Hey Guys! So, I'm totally behind on updating and I apologize. But, I write these stories for fun and when writing starts to seem more like a chore than a hobby I take a break. I really needed to decide where I want to go with this story. But I should be back for now. Thank you so much for the support, and sorry for the delay.

I don't own Doctor Who, sadly.

Jack is in this episode! I really like him as a character, he might be a bit OOC in this but this is how I like to write him soooooo. Enjoy!

The lights around the TARDIS were going off in a warning and the console room itself was shaking. Both people in the room had to hang on for dear life. Rose had decided not to join them on this adventure as both Jessa and the Doctor were still cross with her. Not that either had told her out loud but she could take a hint, and the awkward silences were rather large hints.

"What are we chasing?" Jessa asked over the sirens.

The Doctor gestured to the screen in the middle of the console. On the screen, an object was hurdling through the time vortex. "It's got a very basic flight computer-I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."

Jessa nodded. "Now is this going to work, or will it kill us?" She grinned at him.

He mock-glared. "This is fool-proof and totally safe." Just as he said that a piece of the console exploded, sending sparks flying. "Okay, reasonably. I should have said reasonably there." He corrected. Jessa sent another grin at him, and he happily returned it. He still hadn't told her of his newly discovered feelings, and he wasn't sure he would. He liked things how they were now.

Suddenly, one of the monitors started to go off. The Doctor ran to it. "Oh, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."

"You never actually answered my question. What is this thing we're chasing?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

Jessa rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't." She muttered. "So why are we chasing it?"

"It's dangerous and about 30 seconds from the center of London." He quickly pulled a few more levers on the unbroken side of the console. With a final button pushed the TARDIS landed. Both people stepped out and looked around. The area was rather bleak, and they were surrounded by some worn down houses.

"The thing must've come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago, maybe a month."

"I'm willing to bet it was closer to a month, since you were the one driving." Jessa teased.

The Doctor faked hurt. "I'll have you know, my driving is the only reason we didn't lose the thing completely."

"As if."

The Doctor hmphed, but nevertheless continued to look around.

"So how are we planning on finding this thing?" Jessa asked him.

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper. "Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids."

Jessa grinned. "Then let's get going." The Doctor grinned back and headed for a door, and after cracking the lock he pulled it open. He turned back to Jessa, who hadn't moved.

"Coming?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No, you go. I want to see something first."

The Doctor reluctantly nodded, and walked through the door, shutting it behind him. Jessa looked up to what had caught her attention once the Doctor was gone. It was a child standing on the roof. He looked to be about 4 years old and was wearing a gas mask. The child was staring at her. "Muuumy?" It called.

"Hello there." Jessa smiled to the boy even though something about him really creeped her out.

The child showed no sign of hearing her, only called out for his mummy once more. Jessa steeled her nerves and looked at him. "Are you okay up there?" She got no reply, so she looked around to find a way to the roof.

-9-

The Doctor discovered that the door had led to a rather dark corridor. He wasn't too sure why Jessa had stayed behind, but no matter. At the end of the corridor there was an open room. It was a big contrast from the outside world. It was full of light and chatter. Everybody was having a good time, and in the background there was even a singer. The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and headed towards the stage. When the singer had finished her song, he stepped up to the mic.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick, eh…..hello!" He waved at everybody now that he had their attention. "Eh…..might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"

His question was met with silence. And then…..laughter. Everybody except for him was laughing. He looked around confusedly, utterly baffled.

"Sorry, have I said something funny?" That only seemed to make them laugh more. So, he decided to keep going. "It's just, there's this thing I need to find, would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago."

Then, a siren went off in the room. Everybody started to evacuate, as though this was no new occurrence. "Would've landed quite near here." The Doctor tried once more. He looked up towards the siren. "With a very loud…" He was talking to himself more than anybody now. The people running out of the building sure weren't listening. And then he spotted something that gave him a very good idea as to where they were. It was a poster with the words 'Hitler will send no warning' on it.

"Bang…" He concluded his earlier statement, still staring at the poster. He closed his eyes. Ending up in WWII certainly made things more interesting.

-9-

Jessa could think of at least 5 million things she'd rather be doing than what she currently was doing. But here she was trying to find a way to the roof of a building that a rather creepy child, whose vocabulary seemed to be limited to the word 'mummy', was sitting on the edge of. Of course, there was a rope that led right to the roof, and seeing no better option, Jessa decided to climb it. Once she was half way up the rope, Jessa decided to question the convenience of a randomly placed rope on the side of the building she needed to climb. So, to answer this new problem, she looked up. And was in no way reassured like she'd hoped. For the rope was connected to a barrage balloon that was taking off. And as Jessa rose higher and higher into the air, she started to get a really good idea about where the TARDIS had landed. The German planes confirmed the theory. "Well, this is interesting to say the least."

She looked down to see she was now 50 feet above the ground. So, pulling down her jacket sleeves to get a grip on the rope, she called out one more thing. "Doctor, if this kills me, I am so coming back to haunt you!" And then the balloon drifted away.

-9-

The Doctor ran back out into the alley, expecting to find Jessa. But she wasn't there. "Jessa!" He called out. This really wasn't a huge concern, it wasn't like that would be the first time a companion ran off. Far from it, in fact. But Jessa was different, she usually was not one to run off on her own, and that was cause for some concern. But, Jessa had been acting a little off since they'd landed. Besides, she could take care of herself. He'd give it an hour before he'd start panicking.

And then the TARDIS phone started to ring. Which really should not be possible, but there it was, ringing. The Doctor walked out behind the time travelling machine and opened the panel where the phone was. "How can you be ringing?" He asked the inanimate object. "What's that about, ringing?" He pulled out his sonic and started to scan it. "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"

During his musing, a girl had walked up behind him, unnoticed. "Don't answer it. It's not for you." She said this with absolute certainty. The Doctor turned, a bit startled.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I do. And I'm telling you, don't answer it." She seemed a bit scared, of what he had no idea.

He decided to question the girl, who looked to be about 20. "Well, if you know so much, tell me this, how can it be ringing? It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not….." He turned back towards the girl, only to find her gone. Confused, he turned back to the still ringing phone. Ever the curious one, he answered it. "Hello?" He called, but there was no answer. "This is the Doctor speaking." More silence. "How may I help you?"

That one got a response. "Mummy?" The voice was a child, of that there was no question. "Mummy?" It called again.

"Who is this, who's speaking?"

The child apparently did not hear him. "Are you my mummy?"

"Who is this?" The Doctor demanded.

"Mummy?"

Now he was getting frustrated. "How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone, it's not wired to anything, it's…"

He was interrupted by the same question. "Mummy?" And before he could answer, the line went dead. The Doctor slowly removed the phone from his ear and hung up. He sat there for a minute before walking back to the front of the TARDIS and poking his head inside.

"Jessa?" He got no reply. "Rose, we're probably going to be a while. Don't wait up, just leave the light on!" He yelled cheekily before running down an alley where there was a crash seconds previous. He ran, hoping to find Jessa, but no such luck. Instead, he found a rather large woman rushing her family around. Which looked rather ridiculous and somewhat amusing in the Doctor's not so humble opinion. Not that he could blame them for rushing around, the sirens were still going off and he figured that they didn't particularly want to be bombed. As soon as they were in the shelter, the girl that warned him about the phone call not ten minutes earlier, snuck inside the house. He followed her, making sure not to be seen. From the shadows he watched as she ran around the kitchen opening the cupboards and pulling out food. Interesting.

-9-

Jack Harkness liked to consider himself a decent man, well most of the time. And so when he spotted a beautiful girl hanging off a barrage balloon during an air raid, he couldn't just leave her there. Of course it didn't hurt that she had nice…assets. So, he put his binoculars down, and headed towards the door, paying no mind to the orders to not do exactly what he planned on doing. After all, he had a damsel to save.

-9-

The girl, the Doctor learned, was named Nancy. He learned this from one of at least six children that were currently in the house that belonged to none of the people in it. The Doctor learned fairly quickly that Nancy took care of these children, who were from the streets by the looks of it. She made pleasant conversation with them, while the Doctor was still staying silent. She was carving the meat left behind by the owners of the house.

"I bet it's off the black market." That was from one of the boys closest to the table. The Doctor had to hold back a snort.

"That's enough." Nancy reprimanded, but she was smiling.

The boy was not to be deterred, however. "But it's got to be black market. He couldn't get this on coupons."

"Ernie, how many times? We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Go wash up." The Doctor found it kind of ironic that she was talking of manners when she was in a house that wasn't hers, eating food that wasn't hers.

Nancy looked around and pointed at one particular boy. "Haven't seen you at one of these before."

The boy nodded. "Ernie told me about it."

"Sleeping rough?" She questioned.

"Yes, miss." That confirmed what the Doctor already expected.

Nancy nodded. "All right then." She picked up the plate of the meat she carved and passed it around. "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly." The Doctor quickly slipped into an empty seat and waited for the plate to be passed to him. When it was his turn, he thanked her as the other boys had, and everybody stopped.

Nancy spoke calmly. "It's alright. Everybody stay where you are." He found the reaction of one boy with a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth especially amusing.

The Doctor just kept talking as though none of that happened. "Good here, isn't it? Who's got the salt?"

Nancy turned to the boys who were half way out the door. "Back in your seats. He shouldn't be here either." All the boys stared wearily at him, but did as instructed. The Doctor smiled happily, and then helped himself to some sauce.

"So," he began, "you lot, what's your story?"

Ernie looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're homeless, right? Living rough?" He was never accused of having tact.

One of the boys glanced over at him suspiciously. "Why d' you wanna know? Are you a copper?"

"Of course I'm not a copper!" The Doctor exclaimed. "What's a copper going to do with you lot anyways, arrest you for starving?" The children all laughed at his joke and settled down at the table. The Doctor, pleased with himself, continued.

"I make its 1941, you lot shouldn't be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now."

"I was evacuated," one boy admitted. "They sent me to a farm."

"So why'd you come back?" Feeling like he already knew the answer, and it made him angry. Children were meant to be treated well, that was something he lived by and would continue to live by for the rest of his life.

"There was a man there…" The boy trailed off.

Another boy sensed his reluctance to continue and did it for him. "Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago."

Ernie bristled at that. "Shut up. It's better on the streets anyways. Better food."

"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us."

The Doctor smiled at Nancy. "So, that's what you do is it, Nancy?"

The girl looked a little confused. "What is?"

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London. As long as the bombs don't get you."

Nancy looked at him as though she dared him to disagree with her. "Something wrong with that?"

Good thing the Doctor had no plans of disagreeing. "Wrong with it? It's brilliant! I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical." He paused before asking. "This may seem random, but I'm looking for someone, a girl to be more specific."

Ernie interrupted before he could continue. "Is she a pretty girl?" The others listened closely.

The Doctor had to force a blush back down. "Yes, she's a very pretty girl." He tried to say that as indifferently and sarcastically as possible. "She's got purple hair, you really couldn't miss her. So have any of you seen her when you were scrambling over here like mad?" He got a bunch of shaking heads as a response, and he sighed. "Of course you didn't, that'd be too easy, and TARDIS forbid anything be easy. Well no harm in asking, I suppose. Now," He suddenly turned serious and looked at Nancy. "I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favor. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you."

"Great thanks." The Doctor said with an eye roll. "Well let's see if any of you could be the least bit helpful this time, one out of three wouldn't be bad. I'm looking for something, would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind anyway, wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like this…." He held up a picture of a roughly sketched bomb he had drawn while talking. He noticed Nancy looking at it with familiarity, so she obviously knew what it was. Before he had time to ask her about it, there was a knock on the window.

"Mummy?" A voice called. "Are you in there, mummy?" The Doctor stood up and pulled back the window curtain. A small child wearing a gas mask stood there, knocking.

Nancy looked at all of them urgently, "Who was the last one in?"

Ernie pointed at the Doctor, but Nancy shook her head. "Nah, he came round back, who came in front?"

A boy, who he vaguely remembered being called Alf raised his hand. "Me."

"Did you close the door?"

"I…"

"Did you close the door?" Nancy repeated, only louder.

"Mummy? Mummy?" The child called again. Nancy wasted no time in running to the front door and bolting it down. The Doctor stood behind her, confusedly.

"What's this then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."

"I suppose you'd know." Nancy told him, but her eyes never leaving the door.

"I do actually, yes." He smiled at her, for all the world looking pleasant.

"It's not exactly a child." Nancy explained. But before he could ask, the not-child called out once more and Nancy wasted no time in pushing them both back towards the dining room.

-9-

Jessa could say with certainty that she'd never had to hang on to a barrage balloon in wartime during an air raid before. She could also say that it was an unpleasant experience and one she never wanted to repeat. Sure once you got past the bombs and immediate danger, the view was lovely. And so she hung on to the rope with a grip she was sure she never had before this little escapade. And with absolutely no plans on how to get down. Well, she had no plans until a blue beam surrounded her.

"Okay, okay, I've got you." This came from a seemingly invisible voice. She could tell it was male, but it gave no clues as to where he was.

"That's great and all, I really didn't want to die today, but who are you?"

The voice chuckled. "No matter, just keep your hands inside the beam at all times. And do me a favor, turn off your cell phone."

Jessa scoffed. "You and I both know that cell phones don't interfere with anything."

"No really, they really do interfere."

"Well maybe they do, so it's a good thing I don't have one."

There was an awkward pause, until the voice chuckled again. "Well damn, okay be with you in a moment." Then Jessa felt herself getting shot up the beam and she closed her eyes. Not that she'd admit it was because she was scared. Then she felt arms wrapped around her.

"I've got you." The voice said soothingly. Jessa opened her eyes to find a man looking down at her, he was handsome, no doubt about that. He looked to be in his twenties, brown hair, very well built from what she could see.

"Hello." Jessa said, after she stood up and stepped away from him. "Now then, I think I've been promised a name if I'm not mistaken."

He held out his hand, "Jack Harkness, nice to meet you." She took it.

"Well Jack I feel the same way, however I'm curious to know why we're standing on a ship that by all means does not belong in the 1940's." Jack gave another laugh, but the smile didn't reach his eyes this time. 'Gotcha' Jessa said to herself. The child could wait until later, this was by far more interesting, and Jack didn't give her the creeps.

-9-

Once Nancy had all but dragged the Doctor into the dining room, she turned to the slightly terrified children. "Right, everybody out, across the back garden and under the fence." When nobody moved, she resorted to yelling. "Now! Go! Move!" That got the reaction she'd been hoping for. They all scrambled up and out the back. Nancy moved to put her coat on, but she noticed one little girl she hadn't seen earlier still sitting. "Come on baby, you've got to go, okay? It's just like a game, it's just like chasing. Take your coat, go on." And the little girl hopped up and did as she was told.

The Doctor had wandered back into the hallway looking at the door where the not-child continued to call for his mummy. He cautiously walked towards the door. "Please let me in, mummy." And then there was a hand that stuck itself through the letterbox. It was an ordinary hand except for the little scar on the back of it, nothing to be a cause for major concern.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked it, not terribly sure why Nancy believed there was a reason to be terrified.

"Please let me in." The child repeated. Nancy came in at that moment and threw a vase at the door, making the child pull his hand back.

"You mustn't let him touch you." She warned.

Well that was an odd warning. "What happens if he touches me?"

"He'll make you like him."

"And what's he like?"

Nancy didn't answer him, only stepped back. "I've got to go."

But the Doctor wasn't done. "Nancy, what's he like?"

She took a deep breath and looked at him. "He's empty." The phone rang, breaking the silence that followed Nancy's declaration. "It's him. He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that police box you saw."

The Doctor picked up the phone, it was the child. "Are you my mummy?" Nancy snatched the phone from him and slammed it down, effectively hanging up. Instead of another call, the radio turned on. Music started to play, but there was a voice speaking over it. "Mummy? Please let me in, mummy." It was now safe to say that the Doctor was creeped out. He walked over to the radio and turned the tuner. But he stopped when a toy monkey that had been sitting harmlessly on the ground, came to life. "Mummy, mummy, mummy?" The monkey chimed.

Nancy took one last look at him. "Stay if you want to." And she left. As soon as she was gone, the monkey fell limp and a small hand reappeared in the letterbox slot.

"Please let me in, mummy." The Doctor knelt in front of the box, staring at the small hand with concern. "Pease let me in." The child begged.

"Your mummy isn't here." The Doctor said.

There was a pause. "Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here. None here but us chickens." He looked around and remembered that he was alone in the house. "Well this chicken." He grinned.

"I'm scared." The child informed him.

"Why are those other children frightened of you?"

He should've expected to get no answer. "Please let me in. I'm scared of the bombs."

The Doctor pondered the situation. "Okay, I'm opening the door now." The child took his hand back. The Doctor stood up and swung the door open, but nobody was there. He stepped outside, but the street was utterly empty.

-9-

Jack stared at the girl in front of him. She had spunk, he found her dangling from a balloon and he rescued her, which didn't seem to faze her in the least. Then, he saved her, and instead of the gratitude he'd expected she'd stared him down all but demanding to know why he had a spaceship that was not from the time period. She was one to talk, her clothes screamed 'future.' But despite all of this, he liked her. She was a breath of fresh air. She wasn't drooling all over him, and stumbling over her words. Jack always knew he was good looking, and he loved it. But it could be a little tiring not being able to have civilized conversations with people. That's not to say this girl was immune to him. No, she blushed a little when she was in his arms and he saw her appreciative glances that she threw his direction. He threw his own glances, of course. The girl was gorgeous, a real knock out.

And her eyes, very unique but beautiful nonetheless. They were purple, which didn't wasn't common, but he knew they were her real eyes because they changed shades. When he first saw them they were dark with fear, but now with her staring at him, they were bright and shiny, like a gem. But there was something in them that made him more curious then anything. She hid it well, but it was there for those who knew how to look. Sadness, a crippling, deep, crushing sadness hidden so well it almost wasn't there at all. But he'd seen the look enough times to know it.

He was broken out of his thoughts when the girl spoke up. "Well." He realized he must've been in his own thoughts for quite some time. He grinned at her once more.

"It would be rude of me to continue to refer to you as 'girl' in my head, so before I answer your question, might I get your name?"

She narrowed her eyes before sighing. "My name's Jessa. Hello. Now answer the question."

"I can't, you didn't give me your name. Jessa's a nickname, I'd bet anything on it. Now I asked for your name not your nickname so." He trailed off, truthfully he didn't care all that much whether she gave her real name, he just liked this banter. It was fun.

Jessa looked about ready to punch him, but took a breath. "Well mister smartass, my name's Jessalyn. So, I repeat myself for what better be the last time. What are you doing with this ship?"

Jack shrugged. "I acquired it, freelancer I guess you could call me." He paused. "Not that you're one to talk, considering you're wearing clothes that won't be around for another few decades at least. I'm willing to bet Time Agent."

She shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. But he paid that no mind. She was definitely from the future. If she was a Time Agent then he could move according to plan, and if she wasn't well…..her company wasn't bad. Either way, a drink was in order. "Well Jessalyn…." He paused after her glare at using her real name. "Would you like to see the balcony?"

He didn't wait for her reply, only headed up the stairs, grabbing a bottle of champagne on the way. "Bring the glasses." He called back to her. He chuckled at the growl that she shot in his direction.

When they reached the roof, he pulled the cork out of the champagne. He turned to see Jessa staring at the ground, or lack thereof. Well obviously there was a ground, just invisible at the moment. "Freaked out?" He asked smugly.

Jessa smirked at him, seemingly over her shock. "It will take a lot more than that. I get the invisibility thing, but I was wondering, why park here?" She gestured to Big Ben that was behind them.

"First rule of active camouflage. Park somewhere you'll remember." He grinned and she laughed. A wonderful sound. Yes, he decided as he poured them a drink, he liked this girl.

-9-

After looking for the child to no avail, the Doctor followed Nancy, determined for some answers. It was relatively easy and found her in a small house pulling food out of her bag. He stood in the doorway, just watching until she turned around, sensing him. "How'd you follow me here?" She asked him.

"I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it." There, an answer that was not an answer. She'd been doing that all night, it was his turn.

Nancy wasn't having any of that. "People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to."

"My nose has special powers." He remarked dryly.

"Yeah? That's why it's uh…." She trailed off.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?" The Doctor demanded again.

"Nothing! Do your ears have special powers too?" He knew that if Jessa was there, she would have laughed at that.

"What're you trying to say?" He asked calmly.

"Goodnight, mister." She turned to walk away.

"Nancy. There's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right?" She turned to look at him. "The thing I'm looking for. The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Nancy hesitated before nodding. "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell at the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take me there."

She shook her head. "There's soldiers guarding it, barbed wire…you'll never get through."

"Try me!" Her confidence in him was severely lacking. And knowing his luck, it was very likely Jessa would be there somehow, and if that child was as dangerous as Nancy said…..well things were about to get bad. Considering this child was probably the result of the bomb that is not in fact a bomb.

"You sure you want to know what's going on in there?"

"I really want to know." He confirmed.

"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"And who might that be?" He asked.

"The Doctor." That answer threw him for a loop. He furrowed his brow, very confused. He chuckled lowly, having no idea what was going on.

-9-

Jessa was staring at the clock in front of her. Jack was watching her. Both were drinking champagne. "You know," Jessa started. "it really is getting past my curfew, I need to get back."

Jack chuckled. "We're not done discussing business."

"I don't think we ever really started. You're up here to get me drunk, and you're doing an awful job at it." She teased him.

This earned a full blown laugh. "But seriously, are you authorized to negotiate with me?"

"Depends on who you ask, but I probably should discuss the matter with the man I'm with." The Doctor was probably worried and she didn't want him to do so when it was unnecessary.

"Man?"

"Jealous?"

"Of you? Never. Of him? Always." He didn't know why the banter with her was so much fun, but it was and he loved it.

He reached down and pressed a button on a remote, music started playing. She recognized it as 'Moonlight Serenade.' "Perhaps I could change your mind or your heart on this matter. Dance with me?" He asked her with his most charming grin, mirth dancing in his eyes.

She smirked. They both knew neither of them took this seriously, it was all in good fun. "Of course my charming gentleman." She stood up and curtsied and he bowed, both of them trying not to crack up. They danced in the light of Big Ben. It was nice, relaxing. The song ended.

"You've certainly swayed my opinion, perhaps we could do it again sometime." She told him while batting her eyelashes dramatically.

Jack chuckled at her little show, he was almost positive she wasn't a Time Agent, they were all too stuck up to be this fun, and he was pretty sure she knew that he knew she was faking. Ah well, he didn't want to part ways just yet, so they'd keep up the act a little longer. Just for fun. Anyone looking at them now would think they'd been best friends for years, but the two just clicked.

"This thing I've got, it's a Chula Warship, armed to the teeth. In two hours a bomb is going to fall on it. And it's obvious that you don't handle business, so let's find that friend of yours." She smacked him for that one, but her lips still twitched upwards.

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm going to scan for alien tech."

She nodded. "We both know that this is nothing but a scam, but that's okay because I like you. So let's get going." He only nodded and shot her a grin. After all, if a Time Agent wasn't going to show, there was always time to have an adventure. He'd noticed the weird things going on in London lately, maybe he'd even help. One look at Jessa grinning cheekily at him, and he knew he would if she would.

-9-

The Doctor watched the bomb site through his binoculars. Nancy stood behind him looking around anxiously. "The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up overnight. See that building?" She pointed towards a building behind the bomb. "That's the hospital."

The Doctor looked to where she had pointed. It was an ordinary building, nothing seemingly special. "What about it?"

"That's where the Doctor is. You should talk to him."

"For now, I'm more interested in getting in there." He gestured towards the bomb site again.

"Talk to the Doctor first." Nancy recommended.

"Why?"

"'Cos then maybe you won't want to get inside." She started walking away, something she seemed to do a lot of with the Doctor around.

Without looking back, he called to her. "Where're you going?"

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now."

There was a pause before the Doctor cleared his throat. "Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?"

Nancy was taken aback. "What?"

He lowered his binoculars and turned to face her. "The way you look after all those kids. It's 'cos you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it." Okay that might've been a little harsh, but she answered.

"My little brother, Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell." She gestured at the bomb. "I told him not to follow me, told him it was dangerous, but he just…he just didn't like being on his own."

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "What happened?"

"In the middle of an air raid, what do you think happened?"

The Doctor nodded, but then he smiled. Which as he thought about it, probably seemed very inconsiderate but it was too late now. "Amazing."

Nancy looked a little hurt at that. "What is?"

"1941. Right now, not very far from here, a German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny damp little island says 'no.' A mouse in front of an island. You're amazing, you lot. Off you go then…..do what you've got to do. Save the world." He walked towards the hospital after shooting her a smile.

The gate was easy enough to unlock, as long as you had a sonic screwdriver, which he fortunately did. He walked inside of the bleak hospital and took the first hall that led to a ward. What he saw, surprised him to say the least. Rows upon rows of people, lying on beds, wearing gas masks. Every single one of them seemed completely lifeless. He slowly backed out and walked to another ward, the difference was this one being lit. More rows of people, exactly the same as the others. He sat and stared until he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see an old man, looking grim.

"You'll find them everywhere. Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them."

"Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?"

"They're not. Who are you?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that one. The man didn't think they were wearing gas masks, he was either senile or he was correct and something very wrong was happening. "I'm uh…are you the doctor?"

The man nodded in confirmation. "Doctor Constantine, and you are?"

"Nancy sent me." Best not to answer the man's question.

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?" The man was getting suspicious. Great.

"Nothing." Mostly true. "Why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done."

The Doctor thought he knew what Constantine was talking about. "These people, were they all caught up in the blast?"

"None of them were." Apparently he was wrong, and like usual he knew absolutely nothing. Constantine laughed at his own joke, but the laugh turned into a harsh cough. He sat down in a chair and tried to catch his breath.

"You're very sick." The Doctor noted.

"Dying, I should think, I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?"

"I have my moments." Inwardly he grinned at his own joke.

Constantine nodded towards the patients. "Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No."

"Don't touch the flesh."

"Which one?"

"Any one." The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that, this just kept getting more confusing. He pulled out his sonic and walked up to one of the patients. He scanned the patient. "Conclusions?"

He listed everything he found. Including the weird problem with the gas masks being attached to the people's faces. "Examine another one." Constantine prodded.

He followed the order, except…"This isn't possible."

He ran to another one, scanned them. Same thing. "This isn't possible!"

"No." Constantine agreed.

"They've all got the same injuries!" The Doctor yelled. This shouldn't happen.

"Yes." Constantine remained calm, as this wasn't new information.

"Exactly the same!"

"Yes."

He couldn't wrap his head around it. "Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand. How did this happen? How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim."

"Dead?"

"At first. The next morning, every single person who had touched the boy, they all got the exact same injuries. After that, every patient in the ward, exact same injuries. Physical injuries, working as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma."

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity."

"No."

"Alright, what was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one." Cue brow being furrowed even more. "They're not dead."

He hit his cane against the bin nearby. Every single patient sat up simultaneously. The Doctor looked around, now very alarmed. "It's alright. They're harmless. They just…..sort of, sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

"And they've just been left here? Nobody's doing anything?" He needed to see the bomb, this shouldn't happen. This couldn't be possible. Something about the bomb must've been different. The bodies lied down again, as though they never got up.

"I try to make them comfortable, what else is there?"

"Just you? You're the only one here?"

Constantine nodded. "Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor."

"Yeah, know the feeling." He almost chuckled at himself that time.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."

The Doctor took a look around. "Probably too late."

That gained him a vehement shake of the head. "No. They are isolated cases, but isolated cases breaking out all over London." He coughed again, worse than the last time. "Stay back, stay back!" He commanded. "Listen to me…top floor. Room 802, that's where they took the first victim-the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

"Nancy?" What'd she have to do with this?

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi…mi…" He gagged and grabbed at his neck. "M….mu…..mee…."

The Doctor watched in concern. The man in front of him seem to be fighting something. "Are…..you…..my…m..mummy?" The Doctors eyes widened in horror at that statement. They got impossibly wider when a gas mask started protruding from Constantine's mouth. Soon, he looks just like every other patient in the hospital. He was going to go to room 802 when he heard voices.

"Hello?" It was a man, probably in his twenties.

"Hello?" That was without a doubt Jessa. He'd recognize her voice from anywhere, no matter what.

He left the room towards the voices. He walked into a hallway to see Jessa walking arm in arm with some man he didn't recognize. When she saw him, her face brightened and she left his side to give him a hug. One which he returned with equal enthusiasm. "Hello, Doctor. Fancy meeting you here."

"Where have you been?" He looked over her worriedly.

"Touring London, with this man over here." The man in question chuckled. The Doctor narrowed his eyes fractionally.

"And just who is this man?"

"Jack Harkness, a pleasure." The now dubbed Jack, put out his hand. The Doctor shook it with more force than was probably necessary.

"Jack over here is the most likely reason all of this is happening, and now he's here to atone for his mistakes, and of course to be in my wonderful company. He brought something he claims to be empty to this lovely Earth and that something is the bomb sitting out front. He was going to con some Time Agents for taking years of his past from him, but we're working on that issue. For now let's focus on the problem at hand, as I'm sure you've already seen the creepy child around here somewhere." Jessa said all of this with a serious face until the very end when a grin broke over her face.

Jack laughed. "She pretty much summed it up, so now I suggest you tell us why you're here so then we can go find out how I screwed up by landing a piece of useless space junk here." Jack was somber at that thought. It took a bit of arguing but Jessa had convinced him that the useless piece of space junk was the most likely reason this was all happening. And he felt awful about it, but no time to wallow.

The Doctor was torn between yelling at this 'Jack' and asking how in the world these two met. But, he figured that if he yelled first, questions would not be answered. "Where did you pick up the stray?" He asked Jessa.

He got an eye roll along with an answer. "Jack here found me while I was taking a stroll around London." She didn't mention the barrage balloon and wouldn't have, but Jack snorted.

"More like flying around London." Jessa smacked the back of his head.

"Yes, but I wasn't going to mention that part."

The Doctor glanced at her curiously. "Flying?"

"Well I might have grabbed onto a conveniently placed rope to climb a building, and as it turns out the rope was attached to a barrage balloon. Beautiful really, can't say I'd recommend it as a regular form of travel."

The Doctors eyes widened and he was going to say something but Jessa cut him off. "No need to worry, it's all fine now. So, why are we here?" The Doctor sighed and showed them the patients he had found earlier, and they were just as shocked as he had been.

"But what could've done this."

The Doctor gave a pointed glare towards Jack, "Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot." Jack had the decency to look ashamed.

All of the sudden, every single patient sat up, and every single one of them was repeating the word, "Mummy?"

They all backed away. "This got very creepy all of the sudden, what's going on?" That was from Jessa, directed at anybody who might be able to give an answer.

"I don't know."

"Well, that's really helpful, thanks a lot!"

"Now is really not the time to be sarcastic."

"Says the man who fights death with sarcasm. Hypocrite."

Jack called over to them. "Can you two have this little couple's argument later?"

"Don't be stupid Jack, we're not dating." That was from Jessa, as the Doctor made no move to argue the fact.

Then, as though it couldn't get any worse the gas mask people got up and started to surround the three. "Don't let them touch you." The Doctor warned. Jessa would've told him that she had no immediate plans to do so, but figured that now was not the time. The patients were only three feet away from them in any direction. They had no means of escape.

"Well, today could've gone better."