Okay, here's chapter 35, so, so, so sorry about the wait, I've been up to my eyes in college work...Thank God I've only got a couple of things to finish tomorrow at the college and then that's me finished and I can concentrate on the next block of work.

They all collected the solutions as the Doctor asked as he tied a rope around himself. They hooked all the solutions to it "How's that?" he asked "Will that do?"

"I don't know." said Cassandra "Will it do for what?"

The Doctor went to the lifts and opened one of them with the sonic screwdriver "The lifts aren't working..."

"Not moving, different thing." he said as he looked up the lift shaft and back down it again. He ran back a bit and said "Here we go." He stuck the sonic screwdriver between his teeth. He ran to the lift

"But you're not going to..." said Cassandra as he jumped onto the rope in the middle of the shaft. "What do you think you're doing?"

The Doctor still had the sonic screwdriver in his mouth, so what he said was muffled. He took it out of his mouth and attached something to the rope so that he could slide down "Come on." he said

"Not in a million years."

"I need another pair of hands." the Doctor said "What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?"

Cassandra looked at the rest of the room and saw the flesh entering. "No!" she said as she ran to the lift avoiding death. "You're completely mad." she told hm "I can see why she likes you."

"Going down!"

He released something and they started to descend quickly. When they reached the lift, they slowed down and stopped "Well, that's one way to lose weight."

"Now, listen." said the Doctor "When I say so, take hold of that lever."

"There's still a quarantine down there." said Cassandra "We can't..."

"Hold that lever!" the Doctor said as he took some of the solutions off of his belt thing "I'm cooking up a cocktail." he said as he opened one "I know a bit about medicine myself. He opened all of the solutions and poured them into the vat before him, he then removed the rope "Nowm that lever's gonna resist, but keep it in position." he opened the hatch in the top of the lift "Hold on to it with everything you've got,"

"What about you?"

He went down inside the lift, still using his arms to hold himself up "I've got an appointment." he said "The Doctor is in." And with that, he let go and dropped inside the lift. He opened the door with the sonic screwdriver. "I'm in here!" he shouted to the flesh "Come on!"

"Don't tell them!" said Cassandra.

"Pull that lever!" he looked out of the lift again as he said this "Come and get me!" he shouted "Come on. I'm in here! Come on!" he watched as the flesh came towards the lift "Come and get me." he shouted "Come on!" The disinfectant that the Doctor had modified began to spray on to the Doctor "Come on, come on." The flesh stood in the spray confused "All they want to do is pass it on." he said "Pass it on!"

"Pass on what?"

"Pass it on!" shouted the Doctor, ignoring her question. He watched as the flesh began to spread the antedote between them.

--

He reached up and helped Cassandra down "What did they pass on?" she asked "Did you kill them? All of them?"

"No, that's your way of doing things." he walked out of the lift "I'm the Doctor and I cured them." One of the flesh gave the Doctor a hug, which he returned "That's right." he said "Hey! There we go. Hey?" he let her go "Go to him. Go. That's it. That's it." he said as she walked over to another of the flesh. "It' a new subspecies, Cassandra." he told her "A brand-new form of life. New humans. Look at them! Look!"

He walked around the entrance "Run by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, but completely, completely alive!" he said as he turned to Cassandra "You can't deny them 'cause you helped create them. The human race just keeps on going. Keeps on changing. Life will out. Ha!"

--

They watched as the police arrested the nurses and catalogued the new humans "The Face of Boe!"

--

They entered the ward, the Face of Boe was awake "You were supposed to be dying." the Doctor said.

"There are better things to do today." he said "Dying can wait."

"Oh, I hate telepathy." said Cassandra "Just what I need, a head full of big face."

"Shh!"

"I had grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew."

"There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old."

"Well, now, that would be impossible."

"Wouldn't it just?" the Doctor said "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

"A great secret."

"So the legend says."

"It can wait."

"Oh, does it have to?"

"We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day..." He teleported out.

"That is enigmatic." said the Doctor "That is... that is textbook enigmatic." he got up "And now for you." he said turning to Cassandra.

"But everything's happy." she said "Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"

"You've lived long enough." he said "Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."

She started to cry. "I don't want to die." she said

"No one does."

"Help me."

"I can't." said the Doctor

"Mistress..." Cassandra turned around to see Chip.

"Oh!" she said "You're alive!"

"I kept myself safe for you, mistress."

"A body!" said Cassandra "And not just that. A volunteer!"

"Don't you dare!" said the Doctor "He's got a life of his own."

"But I worship the mistress." said Chip. "I welcome her."

"?You can't, Cassandra." said the Doctor "You...."

Cassandra left Rose "Oh!" said the Doctor as he caught her in his arms "You all right?" He helped her to stand and let her go, she stumbled again "Okay?" he asked

"Yeah." she said. She smiled "Hello."

"Hello." he replied "Welcome back" he hugged her and kissed her hair

"Oh, sweet Lord!" said Cassandra "I'm a walkin doodle."

The Doctor let go of Rose "You can't stay in there." he said "I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city, they can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

"Well, that would be rather dramatic." Cassandra said "Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat." Rose smiled "But I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip, he's only a half-life. And he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last..." he collapsed

"You all right?" asked the Doctor as he and Rose caught him

"I'm fine." said Cassandra "I'm dying. But that's fine."

"I can take you to the city." said the Doctor.

"No, you won't." said Cassandra "Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore. You were right, Doctor. It's time to die. And that's good."

The Doctor and Rose helped him up "Come on, there's one last thing I can do."

-

The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis followed by Chip and Rose. They watched the scene from the film "Thank you." said Cassandra, when she realised what the Doctor had done.

"Just go." said the Doctor "And don't look back."

"Good luck."

They watched as Chip or Cassandra made their way over to past Cassandra, they watched as Chip died in Cassandra's arms and then headed into the Tardis.

--

Once inside the Tardis, the Doctor set the coordinates for the Time Vortex "Rose, are you alright?" he asked when he saw her standing by the console, holding her head.

"No, my head's killing me." she answered

"Infirmary." he said

"But-"

"No but's, Rose." he said "I just want to make sure everything's alright. Humour me."

"Fine." she followed him to the infirmary, where he checked her head and gave her a pain killer.

"I love you, Rose."

"I love you, too." Rose said and then she kissed him "When did you first realise I wasn't really me?"

"When I spoke to you on the phone, I thought there was something wrong." he answered "But it really hit me when she kissed me. Your kisses are different."

"Thank you for knowing the difference." she said as she kissed him again....

Well, that's New Earth. The next chapter will be the first part of Tooth and Claw.

TTFN

Julie.