Promised One 2

by arielle.dawnn

A continuation of season one with my OC Layla.

9. The Idiot's Lantern

I'm just so overwhelmed by how you all have reacted to my latest chapter and I am thrilled you enjoyed it! I thought I would post another chapter early. Especially since I am finishing up the last chapter for this season. Maybe when I finish I will upload the rest of the chapters for you all to enjoy. Also I wanted to mention something. I've had some people questioning on if Layla would be a Time Lady and as you read, that will not be the case. I made it that way because I didn't want Layla's species, her identity as a human to be taken from her. She is already going to have to change internally to carry a Time Lord's child, but I didn't want to take who she was at the core away from her and it would be the same for other species. I didn't want them to no longer have any connection to their own species. She is already going to lose things as she travels with the Doctor. The Doctor is used to regenerating, but she was born as a human and has never had to deal with that and I didn't want her to lose her human appearance. That is why she isn't going to be a Time Lady. Plus, I always wanted it that way for another reason. With the way that the Doctor regenerates, the ages and appearances of his bodies would cause that added... drama I guess you could say. The young appearance of eleven to the older appearance of twelve and the gender switch with thirteen. Each would have their own social situations that they would have to overcome while they travel in time. Either way, their love will never change and only get stronger.

Xxxxxx

It had been a few weeks since the Doctor had proposed to Layla. The morning after their last night with the hobbits, the Doctor took her back to her time period, and he was on time to where only a few hours had passed since dropping Rose off. The Doctor didn't want to be away from Layla, but he knows that she wanted to spend some time with Jackie and so he gives her a kiss and tells her that he will be up later after they spend some time together.

Layla knew that he didn't want to be stuck in her time period, but she was grateful to be able to spend some time with Jackie, especially with the whole Cybermen thing. Rose had wondered where she had been, but when Jackie wasn't around, she had told Rose that she knew that Rose was really upset about the parallel world Jackie and wanted to give her and her mum some time alone before she joined in on the bonding.

Rose looked at her friend semi suspiciously though. There seemed to be something different about her, but she wasn't sure what it was. However, she was happy that she got to spend some time with her mum alone for a couple of hours. For the rest of the night, they spent time together, catching up on Jackie's life and telling her of some of their safer adventures. It was conveniently after dinner that the Doctor had come walking into the flat. Both him and Jackie were being on their best behaviors. Jackie was because she was happy that he brought her girls back to spend some time with her and he was because he didn't want to get another slap from her. They brought out some board games and spent the rest of the night playing different games and laughing together.

Now they were on their way for another adventure. The Doctor was supposed to take them to the Vegas era, but Layla was feeling a mix of emotions at the current moment. Since the night the Doctor had proposed, he had spent most of the nights sneaking into her room after Rose went to bed. Last night was one of the nights that he was unable to though. There was a repair that he needed to do on the Tardis and it was one that was lengthy and he figured the best time to do it was when they were asleep.

Last night was also one of the rarer nights she had had in years. It was a night full of memories. Memories of her childhood to be exact. Nightmares plagued her all night, memories playing like a movie of the abuse she had dealt with. She tried to stay awake, but she was just so tired that she kept falling asleep and going right back into the nightmares. She didn't want to disturb the Doctor while he was doing repairs either and cause him worry, so she chose to stay in her room. She probably should have gone to another room in the Tardis to find a way to stay awake, but she wasn't really conscious enough to think of that.

So, on the morning of their Vegas trip, she was a little more fidgety than normal. There were dark circles under her eyes that took a bit a work to cover up with her concealer. She was worried that she would react like she normally did after a night like the last. The twitching, the jumpiness, and flinching. She didn't want to worry the Doctor or ruin their trip. She also didn't want to let the demons of her past drag her down and ruin her day either. She was going to handle this on her own and not drag anyone down with her today. She feels the Tardis hum disapprovingly at her. "I know I'm not alone and I know I have you and the Doctor, but he already deals with so much, I don't want to dump my own burdens onto him when I am trying to help him with his." She feels the Tardis give her a mental hug and she sighs in appreciation. "Thanks, love. I can handle it. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. But I refuse to buckle under the memories. Now." She claps her hands together and puts a grin on her face. "Did you have an outfit picked out for me for today? If not, I have an idea."

She feels the Tardis hum in amusement and opens her closet doors. Her nose twitches and her lip curls up. "Blegh. I am not wearing a poodle skirt. No way in hell." Layla lifts up the pink monstrosity with two fingers and has to fight the urge to throw it in an incinerator. She feels the Tardis laughing in her mind and the closet shifts slightly to show her another outfit. Her eyes widen and mouth drops open. "Perfect! This is what I had in mind!" She grabs the black, faux, leather leggings and stretches them on over her legs. She slides on the 50's style white with black polka dots bra top. Next, she puts on the cropped, black, leather jacket and slips into the red high heel pumps. She goes to her bathroom and works on styling her hair and then looks her outfit up and down with a critical eye. "Love, do you have a red with white polka dots bandana? I think that would complete the outfit perfectly." The Tardis hums and one pops up on the counter. She grins widely and slides it on and styles her hair around it. "Thanks, love. I think the Doctor will love the outfit as much as I do. Let's go surprise him, shall we?"

Walking to the console she sees that the doors are open and she can hear the Doctor and Rose talking. She looks and sees that Rose is wearing a classic 50's style outfit, poodle skirt included. She turns to the Doctor and admires his outfit and the Teddy boy quaff hair style he has going on. He is sitting on a scooter that has a side car attached and has two helmets in his hands.

"You are kidding, aren't you? You want to see Elvis? You go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist. What's more, you see him in style." He slides on his white helmet and reaches into the side car and pulls out another, tossing it to Rose. He glances towards Layla and smiles widely when he notices she has come out. The look on his face changes though when he takes in her outfit and she can see him stiffen slightly and his eyes widen. "You going my way, doll?"

Rose hadn't realized that Layla had come out though so she thought he was talking to her. "Is there any other way to go daddy-o. Straight from the fridge, man."

Layla snorts causing Rose to jump and turn towards her. "You and your mum, Rose." Layla walks over to the Doctor and takes the helmet that he hands her and slides it on. She quickly slides on the scooter behind him, not wanting Rose to sit here. "I think it would be best if you rode the side car since you're wearing a skirt, Rose."

Rose glares at her slightly. She huffs and stomps slightly to the sidecar and gets in it moodily. The Doctor notices her irritation and bites his lip to keep from laughing and he sighs as Layla wraps her arms around his waist tightly. "You speak the lingo." He directs to Rose, not wanting her to be in a strop and ruin the trip.

"Yeah, me and mum. Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday."

"Ah, Cliff. I knew your mother would be a Cliff fan." He starts up to moped and drives off down the street.

Rose yells slightly to be heard over the engine. "Where we off to?"

"Ed Sullivan TV Studios. Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows. There were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it." He squirms slightly as he feels Layla run her hand low on his stomach.

Rose spots something and gives the Doctor a smirk. "And that'll be TV studios in, what, New York?"

He nods his head. "That's the one."

A red London bus drives past and the Doctor slows to a stop. They look around and Layla and Rose look at each other grinning while the Doctor looks sheepish. Rose pokes him in the thigh, frowning slightly when he flinches away from her, but ignores it and laughs at his face. "Ha! Digging that New York Vibe."

"Well, this could still be New York. I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of Londony New York, mind."

Layla squeezes his sides slightly and laughs as he squirms away from the ticklish feeling. "You are such a bad pilot. He seems a bit obsessed with London, doesn't he, Rose?" As they are parked on the side of the road, a van, that says Magpie's Marvelous Tellies, pulls up and a man goes to the back and pulls out a TV. He hauls it up to one of the flats doors and knocks. The door is answered and he goes inside carrying the TV.

Rose laughs. "Yeah. Now the question is, do all the alien attacks London gets because the Doctor is obsessed with London? Or is the Doctor obsessed with London because all of the alien attacks?"

"Hmm. Those are good questions. We both know that he can't stay out of trouble to save his life."

"Oi! Will you two stop picking on me?" They burst out into laughter at his pouting.

"What are all of the flags for?" Rose points to the many buildings that have flags sticking out of practically all of the windows.

The man from before exits the flat. "There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion." He walks back towards his van but the Doctor stops him.

"The great occasion? What do you mean?"

The man, Magpie they assume, scrunches his face up at them. "Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course."

Rose and Layla turn their heads in laughter again because the Colonies is where they are supposed to be. The Doctor though was having a brain fart and couldn't remember the year. "What Coronation's that then?"

"What do you mean? The Coronation." Magpie didn't see how he could be any clearer.

"Who gets coronated around this time frame, Doctor?" Layla laughs as she gives him a hint.

Rose flat out helps him seeing that he was still not catching on. "It's the Queen's. Queen Elizabeth."

"Oh! Is this 1953?"

Magpie looked at him oddly and stepped back slightly wanting to leave. "Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance what we do best."

"Look at all the TV aerials. Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. My nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house."

Layla looked around and then back at Rose and whispers to her. "What are the chances that in 1953, it seems like everyone around can afford a telly? And then the Doctor happens to show up at the wrong place and then there be nothing wrong?"

Rose snickers. "Not likely. He is a trouble magnet."

"Not around here, love. Magpie's Marvelous Tellies, only five quid a pop."

"Seems awfully cheap for an item that is pricey to make." Layla looks at the man suspiciously. She sees him flinch slightly and his eyes dart around.

"Oh, but this is a brilliant year. Classic! Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration. The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future." The Doctor in his normal fashion blurts out facts that are from the future, not caring who is around.

"Someone help me, please! Ted!" They all turn as they hear a woman shouting nearby. They see two burly men in black suits pushing a person with a blanket thrown over them into the back of a car. "Leave him alone! He's my husband! Please."

"What's going on?" The Doctor murmured.

They see a teen run out of his house and stands in front of the car. "Oi, what you doing?"

One of the men turns to the teen. "Police business. Now, get out of the way, sir."

The boy moves closer to where the time travelers are and they all watch as the car drives away. Rose turns to the boy. "Who did they take? Do you know him?"

"Must be Mister Gallagher. It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters."

"Tommy! Not one word! Get inside now!" They see an older man in the doorframe of the house the teen came from and his face was flushed red and had a narrowed eyed look on the boy. Layla flinches slightly from the tone and look of the man.

Tommy shrugs his shoulders. "Sorry. I'd better do as he says."

"All aboard!" The Doctor turns the moped back on and follows after the car. He drives the most likely path they would have taken, but comes to a dead end and figures he should have already caught up to them by now. "Lost them. How'd they get away from us?"

"Surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving. Have you actually passed your test?" Rose snickers at the look of outrage on his face.

"Look at how he pilots the Tardis, Rose. Do you really expect him to be able to drive a moped well?" Layla was expecting a reply from him with him defending his driving, but he was too wrapped up in the new mystery presented to him.

"Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia."

"Monsters, that boy said. Maybe we should go and ask the neighbors."

The Doctor looks at Rose and gives her a cheeky smile. "That's what I like about you. The domestic approach." A bark of laughter escapes Layla understanding what he was saying but Rose gives him a happy smile.

"Thank you." She pauses for a second and replays what he said. "Hold on, what that an insult? Whoa!" The Doctor doesn't answer her and zooms off quickly back towards where the taken man lived. Layla bites her bottom lip in worry. She had a feeling that they would be seeing that man again and he just rubbed her the wrong way. It probably didn't help with the nightmares from the night before, but even without those, she thinks that something seems off about him.

Xxxxxx

They go to Tommy's house Rose pushes herself up to where she is standing near the Doctor on the narrow steps leading to the front door. The Doctor side eyes her and reaches behind him to touch Layla and wonders why she is so tense. He knocks on the door with his other hand. The door opens and the father from before opens and as if planned, both the Doctor and Rose talk at the same time. "Hi!"

"Who are you, then?" The man grunts out.

The Doctor looks him up and down. "Let's see, then. Judging by the look of you, family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore I represent Queen and country." He holds up his physic paper. "Just doing a little check on Her forthcoming Majesty's subjects before the great day. Don't mind if I come in?" The Doctor doesn't give him a chance to confirm or deny and pushes his way in. "Nah, I didn't think you did. Thank you." The Doctor goes to the living room area and looks around the house. "Not bad. Very nice. Very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs.?" He directs his question to the woman of the house.

"Connolly." She whispers very timidly. Layla looks at her critically. She was hunched over in a submissive pose and wouldn't make eye contact with any of them. Layla looked around her exposed skin and didn't see any bruising, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be hidden. The wife wasn't necessarily showing symptoms of abuse, but it did seem as if she was afraid of her husband. It could also be the time period. Woman were supposed to be homemakers in this time period, trapped in a marriage by men, dependent on them to live. Obedient and inferior, she sneered at that thought.

"Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative." Eddie said snobbishly then turns to the Doctor. "Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit."

"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. Nice flags. Why are they not flying?" The Doctor looked at Eddie with slightly narrowed eyes. Something about him rubbed the Doctor wrong. And Layla is still too tense for my liking. She is watching him like she is in a fight or flight mode and I don't know what is causing her to be so edgy. He sends her a worried look but is drawn back to Eddie when he talks.

"There we are Rita, I told you. Get them up. Queen and country." He blames her and orders her at the same time.

Rita stands up, and her shoulders are still hunched over. She goes to grab the flags. "I'm sorry."

"Get it done. Do it now." Eddie says imperiously. Layla was watching him very closely as Rita had to go towards Eddie to get the flags.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared slightly. His mind was starting to make some connection between Layla's behavior and what he was seeing right now. "Hold on a minute." He tries to get their attention.

"Like the gentleman says." Eddie ignores him though.

The Doctor stood straighter and was starting to get tense. "Hold on a minute. You've got hands, Mister Connolly. Two big hands. So, why is that your wife's job?"

Eddie looked at him dumbly. "Well, it's housework, innit?"

"And that's a woman's job?" The Doctor raised a brow and looked at him slightly skeptically.

Eddie straightens into a proud stance. "Of course it is."

"Mister Connolly, what gender is the Queen?"

Eddie's eyebrows squished together and he tilted his head slightly. "She's a female."

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" The Doctor asked him disapprovingly.

Eddie blanched a little remembering that this man was a representative. "No. Not at all."

The Doctor gives him a condescending smile. "Then get busy."

He quickly grabs the flags. "Right. Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right, and center."

Rose steps forward, glad to be able to input some knowledge. "Excuse me, Mister Connolly. Hang on a minute. Union Jacks?"

Eddie's face twisted slightly. "Yes, that's right, isn't it?"

"That's the Union Flag. It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea."

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I do apologize."

Rose gives him a superior look. "Well, don't get it wrong again, there's a good man. Now get to it!"

The Doctor gives a beaming smile, amused that the man had become flustered. He grabs Layla's hand wanting to give her comfort for whatever is bothering her. He sits down and pulls her with him, putting her in the middle. Rose sits on Layla's other side and they turn to face Rita. "Right then! Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty's leisure." He turns to Rose questioningly. "Union Flag?"

"Mum went out with a sailor." She shrugged. Layla snorted softly, showing the Doctor that she was starting to relax somewhat.

"Oh ho, ho, ho. I bet she did." He turns back to Rita and her son that hadn't said a single word yet. "Anyway, I'm the Doctor, this is Layla and Rose, and you are?"

"Tommy." He gives them a grin. He was quite happy that his dad had been put in his place for once. He wasn't too happy with him at the moment, especially with how he treated his mum.

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy. Have a look at this. I love telly, don't you?"

Tommy's smile widens. "Yeah, I think it's brilliant."

"Good man!" The Doctor turns towards Eddie wanting to keep him distracted and honestly, away from their little group. "Keep working, Mister C!" He looks at Rita seriously well aware that something was wrong. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Rita leaned forward and asked with a lowered voice. "Did you say you were a doctor?"

The Doctor nods his head. "Yes, I am."

"Can you help her? Oh, please, can you help her, Doctor?" She pleads with her hands laced together tightly.

Eddie apparently had sharp hearing though, either that or he had specifically listened to what they were saying. "Now then, Rita. I don't think the gentleman needs to know." Eddie didn't want the representative about what had happened, he had already made plans to fix the issue anyways.

"No, the gentleman does."

"Tell us what's wrong, and we can help." Rose directs that towards Rita knowing that Eddie wouldn't tell them anything. Rita bursts into tears and Rose goes to her to comfort her. "I'm sorry. It's alright. Come here. It's okay." Layla looked at Rita sadly wondering what had happened to cause her to cry. Her head snaps over towards Eddie though when he starts talking.

"Hold on a minute. Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house! What the...?" He throws the flags on the floor angrily. "What the hell am I doing? Now you listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business."

"A lot of people are being bundled into…" The Doctor doesn't get to finish though because he was interrupted.

"I am talking!" Eddie spits out.

Layla flinches and her hand goes to the middle of her chest and rubs the skin softly. The Doctor had felt her flinch and looked at her concerned. He sees her rubbing her scar and recognizes the look in her eyes. His mind finally figures out what was wrong with her and why she had been so edgy. She is having flashbacks. He reminds her of someone; someone who hurt her. The Doctor surges up and looks at Eddie with cold eyes and gets right in Eddie's face. "And I'm not listening! Now you, Mister Connolly, you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. So, I'm ordering you, sir! Tell me what's going on!" The Doctor was angry and didn't want to deal with Eddie anymore, but he needed to know what was wrong with these people. He wanted to speed this along so he can get Layla away from this man.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Everyone looks towards the ceiling as they heard the noise. Eddie finally breaks down and is resigned to telling them what they are hiding. "She won't stop. She never stops."

Tommy stepped forward. "We started hearing stories, all round the place. People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. The police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does. They just turn up, come to the door, and take them, any time of the day or night." It was slightly rushed, but he was so worried about his gran and he wanted to get this out before his father stepped in and forbade him again.

The angry look on the Doctor's fade faded as he looked at Tommy and listened to what he was saying. "Show me."

Tommy takes the lead and the Doctor guides Layla in front of him to put as much space between her and Eddie as possible. Tommy gently knocks on the door and slowly opens it. "Gran? It's Tommy. It's alright, Gran. I've brought help." He turns on the light and walks into the room.

Layla, the Doctor, and Rose trailing behind all walk in and see an old woman standing by the window with no face. Layla and Rose's brows rise up in surprise and the Doctor looks on in fascination. He takes out his sonic screwdriver and points it at the woman to get a scan. "Her face is completely gone. Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean."

"What're we going to do Doctor? We can't even feed her." Tommy asked worried about what would happen to his gran if she wasn't able to eat. Layla lays her hand on Tommy's shoulder and squeezes it comfortingly.

The Doctor doesn't get to answer though because they hear the front door being broken down and male voices down below. Rose bites her lip. "We've got company."

They hear Rita shout up to them in fear. "It's them. They've come for her!"

The Doctor turns towards Tommy. "Quickly. What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think!"

Tommy was panicking though knowing that he doesn't have much time left and he was trying to think but his fear was taking over. "I can't think! She doesn't leave the house! She was just…"

He wasn't able to finish before a couple of big, burly men burst through the room and hone in on the old woman. The Doctor gets in front of them and holds up his hands. "Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One…"

The big man in front doesn't even listen and quickly punches the Doctor in the face, knocking him down. Layla pulls Tommy back and out of the way and stands in front of him protectively. Rose kneels down by the Doctor and shakes his shoulders. "Doctor!"

The men throw a blanket over Tommy's gran and bundle her out while Rose continues to try to wake up the Doctor. Layla walks over to the Doctor now that the men have left and won't hurt Tommy. They hear Rita screaming at the men but they are focused on the Doctor. Layla reaches down and lays her hand on his shoulder. Within a second of her touch the Doctor suddenly sits up almost headbutting Rose who was too close to his face and rubs his mouth. "Ah, hell of a right hook. Have to watch out for that." The Doctor pieces together that the men had taken the old woman and stands up quickly, sprints out the door and down the stairs.

Layla and Rose follow after him but he was already outside and on the moped strapping on his helmet. "Layla, Rose, we're going to lose them again!"

Rose notices something by the telly. She doesn't want Layla to be alone with the Doctor and grabs her hand, pulling her over to the TV. Rose starts to move the TV and Layla helps her shift it out. They both see weird red energy disappearing into the connection. Rose leans back when the energy is gone and looks at the supplier's label.

"Anyway, how did they find her? Who told them?" Tommy was questioning out loud. To him it was pretty suspicious because as far as he knew, no one knew about what happened to his gran. She wasn't seen by anyone, so who could have told the police about her?

Layla snaps her head around when she hears Eddie's angry yelling. "You two! Get the hell out of my house!"

Layla stands up slowly, warily. She watches his movement carefully. Rose stands up and raises her nose in the air. "We're going. We're done. Nice to meet you, Tommy, Mrs. Connolly. And as for you, Mister Connolly, only an idiot hands the Union Flag upside down. Shame on you!" She stomps past the family with Layla trailing behind her, tense, and alert.

Rose huffs as they walk down the sidewalk. "The nerve of that man. Are you alright?" Rose had noticed that Layla was very tense and alert, but she doesn't know why.

"I'm fine. Anyways, were you able to see where they got the telly from?"

"Yeah, it is that Magpie guy we talked to earlier. Seems like our suspicions from earlier are more concrete. The multiple cheap telly's, the weird energy, and the faceless people."

"Well, the Doctor's run off this time instead of us. How about we go visit this Magpie and see what is going on?" Layla gives her a small grin, relaxing more now that they are away from Eddie Connolly.

Xxxxxx

It doesn't take long before they arrive to the store and walk in seeing that the store is still open. However, the man at the counter looks up with a look of panic on his face. The girls can see that he is sweating profusely and pale. He looks at them but continues to stuff items in a bag. "Oh, I'm sorry, Misses. I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door."

Rose smirks and walks up to the counter. "Yeah? Well, I want to buy a telly." Layla walks around the shop looking at the telly's trying to see if there were similarities to the one in the Connolly's house. They weren't able to look at it long so she was wanting to examine the ones in the store.

"Come back tomorrow, please." The man begs and Layla shoots him a look, wondering why he was begging them to leave.

"You'll be closed tomorrow, won't you? For the big day? The coronation." Rose points out with humor.

Magpie's eyes widen realizing that she was right. "Yes, yes, of course. The big day. I'm sure you'll find somewhere else to watch it. Please go."

Rose ignored him though. "Seems to me half of London's got a television, since you're practically giving them away."

"Doesn't seem like you're making any money for these tellies. Which makes me wonder why you are doing it." Layla cuts in quietly but the man pales further.

Magpie really wanted these girls to leave. He was forced to do what he was doing, but he was hoping he could at least save these two. "I have my reasons."

"And what are they?" Rose leans over the counter towards the man.

A nearby television turns on and they all turn towards it and they hear the woman on the telly say. "Hungry! Hungry!"

Rose looks at the telly questioningly. "What's that?"

"It's just a television." Magpie stutters out. "One of these modern programs. Now, I really do think you should leave. Right now!"

"What are you scared about, Mister Magpie?" Layla asks him as she takes in his panic.

Rose cuts in though. "Not until you've answered my questions. How come your televisions are so cheap?"

"It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folks as possible get to watch the coronation." He swallows harshly and shoots a look towards the telly. "Millions of people will be watching tomorrow. So why don't you get yourselves back home and get up, bright and early, for the big day."

"Nah, I'm not leaving till I've seen everything." Rose was being stubborn but Layla was starting to worry. Between Magpie's panic and rushing them out, to the strange woman she is watching on the telly that seems to be following their conversation.

"I need to close." Magpie was pleading with her.

Rose decides to just ask what they came here for seeing that he wasn't going to openly tell them. "Mister Magpie, something's happening out there. Ordinary people are being struck down and changed, and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your television. What's going on?"

Magpie's shoulders slump and he looks defeated. "I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out." He walks over to the door and locks it not wanting anyone else to come in the store.

"Alright then, it's just you and us. You're going to come clean, then? What's really in it for you?" Rose didn't see why this man was wanting to steal people's faces.

Magpie huffs. "For me? Perhaps some peace."

"From what?"

He points to the woman on the television. "From her."

Rose waves it off. "That's just a woman on the telly. That's just a program."

"I don't think so Rose. She has been watching you and Magpie talk since she came on." Layla was spooked. Normally she would be a lot calmer, but between the nightmares and being wound up from visiting the Connolly's, her eyes were wide and she was breathing a little harder. She walks around the room and watches at the woman on the telly follows her movements. She stays towards the back though, not wanting to get closer to her. Between how people's face were being taken and the fearful way that Magpie was acting, this woman didn't seem like she would be nice.

"What pretty girls." They all hear the woman say.

Rose's eyes widen and she faces the telly fully. "Oh, my god. Are you talking to us?"

The woman smirks. "Yes, I am talking to you, little ones. Unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?"

Rose gets a little closer to the woman not seeing that Magpie has moved away from her. "What are you?"

"I'm the Wire, and I'm hungry!" Red energy like they had seen shoots out from the television and latches onto Rose's face.

"Help me!" Rose shouts.

Magpie looks on without moving. "Just think of that audience tomorrow, my dear, all settling down to watch the coronation. Twenty million people. Things will never be the same again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He looks towards Layla and sees that the Wire wasn't able to reach her and knew he had to do something to keep her from leaving the store to tell on him.

Layla looks on in panic not sure what to do. She was moving forwards to yank Rose out of the way, hoping that moving her away from the view of the television that it would break the connection. However, all she felt was pain when her head was struck with something hard. She stumbles around slightly and looks to her side and sees that Magpie was holding a small telly in his hands and a guilty look on his face. She feels liquid dripping down the side of her face and touches it. Pulling her hand back she sees that she is bleeding, but she isn't able to do anything because her vision starts to blur and she has the feeling of falling before things go dark.

Xxxxxx

Layla starts to wake up wondering what happened. Why her head hurt and she couldn't think straight. She goes to touch her head when she realizes that there is someone there holding her arms together. Opening her eyes, she sees a man in front of her and she looks down seeing that he is tying her hands together. Her breathing increases and memories of the past start to come forward.

"No…no, let me go." She struggles weakly trying to get her hands free but the movement make her nauseous. "Please…don't."

The man ignores her though and finishes tying up her hands. "I'll have to deal with you later. I have to take care of something first and then I will be back for you."

Layla struggles start anew, not caring that it was making her head and stomach hurt. Memories of the past and her current situation are blending together and she doesn't see Magpie in front of her anymore. She sees someone worse. Someone from her past. "Please…let me go. Please."

"I can't." Magpie stands up and goes to the door leading to the front of the store. After she had passed out he had dragged her into the back room to hide her out of view from the store windows. "I'll be back. I promise." The room goes dark and he closes the door.

His words were meant to comfort her. That he wouldn't leave her here forever. But to her, they weren't words of comfort, they were sinister. Layla tugs her hands trying to get free. She doesn't realize that she is cutting into her skin in her panic. Tears are falling from her eyes as she realizes that she can't get free. Panic has set in and she is hyperventilating and shaking. Her heart is beating harshly and she feels hot. "Don't leave me here! Please! Let me go!" She screams out but all the gets in return is silence. She curls up as if to protect herself, but it doesn't keep the onslaught of memories from slamming into her mind.

Xxxxxx

The Doctor had wanted to wait for the girls, but they were about to lose their lead. He knows that Layla won't want to stay in the house anymore so she will be away from Eddie Connolly. She'll be fine. She has Rose with her and they won't stay there. I can just figure out where they are taking the woman and then I can come and look for them. He speeds off after the police trying to catch up to them. By the time he catches up to them he sees the closing of the market stalls that concealed the way the police went. "Oh, very good. Very good."

He gets off the moped and slips around the people that are guarding the entrance. Getting into the yard he is able to see the two big, burly men from before padlock a wire door and walk away. He goes to the door and uses his screwdriver to easily unlock the padlock. He goes inside and it is quite dark. There is barely any lighting and pulls out a flashlight from his pocket. He walks in further and sees people being held in large cages. He goes to the closest one and opens it. Going inside he sees that everyone in these cages have a blank face. Pointing the flashlight at the people's faces cause them to turn towards him. The Doctor is startled when a pair of searchlights turn on and focus on him.

"Stay where you are." The Doctor hears from behind him.

A man comes up to the Doctor, pulls him by the arm and drags him away from the cages. They take him to room in the building that is pretty dilapidated. The man shoves the Doctor down into a chair and goes around the table and stands in front of it. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."

"Well, for starters, I know you can't wrap your hand around your elbow and make your fingers meet." Was the Doctor's smart-ass answer.

The man's lip curls up in a scowl. "Don't get clever with me. You were there today at Florizel Street, and now breaking into this establishment. Now you're connected with this. Make no mistake."

The Doctor wants to get back to Layla, but he is hoping that he can get some information from the police. Something on the man's collar catches his eyes. He looks back at the man. "Well, the thing is, Detective Inspector Bishop…"

Bishop cuts him off before he can continue and looks at him suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"

The Doctor inwardly snickers. "It's written inside your collar. Bless your mum. But I can't help thinking, Detective Inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting, are you?"

Bishop straightens up with indignation. "I'm doing everything in my power."

The Doctor looks at him skeptically. "All you're doing is grabbing those faceless people and hiding them as fast as you can. Don't tell me orders from above, hmm? Coronation Day. The eyes of the world are on London Town so any sort of problem just gets swept out of sight."

Bishop does a half shrug. "The nation has an image to maintain."

The Doctor scoffs. "Doesn't it drive you mad, doing nothing? Don't you want to get out there an investigate?" That is what he wants to do and he doesn't even live here.

Bishop flops down into the chair that he had been standing by. "Of course, I do. But with all the crowds expected, we haven't got the man power. Even if we did, this is beyond anything we've ever seen. I just don't know anymore. We don't have the faintest clue of what's going on."

"Well, that could change." The Doctor gives him a smile.

"How?"

Leaning forward, the Doctor laces his fingers together. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."

"We started finding them about a month ago. Persons left sans visage. Heads just blank." Bishop wasn't sure why he was telling this man this, but he is at a loss of what to do to fix this situation and is hoping this stranger can help.

The Doctor purses his lips. "Any sort of pattern?"

"Yes, spreading out from North London. All over the city. Men, women, kids, grannies." Bishop gets up and points to the general area of where they are finding the faceless people. "The only read lead is there's been quite a large number in…"

"Florizel Street." The Doctor swallows harshly. He was starting to regret leaving the girls behind because that is the street they were on.

Another policeman enters the room. "Found another one, sir." He goes out to get the person.

"Oh, er, good man, Crabtree. Here we are, Doctor. Take a good look. See what you can deduce."

Crabtree brings in the person and the Doctor's hearts skip a beat. "Rose…" If they only have Rose, where is Layla!?

Bishop's brows raise up. "You know her?"

"Know her? She…"

"They found her in the street, apparently, over by the Square, abandoned." Crabtree informed him.

"That's unusual. That's the first one out in the open. Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day. We'll have Torchwood on our backs then, make no mistake."

"…They did what?" The Doctor asked them softly.

Bishop looks at him in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"They left her where?"

"Just in the street." Bishop shivers slightly as he feels the room temperature drop.

"In the street. They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. There is one thing I am more concerned with though."

The policemen look at him slightly wary. They can see the rage and worry in his eyes. Bishop clears his throat. "What's that?"

The Doctor looks at Crabtree and pierces him with his gaze. Crabtree swallows harshly, feeling slightly fearful at the look in his eyes. "Was there another woman there? Same age, but with white hair?"

"N…no there wasn't anyone else with her. Is there supposed to be?"

The Doctor clenches his hands together. He breaths in deeply and takes his glasses off and slides them into his pocket. "Well, that makes things simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?"

"No." Bishop shakes his head.

"Because now, Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this earth that can stop me. Come on!" Hang in there Layla. I will find you. The Doctor was fully regretting that her didn't wait for her to come out of the house. If I had waited a little longer then she wouldn't be missing right now. I promised to protect her.

The Doctor tells Bishop to go back to Tommy's house. He is hoping that Tommy has information that he can use to find Layla. When they get there, he leaps out of the car, runs up to the door and rings the bell. He is grateful that Tommy is the one to answer the door this time. "Tommy, talk to me. I need to know exactly what happened inside your house."

The door is yanked open wider and Eddie steps outside. "What the blazes do you think you're doing?"

Tommy straightens up and meets his dad's eyes bravely. "I want to help, dad."

"Mister Connolly." The Doctor tries to direct his attention from Tommy.

"You shut your face, you, whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves." He sneers at the Doctor and then turns towards Tommy trying to intimidate him. "Listen, you little twerp. You're hardly out of the blooming cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here respect me. It matters what people think."

Tommy narrows his eyes realizing that what he thought happened was right. "Is that why you did it, dad?"

Eddie's eyes widen slightly. "What do you mean? Did what?"

"You ratted on gran. How else would the police know where to look, unless some coward told them."

Eddie's face becomes a blotchy red and he narrows his eyes. "How dare you! Do you think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?"

Tommy went on to explain why his dad was a coward and the Doctor was having to restrain himself from not jumping in to speed this along. He wants to find Layla, not deal with these domestics. He is proud that Tommy is standing up for himself, but Layla is more important to him. He comes out of his thoughts to realize that Rita had heard the part that her husband is the reason why her mother is gone and shuts him out of the house. He looks at the boy trying to get his attention. "Tommy?" He pulls the boy down the stairs away from his father so they won't be interrupted again and towards Bishop. "Tommy, tell me about that night. The night she changed."

Tommy shrugged slightly, now that he isn't panicking anymore he was able to remember what his gran had been doing. "She was just watching the telly."

"Rose said it, guessed it right away. All these aerials in one little street. How come?"

"Bloke up the road, Mister Magpie, he's selling them cheap."

"Is he, now?" Bishop questions suspiciously.

"Come on!" All three get into the police car and Bishop speeds off to Magpie's store.

The Doctor goes to the door and sees that it is locked. He is too worried to even think about using his sonic screwdriver to open the door and just punches the glass in the bottom corner causing it to break. He reaches inside and unlocks the door.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Bishop said appalled.

The Doctor ignores him and steps inside. "Shop! If you're here, come out and talk to me! Magpie!"

It stays quiet as they look around. "Maybe he's out." Tommy suggests.

"Looks like it." The Doctor looks around the store, Opening and closing counter drawers. His eyebrows shoot up at the last one he opens and at what he finds. "Oh, hello. This isn't right. This is very much not right." He licks it ignoring the looks from Bishop and Tommy. "Tastes like iron. Bakelite. Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself. Oh, Beautiful work. That is so simple."

Bishop leans over and looks at the device in awe. "That's incredible. It's like a television, but portable. A portable television."

The Doctor raises his sonic and does some scans. "It's not the only power source in this room." Using his sonic to locate the sources, all the TV's turn on and they all see that each TV is showing the face of a different person.

Tommy gets closer to one. "Gran?"

The Doctor searches around all the TV's looking for Layla and when he didn't find her, he looks for Rose. He sees her in one and can see she is saying his name. "I'll fix this."

Magpie comes out from one of the backrooms and looks at the three startled. "What do you think you're doing?"

The Doctor steps closer to him. "I want to know where my Promised One is and I want my friend restored, but I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician. So, tell me, who's really in charge?"

"Yoohoo! I think that must be me. Ooh, this one's smart as paint." The woman cuts in and announces herself.

Bishop's eyes widen. "Is she talking to us?"

Magpie looks at the guiltily. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new friend."

"Jolly nice to meet you." The woman gives them a shark like grin.

"Oh my god, it's her, that woman off the telly." Bishop was starting to freak out.

"No, it's just using her image." The Doctor corrects him.

"What? What are you?" Tommy wonders.

"I'm the Wire, and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow kind denied me."

Bishop, Tommy, and Magpie look on in surprise as the black and white image transforms. Bishop gasps. "Good lord. Color television!"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "So your own people tried to stop you?"

"They executed me." She sneers. "But I escaped in this form and fled across the stars."

"And now you're trapped in the television." He points out wanting to know what her plan is.

Wire just shrugs with a grin. "Not for much longer."

"Doctor, is this what got my gran?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, Tommy. It feeds off electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig, taking people's faces, their essences. It stuffs itself.

Bishop looked over to Magpie angrily. "And you let her do it, Magpie."

"I had to! She allowed me my face. She's promised to release me at the time of manifestation."

"What does that mean?" Tommy wondered.

"The appointed time. My crowning glory." The Wire gives a manic laugh.

Bishop makes the connection to what she is saying. "Doctor, the coronation!"

The Doctor's eyes widen. "For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set. But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this." He holds up the portable television. "You need something more powerful! This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."

The Wire scowls. "What a clever thing you are! But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me, you'll be glued to the screen." Energy shoots out of the telly and latches onto their faces, excluding Magpie.

"Doctor!" Bishop shouts hoping that he can do something.

"Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah, this one is tasty. Oh, I'll have lashings of him! Delicious!" The Doctor starts to get his screwdriver out and the Wire panics. "Ah! Armed. He's armed and clever. Withdraw! Withdraw!" Her energy leaves them and all three collapse to the ground.

Magpie looks on panicked seeing that Bishop's face is gone but the Wire gets his attention. "The box, Magpie! The box!" Magpie grabs the box and holds it closer to the Wire. "Hold tight." She zaps herself into the portable television and smiles up at Magpie. "Conduct me to my victory, Magpie."

Xxxxxx

The Doctor groans as he wakes up. He looks at Bishop and sees that his face is gone and snaps his head to Tommy, breathing a sigh of relief that he is okay. He shakes the boys shoulders. "Tommy, wake up. Tommy, come on!"

Tommy groans. "What happened?"

The Doctor looks around an realizes that they are alone. "Where's Magpie?"

"We don't even know where to start looking. It's too late." Tommy complains.

The Doctor refuses to give up though. Clearly Magpie was the reason that Rose doesn't have a face, so that means that he knows what happened to Layla and he is determined to find her. "It's never too late, as a wise person once said. Kylie, I think. The Wire's got big plans. It'll need. Yes, yes, yes, it's got to harvest half the population. Millions and millions of people and where are we?"

"Muswell Hill."

"Muswell Hill. Muswell Hill! Which means Alexandra Palace, biggest TV transmitter in North London. Oh, that's why it chose this place. Tommy?"

"What are you going to do?"

The Doctor looks at him excitedly. "We're going shopping." If we can stop the Wire I can force Magpie to tell me where Layla is.

The Doctor is working on building something while directing Tommy to parts he will need. The last thing that he needed Tommy was struggling to find. "Doctor? I can't find a valve."

"No? Okay try in that back room, I'm sure he has some supplies back there."

Tommy goes to the closed door that Magpie had not come from earlier and tries to open it but he can't. "It's locked."

"No problem." The Doctor goes to the door and easily unlocks it with his screwdriver and pushes the door open. He freezes though when he hears a whimper. He isn't able to see much so he flicks on the light and sucks in a harsh breath at what he sees. "Layla?" He asks softly and his hearts break when he sees her flinch away from him. She tries to scoot back as far as she can and she lets out a big sob.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Tommy asks wondering why he stopped talking.

Hearing another male voice causes Layla to whimper again and strain against the ropes on her wrist. Seeing that she is hurting herself more the Doctor reaches behind him to stop Tommy. He glances back and whispers softly. "Stay out, you'll scare her more." Tommy, not understanding why, nods and goes back out to the main room to try to find the valve.

The Doctor walks slowly into the room and gets down on the floor but leaves the door open. He can see that she has blood on the side of her head and that her wrists were bleeding too. He looks at her face and sees the tears and that her eyes are glazed over. The closer he gets though he can hear her whispering. She is repeating the words: please, no, don't, and let me go. Realizing that she is stuck in a flashback the Doctor doesn't touch her even though he wants to gather her up in his arms and hold her tight for comfort and protection. He knows that it would make things worse if he did though.

"Layla, Sweetheart. It's the Doctor. Your bonded, your Promised One. You are in 1953 in London. We were supposed to go to New York to see Elvis. It's just me. You're safe with me and nothing bad is happening to you right now." He was speaking softly and calmly, but it still caused her to recoil. Seeing that she reacted to his voice though, he repeats himself multiple times trying to penetrate the memories. "Layla, can you look at me. I want you to look around the room and see where you are."

The Doctor breaths a small sigh of relief as he sees her starting to respond to him and looks around the room slowly. He sees her pulling at her hands though and slowly holds out his sonic. "It's okay, Layla. You're safe. I won't touch you, but I am going to cut the ropes off." She tenses as he gets closer and his eyes never leave her face as he puts the sonic to the ropes and cuts them off her wrists. "You have already survived this, Layla. You aren't in danger anymore. You are no longer a helpless child. You're an adult and have more resources, more strength, and more options."

Layla's mind was in a disarray. She was seeing parts from her past and the present. When she feels her wrists being cut free her eyes snap to the man in front of her. She can see the look of concern on his face but he isn't getting closer to her. Her brow furrows as she realizes that the man in front of her isn't the man from her memories.

Seeing no recognition in her gaze the Doctor sees that she is struggling to comprehend. "Look around the room Layla. Tell me five things you see."

Layla looks around the room. "Po…posters, electrical wire, desk, chair, and a fern."

The Doctor gives her a small smile. "Good. Now tell me four things you can touch." He wants to help her out though and pulls some items from his pockets.

Layla looks at him wary as he puts his hands in his pockets but relaxes as he sets things out in front of her. She gently touches each item and names them off. "Glasses, pencil, whistle, a toy mouse."

"Very good, Sweetheart. Now tell me three things you can hear."

"A fan, a radio, and you."

"Almost done Sweetheart. Now what are two things you can smell?" He sees that this exercise is helping and the glazed look is leaving her eyes. He sets down a pack of gum and a banana hoping that it would help her more than anything.

"Spearmint and…" Her face scrunches up in disgust. "A banana?"

The Doctor has to bit his cheek to keep from chuckling. "Good. One more. Take this. Tell me what you taste." He holds out a pack of candy and she slowly takes it and puts one in her mouth.

"Chocolate." She lets out a quivering breath and looks at him in the eyes. "Doctor?" A beaming smile appears on his face and he nods his head happily but a burst of laughter leaves him at what she says next. "If you had given me that banana to taste I would have shoved it up your nose.

"Duly noted. Are you doing better now?"

"Yes, thank you. I take it, since you are here, you know what is going on with the Wire? Is Rose okay?"

He winces. "No, her face was taken. But I do know what to do to stop the Wire and restore everyone's faces. Would you like help up?"

Layla ducks her head. "No…" She doesn't want to be touched right now. She is still feeling raw from her flashback and she feels bad that she doesn't even want the man who she loves to touch her.

The Doctor frowns in concern. "Layla, love. It's alright. I understand. I am going to go back out and finish my device to stop the Wire. Come out when you are ready, alright?" He stands to leave when she calls him back.

"Wait! Please… please don't leave me alone." She leans forward as if to grab him but recoils slightly.

The Doctor's hearts hurt at her plea. "Of course, love. I'll never leave you. Ready to go?" She stands up shakily and nods her head. The Doctor heads out first so she can keep him in her sight and makes his way over to Tommy.

Tommy looks at them and understands that something happened to her, but not what. He is smart enough to know to not bring it up though. "Hello, Miss Layla. Glad to see you still have your face."

Layla quietly laughs. "Me too, Tommy. Me too. So, what is needed to finish your device, Doctor?"

"Oh! I found the valve." Tommy hands the valve to the Doctor who gives him a beaming grin.

"Perfect, that's everything. Let's go." They all run out of the door and the Doctor takes the lead to where Magpie went and he finishes putting his device together.

They get closer and Tommy recognizes where they need to go. "There!"

"Come on!" The Doctor takes off but keeps pace with Layla.

"Wait, Wait, Wait! Where do you think…" The Doctor puts his physic paper in the guard's face and lets him quickly read it before taking off again. "Oh! I'm very sorry, sir and ma'am. Shouldn't you be at the coronation? Ma'am do you need medical services?"

"They're saving us a seat." The Doctor shouts back but doesn't give him any more information.

Tommy looks at the Doctor oddly. "Who did he think you were?"

The Doctor looks at his physic paper and chuckles. "King and Queen of Belgium, apparently." His grin widens as he hears Layla snort in amusement. They get to a control room and the Doctor puts the device down and turns it on. He looks to Tommy. "Keep this switched on. Don't let anyone stop you, Tommy. Everything depends on it. You understand?" He doesn't wait for an answer as he takes a coil of wire and looks towards Layla. "Come on, love. Let's get this settled."

Layla is grateful that he wasn't going to leave her alone and that he didn't try to grab her hand like he normally does. He leads her towards the transmitter and starts to climb up. The guard from before sees him and comes running over. "You'll get yourself killed up there! Your Majesty!" Layla looks on in worry but she knows that the Doctor can do it.

The Doctor gets up to where Magpie is and hears him cry out. "It's too late! It's too late for all of us!"

"I shall consume you, Doctor." The Wire looked at him hungrily.

The Doctor grits his teeth and glares at Magpie for what he did to Layla. "I won't let you do this, Magpie!"

Red energy comes froth and latches onto Magpie's face. "Help me, Doctor. It burns. It took my face, my soul."

"You cannot stop the Wire. Soon I shall become manifest." The Wire gloats.

"No more of this. You promised me peace!" Magpie cries out in pain.

"And peace you shall have." She says soothingly before he is zapped into atoms and disappears.

"Been burning the candle at both ends? You've overextended yourself, Missis. You shouldn't have had a crack at Magpie there." The Doctor is able to get ahold of the portable television without being electrocuted. He sends the Wire a smirk. "Rubber soles, swear by them!" He plugs in the cable he brought but it doesn't work like he expected it to.

"Oh dear. Has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?" She mocks him. Suddenly the red energy goes back into the mast and then into the portable television. "No!"

"It's closed down, I'm afraid, and no epilogue." The Doctor tells her with no remorse. It is her fault Layla was hurt and traumatized. He climbs down the mast and gives Layla a smile but he inwardly grimaces at the blood on her. "Let's go see Tommy." They walk in silence but with the Doctor paying very close attention to Layla to make sure she's still alright. He sees Tommy and gives him a grin. "What have we missed?"

"Doctor! What happened?"

He shrugs. "All sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form. That's me by the way." He wiggles his eyebrows at Layla when she lets out a 'pfft.' "I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here." He holds out the device. "I just invented the home video thirty years early. Betamax. Oh, look. God save the Queen, eh?"

Xxxxxx

They head back to Florizel Street to walk Tommy home. They see that the street is loaded with people though. "Oh, it's my grandson, oh, son!" They all look over and see Tommy's gran waving towards them. Tommy takes off running towards her and envelopes her in a tight hug.

The Doctor grins at the scene before turning towards Layla. "Are you doing okay, love?"

Layla looks at him lovingly. She is so grateful to him. He has shown a lot of patience and care towards her. She slowly reaches for his hand and grips it tightly. "I'm better now. Thank you." She leans forwards and gives him a chaste kiss. "I love you."

The Doctor squeezes her hand back. "I love you too." He looks down at her hand and turns it around to look at the raw skin and dried blood. "May I take care of your wounds?"

Layla twitches slightly but gives him a nod. He leads her over to some chairs and has her sit down. He reaches into his pockets and pulls out a first aid kit. He works on her wounds with gentle care. It doesn't take long before she is bandaged up and he slowly leans towards her and gives her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Let's go look for Rose and make sure she is alright. We can talk more tonight." Layla tells him. She wants to be open with him and the Tardis was right, she has her and the Doctor there for her. She can share the scary moments from her past just like the Doctor has slowly been.

The party in the street is at its peak when they find Rose. "Are you alright Layla?" Rose wasn't sure what happened to Layla after her own face was taken, but she could see the bandages and even paler than normal complexion.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Layla was not one to talk about the trauma she dealt with to Rose. She sometimes did with Jackie, but she didn't want her friend to walk on eggshells around her worrying about triggering something.

"We could go down the mall, join in with the crowds."

"Nah, that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here." The Doctor spreads his arms around indicating the party on the street.

Rose smirks at him. "The domestic approach."

"Exactly."

Layla gasps and puts the back of her hand against the Doctor's forehead. "Oh no! He is sick! He is already delusional!" The girls start to snigger and the Doctor pouts.

"Will it, that thing, is it trapped for good on video?" Rose asked him when she stopped laughing.

"Hope so. Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivalled knowledge of transtemporal extirpation methods to neutralize the residual electronic pattern."

The girls just look at him dumbly. "You what?" Rose asked at the same time that Layla asked. "Did you swallow a dictionary?"

The Doctor laughs. "I'm going to tape over it." The Doctor watches as Tommy walks over towards them a big smile on his face.

"Just leave it to me. I'm always doing that." Rose tells him.

"Tell you what, Tommy, you can have the scooter. Little present. Best, er, keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh?"

They hear a door slam shut and look towards the noise. They see Eddie Connolly walking down the sidewalk with a suitcase in his hands. "Good riddance." Tommy sneers. All three can see the conflicted emotions on the boy's face though.

"Is that it, then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world. No room for a man like Eddie Connolly."

"That's right. He deserves it."

"Tommy, go after him." Rose encourages.

"What for?"

"He's your dad." Rose knew that if it was hers, she would go after him.

"He's an idiot." Layla snorts in amusement at his matter-of-fact tone.

Rose grins. "Of course he is. Like I said, he's your dad. But you're clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don't stop there. Go on." Tommy gives in because as mad as he is at his dad, he still loves him.

Xxxxxx

It is later in the night and Layla is sitting in her room waiting for the Doctor to come. He promised that he would stay the night with her tonight. She is mentally preparing herself to talk to the Doctor about what happened to her today. She knows she doesn't have to and that the Doctor wouldn't push her to talk about it. But she knows he is curious and honestly, it is something he needs to know because it could affect their intimate life.

Knock. Knock.

The Doctor slowly opens the door and stands under the frame but doesn't come in. "May I enter?" He has a feeling of what happened today from her actions and what she said during her flashback, and he wants to let her have control of how things will go tonight.

"Of course, love." Layla pats the space next to her on the bed. He walks over and sits on the bed but leaves some space between them. Layla gives him a soft smile and scoots closer to him and grabs his hands. "I know you wouldn't push me to talk about today, but I want to talk about it. I feel that it is something you should know about." She stops talking and wonders where to start.

"It's alright Layla. If you feel like I need to know, take your time. No need to rush yourself. I'm here for you. Always."

She gives him a wobbly smile. "Thank you. It doesn't happen often, but like I told you before, I do still get nightmares sometimes about the past. That is what happened last night. That is what made me so twitchy and jumpy today. If it hadn't been for last night, I don't think I would have reacted as badly as I did. When Magpie tied me up, it just took me back to when I was a child in a similar situation. It was when I was living in the first abusive home that my foster dad got drunk. I was the only one home at the time and in my room doing my schoolwork. He attempted to assault me. He tied me up like Magpie did. Luckily my foster brother came home and heard me calling for help. He came in and realized what our foster dad was going to do and he smashed an empty beer bottle on the back of his head. When he was unconscious my brother untied me and took care of me. We knew we couldn't stay there but we had nowhere else to go. That is when my brother planned to anger our foster dad in public. It was easy to do really and that is what led to him hitting us in public and being taken away. That was only a couple of days after his assault attempt and he was already angry for what happened."

The Doctor is holding her hands tightly and a look of rage was in his eyes. He doesn't want to scare Layla though and he breathes heavily out of his nose and relaxes. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you from Magpie, Layla."

"It's not your fault Doctor. We couldn't have known that would happen. I know you're angry at what happened and for the past, and I appreciate that you care enough to be angry for me. I know that I like to make sexual jokes. I know some of them are about bondage, but I joke about it to try to get over the past. I don't want to be limited on what I can do because of past trauma. I'm not against it. It is actually something I want to explore with you. Because when I do it, I have to have full trust in my partner, but also, because I need to have a method of escape just in case. While I logically know you would never hurt me…"

"I get it Layla. I do. You're right that I would never hurt you like that. But when and if we do decide to go down that path, if it gives you the feelings of safety and comfort, I have no problems with doing what you need to feel safe. I want you happy and healthy, physically, mentally, and emotionally."

Layla wraps her arms around the Doctor's neck and pulls him in for a tight hug. She feels him slowly hug her just as tightly. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Now, let's get you to bed, love. You've had a trying day."

"Alright." She gets up and strips out of her clothing and puts on some pajamas. When she turns around, she sees that the Doctor has taken off his taken off his shoes and his suit jacket. He has already turned down the bed and waiting for her to join him. She crawls inside and lays her head against his chest and he wraps his arm around her holding her to him tightly.

He kisses the top of her head. "Night love. I'll be here for you all night." She squeezes his side in appreciation and slowly drifts off to sleep with the Doctor's warmth and scent surrounding her.