I am so sorry for the uber late update. Without further adieu, onto The Age of Steel.

I felt the Doctor reach into his pocket and retrieve something, the Tardis' power cell. He pointed it at the Cybermen and a golden stream of light hit one, and a link was made between the group surrounding us. Within seconds, they were destroyed. Placing in back into his pocket, he pulled me closer to him and placed a kiss atop my head. A moment later, he released me and grabbed my hand, giving me a quick, reassuring smile that I was so grateful for. While externally I seemed to be calm, inside, I was a mess. The entire matter had freaked me out more than I had thought it would. Yet his embrace was enough to calm my racing heart as well as my frayed nerves. "What the hell was that?" Ricky asked.

"Does it really matter what it was? We need to go," I snapped.

"We'll have that instead. Run!"

Mrs. Moore honked the horn as she drove up to us, the sliding door still open from when Mickey and I had jumped out. "Everybody In!"

While we all ran for the van, Pete ran back towards the house. I stopped as the Doctor's hand left mine. Turning to ask what the hell he was doing, I stopped as I saw him pin Pete against the wall, with Rose standing beside him. "I've got to go back. My wife's in there."

"Anyone inside that house is dead. If you want to help, then don't let her die for nothing. You've got to come with us right now."

"Come on! Get a move on!"

"Rose, she's not your mother."

"I know."

"Come on."

"Finished chatting? Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" We closed the door once we were all inside and Mrs Moore hit the gas, speeding off and away from the Tyler Mansion.

We were all quiet as we drove, each of us trying our hardest to regain our normal breathing patterns. Rose sat on the other side of Pete with Mickey while Jake sat on the other side of the Doctor. As we continued down the road, I laid my head onto the Doctor's shoulder. It was comfortable, even if he was as thin as a stick; it was good enough for me. Just as I had gotten comfortable enough to fall asleep, someone spoke. "What was that thing?" Ricky asked from the front of the van.

I lifted my head, wanting to pay attention to what was being said and I knew that if I kept that position, I'd end up dozing off. "Little bit of technology from my home."

"It's stopped glowing. Has it run out?" Mickey asked.

I shook my head. "It's on a recharging loop, remember."

"It'll charge back up in four hours."

"Right. So, we don't have a weapon anymore."

"Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him," Jake said, pointing at Pete.

"Leave him alone," Rose started, "What's he done wrong?"

"Oh, you know, just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government and left Lumic in charge."

"If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?"

"Maybe your plan went wrong. Still gives us the right to execute you, though"

"Oh, shut up, Ricky. No one is executing anyone."

"Are you a threat as well, Cerys? Should we kill you after him?"

"Talk about executions, you'll make me your enemy. And take some really good advice. You don't want to do that." I leaned my head against the Doctor's shoulder, calming him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me to him. While I barely cared what happened to me, that moment seemed to make me realise just how upset he might be if I died, or just left.

The trio in the front were quiet for a moment. "All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since twenty point five."

"Is that true?" Rose asked.

"Tell them, Mrs M."

"We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week."

"Broadcast from Gemini?"

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm Gemini. That's me."

"Yeah, you would say that."

"Encrypted wavelength six five seven using binary nine. That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services. What do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van."

"No, no, no," Mickey said. "But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted."

"Yeah, that's not exactly…"

"Not exactly what?"

"I'm London's Most Wanted for… parking tickets."

"Great."

"Yeah, they were deliberate. I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that's me."

"Good policy. I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested."

"And I'm Rose. Hello."

"Cerys."

"Even better. That's the names of my dogs. Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side." I turned my attention to the Doctor who was chuckling. Obviously it was true that I was a bloody dog. If that was the case, I really hoped I was a vicious one. As much as I hoped that, the Doctor's expression told me otherwise.

"A French Poodle." I gawked at the Time Lord, my cheeks flushed. I was a bloody poodle for goodness sake. If anything I should be a Rottweiler or a German Shepard, or even a damn Doberman. I ground my teeth, glaring at Pete before bringing my glare to the Doctor, who had stopped laughing the moment our eyes met. Growling, I closed my eyes and thought soothing things.

"I knew you weren't a traitor."

"Why is that then?"

I watched Rose glance at the Doctor and smile. "I just did."

"They took my wife."

"She might still be alive."

"That's even worse," Pete huffed. "Because that's what Lumic does. He takes the living and he turns them into those machines."

"Cybermen. They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those ear pods off, if I were you." Pete removed them and placed the pods in the Doctor's outstretched hand as I reached into his pocket. "You never know. Lumic could be listening." I quickly used the sonic to disable them and returned the screwdriver back to the Doctor's pocket. "But he's overreached himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the city and inform the authorities. Because I promise you, this ends tonight."

As we walked down the street, we saw people moving in almost a trance like state, their ear-pods flashing blue. My grip on the Doctor's hand tightened as a hollowness enveloped me, knowing those people were walking to their deaths. It was almost as if I could feel their lack of humanity. They had been overridden and emptied, just shells of their former selves at that moment. Yet, underneath the emptiness, I could feel the underlining fear and within each person. It soon got to the point where I could barely keep it together. While Rose continued to move forward, unaware of my condition, the Doctor stroked my hand with his thumb, trying to calm me but it didn't help much.

Abruptly I came to a stop, Jake coming up beside the Doctor and I. All around us people blindly walked past. They were practically zombies. "What the hell?"

"What's going on?"

"Lumic has control over them."

"It's the ear-pods."

"Can't we just, I don't know, take them off?" Rose asked as she moved to remove them from a man in a grey sweater. Before she could touch them, the Doctor slapped her hands away.

"Don't! Cause a brainstorm." Rose glanced up at him. "Human race. For such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit." He walked around, quickly inspecting them before following the group. "Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."

"Hey, come and see," Jake said, gaining our attention. We peeped around the corner and saw more people and a group of Cybermen.

"Where are they all going?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Lumic must have a base of operations."

"Battersea," Pete vocalised. "That's where he was building the prototypes."

"Why's he doing it?"

"He's dying. This all started out as a way of prolonging life, of keeping the brain alive at any cost."

"The thing is, we've seen Cybermen before, haven't we? The head. Those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum."

"Ah, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy."

"Here, they're starting from scratch," I finished.

"What the hell are you two on about?" I glanced up at Pete and blankly stared at him before looking back at the Cybermen.

"Never mind that. Come on, we need to get out of the city. Okay, split up. Mrs. Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, distract them. Go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move," Ricky stated, taking command.

Mickey looked from Ricky to us before saying something. "I'm going with him." He gave Rose a kiss and ran off after Ricky.

"Come on, let's go."

As we ran we passed more groups of Cybermen. Spotting a side street, I pulled the Doctor, whose hand was still in mine, towards it. "There!" he called out to the others, who had not noticed our change in direction. We ducked behind rubbish bins as more Cybermen marched down the alley. The closer they came, the tighter I squeezed the Doctor's hand. I was terrified, to say the least. Giving my hand a quick squeeze, I glanced up to see the Doctor had reached for his sonic screwdriver and was transmitting a signal that led the Cybermen on. When they had walked on, Rose was the first to stand. "Go."

When we reached Bridge Street, we saw Jake running towards us, his breathing ragged. The four of us stood there, waiting for him to catch his breath. "I ran past the river. You should have seen it. The whole city's on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." Mickey… or Ricky finally reached us. "Here he is! Which one are you?"

"I'm sorry. The Cybermen. He couldn't."

"Are you Ricky? Are you Ricky?"

"Mickey, that's you, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Rose ran to hug him. I did as well. "He tried. He was running. There was too many of them." Jake walked away.

"Shut it."

"There was nothing I could do."

"I said just shut it. Don't even talk about him. You're nothing, you are. Nothing."

I whirled on the man, my fist connecting with his jaw. Jake stumbled back, bewildered that I had hit him. "Don't you ever tell someone that they're nothing. Mickey is more than that. Just because you wanted your friend to survive doesn't mean you take your anger and grief out on the one who did." I softened my voice. "I know you're upset, but you don't take it out on Mickey. If there were too many Cybermen, it's better one survived. I'm not just saying that because it was Mickey either. Neither deserved to die that way but I'd prefer one death to two. Wouldn't you?" Jake stormed off, leaving my question unanswered. The Doctor came over and took my hand, pulling me to him.

"We can mourn him when London is safe. But now, we move on."

We were standing on the other side of Battersea Power Station. Jake stood off to the side as the rest of stood around trying to figure out our next move. "The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be converted."

"We've got to get in there and shut it down," Rose stated.

"How do we do that?"

"Oh, I'll think of something."

"You're just making this up as you go along."

"Yep. But I do it brilliantly."

I smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Yes, you do." He looked down at me, a bit surprised by my small display of affection but it quickly became a goofy grin.

Mrs. Moore sat on a bench with her laptop and the rest of us looking on. "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look. Cooling tunnels underneath the plant. Big enough to walk through…"

"We go under there and up into the control centre?"

"Mhmm."

"There's another way in. Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."

Jake walked over. "We can't just go strolling up."

"Or we could, with these," Mrs. Moore pulled two silver pods from her pack. "Fake ear pods." The Doctor picked one up. "Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd."

"Then that's my job," Pete replied, giving no room for argument.

"You'd have to show no emotion. None at all. Any sign of emotion would give you away."

"How many of those you got?" Rose asked. I glanced at her, seeing the determination in her eyes.

"Just two sets."

"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming with you." Rose stood.

"Why does she matter to you?"

"We haven't got time. Doctor, I'm going with him, and that's that."

"No stopping you, is there?"

"Nope." He tossed them at her and she caught them.

"Tell you what. We can take the ear pods at the same time. Give people their minds back so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy?" the Doctor called as he and Jake walked a bit away from the group. Since my hand was still in the Doctor's, mainly because he refused to release it, I was pulled along as well. "Lumic's transmitting the control signal. It must be from over there." He pulled out the sonic and began to scan, stopping when it reached the power station that had a zeppelin parked on top with a pulsing read light. "There it is. On the zeppelin, you see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?"

Jake smiled. "Consider it done." Patting him on the back, the Doctor returned to the group, dragging me with him.

"Mrs Moore, would you care to accompany me into the cooling tunnels?"

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" I smiled at her answer.

"We attack on three sides. Above, between, below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines."

"What about us?" Mickey asked pointing at me and himself.

"Cerys is with me. Mickey. You can er…"

"What, stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog? No, those days are over. I'm going with Jake."

"I don't need you, idiot."

I was about to say something but Mickey beat me to it. "I'm not an idiot! You got that? I'm offering to help."

"Whatever."

"Mickey," the Doctor called, "good luck."

"Yeah, you too. Rose, I'll see you later. You too, Cerys."

"Yeah, you'd better."

"If we survive this, I'll see you back at the Tardis."

"That's a promise," he stated before he walked off.

I went over to Rose, hoping she'd listen to me. "Stay safe, please," I begged. To say I wasn't worried about her would be a lie. She was my best friend and I didn't want to lose her. She smiled at me before I pulled her into a hug. When I finally let go of her, we walked over to the Doctor.

"Good luck." She nodded and then she and Pete were off. The Doctor pulled me into a hug after they had left, trying to comfort me. I gave him a smile but almost like he knew I wasn't in the best shape, he dropped a kiss on the top of my head and then on my lips. Pulling away, I leaned into him a while longer and then the three of us went for the cooling tunnels.

I shivered as we entered the cooling tunnel. The Doctor smiled at me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I returned the smile, and continued on, trying to ignore just how cold I was. "It's freezing," Mrs Moore stated.

"It is a cooling tunnel," I mumbled before realizing I had been rude. "Sorry." She nodded in acknowledgement.

"Any sign of a light switch?"

"Can't see a thing. But I've got these." She pulled out miners' helmets. "A device for every occasion."

"Ooo!"

"Put it on." We did as she said.

"Haven't got a hotdog in there, have you? I'm starving."

I chuckled. "Only you." He shot me another smile.

"Of all the things to wish for. That's mechanically recovered meat."

"He knows."

"It's the Cyberman of food, but it's tasty."

"Not so much," I responded, pulling a face.

Mrs Moore gave me a quick smile before reaching back into her bag. "A proper torch as well."

"Let's see where we are." With the lights on, we saw that the walls were covered with Cybermen. I grabbed the Doctor's hand, feeling a bit of fear. We'd all seen what they could do, the Doctor most of all, and I did not want that fate. "Already converted, just put on ice. Come on." He tapped a Cyberman and received no reaction.

"Don't do that!" I hissed, slapping his arm away. His face scrunched up in pain as he rubbed the spot.

"Let's go slowly. Keep an eye out for trip systems." As he said that, I began to look around, keeping an eye on anything that would alert to our position. I couldn't help but feel as if something bad were going to happen, that the Cybermen around us were to awaken soon.

"How did you get into all of this, Mrs Moore? The Preachers and all?" I asked after we had been walking for a while.

"Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries, nine to five, till one day I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so I… I just sat down and taught myself everything."

"That's brilliant."

"What about Mr Moore?"

"Well, he's not called Moore. I got that from a book, Mrs. Moore. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you? Got any family, or is it just you two together?"

I stared at her, quite surprised by what she was implying. I glanced at the Doctor, hoping he'd have an answer for the woman. "Oh, who needs family? I've got the whole world on my shoulders."

"And what about Cerys? Are you two together?"

"That's up to Cerys." He shot me a hopeful glance before turning back to Mrs Moore. "Go on, then. What's your real name?"

"Angela Price. Don't tell a soul."

"Not a word."

As he said that, I noticed a Cyberman's hand move. I shook my head, hoping it was just my fear and eyes playing tricks on me. That soon changed when Mrs Moore said something. "Doctor, did that one just move?"

"It's just the torchlight. Keep going, come on." Another moved. "They're waking up. Run!" He grabbed my hand and the three of us took off. As we ran more awoke, reaching their arms out before they began to follow us. When we reached a ladder at the end of the tunnel, the Doctor climbed up and began to open it.

"Get up! Quick! They're coming! Open it! Open it!" He finally got it open and climbed through. "Get up! Quick! Quick!" she yelled at me as I was pulled through.

"Come on! Come on!" the Doctor called to her as she finally managed to get through. When she was up, he closed the door and sealed it with the sonic screwdriver. "Oh, good team, Mrs Moore, Cerys."

Before we had a moment to breathe, a Cyberman approached us. "You are not upgraded."

"Yeah? Well upgrade this," Mrs Moore said as she threw a small device at the Cyberman. It stuck into the centrepiece and the Cyberman jerked, sparked, and finally collapsed.

"What the hell was that thing?" the Doctor asked with a smile. I continued to stare at the thing, both impressed and saddened. That was a living person once, a flesh and blood human and it was dead.

"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit."

"You figured right. Now, let's have a look. Know your enemy. A logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand. Heart of steel, but look." The Doctor used the sonic to remove the logo boss on the chest. The three of us looked in, seeing more than just electronics.

"Is that flesh?"

I watched as he stuck his finger in and pulled out a stringy clear substance. "No, well kind of. It's a central nervous system that was artificially grown and threaded throughout the suit. It helps the Cybermen respond like a living being, although it is alive… but not quite."

The Doctor nodded, confirming my explanation. "Oh, but look." He removed enough of the substance to show a chip underneath. "Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything."

"But why?"

I sighed. "Human brain."

"Imagine its reaction if it could see itself, realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane."

"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human."

"Because they have to."

"Why am I cold?"

"Oh my God. It's alive. It can feel."

"The inhibitor is broken," I told her, stepping away from them just a bit.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why so cold?"

"Can you remember your name?"

"Sally. Sally Phelan."

"You're a woman," Mrs Moore stated in surprise.

"Where's Gareth?"

"Who's Gareth?"

"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before."

"You're getting married."

"I'm cold. I'm so cold."

"It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." He placed the sonic inside the chest cavity and shut her down. I let out a shaky breath, holding in a bout of tears. "Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing, because that's the key. The emotional inhibitor. If we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head, they'd realise what they are."

"And what happens then?"

"I think it would kill them. Could we do that?" he asked, more to me than her. I looked away, answering his question. Knowing that they were human, I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.

"We've got to. Before they kill everyone else. There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done," Mrs Moore replied, standing. I let out a cry as a Cyberman grabbed and electrocuted her.

The Doctor stood and rushed over to me, pulling me to him as I sobbed. "No! No, you didn't have to kill her!"

"Sensors detect binary vascular systems. You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis."

As we were led to the control room, I thought of what the Cyberman had said. It hadn't said one system but had acknowledged two. I was the only other living person in the room, so it had to mean me. As I thought about it, I couldn't help but think that it was wrong, that it only said that because I was in the Doctor's arms and that the sensors were a bit off. Yet, as I came to that conclusion, I knew it was wrong. There was no way it would have made a mistake. Deep in thought, I didn't notice we'd stopped until I ran into the Doctor's back. He gave me a small smile and looked forward. "We've been captured, but don't worry; Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue us," he said sarcastically. "Oh well, never mind. You okay?"

"Yeah," Rose began, "but they got Jackie."

"We were too late. Lumic killed her."

"Then where is he, the famous Mister Lumic?" the Doctor asked as he looked around. "Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?"

"He has been upgraded."

"Oh, so he's just like you?"

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller." As the Cyberman said that, a door opened and another Cyberman wheeled out in a very upgraded wheelchair.

"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator."

We then heard screams of terror. The Cybermen in the room began to look around as I smiled a bit, knowing Mickey and Jake had taken down the transmitters. "That's my friends at work. Good boys! Mister Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will."

"I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."

"And imagination? What about that? The one thing that lead you here, imagination, you're killing it dead!"

"What is your name?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive." He walked around in a circle, stopping before Lumic. "People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."

"You are proud of your emotions."

"Oh, yes."

"Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief, and rage, and pain?"

"Yes. Yes I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh, yes."

"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

"You might as well kill me."

"Then I take that option."

"It's not yours to take. You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart."

"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."

The Doctor brought his hand to his face and shook his head, walking away. "You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. Because those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world." He looked up at the camera. My smile brightened, knowing just what he was doing. "Some ordinary man or woman… some idiot. All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers. Say the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under er. What was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Binary nine."

"An idiot could find that code. Cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing. Keep fighting. Anything to save his friends."

"Your words are irrelevant."

"Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem. Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats. On your phone." He made the phone signal with his hand.

"You will be deleted."

"Yes. Delete, control, hash. All those lovely buttons. Then, of course, my particular favourite, send. And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place." He tapped a surface as Rose's phone beeped. "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."

"It's for you," she said, tossing him the phone.

"Like this." He put the phone in the docking station, and to my surprise, it fit. The code was transmitted and we watched as the Cybermen before us cried out in pain. The computer screens each had the same set of numbers on them. As they clutched their heads. I watched as one looked at itself in a shiny piece of metal. The instant overwhelming feeling of despair consumed me and I felt my knees buckle. It was so thick and heavy that it was practically suffocating. "I'm sorry."

"What have you done?"

"He gave them their souls back," I snapped off-handishly. The pain was so overwhelming that it almost brought me off my feet. If not for the Doctor's grip on me, I just might have, if not for the Doctor's vice-like grip on me.

"They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's killing them!" We all ran for the door.

"Delete! Delete! Delete!"

As we ran, there were explosions all around us. The emergency exit was blocked by Cybermen and there were more explosions coming from all directions. Throughout the entire ordeal, I couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't from fear but from the constant emotions I felt from around me. Stumbling, I was pulled upright by the Doctor, who had immediately wrapped his arm around my waist in order to drag me along. He only stopped when there was nowhere else to go. "There's no way out!"

Just then, Rose's phone rang. Answering it, she was silent for a moment. "It's Mickey. He says head for the roof." We all ran up the metal staircase. I tried to ignore the fires that had started behind us. I wanted to cry, feeling the pain and anguish that those people felt. It was a horrible thing to know, to experience. I felt the Doctor's arm move from my waist and his hand take mine. I smiled, knowing I had someone else I could lean on in times like this and that the Doctor was that person. While I was always so hesitant and quick to push him away, I couldn't deny that I was so grateful to have him in my life, that he had become so important to me. Yes, it was always my nature to push those I cared about away, I didn't want to do that with him... not anymore.

When we finally reached the roof, I saw a zeppelin hovering over. I stood there in awe at the sheer size of the thing. While it wasn't the most appealing thing, it was amazing in its own right. "Mickey, where'd you learn to fly that thing?" I heard Rose ask before we took off running again. We stopped when we saw a rope ladder fall. I groaned, knowing we'd have to climb that and really not wanting to.

Pete seemed to share my enthusiasm at the thought of climbing the swaying straw rope. "You've got to be kidding."

"Rose, get up." Once she had, I followed, then the Doctor, and Pete was in the rear. I shut my eyes as the zeppelin rose. It wasn't that I was afraid of heights, it more that there was a fiery pit awaiting me if I fell.

"We did it! We did it!" Rose said to me with a smile.

I was about to join in on her enthusiasm when there was a jolt to the ladder, almost causing us to lose our grip. Looking down, I saw that it was Lumic. A shudder ran down my spine as I watched him climb towards us. The Doctor quickly whipped out his sonic and dropped it into Pete's hand. "Pete! Take this! Use it! Hold the button down! Press it against the rope. Just do it!"

"Jackie Tyler. This is for her!" he yelled as it fell into his hand. He instantly pressed it against the rope until it snapped and Lumic fell. He screamed on the way down and was engulfed by the flames. Pete let out a laugh as I watched on, keeping my tears at bay.

When we reached the Tardis, I immediately stepped in, followed closely by the Doctor. After what had happened, I wanted nothing more than to be alone but I needed to see the Tardis come back to life. Rose on the other hand was outside with Pete and Mickey had gone to look for the Doctor's pinstripe suit. I was watching as he placed the power cell back into the console. A bit of happiness coursed through me when she came to life. We walked outside, hand in hand, both content knowing we could leave. "Rose? We've only got five minutes of power. We've got to go."

"The Doctor could show ya."

"Thank you. For everything."

"Dad…"

"Don't. Just don't," Pete said before walking off. I pulled my hand from the Doctor's and engulfed Rose in a hug. She returned it, squeezing me tightly as she cried. Glancing up, I saw the Doctor scratch the back of his head.

We pulled away as Mickey and Jake came over, the suit in hand. "Here it is. I found it. Not a crease."

"My suit! Good man." He took it from Mickey. "Now then, Jake, we've got to run. But one more thing. Mrs. Moore. Her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there, and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

"Yeah, of course I will. "

"Off we go, then."

"Er, thing is, I'm staying," Mickey said, looking everywhere but at Rose.

"You're doing what?"

"You can't."

I was going to say something to Rose but held back, wanting to let her handle it herself. He was her boy… ex-boyfriend and it was the closure they both needed.

"It sort of balances out, because this world lost its Ricky, but there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there." I smiled at him, knowing his true reason for staying behind.

"But you can't stay."

"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive. My old gran, remember her?"

"Yeah." Rose began to tear up again.

"She needs me."

"What about me? What if I need you?"

"Yeah, but Rose, you don't. It's just you, Cerys, and him, isn't it. We had something a long time ago, but not anymore."

"Well, we'll come back. We can travel anywhere. Come and see you, yeah?"

"We can't. I told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We.. we fell through a crack in time. When we leave, I've got to close it. We can't ever return."

"Doctor." I watched the two shake hands.

"Take Rose's phone. It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories. And good luck, Mickey the idiot," the Doctor said, playfully giving Mickey a slap on the face.

"Watch it." When they were finished, I gave him a hug. "Thank you, for sticking up for me."

I sadly smiled. "We're friends. Sorry it took so long for it to happen."

"We were both being idiots." I laughed, pulling him into another hug before going back into the Tardis with the Doctor.

I was in his arms, enjoying being close to him when Rose entered the Tardis. I pulled away from him, going to hug her as he went to the console. Flipping switches and pressing buttons, we entered the time vortex, only to land moments later. Walking out, I saw we were in the Tyler living room. Rose went up to her mother, embracing her. "You're alive. Oh, mum, you're alive."

"Well, I was the last time I looked," Jackie joked as Rose tightly hugged her. "What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go?"

"Far away. That was… far away."

"Where's Mickey."

"He's gone home." I nodded, before I returned to the Tardis, leaving the three of them alone.

I found myself lying on the floor in my room, looking up at the ceiling, thinking. There was nothing in particular that crossed my mind, nothing of real importance. My mind just wandered wherever it pleased although I noticed they drifted towards the Doctor and my relationship with Rose. It was weird. She had pushed us together, giving our relationship the nudge it needed. I knew I still had no claim to him, but I wanted to, I wanted to say he was mine and mine alone. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to tell him. It was strange, me finally acknowledging that I wanted him, that I was either falling or had already fallen for the man. It's almost as if I could see myself with him; he and I fitting perfectly. I sighed, knowing he probably couldn't feel that way, even if I knew the opposite. He had no idea the effect he had on people, on me, and I didn't really want him to know... at least not yet.

Oh my gosh I am soooooo sorry it took FOREVER to post this chapter. In the time I was away, I ended up getting a DW tattoo, helping my aunt move, mountain biking, and returning to Maryland. All fun. And now, I'm distracted by the DW marathon on BBC America. AHHH only 3 days left for the new season. So we now have a slightly different mentality for Cerys. While she was so confused by everything, and started the episode quite upset with the lovable Time Lord, she at least understands just how important he is to her... as well as knowing her own faults. But now onto the fun part... REVIEWS.

yellowroseofthenw: Of course she did. Cerys would be a complete jerk if she ended up going in the opposite direction. As for that, Spoilers :)

I'm-a-Klaus-addict: I do love Mickey myself. As for Cerys not wanting to travel with the Doctor, think of it more like why Martha left. Cerys hates how she feels around the Doctor, in the aspect of her emotions and such so her leaving would be her way of saving herself, even if she'd be miserable for the rest of her life. But then again, I think for him, she's willing to deal with it all because of how much she loves him. But it was adorable. I figured since they had the tumultuous start, they deserved a cute scene.

NicoleR85: Glad you loved it. He will apologise but it won't be as soon as you might hope though.

idon'thaveagentleheart1105: Loved the slaps as well. But Cerys might end up leaving him one of these days *wink wink*. But Eleven and Cerys... all I can say is that it'll be a bit of fun

bakaprincess85: Welcome the story :) Thanks for your review and I definitely didn't take it as an insult. I can understand your point and yes, maybe she doesn't seem to be that strong but in my eyes she is. Yes, she has a shetload of weakness and yeah, she might not be the ideal girl the Doctor would fall for but for him to take her on, she'd have to have some strength to her. But eh, that's your opinion and I totally respect it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story otherwise. :)

: Glad you love it and that it's a favourite. That honestly brought a smile to my face. I have noticed the typos as I've gone back to read it after posting but truthfully, I've been to lazy to post the corrections. Thanks so much for all you've said. I sat here trying to figure out how to reply but I couldn't haha. It took me by surprise quite a bit. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the ones to come.