I rolled to my side after impact, my first instinct being to look for Rose. I found that she was also lying on the floor. Inching towards her, I saw the Doctor jump up and run to the door. I quickly stood and helped Rose up. We both groaned in agitation at the man. To be honest, I wanted to slap him into next Tuesday. "Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it. Jackie. Mickey. Blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!" After hearing a thud, we ran out, finding him lying on the ground.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

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

"The moron's right there." Mickey looked at me confused. "That's him, right in front of you. That's the Doctor."

"What do you mean, 'that's the Doctor'? Doctor who?"

I rolled my eyes at the woman and grabbed the man. With Mickey's help, we got him up to the Tyler flat.

After the trek, Rose and I changed the Doctor into pyjamas and put him into a bed. We stayed in the room silently looking after him. As we stood there, Jackie came in with a stethoscope. "Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it… though I still say we should take him to hospital."

"We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race." Jackie opened her mouth to say something else but Rose cut her off. "No! Shush!" I took it and listened to both of his hearts. "Both working?" I nodded, returning them to Jackie.

"What do you mean both?"

"Well, he's got two hearts."

"Oh, don't be stupid."

"He does, Jackie."

"Anything else he's got two of?"

"Leave him alone."

"Both of you stop it, please." I said. They both looked at me sheepishly before leaving the room. I sighed and closed my eyes. Opening them, I watched as another golden wisp leave the Doctor's mouth.

I had been sitting with the Doctor for twenty minutes when Rose came into the room. She checked him again before turning to me. "Mickey and I are going out. You want to come?"

"No, you go," I replied. "I don't have any money."

"You can't stay here all night."

I looked up at her. "Go out with Mickey. Have fun. It's Christmas Eve. I'll stay and keep mum company."

"Alright."

Once Rose had left, I went out to the living room after hearing the doorbell to find Jackie in the living room admiring a new Christmas tree. It looked nice and all but I preferred the white one, the one we grew up with. "Oh, Cerys, look at it. This tree's lovely."

"I liked the other one."

"It was old."

"Well, we've always had it. But…I guess this one's nice too." I replied as I went back to the bedroom. Jackie waved me off and picked up the phone. I smiled; glad that she hadn't changed at all, even with having us travel the universe with an alien.

I relaxed back into the chair, closing my eyes. It had been a while since I'd gotten a proper sleep and I figured a cat nap would do me some good. As I drifted away, I heard Jackie come in, still on the phone. "Oh, no. Don't come round, darling. No, flat's all topsy turvy. Yeah, they just barge in and litter the place. Yeah. No, I'll come round and see you on Boxing Day." I opened an eye and watched as she placed a mug of tea on the nightstand. As she left, I heard the front door open. I jumped up and went to meet Rose and Mickey.

"So, save us a chipolata."

"Get off the phone!" Rose snapped as I watched them curiously.

"It's only Bev. She says hello."

Rose grabbed the phone. "Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait." She hung up, her demeanour worrying me. "Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up."

"That's only two streets away. What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

"What's going on?" I questioned, only to be ignored.

"I don't know. Peak District."

"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then."

"No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?"

Rose finally brought her attention to the living room. "Mum. Where'd you get that tree? That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?"

"I thought it was you."

"How can it be me?"

"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!"

"No, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

As we stood there, the tree lit up and began to play Jingle Bells. "Oh, you're kidding me." Sections of the tree started to spin, causing a strong wind to build up. It then started to move towards us, taking out the coffee table.

"Get out! Go, go! Get out!" Mickey picked up a chair in an attempt to hold it off as Jackie and Rose ran for the door.

I stayed grounded to my spot, more in shock than anything. Shaking myself out of it, I immediately ran to the bedroom, barely hearing the argument about saving him.

Mickey and Rose ran into the room after me. Jackie stayed out in the hallway. "No, leave him. Just leave him!"

"Get in here!" Mickey yelled to her as the tree came towards us. She ran in and helped Mickey push a wardrobe in front of the door.

Rose ran over, passing me and going straight to the Doctor. I walked to the other side and leant against the table. "Doctor, wake up!"

He remained still. I went into his jacket pocket, pulled out the sonic screwdriver and placing it in his hand. Even as I did so, I couldn't help but feel like I shouldn't have, like he wasn't supposed to wake up. But it was a desperate attempt since the tree had started to break through the door.

"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie screamed from the corner.

After watching Rose's failed attempts at waking the Doctor, I bent down until my mouth was to his ear. "Please, help us," I whispered. I quickly moved back as he sat up and aimed it at the tree, causing it to explode. I kept my eyes on him. He still looked a bit ill…well more than a bit.

"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" He got out of the bed, put on a dressing gown and led us outside. Downstairs were three Santas. One was holding a radio controller. After seeing them, I went to lean on the wall, observing once again.

"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked.

"Shush." The Doctor aimed his sonic at them and the Santas backed from the block, only to beam away a moment later.

"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish."

"What?"

"They were just pilot fish." The Doctor grimaced, clearly still in pain. I watched as his back moved up and down rapidly.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." I looked at the ground guiltily as he exhaled more of the gold wisps. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of… ow!" He moved to the other wall.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"

"I need-"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need-"

"Painkillers?"

"I need-"

"Do you need aspirin?"

"I need-"

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

"I need-"

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

"I need-"

"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up."

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" he moved back beside me.

"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then... Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" I choked out a laugh.

"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometimes."

"Argh!" He fell against the wall beside me. "Brain collapsing. The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming." Then he passed out, his head leaning against my shoulder.

We were able to get him back into bed a short while afterwards. I leaned against the doorframe as Rose wiped his sweat drenched forehead while Mickey went to get his laptop. "Cerys, do you think things are going to be the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us three, in the Tardis. You two arguing and me having you make up."

"I don't know. He's the same man but he's still different. Things could change."

"Why did you kiss him?"

"Don't know. It just felt right."

"No, seriously."

I smiled, giving in to her. "I really don't know, Rose. It was stupid really, knowing he had told us to stay away, but I wanted to help him, to make him feel better."

"You just wanted to kiss him. Don't think I haven't noticed how close you two were, almost inseparable, even when you had a row."

"And whose fault is that? You were playing matchmaker."

"Alright. Tell me, was it good? You had two go's at it"

I blushed, recalling the kiss. "Not sure. Maybe I should go for a third when he wakes up," I joked half-heartedly.

"Oi, you. With a face like that, you'll be fighting off all the girls."

"I won't. If he wants someone else then what right do I have to fight her off? He isn't mine. He only kissed me to save my life and I kissed him to offer some comfort."

"Right, I don't think he'd want anyone but you. You might not have noticed, but I have," she said. I rolled my eyes, giving his hand a squeeze before the two of us went to the living room.

"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?"

"Yeah. Keep a count of it. It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?"

"He's worse. Only one heart's going," I replied as Mickey set up the computer.

Once it was up, he searched the web until he found pilot fish. "Here we go, pilot fish. Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

Rose and I went to him, leaning over his shoulder. "Do you mean like sharks?"

"Great big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that." He pointed to the monitor, showing a shark swimming towards the front of the screen.

"Something's coming."

"How close?" Rose asked.

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

"So, it's close?"

Jackie was watching TV. "Funny sort of rocks." Rose and I turned to the television, seeing that the signal was acting out.

"The first photographs-"

"That's not rocks."

"This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning." A red eyed alien came onto the screen with a bone head. It growled and gurgled before it started saying something I couldn't understand. We jumped back, frightened. "The face of an alien life form was transmitted live tonight on BBC1."

"On the 25th of December, the human race has been shown absolute proof that alien life exists."

"These remarkable images have been relayed right across the world."

"Rose, Cerys. Take a look. I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what, though? The Doctor?"

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

"No, it's the Doctor. He's still regenerating, remember. He's still expelling those wisps of energy," I quietly stated.

They nodded and Mickey pulled up an image of four aliens. It seemed that UNIT had bigger pictures, although it wasn't a picture but a broadcast. "Have you seen them before?" he asked us.

"No. We don't even understand what they're saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside your head, all the time, wherever we are."

"So, why isn't it doing it now?"

"I don't know. Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's…he's broken."

I stormed outside to get some fresh air. For some reason, the Doctor being sick seemed to affect me more than I thought. Maybe it was because some part of it was my fault, like I could have stopped him from taking in the Time Vortex. I sighed and took in a breath of cold air. I could feel myself calm down a bit. Once I had a handle on my emotions, I went back inside where I heard Rose talking. "The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us."

Hearing her say that, for give up on him, it angered me. "What don't you get? He is the Doctor, the old Doctor, the proper Doctor! Right now he's sick. We can't depend on him to always save us. Right now, he needs to heal." I could feel the tears start to fall. "Rose, that man has saved our lives so many times. Why can't you just understand the he's the Doctor?"

"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asked me. I looked away from the pair, trying to keep my tears from falling. Letting out an irritating groan, I turned and walked away, leaving the flat for my own.

I had gone home, sitting in the dark for almost an hour before I heard the door open. "Go away, Rose."

"I'm sorry."

"Okay," I curtly replied.

"Come back over. Please. I don't want you staying by yourself."

"And what if I want to be alone?"

"Then I guess we'll be alone together."

"It doesn't work that way."

"Please Cerys. I'm sorry for what I said. It's just that the man we've travelled with isn't him."

"He said he'd change. It's our fault in the end. You took in the time energy and it transferred into me after I grabbed you. He took it to save us-"

"No, to save you. He barely even looks at me. But you, Cerys, his eyes light up when you do anything, even all those times you two argued."

"He did it to save us," I stressed before taking in a deep, calming breath. "Look, I'll go back with you."

"But…"

"But you're sleeping on the floor."

"Fine," Rose frowned.

"It wouldn't be the first time and it is your fault."

"How?"

"You and Mickey popped the air mattress." She blushed and walked out of my flat, leaving me laughing as I followed her out.

The ten minute walk was quiet. I walked on autopilot as I thought of the Doctor. He was alive, and that's all that mattered but I couldn't help but worry. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind telling me that there was something I could do to help him. I loathed the feeling, it made me feel so useless, thinking I could help when I really couldn't. I sighed, absentmindedly fiddling with my bracelet in order to calm me down. I wanted to lie down, to sleep and wake up with the answer even if I knew it wouldn't happen.

Twenty minutes after reaching the Tyler flat, I went to shower after checking on the Doctor. He was the same, resting less than peacefully. Feeling more worn out than ever, I checked on him one last time before holing myself in Rose's room and falling asleep.

I sat on the ledge with my feet in the cool water. I had just finished reading a favourite book of mine from Earth, The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. I thought about it, wishing I could meet the feared Captain Vanderdecken. I wanted to leave and travel the universe. There was only one person who was mad enough to travel with me but he had already left. I was upset with him for leaving me behind but I couldn't blame him. My parents needed me with them and I was a half-breed. He was better off finding someone else to spend his travels with.

"Still thinking I'm better off without you?"

"Always."

He came and sat beside me, pulling me into a hug. "Stop thinking that. You're all I need."

"You left me again."

"I came back."

"Why?"

"There was a beautiful girl calling out to me," he laughed.

"You heard that?"

"I always hear you calling me, Ceryssida."

"You don't always come."

"No. Can't bring the humans."

"Humans? You've gone to Earth without me, haven't you?" I sadly asked as I stood. "That was supposed to be our first adventure. You promised."

"It will be. I'd never break a promise to you."

"So, you haven't gone?"

"No. I went to another planet that had humans. They'd never seen Earth."

I sat and rested my head on his shoulder. "Why are you really here?"

"I wanted to see you. It's been a while."

"You were going to convince me to go with you… again."

"Yes. We've always talked about going on adventures together."

"But my parents…"

"I know." I looked up to see that his chocolate brown eyes were sad. I wanted to go with him but I had promised my father I wouldn't leave until the time came. Although I didn't know what he meant, I wanted to respect his wishes. "Here, I brought this for you." A thin chain with a small green sea shell on it was placed in my hand.

I looked up at him with a smile on my face. "Thank you."

"It's from the beaches of Caldovar."

"It's lovely." He took it from my hand and placed it around my neck.

"We could go there, you and me. It's beautiful."

"Are you sure visiting the same place twice won't be a bore?"

"With you, nothing is boring."

"Besides home?"

"Besides home."

So part one of The Christmas Invasion... what did you think? I was going to post it yesterday but I'd gone out the night before and after drinking the night away, my body hated me. I wasn't hungover or anything but my stomach can't take alcohol in general but eh, it's up now :) Three reviews on the last chapter, thanks for leaving them. I truly appreciate it (I'm saying that a lot but it's true). They make me all happy and stuff.

NicoleR85: You'll see when we reach :) But I agree. When I first started out with the series, I loved Rose but her willingness to abandon the people who love her did put me off after a while, especially during TPoW where she told Mickey she had nothing left on Earth and Doomsday was another one that irked me in that regard.

I'm-a-Klaus-addict: The big reveal is in a few chapters actually. I didn't want to drag it out too long since I needed her to know before Doomsday. I'm glad you're enjoying the story though. As for Doctor/Rose relationship, it's not going to affect Cerys in the way you may think. Honestly, I don't know who I picture Cerys as. I tend to draw up my own character pictures. But I can look around and give you someone similar by the next chapter. And I don't mind the questions at all, honest. I'm happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

Lizzybug2000: Thanks. It was definitely shorter than my normal ones but I wanted to have it as a stand alone. I always preferred it that way, although it's sometimes put with TCI. I don't know, that's just my preference :) If you have questions, I can surely give it a try. One might be okay to answer