A/N: Last one!

Chapter 36 - Ambush

It was 3am when the Doctor and Rose finally got into bed. For a few moments they just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

'Do you wanna …?' Rose suddenly ventured, trailing off.

'I'm fertile now,' the Doctor said shortly.

'Oh, yeah,' Rose murmured, deflated. 'We could … play around?'

There was a pause, they looked at each other.

'Best not,' the Doctor muttered.

'You're probably right,' Rose said, and wrapped her arms around him. 'Night.'

'Night.'

Rose kept awake, watching him for a while, her hand automatically fiddling with his hair, It had been quite a long time since he'd slept peacefully. But after ten minutes he was gone, and didn't seem to be having any nightmares.

She moved her head rest on his chest to hear his dual heartbeats, and she closed her eyes.

The next morning, everyone woke up with quite stupendous hangovers, not helped by the ever-energetic Leah and the new, high-pitched baby who was struggling to adapt to his new life separated from his mother. The Doctor had drained his bottle of hangover cure trying to help everyone, who had then all congregated in the infirmary to welcome the new arrival.

As they encircled Martha's bed, the Doctor spotted Jack sitting next to Zak, holding his hand.

'Okay?' the Time Lord wondered, moving to him.

'Yeah. How's he doing?' Jack asked.

'Fine,' the Doctor replied. 'Should be able to wake him up soon.'

'Have we told Leya?'

The Doctor pulled a face. 'No. But I don't think there's any point in worrying her. We'll take him back when he's better. I think he'd prefer it that way.'

Jack nodded. 'He would,' he agreed, paused, and looked at the Doctor. 'Hey, has Brax talked to you yet?'

The Doctor frowned. 'No. Why?'

'He said he had something to tell you,' Jack replied.

The Doctor shrugged. 'Haven't seen him since last night.'

'You should find him, it seemed pretty important,' Jack said.

The Doctor nodded, looking at Zak again. 'Are you going to be okay?'

'Fine,' Jack replied, still cradling Zak's hand. 'Go and find Brax.'

The Doctor checked all the usual spots - Brax's room, the library, the kitchen, the lab - he even checked the botanical gardens. He then checked the kid's room, tried shouting for him, and eventually met Rose and Jack in the corridor, baffled.

'I can't find Brax anywhere,' he said.

'Passenger list?' Rose suggested. He nodded and lead them back to the console room, where he began to check the monitor. As the results processed, he drew back, scratching his head and looking at Jack. Jack was being unusually quiet.

'What is it?' he asked the immortal.

Jack winced. 'Look, I think he's gone.'

'What?' the Doctor asked, frowning.

'I think he felt like you didn't need him. He must've left.'

'No,' the Doctor said, shaking his head. 'He promised to bond with Leah. He wouldn't just go without telling me.'

Jack shrugged. 'Dunno, that's just what he said. Said you didn't need him anymore and he felt a bit useless.'

'But that's stupid,' Rose said. 'He told us how to put the Doctor in the same body. He's done loads of stuff.'

Jack shrugged again, and said no more.

'Well, wherever he went he can't have gone far,' the Doctor said, moving to the monitor. 'We're in the vortex. He couldn't have piloted anywhere without everyone knowing about it. He must be on the Tardis.'

The results finally loaded, and the Doctor frowned.

'What?' Rose asked.

'His entry's been deleted from the passenger list.'

'Can you feel him?'

The Doctor briefly closed his eyes, checking before opening them again. 'No.'

'Then where the hell is he?' Jack asked.

'I don't …' the Doctor began, but was suddenly interrupted by the TARDIS abruptly throwing herself to the left. He grabbed onto Rose and Jack, who in turn held into the console before she stabilised.

'What the …?' Jack said quickly, glancing at the Doctor.

The Doctor reached forward to the console, checking the monitor.

'She's …' he began, but once again was interrupted by the TARDIS throwing herself to the right, this time sending them all to the floor. The Doctor barely had a chance to get up before the TARDIS burst into life - the rotor began to pulse with the sound of the ancient engines, but the noise seemed to be horrendous in comparison to the usual groaning.

'What the hell is going on?' Jack asked, alarmed as they struggled up. 'What are you doing?'

The Doctor looked around the console, wide-eyed. 'I'm not doing anything! She's piloting herself!'

'No, wait, she isn't!' Rose said quickly, and yanked a shining golden control disc out of the slot on the console. The TARDIS made a noise that sounded like an electronic scream, so high-pitched and loud the three yelled and covered their ears as there was another abrupt jerk, and they all hit the floor again with even more of a clang, the control disc flying out of Rose's hand. With a final scream, the TARDIS thunked; landing. Almost immediately all of the lights darkened and the emergency lighting came up, masks dropping from the ceiling.

For a moment the three just laid there, bracing themselves in case of another jolt. It didn't happen.

The Doctor eventually dared to get up, Jack helping up Rose. The Time Lord went to the announcer system, holding down the button to talk to all the occupants of the TARDIS. 'Sorry, I have no idea what's going on. Check everyone's okay and hold tight.' He pulled the monitor to him, and immediately his eyes widened. 'The Tardis defences have been powered down.'

'We've got no defences?' Rose asked, alarmed.

'Barely.'

'Where are we?' Jack asked. 'We've landed somewhere.'

The Doctor checked, his frown deepening. 'We're on Earth.' He dived to retrieve the control disc, still where Rose had dropped it. The golden light had gone out now. 'Someone made a control disc and put it in the Tardis …'

'But who?' Jack asked.

'Only Brax could do this,' the Doctor muttered.

The both of them stared at him in disbelief.

'Why would he do that?' Rose asked, holding onto the Doctor's arm. 'He knows we can't go back to Earth, you're exiled.'

The Doctor clearly didn't have an answer for her. He checked the monitor again. '2014,' he said. 'That's a year after we left.'

He punched up the view of the exterior, and Rose gasped.

They were next to the Thames by the Tower of London. It was raining heavily; the sky grey and cloudy, and the place was almost completely decimated - some bits of it on fire. The London Eye was burnt out, and there wasn't a single human in sight.

'What happened?' Rose croaked.

The Doctor glanced at her, and limped to the door. He opened it. 'Stay here,' he told them.

'Not likely,' Rose responded, running to follow him as he stepped out of the TARDIS, Jack also in pursuit.

It looked even worse in reality. Westminster Bridge was deserted and falling apart, and there were tens of burnt-out cars on the roads.

'Where is everyone?' Jack asked. 'What the hell happened?'

Suddenly there was a shriek of something overhead, and they looked to see a spaceship flying overhead, throwing out lasers somewhere over Downing Street.

'What ship was that?' Jack asked.

'Too fast to tell,' the Doctor said, frowning. 'Definitely not from Earth, though.'

'This is an invasion …?' Rose half-realised, half-asked. 'Oh my god.'

'So where is everyone?' Jack asked for a third time. 'Hiding?'

The Doctor quickly pulled out his phone and dialled for Sarah. Jack and Rose watched, anxious as he held it to his ear.

'Sarah's phone's not working,' the Doctor muttered as a ship streaked by, this time the laserfire powerful enough to shake the ground slightly.

'We've gotta find her,' Rose said quickly. 'Get to Ealing.'

The Doctor nodded, and looked back at the TARDIS. 'We have to cover the Tardis. Without her defenses she won't survive much.'

'Let's move her, then,' Rose decided.

'Where?' the Doctor asked.

There was a long pause.

'Torchwood,' Jack finally said. 'There's a defunct Torchwood under the Tate Modern.'

'Then take everyone there,' the Doctor replied. 'I'll find Sarah.'

'I'm coming with you,' Rose said.

'Daddy!' Leah called, bursting out of the TARDIS, holding her brother's hand. 'Why'd the Tardis go all dark?'

'Leah, Alex, get back inside the Tardis right now, find everyone,' the Doctor ordered quickly. 'Then stay with Uncle Jack.'

He looked at Jack for a confirming nod, but realised the immortal was staring at the Doctor's chest, horrified. The Doctor looked down. There were two red laser dots hovering over directly over his hearts. Nanoseconds later Jack launched himself at the Time Lord, ploughing him into the ground just as two shots exploded out, the sound rippling across the deserted city.

'Run!' Jack shouted at Rose, Leah and Alex, the former with her arms around the terrified children. She made to get up.

'Stay where you are!' a voice screamed over a loudhailer, as several more laser sights focused on them all. Everyone hesitated before a crowd of UNIT soldiers emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, taking position. Jack stayed resolutely still, protecting the unmoving Doctor despite all of the guns trained on him.

'Back the hell off!' he yelled at them.

'Jack!' Rose suddenly shrieked. Jack looked at her, and then saw she was staring at the Doctor, on the verge of tears. Jack looked down, and noticed red liquid creeping out. He'd been hit!?

'Fuck!' Jack swore. 'Doctor!'

'Move away from him!' a woman suddenly ordered, striding towards Jack. Jack pulled out his gun, aiming at straight at her.

'Let us go!' Jack shouted, but UNIT were already moving to grab Rose, Leah and Alex. They tried to flee, but were quickly apprehended, guns to their heads. Jack reaffirmed his grip on his own gun, fuming. 'Think you're big, pointing your guns at the heads of children!?' he yelled.

'Move away from him!' the woman shrieked again.

'Jack …'

Jack looked down at the Doctor, stunned. 'Doctor …'

The Time Lord's eyes were sunken. He tried to say something else, but his eyes slipped closed.

'No, don't you dare, stay with me!' Jack demanded.

'Doctor!' Rose shrieked as she was dragged away. 'Jack!'

UNIT didn't hesitate. They pulled her and the kids away, forcing them into the back of a van. The door closed, blocking off her view of the Doctor and Jack. She could hear Jack screaming obscenities. She tried to ram the door, but it was firmly closed.

Leah and Alex ran to her, Leah in tears.

'Did they shoot Daddy?' the little girl asked, her voice breaking. Rose couldn't answer her. Frankly, she didn't want to, for fear of making it real. So she just kissed them both. She couldn't believe it. They'd spent months trying to get him to regenerate into the same body, and UNIT had just shot him on the spot ...

'Let us out!' she demanded, hammering her fist on the door. There was another gunshot, and Jack stopped shouting. Rose gasped, and the kids clung to her even tighter. She could do nothing but stand there, feeling like she was about to throw up before footsteps came towards them.

Fear rising in here, she backed away from the door, pushing Leah and Alex behind her to protect them as the van door opened again and the Doctor was put in with them, his clothes stained red.

'No, please don't leave him here like this!' Rose begged, holding Leah and Alex so they couldn't see their father. 'These are his children!'

The apparent lead woman poked her head in. 'I'm sorry,' she said. The words stunned Rose a little, stopping anything she may have said as some UNIT guards handcuffed the Doctor, securing him to a metal ring on the floor. One of them took his sonic screwdriver from his inside jacket pocket.

'Why are you doin' that?' Rose demanded to know, looking at the handcuffs. 'Stop it!'

The woman didn't answer. The UNIT guards filtered out, and the door was shut behind them. Seconds later, the engine started with a jolt, and they were moving.

'Oh my god, oh my god,' Rose whispered, staring at her husband in horror. Finally some sort of rational plan came to mind, and she told the kids to stay put before moving forward and kneeling down next to him. She couldn't see the telltale signs of regeneration, but it wouldn't be long.

She rested her fingers on his pulse point, took a breath and closed her eyes.

There was a definite throb.

'Doctor,' Rose whispered urgently, grabbing his shoulders to shake him, but he was completely limp. She undid his jacket and shirt, checking his wound. A minute later, she was still looking for it.

There was no wound, she realised. There was red, which definitely looked like blood, but there wasn't a mark on him. She checked his hearts next. They were both beating, albeit very quietly. Then she realised.

UNIT had just faked his death.

'Mummy?' Leah asked quietly.

'He's not dead, Dad's not dead,' Rose said quickly, checking his pulse again. Still going. 'They just faked it. The blood's not real. He's okay. Thank god, he's okay,' she breathed, kissing his forehead.

Leah and Alex ran over immediately to hug their dad. 'Daddy, wake up,' Leah begged. He didn't.

'He'll wake up, he'll be fine, yeah?' Rose said, trying to convince herself. 'We've just gotta figure out what's goin' on so we can fill him in.'

'But where are they taking us?' Leah asked. 'Aren't Unit the bad people?'

'I dunno,' Rose confessed. 'But we're not hurt, so it can't be for anythin' that bad, yeah?'

Leah nodded, poking her dad's cheek. He didn't bat an eyelid. 'I'm scared,' the girl muttered.

'It's okay, cos we're all together and we're gonna be fine, yeah?' Rose said, gathering the kids into a hug, kissing them both. 'Just sit tight, and everything's gonna be fine.'

Jack woke up with his usual gasp for air, and quickly focused to see a group of people standing over him - Ianto, Jackie, Gwen and Rhys.

Almost immediately he remembered what had happened, sitting up. 'We've got to stop them!'

'Jack!' Ianto said, kneeling down to hold him. 'What happened?'

'Where's Rose and my grandchildren?' Jackie wailed.

'They took them, they shot the Doctor and took them, all of them,' Jack gasped out, struggling to stand up. 'We've gotta go after them!'

'Who? They shot the Doctor!?' Gwen asked, terrified.

'Unit!' Jack replied, and pointed at the blood stain on the ground. Everyone gasped. 'This way!' he shouted, pointing in the direction the van had been.

'Jack!' Ianto shouted, grabbing him to stop him. 'This is stupid, you can't just …'

'They took them!' Jack almost screamed in Ianto's face. 'They've got him, Rose and the kids! They shot him, Yan!'

'I know, I'm sorry,' Ianto said quickly, not letting go. 'But he'll regenerate. And they didn't kill Rose or the kids - they're wanted for something. You can't just charge in. We need to think about this. We've got some time.'

Jack fell still, his steely expression faltering. Ianto was right. Of course he was right. He sagged, and thought again. 'Okay,' he said after a moment. 'We need to get everyone and the Tardis to the Tate's Torchwood and figure out something to save them.'

Everyone nodded and scattered to implement the plan as Jack looked at the direction the van had been. He could see tyre marks, and there was a path of smeared blood from the Doctor's body being dragged across the concrete.

After all they'd been through. After prison, slavery, running and hiding, being captured and nearly dying about seventy-eight times. One poxy little ambush had taken the Doctor and his family away.

'They won't get away with this. I'll find you,' Jack muttered to the blood trail, and ran back into the TARDIS.

The End (To be continued...)

A/N: Did you see how nice I was? Did you see where I could have ended it? :D That wasn't so bad! :D

Will be continued in a story that might be called something like, 'The Doctor's in a Load of Sh*te Again', or something to that effect I'm sure :P

So yes, FAQs, there'll be (yet another) sequel, but before that I've had a hankering to do a Xena/Doctor Who crossover so I might indulged myself in that. I'm also toying with several more ideas involving alien children, werewolves and even a Decide Your Destiny :o Whew, in October, It'll be 10 years since I started writing fanfic, yet I still seem to be sweating out plots. Something's very wrong with me.

Thanks for reading the endless saga that is the Destiny universe, I really hope you enjoyed it :) If you're new to the Destiny 'verse and want to know more, I'll recommend checking out my profile for story order, and there are reworked versions of Destiny, Paroxysmic and The Debt (ongoing) on Archive of Our Own. They're a lot less teenager-y than the versions on here :P

Review reply go!