Sister Star
Chapter 10: The Empty Child
Almadynis
Disclaimer: I only own Astrid. *glomps* No takies!
AN: peaceloverhealer101 is my beta.
Astrid's thoughts
Three months had gone passed, by her internal calendar, and life on the TARDIS was as normal as could be expected in a time machine travelling with a Time Lord. Three kidnappings, two slave riots, and one nut with a particle extrapolator later…life was good. Even after the Doctor and Rose got back from seeing her father, it made for a tense few days, but in the end, he forgave Rose and Rose forgave Astrid for not warning her about Pete Tyler.
Now, Astrid was jolted awake by an alarm echoing throughout the entire ship. She jerked on a pair of dark blue jeans, sports bra—after only two trips through the TARDIS, she learned the intense value of a bra that let her run easily—and a plain black snuggable t-shirt, and finally yanking on a pair of sneakers. Over half a year spent with the Doctor, and she could get dressed in a now record—for her—time of twenty-seven seconds.
She stumbled through the corridors, slamming into walls at various intervals when the TARDIS went side to side through space and time. Astrid finally reached the main control room and called out, "What's the emergency?" Rose came up behind her…in a Union Jack t-shirt. Oh. My. God. I LOVE THIS EPISODE! Astrid started to mentally cackle. This set were my fourth and fifth favorite episodes when it was on disc; seeing it in person should be even better!
"It's mauve." The Doctor was rushing around the console, the TARDIS trying to follow the 'piece of spacejunk' if she remembered correctly by shuddering, shaking, and basically putting the three of them through a blender. At the moment, Astrid could care less that she had to hold on tight to a coral-themed column. "The universally recognized color for danger."
Rose, however, was at the console with the Doctor and was curious as ever. "What happened to red?"
Astrid knew she was grinning like a moron, but she couldn't help it. She loved that line, so she said it instead. "That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing."
The Doctor looked up at her briefly, saw the recognition he was coming to expect. But he also saw the sheer joy in her face. She knew what was going to happen, and she loved it. That was a huge improvement. He turned to explain to Rose, "It's got a very basic flight computer - I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."
"And that's safe, is it?" Rose was understandably concerned, considering the TARDIS was shaking them around like salt.
"Totally." Cue the console exploding! Rose gave a small scream of surprise. "Okay, reasonably. Should have said 'reasonably' there." Even with the danger of the TARDIS throwing us all around, that is still funny. "Oh, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks - getting away from us."
"What exactly is this thing?"
"No idea." Oo, oo, oo! I do! Pick me!
"Then why are we chasing it?"
"It's mauve and dangerous. And about 30 seconds from the center of London." Astrid laughed out loud this time. She couldn't help it. The Doctor glanced at her before working quickly with the TARDIS, trying to catch up with the object. He called out to her, "Want to help?"
Astrid shook her head with an ear-splitting grin. "Oh heck no, this is going to be a great one, Doctor. You're going to love this!" She cackled again as they hurtled through space and time, directly towards Earth.
It was night, the full moon shining brightly overhead. They had landed in an alley, clothes hanging out to dry up above their heads, all kinds of boxed crates around and a lot of brick. Astrid, over the last few months, had taken to walking out with the Doctor—or was he waiting for her to walk out with him?—so got to see the alleyway herself with the Doctor at her side. She had given Julian a big hug and kiss in happiness and had practically skipped out of the TARDIS door, Rose laughing at her antics behind her.
The Doctor was smiling at Astrid as well, amused at how she was handling this one. He commented absently toward Rose, but his eyes never left the skipping brunette. "Do you know how long we can knock around space without having to bump into Earth?"
Rose took a guess absently, also watching Astrid. "Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?"
"Of all the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow."
Astrid laughed when she heard this, but added her own two cents. "Well, Doctor. Hot chocolate does not taste the same with snorlax milk. Or caflte milk, or busken milk. Even ordinary goat is a bit odd when mixed with chocolate. Just stick to moo-milk. Much better!"
He raised an eyebrow, mouthed 'moo milk' in amazement and looked at Rose. "You think she's happy?" Rose giggled. He looked around the alley, back to business. "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."
Rose was incredulous. She was beside the Doctor by now, Astrid still up ahead, skipping to her heart's content. "A month? We were right behind it!"
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place, we're bound to be a little bit out. Do YOU wanna drive?"
"Yeah or let Astrid drive. How much is 'a little'?"
"A bit."
"Is that EXACTLY a bit?"
"Ish." By this time, Astrid had to stop since she was openly laughing at the two of them as she waited for them to catch up to her.
"What's the plan, then? Are you gonna do a scan for alien tech or something?"
"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm gonna ask." He held up the psychic paper.
She read it closely, even in the dark the full moon had enough light for her to be able to read. "Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids." She then looked up to glare at him. "Not very 'Spock', is it? Just asking?" They finally caught up to Astrid, who was leaning up again a very unassuming door at the end of the alley. Trash cans were piled high to the right and the brunette was grinning as she watched them argue.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and tried to get through the door. "Door, music, people. What d'you think?"
"I think you should do a scan for alien tech." He finally gets the right setting for the screwdriver and turns it on. "Gimme some Spock! For once, would it kill ya?" Rose was so indignant that Astrid was giggling again beside them.
The Doctor looked up at her as he kneeled down to get in a better position for the screwdriver. "Are you sure about that t-shirt?"
Rose's t-shirt was so gaudy and garish, Astrid wasn't surprised at his comment—having nothing to do with the fact I knew he was going to ask it!—but Rose had bought it in the future and was still odd. Though why she bought a shirt she wasn't sure about it is beyond me. I like black…looks good on me, goes with everything, and I can wear my comfy black shoes with it and people assume I'm matching and did it on purpose. "Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin."
Then Rose and Astrid—and probably the Doctor too but he does yet know the significance of that voice—hear little Jamie call out, "Mummy." Rose goes out a little ways from the other two, Astrid staying put by the trashcans. I've got the Doctor, Rose can have Jack. He'd be good for her. "Mummy?"
The Doctor finally got the door open. "Come on if you're coming. Won't take a minute." He went through the door; Astrid threw one look over her shoulder at her sister, gave another bright smile, and followed the Doctor. See you on the flip side, Rose! Have fun!
They walked, the Doctor first and then Astrid, through back way corridors following the music. Then up ahead they both saw the hanging beads in a pretty flower pattern before a waiter appeared with drinks. The Doctor looked at Astrid, who gave him a bright smile with he returned, and followed the waiter.
It was a drinking den, full of smoke, chatter—when did they invent soundproofing?—and a singer in a white boa being backed up by a saxophone and acoustic accompaniment. Astrid and the Doctor waited easily for the singer, who wasn't half bad, to finish. They joined the clapping as the Doctor made his way toward the stage and the singer walked off. Astrid just leaned back against the wall, watching him figure it out. "Excuse me! Excuse me!" he made it to the microphone and was able to ask so that everyone could hear. "Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo'? Be very quick, eh... hello!" He put up both hands in a quick wave. "Eh...might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"
The whole cantina was completely silent for a few seconds, Astrid holding in her laughter with a vast amount of effort. Then the audience concludes that he's a comedian and begins to laugh. This is Astrid's cue and she dissolves into hysterical heaves, having to lean against the wall for support. "Sorry, have I said something funny?" Astrid he saw was no help whatsoever, she was laughing enough to cry. So, he tried again. "It's just, there's this thing I need to find, would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago." A siren started to go off. Everyone in the bar chugged the last of their drinks and quickly began to vacate the room. The Doctor doesn't understand yet. "Would've landed quite near here…with a very loud…bang…" The Doctor looks at them all in absolute confusion, then over at the brunette. She takes pity on him and points to a poster on the wall beside her.
He sees the poster of planes in a spotlight with the words 'HITLER WILL SEND NO WARNING!' He closed his eyes and his shoulders dropped. Could he never catch a break? But Astrid was still laughing at him, though she was finally sobering enough to wipe her cheeks and made her way over to him.
"It's alright, Doctor. Let's go find Rose." Even though Rose is currently hanging from a barrage balloon that will come undone. Soon, she'll meet Jack. Lucky chit.
They go out of the drinking den the same way they came in. The Doctor calls out for Rose, but doesn't see her. He runs around the corner to the TARDIS, but she is still nowhere to be found. Astrid spots the cat sitting on the top of a pile of crates and picks it up gently. Cradling it to her chest and petting its head she watches as the Doctor looks at her. "You know...one day. Just one day, maybe...I'm gonna meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing. 900 years of phone box travel, it's the only thing left to surprise me." He shook his head. Behind him, the TARDIS phone started to ring. Brow furrowed in confusion, the Doctor walked over to the TARDIS and opened the compartment behind which the phone is hidden. He stared at it, and then looked up at Astrid. She grinned at him and shrugged noncommittally. He turned back to the phone, "How can you be ringing? What's that about? Ringing?" He took out his sonic screwdriver, prepared to do something. "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"
A girl was standing just beside and behind Astrid. She had come up behind them so silently it was uncanny. "Don't answer it. It's not for you."
He looked at her in just as much confusion as he had the phone. "And how do you know that?"
"'Cos I do. And I'm tellin' ya…don't answer it."
"Well, if you know so much, tell me this - how can it be ringing?" Nancy took the time when he turned away to face the phone again to disappear. The Doctor never noticed. "It's not even a real phone. It's not CONNECTED, it's not…" He turned back to find that Nancy was gone and gave Astrid the confused look. Taking a wild shot, he looked back at the phone and picked it up. "Hello? This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?" Astrid watched as the grin faded from his face. "Who is this? Who's speaking?" He didn't like what he heard, as she knew he wouldn't. His tone became much more forceful. "Who is this? How did you RING it? This isn't a real phone, it's not wired up to anything, it's…" She knew the phone went dead when he gently placed it back in the cradle. He looked up at her. "Rose isn't in there, is she?"
Astrid shook her head. "Nope. Maybe I should have been clearer. This is one of my favorite adventures, Doctor. But you know the saying about the calm before the storm? And that the worse is yet to come? Both of those apply here. The ending is fantastic though, you'll love it." She gave him a huge grin, set the cat down, and waited.
There was a crashing at the end of the alley behind them. He closed the phone compartment firmly and started to run toward the sound. He passed Astrid on the way, grabbed her hand in his and they ran off together into the street beyond the alley. Taking a guess—I think it's a guess, I don't hear anything unusual coming from this direction…but I am wearing my ear-filters so that I don't wince when the stupid bombs go off, so what the heck do I know?—he turned left and ran.
They heard a female, very annoyed, voice coming from beyond a red brick wall. "The planes are coming. Can't you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now MOVE it!" The Doctor, since he was the only one of the pair of them that didn't know what was going on, climbed on top of a trashcan and looked over the top of the wall into a garden. Astrid stayed down at the street level, just listening.
"Come on, come on, get in there. Arthur! Arthur! Will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the sirens?" That was the woman again.
"Middle of dinner, every night. Bloomin' Germans. Don't you eat?" And that's her husband.
The Doctor grinned down at Astrid, starting to understand why this would be one of her favorites. Despite the confusion of 'Mummy' and his telephone, several funny things had happened so far, at least from her viewpoint.
"I can hear the planes!" Wife again.
"Don't you eat?" Husband.
The couple go on like that for a bit longer. Astrid kept listening, watching silently. Then, she hears a distinct whistle, repeated three times. And there is Nancy again. That is one very impressive young lady.
Some more children ran down the road into the house where Nancy was serving dinner. They are watched by the masked child. One boy kneels down to tie his shoelace. Astrid watches with mixed emotions, seeing the masked child for the first time. Poor little kid.
The Doctor motions her to be quiet and they slip in the back door easily. Astrid knew she was short enough and looked young enough to pass for a teenager, but the Doctor sure as heck couldn't. The fact that he could be that quiet and invisible when he needed to be was just…sexy as hell. He managed to get them through the door, hallway, and into the dining room with saucer plates, silverware and all without being noticed. She knew her face was showing awe and her eyes were sparking with desire…He fits every criteria I can think of for the perfect guy. Makes me laugh no matter what the situation or my mood, can carry on an intelligent conversation, and he's willing to do whatever is necessary to protect his family. I think I have well and truly fallen head over heels…what the heck am I going to do? They sat down, or she should say that the Doctor sat down. No other chairs were available for her. Astrid poked her tongue out at him.
They came in just as Nancy was serving the slices of turkey, or was it chicken? "…One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly."
All the children did exactly as told, one slice each, and thanked Nancy with enthusiasm. Even as the plate was traveling around the table, the Doctor took pity on Astrid and motioned to his lap. It never really occurred to him that his offer of a seat better than standing would mean more to her than him. She was, after all, very human. He also completely missed her deep blush as she did take him up on the offer, a warm smile on her face. When the plate came his way, he stabbed three slices, one for Astrid and two for himself, and said gaily, "Thanks, miss!"
They all gasp in surprise, the children jumping backwards. Nancy was very calm though and said gently to the kids, "It's all right. Everybody stay where they are." One boy was so shocked that he still had a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth.
Astrid wiggled a bit on the Doctor's lap and snagged the top piece of meat. "Who's got the salt? Mmm…thanks, Nancy. This is delicious!" The Doctor gave her a look which she grinned in response. Tugged us out of bed in the middle of the freakin' night without even breakfast…I'm hungry!
Nancy raised an eyebrow at the odd girl with the equally odd man, but at least the girl had manners. "You're welcome. The rest of you, back in your seats. They shouldn't be here either."
The Doctor smiled at the group and passed the gravy boat that Astrid indicated. "So, you lot, what's the story?"
"What d'you mean?" A boy asked, shrugging.
"You're homeless, right? Living rough?"
"Why d'you wanna know that? Are you a copper?" Another boy—I think his name's Jim?
"Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper gonna do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" The children all laughed, and the ice is broken. Astrid grinned. How can he be so good with children, but still be so clueless about some other things? She wiggled again on his lap and he finally got an interesting expression, but for the moment dismissed it. "I make it 1941, you lot shouldn't be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now."
The new little boy spoke up. "I was evacuated. They sent me to a farm."
"So why'd you come back?" The Doctor didn't seem to understand some parts of human nature. That is a good thing…you can only understand something after seeing if for a long period of time, or knowing enough to want it yourself. Very good thing he can't understand.
"There was a man there..."
"Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago."
"Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. Better food."
"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us."
The Doctor smiled brilliantly at Nancy. "So, that's what you do is it, Nancy?" Astrid munched on the meat and while the Doctor was talking to Nancy so intently, snagged his slice of meat while she was at it. How in the heck can he run on so little calorie intake? Beyond madness. She dipped the meat in the gravy and while Nancy was asking her question, the Doctor was about to answer and she stuffed it into his mouth. The children of course, thought this was all kinds of funny, but the Doctor ate like a bird. He needs to eat more. The Doctor glared at her, but she wiggled on his lap again in retaliation, making his eye widen slightly for a split second. I may be a virgin, but I sure as hell ain't innocent. He swallowed the mouth of meat and turned back to Nancy. Astrid began serving herself peas, then passing them around. "As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all! As long as the bombs don't get you."
Nancy was still really calm. After your son turns into a mindless…something, not much can shake you I suppose. "Something wrong with that?"
"Wrong with it? It's BRILLIANT. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical."
Astrid spoke up after swallowing a mouthful of peas. "West End is the British version of Broadway, right?" He nodded in answer, since his mouth was now full of peas as well. He had opened his mouth to answer and got a spoon instead. The children were finding this dance of food between the two of them vastly entertaining.
He gave her an odd look. "What did you do when you lived in London?"
"Waited for you." Her voice was soft, and his face fell in understanding and compassion.
Nancy was confused. "Why'd you follow me? What d'you want?"
"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."
"I did you a favor. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling ya."
He opened his mouth to another mouth of peas. He rolled his eyes, glaring at the smirking brunette. Swallow. "Great, thanks. And I wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one, I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving." The children all laugh again, but Nancy does not look impressed. She stands up and comes around the table. "Anybody seen a girl like that?"
Astrid saw her coming and hands her the plate, the slice of meat that was one too many sitting on there innocently. Nancy raised an eyebrow. "He's a bit dense in some areas, but he is fantastic in others. He just wasn't paying attention."
He frowned at the two women and asked indignantly, "What've I done wrong?"
In stereo, both girls answered. "You took three slices." Astrid's answer was more of a statement and Nancy's an accusation. Nancy continued. "No blondes. No flags. Anything else before you leave?"
Damn, and this was really good dinner too. Need to stop by Wal-Mart, the TARDIS needs more groceries. "Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for. Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb." He took a notebook out of his pocket. "Not the usual kind anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like..." He made a few quick lines to sketch it out and then held it up for the children to see. "This."
Then came a knock on the window. All the children gasp. Astrid sighs and gets to her feet, knowing that he'll want to get up and investigate. He did, gently moving her to one side and then pulled back the curtain. A small child with a gasmask on his face was standing there. He was one knocking. "Mummy?"
"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asked urgently. When they pointed to the Doctor, she shook her head slightly. "Nah, he came round the back. Who came in the front?"
The new little boy whispered. "Me."
"Did you close the door?"
"I…"
"Did you close the door?" It was so urgent in her tone, you could easily tell.
"Mummy? Mummy?" Jamie moved around, his shadow appearing on the curtains as the boy moved to the front door.
Astrid watched him move, wondering mildly at the intensity of his concern. His next remark made her remember and give him a soft sad smile of encouragement. "What's this, then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."
"I suppose you'd know."
"I do actually, yes." Despite his words, he smiled at her pleasantly.
Nancy couldn't argue with him, so explained as best as she could. "It's not exactly a child."
"Mummy?"
Nancy pushed past the Doctor and went back into the dining room. Astrid could hear her order the children to go out the back garden. The children quickly did exactly as she said, filing past Astrid and the Doctor out the back way. He could only watch them, confused. He was especially confused by Astrid's attitude. Once, she had been excited about what she knew coming to pass, but now she was much more sad.
The mysterious child was still talking. "Mummy? Please let me in, Mummy." He stuck his hand through the letterbox. He had a scar on the back of his perfectly ordinary little hand. "Please let me in, mummy."
"You all right?" The Doctor asked in concern.
"Please let me in."
Nancy suddenly threw something against the door, which smashes. The child withdrew his hand. "You mustn't let him touch ya!"
"What happens if he touches me?" The Doctor asked, intensely confused. What could a child possibly do?
Surprisingly, Astrid was the one who answered, her tone very hollow. "Doctor, if Jamie touches you, the happy ending will be but a fleeting dream. Don't touch him."
Nancy was gob-smacked by the brunette naming her little brother and stepped away. "I've gotta go."
But the Doctor wasn't finished. "Nancy, what's he like?" They look at each other in a battle of wills.
The Doctor won. Nancy confessed softly. "He's empty." The phone begins to ring. "It's him. He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that police box you saw."
The Doctor picks up the phone and listens, but Nancy was just as fast, snatching the phone away from him and slamming it down into its cradle. The radio turned on by itself and the little boy asked for his mummy over the airwaves. The Doctor turned the tuner but it didn't help. He stopped trying when a toy monkey suddenly springs to life. The child talking through the monkey even as the thing chimed it's cymbals. The Doctor picked it up.
"Mummy, mummy, mummy..." Nancy said something she couldn't quite catch and left out the back. The child stuck his hand through the letterbox again. "Mummy? Let me in please, Mummy." The Doctor kneeled in front of the door, his face filled with concern. "PLEASE let me in."
The Doctor finally decided to say something. "Your mummy isn't here."
The radio switched off instantly and the monkey stopped chiming. After a pause, "Are you my mummy?"
"No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens." He looked back and saw only Astrid. The expression on her face was pure motherly compassion, but she said nothing.
"I'm scared."
The Doctor still didn't know what was going on, and Astrid wasn't being forthcoming. "Why are those other child frightened of you?"
"Please let me in, Mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."
The Doctor thought a moment and nodded. "Okay. I'm opening the door now."
The child withdrew his hand from the mail slot. The Doctor unlocked the bolts and opened the door, but the child had disappeared. The Doctor walked down the path, looking up and down the street. There was no sign of life at all.
Nancy hurried across the train tracks, into an outer house and started taking food out of her bag. She suddenly turns around, when she notices the Doctor standing in the doorway, watching her. Astrid stood a little bit behind him, leaning against a disused train. "How'd you follow me here?"
The Doctor was intensely smug. "I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it."
Nancy was naturally suspicious. "People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to."
"My nose has special powers." Astrid slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
Nancy thought it was just as funny, and said as much before she remembered that it was a little rude. "Yeah? That's why it's so..."
The Doctor of course had no idea what she was talking about, which made it all the funnier in Astrid's opinion. "What?"
Nancy was grinning even as she said, "Nothing."
The Doctor saw her face and persistently asked again. "What?"
At this point, Nancy started teasing him. He seemed like a nice bloke and the brunette with him was amiable, if very shy and quiet. "Nothing! Do your ears have special powers too?"
The Doctor finally seemed to get it. I think, he can be a bit dense at times. "What are you trying to say?"
"Goodnight, Mister." Nancy turned away when the Doctor once again said something that stopped her.
"Nancy. There's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right?" She looked back at him, a frown covering her features. "The thing I'm looking for. The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
She said calmly, "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."
"Take me there." He demanded.
But she was a very self-assured young lady and shook her head. "No. There's soldiers guarding it. Barbed wire. You'll never get through."
He was persistent though. "Try me!"
"You sure you wanna know what's going on in there?"
"I really wanna know."
"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."
"And who might that be?"
"The Doctor."
The Doctor's face furrowed into a frown. Astrid dissolved into laughter at his face. Nancy frowned at the odd girl, but just turned and began to walk away. He gave a soft, almost ironic laugh, grabbed Astrid's hand and pulled her along as he followed Nancy.
Astrid stayed away from the Doctor as he was using the binoculars. Nancy was close to him and they were having a conversation. They had about another two hours if she remembered correctly before the bomb hit the ambulance. She didn't really want to hear this conversation. She was up and away so that she wouldn't. Every time she heard in on the show she would get a bit teary…now was really not a good time. Especially since every emotion would be heightened, her seeing it in person.
She waited until Nancy turned to leave up the steps and the Doctor motioned her down the steps. Now we go see Dr. Constantine.
They made their way quickly and silently around the barbed wire fence, the soldiers. Astrid was reminded of how he had moved through the dining room without being noticed. When they got to the gate of the Albion Hospital and found it locked, out came the sonic screwdriver. The padlock popped open with a sparking sound. Astrid helps him get the chain off and they work their way through the hospital itself, just as quietly as before.
Picking a ward at random, The Doctor entered a dark ward, Astrid at his heels, where rows and rows of people are lying on beds, wearing gas masks, completely lifeless. He looks around at them all, brow furrowed, and left. Astrid gave the people a sympathetic look and whispered gently, "Don't worry. It won't be long now."
He heard her speak, but not what was said. Just gave her an intense no-nonsense look. "Want to tell me anything?"
Astrid sighed. "Seeing this in person…it's not how I remember it. I know how it's going to end, and I'm really happy about it…but the lead-up, when in person…it's…not scary, but kinda…" she fought to find a good word and suddenly said, "...sad. Seeing the children running from pedophiles, knowing that it's real. Watching Nancy as she goes through trying to care for homeless children because she feels guilty that she couldn't protect Jamie." They reached a lit corridor and moved to find another ward. "When I'm just watching the show, seeing it, I can enjoy it because I know that it's not real…but it is real. Here, it is very real. And I know…"
She put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. She gave him a hug, and he could recognize that it was a hug of desperation and sadness. She needed that hug, so he returned it gladly. She pulled away and looked at him with tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "It's getting toward the end, Doctor. I watched five and a half seasons of Doctor Who. It's getting to the end of season one…the reason why I'm here to begin with. When that happens, if I survive it…"
His tone changed into a forceful one, defiant. "Don't talk like that."
"Shut up and listen." He obediently fell quiet. "It's Rose. You know she looks up to you like a big brother, don't you?" He nodded without speaking. "I need you to be that brother, if something happens to me. There's going to come a time when I can't prevent anything else, that my use in this world is done…I need to know that Rose will still be protected. Promise me."
The Doctor gazed into her eyes and knew, just knew without knowing how or why, that he would do anything she asked. "I promise." He also knew that if it was within his power, there was nothing that would stop him from saving her. In that moment, he knew that if he had to choose between them, he would hate himself for it and would accept everything she gave him for the choice, but he would choose his Star. He would have to create a new emergency protocol for the TARDIS, because he wouldn't make himself choose if he had any say in the matter.
Putting aside the frankly bleak conversation, he focused on the problem at hand and found another ward. This one was much lighter but there were still rows of people covered in gas masks lining the walls. Astrid stayed by his side, almost as if she was afraid he would run off without her, but the more he tried to think of what she suggested—a time without her—the more he never wanted her out of his sight.
A bump and an old man in a doctor's overcoat came into the room. "You'll find them everywhere. Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them."
The Doctor pushed aside the thoughts of Astrid again, trying to concentrate on the present. "Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?"
"They're not. Who are you?"
"I'm, uh..." He trailed off. If this was another of his own incarnations, and apparently one that didn't remember him, this could get very interesting. "Are you the doctor?"
"Doctor Constantine. And you are?"
"Nancy sent me."
"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."
Astrid spoke this time, her voice melodic and echoing in the silent ward. "Yes, we were. Are you alright?"
Dr. Constantine ignored her question for now; there was nothing she could do. "What do you know about it?" He continued to make his way farther into the room.
"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?"
"Only what it's done."
"These people. They were all caught up in the blast?"
"None of them were." He laughed slightly, but it turned into a nasty cough. He sat down in a chair just behind him. The Doctor takes a few steps towards him, but halted at the soft hand on his arm. Astrid.
Instead of going closer, he heard behind him a soft compassionate comment, "You're very sick."
Dr. Constantine, the wonderful man, just calmly explained. "Dying, I should think. I just haven't been able to find the time." The Doctor grinned slightly at the humor. "Are you a doctor?"
"I have my moments." The Doctor gave a full smile this time.
"Have you examined any of them, yet?"
"No."
Dr. Constantine gravely intoned. "Don't touch the flesh."
"Which one?"
"ANY one."
The Doctor, raised his eyebrows, took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and approached the nearest bed. He ran the screwdriver over the mask covered face of the body. Astrid just watched silently near the entrance of the ward. It was fascinating watching the Doctor interact with an actual doctor.
Dr. Constantine's voice was only mildly interested. He knew what the alien would find. "Conclusions?"
"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side..." the screwdriver continued on its journey down the body "Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any burns."
"Examine another one." It was almost becoming a cruel and sick joke.
The Doctor went over to another body and does the scan again. The gas mask is fused to the flesh and the body bears the same scar on the back of the hand. He turned off his sonic screwdriver and looked back to Doctor Constantine. "This isn't possible."
"Examine another."
The Doctor hurried to another bed, this time across the room from the previous two and did the examination again. "This isn't possible!"
"No."
"They've all got the same injuries!" The Doctor was incredulous, disbelieving.
The Constant Doctor was still very calm. "Yes."
"Exactly the same."
"Yes."
"Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand." Astrid gave Dr. Constantine a sympathetic look when the man looked at his own right hand and saw the scar. He caught the expression and gave a quirk of an eyebrow, but there were more important matters than an odd girl at the moment.
"How did this happen? How did it start?" the Doctor demanded answers.
Dr. Constantine tried to give them to him. Very soon, he would be dead; someone would have to take his place. "When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim."
"Dead?"
This strange man, a doctor, was as good a pick as any. "At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"
"The head trauma." The Doctor said it like it was obvious, but the doctor's answer surprised him.
"No."
"Asphyxiation?" That was the second worst injury.
"No."
"The collapse of the chest cavity." Now he was starting to guess.
"No."
He was starting to see a trend and stopped guessing. He hates guessing anyway. "All right. What was the cause of death?"
"There wasn't one." The Doctor looked at him in confusion, his brow furrowed. "They're not dead." He rapped his can against a tin trashcan, and all the patients suddenly sat up. The Doctor looks alarmed and moved unconsciously back so that he was between them and Astrid, who had made a tiny sound of alarm. "It's all right. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat. No life signs of any kind. They just don't die."
"And they've just been left here? Nobody's DOING anything?" He was now starting to get mad. You won't like him when he's angry…another relatively good movie, though the sequel sucked. The gas-mask people slowly lay back down.
"I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?" Dr. Constantine was frank. This was beyond his purview.
The Doctor was now sad and angry. "Just you? You're the only one here?"
"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor."
"Yeah. Know the feeling." Susan. I always forget about Susan until that line. Another reason why he will never love me…why would he try to get close to me when he knows that I'll eventually die like all the others?
"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."
The Doctor looked around. "Probably too late."
"No. They are isolated cases... isolated cases breaking out all over London..." He coughed again. His speech began to get patchy. The Doctor moved towards him, but even as Dr. Constantine said "Stay back. Stay back." He felt Astrid's hand tighten on his arm, preventing him from going forward. "Listen to me. Top floor. Room 802. That's where they took the first victim. The one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."
"Nancy?" The Doctor didn't understand what she had to do with this.
"It was her brother." Now he did. "She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi…mi…" He gagged and clutched at his neck as his face began to darken considerably. "M…mu…mum…" The Doctor watched him in intense concern, but the hand on his arm prevented him from doing anything. "Are…you…my…mum…my?" As the Doctor watched, a gas mask protruded horribly out of Constantine's mouth. His eyes became the gas mask, and it fused onto his face, and he goes limp. Astrid gave a mournful cry and hid her face into the back of his jacket, her shoulders shook with the intensity of her willpower to hold back the tears. Oh god, this isn't funny at all…how could I think this was funny?
The Doctor heard voices in the distance. A male and Rose were calling out 'hello' every few seconds. "Wait here." He maneuvered the brunette girl into a spare wooden chair by the entrance of the ward and went to check out who were not gas-mask people in this godforsaken hospital. Astrid just nodded and with her shoulders in a slump, sat to wait quietly, her eyes firmly on the floor. She couldn't bare to look up.
Jack was using his watch to scan the bodies. He was incredulous, just as disbelieving as the Doctor had been previously, before he had watched it happen in front of him with Dr. Constantine. "This just isn't possible. How could this happen?"
"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" Astrid heard the half-accusation in the Doctor's voice when he addressed Jack
"What?" I forgot how much of a kid Jack was in the beginning. He needs to grow up…fast.
"He said it was a warship. He stole it. Parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it…unless WE make him an offer." Rose understood Jack's confusion, but surrounded by all the gas-mask people made her compassion disappear.
The Doctor immediately demanded. "What kind of warship?"
Jack was beyond agitated at this point. "Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this!"
The Doctor was beyond angry. "This started at the bomb site. It's got EVERYTHING to do with it. What kind of warship?"
"An ambulance!" Jack fiddled with his wrist watch device. "Look." A hologram of the warship that had started the whole thing appeared above the top of the device. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle…love the retro look, by the way, nice panels…"
Astrid interrupted him with a half-snarl. "You hit on Lexi again and I'll put itching powder in your underwear drawer!"
Jack was startled; he had barely even noticed the girl standing so quietly by the entrance. He gave her his patented sexy smile. "Hello. Captain Jack Harkness."
Astrid's eyes widened to the point of ridiculous. He's hitting on me! He's actually hitting on me! Well, Dad always said that there was one sure fire way to dis-interest a guy. She summoned the scene from the end of 'Doctor Dances' where the Doctor has that goofy face and began to laugh, right in Jack's face. It was only half successful though, she could tell when he looked up. She rolled her eyes, and pulled what she hoped was a good younger-sister routine. "EWWW! Jack, you are like my big brother! What the hell are you hitting on me for?"
The Doctor, who had been angry before this side-trip, had grown in jealousy when the captain had started to flirt, but was now quite happy. He even allowed the grin to blossom on his face.
Jack's face however was a mask of disbelief. "What?"
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Jack…you're a TIME traveler…and you find a younger sister odd? Anyway, I'm not biologically your younger sister, just emotionally. I've known you a long time, since I was about fifteen. Oh, and Jack?" She stepped up to him, sashed her hips suggestively. When she was close enough, she grabbed his collar and roughly pulled him towards her. "If you break Rose's heart, I have no qualms with beating you to death with a shovel." It's not like he won't come back to life. She let him go and patted his shoulder before going back to her spot, tossing over her shoulder as she left, "Nobody likes a vague disclaimer." That was always one of my favorite lines of Willow's.
Rose was giggling behind her hand, but steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. "You said it was a WAR ship."
He turned to face her and gave her a 'duh' expression. "They have ambulances in wars." He saw that she didn't understand and was annoyed. "It was a con. I was conning you. That's what I am, I'm a con man. Thought you were Time Agents but you're not, are you?"
Rose was getting angry again. "Just a couple more free-lancers."
"Oh! Should've known. The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain?" Rose and the Doctor looked at each other's clothing, wondering what was wrong with it. Astrid snickered quietly, glad to have something to be happy about again. "Anyway. Whatever's happening here has got NOTHINGto do with that ship."
Rose's tone was filled with concern as she looked around at all the beds. "What IS happening here, Doctor?"
"Human DNA's being rewritten. By an idiot." His tone was very resigned to the facts that were presented.
"What d'you mean?"
"I don't know, some kind of virus. Converting human beings into these things." He nodded toward the bodies around them. "But why? What's the point?" He looked at Astrid and saw in her eyes sorrow. She wasn't looking at him, but at the people around them. The reality of what she had seen on TV was hitting home again.
Rose bent over one of the bodies, examining it closely, when suddenly it sat up. She jerked backward in surprise and fear. All the other gas-mask people do the same. They all start saying "mummy" repeatedly. The people began to get out of bed, walking towards them.
Rose was almost breathless. "What's happening?"
The Doctor had no answer. "I don't know." The gas-mask people began to enclose the Doctor, Rose, Astrid, and Jack. The Doctor put himself first, so that he was between Rose and Astrid and the people, as they were forced against the nearest wall. "Don't let them touch you."
"What happens if they touch us?" Rose was almost afraid to ask.
Astrid said quietly, "You're looking at it."
The gas-mask people were still chanting 'mummy' as they backed the four of them against a wall. The patients in the ward enclosed all of them to prevent escape. The people had surrounded the Doctor, Rose and Jack, all of them calling for 'mummy'.
[to be continued…]
What do you think? Reviews are love! No one reviewed the last couple chapters. I know they were short, but feedback would be really nice, people!