D: I do not own any of the shows.
Thanks to those that added alerts, favored, wrote reviews and read in general.
The trip to Manchester included several slaps, bouts of yelling and several stops to calm everyone down. Gene was in the driver's seat for all of the trip with Alex and Ray sharing the passenger seat. While she didn't mind the backseat, she did find it a little tight. Most of them had their luggage in the back, but Shaz and Alex also had purses. Gene's driving shortened the trip from five hours (she included the stops) to three (That is including the stops, she thought sadly), with the stops not lasting over five minutes.
The sky had descended into the purple and reds of dusk when they arrived at the motel they were staying at. Shaz had done the booking, so there was two rooms. The men had the room closer to the exit. Alex had just been taking out information on Hummer when Gene pounded on the door. "Pub, let's go, Bolly."
"What's the rush, Hunt?" He didn't answer her, instead repeating what he told her to Ray and Chris. She looked back at Shaz and made her way to the Quattro, where he was waiting behind the wheel. Ray got to the front, while Chris, Shaz and Alex all crammed into the back. It was a five minute drive to the Railway Arms.
"Hunt, you haven't been here in a while. What brings you to Manchester, mon brave?" Nelson greeted, drawing the attention of the crowd. Several people started cheering at the sight of the men. Chris went off to someone near the bar while Ray went to the back corner. Gene bellied up to the bar. "Usual?"
"Haven't had a usual in a while, Nelson." A full mug was placed in front of him. Chris and Ray also placed orders before going back to their groups. Alex sat next to Gene. "Me new DI."
"Alex Drake."
"DI Alex Drake, what can I get you?"
"Pint of bitters." No wine, so I'll get the next thing.
"Just like your previous DI, guv." Alex looked over at Gene for his response, but didn't see very noticeable ones. Only a tightening on his drink and a twitch near the eye were the things she could point out.
The rest of the night passed in relative quiet. Shaz had joined Chris with his mates and were talking about some of the music. Alex only had one pint, making it last through the night. Gene had four mugs along with some shots. Chris had two and Ray had four, without the shots.
Alex and Shaz were the one dragging everyone out. Gene insisted on driving still, and after getting Chris and Ray in the back, was about to join them when she heard a hiss from the alley next to the Arms. The Doctor was waving at her and getting her attention.
"Shaz, you take the front seat. I'm going to walk back."
"Are you sure, Ma'am?"
"I'll be fine, Shaz." She waited until they left around the corner and then went over to him. "How long have you been in Manchester?"
"Just for an hour. Been homing in the signal. There is definitely a second person here."
"Can you tell the second person?"
"No, not really. Can only detect traces, not identify."
"So there is a second person here, but we don't know who it is."
"Well, we might know. I still think it's Sam Tyler. No one disappears like that."
"I will, hopefully when I go back to 2008, there won't be anything here."
"All right, true, but Sam's different."
"How is Sam different?"
He rubbed his hands, clearly waiting for this part. "Both of you are experiencing a phenomenon called Temporal Astral Displacement. Some humans do have the ability to travel astrally. It's not a major talent, but it's there. Traveling through time is not possible from the timeline that you two traveled. You two also don't have it naturally. It isn't something that you can bring up. Both of you went into comas and back in time. Both of you were listening to something that also connected you to the past."
"He had been listening to Life on Mars, Bowie. Ashes to Ashes, Bowie."
"Both of you were involved with something that also threw you back."
"The case Sam was working on. And Layton for me."
"You both are connected to Gene."
"Sam's never met Gene. I didn't even know he was the one that took my hand after my parents death."
"I'm willing to bet Sam had met Gene, but didn't know."
"He had to investigate his father. Gene might have been around his younger self."
He glanced around before continuing. "The reason I wasn't here earlier was I went back to 2008. Found out about Sam."
"His suicide."
"It was only reported a suicide because they couldn't find his body."
"What?"
"I found small traces of a time rupture right about halfway through the fall he would have taken. He fell through a crack in time and landed in the right spot by chance."
"He was really living in the '70's?" She shook her head. "I woke up. How did I get back?"
"Your body wasn't right after the bullet taken out. They also found a tumor. Just like Sam's, in the exact same spot. Reasonable, considering they're in the exact spot in which those that do astral project have brain activity during the act."
"Wouldn't the tumor stop the travel?"
"The tumor kept it in the on position. It grew during the coma. Initially, you would have come out within a week, but the tumor pressed on it, stopping you from coming back. Both of you."
"Sam's tumor never came fully out."
"It's not malignant. It only grows to cover the area of astral travel. He won't be able to go back to 2006, but I really doubt he wants to." It's not Sam. But she doesn't contradict him.
"The second person, can you track them down?"
"Yep. I can get a building, but that's about it. Tomorrow?"
"I can't. Not immediately, I have to interview someone about the serial killer. Everyone does."
"Right."
"Do you know something about this killer?"
"Me, no, do know something about Jack the Ripper though. A lot of people were wrong about 'im."
"I'm just going to walk back to my hotel. You should get some rest." She walked by the lights and was back to the hotel before she even realized. She did notice someone standing by the door of the hotel, talking to a worker. She didn't get closer, but did move out of the light so she wouldn't be spotted. It took a while for her brain to place the person. She didn't believe the vague outline, but once he turned, there was no doubt.
"Why is Keats in Manchester?" She waited until he was out of sight before going up to the worker. "Hi, could you please tell me who you were talking to? He looked familiar."
"Said his name was Jim Morgan. Wanted to know about the group that came in today."
"Must not have been. Thank you." She walked in and got in the elevator. "He's here, but not using his name. He hasn't rubbed himself in our faces. Why is he here and why hasn't he talked to us yet?"
I leave it here.
Please comment. I will upload in a couple of days, hopefully. As long as the muses stay.