Closing Time- Pt. 2
We casually strolled around the store, Jack and I as The Doctor talked to Craig. Every so often, I checked with Amelia. She was now asleep. "Will life ever be normal for us?" I asked Jack, who still hadn't let go of my hand since the lift incident.
"I don't think so." Jack said. "Plus, normal would be boring."
I gave a short laugh. "Yeah. I guess so."
It was dark out when we meet up with The Doctor and Craig in the Pedestrian precinct section in the store. "It's got to be up there somewhere. Can't get a fix. It must be shielded." The Doctor said.
"But you fused the teleport. You sorted it. They can't come back." Craig said.
"No, He's just bought us a little time. We've still got to work out what they're doing before we can stop it." I said.
"But if they've got the teleport and they're that evil, why haven't they invaded already?" Craig asked.
"Craig, take Alfie and go." The Doctor said.
"No." Craig refused.
"No?"
No. I remember from last time, people got killed. People that didn't know you. I know where it's safest for me and Alfie, and that's right next to you."
"Is that so?" The Doctor asked.
"Yeah. You always win. You always survive." Craig said. I winced and Jack squeezed my hand.
"Those were the days." The Doctor said, sighing.
"I can help you. I'm staying." Craig said stubbornly.
"Craig. Craig. All right. All right, maybe those days aren't quite over yet. Let's go and investigate. I mean, there's no immediate danger now." The Doctor said. "Jack, Susan, I want you to go back to the Tardis and check on the readings. A cybership this close to Earth and Torchwood should have picked it up."
"Doctor-" I started.
"Do as I say. Craig and I can handle things here. After you're done, meet back at Craig's house."
I looked at the Doctor, hurt. "I thought you wanted to go on one last adventure together. I guess I was wrong." I said. Jack and I turned around and headed out.
Before we were out of earshot, I heard Craig going at The Doctor, "What was that for? Go after them!"
"He couldn't have meant that, right?" I asked Jack.
"He's probably stressed trying to keep Craig and Alfie alive so Sophie doesn't kill him." Jack said. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."
I had started to clean up Craig's kitchen to give me something to do. Jack was in the living room with Amelia, trying to get her to sleep while the Doctor was mixing something in a bowl.
"I'm going down the shop. We've run out of milk. You know what to do if he cries." Craig says and throws a mobile phone to the Doctor and leaves.
"No." The Doctor said as he stares at the cell phone.
"Me neither." Craig says from the door then leaves.
As soon as he leaves, Alfie begins to cry.
"Oh." The Doctor said. He looked at me, "Would you? You're good with Amelia."
I sighed and put down the wash cloth I was using at the sink. "Fine."
I poked my head in the living room where Jack was sleeping on the couch with Amelia sleeping on his chest. I smiled and went up to Alfie's room. I bent over his crib and picked him up. "Hey Stormy." I whispered. "It's Susan."
Alfie gurgled in baby.
"Yes I know Craig doesn't understand you and Sophie does. But he's your father and is trying very hard-" Alfie gurgled again. "Alfie." I scolded. "He really is. Human's can't understand baby. Yes, Sophie does but she has motherly instinct."
I sighed. "Alphie, I have a short amount of time left. I'm not completely sure my plan will work. It has to though. I can't leave my daughter or my husband." I took out my sonic pen and sonicked up a holographic starscape. "You have so much to look forward to, Alphie. A whole life. And it will be-" I stopped short when I heard a beeping noise behind me. "Alphie, why is there a beeping noise behind me?"
I turned around and saw that there was a cybermat glaring it's teeth at me. I pointed my sonic pen at it and held Alphie in my other hand. "Don't come any closer." I said. "Doctor!" I yelled.
Silence.
I groaned. The Cybermat must have caught The Doctor unaware. The Cybermat comes at me and I sonicked it and it flopped over, stunned. "Come on Alfie, let's get down stairs." I said as I ran down the stairs and into the Kitchen where Jack was trying to wake The Doctor while trying not to wake a sleeping Amelia.
"Susan!" Jack said.
"I'm fine. But the Cybermat's only stunned."
"Whao!" The Doctor said, sitting up. "Susan!"
"I'm alright. But we don't have much time before the Cybermat is up and about again." I said, gently bouncing Alfie.
"Susan, take Amelia and Alfie and wait outside. We'll take out the Cybermat." The Doctor said.
"Fine." I said, taking Amelia from Jack and opened the patio doors. Not noticing that I dropped my sonic pen, I closed the doors and sat on a swing. "Don't worry, Stormy, Lia." I said, using my nicknames for Alfie and Amelia.
I heard crashes within the house then silence. "Jack? Doctor?" I called. I patted my pockets for my sonic pen until something on the floor of the kitchen caught my eye and I saw my sonic pen on the ground, inside the house. I groaned and put Alfie in his swing but still carried Amelia.
I took out my cell phone and called Craig's cell phone. Craig didn't pick up and I got the answering machine. "Heeey Craig." I said. "This is Susan. Don't worry, Alfie is safe, but I wouldn't go into the house. Scratch that. On no account go into the house. Come around the back." I hung up.
"Doctor!" I heard Craig yell.
"Oh come on!" I said. I tried my telepathic bond. Jack? Are you there?
All I got in response was agrnahtrmusfvdza.
"Ugg. Come on!" I complained.
"Susan! Please!" Came Craig's yell.
I sighed and placed Amelia down on a chair. "This is gonna hurt." I said and then ran at the patio door. Everything shatters and I am now inside the kitchen. I winced. "Sorry Craig." I muttered as I raced to Craig. I could see an unconscious Jack and Doctor by the living room. I sighed.
"Where's Alfie? Where's Alfie?" Craig yelled as he wrestled with the Cybermat.
"He's safe. He's outside!" I said, trying to get the Cybermat off of him with my sonic pen, which I had picked up from when it had fallen out of my pocket on the way outside.
"Get it off me!
"I think I can find the right frequency, shut it down again!" I said.
"Kill it!" Craig yelled.
"All right, all right, all right! Move!" I hit the Cybermat with a large pan. It leaps onto me.
I winced as I slammed my back into the counter. "Argh! Baking tray, Craig. Baking tray!" Craig gets the tray and they get the Cybermat onto the floor under it. "Hold it down!" I commanded.
"Get on with it!" Craig yelled, struggling to hold the Cybermat under the tray.
"Ah, it must be shielded from metastatic energy." I said. "Don't worry, I have an app for that. Stand back. Stand back! I zap the Cybermat and it shorts out. I was breathing hard. "Success. That was amazing. That thing should have had you easily but it didn't. No wonder The Doctor likes you."
"Is it definitely dead?" Craig asked, warily eyeing the Cybermat.
"Inactive, yes. Technically never been alive. It was playing possum before, to take us by surprise. Bravo."
"Phew." Craig says, then panics. "Alfie!"
My eyes widened as Craig scrambled to go outside. "Amelia!" I ran after Craig.
Jack and I walked back to the Tardis while The Doctor said he would watch after Craig and Alfie. Jack was carrying Amelia while I was inspecting my arms. They had a couple cuts from when I went through Craig's patio door.
"I dont want this to be our last night together." Jack said after we had gotten back to the Tardis and settled into bed after putting Amelia to sleep. We were snuggled up against each other, just holding each other, not wanting to let go.
"Neither do I." I whispered. "But, if this is-"
"Don't say that." Jack pleaded, running his fingers through my hair. "Please don't say that."
"Jack, I need to." I said and took a breath. "I have, back when I found out that I was pregnant, opened a bank account for Amelia. Seventy percent of my paycheck has been going into that account. By now it should be enough to pay for her first two years of college."
"Susan-" Jack said, but I ignored it.
"I have also been working on a small side project for Torchwood and Terra Firma. I built two AI systems. They will keep track of dates, meetings, and have access to any system in the base. They are also back-up security. The firewall that I built is impossible to get through, so you guys are now pretty much impenetrable through the internet. It will also alert you if an unscheduled alien craft is within 5,000 miles from Earth. "
"Two AI's?" Jack asked, his eyes wide. "When did you have time to do that?"
"When Amelia wouldn't go to bed until two in the morning for a couple weeks." I responded.
"Ah." Jack said. "Susan, please tell me if there is anything that I can do. I don't want it to end this way."
I sighed. "I don't either, but I don't have much of a choice. I love you Jack."
Jack smiled sadly and kissed me. "I love you too."
Jack and I woke up in the morning and told the Tardis to look after Amelia as we went to the store to find the Doctor. "Hey Doctor." I said walking up to him as he talked to Val in the Ladies's clothing section.
"Where's Amelia?" The Doctor asked.
"With her," I glanced at Val. "Babysitter."
"Okay." The Doctor said. "Let's go."
We walked into the changing rooms. "Secondary teleport. No, there is no other teleport. They must have had a back-up system. Something complicated, something powerful, something shielded. Something like a door? A door! A disillium bonded steel door disguised as a wall." The Doctor said.
At the back of the cubicle a door slides open. "That is cheating. So, it didn't teleport down, it climbed up." Jack said.
We walked into the tunnel.
The tunnel is nice and circular, with the occasional tree root poking through. At the bottom is a big cavern with the Cybership in it. The inside is the exact opposite of the normal Cyber clean and shiny.
"Well, well, well. You have been busy." The Doctor said.
"So, what's the plan?" Jack asked.
I find George's name tag amongst the dirt on the floor.
"You have come to us." A Cyberman says.
"Took me a while. Lot on my mind. Let's see. This ship crashed here centuries ago. No survivors, but the systems are dormant, waiting for power, and then the council stick a load of new cables right on top of you. Bitey wakes up and channels the power. You start crewing up from the shop as best you can. Not enough power, not enough parts."
"When we are ready, we will emerge. We will convert this planet to Cyberform."
"What, the six of you?" Jack retorted.
"You know that is enough. You know us. You are the Doctor."
"Correct. And the Doctor always gives you a choice. Deactivate yourself, or I deactivate you."
I felt something clamp down on my arms and looked down to see Cyberman hands. "Jack!" I cried.
Jack looked behind me. "Susan!" Next to me, The Doctor is grabbed by another Cyberman.
"He must be the new leader." A Cyberman says.
"No. He is not like us. The women is of no use as well. Brain and binary vascular system incompatible. They will be discarded. Other body parts may be of use."
"Oi, Cybermen! Get off my planet, or I activate this." Craig said, pointing a barcode reader out at them.
"Craig, stop this. Get out!" The Doctor yelled.
"It's like you said, Doctor. Got to believe you can do it."
"You located us?" A Cyberman asked.
Craig rolls his eyes."Yeah. Teleport in the lift, bit rubbish. And that little Cybermat never stood a chance. So you see what you're dealing with?"
"You are compatible. You are intelligent." The Cyberman zaps the barcode reader from Craig's hands and a fourth Cyberman one grabs him and another grabs Jack.
"Argh! No, I'm not intelligent. You don't want me."
"Do not fear. We will take your fear from you. You will be like us. You will be more than us."
"No, no, no!" Craig yells as he is forced toward a conversion chamber
"Your designation is CyberController. You will lead us. We will conquer this world."
"Doctor!" Craig yelled. "Susan!" The Doctor, Jack and I were all struggling to get out of the Cyberman grips.
"Craig!" The Doctor yelled.
"Do something, please!" Craig is clamped into a conversion chamber. "Doctor."
"Craig, don't worry. I've reprogrammed their Cybermat. It'll drain their power." The Cyberman stomps on the Cybermat.
"You have failed, Doctor. Begin conversion. Phase one. Cleanse the brain of emotions."
"No. Craig, fight it! They can't convert you if you fight back. You're strong. Don't give in to it."
"Help me!" Craig yelled.
"Think of Sophie. Think of Alfie. Craig, don't let them take it all away." I yelled to Craig.
"Make it stop. Please, make it stop!"
"Please, listen to me. I believe in you. I believe you can do this. I've always believed in all of you, all my life. I'm going die, Craig. Tomorrow, I'm going to die, but I don't mind if you just prove me right. Craig!"
A Cyberman helmet closes over Craig's face. "Begin full conversion."
Alfie and Val are on a Cyberman monitor. Alfie is crying. "Unknown soundwave detected. It is the sound of fear. It is irrelevant. We will remove all fear."
"Alfie, I'm so sorry! Alfie, please, stop. I, I can't help him." The Doctor said.
"Emotions eradicated. Conversion complete. Alert. Emotional subsystems rebooting. This is impossible."
"He can hear him. He can hear Alfie. Oh, please, just give me this. Craig, you wanted a chance to prove you're a dad. You are never going to get better one than this.
"What is happening?" A Cyberman asked.
"What's happening, you metal moron? A baby is crying. And you'd better watch out, because guess what? Ha ha! Daddy's coming home!" The Cyberman helmet opens again, and Craig starts to break out of the conversion chamber.
"Alfie! Alfie, I'm here! I'm coming for you!" Craig yelled.
"Yes, Craig!" Jack yelled.
"Alfie!" Craig yelled. The Doctor gets free of the confused Cyberman and grabs his sonic screwdriver. He then frees Jack and I.
"Alfie needs you!" The Doctor yelled to Craig.
"Emergency. Emotional influx!"
"You've triggered a feedback loop into their emotional inhibitors. All that stuff they cut out of themselves, now they're feeling it."
"Which means a very big explosion." Jack finished, grabbing my hand.
"Overload. Overload. Overload." The Cyberman yelled.
"Get it open! We need to get to Alfie!" Craig said.
"They've sealed the ship!" The Doctor yelled.
"We've got to get out of here!"
"I know!" The Cybermen's heads start exploding.
"The teleport!" I yelled and sonicked the controls and they beam away just before the whole Cybership explodes.
We walked out of the elevator to where Val and Alfie were, startling Val. "How did you all get in there?" Val asked.
"Alfie!" Craig called, grabbing for Alfie.
"Here's your daddy." Val hands Alfie over. He gurgles.
"That was another review. Ten out of ten." The Doctor said.
"The Cybermen. They blew up. I blew them up with love." Craig said.
"No, that's impossible. And also grossly sentimental and over simplistic. You destroyed them because of the deeply ingrained hereditary human trait to protect one's own genes, which in turn triggered a, a, a. Yeah. Love. You blew them up with love." The Doctor said.
We all were walking through the store and were now in the ladies underwear section. "The building should be totally safe structurally, and of course the bonded disillium contained the explosion." The Doctor said.
"Right. Why you telling me all this?" Kelly aksed.
"I don't know. Shush."
"It suits you." Val said.
Craig has a new shirt on and he smiled. "Thanks."
"Discount applies to partners." Val said.
"Great."
"Are you two married then?" Val asked.
"No, no. We talked about it, but it's just a piece of paper, isn't it?" Craig said to Val as The Doctor, Jack and I walked up to Craig and Val.
"Thank you for your help, Val. Good noticing. Keep them peeled." The Doctor said.
"I will. I'm glad you two made up for baby's sake." Val said, smiling.
"Ah." The Doctor said. The Doctor motioned for us to go and we followed The Doctor out of the store.
We used the Tardis to clean up Craig's flat. Got a new patio door, it was the least we could do since I practically destroyed it.
"Who's tidied all this up?" Craig's voice came from the living room and he walked into the kitchen.
"See, I do come back."
"How did you?"
"Time machine. But even with time travel, getting glaziers on a Sunday. Tricky."
"You went back in time? That means you used up your hours. What about Exedor?"
"What about you being in trouble with Sophie when she comes back? I couldn't let that happen. I did destroy your patio door." I said.
"You used up your time for me?" Craig asked.
"Course I did. You're my mate. I notice Stormageddon's very quiet and happy. Oh, he prefers the name Alfie now. And he's very proud of his dad." The Doctor said.
Craig looked at Alfie, smiling. "He calls me dad?"
"Yes, of course he does now. Yeah, I know. He's a bit thick, isn't he?"
"Oi, shut up, you two." Craig said.
"Well, now it's time. I have to go." The Doctor said. At that, Jack quickly grabbed my hand.
"Doctor, I know that something's wrong. I can help you." Craig said.
"Nobody can help me. I hope Sophie won't mind. I need these." The Doctor said, picking up Tardis-blue envelopes.
"Where are you going to go?" Craig asked.
"America."
"Sophie'll be home any second. Are you sure-"
"I can't miss this appointment, Craig. Goodbye, mate."
"Wait there. One second." Craig asked. Craig returns with a stetson.
"From Sean's stag." Craig said.
"Wow."
"You ride 'em, pardner."
"Oh, thanks."
"Bye." Craig said.
There is a knock on the door. The Doctor nods to us and we slowly back out.
"Doctor, Susan, that will be Sophie arriv-" And that's all we heard as the new patio door closed behind us.
We all stopped in front of the Tardis. Some kids were playing in the street.
"Well then, old girl. One last trip, eh?" The Doctor asked. then he turns to the children. "Hey. I'm the Doctor and this is Susan Jane Harkness and her husband. We were here to help. And you are very, very welcome."
Tick Tock goes the clock and what now shall we see?
Tick tock goes the clock, now thou shalt marry me.
Tick Tock goes the clock and what now shall we play?
Tick Tock goes the clock, now summer's gone away.
Tick Tock goes the clock and all those years they fly.
Tick Tock goes the clock and you shall surely die.
Tick Tock goes the clock, we laughed at fate and mourned her.
Tick Tock goes the clock even for the Time Lords.
Tick Tock goes the clock, he cradled and he rocked her.
Tick Tock goes the clock till Jack and River kill the Time Lords.
A/N:
Reviewer:
alwaystherereading: Yep, Cline and Jenny are married! Lake Silencio is next!