Finally another chapter! I'm so sorry about the long wait between these two, I lost my momentum and had to pick it back up off the floor!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
The creature's long, thick talons were making their way towards Hally's face. She swallowed nervously, eyes flicking around the room for an escape. The creature suddenly let out a pained whine and raised its hands to its head, writhing in agony. Hally frowned, watching it in confusion. Luckily Rose instantly took the opportunity and pulled Hally back by her wrist, pushing Harriet towards the door.
Hally stumbled, catching her balance as she allowed Rose to pull her out of the Cabinet room, they went to run down the corridor taking them further away from the creature in the room, when Harriet stopped, turning back.
"No, wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them!" Right on cue, the creature let out a furious screech. It rounded on them, running quickly towards the trio.
Hally grabbed Harriet's shoulder. "They're going to have to wait." Hally said, matter of factly. "Move!"
All three of them sprinted along the corridor, the sound of wood splintering behind them as the creature slashed its way through the doors.
Rose grabbed hold of Hally's arm as they ran, Hally turned to look at her, the girl was panting but Hally could see the determination.
"What was that?! That shield thing?!" Rose shouted.
"Can we do this later?!" Hally shot her a look, glancing back down the corridor at the very sharp claws approaching. The three of them came to an abrupt halt, they'd run themselves into a dead end. Behind them, the creature was advancing. Hally looked towards the lift, wondering if they'd have enough time to escape if she called it now.
"Hello!" The lift doors had suddenly opened to reveal The Doctor. Hally took the opportunity, while the creature was distracted to push Rose and Harriet behind it and through the nearest door.
Hally scanned the room quickly. Another dead end.
"Hide!" Rose hissed as she dived behind a cabinet. Harriet rushed to hide behind a tall folding screen by the windows. Hally winced, finding nowhere better than behind the large settee.
"Oh, such fun. Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips." The creature that had once been the squat, blonde woman made a horrible sound that Hally assumed must have been her pretending to kiss them. Hally pulled a face and out of the corner of her eye, saw Rose successfully move from behind the cabinet to behind a curtain, unseen.
Hally sniffed the air, there were more of them.
"My brothers." The female cooed.
"Happy hunting?" A lower voice chimed in, Hally could hear the smug smile the creature was no doubt wearing.
"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink." She laughed cruelly.
"Sweat and fear…" A slimy voice added.
"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones."
Hally raised an eyebrow, trying to think. They were hunting as a pack… that was interesting.
"And a ripe youngster, all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps." The female licked her lips.
Hally tried to wrack her brains.
"And there's something else… something different…" One of them took a long sniff of the air.
Hally heard a growl of pleasure. "Smells of power…. Power and grief."
Hally pulled a face and locked eyes with Rose, she silently lifted up her arm, trying to smell her armpit to see if she could smell anything. Rose had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh. Hally looked up just in time to see one of the creatures pull back the curtain hiding Rose. The blonde screamed loudly.
Hally lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the way as the creature swiped its huge claws down. The creature began to turn on them.
Harriet appeared from behind the folding screen, waving her arms madly. "No! Take me first! Take me!"
Before Hally could even consider a terribly thought out escape plan, The Doctor burst in, a red fire extinguisher at the ready. He unloaded the gas onto the nearest creature, it let out a harsh cry of frustration.
"Out, with me!" The Doctor shouted.
They didn't need telling twice. Rose yanked the curtain down over another of the green giants and the trio ran over to side with The Doctor, backing out the room as he filled it with carbon dioxide.
The Doctor flashed a look to Harriet. "Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely.
Harriet took it in her stride and despite their current situation, held out her hand professionally. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."
The Doctor nodded. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She returned his nod of respect.
The fire extinguisher ran out with a soft whine. The Doctor chucked it off to the side.
"We need to head to the Cabinet Room."
Harriet nodded quickly. "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."
The Doctor smiled, his ears wiggling happily. "Harriet Jones, I like you."
"And I like you too." Harriet smiled. The moment was swiftly interrupted by the re-emergence of the creatures, screaming angrily as they charged at the group.
"Time to go!" Hally cried and they quickly sprinted out of the room, The Doctor leading them back towards the cabinet room they'd only recently escaped.
Hally took a peek over her shoulder as they ran along the corridor. "Still following!" She shouted, hoping The Doctor had some sort of plan for when they arrived in the cabinet room that would prevent them from being sliced into tiny pieces.
The Doctor skidded to a halt as he swiped up a decanter of alcohol from a desk near the doorway. Rose and Harriet noticed he'd stopped running and awkwardly came to a halt, Hally had to grab onto the corner of a side table to stop herself from barreling into them. She stepped up beside The Doctor, keeping Rose and Harriet safely behind them.
"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol." He confidently held the sonic screwdriver to the glass of the decanter. "Whoof! We all go up. So back off." He warned, his voice darkening.
Hally narrowed her eyes, shooting a small look of disbelief at The Doctor.
This.
This is the plan?!
To Hally's amazement, the creatures actually took a step back at The Doctor's threat.
She could hear the grin in his voice as he clutched the decanter into his chest. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
Harriet piped up from behind them. "They're aliens."
"Yes. I got that, thanks." The Doctor quipped back.
"Who are you, if not human?" One of the Slitheen countered, its eyes blinking mockingly.
"Who's not human?" Harriet whispered.
Rose whispered back. "They're not human."
"Not human?" Harriet gasped.
The Doctor sighed and shot them both a look. "Can I have a bit of hush?"
"Sorry." Harriet winced.
The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen, who were patiently waiting for The Doctor's attention. "So, what's the plan?"
Harriet tried and again failed to whisper quietly to Rose. "But he's got a Northern accent…"
Hally snorted, turning back to the pair. "Just bad luck really…"
The Doctor coughed. "I said hush." He shot Hally a look. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"
The Slitheen on the left laughed. "Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?"
Hally cocked her head to one side. "That was my initial thought with the Nestene… but apparently it's the done thing?" She shrugged nonchalantly.
Hally was sure The Doctor had stamped his foot at that. "Hush…" He huffed and looked back at the Slitheen. "Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"
"The Slitheen race?" The one on the left asked, amused.
Another one chimed in. "Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname." He straightened up proudly. "Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."
The Doctor raised his head slightly in understanding. "So, you're family."
"A family business." He smirked proudly.
"Then you're out to make a profit." The Doctor concluded.
"On a 'God-forsaken rock'?" Hally raised an eyebrow. The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully.
One of the Slitheen coughed insincerely. "Ah, excuse me?" Hally and The Doctor looked back to the trio of Slitheen. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"
The Doctor's face fell. "Is that what I said?"
Hally brought her hand up to her face, groaning inwardly.
"You're making it up." The Slitheen took a threatening step forward.
The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it." The Doctor went to pass the decanter to Harriet but she looked back at him, the red cabinet box clutched in her hands.
"You pass it to the left first." She offered.
"Sorry." The Doctor quickly chucked it at Rose, who caught it with a 'thanks!'
The Slitheen were skulking towards them again, a cruel smirk pulling at each of their mouths. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."
Rose took a swig of the decanter, swallowing hard. "Don't you think we should run?" She aimed at The Doctor. "Or… do one of those shield thingies?" Rose flashed her eyes at Hally meaningfully. Hally cut her off with a sharp shake of her head.
The Doctor had begun to back them all into the cabinet room behind them. "Fascinating history, Downing Street." He started to ramble. "Two thousand years ago, this was marshland. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He grinned. "End of lesson."
With that he lifted a small panel by the door, pressing the button underneath. Metal shutters crashed closed across all the windows and doors in the room.
The Doctor turned to them, obviously proud of himself.
"Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in." He grinned.
"And how do we get out?" Rose asked, crossing her arms.
"Ah."
The Doctor had quickly regained his vigour and was currently moving the body of Ganesh into a small storeroom alongside the body of the recently deceased Prime Minister. He straightened up, looking down at the body, an unreadable look on his face.
"What was his name?" He suddenly asked, to no one in particular.
"Who?" Harriet, who was standing closest to the door to the store cupboard asked.
"This one." The Doctor motioned down to his body. "The secretary or whatever he was called."
Hally leant over the table, peering into the small room. "Ganesh…" She called over to them. Both The Doctor and Harriet turned back to look at her, a look of surprise crossed over The Doctor's face.
She frowned slightly. "It was on his badge…" Hally shrugged, resting back into the chair she'd sat herself in, pouring over some of the documents inside the Emergency Protocols.
Harriet looked down sadly, muttering under her breath. "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." Hally shot her a slightly sympathetic look.
Rose moved over to join Harriet near the doorway to the cupboard, Hally flipped over the page reading, it was clear from the protocols that the earth technology was primitive, it certainly begged the question of why the Slitheen thought it would be worth their time invading?
If it's not an invasion what is it? What sort of family business benefits from this?
Harriet interrupted Hally's thoughts. "...The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs." She leant against the desk. Rose appeared on Hally's other side, bending down to read.
"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" She quipped. Hally couldn't help but laugh.
"You're a very violent young woman." Harriet mused, straightening up and looking at Rose.
Hally smirked. "It's why we get along."
"I'm serious. We could." Rose insisted. Harriet sighed and picked up the documents from the desk, she quickly explained to them that nuclear codes were inaccessible unless released directly by the UN.
Hally leant back in her chair, resting her hands on the back of her head. "Do you think they want the codes for themselves?" She mused out loud. She looked over at The Doctor who was deep in thought. "But what would they need with these primitive Earth weapons?"
The Doctor's frown deepened. "Well, they're just one family, so it's not an invasion." He looked up at Hally. "They don't want 'Slitheen World', they're out to make money." Hally nodded in agreement, he continued. "That means they want to use something. Something here on Earth. Some kind of asset?" He turned to the humans.
"Like what, gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet offered. The Doctor smiled.
"You're very good at this."
"Thank you." She looked a little pleased with herself.
The Doctor rubbed a hand over his head, starting to pace. "Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?" He muttered.
Rose's phone went off with a sharp beep that broke the tense silence that had fallen over them. She checked it quickly. "It's Mickey."
The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."
"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all…" Rose muttered, holding up her phone to show them the picture on her screen. It was a Slitheen.
Rose had instantly called her boyfriend back and after a pretty chaotic few minutes, during which Hally had managed to figure out from Rose's side of the conversation that her mother had been targeted by a Slitheen, The Doctor had swiped Rose's phone from her hands. He bluntly instructed Mickey to go to his computer, talking him through hacking into a U.N.I.T database.
"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind." Jackie cut in, while the small team were discussing the crash into Big Ben. "Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets... I have had creatures from the pits of hell, in my own living room! And my daughter disappears off the face of the Earth." Rose sighed, quickly stepping in to try and defend The Doctor.
"I told you what happened."
Jackie cut her daughter off. "I'm talking to him." Her tone was dangerous. "'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you just answer me this. Is my daughter safe?"
There was an uncomfortable silence when The Doctor didn't answer. Again Rose tried to help "I'm fine."
"Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?" Jackie escalated. "Well, what's the answer!?"
The Doctor was saved by Mickey who let them know he'd cracked into the U.N.I.T system with a quick. "We're in."
The Doctor jumped on the change in subject. "Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that…"
Hally was pacing at the top of the room as The Doctor listened to the noise of the Slitheen signal that was now being relayed through Rose's phone. She shook her head, she'd been at war and strategy was a bit of a strong point for her. Why was none of this making sense?
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying. It's some sort of message."
Hally cocked her head listening. "Are they sending out a message to the rest of their family?" She suggested. "Or maybe other families…" She bit her lip. "Could there be a chance their planet was destroyed? And they're looking for habitation?" She raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor was about to say something when the noise of a doorbell distorted through Rose's phone.
"Hush!" The Doctor exclaimed irritably. Mickey mumbled something on the other side of the phone.
The Doctor circled around, bringing the palms of his hands together, pointing them at Hally. "It's beaming out into space, who's it for?" He bounced towards her.
There was a noise of distress from Jackie and suddenly Mickey's voice was back at the phone.
"They've found us!"
The Doctor leapt back to the phone. "Mickey, I need that signal!"
Rose pushed him out of the way, shouting down the phone. "Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! Get out!" Hally listened as panicked sounds erupted from down the phone, the pair seemingly trying to escape Mickey's flat.
Harriet turned to The Doctor, chastising him like a child and demanding he figure out how to help Jackie and Mickey when it became obvious the pair were trapped.
"Right!" The Doctor started. "If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet." He looked at Hally. "So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance." He looked back at Rose and Harriet. "What else do we know about them? Information!" He demanded.
Rose blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "They're green."
The Doctor nodded. "Yep, narrows it down."
"Good sense of smell." She added after a moment.
"Narrows it down."
"They can smell adrenalin." Rose remembered suddenly.
"The nictitating membrane!" Hally added quickly.
"Narrows it down." The Doctor closed his eyes, thinking.
"The pig technology." Harriet chimed in.
"Narrows it down."
"The spaceship in the Thames!" Rose added off the back of that. "You said slipstream engine?"
"Narrows it down."
Mickey's panicked voice cut in. "It's getting in!"
Rose sucked in a breath, trying to think. "They hunt like it's a ritual!"
"Narrows it down."
"Wait a minute." Harriet started, drawing focus. "Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, umm." She faltered.
"Bad breath!" Rose offered.
"That's it!" Harriet grinned, nodding.
"Calcium decay!" Hally shouted, turning back to The Doctor.
"Now, that narrows it down!" He grinned, clapping his hands together and concentrating as Rose tried to calm Mickey down.
"Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium." The Doctor muttered.
"Creatures that are basically living calcium!" Hally encouraged, wracking her brains.
The Doctor paced shortly up and down. "What else? What else? Hyphenated surname. Yes! That narrows it down to one planet.
"Raxacoricofallapatorius!" Hally shouted, The Doctor grinned madly and Hally couldn't help her small spring of triumph. "Yes! I did learn something!" She punched the air, earning her a very strange look from Harriet.
Her victory was apparently unappreciated by Mickey, however. "Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter!" He shouted sarcastically down the phone.
The Doctor quickly instructed Mickey and Jackie into the kitchen of the flat. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!" He was running with his thoughts, quickly trying to come up with a plan.
"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet shouted. It was Hally's turn to look at Harriet in confusion. The Doctor seemed to understand it however.
"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"
Mickey didn't know. With the swift help of Jackie and Rose, the two located a variety of pickled foods. Jackie must have thrown the concoction over the advancing Slitheen, because moments later there were cries of triumph down the phone.
Rose let out a cry of relief and the small group confined in the cabinet room took a moment to toast with a glass of port from the decanter. The Doctor shot Hally a look, considering her warily.
She laughed. "Really? Are you about to chastise me for 'underage' drinking?" He chuckled lightly, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
Their toast, however, was cut short by Mickey back on the phone. "Listen to this." A new voice could now be heard from the device, the Slitheen disguising itself as council member Green was addressing the population on the TV.
"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds." Green explained, playing the fear into his voice.
"What?" The Doctor interrupted abruptly.
"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes." The group in the cabinet room shared a look of realisation. "A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on, it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."
The Doctor straightened up, visibly irked. "He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it." He waved his arms in frustration.
"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.
Rose countered quickly. "They did last time."
The Doctor was pacing now, it was beginning to put Hally on edge. She braced herself against the back of one of the chairs. Trying to calmly express what The Doctor was probably thinking. "That's why they went for spectacle… If the whole planet is on red alert, mass panic then,-"
Rose cut in, catching up with their train of thought. "They release the defence codes…"
"And the Slitheen go nuclear." The Doctor finished. With that, he marched over to the metal shutters that stood between them and the corridor. He flicked on the sonic screwdriver, the metal shutter opening enough for The Doctor to see through.
"You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked." He threw the words at the Slitheen Margaret, who had changed back into her human costume. She laughed, a horrible, sickly sound.
"And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away." She smirked, incredibly pleased with herself.
Harriet stepped forward. "But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?"
The Doctor turned to her, his face grave. "Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."
Hally raised her eyebrows.
"The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel." Margaret grinned.
"Seems a little premature." Hally stepped forward, drawing Margaret's attention. "Advertising before you've actually got anything to sell?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously. Margaret laughed softly and was about to respond, but The Doctor had obviously decided that he was done playing around.
"I'll give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you." He cut in.
Margaret smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What, you? Trapped in your box?"
"Yes. Me." The Doctor bit back. At no point showing any sign of doubt.
Hally raised her eyebrow, finding herself to be a little impressed. The Doctor snapped the metal shutter closed on Margaret's laughing face, turning back to face the group. Rose quickly started to try and think up a plan again, the human didn't give up easily.
"If we could just get out of here…" She mused, Hally could hear the fear in her voice.
"There's a way out." The Doctor said quietly.
Rose practically jumped at that. "What?!" She questioned, The Doctor was reluctant, but eventually, he explained plainly that there had always been a way out. Just not necessarily alive.
Hally had actually forgotten that Jackie and Mickey were still on the other end of the phone until Jackie piped up.
"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."
The Doctor groaned, conflicted. "That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies." He reasoned.
"Do it." Rose said simply, causing everyone to turn to her.
The Doctor scoffed. "You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"
Rose nodded. "Yeah." She added sincerely, ignoring the many shouts of protest from her mother down the phone. The Doctor turned back to the receiver, his voice grave.
"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will." He explained, his tone empathetic but direct. He looked up at Hally, his hard eyes softening for a short moment. "And it's not just me now, I've got someone to protect too."
"Then what're you waiting for?" Rose pleaded.
"I could save the world but lose you… both of you." It seemed like The Doctor was asking for her permission. Hally started to say something, but the voice in the corner ended the discussion.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it." Harriet said, nodding with finality. The Doctor looked over to her, nodding slightly.
Rose let out a small breath. "How do we get out?" She asked quietly.
"We don't. We stay here." The Doctor said, moving around to the other side of the room, grabbing the discarded Emergency Protocols and turning his attention back to the phone.
"Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything." He quickly guided Mickey through hacking into the Royal Navy and selecting a Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A missile. Hally could hear Jackie's protests in the background.
"You ready for this?" The Doctor paused for a moment.
There was a loud exhale of breath from the phone. "Yeah."
"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands." The Doctor smiled slightly. "Fire."
Hally swallowed, her hearts were suddenly beating four times as fast as normal, her blood felt like it was roaring around her body.
"How solid are these?" Harriet's voice even sounded muffled as she spoke.
"Not solid enough. Built for short-range attack, nothing this big." The Doctor sighed. Hally tried to let in a deep breath but found that she couldn't. The air seemed to get trapped.
"All right, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me!" Rose started to move, Harriet followed instantly. "Come on!" Rose was tugging on her arm now, the movement jolted Hally out of her trance. She allowed Rose to pull her over to the cupboard, the two human women began frantically emptying the small space so they could all get inside. Hally blinked a few times, climbing over the furniture to get inside. She felt Rose, Harriet and The Doctor follow her in, Hally closed her eyes, not that it mattered much as seconds later Harriet was closing the door and the tiny room was plunged into darkness.
Hally could hear her breath, it was so incredibly loud. Focusing was impossible but she needed to try. She felt out with her mind, feeling the structure around them, winding her consciousness around it she tried with all her energy to keep it held together.
"Here we go. Nice knowing you both. Hannibal!" Harriet cried, then there was impact.
Hally couldn't hear a thing, just a constant ringing in her ears. Light suddenly bombarded its way into their space as The Doctor pushed the steel door off the cupboard. Hally felt the cool air hit her face as the others scrambled out of the small space. She couldn't follow though, she couldn't move. It was so hot, her lungs burnt as she inhaled the dust. Her vision flickered and suddenly she wasn't curled up in a tiny cupboard in London. She was home again. Except it wasn't home, it was burning. Dying.
Dust hung in the air, it bit painfully at the inside of her lungs. A stream of light from a broken window hit the dirty brown floor, littered with rubble and broken furniture. The silence hung in the air like it was holding the oxygen away from her lungs.
She could see them again. Their bodies. Everywhere. Air caught in her throat and she struggled not to choke. Her eyes burned with tears. She couldn't move.
A dark figure appeared in front of her eyes, kneeling down in front of her. Gentle hands gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly.
Koschei?
"Hally? Hey, are you ok?" The Doctor shook his daughter a little more firmly. She gasped in a deep breath, her glassy eyes regaining some of their colour. She looked up at his face in recognition, touching at her chest as she caught her breath.
"Are you alright…?" He probed, his voice was soft, his eyes trained only on her.
Hally nodded slowly. "I think so." She let out a long slow breath, grounding herself. "Shit." She let out a short laugh. "I… sorry, I think…" She shook her head, unsure of how to explain.
The Doctor nodded slowly in understanding. "It's ok. You're safe." He touched her cheek gently. Hally flinched slightly and The Doctor withdrew his hand.
"No… I didn't." Hally winced, realising what she'd done. She ran a hand over her face. "Jumpy… sorry. Turns out war is shit and I'm not over it." She laughed weakly. The Doctor stood up slowly, helping her up with his hand. She climbed out of the cupboard, taking in their now-destroyed surroundings. Hally could see Harriet was making some sort of formal statement, she looked back at The Doctor, giving him a small smile.
"Meet you back at the TARDIS?" She offered. He nodded slowly.
"Of course."
The Doctor was on the phone, well, he claimed it was a phone, it looked pretty outdated. He'd come back to the TARDIS about an hour ago and was now trying to get Rose to hurry up with her packing so they could leave. Hally chuckled softly as she heard Rose on the other end.
"Er, my mother's cooking."
The Doctor grinned. "Good. Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."
Hally rolled her eyes in amusement, she was sat cross-legged on the metal floor, her back leant against the railings.
"She's cooking tea. For us." Rose coughed awkwardly.
The Doctor made a face. "I don't do that."
Hally spluttered slightly, whispering desperately. "More human food? Oh my god, please can we?!" She grinned hopefully.
The Doctor shook his head definitively.
"She wants to get to know you." Rose reasoned.
"Tough. I've got better things to do." The Doctor answered, to both Rose and Hally.
"No, you don't!" Hally muttered irritably.
"It's just tea." She heard Rose whine.
"Not to me, it isn't." The Doctor shot back.
Then he tried a different tactic. "Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning ten million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere." He paused for dramatic effect. "Your choice."
Hally laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're mean, you know that right? That is emotional manipulation right there…" She pointed at him in mock accusation.
But, as usual, The Doctor soon got his way, he exited the TARDIS waiting for Rose outside. Hally leant herself on the console, watching him talking to Mickey on the monitor. She watched as Rose and her mother walked into the corner of the screen, she leant in closer when she saw Jackie was carrying something that looked suspiciously like…
Hally practically skipped out of the TARDIS doors as Rose was reasoning with her mother.
"Mum, if you saw it out there you'd never stay home."
"Got enough stuff?" The Doctor quipped. Rose turned on him.
"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me."
Hally's eyes widened as her suspicions were confirmed. "Oh my god, she brought food." She made her way over to a slightly startled Jackie. "Yes! I. Am. Starving." She relieved Jackie of the multiple Tupperware, Jackie didn't protest. Hally grinned stupidly up at The Doctor who just shook his head. Rose gave Mickey a sloppy kiss goodbye before saying her goodbyes to her mum. Hally held her Tupperware close to her chest as she went back inside the TARDIS, closely followed by The Doctor and finally Rose.
It'd been a few hours since the TARDIS had dematerialised from her home, The Doctor was busy fiddling with the TARDIS console and Rose had decided that now would be a good time to ask her questions.
She found Hally sat on the floor of what appeared to be a mixture between a swimming pool and a library. She was playing around with a necklace that she'd obviously pulled out from behind her T-shirt, she was tugging at a small, silvery ring that hung on the chain. Rose let out a small cough to let her know she was there.
Hally looked up and smiled, dropping the ring and letting it fall to her chest on the chain. Rose came up beside her, sitting herself down next to The Doctor's daughter.
When Rose didn't speak, Hally raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Are you alright…?" She smiled slightly, it wasn't like the blonde to be shy.
Rose smiled back. "Yes." She looked at Hally strangely. "What was that earlier? With the Slitheen? It was like magic. Can The Doctor do that?" She finally asked.
Hally laughed loudly. "Let's definitely not start calling it magic!" She chucked to herself, touching the ring as if sharing a private joke. She shook her head, smiling.
"No… it's." She smirked. "Well, it's complicated. No, The Doctor can't do it." She thought about it. "At least I'm pretty sure he can't." She bit her lip. "He doesn't know either. I will tell him…" She added quickly. "I just, need to work out the best way to do it. So I'd really appreciate it if, for a little while, this was our little secret?" Hally smiled kindly at Rose.
Rose frowned slightly, not liking the idea of lying to her new friend. But slowly, she nodded. "Ok. I guess it's not really my business, between you and… him." She motioned over her shoulder.
Hally smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." She leant back on her hands. "My relationship with my father is complicated, to say the least… we're actually being fairly civil to each other at the moment." She laughed. "And I'd quite like it to stay that way."
Rose nods in understanding. "No… I get it. Family is complicated." She laughed softly, noticing that Hally was again fiddling with the ring at her neck. She opened her mouth to question her again, but Hally's gaze had already turned back to the water of the pool. Rose closed her mouth and smiled to herself.
"I'll leave you to it." She smiled knowingly, getting to her feet. Hally nodded absentmindedly.
lll
Hally stepped forward into the medical examination room as the guard held the door open. It was a small room. Four, blank, white walls illuminated by some harsh clinical lights. A tall, confident-looking blonde woman looked up from her clipboard as Hally stepped into the room. She smiled kindly, gesturing for Hally to take a seat on the examination table as she approached. Hally's eye flickered nervously around the room but she couldn't see anything particularly untoward. It seemed like a fairly standard, earth clinical consultation room. She looked back up to the woman in front of her, whose eyes were twinkling patiently. She was wearing a long white coat, her stethoscope balanced around her neck.
"My name is Dr Pearce, I just going to need to check you over. Please, take a seat." She motioned again towards the table.
Hally looked back behind her, the guard had closed the door behind her and was now stationed directly outside the door. She heard Dr Pearce let out a small sigh.
"Look, either way, I've got to examine you, so we can do it the easy way… or I have to bring in our little soldier friend out there…" Hally looked back to the Dr, she gave Hally a small sympathetic smile.
Without saying anything Hally sat down onto the table, lying back so Dr Pearce continued.
Pearce smiled appreciatively as she approached Hally's right side. The pair were mainly silent while the Dr performed multiple examinations, just instructing Hally to lean forward, breathe etc. here and there. She placed two monitors on Hally's temples, checking something on the screen.
Hally watched the Dr's movements carefully. She went on to listen to Hally's heartbeats, test her circulation and reflexes. Hally frowned to herself slightly. After each reading, the Dr would jot down a few numbers and scribble some notes onto her clipboard. Hally could feel a fog stifling her thoughts of confusion. Shouldn't some of her vital signs be flagging something?
The thought floated off as Dr Pearce picked up a needle and vial.
"I just need to take a small amount of blood." Hally didn't say anything, Dr Pearce obviously took that as consent as she starting feeling at Hally's arm to find a vein. She pressed the small needle into her skin, the vial slowly beginning to fill.
"Do you have any current sexual partners?" Dr Pearce asked, rather out of the blue.
Hally raised an eyebrow, sending her a scathing look. "Why do you need to know?"
"Any chance you could be pregnant." Pearce rephrased kindly.
"No." Hally bit back quickly.
"Do you mind if I check?" Dr Pearce raised an eyebrow slightly, unconvinced.
"I doubt I could stop you?" Hally quipped back, the sarcasm obvious in her voice.
Dr Pearce frowned slightly at that, her eyes flickered momentarily to Hally's neck. Hally noticed and was suddenly reminded of the golden band that was seemingly a new permanent addition to her neck.
"What is it?" Hally asked, touching the cool, golden band lightly with her fingers.
Dr Pearce paused for a moment, looking warily at Hally. Hally frowned, bewildered by the look on Dr Pearce's face.
Dr Pearce, however, remained silent, removing the needle from Hally's arm, pressing a bud of cotton wool to the area.
Hally asked again, louder this time as if it was possible Dr Pearce hadn't heard her the first time.
"What is it?"
The Dr looked towards the door for a moment, considering something. Before she turned away from Hally to label the vial of blood, adding quietly. "It's to keep you stable."
Hally had no idea what that was supposed to mean. However, even as her confusion and anxiety over the matter grew. Hally felt it slowly fade away into nothing. Dr Pearce seemed to notice the change in Hally's demeanour and visibly relaxed. She jotted down a few extra notes on her clipboard, Hally cocked her head to one side to see if she could read any of it.
She couldn't.
After around 30 minutes, Dr Pearce knocked quietly on the door signalling for the guard to return. She slipped her notes into a brown folder passing them over to him, as she did so she brought a Dictaphone out of her pocket, quickly noting for herself. "Patient X19, seen on 4th November 2007. Vital signs are all within range. However, I'm picking up multiple emotional and physical traumas. The body is doing a good job of compensating but the patient would benefit from an intensive, personalised counselling course. I would also advise some sort of physical release."
Hally stared at Dr Pearce. 'Emotional and physical traumas'? What?!
The guard took the folder, looking expectantly at Hally. She slipped off of the table moving over towards the door.
Dr Pearce clicked the Dictaphone off, nodding in the direction of the folder she'd just handed to the guard.
"It should all be in there, if you could pass it along to Dr Saxon for me?" The guard nodded and with a soft grunt, guided Hally out of the room and back to her cell.