Sorry for the delay on updating. Been battling a nasty cold for the past couple of days, and before that I had to deal with the Thanksgiving Holiday.
I am so thrilled to see people are enjoying the rewrites. It has been a joy for me to return to the Doctor Who fanfiction world. Thank you all for your continued support in these stories.
Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who.
The Doctor walks around the barn while keeping his eyes on his girls. Since Jack's kidnapping, he is afraid that Jenny or Rose might also become a target to the Cybermen. Nor is the Doctor one to sit on the sidelines, waiting for something to happen to his family.
Earlier in the night, after coming back to his family, the Doctor had watched as Rose and Jenny readied themselves for sleep. Now, Jenny is fast asleep on a pallet with several wool blankets covering her form. Rose, however, has yet to fall asleep. Even though she is lying on a pallet for her and the Doctor, she still hasn't found sleep knowing that their son is somewhere else.
A noise from the other side of the barn, catches the Doctor's attention. Slowly he rises up from where he is seated, and slowly makes his way to where the stables near the far end of the barn.
Inside one of the stables, the other man is standing next to a barrel that has a small wash basin in it.
"So you live here, in this barn?" the Doctor asks the other Doctor.
"A temporary base until we rout the enemy." The man proceeds to use the cloth and water to wipe the sweat and grime off. "The Tardis is magnificent, but it's hardly a home."
"And where is the Tardis?"
Since hearing the other Doctor mention the Tardis, the Doctor's curiosity had risen about how his ship may look during this regeneration. Would it still have the current coral look, or would it change to something different?
"In the yard." The man replies in a nonchalant voice.
Looking around, the Doctor notices that there are several trunks and other personal objects or furniture in the stables. "Um, what's all this luggage?"
"It's evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita. Much like myself." The man says as he begins to root around one of the many trunks. "He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say he was braver than I. He was quite brilliant. Are you whistling again?"
The Doctor, while listening to the man speak, had begun to take scans of the trunks with his sonic screwdriver. After turning about, his sonic started to whirl in a higher tone to signal that it found something.
"Yes. Yes, he is."
The Doctor, Rosita, and the other Doctor turn to see Rose leaning against a wooden pillar. She is still wearing her dress from earlier, but with a plaid, woolen blanket wrapped around herself.
"Do you need anything, Rose?" The Doctor asks while sneaking his sonic screwdriver back into the pocket of his coat.
"Just wondering if I could get some tea to drink." Rose replies sheepishly.
"There should be a pot near the fire that would have some water in it to make tea." Rosita says gesturing for Rose to follow after her.
As the two women leave the men, the Doctor decides to open up the trunk while the other Doctor looks lost in thought on the other side of the stables.
While the Doctor rummages around, Rose and Rosita sit themselves down by the fire pit.
"How did you meet him?" she asks Rosita as the woman opens a tin can full of tea leaves. "The Doctor, I mean?"
Rosita turns her head to look at Rose before answering. "He saved my life. Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this creature came out of the shadows. A man made out of metal. Thought I was going to die. Then there he was, the Doctor. Can you both help him?"
"I don't know?" Rose tells Rosita while watching her place a tea infuser into a cup of hot water. "But we can try."
Rosita gives Rose a smile as she hands the blond woman the cup. "So how did you meet your husband?"
Getting a grin on her face, Rose begins to tell Rosita her tale. "He blew up the building where I worked."
Meanwhile, back in the stables part of the barn, the Doctor continues shuffling through the clothes only to find a metal cylinder. "Well now. What have we here?"
The other Doctor, hearing the real Doctor's words of surprise, makes his way over towards where the pile of trunks are stacked up. Giving the Doctor a quizzical look, the other Doctor then looks at the object that is in the man's hands.
"Looks like Jackson Lake had an info stamp." says the Doctor as he begins to give the metallic tube a closer inspection.
"But how? Is that significant?" the man asks, curious to know why the object was in the trunk.
"The answer to all this, is in your Tardis. May I see it?" the Doctor asks.
"Mr. Smith, it would be my honor."
As the two men headed for the door, Rose and Rosita stop their giggling over sharing their stories. Seeing the determination on her Doctor's face, Rose stands up from her seat, sets her not empty cup of tea down, and begins to follow the Doctor.
"Wait for me; I'm going with you." Rose calls out as she hurries to try and catch up to the Doctor. She doesn't need to go too far since her Doctor comes to a stop and turns to face her.
"No. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Jenny." The Doctor tells Rose with a stern voice.
"But I want to go with you." Rose pleads, using her pout to try and win him over.
The Doctor chuckles at Rose before moving forward to gently kiss Rose. As he breaks the kiss, the Doctor wraps his arms around Rose and whispers in her ear. " I need to know that Jenny and you are safe. I can't find Jack if I'm concerned for the three of you."
Rose pulls her face away from his chest and looks up at his face. She is taken by surprise by what the Doctor has just told her, but she needs to hear him say the words.
"Three? But Jack is still missing. How can there be three of us?"
"Yes, Rose. Three. Jenny, yourself, and a little cluster of cells growing inside you. Multiplying at a decent rate, and coming together to form a tiny Time Tot. Please don't argue with me about wanting to go." He Rose one of his 'Look at me, I'm so clever' grins before placing a quick kiss to her forehead. Knowing that she will do as he asks, this time, the Doctor leaves Rose inside of the barn and hurries to catch up with the other Doctor.
"Oh my god!" Rose places a hand on her stomach and quickly begins to go over when this could have happened. 'Well its only been two maybe three days.' she thinks to herself, 'Then again, you never know how long it has been when you're traveling in the Tardis.'
Down the alleyway closest to the barn, The Doctor follows the man. 'I did what was right.' he mentally tells himself. 'Rose needed to know that she has to think about another life besides her own.'
'Then why are you feelin' guilty?' a northern sounding voice replies in his mind.
'Oh hush up. You were the one started us down this road.'
'Well you were the one that decided to do more than just kiss her, pretty boy.'
'Pretty boy! Well at least I don't have overly large ears.'
Paying more attention to the argument in his mind with his previous regeneration, the Doctor hadn't been paying any attention to where he was going. This lack of attention causes him to literally walk into the other Doctor, who had come to a stop only a few seconds before.
"Careful, there Mr. Smith. Well, there she is. The Tardis." the other man says with pure joy in his voice.
The Doctor looks up and sees... a hot air balloon. "You got a balloon."
"It's the Tardis. T.A.R.D.I.S. It stands for Tethered. Aerial. Release. Developed. In. Style. You see." the man is grinning ear to ear with pride.
"Well...well I do now." whispers the Doctor as he pulls on his earlobe. "What's it filled with? Gas?"
"Yes. I bribed a few people and well... As you can see." The other Doctor gestures up at the balloon with a huge smile upon his face at sharing his "Tardis" with the other man.
Elsewhere in the City, children were being rounded up, and taken into the sewers. Many of them orphans that lived on the streets, while other were taken from the local orphanages.
Jack watches as the metal men usher in the children. From inside his cage, Jack can only hope that his parents and Jenny find him before the metal men commence with their final plans of a hostile takeover.
"Well now. How about you be a good little boy and behave, then I just might let you out." the woman with the deep red dress says while circling his cage.
"How's about you let me go and I tell my dad about your sick...sick...Your sick plans." Jack shouts out with all the fury he can muster without showing fear.
"Hhhmm. How cute and innocent you are. But no matter. Once I become the kings' consort I will no longer have to deal with you and the others. Enjoy this while it lasts little one. Daddy isn't going to be able to save you in time." She smiles an evil grin at Jack before walking away, laughing.
"Daddy." Jack whispers softly to himself while trying to fight back his tears. "Find me."
Back at the barn, the Doctor and the other gentleman have made their way back to their female companions. Yet not all are happy with how the Doctor, aka John Smith, left after telling Rose about their growing Time Tot.
"To leave your wife behind after you tell her that she is having your baby. Mr. Smith, you should be ashamed of yourself." Rosita roars out with anger in her voice just before smacking the Doctor across the cheek with her hand.
"Rosita." the other Doctor exclaims at seeing the woman strike his new friend. "You will apologize to Mr. Smith for your conduct towards him."
"I will not and you can't make me." Rosita bellows out at the other Doctor, which causes the two of them to argue.
The Doctor, still rubbing his now stinging cheek, leaves the pair to their arguments. Walking further into the barn, comes to sit next to Rose on a bail of hay. "Rose?"
"You deserved that you know." Rose says as she looks at the Doctor with a smile on her face. "She could have given Mum a run for her money on just how deadly her slap sounded."
"I bet I did; and I bet Rosita would give the infamous Tyler slap a proper challenge." The Doctor replies with a cheeky grin, but after a moment lets his face turn serious. "I'm sorry, Rose. But you have to understand. If Jenny, Jack, or you get hurt I don't think I could ever forgive myself."
"Don't worry, Doctor. Jenny and I can take care of ourselves. As for Jack, well let's just say that while we were in the parallel world, I taught him a few things. Perhaps even when to use our famous Tyler slaps. Yet he could probably talk his way out of dangerous situations. God knows he inherited your gob."
The two of them chuckle at Rose's statement for they both know that it is true. There had been several occasions where Jack had talked his way out of a punishment that the Doctor was going to give him.
"So, care to tell us your theory then, Mr. Smith." asks the other man as he sits down opposite of the Doctor and Rose. Next to him, his faithful companion Rosita decides to sit down as well to hear the theory.
Jenny, who up to this point had been fast asleep, has woken up from her sleep after having her the loud smack from earlier. Deciding that she might want to hear what is going to be said, Jenny gets up from her bed and walks over to where her parents are seated.
"What's going on now?" Jenny asks as she settles herself next to Rose. She makes sure that the skirts of her dress aren't rumpled to badly from her sleeping in them.
The Doctor takes a deep breath before starting to tell the others of his theory.
"The story begins with the Cybermen. A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought, and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called the Void, locked inside forever more. But a greater battle rose up; so great, that everything inside the void perished. But as the walls of the world weakened, the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. Then they found you."
"I fought them, I know that." The other man says with furrowed brows. "But what happened?"
The Doctor continues, explaining his theory. "At the same time, another man came to London. Mr. Jackson Lake. Plenty of luggage, and money in his pockets. Coming to town for the winter season, I don't know. But he found the Cybermen, too. And just like you, exactly like you, he took hold of an info stamp."
"But he is dead." Replies the other man. "Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him."
"You said they didn't find a body. You kept all the suitcases, but you could never bring yourself to open them. I told you the answer was in the fob watch. Can I see?"
The other Doctor reaches his right hand into the pocket of his vest, and pulls out the watch. Being gentle with the watch, the other Doctor hands it over to the Doctor.
The Doctor carefully turns the watch over so that he can take a look at the back. It is there that the Doctor sees two, English letters engraved on the flat surface.
"J.L." Rose says softly. "But what do those letters stand for?"
"The watch is Jackson Lake's." Answers the Doctor as he looks across to the man that is sitting opposite of him.
"Jackson Lake is you, sir?" Rosita asks, unsure of what to make of this new revelation.
"But I'm the Doctor." The man replies as he looks at the Doctor with such sad eyes.
"You became the Doctor. Because the info stamp you picked up was a book about one particular man." The Doctor pulls out the info-stamp and points the stamp at the wall. Pressing a button on the stamp causes a projection of fast-flashes of many different male faces against the wood wall of the barn.
"Did dad really look that old?" Jenny whispers her question to Rose with curiosity.
"How should I know?" Rose replies as she watches the many different faces flash by. Immediately, she recognizes one of the faces as her "First Doctor". Tears swell in her eyes as she looks at that familiar face with big ears.
"Cybermen's database." The Doctor says to the group. "Stolen by the Daleks from inside the Void, I'd say. It holds everything one might want to know about The Doctor."
"That's you." The man that they now know is Jackson Lake says in amazement as the familiar of his new friend appears.
"Time Lord. Tardis. Enemy of the Cybermen. The one and the only." The Doctor retorts before turning off the info-stamp. "You see the info-stamp must have backfired. Streamed all that information about me right into your head."
Accepting what the Doctor has just told him, Jackson Lake says with such sadness in his voice, "I am nothing but a lie."
"No." Rose says to try and comfort the distraught man. "All that bravery. Saving Rosita, and defending London town. That is all you."
"Info-stamps are just facts and figures." The Doctor says leaning forwards. "Yet you built a Tardis, an invention, that is all you."
Before any other words can be spoken between the five of them, a loud beeping sound starts to come out of the info-stamp. This has captured the Doctor's attention, and he begins to look about the barn with interest.
"What is that?" Jenny asks as she looks around the room, wondering where the beeping sound is coming from.
"Doctor, look." Rose says as she points to the info-stamp in his hand.
"Well that is interesting." He says, looking at the info-stamp's end where a blue light is lit. Remembering the trunks from earlier, The Doctor opens another one. This newly opened trunk is filled with a lot more info-stamps.
"Doctor? What is it?" Rose asks the Doctor as she gets up to follow him.
"You have quite the cash of info-stamps." The Doctor shouts to Jackson Lake as he begins to pull a belt, with several info-stamps on it, from the trunk.
"But dad, what does that noise mean?" Jenny asks the Doctor as she moves to stand next to Rose.
"Activation. A call to arms. The Cybermen are on the move!" The Doctor, realizing what this means, gives Rose and Jenny a look before running out of the barn.
"Brilliant!" Jenny replies as she chases after her dad.
Rose starts to go after the two, but stops just short of the door. "You two coming?"
When neither Mr. Lake or Rosita move, Rose shrugs her shoulders and runs out the door. Lifting the front of her skirts in her hand, Rose heads towards the alleyway where she saw the Doctor and Jenny run into. Yet before she can reach the alleyway, something slams into her from the left which causes her to stumble and fall into some snow.
"Sorry about that, miss." A young male voice chuckles out as he hurries over.
Rose is dazed from the force of the hit, and her vision is slightly blurred from the fall. Yet she doesn't panic or scream as the gentleman helps her up from the ground. If anything, Rose feels completely at ease and safe with the man.
"Clara, you should apologize to the lady. Especially since she is pregnant." The gentleman shouts to his companion.
Rose winces due to how loud the man yells at his companion. Still trying to blink the blurry vision away, she can't tell what the man looks like.
"Sorry, miss. Hope you weren't hurt too badly." A female voice says from just behind Rose. "Didn't see you there."
"Clara, you need to pay more attention to where you are going." The gentleman snaps at the young woman.
"Then maybe you should work on where and when you land the..." Clara retorts before getting cut off.
"Shhh. Clara." The gentleman growls out before talking to Rose once again. "I am sorry Rose Tyler, but you can't remember this. Spoilers."
Rose is taken by surprise that the man knows her name, and when she feels his fingers against her temple all she can do is whimper out one word as her eyes close.
"Doctor?"
As if no time has passed, Rose is standing up right when she opens her eyes and wonders why she has stopped chasing after Jenny and the Doctor. Shrugging off the sense that she is forgetting something, Rose begins to jog to the entrance of the alleyway. After running through the alleyway, she spots the Doctor and Jenny standing down the street, across from a T-junction in the streets. Knowing how fast the Doctor can run, Rose hurries towards where Jenny and the Doctor are standing.
"Dad. What is going on? Why are the children in the streets in the middle of the night?" Jenny asks the Doctor just as Rose comes to a stop on the Doctor's left side.
"That's Mr. Cole. Master of the street house Roskett." says a voice from behind the tree.
Rose, Jenny, and the Doctor turn around to see Rosita coming out from behind it.
"HE told me to follow you all. To help you with anything that you may need." Rosita replies to answer their questioning looks.
"Where is he taking them?" Rose asks.
"Maybe to prayers?" replies Rosita, not sure why the Mr. Cole would be doing such a thing during the late hour.
"It's not that." The Doctor says before jogging over to Mr. Cole. "Can you hear me? Hello?"
The Doctor waves his hand in front of the old man's face, but doesn't get any cognitive response to it.
"Doctor, look at his ear." Rose states as she has now noticed something metallic is being hidden under the old man's hat.
"What is that?" Jenny asks with disgust in her voice.
"Mr. Cole, mind if I?" the Doctor begins to pull out his sonic screwdriver but stops when he hears a low growl.
"It's the creature that took Jack." Jenny shouts as she points at the creature. She starts to walk towards it when the Doctor puts out his hand to stop her.
"They're on guard. Can't risk a fight. Not with the children here." The Doctor tells Jenny as he tightens his hand on her arm.
"But where are they going?" asks Rosita.
"They all need a good whippin' if you ask me." Says a young man with black hair and a grin on his face. "I've just seen another lot coming down from the Ingleby work house."
"Where is that?" Rose asks Rosita, knowing that the woman knows the streets of London better than her.
"This way." Rosita grabs Rose's hand and pulls her along with Jenny and the Doctor right behind them.
They run down a few alleyways and up a few streets before running into another group of children. They too are walking down the cold, snow covered streets as well.
"There are dozens of them." Jenny points out to her parents.
"But what for?" The Doctor muses to himself, trying to think of where the children were being taken to.
Somewhere in the city…
Jack, still in his cage, watches helplessly as large groups of children are being herded into the 'work' room. Some of the older children look at him with fear and uncertainty in their eyes.
'Why kids?' Jack asks himself in his mind. 'What do they need kids for? Mum's stories of the metal men were of death.'
Reaching out with his mind, Jack tries to find his dad but there is some kind of mental wall that is keeping him from touching his dad's mind.
'Got to find another way.' He thinks to himself. Jack tries again to reach out for his dad's mind, but instead touches another.
'Need some help, young one?' A concerned, male voice whispers in Jack's mind.
'Who are you?' Jack asks, wondering just who it is that he is talking to. There is a small familiarity from the gentle caress of the new persons' mind.
'Someone who might be able to help you contact the Tardis. Now, in your mind, picture yourself in a field. That is where she will be waiting for you. I'm sorry that I can't help you further, but you are part of set events, and I cannot interfere. I have no idea why I am even here, but that is a story for another time.'
'But...'
'Don't argue with me, Jack Theta Tyler, son of the Doctor, just do it!' The male voice snaps at Jack in his mind before gently whispering. 'And good luck, my boy.' Before pulling away from Jack's mind.
'Bye?' Jack keeps his eyes shut and lets his mind wander to create an open field. 'Hello? Anyone here?'
'Turn around, my pup.' A gentle sounding female voice says, with a warmth seeping into Jack's mind.
In Jack's mind field, his mental vision turns around to see a sharp blue, with hints of silver in it, swirling cloud. Next to this cloud is another cloud which has a blend of red, orange, and gold swirling within it.
'Who are you? You're not my father's previous or future selves are you? Or mine?' Jack's mind asks the two swirling colored clouds.
The red, orange and gold color combination cloud rumbles in response to Jack's question. 'Exactly like your father you are, young one; and no, I am not a future or past self of your father, or you. You have your father's looks, of course he got those from his own mother.'
'Who are you? And why are you shaped like a cloud.'
'Well young one, let's just say that we know your father very well.' The blue and silvered colored cloud rumbles. 'As for the us being colored clouds, this is how we are represented in our minds; and our colors is what sets us apart. You, yourself, are a cloud here in your mind, and such a handsome blend of slate and pale gold.'
'Gets that gold from me.' The red, orange, and gold colored cloud rumbles with joy.
'Only because you merged yourself with his mother.' The blue and silver cloud rumbles out loudly.
'But who are you? You both seem to know who my parents are, yet I don't know who you are.' His father once told Jack that if someone has entered your mind without your permission, to question that person till he can come and chase that person out. However, his dad wasn't here, so Jack would keep asking questions till he could figure out what to do next.
'Your father has taught you well. However, he still needs to teach you to keep people from listening to you talking to yourself. So, now you want to know why we are here. The answer is simple. Gallifreyan's have some amazing abilities. Not only can we regenerate, but we can also link our minds together. As to who we are, the tri-colored one over there is the Tardis. I, however, cannot tell you who I am just yet.'
'So you are saying that one of you is my dads' Tardis?' Jack thinks of the question that his father has always told him to ask. 'What is my father's name?'
Both clouds rumble as if laughing at Jack's question.
'My pup, your father goes by many different names. He can only share his true name with certain people at certain times. But I know your father as my Thief and your mother is my Wolf.' The tri-colored cloud rumbles, sending out another wave of warmth to Jack.
'I know your father as the Oncoming Storm and Time's Champion.' The blue and silver cloud rumbles.
'Now the testing is over with, let's see if we can get a hold of your father, alright?' The other cloud rumbles out before coming towards Jack. 'You have nothing to fear from us, my pup. We will only be helping you amplify your telepathy so that you may contact your father.'
'Okay.' Jack's mind replies before allowing the two clouds to merge with his own mind.
'Daddy!'
The Doctor stumbles a bit while walking and quickly places a hand to his forehead. Something, no someone, was trying to break through his mind barriers. From hearing that one-word echo through his mind, the Doctor knows that it was Jack who was calling to him. But how could his young son be able to have that much force behind it. There, in a tiny corner of his mind the Doctor feels his connection to the Tardis tingle; as if she was laughing at him.
"Doctor? Doctor?" Rose asks the Doctor as she places a hand against his cheek. "What is it?"
"Jack." The Doctor whispers with his locked on Rose's hazel ones. "Rose, I felt him. He is alright, and he is somewhere close, but where?"
The Doctor manically begins dart around the street, as if searching for some kind of clues as to where his son is.
"Dad!" Jenny shouts from up the street a bit. "Rosita has found the entrance to the sewers. She says it eventually leads to the Thames."
"Right." The Doctor says with a manic smile on his face. "That is where they must be taking the children then."
Jenny leads her parents to where Rosita is hiding by a pile of wooden boxes and empty kegs. They all watched as the children entered through heavy, black the doors.
"We are going to have to find another way in." Rose whispers out after Rosita explains that the door lead down into the sewers.
"Right this way." The Doctor says as he runs down a short corridor. The others follow him around the corner before coming to a stop at seeing two Cybermen standing under an archway. He makes sure to place himself in front of Rose, to try and protect her.
"Now that is cheating. Sneaking up on us. Got your legs on silent?" The Doctor cheekily says to the Cybermen.
"Do Cybermen have a silent running mode?" Jenny quips, trying to follow her father's lead.
"Oi! Watch it." The Doctor snaps at Jenny. His daughter, sometimes he thinks that she learned too much cheek from Donna.
Out of the shadows a woman wearing a dark red dress comes forth. "Well what do we have here?"
"Get away from them." Rose says calmly but with a hint of concern for the woman. "They'll kill you."
"Oh, but why would they hurt me?" The woman replies with a smile. "They are my fine boys. Knights in shining armor."
"You still have yet to be converted. Walk slowly away from them." The Doctor warns the woman.
"There has been no conversion, sir." The woman replies. " No man has never been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me liberation."
"Who are you?" Jenny and Rosita ask at the same time.
The woman ignores the two ladies and looks straight at the Doctor. "So sir, who exactly are you with such knowledge of my metal friends?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Incorrect. You do not correspond with our image of the Doctor." One of the Cybermen states.
"Oh that is because your database got corrupted. Oh, look at this the Doctor's info-stamp." The Doctor tosses the info-stamp towards one of the Cybermen. "Go on, download."
"This info-stamp's core has been damaged. This info-stamp would damage cyber units."
"Nice try though." Rose says from behind the Doctor.
"Oi! First Jenny, then you. What is with all the cheek lately?"
"Core repaired. Download." One of the Cybermen starts to download the info-stamp. Once it is done with the download, it speaks again. "You are the Doctor."
"Hello." The Doctor raises his hand and wiggles his fingers to go with his reply.
"You will be deleted."
"Before I can die happy, answer me this: what do you need those children, and my son, for?" The Doctor asks the woman with a dead-panned voice.
"What do think children are ever needed for. They are a work force." The woman seriously replies.
"But what for?" Rose asks through gritted teeth.
"Wouldn't you all like to know." The woman gives them a smile before speaking directly to the Cybermen standing on either side of her. "Now delete them."
So, what do you all think? Changed a few things a bit, and added some nice surprises as well. Did you like the new addition of Clara and the Eleven running into Rose. Literally on Clara's part. Don't worry that little addition will be explained in Third Story to this series. Anyone want to take a chance and guess who the blue and silver cloud was in Jack's mind?
Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved.
Selene