Chapter Nine: Rise of the Cybermen

♥✰♥

CLAUDIA LEANED BACK AGAINST THE RAILING, donning Sam's comfortable flannel, too long on the ends and folded just below her elbows. Her hair pulled into a loose ponytail, curly wisps already threatening to fall into her eyes.

The Doctor and Rose were in their own world again and Mickey stood hopeful next to the console, his finger pressed down on a button.

She knew he wanted to be part of their conversation, but she didn't have the heart to comfort him. Bringing up Castiel aloud after Reinette's death, just three days prior, she was overcome with painful memories and forced to face her own guilt.

Now, over a year after his death, she was finally acknowledging he was gone. And she didn't have the energy to put into someone else's relationship, she was too busy mourning her own.

"...and that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes," the Doctor guffawed, sitting next to Rose on the console chair, legs propped on the console. She laughed at his words, throwing her hair back. "You remember the way she looked at you? And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"

Claudia sighed, fiddling with her pocket knife, toying with the ends and tracing the initials on the side. S.W.

"I thought I was gonna get frazzled," Rose laughed in recollection.

"Yeah, one minute she's standing there, the next minute, roar!"

Claudia flicked the knife in and out, a blank stare on her face. She wondered how the three of them would surmise against her demons, the monsters she faced. They were much worse than the aliens and robots the Doctor fought against. They didn't play by the rules, only made their own and forced people to follow them or face deadly consequences.

Mickey's laugh lifted above Rose and the Doctor's and Claudia grimaced when they both looked at him. How awkward.

"Where was that?" Mickey asked. "What happened?"

"Oh, it was on this," the Doctor's laugh cleared out and he tugged at his ear, "er, planet thing. Asteroid. It's a long story. You had to be there."

He looked at Mickey's hand still pressed on the button. "What are you doing that for?" He asked.

"'Cause you told me to."

The Doctor swallowed and Claudia nearly rolled her eyes at Rose's grin. Her boyfriend was being made fun of by the Doctor and she didn't even pretend to care. "When was that?"

"About half an hour ago."

"Um," the Doctor looked at Mickey's hand, fighting a smirk. "You can let go now."

Mickey did as told and a small dinging sound echoed throughout the room. Claudia rolled her eyes, nibbling on her cheek so as to hold back her thoughts. They wouldn't be very nice.

"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?" Mickey asked, glancing at Rose who was laughing into her hand.

"Ten minutes," the Doctor supplied. "Twenty...twenty-nine."

"You just forgot me!"

"No, no, no, I was just...I was calibrating. I know exactly what I'm doing."

Just as the words slipped from his mouth, the entire console shook and a loud bang sounded through the room. Sparks flew from the controls and smoke lifted into the air, fogging up the entire room. Claudia flew back a few feet, toppling over the railing and landing on her back with a loud thud.

"Ow," she grimaced, lifting her wrist above her body first. It was still broken, she refused to take any of the Doctor's weird medicines to magically heal it, instead wrapped in a splint and bandages. Now it felt just as painful as before. She coughed, sitting up straight and walking back up the ramp, an irritated look on her face. She slid her pocket knife back into her pocket and gripped the railing tightly as she walked towards the TARDIS, dodging all the jerks as it shook its way through space.

"What happened?" Rose asked loudly, a frightful look on her face.

Claudia moved quickly, gripping the side of the console Mickey was on, accidentally bumping her shoulder with his.

"The Time Vortex is gone," the Doctor answered in confusion, trying to switch on buttons and levers. "That's impossible. It's just gone! Brace yourselves!" He shouted. "We're gonna crash!"

Claudia moved back to the railing she originally fell from and wrapped her arms around it tightly, holding her in place, even as the ground fell beneath her for a moment, sending her legs into the air.

Not a second later, the TARDIS jerked once and stopped, sending her crashing into the railing.

"Fuck," she groaned, immediately feeling her side and back bruising. "That hurt."

"Everyone all right?" The Doctor questioned from the other side of the console. "Rose? Mickey?" Claudia let out a light groan, slowly moving her broken wrist from the railing, wincing at the pain.

"Claudia?" His voice echoed through the now darkened TARDIS. "You alright?"

Claudia nodded, slowly standing up and letting out a small noise of pain. "Mmhm," she waved her good hand. "I'm fine, thanks. Nice driving," she jabbed, sending him a glare from where he popped up on the other side.

"I'm fine," Mickey responded finally, "I'm okay, sorry, yeah."

As the others stood up slowly, they all examined the wreckage of the ship. Wires with oxygen masks at the end were hanging down from above the console and the usually bright room was dark and all previous laughter was gone.

"She's dead," the Doctor said softly. Claudia's eyebrows furrowed and she walked closer to the Doctor and Rose. "The TARDIS is dead."

"You can fix it," Rose offered, following the Doctor as he walked slowly around the console.

"There's nothing to fix," he denied, his voice low and full of sadness. "She's perished." He flicked a switch, but nothing happened. "The last TARDIS in the universe. Extinct."

"We can get help," Rose suggested, her voice shaking slightly. "Yeah?"

"Where from?" Claudia asked quietly, looking over at the Doctor. From what she'd gathered -- he was the only one left. She doubted there was a repair shop they could call and request assistance from.

"Well, we've landed," Rose looked between the Doctor and Claudia. "We've got to be somewhere."

"We fell out of the vortex," the Doctor shook his head, giving her a meaningful look. "Through the void, into nothingness."

Claudia sighed, tapping her fingers on her leg nervously, a fidgeting tick she'd picked up over the years. They couldn't be trapped in nothingness. She couldn't leave Dean, not permanently. He'd never know what happened to her. She couldn't do that to him -- not after everything they'd been through.

Regret clouded her mind momentarily; she shouldn't have left him to begin with. They should have made amends and grieved together. Running away with a time-travelling alien? It was everything he hated; running, trusting a stranger, and giving up on family. She'd always been a disappointment, and she was starting to understand why Dean felt the way he did.

"We're in some sort of no place," the Doctor finished, his voice just above a whisper. "The Silent Realm. The Lost Dimension."

"Otherwise known as London," Mickey called from the entrance, half his body outside the TARDIS doors.

Claudia watched him in faint suspicion, exchanging a look with the Doctor before following him and Rose out of the TARDIS.

"London, England, Earth," Mickey said proudly, stepping onto a patch of grass the TARDIS landed on. "Hold on," he leaned down, picking up a newspaper clipping. "It's the first of February. Not exactly far flung, is it?"

Claudia looked around, confusion befalling her face. But how was the Doctor sure they'd landed in empty space? Why had the TARDIS died if they were just going to normal London? She looked around for a sign, any notion they were out of place, and found it: flying zeppelins in the air above them.

"So this is London?" The Doctor asked, glancing up at the sky.

"Yep."

"Your city?" He asked again.

"That's the one."

"Just as we left it?" Claudia raised an eyebrow.

"Bang on."

"And that includes the zeppelins?" The Doctor asked, looking up at the sky. Claudia sighed, a sinking feeling settling into her stomach. There were very few places they could be and one of them included her not so favorite theory: a parallel universe.

She couldn't be trapped in another universe, not after the one Dean described to hear a few years prior. She didn't belong here. It was like stepping into the chapters of someone else's book and spilling ink on the page. She'd mess everything up. Her universe was messed up enough as it was. She didn't need to mess up another.

"What the hell?" Mickey asked, staring up at the sky.

"That's beautiful," Rose breathed out.

Claudia made a noise of disagreement. "We have very different definitions on the word."

"Okay," Mickey shrugged. "So it's London with a big International Zeppelin in Festival."

"That's a thing?" Claudia asked dubiously.

"This is not your world," the Doctor spoke lowly. Claudia took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, the familiar anxious spasm of her hands. She couldn't be in an alternate world. What if in this universe, they hadn't stopped Michael and Lucifer? What if they were just beginning to? What if Sam and Dean were both dead -- what if she was?

"But if the date's the same...it's parallel, right?" Mickey asked as it clicked in his mind.

Claudia walked slowly behind the others as the Doctor led the way down the path, her heart doing somersaults in her stomach. She couldn't be here. It felt so wrong, so uncomfortable.

"Am I right?" Mickey asked. "Like a parallel Earth, only they've got zeppelins?"

"Yes," Claudia snapped, annoyed by his constant questioning. "You're right, now let's just fix the TARDIS and get the hell out of here."

Mickey glanced over at her, hurt crowding his features, but she was too preoccupied glancing around, as though someone she knew would walk out in front of her. She had too many enemies. Too many dead loved ones. Any of them could walk in front of her and she'd be faced with a terrible outcome.

"A parallel world where--" Rose began softly.

"--Come on," Mickey cut her off. "You've seen it on films."

"And in person," Claudia mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself, the pain in her hand dulled as anxiety soared through her. "It's not always good to be in another version of your life."

The Doctor glanced over at her, studying her for a long pause, but didn't say anything, turning his head to Mickey and Rose again.

"Like an alternative to our world," Mickey continued, not hearing Claudia's words. "Where everything's the same but a little bit different. Like, I don't know, lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected..."

"And he's still alive," Rose finished, a morose tone to her voice. Claudia followed her line of vision to a sign with a thinly haired man held up a bottle of a foreign drink. It read Vitex Lite, Cherry Flavor.

Claudia looked between the sign and Rose, her mind working faster. That had to be Rose's dad, the one who died when she was a baby. Her heart thudded against her rib cage and she felt her breath catch in her throat. If Pete Tyler was alive...did that mean her mother was too? Her father? She hadn't ever dared to think about such things, but what if...?

But she couldn't see them. They weren't her parents, not here. Just like when a djinn sent one into a sleepless dream; this wasn't her life. Her mother burned on the ceiling in her nursery and her father sold his soul for Dean's life, and both of them were gone. Her parents were dead. Her brother was dead. Castiel was dead. Whoever lived in this realm...they weren't her family. Right?

"A parallel world where my dad's still alive."

Claudia didn't say anything as Rose turned, walking towards the sign.

"Don't look at it, Rose," the Doctor told her sternly. "Don't even think about it. This is not your world."

"He's my dad. And," she reached her hand up, placing it on the sign.

"Trust me on this," Pete said through the sign.

"Oh, that's weird," Rose pulled her hand away, watching the sign with sad fascination. "But he's real..."

"He's real in your world too, Rose," Claudia said hoarsely, trying not to cry. "Just gone." She was convincing herself, too. Trying not to think of her family and friends that could all be alive in this world. They could be a hunting family, or perhaps not hunters at all. Or maybe they were all still dead and everything happened the same as it did in her universe, but she and Dean died too.

Rose glanced at her but didn't say anything.

"Trust me on this."

"He's a success," Rose laughed. "He was always planning these daft little schemes, health food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it."

Claudia wondered if her dad were a mechanic in this world. Were her parents still together? Were she and Sam still twins? What if Sam never existed? She couldn't think about that -- a world where Sam Winchester didn't exist.

Had she even met Castiel in this world? She closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. She wasn't ready for this, to think about this life. Another version of herself who could be happy with someone that wasn't Castiel.

"Rose," the Doctor grabbed her arms. "If you ever trusted me, then listen to me now." Rose glanced towards the sign. "Stop looking at him. Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is a Pete."

Claudia thought of her brother's laugh, his vegetarian lifestyle and Jessica's friendly demeanor. Were they together in this world? Were they happy? Or were Winchesters never meant to be happy, and they both died anyway?

"For all we know, he's got his own Jackie. His own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you. You can't see him. Not ever."

Claudia looked down at the ground, time stopping in this moment. Her head spun and her breath was picking up again, too fast, she couldn't keep up, and she keeled over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

This grabbed the Doctor's attention and he let go of Rose, walking to Claudia. He rested a warm hand on her back and it felt like fire against her skin. She twisted, his had sliding off. She didn't want him touching her -- she didn't want to be here, to be in a world that wasn't hers with people she couldn't be happy with.

"I can't," she gasped out, "I can't be here. This is wrong," she looked up at him, pure terror across her face. "I can't be in a world where -- what if they're -- but they're not -- they're not my people. How would you -- I can't, oh shit," she moaned, feeling an urge to vomit.

He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her up and resting his hands on her forearms.

"Breathe, Claudia," he said gently. "Take a deep breath with me. You don't have to find them, you won't go looking for any of them, alright?"

She nodded, trying to breathe but tears skidded to the forefront of her face, threatening to slip down her cheeks. "Doctor, I--I can't do this," she looked into his eyes pleadingly, begging him to find a way out. She couldn't be trapped here. Not without her Dean. Not in a world where everyone she loved could be alive, or worse, all dead, and monsters roamed freely.

"You can," he nodded, looking at her seriously. "You're one of the strongest, if not the strongest person I've ever met." He gave her a soft smile. "You can do this. We will figure out a way back home, I promise."

♥✰♥

"Rose, stop looking at him," Claudia mumbled, staring out at the road, trying not to let her thoughts wander to her family. They'd all be in America, that much was true. Her dad was an American through and through. Burgers, Fourth of July, owning dozens of guns -- the whole sha-bang.

"Don't tell me what to do," Rose bit back, "you're not the Doctor."

Claudia glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow, a look of irritation falling across her face.

"Excuse me?" She asked lowly. "You better watch your mouth."

Rose scoffed. "You're all talk, Claudia," she rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't hurt me. The Doctor wouldn't let you."

Claudia's eyes narrowed and she walked closer to Rose, standing in front of her, their faces inches apart.

"You're right. I wouldn't hurt you. But the next time you're in trouble and the Doctor's late -- I won't think about saving you. Keep up the attitude up and that's a promise."

Rose swallowed thickly, looking away. "S-sorry, Claudia, I just...I miss him, y'know? And he's alive here, he's happy here and --"

"--So? He's not your dad. He's some other Rose's dad. As much as it hurts, your dad died when you were six months old and --"

"--Don't act like you understand what I'm going through, Claudia--"

"--Excuse me?" Claudia's voice hardened. "You want to try that again?"

"I meant it," Rose shrugged, crossing her arms, taking a few steps back from Claudia. "You don't. I grew up without a dad, with a broke single mother in a small flat. We talked every year about Dad and she told me stories and I can't--I can't remember any of them," her voice shook and Rose looked away. "I need to see him so I can hear his voice and -- and remember him now."

Claudia softened, pitying the girl. A part of her wanted to hate Rose, for bringing up exactly how she felt about her own mother. Anger flickered across her face but she tried to control it. It wasn't her fault she had a good life. A good mother.

"I know how it feels," she confessed quietly. Rose's head snapped to hers. "My mom died when I was six months old, and she didn't even," Claudia took a shaky breath, thinking of Azazel's words oh-so-long-ago. "We weren't allowed to talk about her. My dad didn't like it, so we never asked questions. Aside from a little picture in the impala...I don't know anything about her. I miss her everyday. I miss who she could've been, how our life would've turned out if she were still alive -- but she's not." She looked at Rose, reaching out a hand and holding it tightly. "My mom is dead. So is your dad. Whoever they are here, they don't belong to us. Okay?"

Rose looked away, jaw trembling and tears gathered in her eyes. She squeezed Claudia's hand.

"But I have to see him," Rose said thickly. "I have to. Like you said, you've never talked about it, you don't --"

"--Fuck's sake, Rose, you were six months old! My brother died less than a year ago. My boyfriend too, the exact same day. My dad died five years ago and my mom died when I was a baby, same as you. But I'm not going to --"

"--God, Claudia, will you just shut up a minute!"

Claudia's mouth fell open and she stumbled back a step.

"Oh," she said faintly, a bitter smile etched on her face. "Sure thing. But don't come crying to me when your dad tells you he doesn't want you."

With a final hard look in Rose's direction, Claudia stormed back to the TARDIS and slammed the door behind her, ignoring both the Doctor and Mickey's worried and confused faces.

"You both shut up," Claudia growled out, clenching her hands into fists. White, hot fury engrossed her previous anxiety and pain, and she struggled to rain in her anger.

"Claudia?" Mickey's voice asked cautiously. "You can't listen to her when she's like that, she gets mean when she's flustered -- but she doesn't mean it--"

"--Appreciate the sentiment, Mickey, but please shut the fuck up."

Mickey stayed quiet.

"What's that?" The Doctor leaned forward, spotting something under the grates on the ground. Claudia glanced over curiously.

"What?" Mickey asked him.

"That there," the Doctor stood, looking down and then up at the ceiling, searching for something. Claudia walked towards the pair, searching for what the Doctor was seeing. "Is that a reflection?"

He grinned. "It's a light! Is it? Is that a light? I think that's a light." He looked between Mickey and Claudia, reaching down and tugging the grate off. "We've got power! Mickey, Claudia, we've got power!"

Claudia let out a breath of relief, falling back on her legs, letting herself sit on the ground, basking in a rare moment of victory. She wouldn't be stuck here. She wouldn't be tempted with the idea of a happy family and safe, secure life -- they could leave this place and never return.

The Doctor and Mickey placed the grate about a foot away and the Doctor hopped down into the hole towards the inner workings of the console and began to work.

"It's alive!" He shouted ecstatically. Claudia couldn't help but smile, his changed attitude bringing more joy to her face than anything else that day. She leaned her head down, watching him work.

"Take this," he handed her a rectangle piece with a bunch of lifted sigils and buttons. She gently placed it next to her.

"What is it?" Mickey asked.

"Nothing, it's tiny. It's one of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about and it's clinging on to life! It's got one little ounce of reality, tucked away inside."

"Enough to get us home?" Claudia asked, hope spreading through her voice.

"Not yet," the Doctor answered distractedly, picking it up. He raised himself above the stairs and the grates, looking between her and Mickey. "I need to charge it up."

He held it gently in his palms. Claudia thought it looked like a bright, green crystal with a rubber band wrapped around it, but it was surely far more technical.

"We could go outside and lash it up to the national grid," Mickey suggested.

"Wrong sort of energy. It's got to come from our universe."

Claudia frowned at the Doctor's words, sinking her head into her hand. She didn't exactly know any massive energy source that could charge up a piece of the TARDIS.

"But we don't have anything," Claudia said bitterly, accepting their doomed fate. They would be trapped here.

The Doctor looked up at her with a soft smile and hopeful eyes. "There's me," he countered gently.

She dared not to hope, but it flowed through her veins as easily as the blood that pumped them. Hope seemed to come much easier with him around, she'd noticed.

He took a deep breath and blew gently on the energy source, lighting it up with golden dust. She recalled it from the first they'd met, back during Christmas when he was regenerating. It felt so long ago now. So much had changed since then.

A grin spread across the Doctor's handsome features and he looked up at her with excited eyes. She knew he understood how desperately she wanted to return back to their reality, and she knew how much he wanted the same. She smiled back down at him, lifting her head and resting her chin on her knuckles.

"I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second."

Her smile softened. "Thank you," she said quietly, meaning it. Surprise flashed his face and he watched her for a moment. She didn't often say it, if at all, but she truly meant it. Without him sacrificing years of his life, there would be no way home.

"Ah," he brushed her off, holding the energy source up for her to see. "Not just for you, Claudia, don't think you're too special, now."

"Ha," she laughed dryly, "funny. Try another stupid comment like that and I might take another ten years off your life."

A laugh escaped him and Mickey and they all leaned down to look at the bright green light, slowly flickering out.

"It's going out, is that okay?" Mickey asked worriedly.

"It's on a recharging cycle," the Doctor smiled. "It'll loop 'round, power back up and be ready to take us home in 24 hours," he pressed a kiss to the energy source.

"So that gives us twenty-four hours on a parallel world?" Mickey asked, excitement seeping through his features.

Claudia stifled a groan. "Fuck, no," she muttered, shaking her head as the suffocating began to overwhelm her again. The world grew smaller and smaller around her, the seemingly endless TARDIS now confided into one room, overshadowing her previous hope.

"Shore leave," the Doctor grinned at Mickey. "So long as we keep our heads down, easy, no problem. Let's go and tell her."

He stood quickly, tossing the energy source into the air and tucking it into his pocket. Claudia watched numbly as he brushed past her, Mickey close behind. Her heart sank. She'd have to wonder for twenty-four hours if her family was alive. What they were doing. If they were hunters, who they were, what they looked like -- did Dean have brown eyes instead of green? -- and if she were even born in this reality.

A lot could change in twenty-four hours. She'd met the Doctor and become a companion in the span of twenty-four hours. Her brothers and her faced against Lucifer and Michael then lost Sam in less than twenty-four hours.

An entire day was a long time.

Claudia wasn't sure she could manage an entire day.

She stood shakily, trying to keep her breathing steady, walking out the TARDIS doors and closing them shut behind her. She could hear the Doctor and Rose talking, and Mickey's voice too, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Her body was controlled by something else, something fearful and anxious -- she didn't like feeling this way. She always knew what to do and when to do it. But now? In a parallel world? Would her methods even work the same here? Would her weapons? Would she be as helpless as Rose and Mickey, depending solely on the Doctor for help?

"There's no Rose Tyler, I was never born."

Claudia looked up at that, surprise overtaking her fear. She knew it was a possibility, but having it stated aloud? Jealousy overtook her suddenly. She wanted to know if she were alive, if she'd ever been born. Secretly, she hoped she hadn't been. She didn't want to be jealous of another version of herself and mourn a life she couldn't have. And she didn't want to be dead either, leaving the boys with no one.

"There's Pete, my dad, and Jackie. He still married Mum but they never had kids."

"Give me that phone," the Doctor reached over, but she pulled it away.

"They're rich," Rose laughed sadly. Claudia walked towards the trio, standing next to Mickey who gave her a sad smile. "They've got a house and cars and everything they want. But they haven't got me."

She stood up, debating, staring at her phone. She turned back, determination spread across her face. "I've got to see them."

"You can't," the Doctor replied seriously.

"I just want to see them."

"I can't let you."

He stood now, nearly a head taller than Rose, watching her sternly. He was right, of course. But Rose didn't agree. Rose never agreed. And sure as shit, Claudia thought to herself, they'd be off in no time to see Jackie and Pete Tyler.

"You just said twenty-four hours!" Rose cried out.

"You can't become their daughter," the Doctor shook his head. "That's not the way it works. Mickey, tell her."

Claudia's eyes moved to Mickey's face, which morphed into sadness and exhaustion. It was an unfamiliar look on him and she decidedly didn't enjoy seeing it.

"Twenty-four hours, yeah?" He stood, pointing to the Doctor.

"Where are you going?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, I can do what I want."

"Fuck's sake," Claudia cursed, shaking her head, holding her hands out. "Both of you, stop. Whatever's tempting you, Mickey, it's not meant for you. There could be another you here and he has this life."

"At least I care about my family enough to look for them," Mickey countered, backing away from Claudia as a dark look overtook his face.

She straightened, walking towards him, but the Doctor grabbed her arm. "Don't, Claudia," he said quietly with a shake of his head. "Don't let his words get to you."

Claudia said nothing, watching as Mickey walked one way and Rose moved in another. The Doctor stood in between them, his hand wrapped around Claudia's arm.

"I've got the address and everything," Rose shrugged, holding up her phone.

"Stay where you are!" The Doctor shouted at them both. "Both of you! Rose, come back! Mickey, come back here right now!"

"I just want to see them!" Rose pleaded.

"Yeah, I've got things to see and all," Mickey called out.

"Like what?" The Doctor asked, flabbergasted.

"You don't know anything about me, do you? It's always about Rose. And if you're in the mood, sometimes Claudia. It's never about me. I'm just the spare part."

"I'm sorry," Rose called out to them. "I've got to go."

"They're not listening," Claudia commented bitterly, glaring at Mickey threateningly. She'd always liked the man but in this moment she wanted to break his nose. "Let's just follow your girlfriend and be done with it."

"Go on then," Mickey nodded to Rose. "There's no choice, is there? You only chase after one of us and it's never gonna be me, is it?"

Claudia shook her head. "Never is," she muttered under her breath.

"She's not my -- oh, whatever, come on, Claudia," he rolled his eyes. "Back here. Twenty-four hours!" He shouted, pulling Claudia, his hand dropping to her own as their fingers intertwined.

"I hope you break your arm and I mean that in the sincerest way possible," Claudia called back to Mickey, a scowl taking over her dark eyes.

♥✰♥

"Mickey's mum just couldn't cope," Rose explained to the Doctor and Claudia.

The Doctor's hand was still tightly wrapped in Claudia's as they walked through the busy streets of an alternate London, as though she'd run off at any moment. She didn't fight; a part of her wanted to run off and find her family -- but he kept her tethered to him. She needed that.

"His dad hung around for awhile, but then he just sort of wandered off. He was brought up by his gran. She was such a great woman," Rose smiled in remembrance, letting out a light laugh. "God, she used to slap him!"

Claudia looked down, thinking about her own parents. She'd never met her grandparents, though she doubted she had any. Only her dad, the man who slapped around Claudia and her brothers, though she was sure Rose wouldn't be laughing if she explained those situations.

"But then she died," Rose sobered up, "she tripped and fell down the stairs. It was about five years ago now. I was still in school."

"Shit, you're young," Claudia shook her head. Despite her bouts of immaturity, Rose acted far older than she truly was. She suspected travelling with the Doctor added onto that fact, but it remained true nonetheless. "I always forget you're still a baby."

"I'm not that young," Rose defended, eyes flickering to the Doctor. "I'm nineteen."

"A baby," Claudia shrugged.

"I never knew," the Doctor cut in, a frown embedded on his lips.

"Well, you never asked," Rose argued.

"You never said!"

"That's Mickey," Rose shook her head. "I suppose...we just take him for granted."

The Doctor's hand squeezed Claudia's, as though telling her the same, and she squeezed back lightly.

"Do you think she's still alive? His gran?"

"Could be," the Doctor shrugged. "Like I said, parallel world, gingerbread house. We need to get out of here as fast as we can. Think about Claudia, here, only thing holding her back is the fact that we're not in America."

Rose glanced over at Claudia, a guilty look crossing her face. "I know, she's stronger than me, for sure."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Can we stop with the acting as if I'm not here? I'm right here. And the whole fake appreciation thing to satiate your own guilt on how you treat Mickey isn't doing anything but making yourselves feel better."

Rose didn't say anything, but her jaw clenched. The Doctor's grip tightened again.

A beeping sounded through the streets and everyone around them stopped, suddenly. Claudia looked around in confusion. She raised her free hand to the nearest passerby and waved it over his face. Nothing.

"What are they all doing?" Rose asked, the three of them slowly walking through the stopped crowd.

"They've stopped," the Doctor pointed out. He walked towards a heavyset mean and leaned in next to his ear, examining the bulky earpiece he wore. "It's the ear pieces. Like Bluetooth attachments, but everyone's connected together.

A similar sound beeped from Rose's pink jacket. She pulled out her phone, holding it in front of them all.

"It's on my phone. It's automatic. Look, it's downloading. Is this what they're all getting?"

Claudia leaned over Rose's right shoulder, the Doctor on her left. Cybus Network, Daily Download, her phone read.

"News, international news, sport, weather," Rose read aloud as the white box on the screen changed, flicking through multiple networks.

"They get it direct," the Doctor frowned. "Downloaded right into their heads."

"TV schedules, lottery numbers," Rose continued.

"Everyone shares the same information," the Doctor looked around the plaza.

Claudia's lips quirked downwards. "Imagine doing this willingly," she shook her head. "So much for sentient life, it's all pre-recorded and technological."

The Doctor glanced at her, but didn't respond. He reached to Rose's phone and head it steady. "Daily download, published by Cybus Industries."

The word in the white box flipped to joke and a second later, everyone around them laughed.

Claudia's face morphed into an expression of disgust. "That's very disturbing."

A second later, they were all on their way, walking around as though they hadn't just had everything programmed into their minds.

"You lot, you're obsessed," the Doctor commented. "You'll do anything for the latest upgrade."

"Oi, they're not my lot. Different world, remember?" Rose defended.

"It's not far off your world," the Doctor argued, looking over Rose's phone and searching for the owner of the network, "this place is only parallel." He leaned the phone towards Claudia and Rose. "Oh, look at that. Cybus Industries, owners of just about every company in Britain, including Vitex. Mr. Pete Tyler's very well connected."

Rose smirked up at the Doctor knowingly and Claudia sighed, moving back from them. Of course Rose was getting her way. They were off to see her parents and she'd be forced to endure the awkward glances and longing stares and the Doctor would comfort her for interacting with her parallel parents, and she'd struggle alone again. So much for being tethered.

"Okay," the Doctor relented with a sigh, tossing Rose's phone up in the air. She caught it swiftly. "I give up. Let's go and see him."

♥✰♥

Claudia sat on Rose's right, the Doctor on her left, nearest the tree, just next to a collection of bushes. They were waiting, watching the tall mansion that belonged to Pete and Jackie Tyler.

It was dark now, they'd been sitting there for nearly three hours, watching, talking, quietly averting the gravity of the situation. Claudia had nearly cried three separate times, thinking of her own family, wondering if they were rich. She wondered if Sam had a little bowtie he wore everywhere and if Dean wore "monkey suits" on the regular.

"They've got visitors," the Doctor murmured as a limousine pulled through the massive landscape.

"February the 1st, Mum's birthday," Rose said quietly, her face distorted into mild disgust as she watched people leave the limousine and enter her parents' home. "Even in a parallel universe, she still loves a party."

Claudia smiled fondly, the first natural one since they'd arrived in the parallel universe. Sweet Jackie Tyler, she deserved all the parties in the world.

"Well, given Pete Tyler's guest list, I wouldn't mind a look," the Doctor said quietly. "And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside," he pulled out the psychic paper.

"Psychic paper," Rose grinned down at it.

Claudia let out a soft sigh, not wanting to continue on this particular adventure, wondering if she'd left now, whether either of them would notice.

She pushed the thought away, but it lurked at the back of her mind like a leech, sucking out all attempts at happiness and bringing her back to the waters of her anxiety.

"Who do you want to be?"

♥✰♥

Claudia balanced a tray of hors d'oeuvres on her hand, following behind the Doctor and Rose, wearing a similar server outfit to Rose's. A knee-length black dress and a short, frilly white apron tied to her lower half. Unlike Rose, she kept hers completely buttoned, all the way up her chest. She had too many scars to wear something that revealing.

Jazz music played through the mansion and low-toned conversations followed Claudia around as she glanced between the dozens of formal attendees. Someone grabbed a serving from her tray and she smiled politely at them, playing her role smartly.

"We could've been anyone," Rose muttered to the Doctor.

"It got us in, didn't it?"

"You're in charge of the psychic paper. We could've been guests. Celebrities." She glanced back at Claudia. "Sir Doctor, Dame Rose, Dame Claudia."

"Because that'll make perfect sense," Claudia said sarcastically under her breath, smiling at another guest, who barely glanced at her as they snagged a few pieces of her dish.

"And we ended up serving," Rose continued, not hearing Claudia. "I did enough of this back home."

Claudia smiled at another passerby, giving Rose a side-longed glance. "It's not so bad. Technically, this'll be the first real job I've ever had. I don't think monster-hunter counts on a professional resume."

The Doctor and Rose stared at her for a moment.

"I can never tell if you're serious," Rose blinked, looking between the Doctor and Claudia.

He shrugged. "Monsters don't exist, so I'd take that as a joke."

Claudia sighed in frustration. "They do," she protested, smiling at another guest. One day, she'd show them. She half-hoped a demon would be at the party so she could prove herself. But then again, what if her methods didn't work the same? The last thing she needed was to lose the Doctor or Rose permanently.

"If you want to know what's going on," the Doctor brought the point back to Rose. "Work in the kitchen."

They walked a bit more into the corner and the Doctor nodded to a dark-skinned older man, laughing with another guest.

"According to Lucy, that man over there--"

"--Who's Lucy?" Rose asked, giving him a look.

"She's carrying the salmon pinwheels," he nodded to a brown-haired young woman handing out said appetizer.

"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, looking at Rose seriously.

Claudia smirked, looking between the two, amused. The Doctor was so clueless. Rose glanced at her with a bemused expression. Claudia shrugged in response and Rose shook her head, both of them focusing on the Doctor's words again.

"Lucy says that is the President of Great Britain."

"What, there's a president, not a prime minister?"

"Seems so."

Claudia's lips quirked. "That's a good thing for me, actually, makes this whole government much easier to understand if it's the same as the US."

"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick," Rose jabbed, jealousy lining her words.

Claudia smirked. "Rose, he doesn't understand."

"What?" The Doctor asked innocently, looking between the pair of women in confusion before walking off.

They exchanged a small laugh before following after him, making it to the other side of the room when someone's voice broke through the noise.

"Excuse me, if I could -- thank you, if I could have your attention, please?"

Rose separated from the Doctor and Rose quickly, walking towards the man on the stairs, who Claudia immediately recognized as Pete Tyler as she and the Doctor followed quickly behind.

"Come on, Pete!" Someone shouted.

"Thank you very much," Pete laughed. "I'd just like to say thank you to you all for coming on this very special occasion. My wife's...39th," a laughter rang through the crowd, but Claudia wasn't smiling. She and the Doctor hovered over Rose cautiously, making sure she was okay. Rose's expression morphed into one of genuine awe, and Claudia's heart nearly broke at it.

Claudia knew that feeling. She felt the same years ago when her mother's ghost saved her and her brothers from the poltergeist in their old home. The adoration she felt for her, the time-stopping longing that carved into her heart and left her breathless. She'd cried for hours after with Sam when Dean was out getting food.

Claudia didn't know how Rose was taking it so well.

"Trust me on this," Pete joked again, holding his thumb up like he had in the video they'd seen earlier. "And so, without any further ado, here she is, the birthday girl, my lovely wife, Jackie Tyler."

Rose looked up the stairs for her mother and the Doctor glanced down at her. Claudia took her free hand, the one with the broken wrist, squeezing gently and ignoring her own pain. Rose's hand felt loose, slackened, shock falling onto her face as her mother came down the stairs. She looked exactly the same as she had in their universe, except much more dressed up. Her hair was pinned neatly behind her head and she wore a long black dress.

Rose looked close to tears.

"It'll be okay," Claudia said quietly to her, comforting the best she could. Rose didn't respond.

"Now, I'm not giving a speech," Jackie said from next to Pete. "That's what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics. Just a few good mates and plenty of black market whiskey." Everyone burst into laughter again. "Pardon me, Mr. President," she addressed the man from before.

"So yeah," Jackie continued. "Get on with it. Enjoy! Enjoy."

Jackie and Pete exchanged a look before coming downstairs together, waving at people and smiling at flashing cameras.

Rose watched them with the same expression, and Claudia gripped her hand tightly, wishing she could take the younger woman and give her all the good things in the world.

Because from personal experience, Claudia knew that no one should feel this way. As much as Rose had wanted to see her parents, actually going through with it was entirely different.

"You can't stay," the Doctor said quietly to her. "Even if there was some way of telling them."

"She knows," Claudia spoke for her. "She knows, Doctor," she gave him a meaningful look.

"'Course I can't," Rose agreed, blank-faced, squeezing Claudia's hand. Her other arm was starting to ache from holding up the tray, and she let go of Rose's hand. She moved the tray hand down, holding them in between both hands, wincing as it made contact with her wrist.

"I've still got Mum at home, my real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I? It's just," Rose swallowed thickly, looking to the Doctor. "They've got each other. Mum's got no one."

"She's got you," the Doctor protested. "Those two haven't."

"All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right."

Claudia sank back a fraction, his words bringing her attention back to her own family. The curiosity burned her mind, and each time she thought about them, it felt like she were setting herself on fire. She knew she shouldn't hope they were dead, but a small part of her did. Because then they wouldn't be happier than her, and she wouldn't feel as low as Rose did right now.

"Rose!" Jackie's voice called out.

Rose's attention snapped to her parallel mother, who was smiling down at a small terrier dog. "Here's my little girl! Come to mummy, come to mummy, yes," she said, picking her up and holding her close.

Claudia smirked. "Yikes," she let out, looking at Rose's unimpressed face.

Rose looked between the Doctor and Claudia, who avoided looking at each other in fear they'd both laugh.

At her expression, however, they both burst into laughter, but Rose didn't participate.

"Sorry," the Doctor said a moment later. Claudia's smile fell and she gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry, it's just kinda funny."

"Is it?" Rose asked her with a small scowl. "What if you were a dog in this world, too?"

"Then at least I'd be happy," Claudia countered bitterly. "I gotta put this down, my hand is killing me," she told them both, excusing herself back to the kitchen.

♥✰♥

Claudia sat outside near the bushes, smoking a cigarette, her thoughts clouding her judgment. She was tired of this place, tired of this world. She missed Sam, and Cas, and Dean. She wanted to go home.

But there was no home to go to. Dean had the impala tucked away and hadn't even started it since Sam's death. Cas was dead, Sam too. Her best friend, Jo, and Dean's sort-of girlfriend was dead, her mom with her. Both died for seemingly nothing. They won, but at what cost?

Now, Dean was with Lisa and Ben, pretending that he was a normal guy with barbecues and baseball games. It's what Sam always wanted, for himself and them.

But Claudia couldn't just put it all down. They'd grown up with so much anger, pain, and darkness. She'd been fighting her entire life, apparently for the battle against Lucifer and Michael. To lay it all down, drop their weapons and surrender to a normal life -- that wasn't who Claudia was.

It never had been.

She took another drag, letting it out slowly.

She hoped Rose was doing okay. At least she didn't have to see her family, unlike Rose. Sure, she'd asked, begged the Doctor to see them, but she couldn't predict the future. She didn't know how much it would hurt, not like Claudia. She'd been through this and Rose was too young to feel that much pain in such a short amount of time.

Claudia pulled out her phone, flicking it open. No service. She wasn't about to connect to the Cybus Industries Network, but she missed her brother. Not that the call would go through anyway. Anywhere in time and space -- but she doubted it worked through parallel universes.

She looked up, watching the stars with a morose expression.

"Cas," she said quietly, eyes filling with tears. "I don't know if you exist here, or if you know who I am, or if you're someone else entirely. But I..." She sniffled, taking another drag, letting out in a shaky breath. "I miss you."

Loud laughter echoed from the house, as though mocking her, and Claudia could feel the disconnect from herself and everyone else. Even Rose had the Doctor to help her deal with her pain.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm sorry you're gone, and I'm sorry I couldn't help you. You were--you were everything to me. I hope you're okay here. And if you don't know who I am, just--just know I'm someone who loves you, very much. If you don't know what that is, like how you didn't when, ahem," she cleared her throat. She didn't need to bring that up again.

"It's--well, it's complicated to explain. It's more something you just feel. The longing stares and clammy hands and butterflies in your stomach, not real butterflies, though, you thought that before, it's a figure of speech. Just...I don't know. I'm sorry for praying to you. I know you probably don't know who I am, or maybe you do and are with me now, or you're wondering why I'm even talking to you. But I do love you. And I wish -- "

Her eyes filled with tears, and a few slipped down her cheeks. She tried not to break into a sobs, hissing in pain as the cigarette burned into her skin. She dropped it, crushing it with her boot.

"You alright?"

Claudia jumped, wiping her cheeks furiously, turning to the British voice. She so wished it were Castiel's.

"Yeah, thanks," she nodded to the stranger as he came into view. He watched her for a moment, as though he knew her. "Do I know you?" She asked.

"No," the man shook his head. "Sorry, you look a bit familiar."

"Sorry, I don't think we've met."

"Ah," he leaned back against the wall next to her, a small smirk toying at his lips. Dark brown hair and bright blue eyes -- that was her downfall. She looked away, reminded so intensely of Castiel. But his presence was entirely different. Cas could walk into a room and she knew exactly who it was. She felt suffocated and at peace, all at once. Full. Content.

Next to this man, she felt hollow.

"You're American?"

"Yeah," she nodded, looking across the grounds, spotting a bright light.

"So you--"

"--Excuse me," Claudia stood straighter, leaving the stranger and heading into the house again, in search of the Doctor or Rose.

She walked quickly down the halls, grabbing her bag from the kitchen where she'd left it. Swinging it over her shoulder, she moved quickly across the guests, who gave her mixed looks of aghast and surprise, and stumbled into a tall, firm figure.

"Sorry, sir--Doctor!"

The Doctor nodded down at her, relief flooding his face. He grabbed her arm, looking into her eyes intently.

"Cybermen," he said seriously. Confusion flashed across her features. "They're -- you can't kill it with a gun. Any of them. Don't even try, do you understand me, love?"

She nodded, taking in his words carefully, ignoring the term of endearment. She'd sort that out later.

He grabbed her hand, pulling her around the house. "We need to find Rose," he said seriously, his face hard, serious. Just as they turned the corner to the main area, she walked into the room, their eyes meeting.

The Doctor pulled Claudia through the guests, meeting up with Rose and walking to the window. The trio looked outside with wide eyes, Claudia's heart dropping as the Doctor's words echoed in her mind. No guns. She'd depended on weapons her entire life -- how was she supposed to fight against them?

The Doctor dropped her hand, placing both his around his eyes, getting a better view of outside. "It's happening again."

Claudia tried to see what he was talking about, but she could only find bright lights.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. At least Claudia wasn't the only one out of the loop.

"I've seen them before."

"What are they?" Rose asked shakily as they came more steadily into view.

Claudia shook her head. Tall, bulky, metal robots with empty eyes came into the clearing. Now she understood why bullets didn't work. They were bullet-proof.

"Cybermen."

Not a second later, the glass broke in the windows around them and people began screaming as the house fell under attack.

Claudia jumped, turning around swiftly with the Doctor and Rose. They moved towards Pete and Jackie Tyler as the Cybermen surrounded the house, closing in on them all.

The Doctor's hand found Claudia's and he held it tightly, his words echoing in her mind. She looked to Rose, who looked around in a mixture of surprise and fear.

"We'll be okay," she told Rose. "The Doctor will get us out of this."

The Doctor's head snapped to her as the words fell from her lips, startled by her declaration. She looked back at him.

"I put my chips on you, don't let it be a waste, Doctor."

He didn't respond, turning back to the cybermen.

"Mr. Lumic," the President spoke up, a frown stagnant on his lips.

"Mr. President," a voice sounded throughout the room. "I suppose a remark about crashing the party would be appropriate at this point, sir."

"I forbade this," the President shouted.

"These are my children, sir," the voice disagreed. "Would you deny my family?"

"What are they? Robots?" Rose asked the Doctor quietly.

"Worse than that," he responded lowly.

"Who were these people?" The President asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Lumic's voice echoed again. Claudia frowned. Yes, it did. It always mattered.

"They're people," Rose asked the Doctor.

"They were. 'Till they had all their humanity taken away."

Claudia took a deep breath. She couldn't imagine that. It's how the Angels and Demons operated. No emotions, not pain, no feeling. It was not a life she wanted to live.

"That's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body," the Doctor continued. "With a heart of steel and all emotions removed."

"That's horrible," Claudia grimaced, looking around at the cybermen, a newfound pity settling into her chest.

"Why no emotions?" Rose asked softly.

The Doctor took a deep breath. "Because it hurts."

"I demand to know, Lumic, these people, who were they?"

"They were homeless and wretched and useless, until I saved them and elevated them and gave them life eternal. And now I leave you in their capable hands. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, Mr. President."

A Cyberman stepped in front of the President.

"We have been upgraded."

"Into what?" The Doctor asked loudly.

"The next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."

"I'm sorry," the President spoke up, walking closer to the Cyberman. "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you. But listen to me," he turned to the other Cybermen. "This experiment ends tonight."

"Upgrading is compulsory."

"And if I refuse?"

"Don't," the Doctor said sternly.

"What if I refuse?"

"I'm telling you, don't," the Doctor tried again, more loudly this time.

"What happens if I refuse?" The President asked again, ignoring the Doctor's attempts.

"Then you are not compatible."

"What happens then?"

"You will be deleted."

The Cyberman reached out a hand to the President's neck and electrocuted him, sending him to the ground in seconds. Gasps and screams erupted through the crowd and Claudia's hand tightened on the Doctor's.

The Doctor pulled Claudia and Rose from the house, diving between Cybermen and jumping out of a first floor window, landing on the firm grass.

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor shouted above the screaming. Claudia wanted so badly to fight them, to win against them, but the Doctor's words sounded in her mind. She'd do nothing but draw attention to them and she'd prefer Rose and the Doctor live over anyone else in this parallel world.

"But my mum's in there!"

Claudia stopped Rose.

"That's not your mother!" She shouted at her. "That. Is. Not. Your. Mother. We get back to the TARDIS, we go see your mom. This is a version of your mother, a woman who just resembles her. That's not your mom."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's arm, sending Claudia a grateful look as Rose's face flickered with hesitation. "Come on!" He shouted at the pair.

Claudia ran behind them as they held hands, running up a hill, only to get stopped by a barricade of Cyberman.

"Shit," Claudia swore, looking around for another way out. She ran back to where they came, Rose and the Doctor following quickly behind, taking the left of the house, someone jumping out of the window and Rose shouting for him to follow.

"Pete! Pete!"

Claudia didn't glance back but knew it was Rose's father and she was a bit happy that Rose wouldn't be entirely alone now. (Not that this was her family, anyway, but it meant something to her nonetheless.)

"Pete, is there a way out?" The Doctor asked Pete loudly.

"The side gates," he pointed, running towards them.

"Who are you? How do you know so much?" Pete asked as they ran.

"You wouldn't believe it in a million years--" they all halted as they ran into another group of Cybermen.

"Son-of-a-bitch," Claudia wheezed, turning around and following after the trio again, her backpack clanging against her back.

"Who's that?" Rose asked as two shadowed figures ran towards them, their faces hidden amongst the darkness, their silhouettes only lit by the giant lights behind them.

"Get behind me!" A voice shouted. Claudia didn't hesitate, running to the voice as the Doctor followed closely behind, Rose and Pete after him.

Claudia got behind the pair, a blonde man with a hard look on his face, and --

"Mickey?"

She asked, but received no response as the pair used their guns to shoot at the Cybermen.

"No, it won't --"

Her words fell deaf in the noise, the blaring gunshots and the stomping of the Cybermen's metallic bodies coming towards them.

Suddenly, they stopped, standing still. Mickey and the blonde man stood up.

"Oh, my god, look at you," Rose gushed, pulling Mickey to her chest. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Mickey pulled away with confused expression. "Yeah, no offence, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?"

"Rose!" Mickey's voice sounded from the trees as he rushed towards them, wearing the same clothes he was before.

"Oh, that's trippy," Claudia looked between the two.

"That's not me, that's like, the other one," Mickey panted out.

"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickeys!" The Doctor jabbed, looking between the pair.

"It's Ricky." He said, giving Claudia a confused stare. "Claudia, what are you doing here?"

Claudia blinked in surprise, heart falling. "W-wh-"

"But there's more of them," Mickey said, cutting her off as the Cybermen approached from all angles.

How did Ricky know who she was? Panicked, Claudia looked around in fear and anxiety, hoping the Doctor would find a good way out of this. She had no ideas.

"Doctor," she looked over to him. "This better be the time where you come up with the genius way out."

"Oh, hush, that's not exactly helping!"

"We're surrounded," Rose said, reaching down and grabbing Mickey's hand. Claudia itched to grab her backpack, to reach in and dig for her gun. But it wouldn't do anything. They weren't even bullets anyway. All salt and demon-killing -- not regular bullets. She always left that gun, there'd never been a reason for it. Maybe she would start packing it now.

"Put the guns down," the Doctor said loudly, as though reading her mind. "Bullets won't stop them."

The blonde man didn't listen, aiming and shooting his weapon, but the Doctor lunged from behind, pushing the gun down. "You! Stop shooting! Now!"

He looked around to the Cybermen. "We surrender!" He looked to everyone. "Hands up!" Claudia did immediately as told, raising her hands in surrender.

"There's no need to damage us!" The Doctor shouted. "We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."

"You are rogue elements," one Cyberman said, stomping towards them.

"But we surrender!"

"You are incompatible."

"But this is a surrender!"

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me! We surrender!"

"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cyberman but you will perish under maximum deletion." It reached a hand out as others did the same.

Claudia moved closer to the Doctor, ready to step in front of him if necessary. She had no idea how to fight these things, but he did. If she could save everyone else in saving him, she would.

"Delete. Delete. Delete. Delete. Delete. Delete."

Suddenly, the Doctor aimed the crystal from the TARDIS, and shot it out at the Cybermen, the orange lights taking them all down easily. They screamed and then disintegrated.

"What the hell was that?" Ricky asked.

"Or how about instead, run!" The Doctor shouted as the ones from behind them began marching. They all ran back down the hill and a van honked from next to them.

"Everybody in!"

Pete ran towards the house and the Doctor and Rose followed him, but Claudia snorted and ran straight to the van. It wasn't her fight and she wasn't about to accidentally get snagged by a bunch of Cybermen.

She clambered into the van behind Mickey and sat next to him, looking around, panting. Ricky and the blonde man who's name she hadn't got sat down as well.

Her eyes travelled to the door, and the person holding it, her eyes widening. Claudia's heart stopped.

"Sam?"

His eyes snapped to hers and his face morphed into one of surprise.

He looked the same. Exactly the same as he did in her universe, except his hair was shorter, and his sideburns were much less defined. That, of course, looked much better. She always teased him about how long they were getting.

She could hear shouting and people talking, and some of the voices seemed familiar. But all Claudia could hear was this strange buzzing, and a drum beat, her heart, that had to be heartbeat. Was it going to burst from her chest? She thought maybe it might.

This was everything she feared, everything she didn't want to see. She'd hoped they were in America, in a small little American white house with apple pies and lots of kids. She hoped Sam would be with Jessica.

And yet, here he was. Alone. In London, saving her and her friends from monsters made of metal.

♥✰♥

AHHHHHHH I'M BACK. sorry about the delay, I know it's been months. Happy New Year, I hope you guys enjoyed this extra extra long chapter to make up for the amount of time I've been gone. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more this year. I'm gonna try and get another update out tomorrow but no promises. thanks for the constant support, it means the worlds. the comments made me want to update again. i love you all. -osw