The Empty Child
The TARDIS flew through the Vortex in pursuit of a small mauve spacecraft. Inside, the Doctor was frantically piloting the shaking ship and keep the spacecraft in sight.
"What is the emergency?" Seren asked as she stumbled slightly, grabbing hold of a coral pillar to keep from falling.
She was dressed in a Union Flag spaghetti strap tank top* that Siwan and Rose had given her a few years ago as a joke, a red leather A-line miniskirt* and red 6" high heeled ankle-strap sandals*. On her wrist, she wore a red crystal rhinestone bracelet watch* and had pulled the top half of her hair into two half-up pigtails while the rest tumbled down her back in loose curls*. On her face were her rectangle dark brown wire-framed glasses, having resumed wearing them following the recent trip home after the TARDIS ran a scan on her and informed her that it will take some time for her eye sight to return to normal following the appearance of the Reapers and the brief sterilization of the Earth, including the Mara.
"It's mauve." The Doctor replied, holding a lever down.
He was wearing his usual outfit with a navy-blue jumper.
"Mauve?" Seren repeated in confusion, moving to grab on to the console as the TARDIS shook.
"The universally recognized colour for danger." He replied, holding down a lever with one hand as he inputted a series of commands into the keyboard with the other.
"What happened to red?"
"That's just humans." The Doctor replied, glancing at the pretty brunette beside him. "By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings! All those red alerts, all that dancing! It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the Tardis. Where it goes, we go."
"And how safe is it?" Seren asked, slightly worried.
"Totally!" The Doctor replied cheerfully with a wide grin.
He reached under the console grab hold of a lever when it sparked with a minor explosion. He jumped back slightly, holding his hand as Seren looked at him incredulously, raising her eyebrow.
"Okay - reasonably. Should have said 'reasonably' there." He amended sheepishly as Seren groaned. He glanced at the monitor and became frantic. "No, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us." He adjusted the controls to follow the craft through the time streams.
"What exactly are we chasing?" Seren asked, watching him run around the console as he adjusted the controls. She wisely decided to stay back to give him room, opting to hold onto a coral pillar for dear life as the TARDIS shook.
"No idea." The Doctor said frantically.
"Then why are we chasing it?" Seren asked incredulously.
"It's mauve and dangerous, and about 30 seconds from the centre of London." He replied.
He grabbed hold of the console as the TARDIS gave a particularly violent shudder. Seren clung to the pillar.
They followed the craft straight into the centre of London. The TARDIS materialized in a back alley between two terraces.
"Okay, we've landed." The Doctor said as Seren grabbed her cross-body purse*, slinging it across her chest and her red leather jacket*, putting it on, but leaving it unzipped. She double checked she had her mobile, Bo-Staffs and other essentials in the deceptively small bag. The purse was one that Idris had given her when she was getting dressed, so it was bigger on the inside.
"D'you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?" the Doctor asked randomly as they exited the TARDIS.
"5 days?" Seren asked shrugging, walking out and looking around at the alley. "Or is that just when we're out of milk?"
"Of all the species in all the Universe, it has to be a cow that produces it!" he commented with a grin.
"Oh, that reminds me," Seren said, looking at the man, "We're almost out of milk and other groceries, so we should get some while we're here."
"Must have come down somewhere quite close." He said after nodding at his Companion as they began walking down the alley. "Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."
"A month! We were right behind it!" Seren exclaimed in shock.
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out." The Doctor said defensively as they turned down another alley. "Do you want to drive?"
"How much is a little?" She asked before adding in excitement, "Can I?"
"A bit." He replied, chuckling at her excitement. "Maybe."
"Is that exactly a bit?" Seren asked, wanting to be sure since his concept of measurement tended to be slightly skewed.
"Ish." He added, slightly sheepish.
"What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?" Seren asked, becoming excited at the idea of using alien tech.
"Seren, it landed in the middle of London with a very loud bang. We're going to ask." The Doctor said as he took out his psychic paper bill-fold and showed it to her.
"You do remember that I can't see what's written on it, right?" Sere reminded him, looking at the bill-folds and seeing only a blank piece of paper.
"Right, sorry." He muttered. "It says 'Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids'."
They came up to a door marked 'Deliveries Only' and he took out his sonic screwdriver from his pocket.
"Sorry." The Doctor told the slightly put out Welshwoman.
"It's not very Spock, is it, just asking people." Seren muttered as the Doctor put his ear to the door and listened.
"Door, music, people - what do you think?" he asked her, his ear still to the door.
"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?" Seren asked him irritated as he knelt to sonic the lock.
"Are you sure about that tank top?" he asked, changing the subject and gesturing to the Union Flag tank top she was wearing.
"What's wrong with my tank top?" she asked with a frown, brushing her hair back from her shoulders.
The Doctor didn't answer as he got the door unlocked and opened it.
"Mummy!" Seren whirled around as she heard a voice, looking up in an attempt to locate the source. "Mummy!"
"Seren, come on if you're coming." The Doctor called to her. "Won't take a minute."
He turned and headed inside when he didn't get a reply, thinking the woman was just going to wait outside.
"Mummy?"
Seren looked up and saw a little boy on one of the rooftops.
"Oh, Duw," she whispered before raising her voice, "Doctor! Doctor! There's a child up there…" she trailed off when she looked back towards the door and saw that he had gone inside. "Oh, I am so going to kill him." She muttered to herself before looking up and raising her voice. "Are you all right? How did you get up there?" She ran through the alley, looking for a way up to the roof so that she could help the child. She ran past the TARDIS, coming across a metal fire escape staircase and began running up, looking up through the gap between the buildings to find the child that she lost sight of.
"Mummy?"
Hearing the child's voice, she turned towards the sound as she reached the top of the stairs and ran onto the flat roof it was secured to. She looked up and saw that the child was on a roof that was at least two stories higher than her current position.
"Mummy?"
She slowly walked across the roof towards the building the child was standing on, noticing the uneven terrain beneath her heeled feet. She moved as quick as she could while still being cautious, knowing she would be no help to the child if she ended up injuring herself.
"Hold on, don't move!" Seren yelled up to the child when she reached the wall of the building.
The child looked up towards the darkened night sky for a moment before looking down at her. Seren looked along the wall for a way up, seeing a rope dangling down towards her. She grabbed it and pulled to make sure it was secure. Feeling it remain firm despite the tugging, she took her glasses off and folded one side before tucking them into the neckline of her top. Once the glasses were out of the way, she began climbing the wall, using the rope to aid her.
"Mummy," the child said, looking down at her when she was about halfway up the wall. She was heaving with the exertion, having been quite some time since she last climbed a rope or a wall, not to mention that she never wore sandals or a leather skirt when climbing. He looked up and pointed to something in the sky. "Balloon!"
Seren looked up towards the blurry figure of the balloon and noticed the rope moving away from the wall. Looking up along the line, she saw that the rope was dangling from the barrage balloon and she was beginning to float further away from the child and the wall.
"Okay Seren, this is just like zip lining." Seren muttered to herself as she floated further away from the wall and over buildings. "Except for the bit that there's no harness and no safety net." She shrugged as much as possible as she clung to the rope, adjusting her hold so the rope wrapped around her wrists to increase the hold. "Might as well enjoy the ride."
She let out a whoop of excited joy as searchlights began coming the night sky. Her excitement and joy faded as she caught a glimpse of explosions down below. Looking up, she saw the blurry shapes of a squadron of German planes dropping bombs on the city. Sirens blared as another squadron of German planes headed straight for her.
"Okay, maybe not this tank-top." She muttered with a worried expression, glancing down at the top that was peeking through her open jacket. "Or this skirt for that matter."
The planes flew past her, around her, the barrage balloon floating towards the middle of the city. She bit back a scream as one of the planes flew incredibly close to her, close enough for her to feel the power of the propellers beneath the metal wings as it flew past her. There were a series of explosions beneath her in the area of Westminster one after another.
A massive explosion beneath her, large enough for her to feel the heat of the flames against her bare legs despite how high up she was, startled her and she lost her grip on the thick rope.
She screamed as she fell towards the flames below, the scream being lost amidst the sounds of the sirens and the explosions. She flailed wildly, feeling the heat of the flames beneath her slowly getting stronger until she was caught in a transparent blue beam.
Suspended in mid-air, she flailed in panic as the beam kept her from falling any further and prevented the heat of the flames from reaching her.
"Okay, okay, I've got you." A voice called to her, reassuring and calm.
"Who's got me?" Seren asked as she stopped flailing and panicking. "And you know, how?"
She looked around her, seeing the sight below through the transparent blue beam – blurrier than before because of the light distorting the sight as well as her own weakened vision. She reached out to touch the beam.
"I'm just programming your decent pattern. Stay as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field." The voice said.
"Okay." Seren called back in reply, drawing her hand away from the beam just before touching it when she heard the order. She looked through the light field as she muttered to herself, "Just think of this as tree-top trekking. Only without the trees, without the safety nets and without the harness."
"Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone?" The voice added. Seren gave a snort of incredulous disbelief and the voice added, "No, seriously, it interferes with my instrument."
"You know, no one really believes that." Seren commented as she took her phone out of her purse and turned it off before putting it back, followed by her glasses – the last thing she wanted to do was break her only pair of glasses, having not gotten a new pair in quite some time due to not having needed them.
"Thank you. That's much better." The voice said.
"Oh yeah, that's a relief! I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with a Union Jack across my chest while wearing a mini skirt! But hey, my mobile's off!" Seren ended the rant hysterically as several planes flew past over her head.
"Be with you in a moment." The voice said with a chuckle as Seren breathed heavily, rubbing her bare legs against the cold wind. Several tense seconds later, the voice called out, "Ready for you? Hold tight!"
"To what?!" Seren screamed.
"Fair point." The voice said.
Without any further warning, Seren began hurtling down the light field. She let out a scream of delight, holding her skirt down over her legs. She landed in a pair of strong arms and leaned her head over her saviour's well-built shoulder, coughing as her hair hid her face from sight.
"I've got you. You're fine, you're just fine." The man the voice belonged to said as she coughed. "The tractor beam, it can scramble your head just a little."
She leaned back and looked at his blurry figure, her coughing fit ended for the moment as she breathed heavily from the sudden rush.
"Hello." She said after catching her breath following the coughing fit.
"Hello." The man replied, a wide smile on his face.
"Can you let me down, please?" she asked, realizing that she was still in his arms.
"Yeah, sure." The man said, setting her down gently on her feet. "Are you all right?"
"I think so." Seren replied, blinking as her surrounding blurred. She put a hand to her head as she stumbled slightly.
"You look a little dizzy." He told her with a worried expression on his face.
"I feel a little dizzy." Seren said as her eyes rolled up behind her head and she fainted.
The man caught her and carefully put her down on the nearby bunk. He stepped back and looked at her, taking in her beautiful features. The long dark ringlets pulled into two half-pigtails at the top of her head while the rest fanned out around her on the bunk, the large purple doe-eyes that were hidden by pale white lids framed by long thick lashes that resembled dark smudges against her high rosy cheekbones, her arched eyebrows, small button nose and pale snow-white skin. He ran his eyes down the woman's hourglass figure that was flattered by her tank top, jacket and skirt, the long legs that ended with tiny feet encased in ankle-strapped high heels.
If there was any doubt before, there definitely wasn't now – this woman was not from this time period. She was the one he was waiting for, and now all he had to do was wait for her to wake up.
Seren woke up with a slight groan, sitting up and rubbing her head. She stood up from the bunk and looked around, taking in the darkness of her surroundings which made seeing all the more difficult.
"Better now?" a voice asked, startling her and causing her to whirl around to face the direction of the sound.
"Yes, much." She replied, nodding before asking, "Are there any lights here?" She began rummaging through her purse, trying to find her glasses. "I already can't see very well, the darkness is making it worse."
In lieu of a reply, the man reached up and pressed a button, making a few lamp fixtures glow, bathing the ship in a warm reddish light.
"Hello." He said with a grin, sitting in the captain's chair.
"Hello." Seren replied with a smile, glancing at him before going back to looking through her purse. With the additional light, she was able to find her glasses and put them on before turning to the man that saved her. "I didn't say earlier, thank you for saving me."
She smiled up at him, taking in his appearance now that she could see clearly. He was handsome, with sparkling blue eyes, a prominent lantern jawline and a bright white smile. She knew him to be well-built and strong from her brief moment in his arms.
"You're welcome." He replied, smiling at her.
"I'm Jones, Seren Jones." Seren said, putting her purse on the bunk. "Who are you?"
"Captain Jack Harkness, 133 Squadron, Royal Air Force - American volunteer." He replied, taking out an ID card and handing it to her.
"Liar." She replied, looking at the card. He gave her affronted look and she continued. "This is psychic paper. It's supposed to tell me whatever you want it to tell me."
"How do you know?" Jack asked, sitting in his chair and leaning back, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Two things. One," Seren replied. "I have a friend who uses psychic paper."
"Ah." He said in understanding. "And two?"
"Two, psychic paper doesn't work on me." He looked at her in surprise, having rarely met anyone the paper didn't work on. "Honest. I can't read it. My friend says I'm too clever for it." She said, seeing the surprised look on his face as she handed the card back to him.
"Well, that's useful." He commented, taking it back. Noticing the writing on it, he read it. "So you're single, but you think you might have feelings for a friend of yours."
Seren's eyes widened in surprise, a blush dusting her cheeks. "What?"
"Yeah, it says so right here." Jack said, pointing to the card, smirking at her.
"Can we try to get along without the psychic paper, please?" Seren asked instead of replying the questions, her expression completely mortified.
"That would be better, wouldn't it?" he asked with a laugh, the amusement at her reaction still evident.
"Yeah." Seren replied, looking around the small cramped ship. "Nice ship."
"Gets me around." He replied, shrugging.
"Very Spock." Seren muttered quietly, taking in the wires that were hanging from the ceiling as she gently ran her fingers over the hull.
"Who?"
"Have you considered doing something about the mess of wires?" She asked, ducking a particularly low grouping of wires to avoid being hit on the head, adding, "Not a local boy, I take it?"
"You sound Welsh." He commented as he opened his wrist strap and scanned her. "The accent and finding fault after being shown something fantastic."
"I am Welsh." Seren muttered, glaring at him for the comment. Though she had to admit, it was pretty Welsh to find fault in something amazing and she did mean what she said when she had to duck another mess of wires that were hanging dangerously low.
"Let's see, a cell phone, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics and leathers that won't be around for at least another two decades." Jack commented, reading the results of his scan and looking up at her as she climbed the chair to look outside the window. "I take it you not a local girl."
"You're right." Seren replied, glancing at him before turning to look out the window.
She hissed slightly when she rested her hands on the console and she was reminded of the rope burns on her palms.
"Burn your hands on the rope?" Jack asked in concern.
"Yeah." She replied as she heard a bomb whistle past them. "It's nothing. I have a first-aid kit in my bag. I'll be fine in a few days." She added absently, turning to look out the window. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she took in the scenery. "Oh wow. We're parked in mid-air! No one can see us?"
"No." he replied. He glanced at her purse, wondering how the tiny thing could hold a first aid kit before turning back to the woman. "Can I look at your hands for a moment?"
"Why?" Seren asked with a frown, turning around once more to look at him as she moved to sit in the chair.
"Please?" he said, slightly more firmly.
"Do you have a medical kit on board?" Seren asked as she held her hands out to him.
"Something better." He replied as he sat on a stool in front of her, taking out a cylindrical device and began running it over her hands. He glanced at her as she watched him. "You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are." Seren raised her eyebrow in response as he looked back at her hands and continued to speak. "I can spot a Time Agent a mile away."
"Oh?" Seren said with a raised eyebrow, deciding the better course of action would be to play along for as long as possible. There had to be a reason why someone with alien technology was hanging around the 1940's at the height of the Blitz.
"I've been expecting one of you guys to show up." He continued. "Though not, I must say, by barrage balloon. Do you often travel that way?"
He looked at her as he asked, only half joking.
"If not by zip line, then might as well travel by balloon." Seren replied cheekily as he removed his scarf and began wrapping it around her wrists to keep her hands together. "What are you doing? I have a med-kit in my purse, I can-"
"Try to keep still." He told her, cutting her off as he held her bound wrists with one large hand and reach up with the other, pressing a button that above her head. There was a slight beeping sound and a swarm of glowing light, looking almost like tiny golden fireflies, flew above the burns on her cupped hands.
"Nanogenes." Seren said with wonder, having just recently read about them on the TARDIS.
"Sub-atomic robots." Jack confirmed. "The air in here is full of them."
Seren watched with wonder as the nanogenes worked their magic and healed her wounds. Several seconds later, Jack reached up and pressed the button again, causing the glowing robots to disappear.
"They just repaired three layers of your skin." Jack told Seren as he removed the scarf from her wrists.
Seren could only stare speechlessly at her hands, amazed at the unmarked skin. She looked closer and saw that even a few callouses that had remained from her work out on the TARDIS earlier that day had been healed as well.
"Thank you." Seren breathed, looking around the ship and at Jack. "This is amazing."
"Shall we get down to business?" he asked, standing up and moving away.
"Business?" Seren asked slightly confused, noticing that he had pulled out a bottle of champagne and was standing by the bunk.
"Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" He asked her with a suave smirk, pressing a button on one of the panels and a hatch lowered from the ceiling, creating an opening to the roof of the spaceship. Without waiting for a reply, he began climbing the stairs, calling over his shoulder, "Bring up the glasses."
Seren looked around and saw two glasses on a shelf and grabbed one before following Jack up the stairs to the roof. Reaching the top, she cautiously moved forward over the smooth surface of the invisible spaceship. Jack removed the wrapping around the cork of the bottle, putting the garbage in his pocket. She couldn't hold back her amused smile at seeing Big Ben standing tall beside them, the man evidently having decided to park next to the monument.
"No need for an alarm clock." She said with a laugh. "Why are you tethered to Big Ben?"
"First rule of active camouflage." Jack replied with a chuckle, reaching into his coat pocket and withdrawing a remote. He pressed a button on the remote and the ship became visible beneath their feet. "Park somewhere you'll remember."
Seren let out a delighted laugh at the sight as Jack put the remote away and popped the cork on the champagne bottle with a loud bang. Jack's laugh mingled with Seren's as she held the glass out to him.
"Only one?" he asked, his laughter fading as he looked at her in confusion.
"I don't drink." She replied and he nodded in understanding.
He took the glass and sat down, Seren following suite and taking off her heels, putting them beside her. As Jack drank his champagne, they looked out at the searchlights still shinning against the sky as planes flew passed them. The city below was burning, the fires and explosion going off periodically.
Seren leaned back, resting her palms flat against the ship as she leaned back, crossing her ankles in front of her. Beside her Jack refilled his glass before putting the bottle down between them.
"So, why don't you drink?" he asked curiously.
"It's just a personal opinion, but I find alcohol to be a vile drink that turns even the most respectable of people into complete scoundrels." Seren replied, looking up at the handsome Captain. She bit back a frown as she looked at him, there was something about him that was familiar, but she just couldn't put a finger on it. She shrugged slightly and looked back out at the city.
Jack looked at her curiously, lowering his glass.
"You sound like you speak from experience." He commented.
"I used to work at a hospital and as a paramedic. So, I know what alcohol does to a human's organs." She replied, pushing her hair back when it blew into her face from the wind. "Let's just say that I've seen enough of the effects of alcohol to be very firm in the decision to never drink."
He nodded in understanding, deciding not to probe when he caught a glimpse of her pained expression.
"What does your name mean?" he asked, completely changing the subject.
She looked at him, slightly taken aback at the abrupt change.
"Are you trying to change the subject?" she asked with sly smile.
"Is it working?" He asked back with a grin.
"Yes it is." She replied with a slight laugh.
"So, what does it mean?"
"'Seren' means 'Star' and 'Rhoswyn', my middle name, means 'Rose'." Seren replied with a smile.
"Star Rose." Jack said contemplatively. He shook his head. "No, that doesn't sound right." He frowned thoughtfully for a moment as Seren stared at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what he was up to. "I know, 'Star-Flower'." He nodded, turning to her and smiling widely. "Yup, that's what you are, Star-Flower."
Seren stared at him with wide eyes. No one ever called her that, no one except-
"The Face of Boe." She whispered quietly, so quietly that her voice blended with the blowing wind.
"What's that?" Jack asked, a frown crossing his face. "Is that okay? Can I call you that?"
"It's nothing." Seren replied, shaking her head and brushing it off as a coincidence. "Yea, you can call me that if you want. I don't mind." She put her sandals back on. At his questioning look, saying regretfully, "I should be getting back. It's getting rather late." She slowly stood up, using the roof as a hold to keep from slipping.
"We're discussing business." Jack told her, leaning back against one arm.
"This isn't business." Seren told him with a smile, pointing to the half-empty bottle of champagne he had consumed himself. "This is champagne."
"I try never to discuss business with a clear head." Jack replied, raising his glass to her before emptying it in one go. He put the glass down and stood up, walking towards her. Instantly, his demeanour went from playful to serious as he asked, "Are you travelling alone? Are you authorised to negotiate with me?"
"What would we be negotiating?" Seren asked instead of replying, wanting to get as many details as possible before answering.
"I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy." Jack said. "Are you in power to make payment?"
"I can hear your offer, but before I make any agreements, I would need to speak with my companion." Seren replied diplomatically, polite but vague.
"Companion?" Jack repeated dismayed.
"Yes, I really should be getting back to him." Seren replied, looking down towards the currently closed hatch.
"Him?" Jack repeated in the same dismayed tone.
Seren looked at her watch and groaned.
"Broken." She muttered. "And in just got this watch." She looked up at the still somewhat disappointed man, oblivious to his disappointment. "Do you know what time it is?"
Jack cleared his throat, a slightly disappointed expression on his face. He took his remote out if his jacket pocket, pointed it at Big Ben and pressed a button. The clock face lit up as it struck 9:30.
Seren's own face lit up with amazement at the sight as she laughed.
"That was flashy." She commented, looking back up at him, her laugh fading though the bright smile was still on her face.
"So, when you say 'your companion', just how disappointed should I be?" Jack asked curiously.
He reached out and put his hands on her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. Seren put her own tiny hands on his muscled forearms as added support.
"We're standing in mid-air…" Seren started, stepping back slightly to look up at him.
"Mmm-hmm." Jack nodded, letting go of her waist and taking her hand.
"On a spaceship in the middle of a German air-raid." Seren finished. "Do really you think now is a good time to be flirting with me?"
As she asked her question, Jack raised her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. He tilted his head to the side and pretended to think about her question.
"Perhaps not." Jack replied after moment, curling his larger hand around her tiny one for a moment before letting go and stepping back.
"You remind of someone my sister talks about." Seren said with a laugh. "Well, complains about really."
"Who?"
"This man, this Captain that works in Cardiff but regularly makes trip to London for work. Whenever he goes to the hospital she works at, he's always flirting with her." Seren replied, her laugh fading as she looked out at the city below. "Even whenever she meets him in Cardiff when she makes the trips home, he would flirt with her."
"Sounds like my kind of guy." Jack said with a chuckle. "Do you like Glenn Miller?"
"Sort of." She replied, nodding. "Only my favourites. My sister is more of a fan than I am."
"Which ones?" He asked as he pointed the remote over his shoulder and pressed a button, causing 'Moonlight Serenade' to play.
"Moonlight Serenade is definitely one of them." Seren replied with a bright smile as she listened to the soft strains.
"Good." Jack said as he smiled at her, moving close and pulling her into his arms, leading her in a slow dance.
As they dance, Jack spoke to her, telling her about the item he had that the Agency might be interested in.
"It's 1941, the height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it." He chuckled lightly. "If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?"
"Let me get this straight. You used to be a Time Agent, but now you're a freelancer?" Seren asked, looking up at him with large doe eyes.
"Well, that's a little harsh." Jack commented in a mock hurt tone. "I like to think of myself as a criminal." He tightened his hold on her and she laughed. He smiled at her before becoming serious. "Two hours, the bomb falls. There'll be nothing left but dust and a crater."
Seren pulled back, looking at him hesitantly.
"I think we should find my companion." She said finally after several moments. "Like I said earlier, I could hear your offer, but I can't make any agreements. Not without consulting with him first."
"Well, maybe we should go find him then." Jack replied, letting go of her and stepping back.
"How are you going to do that?" Seren asked.
"Easy. I'll do a scan for alien tech." he replied, opening the flap of his wrist strap and entering a few commands into the keypad.
"Amazing, a former Time Agent who is now a freelancer and likes to think of himself as a criminal, is more professional than a 900 year old Time Lord." Seren muttered quietly to herself, rolling her eyes.
"Found him." Jack sack said several seconds later. "He's at Albion Hospital."
"Let's get going." Seren said briskly. She looked around at the rooftop and looked back at the ex-Time Agent. "How are we going to get down?"
He laughed lightly as he moved towards her. He opened the hatch and gestured towards the ladder.
"After you." He said with a smile.
Seren smiled at him and made her way down the ladder, Jack following behind her.
The pair arrived at Albion Hospital almost half-an-hour later, carefully avoiding the guards that were stationed at Limehouse Green at the bottom of the hill. They came to a stop at the hospital's wrought iron gates, seeing the padlock.
Jack held his arm out to the lock, his wrist strap open and intending to use it to open the lock. Seren rolled her eyes.
"Move over." She said, nudging him out of the way and pulling a bobby pin out of her hair. She knelt in front of the lock and inserted the pin into the key hole, jimmying the lock open in half the time it would have taken Jack to open the padlock with his wrist strap.
She opened the gate and entered the grounds, turning back to the ex-Time Agent that hadn't moved. He was staring at her with his jaw hanging open, surprise and shock written all over his face.
"Are you coming?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah." Jack replied, shaking his head and following her.
They quietly entered the hospital, Jack taking the lead as he used his wrist-strap's scanner to locate the Doctor.
As they walked, their footsteps echoed in the eerily silent hospital. Seren suppressed the urge to shiver. It was too quiet, especially for a hospital. Even at night, there is always the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital, especially during a war. Where are the nurses, the doctors and orderlies? She could see the patients laying on the beds, but there were no Ward Sisters in the rooms, keeping a close watch on the sick, there were no doctors or nurses doing rounds and checking on the patients, there was no one else.
"Hello?' Jack called out.
The call startled Seren out of her musings. She saw Jack peeking into the rooms, his wrist strap open as he ran the locator scans, evidently going with the old fashioned approach to trying to find someone – draw them to you.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Seren called out, deciding to go with Jack's approach, if only to break the eerie silence that filled the hospital.
"Hello?" Jack called. The Doctor walked out of a ward at the end of the hall and made his way towards them. Seeing the man coming towards them, Jack closed his wrist strap. "Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting." He stuck his hand out and shook the Doctor's hand. "Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over."
The Doctor raised his eyebrow at the last statement and turned to Seren.
"I had to tell him about being Time Agents." Seren explained. "He had realized who I was within the first few minutes of meeting me."
She gave a sheepish smile and he nodded in understanding.
"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Spock." Jack said cheerfully, clapping the man on the shoulder as he walked past and into the ward the Doctor had just walked out of.
"Mr. Spock?" The Doctor asked her quietly, an adorably confused expression on his face.
"I had to improvise!" Seren said defensively. "I don't know what your real name is."
"Anyway, never mind that. Where have you been?" The Doctor asked her with a worried expression. "We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll, especially not dressed in a miniskirt." He gestured to her skirt and bare legs.
"Who went strolling?" Seren asked cheekily in response, turning and walking down the hall towards the ward Jack was in. "I went by barrage balloon. It's the best way to see an air raid."
"What?!" The Doctor asked in a loud whisper, shocked.
"What's a Chula warship?" she asked, turning her head to look at him without breaking her stride.
"Chula?" the Doctor repeated softly with a frown on his face, coming to a stop as Seren continued into the ward.
Seren found Jack examining the patients with his wrist strap. She stood next to the Doctor in the middle of the ward, between the two rows of beds along the walls, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests. They watched the Time Agent as he methodically examined a handful of the bedridden patients, in a move similar to the Doctor's a short while earlier.
"This just isn't possible." Jack exclaimed. He crossed the ward to examine yet another patient. "How did this happen?"
"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" The Doctor asked with a frown.
"What?" Jack asked, freezing and whirling around to look at him.
"He said it was a warship." Seren said, causing the Doctor to look at her. "He stole it and parked it somewhere. And in less than two hours, a bomb is going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."
"What kind of warship?" The Doctor asked as Jack paced.
"Does it matter?" Jack asked as he stopped pacing. "It's got nothing to do with this." He gestured to the patients on the beds.
"This started at the bomb site." The Doctor said loudly, pointing to the beds as he stalked towards the ex-Time Agent. "It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?"
"An ambulance!" Jack shouted as Seren walked over to the two men. "Look," Jack opened his wrist strap and created a hologram of the space-craft they had followed. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle- love the retro look, by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait…"
"Bait?" Seren repeated in irritation, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk." He replied as he turned off the hologram and closed his wrist strap.
"You told me it was a war ship. Armed to the teeth." Seren told him.
"They have ambulances in wars." Jack patronizingly said to her. He walked away, annoyance spread across his face. He stopped a few feet away and said with his back still turned to them. "It was a con." He turned around to face them as he continued, "I was conning you - that's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"
"Just a pair of freelancers." Seren replied.
"Oh. I should've known." Jack said with a scoff. "The way you guys are blending in with the local color! I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, especially with that skirt," he gestured to Seren, who looked down at her clothes. She silently thought that the man had a point, she really wasn't blending in. "but U-Boat Captain?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows and looked down at his outfit. "Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."
"What is happening here?" Seren asked with a frown, looking around with sorrow in her large expressive orbs.
"Human DNA is being rewritten. By an idiot." The Doctor replied, looking at her.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things." He said. "But why? What's the point?"
Seren walked to one of the beds, leaning over to examine one of the patients, pulling a pair of surgical gloves out of her purse and putting them on. She was about to reach out to touch the patient when all of them suddenly sat up.
Seren jumped back with a frightened gasp, stumbling slightly and catching herself on the bedframe. Jack, who had been standing between two beds on the other side of the ward, jumped back as well.
"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy? Mummy?"
"What's happening?" Seren asked in fear as she slowly walked backwards to the Doctor. Jack moved back as well, joining the two.
"I don't know." The Doctor said, holding Seren close as they watched the patients and Constantine all stand up.
"Mummy." The patients said in unison.
The three time travellers walked backwards, their eyes trained on the slowly advancing group of patients.
"Don't let them touch you!" The Doctor cried.
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what happens if they touch us?" Seren asked, a slightly frightened expression on her face.
"You're looking at it." The Doctor replied softly.
"I had to ask." Seren groaned, clutching the Doctor's arm.
The patients slowly backed them up against the wall, closing in around the three time travellers.
"Mummy, mummy." The patients said. "Mum-my. Mummy. Mum-my. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy."
Links - in order of appearance (on pinterest):
*Seren Union Flag tank top - .ca/pin/474566879477344643/
* Seren red leather miniskirt - .ca/pin/474566879477344660/
* Seren heels (red) - .ca/pin/474566879477344710/
*Seren watch (silver and red instead of gold) - .ca/pin/316589048795958621/
*Seren hair - .ca/pin/474566879478066278/
*Seren leather jacket - .ca/pin/474566879477344728/
*Seren purse - .ca/pin/474566879477310587/