AN- I am burning through these updates! Ugh, this is the first story that hasn't been significantly close to being completed before I started writing it. It's so much more of a pain to update-as-I-write. Hope you all are enjoying this, 'cause it hasn't been easy trying to fit in all of the action before Christmas… not much of a Christmas fanfic special if I finish it several days after now is it? Anyway, read, enjoy, and review and make me feel like this was worth something yeah?

Disclaimer: I own Arkady, 'cause he's cute and fluffy and totally OC except… his name comes from a character in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (great novels by the way, check them out). Sasha is totally my own character though, and any other stuff you don't recognize that came from my highly caffeinated, coffee-powered writer's brain. But anything Doctor Who related? Nope. I also don't own The Rescues' song "Break me Out," which makes a cameo here because it is a very apt song to describe Rose's epicness.

Rose's phone burst into the melody of "Break me Out" after only 10 minutes back in the party. Grinning at her special ringtone just for Torchwood emergencies, she eagerly darted out of the ballroom, shouting apologies as she went. She didn't miss Pete's disapproving frown, and Jackie's furious glare, but that confrontation would have to wait until later. She'd get an earful about missing the party, saving the world (or at least London) or not, but right now Rose was too eager to loser herself in some alien-fighting adrenaline to care. Anything to get out of that stifling party- and this constricting dress, she mused in an afterthought, striding as quickly as she could down the large entrance hall. The doorman gave her a funny look as she swapped her heels for the combat boots stowed in her duffel bag mid-sprint out the door. As she leapt into her car, waiting in the VIP parking lot, she shot him a rogueish look, and then drove off at a speed that should be illegal. Actually, it probably was illegal. Rose slowed down a bit as she cruised onto the main roadway towards London city. Once she was going steadily enough, headed automatically towards her flat, she spoke into the voice-activated computer of her car. Futuristic Bluetooth. What a lovely universe.

"Accessing line 375 double zero one," she called out, waiting for the automated voice to respond and patch her through to Torchwood.

"Password."

"Bad Wolf," Rose said, quirking her lips in a sour smile as she did every time she used that name. It was still only there in bits and pieces of her memory, but there was enough to know that it was one of the few things that tied her to him anymore. She tapped her fingers anxiously on the wheel as the computer continued to process her identity. All the alien tech in the world and she still had to wait ages for the voice-password analysis. Why couldn't they just listen to her and use a combination iris-DNA-brainwave scan? Foolproof and quick, but no, far too high tech, too challenging to install. Honestly. Rose rolled her eyes, and then sighed in relief when the connection finally clicked on.

"Rose, I'm so sorry to interrupt your parent's Christmas party, but we've got a situation," the voice of Arkady, the young night monitor said apologetically. Rose let out a harsh laugh.

"No, I was glad to get out of there, even if there's going to be hell to pay with my Mum later. I'm just gonna stop at the flat and grab some new clothes and some more gear."

"No time. Can't you just use the equipment in your car?" Arkady asked in frustration. Rose raised an eyebrow. Men.

"Arkady, I'm dressed in a bloody ball gown. Not the easiest to maneuver in, and awful for fighting. Plus, it's actually quite pretty and I'd hate to do something like get blood or slime on it. Don't need to give Mum another reason to strangle me," she added under her breath. Plus, she was already halfway to her flat, how important could it be?

"It's too important Rose." Apparently very. "There was a report earlier, typical robo-santas, every once in awhile some mayhem, but when we- well me really, there's no one else here, holidays and all, sent Sasha down to check it out… She's gone, not answering calls and her com was knocked out. Can't get any signal in or out. The last connection we got she was talking really quickly about something big, far more dangerous than we'd thought. And then screams, and nothing. She's not responding, and I figured you'd be the only one to answer on Christmas Eve." Rose stiffened at Arkady's recounting of the night's events, her worry and resolve growing with each word. Sasha and Arkady were her only two friends in this universe, aside from Mickey, although considering he wasn't really a native her either she didn't suppose he counted. They'd served plenty of night shifts together, and Sasha had been one of the few employees that hadn't complained about her quick rise through the ranks. Unlike the rest of the cutthroat, overly ambitious Torchwood recruits, they had been kind to her, even if Arkady was a little overly affectionate towards her. She had to help now- dress be hanged.

"You should've just said that at the start! I didn't know Sasha was involved. Priorities, geez! Ok, where am I headed?" she asked, milling about uselessly at the next intersection until the GPS coordinates popped up in her GPS tracking system.

"Just sent you her last known location, a factory on the edge of town near the river. Rose… be careful. We have no idea what's there and I don't think I'll be able to reach any backup. Not in time anyways. I wouldn't ask you at all except that it's Sasha and I was the one who told her to go in there…" he trailed off, and Rose could tell he felt horribly guilty about the situation.

"Hey, it isn't your fault. And I'm gonna be just fine. Not like it's the first time I've gone in by myself. It just might be the first someone has asked me to go in alone rather than me going just 'cause I want to," she said with the hint of a smile, amusement in her tone. It surprised even her, that she had managed to perk up on the holiday night. Nothing like impending death to cheer you up.

"Please take some weapons, I don't care how much you hate them. And Rose… good luck," Arkady said, his voice laced with worry, he paused another moment, she could hear his breathing on the com, and Rose bit her lip, praying he'd stop there. When the com clicked off without any further words, she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in relief. She knew Arkady saw her as more than a friend, and it didn't help that Pete kept encouraging the guy, but while she liked him well enough, Rose just couldn't. Not now, not yet, maybe not ever, but that was okay, she'd be alright. She pushed those thoughts away as she approached the abandoned factory where Sasha had been investigating. Even as she pulled around behind a grove of trees, deciding to take the front entrance- she noticed the tracks in the dirt. Sasha had gone in here, and yup there was her old beat up blue Mustang. Rose took deep, meditative breaths, sinking into her Torchwood training and preparing herself for whatever was coming both physically and mentally. It was going to be a long night- but anything was better than pretending to be interested in the boring domestic party- right?

Rose parked her car out of sight, and popped the trunk. Then, she removed the perception filter; courtesy of Torchwood, and examined her on-the-go stock of equipment. She didn't really want to go with lethal weapons, never liked to use them as a matter of fact, only had once against a particularly violent psychopathic alien from Venus. Of course, she had no idea if she'd need lethal force, and it would probably be bad if she got trapped in there with no backup and no last-resort weapons. Her stun gun was finicky, worked on some species but not others, and the chemical explosives would knock out some species while doing nothing or enraging others. Also useless without any intel. Rose groaned in frustration, realizing just now how bad this situation was going to get. She could see it now, this would be the night she would die, with nothing but some equipment that could take down a very weak alien or a very strong human, and a ball gown. And then she scolded herself for being melodramatic and focused back on surviving. Just another day on the job.

Rose finally settled on her extremely high-powered electrical pulse gun, which had unsurprisingly been modeled off of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, if his screwdriver could only release sonic pulses and electrocute things that is, and as an afterthought picked up both a small pistol and a dagger. She slung the holster around her hips, pulled on the new Torchwood armor vest they'd developed to withstand most major blunt force trauma, and strapped the dagger sheath onto her thigh. Finally, as she prepared to head into battle, Rose remembered one last thing. With a reluctant sigh- the golden knee-length slip of a dress really had been gorgeous, she cut a long slit down either side to just below her hips, suddenly extremely grateful that she'd worn black leggings underneath. At least now she could move- and run.

Finally suited up and ready, Rose Tyler looked at the factory with a critical eyes, noticing the suspicious puffs of smoke being released from one of the central chimneys, though the others that ringed around it were cold and empty.

"Looks like somebody's been using the old factory again," Rose whispered to herself before clicking on her earpiece, the closest thing to backup that she had. "Going in now, Arkady," Rose said. He was silent, and Rose thanked him silently for knowing that she preferred to be alone, mentally at least, on missions. Well, she'd only personally shouted at him about a dozen times when they'd first started working together. As she approached the factory doors, bent ajar, she felt her heart pound, beating against her chest and she tried to ignore the strange sensation of despair and fear that was rolling over her. She listened for anything as she walked in slowly, hoping her keen senses could pick up some form of alien activity, Sasha, or any signs of life, but all was eerily silent. Something was very wrong here, and Rose couldn't explain how she knew it. All she knew, as she stepped into the blackness and flipped on the light on the end of her electro-pulser, was that she almost wished she were back at the Christmas party again.

There were zeppelins in the sky, and it was all the Doctor could do to not leap into the air for joy, crying out to the world. Happy, happy, happity happiest was how he felt. Despite the million-in-one chances and the weird energy readings in the TARDIS he was really in the right London. Rose's London, and all he had to do now was find her. The Doctor's heart plummeted again as he considered this next challenge. Where to start. He supposed he could just go to the Vitex Mansion, but what if she didn't want to see him? She said she'd loved him on Bad Wolf Bay, but he had no idea how long it had been for her. She could hate him, she might've moved on. The Doctor hesitated, not knowing if he could stand it if she didn't want to see him. Then a fresh wave of guilt- was he wishing she'd been wasting away in misery without him? Hadn't he told her to live a fantastic life? Rassilon, he didn't deserve her at all.

The Doctor was contemplating going back into his TARDIS- not running, just thinking, when he heard the screams. They echoed across the river, apparent only to his enhanced Time Lord senses. He stiffened and looked around, narrowing his eyes. It had come from… oh there! An abandoned factory, how exciting! As he leapt back into the TARDIS to the console, he ignored her disgruntled, annoyed presence in his mind. How dare she insinuate that he was acting like a teenager scared to tell his crush he liked her. The Doctor viewed himself and Rose as a little past 'liking' thank you very much, but thinking it and telling her were two very different things especially as they hadn't seen each other in who knows how long. And, he was 900, honestly, he'd stopped being a teenager once he hit 700. His ship could be a real annoyance sometimes.

"You're not my mother," he growled, sender her towards the factory. The TARDIS just sent him a wave of affection and a strange sensation that could only be compared to a mental eye roll. The nerve. As the TARDIS rematerialized, the Doctor stepped out- and realized he'd messed up his landing time again. Instead of landing just after the scream, it had happened exactly 20 minutes and 38 seconds ago. He swore, no telling what had happened to the poor sap trapped in this creepy old building. Maybe all those people criticizing his driving had a point; but at least it was 20 minutes and not 12 months… He paused, before heading back to the console to do a- what had Rose called it? Funny how her name didn't hurt so much now that she was within reach. "A scan for alien tech" and whistled softly as he picked up the remnants of an energy wave, a very powerful energy wave shooting off from the factory. It correlated with… the scream from 20 minutes ago. And there was still residue. Must've been some surge. The monitor lit up brightly as the readings shot off the chart again. The TARDIS hummed excitedly, and the Doctor stumbled as she glowed brightly like a sun in his mind.

"That's where you're getting the energy from! Huh, wonder what that surge could be caused by, considering it's compatible with the TARDIS, well old girl, you're happy. Now time to go clean up this mess so we can get Rose. The Doctor stepped out into the silent factory, dark and seemingly abandoned for years. As best he could tell, he was in the back near some maintenance entrance, although the map on the wall indicated he was only a few halls down from the centre room where the energy had originated from labeled containment. He frowned at the notices on the walls as he ran down the halls. Plant closed indefinitely; safety hazards. Wear protective gear at all times. All employees are terminated, must report to main office for completion of confidentiality agreement. What the hell was this place? The Doctor's hearts beat a little faster, and then he turned the corner and came to a door with two very worrying signs. The first was a warning for radiation energy, and the second was the Torchwood logo. Of course, because they couldn't just cause problems in one universe. Even if it appeared they had shut down this plant, there was no telling what damage they'd caused and left here, so now it was up to him to figure it out and fix it. And then he'd find Rose.

"Keep going, another 20 feet, turn right, and you should be almost to the energy reactor room. Rose nodded, listening to Arkady as he guided her towards the place Sasha had disappeared. She rounded the corner and stopped, seeing the robo-santa just outside the door. She pulled out her electro-pulser and approached very slowly, eyes tracking it for any movement. There was none. As she got increasingly close to the robo-santa, her confusion grew, though she kept her electro-pulser raised. She'd expected it to turn and notice her, or at least move by now. As she finally came around the side of the thing she stopped. It's face was melted and its entire front charred.

"Um, Arkady, what did Sasha come out here to investigate? Exactly?" she asked, voice quivering. The line was silent for a moment and then-

"She was following a whole swarm of robo-santas that had congregated on this burst of energy. It was localized in the radiation containment room."

"What kind of factory is- er was this exactly?" she asked, getting a bad feeling between the mazelike halls, deadbolt doors, and now… radiation containment room. "Arkady?" she asked again when the line remained silent, her tone warning him not to mess with her today. Or any day really. She heard him take in a deep breath, obviously steeling himself to answer her.

"It was a nuclear facility officially, but that was just a cover. It was a, uh, Torchwood holding facility."

"And you didn't think I needed to know this?" Rose asked, voice low and dangerous as she examined the melted santa. She didn't want to go any farther until she knew what she was walking into. She could practically hear Arkady wince at her tone.

"Look, I know how you feel about Torchwood's holding aliens and interrogating them and their somewhat darker side of relations…"

"And that's why you should have told me!" she snapped, ignoring his floundering excuses. "Is it an active site?"

"No. It was after the first Cyberman invasion, when Torchwood started up from the Preachers, but before you started working here it got shut down. It was cleared out completely a few months ago, or so we thought. But you don't have clearance for this, you're not supposed to know any of this Rose, I could get fired for telling you. Or worse, did you know they wiped the memories of everyone that worked there Rose?" he sounded frustrated and panicked, but his worry and the plaintive note in his voice just served to infuriate Rose further.

"You're worried about your job? Just shut up. Now is so not the time to be worrying about that. And it's Agent Tyler to you," she hissed, shutting off the comlink before he could protest. She knew, somewhere deep down that he was just worried, and that he hadn't intended to keep information from her, hadn't intended to sound like he valued his job more than Sasha's safety. Or at least she hoped. But right now, she didn't want Torchwood's help covering up the mess they'd probably made themselves anyways. She had all the information she needed right now, and now that she knew what she was looking for, Rose could sense the energy, like a tingling as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She continued down the hallway, finding six more robo-santas, in progressively worse stages of melting as she got closer. The overall feeling of wrongness and the tingling were reinforced, even as she could feel it increasing. It got stronger as she approached a final door labeled in faded letters: "Torchwood- Authorized Personnel only beyond this point. Dangerous radiation Keep Out." Whatever had taken Sasha and wiped out the santas was beyond this door. Rose cracked her knuckles and grinned. This was what she lived for now. Time to go join the party.

AN- Arkady isn't really a jerk, just a little immature. Poor sap. Anyway, next chapter will be the big confrontation, and I have so much planned it's exciting even me! Of course it's only written in outlines and a single scene so far so it's going to take some work to get it up tomorrow… Anyways, enjoy this and please review it will make me write faster I promise.