"Got it!"

The Doctor's voice cheered, "Boosted the radar so we can follow the path of the spaceship..." He looked at me with an eager expression as I came to his side. He pointed to the swivel screen above the console, "That's the spaceship on the way to the Earth but see..." He pointed to the trajectory of the little ship on the screen, "It sling-shotted around the Earth. It went up and came back back. Whoever those aliens are, they've been here for a while."

The Doctor changed the screen to worldwide news channels, flipping through them as he gained the information he needed. He paused on one and pointed to a bunch of officials, "I know them."

"Antagonists or allies?"

He hummed beneath his breath, "I worked with them for a bit. They wouldn't recognize me now though." He looked at Mickey and I could practically see his wheels turning.

"Ricky, do you have a car? Of course you do. Give us a ride, yeah."

"Say please, Doctor." I looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed.

"Would that be ok Mickey?"

"Might as well, not going to let you out of my sight this time."

No sooner did we step outside were we surrounded by spotlights,and armed men. I watched Mickey runoff and when he caught my eye, I winked at him.

The Doctor and I were directed to the back seat of a plush seat car.

"This doesn't look like we are being arrested."

"That's because we are not. They are taking us to 10 Downing Street."

My eyes widened before I spoke cautiously, "I think it was my mum that called them."

"Did us a favour then, got a ride directly where we needed to be."

Paparazzi lights flashed as we got out of the car. My cheeks heated just for a moment but I was suddenly glad I'd worn my better cardigan set. I tilted my head up proud and continued, after all I was with the Doctor.

Once we were in, all the 'importants' got ID cards. I was rejected from going in but before we parted I grabbed a hold of the Doctor's arm.

I leaned up to his ear, "Something is fishy about this whole thing."

Out of the corner of my eye I caught his wide grin, "I don't smell any fish."

"Oh hush you...Think about it Doctor, if you placed all the important people in a room what would be the quickest way to remove them?"

He nodded before continuing on in.

The man that had stopped me from entering after the Doctor, looked at me apologetically, "I'm going to have to have you wait with Security."

A woman stepped up beside me, "That's alright, I can take her. I was heading that way already."

As we walked away the woman's head tilted ever so toward me, "Harriet Jones, Flydale North."

I nodded as she walked at a quick pace as was normal.

"This friend of yours, is he truly an expert? Does he know about aliens?"

I looked at her features and noticed how they trembled ever so slightly, like they were close to collapse.

When we reached a corner away from sight she broke down crying and I took her into my arms uncertainly. I listened to the song that came from this woman before I helped her compose herself, "Will you show me?"

She showed me to the cabinet room and went into the closet where two bodies were thrown in.

She was babbling and I was just able to catch her saying, "They killed him and made him into a suit."

"Oh that's disgusting."

My instincts were all telling me I needed to go on the defensive. I searched the room for something. Anything that could possibly help us against aliens that skinned and wore their hunts.

A fart, almost like a signal, had me turning back to the door to find a broad shouldered woman with sweet features but piercing eyes standing in the doorway.

"Oh dear have you been naughty."

Definitely not sweet then.

My fists tightened at my sides as I forced myself to not to fidget as I began to fear, not for myself, but mum. She was alone at home, she had called this place; and if these aliens could hide in plain sight...

I backed away as the woman shed her stolen skin and out came a bald slightly green alien with claw-like hands.

What to do? What to do?

What was the use of being something new if I couldn't save those I love!

Harriet and I huddled together.

Suddenly bright light like lightning lit up around the alien stopping her from any further movement towards us.

I grabbed Harriet's hand, "Run!"

I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket as we ran. I closed each door as we ran, hoping to give some sort of blockade for our pursuer.

We hit a closed door by the lifts that were locked and to find we were trapped, only to hear the sound of the Doctor's sonic that gave us a temporary distraction to slip back the opposite direction.

The running felt endless, and with no end in sight; but it was better than the alternative.

Harriet hid behind a curtain, while I hid by a desk, as the female alien taunted us. Then more arrived.

"The longer this is prolonged the better." One sneered.

I could feel their thundering steps nearing my spot when Harriet shouted, "Take me first!"

As one hunted Harriet and another me, the Doctor arrived and caused another distraction by spraying the aliens with fire retardant foam.

We ran, turning another direction when Harriet shouted, "The protocols!"

As the doctor delayed the aliens by spouting nonsense, his favourite tactic, "One blast from this..." He gestured to the carafe of liquor in his hands, "...and we all go boom. Now questions: who are the Slitheen?"

"Alien." Harriet spoke up.

"Yes thank you..." The Doctor blustered on until he got a semi-answer from the aliens.

"Slitheen is our family name, not our species."

I went to the back of the room and took out my phone, texting Mickey. 'Is Mum safe?'

Only to see a pic in the recent text, of an electrocuted Slitheen.

The sound of a door slamming closed and something locking in place had me looking up. Metal shutters had come down to cover all the windows and out of cabinet access doors.

The Doctor grinned, "Installed in 1991, 3 inches of steel lining in each wall. They'll never get in."

I stared down at my phone, my heart pounding as I knew I needed to find a way to make sure my mum was safe, "Then, how do we get out?"

My heart ached when I saw the Doctor's 'oops' face.

"Ah."

"Didn't think that far?" I laughed...or at least tried to. I sat down at the head of the table, leaning my face on my hands and tried to access my Mind Palace. There were so many doors, full of so many memories, I had to search for just the right one. The one that whispered the loudest.

The Doctor continued to talk to Harriet about defence.

"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?"

I jumped up when I remembered the pic from Mickey.

"The Slitheen were at my mum's." I read the most recent text, "The two of them are at Mickey's but here's the curious thing." I handed my phone to the Doctor with the pic of the electrocuted Slitheen on it.

I watched as the Doctor examined the picture before he called Mickey, "Mickey I need you."

They connected the phone to the speaker on the conference call machine at the centre of the table.

The Doctor directed Mickey for a bit.

Then my mum's voice came on, "Rose, you told me it wasn't dangerous."

"You know very well I never said that."

"Climbing a volcano and dealing with aliens are two separate things, Rose!"

I sighed.

"Can you promise me you won't get hurt."

I looked over at the Doctor. My amber and his intense blue shared a look before I looked back to where my mum's voice was issuing from.

"I can't."

"Doctor, can you promise me? Is my daughter safe? Will she always be safe?"

Silence answered her and instead Mickey took over, the sound of his doorbell sounding in the back of the call.

Sounds of scuffling and a nearby roar before Mickey's ragged voice spoke, "They've found us."

"Get out of there, get out a window if you have to."

"He's blocking the living room. We are in the kitchen."

Harriet looked at me, "There has to be some way of stopping them."

I closed my eyes as the Doctor tried to run through planets and the knowledge they had of them.

We were running out of time, I went back into the hallways of my mind, I found the door whispering about 'Slitheen, London, invasion' and in my mind's eye I imagined a battering ram forcing the door down. Tears fell down my cheeks as I felt as if my head had been split open.

I opened my eyes and spoke directly to the centre of the table,

"Mickey, mum, Vinegar. Pickles, olives, eggs. They can't handle it."

I paced in front of the table.

After some scrabbling noises as my mum and Mickey tried to amass everything vinegrey in Mickey's kitchen the line went silent. A large explosive fart came through, I held my breath waiting to hear from my family.

"We are safe."

"Ew..." Mum's voice made me chuckle as I finally could breathe again.

"Thank goodness."

The Doctor strode toward me, "How did you know, Rose?"

"I..."

Mickey interrupted, "Doc, listen to this."

The sound of Mickey's tv came through, and the Doctor and I looked at each other both thinking the same thing.

"A call to arms?"

The audio: "We are facing extinction, if we don't strike first."

The Doctor pointed at the machine, "That's why they made a spectacle. You people get scared, you lash out. You go nuclear."

Harriet spoke up confused, "But why?"

"When we saw Earth that time, I heard several of the rich guests talk about getting a bargain on Earth's materials. What if its the same?" I spoke up.

"Sell Earth?"

I winced as the sharp pain that had alleviated for a short time came back with a vengeance. Then it was lights out for me, the last thing I was conscious of was the Doctor's shout.

"Rose!"

I woke up to find the Doctor kneeling beside me where I was laying on the ground. His face grave, his fingers lightly touching the top of my head.

"I could save the Earth, but lose you."

I reached up to take his hand in mine and give it a small squeeze.

"Save the Earth, Doctor."

"You don't even know what it is...and you'll let me."

I sat up only for more dots to cloud my vision for a moment, but as soon as I cleared I looked deep in his eyes, "I trust you, Doctor."

Harriet Jones cleared her throat, "Except its not your decision to make Doctor. As the only elected individual in this room, it is my duty. I command you, do it."

The Doctor helped me to my feet and led me to the table.

The Doctor nodded towards Harriet before instructing Mickey how to hack the navy and select a missile.

I could hear my mother crying in the background.

"Mickey, the world is in your hands."

I looked around, "Best chance is the cupboard."

As Harriet and I started clearing it out, Mickey and the Doctor worked on removing other missiles and signals trying to hijack the one coming our way.

Once the call disconnected we all ran toward the cupboard, closing the door then all three of us huddled together.

The whole thing shook, then rocked, then fell backward, turning over several times and it felt like we were in a wheel for several moments. Then there was a loud thud.

I fell upon the Doctor and stayed there for a moment breathing in the smell of the TARDIS and leather. The solid and comforting feel of the Doctor's arms around me had me relaxing further.

"Harriet Jones, Flydale North."

Harriet's voice broke through our moment of peace, as she had already made her way out into the rubble.

The Doctor cleared his throat, his chest rumbling beneath my cheek.

I sat up, "I guess we should..."

As Harriet continued down toward the crowds that were gathering at the end of the street, the Doctor and I stood side by side and our heads turned away.

My lips twitched into a smile as I saw the blush on his ears matched the blush upon my cheeks.

The Doctor spoke up looking after the woman taking control of the situation down the way, "I thought I knew her name. Harriet Jones, the future prime minister of Great Britain. Architect to the Golden age."

"Please don't go, sweetheart."

I gave my mum a big hug.

"All my life, I've felt like there was somewhere I needed to go. I finally found it."

My mum held me tighter, "Just don't forget."

"Me, forget, never."

My mom smiled and went to my bookshelf and took a large book from it, placing it in my hands.

I smiled as I looked down at it.

"Take the book and read it when you are homesick, you'll read your copy and I'll read mine." She booped my nose like she used to when I was small,

"No forgetting to call either."

"J.M. Barrie." The Doctor looked at the book in my hand, "Want to meet him?"

I shook my head, "Is there someplace like Neverland, instead?"

The Doctor gave me a wink, "I know just the place."

I looked over at the Doctor as he got the TARDIS ready to go. I suppose we'd talk about things later.

[Excerpt from the Doctor and Rose's adventures in the Næfre System]

The Doctor watched as Rose spun. Trails of iridescent skirts flying around her as she danced with the effervescent Seekers of Light.

She was something from a fairytale herself. She shone brighter than the stars above.

The Doctor's gaze flickered as he watched and wondered:

What exactly was this fair companion of his? Was she truly human?