A/N: Thank you to all who've read the revamp and have reviewed! I desperately love your feedback as it keeps me going! Please leave me any questions if you don't understand something and I'll answer as much as I can without spoilers.

Also, the note about Big Ben and the name of the tower it's in was noted to me by someone I watch on YouTube who lives there and wanted to mention that to all us non-British. If any of you know the proper name for that tower, let me know! :D

Aliens of London

Part 1

"... and here's our lovely Miss America! Hiding behind a coffee as alway when there's work to be done!"

Groaning, I buried my face into my arm. I could feel the camera on me like a physical presence. "Good grief, Artie, would you turn that off already? I'm not photogenic in any shape or form and it's too early for your movie ... thing." I couldn't tell him how much my head hurt. How much I wanted to be by myself instead of working on a school project.

Artie just laughed and probably shoved the camera closer to my face. "Aww she's shy. Come on, Jessie. Just one smile for the audience! Please?"

"No! Get that thing out of my face!" I finally looked up and glared at him. "Can we just work on the report and not mugging for more views?"

Artie scowled, red bangs falling in front of his sharp green eyes, the same shade eyes as mine. He did lower the camera, though. "What's up with you today, Jessie? Bit more of a grouch than usual. You know you can tell me anything."

I couldn't stay truly mad at him. Not with that puppy-dog look on his face. I still couldn't tell him. Even he wouldn't believe me. "Sorry, it's just personal stuff." I rubbed my forehead and gathered my still full coffee. "Hey, I'm not feeling so good. I think I'm just gonna go home and have a date with my - what do you Londoners call it - my teley. We've got the whole ove next week to finish this, right?"

"All right. But don't think I'm not going to get you smiling on camera one of these days." A sly wink radiated too much attempted flirtation.

"In your dreams, lover boy," I tossed at him as I scooted my way out of the cafe before he could make good on his threat.

The crisp air did my head some good. By the time I reached the stairs to my apartment -or flat, if I wanted to sound more British - the emotional vice around my mind had receded into a dull ache. Like a headache that I could ignore if I wished. My own barriers were nothing compared to the ones the Doctor had given me so long ago, but at least they were better than nothing.

A gust of wind caught my hair, tugging it free of the headband and making me glad I'd cut it in the first place. With the breeze came a sound that froze my feet to the pavement. My heart leapt in my chest, trying to nest itself in my mouth.

That wheezing. The Doctor's box ... ship ... thing.

Gripping my coffee until I dented the cup, I spun on my heels as the noise grew louder. No freaking way. I'd searched for him for so long and he just appears in earshot? In no universe coudl I be so lucky.

Proven wrong for the hundredth time, I could only stare as that blue police box materialized in the alley behind the complex I lived in. I could hardly breathe, unwilling to make the box dissapear just by breathing wrong. Please, please, please be the Doctor.

After a few seconds, the doors creaked open and a very blond head bounced out. I frowned, momentarily confused until the doctor's head stuck out right behind the girl. So that had to be Rose, the girl I'd heard, but not seen completely. Well, I couldn't blame the Doctor for taking her along. She certainly fit the "pretty" bill.

"How long have I been gone?" Okay, that confirmed it. I hoped she had some brains to counter that voice.

The Doctor fairly beamed smugness as he leaned against the box. He still had those big ears and leather outfit. Did he ever change? "About twelve hours."

"Oh. Right. I won't be long. I just want to see my mum."

"What're you going to tell her?"

"I don't know. I've been to the year five billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours? No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later. Oh," Rose added with a wave of her finger and no small ammount of fondness. "Don't you disappear."

Would the Doctor really vanish on someone like that? I know he'd left me behind, but I hadn't exactly earned a place in his little club.

In the silence after Rose left, I debated whether or not to say hello. Would that be rude, or just what he expected? After a few seconds, I gave in, stepping out of the stairwell. "So, you're not a figment of my immagination after all, Doctor. Good thing to know I'm not going mad." I kicked a pebble, the awkwardness of the whole situation making me as shy as ever.

The Doctor's face scrunched into a frown. "Jessica Gale? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I live here, is that all right with you?" I couldn't hold back a smirk and couldn't take the tone in his voice seriously. "I was hoping I'd see you again."

"But, what ... what are you doing here? In London?"

"Going to school, why else?" Well, that came only partialy true. I didn't want him to get creeped out if he knew I'd been looking for him. Not that I thought he got creeped out by much, but better be safe than sorry.

"But why here? Why, litterally here?" The Doctor strode closer until he loomed over me, squinting at me as if he could study me under a microscope. "This can't be a coincidence. Nothing happens to me by coincidence."

I snorted. "Says the guy who travels in time," I retort before I could help myself.

"What?" The Doctor jerked back from me like I'd stung him. "Who says I travel in time? Who've you been talking to?"

Oops. I glared at him, a pattern of blotches covering my face. My blushes were never pretty. "No one, thank you very much. I'm not as dumb as you think I am. Just how hard is it to find a big blue box anyway? Look hard enough through history and you keep showing up, so I just guessed." I poked his chest for emphasis.

"What?" A strong wave of tension and dislike rolled off of him. He didn't like being touched. That much I could tell without needing to feel his emotions like that. "Are you sure you're human? Your empathic ability is too far advanced for humans. At least, not for a few thousand years. Who were your parents? Were they human or just alien life forms taking on human form?" Half talking to himself, he pulled out a device a few inches long and waved it at me, the end glowing blue and producing that whirring noise I'd heard so long ago. "Who knows? You could be an alien, but just cant remember ... Ow! Again, what was that for?"

"Being rude and an idiot," I retorted, hiding the sting the mention of my parents caused. My absent biologicals had become something I didn't think about, causing too much guilt and other assorted issues. "What is that thing, anyway?"

The Doctor still rubbed the back of his head, a confounded expression twisting his face. "Sonic screwdriver," he muttered, offering no further explanation than that.

Rolling my eyes, I took a step back, though I couldn't fight too much of my grin. "Right. So, what brings you to this side of the woods? Bringing Rose home for a family visit or showing off or ... Are you even listening to me?" I yelped as the Doctor's head turned towards a poster nearby.

As he almost ran over to the pole and flattened the paper, I almost banged my head against the wall. How could I have not made the connection before now?

Missing: Rose Tyler. Can you help?

"Doctor, you suck at timing," I sighed as said man ran off. For a moment, I hesitated. Should I follow him? I didn't know the Tylers at all. Didn't even know they were in the same apartment building. Wouldn't it be rude to just show up out of the blue? Even though I believed the Doctor did that on a regular basis.

No. No way was I going to let the Doctor out of my sight now that I'd found him. I hadn't even told him how long I'd been searching. Seemed too pathetic to even admit it to myself. Reshouldering my bag, I took off after him. No way would I let him out of my sight now.

"I can't tell her," Rose mused as we lounged on the roof. Well, they lounged, I lurked a distance away. "I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive me. And I missed a year. Was it good?"

I shrugged as the Doctor made a noncommital sound. With the chaos of Rose's return, I'd gone largely unnoticed. That suited me just fine. All of that emotion had pushed my barriers to their limits. I'd even thought that the Doctor or even Rose would've asked me to leave by then.

Rose laughed a bit. "You two are so useless."

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" The Doctor's quick grin didn't hide the loneliness that coalesced around him.

Then again, the only one to probably notice at all, given his private nature, would be someone who had no choice but to feel emotions.

"I don't know ..."

"You should go," I offered before I could fully think of the sentence. I cautiously sat on the same ledge they were using. Still some feet away, but I felt awkward enough standing. "Real life's extremely dull, trust me."

"Maybe," Rose murmured, a distant look in her eyes. It made me wonder what she'd seen with the Doctor already. "I couldn't do that to her again, though."

"Well she's not coming with us." So quick was the Doctor's response that it made me grin. Didn't have to be an empath to read the emotion in that.

What about me?

The betraying thought in my mind brought a slight tinge to my cheeks. I might not be human like he kept accusing me, so why did I have to stay on Earth? Did I even belong on Earth? Why did I have the mind I had and why wouldn't he give me the answers?

Rose giggled a little. "Not a chance."

The Doctor shuddered, his shoulders tensing so much, they could've cut paper with how sharp his profile had become. "I don't do families."

He didn't ... My list of questions and priorities shifted to make that fact almost number one. Sure, I knew humans didn't want or like families at some point or another, but the way the Doctor reacted surprised me. Sure, he could be a bit cross and rude, but it didn't seem to be that big of a leap to see him with ...

Letting your mind wandering again.

"She slapped you!" Rose still laughed, pointing a finger at the Doctor.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother," the Doctor grumbled, hunching his shoulders.

"Well, you did deserve it. I mean, seriously, a year off? Doesn't your ship have a clock or something?" I sniggered, a grin causing my cheeks to ache.

Nine hundred years.

The thought wiggled in the back of my mind, causing me to squint and tilt my head at him. It drew the Doctor's attention my way. I shrugged at the quirk of his lips. Hey, if he could fly around in time and space, why couldn't he be centuries old?

Laughter still had Rose in it's grip. "The look on your face," she sniggered, probably the immage setting her off again.

"It hurt!" The Doctor protested, rubbing the side of the face so affected. Even I had to giggle a little at that. "Oi, you're one to talk. What is it with you and the back of my head?"

I pinched my lips together in an effort to keep from laughing outright for just a little bit longer. "Why, it's just so shiny, Doctor. Plus you have the habit of being a complete idiot. That deserves a bit of a smack right there."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Rose yelped, instantly perking up and leaning closer.

"Nothing ..."

"I've smacked him before," I burst in before the Doctor could completely find an excuse. "Twice."

This time the both of us dissolved into giggles, causing the doctor to hunch between us like an abused puppy. "You're so gay," Rose managed to blurt out, which was more than I could manage. It only took a few more seconds for her laughter to die out, however. "When you say nine hundred years ..."

"...that's my age."

"You're nine hundred years old."

"Yep."

In the silence, I could see the wheels spinning in Rose's head. Mostly, however, I could feel the Doctor's over-all discomfort with the situation. Regret at laughing at his expense managed to sour my mood enough. I stuffed my hands into my armpits agianst a chilly gust of wind with a wince. Poor guy.

A scuff on the makeshift bench drew my attention up again. Somehow, without Rose paying attention to it, the Doctor had moved a little closer to me. Not in a wierd way to show any kind of preference, but it did make me feel more included. Less of an outsider. I flashed him a quick smile, which he seemed to glance at that pointedly looked away. Still touchy, then.

"My mum was right. That is one h*** of an age gap." Rose sighed and moved to the edge of the roof, shaking her head. "Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. Well ... besides Jessie, of course."

"Thanks," I replied with a thick American drawl. "You got lucky on that one. Or rather, I did. If I hadn't met you two, I'd still be out of the loop."

"You're not even in the loop to begin with," muttered the Doctor. "Why are you still here, anyway?"

"Keeping an eye on you."

"I mean, all that stuff up there, the size of it, and we can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet Earth who know they exist." Rose continued, heedless to the brief exchange.

My mind instantly went to Jack and his friends. Sure, they didn't look like aliens or even people who would know aliens, but if Jack and his friends had really used a time-traveling device, then the option didn't seem so far-fetched. I opened my mouth to correct her, but changed my mind. "Probably best. Have you seen how paranoid the military is? If they got their hands on you, Doctor, they'd try to use you to ... I don't know ... help them kill other aliens?"

"They've already tried that." Blinking, the Doctor shook his head and shrugged. "Still, you never know. Humans surprise me all the time. Why else do you think I hang around? Give them the benefit of the doubt."

I snorted. "Really? From what I've seen, you act like we're smart pets or something. Well, annoying ones in my case." I kept any sort of insult out of my tone. I didn't really take offense to our little "exchange" when we first met. We'd both been idiots.

"We've only met twice," came the Doctor's answer, as if that explained everything.

"Oh come on, the human race isn't all that bad. What's gotten you so cynical?" Rose scowled at me. I'd only properly known her for a couple hours, but with my ability to sense her emotions, I already knew she was ever the optimist, if a bit thick at times. Maybe a little too sweet as well, but I set that thought aside for another time.

My mouth had barely open to answer her with some sort of comment when a foghorn blared overhead. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me down with a yelp. Wind rushed by overhead, tossing my hair into my face. Craning my head up, I could've sworn my eyes bulged out of my head as a bonefide spaceship cruised by, smoke trailing behind it.

A spaceship. Over London. Where everyone could see it!

As the ship crashed through Big Ben - well, not Big Ben, but the tower, Mary or something - and into the Themes, I became distracted by a childish giddiness blooming beside me. My eyes flicked over to the grinning face of the Doctor. It transformed him from a gloomy man in dark leather to something like a big kid at Christmas.

I couldn't help but grin at him with a warm feeling growing in my chest.

The Doctor's head turned my way. Perhaps he saw me look at him, or grin. Our eyes met, and I forgot to breathe for a moment. His hand became a gentle warmth on my arm I never wanted gone.

"Oh that's just not fair." Rose bemoaned as sirens began ringing from the city below.