— Chapter 2 —

She's an Egg

Previously: The Doctor, Sep, Jack, Rose and Mickey have just caught the Mayor, a Slitheen, trying to use a teleport to escape.

—

We're back in City Hall, in a conference room with a great big mock up of the new power station. The Doctor is questioning Margaret. "So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways." Margaret answers.

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift." the Doctor says.

"What rift would that be?" The Mayor asks, doing a bad job of sounding innocent.

Jack interjects, "A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go BOOM!"

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity." Explains the Doctor.

So the Raxacorocofallapotorian is trying to blow up the planet again. Nice word, Raxacorocofallapotorian. Raxacorocofallapotorian. Raxacorocofallapotorian.

I'm done with this conversation so I start poking around at the mock up of the power station, picking up a piece here and there. One of the bigger pieces feels too heavy, too substantial. And it is. I struggle to pick it up.

The doctor notices me struggling with the piece and grabs it, turning it over to reveal some circuits. "Fantastic."

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asks as he grabs it to take a closer look.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Replies the Doctor.

Okay. So tribo is friction, then physics, and waves, and large scale movement, and extrapolating and all that means… "So it uses the physics of friction between large waves to do something?"

Both Jack and the Doctor look at me oddly for a second before grinning.

Jack explains, "Pretty much. It's transport. You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard?" I ask Jack. "A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah.", "Nice."

The Doctor looks over at me as I'm admiring the really really cool surfboard that I must acquire and says, "No."

"What?"

"You can't have one." whatever.

Jack continues to inspect it then turns to the Mayor, "Oo, genius! You didn't build this" Jack tells the Mayor. I wonder what her real name is.

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering." The Mayor says, trying to take credit for it.

"No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you." Jack clarifies.

"I bet she stole it." Adds Mickey.

"It fell into my hands." The Mayor explains.

"Seems unlikely. What's your real name anyway? Can't keep calling you Mayor." I ask.

"Margaret Blain."

"No, not the name you stole from the person you killed and then impersonated, your real name."

"Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen." She says standing up straighter. Like she's proud of it.

"Okay, a bit long. Wait, Doctor, when you said she was a Slitheen, you meant that's her family?"

"Yep."

"It was a family that tried to blow up the world from Downing Street?"

"Yep."

She glares at me and turns back to the Doctor. Whatever. I pretend I'm standing on a surfboard, riding waves through the solar system, when the banner over the fireplace catches my eye. "The Blaidd Drwg Project." Bad Wolf?

Blaidd Drwg… Blaidd Drwg… The words sort of ring and resonate in my head. It's weird. It's not just the name of the power plant project. Power and… I step closer to the banner, just sort of staring at it...

—

I wake up, wake up? huh? The Doctor is carrying me. "What happened?"

"You just fainted. Nothing to worry about." The Doctor tries to reassure me as he sets me down on my feet. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy. Something happened. The words…"

"Don't worry about it." He says, but I also hear, "quiet."? Maybe? Something like that. Maybe relax, or don't worry about it. Whatever. I was thinking about… what was it anyways? It wasn't important. It doesn't matter, we're back to the Tardis. The Tardis!

The Doctor pulls out a key, "Wanna see inside?"

D'uh. Of course I do. "Wait. Wait, wait wait a second." I say getting in between the Doctor and the door. Rose is looking impatient; I don't think she likes me. Blon seems eager to get inside too, but Mickey and Jack are just smiling at me.

"Where's the rest of it?" I ask the Doctor.

"Go find out."

"But, it can't be invisible and around us, people would be bumping into it. Does it have an invisible part stretching upwards? Like the box is just the landing gear?"

"Nope." He says, smirking.

"It's somewhere else then. That's right isn't it." He looks at me surprised. "I knew it. Has to be in a whole different space. Like, like the box is just the projection from the space the Tardis is in onto the space we're in. Sort of a door. So where is the Tardis really? Is she her own sort of… dimension, I guess? Her own little universe? Or is she just a part of a larger space? How does that even work? Is she like a parallel universe or more like another dimensional space inside our universe? How many are there?..."

I pause to take a breath. Rose and Mickey are now looking at me like I've grown a second head.

"What?" I ask them.

"Why are you calling it a she?" Mickey asks.

I give him a strange look, that's what he wants to know? "I don't know. She just is." I say, shrugging my shoulders. How do I know that? I don't remember the Doctor saying anything. No wait. He did. But I also feel like she just is. Weird.

Rose pulls out her own key and opens the door, brushing past me and heading inside with Mickey. But I've got more questions, "So is that how she gets around? She lives in a different space and can just project a door to whenever and wherever she wants?"

"No." the Doctor sighs, "Sort of. I'll try to explain later." Is all I get from him as he spins me around and nudges me inside, muttering something about kids. Jack follows with Blon in tow.

I only get a glimpse at how beautiful the Tardis is before I feel like I've just been on the longest roller coaster ever, a million times, in under a second. I'm completely disoriented and about to fall over when the Doctor catches me and half carries me over to a seat somewhere further inside.

My eyes are only half open, everything feels like it's spinning and I'm throwing up the chips from lunch into a bucket that seems to have magically appeared. I lie down and close my eyes, curling into a little ball. The Doctor brushes the hair off my face, telling me I'm going to be fine, "It'll pass. Just breathe." Yeah, right. Pretty sure I'm dying.

His hands move to my temples and I hear, "here." except it's not the word, it's more of a sensation. I feel more grounded, more, well, here and less in a million places at once. It was like before, with the orchestral-like resonance, but softer, and more soothing than demanding.

"What are you doing?"

"Later. And stay there." He says as he walks away, pointing to the chair he's put me on.

"It's always later with you. Thanks a bunch." I mumble at his back. I'm not planning on going anywhere anyways, content to stare, awestruck at the inside of the Tardis. Wait, what is the Tardis actually inside of? Does the Tardis even have an outside? My head is starting to hurt and I've definitely had more than enough of that already today so I stop thinking and go back to just admiring.

Margaret, looking around the console room in awe, says, "This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret, yeah." Replies the Doctor.

I butt in, rolling my eyes, "You don't. You just put the inside somewhere else." getting an amused look from the Doctor and a scowl from Margaret.

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods." responds Margaret, wandering around the room. She's making me suspicious again.

The Doctor replies, "Don't worship me; I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters."

Turning to look at Jack the Doctor asks, "Jack, how we doing?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?" Jack asks Margaret.

"Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?"

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

"But we can use it for fuel?" Asks the Doctor, fiddling around with something under the console.

Jack looks over and says, "It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight." says the Doctor, looking disappointed.

"I'm in no hurry." Margaret says with a smile.

"We've got a prisoner. The police box is really a police box." Rose comments leaning up against one of the pillars.

"You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you." She says, turning to look at everyone in turn.

"We're what?" I ask

Mickey, looking uncomfortable, says, "Well, you deserve it."

"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly ? Long night ahead. Let's see who can look me in the eye."

"Whoa. What did I miss? I must have missed something. We're taking her somewhere so she can be executed?" I push myself off the, I guess I'll call it the captain's chair, but only get one step away before the Doctor has picked me up under the arms and sat me back down. Urgh.

"There's no other option. We can't let her go. We have to take her back to her people. Now, stay there, please. Your body needs more time to adjust." He says. I wonder if the others reacted this way the first time. Blon didn't. She is an alien though… and yes I am ignoring the whole execution thing for the moment. I mean, she did try to blow up the whole planet, twice, but still…

I tune back into the world and I see Jack hold up two bracelets. And Rose and Mickey are gone?

"You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts." Jack explains. Okay, not bracelets then.

"Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat." The Doctor says. What? The Doctor's taking Margaret out on a date? I really need to stop tuning out.

"Dinner in bondage. Works for me."

"Jack, don't let her get off that chair." I hear as they leave the Tardis.

As soon as they're gone, I wander off to where Jack is working on the extrapolator, crouch down and ask, "What's bondage?"

Jack splutters and tells me to ask the Doctor later. Then he sighs, "If you're not going to stay over there, at least sit down."

"Fine." I say, lying down on my back next to Jack, listening as he sort of explains what he's doing. Suddenly, the Tardis starts shaking. Sparks are flying. Jack is frantically trying to disconnect the extrapolator while telling me to hold on. "To what?" I yell. "I don't know, anything!"

Not long after, the Doctor and Margaret come running in.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Doctor asks Jack.

"It just went crazy!"

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!" the Doctor says.

"It's the extrapolator. I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it!" Jack explains.

I look over at Margaret. She's suspiciously excited about what's going on.

"Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet." the Doctor says, frantically trying to sever the connection between the Tardis and the extrapolator.

Rose arrives, but no Micky. Huh?

"What is it? What's happening?!" Rose yells.

"Oh, just little old me." Blon replies as she sort of pulls her arm off, revealing this huge green arm that was under her skin. "What?!" I say to no one. It's huge. There's no way that thing fit inside the skin. I see what they meant by skin suit though. Gross. But how? Some kind of powerful compression? I'm lost in thought as she grabs me by the neck, lifting me off the ground.

"One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

This is bad. The very not-good type of bad. At least I can still breathe. For now. Shallowly. I don't like this. Really don't like this. Starting to struggle to breath. Feeling light headed. Don't panic. Don't panic. But I can't, I can't, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. They're talking, but all I can hear is the blood rushing through my body.

Then something else, it's like the feeling you get when someone tells you everything will be alright and you actually believe them. And there's a light. A really bright light. I can't really see it, it's just everywhere.

Then it's gone and I'm falling.

"Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right." Jack lays me down and follows the doctor's instructions.

"Nicely done. Thank you all." I hear the Doctor say as he walks over to me. Crouching down he waves his magic wand in my face for like the hundredth time today and tells me not to try talking or get up until he can take a better look. Apparently I might have damaged something. Ya think?

"What happened to Margaret?" Rose asks.

"Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence." Jack answers.

"No, I don't think she's dead." The Doctor says, leaving me to join the conversation.

"Then where'd she go?" Rose asks.

"She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts."

"Here she is." I try to get up so I can see what it is, but my head starts spinning. I'm just gonna lie here for a while.

"She's an egg?" Rose says.

"Regressed to her childhood." the Doctor explains.

"She's an egg?" and now Jack's joining in.

"What?" I get out with a very quiet, scratchy voice. The Doctor walks back over to me and puts his hand over my mouth, "Hush. She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right!" The Doctor, apparently quite the optimist, explains.

Jack's not buying it, "Or she might be worse."

"That's her choice." the Doctor argues. In between his bits of the conversation, he keeps scanning me and frowning.

"She's an egg." Rose repeats.

"She's an egg." The Doctor repeats. Seriously? Are they going to do this all night?

"Oh, my God. Mickey." Rose suddenly jumps up and runs out.

Where is Mickey? Doesn't matter, the uppy downy thing is really mesmerizing. I could watch it all day. It's a lot brighter now.

"We're all powered up. We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that's all right." the Doctor says.

"Yeah, fine." Rose says.

"How's Mickey?" the Doctor asks.

"He's okay. He's gone."

"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait." I didn't think the Doctor was that fond of Mickey. He can't even get his name right half the time.

"No need. He deserves better." Rose says. I thought they were a couple or something?

"Off we go, then. Always moving on." The Doctor says, pulling a large lever on the console.

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that." Jack says. I really wish I could see what's going on. But I don't want to try to get up. Comfy here.

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance." the Doctor says.

"That'd be nice." Rose says wistfully. I can hear her walking away, and I'm pretty sure she's not referring to Margaret.

"So, off to Raxacoricofallapatorius, right after I take care of you." The Doctor says, before picking me up and walking out of the room down some kind of corridor. I'm feeling too lazy to open my eyes right now. I just want to go curl up in my cozy pile of blankets, back where it's quiet, and dark. And Stan. I want Stan. Where is Stan?

I open my eyes as a door opens. It's some kind of medical room, not that I can really recognize the stuff in it. It just smells… it smells. I can't be here. No. No no no no no. Wrong. I have to go. Run! Can't run, can't, they're holding me. They caught me. I have, I have, I have to go. Get free. Struggling, but I'm still stuck. Just let go! LET ME GO!

—

I wake up feeling all snug and cozy. Warm. Feels good. This isn't my bed though. I open my eyes to take a look around and decide I am in the best room ever. First off, the bed is more comfortable than should be possible. I mean seriously. If I didn't have to pee, I'd never leave. One wall is just a big painting except that it's moving. It's a field of sunflowers softly blowing in the wind. It's really cool looking.

To my left is a small loft with bean bag chairs and a bookcase. It looks caveish and is only accessible if you scramble up some boulders. How cool is that! Under the loft looks like a study, books, a desk, even a chalkboard. I love chalkboards. And over in the corner is a bunch of arty stuff.

And then there's the Doctor, sitting in a chair by my bed, waving at me like a loon. "Hello." he says, handing me a glass of water. I fully sit up and notice I'm wearing short sleeve pyjamas and shorts, not what I was wearing before. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"Something about Blon, wait ummm, the extrapolator went crazy. She was choking me. There was a light and I fell. You guys kept saying "She's an egg." You picked me up and now I'm here." I say but it's all a little fuzzy. "Did I faint again?"

"Not exactly." He says. He looks uncomfortable. What happened? "You had a panic attack when I carried you into the med bay. I gave you a sedative to knock you out so I could fix you up and then brought you here. Couldn't have you waking up in the med bay." He finishes, patting me on the shoulder.

"Must have been some good stuff; I feel like I've slept for days."

"17 hours and 32 minutes." Wait, what? "You were exhausted. And now you need to eat. Breakfast time."

"But…"

"Talk later, food now." He says standing up and waving his arms urging me to move faster.

"Give me a sec, I gotta pee first."

—

We walk into the kitchen and find Rose drinking some tea, reading a book. Jack is leaning against a counter drinking some…I sniff, coffee I think. "You're finally awake." He says. "Coffee?" He asks, offering to pour me a cup.

"Tea."

"Should still be a cup left in the pot. Help yourself." Rose says, smiling. Maybe she doesn't hate me.

"Got any cereal?"

"Nope, you," the Doctor says pointing at me, "need some proper food. Hmmm… sausage and eggs with toast." He declares.

I make a face, "Not that hungry really." For a time and space traveling ship, the kitchen is kind of boring. It's a kitchen. I was expecting something more spacy.

"Going to eat something anyways." the Doctor insists. I roll my eyes. "Saw that." He says, waving a spatula around threateningly.

I pour myself a half cup of tea, topping it up with milk and a handful of sugar and sit down. "What?" I say, in answer to the looks from Rose and Jack at the amount of sugar I added. "It's sweet tea, a very popular drink in the Southern USA." They both shake their heads at me while the doctor shrugs, half agreeing with me.

"Doctor, I didn't know you could cook." Jack says, looking surprised.

"Of course I can cook. 900 years and you think I never learned how to cook?" the Doctor replies. I choke on my tea. What?

The Doctor is laughing. "900 year old Time Lord me." Nope. Brain cannot process this.

"I've never seen you cook." Jack replies, setting out some plates and cutlery.

Rose leans towards Jack, "Cooking, isn't that, like, really domestic?" causing Jack to break out laughing.

The Doctor looks over his shoulder at them frowning. "It's not domestic. As her doctor, I need to make sure Sep eats proper meals. Pretty sure she's been living on chips the last three months."

"Nope, that's domestic." Rose laughs.

I finally catch my breath, "900!"

"Give or take." the Doctor says. My brain cannot not handle this.

"What's a Time Lord?" I ask hesitantly; do I really want to know?

The Doctor slaps a plate full of runny eggs, sausage and toast in front of me. "Eat." He says, sitting down next to me with his own plate.

I spear a bite of sausage before repeating my question, "What's a Time Lord?" But he doesn't answer.

Rose looks over at me and says, "He's like from an ancient race from a different planet and we basically run around saving people and planets and all sorts of things. Literally running. Seriously, all the time. It's pretty much always dangerous. Not like with Blon, I mean seriously dangerous. Way too dangerous for a kid."

I nibble on my bite of sausage. Sounds fun.

Rose and Jack both make themselves up plates and are ribbing the Doctor about being domestic. Apparently all he eats is bananas and protein bars. Aww, he must have cooked just for me.

After eating most'ish of my breakfast, I push my plate away and start heading back to the room I was in. I think I noticed my bag there.

"Can you find your way back to your room?" The Doctor asks.

"MY room?"

"Yep. First right after…"

"I know how to get there."

"The closet should have clothes that'll fit."

"Umm thanks." I mumble as I walk out of the kitchen. My room. Why do I have a room? I mean, I like the Doctor and all, but I can't stay here, can I? Nah. Better on my own. And if I'm gonna be dumped somewhere, I'd rather I was still in the UK at least. When the Doctor kicks me out, it could be anywhere and anywhen in the whole universe.