The Idiot's Lantern, Part Two

Clara and the Doctor approached Tommy's door, hand in hand. The Doctor raised his hand to knock on the door.

"I want to knock!" Clara protested. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her and she raised both of hers. "I want to knock." She repeated firmly. He smiled and her, letting his arm drop. He kissed her lightly on the mouth.

"Go ahead, then," he told her. Smiling, she knocked on the door. The door opened a moment later.

"Hi!" The two of them chorused, Cheshire grins on both of their faces. Tommy's father glowered at them.

"Who are you, then?" He demanded. The Doctor looked him up and down while digging his psychic paper out.

"Let's see, then. Judging by the look of you, family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore I represent Queen and country." He thrust the psychic paper in the man's face, confident that it said what he wants. After a moment, he flipped it shut and returned it to his jacket pocket.

"Just doing a little check of Her forthcoming Majesty's subjects before the great day." Keeping hold of Clara's hand, the Doctor pushed past Tommy's father, inviting himself in. "Don't mind if I come in? Nah, I didn't think you did. Thank you."

Clara let go of the Doctor's hand, inspecting the living room as the Doctor wandered

"Not bad," he commented. "Very nice. Very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs-?" He was speaking to Tommy's mother. She had a nervous demeanor.

"Connolly," she answered softly. "Rita Connolly, sir." Tommy's father walked next to his wife.

"Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative," he turned to the Doctor, a fake grin on his face. "Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." The Doctor seemed taken aback at how Mr. Connolly treated his wife.

"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more," he said rudely. "I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty." He fingered a Union Flag that was lying on a table. "Nice flags. Why are they not flying?" Mr. Connolly, obviously flustered by the Doctor, waved at his wife.

"There we are Rita! I told you, get them up. Queen and country." Rita demurely reached for the flags, head bowed.

"I'm sorry." She muttered.

"Get it done. Do it now!" Mr. Connolly commanded. The Doctor looked very upset.

"Hold on a minute.," he said. Mr. Connolly ignored him.

"Like the gentleman says," he continued.

"Hold on a minute!" The Doctor successfully got everyone's attention. "You've got hands, Mr. Connolly. Two big hands. So why is that your wife's job?" Mr. Connolly shrugged.

"Well, it's housework, innit?" He asked dumbly. The Doctor raised his eyebrows, sharing a look with Clara.

"And that's a woman's job?" The Doctor went on. Clara would have said something, but she knew that Mr. Connolly wouldn't listen to her. In his eyes, she was just a woman.

"Of course it is," Mr. Connolly replied. The Doctor paused, thinking of what he would say next.

"Mr. Connolly, what gender is the Queen?" He asked carefully.

"She's a female."

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" The Doctor asked. Mr. Connolly's face reddened.

"No. Not at all." He muttered. The Doctor handed him the linked flags.

"Then get busy."

"Right. Yes, sir." He began hanging up the flags. "You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and centre." Clara tilted her head, smirking. Now, it was her turn to talk.

"Excuse me, Mr. Connolly." She said. "Hang on a minute. Union Jacks?" She leaned against the couch, looking up at Mr. Connolly.

"Yes, that's right, isn't it?" Mr. Connolly replied, continuing his work.

"That's the Union Flag," Clara informed him, a little sassier than she normally would have. "It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea." Mr. Connolly's face darkened even more.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I do apologize." Clara plucked a fallen flag and dropped it in Mr. Connolly's hand.

"Well, don't get it wrong again." Clara smiled sweetly. "There's a good man. Now get to it!"

"Right then! Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty's leisure." The Doctor nodded, hands in his pockets. He made his way to Clara. "Union Flag?" He asked quietly. Before she could answer, Rita offered them a seat on the couch, which they politely accepted.

"I nannied for a sailor's family when I was twenty," she answered. "I picked up a thing or two." The Doctor looked impressed.

"Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Clara," The Doctor introduced himself to Rita and Tommy. "And you are?"

"Tommy," Tommy replied, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy. Have a look at this." He gestured to the TV. "I love telly, don't you?" Tommy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I think it's brilliant." The Doctor nodded approvingly.

"Good man!" He glanced at Mr. Connolly, who had stopped working to glare at him "Keep working, Mr. C! Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Rita wrung her hands nervously.

"Did you say you were a doctor?" She asked after a moment.

"Yes, I am." He replied seriously. Rita appeared relieved.

"Can you help her?" She grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?" She looked desperate.

"Now then, Rita. I don't think the gentleman needs to know-" Mr. Connolly interrupted fiercely.

"No, the gentleman does." The Doctor corrected, just as fierce. Clara moved to be next to Rita, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Tell us what's wrong," she said softly, "and we can help." Rita burst into tears and Clara did her best to comfort the sobbing woman.

"I'm sorry. It's all right." She hugged Rita. "Come here. It's okay." She rubbed Rita's back.

"Hold on a minute." Mr. Connolly sounded pissed. "Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house! What the-?" He threw the bunting down. "What the hell am I doing? Now you listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business." The Doctor stood up strongly.

"A lot of people are being bundled into-"

"I am talking!" Mr. Connolly roared.

"And I'm not listening!" The Doctor yelled, even louder. Rita cried harder. "Now you, Mr. Connolly, you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. So I'm ordering you, sir! Tell me what's going on!"

"Doctor!" Clara shouted. "Calm down. You're scaring them." She gestured to Rita's crying figure, and Tommy's nervous one. "And me," she added softly. The Doctor's anger faded immediately and he grabbed Clara's hand.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, pulling her close. "I didn't mean to-" Clara shook her head.

"I know," she said. "Just stop, okay?" He nodded solemnly, kissing the back of her hand. They were interrupted by thumping on the ceiling. They all looked up.

"She won't stop." Mr. Connolly told them after a moment. "She never stops." Clara looked at them all.

"What's going on?" She asked, eyes on Tommy.

"We started hearing stories, all round the place." Tommy began, fiddling with his hands. "People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then, the police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does. They just turn up, come to the door and take them, any time of the day or night." The Doctor squeezed Clara's hand.

"Show me." He said. Tommy nodded and led Clara and the Doctor upstairs, to a room at the end of the hall. It was dark in the room as Tommy opened the door.

"Gran? It's Tommy. It's all right, Gran. I've brought help." Tommy flicked the light on. Clara gasped at what she saw. An elderly woman, with no face at all. No eyes, no mouth, no nose. Nothing.

"Her face is completely gone," the Doctor observed. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and soniced her. "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean."

"What're we going to do, Doctor?" Tommy asked, clearly upset. "We can't even feed her." A loud thump and crack was heard. Clara ran to the stairs and saw that the door was being knocked down.

"We've got company!" She called. Rita, grabbing her mother's shoulders, cried out.

"It's them. They've come for her!" The Doctor looked from Clara to Rita.

"Quickly. What was she doing before this happened?" He asked urgently. Men in black were stampeding up the stairs and Clara was trying to hold them off. She was unsuccessful and was pushed against the wall. "Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think!"

"I can't think!" Tommy exclaimed. "She doesn't leave the house! She was just-" The men had made it to the room, Clara right behind them.

"Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, as he got punched in the face.

"Doctor!" Clara elbowed her way past the men and knelt next to the Doctor. She watched in horror as the men threw a blanket over Tommy's gran and dragged her out of the house. "Doctor, wake up! Come on!"

"Leave her alone!" Rita cried, chasing after the men. "Don't hurt her!"

The Doctor sat up quickly, almost knocking Clara in the head. He rubbed his nose. "Ah, hell of a right hook. Have to watch out for that." He jumped up, holding his hand out for Clara. She took it, and they flew down the stairs. Clara struggled to keep up with him.

"Clara, come on!" They made their way to the door. As they ran, Clara noticed red energy coming from the Connolly's TV.

"What the-?" She murmured, still being dragged outside. The Doctor hopped on the scooter, but Clara was a bit too slow. She was just swinging her leg over the scooter when the Doctor took off.

"Clara, we're going to lose them again!" The scooter zipped out from under her and she fell on her butt.

"Doctor!" She yelled, rubbing her bottom, but it was no use. He was gone.

A/N: Yet another chapter done! I hope you enjoyed it- I'm enjoying writing this episode a lot more than I thought I would have. Let me know what you think in a review!

By the way, you should go to my profile and vote in the poll I have going on! I'd love your input. And, while you're there, you might as well check out my other Doctor Who fanfiction, Come Along Pond, Allons-y!

Until next time, honeys!