23/01/2016
As the creature was engulfed in some sort of electrical current, the man fell to the ground with a soft thud. We took the opportunity to run. Upon getting halfway down the hall, Harriet stopped, looking a bit distraught. "No, wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them." I turned to her in disbelief. We were about to be murdered and she was worried about stupid protocols. She raced back but quickly turned around as the green monster barrelled into view. Wanting to get as far away from them as possible, the three of us took off in a mad dash, going through various rooms in the hopes of losing the green monsters.
The running came to an end we came to locked door. Rose tried to open it, to no avail, while I searched for something to defend us against the alien. Just as the aliens came into views, the elevator dinged. I looked up and saw the Doctor standing there with his hands behind his back and a smug smile on his face. "Hello!" He caught my eye for a moment before he looked away, pressing his sonic screwdriver against the panel. As he did that, Harriet and Rose pulled me down the corridor. I was slightly grateful for his presence since he had distracted the creature enough for us to make our escape.
After a bit more running, we found ourselves in a large sitting room. There was a large settee, drinks cabinet, and a folding screen by the window to keep out the draughts. "Hide!" Rose exclaimed as she ran behind the cabinet. Harriet opted for the screen and I ran to the curtains. Just then, the alien we'd encountered entered the room.
"Oh, such fun. Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humey-kins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips." I scowled in disgust. Who in their right mind would want to go anywhere near the thing? My heartbeat quickened when the curtain suddenly moved. Thinking it had found me, I prepared to defend myself. Much to my relief, it was just Rose. We shared a small smile and grabbed each other's hand, hoping we wouldn't be found.
It seemed as if no time passed when I heard two sets of feet enter the room. If there were more of them, then we were screwed. "My brothers." I glanced at Rose who's worried expression mirrored mine. There was no way we would be able to slip past three of them, especially since we had such a difficult time getting away from the first, and were still found.
"Happy hunting?"
"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink."
"Sweat and fear."
"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones."
"And two ripe youngsters, all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before they snap," the female said as she pulled back the curtain. Rose screamed and I jumped in front of her. As silly as it might have sounded, I truly rather she escape; she had more to live for. "Oh, look at this. Such an endearing trait. This one will be last," she said as she reached for me. Just then, Harriet jumped from her hiding place.
"No! Take me first! Take me!" I glanced at her in admiration and some disappointment. I was content to die for them- Rose- to live. I didn't want Harriet for give up her life for us. The creatures began to move towards her but before they had made any real distance, the Doctor charged in with a fire extinguisher and quickly sprayed them.
"Out, with me!" Rose and I pulled the curtain over the female alien before running to the Doctor. We shared a smile of relief as Harriet joined us. A moment passed before the Doctor seemed to realise that Harriet was with us. "Who the hell are you?"
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."
"She almost died to save us, Doctor," Rose piped up.
"Well then, nice to meet you."
"Likewise." The Doctor shook the extinguisher before tossing it to one of the aliens when it had been used up. Without a word, we all raced into the corridor. I wanted to get as far away from those creatures as I could. It wasn't that their appearance was frightening but that they were probably the most dangerous aliens we'd encountered so far. It was both exhilarating and daunting.
"We need to head to the Cabinet Room."
"The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."
"Harriet Jones, I like you."
"And I like you," she replied.
"That's great but we still have those things chasing us," I snapped before I really took off, leading them back to the Cabinet Room. I couldn't understand why the Doctor's statement irritated me, but I wanted to get this adventure over with as quickly as possible so that I could return to the comfort and solitude of my room.
As we ran, three of the creatures barrelled after us. When we finally reached it, the Doctor soniced the door and grabbed a bottle from the side table and stood in the doorway as they approached. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off." The creatures took a step back into the outer office, an action that seemed to placate the humanoid alien with us.. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
"They're aliens," Harriet stated.
"Yes. I got that, thanks."
"Who are you, if not human?" the Slitheen asked the Doctor. I stood back, deciding that I needed to sit. All the running had tired me out a bit... and I didn't want to be too close to the door. I had no idea what the Doctor was planning but whatever it was, he'd be quite obvious with it.
"Who's not human?"
"He's not human."
Harriet stared at Rose with wide eyes when she learned that fact. I let out a small amused chuckle. I suppose to most he seemed like any normal bloke. It was interesting. He did seem to act human on most occasions, although there were other times where it was blatant he wasn't one of us. Still, besides the fact he looked like us, he did a pretty good job passing for a human, even though I was quite sure it wasn't a conscious or intentional thin. "He's not human?"
"Can I have a bit of hush?"
"Sorry."
"So, what's the plan?"
"But he's got a Northern accent."
"Lots of planets have a north."
"I said hush." Both Rose and Harriet quickly apologised. Satisfied, the Doctor returned his attention back to the Slitheen. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"
"Why would we invade this god-forsaken rock?"
"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"
"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."
"So, you're family."
"A family business," Jocrassa proudly replied.
"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a 'god-forsaken rock'?"
"Ah, excuse me?" Another interrupted. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"
"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked. I rolled my eyes at him. Of course he'd say that. The man could be utterly thick at times. If he didn't think of something soon we'd all be Slitheen food, something I had many objections to. It wasn't the way I wanted to go. But still, I trusted the Doctor enough not to say anything.
"You're making it up."
He shrugged. "Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it." He tried to hand it to her but she was clutching a red box.
"You pass it to the left first."
"Sorry."
Rose took it from him. "Thanks."
"Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."
"Don't you think we should run?" Rose asked as if it were obvious.
Instead of answering, the Doctor crossed his arms. "Fascinating history, Downing Street. I'm sure you know all about it Cerys." I rolled my eyes at him. "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." I watched as he lifted a small panel by the door and pressed the button. Within mere seconds, metal shutters covered the windows and doors. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."
"And how do we get out?"
"Ah." I stood and began to walk around the room. Tears began to well up and my anger seemed to boil over. I wanted to leave the room, to get away from everything but there was no real way of getting out of there. We were stuck and there was nothing we could do about it. It was either stay in the room or go outside and die. As I wiped away a stray tear, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned into the body. Half of me wanted it to be the Doctor but the other didn't. To my happiness, it was Rose.
"We'll get out of here. I know we will."
"I don't care about that," I whispered. I could see the Doctor curiously watching us and I really didn't want him to know what we were talking about. It was bad enough I was about to spill some things to my best friend. "It's just so much. Rose, it seems as if everything is crashing down on me. I thought I was fine but I'm not. It's coming back and I don't know if it'll go away." I looked up at my best friend and saw the worry in her eyes. I was normally stronger, never admitting anything but here I was dumping my emotions onto her. She had enough to worry about.
"I'm here for you and I'm sure the Doctor is too."
I quickly shook my head. "He can't know. He'll leave me behind."
"No, he wouldn't. I wouldn't let him," she smiled. I nodded and returned the smile as I thanked her. Hearing the sound of something moving across the floor, we turned to see the Doctor dragging the secretary's body into a store room, the same one the Prime Minister was in.
"What was his name?"
"Who?"
"This one. The secretary or whatever he was called."
"I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." Harriet seemed guilty when she admitted that. I felt it as well. I'd spoken to him and it wasn't too much to ask, but I hadn't. It was something I notice the Doctor did a lot and I could understand why. The adventures were dangerous and survival wasn't guaranteed. People always ended up dying and knowing their names meant that they'd always be remembered.
"Sorry," he said to the body before getting up and leaving the closet. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?"
"No. This place is antique. What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?" Rose asked.
"He's too slim. They're big old beasts. They need to fit inside big humans." He walked around running the sonic screwdriver on the walls.
"But the Slitheen are about eight feet. How do they fit inside?"
"That's the device around their necks. Compression field. Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."
"Wish I had a compression field. I could fit a smaller size." I nudged her, shaking my head at her ill timed joke. People had died and it wasn't the smartest move on her end.
"Excuse me, people are dead! This is not the time for making jokes."
"Sorry. You get used to this stuff when you're friends with him," Rose apologized.
"Well that's a strange friendship."
"Harriet Jones. I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?" the Doctor questioned.
"Oh, hardly."
"Rings a bell. Harriet Jones?"
"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs."
"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" I smirked at Rose. Leave it to her to choose something that could leave more than the Slitheen dead. I watched as the Doctor stood there, listening to them talk and thinking.
"You're a very violent young woman."
"Thank Cerys." I lightly punched her arm and moved back to the chair. "Besides, I'm serious. We could."
"Well, there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."
"Say that again," the Doctor said, moving to the table.
"What, about the codes?"
"Anything. All of it."
"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."
I stood and moved to lean on the wall. As Harriet finished her statement, I snorted bring the attention of everyone to me. "As if that's stopped them before."
"Exactly, given our past record. And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"
"Everything's important."
"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me. I'm saying Slitheen as if it's normal."
"What do they want, though?"
"Well, they're just one family, so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World."
"They want to make money," I said, interrupting the Doctor. He nodded in agreement and then motioned for me to continue. "Maybe they need something, something that can only be found on Earth. I mean, we have some things that are only found on our planet."
"Like what, gold? Oil? Water?"
"You're very good at this."
"Thank you."
The Doctor stared at her for a moment. "Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?" Before he could continue, Rose's phone beeped alerting us all of a text message.
"Oh, that's me."
"But we're sealed off. How did you get a signal?"
"He zapped it. Super phone."
Harriet turned to the Doctor, a hopeful expression on her face. "Then we can phone for help. You must have contacts."
"Dead downstairs, yeah."
"It's Mickey."
"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."
"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all," Rose said as she held up her phone. The screen showed a picture of an electrocuting Slitheen. He must have taken the picture when the one with us was going through the same thing. Rose quickly called him, asking him about it. "Is she alright though?" I instantly knew she was asking about her mum. "Don't put her on, just tell me." Mickey must have answered but I was unsure since after she had asked, the Doctor snatched the phone from Rose's hand.
"Is that Ricky? Don't talk. Just shut up and go to your computer." The Doctor was quiet for a moment, listening to him speak. "Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, er, I need you." That seemed to have gotten Mickey to do what the Doctor asked. The Doctor removed the phone from his ear and plugged it into the conference phone speaker. "Say again."
"It's asking for the password."
"Buffalo. Two F's, one L."
"So, what's that website?" I heard Jackie ask in the distance.
"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark." Well of course they would, why would the government tell the world of the existence of aliens? It'd cause panic.
"Mickey, you were born in the dark."
Rose glared at the Doctor. "Oh, leave him alone."
"Thank you. Password again."
"Just repeat it every time."
"Big Ben- why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"
"You said to gather the experts, to kill them."
"A lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."
"The Slitheen are hiding, but they put the entire planet on Red alert. What would they do that for?"
"They want the Red Alert," I replied. " If everyone is panicked, they can get just about anything they want."
"Oh, listen to them," Jackie grumbled.
"At least we're trying!"
"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind. Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughters disappeared of the face of the Earth."
"I told you what happened."
"I'm talking to him. 'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor and maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this. Are my daughters safe?"
"We're fine," I piped up.
Jackie went on as if she hadn't heard me. "Are they safe? Will they always be safe? Can you promise me that?" The Doctor was quiet for a moment, looking at us. "Well, what's the answer?"
"We're in," Mickey said loudly. He had probably taken the phone back from her. His interruption had also saved the Doctor from answering Jackie, something I was very relieved of. I wasn't sure as to why, but I didn't want to know what his response would be. Rose and I both knew the dangers of travelling with the Doctor, and he was aware of that. I wasn't sure if he was going to lie or tell Jackie the truth.
"Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that."
"What is it?"
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying."
"He'll have to answer to me one day," Jackie muttered from a small distance.
"Hush!"
"It's some sort of message."
"What's it say?"
"Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating." I then heard a doorbell ring from over the phone. "Hush!" I rolled my eyes at the Doctor as I heard Mickey send Jackie to go answer it, something I thought was pretty stupid but I said nothing. "It's beaming out onto space, who's it for?" In the distance I heard Jackie scream. As she got closer to the phone, I heard her say something about a Slipeen. I looked at the Doctor and Rose. Rose was terrified; the three of us knew that they'd been found.
"They've found us," Mickey said.
"Mickey, I need that signal."
"Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! Get out!"
"We can't. It's by the front door." Mickey was silent all except for his breathing. "Oh, my God, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us."
"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet exclaimed facing the Doctor. "You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!"
"I'm trying!"
"I'll take it on, Jackie. You just run. Don't look back. Just run!" We then heard the sound of the door breaking.
"That's my mother."
"Right, if we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet." The Doctor made his way to the end of the table. Rose and Harriet followed him while I turned my body to face him. "So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"
"They're green."
"Yep, narrows it down."
"Good sense of smell."
"Narrows it down."
"They can smell adrenalin." I nodded at what both women said. They had a wonderful sense of smell and had been able to smell us. I couldn't help but wonder where they came from. While Rose and I haven't encountered too many aliens, I still couldn't help but wonder if we had encountered a similar species. It seemed as if we had, but the memory kept escaping me. Shrugging it off, I returned to the conversation.
"The pig technology."
"Narrows it down."
Realising something, I spoke up. "You said that their spaceship has a slipstream engine?"
"Narrows it down."
"It's getting in!" Mickey yelled.
"They hunt like it's a ritual."
"Narrows it down."
"Wait a minute." Our heads snapped to Harriet. "Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, er-"
"Bad breath!" Rose excitedly added.
"That's it!"
I looked at the Doctor a thought quickly coming to me. It all sounded so familiar and while I didn't know why, I knew it was something that could help. "Wait, wouldn't that be calcium decay?"
He smiled. "Now, that narrows it down!"
"We're getting there Mum!"
"Too late."
"Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium. What else? What else? Hyphenated surname. Yes! That narrows it down to one planet. Raxacoricofallapatorius!" The Doctor said excitedly.
"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter," Mickey sarcastically replied.
"Get into the kitchen!"
"My God, it's going to rip us apart!"
"Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!"
"Just like Hannibal!"
"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"
"How should I know?"
"It's your damn kitchen," I shouted in disbelief. How the hell could someone live somewhere without knowing where all their belongings were.
""Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf," Rose told him. I looked at her and said nothing. She was probably the one who put it there. He relied on her way too much for his own good. We'd only just gotten back. He had a year to move things around and he hadn't. I couldn't help but wonder how long the vinegar had been sitting in the cupboard.
"Oh, give it here." Jackie took the phone. "What do you need?"
"Anything with vinegar!"
We could hear thing moving around as she held onto the phone. "Gherkins. Yeah, pickled onions. Pickled eggs."
The Doctor turned to Rose with a slightly disgusted look on his face, an expression I mirrored. "And you kiss this man?" Rose rolled her eyes at the question. It was a valid point. I could only hope he brushed every time he ate one of the aforementioned vinegar products.
"Hannibal?"
"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar," Harriet explained.
"Oh. Well, there you go then." We each picked up a glass of port and toasted the moment, happy we had saved Mickey and Jackie. As we downed our drinks, we heard the TV in the phone's background.
"Listen to this," Mickey said. The voices got louder, telling us that he put the phone to the speaker. I moved closer to the table so that I could hear better. The action in turn brought me closer to the Doctor, something that was more comforting than I'd like to say, especially when his hand grasped mine for a quick moment. I tried not to react to it, bit I found myself staring at him from the corner of my eye, at least until Rose caught me. Then my eyes were solely on the phone.
"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds."
I looked at the Doctor, not caring if Rose saw, my face scrunched in confusion. There'd been no search, nor were there any weapons of mass destruction. He didn't look at me but he whipped his head to the speaker, leaning over it with Rose and Harriet. "What?"
"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."
"He's making that up, right?" I asked him.
"There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it," the Doctor answered, confirming my thoughts.
"Do you think they'll believe him?"
"They did last time," Rose deadpanned.
"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out."
"They release the defence codes-"
"And the Slitheen go nuclear," the Doctor finished for Rose.
"But why?"
The Doctor walked over to the panel, opening the metal shutters. "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there." The small blonde woman walked to the head of the group as the Doctor spoke. "You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."
"And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."
"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?"
"Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."
"So you'd destroy a whole planet just for profit? You're mad, the lot of you!" I yelled, taking a step towards her. "You have no right. There are people here; they aren't just things you can remove without consequence!"
The woman looked at me, scowling as if my very existence was beneath her. After staring each other down for a moment, she returned her attention to the Doctor, acting as if she hadn't heard a word I said. "The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."
"At the cost of five billion lives."
"Bargain."
"Are you kidding me? You're about to murder people!" I took another threatening step towards her but felt a hand grab mine. I looked down and saw that the Doctor had intertwined his fingers with mine, effectively calming me for a moment.
"I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you."
They laughed. "What, you?" she scoffed. "Trapped in your box?"
"Yes. Me," the Doctor calmly replied before he closed the shutters in her laughing face. He walked over to where Rose and Harriet were, still holding my hand. He sat me down and lowered himself so that he was looking in my eyes. "Are you alright?" Not trusting my voice, I nodded. "Good." He stood and began to pace. I watched him for a while before my eyes began to droop. I jumped up when I heard Jackie's voice.
"All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do," Jackie said.
"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet offered.
"Mickey, any luck?"
"There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail."
"Voicemail dooms us all."
"There's a way out." I perked up, looking at the Doctor. He had moved from leaning on the door to a spot where he could easily look at us. Rose said 'what' at the same time I asked 'is that so?'.
"There's always been a way out."
"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked.
"Because I can't guarantee your daughters will be safe."
"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."
"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies."
"Do it," Rose and I said together.
"You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"
"Yeah."
"Please, Doctor. Please. They're my daughters. They're just kids," Jackie pled.
"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."
"Then what are you waiting for?" I quietly asked.
"I could save the world but lose you," he replied looking in our direction but his eyes solely on me.
"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine," Harriet said.
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie asked.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it." The Doctor looked at us and smiled.
"How do we get out?" Rose asked him.
We don't. We stay here." I raised an eyebrow as he said that but let him carry on. It be no use to question him after admitting that we trusted him. I watched as the Doctor reached for the Emergency Protocols from the red briefcase. He looked at us one more time before sifting through the folders. "Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything."
"What're you doing?"
"Hacking into the Royal Navy. We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."
"Right, we need to select a missile," the Doctor instructed.
"We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence codes."
"We don't need it. All we need's an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"
"Sub Harpoon, UMG-A4A."
"That's the one. Select."
"I could stop you."
"Do it then," Mickey replied to Jackie. That was the last thing we heard from her for a while. I knew she wouldn't do anything, but it was hard to hear her so silent. It wasn't like her.
"You ready for this?" The Doctor asked.
"Yeah."
I stood and went towards the phone. "Mickey the idiot," I said, using the Doctor's name for him. "This, the world, it's in your hands. Please don't mess it up."
The Doctor smiled at me. "Fire."
"Oh, my God."
After a moment of shock, Harriet looked around, her eyes bright with question. "How solid are these?"
"Not solid enough. Build for short range attack, nothing this big." It almost sounded like he'd given up, something that didn't sit right with me. If the Doctor had no hope, what was left for the rest of us?
"All right, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out," Rose said as she went to the closet and opened the door. "It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the closet. Harriet also came over and began to help us empty it.
"It's on radar."
"Counter defence five five six."
"Stop them from intercepting," the Doctor replied.
"I'm doing it now."
"Good boy."
"Five five six neutralized," Mickey said. The Doctor quickly unplugged the phone and rushed into the closet, sitting down between Rose and me.
"Here we go. It was nice knowing you three." Harriet said as we took each other's hands. I gripped the Doctor's tightly. "Hannibal!" Just then the missile made impact. The room shook violently and then started to roll, sending us tumbling around the small area. Rose and Harriet screamed while I made inhuman sounds. When it finally stooped, I found myself on top of the Doctor. Blushing, I quickly got up and then went to help Harriet and Rose up. When we were all standing and had seen no injures on each other, the Doctor went to push the metal door. Instead of swinging, the door fell forward, crashing into rubble. Harriet was the first to step out. "Made in Britain."
As we exited the room, a man in a police uniform ran up to us. "Oh, my god. Are you all right?"
I almost laughed as Harriet whipped out her ID. "Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."
"Maybe you should have a go."
"Me? Huh? I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for you," Rose smiled.
"Me too. I'm sure you'd be a great Prime Minister."
"Now, don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" We watched as she quickly but carefully made her way down the rubble pile. "We're safe! The Earth is safe!" We followed her onto the street. "Sergeant!"
We stopped walking and the Doctor turned to us. "I thought I knew the name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."
I grinned, crossing my arms over my torso. "I can see it."
"The crisis has passed!" Harriet yelled with her arms outstretched. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have something to say to you all here today!" We gave Harriet one final glance before we started to go back to the Tyler flat.
The moment Rose and I walked inside, Jackie had her arms around us. After the hugging stopped, Rose and I shared the settee while Jackie leaned against it. The Doctor had gone out an hour or so ago to take care of the signal the Slitheen were transmitting. The TV was on the news and Harriet Jones was speaking to the reporters. "Harriet Jones. Who does she think she is? Look at her, taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughters saved the world!"
"The Doctor helped too," I said.
Jackie went and sat on the opposite seat. "All right, then. Him too. You should be given knighthoods."
"That's not the way he does things. No fuss. He just moves on. He's not that bad if you gave him a chance," Rose told her.
"He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that."
"Oh, now the world has changed. You're saying nice things about him," I laughed.
"Well, I reckon I've got no choice. There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated," the woman saucily replied as she gave me a knowing look.
I groaned. She and Rose had probably gossiped while I was in the bath. Even still, my face grew hot and my heart started beating a mile a minute. Why did they have to talk? "I am not infatuated, Jackie."
She ignored me. "What does he eat?"
Rose and I looked at her confused. "How do you mean?"
"I was going to do shepherd's pie. All of us. A proper sit down, 'cos I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I don't know, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things."
Rose and I laughed, imagining him eating safety pins. "He'll have shepherd pie."
"You're going to cook for him?" I asked in disbelief.
"What's wrong with that?"
"He's finally met his match."
"You're not too old for a slap, you know. You can go and visit your Gran tomorrow. You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing," Jackie said to us. Rose's family was my family and Gran loved me just as much as she did Rose, maybe even more. I turned to Rose as her phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it said TARDIS. I looked at her. Instead of answering, she handed the phone to me.
"Hey?" I stood and walked out to the kitchen.
"Cerys? I thought I was calling Rose."
"She gave me the phone. Wanted to talk to her mum some."
"Right. I'll be a couple hours, then we can go."
"You've got a phone?"
"You think I can travel through space and time and I haven't got a phone?"
"Well..." I laughed when I heard a huff of indignation on his end.
"Like I said, couple of hours. I've just got to send out this dispersal. There you go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."
"Jackie's cooking."
"Good. Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."
I chuckled. "Don't let her hear that. Do you want another slap? No, she's cooking tea for us."
"I don't do that."
"She wants to get to know you."
"Tough. I've got better things to do."
I sighed. He was being stubborn. I knew he didn't like domestics but she was giving him a chance. "I want you to come," I muttered. He was silent for a moment. It seemed like he was considering it.
"No."
"But it's just tea."
"Not to me it isn't."
"Then what exactly is it to you? She's basically my mother. Do you honestly think she'd not want to get to know the man her daughters are travelling with?"
"Well, she's not mine." I let out a puff of air, once again annoyed with the Doctor. "Look, I don't do tea with mums."
"But that's not fair."
"Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning ten million miles wide."
"Stop tempting me," I growled. He chuckled, knowing it was working.
"I could fly the Tardis right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice."
"I hate you so much."
"No you don't." I hung up the phone, knowing what my choice would be.
I walked back into the living room, looking at Rose. I grabbed her and dragged her to her room. "He's not coming for tea. But he wants us to travel with him still."
"No domestics?"
"Yep."
"Unless it's with you, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"In the car earlier, you two were arguing like an old married couple."
"We weren't. I was just annoyed that he said I was the third wheel."
"Yeah, that's it."
I rolled my eyes. "Are you coming?" Rose didn't answer. Instead she grabbed a backpack and began to cram clothes into it.
"Rose, Cerys, I was thinking. I've got that bottle of Amaretto from New Year's Eve. Does he drink?"
"Yeah, he does," Rose replied.
Jackie looked down and saw the bag. Her eyes began to tear up. "Don't go sweethearts. Please don't go." I looked at the floor, feeling bad for being a cause for her tears. I walked over to her and hugged her, trying not to bump the mugs from her hands.
"We'll be back, mum. He's not going to let anything happen to us. Today was testament to that." I pulled away and saw that she was now crying.
"You rarely called me that."
"I know but I've always considered you to be my mum. You took me in and raised me as your own. Jackie, you ARE my mum." She nodded and placed a kiss on my cheek.
When Rose had finished packing, the three of us left the flat and went to meet with the Doctor. "I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test, and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will." It nearly brought tears o my eyes at how hard was trying so hard to keep us with her. She needed to know that it wasn't her, that we loved her, but we wanted an adventure, something we couldn't have with her, something the Doctor was so freely giving us.
"We're not leaving because of you. We're travelling, that's all, and then we'll come back."
"But it's not safe."
"Mum, if you saw what was out there you'd never stay home."
As we reached the boys, the Doctor turned his attention from Mickey to Rose, looking at her overstuffed bag. "Got enough stuff?"
"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with us," Rose said, handing him her bag. When he had taken it, she went over to Mickey. I went and stood by the Doctor, leaning against the Tardis.
"Come with us. There's plenty of room."
"No chance. He's a liability, I'm not having him on board."
"We'd be dead without him," Rose shot back.
"My decision's final."
"Sorry." Rose gave Mickey a quick kiss goodbye.
"Good luck, yeah."
Jackie turned to the Doctor, walking up to him. "You still can't promise me. What if they get lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and they're left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away. How long do I wait then?"
Rose grabbed her arms, turning her around. "Mum, you're forgetting. It's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe, and by the time I get back, yeah, ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds. So stop worrying. See you in ten seconds' time, yeah?" We both went to hug Jackie. I hugged her first and then went into the Tardis after the Doctor. He glanced at me and then went to the console. I sighed and started off to the library. When I got there, I smiled as I saw my stack of books still waiting for me. Picking up the last one I had started, I immersed myself in the world until my eyes became heavy and I succumbed to sleep.
So, most of my chapters are at least 3K long so if some are shorter than the others it's because I'm not really in love with the episode. While I did enjoy this one and Aliens in London, they weren't exactly my favourite. I honestly can't wait to post Dalek. It shows a bit more of the Doctor and Cerys' relationship, or lack there of.
Another thing, I am skipping chapters. There are a few I really don't want to do so there will be original chapters placed in so that it can all flow seamlessly (in my opinion) . Those chapters will be pretty short, and might not hit the 3K mark since they'll mostly be filler. Still, it'll have a ton of information in them so don't skip.
I'm glad to know you're enjoying the story so far. I'm having so much fun writing it and am almost at The End of Time. I've been putting it off because DT's departure always kills me. But things will definitely change as the story progresses.