A/N: Hello everyone! I'm not dead yet! Soon I'll be though when my exam week starts... Oh well... Anyways, here starts the Second part! The Doctor has regenared, Rose is freaking out, Jack is thrown somewhere in time and Sierra is heading back to London after her meeting with the Second Doctor. New series of adventures is about to begin.
But let's get onto the story before I spoil everything. Please enjoy! ;)
X. It's Christmas!
Sierra whirled through the Vortex. A glance at Timmy told her that she was following the course the Second Doctor had piloted Tardis on. The moment when she had jumped, he had changed the course drastically so she could follow the route and he didn't need to get too close to his future incarnation and his Tardis.
"Let's see where I will end up to." She smirked. Her flight was much steadier now.
It was after the attack of the Christmas tree in the Tyler flat. The newly regenerated Doctor had stopped it with the Sonic Screwdriver and was now going out onto the balcony while securing a dressing gown around him. Rose, Jackie and Mickey followed him. Outside on the ground stood three of the robot Santas.
"That's them. What are they?" Mickey said to no one particular.
"Shush!" Rose… shushed him while looking at the Doctor, who raised his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it at the Santas in a threatening manner. They backed away, standing closer to each other. Then… teleported themselves away.
"They've just gone! What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a Sonic Screwdriver's gonna scare them off." Mickey huffed.
"Pilot Fish." The Doctor told them.
"What?" Rose asked. They all look at him.
"They were just Pilot Fish." He said again. He looked at the yard. "Oh…"
Golden whirl appeared in the middle of the yard, actually right on the spot where the Pilot Fish had stood. Rose turned to look in the same direction than him.
"Is that…?"
"Yeah." The Doctor said before coughing hard and throwing himself backwards against the wall, clearly in pain. The golden whirl disappeared, leaving a girl in a purple quilted jacket standing there. She looked up but saw none of them. They all were kneeling down next to the Time Lord.
"What's wrong?!" Rose asked in panic.
"You woke me up too soon." He told her, breathing heavily. "I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy."
More of the Vortex escaped through his mouth. The girl on the yard saw it and started to run towards the house.
"You see? The Pilot Fish could smell it. A million miles away. So they eliminate the defence - that's you lot - and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of year-." He lurched forward, groaning.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Jackie let out in worry.
"My head!"
Jackie kneeled before him, holding him up.
"I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-."
"What do you need?" The woman asked.
"I need-."
"Say it, tell me, tell me-."
"I need-."
"Painkillers?"
"I need-."
"Do you need aspirin?"
"I-."
"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I dunno… Pepto-Bismol?"
"I need-."
"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"
"I need-."
"Is it food? Something simple? Uh- a bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?" Jackie's voice rose to the hysteric level. The doorbell rang. No one went to answer it.
"I need you to shut up." The Doctor managed to say finally.
"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Jackie huffed. The doorbell rang again a sharp knocking following it. The Doctor lurched forward again, and leaned against the opposite wall.
"We haven't got much time. If there's Pilot Fish, then-." There was whirling noise by the front door but no one heard it. The Doctor took an apple out of his dressing gown pocket. "Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?"
"Oh, that's Howard, sorry." Jackie said sheepishly.
"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"
"He gets hungry."
The Doctor looked at the apple confusedly. "What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"
"Sometimes."
The Doctor suddenly shouted with pain again and sank to the floor. The front door opened and they could hear someone running towards them.
"Brain… collapsing…" The Doctor gasped out and grabbed hold of Rose's upper arms, holding them tightly. Sierra slid into the view. Literally slid, on the floor, her boots still on. She was panting slightly after running up the stairs.
"P- the Pilot Fish. The Pilot Fish mean... that something… something…" The Doctor was telling the blonde with deep breaths between the words.
"They mean that something's coming." Sierra said. The Doctor looked at her briefly before…
"Exactly." He collapsed into Rose's lap.
Rose kneeled next to the Doctor on his bed, tucking him in and mopping his forehead with a flannel. Sierra sat by the foot of the bed, watching the Time Lord with worry in her eyes. He was restless and sweaty. Mickey passed the room holding a laptop. He looked at all three of them. Rose looked back. He nodded, then went on his way.
"Where were you?" Rose asked quietly from the other girl. Sierra looked absent-mindedly at the Doctor before snapping into focus. She looked up at the blonde.
"I… I went to find Jack."
"How is he? The Doctor said he was alright."
"Yeah, he's fine. He managed to get out of the Satellite before it broke down.
"And you?"
"Emergency Protocol. I was whisked away to… another time. A friend of mine took me in for a while. I slept for thirteen…? Yeah, thirteen it was I think… thirteen hours and then came here."
"I see. I'm glad you are alright."
"I'm also happy to see you both in one piece." Sierra smiled. Rose left the room after a while, leaving the girl sitting there and staring in the space.
Minutes passed before Sierra got up. She walked through the living room straight to the hall.
"I'm going to meet someone. See you in a bit." She grabbed her jacket and exited the flat before they could stop her. She walked the rest of the stairs up to the rooftop and looked around. The rock-formation-like space ship of the Sycorax wasn't at sight yet. She tapped her destination into her VM and was gone in a swirl of gold.
"Miss Adler, this is such a sudden appearance." The voice of Mycroft Holmes greeted her as soon as her feet hit the ground. Sierra turned around to face the man.
"Well, I could've jumped off some rooftop again but it would have just taken too long time. I promise to do that the next time I'm here though." She smirked.
"What brings you here?"
"Have you seen the Pilot Fish yet? Those robo-Santas?" Sierra asked, untangling her scarf and taking off her woolly hat.
"I've been given some reports, yes. I'm leaving soon to meet the Prime Minister and the UNIT."
"Harriet Jones made it after all. Did you expect it at all?" Sierra took a seat opposite the man and rested her hands on her lap.
"Maybe a bit. After she made that press conference right after Downing Street was down." Mycroft grimaced inwardly at the unintended pun. Sierra chuckled.
"But then UNIT came to cover it all up. Or was it Torchwood?"
"And how do you know about Torchwood?" Sierra was met by the steely glare of the British Government.
"Oh yeah, you don't know me yet. I forgot that." She smiled before adding. "Time-travel, I've met you twice this far. The previous time was… three to four years from now on."
"I see. Must be annoying. But you didn't answer to my question."
"I didn't. But tell me first, have you put your security tabs and such after me? The Surveillance Level something and something?"
"I have."
"And have you found anything?"
"No."
"Any ideas why?"
"…No." Sierra could see that Mycroft was very reluctant to admit it. Her smirk widened.
"Are you familiar with the concept of parallel worlds?"
The explanation was long and needed a lot of proving but in the end Mycroft believed her. She told him about her accidental appearing to the world and how in her world there was TV series about the Doctor and Sherlock. About the latter, the man was a bit surprised. Sierra told also her travels with the Doctor and the recent regeneration. After some more polite words they both headed to the meeting Mycroft had mentioned. He would've wanted to not to take the girl with him but knew he couldn't do anything to stop her following. And he knew that Harriet Jones would be more than pleased to meet her again.
The doors to UNIT opened, and Llewellyn entered, followed by two others. The room was extremely busy.
"Mr Llewellyn." A man greeted him while he approached Harriet Jones.
"Mr Llewellyn, ma'am." He introduced himself.
"Harriet Jones. Prime Minister." The woman introduced herself, holding up her ID card. A girl behind her snorted and told a man next to him something that made him shook his head in a mild amusement.
"Oh, well, yes. I know who you are. I suppose I've ruined your Christmas." Llewellyn sighed, trying to ignore the two.
"Never off duty. Now, we've put out a cover story. Alex has been handling it." Harriet told him.
"We've said it was a hoax. Some sort of mask or prosthetics." A younger man, Alex, told them. Llewellyn nodded. "Students hi-jacking the signal, that sort of thing.
"Alex is my right-hand man. I'm not used to having a right-hand man. I quite like it, though." Harriet explained.
"Quite like it myself." Alex smiled and they grinned at each other.
"You were a backbencher too long Harriet." The girl behind smiled and then waved to Llewellyn. "Hi, I'm Sierra Adler. I just found out that I have a UNIT clearance." She told brightly.
"I-… I don't suppose there's any chance it was a hoax?" Llewellyn asked after taking in the girl's absolutely normal and non-military appearance.
"That would be nice. Then we could all go home. I don't suppose anyone's offered you a coffee...?" Harriet asked.
"No."
Harriet poured coffee into a cup. "But, no - the transmission was genuine. And this seems to be a new species of alien." She handed him the coffee. "At least not one we've encountered before."
"It's Sycorax." Sierra told them. Harriet nodded to her. Apparently she had told it earlier to her.
"You seem to be talking about aliens as a matter of fact." Llewellyn said, taking the cup.
"There's an act of parliament banning my autobiography."
A new man joined them. "Prime Minister?"
"I'm with you." And she followed him into the busy room. Sierra, Mycroft and a couple of more people followed her.
"Miss Jacobs can explain." The man – Blake - told them. A blonde woman at a computer stood up to meet them.
"I don't think we've been introduced. Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."
"Old habits definitely die hard…" Sierra muttered so only Mycroft could hear.
"Yes, I - I know who you are. The transmission didn't come from the surface of Mars. Guinevere One was broadcasting from a point 5 thousand miles above the planet." Jacobs told them.
"In other words, they've got a ship and the probe is on board." Blake clarified.
"But if they're not from the surface, then... they might not be from Mars itself. Maybe they're not actual Martians." Llewellyn thought aloud.
"Of course not, Martians look completely different."
"And I already said it is the Sycorax." Sierra added with a sigh. Llewellyn looked rather shocked.
"We think the ship was in flight when they just came across the probe."
"And they're moving. The ship's still in flight now. We've got it on the Hubble array." Jacobs turned back to the computer.
"Moving in which direction?" Harriet asked.
"Towards us."
"How fast?" Sierra asked.
"Very fast."
Harriet Jones stared at the diagram showing the position of the ship in comparison to the Earth which Jacobs had made come on the large screen on the wall.
"What was your name, again?" The woman asked the younger one.
"Sally."
"Thank you, Sally."
Time passed. A Sycorax – probably the leader of them – appeared on the computer screen and talked to them in passionate anger. But the translation program was taking time so they didn't know what the alien was saying. And according to an estimate, the ship was five hours from them.
Blake was sitting in a chair, deep in thought. Harriet Jones went up to him, and he stood up. Sierra watched them from distance.
"I don't suppose we've had a Code 9? No sign of the Doctor?" The woman asked.
"Nothing yet." Blake answered and Harriet closed her eyes, disappointed. "You've met him, haven't you?" Harriet nodded. "More like the stuff of legend."
"He is that. Failing him..." She looked him directly in the eyes. "What about Torchwood?"
"Don't contact them." Sierra interrupted. Harriet turned around.
"Why not?"
"They just scavenge alien stuff and if they get any aliens on their hands they dissect them. If you have to call them, call Torchwood Three. They are nice and competent. But Torchwood London is just a bunch of... They act on wrong principles at the moment. They think that Doctor is their enemy, that any alien coming here is an enemy. Heck, Torchwood was founded to protect the Earth against an alien threat, namely the Doctor in this case."
"And how did that happen?"
"Well… The Doctor saved Queen Victoria from an alien werewolf, got knighted and banished on the same ceremony… And the Torchwood was founded. Mind you, he hasn't done that yet on his time line." Sierra shrugged. "Besides… Torchwood is a secret organization."
"Right… I know I'm not supposed to know about Torchwood, I realize that. Not even the United Nations knows. But if ever there was a need for Torchwood, it's now." Harriet retorted.
"I can't take responsibility." Blake put in.
"I can. See to it. Get them ready."
Sierra bit her lip and shook her head in expiration. Blake nodded and left the two females while Alex approached Harriet, holding the laptop.
"Prime Minister..."
"Has it worked?"
"Just about." Alex placed the laptop down on a desk and showed her. Mycroft, Llewellyn and Jacobs also came to watch. "'People'... that could be 'cattle'... 'you belong to us. To the Sycorax' - they seem to be called 'Sycorax', not Martians. 'We own you. We now possess your land, your minerals, your precious stones. You will surrender or they will die. Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax rock' - as in the modern sense, they rock."
"Pompous lot of them." Sierra huffed.
"'They will die'? Not 'you will die', 'they will die'? Who's they?"
Sierra bit her lip. Mycroft shot her a short glance and frowned briefly at her anxious expression.
"I don't know, but it is the right personal pronoun, it's they."
"Send them our reply. Tell them... 'this is a day of peace on planet Earth.' Tell them... 'we extend that peace to the Sycorax'." Harriet told Alex who took notes. "And then tell them... 'this planet is armed and we do not surrender'."
Jacobs nodded. The three of them left her, leaving Mycroft and Sierra there.
"You should go. I can see you can't stay here without blurting the facts." Mycroft told the girl. Sierra looked up.
"O-Okay… I go to check Doctor and Rose…" Sierra tapped her watch and was gone.
"Blurting the facts?" Harriet asked.
"Yes, she knows very well what is going on." Mycroft said, not giving any more accurate explanation.
Sierra appeared to the hallway of the Tyler flat. It was very quiet in there.
"Hello? I'm back." She called. Rose ran from the living room to hug her, Mickey right behind her. To Sierra's surprise the boy hugged her too. Actually he hugged both of the girls at the same time. "Everything alright?"
"He isn't waking up…" Rose said quietly.
"He will. He just needs time."
"…okay." The blonde let go of her and took a step back. They all looked in the bedroom where Jackie had fallen asleep beside the Doctor. Rose walked there to lean against the doorframe while watching the pair of them. Mickey stood next to her and Sierra a bit away from them, taking off her jacket and hat. Rose glanced at Mickey and Sierra, and then back at the Doctor.
"The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor. The proper Doctor. He'd wake up. He'd save us." The blonde said quietly. Sierra stopped in the middle of putting her jacket on the coat rack and briefly glared the other girl murderously. Rose didn't notice it though.
"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asked. Sierra looked away. Yes, Rose loved the Ninth Doctor and it was natural for her to miss him but now she was being selfish for wishing him back while it was impossible and calling him 'the proper Doctor'. All the Doctors were proper, a bit different from each other but still the same person! And he couldn't help his situation. In a way it was Rose's fault. If she hadn't gone and opened the heart of Tardis, the Doctor hadn't needed to absorb the Time Vortex from her and regenerate. Although then he wouldn't be alive at all neither would Jack.
Sierra suppressed the urge to hit the blonde and yell at her. Instead she announced she was going to sleep. Rose told she could sleep in her room since the blonde didn't feel like sleeping much.
She slept well through the night, despite having slept thirteen hours earlier. And when she finally woke up, Rose and Mickey were nowhere to be seen. Sierra looked at the clock by the wall. It said it was almost midday or so.
"People on the roof tops…" Sierra sighed, getting up. She walked the stairs up to the roof and found Rose and Mickey there, watching the people on the edge of the roof and their loved ones trying to get them away from the edge.
"What do we do?" Mickey asked Rose. They didn't notice Sierra's presence.
"Nothing. There's no-one to save us. Not anymore." The blonde answered. Sierra wanted go and slap her but instead she stayed calm and said:
"Rubbish. We wait now. We have to. And we have time. Because you know what? We have a Time Lord on our side. He might be asleep now but trust me, he will be awake when the need is greatest." Then she turned on her heels and strode back inside before either of the teens got a chance to argue back.
Jackie, Rose and Mickey were in the living room, watching TV and listening Harriet Jones's speech. Sierra was in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching the Doctor. She could hear clearly what was going on in the living room though.
"Ladies and gentlemen... if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech, I'm afraid that's been cancelled…. Did we ask about the royal family? ... Oh. They're on the roof. But - Ladies and gentlemen - this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request: Doctor. If you're out there... we need you. I don't know what to do. But if you can hear me, Doctor... If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him... the situation has never been more desperate…"
Rose walked to the Doctor's room, silent tears running down her cheeks. Sierra looked up at her but didn't say anything.
"…Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us."
Rose leant against the doorframe, watching the Doctor's lifeless from. She was sobbing, taking great gulping breaths, the tears flooding down her cheeks. Jackie came to her, and took her arm. Rose turned to her and put her arms on Jackie's shoulders, her eyes squeezed shut.
"He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left me, mum. He's left me, mum..." The blonde sobbed. Jackie placed a kiss on her forehead and embraced her. Rose cried onto her shoulder while Sierra looked pointedly away, holding the Doctor's hand.
"It's all right... I'm sorry..." Jackie told her daughter soothingly.
At that moment, the windows smashed, showering the floor with glass. The ground shook violently. Sierra jumped up but didn't let go of the Doctor's hand.
From the window Sierra looked at the Sycorax spaceship. It looked like a floating rock formation. She had called to Jack to see what they knew but unfortunately they were about as lost as she was. Sierra could hear steps running towards the room. Rose, Mickey and Jackie.
"Mickey, we're gonna carry him. Mum - get your stuff, and get some food. We're going." Rose ordered the other two. Sierra turned away from the window.
"Well, where to?" Mickey asked.
"The TARDIS. It's the only safe place on Earth." Sierra answered and Rose nodded. "I can take care of him." She wrapped her left arm under the Time Lord and lifted him a bit so he was on the sitting position. "See you soon."
"What're we gonna do in there?!" Jackie asked.
"Hide." Rose answered. Sierra vanished from the room with the Doctor.
"Is that it?!"
"Mum - look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and - I don't know what to do, alright? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move." Jackie left the room.
Sierra and the Doctor appeared in the console. A soft welcoming but tired hum greeted them. Sierra laid the Doctor's head down on the grating gently before getting up and patting the console.
"I missed you too."
Rose and Mickey came in, carrying some bags. Jackie was following them hurriedly. She paused for a moment, looking around before coming in completely.
"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked.
"Not anymore, no." Rose admitted reluctantly.
"Well, you did it before..."
"I know, but it's sort of been... wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden." Rose shook her head, looking at the Doctor on the floor. "Try that again and I think the universe rips in half."
"Ah, better not, then."
"Maybe not."
"I could drive the Tardis but there are a couple of problems in that." Sierra said from her place at the console. "One: we have no idea where to go. Two: The Doctor is a part on the Tardis in a way. Because he is out of it now for example the translator doesn't work. So I don't know can I pilot the Tardis while he is recovering from the regeneration." She shrugged.
"So, what do we do? Just sit here?" Mickey questioned.
"That's as good as it gets." Rose sighed.
"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." Jackie said, giving a thermal flask to them.
"Hmm, the solution to everything..."
"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food." The Tyler matriarch left the TARDIS. Rose leaned against the console and looked down at the Doctor.
"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." Mickey commented and made Sierra laugh a bit. Rose in the other hand didn't answer. Mickey looked at the TARDIS computer screen. "How does this thing work? It picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"
"I dunno, it sort of tunes itself." Rose snapped. They both started pressing a few buttons.
There was a slight stumble on the floor, barely noticeable. Mickey and Rose were listening to the bleeping sound the TARDIS computer was making. Sierra dashed to the screen and activated it to show what was right outside the doors.
"Oh dear…" She mumbled.
"Maybe it's a distress signal." Mickey suggested, oblivious of Sierra's worried expression.
"Fat lot of good that's gonna do." Rose huffed. Sierra rolled her eyes. The blonde definitely had a favorite phrase.
"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?" Mickey snapped.
"Yes."
"You should look at it from my point of view - stuck in here with your mum's cooking."
"Where is she?" Rose asked, noticing Jackie's absence for the first time. Mickey shrugged and Rose jumped to her feet. "I'd better go and give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."
"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine."
"Why don't you tell her yourself?"
"I'm not that brave."
Rose was by the door now, her hand on the door handle. "Oh, I don't know..."
"I wouldn't do that…" Sierra said quietly. Rose gave her a dubious look but after giving a smile at Mickey, she opened the door. And got pulled out with a scream. "That's why…"
Mickey looked around. "Rose?"
He dashed after her, dropping the thermal flask of tea on the grating next to the Doctor's head. It started to leak. Sierra made to go after him. She could hear Rose shouting to the Sycorax 'Get off! Get off me!' but didn't make out of the door before Mickey shut it from Rose's orders. Sierra pulled out her Sonic Light to make sure the door would be opened now only from inside.
After doing so she leaned against it, and looked at the Doctor who was still lifeless on the floor. The tea was dripping from the flask and through the grating. It dripped onto the machinery below the console, causing it to steam. Sierra walked to him and kneeled down next to him, picking up the thermal flask and pouring some tea to a mug. She sipped it. Earl Grey. The English were so typical.
The smoke caused by the dripping tea rose from beneath the grating and surrounded the Doctor's head. He took a deep breath in his sleep, opened his mouth a bit and more of the vortex escaped. Sierra smiled. Soon…
Time passed. Not too long but still a reasonable amount of it. And finally the Doctor opened his eyes. Slowly at first but then, after some rapid blinking, he sat up quickly. Sierra gave start because of the sudden movement.
"Doctor!" She hugged him tightly. "You are alright! You are finally alright!"
"Heh, of course I'm alright." He hugged the girl back equally tightly. When they pulled away, he kept her an arm length from him, looking her up and down. "And you are in one piece too. Great to see you alright!"
"Thank you. I came after you as soon as I could. After taking thirteen hours of sleep…"
"That's much."
"I didn't have any choices. I needed a bit of help and the one who helped me insisted me to sleep. But then I came here." Sierra assured him.
"Who helped you?" The Time Lord frowned.
"Oh you know him, don't worry…" Sierra waved her hand dismissingly. It was possible that her encounters with the earlier generations were lost in his memories. The Eight's amnesia combined with the traumas from the Time War and the regeneration stress. Of course something would be lost! "It's different matter do you remember..."
"Where's Rose?"
"Outside. With Mickey, and Harriet Jones, and a herd of Sycorax."
"Sycorax?"
"Yeah. Controlling the Pilot Fish I guess. And kidnapping Tardie."
"Let's go." The Doctor got on his feet and helped Sierra up too. They strode to the door and peeked outside. "Did you miss me?" He grinned. Sierra smirked too.
"Hello." She waved.
Rose smiled in delight while the other humans just stared at him in confusion and astonishment. The Sycorax Leader roared in fury and lashed his whip at the Doctor, who simply caught the end and snatched it away from him.
"You could have someone's eye out with that!" He pointed out. The Sycorax Leader roared again and tried to attack the Doctor with his staff, but the Doctor snatched it off him too and snapped it over his knee. He chucked the broken pieces on the floor, next to the whip. "You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy."
The Sycorax Leader stared at him incredulously. The Doctor pointed at him warningly, then went over to Mickey. "Mickey! Hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it's like 'This Is Your Life'! Tea! That's all I needed! A good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses..." He lowered his voice then "Now... first thing's first... be honest. How do I look?"
"Um... different." Rose said uncertainly.
"Good different or bad different?"
"Just... different."
"It's good different, Tenny. Trust me." Sierra said, stepping next to him.
"Tenny?" He stared at her.
"Tenth Doctor thus Tenny. Live with it. And you look dashing." She smiled widely. Ten was her favorite Doctor this far and probably would always be. After all he was her first Doctor.
"Am I... ginger?" The Doctor asked cautiously and dead serious.
"Sorry, hazel brown. But it's nice too." Sierra assured him.
"Aww, I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger." He complained half-heartedly before turning back to Rose. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were - you gave up on me - oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude… Rude and not ginger."
"I'm sorry - who is this?" Harriet butted in.
"I'm the Doctor."
"He's the Doctor." Rose confirmed.
"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?" The woman asked in frustration.
"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face - well, new everything." The Doctor told her while approaching her.
"But you can't be."
"Harriet Jones. We were trapped in Downing Street, and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens... wasn't the war... it was the thought of your mother being on her own."
"Oh, my God."
"Did you win the election?"
"Landslide majority." She smiled.
"If I might interrupt!" The Sycorax Leader… well, interrupted. They all spun around, having seemed to have forgotten him.
"Yes! Sorry! Hello, big fella!" The Doctor waved.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Well. That's the question."
"I demand to know who you are!"
"I DON'T KNOW!" The Doctor roared, imitating the Sycorax's voice before relaxing. "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I- I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested."
He started walking around, addressing everyone present. "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic?" A look at Rose. "Sexy?" A cheeky wink. "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed? Left-handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a job." He stopped and saw the button. Sierra grinned.
"And how am I gonna react when I see this?" The Doctor pointed up at the button with an insane smile. "A great big threatening button." He took Sierra's hand and they ran up the stairs, both laughing. "A Great Big Threatening Button Which Must Not Be Pressed Under Any Circumstances. Am I right? Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix? Hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?"
He bended down and pulled open a small door in order to access the controls underneath the button. He noticed the red liquid inside. Sierra peered in too.
"And what've we got here? Blood?" The Doctor dipped his finger in it and tasted it carefully. "Yeah, definitely. Blood. Human blood. A-Positive. With just a dash of iron." Sierra pouted while he wiped his finger on his dressing gown. "Ahh. But that means... blood control… Blood control! Oh! I haven't seen blood control for years! You're controlling all the A-Positives!"
Now the Doctor was absolutely delighted. "Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. 'Cos... I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a Great Big Threatening Button Which Should Never Ever Be Pressed... then I just wanna do this."
"Can I?" Sierra asked eagerly.
"Together!" They whacked the button hard.
"No!" Rose and Harriet shouted simultaneously. A few silent seconds passed before…
"You killed them!" Alex accused the two by the button.
"Nope!" Sierra grinned, popping the 'p'. She leaned her elbows against the edges of the podium the button was on.
"What do you think, big fella? Are they dead?" The Doctor asked the Sycorax leader.
"We allow them to live." The alien said.
"Allow? You've no choice! I mean, that's all blood control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis - you can hypnotize someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis, you can't hypnotize them to death. Survival instinct's too strong." The Doctor huffed.
"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force."
"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that - of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than- no, hold on... Sorry, that's 'The Lion King'. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!"
"Or what?"
"Or..." The Doctor grabbed a sword from one of the Sycorax guarding Rose and the others, ran down the steps into the empty floor space in front of the TARDIS and raised it into the air. "I challenge you."
The Sycorax Leader and the other Sycorax bursted out laughing again.
"Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"
"You stand as this world's champion." The Sycorax leader pulled out his sword.
"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." The Doctor tossed the dressing gown to Rose, who caught it. So… you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"
The Sycorax Leader hissed. They both kneeled by their swords.
"For the planet?"
"For the planet."
"This is going to be good." Sierra grinned like a Cheshire cat from her place.
They stood up and faced each other, holding their swords ready. They then ran at each other and began to fight. After a few seconds, the Doctor was thrown aside, and the Sycorax Leader laughed. The Doctor, however, straightened himself up and they began to fight again. The Sycorax Leader swung his sword at the Doctor.
"Look out!" Rose shouted. Sierra rolled her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, that helped. Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks." The Doctor commented. They began to fight again, Rose watching them, terrified. The Doctor led the fight up the stairs. "Bit of fresh air?"
He hit a button and a door opens, leading to a platform on the outside of the spaceship. They vanished out of sight, continuing their fight on the platform. Rose, Mickey, Harriet Jones, Alex and a few of the Sycorax followed them, Sierra a bit after them. The swash-buckling continued. The Sycorax Leader managed to catch the Doctor slightly on his nose, and he groaned. Rose began to run forward, but Sierra grabbed her by arm and the Doctor raised a hand to stop her.
"Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet." The Time Lord told the blonde. Sierra pulled her back to the others gently and Mickey wrapped his arms around her.
The fight continued. The both contestants grimaced with the effort, and the Doctor was knocked backwards to the ground. Taking advantage, the Sycorax Leader slashed at the Doctor's wrist, succeeding in chopping his hand off, up to the elbow. It fell off the side of the spaceship, sword and all. The Doctor watched it drop before looking back at the Sycorax Leader, looking rather stunned and annoyed.
"You cut my hand off."
"YAH! Sycorax!"
"Who said that it was over!?" Sierra yelled. The Doctor got on his feet.
"And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. 'Cos quite by chance... I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy... to do this." He held up his stump of an arm, and before the eyes of the observers, it grew right back.
"Witchcraft."
"Time Lord."
Sierra took one of the Sycorax's swords out of its sheath.
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turned and she tossed it to him. He caught it by the handle and spun it around.
"Am I still the Doctor, then?" He asked over his shoulder. "Not Tenny?" Sierra grinned.
"Sure you are. But I think that in dangerous situations I'll call you Doctor. Tenny is reserved to annoy you."
"No arguments from me! You are definitely the Doctor." Rose smiled. The Doctor turned back to the Sycorax leader.
"Wanna know the best bit? This new hand... It's a fightin' hand!"
The Doctor charged at the Sycorax Leader, and the fight continued once more. They clashed swords for a few more moments, then the Doctor jabbed him hard in stomach with the handle of the sword. The onlookers(except Sierra) winced, and the Sycorax Leader groaned. The Doctor did the same twice more, causing the Sycorax Leader to fall to the ground. The Doctor pointed his sword at the alien's throat.
"I win."
"Then kill me."
"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command: leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"
"Yes."
"Swear on the blood of your species."
"I swear."
"There we are, then! Thanks for that! Cheers, big fella!" The Doctor jabbed the sword into the ground and walked back to the humans on the platform. Harriet Jones was clapping.
"Bravo!"
"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose rushed to the Doctor.
"Yeah! Not bad for a man in his jim-jams!" He grinned happily. Rose put the dressing gown back on the Doctor. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" He took a satsuma out of his pocket. Rose giggled. "A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mothers - he does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?"
They began to walk back to the door. Sierra joined them immediately. The Doctor was tossing the satsuma in the air and catching it again.
"You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" He grumbled but there was a hint of cheerfulness and amusement in his voice. Sierra laughed.
Behind them, the Sycorax Leader got to his feet. He picked up his sword, roaring, ready to charge. Without even turning around, the Doctor lobbed the satsuma at a switch on the side of the ship, causing the ground beneath the Sycorax Leader to open. He tumbled to Earth, screaming. The Doctor's smile had faded from his face.
"No second chances. I'm that sort of a man."
Back inside the Sycorax ship the Doctor was standing in front of the TARDIS with the others. He addressed the remaining Sycorax.
"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet... when you tell them of its riches - its people - its potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this: It - is - defended."
The TARDIS, the Doctor, Rose, Sierra, Harriet Jones, Mickey and Alex were all teleported away, materializing on a street.
"Where are we?" Rose asked.
"We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!" Mickey laughed and jumped up and down in glee. The Doctor held his hand out as the spaceship engines start up.
"Wait a minute... wait a minute..." The Time Lord mumbled. The ship took flight, back to the skies. The Doctor grinned.
"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey shouted. Rose jumped on his back.
"Yeah! Don't come back!"
"It is defended!"
They laughed happily, and Rose jumped off his back and hugged him. Then she ran up to a very surprised Alex, and threw her arms around him as well. The Doctor and Harriet Jones faced each other. She raised her arms, grinning.
"My Doctor."
"Prime Minister." He replied. They hugged happily.
"Absolutely the same man." The Doctor smiled and they both turned to look up at the sky. "Are there many more out there?"
"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals - this planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed... more and more. You'd better get used to it."
"Rose!" Jackie was running to them.
"Mum!"
"Oh! Talking of trouble...!" The Doctor grimaced. Rose ran up to her mum who had just come down the street and hugged her.
"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!"
The Doctor smiled, Sierra right next to him. Alex's communication device bleeped. Mickey joined Rose and Jackie.
"You did it too! It was the tea! Fixed his head!" The blonde told her mother.
"That was all I needed - cup o' tea." The Doctor grinned.
"I said so!" Jackie stated.
"Look at him!" Rose smiled.
"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor? Oh, my God! It's the bleeding Prime Minister!"
"Come here, you." The Doctor held out his arms to Jackie, who threw her arms around him. Rose, Sierra and Mickey joined in the group hug.
"Aww...! Are you better?" Jackie asked.
"I am, yeah!"
The four of them chatted happily amongst themselves while Alex approached Harriet, referring to the message on his communication device. Sierra turned sharply to face them.
"It's a message from Torchwood. They say they're ready." Alex told the Prime Minister. Harriet closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them again, watching the happy group standing a short way away. Sierra strode to her.
"Don't you dare, Harriet Jones, don't you dare." She almost growled to the woman as she approached. From the distance the Doctor turned and gave Harriet Jones a brief smile, which she feebly tried to return. He pondered for a second why Sierra was looking so angry at the woman but didn't get a chance to process the thought when…
"Tell them to fire." Harriet told Alex.
"Fire at will." Alex repeated the order.
"Don't!" Sierra shouted.
A beam of green light shot loudly up from the ground nearby. The same green light beamed up from another four points, and the five points met in the middle. The energy shot up into space and hit the spaceship, destroying it.
"What is that? What's happening?" Rose asked.
"That… was the end of Harriet Jones's career as a Prime Minister." Sierra said scathingly before turning away and striding into the Tardis. Jackie put her hand over her mouth. The Doctor looked unsmilingly from the sky to Harriet Jones. He walked toward her slowly.
"That was murder." He said quietly but angrily.
"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago." Harriet answered.
"But they were leaving."
"You said yourself, Doctor. They'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today - Mr Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case - we have to defend ourselves." The Prime Minister in Harriet answered.
"Britain's Golden Age."
"It comes with a price."
"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run - as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming: the human race."
"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf."
"Then I should've stopped you."
"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"
"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones. 'Cos I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word." He took a step forward.
"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met. But I don't think you're quite capable of that."
"No, you're right. Not a single word." The Doctor looked down at her silently for a few seconds. "Just six."
"I don't think so."
"Six words."
"Stop it!"
"Six." They stared at each other for a few more seconds, a battle of wills. Then the Doctor walked around her and approached Alex. He took off the man's earpiece and speak to him quietly, so Harriet Jones couldn't hear.
"Don't you think she looks tired?"
Sierra sat in the Tyler's living room with Mickey, Rose and Jackie who were preparing the Christmas Dinner. Mickey started to carve the turkey. The brunette smiled faintly at them. It was weird to have Christmas without her own family. It was the first Christmas like that to her and she had a feeling there would be many other ones like that. She sighed. How long would she be stuck here? Not that she didn't enjoy her time and love being there but home… It was something that could be only once for each person and her home was in another universe.
Rose was serving the sprouts at the table when the Doctor entered the flat, shutting the door behind him. Rose and Sierra both looked up. The Doctor was standing before them, smiling. They returned the smiles.
Rose screamed as the Christmas cracker she pulled with the Doctor banged. The Doctor won but he gave it to Rose anyway.
"Oh, that's yours..." He said as Rose took a pink paper party hat out of the cracker.
"It's pink! Mum, it should be yours!" Rose told Jackie.
"Pink! Lovely!" The Doctor grinned. She put the hat on, and the Doctor watched her, smiling. Rose pointed to the television.
"Look, it's Harriet Jones!"
They all turned to look at the television, the Doctor taking a pair of glasses from his pocket. Sierra slipped out of the room when the attention of all of them was elsewhere.
"Prime Minister, is it true you are no longer fit to be in position?"
"No. Now, can we talk about other things?"
The Doctor stood up and put a pair of glasses on, looking sternly at the television.
"Is it true you're unfit for office?"
"Look, there is nothing wrong with my health! I don't know where these stories are coming from! And a vote of no confidence... is completely unjustified."
The phone rang and Jackie went into the kitchen to answer it.
"Are you going to resign?"
"On today of all days, I'm fine. Look at me, I'm fine. I look fine, I feel fine."
"It's Beth. She says go and look outside." Jackie told them, looking back to the living room. The Doctor took his glasses off and turned back to the others.
"Why?" Rose asked.
"I dunno, just go outside and look. Come on, shift!" Jackie said, motioning them to get up.
There were lots of others outside too, as it seemed to be snowing. They laughed in delight. It looked like there were meteors in the sky. The Doctor and Rose stood beside each other, Jackie and Mickey a short way behind them. Doctor noticed Sierra standing in the doorway of the Tardis, leaning against the door frame.
"Oh, that's beautiful. What are they, meteors?" Rose asked.
"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash." The Time Lord told her.
"Okay, not so beautiful."
"This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now - everyone saw it. Everything's new."
"And what about you? What are you gonna do next?" The blonde asked then, avoiding his eyes.
"Well... back to the TARDIS... same old life."
"On- on your own?"
"Why, don't you wanna come?"
"Well, yeah."
"Do you, though?"
"Yeah!"
"I just thought... 'cos I changed..." He trailed off. Sierra was looking at them and giving him a weak smile before stepping into the Tardis. She had been there for him when he woke up even if she hadn't been during regeneration. She didn't care what he looked like, just let him be who he was… Not demanding to go back on who he used to be…
"Yeah, I... I thought, 'cos you changed... you might not want me anymore." Rose said uncertainly and embarrassedly, snapping the Doctor out of his thoughts.
"Oh, I'd love you to come!"
"Okay!" They laughed, beaming at each other.
"You're never gonna stay, are you?" Mickey interrupted them, staring the ground. The Doctor and Rose both looked at him. Mickey raised his eyes.
"There's just so much out there. So much to see... I've got to." Rose told the boy. Mickey smiled, understanding but not remotely happy.
"Yeah."
"Well, I reckon you're mad. The pair of you. It's like you go looking for trouble." Jackie sighed.
"Trouble's just the bits in-between. It's all waiting out there, Jackie. It's brand new to me." The Doctor explained to the woman. Rose smiled. "All those planets... creatures and horizons... I haven't seen them yet! Not with these eyes... And it is gonna be... fantastic."
Rose smiled at the use of his old catchphrase and he grinned back and held his hand out to her.
"That hand of yours still gives me the creeps." She grinned. The Doctor grinned and wiggled his fingers persistently. She took his hand and they looked up at the sky for a few moments. Rose stepped closer to him and brushed the snow off his arm. "So, where're we gonna go first?"
"Um... that way." The Doctor pointed at a random point in the night sky. "No, hold on... that way." He pointed a smidgen to the right of his first point. Rose pointed in the same direction.
"That way?"
"Hmm?" He looked back at her. She nodded.
"Yeah. That way."
They smiled at each other for a few seconds and then gazed up at the night-sky, hand in hand.
A/N: Yeah, Sierra was pretty melancholic in the end but I guess that it's understandable in homesickness. And a bit of moments between her and Doctor. Not actual pairing though yet. This fic will be TenRose like the original series was. But they'll sync like they used to be. :)
Plz, read and review. New Earth is coming two week from now on. I have to concentrate on exams now. See you again!