Disclaimer: Nothing related to Doctor Who or the Harry Potter Series is mine. I swear. I wish I owned them, cuz then I might have a bit more money, but I don't.
Warnings: Book Two of Three (Main books anyway). Swearing. Sarcasm. I have only watched the new series, no knowledge of early Doctor Who. EWE, kind of...
Dedication: To the Writers and Producers of Doctor Who, thank you for giving me something else to obsess over, now that Harry Potter is long gone. And to the lovely people who encourage me to continue writing in their reviews. To the lovely people who encouraged me to post the next chunk. To my lovely reviewers, GryffinPuffGirl and Emaelin, thank you for everything you've said.
Book 2: Stories of A Shop Girl
Summary: A Death too soon. A woman who steps up to save the world.
Rating: Dark T
Genre: Adventure/Drama
A/N: So the chapter after this is where canon starts being deviated from. Just a little bit.
A/N 2: Please, someone tell me what they think of Maria. I'm not asking for my health. I'd like to know so that I know about my skills as a writer. Because I really can't tell, given as I know all of the characters secrets, and every little thing I say about a character feels like 'everyone is going to know the secret'.
A/N 3: I am currently in university, and my studies are a priority. Knowing that, please be forgiving when I don't post as often.
Part 1: Just a Replacement?
Chapter 6: Nothing Good Can Come of This
She opens up her forehead, and there's a bright light coming out. She wiggles out of it, and I see first hand what Harriet was talking about. Green aliens, in people suits. She grabs the assistant and throws him against the wall. Suddenly, she starts having electricity pop out of her collar, and Harriet and I hightail it out of there.
She turns back. "No wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them." She turns, but the green alien is already getting up from whatever happened, and is starting to move towards us. I grab Harriet's arm, and force her to run.
We get cornered, and then the lift dings. The Doctor waves as the lift opens. "Hello." I use the distraction to sneak behind the alien and we make a run for it, the alien chasing us after a second.
We enter a sitting room, and I hiss "Hide!" I hide behind a cabinet, and wait.
I can smell when the alien enters. "Oh, such fun. Little human child, where are you?" I'm about to growl out that I bet I am older than her, but I stop myself. "Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big green lips." I make a run for it, and end up hiding behind a curtain.
I smell more of them come in.
"My brothers." The female said.
"Happy hunting?"
"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink." I clench my teeth.
"Sweat and fear."
"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones."
"And a ripe youngster, all hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps." The curtain gets pulled back, and I take a swing, getting her in the eyes.
"No! Take me first! Take me!" Harriet said.
The Doctor decides to crash the party, bringing in a fire extinguisher. I sigh. Of all the things. "Out, with me!" I take the curtains, and while the female is still disorientated from the punch, I wrap them around her and run to the Doctor.
"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor said, glancing at Harriet.
Harriet grabs her ID and flashes it. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." The Doctor runs out of CO2 in the can, and decides to throw it at the aliens.
We run, all the while, the Doctor saying, "We need to head to the Cabinet Room." Oh, the memories.
"The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens." Harriet said, running with us.
"Harriet Jones, I like you."
"And I like you too."
We run into the room, and the Doctor grabs a bottle of some form of alcohol. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off." The aliens take a step back.
"Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?" I hold back a snort. Green aliens named the Slitheen. That explained a lot.
"They're aliens." Harriet answered.
"Yes. I got that thanks."
"Who are you, if not human?
Harriet looked around. "Who's not human?"
"He's not human." I said, gesturing to the Doctor.
"He's not human?" She asked, eyes wide.
"Can I have a bit of hush?" The Doctor said, not even glancing back at us.
Harriet looked a little put out. "Sorry."
I frown. "So, what's your plan?"
"But he's got a Northern accent." Harriet said.
I smile at him. "Lots of planets have a north."
"I said hush. Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"
One of the Slitheen looked put out. "Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?"
"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"
"The Slitheen race?"
"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."
"So your a family." I said, glancing at them.
"A family business."
"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?" The Doctor said, giving me a look that said shut up.
"Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"
The Doctor blinked. "Is that what I said?"
"You're making it up."
"Ah, well! Nice try." He throws the drink over his shoulder and Harriet catches it. "Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it."
"You pass it to the left first." Harriet commented, giving me the Red Box.
"Sorry."
I take it, and say thank you. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."
I raise my eyebrows. "Don't you think we should run?
The Doctor ignores me. "Fascinating history, Downing Street. Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." He lifts a small panel to his right and pushes a button. Metal shutters crash shut around the windows and doors. He turns back to us. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining in every single wall. They'll never get it."
My brain seems to be one step ahead of him. "And how do we get out?"
"Ah."
My phone rings. I pick it up. Mickey.
"How are you doing?"
"Well, I just save your mother from an alien."
"Right, try again."
"No, no, no, no. Not just an alien, but like, proper alien. All stinking and wet and disgusting. And more to the point, it wanted to kill us!"
"Is she alright, though? Don't put her on, just tell me." The Doctor takes my phone from out of my hand and starts talking on it, fast telling Mickey how to hack onto a military website. He plugs the phone into the conference phone speaker.
"Say again." The Doctor asked, frowning.
"It's asking for a password."
"Buffalo. Two Fs one L." (Tallulah, three Ls and an H.)
I hear Jackie in the background. And Mickey comes on loud and clear. "All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."
"Mickey, you were born in the dark." The Doctor said.
"Leave him alone." I sigh. The boys would never stop this would they.
"Thank you. Password again."
"Just repeat it every time." He glances at the two of us. "Big Ben – why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"
"You said to gather the experts, to kill them." Harriet said, frowning.
"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash in the middle of London."
I tried. "The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on Red alert. What would they do that for?"
"Oh, listen to her."
I snapped back at Jackie. "At least I'm trying." I'm about to snarl. This is my life. It's been my life since the Doctor rescued me from the Freak Show. Battling bad people has been my life since Harry and Ron rescued me from troll in the girls' bathroom, all those years ago.
"Well, I've got a question if you don't mind. Since that man has walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and Rose disappear off the face of the Earth."
"I told you what happened."
"I'm talking to him. 'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this. Is my daughter safe?"
I blinked. She'd referred to me as her daughter. "I'm fine."
"Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that? Well, what's the answer?"
"Mom, safe is relative. I could be crushed by a lorry, or..." I trailed off. I blinked back tears.
"We're in." Mickey was back on the phone.
The Doctor gave instructions. I thought about what I was going to say next 'or stabbed with a knife by a stranger.'
A signal came through and I focused on it.
"It's some sort of message."
"What's it say?"
"Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating."
The doorbell rings over the phone. I can hear Mickey and Jackie squabling. "It's three o'clock in the morning." "Go tell them that."
The Doctor continues to work on his puzzle.
"They've found us."
"Mickey, I need that signal."
I shove him out of the way. "Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! Get out!"
"We can't. It's by the front door." He pauses, and then says, "Oh, my God, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us."
Harriet looked up. "There's got to be some way of stopping them! You're supposed to be the expert! Think of something!"
"I'm trying!"
"Just run!" We hear, but it's only half the conversation.
"That's my mother." I said, looking at the Doctor. Or really, the only woman who's actually been my mother in the past century.
"Right, if we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet? So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"
He turned to Harriet and I, who started rattling off anything we could think of.
"Yes!" He cried after a few seconds. "That narrows it down to one planet. Raxacoricofallapatorius!"
"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter."
"Get into the kitchen!"
Jackie screams something, but the phone doesn't pick it up. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid."
"Vinegar!" I yelled, grinning. He smiles at me.
"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet cries out.
The Doctor nods. "Just like Hannibal! Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"
"How should I know?"
"It's your kitchen."
I sigh. "Cupboard, by the sink, middle shelf."
"Oh, give it here. What do you need?" Jackie said on the phone.
"Anything with vinegar mum!"
Jackie stars muttering about what she finds.
The Doctor's eye brows raise. "And you kiss this man?" I glare at him.
"We're okay."
I turn to the Doctor, asking the question that's been burning in my mind for a few minutes. "Hannibal?"
"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar."
Oh. I nodded. Mickey's voice comes back on the line. "Listen to this."
A news report, and what sounds suspiciously like one of the Slitheen talking about nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction.
I swore. "Mickey, I need your help. Use your home phone and call this number." I rattled off a number. "I need you to tell them Code Granger. Ask to speak to Percy Weasley. And then let me talk to him. You might need to remind him of my name."
Both Harriet and the Doctor give me a funny look. After a moment, another voice came on the phone. "Miss Tyler, I thought Ms Jones walked you out."
"Oh, still a grumpy prefect at heart, aren't you Percy."
"Please tell me this is you secretly wanted to hear my voice and ran a false alarm." Percy said, sighing.
"Where's the fun in that?" I ask laughing. "You've got numerous hostile aliens in Downing Street. They're wearing people suits and can be taken out with vinegar."
"I'd ask if this is a prank, but that's more the twin's area of expertise. Alright, I'll get a team to cover the area. Anything else?"
"We've got three people up in the Cabinet Room that would like to get out soon, myself included." I said.
"And if I guess, I would also say that there is also the man you cam in with, and Miss Jones there as well."
"Hello." The Doctor said, amicably.
"Why is it every time you pop up and into our lives, the world needs saving? I'm starting to think the bad luck thing was all you, not Harry."
"Oi!" I yelled, faking cross.
"Well, see you in a few minutes, BB."
The phone line went dead, and Mickey's voice came back on the phone. "Since when do you have connections in the government?"
I laugh. "You'd be surprised at the connections I've got. Don't call that number again, okay. And don't mention Code Granger either."
"Is this one of those, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you sort of things?"
"Naw. It would just cause an undue amount of panic. The Doctor's got Code Nine, I've got Code Granger."
The phone in the room ringed. I shared a look with the Doctor, and then picked it up.
"Rose?"
"Percy? What are you doing calling this number?"
"Code Granger has been discontinued."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been officially declared dead."
"Talk to the twins, tell them that the man in the blue box gives them permission."
"I'd love to, but they've been declared missing."
"What do you mean, missing?"
"I mean,one day, a little after you were officially declared dead, their shop closed and they haven't been heard from since."
"Damn it. All the other names I can give you haven't happened yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Can't say Perce, Time-travel."
"I forgot. Sorry I couldn't have been more help."
I say goodbye and hang up the phone. "It's not happening. We need to come up with idea two."
"Alright Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do." Jackie said.
Harriet tries hairbrained ideas, but I'm all out too. "Mickey, any luck?"
"There are loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail." Mickey came through the phone.
Harriet looked grim. "Voicemail dooms us all."
"If we could just get out of here." I said, thinking aloud.
The Doctor heard me. "There's a way out."
I sigh. "What?"
"There's always been a way out." He replied.
I glare at him. "Then why don't we use it?"
He looks at the phone. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe."
"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."
The Doctor looked torn. "That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies."
"Do it." I said, looking at him.
He turns back to me, looking me in the eyes with surprise. "You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"
"Yeah."
"Please. Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. She's just a kid."
"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will." He looked at me and I glared at him.
"Then what are you waiting for?" I demanded. Having to crane my neck to look into his eyes.
"I could save the world, but lose you."
Harriet Jones interrupted us. "Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine."
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie cried from the phone.
Harriet swallowed. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it."
The Doctor gave her a dark look, but I ignored him. "How do we get out?"
He turns back to me, sadness in his eyes. "We don't. We stay here." He takes out the Red Box and pulls out a bunch of paper.
He explains his plan, and I call for Percy, hoping to find out if there were any wards we didn't know about that would prevent this from happening. The Doctor barks orders at Mickey, who is following them to a tee.
"Fire." The Doctor said. Harriet Jones looked concerned at the walls.
"How solid are these?"
The Doctor frowned, sadness coating his face. "Not solid enough. Built for short range attack, nothing this big."
I hang up the phone, confident in my knowledge now. "Alright, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small, so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on!" Harriet and I rush to empty the cupboard, while Mickey's giving play-by-play to the Doctor.
I crouch and the Doctor joins us. Percy's evacuating downstairs, something he can do. The shock wave hits us and I clutch the Doctor's arm. Things start falling, but the door stays fine.
When it stops, the Doctor is the first one up. He opens the door, and Harriet Jones remarks, "Made in Britain." One of the aids comes rushing over.
"Oh, my God. Are you alright?"
Harriet seems to go right into action. "Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contract the UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news." The man salutes her and runs off. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."
"Maybe you should have a go." The Doctor commented.
"Me? Huh. I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for you."
"Now don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help." She turns and walks towards the press down the street.
"Rose!" Someone calls. All I see is a flash of red hair before I'm swooped up.
"Percy, put me down." I said, glaring at him.
"Thought you were dead."
I snort. "I'm like Harry. Takes a hell of a lot to kill me." The Doctor has a frown on his face, and I change the subject, letting him know that he doesn't have to fight with Percy. "How's Penny doing?"
"Very well, we're having our first born soon." He smiles, like an expecting father. "Any suggestions for names?"
I smile. "Mia, it's always good. Or Rose." He laughs and hugs me again.
"If you get a chance, stop by, please."
I look at him. "You can't tell anyone. At all, Perce." He nods, and takes off after saying goodbye.
The Doctor looks towards where Harriet went. "I thought I knew the name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."
We're back at the flat. At least I am. The Doctor's gone to the TARDIS, checking on her. Mum's going off about Harriet Jones.
"Who does she think she is? Look at her, taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughter saved the world!" Jackie said, yelling at the telly.
"You called me your daughter." I said quietly.
She looks at me. "You practically are. Been taken care of you, haven't I, Hermione?" I smile at her. "And since when have you had military connections?" I laugh.
"Know the queen too."
She laughs. "Right, pull the other one."
"Anyway, I think the Doctor helped a bit."
Jackie rolls her eyes. "Alright then, him too. You should be given knighthoods."
"Got one thanks. And that's not the way he does things. No fuss. He just moves on. He's not that bad if you give him a chance." I comment. I doubt it, but maybe Jackie will like him a little bit in the end. Or I could wake up from this crazy dream and end up back in the Freak Show.
"He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that."
I laugh."Oh now the world has changed. You're saying nice things about him."
She sighs. "Well, I reckon I've got no choice. There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated."
I gape. "I am not infatuated."
"What does he eat?"
I frown at the sudden change of topic. "How do you mean?"
"I was going to make shepherds pie. All of us. A proper sit down, 'cos I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I don't know, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things."
"He'll have shepherd pie. You're going to cook for him?"
Jackie frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
"He's finally met his match."
Jackie glared. "You're not to old for a slap, you know." She walks out of the room. My phone rings and the caller ID says it's the TARDIS.
"Hello?"
"Right, I'll be a couple of hours, then we can go."
I blink. "You've got a phone?"
"You think I can travel through space and time and I haven't got a phone? Like I said, couple hours. I've just got to send out this dispersal. There you go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."
"Er, my mother's cooking."
"Good. Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."
I roll my eyes. "She's cooking tea. For us."
"I don't do that." He sounded darker.
I sigh. "If you want you can think about it like a torture session, rather than tea."
"No."
"She's my mother."
"Well, she's not mine."
"That's not fair."
"Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning ten million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice."
"And we can do both." I sigh. "Nice try though." He grumbles. "Please. It's just tea, nothing more. Food. I'm sure we can find you a banana, if you'd like."
"Fine. But I want that banana now." I roll my eyes at his childish attitude.
After tea, with a lot of grumbling from both Jackie and the Doctor, we were about to be off. The Doctor had gotten whoever it was that graffiti-ed the TARDIS cleaning it off. He was just about done.
"Good lad. Graffiti that again and I'll have you. Now, beat it."
Mickey comes up to us, holding a newspaper. "I just went down to the shop, and I was thinking, you know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is." He thrusts the headliner at us, and it reads Alien Hoax. "How could they do that? They saw it."
"They're just not ready. You're happy to believe in something that's invisible, but if it's staring you in the face, nope, can't see it. There's a scientific explanation for that. You're thick." I smack him one. "Ow!"
"We're all just idiots." Mickey said.
The Doctor sighed. "Not all of you. Present for you, Mickey." He hands Mickey a CD case. "That's a virus. Put it online. It'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist."
"What do you want to do that for?" Mickey asked, frowning.
The Doctor sighed. "Because you're right, I am dangerous. I don't want anybody following me."
Jackie comes out and I run to her, giving her one final hug. She's trying to convince me to stay, but I can't.
"I'm not leaving because of you. I'm travelling, that's all, and then I'll come back." I said, looking at her.
"But it's not safe."
I laugh. "Haven't been what you'd consider safe since I was twelve." I sighed. I turn back to the Doctor. "Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me."
I turn to Mickey and give him a hug.
"Come with us. There's plenty of room."
The Doctor frowned. "No chance. He's a liability, I'm not having him on board."
"We'd be dead without him." I argued.
The Doctor looked at me. "My decision is final."
I turn back to Mickey. "Sorry."
"Good luck, yeah." He said, giving me one final hug.
Jackie turns to the Doctor, intent on tearing him a new one. "You still can't promise me. What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away. How long do I wait then?"
I give Jackie a hug. "I'm a smart girl, I'll find a way back. And mum, you're forgetting. It's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way to the edge of the universe, and by the time I get back, yeah, ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds So stop worrying. See you in ten seconds' time, yeah?" We hug once more, and I go into the TARDIS. I drop my bag down and he starts up the dematerialization sequence.
I look at him. "Thanks, for that. It meant a lot to her."
"Don't mention it." He said, not glancing back at me.