INT. UNDERGROUND MUSEUM

Rose opens her eyes, astonished to find herself still alive and relatively unharmed. She looks to her left and sees a skinny plume of smoke rising up from a small bullet hole in the ground.

From behind the glass, the Doctor exhales in relief. His respite is short lived, however, as Daga steps up close to the glass.

DAGA
How did it feel, Doctor? To be trapped behind glass and powerless to stop a madman from harming the only person in your life who means anything to you?

The Doctor seethes.

DAGA
Now, ask yourself, what are the odds I'll miss twice?

DOCTOR
I'll help you.

ROSE
Doctor, you can't! There's no telling what he'll do if he has the Tardis.

DOCTOR
Just don't hurt her.

Daga smiles. He opens the glass case to let the Doctor out, then walks over and grabs Rose. He holds the rifle to her back.

DAGA
Into the Tardis. Now.

The Doctor walks over to the Tardis and opens it.

INT. TARDIS

The Doctor enters the Tardis and takes position next to the command console. Daga keeps his weapon pointed at Rose, but can't help himself. He surveys the impressive interior of the mighty timeship.

DAGA
It's even more impressive than I could have imagined. How does it work?

DOCTOR
These controls over here. Those control pitch, vector, re-entry. Those control timestream placement. Over here is galaxy, sector, and system.

DAGA
Marvelous. Move over there.

Rose and the Doctor both move to the far wall so Daga can work.

DOCTOR
But I already told you, the Tardis is a creature of perfect morality. It won't respond to your commands.

One of Daga's spider legs rips free from Van Clive's skull.

DAGA
We... will just... see about... that!

Daga uninstalls himself from atop Van Clive's head. As soon as the last of his spider legs is free, Van Clive's eyes roll back in his head and he falls dead on the floor.

ROSE
That is messed up.

Daga climbs the command console and prepares to install himself.

DAGA
Today, I beat you, Doctor. Today, Daga wins.

Daga jams his spider legs into the Tardis console. Golden sparks erupt from the console as the rest of the lights flicker. A growl erupts from cylindrical core, one of anguish, but also anger. The entire room shakes like from an earthquake.

ROSE
What's happening?

DOCTOR
Hold on to something!

They each grab whatever they can find for support as Daga's forced intrusion into the Tardis' systems causes total havoc. Daga's expression changes by the second, from joy to terror to excitement, like a series of still images one after the other. Golden light envelops him from below as the shaking slows.

DAGA
Oh, Doctor... Oh, Doctor...

Daga's smile disappears, as if he's just been made aware of horrible news. His eyes focus on the Doctor one final time.

DAGA
You cheater!

The Doctor winks at Daga.

Daga's mangled features heal. His hair shortens. His eye restores itself and he suddenly grows younger. He's a young man, then a child, a toddler, and a baby. When everything quiets, he's a small white leathery ball on the ground that every once in a while moves from within.

With the room settled, Rose and the Doctor move over to the console to investigate the mysterious moving ball.

ROSE
It's like a volleyball.

The Doctor picks it up.

DOCTOR
Spider egg, actually.

He shows it to Rose. She recoils and screams.

DOCTOR
Really? After everything, you're still scared of a spider?

ROSE
Duh. Did you know that was going to happen?

He shrugs.

DOCTOR
The Tardis exists partially outside of time. We can interact with it, sure, but to actually become part of it. That's uncharted territory, even for me. And that's saying a lot.

ROSE
Why did he think you were in prison with him? You weren't, were you?

DOCTOR
No.

ROSE
Does that mean you will be in the future? Your future, I mean.

The Doctor thinks.

DOCTOR
That's one possibility.

ROSE
We don't have to take care of him now, do we? I mean, no offense, but I'm not really ready for a baby... especially one with eight legs and a homicidal streak.

DOCTOR
I've never been to his home planet, but I have to assume the orphanages there have doorsteps.

ROSE
So, after all he did, trying to take over the world, all the people he killed, he gets off.

DOCTOR
Who knows what turns a man into a monster? Given a fresh start, maybe things will be different this go around. You have my sonic screwdriver?

Rose reaches down her shirt and pulls out the sonic screwdriver. She hands it to the Doctor. He shoots her a look.

ROSE
Don't get any ideas. I had to hide it in case I got the chance to slip it to you.

DOCTOR
I'll have to go back in and lift the level one containment. I can do it with this, now. Why don't you go to your room and get cleaned up. I'll clean up in here and set the people free.

ROSE
Okay.

She walks around the cylindrical core, but stops. She watches him a moment as he puts down the egg and starts dragging Van Clive's body by the ankles. Put off by the image, she keeps walking.

INT. BATHROOM – ROSE'S ROOM

At first glance, the bathroom looks like one you might find in a typical modern apartment, with the appearance of "checkered-tiles" on the walls and floor. On closer inspection, the room is actually a hollowed out bone, a solid piece with grooves carved into it to make it appear more familiar to human eyes. The sink, toilet, and shower are connected to fleshy tubes that deliver water and remove waste.

Rose peels off her blood stained clothes and drops them on the ground. She steps into the shower and leans against the wall as water excretes from the ceiling and falls like rain. Extending one arm, she watches some of the blood drip from her fingertip and fall. It is absorbed into the floor rather than filtered down into a drain.

INT. TARDIS – LATER

The Doctor works on repairing the command console with the sonic screwdriver. He looks up to see Rose staring at him from the doorway. Her hair is still wet from the shower and she wears a robe, sweatpants, and fluffy slippers.

DOCTOR
Oh, good, you figured out the shower. I disabled the containment, got everyone out. We'll be on our way soon, but Daga did a number on this console. Just having to fix it up, and then we'll be off.

ROSE
We're not going to save them, are we?

The Doctor inhales and thinks. He puts down the screwdriver.

DOCTOR
We can't.

ROSE
Why not?

DOCTOR
Adam died, so you want to go back and warn him. But if you do that, he won't die, and you won't have reason to go back and warn him. That's what we call a paradox and it's very dangerous to the timestream.

ROSE
But the same thing can be said about anything we change for the purpose of changing it, if that's the only reason we're doing it.

DOCTOR
The Tardis doesn't exist so we can cheat life and death and make things better for ourselves.

ROSE
But this isn't for me, it's for Adam.

DOCTOR
Rose...

ROSE
He was just a kid, a good kid without a family trying to impress a man who was using him. Daga gets another chance, but Adam doesn't? That's fair? That's moral?

DOCTOR
That's life. Second chances aren't earned by being good, or forfeited by being bad. We help who we can.

ROSE
And we can help Adam.

DOCTOR
No, we can't.

The Doctor picks up the sonic screwdriver and goes back to work, hoping Rose will drop it. Surprisingly enough, she does. She turns around and walks back to her room.

INT. ROSE'S ROOM

Rose closes the door and leans against it. She closes her eyes and breathes in.

INT. VAN CLIVE'S OFFICE – FLASHBACK

Rose remembers back to when she and the Doctor first met Van Clive in his office. Paula had brought in the red briefcase and, while Van Clive talked to the Doctor, a tabloid newspaper article in the briefcase caught her attention. The headline read, "My Dad Saved the World from an Alien Dragon".

DOCTOR
It's a bloody sonic screwdriver, you imp.

VAN CLIVE
Damn, really? I was betting it was a laser torch or something.

Adam noticed her reach for the article and closed the briefcase. She had to pull her hand back to avoid it getting caught.

INT. ROSE'S ROOM

Rose opens her eyes and walks to the bathroom.

INT. VAN CLIVE'S OFFICE – FLASHBACK

While Paula waxed poetic about how she would have readily slept with her own brother to get a mention in his will, what we didn't see at the time was Rose seize the opportunity, when Paula's back was turned, to reach into the red briefcase on Van Clive's desk and remove the tabloid article.

PAULA
My brother didn't like the idea of his own security personnel spying on him, probably because of his compulsive pornography addiction. Why he even bothered when he could have had any woman in the world, at the same time, is anyone's best guess. Hell, I would've slept with him if it got me into his will.

ROSE
Ew. That's your brother.

Rose stuffed the article into her back pocket.

INT. BATHROOM – ROSE'S ROOM

Rose retrieves the article from the back pocket of her discarded pants and walks back into her room.

INT. ADAM'S WORKSHOP – FLASHBACK

Shot through the chest by the overzealous guard, Adam looked up at Rose as she held him in her arms.

ADAM
I didn't mean... to lie to you... before.

ROSE
Lie to me? About what?

ADAM
If I had a time machine... I wouldn't use it... to meet some old scientists... I'd use it... to save my family.

Rose cried.

INT. ROSE'S ROOM

At the antique desk in her room, Rose unfolds the newspaper article. The headline reads, "My Dad Saved the World from an Alien Dragon". Under the headline is a picture of a photoshopped dragon...

… and Rose.

END CREDITS ROLL

- End Episode 3 - Serial, To be Continued...-
(Feedback is always appreciated.)