Chapter Two : The Christmas Invasion

♥✰♥

ROSE HAD TAKEN TO GIVING CLAUDIA SUSPICIOUS LOOKS and Claudia kept her distance from her and the Doctor, who still lay in bed, now sweating and panting heavily.

Claudia had run across the hall and grabbed her laptop, wanting to delve further into everything the Doctor told her. She tried to ignore the pulling in her stomach, as though tying her to him. She'd only just met him, and yet, she felt as though she'd known him forever. Against all of her better judgement, she trusted the man; even though he'd hardly spoken a few sentences to her.

It was all very confusing and complex. But she didn't want to dwell on that for now, she'd figure it out later. She'd already wrapped up her arm, with a few spare wraps she had in her old hunting bag, and sewed it together sloppily with floss. The trio gave her strange looks, but she ignored them, explaining it was a family military secret. It wasn't that far from the truth.

"It's midnight," Jackie said, handing Rose a cup of tea as Claudia typed away, Mickey peeking over her shoulder. "Christmas Day. Any change?"

"He's worse," Rose answered solemnly, taking a seat on the sofa. "Just one heart beating."

Claudia scoffed to herself. "One heart, this is nuts."

"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One Space Probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes."

"Dean's probably loving this," Claudia murmured with a shake of her head.

Dean always loved space, confessing as children about how desperately he wanted to be an astronaut. He used to tie a blanket around his shoulders racing around the room and making a helmet out of a cereal box. They'd pretend the pillows were clouds and they were walking across them, touching the stars. Sam used to laugh at them and pretend to be a giant alien, tackling them to the ground until they surrendered. Dean always believed in aliens, even as adults, he believed they knew what was on the earth around them, but in outer space? Of course they existed.

Her heart ached and she stopped typing for a moment, tears filling her eyes. She hadn't thought about her childhood for years, and never such a fond memory. Mickey glanced at her worriedly and she shook her head, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Sorry," she muttered, focusing again.

"You alright?" He asked her quietly.

She ignored him, pushing Sam's laugh and the sound of Dean's impala revving out of her mind. That was the past, she was doing something important now.

"...We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now," Daniel Llewellyn, the project manager of 'Probe Guinevere' spoke to the reporters on the television. "I'd better get back to it, thanks."

"Here we go," Mickey pointed at the screen in front of him and Claudia. Claudia stopped scrolling. "Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless, they're tiny."

"It's the things that come afterwards we have to worry about," Claudia added. "That's what he was warning us about."

"But why'd he talk to you?" Rose asked, turning her attention to Claudia.

Claudia shrugged. "He probably thought I was you. He's a bit out of it, from what we saw earlier."

Rose frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as though she didn't really accept the answer, but let it go. Claudia rolled her eyes.

"The point is," Mickey grabbed their attention again, pointing at the video Claudia found. "The little fish swim alongside the big fish."

"Do you mean like sharks?"

"Great, big sharks," Mickey confirmed.

"So what the Doctor means," Claudia cut in. "Is that we had the little fish and the sharks are coming. And I don't think they're going to stop until they get him."

"Something is coming," Rose agreed quietly.

"...Martian landscape of rocks...how close?"

Claudia's head snapped to the television and she stood up, moving closer as the image became more clear.

"Funny sort of rocks," Jackie commented.

"I don't think they're rocks," Claudia denied. "That kind of looks like..."

"This is being transmitted via Mission Control and it's coming in live from the depths of space on Christmas morning."

"A face," Claudia finished as the blurry lines stopped and the entire picture was shown. "Demons I can handle," she said quietly. "But aliens? You have to be shitting me."

The creature growled loudly and Mickey, Jackie, and Rose jumped back. Claudia blinked, moving closer intently. She'd never seen an alien before, it was so new and exhilarating. She hadn't felt this excited since discovering the existence of angels, and Castiel. Her heart tugged at the reminder of her fallen angel friend. She missed him dearly, from his vessel's bright blue eyes, to the childlike wonder and confusion he explored the human world with.

The alien on the screen was tan in color, with lines and veins protruding from it's skin, and it had bright red, glowing eyes.

♥✰♥

Claudia was stumped after the discovery of aliens. Plenty of news sources now claimed the entire situation was a hoax, but she knew better than that. Nothing was ever a hoax, and nothing was ever an accident. As much as she didn't want to admit it: aliens were real, and they were probably coming to invade the planet.

Her guns seemed to be out of the picture, and she didn't think it had anything demonic or supernatural, so she focused her skills on other things; like hacking into the military database.

"I've got in," she grabbed Rose and Mickey's attention. They both jumped up from the sofa, walking over and staring behind her at the screen. "I've got access to the military."

"How've you got that?" Rose asked.

Claudia smirked. "You don't want to know," she zoomed in on a picture of two objects blipping across the grid onscreen. "They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way. Shit, that's not a sentence I thought I'd ever say."

"Coming for what, though?" Rose asked. "The Doctor?"

"Probably," Claudia nodded. "I don't think aliens are here accidentally. Wait, is he an alien?"

Rose looked at her incredulously. "Of course he is, how've you not figured that out?"

"I didn't believe in aliens until today, so it seemed a bit unlikely."

"I don't know. Maybe, it's coming for all of us," Mickey spoke up.

On the feed, a trio of the same alien species as before, all speaking a foreign language.

"Have you seen them before?" Mickey asked Rose.

"No, I don't understand what they're saying. The TARDIS translates alien languages inside my head all the time, wherever I am."

"So why isn't it doing it now?" Mickey asked.

"What's a TARDIS?"

Rose sighed. "The blue box the Doctor travels in," she explained in exasperation, her tone dripping with annoyance. "It's a time machine. I think we have more important things to worry about."

Claudia raised her eyebrows. "Okay, listen up Rose, you want to figure this out? You need all the help you can get. Your precious Doctor's sweating it up in the spare bedroom, and you look as lost as a puppy without him. Stop berating me for asking questions about what's going on. I'm sure you asked the same questions the first time you met him, so how about you shut up and tell me what's going on."

Rose clenched her jaw and Jackie sent Claudia a look from the sofa. "Sorry, Jackie," she shrugged. "It must be the Doctor," she turned to Rose again. "You said that's his box and maybe they're connected or something. Maybe the connection's getting weaker and it's having trouble connecting with you."

"Like he's part of the circuit," she agreed quietly. "And he's broken."

♥✰♥

Claudia left Rose and Mickey to her laptop, excusing herself to the restroom, stopping just outside the spare bedroom. She glanced over at Rose -- who was too preoccupied with talking to Mickey and watching the news -- before stepping inside the bedroom and sitting on the bed.

"Why'd you grab me?" She asked him quietly, feeling an urge to grab his hand. She didn't fight it and held tightly, eyebrows furrowing as his face softened immediately, from the wincing pain he appeared to be in before, to an almost peaceful look; as though he could be sleeping.

"Where'd you come from? How did I try to live a completely normal life and end up dealing with aliens? In London? With a guy who breathes golden dust."

Claudia sighed, moving to get up, but pausing when the grip on her hand tightened. She frowned, looking down at their intersected hands, and then at the man's face. She tried to understand him, understand why she suddenly felt so connected to him. The closer they were, the more blissful and at peace she felt. As though they were in their own little world, with a bubble around them, and she felt no pain.

She shook her head, reaching her free hand up to his face, pressing it against his head it gently, running her thumb across his cheek. "Who are you, Doctor?"

♥✰♥

Rose watched with narrowed eyes as Claudia's head rested gently on the Doctor's chest, their hands intersected. Why had he spoken to her? Why not Rose? Why were they holding hands? She loved the Doctor, and he loved her. Not this random girl that appeared into their life. They hadn't even spoke ten words to each other, and yet, she slept with her head against his chest, and the Doctor's face appeared calm, peaceful even.

She leaned against the broken doorway in a quiet rage, trying to push it down. The longer she stared, the more angry she became. She knew it had to be a coincidence. Perhaps they'd met before and Claudia didn't remember. Or maybe she was right and the Doctor thought she was Rose. He seemed in a confused state, like Claudia said, so maybe that was it?

It couldn't be anything else. It couldn't be. Besides, the Doctor was different now. He wasn't the same Doctor she loved, the same person who made her laugh and fearless and excited, all at the same time. He wasn't the one who took her to far-away lands and risked everything for her. This person couldn't be the Doctor, she had to find a way to bring her doctor back.

"The Doctor wouldn't do this," she said as Mickey walked over, standing next to her. "The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up," her voice shook as tears pooled in her eyes, "he'd save us."

"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asked gently.

Rose didn't respond, her gaze shifting to Claudia again as she leaned her head on Mickey's shoulder. The answer was yes. Yes, of course she really loved him. The Doctor was everything to her, he always would be. From the day they met, he was mysterious and wonderful and she adored him. She would do anything for him. Claudia didn't know what that felt like. She couldn't. She didn't know what it meant to love the Doctor, what Rose had gone through to stake such a claim on him. And Rose would make sure she never knew.

♥✰♥

Claudia's phone rang and she startled awake, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She flipped it open, answering on the third ring, fighting back a yawn.

"What?"

"Claud, it's me, have you seen everything going on?"

Claudia straightened, all sleep leaving her mind. She glanced down at the Doctor, feeling far-away from the situation, as if watching it all in third-person. "Dean, I'm surprised you're talking to me."

"Cut the crap, Claudia, not now," Dean responded irritatedly. "Something's going on with Ben, he's walking to the roof and we don't know how to stop him, he won't listen. I've never seen anything like this. And with the shit on the news last night? Aliens? Come on, that shit isn't real."

Claudia tilted her head in disagreement. "Until twenty-four hours ago, yeah, I might've agreed with you. Believe me, aliens are real. What do you mean he's walking to the roof?"

She heard commotion outside and walked out of the bedroom to the front door, finding Rose and Mickey speaking with another one of her neighbors.

"Sandra!" Rose grabbed her attention.

"For no reason...he's just walking. He won't stop walking."

Claudia paled. Something was controlling him, just like Ben. But why them? Why not Rose and Mickey? Why not her or Dean?

"Dean, I'll keep you updated. It's happening here too, I think it's happening everywhere. Just...don't let him fall, okay? Hold onto him. And be safe."

"You too," Dean replied before she snapped the phone shut, stuffing it back into her pocket.

"What's going on?" She asked Rose and Mickey. "It's happening with my brother's kid too, he says he keeps walking around."

Sandra looked at Claudia fearfully. "All the way in America? Why's this happening? What's going on?"

Claudia felt helpless to her, and everything she'd trained for her entire life slipped her by. None of that mattered anymore. Aliens were another level of supernatural, they were so science-fiction that it scared her a bit. She was as unprepared as Sandra, not privy to anything going on. And that terrified her.

Claudia followed Rose and Mickey up to the roof, watching as hundreds of people across the city walked up any staircase possible, until they reached the roof, standing on the edge. Relief flooded her at the knowledge that Dean was okay, even if little Ben wasn't. She couldn't lose another brother.

"What do we do?" Mickey asked.

"Nothing," Rose answered after a moment, shaking her head. Claudia gave her a surprised look. "There's no one to save us. Not anymore."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" She asked, shaking her head. "There's always someone."

She brushed past Rose, walking back downstairs to the Tyler flat, entering the door easily as anger bubbled inside her. How dare Rose. How dare she give up after one bad situation? For someone who supposedly loved the Doctor, she had little faith in him. How dare she give up on him that easily?

Aliens scared her, sure, but she'd just stopped the entire apocalypse and a raging war between archangels, created by God himself. She was over people saying they'd given up. She'd lost too many people. No one else had to die. Sam died to save everyone, and she'd gladly do the same if it meant everyone around the world would be safe. She'd done it before, she'd do it again.

She entered the Doctor's room with an angry glare.

"You're not very impressive, you know," she told him harshly. He didn't move, appearing not to hear her. She didn't care. She'd had these emotions buried inside far too long, and this situation was a breaking point. "Lying around as though people don't need your help. I would help. If I knew how. I can do pretty much everything else. Demons, easy. Ghosts? In my sleep. Werewolves? Piece of cake. But aliens? Come on, man, get your ass out of bed already. Sleep when you're dead, that's what I always say. Though, honestly, I didn't get sleep when I died, so maybe don't actually follow through with that. But seriously, get up. Save the world. Apparently, people think you're good at it. I don't really understand why, but maybe you can change my mind, eh?"

She watched him, unmoving, as slow, even breaths moved his chest. She sighed again, unimpressed, before turning on her heel and walking back into the living room.

"...But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique..."

Harriet Jones spoke through the television as Claudia leaned against the wall. Mickey and Rose sat on the sofa, watching intently and Jackie bit her fingernail behind them.

"...And I'm afraid to say it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate..."

Rose stood up, walking past Claudia into the hallway, tears pouring down her face. Claudia shook her head. So much faith in a man who didn't even belong on the planet. She tried to come up with ideas to stop the aliens, but without her brothers at her side...nothing seemed possible.

"Help us. Please, Doctor, help us."

Jackie moved past Claudia as well, to Rose, pulling her into high hug. Claudia heard Rose crying and took a deep breath. Poor Rose. How old did Jackie say she was? Nineteen? Nineteen and so desperate for love, clinging to a man she hardly knew -- who, according to everyone, had left her without a bit of warning. He turned his face into someone entirely new and she was supposed to...accept it? Claudia rubbed her face tiredly. She needed a beer.

Claudia jumped as an explosion occurred outside, shattering the glass in the flat. She and Mickey raced downstairs, in front of the blue box Rose called 'the TARDIS' and looked around for the source of the explosion. Mickey tapped her arm, pointing to a big object in the sky.

"Look at that," he shook his head. "That's a spaceship."

Claudia blinked, not believing it. "Well, that blows."

Rose and Jackie joined them a moment later as the spaceship flew over Powell Estate, rocky and jagged with pointed ends. Claudia's heart raced and she wished her brothers were with her. She wished they could all figure out a way to stop this from happening -- but they couldn't. Maybe this was the 'end times' Michael and Lucifer had warned them of? Just before they fell into the pit -- perhaps they'd warned them of an alien invasion. Did they know about aliens? Had Castiel?

♥✰♥

"Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff and some food. We're going. Claudia, grab whatever you want from your flat and then meet us at the TARDIS."

"How're we all supposed to fit in that?" Claudia asked.

Rose smiled. "You'll see. Mickey, come on, help."

"What are we going to do in there?" Jackie asked.

"Hide," Rose answered seriously.

"Is that it?"

"Mum," Rose folded up the blankets, pulling the Doctor out of bed. "Look in the sky. There's a great big alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless."

Claudia glanced over at Mickey, exchanging a look with him as they slowly picked up the Doctor, holding his arms over their shoulders, dragging him along.

"Now all we can do is run and hide and I'm sorry. Now move."

♥✰♥

Claudia rushed into her flat and grabbed her large duffel bag. Out of habit, she'd never actually unpacked anything. Her jeans and old t-shirts, her brother's faded flannels and her dad's leather jacket were already stuffed inside messily. She grabbed Sam's copy of The Hobbit and closed her door behind her, making her way back downstairs.

She wasn't entirely sure how she'd gotten into this situation. All she wanted to was have Christmas with Jackie Tyler, but now, it seemed, life had other plans. Like aliens, and eminent world destruction. Running felt wrong, like cheating, almost. She'd never run before, always faced everything head on. But without her brothers -- and against aliens? She didn't think she'd win alone.

"No chance you can fly this thing?" Mickey asked Rose as Claudia entered the TARDIS.

She gasped, feeling as though she were somewhere else entirely. Inside the tiny blue box was a massive console room, filled with strange devices and wires strewn about. A large console sat in the middle, with a big cylinder sticking out if, pressing something up and down, connecting to the ceiling. Large circles lay on the walls, and there was a small bench near the edge of a big balcony, with metal railings.

Claudia shook her head, walking slowly out of the TARDIS, running around it a few times, making sure of it's size, and that her eyes weren't merely playing tricks on her. She ran back inside, basking at it's incomparable size, and looked to the three occupants for help.

"What the hell is this place?"

"Oh," Rose grinned, looking over at her. "It's the TARDIS, I know, it's weird right? Bigger on the inside?"

"Oh my god..."

"Right," Jackie spoke up. "Here we go, nice cup of tea."

"The solution to everything," Rose replied sarcastically.

"Now stop your moaning," Jackie told her. "I'll get the rest of the food," she handed Mickey the cups and ran out of the TARDIS doors.

Claudia took a shaky breath, walking over to Rose and Mickey with wide eyes, staring at everything around her in awe. "This is the craziest fucking thing I've ever seen," she swore, shaking her head. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

She closed her mouth, her stomach feeling that insatiable pulling again, and she looked down at the Doctor with furrowed eyebrows. "So he lives here? Do you live here with him? Are there more rooms in here? Or do you just pull a bed out of the floor or something?" She laughed quietly to herself. "God, Sammy would've loved this," she added quietly. And he would have, too.

He didn't believe in aliens, at least not as much as Dean, but he always theorized that something could be out there. After all, they fought monsters for a living — what's to say aliens didn't live outside their galaxy?
He was right.

"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end," Mickey joked.

"How British," Claudia added with a fond smile. "I love the UK."

"How does this thing work?" Mickey asked, pointing at the cylinder in the middle of the console.

Claudia shrugged. "I'd love to know. How does it fly? Does it only fly around the Earth? Or anywhere in space? Can you travel to any galaxy or only this one?"

Rose didn't answer.

Mickey pointed to the small television-like box on the console with strange circular symbols. Claudia squinted, a tickling in the back of her brain. The symbols seemed familiar, like she'd seen them somewhere before. Had her father written about them? But he'd never mentioned aliens before.

"'Cause if it picks up TV, maybe we can see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"

It beeped incessantly, a high-pitched beeping that gave Claudia a headache.

"I don't know," Rose answered, fiddling around with it. "It just sort of tunes itself."

The symbols shifted and turned on the screen and Claudia sat next to Rose on the small bench, watching them curiously. "Maybe it's a distress signal," she suggested. "Like someone's freaking out or something? I don't know. I don't know anything about this."

"Fat lot of good that's gonna do," Rose replied quietly.

"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?" Mickey asked.

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking."

Rose perked up. "Where is she?"

Mickey shrugged and Claudia glanced around as well, looking for her friend. She was nowhere to be found.

"I'd better give her a hand," Rose suggested, walking to the doors again. "It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine," Mickey called after her.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave," Mickey answered easily.

"Oh, I don't know," Rose denied with a small smile, opening the doors and turning around, closing them behind her.

Just as Claudia looked down at the Doctor again, that strange feeling overwhelming her, as though everything was familiar to her -- Rose screamed outside. Mickey dropped the thermos, the lid popping off and clashing to the floor as he and Claudia rushed for the doors.

"Stay here," Mickey ordered. Claudia gave him a look.

"Really? You think I'd miss out on the alien stuff? Funny."

Mickey shook his head, giving her a pleading look. "Please? Stay here. I'll scream if we need you."

"How will I know it's you screaming?"

"I'll scream something abstract."

Claudia debated a moment before nodding, moving away from the doors. "Fine."

"Just, keep him safe," Mickey nodded to the Doctor. "He's our only shot."

Claudia nodded, agreeing silently and shutting the door behind Mickey quickly.

"Alright, doctor man," she turned around, watching the handsome man lying on the floor next to the spilled thermos of tea. "Time to do your thing. Go save everyone. If that's what you do. That's what I do, normally, but aliens are a little out of my league."

She heard Rose and Mickey screaming outside, yelling things back and forth, but tried to ignore it, giving the Doctor a hard look. She leaned agains the railing, watching him with mild interest before taking to glancing around the mysterious ship she found herself on.

A spark flew from below the balcony and Claudia jumped, getting up from the railing and kneeling down next to the Doctor where smoke was through the cracks. She sniffed, her nose wrinkling at the scent. Tea. So British.

The Doctor stiffened and her eyes fell to him immediately, watching with concern as he shifted, his head tilting back and more gold dust fell from his mouth, floating into the air. The Doctor gasped awake, snapping up and his head bumped Claudia's. She groaned in pain, watching him in irritation.

"Sorry about that," he grinned, sitting up with enthusiasm she hadn't seen before. "You alright there?"

He looked her over, his smile falling when he spotted her wrapped arm. He helped her up slowly, looking at her arm with concern. "What happened here? Wait, this was the tree, wasn't it?" He stared at her guiltily. "I'm sorry," he apologized, as though it were his fault. "Are you alright?"

She gave him a blank look. "Seriously? This is nothing, I stitched it up myself. Like I usually do. Aliens however --"

"--Aren't what you're used to," he cut her off, his grin returning. "Demons? Angels? I heard all of it. Didn't make much sense, I have to say, because those things don't exist, but it was a nice sentiment."

"They do too!" She disagreed, affronted by his brass disbelief. She'd spent her entire life fighting monsters that go bump in the night, of course they existed.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do--oh, god, I'm not doing this. Okay, wait, I have one question. Well, actually, I have a lot of questions, but Rose and Mickey seem in danger and there's aliens taking over the planet so, I guess just one will do--"

"--Ask me them all later," he looked at her with a fond expression, as though he'd known her forever and she was making him content with her blabbering, and grabbed her hand. "I promise, I'll answer anything you want. For now, I think we should save our friends, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan. You want to be all dramatic?"

He grinned. "How'd you know?"

"I had a feeling."

He squeezed her hand once more and her heart skipped a beat as the warmth of his hand encompassed her own. He let go a moment later, walking to the doors and opening them slowly. She stood a bit behind him, watching in mild adoration as he faced the aliens outside with absolutely no fear. She could see why Rose loved him. She could see why everyone trusted him now, why the world seemed to depend on him.

It was the same way people looked at Sam after he'd save them from a demon, or the way she used to look at Sam when he taught her to ride a bike. He wasn't just the savior of this world, he was the heart of it. Dramatics and all, Claudia could see it now. This man was the world.

"Did you miss me?"

Claudia walked after the Doctor as he exited the TARDIS, and she shut the doors behind her. The alien leader, who's face was now part scaly skin like before, and part blood red, molded in certain portions, aimed an electric whip at the Doctor. He caught it easily, wrapping it around his wrist and yanking it towards him. He wrapped it up, holding it in his hand.

"You can have someone's eye out with that."

The leader growled, holding up a large wooden-looking stick, thick and heavy. "How dare--"

The Doctor grabbed it from him, splitting it in half with his knee. "Just can't get the staff. Now, you just wait," he pointed at the alien. "I'm busy."

Claudia's heart raced at the scene before her, feeling immensely attracted to the man. She'd been attracted to people before -- but she liked a man who could stick up for himself. She'd always grown up around strong men, and she was quite strong herself, so to see a single man boss around an alien causing an invasion? She let out a shaky breath, trying not to get ahead of herself.

"Mickey, hello!" He grinned. Mickey smiled back excitedly and Claudia moved to stand near her friend, feeling a bit creeped out by the alien's faces. "And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This is Your Life."

He turned back to Rose with a grin. "Tea! That's all I needed. A good cup of tea. Super-heated infusion of free radicals and tannin, just the thing for healing the synapses. Now, first things first. Be honest...how do I look?"

Claudia tilted her head. He didn't know what he looked like? She supposed the 'changing faces' thing from before made a bit more sense now. She couldn't help but wonder what he looked like before.

"Um," Rose answered. "Different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"Just...different."

"Am I...ginger?"

Claudia let out a small laugh at the question and he turned to look at her seriously.

"What're you laughing about? This is an important question."

"Well, you're not," she responded quickly. "But if you want to be, I could always help you dye your hair."

He frowned, a small pout emerging on his face, and he turned around with a small stomp of his foot. "Oh, I wanted to be ginger," he whined, "I've never been ginger."

Claudia laughed, quieting at the look from Harriet Jones.

"And you!" The Doctor shouted, pointing at Rose. "Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. you gave up on me. Oh, that's rude. Is that the sort of man I am now? Am I rude? Rude and not ginger."

"I'm sorry," Harriet Jones intercepted. "Who is this?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"He's the Doctor," Rose agreed.

"What happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him," the Doctor replied seriously, walking towards her. "I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

Claudia wondered what his species was called. Could everyone do that where he came from? How did it work? Was it always as painful as it was for him? Was he always a man?

"But you can't be."

"Harriet Jones. We were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war. It was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God."

"God's not in the building," Claudia said habitually. She'd taken to saying it often when someone said his name. She knew the truth. If he cared at all about humanity, her brother would still be alive. But he didn't.

"Did you win the election?"

"Landslide majority."

"If I might interrupt," the alien leader from before spoke up.

"Yes," the Doctor turned around, as if he'd forgotten the aliens were there. "Sorry. Hello, big fella."

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the question."

"I demand to know who you are!"

"I don't know!" The Doctor shouted, imitating the alien's growling voice. "See, that's the thing, I'm the Doctor but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He winked at Claudia and her eyes widened. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and Rose sent her a look.

"A right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed, a gambler, a fighter, a coward, a traitor, a liar, a nervous wreck?" He made his way to the stairs, walking up them slowly. "I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." He let out a light laugh. "And how am I gonna react when I see this?" He pointed to a big button above the stairs near the edge of the rocks. "A great big threatening button."

He laughed, rushing upstairs to the button. "A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances. Am I right? Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix. Hmm? Hold on. What's feeding it?"

He leaned down jabbing his finger under the rock, pulling it out and licking it, making a thoughtful face. "Blood?"

Claudia's nose crinkled. Gross.

"Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood. A positive with just a dash of iron."

That made sense. Ben was A positive, whereas Dean was O, and she was O negative, No wonder it didn't affect them, it must have only controlled people with that specific blood type.

"But that means...blood control. Blood control! Oh! I haven't seen blood control for years! You're controlling all the A positives."

"Yes," Claudia fist-bumped the air. "I called it."

"No you didn't," Rose argued.

Claudia nodded. "Yeah, just now, in my head, I called it."

"I'm sure you did," the Doctor grinned down at her. "But this all leaves us with a great big stinking problem, 'cause I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this."

He slammed his hand down on the button, amidst everyone screaming at him not to. Claudia didn't, she simply tilted her head, observing him. She had a feeling he wouldn't do it unless he had reason to -- he didn't seem the type to kill billions of people without a care in the world.

"You killed them!" The man with Harriet Jones shouted.

"What do you think, big fella?" The Doctor asked the alien leader. "Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live."

"Allow? You've no choice. That's all blood control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotize someone to walk like a chicken or talk like Elvis, but you can't hypnotize them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

Claudia nodded. "Sometimes. I've seen situations go south. Maybe alien blood control works differently."

The Doctor gave her a curious look and Rose shot her a glare, but she simply shrugged.

"Blood control was just one form of conquest," the alien leader proclaimed, "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well, yeah," the Doctor nodded, leaning against a rock. "You could. Yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and, blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than...no, hold on, that's Lion King."

Claudia burst into laughter and he grinned over at her. She shook her head in disbelief and he winked again.

"But the point still stands. Leave them alone."

"Or what?"

"Or..." the Doctor turned, grabbing a sword from one of the soldier's belts, pulling it out and rushing down the steps in front of the TARDIS. "I challenge you."

At his words, the stadium full of aliens burst into laughter, or, what Claudia assumed to be laughter but sounded more like bats screeching, and she winced.

"Well, that struck a chord," the Doctor said. "Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"You stand as this world's champion?"

The Doctor grinned, handing the sword to Claudia to hold. She stared down at it blankly before looking up at him expectantly. "Thank you," he took off his dressing gown, tossing it to Rose. "I've no idea who I am, but you've just summed me up."

He took the sword back from Claudia. "So, do you accept my challenge? Or are you just a Cranek-Pel-Kasa-Salvek?"

The alien hissed and Claudia shook her head. "Ooh, you shouldn't let him talk to you like that," she baited the alien, sarcasm lacing her voice. "You should really do your worst. Get him good, make him pay for that horrible comment."

The alien hissed at her but the Doctor grinned. "I like you," he told her cheerfully.

She shrugged. "I've been told that by many."

The alien held up his sword and the entire stadium roared, as the Doctor held up his own. They kneeled to the ground and bowed.

"For the planet?" The alien asked.

"For the planet," the Doctor agreed.

They stood up quickly, aiming the weapons at each other before the battle begun. Claudia watched with peaked interest as they fought, swords clashing against each other. The Doctor stumbled, falling back towards the TARDIS, before turning back around. The alien leader laughed and they resumed fighting once again.

The Doctor stumbled again, falling to the ground and the leader jabbed just next to the Doctor's foot.

"Look out!" Rose shouted.

"Oh, yeah, that helps," the Doctor replied sarcastically. "I wouldn't have thought of that otherwise. Thanks."

He ran up to the leader, jabbing his sword against his, and they circled until the leader elbowed the Doctor in the chest. He gasped, stumbling back again, dodging the next blow easily. He brought the leader out, racing up another set of rocky stairs and down what appeared to be a hole of sorts.

"Bit of fresh air?" He taunted the leader, pressing a button and a rocky door opened. Mickey and Claudia exchanged a look as everyone followed the Doctor and the leader outside, to the edge of the ship.

Their swords clashed again, until finally the leader knocked the Doctor in the nose with the hilt. Claudia winced, knowing the pain, and Rose stepped forward, wanting to help. The Doctor held up a hand.

"Stay back!" He ordered, wiping his nose. "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet."

The leader spun around with a growl, and the Doctor lifted the sword slowly as they ran towards each other, both ready for the end of the fight. Their swords clanked again and they were chest-to-chest until the leader twisted the Doctor's sword from his hand, swiping it around as the Doctor fell on his back. The leader growled again, slicing his left hand off, as well as the sword.

Claudia gasped, her mouth falling open in shock. Why wasn't he bleeding? He just lost a hand.

"You cut my hand off."

The alien leader exclaimed excitedly. "Sycorax!"

Claudia nodded. That must have been what they were called. The Doctor stood up slowly, a slow smile spreading on his face.

"And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky, 'cause quite by chance, I'm still within the first 15 hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this." He held his arm up and a hand slowly started to grow back.

Claudia shook her head. "Hell no," she said quietly. "That's fucking weird man, this is all so weird."

"Witchcraft," the Sycorax leader gasped.

"Time Lord," the Doctor responded.

Claudia made a mental note to ask him about that later. What a pretentious name for a species.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, grabbing a spare sword, tossing it to him. He grabbed it easily.

"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?"

"No arguments from me."

"You want to know the best bit?" The Doctor asked the Sycorax leader. "This new hand...it's a fightin' hand!" He used a bad southern American accent and Claudia grimaced. "That was for you, Claudia!"

"It was horrible!" She responded back earnestly.

He laughed, staring at the Sycorax in front go him. They battled once more, until the Doctor won only a moment later, stabbing the Sycorax leader in the gut. The Sycorax leader fell back against the ground, groaning. The Doctor held the sword to his throat.

"I win."

"Then kill me," the Sycorax leader replied weakly.

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command. Leave this planet and never return. What do you say?"

"...yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species," the Doctor growled, jabbing the sword further into the Sycorax leader's throat.

"...I swear."

The Doctor smiled, pulling back and jabbing the sword into the dirt. "There we are then. Great, thanks big fella."

"Bravo!" Harriet Jones cheered from behind Claudia. She'd almost forgotten the Prime Minister was there.

"That says it all," Rose grinned, running up to him and helping him put the robe on. "Bravo."

"Ah, not bad for a man in his jimjams."

Claudia shook her head. "Jimjams. That's something people say here. Yikes."

"Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man."

Claudia perked up excitedly. Arthur Dent? Did that mean...no, he couldn't possibly travel through time. Could he?

"Hold on, what have I got in here?" He pulled out a fruit from inside the bathrobe and Claudia laughed.

"A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mother's. He does like his snacks, doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma."

"I've never had a satsuma," Claudia disagreed and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"Here, take this one," he grinned, handing it to her. Just after it slipped into her hand, the Sycorax lunged towards the Doctor and she reacted immediately, turning around and tossing the satsuma to the button on the ship, watching with a cold expression as the Sycorax leader fell to his death.

The Doctor's face hardened and he looked at her with a deep understanding. He nodded once. "No second chances," he agreed. "I'm that sort of man."

They all made their way back into the middle of the ship, next to the TARDIS and the Doctor turned to face them all.

"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, make sure you tell them...that it. Is. Defended."

Then they were all teleported away from the ship, and appeared back on the street across from Powell Estate. Claudia grinned, realizing they'd all successfully fought off an alien invasion. Well, the Doctor had. He was, though she wouldn't admit it to his face, the most impressive man she'd ever met.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"We're just off Bloxsome Road. We're just 'round the corner. We did it!" Mickey cheered but the Doctor held up his hand.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," he quieted Mickey, watching the ship until it sped off into the sky. He grinned when it flew away and Rose jumped on Mickey's back, both of them shouting in excitement. The Doctor smiled, turning to Claudia, and walking closer to her.

"You threw the satsuma with no hesitation. How'd you know it would work?"

She shrugged. "I didn't. But it was the first thing that popped into my head, so I went with it."

"Nice aim," he smiled down at her.

She winked. "Thanks, nice swordsmanship. I would've totally fought with it had you not been there."

His grin widened. "Oh, sure, yeah, you'd've taken on the Sycorax by yourself?"

Claudia let out a laugh. "I've done more for less."

His smile dropped a fraction and he sighed. "I believe that."

Their attention turned to Harriet Jones, who smiled at the Doctor.

"My Doctor," she grinned and he smiled back excitedly.

"Prime Minister."

They hugged briefly, smiling at each other. "Absolutely the same man," she reassured him, looking up at the sky. Claudia felt a hand grab her own and looked down curiously, a frown harboring on her face. The Doctor had grabbed it, seemingly subconsciously, and she wondered, again, what this feeling was. She'd never felt like this before, never deep in her gut felt so at peace with the touch of just one man. She wondered if he felt the same. Or, perhaps, if he knew she felt this way?

"Are there many more out there?" Harriet asked, stepping forward and pointing at the sky. The Doctor followed, tugging Claudia along gently.

"Ooh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Everyday you're sending out probes and messages. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed, more and more. You better get used to it."

"Rose!"

"Mum!"

"Talking of trouble," the Doctor smirked, squeezing Claudia's hand. She looked down at their hands again, then up at him curiously. He didn't look at her, but his face was smiling, and she couldn't help but take notice of how attractive he was.

"You did it too!" Rose assured Jackie. "Cup of tea!"

"Cup of tea!" The Doctor grinned at Jackie. "That's all I needed."

"I said so."

Rose pointed at him, and Claudia felt a bit out place, standing there, holding his hand. She moved to let go but his grip tightened. She looked down again, frustration flashing her features. What was his deal? He didn't even know her.

"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor?"

The Doctor's head tilted and he shrugged in response.

"Oh my god," Jackie gasped, "it's the bleeding Prime Minister!"

Claudia laughed and the Doctor let go of her hand, raising his arms up for Jackie. "Come here, you."

Jackie jogged into his arms, pulling him into a hug and squeezing him gently. Rose joined in after, Mickey hugging then too. Claudia stayed on the side, watching the four with a small smile. They seemed like family. She looked down, fighting back tears as memories combed her brain again, breaking down walls she'd put up since Sam's death. She cleared her throat, turning and walking about a foot away from her happy friends. She couldn't face them, face happiness. She didn't deserve to be happy. Not after what happened to Sam. It should've been her. She said horrible things to Dean, made him feel like an improper brother, when in reality, he was the best older brother she could ask for.

Her entire family was either dead, or removed from her life, and she had no hopes of fixing it. And here stood this happy reunion between people who'd known each other for years. She shook her head. She didn't belong with these people. She didn't belong anywhere. Claudia was a passerby, a nobody. She'd always be nobody. She wasn't as good a hunter as her father, and wasn't as good a sibling as her brothers. She wasn't a good Winchester, she cried too much and was scared of vampires, and she didn't enjoy fantasy books.

Her attention shifted to Harriet Jones, who seemed to tell her assistant something with a morose look on her face. Wiping her tears, Claudia moved closer, wanting to hear their words.

"They say they're ready."

Who was ready? And for what?

Harriet Jones turned her head, watching the Doctor and fought back tears. "Tell them to fire," she told her assistant.

"Fire at will," he said into his earpiece.

Only a moment later, bright green laser beams shot out from different buildings, into the sky and straight towards the ship.

Claudia's eyes widened and she backed away from the woman. Even as a hunter...she wouldn't have...

"That was murder," the Doctor ground out, a dark look on his face.

"That was defense. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving," he argued.

"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mr. Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's golden age," the Doctor mocked.

"It comes with a price."

"Nothing has a price that large," Claudia shook her head.

Harriet Jones turned to her with a frown. "Oh? You'd know all about murder wouldn't you, Miss Winchester? You've done more than your fair share."

Claudia paled, stepping back in shock. "How did you--"

"--I know when danger enters my country, and you are allowed to live here because I say so. Do not question the British government, you are an American murderer and you have no idea the decisions this country must make the betterment of the world."

Too stunned to say anything, Claudia simply watched the interaction unfold in front of her. The Doctor didn't flinch at Harriet's jab towards her, almost as though he knew, but Rose, Jackie, and Mickey all watched her with shocked eyes.

"I gave them the wrong warning," he told her. "I should have told them to run as fast as they can. Run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf."

"You just insulted one of them for questioning your lapse of judgment, don't tell me you're representing them. I should have stopped you."

"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"

Claudia's eyes widened. She had a good feeling about the Doctor, probably the best feeling she's had since Castiel, and there wasn't a single doubt in her mind about him. The Doctor was the furthest thing from an alien threat that Earth would ever have.

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, 'cause I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your government with a single word."

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met," Harriet Jones replied softly. "But I don't think you're quite capable of that."

The Doctor nodded. "No. You're right. Not a single word. Just six."

"I don't think so."

"Just six."

"Stop it!"

"Six."

Claudia racked her brain, trying to think of six words that could do such damage, but found nothing. The Doctor stared at Harriet Jones another moment, before walking over to her assistant, pulled out his earpiece, and whispered something in his ear. Without another word, he walked back towards the group, grabbed Claudia's hand, and the rest of the group followed close behind.

♥✰♥

Claudia hadn't gone to Christmas dinner with the Tylers and Mickey. The secret was out. Harriet Jones had ruined her sweet fantasy she'd been living in, and they'd all looked at her in fear. What had Harriet Jones meant?

But Claudia knew. Claudia knew she meant the people that died on her watch, the vessel's she'd killed to rid the world of angels and demons. Did she know about the supernatural? Claudia wasn't sure. But she was sure of one thing: she'd never talk to the family across the hall again.

Then a knock sounded at her door. Frowning, Claudia braced herself for the worst and opened it up with a grimace, surprise flickering across her features as the Doctor stood in front of her. Instead of the pajamas and bathrobe, he now wore a suit and tie, and a tan overcoat. Her heart broke at the sight of a tan overcoat and she averted her eyes, memories of Castiel, her closest friend, flooding her eyes. She practically murdered him too. All of their deaths were her fault. If she could have found a way to stop the apocalypse without the battle -- none of it would have happened.

The Doctor watched her carefully, not saying a word until she spoke up.

"What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be with everyone for Christmas?"

"I don't celebrate Christmas much where I'm from."

Claudia nodded in understanding. "Me either."

They were quiet for a moment as she avoided eye contact, staring at the ground, and he watched her carefully, as though she were a bird that could startle at any moment. She looked up finally, staring into the deep brown pools that made her heart race. There went that feeling from earlier, that tugging feeling. She could feel herself relax, already melting in front of him.

He cleared his throat. "I've done things I regret too," he said quietly, his voice above a whisper. "I've been in battle, a horrible, long, terrible battle. And I can see it in your eyes, I could the moment we met. You've been through tragedy that no one around you understands. But I do. And I'm sorry. All I can tell you...is that I'm here for you. I don't believe in fate, much, kind of wrote that off years ago, but I'll tell you what I do believe in. I believe in choices. I believe you're staring at a crossroads and you've got a decision ahead of you. You can turn around, go back to where you came from with your tail tucked between your legs, or you can come with me. I promise you, Claudia Winchester, I will help you heal again."

Claudia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She bit her lip, closing her eyes and fighting back tears as the severity of his words hit her. He wanted her to travel with him. To follow him anywhere and everywhere. She could run away from the planet, from her old life, permanently. Europe wasn't far enough, her family name was tossed around in every government facility. She opened her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I don't know who I am anymore," she confessed quietly, her voice barely a whisper.

His lips turned up sadly and he nodded. "I know. Let's figure ourselves out together, aye? What d'ya say?"

Her lip trembled and she debated for another moment, picturing Dean's face. What would he say when he found out? What if he needed to reach her? She thought of the responsibilities she had here, the obligations, the possibility of going back to hunting.

But Sam's words echoed in her mind again.

'Live, please, Claudia, go be free. Be happy. You've been stuck with our life long enough. Be normal, be good, do what you're meant to do.'

And as tears fell down her cheeks, she found herself nodding, wrapping her arms around the Doctor's neck as a choked sob fell from her throat. He held her waist tightly, pulling her close and tucking his face into her neck.

"I know," he murmured quietly. "I promise, we're going to be alright. You and me against the Universe, okay?"

She nodded, sniffling against his chest.

"Okay."

♥✰♥

okieeee long long long long chapter literally 9k+ omfg wowwww but here you go!! hopefully you guys are liking this story because I'm really into it. I'll get spaceman and the moon (hopefully) updated tomorrow, but if not tomorrow then definitely Friday! if you guys have any theories about this...why Claudia and the Doctor feel so attached to each other...why he seems to know her, etc...let me know! and, no, it's NOT because she's a time lady. soooo yeah:) let me know what you guys think, don't forget to comment and leave a vote if you liked it! don't be a silent reader and stay safe! -osw