!EDITED!

A/N: was 7672 words, is now 10473! Enjoy! :D

So, its been a few days since the almost World War III and we have had a blast! Quite literally as the Doctor blew up some sort of factory in the fifty-first century; there were aliens trying to use it and the Doctor caused the main reactor to go critical. Apparently, he went back while Rose and I were asleep and started up a banana grove where the factory had been.

The only reason I found out is that when I went into the kitchen the next morning to make a cup of tea, there were at least four cupboards full of them. The Doctor just gave me this huge grin while making banana pancakes, which were probably the best pancakes I've ever had in my entire life.

Anyway, the Doctor was going to take us to see Shakespeare, per my request, when the TARDIS jolts and sends us flying to the ground. "Hold on!" the Doctor shouts, rushing around the console while Rose and I grip the console tightly.

***

Stepping outside the TARDIS, I look around to see we'd landed in a dimly lit area. I could see the outline of glass cases, but not much else... where the hell are we?

"So, what is it? What's wrong?" Rose asks, coming outside behind me.

"Don't know," the Doctor comes out as well, shutting the door behind him. "Some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course..."

"Where are we?" I ask curiously.

"Earth, Utah, North America; about half a mile underground," the Doctor replies.

"And... when are we?"

"2012," he answers absently, going over to some sort of switch.

"God, that's so close," Rose's eyes widen. "So, I should be... twenty-six and Lizzie, you'd be... twenty-nine."

"I'd be a year from thirty!" I groan miserably, wrinkling my nose and slapping Rose when she snickers.

The Doctor flicks the switch he'd been looking at and lights flood the room. My eyes widen at the things that were in the cases... ok, so we're in some sort of alien museum, then?

"Blimey! It's a great big museum!" Rose gasps, even as she slaps me back.

"Ow..." I mutter, rubbing my abused arm. "Arse," I narrow my eyes playfully.

"An alien museum," the Doctor cuts in before Rose can reply, discreetly rubbing his own arm. "Someone's got a hobby... they must've spent a fortune on this; chunks of meteorite, moon dust, that's the milometer from the Roswell Spaceship," he points out different items.

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Rose exclaims and I turn to see a stuffed arm of the very aliens we had recently just fought. "That's a Slitheen's arm, it's been stuffed," she wrinkles her nose.

"That's disgusting," I shake my head, my stomach churning a bit; who would want a piece of Slitheen?

"Ah, look at you..." the Doctor's voice makes me look over and I stiffen at the Cyberman head that was in the case he was looking at.

"What is it?" Rose asks curiously.

I move closer to the Doctor, reaching down for his hand absently. "An old friend of mine... well, enemy," he mutters, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as he glances at me. "The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit... I'm getting old," he sighs, making my lips twitch up; nah, nine hundred's not old at all.

"But, hold on," Rose frowns slightly, leaning forward to get a closer look at the head. "Lizzie's drawn one of these before..." she trails off before shaking her head. "Is that where the signal's coming from?"

"Doubt it," I mutter, eyeing the head in fear and disgust.

"Nah, it's stone dead," the Doctor agrees, his thumb grazing over my knuckles and I can't help the small blush that colors my cheeks. "The signal's alive; something's reaching out, calling for help," he mutters, reaching up with his free hand and tapping the glass case gently.

I jump when an alarm goes off the second his skin makes contact with the glass. I grab Rose's hand and pull her behind me when several guards surround us, all with guns aimed at us. The Doctor's grip on my hand tightens as he pulls both Rose and me behind him. I lean close to the Doctor, "if whoever owns this place is collecting aliens... that makes you Exhibit A," I whisper worriedly and the Doctor squeezes my hand comfortingly, sending the guards a pleasant grin.

***

The three of us were lead to an office by a couple of the guards and a woman in a black skirt suit with ginger curls pulled into a tight ponytail. I look around the office, seeing a handsome bloke about Rose's age showing a middle-aged man with dark balding hair and a goatee some sort of object. I wrinkle my nose at the huge self-portrait of goatee that was behind his desk; really? Could you get anymore self-involved?

"And this is the last... paid eight hundred thousand for it," pretty boy tells goatee in an English accent and I raise an eyebrow at the price, sharing an incredulous look with the Doctor and my sister.

"What does it do?" goatee asks curiously.

"Well, you see... the tubes on the side must be to channel something; I think maybe fuel-"

"I really wouldn't hold it like that," the Doctor cuts in pleasantly.

"Shut it," ginger snaps and I send her a glare, opening my mouth to tell her off when Rose grabs my hand and squeezes, making me back down with a slight huff.

"Really, though, that's wrong," the Doctor insists, his lips twitching up as he glances at me.

"Is it dangerous?" pretty boy asks, eyeing the object warily.

"No, just looks silly," the Doctor shrugs.

I snort loudly, quickly covering my mouth with a slight blush when everyone's attention turns to me. The Doctor bites his lip to keep from laughing, sending me a wink. Rose smirks, nudging me slightly with her hand and I roll my eyes, even as my blush darkens. After a moment, the Doctor holds his hand out to goatee for the object. Rose and I freeze, though, when the guards in the room immediately aim their guns at him, cocking them. Goatee holds up his hand and the guards lower their guns, making me breathe out in relief. The Doctor smiles when goatee hands him the object and he runs his fingers over it gently, "you just need to be..." he trails off and my eyes widen at the beautiful soft melody that's produced. "... delicate," he smiles around at everyone.

I look at the object in complete awe, watching as it lights up with a soft blue glow with each note played. The Doctor stops playing and holds the instrument out to me with a smile. I take it carefully, holding it as if it were a precious, rare thing. I run my fingers over it gently and it begins to play the same melody. I let out an excited squeal, making Rose shake her head with a bright smile and the Doctor chuckle beside me.

"It's a musical instrument..." goatee realizes.

I stand on my tip-toes, the Doctor leaning down a bit to be more at my height, "that's kind of obvious," I whisper, still playing the instrument. "Not very clever, is he?" I ask, making him snort loudly as he straightens back up.

"It's a long way from home," the Doctor smiles, folding his arms.

"Here, let me," goatee snatches the instrument from me.

I huff, folding my arms as I pout a bit; I was playing that! The Doctor sends me an amused smile, Rose snickering from beside me. Goatee starts to play and I wince at the harsh sounds he produces with his rough touch.

"I did say 'delicate'," the Doctor reminds him. "Reacts to the smallest fingerprint, it needs precision," he explains and goatee's touch becomes more gentle, producing the same soft melody as the Doctor and I had made. "Very good, quite the expert," he praises with a wide grin, making me turn my head to hide a smile and I send Rose a wink, making her hide a giggle behind her hand.

"As are you," goatee compliments, not hearing the sarcasm in the Doctor's tone at all as he tosses the instrument to the side, making me give an indignant squeak as I watch it hit the floor. "Who exactly are you?" he asks, his voice taking on an intimidating tone.

The Doctor's expression turns a bit cold as he folds his arms, "I'm the Doctor, and who are you?" he asks in the same tone; works better coming from him, though.

"Like you don't know," goatee scoffs and I roll my eyes at his arrogance. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extraterrestrial artifacts in the world and you just stumbled in by mistake?"

I lean over to Rose, "someone thinks he's important," I whisper in a sing-song voice, making her snort loudly.

"Pretty much sums me up, yeah," the Doctor smirks, laughing quietly at what I had said; oh, yeah... his senses are better, aren't they?

"The question is: how did you get in?" goatee raises his eyebrows. "Fifty-three floors down... with your little cat burglar accomplices... cute outfits," he eyes Rose and me up appreciatively before smirking up at the Doctor. "Quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty; especially her..." he walks over to me. "I've got a thing for brunettes," he twirls one of my braids between his fingers.

I wrinkle my nose, slapping his hand away as a wave of anger rushes over me. "Alright, listen here, you git," I scoot closer to the Doctor. "I won't hesitate to slap you across your smug face if you keep calling me and my sister 'they'," I fold my arms, cocking my hip to the side. "And don't touch me," I glare.

"Sisters?" goatee eyes us both with even more appreciation, making me want to throw up. "And English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy, got you a couple girlfriends," he calls over to pretty boy. "Though, I might just have tiny for myself," he smirks. "You're feisty, aren't you?"

Another wave of anger, paired with disgust washes over me as the Doctor grabs my hand, pulling me close to his side. Goatee's eyes light up as he's sent a harsh glare, looking down at my hand in the Doctor's and I send him my own glare as the Doctor's grip on my hand tightens.

Pretty boy cuts in before anything else can be said, "this is Mr. Henry Van Statten," he introduces.

"Yeah? Who's he when he's at home?" Rose asks coldly, also glaring at the American git.

"Mr. Van Statten owns the internet," pretty boy explains.

"Don't be daft," I roll my eyes. "No one owns the internet."

"And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?" Van Statten grins around at all of us.

"So," the Doctor raises an eyebrow, eyeing Van Statten with disdain. "You're an expert on just about everything except the things in your museum; anything you don't understand, you lock up," he sums him up.

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten scoffs.

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am," the Doctor retorts with a wide, cocky grin, making me bite my lip to keep from smiling.

"And yet I captured you... right next to the Cage," Van Statten folds his arms, making me frown; the Cage? "What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me," the Doctor challenges.

"The Cage contains my one living specimen," Van Statten informs us.

"You've got-" my sentence gets cut off by the Doctor using his free hand to cover my mouth as he gives me a warning look.

I huff, taking my hand from his and moving his other from my mouth. I fold my arms, narrowing my eyes at Van Statten, who was eyeing me with amusement and... something else I'd rather not think about as I get a rush of anger. Rose glares at him warningly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"And what's that?" the Doctor raises his eyebrows, leveling a dark look at Van Statten.

"Like you don't know," he rolls his eyes, moving his gaze to the Doctor.

"Show me," the Doctor folds his arms.

"You want to see it?"

"Blimey... you can smell the testosterone," Rose comments, making me snort loudly. "Think they'll get out a ruler next?" she whispers in my ear and I about choke, covering my mouth while the Doctor rolls his eyes with his lips twitching up.

"Quiet," ginger snaps, glaring between the two of us.

"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down," Van Statten cuts in and ginger, or I guess Goddard, nods. "You, English, look after the girls; canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do," he orders pretty boy. "And you, Doctor with no name... come and see my pet," he smirks.

The Doctor turns to me, "behave," he murmurs.

"I will if that arsehole doesn't touch me again," I narrow my eyes at Van Statten's back, Rose snorting from beside me.

"Language," the Doctor scolds even as his lips twitch up a bit. "Just... stay out of trouble, alright?" he sighs, tapping under my chin.

"Fine..." I huff, folding my arms.

"You, too," he gives Rose a look and she rolls her eyes, shooing him off.

I watch the Doctor walk out into a lift with Van Statten before I turn to pretty boy, "so, what's your name, then?"

"Adam Mitchell," he gives me a 'charming' smile, holding his hand out.

"Lizzie Tyler," I shake his hand, letting go quickly; he was not my type. "This is my baby sister, Rose," I smirk when she groans in annoyance.

"Did you have to? I'm not a baby," she glares, but it was ruined by her smile.

"Hi," Adam chuckles, shaking her hand.

"Hi," Rose bites her lip, eyeing him up.

I scoff, rolling my eyes; seriously, my sister's flirting can really get on my nerves. I know to her, it's just a bit of fun and not for profit. But how am I supposed to feel about her chatting up blokes when she's with my best mate? Who is completely in love with her, by the way. I sigh, going over and picking up the little instrument off the floor and shoving it in my bag. It wasn't like Van Statten was going to appreciate it... might as well go to someone who will, right?

3rd Person POV:

Van Statten had led the Doctor down to the Cage, who wasn't at all happy with being stuck with the man. There were a lot of things he didn't like about Van Statten; his pompous attitude, his arrogance, his awful self-portrait behind his desk, his vast collection of alien artifacts that he seems to give little care for other than having them in his possession. The thing that had gotten under his skin the most, though, was how he'd eyed Lizzie up. She obviously was uncomfortable with the attention, not to mention the comments... and she'd been pretty vocal about it, too. But her sass had just seemed to egg the American on more. Van Statten had seen the way it was affecting both her and the Doctor and had gotten a twisted sort of joy out of getting a rise out of both of them.

The Doctor wasn't oblivious to Lizzie's... womanly figure, he's admired her himself. But the way Van Satten's eyes had trailed over her body like she was an object for him to gawk at... as if he was entitled to look at her any way he pleased had pissed him off to no end. The way he'd stopped and taken particular notice in her- the Doctor stops his thoughts, his fists clenching. The connection between them made the urge to protect both ways and he had wanted to punch the man's smirk off for the way he was treating her. At least... that's what he was deciding to tell himself the reason for why he felt the need to take Lizzie and hide her away was; preferably a few galaxies away from the man beside him. Or maybe he could chuck him-

"We've tried everything," Van Statten's voice knocks the Doctor from his thoughts. "The creature has... shielded itself, but there's definite signs of life inside," he explains while he entered a code into the Cage's huge metal door, opening it up.

"Inside?" the Doctor frowns. "Inside what?"

"Welcome back, sir," a man in an orange hazmat suit, Simmons, comes out of the Cage. "I've had to take the power down, the Metaltron is resting," he informs them.

"Metaltron?" the Doctor asks incredulously with a raised eyebrow; he could imagine what his companions would have to say about that and a small smirk pulled at his lips.

"Thought of it myself," Van Statten states proudly, the Doctor fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Good, isn't it? ... although, I'd much prefer to find out its real name," he gives the Time Lord a pointed look.

"Here, you'd better put these on," Simmons offers the Doctor a pair of thick rubber gloves. "The last guy that touched it... burst into flames," he explains with a twisted smile.

"I won't touch it, then," the Doctor retorts in a 'duh' tone, folding his arms and Goddard turns her head to hide a smile at that.

"Go ahead, Doctor," Van Statten cuts in. "Impress me," he challenges with a smirk.

The Doctor, with an impassive expression, walks into the Cage. The door shuts behind him and he looks around, seeing some instruments on the table; obviously used for torture. He shakes his head in disgust, turning to the other side of the room and seeing a soft blue light that told him where the alien was. "Look, I'm sorry about this," he tells the unseen alien in a soft tone. "Mr. Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him," he waves off. "I've come to help, I'm the Doctor," he introduces gently.

"Doc-tor..." a robotic voice rasps out slowly.

The Doctor's hearts nearly stop at the familiar voice as fear grips him, "impossible..." he whispers in horror, a faint feeling of worry washing over him.

"The Doctor!?" the alien repeats, its voice raising.

The Doctor just watches with wide eyes and his lips parted slightly, frozen in place. Lights suddenly come on, illuminating his worst enemy in the entire universe wrapped in chains. His hearts clench painfully in fear as he stares at the Dalek.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" it screams, making the Doctor wince as memories of the Time War flash in his mind.

"Let me out!" the Doctor screams desperately as he turns to the door of the Cage, beginning to beat on it frantically, more worry washing over him with a slight headache forming in his temples.

"Exterminate! You are the enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!"

The Dalek waves its whisk-like gun around uselessly. The Doctor frowns when he's not dead and he can hear a clicking sound. Turning to see the problem, his hearts calm slightly and he breaks out into a huge, relieved grin. "It's not working," he breathes as the Dalek looks down at the gun with its eye-stalk, moving it around. "Fantastic!" he laughs maniacally, a sick satisfaction filling him at seeing the Dalek so helpless. "Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you! The Great Space Dustbin!" he moves forward. "How does it feel?"

"Keep back!" the Dalek screams, straining against its chains to get away from the Doctor.

"What for? What're you gonna do to me?" the Time Lord taunts, getting even closer so he was looking straight into the Dalek's eye-stalk. "If you can't kill, then what are you good for, Dalek?" he spits the name, circling the alien menacingly. "What's the point of you? You're nothing! What the hell are you here for?"

"I am awaiting orders," the Dalek replies, following the Doctor with its eye-stalk.

"What does that mean?"

"I am a soldier! I was bred to receive orders!"

That makes the Doctor pause for a second as he steps back in front of the Dalek... it really didn't know what happened. "Well, you're never gonna get any, not ever," he informs it.

"I demand orders!"

"They're never gonna come! Your race is dead!" the Doctor shouts. "You all burnt, all of you! Ten million ships on fire, the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second!"

"You lie!"

"I watched it happen!" the Doctor glares, swallowing hard as grief and guilt overtake him, fueling his anger. "I made it happen!" he admits, his body shaking with emotion.

The Dalek was quiet for a moment as it stares at the Doctor, "... you destroyed us?"

The Doctor's face contorts in pain and he turns from the Dalek. More worry washes over him, worry that would have given him comfort any other time but now... it just made his grief all the worse. "I had no choice," he whispers, fighting back the urge to throw up.

"And what of the Time Lords?"

"... dead," the Doctor's voice becomes even quieter with self-hatred. "They burnt with you... the end of the last great Time War, everyone lost..."

"And the coward survived," the Dalek taunts.

"Oh, and I caught your little signal," the Doctor scowls, his voice taking on a high tone. "'Help me... poor little thing'," he mocks. "But there's no one else coming, cause there's no else left," he says harshly, wincing slightly at the headache getting worse.

"I am alone in the universe..." the Dalek realizes, lowering its eye-stalk.

"Yep," the Doctor smiles coldly.

"So are you," the Dalek replies, making the Doctor's smile fade. "We are the same," it concludes.

The Doctor spins to face the Dalek angrily, "we're not the same, I'm not-" he stops, considering the alien for a moment. "No... wait, maybe we are," he nods slowly. "You're right... yeah, ok, you've got a point," he concedes. "Cause I know what to do, I know what should happen, I know what you deserve," he snarls, going over to the controls in the room, raising his eyebrows. "Exterminate," he grins, throwing a lever down.

The Dalek was immediately engulfed in electricity, "have pity!" it screams in pain.

"Why should I!? You never did!" the Doctor growls, amping up the voltage as he watches one of the creatures that had taken everything from him scream and beg.

"Help me!"

Security burst in and the Doctor lunges for the control panel again. Before he can amp up the voltage, they grab a hold of him. Van Statten enters and approaches the Dalek, "I saved your life, now talk to me! Goddammit, talk to me!"

"You've got to destroy it!" the Doctor shouts desperately as he's dragged off by the guards.

1st Person POV:

Adam decides to take Rose and me to his workshop, but I didn't really want to be here with him. I wanted to be down with the Doctor, seeing what I could do for the poor thing Van Statten has. Who the hell does he think he is keeping a living creature locked up like some sort of prisoner!?

I wince slightly as anger and disgust wash over me while I look around at the messy office. The Doctor probably knows what everything in here is, I muse with a small smile.

"Sorry about the mess," Adam's voice draws my attention. "Mr. Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods," he rummages around a container and pulls out a huge piece of a... is that chunk of a hull? "What do you think... that is?" he asks, handing it to Rose.

Rose moves it around, "um... a lump of metal?" she guesses, making me smile.

"Yeah... yeah," Adam smiles, taking it back and setting it in the container. "But I think... well, I'm almost certain it's from the hull of a spacecraft," he tells us and I raise an eyebrow; hm... same thing I'd thought. "The thing is: it's all true!" he grins between Rose and me. "Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet; spacecrafts, aliens, visitors to Earth? They really exist!"

"That's amazing," Rose gives a tongue-in-teeth grin, trying not to laugh at the fact that Adam had literally just met an alien and he had no idea.

"I know it sounds incredible... but I honestly believe that the whole universe is teeming with life," Adam doesn't notice her cheeky grin at all.

I gasp softly when I feel a massive wave of fear; what's wrong with the Doctor!? After a few seconds it's gone and replaced with white-hot rage and heart-wrenching grief... what the hell? I reach up and rub my temples, feeling a headache beginning to form.

Rose's voice snaps me out of my thoughts, "I'm gobsmacked, yeah," she smiles widely. "And you do what? Sit here and catalog it?"

"Best job in the world," Adam beams.

"Imagine if you could get out there, travel amongst the stars..." she trails off and I roll my eyes; there is no way in hell Adam's coming with us.

"Yeah... I'd give anything," Adam sighs dreamily. "But I don't think it's ever gonna happen; not in our lifetimes," he shakes his head.

"Oh, you never know..." I smirk slightly, trying to ignore my growing worry over the mix of emotions I was getting... the Doctor's fine, he's not in any pain.

"Yeah," Rose smiles. "What about all those people who say they've been inside spaceships and things and talked to aliens?"

"I think they're nutters," he laughs.

"Yeah... me too," Rose mutters. "So, how'd you end up here?" she changes the subject.

"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit," Adam explains.

"Oh, right, you're a genius," Rose grins.

"Sorry, but yeah, can't help it... I was born clever," Adam shrugs with a smirk.

I hiss in pain when I get an overwhelming wave of grief and rage, grabbing my head. I feel Rose grab onto my shoulders, "Lizzie?" she asks worriedly.

"My head..." I whimper slightly. "I'm gonna... go for a walk..." I whisper through clenched teeth.

"Um... I'm not sure that's a good idea," Adam cuts in awkwardly.

"I'll just be out in the corridor," I lie, screwing my eyes shut in pain.

"Have you got a sketch-book?" Rose asks, rubbing my shoulders.

I nod, walking out of the room. I rub my temples as I head back to Van Satten's office. There wasn't anyone there, so I could try and hack into footage from the Cage, no way Van Statten didn't have it under surveillance. I was going to figure out what the hell was causing the Doctor so much emotional pain.

***

I was almost into Van Statten's computer when I get a massive wave of pain; it was like being burned and electrocuted at the same time. I grab my chest as another, stronger pain comes and I slip from the chair onto the floor. I could hear faint shouting from outside the office, but I curl into a ball, whimpering as yet another pain comes over me, making me cry out.

The pain stops after a minute, but my body was still shuddering from the effect. I hear the door to the office open and get up to my feet shakily, seeing the Doctor standing in the doorway staring at me. "Doctor!" I rush over, launching myself at him.

The Doctor lets out a small grunt as he catches me, his arms going around my waist while mine go around his neck. I nuzzle my face against his neck and he lifts me slightly off the ground. "Are you alright?" I whisper.

"I'm fine," he assures me, tightening his arms around my waist. "Where's Rose?" he sets me down, looking around the office.

"She was in Adam's workshop, I had to-" I cut off when I see Van Statten behind the Doctor and my blood boils. "You," I glare, drawing my hand back and slapping him across the face as hard as I could. "What the hell did you do to him?" I practically growl, the Doctor smirking slightly beside me.

Van Statten grabs his face, groaning in pain, "I didn't do anything!"

"Bullshit!" I grab his ear and drag him into the room, ignoring his protests as I throw him into his chair and lean my hands on the arms either side of him. "What! Did! You! Do! To! Him!?" I repeat darkly.

"Lizzie," the Doctor grabs my shoulders, pulling me away from the wide-eyed arsehole. "I'm fine, sit," he orders, pointing to a chair.

"But he hurt you!" I protest, grabbing his forearms. "What did he do?" I demand.

"Scanned me but I'm fine," he tells me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"That did not feel like scanning," I shake my head.

The Doctor pulls away and cups my face in his hands, "I'm fine, promise," he assures me. "Sit," he orders, his voice taking on an urgent tone and I frown at the fear that I just realize was washing over me.

I nod and sit down in the chair when he releases me, but not before kicking Van Statten in the shin. He yelps, cursing under his breath as he grabs his leg with the Doctor choking on a laugh beside me. The Doctor pats my head with a wide grin while I glare at Van Statten.

***

The Doctor had brought up a video link by the Cage and my heart nearly stops. There was screaming, but what made me scared was that Rose was down there in the background.

"You've got to keep it in that cell!" the Doctor calls.

Rose comes over to whatever monitor was down there, "it's all my fault!" she cries helplessly.

"Get out of there right now, Rose," I tell her, gripping the Doctor's hand.

A guard comes over and pushes Rose out of the way impatiently, making me growl under my breath and the Doctor squeezes my hand.

"I've sealed the compartment," the guard informs us. "It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"That Dalek's a genius," the Doctor scoffs. "It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

... Dalek? Why did that name sound so familiar? I've never dreamt of anything called a Dalek... I hiss slightly when a sharp pain goes through my head. "Ow..." I whimper slightly, grabbing my head with my free hand at the same time the Doctor hisses and grabs his head as well.

"Alright?" he whispers, running his thumb over my knuckles.

I nod as I hear faint screams. 'Exterminate' runs through my head, followed by a broken scream of 'no'. I rub my temples with one hand, my other going to my necklace chain and I roll the cold metal between my fingers absently. My mind goes a bit fuzzy as the screaming stops and I blink a few times... what happened?

I look back to the monitor to see Adam and Rose behind a line of guards that have their guns aimed at the Cage door. The door opens a second later and I see the Dalek; a bronze-like metal body with spheres all along the bottom, a dome-ish head that has an eye-stalk on it, a plunger... thing, and a whisk-like gun. It didn't make any sense since I've never seen this alien in my life, but a sense of dread fills me and I pale slightly. The Doctor clutches onto my hand, a wave of fear and rage and guilt and grief washing over me.

"Open fire!" one of the guards orders and all of the soldiers at once begin to shoot at the Dalek.

"Don't shoot it!" Van Statten shouts into the comms. "I want it unharmed!"

I tighten my hold on the Doctor's hand so I don't jump up and strangle the git. The Doctor rubs circles into the back of my hand as both of us watch the guards still shooting, "Rose, get out of there!" we both call urgently.

The Dalek advances on the group, the bullets having no effect whatsoever. The guard in command turns to a female guard, "De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive! That is your job, got that?"

De Maggio nods and turns to Rose and Adam, "you, with me," she orders and I breathe out in relief when she leads them away.

The Dalek approaches the camera and smashes its plunger thing into it, cutting off our link. "Abandoning the Cage, sir," the guard calls over the comms.

***

I was sitting beside Goddard as she accesses the situation on Van Statten's computer, the Doctor behind me and Van Statten behind her. I had my hand firmly in the Doctor's, chewing on my lip worriedly. It really wasn't helping that I could feel the Doctor's worry and fear as well, either.

"We're losing power, it's draining the base," Goddard tells us and the screen changes to a map of the US, lights blinking out. "Oh, my God... it's raiding the entire power supplies of the whole of Utah," her eyes widen.

"It's downloading," I frown, tilting my head.

"Downloading what?" Van Statten asks.

"Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down!"

"It's not just energy," the Doctor shakes his head. "That Dalek just absorbed the entire internet."

"It knows everything," I breathe, wide-eyed. "Rose is down there with it..." my heart clenches painfully.

"I'll get her out," the Doctor tells me firmly, squeezing my shoulder with his free hand and I nod, having complete trust in him.

"Sir, the cameras in the vault have gone down," Goddard shakes her head.

"We've only got emergency power, it's eaten everything else," the Doctor retorts. "You've got to kill it now!"

"All guards to converge in the Metaltron Cage, immediately," Goddard calls into her comm.

"Who the hell came up with that name?" I ask incredulously, wrinkling my nose.

The Doctor breathes out a laugh, leaning down to my ear, "Van Statten," he whispers.

I bite my lip, playing with my braid as I blush faintly when his breath hits my neck. How the hell can he make me blush when there's so much shit going on? It's completely unfair. I blush more when I hear the Doctor chuckle quietly and he tugs on my braid teasingly... arse.

"Cover the north wall," a guard over the comm draws my attention back to the situation at hand. "Red division, maintain suppressing fire along the perimeter! Blue division, hold-" his orders are cut off by the sound of a laser and gunfire.

I wince slightly, the sound of the laser sending pain through my head and the Doctor tightens his hold on my hand. I rub my temples with my free hand, breathing out when the pain stops... what is it about this alien that's giving me so many problems?

"Tell them to stop shooting at it!" Van Statten shouts, making me look up at him in shock.

"It's killing them!" Goddard protests, gaping at him as well.

"They're dispensable, that Dalek is unique!" Van Statten retorts, making me clench my free hand on my knee as he grabs the comm. "I don't want a scratch on its bodywork! Do you hear me? Do you hear me?"

Angry tears well in my eyes as the gunfire stops, the other end of the comm completely silent. I clutch onto the Doctor's hand and he pulls me up from my chair and into his arms. "I don't think they can hear you, Mr. Van Statten," I glare, saying his name in a mocking tone. "Seeing as you just got all of them killed because you're a selfish prat!"

The Doctor pulls me in tighter, holding my head to his chest. I breathe out, trying to calm myself with his twin heartbeats as he rubs my back soothingly. God, I wish we could just leave.

***

I was now sitting back in the chair beside Goddard, but with my hand still in the Doctor's; it was grounding me to know he was here with me. Goddard pulls up a 3D map of the base, "that's us, right below the surface," she points. "That's the Cage, and that's the Dalek," she points to a little blue light that was moving along a corridor.

"This museum of yours, have you got any alien weapons?" the Doctor asks, making me look up at him in slight shock and he just squeezes my hand gently; he hates weapons...

"Lots of them," Goddard replies. "But the trouble is, the Dalek's between us and them," she sighs.

"We've got to keep that thing alive," Van Statten cuts in. "We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there," he suggests.

"Like hell we're doing that," I glare at him. "My sister is there along with hundreds of your men!"

"I won't let that happen," the Doctor agrees, glaring at Van Statten as well. "Have you got that?"

Van Statten huffs, folding his arms as he turns away and I roll my eyes at his petulant behavior. The Doctor scowls at his back before turning back to the computer screen, "it's got to go through this area," he points. "What's that?"

"Weapons testing," Goddard replies.

"Give guns to the lawyers, technicians, anyone, everyone," the Doctor orders. "Only then have you got a chance of killing it..." he sighs and Goddard nods, getting up to relay the orders in her earpiece, leaving the Doctor to take her spot at the computer.

"I thought you were the great expert, Doctor," Van Statten sneers.

"He knows a hell of lot more than you! If you had listened to him in the first place instead of trying to get him into your damn collection, we wouldn't be in this mess!" I glare and the Doctor places his hand on my knee, squeezing gently.

"The Dalek wasn't even talking until he showed up, sweetheart," Van Statten retorts, making the Doctor's grip tighten. "If you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek?" he asks the Doctor. "It must be willing to negotiate, there must be something it needs; everyone needs something!"

"Where's the nearest town?" the Doctor asks, not looking up at Van Statten.

"Salt Lake City," he answers immediately, frowning at the question.

"Population?"

"One million..."

"All dead," the Doctor replies bluntly, looking up at Van Statten. "If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature... that's all it needs."

"But why would it do that!?" Van Statten demands.

"Because it honestly believes they should die," the Doctor answers. "Human beings are different and anything different is wrong; it's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!" he snaps and I scoot closer, leaning my head on his shoulder and he breathes out, turning back to the comm. "The Dalek's surrounded by a force-field," he tells the Commander. "The bullets are melting before they even hit home, but it's not indestructible. If you concentrate your fire, you might get through. Aim for the dome, the head, the eyepiece; that's the weak spot," he explains.

"Thank you, Doctor, but I think I know how to fight one single tin robot," the Commander scoffs.

I sigh sadly, why can't they just listen to the Doctor? He's obviously had dealings with the Daleks before and he's afraid of them.

"We've got vision," Goddard announces suddenly.

The Doctor and I stand, walking over to the monitor on the wall. It was showing what I assume is the weapons testing area. "It wants us to see," the Doctor grinds out.

The Dalek was looking straight at the camera as the guards open fire on it, completely unaffected by it. I grip the Doctor's hand, my other wrapping around his arm as I watch. The Dalek slowly levitates into the air until it's hovering near the ceiling. I frown as it fires it's laser at the wall, making the sprinklers go off and soak the floor. My blood runs cold as my face pale, my stomach churning horribly, "oh, God no..." I whisper shakily, tears welling up.

The Doctor turns me in his arms quickly, pressing my face against his chest so I don't see. I flinch when the Dalek's laser sounds, followed by screaming. I clutch onto the Doctor's leather jacket, tears streaming down my face as my breathing quickens.

"Fall back! Fall back!" the Commander shouts.

There were two more shots from the laser, two more screams and then silence. The Doctor pulls me in tighter, breathing heavily in shock and anger. I nuzzle his chest, shaking from fear and trying to stop myself from crying. My baby sister was trapped down there with that thing that just took out countless trained guards and I couldn't get to her, couldn't do anything to protect her. Van Statten's voice makes me tense, "perhaps it's time for a new strategy, maybe we could consider abandoning this place..." he suggests shakily.

"Except there's no power to the helipad, sir," Goddard whispers angrily. "We can't get out!"

"You said you could seal the vault," the Doctor mutters, making me look up at him sharply.

"Rose is down there," I shake my head.

"I can't let that Dalek out..." he retorts sadly, making me pull away from him.

"It was designed to be a bunker in the event of nuclear war," Van Statten cuts in. "Steel bulkhead," he sits at the computer.

"There's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive," Goddard argues.

"We've got emergency power, we can re-route that to the bulkhead doors," the Doctor retorts.

"We'd have to bypass the security codes," Goddard shakes her head. "That would take a computer genius!"

"Good thing you've got me, then," Van Statten smirks.

"You want to help?" the Doctor asks incredulously, holding me back when I lunge forward to hit the man.

"I don't want to die, Doctor, simple as that," Van Statten rolls his eyes. "Nobody knows this software, better than me."

"I won't let you!" I glare. "You are not trapping my sister down there!"

"Sir..." Goddard cuts in quietly.

I turn to see her staring at the wall monitor. The Dalek was back on the floor, the sprinklers still running. I cringe at all the dead bodies around the room, wrapping my arms around my waist.

"I shall speak only to the Doctor," it announces.

I whimper quietly as pain shoots through my head at the sound of its voice. The Doctor squeezes my shoulder, wincing slightly as he stares at the Dalek, "you're gonna get rusty..." he mutters.

"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler," the Dalek says, making my eyes widen; it... what? Is that what she meant when she said it was her fault? "Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveler regenerated me."

"What's your next trick?" the Doctor raises his eyebrow.

"I have been searching for the Daleks," it answers.

"Yeah, I saw, downloading the internet," the Doctor nods, walking up to the monitor. "What did you find?"

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes!"

"And?"

"Nothing..." the Dalek lowers it's eye-stalk briefly. "Where shall I get my orders now!?" it's voice raises, sounding scared and I tilt my head as I watch it.

"You're just a soldier without commands," the Doctor taunts.

"Then I shall follow the primary order! The Dalek instinct to destroy! To conquer!"

"What for? What's the point?" the Doctor glares, getting nothing but silence in return. "Don't you see? It's all gone, everything you were, everything you stood for!"

"The what should I do?" the Dalek asks.

I watch the Doctor as he pauses, rage and grief washing over me in strong waves. "Alright... if you want orders," he straightens. "Follow this one: kill yourself," he sneers, making my eyes widen and I cover my mouth with my hand as I wince.

"The Daleks must survive!"

"The Daleks have failed," the Doctor snarls, voice rising with each sentence. "Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct? Rid the universe of your filth! Why don't you just die!?" he shouts the last word.

I gasp, stumbling back a step as tears well in my eyes... what? I flinch at the emotions flowing over me, screwing my eyes up at the pain.

"... you would make a good Dalek," it's voice makes me look up in time to see the monitor go black.

The Doctor stares at the screen, a stronger blend of emotions hitting me as I stare at his back. The raw hatred in his voice as he was telling another creature to kill itself... it scared me. I take in a shuddering breath when he turns around and sees my pale face, my tears... feels my fear. I can tell he knows it was him I was afraid of when his own face pales and he takes a step forward. I immediately take a step back, my eyes widening and I get a wave of hurt and guilt. I shake my head, tears streaming down my cheeks and I was uncomfortably aware of Van Statten and Goddard watching us.

"Seal the vaults..." the Doctor orders quietly, his voice cracking slightly before trying to approach me cautiously.

I stumble back into the desk and he stands in front of me, watching my reaction as he hesitantly wraps his arms around my shoulders. "I'm sorry..." he whispers and I breathe in, a weird sort of quiet choking sound coming out as I wrap my arms around his waist tightly.

The Doctor pulls away slightly, lifting his hands to cup my face, his fingers on my temples, "can I?" he asks quietly, making me frown but I nod my consent.

I gasp softly as I'm thrown into an image of Daleks screaming 'Exterminate'. There were woman and children screaming as they're killed from Dalek lasers and I see that it was on Gallifrey, the glass dome city burning. I gasp again when it fades and look up at the Doctor, his face a bit blurry from my tears. "Oh, Doctor," I whisper, pulling him close.

It made sense now; his varying emotions since he went down to the Cage. The vulnerability and pain that was in his eyes make my heart clench painfully as I hold him tightly. This was one of the creatures that had caused his people to burn, no wonder he hated them so fiercely. The Doctor pulls away after a moment and cups my face in his hand, brushing my tears away with his thumb as he searches my face for... something. I grab onto his forearms and give him a soft, encouraging smile. He visibly slumps, pulling me into another hug before pulling away and sitting down in front of the computer, getting to work.

***

"I can leech power off the ground defenses, feed it to the bulkheads," Van Statten mutters as he and the Doctor work quickly. "It's been years since I had to work this fast..." he smiles.

"Are you enjoying this?" the Doctor demands while I lean against his arms, my hands wrapped around his bicep.

"Doctor, Lizzie," Goddard gets out attention. "She's still down there..."

I get out my phone, calling Rose. "This isn't the best time," she snaps, panting.

"Where are you?" I ask, ignoring her tone.

"Level forty-nine," she answers and I relay it to the Doctor.

He grabs my phone, holding it between us as he leans down a bit, "you've got keep moving," he tells her urgently. "The vault's being sealed off, bulkhead level forty-six."

"Can't you stop them closing!?"

"I'm the one who's closing them!" the Doctor retorts, guilt washing over me. "I can't wait and I can't help you... now for God's sake, run!"

"Done it," Van Statten announces. "We've got power to the bulkheads!"

"The Dalek's right behind them!" Goddard gasps.

"We're nearly there, give us two seconds!" Rose calls.

"Rose, you've gotta hurry!" I tell her. "Come on, you can make it!"

"Doctor, I can't sustain the power! The whole system is failing!" Van Statten shouts and the Doctor hesitates, staring down at me. "Doctor, you've got to close those bulkheads!"

My face contorts as I hear Rose panting down the phone. "I'm sorry," the Doctor whispers, hitting the enter key.

I chew on my bottom lip, waiting for the place to be sealed. "The vault is sealed," Van Statten announces.

"Rose, where are you?" I ask, my heart racing.

"Rose, did you make it?" the Doctor asks urgently.

"... sorry, I was a bit slow..." she whispers and I feel as if my heart stopped, even though I can hear it pounding in my ears. "See you then... it wasn't either of your fault, remember that, ok? It wasn't your fault," she tells us firmly.

"Rose..." I breathe, tears streaming down my face.

"No, shut up!" she snaps, her voice cracking. "I wanted to come and I wouldn't have missed it for anything, ok? ... I love you," she whispers shakily.

"I love you," I choke out, the Doctor just watching me in horror.

I hear the shout of the Dalek, followed by its laser. I whimper, dropping my phone and it breaks apart as it hits the floor. "She's gone..." I whisper, my voice sounding dead even to me as my body shakes.

"I killed her," the Doctor breathes, horror and grief and guilt washing over me, amplifying my own.

"I'm sorry," Van Statten looks between us sadly.

His voice makes my blood boil as anger overtakes my grief and I stand, taking a step toward him, "sorry? Sorry!" I snarl. "My sister is dead and you're sorry!? I'm the big sister, it's my job to protect her and now she's gone! She only came cause of me and you want to talk about being sorry!?"

"I-I didn't-"

"I could've killed that Dalek in its cell, but you stopped me," the Doctor growls from beside me.

"It was the prize of my collection!"

"Your collection?" I demand, clenching my fists at my sides. "Screw your bloody collection! That was my sister, the girl I helped raise! The girl who never once for a second judged me and I'll never see her again because some pompous bastard thought he was above everything! Above the law! Above others! And why? Just cause you've got a bit of money? Cause you're so fucking special to know that aliens exist!?"

The Doctor grabs my arms, pulling me behind him as he levels a dark look down at Van Statten, "was it worth it? Worth Rose?" he spits, Van Statten looking between us with wide eyes. "Let me tell you something, Van Statten: mankind goes into space to explore, to be part of something-"

"Exactly!" Van Statten cuts in passionately, standing. "I wanted to touch the stars!"

The Doctor's arms wrap around my waist when I lunge forward, "you just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt and label them," he snarls. "You're about as far from the stars as you can get!" he shouts before his face contorts in pain, his grief amplifying my own. "You took her down with you... she was nineteen years old," he whispers.

I choke out a sob as he turns to me, wrapping me up in his arms tightly. I wrap my arms around his waist and lean my ear against his chest, listening to his hearts as tears stream down my face. "You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind!" he yells suddenly, making me turn to see Adam had come in.

"I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" Adam retorts, glaring at the Doctor.

"You're the one who took her down there in the first place!" I scream, trying to get out of the Doctor's hold.

The Doctor turns me back to him, his arm around my waist and his other hand keeping my head to his chest as he shushes me softly while I sob. "Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies," the Dalek's voice makes me freeze.

I slowly lift my head from the Doctor's jumper-clad chest, staring at the monitor. There was Rose, alive, and standing next to the Dalek. I would've fallen in shock had the Doctor's arm not been holding me up as I slump against him. The Doctor lets out a startled laugh, staring at the screen, "you're alive!" he smiles.

"Can't get rid of me," Rose smiles, her voice wavering slightly in fear.

I move over to the screen, touching the little Rose image with my fingertips, "I thought you were dead," I whisper shakily.

"Open the bulkhead!" the Dalek screams.

"Don't do it!" Rose yells immediately.

"What use are emotions, Doctor, if you will not save the woman you care for?" the Dalek taunts.

I look back at the Doctor and his eyes harden, "I killed her once," he shakes his head, going over to the computer. "I can't do it again," he hits the enter key.

"What do we do now? You bleeding heart!" Van Statten shouts. "What the hell do we do?"

"Kill it when it gets here!" Adam suggests.

Goddard shakes her head, "all the guns are useless and the alien weapons are in the vault," she sighs.

"... only the cataloged ones," Adam retorts sheepishly.

***

I was waiting for Rose to come up Van Statten's lift with the Dalek anxiously. The Doctor had gone off with Adam to get a weapon to fight it... I didn't agree with it, but how could I stop him? Besides, the Dalek's killed all those guards and he almost killed my baby sister. The lift opens and I freeze when I see the Dalek next to Rose. "Don't move!" she shouts quickly. "Don't do anything! It's beginning to question itself!"

The Dalek moves over to Van Statten and I run over, throwing my arms around Rose, "oh, my God..." I breathe, holding her as close to me as I possibly could.

"Van Statten, you tortured me!" the Dalek backs him up against the wall. "Why?"

"I wanted to help you, I just- I don't know, I... I was just trying to help!" Van Statten cries. "I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you- I wanted you better, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now," the Dalek raises its gun. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Don't do it!" Rose gets out of my hold, rushing over. "Don't kill him!" she begs and the Dalek turns its eye-stalk on her, making me tense. "You don't have to do this anymore," she says softly. "There must be something else, not just killing... what else is there? What do you want?"

I watch curiously as the Dalek looks from Van Statten to Rose, "I want... freedom," it lowers it's eye-stalk.

"Then..." I move forward and the Dalek's eye-stalk swivels to me, making me stop. "Why don't we go find some... yeah?"

***

Rose, the Dalek and I take the lift up to level one in the base. The Dalek fires its gun up at the ceiling, making me flinch at the sound. Cement crumbles to the floor, leaving a huge hole that sunlight shines through. "You're out! You made it!" Rose smiles. "Never thought I'd see the sunlight again," she breathes.

"How... does... it... feel?" the Dalek asks.

"Is there a way you can find out?" I ask curiously.

I watch in awe as the middle part of the Dalek opens up to reveal a mutated squid-like creature with one eye. It stretches one of its arms out, turning it in the sunlight. I wrap an around Rose when fear grips me and pain shoots through my head when I see the alien, making me wince.

"Get out of the way!" the Doctor's voice makes us both jump and turn.

My eyes widen at the sight of him holding a huge gun in his hands, neither me or Rose moving. "Girls, get out of the way, now!" he shouts.

"No!" I shout, stepping in front of the Dalek. "I won't let you do this!"

"Me either!" Rose stands beside me, grabbing my hand.

"That thing killed hundreds of people," the Doctor glares between us.

"It's not the one pointing the gun at us," Rose glares right back.

"I've got to do this, I've got to end it!" the Doctor holds the gun up higher. "The Daleks destroyed my home! My people! They ripped apart my family!" he snarls. "I've got nothing left!"

"Look at it..." I whisper, wincing slightly at the emotions rushing through me as I step aside slightly.

The Doctor looks past me to the Dalek, lowering the gun a bit as he stares in confusion, "what's it doing?"

"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants!"

"But it can't..." he denies, his voice shaking.

"It couldn't kill Van Statten," Rose shakes her head. "It couldn't kill me... it's changing," she tells him. "What about you, Doctor?" she eyes him with cold eyes. "What the hell are you changing into?"

"I couldn't..." the Doctor looks between us and my heart aches at the tears in his eyes. "I wasn't-" his voice cracks. "Oh, girls... they're all dead," he whispers.

"Why do we survive?" the Dalek asks.

"I don't know," the Doctor admits quietly.

"I am the last of the Daleks," it rasps out.

"You're not even that," the Doctor shakes his head. "Rose did more than regenerate you; you absorbed her DNA... you're mutating," he explains.

"Into what?"

"Something new... I'm sorry..."

"Isn't that better?" I frown.

"Not for a Dalek," the Doctor shakes his head.

"I can feel so many ideas... so much darkness," the Dalek gasps. "Rose... give me orders! Order me to die!"

"I can't do that!" Rose denies immediately, clutching onto my hand.

"This is not life... this is sickness," the Dalek replies and I pull Rose into my arms as her face contorts with pity, tears running down her face. "I shall not be like you! Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!" it begs.

Rose takes in a shuddering breath, "do it," she whispers.

"Are you frightened, Rose and Lizzie Tyler?" the Dalek asks us.

"Yes..." we admit quietly.

"So am I," the Dalek replies. "Exterminate!"

I pull Rose back toward the Doctor as the Dalek closes its casing back up. I watch as it levitates into the air and the spheres around its body come off the bottom half of it to surround it, forming a force-field. The Dalek glows brightly before exploding, the sphere collapsing in on itself and into nothing. The Doctor drops the gun in his hands and pulls Rose and me into a tight hug, the three of us clutching onto each other.

***

The Doctor, Rose, and I were back down by the TARDIS. To say I was happy to get out of this hell-hole was a massive understatement. The Doctor goes over, stroking the side of the TARDIS, "little piece of home... better than nothing," he murmurs, grief and guilt hitting me.

"Is that the end of it?" I ask softly. "The Time War?"

"I'm the only one left, I win... how about that?" the Doctor sighs bitterly.

"The Dalek survived... maybe some of your people did too," Rose puts a hand on his arm.

"I'd know, in here," the Doctor points to his head. "Feels like there's no one," he whispers.

"Well, then," I smile, reaching down and grabbing his hand. "Good thing me and Rose aren't going anywhere," I nudge him with my hip, Rose wrapping her hands around his other arm with a tongue-in-teeth smile.

"Yeah," the Doctor smiles between us.

"We'd better get out!" Adam runs up to us. "Van Statten's disappeared, they're closing down the base!"

"About time," Rose mutters, leaning against the TARDIS and folding her arms.

"I'll have to go back home," Adam sighs miserably.

"Better hurry up, then," the Doctor grins. "Next flight to Heathrow leaves at about 1500 hours!"

Rose jabs my back, making me yelp while she gives me a pointed look. I roll my eyes, knowing she wanted to bring Adam. I sigh, looking up at the Doctor with my best puppy-eyes, "Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars..." I trail off meaningfully.

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then," he retorts, not looking at me.

"He's all on his own, Doctor," I poke his side.

"He did help," Rose puts in.

"He left you down there!" he snaps, giving Adam a nasty look.

"So did you!" Rose reminds him.

"What're you talking about? We've got to leave!" Adam stares at the three of us.

"Girls... he's a bit pretty," the Doctor looks between us.

"Oof, if you want him, I change my mind," I wrinkle my nose and the Doctor sighs exasperatedly. "Sorry, Adam can't come," I tell Rose apologetically, making her snort.

"Cheeky," the Doctor tugs on my braid.

"Hm, old man," I smirk up at him. "Come on, please," I lean my head on his arm, smiling up at him charmingly.

The Doctor takes one look at me and groans miserably, "on your own heads," he rolls his eyes, unlocking the door and pulling me into the TARDIS.

Rose comes in behind us, miming cracking a whip behind the Doctor's back and I choke on a laugh. The Doctor looks between Rose and me with his eyes narrowed and we just smile up at him with innocent smiles. He rolls his eyes, going over to pilot us off.

"Doctor? What're you doing standing inside a box? Rose? Lizzie?"

***

After a while, the Doctor went underneath the grating to do whatever it is he does down there, Rose was telling Adam all about the adventures we've had so far, and I was bored so I went to the library. I breathe in the chlorine and old book smell; really, why is there a pool in here? I get out the instrument I had taken and sit down in one of the many comfy armchairs to play. I smile at the soft melody and lights coming from it, just thinking about today.

I wince as I get a pain in my temple and 'Exterminate!' goes through my mind. Tears form as I hear a man, yet again, scream 'no'. I whimper and clutch my head as the Dalek from today invades my thoughts. Why was it having such an effect on me... and who was the man screaming? It broke my heart to hear his scream. Pain pills are rattled in front of my face and I look up to see the Doctor.

I take them from him, "thanks," I mutter.

"You're welcome," he smiles, sitting on the arm of the chair.

I hear a hum and a glass of water appears on the side table next to my chair. "Thanks, girl," I run my hand along the wall behind me, making her trill in my mind as I take two of the pills.

"You know," the Doctor smirks, taking the instrument from my lap. "Nicking things is wrong," he taps me on the head lightly with it.

"But it's so cool!" I protest. "Besides, Van Arse-hat didn't even care about it," I roll my eyes, making him snort at the name. "So, if you think about it: I save it, really," I smile widely up at him, crossing my legs.

The Doctor shakes his head, chuckling at my logic, "so... why the headache?" he asks, folding his arms.

"I'm not sure," I mutter, messing with one of the rips in my jeans. "After you said what the Dalek was called I've been getting these sharp pains in my head... it's like I'm forgetting something that's trying to force its way through..." I murmur, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Might be our connection," the Doctor shrugs. "Every alien you've dreamt of, I've encountered; might be that you traveling with me is bringing up things from my past and running into the Dalek triggered it," he offers.

"Maybe..." I frown slightly; it sounded plausible, but not really right. "Anyway," I shake my head, smiling up at him. "I am so tired... I think I'm gonna try and get some sleep before we head off," I stand up, stretching. "Night, Doctor," I smile, biting my lip with a bright blush when I see his eyes trailing my body.

The Doctor clears his throat, his eyes snapping to mine, "yeah, goodnight, Lizzie," he smiles, pulling me into a tight hug while patting my head teasingly.