Just after the Doctor triangulated the "ghost's" origin... those sneaky editors never let us see the good stuff on TV ;)

This is a sequel to my stories, "Heart of the TARDIS" through "Ghost of a Chance".

June 2018: re-edited since its original posting.

Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise, I don't own Doctor Who. Nor do I get anything from writing these stories - except wonderful, constructive reviews! Wink, wink; nudge, nudge ;)

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors with a triumphant "Ha-ha!", running up the ramp to deposit his ghost-detecting gear under the console room grating. "We've got 'em! Time to sort these 'ghosts'!" he announced.

"Um, Doctor," came Rose's sheepish voice from her place by the scanner.

"That gave us exactly what we need," the Doctor enthused, running up to her from around the console. "You were brilliant, by the way!" he added, skidding to a halt in front of her and whipping off his 3-D glasses.

"Doc-"

The Doctor cut her off with a deep kiss, just a single hand threaded in her hair to hold her to him. He pulled away abruptly, racing back around the console, inputting the necessary parameters; and noting with pride how he had left Rose rather breathless. He tucked the red and blue glasses into his suit jacket and quickly divested himself of his trench coat, tossing it over a coral support strut by the entry ramp. "I said so!" he continued in his excitement. "Those 'ghosts' have been forced into existence from one specific point," the Doctor confirmed, completing his circuit, coming back to Rose's side at the console. "And I can track down the source! Allons-y!"

With the flip of a lever, the TARDIS shuddered into action, throwing them both against the captain's chair. Almost instantly, the Doctor was back at the console, chattering away to himself.

"I like that. 'Allons-y'," he repeated, testing the feel of the expression as he refined their "flight". "I should say 'allons-y' more often." He deftly circled the console, adjusting the necessary components for their simple, spatial displacement. "'Allons-y'. 'Watch out, Rose Tyler! Allons-y!' And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonzo. Because then I could say, 'Allons-y, Alonzo!' Every time! You're staring at me," he observed as he finally came to stand before Rose and made to reach for her.

Rose was, indeed, staring at him, holding herself aloof with a strained, almost patronizing sort of smile on her face. Quietly, so that the Doctor could almost pretend he hadn't heard, she uttered the terrible words, "My Mum's still on board."

Sure enough, there she was: Jackie Tyler, sitting in the gantries, legs dangling. He thought Rose had been a bit stiff when he'd kissed her -

"If we end up on Mars," Jackie calmly informed him, "I'm gonna kill you."

The Doctor stared at the woman in shock. No, "Keep your tentacles off my daughter, you filthy alien"?

Huh.

She really must like him more, this time around.

The end.

Sorry, I can't find a link to this deleted scene online... ;)

To be continued... in "02 13 Through the Gloom and Doom"; or, if you want to skip into a non-Doomsday AU, try "02 13AU Doomsday Averted"!