A/N: Yes, another chapter so soon! I'm on a roll! Don't get used to it!

Anyway, a special thank you goes to TimeladyAlly for giving me such encouragement with your regular posts. I always love posts since they give me inspiration for working. :D Please let me know what you think of my stories, everyone!

Also, any and all questions will be welcome and I'll answer if I can without giving away spoilers. Anyway, enjoy!

Aliens of London

Part 4

Of all the wonderful gadgets the Doctor could have in the TARDIS, the last thing I expected was a TV.

A TV. On a spaceship.

Well, I'd signed on for wierdness.

There wasn't that much room around the tiny screen, so I just leaned against one of the strange branch collumns as everyone squeezed in for space. "How many channels do you get?" Blurted Mickey, gaping like a nerd at the TV.

"All the basic packages," quipped the Doctor, more than a little distracted.

"You get sports channels?"

Oh for goodness' sake.

The Doctor's roll of his eyes matched my own. "Yes, I get the football."

"You mean soccer," I muttered with a smirk. One of the idiosyncracies of British English versus American English that still drove me crazy.

Mickey snapped a look my way. "No, it's football."

I snorted. I certainly hadn't planned on anyone hearing me, but now that we were engaged ... "But Americans already have football. We needed another name and used soccer. Makes more sense to me, at least."

"Well, over here it's called football, which makes more sense since you actually use your feet with it."

"Oi!" Of the two of us he could glare at, somehow the Doctor settled on me. "I'm trying to watch. Cause enough trouble and I'll ... hang on, I know that lot." With the short-attention span I'd come to expect from him, the Doctor leaned so close to the screen, I was surprised that he could see at all.

I couldn't see anything, but at least my ears worked.

"It is looking likely that the Government's bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."

The Doctor's frown dug trenches into his forehead. "UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people," he sniffed.

I frowned myself. Though there were more people in the room, I could still feel small pulses and it felt like the Doctor had just told another un-truth. It didn't surpise me that he didn't like them.

I wasn't the only one who'd been confused by that statement. Rose tilted her head at the Doctor. "How do you know them?"

Well, now to earn my keep. I raised my hand like an eager kid in class. "Oh, I know this one! He's worked for them before." When everyone stared at me, I felt my ugly, splotchy blush start at the base of my neck and work it's way up. I shrugged. "Majoring in journalism, so researching isn't that hard." My pile of information on the Doctor and Jack sat guiltily in the back of my mind.

Mickey's face grew smug. "So did I. Don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead."

I'd guessed that was what the Doctor had meant by dangerous. A shiver passed over me, which I tried my hardest to fight back. Nothing about the Doctor would discourage me from staying with him. Not even if Death followed him as well.

"That's nice," the Doctor snorted. "Good boy, Rickey."

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?" Rose protested.

"They wouldn't recognise me." He made a face. "I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the Tardis out of sight." Some form of giddiness began eminating from him as he headed towards the doors. "Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving. No, not you," he added without turning. "I'm letting you tag along. that does not mean you get driving privilages."

A little hurt at the words 'tag along,' I thought about storming after him and giving him the smack of the century. It didn't matter that it might get me kicked out. At least the Doctor would have what was coming to him. "Fine. Geez, no need to be so touchy." Not the best retort I could come up with, but better than nothing.

Sure, just keep telling myself that.

I sighed and tromped after the others.

Moments after we stepped outside, we became blinded by a spotlight. "Nice, Doctor," I grumbled as police surrounded us. "Now who's the one causing trouble."

I simply grinned at the whithering scowl he fixed me with.

Two could play the snark game.

Downing Street.

10 Downing Street.

Britain's version of the White House.

Rose and the Doctor were ecstatic. I couldn't care less. Still an American at heart, perhaps.

If we'd been sent to the White House, on the other hand, then I'd be as hyped up as they were. Perhaps.

Or maybe the Doctor's block wasn't working as well as I'd thought after all. Granted, the pressure hadn't grown to the levels of the Tylers' place. Not by a long shot. Still, my private world was beginning to shrink again. So much so that I'd begun to feel a bit claustrophobic. Too many people in a tight space. Even more chaos than the apartment.

I turned towards the wall for a moment, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to focus. How could a small, sunken town like my mind keep those thousand foot tsunamis from overwhelming it? How could the Doctor manage? Did he even posess empathic abilities?

A warm presence of nothingness blocked out the light. The Doctor cleared his throat. "It's not too much, is it?" He murmured, most likely to keep other from hearing, but a fair bit of guilt had softened it as well.

I wanted to say yes. To keep him feeling guilty for having faulty barrier teaching. I couldn't, though. That just didn't sound like ... me. "Nah. I'm good. Just tired, that's all." I turned and tried a reassuring smile, slipping my hand into my pocket. Just one pill, maybe. Just in case. "You're bordering on being snoopy, on top of being rude." My fingers met nothing. Where did I leave it? "Trust me, I'm ..."

"You're not getting them back," the Doctor's murmur took on a harder edge. His eyes growing so intense, I forgot that there were dozens of people cramed in around us. "If you ever want to control yourself, you'll have to do it without drugs. Do you understand me?"

Aside from the fact that he'd stolen my painkillers, I only felt desperation and fear. I bit my lip. "But it's not working, Doctor. I mean, it's not like before, but ... You haven't done a good job at explaining things very well."

Guilt caused the Doctor to wince before he could stop himself. "I don't have time to get into this now, but you're not taking any more."

"Then what do I do?"

"Doctor!"

Both our heads snapped around to see a secretary heading our way. The Doctor sighed then pinned me with a sincere look. "Just ... try and think of a moment, any moment, when you felt absolutely nothing in your head. Try and create that moment again. Should do for now, I think."

"Does it work for you," I breathed, desperate for some sort of proof that the Doctor knew what he was talking about. "Tell me, does it work?"

A look I hadn't seen on his face before transformed the Doctor from a bumbling alien into someone who'd become tired of ... everything. Great clouds filled in behind his eyes. For a moment, his whole posture sagged. "Depends." His reply came so quiet that I almost missed it.

Rose popped out of nowhere, bringing our discussion to a crashing halt. "Everything alright?" Her excitement such a contrast to both our moods yet she didn't quite see that.

The fastest recovery on planet earth flashed over the Doctor's face in a smile. "Fantastic."

Moments later, the secretary reached us, holding the Doctor a card. "Here's your ID card, sir. I'm sorry," he added as Rose made to go with the Doctor. "Your companions don't have clearance."

"I'm not his companion ..."

"I don't go anywhere without Rose."

Our mutually annoyed glances almost had me smiling again.

"You're the code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll both have to stay outside."

"Rose is staying with me," the Doctor almsot growled, all good humor fading in the wake of the technicality.

The secretary glanced at the Doctor, Rose, and I before sighing, giving in just a fraction. "Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let her in and that's a fact. Your ... assistants will have to stay outside."

Rose huffed and waved the Doctor away. "It's alright. You go." She actually turned to grin at me. "We'll keep ourselves busy out here."

I made a face. "You can go keep busy. I'm going to do some internet digging." I pulled out my phone and wiggled it at her. "That's what I'm good at, after all." Meeting the Doctor's eyes once more, I plunged into the crowd and made my way to an isolated corner that still had a view of the room the Doctor was heading into.

Anything to try the Doctor's recommendation.

There were two memories I knew of that might fit the bill: the first time he'd cleared my head at the restaurant and out on the balcony not a few hours ago. Inhaling slowly through my nose, I closed my eyes and pictured how it felt the first time my mind had cleared. The first time in years I could think properly.

Nothing.

Then the moment outside came to mind. The gentle way the Doctor had pieced me back together a second time. Like he was afraid to hurt me. As if he cared what hapened to me. I could have been immagining things, but the way his fingers braced my head and the sensation of his mind on mine I couldn't forget. A blush started on my neck and waddled its way up my face. I wished I'd been able to open my eyes and see him from a close proximity.

On reflection, I could even remember how his breath had warmed my face.

Just like magic, Impenetrable walls had risen between me and the sea of everyone else. I didn't run the risk of drowning any longer.

"Jessica?"

I jerked as hands were placed on my shoulders.

"No, no, no. Don't bother looking. Not yet." A forehead rested against mine. Warm breath similar to the one I'd immagined brushed my face. Fast huffs like his heart was racing. The grip on my shoulders was almost painful. "This will sound wierd and I know you won't trust me, but I need you to listen. Really, truly listen. Can you do that? For me?"

I forced a swallow down a throat that had gone dry as a desert. There was something wrong with what the man was doing. I could feel it in my core, though how, I didn't know. Everything in me screamed for me to trust him.

I nodded.

The man let out a shuddering breath. "When you get through this, you'll have a chance to be normal. To live a normal, boring life here on Earth. You'll want to go, live a life of adventure. It's how you've always been." A smile worked its way into his words. His tone sounded forced, like something was clogging his throat. Tears, perhaps? "I'm begging you, don't. Please, just ... don't."

The plea, the desperation in him that bleeded through my new shields without effort brought pricks of tears to my own eyes. His words registered somewhere in my mind. Those words sounded so familiar.

Realization made me gasp. "You're trying to change your past, aren't you?" I breathed.

His hands spasmed on my shoulders, and the forehead jerked away. "What?"

I snapped my eyes open before I lost the nerve. Though they were behind the geekiest pair of glasses I'd ever seen, those deep chocolate eyes were unmistakable. "You mentioned something that I haven't done yet in the past tense. That means you're from my future. Something happened that made you want to change your entire history from this point on."

"What?" The twisting confusion on his face made a small grin appear on mine.

"I'm not an idiot. I can work things out."

His smile was a sun exploding in my chest. With no warning, he threaded his fingers in my hair and pulled my head forward to kiss it tenderly. "Brilliant. You're so brilliant even this far back." Such sadness then filled his eyes that I couldn't hold back a couple tears any more. "You have no idea how much I don't want to be here. Seeing you again, it's ..." A high-pitched squeal from one of his pockets yanked his eyes down and he swore. "Don't go with him, Jessica. Don't go. Please." Then he did something that had me completely off guard ...

He kissed me.

Not one of those gentle, tender kisses I'd seen in the movies. A full, crushing kiss that stole my breath away. It set my skin on fire. I didn't ... couldn't think. Didn't even try as I found myself responding with one of my own.

I'd never been kissed before. Not like that. Not ever.

A loud gong resounded thorugh the hallway. He growled and tore away, making it several dozen feet before I could move. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

I was still frozen when the Doctor burst out of the room, screams of agony following him.