Army of Ghosts, Part One
Clara stepped out of the TARDIS first, having a look around to make sure they were in the right place. Satisfied that they were, she stepped to the side to let the Doctor out, as well. He bounced out, admiring his new surroundings.
"So, where's your dad's house?" He asked. Clara pointed.
"There. Come on." She took his hand and led him to the front door of the house. She unlocked the door, knocking as she opened it. "Dad? You home?" She called, poking her head in the house.
Her dad appeared in the doorway from the living room, beaming as he saw his daughter.
"Clara!" He cried, running over to hug her. She walked into the room, hugging him. "And who's this?" Clara turned to see that the Doctor had entered the house as well.
"Oh, Dad, this is the Doctor." Clara told him. "We're, um, together." Clara couldn't think of a better word to describe their relationship, so she went with that. She didn't feel like it fit right, though. Their relationship was more than just "together".
Clara's dad eyed the Doctor up and down, sticking his hand out to shake. "Doctor what?" He asked curiously. The Doctor shook his hand.
"Just the Doctor," the Doctor replied. Clara's dad raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Well, come on in, then, Doctor!" He invited them into the living room, where he was watching football on TV. "My friend and her kid are coming over in a bit, if that's alright with you?" He asked Clara. She shrugged, inwardly panicking.
"A girlfriend?" She asked, trying and failing to sound casual. Her dad laughed, shaking his head.
"No, just a friend. She's not exactly my type." Clara shifted in her seat, uncomfortable about the topic of her dad dating. She knew it had been years since her mum died, but she still didn't like the idea of her dad with someone else. "She comes over for-"
The doorbell rang.
"That's them!" Clara's dad announced, changing the TV from football to the news.
"He seems nice," the Doctor said awkwardly once her dad left. "Don't think he likes me much, though." Clara shook her head.
"I don't believe him." She said. "I bet he's dating that woman." They heard footsteps enter the living room and turned. Four mouths dropped open when they saw each other.
Clara's dad's friend and her daughter were Jackie and Rose Tyler.
"Doctor!" Rose gasped. "Clara!" Rose ran over to them, hugging the Doctor. He hugged her back, smiling at Jackie over Rose's shoulder, though she wasn't looking at him with the kindest of looks.
"Oh my goodness," Clara breathed. "What a coincidence."
"What are you two doing here?" Jackie asked. Clara pointed to her dad.
"That's my dad. We're visiting." Rose checked her watch.
"You guys, we'd better get ready. Granddad Prentice and your Grandpa John will be here any minute." Rose stated. Just then, a ding went off in the kitchen.
"That's the casserole," Clara's dad announced. "Grandpa John's favorite. Jackie, Rose, give me a hand?" The two women nodded, following him into the kitchen. Clara turned to the Doctor eyes wide.
"I think they've gone mad." She confided quietly. "All three of them." The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Jackie, I'd believe. But Rose and your dad? Why would you say that?" He asked, clearly confused. Clara bit her lip.
"Grandpa John is my dad's grandfather. He died before I was born." She said. "And I'm pretty sure Rose mentioned that her Granddad Prentice died about ten years ago. They've all gone bonkers." Clara stood.
"Dad?" She called, walking into the living room. The Doctor followed at her heels. "Dad, what did Rose say about Grandpa John coming to visit? He died, remember?" Clara's dad nodded, waving an oven mitt over the steaming casserole.
"I remember clearly, Clara." He stated. "He was in a car crash with your great grandma, Clarice." Clara and the Doctor shared a worried look.
"So, how could he be coming to visit?" Clara asked. "Or Rose's Granddad Prentice? Didn't you say that his heart gave out ten years ago?" Rose nodded.
"Yea, it did." The TV in the living room played some sort of jingle that caused all three of them to brighten.
"They're almost here!" Jackie cried, excited. Just then, two gray, vaguely human shapes appeared in the living room. Jackie and Rose beamed at one, talking animately to it as if it was a person. Clara's dad pulled on her arm, pulling her to the other.
"Grandpa John, this is my daughter, Clara. Remember how I told you about here?" He asked. The Doctor grabbed Clara's wrist and they ran outside. Jackie, Rose, and Clara's dad followed.
"They're everywhere!" The Doctor exclaimed. It was true. Gray, human shapes littered the neighborhood, all exactly identical. Some walked around, but most stood still. Clara was shocked to see that no one was alarmed by them. Some chatted with the shapes, while others simply ignored them as they would ignore a stranger as they walked down the block. Clara's eyes widened when she noticed one of them walking straight towards the Doctor.
"Doctor, look out!" She said. Too late. The shape walked right through the Doctor, whose face made it clear that it was not a comfortable feeling.
"They haven't got long," Rose told the two of them. "Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade." The Doctor and Clara whipped around, facing the three standing on the porch.
"What do you mean, shift? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?" The Doctor asked one question right after the other. Jackie snorted.
"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?" She asked Rose, amused. Rose chuckled. The Doctor shook his head.
"But no one's running or screaming or freaking out." He said helplesly.
"Why should we?" Clara's dad asked. He checked his watch. "Here we go. Twelve minutes past." Just as he said that, all of the shapes disappeared.
"By the way, where's Mickey?" Rose asked, looking around for him. Guilt built up in Clara's stomach. She had forgotten that Rose didn't know that Mickey had stayed behind in the parallel world.
"Not important. I'll explain later." The Doctor said hastily. "We have more important things to discuss. Let's go inside, shall we?" He herded everyone inside. They all crowded in the living room. The Doctor sat between Rose and Clara, holding Clara's hand, while Clara's dad and Jackie sat in the chairs.
The TV was broadcasting a Ghost Watch Program. The announcer was speaking, and they were all listening.
"On today's Ghost Watch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge. It's almost like a military display." The announcer stated. The Doctor half gaped at the television.
"What the hell's going on?" He asked. Clara shook her head; she had no clue. She changed the channel to the weather.
"And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts from London, through the North and up into Scotland." The weatherman said. Clara changed the channel again.
"So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, that you are in love with a ghost." The talk show host, Trish something or other, repeated disbelievingly. Eileen nodded.
"He's my ghost, and I love him twenty four seven." Clara flicked through the channels faster and faster, unable to process what was on the screen.
"It's all over the world," the Doctor whispered. The Doctor took the remote and turned the TV off. "When did this start?"
"Oh. That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were. Ghosts, everywhere." Jackie told them. "We all ran round screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking. No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realize that we're lucky." Clara and the Doctor examined the three of them.
"What makes you think that they were Grandpa John and Granddad Prentice?" Clara asked. "They all look the same." Clara's dad shrugged.
"It just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes." He smiled. "Can't you smell it?" Clara shook her head.
"I wish I could, Dad, but I can't." Clara whispered. Jackie leaned forward, as if she was about to share a secret.
"You've got to make an effort. You've got to want it, sweetheart." She told her kindly. The Doctor sat back, as if he understood.
"The more you want it, the stronger it gets," he guessed. Rose, Jackie, and Clara's dad shared a look.
"Sort of, yeah." Rose admitted. The Doctor rubbed his jaw as he thought. Clara squeezed his hand.
"Do you know what's going on, Doctor?" She asked. He nodded.
"It's like a psychic link. Of course you want your old granddad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence." He told Clara's dad, who huffed. "The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in." All three of them scowled.
"You're spoiling it," Clara's dad snapped.
"I'm sorry, sir, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory." Rose was the only one of the three that seemed to accept this. Of course Rose would believe the Doctor. She had enough experience with the Doctor to know when he was right.
"But if they're not ghosts, what are they?" She asked slowly, looking at the Doctor. Jackie waved a hand at Rose, clearly upset.
"Yeah, but they're human! You can see them." She said. "They look human." Rose nodded.
"She's got a point. I mean, they're all sort of blurred, but they're definitely people."
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot."
A/N: Yay! I made it to 100 reviews! Thank you guys soooo much. I'm so very happy, so thanks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review and let me know what you think (keep it up with all the reviews! It's great).
Until next time, darlings.