I don't own Doctor Who (*sigh..*). But I do own my OC, the Guardian, so that's pretty cool.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The Guardian reached into her jacket to grab one of her guns, but instead found… the Doctor's sonic screwdriver?
Her eyes widened as an insane idea hit her. It was just the sort of thing the Doctor would do, if he hadn't been being electrocuted behind her. She pointed the screwdriver at the remote in Green's hand and thought about what she wanted it to do.
The device sparked and back-fired all the electricity into Green. Strangely, it spread to Asquith, seeming to come from the compression collar around his neck.
She turned around to see the Doctor was free and conscious, unlike all the other experts in the room. He grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the room and down the corridor. They found the soldiers in the entrance hall.
"Oi!" He shouted. "If you want aliens, you've got them. They're inside Downing Street." With a couple of claps and a tiny hop, he headed back towards the briefing room. "Come on!" The soldiers followed.
Inside the briefing room, Green and Asquith had gotten free of the electricity and put Asquith's disguise back on. The Guardian's hearts sank when she realized that the humans would never believe them now.
'One of us should have stayed, Eltanin.'
From the grim look on his face, he agreed.
"Where have you been?" Green snapped at the police.
The sergeant looked at the Doctor, confused, as his men moved to check the unconscious experts.
"I called for help. I sounded the alarm. There was this… lightening. This kind of...electricity. Then they all collapsed!"
The Doctor's hand still in hers, the Guardian began edging towards the door. She could see where this was going.
The Sergeant looked up from the body that he was checking. "They're unconscious."
With that much electricity, they were lucky to be alive. They'd be unconscious for several hours. Too long to be able to reveal the truth in time. The Guardian swore in her mind, making the Doctor frown a little at her.
Green pointed at the Guardian. "That woman there! She did it! She's not authorized! What idiot let her in here?"
The Doctor pushed the Guardian behind him. "I think you will find that the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise." Everyone in the room gave him an unimpressed look. He turned to one of the soldiers. "That's never going to work, is it?"
'Whatever gave you that idea?' The Guardian muttered into his mind.
The policeman shook his head. "No."
"Fair enough."
The Guardian dragged him out of the room, soldiers chasing them. They made it was far as the corridor before another lot of armed police cornered them. One glance at the Doctor confirmed that he was grinning like an idiot.
'Danger magnet.'
He just grinned wider.
Asquith fought his way to the front of the first lot. "Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols, I authorize you to execute them!"
The Guardian started to point out their mistake when the Doctor spoke instead.
"Well, now, yes. You see—er—the thing is—if I was you—if I was going to execute someone by backing them against the wall, between you and me, little word of advice..."
Ding!
"Don't stand them against the lift." The Guardian dragged the Doctor in and sonicked the controls. The doors closed and the lift went up, stopping at the next floor.
Just outside the door was another of the Slitheen. It roared.
"Hello!" The Doctor grinned and nodded at Rose and the woman, Harriet Jones, who were frantically trying to unlock a door when there was an open one near the Slitheen. The woman saw the Doctor and got Rose's attention on the door.
The Guardian sonicked the control panel again, since the lift was technically on lock-down. The doors closed just as Rose and the woman hurried through the door. The lift went up again.
There was no one on the second floor, so they exited and ran through the halls to the stairs. They heard the soldiers shouting on the ground floor as they made their way to the first floor.
Ding!
They hid on either side of a doorway as two Slitheen, free of their disguises, walked out of the lift.
"It does us good to hunt." This one sounded like Green. So he was one of them, and not just a human accomplice. Not that the latter was very likely, but it had still happened a time or two in their travels so far.
They walked right past their hiding places as Asquith spoke. "We'll keep this floor quarantined as our last hunting ground before the final phase."
As soon as they were far enough away, the Guardian followed them. The Doctor caught up with her and took her hand.
'What have I told you about this?' She asked him.
'You can shoot just as well with either hand.'
'There are three of them.'
He grinned. 'They have claws. You have a gun.'
The Guardian frowned slightly, not wanting to concede his point. She pulled her hand free and grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall.
"No! Take me first!" They heard a woman shout from the room that the Slitheen had disappeared into. "Take me!"
The Doctor took the fire extinguisher from her and burst into the room. The Guardian rolled her eyes and pulled out two of her guns, following him. He sprayed the two male Slitheen with the CO2. "Out," he shouted to Rose and the woman. "With me!" He continued using short bursts of the CO2 to keep the Slitheen disoriented.
Rose pulled a curtain down onto the female Slitheen before running to the Doctor's side. The Guardian put one of her guns back as Harriet Jones joined Rose slightly behind them.
"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked the woman.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."
"Yes, I know who you are," the Guardian responded shortly. She had heard the woman introduce herself earlier.
The Doctor was far nicer. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
The Doctor used up the CO2 in one long burst and they fled the room.
"We need to get to the Cabinet Room." The Guardian shouted to the Doctor.
Harriet Jones chimed in, "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."
"Finally, a useful human!" The Guardian glanced back as the Slitheen broke out of the room.
"Oi!" Rose protested. The Guardian just ignored her, as she usually did with offended humans.
The Doctor led the way to the cabinet room. The Guardian put away her gun as they ran, and pulled out the sonic screwdriver just as they reached the door. She unlocked it and they all hurried inside.
Just inside the door, she saw a side table with decanters of wine. She grabbed one and stood in the doorway just as the Slitheen arrived.
"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Now, I'd rather not do that, because you're one of the few species I've encountered since I began traveling with the Doctor that I haven't personally wronged in any way, but I also happen to be very fond of this man here." She jerked her head in the Doctor's direction. "With his dumb luck, he'd survive the explosion, and that's good enough for me."
The Slitheen took a step back, and the Doctor joined her in the doorway.
"Right then." He grinned. "Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
"They're aliens." Harriet responded, clutching the red briefcase containing the Emergency Protocols.
"I didn't figure that out," the Guardian responded sarcastically. "I thought green skin and claws were normal for humans."
"Who are you two, if not human?" Green asked them.
Harriet and Rose started nattering behind them, leading the Doctor hush them. "So, what's the plan?" He turned back to the Slitheen.
"But he's got a Northern accent," Harriet said to Rose.
"Lots of planets have a north." Rose responded.
"He said hush." The Guardian snapped. "So, spaceship hidden in the North Sea, transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. Sounds like an invasion, but your technology is advanced enough that there is nothing on Earth that is worth you invading. Not to mention I've heard about you. So, what is so valuable that it brought your family to Earth?"
"Family?" The Doctor asked.
"Slitheen isn't their species." The Guardian informed him.
Green responded. "Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."
"Ah." The Doctor nodded. "So, what is the profit that you found here?"
Green started to speak, but then Asquith did. "Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"
Caught. The Guardian shrugged. "Nice try. It was a stupid bluff anyway. I've been spending too much time around him. Idiotic bravery tends to rub off eventually."
"Oi!" The Doctor protested. "You were the one who agreed to marry me. Twice."
The Guardian just rolled her eyes and held out the decanter to Harriet. "Have a drink. You're probably going to need it."
"Pass it to the left first."
The Guardian just passed it to Rose without a word.
Asquith spoke again. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."
"Don't you think we should run?" Rose asked.
'I take it you have a brilliant plan?'
The Doctor gave a tiny nod and the Guardian stepped back, to stand beside Harriet.
"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. I promised to take the Guardian to see him. In 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. Now 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 lifted a small panel beside the door and pressed a button. Metal shutters closed off all the windows and doors, trapping them in the room.
He turned back to the three women. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."
"Then how do we get out?" Rose asked.
"We don't." The Guardian replied.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The Guardian helped the Doctor move the body of the young Indian man who had let her into the briefing room. They laid him beside the late Prime Minister in a small closet.
"What was his name?" The Doctor asked.
"Who?" Harriet was paging through the Emergency Protocols.
The Guardian walked out of the closet. "The secretary."
Harriet joined her in the doorway. "I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." She walked back over to the table, the Guardian with her. The Doctor would need a moment. Two more people were dead, and that didn't even include the ones that the Slitheen had murdered for their disguises.
The Doctor emerged from the closet and held out his hand for the sonic screwdriver. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?" She gave it back to him and he began scanning the walls.
Rose straightened by the wall. "No. This place is antique. What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"
"He's too small." The Guardian joined Harriet in reading through the Emergency Protocols.
"They're big old beasts." The Doctor agreed. "They need to fit inside big humans."
"But the Slitheen are about… eight feet. How do they fit inside?"
"That's the device around their necks. Compression field. Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."
"I wish I had a compression field." Rose muttered. "I could fit a size smaller."
Harriet looked up, her eyes wide with horror. "Excuse me, people are dead. This is not the time for making jokes."
Rose looked down. "Sorry."
"Harriet Jones." The Doctor stopped and frowned. "I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?"
Harriet laughed. "Hardly."
"Rings a bell. Harriet Jones?"
"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs."
"Unconscious," the Guardian corrected. "And probably on their way to a hospital right now."
"Hasn't it got, like, defense codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?"
"And kill millions of innocent people, Rose?" The Guardian snapped. Goodness, and people considered her violent.
"And besides," Harriet jumped in, noting the tension between the two women. "There's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."
The Doctor joined them at the table, a strange look on his face. "Say that again."
"What? About the codes?"
"Yes." The Guardian picked up on where the Doctor was getting.
"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."
Rose chuckled weakly. "Like that's ever stopped them."
"Exactly, given our past record. And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"
"Everything's important." The Doctor murmured.
"Rose, I need your cell phone." The Guardian took the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor, then the phone that Rose had reluctantly handed over. She sonicked the phone, giving it universal signal, while the Doctor and Harriet discussed what the Slitheen might want.
The phone beeped. Mickey had sent a picture, and it made the Guardian smile a little.
"But we're sealed off!" Harriet exclaimed. "How did you get a signal?"
"A little mix of alien and human tech." The Doctor answered.
"Then we can phone for help! You must have contacts."
"Unconscious in a hospital, yeah."
"Not all of them," the Guardian moved over. "Mickey sent us a picture."
The Doctor shook his head in disgust. "Rose, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."
The Guardian smirked and handed him the phone. "Perhaps he's not so stupid after all."
He stilled at the picture of a Slitheen being electrocuted, just like Green and Asquith had been earlier.
Rose immediately grabbed the phone and called Mickey. Apparently something had happened to her mother, because Rose asked how she was several times before the Doctor took the phone from her.
"Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer."
The Guardian could just hear Mickey's voice over the phone. ~"It's Mickey, and why should I?"~
The Doctor winced. "Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but—er—I need you."
Those words seemed to do the trick, because two minutes later Mickey was asking for a password for the UNIT website. The Doctor plugged the mobile phone in a conference speaker so they could all hear.
"Say it again," the Guardian told him.
~"It's asking for the password."~
"Buffalo," the Doctor supplied. "Two Fs, one L."
They could just hear Jackie ask what the website was, and then Mickey responded. ~"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark."~
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Mickey, you were born in the dark."
"Oh, leave him alone." Rose sighed.
"Thank you," Mickey said sarcastically. "Password again."
"Just repeat it every time." The Doctor stood and began pacing. "Big Ben—why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"
"They wanted the world's attention." The Guardian responded.
"You said to gather the experts to kill them." Harriet handed out glasses of port.
"That lot would gather for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."
"The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on Red Alert. What would they do that for?" Rose wondered.
~"Oh, listen to her."~ Jackie said snidely.
"At least I'm trying!" Rose protested.
~"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind."~
Rose rolled her eyes, but said nothing as her mother continued.
~"Since that man 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 my daughter practically disappear off the face of the Earth. 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: Is my daughter safe with you?"~
One moment, the Doctor was clearly annoyed by Jackie's questions. The next, he froze.
"I'm fine," Rose answered, not noticing the change in the Doctor.
~"Is she safe, Doctor? Can you promise me that you will keep her safe? Well?"~
The Doctor didn't answer, even though everyone waited for him. The Guardian moved over to him, taking his hands in hers. 'You do your best to keep everyone safe. That's all you can do.'
He rested his forehead on hers. 'That's not it, Amadahy.'
Mickey's voice came from behind them. ~"We're in."~
The Doctor came back. The Guardian stepped back, and he moved over to the table, his arm finding its way around her waist. "Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab—an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that."
A warbling sound filled the room.
~"What is it?"~
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush and let us work out what it's saying."
The Guardian closed her eyes and listened carefully. "It's a message."
"It's on a loop, keeps repeating." The Doctor added.
They heard a doorbell ring over the phone.
"Hush!" The Doctor and the Guardian snapped at the same time.
~"That's not me. Go and see who that is."~
"It's beaming out into space," the Doctor mused. "Who's it for?"
Suddenly, they heard Jackie scream. ~"They found us."~
"Mickey, I need that signal."
Rose ignored the Doctor. "Get out, Mum! Just get out! Get out!"
The Guardian slammed her hands on the table. "No! Mickey, get to the kitchen!"
"The kitchen?" Rose snapped.
~"It's unmasking. It's going to kill us."~
"Michael Smith. Kitchen. Now." The Guardian ordered.
~"Why?"~ Mickey snapped.
Everyone else in the room looked like she was insane. "Mickey, listen to me, and I promise you two will survive. The Slitheen are known all over the Universe, if you know where to look. There are from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius."
"Yes!" The Doctor exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in realization. "Living calcium! Mickey, the Guardian is right. Go to the kitchen."
They heard the Slitheen growling and slamming against a closed door.
"Give the phone to Jackie!" The Guardian ordered.
~"It's going to rip us apart!"~ Jackie's voice became clearer.
"Jackie, find anything with vinegar!"
"Just like Hannibal?" Harriet asked, her eyes widening as she understood.
"Just like Hannibal!" The Doctor responded.
Jackie began naming off the various items that she found in the cupboards, including pickled onions and pickled eggs.
"And you kiss this man?" The Doctor asked Rose, amused.
"I kiss you, and your tastes aren't much better." The Guardian responded just as they heard the Slitheen break through the door. There was silence, then a fart, then an explosion.
Everyone in the Cabinet Room relaxed and breath sighs of relief.
"Hannibal?" Rose asked.
Harriet answered. "Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar."
"Oh. Well, there you go then."
The group toasted the moment with the port that Harriet had poured. The Doctor choked on his, nearly spitting it out.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
Jackie and Rose were talking when Mickey suddenly took the phone. ~"Listen to this."~
They heard Green's voice. ~"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds."~
"What?" The Guardian stood from where she and the Doctor had been sitting up against the wall, trying to rest for a few minutes. She joined Rose and Harriet at the table, followed closely by the Doctor.
~"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."~
"He's making it up," the Doctor said. The Guardian moved over to the door.
"There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it."
"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.
"They did last time." The Guardian responded, still slightly annoyed that Green had pinned the attack on the experts on her.
The Doctor walked over to the Guardian. "That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking."
"Because when humans get scared, they lash out." The Guardian finished. "The United Nations release the defense codes, and the Slitheen go nuclear."
"But why?" Harriet asked, just as the Doctor pressed to button and opened up the room again.
Three Slitheen in their natural form guarded the door.
The Guardian spoke. "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. Whole planet gets nuked."
One Slitheen still in disguise moved to the front. "And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."
"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place!" Harriet protested. "What for?"
"Profit, Harriet," the Guardian didn't look away from the four Slitheen. She could easily take them out. But then there were more Slitheen just a scream away, and all the soldiers and reporters outside. It wasn't worth trying. "The signal beaming into space is an advertisement."
"The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."
"At the cost of five billion lives." The Doctor spat.
The Guardian could feel him seething beside her. She took his hand and squeezed it, trying to reassure him like he always did her.
"Such a small amount compared to the Guardian's blood-soaked standards."
They both froze.
The woman smirked. "Oh, you didn't think we knew about her, did you? The Doctor's wife is famous throughout the Universe. The man who heals, married to the woman who destroys. So many ancient myths contain a god of life married to a goddess of death. I wonder where they got the idea?"
At least that meant that they would actually survive to get married.
The Guardian pushed the Doctor back slightly, so that she could stand in front of the Slitheen. "Then this goddess of death gives you a choice—leave this planet, or I will kill every single one of you."
The female Slitheen smirked. "What, you? Trapped in your box?"
The Guardian smiled darkly. "If you're so convinced that I'm powerless, why are you so terrified?" She pressed the button to cut them off from the rest of the world again.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
Morning had come before Mickey called them back. The UN was voting.
~"All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."~ Jackie spoke on the phone.
"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid." Harriet suggested.
The Guardian shook her head. "Then we'd have to deal with the soldiers downstairs." She looked over at the Doctor. He was leaning against a window, unusually solemn.
"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked.
~"There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail."~
Harriet sighed wearily. "Voicemail dooms us all."
Rose's sigh was more of frustration. "If we could only just get out of here."
"There's a way out." The Doctor said quietly.
Rose spun around. "What?"
"There's always been a way out." The Guardian answered. She watched the Doctor, curious as to why he hadn't mentioned this before. She had known from the beginning what the only way out was that gave them any chance.
"Why don't we use it?" Rose accused.
The Doctor uncrossed his arms and stepped over to the table. "Because I can't guarantee that your daughter will be safe. I can't guarantee that any of us will survive it."
~"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."~
"Jackie, you want your daughter safe. Well, I understand, because I want the Guardian safe."
The Guardian jerked to look at him. Was he really so determined to protect her that he would let an either planet die? He didn't look at her.
"She's all I have left of my family and my people. There's no one else other than us. I love her, and I can't be the one to make this decision. That's why I didn't say anything before now." He moved over to the Guardian, placing his hands on either side of her face and resting his forehead against hers. 'I could save the world, but it wouldn't be worth it if I lost you, Amadahy.'
She shook her head a little. 'Eltanin, everyone dies if this doesn't happen.'
'But you live.'
'Trapped in a box. And not even one that's bigger on the inside.'
"Doctor, Guardian."
They turned to Harriet.
"It's not your decision. It's mine."
~"And who the hell are you?"~ Jackie spat.
"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, Guardian. Do it."
The Guardian smiled at the woman, grateful that she had ordered her to do it, not the Doctor. "Mickey, use the buffalo password. It overrides everything." She remembered that from reading the Emergency Protocols earlier.
"So, how do we get out?"
"We don't. We stay here."
~"We're in. Here it is. HMS Tarean. Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."~
"Right," the Doctor said. "We need to select a missile."
~"We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defense codes."~
"We don't need it, Mickey. All we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"
~"Sub-Harpoon, UGM-84A."~
The Guardian looked to the Doctor for confirmation this time. She knew weapons, but Earth missiles were far less advanced than she was used to.
He nodded.
"That's the one, Mickey. Select." She waited a moment, hearing Mickey say something to Jackie. "You ready for this?"
~"Yeah."~
"Mickey Smith, the world is in your hands. Fire."
After a tense moment, they heard, ~"Launched."~
Harriet moved over to one of the windows. "How solid are these?"
The Doctor sighed and pulled the Guardian to himself. She could feel him shaking slightly.
"Not solid enough," she said for him. "Built for short-range attacks. Nothing this big."
'I wish…'
'Eltanin, this is not the time for wishing.'
'Do you think we would still be here, even if I had married you on Gallifrey when we had the chance?'
The Guardian stiffened. They had agreed to never speak of what happened the last time they saw each other before the War, when they had found a friend willing to cover for her so that she could run away with him just long enough to get married, even though that would be breaking the law. They had chosen not to.
The next time they saw each other had been on Karn.
"All right, now I'm making the decision." Rose said, drawing their attention away from each other. "I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out." She opened the door to the closet. "It's like what they say about earthquakes. You survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small, so it's strong. Come and help me." She called to Harriet and the Gallifreyans. "Come on!"
Harriet ran over to join her.
"It's a chance." The Guardian pulled out of the Doctor's arms and joined the two humans in emptying the cupboard. She made sure that she was the one to remove the dead bodies before turning to the office supplies. While the women emptied the cupboard, the Doctor coached Mickey in stopping the intercepting missiles.
Once it was clear enough, the Doctor unplugged the phone and joined them in the cupboard. The Guardian shut the door and locked it. Hopefully, that would keep anything dangerous from flying into the tiny room.
They sat under a shelf on an outside wall, the Guardian beside the Doctor. He tugged her closer so that her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Here we go. Nice knowing you all." Harriet said, taking the Guardian's hand.
"Hannibal!" They all looked up and waited.
At first the cupboard only shook violently, but then it flipped over, sending them flying against the walls. An eternity later, it stilled with a sickening crash.
"Everyone okay?" The Doctor asked.
Stiff yeses came from Harriet and Rose. The Guardian nodded and squeezed his arm.
"Fantastic." He kissed the Guardian, then unlocked the door. Harriet led the way through ruined Cabinet Room, to the door. It fell off with frightening ease.
The four of them gathered in the doorway to look over the smoking remains of 10 Downing Street.
"Made in Britain." Harriet said proudly.
The sergeant from earlier ran up to them. "Are you all right?"
Harriet pulled out her ID with a confidence that she hadn't had later. "Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news."
"Yes, ma'am." The Sergeant ran off.
Harriet turned back to the Doctor and the Guardian. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out." Her eyes widened. "Oh, lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."
"Maybe you should have a go." The Doctor suggested.
"Me?" Harriet laughed. "I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for ya." Rose added.
Harriet smiled. "Now don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" She walked away over the rubble, calling out that the Earth was safe.
The Gallifreyans and Rose followed her.
"I thought I knew the name." The Doctor said once they were on the street. "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britian's Golden Age."
They watched as she reached the reporters, then walked in the other direction.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
They took Rose back to her flat, then went back to the TARDIS. The Doctor somehow found the boy who had graffitied "Bad Wolf" on the side of the TARDIS, and he made him wash it off. While the Doctor was more annoyed, the Guardian found herself concerned. She hadn't heard the words in over a thousand years, then suddenly she heard them twice in three months.
It was never good to ignore a coincidence.
She reentered the console room with fresh clothes on. The Doctor was playing around with various switches.
"Canceled the Slitheen's advert and sent out a message to go with it. 'The Earth is protected.'" He sighed. "I want to take Rose on a trip."
The Guardian froze.
"Not long-term, mind, but she did save your life today. I want to say thank-you."
"She saved her life today." The Guardian corrected. "The rest of us were just lucky to be there."
The Doctor hesitated. "Please, Amadahy?"
The Guardian sighed. He was determined to thank the girl. And besides, the TARDIS hated her enough that she probably wouldn't stay very long anyway. "Fine. But only if you let me ask Mickey as well."
The Doctor winced, but nodded a moment later. The Guardian walked out as he called Rose.
Mickey was sitting on a rubbish bin, reading a newspaper. The Guardian glanced over to see that the young artist had just finished washing away his handiwork. She chose to ignore him and walked over to Mickey.
"I just went down the shop," he said as she approached. "And I was thinking, you know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is."
He held up the newspaper, revealing the headline—'Alien Hoax'.
"How could they do that?" He asked, clearly upset. "They saw it."
The Guardian pulled herself on top a rubbish bin to sit next to him. "Planet Earth isn't ready for aliens. Long ago, when aliens came to Earth, they called them gods. Now they just pretend it was all fake."
The female Slitheen had been right. She and the Doctor would leave their mark all over the Universe. The people of the Gamma Forest used 'doctor' to mean 'mighty warrior'. Where else had the names they had chosen been corrupted by their own actions?
"So we're just idiots, then?" Mickey asked, a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"Not all of you." The Guardian gave him a small smile, which he returned. "How about you come with us?" She said.
"What?" He eyed her suspiciously.
"Come with us," she repeated. "You've got potential, Mickey Smith. And, contrary to what the Doctor says, you're not a total pudding brain."
Mickey sighed and looked away for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I've seen that life, and it's too much. But..." He hesitated. "Don't tell them that I said that."
The Guardian hid her disappointment. "Then I'll just tell them that I changed my mind and didn't ask you."
He nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Dee."
"Dee?"
He chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. Gar-DEE-an. 'Guardian' takes a while to say, so I thought I'd shorten it. If you don't mind."
She shook her head. No one, not even the Doctor, had given her a shortened name before. "I like it." She saw Rose exit her building, Jackie following after. "Here."
He took the CD that she held out to him. "What's this?"
"A virus I created. You put it online and it will destroy every mention of me and the Doctor. Keep people from following us."
He tucked the CD into his pocket and nodded as Rose and Jackie joined them. Jackie was begging her daughter not to leave, making promises. Rose carried a large backpack, like she expected to stay a while.
"I'm not leaving because of you. I'm traveling, that's all. And then I'll come back." Rose turned away from her mother and walked over to Mickey.
"Come with us," she said.
Mickey hesitated, glancing at the Guardian.
"He's not coming. The Doctor doesn't want him." She responded.
"We'd be dead without him," Rose snapped.
"It is not your decision." The Guardian responded coldly, slipping off the dust bin to get in Rose's face. "You are a temporary passenger in the Doctor's and my home—a sentient home that doesn't like you. You would do well to remember that this is a thank-you trip for saving our lives before you invite anyone else on board."
Rose glared at the Guardian before heading into the TARDIS. Mickey slipped off his dust bin and surprised the Guardian by giving her a hug.
"Mickey Smith, Defender of the Earth. Keep out of trouble." She murmured in his ear.
Then she turned to Jackie. "Mrs. Tyler."
"Can you promise me that she will be safe? What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you and the Doctor?"
The Guardian hesitated. "Jackie Tyler, I can promise you: as much as is in my power, I will keep you daughter safe. I can't guarantee her safety, because if she does something dangerous on her own, I might not be able to save her. But I promise to do what I can."
Jackie still didn't look satisfied, so she added, "And don't worry about something happening to the Doctor or me. We're a lot harder to kill than we look."
Jackie's expression softened a little, accepting the Guardian's words. "Thank you."
The Guardian nodded to both the humans before walking into the TARDIS. The Doctor was at the controls, while Rose stood a safe distance away from the console.
"So," the Guardian walked up to the console. "Doctor, what did you say about that plasma storm in the Horsehead Nebula?"
"There are fires burning 10 million miles wide," the Doctor explained to Rose. "We're going to fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it and ride the shockwave all the way out. It'll take both of us, but then we'll hurtle across the sky. All of time and space. We could end up anywhere. Sound good?"
Rose nodded.
"Very well." The Guardian typed in the coordinates. "Next stop: everywhere."
GD~GD~GD~GD~
So, Rose is now travelling with the Doctor and the Guardian. Wonder how that will go over... especially with what's coming next...
Next time: An old enemy is encountered, and we learn more about the Doctor and the Guardian's backgrounds...