A/N: I'll admit, this is a lot shorter than I thought it would be. However, in my defense, there's going to be a lot of AU of the events that come after, starting with Jessica's conversation with the Dalek and I need time to think about that one. Plus the ending sounds good where it is, anyway, otherwise there'd be too much to cram into one chapter. I don't want to explode anyone's heads with trying to keep track, after all. :D

So a big thank you to all my reviewers and new faves! It means a lot when I check my e-mail and see all those lovely notifications.

Plus, if you have theories about a certain scene in here, I'd love to hear them if only to give an evil giggle and make you wait. Lol.

It's New Year's Eve, so have a great new year, everyone!

Dalek

Part Four

They stripped me down to my bra and underwear. Bag, shoes, even my Vortex Manipulator, gone. No one spoke to me. Not directly. Quiet, hushed conversations involving too many big science words for me to make any sense of. They upturned my bag, though and I winced, expecting an avalanche of embarrassing odds and ends.

Nothing came out. I'd brought an empty bag with me.

Even though they strapped me to a chair and then left me, I couldn't hold back a brief smile. The TARDIS had … well … "TARDIS'ed" the inside. Clever girl. Something I desperately wished I could be at the moment.

But what could a simple girl do strapped to a chair almost butt naked and without any smarts whatsoever? I didn't dare open up my barriers enough to try and find the Doctor. That felt like it would require a lot of practice beforehand. Not to mention how many machines Statten had near me ready to register such an attempt.

The Doctor. Heavens knew what Statten planned to do with him. Guilt snagged in my gut. I had probably betrayed him in the worst way that I knew of. Accuse him of being just like a Dalek? What in the world had gotten into me? I had no right—again—of making judgments on him when I didn't even know what had driven him to that mental state to begin with.

I'd probably bought myself a one-way ticket back home when we escaped.

If we escaped.

[…Jessica Gale! Open up at once and talk to me!]

I gasped, my head snapping until I almost got whiplash. The Doctor's voice almost screamed inside my mind, stabbing through my barriers with the grace of a tire through a window. Groaning, I squeezed my eyes shut. Right. The Doctor had telepathy. I'd forgotten about that.

[Dammit, American ….]

[Ouch! All right, already! That freaking hurt!] I had no idea how good my thoughts came across, since I'd only tried to talk to him with my mind the one time in the bathroom. Just pictured my own voice in my head and sent it barreling through the whole he'd made in the other direction. [You could've knocked, you know.]

[I did and all you did was ignore me.] The Doctor's mind came across so clear I almost turned my head to look for him.

[That's because I didn't want Statten or his fancy machines to find out anything,] I grumbled, eyeing said instruments on the other wall. Looking for any sign of them activating due to our … mental phone call.

I couldn't let him know that if I sensed any more of that turmoil before I became sure of my control again, I'd lose it. There were more important things to worry about.

[He hasn't hurt you, has he?]

I sighed, any lingering irritation for him shriveling up and blowing away in the wake of the guilt that tainted his words. [No. What about you?]

Even his mind contained his derisive snort. [Never mind me.]

[Doctor, you're the one-hundred percent alien here, not me. I'd think that monster would be practically drooling to get his grubby little hands on you.] I paused, stunned at the wildcat fierceness that had started to rise at the thought. Yes, I'd agreed with the TARDIS to help the Doctor, but this felt like protectiveness on a whole different level.

Thankfully, the Doctor didn't seem to be picking up on that, keeping the feel of his mental touch light. Almost not noticeable. [Statten's not the problem. That Dalek is.]

Stubborn, stubborn man. [Don't, Doctor. Let's not get into a debate when Mr. Rich Guy's probably going to start dissecting both of us pretty soon.] I doubted I even had the mental strength to handle that conversation in the best of times. I didn't know enough and the Doctor would never explain himself to me.

Silence for almost a minute. [Fine, but at some point that Dalek is going to escape just like any prisoner would. I want you as far away from it as possible.]

[Even if I'd agree to leave you behind, which I absolutely will not, I don't think I'm going anywhere soon.] He wouldn't shove me aside that easily. He'd probably do something stupid and end up getting hurt or some such idiocy. [I'm kind of strapped to a chair.]

Although I tried to keep that image out of my thoughts, the Doctor's mind reached out and found it regardless. Even through that tiny mental peephole, I could feel his anger spike again coupled by a guilt that rivaled what I'd seen in the vault. [Don't fight him if he gets to you first. Don't give him any reason to ….]

I froze as the door handle turned with a loud click. [He's here, I think.] My mental voice had shrunk to a mere breath as a couple scientists stepped inside. A desert bloomed inside my mouth, drying it to dust instantly. I could hardly breathe as fear began working its way from the back of my consciousness. No way would I admit it to the Doctor. To add more to whatever he already carried with him.

[You'll be all right, Jessica. You handled all the emotions of London on your own for years. One man should be ….]

The door shut. No sign of Nasty Man. [He's not here. Just some scientists.] A dreaded certainty settled in the pit of my stomach like a sack of lead. [He's coming to you.]

One of the scientists, a woman with crazy brown hair barely contained by a hair tie, turned and actually smiled at me. "Well now, look at you. You are young." Just my luck, she turned out to have an English accent as well.

I frowned, the goodwill I felt radiating from her clashing with what I expected. Had to be a tactic to get me to relax. Well, tough luck with that. [Doctor, are you sure you're going to be okay? You might be a Time Lord, but you're not invincible.] I could care less how many brain tests they performed on me. If they even got it into their heads to dissect the Doctor ….

[Yes. For once, just do as you're told and get yourself out as soon as ….] With a snap, the Doctor's voice cut off, sending my mind reeling yet again.

"Lake, we're not supposed to talk to the subject." Grumbled the other scientist. "Mr. Von Statten wants us to measure her brain activity. Anything more and we get into trouble."

Lake rolled her eyes. "Can you believe this man? Rules, rules, rules. He's almost obsessed about getting every one of them right." A hand rooted around in her lab-coat pocket. "You won't believe what I have to do to put up with him."

"Stop it, Lake, before …." He frowned as Lake took something out of her pocket and held it up to his eye level. "What is it now?"

"Just a present," came Lake's too-sweet reply. "Don't worry, this won't kill you. I'd have two very upset people come hunting me down otherwise." Opening her fist, she blew some powder into her coworker's face, the later collapsing onto the floor in a heap.

I gaped at her. Nothing came from her as menacing or just plain … bad. In actuality, the mischievous, kind-hearted emotions I sensed around her kind of made me like her already.

"Ah, ah, ah. No questions," she jumped in before anything could make it out of my mouth. "I'm helping you escape, but I can't have you remembering my face too soon." Another fist-full of something emerged, but she didn't send it my way. "I know you'll want to help him, Jess, but if you don't go down to that Dalek right now, you won't be able to save the Doctor."

More than the shock that someone might actually want to save me, my worry for the Doctor just rose a hundred fold. "'Save the Doctor'? From what?"

The grim darkening of her eyes almost made me squirm. "The only person the Doctor ever needs saving from: himself. See you in a few years, sweetie." Her palm opened and she blew something in my direction ….

The next thing I knew, my feet were pounding away down a narrow hallway with all my clothes and things back in their places. Just returning to consciousness made me stumble and almost fall. How long had it been? Well, only one person could help me with that one.

[Uh … Doctor?]

Nothing.

Either I'd gone too far away for my abilities to sense him, or he purposefully ignored me. I grunted in annoyance. [If you can hear me, someone—I can't remember who—let me out. I'm going to the Dalek.] Well, that felt too much like an answering machine for my comfort.

I took a moment to glance around, get my bearings. A sign nearby made me shake my head. Not only had I managed to get all my things back, I'd gone several stories lower. Down to the level of the Dalek vault. Whatever the woman used, it had one heck of a kick.

Alarms blared and red lights flared to life around me. Gunfire ricocheted a few corridors down and I knew beyond a doubt that the Dalek had escaped. Just like the Doctor had warned. Then again, I'd escaped as well, so that didn't count against the Dalek's character, in my opinion.

Time to show some backbone.

Heavy, thumping boots around a corner drew me back to the present. Running from a Dalek they might be, but I wouldn't put it past the soldiers to scoop me up along the way just because they felt like it. I stepped into the nearest unlocked room, shutting the door just as said group of guys with guns barreled past. A flash of blonde hair reassured me that they were taking Rose with them.

Good. I wouldn't have to worry about handling anyone's emotions but the Dalek's. That would be a job in and of itself.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I waited until the hallway had fallen silent once more before sticking my head out again. "Come on. No more procrastinating," I muttered, setting off at a jog. I had no plan on how to handle a Dalek. No intention of letting it hurt anyone either. Definitely not going to let it and the Doctor get close to each other.

I rounded a corner just as the power flickered and died several times. The alternating lights glared off of bright copper-gold metallic armor. The Dalek faced a console and didn't seem aware of my presence. Too busy focused on what it was doing. Then the power died for several seconds before whatever generators the building had came online.

"The Daleks survive in me!" Screeched the Dalek as its previously inactive weapon whined to life.