. I also didn't want to go with the whole "Clara is secretly a Time Lady" route, because it felt a tad gimmicky, so I hope this one made some form of sense. Anyway, I can't wait to start Season 2. Especially "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit". If it wasn't for "Heaven Sent", that two-parter would be my favourite Nu Who episode I've ever seen. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you wish. :)