Chapter 17: New Earth

Donna looks around to make sure everybody is ready and then starts the next episode.

The Doctor is starting to power up the Tardis, while outside Jackie and Mickey are with Rose, who has a heavy rucksack on her back. Jackie asks if she has everything and Rose assures her she does, telling her not to worry.

"She's your mum. Of course she's going to worry." Sarah Jane smiles gently. Rose hums her agreement.

Rose says goodbye, kisses Mickey and heads into the TARDIS. Rose and the Doctor grin at each other as he pulls the last switch to set them off. Jackie turns her back and walks away as the Tardis dematerialises. Mickey watches, sadly. Rose asks where they are going and he replies further than they've ever gone.

"Past the end of the Earth?" Rose looks at him excitedly.

"Yep." Ten grins happily.

The TARDIS has materialised across the river from a massive city. Flying cars zoom overhead. The Doctor tells her it is the year five billion and twenty three and they are on New Earth.

Martha stares at the screen in surprise. He had told her he had been there before with Rose but she couldn't believe how different it looked. It was beautiful. You really wouldn't know it was the same place she had been to.

"New Earth? Creative lot aren't we?" Donna rolls her eyes.

"They named the city New New York." Ten smirks.

"Seriously?" She looks at him in disbelief.

"Yep, well technically it's the fifteenth New York since the original." Nine laughs.

"Wow. We really need new names for stuff." Rose chuckles.

Rose grins, looking around in amazement and the Doctor looks pleased at her excitement saying it's not bad at all. She comments that she'll never get used to it.

"Please don't get used to it." Nine smiles. "Most of the fun is in watching your reactions to new places."

"That's why you have us along isn't it? To show off and to watch us humans get excited about new things." Rose laughs.

"Well, after doing this for nine hundred years, I've seen most things. It's fun to watch somebody else get that fresh sense of excitement." Ten explains.

She asks what that smell is. He picks some grass and tells her it's apple grass.

"Apple grass? Nice." Donna whistles appreciatively.

Rose says it's beautiful and tells him she loves travelling with him. He replies he does too and they grin at each other. Then he says come on, grabs her hand and they dash off. A humanoid with interesting markings is watching the Doctor and Rose on an electronic crystal ball. He cries that she is a pure-blood human.

"What is with aliens being fascinated with humans being 'pure'." Rose sighs in exasperation.

"They are still pure really. You weren't always human, you evolved. You will keep evolving." Ten shrugs.

He tells whatever is watching them to get closer and a metal spider scuttles to obey. The Doctor and Rose are relaxing on his long coat looking at the city.

"That's a beautiful view." Martha notes. Mickey nods beside her.

The Doctor begins explaining that in the year five billion Earth gets roasted. Rose comments it was their first date.

"And one hell of a first date it was." Rose grins, agreeing with her screen self.

"Let's hope the next one is a little less exciting." NIne mutters quietly.

"Next one?" Rose asks, looking amused.

"Well, proper one since we...you know." He looks back at the screen awkwardly. Rose smiles softly and kisses his cheek.

He recalls they had chips and then continues that humans got nostalgic and found New Earth and moved in. Rose asks what the city is called and he tells her it's New New York. She is sceptical but he insists it is saying it is the fifteenth since the original New York and starts saying all the 'New's. Stopped when Rose looks at him and asking what. She notes he is different and he calls himself the New New Doctor.

"If that's your Tenth body then it would technically be the New New New…" Donna begins with a laugh.

"Yes, we get the point." Jack cuts her off with a smirk.

"Spoilsport." She retorts. He winks.

The spider is close. In the basement Cassandra comments she recognises Rose and tells Chip to show her the face. Outside, Rose asks if they can visit New New York and the Doctor says he thought they might go there first, pointing at an elegant pair of curved skyscrapers standing apart from the city on their side of the river. She asks what it is and he tells her it is a hospital.

"We aren't visiting New New York, are we?" Rose asks with a sigh. Ten looks at her sheepishly.

"Not this time. I did take you back later, between some other adventures, to show you the city properly." He tells her.

"That's something I suppose." She shakes her head in amusement.

He tells her the green moon in the universal symbol for hospital.

"Useful to know." Martha notes.

"Especially given how jeopardy friendly Rose is." Donna sniggers.

He also says he got a message, showing her the psychic paper which says to come to Ward 26. Rose comments she thought they were just sightseeing.

"You should know better." Mickey laughs.

"Oi! It's not all adventure and trouble you know." Nine protests. "We have some quiet times."

"Those are just the bits in between the trouble though. Humans have to sleep at some point." Jack rolls his eyes but grins anyway.

They get up and the spider watches them leave. Lady Cassandra has been restored to her previous flat, flat state in a somewhat lashed-up frame. She notes it is Rose, calling her a dirty blonde assassin. Chip points out she is coming to where they are and Cassandra states it is destiny and she can be revenged.

"It wasn't not Rose's fault." Sarah-Jane protests.

Rose and the Doctor enter the hospital and Rose comments that it is a bit rich coming from him. He replies he can't help not liking hospitals, they give him the creeps.

"The Doctor doesn't like hospitals?" Donna snorts.

"Like 'em even less after this." Ten mutters under his breath.

Rose looks around noting it's very smart and the Doctor comments they don't have a shop.

"Do you have this fascination with shops or does it develop during regeneration?" Rose looks at Nine.

"Must develop." He shrugs.

Rose comments that she would have thought humans cured everything this far in the future and he tells her that viruses evolved too. Rose then notices the nursing staff for the first time.

"They're cats!" Donna points out incredulously.

"Yep." Ten agrees, hiding his scowl.

She notes that they are cats in astonishment and he tells her not to stare, calling her all pink and yellow.

"My pink and yellow human." Nine smirks.

He continues that he would put a shop over there. He walks into the lift alone and tells it Ward 26. In the basement Chip overrides some controls. Rose runs to catch up with the Doctor but is too late. She calls there is another lift. He yells back it's Ward 26 and to watch out for the disinfectant.

"What could she possibly want Rose for?" Sarah-Jane asks.

"Nothing good if she wants revenge." Jack frowns.

"I didn't even wander off this time." Rose sighs dramatically.

"Just jeopardy friendly this time." Nine rolls his eyes.

Rose calls back to watch out for what. The Doctor calls back the disinfectant but he is too far up and Rose can't hear him. He gives up muttering she will find out. Rose gets into the next lift and politely asks for Ward 26. Her lift heads down.

"Wonderful." Mickey sighs.

In the Doctor's lift a speaker says to commence stage one disinfection. He gets drenched by a spray. In Rose's lift the same thing happens but she is not expecting it and shrieks.

Everyone laughs good naturedly and Rose looks slightly sheepish.

The next stage is a blow dry. The Doctor enjoys it. Rose finally gets the hang of it, running her fingers through her hair to dry it. Chip meets Rose in a rubbish strewn corridor and comments the human child is clean. She states she is looking for Ward 26. He tells her it is this way, knowing her name despite the fact she hasn't told him it. She picks up a metal bar and follows cautiously.

"You should get back in the lift." Nine groans.

"At least she picked up something to use as a weapon." Jack smiles. "Didn't just go in blind."

The Doctor is escorted by a veiled nurse. He comments that it is a nice place but that there is no shop. He continues that he would have a shop, not a big one, just a shop so people can shop.

"Dear lord, how many times can one person use the word shop in one sentence?" Donna rolls her eyes.

The nurse removes her veil. She states the hospital is a place of healing and the Doctor tells her that a shop does some people the world of good. The nurse tells him the Sisters of Plentitude have taken a vow to help. They pass an open cubicle where an incredibly fat man lies. A woman steps towards them saying members of the public can't look at the Duke of Manhattan without permission from the Senate.

"That's ridiculous." Rose snorts.

"If that's the case they shouldn't have him in an open cubicle." Martha rolls her eyes.

The Doctor asks if it is Petrifold Regression. The Duke states he is dying. Then he comments that a lifetime of charity and abstinence ends like this.

"Abstinence?" Jack scoffs. "I doubt he knows the meaning of the word."

The woman interrupts to state that any statements made by the Duke can't be made public without clearance. The Duke calls out to the woman he is weak. Clovis asks the Sister for some privacy. Jatt tells her he will be up and about in no time.

"He can't be. They don't have a cure for that." Nine frowns.

"Don't be so sure." Ten mutters to his younger self. Nine raises a curious eyebrow but Ten only scowls.

The Doctor comments that he doubts it, adding that they won't have a cure for another thousand years. Jatt tells him not to doubt the Sisterhood. Then asks if there is anyone he recognises as it is unusual to visit without knowing the patient. The Doctor tells her he has found him, heading over to the Face of Boe. Jatt asks to leave the Doctor in the care of Novice Hame. The Doctor asks her to ask at reception about Rose. Jatt then leaves. Hame comments that the Face of Boe is asleep.

Jack let out an audible gasp. Ten gives him a pitying look while everyone else turns to look at him curiously.

"What's up Jack?" Martha asks, concerned about her new friend.

"The Face of Boe. I didn't think anything of it before, it was impossible but now…" He mumbles, clearly talking to himself not the room at large.

"What about it?" Rose asks. Jack looks up at her. He looks almost like he is going to be sick. "Jack?" Rose now looks alarmed.

"Back home my nickname was the Face of Boe." He informs them, his voice coming out a breathless gasp. The rest of the room now look between him and the frozen screen.

"I did this to you." Rose's eyes widen. It was one thing to hear about it, quite another to see it. She got up and moved over to pull Jack into a bear hug. He returned the hug and buried his face in her neck. "I'm so sorry." She mumbles.

"We've been over this. I forgive you. It's just a bit of a shock." Jack assures her, not yet letting her go. They stay together for a little while before Rose returns to the Doctors and Jack sinks back onto the couch. Mickey and Martha move to sit on either side of him, each leaning into his side for support. He slings a grateful arm around each of them. He nods to the screen again, saying they should get watching. He doesn't really want the attention to remain on his newfound immortality. Otherwise all he will do is dwell on how long he will have to live before becoming like that and how long he will continue to live as nothing but a face.

Martha avoids looking at the man next to her. She remembers her trip to New New Earth vividly and recalls the Face of Boe giving his life to save the city. It seems a very Jack-like thing to do, yet she can't help but be sad that she saw him die, even if she didn't know him at the time. Martha does sense that it would give him a sense of peace to know he will eventually die, especially giving his life to help as he had intended to do on Satellite 5, but cannot bring herself to mention it just yet.

Hame continues sleeps is all he tends to do, asking if the Doctor is a friend. The Doctor tells her he only met the Face of Boe once.

"Does this mean you sponsored the viewing of the destruction of Earth?" Donna asks, stifling a laugh.

"Seems so." Jack nods.

"That also makes you the sponsor of the Doctor and Rose's first date." Sarah-Jane smirks. Jack gives her a genuine smile at that.

"Indeed. I'm awesome that way." He grins.

"Thanks for that Jack." Rose laughs. "But no intruding on the second one." Jack winks at her.

The Doctor then asks what is wrong with him. Novice Hame apologises, saying she thought he knew but the Face of Boe is dying. The Doctor asks of what and she tells him it's old age. The one thing they can't cure.

"So I can die eventually?" Jack asks Ten. He remembers being told he would age incredibly slowly but Ten hadn't been clear on whether he would eventually die or not.

"Yes." Ten nods. "You will die, but I cannot say exactly how long you live. In linear time it's possible you will live a longer life than me, I never got an exact age."

Novice Hame continues that he is said to be thousands, maybe millions of years old. She then adds that that is impossible. The Doctor says he doesn't know about that, he likes the impossible. He then addresses the Face of Boe, saying he looks a bit different but it is the Doctor.

"Well, at least there is some eye-candy in that hospital." Jack winks at Ten. His voice is a little flat but they all appreciate the effort.

In the basement, a reel to reel projector is showing a film of a party. Cassandra is there, as a proper human woman. Rose realises who it is and she looks around. Cassandra says 'peekaboo'. Rose tells her not to come near her. Cassandra sarcastically asks what Rose thinks she is going to do, flap her to death.

Sniggers are heard throughout the room.

"It's him I'd be concerned about." Mickey notes.

Rose asks about Gollum. Cassandra tells her that Chip is her pet. Chip adds in that he worships the mistress. She orders him to moisturise her and he does so. Cassandra then tells Rose he isn't even a proper life form, he is a clone modelled on her favourite pattern.

"That's so wrong. She grew her own slave?" Donna scowls.

She continues that Chip sees to her physical needs and Rose comments she hopes that means food.

"Urgh." Martha feigns being sick. "Let's not think about that." Rose grins at her cheekily.

Rose asks how she is still alive. Cassandra snidely retorts that Rose murdered her.

"She's still alive." Sarah-Jane rolls her eyes.

Rose replies it was her own fault. Chip interjects that the brain of Cassandra survived as well as her eyes. Rose asks about the skin and Cassandra explains her previous skin was from her front, that piece is from the back. Rose smirks and says she is talking out of her...and Cassandra interrupts saying don't ask.

They all laugh loudly.

Chip adds that his mistress was lucky to survive and he secreted her into the hospital. Rose asks if that means nobody knows Cassandra is here. Chip informs her that he steals medicine for Cassandra, referring to himself in the third person. Rose cuts him off and Cassandra says she is alone as the last human in existence.

"Urgh, not this rubbish again." Martha rolls her eyes.

"Evolving doesn't make them not human." Sarah-Jane argues passionately.

"We agree with you." Ten reminds her gently, giving her a small smile.

Rose tells her not to start that again. Adding this place is called New Earth. Cassandra dismisses it as a vegetable patch. Rose argues that there are millions of humans out there. And Cassandra replies they are mutant stock.

"What the hell does that make her?" Mickey asks. "If they are mutants. She doesn't even have a body."

Rose tells her they have evolved like the should. She then states that Cassandra stayed still, getting herself all pickled and preserved, asking what good it did. There is laughter behind them and Rose looks around at the film reel that is still playing. Cassandra tells her that night was drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace, the last time someone told her she was beautiful.

"Well, it's not like a flap of skin can be particularly beautiful." Rose rolls her eyes.

Rose looks at her, clearly unimpressed and grudgingly admits she has a knack for survival. Cassandra admits she has not been idle and she suspects something is tucked away under the hospital. The Sisters are hiding something.

"So Cassandra isn't actually the biggest problem?" Jack asks.

"She's a problem alright, there just happens to be another one." Ten grumbles angrily. He is particularly mad that his only kiss with Rose, in that body, came while she was possessed. Then he muses it is his own fault they didn't have more.

Rose asks what she means and she replies the cats have secrets, saying to let her whisper them and come close. Rose replies she must be joking. She backs away and suddenly energy binds her hands. Cassandra tells Chip to activate the psychograft.

"No!" Nine yelps in fury. "Those are banned on every civilised planet."

"What is it?" Rose asks nervously.

"It transfers her consciousness into you. However, it squashes yours in the process, if it's not reversed quickly enough it can kill you." Ten explains grimly.

"Well, good job you'll know it's not me then." Rose shrugs. Ten looks at her shamefaced. "You didn't?" She looks at him in horror.

"I did, it just took me a little longer than it should." He admits.

Rose yells for Cassandra to let her go as Chip pulls a lever. Light streams down from a contraption overhead. Cassandra calls that she is moving on, saying goodbye trampoline and hello blondie. There is a whoosh of energy from Cassandra to Rose then everything switches off. Rose collapses.

Growls and angry mutterings can be heard around the room. Rose looks at them as in bemusement. She laced her fingers with Ten's, noticing how he relaxed almost instantly. Nine wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulders.

Chip calls to his mistress and Cass-Rose sits up calling for him to moisturise her. Then she realises she actually has a body before exclaiming she is a chav.

"If it's that bad, get out of her then." Donna scowls.

The Doctor brings Hame a cup of water. She tells him there is no need but he replies she is the one that's working. Hame explains that there isn't much to do, just maintain his smoke but adds she is company. She states she can hear him singing sometimes.

"Hope you retained that singing voice of yours or I feel sorry for her." Rose laughs, remembering one break where she had coerced him into singing after he had been boasting about how good he was. Jack winks at her.

The Doctor asks if he is the only visitor and Hame tells him the rest of Boe-kind became extinct long ago. She tells him some of the legends, including the fact that just before he dies, Boe will speak his final secret to a wanderer. The Lonely God.

Ten looks over at Jack, wandering what possible secret he could have. Jack notices the look and shrugs, obviously having no idea what his secret will be. Anything could happen in the next few centuries.

Cass-Rose is examining her new body before she and Chip notice that her old skin is gone and Chip states that the brain lead expired and his old mistress is gone.

"Great, so you can't just force her to go back." Martha sighs.

Cass-Rose points to her head and states she is safe and sound in there. Chip asks about Rose's mind and Cass-Rose says she is tucked away and she can just about access surface memories. Then she realises that the man Rose was with is the Doctor, calling him a hypocrite for changing his face.

"So not the same thing." Ten screws up his face. "No operations required."

"How long can Rose survive like that?" Mickey asks.

"A few hours." Nine tells him.

The phone in Rose's back pocket rings. Cass-Rose asks if it supposed to do that and Chip tells her it is a primitive communications device. She answers it and the Doctor asks where she is. Cass-Rose then asks how Rose speaks. Chip tells her Old Earth Cockney. Cass-Rose replies to the Doctor with 'wotcha'.

"Wotcha?" Rose asks, half amused, half horrified. "This is going to be horrendous."

"Weeeeell...looking back it's a little funny." Ten grins boyishly. She raises an eyebrow at him.

Screen cuts to Ward 26 and the Doctor asks how long it takes to get to Ward 26. Cass-Rose replies she is on her way governor, continuing she shall proceed up the apples and pears. The Doctor seems to ignore this saying he is with the Face of Boe. He asks if she remembers him and Cass-Rose says of course she does. Calling him a big old boat race. The Doctor hangs up saying he will see her in a minute.

"Really? You couldn't tell anything was wrong?" Sarah-Jane looks at him in astonishment.

"Well, I got a bit distracted." Ten shrugs.

"Distracted?" Rose looks at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, well they were curing things that shouldn't be possible, not for another thousand years."

"Nothing like a good mystery." She sighs.

The Duke of Manhattan is very happy. He states he didn't think he was going to make it and as the Doctor approaches, calls him his lucky charm. Clovis states that any friendship expressed by the Duke is not a legal contract.

"Oh she needs to learn to shut up." Donna rolls her eyes.

The Duke tells them to winch him up as he says he has no sign of infection. A waiter offers the Doctor champagne which he declines, asking if he had Petrifold Regression. The Duke cheerfully tells him he had it but no more. The Doctor tells him that's impossible. A nurse tells him primitive creatures would accuse them of magic but it is science.

"Well, Cassandra was right, there is something not right here." Nine grimaces.

"So, she will use me to get you to solve the mystery for her." Rose guesses.

The Doctor asks how on Earth they cured him and the nurse quips he might say how on New Earth. When he asks what is in the solution, the nurse introduces herself as Matron Casp and tells him it is patient confidentiality.

"Surely them curing stuff early isn't a bad thing?" Mickey questions.

"It depends how they got hold of the cure." Nine tells him darkly. "You saw what happens when humanity was held back by a century, pushing them forwards too quickly can be just as deadly."

The Doctor introduces himself and Casp comments that they are the doctors there. Jatt comes over and says Casp is required in Intensive Care. Casp excuses herself and the two walk away. Jatt states it is happening again and one of the patients is awake. Casp says they can't have that.

"I'd have thought patients being conscious would be a good thing." Jack raises an eyebrow.

"Normally it would be." Martha looks at the screen suspiciously.

In the basement, Chip tells Cass-Rose that the Doctor is dangerous and she agrees but states he is clever. She continues she may need a mind like his and to never trust a cat. She asks for the perfume which Chip hands her and she tucks it down her t-shirt.

"And you're not going to notice because you're in the middle of a mystery." Mickey scowls at Ten.

"Depends how good an actress she is." Jack frowns. "She's already slipped up. If she keeps doing that then even Mr Oblivious will notice something is up."

"Of course I noticed. I know Rose." Ten defends himself. Nine sat back feeling slightly smug and a little annoyed. Finally it was somebody else's turn to come under all the scrutiny, yet it was still some part of him. Someone he would eventually turn into.

A dark place lined with green-lit bulkhead doors. Jatt comments it was having a normal blood wash when it started crying. They open a door and someone reaches out. A voice calls out for them to help him as the nuns comment on how alive the eyes are. The voice asks where he is and they seem surprised it can even speak. He calls out for help as they close the door again.

"Is that...a human in there?" Martha asks in horror.

"Yes." Ten's voice is cold and hard.

"They were talking like he wasn't even alive. They kept calling him 'it'." She scowls.

"Cassandra said Chip was a grown clone. Are they growing humans?" Sarah-Jane looks at Ten, eyes wide. He nods stiffly.

Casp says that if it happens again they will need to review their brain stem policy. Jatt asks what they should do and Casp tells her to incinerate. At the end of the row, Jatt turns a handle and the cell lights up and the man screams.

"Oh my god." Rose breathes softly.

The Doctor is going round all the cubicles. One has a person floating in midair. He spots Rose and tells her to come and look at this patient explaining he has recovered in two days when it should have taken years. He shows her another patient and questions why it's such a secret when they have such advanced medicine. Cass-Rose states she can't Adam and Eve it. He finally asks what it up with the voice and she tells him she is just larking about. New Earth, new her.

Rose shudders a little. "That's just creepy to watch." She moans.

He agrees that he can talk, New New Doctor. She eyes him for a second, then grabs him and kisses him long and hard.

"Damn it!" Rose growls out. "That's not fair. First kiss I don't even remember and now I'm possessed!" Nine pulls her chin up to look at him and kisses her gently. They kiss until Jack wolf whistles, causing them to break apart sheepishly.

"Better?" Nine asks her with a smirk.

"Yes." She mutters. She can't keep up a pout for long and grins back at him.

They break apart and Cassandra finally mutters that the terminal is this way before walking off. The Doctor watches her, dazed before finally saying he's still got it, smoothing his hair and following her.

"You're so vain." Donna snorts.

"I am not, but that was one hell of a snog, given that she's still getting used to me." Ten shrugs, grinning happily. "It might have been Cassandra controlling her but it was still Rose's body."

"So you thought I just wanted to go round snogging you did you?" Rose asks in amusement.

"A man can hope." Ten chuckles.

At the computer terminal, by the lift the Doctor notes there is nothing odd and still no sign of a shop.

"I did wonder why he was so obsessed with shops." Martha laughs.

"It's not the oddest thing he's been obsessed with." Sarah-Jane grins.

Cass-Rose states it's missing something, saying she heard the can nuns talking about Intensive Care and it's not on the terminal. He congratulates her and she asks why they would hide a whole department. She tells him to search the sub-frame. He gives her an odd look and asks what if the sub-frame is locked so she replies to try the installation protocol.

"Well, that's even more obvious than her snogging you and the voice." Mickey sniggers. "Rose wouldn't know that."

"Great, I shall carry on not knowing things so I can be identified as myself." Rose laughs.

"Ah, it's easy to spot Rosie." Jack tells her, amused. "That voice is awful."

"I worked it out." Ten defends himself.

"Eventually." Donna rolls her eyes fondly.

He uses the sonic screwdriver on the interface, and the whole wall slides down to reveal a corridor, remarking that it certainly looks intensive. They are noticed by Novice Hame. Cass-Rose leads the way down a good old-fashioned staircase. The whole place is lined with the cells, thousands of them. The Doctor opens one at random. It contains a very sick looking man.

"Oh my god." Martha exclaims. "They are growing them to make them sick which is why they have such advanced cures."

"Exactly." Ten tells her darkly.

"Those poor people." Rose mutters.

"That person before was asking for help. Are they aware of what's being done to them if they are specially grown?" Sarah-Jane asks.

"Yes, they will be. One of the cats mentioned brain stem policy and if they have a brain, they can work out what has happened. It will be limited because of the diseases and the vocabulary will just be what's picked up when the cats visit them." Nine explains with a scowl.

Cass-Rose exclaims it's disgusting and asks what's wrong with him. The Doctor ignores this and apologises to the person before closing the door and moving on to the next which contains a young woman. Cass-Rose asks what disease that is and he replies it's all of them.

"How do they survive?" Jack questions.

"They don't. Some will die every day others will be incinerated. They were born in those pods and they die in those pods. The serums the cat's invent will be enough to keep them alive for a limited amount of time." Ten tells him.

Cass-Rose asks if they are safe and he tells her not to touch them. Then he closes the door and she asks how many patients there are. He angrily tells her they aren't patients, they were born sick, made to be a human farm. She asks why they don't die and he calls them plague carriers, the last to go. Novice Hame comments it is for a greater cause.

"Nothing can justify doing this to them." Rose frowns. "Some of them clearly know what's going on."

He asks if she agreed to this in her vows and she replies they are sworn to help. He angrily asks if they are helping by killing. Hame explains they aren't real people to which he asks how many thousands have died. She replies that mankind needed them as they couldn't cure the diseases fast enough in the beginning to they had to grow their own flesh. He argues they are alive and she states they are keeping the humans out in the world alive and healthy.

"They live on the blood of others." Sarah-Jane argues. "That's not a life worth living." Both Doctors smile at her.

"Can you cure them? If they have the cure for everything, surely these people could be cured?" Martha asks.

"Possibly, but the Sisterhood would just grow another batch." Nine tells her dejectedly. Ten smirks inwardly.

"I see why you aren't a cat person." Remarks Donna. "I wouldn't be after this either."

The Doctor states that if they live because of this their lives are worthless. Hame asks who he is to decide that. He retorts that he is the Doctor and there is no higher authority.

"So big headed." Rose teases. "You think you're so impressive." Nine smirks.

"I am so impressive."

"I think big headed works better." Donna laughs.

"Oi!"

Cass-Rose asks if any of the humans in the city know about this and Hame says it was best if they didn't. The Doctor interrupts, saying he can understand the bodies and her vows but wants to know what they've done to Rose. Hame denies having done anything and he replies that he is being very calm because the brain is a delicate thing but demands to know what they've done and that they reverse it.

"I wonder why they would have done anything? I mean, I get why you jumped to that conclusion, but still it seems weird for them to have done it." Jack notes. They all shrug, having no answer.

Hame denies it again and Cass-Rose says she is fine. The Doctor retorts that these people are dying and Rose would care.

"If I didn't care about something like that I don't deserve to be travelling with you." Rose comments. All the other companions nod their agreement.

Cass-Rose gives up her facade and calls him a smarty-pants. He asks what happened to her and she explains she knew something was going on and she needed the body. He asks who she is and she calls herself the last human. He is momentarily confused before realising it's Cassandra. She then pulls out the vial and sprays him, causing him to pass out.

"Wonderful." Mickey groans.

"What happened to those super quick reflexes?" Jack teases.

"I'd just had a bit of a shock." Ten shrugs. "Besides, it's rare to find stuff that works so quickly on Time Lords, figured I'd have a bit more time than that."

Novice Hame crouches beside him saying she doesn't understand and will have to fetch Matron. Cass-Rose tells her to hurry up and do that before pulling a cable to sound the alarm. Hame runs out and tells Matron who reassures her, telling her ot tend to her patients while they sort it out.

"What can Cassandra want out of this?" Donna wonders.

"Blackmail? She needs a new body." Suggests Jack.

The Doctor wakes up inside a cell. He calls out to let him out and Cass-Rose appears outside saying isn't he lucky there was a spare. He states she has stolen Rose's body and she replies that she has thought of a thousand ways to kill him over the years and now she has a thousand ways to do so. Every ten minutes the patients get a top up of all the diseases. He has about three minutes left.

"Plenty of time then." Donna says sarcastically.

He tells her to just let Rose go and she says she will when she finds someone better then she will junk the body.

"Oi!" Nine and Jack growl in anger. Rose nestles further into Nine's side to placate him.

"I'm sure you find a solution." She tells him.

"Course I do." He grins, relaxing properly.

Jatt and Casp come over and ask if they can do anything to help. Cass-Rose says she wants money and Casp replies they are a charity and don't give money. Cass-Rose retorts that the humans in the city pay them a fortune which is exactly what she needs. She demands a one-off payment in exchange for not telling the city of their scheme. Casp declines and Cass-Rose advises her to think about it.

"Why would they? One human would hardly be a threat. She wouldn't make it out of the building alive to spread their secret." Donna rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have my eyes scratched out, thanks." Rose laughs.

Casp says there is no need as she has to decline and Cass-Rose says they have no way of stopping her as they are unarmed. Casp reminds her they have claws and she unsheathes her claws. Cass-Rose calls to Chip for plan B. Chip pulls a lever, and all the doors on that level open. The Doctor comes out along with a lot of dazed, diseased people.

"Oh god! They will infect everyone. How has she survived this long with brains like that." Donna scoffs.

"At least it got the Doctor out too." Mickey points out. "With that many sick people around the Doctor is who you want."

"Even if he's not that kind of a Doctor." Rose laughs, remembering how freaked out he had been when she had gotten sick a few weeks before they were brought here.

The Doctor asks what she has done and Cass-Rose replies that she woke them up and begins to run. He looks towards Casp and Jatt, telling them not to touch them before heading after Cass-Rose. A man calls for them to help them and Jatt remarks they should withdraw.

"I'd hurry up about that." Martha notes worriedly.

The man says he knows what they did to him. Casp comments that it's fascinating that it can construct an argument.

"He's not an it!" Rose protests hotly.

"I'd focus on getting out of there not how great the science is." Mickey rolls his eyes.

The man says they will end it. He puts his hand into a socket and get electrocuted. The locks on all the cell doors blow, freeing the people inside.

"He's let them all out!" Jack gasps.

"He's just trying to help them." Martha reasons.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Mickey quotes.

"True, I'm sort of glad they are free but it would have been better to sort a few of them out at a time. There are far more of them than everybody else in the hospital put together." Rose notes.

Jatt exclaims the flesh is free.

"Some of them were free before that as you noticed, it's hardly a surprise. And they are people not just flesh!" Sarah-Jane argues angrily.

The man demands they stop the pain. A woman touches Sister Jatt and she dies, screaming. On a catwalk across the way, the Doctor asks what the hell Cass-Rose has done. She denies it was her and he replies that one touch gives them every disease in the world and he wants that body safe.

"Thanks." Rose grins.

"Anytime." Ten winks.

He says they need to go down. Cass-Rose protests that there are thousands of them. He just shouts for them to run so they do. Matron gets to a phone and tells them to quarantine the building. The tannoy sounds informing everyone that the hospital is quarantined. Shutters slam down across doors and windows.

"That's good, at least she managed that much." Martha breathes. She had briefly wondered if they had managed to infect everyone, causing the world she had seen.

On the staircase the Doctor yells to keep running down. A lift full of infected people arrives at some part of the hospital. They reach out to the nearest person and infect her. Cass-Rose runs to call a lift. The Doctor tells her the lifts will have closed down with the quarantine. She leads the Doctor towards her lair. Chip gets cut off from them as more people approach.

"Poor Chip, all he has done is serve her faithfully." Sarah-Jane sympathises.

The Doctor points out someone will touch him and Cass-Rose tells him to leave Chip as he's just a clone thing.

"He's still a person." Rose protests.

"Cassandra watches out for nobody but herself." Donna sighs.

Chip calls out for his mistress but Cass-Rose runs off. The Doctor apologises, saying he can't let her escape before running after Cassandra. Chip jumps down a waste chute. On Ward 26, Clovis asks if they can get some service as diseased people come along the corridor from ICU. A woman calls out please. Clovis screams and hits the alarm before running away. Cassandra runs to the back door but there are people there, too. She calls out they are trapped.

"You look calm considering you're trapped in there." Jack notes.

"I wanted Cassandra out of Rose." Ten reminds him.

"I know that's very important but there is no way she will be leaving Rose without a body to go to and you need to get out of there." Martha points out.

The Doctor tells her to get out of Rose as the psychograft is banned on every civilised planet and she is compressing Rose to death. Cassandra points out she has nowhere to go and he replies that isn't his problem, telling her to give Rose back to him. Cass-Rose states he asked for it and takes a deep breath before blowing energy out to the Doctor.

"Oh great. You need to be yourself to get you out of this mess." Rose sighs.

"If she stayed much longer she would kill you." Ten argues.

"We're both gonna die if you can't save everyone." She replies evenly.

Rose asks where she went and Cass-Doctor states that this is different. Rose asks if that is Cassandra and she is busy commenting on the Doctor's body. She does a weird dance as she remarks on his two hearts.

"Nice little dance there." Donna snickers.

Cass-Doctor teases Rose that she has been looking at his body and thinks he is foxy. Then diseased people burst in and Cass-Doctor suddenly panics. Rose points to the ladder saying to get up there. Cass-Doctor shoves her out of the way and climbs rapidly.

"She needs to get back into me." Rose points out. "Unless she's planning on possessing a diseased person."

Up on Ward 26, the Duke of Manhattan lends his considerable bulk to the barricade.

Chip shuts himself inside a cell in ICU. In the shaft, Rose points out that Cassandra needs to get out of the Doctor's body so he can think of something. Cassandra just says it was hormone city inside Rose's head and Rose points out they are going to die...she gets cut off by Matron Casp grabbing her ankle.

"How did she get ahead of all those people without being caught?" Martha asks.

"No idea. Being part cat she's probably pretty agile." Jack shrugs.

Casp calls out that they have destroyed everything and Cass-Doctor retorts she should go play with a ball of string.

There are a few snickers around the room.

Casp states that the human world is full of sickness before an arm grabs her and infecting her. She falls, screaming. Rose calls for Cass-Doctor to move and they start climbing again. The doors on the next level will not open. Cass-Doctor asks what now and Rose tells her to use the sonic screwdriver. She waves it around asking if Rose means that.

"If she drops that you're screwed." Mickey winces.

Annoyed, Rose agrees she means that thing and Cass-Doctor says the Doctor has hidden all his thoughts so she doesn't know how to use it. Rose suggests Cassandra goes back into her. Cassandra warns her to hold on and does so. THe Doctor refuses to open the door until she gets out of Rose. They argue and Cassandra swaps back and forth before going into one of the diseased people saying she will regret this.

"So she does have some common sense." Sarah-Jane remarks.

Cassandra transfers to the lead woman on the ladder below them, commenting she looks disgusting. The Doctor opens the lift doors and says to Rose it's nice to have her back. They climb through and Cassandra says 'no you don't' before transferring back to Rose just as the doors shut. The Doctor tells her that was her last warning but Cass-Rose is still slumped on the floor. She whispers that it was so lonely inside her head as they've never been touched. The Doctor softens and offers his hand to help her up.

"She sounded far too much like you at that second." Ten mutters to Rose.

"Well, I had a small break from her, that will help keep me going for a while longer won't it?" She asks.

"A bit." He nods.

The reach Ward 26 and Clovis lunges at them with a metal stand. The Doctor calls out they are safe and proceeds to show them their clean skin. He asks how it is going and she tells him there has been nothing but silence from the others wards so she assumes they are the only ones left. She has been trying to override the quarantine to get help.

"No! That's a terrible idea." Martha groans.

"Quarantine is for a reason." Sarah-Jane agrees.

The Doctor points out that forced entry would break quarantine. Clovis states she isn't dying here and he tells her they can't let a single particle get out or the people in the city will be at risk. Clovis refuses to turn it off if it gets her out.

"Getting out won't do you much good if you infect the whole city." Donna rolls her eyes.

The Doctor states he has to stop her as well. He calls to Rose, Novice Hame and everyone else to get all the IV solutions and give them to him. Everyone grabs drip bags while the Doctor collects a long piece of heavy silk rope and starts hanging them on his body.

"You're going to cure them all." Rose grins.

"Of course I am." Ten grins. "Can't just leave them and I won't kill them."

"Is there going to be enough cure there for them all?" Jack asks curiously.

"It should only need to cover a few then can be passed on by touch." Nine smiles.

Once he has them all on he asks Cass-Rose if it will do. She asks will it do for what. He heads to the lift doors and she points out they aren't working. He corrects that they aren't moving and there is a difference. He puts the sonic screwdriver between his teeth and runs. She starts to say he isn't going to but he jumps and grabs the lift cable.

"Where are you going?" Mickey asks.

"You'll see." Ten grins happily.

Cass-Rose asks what he is doing. He replies he is going down and tells her to come on. She initially refuses but gives in as diseased people approach. She jumps onto the Doctor's back, commenting he is completely mad and can see why Rose likes him. He calls out 'going down' as the improvised wheel he has attached to the cable takes them down the shaft. After a short sequence of screaming, the Doctor puts on the brake and they come to a gentle stop on top of the lift.

"NIce. Looks like fun." Rose laughs.

"It does not." Donna shudders.

Cass-Rose comments that's one way to lose weight but the Doctor ignores her. He tells her to hold the lever when he says so. She protests there is still a quarantine and he just tells her to do it. He remarks he is cooking up a cocktail as he knows a bit about medicine himself.

I should hope you know at least something." Martha laughs. "Given the size of the med-bay on the TARDIS."

"I don't do much these days but I can at least do the basics." Nine grins.

The Doctor pours the contents of the drip bags into the lift's disinfectant tank. He tells her the lever will resist but she needs to hold on to it. She asks about him and he says he has an appointment, then he drops down into the lift. He opens the doors with his sonic screwdriver. The diseased people turn to look and he calls to them. Cass-Rose tells him not to draw attention to himself. All the diseased people in hotel reception start to shuffle towards the lift.

"Brilliant." Rose smiles.

"Yes I am." Ten smirks.

"I take it back." She laughs.

"No backsies." He protests.

The tannoy calls out to commence stage one disinfection and the Doctor keeps calling to them. The contents of the disinfectant tank are poured onto him. The first of the humans join him, and get sprayed as well, then leave. He calls to them to pass it on. Cass-Rose still doesn't get it, asking what they are passing on. The disinfected and wet humans touch their diseased comrades. There are hisses and steam coming off their skin, which is now clear of symptoms.

"They will all be cured. What will happen to them after that?" Martha asks.

"They can learn and live as humans. New humans for New Earth." Ten smiles happily.

The wet Doctor helps Cassandra down. Cass-Rose asks if he killed them and he tells her that's her way of doing things, he is the Doctor and he cured them. A woman hugs him and he hugs her back before ushering her to another man. He calls them a new subspecies. He is delighted that the human race keeps going.

"And you will for a long time yet." Ten beams.

"Well, what is it Jack once said...we are the most compatible species, no wonder we keep surviving." Rose chuckles.

"You're certainly right about that." Jack winks. "I should know."

A little later, the quarantine has been formally lifted. The Doctor is still wet but has removed his jacket. The tannoy announces all the staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest.

"Exactly what they deserve." Sarah-Jane comments triumphantly.

The Doctor calls out the Face of Boe and they run over to him. He is the last person on the ward. The Doctor tells him he is supposed to be dying and he replies there are better things to do. Dying can wait.

"That sounds like you, Fly-Boy." Donna snorts.

Cass-Rose makes a snooty comment and the Doctor tells her to shh. The Face of Boe says he has grown tired of the universe but the Doctor taught him to look at it anew. The Doctor comments on the legends about his age and Boe says that would be impossible. The Doctor agrees and says he thought there was something Boe wanted to tell him. Boe states it is a great secret but it can wait.

"Haha. Bet you don't like that." Rose giggles.

"It's not funny." Nine protests. "I hate waiting."

The Doctor asks if it has to and Boe says they will meet for a third and last time when the truth will be told. Then he beams away. The Doctor turns his attention to Cass-Rose who asks if he can just leave her alone.

"Definitely not." Nine growls. "It's been far too long already."

He says she has lived long enough and to leave Rose's body. She protests that she doesn't want to die and he replies that nobody does. She pleads for him to help and he states he can't. Then Chip comes running up saying he kept himself safe just for her. Cassandra realises he is a willing body. The Doctor tells her not to but Chip protests he welcomes the mistress. She goes into him and Rose staggers. The Doctor catches her

"Thanks for catching me. That's been a very long day." Rose grins.

"Yeah, you deserve a very long nap." Nine agrees.

The Doctor asks if she is ok and she says she is and greets him. He says hello and welcomes her back. Cass-Chip complains she is a walking doodle.

"She's never happy!" Donna exclaims.

The Doctor says it's not fair for her to stay in there. Cassandra points out that poor Chip is only a half life and can't cope with her inside him. He is dying.

"Poor guy." Rose frowns.

Cass-Chip falls to her knees and the Doctor asks if she is ok. She replies she is dying and is finally ok with that. He offers to take her to the city and she says there is no place for her and Chip on this new planet. He says there is one last thing he can do. The Tardis materialises out of sight of the party that was on the film reel. Cass-Chip thanks them and the Doctor tells her to go and not look back. Rose wishes her luck.

"That was very nice of you." Sarah-Jane smiles.

"She did change, at the very end." Ten shrugs.

Cass-Chip goes to her younger self who assumes Chip is a servant. She states she just wanted to say Cassandra is beautiful. Cassandra is taken aback and Chip's body collapses. Lady Cassandra cradles him. She calls for someone to get help. A woman asks who he is and Cassandra replies she has no idea. She reassures Chip. The Doctor and Rose head back into the TARDIS and the screen goes black.

"Well. That was interesting." Jack whistles.

"Indeed. Shall we keep going?" Rose asks eagerly. Everyone agrees. They have a quick loo break before settling down to watch whatever comes next.