"The Mistaken M. Jones"
14. Beacon
London, 2006
Their last trip had been hard on Rose, he could tell. So, to help her feel better, he had taken her back home to see her mother. He'd been back in the TARDIS, tending to a few issues he'd noticed recently. It was something to do, which was what he needed. Rose might have accused him of hiding from Jackie, and he would have put an end to that as utter nonsense. If he had to run from everyone who'd ever slapped him in the face, he would run out of places to go.
He was outside, looking around the wooden exterior of his ship for any scrapes and bumps, when Rose came to him.
"Right, then, Doctor, onwards?" she asked.
"All done?" he asked back, as though to say 'so soon?'
"You know as well as I do, the longer I stay, the harder it will be for her to let me go," she shrugged. "It's better for both of us." He wouldn't inquire any further, though there was plenty for him to say, right there on her face. In the time he'd known Rose Tyler, he'd gotten a pretty good idea of when to push and when to back away.
"Said your goodbyes?" he asked, and she nodded. So he opened the TARDIS door for her, and she slipped in with a smile. He followed, and he shut the door.
The moment he'd done this, the ship had given a great quake, and they were off.
"What's happening, where's it going?" Rose grabbed on to the nearest railing to hoist herself back up.
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, speeding to the controls. "What's the matter with you?" he asked the ship, which only carried on its way. He pulled up to the screen, checking the destination they were obviously being pulled to.
"Is someone trying to capture you?" Rose guessed.
"I don't think so," the Doctor shook his head.
"Then why is the TARDIS…"
"Let me think," he told her, still looking around, taking it all in.
There were so many possibilities as to why they had suddenly been spirited away, and the best way he knew to figure out which one was the correct one was to work by process of elimination. There were plenty of reasons for this to be nefarious activity, just like it could be something else entirely, not at all ill willed. So far, he hadn't categorically eliminated one side or the other. Sometimes, it could be a bit of both.
The first piece of semi good news was that he didn't believe the TARDIS was being forced away. Whatever was happening, she was responding to something, as though it answered a call. He'd been in and out of the ship ever since they'd landed in London, but it wasn't until they were both inside and ready to go that it had gone. So was it that Rose was a part of it, or was it rather that whatever the TARDIS was responding to, she had waited until the Doctor was ready to go, which included Rose.
And then they'd landed.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Rose looked to the door and then to him, but he shook his head: not yet.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Still on Earth," he quickly established.
"Fine, then when are we?" He answered this quickly, too.
"The year 4519."
Now that they'd stopped, other things became clearer. Something, or more likely someone, was here, and it had pulled them from where they were, so that they could meet. Still not knowing whether this thing or person wanted him for good reasons, he had to go forth with caution.
"Stay close to me," he told Rose, looking her square in the eye so that she might grasp this was not time to deviate in any way.
"I know," she told him.
They stepped out of the TARDIS, and with his sonic, he searched out this beacon. It beeped, slow, deliberate… The Doctor moved to the left, and the rhythm was the same. He moved right, and it sped up.
"This way."
He followed the sound, let it guide him, and eventually he and Rose found themselves in front of a house. The Doctor peered through the window, just low enough that he could see through it. Inside, he saw two things. He saw a young man with hair in three shades of violet, surrounded by a trio of severe looking men. And on the other side, he didn't so much see as he felt, thanks to his sonic, his beacon, kept out of sight, as though maybe it… he or she… was hiding. If he had to guess who he or she was hiding from…
"If I tell you to run…" he asked Rose.
"I'll run," she replied.
They went up to the door, and the Doctor knocked. He could hear the voices inside, and when he'd knocked, the voices had stopped. There was a drawn out silence, and then the door opened. It was the young man.
"Yes?" he asked the stranger.
"You wouldn't happen to be having an unpleasant conversation? I may be of some assistance."
Merit didn't know what convinced him to do this, but he stepped aside and let the two strangers, the man and the girl, walk in and join the tense meeting in his sitting room.
"Sorry to interrupt…" the Doctor started, ready to pull together all aspects of cleverness. But the other men looked at one another, and then without a word, they started to leave. Only one of them stopped to say anything, and he directed those words to the violet haired man.
"We'll be back, unless you change your mind." And now he left with his colleagues. After he'd gone, there was a moment of silence before Merit looked to the new visitors.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked.
"I'm the Doctor, this is my friend, Rose Tyler, we…"
"Doctor?" a new voice joined them, and the Doctor and Rose turned to find a young girl standing just outside the kitchen. She was staring at the Doctor, confused but relieved. "Is that really you?"
"In the flesh. And you are?"
"My name is Mercedes Jones. I have a message for you."
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)