Sister Star
Chapter 6: World War III
Almadynis
Disclaimer: Do I look like a millionaire? Then quit asking! I do own Astrid, though. *glomps* No takies!
AN: Beta is on vacation. All mistakes are mine.
AN2: Some aspects of this chapter are inspired by the fanfic 'NotRose' written by NoVacancyMind. I highly recommend it!
Astrid's thoughts
Time was getting short. That's an interesting sentence when you travel with a Time Lord. Soon, Margaret—the Slitheen posing as Margaret—would get tired of holding up the body of Indra and would turn to them. A thought suddenly occurred to Astrid and while Margaret was dealing with Indra, she—still holding Rose's and Harriet's hands—slowly pulled the two women to the left, around the table, and was three-quarters down the huge Cabinet Room table opposite to the Slitheen when Margaret realized they weren't where she had last seen them. Astrid pushed the two woman ahead of her and yelled, "RUN!"
Where's the electricity? Oh…I told the Doctor, so he probably did something, which means the people I tried to save will more than likely live…but we get no respite from the one trying to kill us! No good deed goes unpunished…but in the long run, that is what, twenty people sa—
Astrid's thoughts were halted when she heard the electricity start behind her and Margaret's screams. Her thoughts immediately turned sad, knowing all the people she had tried to save were dead though they did get an extra minute or two it wasn't enough, even as she shooed Rose and Harriet faster before her, wanting to get as far away from the Slitheen as possible. Rose looked terrified as Harriet whimpered slightly. "Keep going, it won't last for long!"
They were running down a corridor—how does anyone keep track of where they are going in this place, it all looks the same!—when Harriet suddenly jerked to a halt. "No, wait!" Rose looks back, stopping as well. "They're still in there! The emergency protocols! We need them!"
Harriet leads the way at a run, back in the direction they had just come from. Rose follows her, Astrid at the back, but they were quickly forced to change direction as Margaret the Slitheen comes their way. And the chase goes on! They run across a hallway, Astrid closing the door behind them. Margaret simply leapt through it. Rose, Astrid, and Harriet arrive back in another room, shutting the door behind them.
Rose tried to knee open the next locked door they come to when an elevator pinged behind them. Astrid glared at the Doctor—for that was who was in the lift—with his cheerful "Hello!" just calmly used his sonic screwdriver to get the lift doors closed again with a ping. But it had bought them just enough time to get the door open and slip through without Margaret noticing. He's annoying even when he's helping. Or not...The room they found themselves in was a dead end since all the doors in there were locked with nowhere to go next and Margaret on their heels.
Rose took this to mean she should state the obvious. "Hide!" Rose took the spot of behind what looked like someone's sick cross between a hope chest, a desk, and a wine cupboard. Harriet went behind the plain white Chinese silk screen. Astrid looked around and cursed mentally in great detail. She was stuck with being behind the heavy curtains. This is so not good.
Not too long after they were in position, she heard the playfully annoying banter of Margaret Slitheen. "Oh, such fun! Little human children..." Her voice was kinda of bubbly with a trill to it, if that made any sense. It was definitely odd. But I suppose that they think our language and manner of speaking is odd too. "…where are you? Sweet little humeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better..."
Rose chose this moment to bolt from her rather exposed hiding place to right beside Astrid behind the curtain. The brunette gave her friend a reassuring forced smile and reached forward to squeeze her hand tightly.
"...kiss you with my big, green lips." A slurping sound that made Astrid's skin crawl came out of the Slitheen's mouth. Another few seconds of trying desperately to breathe as little as possible. "My brothers." Oh crap, that means there are at least two more in here. Shit!
The voice of Joseph Green, still with the mildly bubbly/trilling aspect to it, came from the direction of the door. " Happy hunting?"
"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink."
The came General Asquith's voice, still bubbly. I guess that is just how all Slitheen sound. Weird. Where the hell is the Doctor? "Sweat…and fear."
"I can smell an old girl... stale bird... brittle bones." Huh, the Tenth Doctor is rude too. I'd wonder if it's a Brit trait, except that Rose isn't. Neither is Harriet, come to think of it. I just hope Harriet doesn't take the bait!
"And ripe youngsters. All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before they snap." Margaret had been padding rather quietly as she spoke and with the last word, swept aside the curtain hiding Astrid and Rose, who screamed shortly. This prompted Harriet to jump from her hiding spot and scream, "No! Take me first! Take me!" Her hands were in a spread-eagle formation, her purse still hanging from one hand as she focused the Slitheen's attention on her, hoping the girls could get away with the time.
Of course, her quite frankly really loud screams—as she had intended, all the better to focus attention—let the Doctor know exactly which door to crash through with a fire extinguisher. He balanced it on the arm of the nearest couch and blasted white foamy stuff in the two closest alien faces. "Out! With me!" Rose gives Astrid a look and in perfect tandem, they each grab a side of the curtain they had been hiding behind and yanked mightily. It ripped immediately and they pulled it over Margaret Slitheen's head while simultaneously stepping forward to follow the Doctor. It took less than a second and by the second number two—because saying 'second second' is just a bit confusing—they were across the room and behind the Doctor and his 'weapon'.
He blows the fire extinguisher once more before frowning at Harriet on his other side, "Who the hell are you?"
Harriet, being Harriet, said the same thing she had constantly the entirety of the last episode. "Harriet Jones - MP for Flydale North." I'm just surprised she didn't pull out her ID again.
"Nice to meet you." He sprayed the Slitheen again.
"Likewise." Harriet said with a smile on her face.
The Doctor blasted the fire extinguisher one more time. Astrid cried out in pain as the Slitheen screamed as well from the extinguisher fluid. It was too much for her ears and she clutched them in agony. The Doctor grabbed hold of her shoulders with one arm and pushed with the other into the small of her back to get her running. Rose and Harriet were already out of the room, the Doctor with Astrid bringing up the rear.
Fortunately for her, the Slitheen didn't scream for much longer and she was able to run at max again. 'There is an insane amount of running involved when you're with him.' When you are right, Donna, you're right. Good grief, I never actually counted how much running would be going on when she said that, but at this rate, I will be able to live up to my dad's favorite saying. 'That which does not kill me has made a tactical error.'
Another corridor. They all looked the same to Astrid, she was just following the line of running people. The Doctor behind her, probably making sure she didn't halt again from the noise the Slitheen were making following them. He called out to Rose in front, "We need to get to the cabinet rooms!"
Harriet piped up. She sure is good at the running. The fact that she is still in her high-heels makes it doubly impressive. Talking and running in high-heels…yup, she is an awesome lady. "The Emergency Protocols are in there! They give instructions on aliens!" Oh, and I forgot. She has a beautiful mind! Though the movie was horrible, they hardly got any facts right in that film.
While she was thinking, the Doctor had maneuvered himself to be infront leading the way, Harriet behind, followed by Rose and then Astrid. He called back to the 40s woman, "Harriet Jones - I like you."
Harriet's tone was so pleasant, as if at tea, that Astrid wondered where the scones were. "I like you too." One day, I'm going to have to make 'real' biscuits for Rose. Proper American ones that go with breakfast with butter and honey. I wonder if the TARDIS will let me use the kitchen?
Astrid thoughts were derailed as she cried out in pain at the Slitheen screech behind them. Rose grabbed her and had to pull her along. "We're almost there. Come on!" Even though Rose now knew exactly why high-pitched sounds hurt her friend, sometimes the moments when it made itself known were really bad timing.
The Doctor leads the train of women down one corridor after another, Rose holding tightly to Astrid's hand just in case, before pausing at a locked door. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver at a dead run and unlocks the door in a second or two. It was enough that they didn't have time to close the door behind them.
The Doctor, thinking quickly as he always did, picked up a decanted bottle of brandy and held his sonic screwdriver up to it. Harriet had grabbed the security protocols, in the conspicuous red briefcase, while this was going on. Rose was on the other side of the Doctor, her hand tightly gripping Astrid's as the brunette was whimpering every once in a while from the sounds the Slitheen made.
The Doctor was not above bluffing. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof! We all go up. So back off." His tone was so serious, despite the playful 'whoof' of course, that the Slitheen did stop and wait for a more opportune moment. "Right then. Question time." His tone went back to being both hard as stone and slightly cheery. He had to perfect that tone for centuries I bet. "Who exactly are the Slitheen?" he dropped the brandy down about six inches but kept his hands in position.
Harriet decided to help. "They're aliens."
The Doctor looked back at her before focusing back on the Slitheen. "Yes. I got that, thanks."
The Joseph Green Slitheen asked curiously, "Who are you, if not human?"
"Who's not human?" Harriet again.
"He's not human." Rose joined the dialogue.
Harriet's response was immediate and incredulous. "He's not human?"
The Doctor looked back again, a little miffed at being caught outside a conversation he was the key player in. "Can I have a bit of hush?"
"Sorry." Harriet actually sounded apologetic too. She really is a wonderful lady. I forgot how accepting she was in the beginning. Damn shame she grew out of it.
He turned back to speak to the Slitheen. "So - what's the plan?"
Harriet couldn't let it go quite yet though. "But he's got a Northern accent."
Astrid wanted to put in her cents worth. So she said the line for Rose, laughing hysterically in her mind. She always loved this scene. "Lots of planets have a north."
The Doctor only half turned this time, "I said hush." He looked back at the Slitheen and held up the brandy threateningly again. "Come on! You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for? Invasion?"
The Slitheen that pretended to be the general spoke, "Why would we invade this godforsaken rock?"
"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?" The Doctor demanded.
"'The Slitheen race'?" He hissed in anger.
"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service." The Green creature actually had the audacity to sound offended.
The Doctor went from a shocked look to another smile, his voice was quiet. "So, you're family?"
The damn thing sounded proud. "A family business."
The implications went by on the Doctor's face in nanoseconds, the realization staying. "Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a 'godforsaken rock'?"
And their luck ran out. "Ahhh... excuse me. Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability...?"
The Doctor nodded, "That's what I said."
"You're making it up!"
"Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it." He offers the old-ish lady the decanter over his right shoulder.
Harriet—god bless her, I needed that laugh—said "You pass it to the left first." Of all the times to be worried about propriety.
"Sorry." He handed it to Rose over his left shoulder.
"Thanks." Rose said mostly out of habit.
"Now we can end this hunt... with a slaughter." The general Slitheen raised his claws menacingly. He probably enjoyed the smell of adrenaline already rushing back through the women's veins.
The Doctor however, just crossed his arms over his chest. Rose was concerned as she asked, "Don't you think we should run?"
The Slitheen shuffled forward as the Doctor spoke in a tone that was both cheery and a bit like her college professor. "Fascinating history, Downing Street. Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr. Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He flipped up a gray cover and pressed a switch that was by the door. "End of lesson."
Every entrance to the Cabinet Room was immediately blocked by metal shutters meeting in the middle in a tooth-like joining.
The Doctor turned back to face the room and subsequently Rose, Astrid, and Harriet. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."
Rose once again asked the obvious. "And how do we get out?"
Silence quiet enough that the proverbial pin could have been dropped. Astrid basked in the silence of the Slitheen sounds as the Doctor, his grin never faltering, said "Ah."
Astrid watched emotionlessly as the Doctor dragged the body of the junior secretary into the closet. He had already dragged in the former Prime Minister. Or as emotionlessly as she could get. It was starting to get a bit much. Trying to save them didn't seem to help things at all. And I'm the reason he's dead. It's my fault.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Doctor's voice, "What was his name?"
Harriet answered absently. "Who?"
"This one - the secretary or whatever he was called."
Harriet got up from her spot reading the emergency protocols, walking over to have a look at who he was talking about. "I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." She was a nice lady, and sounded genuinely upset and apologetic that she had overlooked something as important as a name.
At least I can do some little good. Astrid cleared her throat. "Indra. His name was Indra."
The Doctor glanced at her briefly before he focused on the body. He crossed Indra's arms over his chest and said quietly, "Sorry Indra." He got up and there was a determined swagger to his stride as he came fully into the Cabinet Room. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals? Anything?"
Rose, who had been making herself useful by looking anywhere and everywhere in the room for anything that might be remotely helpful, answered with annoyance clear in her voice. "No. The place is antique. What I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"
The Doctor was using his sonic screwdriver to go over the metal-shielded windows. "He's too slim - they're big old beasts, they need to fit inside big humans."
Rose was still confused, but her tone at least had gone from annoyance to curiosity. "But the Slitheen are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside?"
He looked at her for a few seconds before answering absently as he continued to examine each of the windows. "That's the device around their necks - compression field - literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."
The blond was a bit miffed as she commented, "Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller."
Harriet, the lovely lady, was quick to reprimand her. "Excuse me, people are dead. This is not the time for making jokes."
"Sorry... you get used to this stuff when you're friends with him." Rose pointed to the Doctor in explanation.
"Well, that's a strange friendship."
Astrid spoke up from her position in the corner of the room, arms crossed defensively over her chest, just watching the proceedings. "There are two ways to deal with prolonged combat conditions: find the humor or break down. Rose and the Doctor like to make jokes."
Harriet looked at the brunette in concern. "And you?"
"I break down after the situation has resolved itself."
The Doctor took this time to turn to Astrid and gave her a look she couldn't quite identify. "No you don't. Those that break down give up. You haven't. I've seen you, watched you. You find the humor in situations as well; you just keep it to yourself." He suddenly got sidetracked by a thought that occurred to him and he turned his full attention, always a heady thing, to the more experienced brunette. "Harriet Jones - I've heard that name before - Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?"
She laughed with self-deprecation. "Hardly!"
"Rings a bell, Harriet Jones..." He looked as though he was struggling to remember something. Astrid giggled, knowing exactly what he was trying to remember. I can't tell him while Harriet's in the room though. Plus, he looks cute with that face. She caught the knowing look on his face along with an 'I told you so' gleam in his eyes and Astrid's mouth dropped open. He did that on purpose! He made me laugh, in this crappy situation, he made me laugh. Oh, this is bad…
Her thoughts were sidetracked by Harriet's exasperated reply. "Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now. The protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all unconscious in hospital."
Astrid froze. Her mind ground to an abrupt halt. She knew that line and it was wrong. Her blue eyes, recently free from a lifelong need for glasses courtesy of the Doctor's medical bay, jumped to his face. Her voice cut through the conversation, filled with hope, her eyes focused on the Doctor. "Unconscious?"
He looked at her as he split into an ear-to-ear grin. "Yes."
"They're not dead?" Just to confirm, best to confirm. It's better than asking 'Really and truly?'.
"No." His solemn, no-nonsense voice coupled with the ear-splitting grin had her dancing on the spot. She flung herself at him, hugging him for all she was worth—a true glomp—and laughing in delight. He was laughing with her, too.
When they finally got calmed down, or more specifically when Astrid got herself calmed down, Harriet asked, "Why would you think they were dead?"
Once again, Astrid froze. She cleared her throat before answering hesitantly, "I'm not exactly from this dimension. In my world, this has already happened. I'm trying to change it."
Harriet's face was thoughtful as she tried to understand the implications of Astrid's confession. Rose cut in before the lady could ask anything REALLY difficult, moving around the table to stand beside the older woman. "Hasn't the protocols got like, defense codes and things?" She gestured, one hand going up in a smooth motion. "Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at 'em?"
Harriet was suitably distracted as she stared at the blond. "You're a very violent young woman."
Rose had a tone of amusement in her voice at the success of 'Operation Distract Harriet' as she continued. "I'm serious! We could!"
"Well, there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."
The Doctor, having gone back to examining every wall and window and was now onto the mantelpiece with his screwdriver after Astrid's hug, stopped what he was doing, turned to face Harriet. "Say that again." He crossed to stand beside the lady, leaning against a chair back.
"What, about the codes?" Harriet's voice was curious, not quite understanding.
"Anything. All of it." His face was deep in thoughts, frowning as he contemplated her next answer. He had a glimmer of an idea.
Harriet thought a moment. "Um, well... the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN."
"Like that's every stopped them." Rose put in her two cents.
"Exactly, given our past record - and I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the governments hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"
His reply was almost absent as he replied. "Everything's important."
"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal!" Harriet was a bit incredulous at the end of her statements.
Rose however was genuinely curious. "What do they want, though?"
The Doctor started to walk, a bit like pacing without the back and forth, as he answered and worked it out for himself. "Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen world. They're out to make money, which means they want to use something. Something here on Earth... some kind of asset.
Harriet chipped in, proving again how such a neat lady she was. "Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?"
The Doctor seemed to think so too, grinning at her. "You're very good at this."
She was beyond pleased. "Thank you." Astrid was surprised she wasn't blushing.
He went back to being thoughtful, trying to remember. "Harriet Jones - why do I know that name?"
They all got distracted by Rose's phone beeping. "That's me." She took it out of her pocket.
Harriet went back to being incredulous. "But we're sealed off - how did you get a signal?" I wonder if she feels like a yo-yo. Astrid giggled softly.
Rose held out the phone to show that it was on and working. "He zapped it! Super-phone." She began to push buttons and fiddle with it to see who had sent her something and what the something was.
Harriet turned to the Doctor and half pleaded. "Then we can phone for help! You must have contacts."
"All in hospital, yeah."
The blond's voice was distracted as she explained. "It's Mickey."
He was now irritated, he really didn't like her boyfriend. "Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."
"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." She handed the Doctor her phone. He takes it and sees that Mickey had sent her the photo of the Slitheen in Jackie's kitchen, getting electrocuted. Mickey called her and Rose listened intently before asking, "Is she alright, though? Don't put her on, just tell me."
The Doctor snatched the phone from her hand and put it up to his ear. "Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer." He was more than a little annoyed at having to rely on a 'stupid ape' to get information. He paused, listening. "Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but eh…I need you."
Rose grinned by his elbow.
While Mickey was doing as he was told, the Doctor had found the speakerphone and was hooking Rose's phone up so that all of them could hear. Something comes out, but the buzz of the wire blocked it. "Say it again."
Mickey's voice came out loud and clear. "It's asking for the password."
Harriet was pouring them all a glass of brandy in the corner of the table as Rose and the Doctor were in the middle with the speakerphone. Astrid was sitting across from the two, just listening. She was still in a nice spot from learning at least some good had come from her meddling.
The Doctor spoke clearly. "Buffalo - two Fs, one L."
Jackie said something about a website with a question in her tone and Mickey's voice came through as he explained. "All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."
The Doctor's irritation at Rose's boyfriend came through loud and clear. "Mickey, you were born in the dark!"
Rose was now, of course, irritated at the Doctor for picking on him. "Oh, leave him alone."
Mickey said, "Thank you." He clicked something before talking to the Doctor again. "Password again."
The Doctor was a bit better after Rose's rebuke. "Just repeat it, every time." He moved around the table as Harriet started to pass out the brandy. "Big Ben - why did the Slitheen hit Big Ben?"
Harriet handed the Doctor his glass as she answered, "You said to gather the experts…to kill them."
He shook his head. "That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, you don't need to crash land in the middle of London. Astrid, what can you tell us?"
The brunette took the drink from Harriet when it was handed to her, but just set it on the table. She was a very happy drunk as well as a very cheap drunk. One shot would do her in, and this really wasn't a good time for a giggle-fest. "Do you REALLY want me to tell you?" She knew how much he liked a challenge. She was rewarded for her insight into his character with a big grin and she laughed. At this point it wouldn't help anyway.
Rose chipped in again. "The Slitheen were hiding, but then they put the entire planet on red alert, what would they do that for?"
Jackie's voice came through on the speaker. "Oh, listen to her."
"At least I'm trying!"
Jackie was back to her usual demanding self. "Well, I've got a question if you don't mind. Because since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughters disappeared off the face of the Earth."
Rose quietly answered, "I told you what happened."
Her mother cut through. "I'm talking to him! 'Cause I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this…is my daughter safe?"
Astrid's heart wrenched at the singular use of 'daughter', but she spoke up from her place. "Jackie. You know I would never let Rose put herself in harm's way. You know that. I'll protect Rose with everything I have. I'll always choose Rose."
She saw the look on the Doctor's face though and knew the original question had hit home. That intense stare of his that seemed to look through the table. He glanced up at the brunette and they shared that look, both willing to rise up to her promise.
Jackie's voice was insistent. "Astrid, you may as well be my daughter too. So, tell me Doctor. Are they safe? Will they always be safe? Can you promise me that?" She had changed pronouns, but the damage was done. Astrid knew that even though Jackie might say that she was her daughter and mean it at the time, she never would be. Rose was all the family she had, all she ever would have again.
The Doctor turns his stare to Rose. Rose doesn't completely understand what Astrid has said or that the Doctor had agreed, her face was just an apology for her mother.
"Well, what's the answer?"
Mickey apparently had gotten back control of the phone. "We're in."
The Doctor and Astrid were let off the hook. The Doctor rushed around the table to stand by Astrid's side as he stared at the speaker. "Right then. On the left, there's a tab—an icon—little concentric circles. Click on that."
A sound came through the phone in a repeated pattern of incomprehensible beeps with a hum underneath. Mickey asked, "What is it?"
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what its saying."
Jackie said something but Mickey whispered, "Hush."
The Doctor ignored them both. "It's some sort of message."
Rose was as curious as ever. "What's it say?" Though from her perspective, this hasn't happened yet and it is all new. She actually has things to be curious about.
"Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating." A doorbell rings and the Doctor snarls over the phone. "Hush!"
Mickey explained. "That's not me." Presumably to Jackie he continued, "Go and see who that is." Jackie said something, to which he answered in exasperation. "Well go and tell them that."
The Doctor was still concentrating on the signal message. "It's beaming out into space, who's it for?"
A few more doorbells. Then Jackie's voice came through, though unintelligible, she was frightened. Mickey said in a flat tone. "They've found us."
"Mickey, I need that signal."
Rose, however, had no problems with talking right over him and yelling. "Never mind the signal, mum just get out! Get out! Get out!"
Mickey was being remarkably calm about all of this. "We can't, it's by the front door." A weird buzzing came through the phone and then, "Oh, my God. It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us."
Harriet yelled out. "There's got to be some way of stopping them!" She gestured to the Doctor as she angrily demanded. "You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!"
"I'm trying!"
Astrid took this time to sit upright; her eyes were intently closed as she tried to remember the exact wording. Sometimes her ADD came in handy and this was one of the times. All of the information was triggering the memory of the episode in vivid detail and as she closed her eyes, she could picture it in her mind, hear the voices of the actors. The only downside was that she had to do it in order from wherever she remembered. Her biggest memory of this specific time in the episode was the 'narrows it down' part of the Doctor's speech.
Rose knew the look of intense concentration on her friend's face and her eyes widened in understanding. "Come on, Astrid. It's my mother. Please!" Her voice, though pleading, was quiet. Rose had asked about the look before, what Astrid did when she looked that way, and knew that the wrong sound would make her start over.
The Doctor's attention was jerked to the brunette sitting by his side and watched as her eyes went back and forth like she was in REM sleep, her head tilted to the side as if listening.
Astrid suddenly blinked and leaned in. "Mickey, hand the phone to Jackie." She listened as the phone audibly changed hands. "Jackie! In the kitchen, go the cupboard by the sink. On the middle shelf. Grab the pitcher in the right hand sink and fill it with anything and everything containing vinegar."
Jackie's voice came through as she did exactly as asked and was excited when she found what was needed. "Gherkins! Yeah! Pickled onions! Picked eggs!"
The Doctor was incredulous as he asked Rose, "You kiss this man?"
Astrid ignored him. "Jackie, throw the concoction into the Slitheen's face. Preferably when he's out in the hallway and not your living room." She listened intently and then smiled brightly when a loud 'BANG!' came through the phone. She sat back in relief.
The Doctor, Rose, and Harriet gave great sighs of relief as well. Harriet was giving Astrid a very interesting expression. Astrid swallowed harshly at that look. Eventually, 'The Christmas Invasion' will happen, she'll be Prime Minister…and I think I'll be really screwed if she gets her hands on me then.
The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "Which planet?"
Astrid blushed scarlet. "I can't pronounce it. Rexicorac—Raxicorico—Raxacorico—"
He grinned at her. "Raxacoricofallapatorius."
"Yup! That one!" She smiled up at him.
Mickey came back on the line. "Listen to this."
Joseph Green's voice was next to be heard. "Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds."
The Doctor was rightfully confused. "What?"
"Our technicians can…baffle…the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the ship is our only chance of survival. Because...from this moment on...it is my solemn duty to inform you...planet Earth is at war." If I didn't know any better, he'd convince me. That's a little scary. Good thing I know better.
The Doctor moved around the table, pointing and glaring at the speakerphone. "He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it."
"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet was understandably upset.
Rose commented quietly. "They did last time."
The Doctor moved toward the door as he spoke, he finally knew what the Slitheen wanted. He really didn't like it either. "That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking, because you lot—you get scared, you lash out."
Rose understood too. "They release the defense codes..."
"And the Slitheen go nuclear." The Doctor finished her sentence.
Harriet didn't yet fully comprehend what made the aliens come. "But why?" She will soon.
The Doctor opened the metal shutters with a click of the gray button. The Slitheen were still standing outside the door. Almost as if they were waiting for us to come out. That's really smart, but I'd rather the bad guys not be smart. Can't the bad guys be stupid for once!"You get the codes, release the missiles—but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."
Margaret Slitheen, still in her skin suit, came from behind the three other Slitheen to stand before the Doctor. "And we can sit through it in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed. Just parked. Only two minutes away!"
Harriet still didn't understand and she demanded an answer. "But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?"
The Doctor did. "Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space—an advert."
Margaret was actually remarkably calm, collected, and disgustingly smug. "Sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."
The Doctor was just matter-of-fact about it. He was very calm. "At the cost of 5 billion lives." The Ninth Doctor is always more dangerous when he's calm. So's the Tenth. Eleven is more dangerous when he's emotional. At least I know what's going to happen. Makes it a little bit less scary, and I can predict what will set him off. Though that doesn't take much thought. 'I'm going to stop you from killing the Earth.' Yup…and here comes the idiocy.
Margaret was still super smug. "Bargain!"
"Then I give you a choice—leave this planet or I'll stop you."
All of the Slitheen start to laugh. They have no idea they have brought down the wrath of the Lonely God onto their heads. They should be more careful. Margaret especially. "What? You? Trapped in your box?"
The Doctor just stared at her. His expression didn't change; a mask of emotionless calm. "Yes. Me." Margaret stopped laughing, the smirk fading from her features, as he pressed the button again and the metal shutters closed back into place.
Mickey had apparently set the phone on top of the TV set, since the sound of the newsreader came through loud and clear with no muffling. "It's midnight here in New York. The United Nations has gathered. England has provided them with absolute proof that the massive weapons of mass destruction do exist. The Security Council will be making a resolution in a matter of minutes. And once the codes are released, humanity's first interplanetary war begins."
Jackie speaks into the phone anxiously. "Alright, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."
Harriet, ever the clever lady, comments, "If we could ferment the porch, we could make acetic acid."
Rose was trying to help. "Mickey, any luck?"
"There's loads of emergency numbers—they're all on voicemail."
The Doctor was standing quietly with his arms folded, leaning against the wall away from the others. He face conveyed how deep in thought he actually was. He looked up at the young brunette and saw that she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Harriet was sad. "Voicemail dooms us all."
Astrid looked straight into the Doctor's eyes and slowly, deliberately, nodded her head. She knew. And she agreed.
Rose was just shy of desperate. "If we could just get out of here..."
The Doctor, encouraged by Astrid's agreement with his decision, voiced calmly. "There's a way out."
Rose was incredulous as she spun to face him. "What?"
"There's always been a way out."
"Then why don't we use it?"
The Doctor strided over to the table and leaned over to speak into the phone. He spoke directly to Jackie. "Because I can't guarantee your daughters will be safe."
Jackie, being Jackie, was immediately against the idea. "Don't you dare! Whatever it is, don't you dare!"
"That's the thing, if I don't dare, everyone dies."
"Do it." It was said in stereo from both girls. They glanced at each other before turning both of their attention onto him.
The Doctor looks up at the pair of them. Both standing side by side, one pair of knowing eyes and two pairs of trusting eyes. "Rose, you don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"
Rose simply said, "Yeah."
Astrid was a bit more vocal. "Even if I didn't know, I would let you. Doctor, I know you. I trust you more than anyone else. Do it."
All he could do was stare at the two of them. Such trust from two humans after so little time. It was incredible.
Jackie's voice came through again. "Please, Doctor. Please! They're my daughters, they're just kids!"
His voice was soft, but it was kind of pleading. Maybe he wants her to understand. "Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie, it's not fun, it's not smart. It's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."
Rose was just as quiet as before, but her eyes conveyed her trust. She would follow this man until the ends of the universe and back. She knew Astrid would too. "Then what're you waiting for?"
He looked back up at the two of them. Astrid could see it in his own eyes. He truly cares about us. About both of us. Even me. It was in his face, his eyes, his body language, and his tone. "I could save the world but lose you both." They could see in his eyes, that he could never make that decision. He had already done it once, Astrid knew, sacrificing his world and others for the sake of the universe. He couldn't do it again, not to them. He cared about them too much.
Rose and Astrid looked into the Doctor's eyes as he looked into theirs. Rose finally averted her gaze after a few seconds, smiling slightly in understanding. Then she saw Astrid's face and her heart warmed. She knew now that her sister in all but blood had a crush, and a strong crush at that. It was about damn time!
"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine." Harriet's voice jolted all of their attention to her. She walked around the table to stand firmly and with the weight of responsibility on her shoulders.
Jackie spoke angrily into the phone. "And who the hell are you?"
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people I command you. Do it." Responsibility does look good on her.
The Doctor looked back at the girls and grinned. He grabbed the emergency protocols briefcase as Rose jumped up onto the table. "How do we get out."
His voice was frank. "We don't. We stay here." The Doctor shuffled through the protocols and then turned to address Mickey. "Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything."
Astrid grabbed Rose's arm and tugged her off the table and gestured to Harriet. "Come on. We need to clear out the closet. We are going to stay in there to ride out the explosion. Doctor, you keep on with Mickey." She ordered the man, who raised his eyebrows at her abrupt shift in personality. She was actually pretty good at giving orders. Soon, both Harriet and Rose had a hold of Indra's feet and drug him into the main room. Then the Prime Minister and last the skin suit. Next came the things on the shelves and hung up.
Astrid had only been half-listening as she directed the other two women. Finally, the closet was ready to be occupied for the imminent torpedo. The Doctor's voice was calm but firm, "Mickey the Idiot. The world is in your hands. Fire."
Mickey still helped, a steady beeping in the background that was slowly increasing in frequency. "It's on radar. Counter defense 556."
The Doctor was insistent. "Stop them intercepting it."
"I'm doing it now."
"Good boy."
"556 neutralized."
The Doctor ripped the mobile off speaker phone as he ran into the closet to hide with Harriet and the girls. It wasn't much of a chance, but it was all they had. Plus, Astrid was the one organizing it, so the odds went up considerably. As soon as they were all inside, Astrid shut the door tightly. All four of them were crouched in the corner, the Doctor and Rose in the middle with Harriet and Astrid on either side, Astrid next to the Doctor.
An alarm started to sound soon afterward.
Harriet had them all clasp hands. "Nice knowing all of you."
They braced themselves as best they could.
The missile hit.
The whole of 10 Downing Street exploded into flames. Then they were in for the ride of their lives. It was even worse than the TARDIS or any roller coaster that Astrid could think of—she hated all of them. They were quite literally shaken every which-a-way as the closet went end-over-end. They were tossed against every surface in the closet, including each other. Astrid held her breath as much as she could, trying to steel herself, but it never worked on roller coasters, why would it work in a roller-coaster-closet?
Then it stopped. Astrid took a deep breath and struggled not to throwup. Crap, I think I've got a concussion. Why is it I'm the one who gets hurt?
The Doctor managed to get the door open and Harriet was the first through. She looked around at all the smoking wreckage and exclaimed proudly, "Made in Britain." A sergeant came running over, asking if they were alright. Harriet took control of the situation handily, flashing her badge again. "Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately, tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down. Go on, tell the news!" He nodded quickly, made a sketchy salute and hurried away. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"
The Doctor's voice was going a bit fuzzy to her ears. How can noise be fuzzy? Is it like peaches? "Well, maybe you should have a go."
Harriet grinned, "Me?" laughed. "I'm only a back-bencher."
Rose was smiling in encouragement. "I'd vote for ya!"
"Now, don't be silly." Rose and the Doctor both grin at Harriet. "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help." She climbed over the rubble towards the crowd of people. "Hang on!" She started to shout over to the crowd. "The Earth is safe! Sergeant!"
The Doctor grinned at Rose. "I thought I knew the name. Harriet Jones—future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms…the architect of Britain's Golden Age."
The Doctor and Rose both then noticed that Astrid hadn't moved from her spot leaning against the doorframe of the previously-spotless closet of the Cabinet Room. The brunette looked quite green and was holding her head. "Astrid?" The girl looked at them both before bending over and finally lost the battle with her stomach.
Her eyes fluttered up to them as Rose rushed to her side and helped to hold her up. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it to quickly diagnose what was wrong. "She has a mild concussion. We need to get her talking and back to the TARDIS." Rose nodded as the Doctor got onto Astrid's other side and they began the walk back to the Powell Estate.
Astrid giggled slightly, her speech was slurred as she began to go from one random thought to another. Her brain had always been…interesting. What with her ADD fueling so many interests so that she knew a little bit about a lot of things. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space." Astrid looked up at the Doctor and grinned, "I like her a lot, you know. She's my favorite."
He frowned down at her. "Who?"
"Sexy!" His gaze shot to Rose, but the blond was just as clueless as he was. He almost asked, but before he could, Astrid was on again. "Not that you aren't sexy, 'cause you SO are…I always liked Ten. Nine was the bestest Doctor until I met Ten." Now he knew what she was talking about and he almost wished he didn't. "'Course, then Ten goes away and Eleven is just so…" She seemed to have difficulty coming up with a word. "…he's flighty! Never sits still and hits himself. Who hits themselves? That's just silly. But I like Nine and Ten." She leaned further to the right, into the Doctor, as the world tilts on its axis in order to trip her. They were only halfway there. "You smell good. Did anyone tell you that you smell good? They should. You smell good." She nodded sagely.
Rose turned her wide eyes to the Doctor. "It's like she's drunk."
"Concussions do that. Same basic principle. Her inhibitions aren't lowered but the part of her brain that usually tells her not to say these things is down for the count. The interesting bit is she can't lie like this."
"Can too!" Astrid cut in between them. "But I just don't like to lie. It's messy. Too many things to keep track of. Oh!" She suddenly sobered and she began to cry. "I miss Julian! What if he's scared? Jackie said he just disappeared the day after we did! He could be dead. Or sick."
Fortunately for Rose and the Doctor, they had reached the TARDIS. They set her gently into the nearest bed in the medical bay as the brunette kept rambling. The Doctor was quick and efficient as he pulled out a panel in the wall by the bed and pulled out a small patch about the size of his thumbnail. He ripped off the backing and carefully placed it on Astrid's right temple. "There. Give it a couple seconds."
Astrid's thoughts slowly came into proper focus, the world having quit moving beneath her feet and her head quit doing a tilt-a-whirl. She looked up into the smiling, laughing faces of Rose and the Doctor, remembered what she had said, and blushed hotly. "Oh god. I'm so sorry."
Rose and Astrid enter the Tyler flat and Jackie rushed over to them and gave each a huge hug. Astrid was first and watched with a smile as Rose and Jackie held onto each other longer, happy to be together.
Rose settles into the armchair in front of the TV to watch Harriet Jones' speech. Astrid moved to the guest bedroom where all her personal stuff was in boxes. She heard Jackie in the background as she pulled out her Time Lord purse from when she had grabbed it in the TARDIS after her concussion was healed, and began to stuff in all of the contents of the box labeled 'Astrid's clothes', 'Astrid's bathroom', and after a few hesitant seconds 'Julian's box'. I'll find you, baby. I'll sneak you on board if I have to!
Rose came into the room as Astrid was getting the final stuff into her bag. Rose had her backpack over one shoulder, stuffed to the brim.
Jackie was right behind and quietly said to the two of them, "Don't go, sweethearts. Please don't go."
Rose and Astrid shared a glance, then Astrid drew the ties closed on her purse and slung it across her chest. As a pair, they went out of the room, down the hall, and out of the flat. Jackie was right behind them, following closely. Jackie was pleading with the two of them, but mostly to Rose, to get them to stay. "I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends, I'll pass my test and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will."
The younger blond gave her mother a solemn look. "I'm not leaving 'cause of you. I'm travelling, that's all. And then I'll come back!"
"But it's not safe."
"Mum...if you saw it out there...you'd never stay home."
Astrid gave a long look to Jackie and spoke just as solemnly as Rose. "I'll protect her, Jackie. With everything I have. I'll take care of her."
She said this as Rose went to the Doctor and shoved it into her arms. "Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me and Astrid. Hah!" Rose went up to Mickey as Jackie looked the Doctor up and down. "Come with us. There's plenty of room."
The Doctor spoke up, but his heart wasn't in what he said. At least it sounded that way to Astrid's ears. Rose seemed to buy it though. "No chance, he's ah, a liability, I'm not having him on board."
Rose glared at the Doctor. "We'd be dead without him."
"My decision is final."
Rose turned back to Mickey. "Sorry." They kissed briefly and as Rose backed away, Mickey gave a small wave and wished them all luck.
Then Jackie started again, rounding on the Doctor. "You still can't promise me. What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away—how long do I wait then?"
The Doctor stood there hugging Rose's backpack, not really having an answer, but Rose came to his rescue. "Mum…" Jackie turned to her daughter. "You're forgetting - it's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe and by the time I get back, yeah - ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds." Rose smiled at her mother kindly as she put her hands on Jackie's shoulders. "So stop worrying. See you in ten seconds time. Hmm?"
She hugged her. The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS. Rose and Astrid follow him. Mickey gives a small wave and Rose shuts the door, leaving Mickey and Jackie alone outside.
Astrid was suddenly bowled over by a golden blur of fur. "Julian!" She laughed in delight as Julian was right there as if he had never left, trying to lick her to death. She looked up into the Doctor's eyes, hers filled with gratitude and happiness. Of all the things he had done, this was the best. It outshined all others to her eyes and heart. I can never repay him. Still petting her lovely dog, she saw Rose was grinning just as big as the Doctor was. "Thank you."
"Just don't make this place domestic!"
Lots of dialogue this chapter, not much scenery change. Not much I can do about that. Well, what do you think? Reviews are love! If I don't get any reviews, how do I know that Astrid is loved?