Well howdy everybody! ...Heh, I have some explaining to do, don't I? How long ahs it been... like three months? Sorry! I've had some family problems over these past few months coupled with a lot of exam stress which together have equalled NO time for writing. BUT. I have finally managed to come out with a new chapter AND the winners of my little Halloween contest!

THANK YOU so much to:

Barefoot Beach Bum and ObsessiveWeirdo (love your usernames by the way) for help on some of my dialogue between Rose and the Doctor and for helping me develop my ideas on the relationships the characters would gain with each other. If you want me to read anything of yours and review I'll make sure to do that ASAP.

Also a special thanks to DoctorandAmyFan97I will be adapting some of your ideas in my next chapter, so if you also want me to read anything of yours, I'll be sure to do so!

I won't lie, this chapter has been stressful and been worked on solely in the early hours of the morning, so it might not be the best peice of literature ever, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless. Thank you guys so much for supporting me despite this three month break. I don't know when I'll be able to come out with the next chapter, but there's a possibility you'll have to wait until early Feb. SORRY!

Once again, thank you and please don't forget to review. :) xXx See you next time! xXx

(Also, because so many of you wanted Jack to kiss someone... *ahem* well, just wait and read...)

Chapter 8

At first no one knew what to do. Despite all of the things that had happened to them that day, this seemed the most surreal. Standing just twenty feet away from them was the three foot crater that held the TARDIS. It lay on its side, smoking from the edges eerily. The silence was terrifying as everyone waited for something to happen. Despite the crash-landing, everyone secretly hoped that the TARDIS doors would open and out would pop the Doctor, there to solve all of their problems.

Except, no matter how they looked at it, the man that came out of the TARDIS wouldn't be the Doctor that they all knew and loved.

"Help me up!"

Jack stared down in shock to see Rose struggling in his grip, "I wanna see him," she said in the strongest voice she could muster. Jack looked to Rose in disbelief, "But the Bad Wolf-"

"-Is under control at the moment," Rose countered as she hauled herself onto two unsteady legs, "I just… I need to see him."

It was Martha's turn to look in disbelief at the anomaly that was Rose Tyler. Though her medical skills didn't cover other-worldly possessions, she knew that Rose wasn't 'under control.' Her body still glowed in the way that the Bad Wolf had and her irises still shone bright gold, as for her physical capabilities, she'd been writhing on the floor not minutes beforehand and even now she was barely standing, but clearly making sure not to lean on Jack she noticed.

"Rose, even if you did see him you should know…" Martha began, but Jack cut her off, like she needed to hear it from a closer friend. It hurt Martha, but she knew she had to let it go, Jack and Rose did go back after all.

"The Doctor regenerated." Jack said quickly.

"I know," Rose said without even pausing. Everyone rushed towards her to keep her at bay.

"You do?" Mickey asked in disbelief, "How?"

Rose shook her head, she didn't really have time to go into the whole complex relationship she had with the meta-crisis Doctor, nor did she really want to. She didn't know how Mickey would react to that kind of news. "Doesn't matter," Rose snapped as she tried to struggle through her friends to reach the TARDIS, "Unless he's regenerated again, this can't be regeneration sickness."

"Sickness?" Martha asked curiously as she followed close behind Jack as the three friends once again closed around Rose.

"I've heard of that…" Jack said slowly, "Each regeneration can affect a Time Lord differently."

Rose nodded in agreement, "Remember that big Sycorax ship over London at Christmas a few years back?"

Everyone nodded, except Mickey who knew where this was going.

"The Doctor had just regenerated then," Rose explained as she moved around her friends once more, biting back the emotions that seemed to resurface as she recalled the event, "That's why Torchwood was informed in the first place." She glanced to Jack who paled in response. Still, Rose shook her head, "But it's not that." She said sternly as she finally stopped a few feet from the smoking TARDIS. She blinked away the sudden tears in her eyes, "It looks worse close up." She muttered as she wavered ever so slightly. Jack was right beside her just in case, still warily looking at her up and down. He didn't know what was going on with Rose or the Bad Wolf, but he worried that it might return at any given moment.

From within the TARDIS, smoke gathered as the console sparked uncontrollably. Everything was bathed in a cloud of sparks and gas as the occupants of the TARDIS tried in vain to remain somewhat upright. Amy and Rory both clung to the railings of the TARDIS for dear life while the Doctor had managed to manoeuvre himself in a way that allowed him to hang onto the console so he could right the problem.

"What in the Hell happened?" Amy cried as she yelped as her fingers nearly slipped from the railings. Rory quickly grabbed her around the waist with his free arm, effectively pulling her upright again.

"What?" the Doctor asked, trying to sound as much as his normal self as possible through a round of coughs he was unable to stifle, "Have you never crashed before?"

Amy barely disguised an eye roll as the Doctor flipped some switches and pressed a few buttons, "work with me here, dear." The Doctor begged weakly. The smoke wasn't helping his cough and he was finding it harder to concentrate, but he needed to do this. The TARDIS had to co-operate.

The console sparked again and another unhealthy plume of smoke made itself evident before the TARDIS groaned in a weak protest. Still, slowly but surely the centre of the console began to rise and fall once more as the TARDIS made an attempt to dematerialise.

"What's happening now?" Amy demanded, coughing herself as the smoke made its way into her lungs.

"Hopefully." The Doctor said, raising an arm, "hopefully, she's going to right herself."

"Get back!" Mickey and Jack said together as they each pulled the girls away from the TARDIS. Martha and Rose gasped in surprise as the ship began to whir once more, fading in and out of existence.

"Something isn't right." Mickey said as he watched the TARDIS protest, "it's taking longer than usual."

Martha frowned, "and what's with that noise?"

Rose shivered involuntarily, because somewhere deep within, the Bad Wolf shivered with her. The Bad Wolf felt the TARDIS for just a moment and in that moment; it hurt Rose to the very core. "It's sick." She whispered.

Slowly but surely, the TARDIS began to right itself. It faded from view for a few moments just to appear upright again in the same crater that it had crashed. Each ex-companion let out heavy sighs of relief. Whatever had happened to the TARDIS didn't matter, because if it had managed to correct its landing, then only one man would have been capable of doing so.

"What should we do?" Martha asked a little unsurely, "I mean… should we knock?"

"What do you think he'll look like?" Mickey speculated.

Jack smiled a little too eagerly in response, "I can only imagine." He said softly, biting his lip ever so slightly. Mickey stifled an eye roll.

Suddenly, the TARDIS groaned once more as the deep blue doors of the time machine were pried open and a startled young man stood in its wake.

No one spoke for what felt like eternity, when Captain Jack chose to break the silence, "Doctor?" he asked.

The man opened his mouth to speak; only to be cut off rather abruptly as Jack's lips met his, winding his arms around the man. A squeal of surprise came from the man before Jack pulled away a little too quickly.

"Rory!"

Jack flushed almost instantly as he heard and then saw a young ginger woman not inches behind him, her face a mask of pure shock, not much different from the man – Rory – who he had just kissed, perhaps a little too passionately.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Mickey, Rose and Martha did their best to hide their laughter as the ginger woman pushed Rory out of the way and took his place, "who the Hell do you think you are kissing my husband like that?"

"Husband?" Jack repeated, looking from the rather good looking ginger haired woman to the big nosed fellow who still hadn't spoken yet, eyes wide with a shock he'd probably take time recovering from.

"How many times have you been in this position, eh Jack?" Mickey asked with a smirk as the girls couldn't cover their chuckles any longer and burst out laughing, tears shimmering in their eyes.

Amy was none too amused by what was happening before her, but she didn't really have much time to absorb what had just happened. It didn't matter anyway. This Jack must have been another of the Doctor's friends, she recalled him muttering his name in his sleep, however such a man certainly didn't seem worth remembering. Although he was good looking… well very good looking, with dark hair and mischievous eyes, a very defined chin and a long dark blue trench coat that… Amy had to blink a few times to refrain herself from thinking further of this man's features. No. He'd kissed her Rory and even though it might have been a mistake, she already disliked the man for making it to that point in the first place.

She had little time to dwindle on these thoughts however, as the Doctor's coughing echoed from behind her, where he was still leaning heavily against the console. Though he'd managed to both get the time machine upright once more and call the aid of the extractor fans, the fact he'd instructed Rory to check what was outside proved to Amy that he had really done himself in this time. She knew it was taking him longer to recover as his head was still facing the console, his breathing coming out in unsteady pants as his fringe stuck wildly over his eyes and forehead. Amy wanted nothing more than to return to him, but she didn't want to leave the group of people that stood in front of her. Instead she turned to Rory, "check on him." She said quietly. Rory blinked, coming out of his shocked trance long enough to nod to Amy and rush over to the Doctor's side.

Amy turned back to the group of people she assumed to be the Doctor's friends. If the man who had kissed her Rory had identified himself as Jack then she could only assume the other man was Mickey and the woman that was holding his hand was Martha. That just left the last blonde woman uncalled for. She'd recovered from laughing at Mickey's joke first, and was now staring intently past Amy's shoulder, further into the TARDIS. Amy felt uneasy about the way she was doing this, but didn't have the heart to shoot her down; after all she did look worried.

"The TARDIS," the woman suddenly said, as if addressing everyone, "its… sick."

Amy frowned. How did she know that? Come to think of it… as the woman took note of the TARDIS' condition, her skin began to glow an unnatural golden colour. Amy felt herself stepping back in surprise.

The woman held her torso in a sudden lapse of pain as Jack moved towards her and held her steady, "you okay?" he asked. Amy could hear the careful tone he spoke in and realised that he just might not be the brute she had previously considered him to be. It seemed he cared for the blonde woman in a way only someone with a past could achieve. Obviously, the two had history.

The woman simply ignored Jack, however, "it is though, isn't it?" she asked only Amy this time. Amy could only nod in response.

This seemed to be all the glowing woman needed. She easily wriggled away from Jack and moved towards the door, "Does that mean… I mean, does that mean that the Doctor…"

"Yes." Amy found herself saying before she even knew why. This woman obviously knew more than she should, but for some reason Amy found herself trusting her without a single doubt.

This made the woman's shoulders sag in response, "Can I…" she paused and gestured to the group of friends, who were now staring, baffled at Amy as the conversation carried on, "can we see him?"

Amy didn't know what to say. She knew she had to say something. She opened her mouth in a futile attempt to speak, but before any words came, she felt two sturdy hands on her back.

The Doctor had taken longer to recover, but after some deep breathing as instructed by nurse Rory, the Doctor managed to assure him that he was able to take the awkward meeting phase off of Amy's hands. Rory had tried to advise the Doctor that he wasn't exactly looking himself at the moment, worried that his friends – even the one who had kissed him – may be a little shocked but the Doctor simply shrugged off Rory's concerns, "they've seen me in worse shape." The Doctor croaked, clearing his throat defiantly as he moved to the doorway where Amy was standing.

As soon as the Doctor placed his hands on Amy's shoulders, he could already see the mass of blonde hair standing tall against his other ex-companions. His hearts instantly sank.

Amy stood to his side, but didn't leave; though he'd given her a look that assured her he would be fine on his own, Amy wasn't having any of it. Instead, she carefully wound her arm around the Doctor's waist and kept him close so he wouldn't fall.

The Doctor paled further upon setting eyes upon the blonde. Her skin was practically luminescent, but he knew that wasn't just natural joy, he knew because of the way Jack looked at her warily, he knew because he could sense the very essence of the Bad Wolf within her, even in his weakened state.

"Rose?" He managed after a few moments of silence.

Rose couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she wavered slightly where she stood. She looked at the man in front of him, though so very different from the one she once knew, she could still feel it was him. Though, he wasn't in very good condition, she could see that much. His forehead glistened with sweat and his chest heaved unhealthily as he coughed a few times under his breath. Rose was right to assume that the TARDIS was only sick because he was, even if she didn't know why. "Doctor." She said, hesitantly taking a step forward before she wrapped her arms around the Time Lord and pulled him in close. In that instant, Amy took a step away, unsure of the woman – Rose's – motives.

The Doctor smiled, "Rose," he breathed, wrapping his arms around her in turn.

"New, new, new Doctor eh?" she joked as the Doctor laughed.

It didn't take long for everyone to join in with the hug and soon everyone began talking all at once.

The Doctor only caught half of what everyone was saying.

Dream Lord

Bad Wolf

Hallucinations

Another dimension

The words swam in the Doctor's head and he had to fight to keep from falling over. He was glad that Amy had pulled him back to her side; he didn't think he would have been able to stand alone.

"Oi, that's enough!" Amy snapped vehemently, "I think you've all established that he's sick, so please, give him room!"

Mickey grinned, "I like her."

Amy nodded rigidly, "thanks," she said, before Rory suddenly appeared behind the two.

"Who said that?" he asked, a hint of jealously in his tone.

"Oh be quiet, stupid and help me out here."

The Doctor hadn't quite noticed how close he had been to toppling over until he felt Rory take his other side and straighten him out.

Martha instantly stepped forward. During their 'group hug,' she'd felt the excessive heat coming from the Time Lord and as a Doctor herself, she instantly wanted to help. "Doctor, what's wrong?" she asked as she came closer, feeling his forehead with the back of her hand, "what are your symptoms?"

Amy frowned, "hold on a minute, I think some introductions are in order here."

"Oh," The Doctor looked from the companions holding him up to the companions in his doorway, with expressions holding a mixture of worry and excitement on their faces. He rolled his eyes, "fine, Amy, Rory, these are Mickey, Martha, Rose and Jack."

"Hey," Jack's eyes glinted mischievously as he took Amy's spare hand in his, "that's Captain Jack Harkness."

"Oh would you behave?" The Doctor sighed.

"Oh, so even this body won't put up with me, eh?" Jack raised his eye brows, "Shame, I thought I'd be getting someone a little easier to work with."

Amy frowned as she let go of Jack's hand a little forcefully, "is there something wrong with him?" she asked.

Mickey barked out a laugh in response as Jack moved his gaze to Rory, "oh, and sorry for that kiss earlier, handsome, I'd been saving my lips for someone else."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, he hadn't realised that he could even gain a worse headache than he already had, of course, he might have also underestimated Jack's natural charms.

"And everyone else, this is Amy and Rory." The Doctor finished before cutting himself off as another coughing fit attacked his system.

Together, everyone agreed that it was for the best to move the Doctor back inside the TARDIS and with the wavering energy the Doctor had left; he could do little to refuse. Martha made her way in alongside the Doctor, checking his vitals as soon as Amy and Rory had planted him on the cream Captain's chair by the console.

"His symptoms have been cold-like, but have been moving more into the flu boundary," Rory informed Martha, extending a hand, "nice to meet you, I'm nurse Rory Williams." Martha smiled and shook his hand, "seems the Doctor's making a habit of taking people with medical professions out on his adventures," she joked.

Rory rolled his eyes, "tell me about it, the amount of times I've had to patch this man up." The two began laughing and the Doctor couldn't help but scowl as he leant into the chair. This was worse than the time Martha had met Donna for the first time.

It hadn't taken Jack and Mickey long at all to begin checking out the TARDIS interior as Martha and Rory worked on the Doctor which left Amy and Rose standing next to each other awkwardly. "So…" Amy finally said, breaking the silence, "what's with the…" she gestured to Roses' glowing skin. Rose smiled, leaning against the console ever so slightly for support, "let's just say the Dream Lord may have control over this world of his, but he'll never have full control over me." Amy smiled in response. The Rose girl was strong, she liked that. In fact, the more she studied all the people that suddenly crowded the Doctor's TARDIS, the more she realised how each one was so nice… so worthy of being a companion in the TARDIS. She was finding it hard to feel jealous at all.

Well, of course there was still that pang of anger towards Jack. His charm didn't get past her. Not as easily as he probably wished.

At the exact moment the thought struck her mind did the TARDIS suddenly groan in complaint. Amy and Rose instantly turned to the Doctor, however he didn't look like he'd suddenly worsened, in fact he was staring, just as alert at the console.

Suddenly, laughter echoed throughout the TARDIS. A laugh that everyone was familiar with. Together, each companion shivered as the console room was bathed in darkness.

That was when the Dream Lord took control.