18/01/2016
It was all my fault... their deaths. Her death. I should have never let her do it; never should have allowed her to help. I knew it was a lost cause, but she reminded me to so much of... I should have told her to run. We were surrounded. The murderers of so many had encircled our camp and we were left to fend for ourselves. All who ran were killed and those of us who remained, were not far from the same fate. We fought valiantly but in the end, only two of us stood. She wanted to take the final shot and how could I deny her of such a thing. Her aim, though perfect, was off and she too was taken. Another death to the fruitless war. I continued to fight, anger and despair covered me like a blanket. When the bullets ended, I collapsed to the ground. Salty tears ran down my cheeks as I thought of my platoon, of her... of him. Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander to his face. I'd never see it again; he was lost to me. With that thought, I let them take me, barely feeling the sting of death.
I jolted forward, disoriented to my surroundings, a part of me feeling as if I were still experiencing that nightmare. As my breathing began to slow, I realised I was in my room in the Tardis. A sob escaped me as the recent events returned to the forefront of my mind. A girl had died because I hadn't spoken up, because I didn't try hard enough. The tears that fell were beyond my control; they had to be shed. I pulled my legs to my chest, hugging them in an attempt to keep myself together. The nightmare that had woken me only added to the feeling of loss that I felt. After ten minutes had passed, I decided to take a bath. I quickly ripped my clothes off and turned the water on. Getting in, I hissed at how hot the water was. I refused to cool it down though, red skin was something I'd take, even if it wouldn't bring Gwyneth back.
I submerged myself in the water, letting it wash over my body. The burning sensation soon faded, leaving me numb. Finally resurfacing, I pushed my hair back and began to wash myself. Once that was done, I sat there thinking about everything I had seen in the time I'd spent with the Doctor. Death truly seemed to follow him like a shadow. There was no way to deny it. Yet, I enjoyed the adventures, the laughs, and the overall experience. Sighing, I got out the tub, looking down at my reddened skin. It would last for a while, not that it really mattered. I needed something to dull the pain I felt and it had helped just a bit. Once I had dried myself and put on clothes, I put on a smile and left the room hoping Rose or the Doctor wouldn't notice it was fake.
Halfway to the console room, the Tardis shuddered violently, almost throwing me to the floor. Once I had gathered my footing, I ran the rest of the way, and found my friends smiling at each other. "What happened?"
"We landed."
I rolled my eyes at Rose's obvious reply. I had already figured we'd landed since most of the landings were never smooth and there wasn't really anyone out in space that came after the Tardis. "Where?"
"Earth, London, you're home."
"Oh joy," I muttered flatly. The Doctor leaned against the Tardis while Rose walked out and looked around. After sharing a quick glance with the Doctor, I silently followed after her. I suppose it was nice to be home after all we'd seen. Besides, I did need to go back to my flat for some things, my medication specifically.
"How long have we been gone?"
"About twelve hours." I raised an eyebrow at him. Had it really been twelve hours since we'd last been home? It felt as if a year had flown by. Not quite believing the Doctor, but not wanting to question him, I shrugged and went along with his statement. We'd eventually find out whether or not it had been half a day.
"Oh. Right, I won't be long. I just need to see my mum. Are you coming Cerys or going home?"
"Uh, mum then my place."
"Great."
"What're you going to tell her?"
"I don't know? We've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours? No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Cerys' or Shareen's. See you later. Oh, don't you disappear," Rose said, pointing at the Doctor before pulling me along with her. We ran up to the Tyler flat and walked in. "We're back." Rose placed her keys on the table. "I was with-" I glared at her before she bothered to add me to that sentence. "Shareen. She was all upset again. Are you in? So, what's been going on? How've you been?" She stared at her mother for a moment. The expression on the woman's face was of utter shock, something that had me questioning whether we had really been gone for a night or not. "What? What's that face for? It's not the first time I've stayed out all night." We watched as Jackie's mug fell from her hand and smashed on the floor.
"It's you."
"Of course it's us."
"Oh, my God. It's you. Oh my God," she cried before she pulled Rose into a hug. Letting go of her, she latched onto me. That was when I spotted the several missing person posters on the table. From Rose's expression, I could tell she'd noticed them as well.
Not a moment later, the Doctor barged into the flat, a sheepish expression on his face. "It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months. You've been gone a whole year. Sorry." I glared at him, not really surprised but still upset. I never wanted Jackie to go through something like this because of me and she had thanks to the Doctor's shoddy driving. Jackie glared at the man before dragging us to the living room.
"Sit down. Both of you." We listened and the Doctor went to stand behind us. Rose and I knew how she was those rare occasions when she was angry and we did not want to make it worse. Soon, there was a policeman standing in the living room. He was writing down notes as Jackie went on. "The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you two were dead, and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that even mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer." She yelled at us before crossing her arms and turning to the officer. "You ask them. They won't tell me. That's all they say. Travelling."
"That's what we've been doing, Jackie."
"Your passport's still in the bookcase and Rose's in the drawer?" The woman snapped. "It's just one lie after another." I sighed. We couldn't exactly tell her where we'd been, she'd never believe us.
"We meant to phone. We really did. We just… we forgot."
"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"
I looked at the Doctor, catching his eye. I didn't know what to say to Jackie that would make her feel better but I was hoping he could. "Actually, it's my fault. I sort of, er, employed Cerys and Rose and my companions."
"When you say companions, is this a sexual relationship?" The officer asked. We all looked at each other before vehemently that it wasn't.
"Then what is it? Because you, you three waltzed in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, they vanish of the face of the Earth!" Jackie then turned to the Doctor. "How old are you, then? Forty? Forty five? What, did you find them on the Internet? Did you go on-line and pretend you're a doctor?"
"I am a Doctor." While I applauded the Doctor for clarifying the fact, I knew it would do nothing to placate the angry mother before us. Sharing a quick glance with Rose, the two of us knew that his comment was the tipping point of her anger. Jackie didn't like being lied to and hated it when Rose and I were keeping things from her. While she understood in some cases, the fact that we'd disappeared for a year was enough for her to go on about it... not that I blamed her or anything.
"Prove it. Stitch this, mate!" She slapped the Doctor with all the force she could muster, which happened to be a good amount. Rose and I looked down, not wanting to incur her wrath. He stood there for a moment, eyes wide as he stared blankly into space. In that time, Rose had followed Jackie to the kitchen. The officer left, saying he would return, leaving the Doctor and me alone. Not really wanting to be there knowing Jackie would call for me next, I turned to the Doctor.
"Come on. I'm sure you don't want to stay here. Besides, Rose needs to talk to her mum anyway."
"What about you?"
"She'll catch me some other time." I stood and walked to the front door. When I didn't hear him following me, I turned to see he was in the same spot, with the same dazed expression. "Do you want another slap from her?" He shook his head. "Then come on." This time he followed.
We walked the four blocks in silence, the only noise between us being a sigh. When we reached my flat, I led him to the nearly bare living room and had him sit. Once he had, I quickly went to my mess of a room to locate my medication. After what seemed like forever, I finally found them hidden in a little nook that was covered by a mass of clothes. As I tucked two bottles into my jacket pocket, I felt a pair of eyes on me. Turning around, I saw the Doctor leaning against the door-frame. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"What's that for?"
"Insomnia," I quickly lied. While I was sure he knew it wasn't quite the truth, I hoped he remembered what I had told him last time he tried to force information out of me; I didn't want to tell him just how messed up I was. "It's not a big deal." With a shrug, I glanced around my room, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Are you all right?"
"Yep. Never better."
"For some reason, I don't believe you." I said nothing in hopes of him leaving the topic. "Your room's nice." I nodded. "Homey. You spend most of your time here?" I nodded again and then walked out of the room. The tension in the room made it feel as if the walls were closing in on me and I had to escape. I quickly led the way out of the apartment, not caring to lock the door; no one would break in seeing as I had a bit of a reputation but I soon heard the sonic screwdriver and knew the Doctor had locked the door. As we walked, I felt a hand grab mine. I tried to snatch it back but it was in an iron hold. I turned around and faced the Doctor, my eyes blazed in anger.
"Let go of me."
"What's wrong?" Obviously he hadn't remembered that time in the Tardis I asked him to respect my privacy. I clenched my jaw, wanting to say so much more than I should. Why couldn't he just understand that I wasn't ready to talk, that I would never really be?
"Why would I tell you?"
"I could help."
"Why do you even care? I- It doesn't matter!" My eyes widened at what I had almost said. He couldn't know how I really felt; I just wanted him to leave me alone. Why did he feel the need to pry, to try and help me. I didn't ask for it. Hell, why did he even care! I was a nobody, nothing of importance while he was some amazing alien who travel through time and space saving people who truly needed it. What did he possibly see in me?
"Do you honestly believe that? Cerys, I hear you screaming every night. I'm sure it's been keeping Rose up as well. I just want to help you."
I don't want your help. I've been managing on my own."
"Oh yes, sure you have. Would you stop being so stubborn and tell me what's wrong with you."
"Just let me go, please." The Doctor looked at my tear streaked face and drew me into a tight hug. I collapsed into him, quickly wrapping my arms around his waist. While I was incredibly irritated with him, I was also grateful that he'd embraced me. The tears would not stop and I didn't try to force them back. It was too late for that; the floodgates had opened.
"I'm sorry." I nodded and pulled away, watching in shock as he wiped away the last of my tears. Without a word, I turned around and began to walk back to the Powell Estates, with my hand still in the Doctor's.
After the ten minute walk back to Rose's we found her sitting outside. When she saw us, she stood and began to lead us up the staircase. If she saw our intertwined hands, she said nothing, something that made me very happy. I was in no mood to deal with her comments or questions. Silently, the three of us made our way to the roof, and after shutting the door behind us, Rose and I sat on the gravel and stared out at the skyline.
"I can't tell her," Rose practically yelled as she paced in front of us. I barely paid her movements mind, she wasn't exactly obstructing my view. We'd both spent a few days in the very spot whenever we wanted to actually talk so the skyline was heavily engrained in my mind. "I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive us. And we missed a year. Was it good?"
"Middling," was the Doctor's offhandish reply. I glanced at him to see his gaze was on our still intertwined hands. I'd honestly forgotten about it; it felt comfortable, right even. When our eyes met, the Doctor gave me a small smile and my hand a gentle squeeze. Returning his with a half-hearted smile, I returned my attention back to the pacing blonde in front of us.
"You're so useless."
"Well, if it's that much trouble, are you going to stay here now?"
"I don't know. We can't do that to her again, though."
"Well, she's not coming with us."
Rose and I laughed at the thought. Jackie was a mother hen and she didn't like the Doctor as it was. Besides, I was quite sure she wouldn't have liked the adventure and near death experiences. Her coming along would be a disaster. "No chance." I nodded, agreeing with my blonde friend. There was no way Jackie could come with us.
"I don't do families."
"Cerys and I are family."
"You two are different." I raised an eyebrow at him but remained silent. I was quite curious to know how exactly Rose and I were different but unlike him, I was willing to leave this as it was. There was also the fact that I knew he probably wouldn't tell me anyways.
"She slapped you!"
"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."
I smirked. "First time for everything," I muttered, wondering if anyone else had probably slapped him around a bit. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of him getting hit by most of the women he encountered. He did seem to care very little for the emotions of others at times.
Since he was right beside me, the Doctor heard my comment and gave me a pointed if not playful glare. "Oi, you."
Luckily, Rose took his attention from me with her chortling. "Your face."
"It hurt!" he said covering his face with the hand that wasn't grasping mine. It confused me greatly as to why our fingers were still intertwined but I decided to just go along with it. He had his reasons and I for one was comforted by the gesture.
"You're so gay. Wait, when you say nine hundred years..."
"That's my age."
"You're nine hundred years old."
"Yeah."
"Mum was right. That is one hell of an age gap." Rose stopped pacing and walked to the edge. I watched her from my seat, listening to them talk. "Every conversation with you just goes mental. The only one I can talk to is Cerys. We've seen stuff up there, the size of it, and we can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet Earth who knows they exist."
"Well at least we have each other, right?" I smiled softly, knowing that she and I could make it through Hell and back together. This was just one other thing we had that separated us from other people.
As she was going to respond, there was the sound of a horn and we watched in awe as a spaceship flew past us. We ducked; if we had remained standing, it would have probably taken one of us with it. A trail of black smoke was left in its wake as the ship continued towards the city. It just narrowly missed the Tower Bridge, weaving around St. Paul's, and then it backfired and made a spluttering sound before it fell into the Thames, hitting Big Ben. As it made impact, the Clock Tower loudly chimed. We stood, watching the black smoke rise into the air. We then looked at each other, smiling. "Oh, that's just not fair." The Doctor started laughing excitedly before he grabbed Rose's hand and the three of us ran to the scene.
By the time we'd made it to the general area, the roads were flooded with people and the army had closed off the roads leading to the crash site, not that I could blame them. In their eyes, we'd made first contact with aliens... well, the aliens crash landed. "We're blocked off."
"We're miles from the centre," I added. "The city's probably gridlocked." I took another quick look around. No one was going anywhere by car and it seemed as if no one wanted to. Where we were was where all the action was. "The whole of London most likely closing down."
"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!"
"Is that your thing now? 'Fantastic'?" I smirked. The Doctor just rolled his eyes at me. He didn't really seem bothered by my quip, I suppose it was just the fact that I'd pointed it out. The man had said it more than a few times since our meeting and I felt it was starting to become a catchphrase of sorts.
"Did you know this was going to happen?" Rose questioned. The Doctor replied with a happy no. I heard Rose sigh before going on. "Do you recognize the ship?" Again her question elicited the same frustrating answer from the Time Lord. "Do you know why it crashed?" For the third time, his answer was a no, something that caused Rose to groan in irritation before folding her arms in front of her. "So glad we've got you."
"I bet you are. This is what I travel for, Rose and Cerys. To see history happening right in front of us." He was so excited and it kind of started to trickle down to us. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of aliens had arrived on Earth. It was quite nice not to see people running around screaming in fright for one thing. It wasn't normal, but they were all taking it in stride, which was something I was very proud of.
"Well, let's go see it. Never mind the traffic, we've got the Tardis," Rose suggested with a large grin.
"Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top." I nodded in agreement. People would be extra vigilant about things like that in such times and it would be a shame to lose the Tardis by doing something as stupid as moving her around in a high crisis time.
"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice."
"You'd be surprised. In times like this, everyone is watching."
"Exactly. Trust me. The Tardis stays where it is."
"So history's happening and we're stuck here."
"Yes, we are."
We looked out into the mass of heads, not really seeing anything from what had just occurred. "We could always do what everybody else does." The Doctor glanced at Rose a bit confused. "We could watch it on TV." He didn't look too excited about that but then again, he couldn't really do anything about it.
"Sounds good to me. Might not get everything but it'll be something." With that we decided to return to Rose's mine would have worked better, especially with the freedom to talk about whatever we wanted without prying ears, I lived a few blocks further from the centre than Rose did. The moment we walked through the door, we found that Jackie had thrown a welcome home party for us. She'd even bought wine and my favourite bottle of liquor, Jägermeister. Not saying much, the three of us plopped ourselves down on the couch, me joining only after I'd swiped my bottle from the kitchen counter.
The channel was tuned into BBC News 24 after we had finally gotten settled. "Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in central London. Police reinforcement are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchenson is at the scene. The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on the screen, right now if you're worried about friends or family." The channel was changed to AMNN. "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded." The channel was again changed, much to my dismay. I wanted to learn as much as possible but the frequent changes barely helped.
"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft." The channel was changed back to AMNN. "The President will address the nation live from the White House but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies." I groaned as the flat became crowded. I couldn't hear anything over the din and neither could the Doctor. I was growing more and more agitated by the second especially with the constant changing of the channel.
"Oi, I'm trying to listen," the Doctor snapped to the people who were talking a bit too loud. He was ignored for a moment but soon everyone had lowered their voices a few decibels and I was actually able to hear myself think.
"Oh, guess who asked me out. Billy Crewe," Jackie said to us, plopping down next to Rose a wine glass in hand. We nodded, not really listening.
"Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being-" the channel was changed to Blue Peter, a baking show.
"And when you've stuck your fins on, you can cover the whole lot in buttercream." Irritated, I was about to snap at the Doctor but saw that he was wrestling with a toddler for the remote. I couldn't help the smile that came to my lips as I watched him. The moment I realised I was smiling though, it quickly vanished and I was completely confused as to why I had been. Children were not my forte and finding people with children adorable was not something that I cared about. Figuratively shaking the thought from my head, I decided to watch the stupid baking show. "Oh, look at that. Then ice it any colour you want. Here's one I made a little bit earlier. And look at that, your very own spaceship ready to eat. And for something a little extra special-" the channel was changed back to the news after he had retrieved it from the kid.
"Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." The scene switched to outside of the hospital. "But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off. It's the closest to the river."
"Go on," the Doctor said to the child who then scurried off to his mum.
"I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."
The reporter was speaking from Downing Street, talking about something that I happened to miss as I zoned out. While this was exciting, I would very much rather to be there, seeing the alien rather than at home watching it on the telly and hearing second-hand and censored information. "On the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionary. With respect, hardly the most important person right now." I chuckled a bit and got up, deciding to go outside for air since it was way too crowded inside for me. Making sure to take my half empty bottle with me, I leaned against the railing and took in the fresh air, taking a swig every so often. A few minutes later, I heard someone leave the flat. I didn't bother to turn around, deciding that whoever it was wanted to be alone as well.
"And where to you think you're going?"
"Nowhere. It's just a bit human in there for me. History is happening and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price. I'm off to wander, that's all," I heard the Doctor reply. I smiled, knowing full well that he was going off to see the ship.
"Right. There's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just wandering." Rose obviously was thinking the same as me. I think he forgot that we knew him enough to know he was as curious as a cat. There was no way he could just sit around and let it be.
"Nothing to do with me. It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything. It's perfect."
"So?"
"So maybe this is it. First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race," the Doctor smiled. "I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand. You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."
"Promise me you won't disappear?"
I faced them and watched as he patted down his jacket, looking for something. "Tell you what," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. "Tardis key. It's about time you had one. See you later." With that, the man sauntered off, most likely heading to his ship.
"Are you coming in, Cerys?"
"No. I think I want to go home. Mum's been giving me the evil eye all night."
"You sure? You seem to be a bit drunk." I waved her off, telling her I was fine to ease her worries. Seeming to placate her, Rose nodded. "Okay then. I'll stop by later?"
"Stay with your mum. I'll be fine," I answered as I began to walk -stumble- down the stairs. Instead of going home, I ran to the Tardis, a bad move on my part since it helped to upset my stomach but whatever. The Doctor seemed to be walking at a pretty leisurely pace so I reached it a minute before him. I stood there, my back against the door with a smirk when he finally showed up and saw me.
"What are you doing here?"
"Bored."
"You should be with your family."
"I don't have a family, not really anyways. Besides, Jackie's still upset with me." I watched as the Doctor thought about it. Sighing, he let me come along. A smile plastered my face as we entered the Tardis. Within a minute, the Tardis was in flight, not a very stable one either which aggravated my stomach even more. I knew that by the end of the night, I'd have a date with the toilet. The Doctor was banging on the console with a hammer much to my dismay. "Hey, don't do that."
"Don't tell me how to fly my ship."
"I'm not but I'm pretty sure hitting the console with a hammer is going to help." He shot me a glare and turned back to what he was doing. Then he kissed the hammer. I rolled my eyes and sat on the lone chair, waiting for us to land. When we did, we found ourselves in a storage room with barely any room to move. I watched as he used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door. When it was opened, we stepped out. I immediately came to a stop when I saw we were in a room full of Red Berets, the Parachute Regiment. They stared at us, the Doctor pushing me behind him a bit. After a minute or so of awkward silence, they reached for their guns and aimed at us. Before a word could be spoken though, a scream pierced the air. The Doctor immediately grabbed my hand and began to run out of the room. "Defence plan delta! Come on! Move! Move!" he ordered as he led the men out of the room.
A while later, we found ourselves in the morgue. A young Asian woman was cowering behind a desk with a cut on her head.
"It's alive!" she gasped. I rushed over to her, trying to calm her down. Seeing a rag off to the side, I quickly grabbed it and began to clean her wound. It wasn't too bad, but I rather get it cleaned as she distracted.
"Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."
"My god. It's still alive." I gently shushed her, realising he was talking out of horror more than anything else. She might have actually started an autopsy on the poor thing. Still, that seemed unlikely since there was no blood on the table or floor, unless it didn't bleed.
"Do it!" the Doctor said before he joined me.
"What's your name?"
"Tosh."
"That's a nice name," I complimented as I added a bandage onto her cut. She winced a bit but that was all the response I received.
"Thank you. I swear it was dead."
"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. What does it look like?" I nudged his side, my way of saying he was being insensitive. Before he could reply, there was the sound of metal clanging. "It's still here." He looked at me, his eyes telling me to stay with Tosh. I nodded, not planning on leaving her until she had calmed down. Luckily she was smart enough to remain silent. I watched as he made his way to where the noise came from, crawling on his hands and knees. "Hello," he said to whatever it was. Suddenly I saw a pig run out of the room on its hind legs, wearing a spacesuit. I blinked a few times, hoping my eyes weren't playing a trick on me. I looked up at the Doctor, before getting up. "Don't shoot." We ran to down the corridor, just as we were close enough, I heard the sounds of a gun being discharged. I stopped, not wanting to see what had happened. "What did you do that for? It was scared!" The Doctor bent down to comfort it. "It was scared." I turned away, not wanting to look at the poor thing. I've always had a soft spot for animals and this was an act punishable by death in my eyes. I didn't look at the Doctor as he picked up the animal and brought it back to the mortuary.
Tosh stood by, a confused expression littered on her face as the Doctor explained that it was just a regular pig. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth."
"More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now someone's taken a pig, opened up its brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."
"That's horrible. When I find the person who did this, I'll-" I groaned. There was nothing I could do seeing how we didn't know who had put the poor animal through such torture. However, I was certain that when they were found, I would probably do something stupid and rash in my anger. I was never one to take the mistreatment of animals lightly. "Why would anyone do this?" The Doctor gave me no reply. Instead, he took my hand and led me out of the room and back to the Tardis. The moment the doors shut, he put her into flight, most likely returning to the Powell Estates.
"You all right?"
"No, I'm not. What that poor animal went through… nothing deserves that kind of treatment. Whoever did that was- is sick."
"I know, but whatever did that, was trying to draw attention away from themselves."
I stared at him for a moment, trying to push aside the emotional aspect of the situation. While it ached to do so, I knew it would only hinder the rational side of my brain and I really wanted to help the Doctor figure out who had done such a thing and why. "So it's an alien creating an alien to slip away."
"Exactly." The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Here you go. You need one as well. Knowing you though, it won't be used much." I looked at the key he had placed in my hand. Looking back at him, I happily thanked him and after placing the chain around my neck, I followed him out the Tardis.
Outside, we found Rose with her arms folded, Mickey, and Jackie staring at us, although Jackie's expression was more wide eyed, fearful than anything else. I suppose I could understand why that was. Right after aliens crashed into Big Ben she discovers why her daughters had been missing, that they'd been travelling with an alien all along. I really couldn't fault her for her shock.
"All right, so I lied. I went and had to look. Cerys decided to tag along even though I told her to stay. But the whole crash landing's a fake. I thought so. Just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben. Come on, so I thought, let's go have a look-"
"My mum's here," Rose stated, seeming to realise that the man hadn't even noticed Jackie's presence.
I watched as the Doctor looked from Rose to Jackie. "Oh, that's just what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic." I rolled my eyes at his quip but remained silent. There was no need for me to say anything, at least it wouldn't have mattered.
"You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you," Mickey said angrily.
"You see what I mean? Domestic." I stifled a laugh seeing as it wasn't really appropriate. It was horrible that I did but I couldn't stand Mickey for the life of me and the way he acted the last time we saw him only made my disdain for him worse.
"I bet you don't even remember my name."
"Ricky," he quickly snapped at the boy.
"It's Mickey."
"No, it's Ricky."
"I think I know my own name."
"You think you know your own name? How stupid are you?"
Seeing that Jackie had begun to back out of the Tardis, I moved to follow her. As I did so, I realised that Rose had noticed her mother's movements as well and before she could say anything to the woman, Jackie broke into a run, leaving us in the Tardis. "Mum, don't!" She turned to us. "Don't go anywhere. Don't start a fight!" With those words, she ran out herself. After a few minutes of awkward silence between the three of us, she finally returned. Her expression was slightly downcast but the moment she stood beside me, she turned her attention to the Doctor. "That was a real spaceship?"
"Yep."
"So it's all a pack of lies? What is it then? Are they invading?"
"Funny way to invade, putting the world on high alert," Mickey said, actually making sense to my surprise. All right, so it wasn't too surprising. I knew that he had some sort of a brain; although he was a mechanic, he was quite good with computers, especially hacking.
"Good point! So, what are they up to?"
I sat in the chair, my eyes following the Doctor's movements as he circled the console. It seemed as if he did that mainly out of boredom, but it could have been worry as well. Mickey watched looking more confused than anything. I knew it was a matter of time before he asked a stupid question. "So, what're you doing down there?"
"Ricky."
"Mickey."
"Ricky. If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"
"I suppose not."
"Well, shut it, then."
Mickey scowled and turned to Rose, ignoring me as usual. "Some friend you've got." As he said that, I went over to the Doctor, kneeling down beside him to watch what he was doing. The man gave me a quick smile before he returned to his task. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't want to distract him. Either way, it was nice to be near him.
"He's just winding you up." They looked at each other for a moment. "I am sorry."
"Okay."
"I AM, though." Rose replied, trying to make him see that she had indeed missed him. She truly had, having broached the topic with me a few times although she knew I didn't care much for him. Still, she had listened to me whenever I went on about something that had happened and it was only fair I returned the gesture, even if I was reluctant to do so.
"I missed you." I rolled my eyes at their exchange. I wanted Rose to be happy and he did that for her but Mickey was someone I thought she'd get over after a while, not stay with him for as long as she had. Besides, I'd noticed that in terms of their relationship, Rose was content and comfortable, while Mickey really had his heart in it.
"So, er, in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?" Rose tentatively asked.
"No." A small smile played on my lips from his response. They hadn't officially broken up and it was nice to know he had at least stayed faithful to her, even with their relationship in limbo. Still though, I couldn't help but feel as if there was another reason as to why he hadn't moved on so to speak.
"Okay."
"Mainly because everyone thought I murdered you."
My smile faded as Rose's face fell. "Right."
"Did you seriously just say that?"
"So, now that you've come back, are you going to stay?" Mickey questioned, inching closer to her and ignoring what I had asked. I knew they were probably going to kiss so I turned my attention back to what the Doctor was doing. I still had no idea as to what it was, but at least I didn't have to watch them make out.
"Got it! Ha, ha!" The Doctor laughed as he suddenly pulled himself from under the console, causing me to jump slightly. I quickly backed up and stood, impatiently waiting for him to tell us what exactly he'd done. I was quite curious since he had been under there since Rose had gone after Jackie.
When he hadn't said anything, I decided to just ask him. "What'd you do?"
"Patched in the radar, looped it back to twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship." I walked over to him and leaned on his shoulder as I glanced at the monitor. It was supposed to show the ship's path but the screen was blank. When he realised that as well, the Doctor slammed his hand against the monitor. "Come on." When it finally worked, he shot me a quick smile before pointing at the diagram. "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See?"
"Wait, the ship came from Earth," I asked, slightly amazed by the effort the real aliens had put into the scheme. Still, it didn't make sense as to why they would do all of that. Sure it diverted the attention from them but in the end, it was discovered that the "alien" in the ship was nothing but an Earth animal.
"Yep. The spaceship did a slingshot around the Earth before it landed."
"What does that mean?" Rose asked, her attention finally moving from Mickey.
"It means it came from Earth in the first place. It went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"
I shrugged, thinking about it. There had been no talk about aliens since we arrived or before the ship crashed into Big Ben. Their arrival was obviously something they wanted kept secret. What I was more curious about was their reasons for coming to Earth. It didn't make sense to me at all. I sighed, getting the Doctor's attention. "Maybe the crash was meant to cause a frenzy... lead to something bigger?" When no one responded, I quietly excused myself to my room. While I was sure the Doctor didn't want to be alone with Rose and Mickey, I was aware that they didn't really need me around, and in the end, the Doctor would figure things out.
Finally reaching my room, I plopped down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. My mind was racing as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened since Rose and I had begun travelling with the Doctor. My thoughts instantly went to Gwyneth and the pig. Tears prickled my eyes as I thought of how the innocents almost always ended up in the crossfire, always ended up dead, whether it was from my time with the Doctor or before we even knew he existed. I groaned, finally letting the happy façade fade; I was nowhere near happy. If I were to be honest, I was a mess. Along with the nightmares, the thoughts of inadequacy returned, as did the numbing feeling I'd felt for the majority of my life. Remembering that things I'd taken from my flat, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two pill bottles. True I had my sleeping pills but I'd also brought my anti-depressants knowing it was only a matter of time before I would need them. At the bottom of that bottle, under a cotton ball, were two brand new blades. Taking in a deep breath, I debated whether or not I wanted to remove one. I wanted the numbness to go away but I didn't want to explain anything to Rose if she saw the scars, and I definitely didn't want to explain it to the Doctor. He was already asking me how I was whenever he had the opportunity and I doubt I would be able to look him in the eyes if he saw the aftermath of a "session". My method of coping would only make things worse for us all. Making my decision, I placed the bottles in between the mattress and the bedframe, knowing no one would go through my things.
Pulling myself up from the comfortable bed was a bit of a feat but when I finally managed, I decided to return to the console room. When I reached it, I found the Mickey and Rose channel hopping on the scanner. From the other side of the console, the Doctor glanced at me, his eyes scanning, looking for any sign of something being wrong. To dispel any worry, I quickly plastered a smile on my face, one I was sure looked incredibly forced. "Hey. Any progress?" The Doctor smiled at me and shook his head before he returned to what he was doing. I went and sat on the chair. I watched as Mickey pushed in between them.
"How many channels do you get?"
"All the basic packages."
"Do you get the sports channels?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "Because that's all you can think about Mickey Smith, sports. Why don't you try asking something of substance? Or maybe, you should just keep quiet," I snapped. The three of them looked at me, well, Mickey glared, but said nothing. Rose looked back at the screen, hitting Mickey so that he did the same. She seemed to realise that there was something bothering me and her boyfriend's presence was only adding to my irritation. The Doctor on the other hand crossed his arms and stared at me for a while longer. I looked away, afraid to meet his gaze; I wasn't ready for him to question me. Besides, what could I tell him, that I could feel myself slowly slipping into a depressed state? That would go over horribly, especially if Rose knew. She already babied me enough.
"Yes, I get the football," he responded, finally looking away, averting his eyes back to the screen as he seemed to see something that piqued his interest. "Hold on, I know that lot." He pointed. I got up and stood by him so that I could see what he was talking about. I furrowed my brows in confusion as we watched a group of people walk down a corridor.
"Who are they?" Rose asked.
"UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people."
"How do you know them?"
"'Cos he's worked for them," Mickey smugly replied causing me to roll my eyes. He seemed so proud of himself for knowing something Rose and I didn't. "Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead."
I looked at Mickey and then the Doctor. He met my eyes for a split second and then turned away with a smile plastered on his face. "That's nice. Good boy, Ricky," he said as if he were praising a dog. I couldn't help but grin at that. While Mickey thought he was being impressive, Rose and I were aware of the death thing... Clive had told us about it when we first met the Doctor and we had witnessed it ourselves. To me, it didn't matter. I wouldn't give up the travelling for anything.
"If you know them, why don't you go and help?"
"They wouldn't recognize me. I've changed a lot since the old days." The Doctor moved around the console, turning knobs, pulling levers, and pressing buttons. I watched him, again curious as to what he was doing. I knew he wasn't going to move the Tardis since everyone was in a tizzy and I knew he wouldn't really share, I decided to wait a bit to see what he had in store. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the Tardis out of sight." He turned to Mickey, catching his attention. "Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving."
"Where to?"
"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." I smiled, excited once again. As much as I hated what they did to that poor pig, I wanted to check out the spaceship and who/what had caused such a commotion, I guess you could say the Doctor was rubbing off on me. As we began to exit the Tardis, I bumped shoulders with Rose, giving her a smile before letting her walk in front of me.
As we left the Tardis, I noticed the giant spotlight that was on us, as well as the armed men in black surrounding us. Smirking, more so out of amusement at the situation, I nudged the Doctor. "What were you saying about going undercover?"
"Do not move! Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads," a voice said as police cars and armoured personnel carriers surrounded us. Red Berets ran towards us, guns in hand and ready to fire, at least that was my assumption. I crossed my arms and glared at the men, not seeing the need for so much heat. It wasn't like we were murderers or extremely dangerous criminals that'd escaped. From the corner of my eye, I saw Mickey take off in the opposite direction with some officers rushing after him. I rolled my eyes at his cowardice, not really surprised by the action but still disappointed that he'd only looked out for himself and hadn't even thought of Rose.
"Rose! Cerys!" I whipped my head around at the sound of her voice and saw that she was running towards us. Before she even came close, two men grabbed her arms and held her back. That didn't keep her from putting up a fight in her urge to get to us; the two men were struggling to keep a grasp on her. "Girls!"
"Raise your hands above your head," the same officer repeated. "You are under arrest." My arms stayed crossed. If they were really going to arrest us, they would have already done it, at least from my experience. I watched as the Doctor smiled like an idiot and happily raised his hands while Rose was more hesitant but did so as well.
"Take me to your leader," the Doctor said. I rolled my eyes at him before, punching his arm; now was not the time to act like an idiot. He shot me an irritated scowl before he lowered an arm so that he could rub the one that I hit.
"Seriously? Do you want to get shot?!"
"I'm just having some fun."
"Yeah, it's all fun until you're dead on a slab," I retorted as we were piled into a police car, me going in first and the Doctor last. Considering how he was acting, I was kind of glad Rose was the buffer. I'd have probably hit him a few more times, especially if he kept saying things that led him closer to being a lab rat (not that I thought he'd let that happen to himself) but still.
"Keep the domestics to yourself."
I sat forward and glared at him, slowly feeling my anger begin to grow. "I beg your pardon? You're the reason they're here, space man."
"Oi, no one said you had to come along."
"Oh, you wanted me to come along. You want someone to show off to."
"That's what Rose's for," he said as if it were a fact. The anger I'd been feeling with him seemed to spike and I noticed that Rose was shaking her head as if she couldn't believe he'd said something that stupid.
"Oh, so I'm just the third wheel?" I asked, seething. My anger was well past the 'safety zone' and I knew it was only a matter of time before I said something stupid myself and as much as I wanted to, I knew it wasn't right nor would it make me feel better.
"I didn't say that."
"You meant it."
"I didn't. I was just saying-" I held my hand up, cutting him off. I didn't want to hear anything else from him; I'd had enough and to be honest, my feelings were hurt, as much as I didn't want to admit it. I felt bad for Rose, seeing as she was seated between us. I glanced at her and saw that she was incredibly annoyed. While I wasn't sure what had irritated her, I tapped her hand, and gave it a quick squeeze as a silent apology. She squeezed back, letting me know that she had forgiven me.
The car ride was silent for the first five minutes since none of us wanted to speak, at least me not to the Doctor and I think he'd realised that I'd shoot down any attempt at him speaking, at least to me. Seeming to have enough of the silence, it was Rose who thankfully broke the silence. "This is a bit posh. If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago." I chuckled at her. This was nowhere close to being arrested; this was an escort. We'd have on handcuffs if we were being taken in.
"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted."
"Where to?"
"Where'd you think?" Downing Street," the Doctor laughed happily. It seemed as if he were getting what he wanted; he'd get to see his old friends as well as do some more investigating. I figured I'd just go off on my own and see if I could find things out myself; it was either that or sit around doing nothing until the Doctor had solved the 'mystery'. It wasn't like she was needed; he had Rose.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not."
"10 Downing Street?" Rose was as excited as a kid in a candy shop and just as disbelieving as one would be if told they could have as much as they wanted, not that I could blame her. It was the Prime Minister's office and a source of so much history, not that Rose was interested in that bit.
"That's the one."
"Oh, my God. I'm going to 10 Downing Street? How come?"
"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right." He scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish expression crossing his face. "Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."
"Now they need you?"
"Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?"
"Patrick Moore?" I snorted at her teasing. It was something I might have said if I were talking to him and it was nice to see her deflate his massive ego a bit. It had become a slight annoyance to me... although that could probably be due to the fact that I'd been upset with him for a while.
"Apart from him?"
"Oh, don't you just love it."
"I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table." Rose laughed at him and I almost did as well, having that visual in my mind. I hadn't even thought about the Doctor drinking and now that we knew he did, I was curious to know how much alcohol it would take to get him drunk. Whenever I decided to speak to him again, I wanted to find out. "Who's the Prime Minister now?"
"How should we know? We missed a year."
When we finally reached Downing Street, the Doctor quickly exited the car, waving and putting on a show for the cameras. I rolled my eyes and covered my face as Rose laughed at him a bit before staring off into the sea of journalists. Seeing that she needed a bit of a push, I grabbed her hand and pulled her along as she went on to 'oh my god'. She was still in awe at the fact she was at 10 Downing Street.
Entering the building, we were directed to a waiting room that was full of people. I couldn't help but wonder who all the people were and what their positions were; not everyone could be someone important. As people watched, I was an older woman with mousy brown hair show her ID to an armed officer before she walked in. She skulked around the room, seeming to be looking for someone or hiding from someone. After a few minutes, a man came up and called for our attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." As everyone began to enter the room he'd pointed out, the man came over to us and handed one to the Doctor. "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."
"I don't go anywhere without them," he said, pinning the ID to his jacket.
"You're the Code Nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor." He seemed a little worried that he had the wrong person so he went to specify. "It is the Doctor, isn't it?" The Doctor gave him a curt nod. "They'll have to stay outside."
"They're staying with me."
"Look, even I don't have the clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."
"It's all right. You go," Rose told him. He looked at her and then me almost searching for us to tell him to bring us along. Our eyes met for a second before I looked away, crossing my arms. I was still upset and while I knew I was being petty, I didn't care. Honestly, I didn't mind not being a part of the secret meeting. The experts could handle the situation and maybe with them all together, it would be solved a lot quicker.
The woman I had watched enter earlier came over, looking at us. "Excuse me. Are you the Doctor?"
"Sure?" Rose nodded.
"Not now. We're busy," the man, who I figured was the secretary, snapped. "Can't you go home?"
I glared at the man but remained silent. It wasn't that I had nothing to say, but the fact that I really didn't want to bring attention to myself. Amazingly, the woman ignored the secretary and turned to the Doctor, trying to get his attention. "I just need a word in private."
"I suppose so. Don't get into any trouble," the Doctor said, almost hesitantly, before he walked into the room. I rolled my eyes at his blatant rudeness and apologized to the woman.
"He wasn't brought up with manners."
The secretary looked between the older woman and me before he (again) rudely addressed her. "You haven't got clearance. Now leave it." He turned to Rose and me. "I'm going to have to leave you both with security."
"It's all right," the woman said, interrupting the secretary. "I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." Before the man could respond, she latched onto our arms and dragged us out of the lobby. "Walk with me. Just keep walking." We kept going until we reached the entrance hall. "That's right. Don't look round." When we were a good distance away, she turned to us and flashed an ID card. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." Rose and I shared a quick glance, curious as to what the woman wanted. We both knew she was interested in the Doctor, as to why was the one thing we were soon to discover. "This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?"
"Why do you want to know?" Rose asked. With that question Harriet began to cry. I awkwardly patted her shoulder, unsure on how to handle a crying woman until she had calmed down. She quickly thanked me before she continued down the hall, leaving Rose and me to follow her until we reached the Cabinet Room.
"They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!" By the looks we gave her, she must have figured we thought she was mad. When she began to defend herself, I raised my hands in surrender and Rose decided to tell her that we understood.
"It's all right. I believe you. It's- it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it." Rose began to look around while I continued to comfort Harriet. As she opened a closet, the body of a man fell out. I stood and walked over, looking at it horrified. I mean, the aliens were already on my shit list after what they did to the pig, but I understood why they did it. As for killing the man, I couldn't think of anything other than he stood in their way.
"Oh, my god! Is that the-"
Before Rose could finish her sentence, the secretary entered the room. "Harriet, for God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander." He stopped scolding her when he saw the crumpled body on the floor. "Oh, my god. That's the Prime Minister!" My eyes widened at his words. The aliens had killed the Prime Minister, that made sense. With him gone, they could do whatever they pleased, especially if they were using bodies as suits. In the right body, they'd have one of their own to be acting Prime Minister until they were discovered. Although, hiding a body in a cupboard wasn't the best idea.
"Oh! Has someone been naughty?" a stout blonde woman asked as she slowly walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Everything about her screamed danger to me and the evil glint in her eyes did nothing to deter the thought that she had something to do with what had happened. I quickly grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her back, trying to get us as far from the woman as we could without her realising.
"That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!" the man said ignorantly. It was as if he couldn't believe that his boss was lying on the floor dead, even with the body in plain view. I watched as she smiled at him, as if she were taking pleasure in his disbelief. Maybe she was; she seemed like the type.
"And who told you that, hmm? Me," she admitted as she reached for her hairline. A blue light filled the room and she began to unzip the skin she was in and remove it, much to my disgust. When the skin was gone, a green monster stood in her place. It had big black eyes, a large silver-ish collar, sharp as knives nails, a bit of a stomach, and stood at about seven feet. Before any of us could blink, she grabbed hold of the man's neck and pinned him against the wall, digging her claws into him, drawing blood. The three of us stared at the creature in shock and horror. We watched her kill the man until…
TO BE CONTINUED