1(3) In a Million, Chapter 3.
"Right, we need a plan." Adrian stated as Senka returned to the living room.
"So what do we do?" Anita asked, tension in every fiber of her being.
The Doctor pursed his lips, "Work with what we've got."
Senka looked at him, "Situations? Moodiness? Information from weird clones or regenerations from the future?"
"Basically, yeah. Anita?"
Instantly, she snapped into business mode, "Right, the suspect, namely Pahana first appeared at Scots after the Christmas break, bringing with her a distinctly French accent, which in hindsight definitely does not fit with said person's heritage."
"Didn't take long for that pair to become bosom buddies." Senka added resentfully.
"Also at this time," Anita continued, ignoring him, "Said original of 'weird clone' began smashing glasses in her sleep. Hideous to clean up, and extremely dangerous, thus making plastic cups a necessity."
"Did we really need to know that?" Adrian complained.
The Doctor silenced him with a glare, "As a matter of fact, we did. Now we have an excuse to drag her back here, even if it is by the scruff of her neck. Continue, if you please."
"Hang about!" Senka exclaimed, "I remember seeing something come crashing down on Christmas eve!"
"And you didn't mention it?" Adrian exclaimed.
Senka glared at him, "I didn't think anything of it at the time! It just came crashing across the sky, and frankly I wasn't sure whether or not I was dreaming!"
"You know, as much as this argument could be productive, I'm having trouble seeing that presently, so back on track boys." He grumbled, "Anita, if you wouldn't mind."
She nodded, "Right. Soon she began changing…Not in that way, Adrian!" She snapped at his horrified expression, "But in terms of how she would be, what she would do. Seemed like she was becoming distant…"
"Ouch." The Doctor said, "If this has been going on six months, then we may have less time than I thought…"
"So basically, we need to find her, break through any mind control that may have been placed upon her, get out of there, and go back to exploring time and space?" Adrian outlined, "It sounds so easy on paper!"
The Doctor pursed his lips, "But much more difficult in reality…But putting it into action will have to wait for the morning. It's about time we all headed off to bed, especially if we're going head to head with a vampire tomorrow instead of just having an average, run-of-the-mill day."
Adrian sighed, "And battling aliens, travelling through time and space to save cultures with unpronounceable names is?"
The Doctor blinked, "Good point. You lot staying down on the TARDIS?"
Senka nodded, "We might as well. That way if anyone else decides to pop in, then at least Anita won't be on her own."
"Right. Good night then. Just come up when we phone for breakfast, all right?"
The trio nodded.
As the Doctor turned to go, he paused, "Oh, by the way, don't tell any of the others about this, especially Josie. Last thing we need is for the Reapers to make a visit."
"Good night, Dad."
IOIOIOIOIOI
She looked up as he entered, surprised to see him looking so drained and desolate.
"Oh Rose." He stated, coming over to the bed where she sat, pulling her to her feet and engulfing her in a desperate embrace.
"You're strangling me…" she choked out
Reluctantly he released her, but refused to break off all contact
"You want to tell me what's brought this on all of a sudden?" She asked, "Not that I mind when the man of my dreams sweeps me off my feet, but that was just…weird."
He sighed, sinking down onto the bed, "Nothing…just…"
Rose folded her arms across her chest in annoyance, "That wasn't nothing, and nor were those voices downstairs." She stated flatly, "Something's got you worried…"
"We just had a visitor, from a few years ahead of now…"He answered guiltily, "I can't tell you anything more…"
She nodded in acceptance, "I understand."
Quickly, they changed for bed, slipping beneath the cool linen sheets.
Once again, Rose found herself wrapped in his arms, "Last time you grabbed me like that was after the Anne-droid…." She stopped in her tracks, realization hitting her hard in the stomach, "I was dead, wasn't I?"
He simply looked at her, sadness creeping into his eyes no matter how hard he tried to stop it.
"In the future, I'm dead, and judging by how you've been ever since you walked in, it isn't far in the future at all."
Unable to lie to her, he simply nodded.
Sighing, "Even if I did die, I would never leave you, understand?"
"How-?" He asked, his voice breaking
Gently she rested her hands against his chest, "I'll be here. In your hearts. Whatever we have to confront, now or in eighteen years time, we'll face it together, with our kids."
Burying his face in her hair he murmured, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
She chuckled slightly, "You grabbed my hand, and never let me have a reason to look back."
IOIOIOIOI
The sky was barely beginning to lighten, and the world was coming alive. Unsteadily Senka climbed out of the hatch in the roof, glancing up to see his best mate staring out to the Eastern horizon. His brown hair was tousled by the zephyrs that sped ahead of the sun, announcing its impending arrival to the world. The light illuminated his features, starkly contrasting the angular planes of his face as his intense gaze looked out over the suburbs of London.
Silently Senka scrambled up the shingles to perch beside him, "You're up early."
"So are you." Adrian answered, not glancing at him.
"I take it that what Jo had to say had an impact?" Senka surmised.
With a shrug he replied, "Maybe." At the dubious glance he received, he said, "All right, maybe slightly. But can you really blame me for wondering?"
"No. I can't blame myself for wondering either." Senka acknowledged, pulling a croissant out of his pocket.
Adrian shook his head, "It's just…she's a friend. Of course, one of my best, but still…Married?"
Senka chortled, "Isn't that a topic a bit too heavy to be thinking about at twelve?"
"Eleven," he corrected, "Our birthday isn't for another two days."
"Speak for yourself." Senka replied, tearing the croissant in half and offering it to his companion, who gratefully accepted.
"All right, mister I-was-twelve-three-months-ago, what about you? Haven't you wondered what's going to happen in the future to you? To Josie?"
"I suppose. Then again, after what Jo had to say on the subject, I'm not too sure I want to find out."
"You mean-? You and her?" Adrian said in surprise, recalling the bluntness of his sister's future counterpart.
He nodded, "Yep. Not the brightest of things to look forward to, especially considering what Jo had to say. But if we fix everything up now, then hopefully we'll spare her the hell she came from."
"Wow, so you as a brother-in-law…Now there's an interesting thought."
"Tell me about it."
For a while they sat in silence, thoughtfully munching their breakfasts. The sun ascended over the horizon, bathing the world in golden light. Around them, the chatter of birds filled the air, as the first cars began to take to the streets. Trucks were delivering the daily supplies to the shops, newspapers declaring the news of the day stacked on the pavement waiting to be opened and read over a glass on lemonade during the sultry Sunday afternoon that was sure to follow.
Somewhere off in the distance, the bells of a chapel began to chime, joyously calling out the new day. Joggers panted as they took to the footpaths, dogs cheerfully running along beside their masters and mistresses, carefree in the cool morning air. Slowly the scent of strong, dark coffee began to waft through the air, as the espresso machines of London began their daily marathons.
"But you know what she said to me, when I was out talking to her?" Senka said out of the blue, "That it wouldn't happen simply because she said it would…That something greater than that would happen to cause it…"
"Ah, the great mechanics of the universe." He shrugged, "I don't even know why we're bothering about it."
Senka grinned, "Nor do I. So where is Anita anyway?"
Adrian shrugged, "Still asleep, I think. Or she was three quarters of an hour ago when I checked up on her."
"Actually, I'm wide awake." A telltale voice called from the hatch.
The two boys spun towards her, "No need to scare the life out of us!" Adrian complained.
"Lucky then that I didn't." Anita replied, easily climbing up to them, "I'm surprised to see you up so early."
"Did you bring food?" Adrian asked, ignoring her comment.
Chuckling, she removed the thermos from her back, handing it to Senka before delving into her pockets to produce three Danish pastries, "Thought you might be hungry."
"Cheers!" Senka grinned, sipping the dark liquid.
"Oi! Pass a bit!" Adrian grumbled, "Not all for you, y'know!"
"Exactly." Anita agreed, deftly snatching it from his hands, "Not bad actually."
"Got any to spare?" The Doctor asked from behind them, pulling himself up onto the roof.
Anita shrugged, "Should be. Didn't expect you to come up here."
The Doctor shrugged, joining them on the apex, "Actually I was looking for you three. I wanted to talk to you about something. A project, I suppose you could say for the summer."
The trio looked at him, intrigued.
"From what Jo said, there's a war coming. And knowing you lot and your missing companion, the chances are you'll be in the thick of it. Last thing any of us want is for you to go in unprepared."
Adrian looked at him curiously, "So you want us to do some sort of…training?"
He nodded, "Sort of, yeah. For Josie it's more urgent, but it wouldn't do you lot any harm."
Senka nodded, "So what would the plan be?"
A maniac grin broke out over the Doctor's face, "Basically get up, have breakfast, then come and do some work on telepathy and the like for an hour or so-"
"Hang about!" Anita interrupted, "Me? Do mind stuff? Isn't that more Josie and Adrian's area of specialty?"
The Doctor turned to look at her, "You've shared a room with Josie most of this year, haven't you?"
She nodded, "Course. The glasses fiasco was a nightmare, but usually she's a brilliant roommate."
"The fact that you can say that indicates that you've got some sort of ESP. Otherwise, chances are you would have gone insane by now." The Doctor explained, his mind whirring ahead, "You see, when any untrained telepath sleeps, chances are they'll transmit their thoughts and emotions to those around them. The range is only ever a few feet, but it can still be disturbing. The fact you haven't been troubled by them means you've built up barriers. Strong ones, too, considering how volatile she is, and strength takes more than just simple, average human abilities."
Her eyebrows went up in shock, "Yikes…"
"Chances are you wouldn't have noticed them if being around Josie hadn't forced you to use them. Back on track…" He proclaimed, jumping subjects faster than a grasshopper, "After an hour with me, you three will do an hour with Jack. He'll teach you the basics of hand-to-hand, weapons, as much as I might disagree with them, you need to know how to use them, and combat and tactics. By the end of that, you will probably be rather bunged up, so you'll head down to the infirmary where Lucy will teach you basic healing and medicine. After you've wrecked her medical equipment, you can go to Rose to learn the jiggerypokery to fix them. Then after lunch comes TARDIS driving lessons, which will undoubtedly land us in trouble, and allow us a grand adventure to finish the day. Questions?"
"Wait, you said Mum would teach us jiggerypokery?" Adrian demanded.
The Doctor grinned wickedly, "Yet one more hidden depth to your mother. She's a miracle worker with a wrench and a few bits and bobs."
"Will we get rest days?" Anita asked practically.
The Doctor smirked, "Only when you're locked in gaol. Too many things have been going haywire around the universe for us to relax over the summer. So instead we'll run around like mad hatters and be all the better for it!"'
Anita and Senka nodded in agreement, "It sounds like a plan!"
With that he slapped his knee, sliding down the awning to the window, "Now I believe we have someone to rescue! So get a wiggle on, have some real breakfast, and we'll meet at the TARDIS at half past nine."
IOIOIOIOI