Chapter five – crossing of the ways

They ran. From Ben's earlier search, they knew, that the emergency-transporter was near the bridge. Fortunately the corridors were numbered, so they always knew which way was the right. They managed to avoid all the guards with ducking into empty rooms and hiding in other hallways. It seemed that the captors didn't know that they were still onboard. They were halfway to their destination, when Ben suddenly stopped.

„Why did you stop?" whispered Rose.

„There was a noise. Didn't you hear? It was like a the sound of a lightning, followed by thumps."

„I didn't hear anything. We should move." And with that, she continued her way to the bridge, and Ben followed. After two minutes, he stopped again.

„What now?"

„Do you hear anything?"

„I already said no. No sound, because there isn't …," she stopped, then she realised what her partner was thinking about, „no sound. Everything is quiet.That's not normal. We should be able to hear their movements. Something's happened. Maybe Torchwood?"

„I don't know. But everything went quiet just after I heard that sound. Stay here, I take a look," he said, and Rose started to protest, but Ben clamped his hand on her mouth. „Look. It might be a trap. If I get caught, you can always find a way off. The emergency beam is easy to use. It's always dircted to a safe spot, so just press the red button. Now stay, and I'll come back for you as soon as I can." When Rose nodded, he released her, and left her.

On his way to the main corridor, the first thing he noticed was the dust, and the scattered equipment on the floor. Maybe Rose was right, and Torchwood's found a way to rescue them. But that didn't explain the silence. The doors were open he should have been able to hear something. At this point he was almost sure that they were alone on the ship. He silently entered a room, which turned out to be the bridge itself. It was as dusty as the corridors, but when he looked closer, everything immediately made sense. It wasn't dust, it was ash. The ashes of every people on board, save Rose and himself. He made his way to the main console, to find out what could've happened. He picked up a gun, which was probably the property of the captain, and started to type. He found nothing that would explain why the staff's turned into dust. He noticed that one ship was missing from the hangar. When he heard a noise behind his back, he turned and pointed his gun at the intruder; Rose.

„What are you doing here? I told you to stay put! I could've shoot you."

„I was bored," he glared at her, so she added, „I was careful. Did you find anything? Where are the others?"

„You're standing on them." After Rose's jumped off of a bigger pile of ash, he continued, „Something turned our friends into dust. It must've been controlled from an external source, because there is no sign of it in the computers."

„So somebody killed everybody off? How come we're alive?"

„My theory is that the killer turned some equipment, maybe the radio on their clothes into some kind of bomb. When he activated them, everybody with said equipment...well, was fried. I think it was the sound I heard. The lightning sound was the bomb-thingy, and the thumps when the remaining guns and other things hit the floor."

„Anything else?"

„A ship is missing. The killer is gone. He probably went to Earth."

„ We should do that too. We have a man to find," then she added, „How do you know it's a man?"

„It's called brotherhood for a reason, Love. No women are allowed on the ship."

„Smartass," she mumbled, then looked around, "Now get us off of this flying cemetary."

„Ja, mein Führer. Have anybod ever told you, that you have a disturbing imagination?" he changed topic when Rose lifted her hand in a threathening fashion. "The transporter is on the other side of the bridge, come on."

„Anyway where did you send the other people?" she asked on their way.

„To the labs under the Thames. It was emptied a year ago, now they use it to store old files, so don't worry. There is enough room for them, and they won't cause a commotion like they would on a square," said Ben, while typing in the requested coordinates.

„You know, if you sent them to a ..I dunno, a forest, we wouldn't have any paperwork for the next week."

„Too late. We are going to Vi's office, so we won't have to go through the security checks on the way to the boss' office," he explained and when Rose nodded, Ben continued, „ Okay, Torchwood, here we come!" And with that, he pressed the button, and the now familiar white lights engulfed them.

Meanwhile in the Torchwood tower Jackie Tyler wasn't amused. First his husband wanted to keep her away, then the security guard at the entrance didn't recognise her, and didn't want to let her in. After a long argument, she got past, and hurried toward the elevator. On the 40th floor she got out, and walked toward the other elevator, which only worked when a password was given, and which was the easiest way to get to the 50th floor, to Pete's office. So she was about to get in, when an awfully familiar bloke and an unfamiliar woman hurried past her, without noticing her. She got in after them, and stood in the corner. She was glaring at the Doctor's back with her hands on her hips, while waiting for him to notice her. She didn't have to wait for long. After pushing the button, the man turned to the other woman, but noticed her instead. He froze. They were just staring at each other for long moments; Jackie with anger in her eyes, the Doctor with fear in his. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, the Doctor slowly backed out, and was about to run, when the screech stopped him.

„DOCTOR," screamed Jackie, „move another inch, an' I swear I'll slap that head of yours off ya neck!"

„Hi Jackie! Did you miss me?" he tried to joke, but Jackie didn't found it funny.

„Missing ya? I'll give ya a missin'. D'ya know what 'ave ya done? You broke my little girl's heart. You said goodbye, told 'er you can't come back; and then ya waltz back an' expect us to miss ya? I bet the whole kidnappin' is your fault too. You show up, an' the evil aliens follow. So? What d'ya hav' to say? Huh?"

After the woman's – Jackie's – scream, Martha noticed three people rushing out of an office. She know one, recognised the other, and assumed that the third was the Pete Tyler they were searching for. She turned back to hear the Doctor's question, and stepped towards them when Jackie started to rant; but a hand caught her arm. She turned, and came face to face with Violet, who said,

„Don't interrupt. When her accent comes through, Jacks is very-very angry. And when Jacks is that angry, the possibility of getting slapped is very high."

And in the moment she said that, they heard the sound of the aforementioned acivity, followed by whimpering the noises the Doctor let out.

Then Pete stepped between them, and calmed Jackie down. He told her what he heard from Violet, and that the Doctor is searching for a way to get their daughter back. That did the trick. Jackie stopped glaring, and followed Pete when he motioned to them to go into the office. When they were all seated, Pete said,

„Okay. Now somebody tell me, what exactly happened since you three," he nodded towards the Doctor, Jack and Martha, „entered the building."

Violet spoke up, „I caught the Doctor snooping around the lab. I recognised him from the picture Rose once showed me. I got him to take me to the others, and when we were all together, I confronted them. Apparently they didn't know where they were. After the introductions I gave them basic information about today's events. I dropped the Doctor and miss Jones down at the labs, and escorted Captain Harkness here. You know the rest."

„Good, but dr Black. If you give out top secret information without permission again, you're fired." When the woman nodded, Pete turned to the Doctor, „Did you find anything we didn't?"

„Yes I did. I read the files and the saw the scans, I'm sure they're not the sycorax, but you already gathered that," he said, while rubbing the spot Jackie hit earlier. "What you don't know, that the ship is not even from this time. Fields like that were not invented until the 61th century, at least in my universe. The abduction of the people reminds me of the method of the draconians. They use the abducted people to create epidemics to kill off the inhabitants. As I said, it's not my world, things may be different, but you should get your medics ready. If the aliens send back infected people, they'll have to search for a cure immediately."

„Right. Do you have other tipps who they could be?"

„No. I know three species that have this kind of shield, but only one of them can travel in time."

Pete was about to ask more questions, when he was interupted.

„They're back," said a voice from the door, and when the occupants of the room looked up, they saw dr. Owen Harper leaning against the doorframe. When he saw that they noticed him, he continued, „I mean Rose and Ben"

When the shock wore off, Owen was bombarded with questions. „What happened?" „How did they escape" „Where is Rose?"

Owen choose to answer the last question first, 'cause he didn't know the answer to the first to and said, „She's in the infirmary. She sprained her wrist, Ben's with her"

„Did they hurt her?" asked Jackie and the Doctor in unison

„No, there was a little accident on their way back. Ben accidentally landed her on the stair, she lost her balance, and fell off."

„Where is the infirmary?" asked the Doctor, and when he received the answer, he ran out of the room, while the others watched him with an amused expression on their face. Jackie decided, that she'll let the Doctor speak to her daughter first. After all, she spent eight hours away from her, in the man's case it was most likely years.

„Who is he?" asked Owen, after getting up. The Doctor knocked him down when he ran out.

„The Doctor," replied Jackie, in a suprisingly soft voice.

„The Doctor? Doctor who?"

The Doctor was running towards the infirmary like the crazy alien he was. On his way he bumped into at least ten other people, but he didn't care, he was going to see Rose. He heard her voice before he saw her. She was talking to someone, probably her partner.

„Did you really have to dump me on the stairs? If you wanted to get back for the 'smartass' comment, you could've just spill super-glue on my chair," she exclaimed.

„For the sixth and last time, it was an accident," he said, but Rose continued her rant, ignoring him.

„I swear, that was worst landing of my life. A blind horse would've parked with more accuracy than you, my dear," she said, and her partner – Bart? - was getting annoyed. His answer came out a little deseperately.

„I haven't seen that language for years, I wasn't even sure that we will arrive in the bloody building. So be happy that it was only the stairs. It could've been the river. Or a middle of a vulcano."

„In that case I thank you, that you didn't off me. But for the records, you have the worst parking skills in the universe."

The Doctor choose this moment to make his entrance, and he said, „But only in this universe. In an interdimensional competition I'd be the winner. Right Rose?"

He watched as Rose froze for a moment, then slowly turned around with a disbelieving expression on her face. When she saw him, the disbelief turned into shock, the shock into joy. And in a blink of an eye he had her in his arms. Almost all the coherent thoughts slipped his mind for the second time that day, so he said the only thing that remained,

„I love you."