Chapter 14 – Six Foot One
The alarms rang out. The Doctor stopped what he was doing and snapped to attention, frowning. It couldn't have been forty minutes already. Unless he'd really lost track of time.
"I think that's me," he muttered breathlessly, looking down at his wife spread out beneath him and pressing his forehead to hers. "I've got to go."
"I needed that."
"You're welcome," he said, diving for his clothes. She watched him get dressed, struggling to catch her breath through her immobolised jaw. When he was fully-clad he moved back to her, kissing her and resting a hand on her belly. It wasn't visible yet – a blessing in disguise. If the Shadow Proclamation found out there was another child there was no telling what they would do.
"Look after him," the Doctor said quietly.
"It's a boy?"
"Yep."
Her eyes lit up. "How can you tell?"
"Paternal bond wants me to buy footballs and shorts," he joked.
She giggled through her teeth. "Go, now."
"I will come back."
"I know, now go before they catch you."
He kissed her again. "Bye," he said, forcing himself to pull away from her and back towards the door, offering a wan smile before pulling open the door, checking the area, and running off.
He had been right. It hadn't been forty minutes, only ten. They must've checked in-between. This revelation proved a point, but it wasn't exactly helpful as the entire place flashed red lights and sirens wailed around him.
"Escaped prisoner from cell block D5," a voice on a tannoy said loudly and clearly over the din. "Guards be alert for a 6 foot brown-haired humanoid. Escaped prisoner from cell block D5. Guards be alert for a 6 foot brown-haired humanoid."
"Six foot one," the Doctor corrected under his breath, heading for where he could sense the TARDIS' presence. He just hoped Jack and Martha had the sense to go back there to wait for him.
He passed six platoons of marching Judoon on the way, having two very close calls. He still had his bio-damper pendant on, which was probably making it slightly more difficult for them but whatever protection he had wouldn't last for much longer, and neither would Leah's. He had to move, and very quickly.
He finally made it to some kind of evidence storage unit, and after a bit more sonic trickery he managed to get into it without being noticed. Within seconds of looking he saw the TARDIS, standing waiting in the centre of piles of crates. And right next to it were Jack and Martha, looking a bit bored before they both simultaneously noticed him.
"Take your time!" Jack exclaimed over the sirens still wailing. But then he noticed... "Where's Rose?"
"Get in the TARDIS," the Doctor said quickly, glancing nervously over his shoulder to check no one was around before clicking his fingers, and the doors flew open. He ushered them inside before securing the door and running to the console, bringing it back up to power with his hands flying over the buttons.
"She couldn't leave," the Doctor muttered. "They've... They've completely broken pretty much every single law they've written. They've used her as the prosecution to put me in a really bad light and get me locked away so it makes it easier for them to get Leah. And to make sure Rose plays by their rules they've... used dentadhe paste on her."
Jack's eyes widened. "But that's..."
"I know," the Doctor replied shortly.
"What's that?" Martha asked.
"Gum glue," Jack replied whilst the Doctor continued to program. "Me and my brother used to nick it and put it in sweets for a practical joke. It cements your mouth together completely."
Martha looked between Jack and the Doctor her eyes wide.
The Doctor caught her look. "It's only temporary, but it's a complete encroachment on basic rights, taking away her speech. They're only authorised to use that if she's damaged her jaw and it needs immobilising for repair. They're breaking every law they've ever written. And they're keeping her in a room with a wristband that'll kill her if she steps out of the door. I couldn't get it off. I had to leave her."
"This is disgusting," Martha said, almost angry. "And you say they're supposed to be the police of the Universe? The highest authority?"
"What the hell are they playing at?" Jack grated.
"Getting out was too easy as well," the Doctor continued after acknowledging their comments with a nod. "It's like they're falling apart. This is an extremely high security complex and me, a prosecuted felon, just waltzed out the door."
"But you're safe on Earth?" Martha pointed out. "You said they have no jurisdiction. They had to move the hospital to the moon to get that woman fugitive."
"I don't think they care about that anymore," the Doctor muttered darkly. "They just want me locked up or preferably dead, and I don't even want to think what they'll do to Leah when they get her since they're going to all this trouble for one little girl. They must want her for a reason, I don't know what, but I think we know it's not to give her cookies."
"What are you going to do?" Jack asked as they landed on Earth with a thump.
"Wish I knew," the Doctor muttered, closing his eyes for a moment and drawing a deep breath to try and compose himself, but he was visibly trembling. "I'm so angry..."
Jack quickly moved forward to rest a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "It'll be all right. They don't know about your boy yet, do they?"
The Doctor shook his head. "But how long till they notice?" he croaked.
Neither Martha nor Jack got the chance to answer this as suddenly the TARDIS monitor burst into life, fizzling and crackling until the picture of the woman with red eyes and white hair came on screen, Judoon standing behind her.
"This is a message for the lifeforms of Earth!" she buzzed, her voice echoing around the interior. "This is the Shadow Proclamation! We are the police of the Universe, and your planet is now under our control!"
The Doctor stared. "It's broadcasting all over Earth, every single screen..."
"Do not be afraid! If you comply, we will not harm you! We are searching your planet for an alien fugitive by the name of the Doctor, and his daughter known by the name of Leah Tyler!"
"Oh my god," Martha whispered, staring at the Doctor. "They've got control of Earth..."
The Doctor didn't even bother listening to the rest of the message. "Leah," he simply said, programming for Sarah's. They landed with a thump and the Doctor, seemingly forgetting he didn't even have any shoes on as he ran out of the doors into Sarah's house.
"Sarah!" he yelled, but the attic was empty. He burst out of the door and almost fell down the stairs in his hurry until he managed to reach the bottom. Just as he saw Leah and a blond-haired man sitting in the living room the front door burst open to reveal Sarah.
"Doctor!" she yelled, running to him. "They're coming for you!"
"They'll know where we are," the Doctor breathed, looking at Leah who was already on her feet and running to him to hug the stuffing out of him. The blond-haired man however, was staring at the TV in utter disbelief.
"Rhinos!" he yelped, pointing at the screen. "Rhinos with guns!"
Then he seemed to notice the Doctor standing there, being hugged by Leah. He put two and two together...
"You!" he yelled, stumbling to his feet. "Doctor! Leah! Rhinos! Guns! It's you!"
"Sorry, I just don't have time for hysterical humans right now," the Doctor said quickly, picking up Leah to hold her protectively.
"Leave my planet right now!" the man demanded, stumbling to his feet. "You alien criminal! Leave us alone!"
The Doctor ignored him as Jack and Martha reached the bottom of the stairs. He handed Leah to Jack. "Get her into the TARDIS," he said quickly. "Martha, can you get Leah's stuff?"
She nodded and quickly ran up the stairs. Jack was about to follow suit, when Leah burst into tears.
"Bundy!" she wailed.
The Doctor dived for the bear on the floor next to the hysterical Mr Rhodes, handing her to Leah who clung on tightly. "Okay. Jack, go!"
Jack obliged, running with Leah back to the TARDIS. Suddenly the house shook in something akin to an earthquake and everyone dived for something to grab. There came the sound of roaring engines from overhead. The Judoon were here.
"I've got him!" Mr Rhodes yelled to no one in particular, and dived onto the Doctor, feet and fists flying.
"Get off!" the Doctor yelled, struggling to push the human off as Sarah dived forward to drag the man off of the Time Lord. Quickly Mr Rhodes realised trying to hold him down was fruitless, so instead he jumped to his feet and ran towards the door with his arms flailing, screaming, "HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!" before he smacked straight into a low ceiling beam he'd failed to notice in his hysteria and collapsed unconscious to the floor.
For a moment there was a blissful silence as Sarah ignored her unconscious neighbour, and helped the Doctor to his feet.
"Quick, leave," she said, giving him a fleeting hug. From afar they could hear the synchronised march of Judoon footsteps heading slowly but steadily in their direction.
"I can't leave you here to deal with them," the Doctor said quickly.
"I'll be fine," she assured him. "Go now, get out of here."
He finally nodded, glancing out the window. He could see the black figures turning into Sarah's drive.
"Bye," he said quickly, and turned to flee. He heard the door crash open the moment he reached the attic door, but he forced himself to keep going, mentally listing all the reasons Sarah could handle herself in his head as he opened it and went into the TARDIS.
He began to program, hearing Leah crying loudly and Jack trying to shush her, but it wasn't working. As the TARDIS began to churn the Doctor went straight to Leah, taking her from Jack's arms.
"Daddy, what happening?" she sobbed, holding Bundy tightly as Jack and Martha nervously chatted to each other.
"In a minute, okay?" the Doctor said quietly, kissing her head and holding her tightly, before turning his attentions back to the TARDIS. He didn't know where to go. The Proclamation knew about Torchwood, knew about Sarah's, could probably track the TARDIS and him and Leah if they wanted to. And the longer he sat in the vortex the easier it would be for them to track the TARDIS...
"Okay, everyone, be quiet," the Doctor instructed, dropping down onto the floor with Leah still clinging onto him. "I need to think."
He closed his eyes as everyone fell quiet, watching him carefully. His mind flickered through a million possibilities, but none of them would protect Leah for long. As he continued to think he suddenly felt a dab of a kiss on his cheek and he opened his eyes to see Leah, her eyes shining with tears, but she was smiling positively. She looked just like Rose.
He realised whatever his priorities were, he needed to check Leah first.
"Are you okay?" he asked the girl sitting in his lap.
"I'm scared," she admitted quietly.
"I know," the Doctor replied. "I am a little bit too."
"You'll think of something," Leah replied, smiling.
He laughed. "Hopefully." He paused, stroking back the toddler's hair. "Mummy said she loves you."
"Where Mummy?" Leah wondered.
"I couldn't get her out. But we talked and she said to keep you safe, so that's what I'm doing. I need to think of something to make sure you won't get hurt, else Mummy and Granny will slap me all the way to Melissa Majoria."
Leah giggled. "Are all the rhino people chasing us, now?"
"Yeah," the Doctor muttered quietly. "But don't worry about a thing. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"Else Mummy and Granny be mad," Leah reiterated.
He grinned. "Yep. And I might be a bit sad."
She giggled. "Ei'mina'eon, poha."
He beamed, but then suddenly froze, his eyes widening. "Oh Leah, you're a genius!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and kissing her, setting her down on the floor. "Of course! Jack!"
"Hmm?"
"Can you trace where a parcel came from?"
"Probably," Jack replied. "Why?"
The Doctor looked between Jack and Martha as Leah quickly slipped her hand into her father's, looking up at him. "I... Need to find where the Master is."
Martha and Jack stared at him in horror. "What?" Martha asked.
"I need his help. I think I can convince him," the Doctor said, already programming for Torchwood.
"The Master's help? Are you completely mad?" Martha yelped.
"Trust me," the Doctor said as they landed in Torchwood. He looked at Jack, pointing to the door. "Jack, you've got ten minutes before the Shadow Proclamation get here. Move!"
A/N: Only took me 14 chapters to get to anything related to the title and summary... :p