A/N - I hope you guys don't mind I've put this into two parts, as it is quite long!
I don't think it occured to me when walking out on my family after Mum's wedding, that my life would turn to shit. Sitting here, in London, on a bus, made me realise I had nothing in the world. The last lot of money I had, I gave to Jack, and that's all I had. I was completely broke now. Of course I could have got a exteremly high ranked job with UNIT without even asking, but after everything with the 456, I wanted to try and keep away from aliens as much as possible, unless it was saving the world with Mum and the kids.
So here I was, on a red bus in the middle of London. It was dark outside, artificial lights illuminating the streets. The bus stopped and with a sigh I moved slightly, placing a hand on my now, finally, growing bump. It wasn't that noticeable, but it was noticeable enough.
"Well if you wear a top like that, a bump will be noticeable." The baby commented.
I frowned, looking down at a army patterned tank top of mine, one that I hadn't worn since I became pregnant. And it had become a bit small, emphasising my bump. I sighed, poking myself in the leg of my baby blue jeans, becoming a bit small for me as well, seeing as I was putting on more weight by the day, and glanced at the black high top trainers I wore. At least my feet weren't swelling up.
I looked over at the front of the bus as a woman dressed in completely black leather got onto the bus, breathing heavily.
"Hello. I'm so terribly sorry." She said to the driver. "That card paying device thing, that's a Lobster card, am I right?"
"Oyster card." The Driver replied.
"Ah, well, that's the problem, you see. I only use my Oyster when there's an R in the month."
"It's April."
She quickly yanked her earrings off, "Diamonds. Genuine." She dropped them into the driver's palm. "Drive!"
The Driver looked down at the earrings, "Works for me." He nodded as the woman brushed past, taking a seat next to me. "You're just in time, mate." The Driver said as a man quickly jumped on at the last minute, swiping his oyster card. He turned to make his way down the bus, revealing a brown suit, white trainers and a long flowing brown coat. Oh this was not happening. I looked up further, the man's slim face, his chocolate brown eyes, and sticking up brunette hair. It was The Doctor... carrying a easter egg?
"You bastard." I mouthed at The Doctor. He looked at me in surprise, shrugging before sending me a wink. He walked forward and sat on the seat in front of me, turning round to face me and the woman.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor!" He cheered, holding out the easter egg to the woman. "Happy Easter!" The woman glanced at him, not really bothered, probably waving him off as a nutter. "Funny thing is, I don't often do Easter, do I love?" He asked me.
"We can never find it, it's always at a different time." I told the woman. She frowned, looking between us, knowing full well we didn't get on the bus together.
"Although I remember the original." The Doctor continued. "Between you and me, what really happened was..." A beeping sound from came from The Doctor's pocket and he shoved the egg into the womans pocket. "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me." He muttered as I leaned over, reached into The Doctor's pocket and pulled out the very same gadget he'd used a long time ago, the gadget he'd used to track the Adipose. "Actually, go on, have it, finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth." He bared his teeth to the woman as I looked at the gadget.
"Ah! Oh, we've got excitation!" I cheered, shaking it, returning The Doctor's attention to me. "I'm picking up something very strange." I frowned.
"I know the feeling." The woman mumbled, looking past me and out the window.
"Rhondium particles, that's what I'm looking for." The Doctor said.
"This thing detects them." I said, tapping the gadget. "The little dish should go round, that little dish there..."
"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy." The woman said, looking at me and The Doctor. "Can you detect me one of those?"
The little dish on the gadget began to go round, "Oh, the little dish is going round!" The Doctor grinned.
"Fascinating."
"And round. Whoa..." The dish began to spin faster and faster and I jerked back as part of the gadget exploded.
A female passenger looked over at us, "Excuse me. Do you mind?"
"Sorry." The Doctor said, standing up and taking the gadget from me carefully. "That was my little dish."
"Can't you turn that thing off?" The woman sitting next to me asked.
I turned and looked over at the gadget in The Doctor's hand nervously, "What was your name?"
"Christina."
"Christina, hold on tight." The Doctor said as he sat back down and in unison we both grabbed onto a handle. "Everyone, hold on!" The Doctor shouted to everyone. Suddenly, the bus lurched and shook and the passengers screamed as they jerked forwards. The Doctor fell to the floor as the passengers shouted, not that I was listening.
"Doctor?" I shouted, leaning over whilst trying not be thrown over my seat and down the bus. "Are you ok-" I began before being thrown back into my seat.
Eventually, the light died down, replaced by sunlight streaming through the smashed windows. I hopped over the seat as everyone looked around in shock. The Doctor and I made our way to the door. I gently pressed the button and we looked out onto a landscape completely made of sand. We were in a desert.
"End of the line." I muttered as we stepped out. "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow as Christina and the other passengers followed us as we walked out slowly. I glanced back at the bus, the top deck crushed and smoke wafting from the top. Inside, only a couple sat inside. There was nothing else. It was just... desert and a half crushed bus.
The Doctor kneeled down, putting his glasses on, the side of his head laying on the floor, much like at Mum's wedding, sifting sand through his fingers.
"That's impossible." The female passenger who scolded us gasped, looking up at the sky. I followed her gaze up to the three suns, shrugging, that was normal for me. "There are three suns. Three of them!"
"Like when all those planets were up in the sky!" A young black man exclaimed.
"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" A young white man said.
"Oh, man, we're on another world!"
"It's still intact, though!" The Driver said, looking back at the bus. "Not as bad as it looks. The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!"
"Can you still drive it?" The female passenger asked.
"Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never gonna budge."
I looked up at Christina, who had removed her jacket to reveal a black short-sleeve top underneath, who put on a pair of sunglasses. "Ready for every emergency." She said flirtily.
The Doctor looked up with her, removing his glasses and sonicing them, turning them tinted and putting them back on. "Me too!" He smirked before turning back to examine the sand.
I glared at the woman, then The Doctor. Were they... flirting?! I didn't like that. Hang on, no I didn't! I didn't care who that man flirted with, we weren't together anymore.
"And what's your name?" Christina asked.
"I'm the Doctor."
"Name, not rank." She smirked, staring at him.
I stepped in front of The Doctor, looking at Christina, "The Doctor." I reassured her.
"Surname?"
"The Doctor."
She looked round me and looked at The Doctor, "You're called 'the Doctor'?"
"Yes, I am." The Doctor muttered.
"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."
"And I'm Flo." I said, smiling.
"Funny sort of sand, this." The Doctor said, grabbing my calf to get me to turne back to him. "There's a trace of something else." He licked some sand off his finger. "Ack. Eurgh." He frowned, wiggling his tounge. "Blah, that's not good."
"Well, it wouldn't be, it's sand." I sighed.
"No, it tastes like..." He began, grabbing my jean belt loops and pulling himself up, placing a kiss on my bump as he went. "Never mind."
"What is it, what's wrong?" Christina asked.
The passengers began to approach us, with the young black man pointing at The Doctor accusingly.
"Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate!" He argued. "You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"
"Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me." The Doctor muttered to me before turning back to the passengers. "If you must know, I was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny little hole, no danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it."
"But then where is it?" The Driver asked, looking around. "There's nothing, there's just sand!"
"All right." I said. "If you want proof," I reached down and picked up a handful of sand. "We drove through this." I threw the sand at the space behind the bus, revealing a clear, swirling vortex which quickly disappeared.
"And that's?" Christina asked.
I turned back, "A door. A door in space."
"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" The Driver asked, nodding at the gap. "We can get to London through there?"
"The bus came through, but we can't." The Doctor said.
"Well, then what are we waiting for?" The Driver asked, looking between him and the other passengers.
"Oh, no, don't."
"I'm going home, mate!" The Driver pushed past me, running towards the portal.
"I said don't!"
The Driver hit the portal, screaming as his body caught fire. I winced, watching, as The Doctor pulled me back gently. The Driver's body turned eventually into a skeleton, disappearing completely.
"He was a skeleton, man!" The young black man exclaimed. "He was bones, just bones!"
The Doctor took my arm and we began to head back to the bus, "It was the bus. Look at the damage, that was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal."
"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina asked.
"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" The young white man asked, comforting the female passenger. "Safest place is inside a car, cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school."
"But if we can only travel back inside the bus... A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open."
"Slightly different dynamics with a wormhole." I sighed. "There's enough metal to make it work, I think. I hope."
"Then we have to drive five tonnes of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?"
"I'd say nine and a half tonners, but the point still stands, yes." The Doctor muttered.
"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader."
"Yes, at last, thank you, so..."
"Well, thank goodness you've got me!" She interrupted. The Doctor pouted at me, making me grin at him. "Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!"
"Is it safe in there?" The young white man asked.
"I don't think anything's safe any more, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now!" She turned to The Doctor. "And you. 'The Doctor'."
"Yes, ma'am." The Doctor nodded.
"Up! Come on!"
...
So all of us sat in the bus. Everyone took their seat again, as Christina stood at the front of the bus, giving instructions. I sat on my seat, laying across The Doctor who sat next to me. His arm draped around my shoulder as I leaned partly against the window, partly against his chest. I sighed, I had missed this. Laying my head against his chest, hearing the double heartbeat. The Doctor's other hand, however, was lightly trailing along the baby bump, writing symbols in Gallifreyan endlessly. No idea what it said, but still.
"So what have you been doing since your Mum's wedding?" The Doctor whispered in my ear.
"I tried to hide." I mumbled, making him stare at me, concerned. "Went to see Jack. The hub blew up and the government tried to kill us. Long story short I ended up back at Bannerman Road. And I have nothing. Not a penny to my name."
"Why were you in London then?"
"Trying to find a job." I laughed quietly. "I've never really had a job interview before, and I'm not qualified for anything. Back in Leadworth I used to work in a little shop, the newsagents, and then on the evenings me and Amy used to do some waitressing at this little local diner style place. We only used to have about 5 or 6 customers each night, so we spent our time hanging with Rory and Mels in there."
"You know, if you need money I-"
"No, no, no!" I interrupted, smiling. "I'll be ok. I've got Mum. Anyway, if I wait a good hundred million years or so, I've got LOADS of alien money I can use."
The Doctor smiled, shaking his head when Christina coughed. "Are you listening?" She asked before turning back to the rest of the group. "Point five, the crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina, this man is apparently 'the Doctor'." She nodded back at The Doctor. "This woman is apparently Flo." I smiled at everyone. "And you?" She asked the young white man.
He turned to everyone, waving, "Nathan."
"I'm Barclay." The young black man said.
"Angela, Angela Whittaker." The female passenger introduced.
"My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou," The elder black man, part of the couple who didn't come out into the desert, said. He gestured to his wife, sitting next to him. "And this is Carmen."
"Excellent. Memorise those names. There might be a test." Christina nodded. "Point seven, assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor."
"I thought you were in charge." The Doctor frowned.
"I am. And a good leader utilises her strength. You seem to be the brainbox. So, start boxing."
"Right. So, the wormhole." The Doctor began to explain. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."
"No, it wasn't." Carmen said. "That thing, the doorway. Someone made it. For a reason."
"How do you know?" I asked softly as The Doctor and I looked over at her.
"She's got a gift." Lou said, smiling lovingly at his wife. It was sweet, I remember when The Doctor used to look at me like that. In fact, thinking about it, did he ever look at me like that? "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just... tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week."
"You don't look like millionaires." Christina said.
"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift!"
The Doctor moved slightly and I noticed as he put his hand behind his back, "Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three." Carmen nodded. "Four."
"Very good!" I nodded, getting up from The Doctor. "Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun." I moved over and sat down opposite Carmen. "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me. What's out there?"
"Something... Something is coming." Carmen said, looking out in the distance. "Riding on the wind. And shining."
"What is it?" The Doctor asked.
"Death. Death is coming."
Angela began to sob, "We're going to die."
"I knew it, man, I said so." Barclay exclaimed.
"We can't die out here." Nathan gulped. "No-one's gonna find us."
The passengers began to talk, overlapping each other.
"This isn't exactly helping." Christina said.
"Shut up, we're not your soldiers." Barclay snapped.
"It's not doing any good..." Nathan said.
"You're upsetting her, be quiet." Lou said, frowning.
"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?!"
"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina said, rolling her eyes.
"All right now. Stop it, everyone, stop it!" The Doctor shouted. Silence fell through out the bus, the only sound being Angela crying. The Doctor stood up and stood in front of her, gripping onto her shoulders. "Angela, look at me. Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me." She stopped crying and looked at him. "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Angela sniffed.
"Answer the question."
"Just home."
"And what's home?"
"Me, and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18."
"Suzanne. Good." He sat round and looked at Barclay. "What about you?"
"Dunno. Going round Tina's."
"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"
"Not yet."
"Good boy." The two of us shared a smirk.
"What about you, Nathan?" I asked.
"Bit strapped for cash, I lost my job last week." Nathan shrugged. "I was gonna stay in. Watch TV."
"Brilliant." I laughed, looking back round at Lou and Carmen. "And you two?"
"I was going to cook." Lou said.
"It's his turn tonight." Carmen smiled. "Then I clear up."
"What's for tea?" The Doctor asked.
"Chops." Lou said. "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."
"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy. Mmm!" He looked back at Christina. "What about you, Christina?"
"I was going... so far away." Christina sighed.
"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina."
"Hey!" Barclay exclaimed.
"Just think of them." I said, smiling at everyone. "'Cos that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that. Cos we're gonna get there. I promise. The Doctor and I are gonna get you home."
"And what about you?" Christina asked.
"Me?" I muttered as The Doctor stared at me intently from behind her. I smiled fondly, thinking. "There's a blue box somewhere... I guess that's where I'm going." The Doctor smiled softly back at me. "Then back to my family, I guess." The Doctor smiled dropped slightly. Then I realised what I said. He must have thought I wanted to come back travelling. Maybe I did. No... I didn't.
...
I hung out of the windows, without any glass in, watching as Barclay and Nathan stepped up off of the bus, carrying seat cushions as The Doctor approached them.
"Here we go! That's my boys!" The Doctor cheered. "We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!"
"Let some air out of the tyres, just a little bit." Christina said. "Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip."
"Oh, that's good!" The Doctor said, impressed.
"Holidays in the Kalahari."
Barclay eyed the wheels, "Yeah, but those wheels go deep." He said.
"Then start digging." Christina shrugged.
"With what?"
"With this." She reached into her bag and pulled out a folding shovel, to my astonishment.
The Doctor took it from her, opened it up with an impressive nod, and handed it to Barclay. "Got anything else in there?" The Doctor asked.
She reached into her bag again, pulling out a small axe and handing it to Nathan. "Try that, might help with the seats."
"Thanks!" Nathan smiled, heading back over to the bus.
"I can't find the keys." Angela called from the drivers seat. I jumped up, running to the front of the bus, peering round to find Angela observing the buttons around the wheel.
"Buses don't have keys." I said. "There's a master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop, yeah?" I reached over and pressed the button, only for the engine to splutter and die.
"Oh, that doesn't sound too good." I muttered, jumping out of the bus and running round to find The Doctor looking at the engine.
"Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse?" The Doctor mumbled. "Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."
"Anyone know mechanics?" Christina asked, making her way round with Barclay and Nathan.
"Me!" Barclay said. "I did a two-week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..."
"Off you go then, try stripping the air filter, fast as you can." The Doctor said, grabbing my hand and pulling me off towards the dunes. "Back in two ticks."
"Wait a minute!" Christina said, following after us. "You're the man and woman with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
...
"Easier if you left that backpack behind." The Doctor said to Christina as the three of us made our way through the desert.
"Where I go, it goes." Christina shrugged.
"A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"
"You can talk. Let's just say we're two equal mysteries. We'd make quite a couple."
"You don't make any sort of couple, thank you very much." I said sharply, not that The Doctor heard me. No. I didn't care who he flirted with. I was not jealous. I was not possessive. But everything about this woman... I liked her as a person. She was alright. But was not good for The Doctor. Just something... "Come on then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"
We stopped walking, glancing out across the dunes.
"I don't know. But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet, right now."
"And do you think we can?"
"I live in hope."
"That must be nice. It's Christina de Souza." She turned and held her hand out to him. "To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."
The Doctor shook her hand, "Ooh, that's handy. Cos I'm a Lord."
"Seriously? The Lord of where?"
"It's quite a big estate."
"No, but there's something more about you, the both of you." She looked between the two of us. "That device you were carrying, and the wormhole. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like..."
"Like?"
"Like you're not quite..." She sighed.
"Anyway! Come on! Allons-y!" The two of us turned and continued on.
Christina began to follow, "Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar."
The Doctor laughed, "Oh, we were made for each other!"
We stopped once again on the top of a high dune, looking out across the horizon at some sort of storm heading our way.
"Ah. Don't like the look of that." I said with a frown.
Christina shaded her eyes, "Storm clouds. Must be hundreds of miles away."
"Getting closer." The Doctor said in agreement.
"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."
"It's a storm." I muttered. "Who says it's sand?"
The Doctor and I shared a look before we all turned and ran back.
...
The three of us jumped onto the bus, Barclay behind us.
"Where is it?" The Doctor asked.
"There, there on the seat." Barclay said, pointing to a mobile on the seat. I ran over and picked it up, turning back as The Doctor chucked it to me. I quickly caught it, sonicing the phone, and dialling a number.
"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina laughed.
"Oh, just watch her." The Doctor said.
I put the phone onto loudspeaker, sitting on one of the headrests. "This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce." An automated voice answered. "Please select one of the following four options."
"Oh, I hate these things!" I muttered.
"No, if you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person." Angela said. "I saw it on Watchdog!"
"Thank you, Angela!" I said, holding down 0.
"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" A woman over the phone answered.
"Listen, it's the Flo! It's me!"
...
"Colonel Smith." A woman answered suddenly after explaining what had happened. "This is Captain Erisa Magambo. Might I say, ma'am, it's an honour."
"Did you just salute?" The Doctor asked.
"Who is that?" Erisa asked.
"That was The Doctor." I replied.
"Sir, it's an honour-" Erisa began, shocked.
"Yeah, yeah, ok." The Doctor muttered.
"Erisa, it's about the bus." I continued. "HQ said you're at the tunnel, yeah?"
"And where are you?"
"We're on the bus. But apart from that, not a clue," The Doctor and I looked over from where we were sitting, peering out the window. "Except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous."
"A body came through here. Have you sustained any more fatalities?"
"No, and we're not going to." I said sternly. "But we're stuck. The Doctor hasn't got the TARDIS, so I can't power up my vortex manipulator, and we need to analyse that wormhole."
"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr Malcolm Taylor. Just the man you need, he's a genius."
"Oh, is he?" The Doctor asked as we listened to some scuffling in the background, presumably Erisa going to find Malcom. "We'll see about that."
"Here's the Doctor and Flo." Erisa said to someone.
"No, I'm all right now, thanks." A high pitched man said to her. "It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice."
"It's THE Doctor and THE Flo."
"Do you mean... "the Doctor and Flo" Doctor, Flo?!"
"I know. We all want to meet them one day, but we all know what that day will bring."
"We can hear everything you're saying." The Doctor and I said in unison as we listened to the phone be passed over to Malcom.
"Hello, Doctor, Flo?" Malcom gasped. "Oh, my goodness!"
"Yes, we are." The Doctor said, walking over and sitting next to me. "Hello, Malcolm!"
Malcom chuckled, "Flo and The Doctor! Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"
"Really? What was your favourite, the giant robot? No, no hold on, let's sort out that wormhole. 'Scuse me."
The two of us moved to the front of the bus, Christina following. The Doctor sat in the drivers seat, pulling me into his lap as Christina stood next to us.
"Malcolm, something's not making sense here." The Doctor said into the phone. "I've got a storm and a wormhole, and I can't help thinking there's a connection. I need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing."
"I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator." Malcom said. "I thought it could measure the energy signature."
"No, that'll never work. Just listen to me."
"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."
The Doctor and I frowned, sharing a look, "Fifteen what?" I asked.
"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."
"You named a unit of measurement after yourself?"
"It didn't do Mr Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."
"And who's that, your dad?" The Doctor asked.
"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."
"Right. Fine. But before I die of old age-
"Which in his case would be quite an achievement-" I added.
"So congratulations on that, is there anyone else I can talk to?"
"No, no, no, no, but listen!" Malcom said. "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."
"You did what?"
"Is that wrong?"
"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant! So you can actually measure the wormhole. OK, I admit, that is genius!"
"The Doctor called me a genius." Malcom gasped.
"I know, I heard." Erisa muttered.
"Now, run a capacity scan." The Doctor continued. "We need a full report. Call us back when you've done it. And Malcolm? You're my new best friend."
"And you're mine too, sir." The Doctor quickly hung up the call and ushered me off his lap before standing up.
"Barclay, I'm holding on to this." The Doctor called, pulling me out of his lap, grabbing me hand and pulling me out the door and off the bus.
"I thought I was your best friend?" I pouted. "You told a runaway bride called Donna Noble I was your best friend once, remember?"
"Long time ago my love." The Doctor muttered as Christina jumped off the bus after us and we made our way through the desert again.
...
"Send this back to Earth, see if Malcolm can analyse the storm." The Doctor muttered, holding up the phone as we stood back on the dune, looking at the storm.
"There's something in those clouds, something shining." Christina said. "Look..." And there was, something in the storm, like metal...
"Like metal..." The Doctor muttered, taking a picture.
"Why would there be metal in a storm?"
"Well," I shrugged. "It's a big universe."
"Did you hear something?" Christina asked suddenly as I peered over The Doctor's shoulder, hugging him round the waist as he took pictures.
"Hold on. Busy." The Doctor muttered.
"There was a noise, like a sort of..." I frowned, watching her as she looked round. "Doctor, Flo..."
We followed her gaze to see a humanoid type alien with a head of a fly approach us, holding a gun in it's hand. It spoke, a sort of scuttling language, not one that I knew very well without the TARDIS translation circuits. The Doctor stepped in front of me and quickly replied in it's language.
"That's 'wait'." The Doctor muttered. "I shout 'wait', people usually wait."
"Usually." I laughed.
"You both speak the language?" Christina asked.
"Every language." The Doctor and I shrugged in unison before The Doctor quickly said something in the language again.
"That's begging for mercy." I explained to Christina.
The alien motioned to us with its gun.
"That means 'move.'" Christina said.
"Ooh! You're learning." The Doctor said as the creature marched us off in front of it.
"These fly things, they must be responsible. They brought us here." She said as we arrived at the creature's crashed ship.
"No, no, no, no, no! Look at the ship, it's a wreck." I muttered. "They crashed, just like us."
...
The three of us were led through the ship, the interior looking like they had been trying to make repairs, wires and electronics exposed.
"But this place is freezing!" Christina said, shivering.
"The hull's made of Photafine steel." I said. "Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!"
"That's how I like things. Extreme." She said flirtily, looking at The Doctor.
"Oh, this is beautiful!" The Doctor grinned before his face dropped, looking at me. "I sounded like you then." He turned his attention back to the ship. "Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!"
"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"
As we reached a sort of control room, a second, identical creature joined us and the first one, and touched a translation device attached to his clothes.
"Oh, right, good, yes, hello!" The Doctor said. "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."
"Still sounds like gibberish to me." Christina muttered.
"That's what I said, he can understand us. Doesn't work the other way round." He said as the creatures began to speak, him translating. "You will suffer for your crimes." Et cetera. "You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race." Tritovores, they're called Tritovores. "You came here in the 200 to destroy us." Sorry, what's the 200?"
"It's the bus." I smiled. "Number 200, they mean the bus."
"Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor and this is my... uh, Flo. "And this is Christina, the Honourable Lady Christina, at least I hope she's honourable!" I whacked him in the side, getting him to return to topic. "But we got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."
The two Tritovores spoke to each other before lowering their guns.
"What are they doing?" Christina asked.
"They believe us." I said.
"What, as simple as that?"
"I've got a very honest face." The Doctor shrugged. "And the translator says I'm telling the truth. Plus, the face. Right! So, first things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?"
The Doctor and I bolted over to a control panel, followed by the Tritovore with a translator, speaking to us as we went.
"Ah, they've lost power." I winced. "Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch."
"But if I can jiggle it back..." The Doctor said. He kicked the panel, sending the power over the ship. "I thank you!" The Tritovore chittered at us. "Yes, I am! Frequently. Okey-doke, let's launch that probe."
...
"The Scorpion Nebula." I said with a smile as The Doctor put his arm around my waist. The three of us sat, watching a projection shown by the probe. "We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted, so far away." The probe zoomed in. "The planet of San Helios."
"And that's us?" Christina asked. "We're on another world."
"We have been for quite a while." The Doctor said as I sighed, laying my head on his shoulder.
"I know, but seeing it like that..."
"It's good, isn't it?"
"Wonderful."
The Tritovores began to chitter, telling us what happened.
"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios." The Doctor translated. "Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."
"By waste matter, you mean?" Christina asked.
"They feed off what others leave behind. From their... behind, if you see what I mean." Christina stared at them, disgusted. "It's perfectly natural. They are flies."
"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them."
The projection flickered over, showing thriving city with trees and green parks. It kind of reminded me of New Earth in a way.
"San Helios City." I said, nodding at the projection.
"That's amazing." Christina breathed. "But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"
"Thousands of times." The Doctor and I said in unison.
"That Lordship of yours..." Christina said, staring at The Doctor. "The Lord of where, exactly?"
"Of Time." The Doctor said sadly. "I come from a race of people called Time Lords."
"You're an alien?"
"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either."
"And you?" She asked me. I smiled, shaking my head. "You look human." She said to The Doctor.
"You look Time Lord." He countered. "Anyway!"
"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us!"
"I don't think it's that simple." The projection flickered over to the desert we were currently in. "We're in the city right now."
"But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"
One of the Tritovores chirruped.
"The image was taken last year." I said.
"It became a desert in one year?"
The Doctor bent over, picking up some sand on the floor, "I said there was something in the sand." The sand fell through his fingers. "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife and 100 billion people, turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."
"But I've got sand in my hair." Christina cried, running her fingers through her hair. "That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!"
"Something destroyed the whole of San Helois." I whispered.
"Yes, but in my hair!"
The mobile suddenly rang and The Doctor pulled it out of his pocket, holding it between mine and his ear as he answered it.
"Malcolm! Tell me the bad news!" I said quickly.
"Oh, you are both clever!" Malcom replied. "It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, Flo, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."
"How can it get bigger by itself?" The Doctor asked, looking at me.
"Well, that's why I'm phoning! You'll work it out, if I know you, sir, ma'am."
"Flo, Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards." Erisa called in the background. "I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."
"Good work, both of you." The Doctor said.
"But I have to know. Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?" The phone beeped and The Doctor pulled back the phone, looking at it.
"Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go." I said as The Doctor hung up, answering the second call. "Yep?"
"Doctor, Flo, it's Nathan." Nathan said on the other line. "We got those duckboard things down, but..."
"It's my fault." Angela sobbed in the background.
"No, it's not, don't say that."
"Why, what's happened?" The Doctor asked.
"We kept on turning the engine, but... We're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...This bus is never going to move."
The Doctor lowered the phone and we shared a nervous look.
"What is it, what's wrong?" Christina asked. "Flo, Doctor, tell me."
"You promised you'd get us home." Nathan said. "Flo, Doctor? Are you still there?"
"Doctor, Flo, tell me, what did he say?"
A beeping came from one of the monitors suddenly and the Tritovores chirruped excitedly.
"It's the probe." The Doctor said, finally looking away from me. "It's reached the storm."
"And what's he saying?" Christina asked, eyeing the Tritovores.
"It's not a storm." I mumbled as we stood up and looked at the screen, showing a video from the prode of a mass of creatures that looked like flying manta rays.
"It's a swarm." Christina gasped. "Millions of them."
"Billions." The Doctor muttered.
A/N - I hope you guys don't mind I've put this into two parts, as it is quite long! Also, I'm going to put a poll on my profile for what SJA adventures you want to see for the next series? The episodes will be from series 4 for SJA. I'm already doing The Nightmare Man and Death Of The Doctor (obviously, lol.) but I'm going to do one more and you guys get to vote! Eek! Very excited for the next story, series 5 is going to be fun!