!EDITED!

A/N: was 7201 words, is now 10243! Enjoy! :D

The Doctor, Rose, and I had been in the console room about to leave when something goes past us, making the TARDIS tilt sharply. The Doctor looks at the monitor, his eyes widening, and he rushes around the console. The TARDIS begins to shake violently and an alarm starts to go off as she hums loudly and almost scoldingly at the Doctor for his rough treatment of her.

"What's the emergency?" I shout over the noise, grabbing onto the console to stay upright.

"It's mauve," the Doctor replies, hurrying past me to the monitor. "That knob there," he points to the one beside me and I hurry to turn it, yelping when I nearly fall at the jolt of the TARDIS.

"Mauve?" Rose asks, frowning in confusion as she holds onto the console as well.

"The universally recognized color for danger," the Doctor answers.

"Hold on, what happened to red?" my eyebrows furrow.

"That's just Humans," the Doctor snorts. "By everyone else's standards, red's camp! Oh, the misunderstandings! All those red alerts, all that dancing!" he rolls his eyes, gesturing the monitor and I look to see a cylindrical... thing flying through the vortex, Rose on the other side of the Doctor to look. "It's got a very basic flight computer - I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS; where it goes, we go," he explains, making Rose and I share a wary look at his wording and the fact the TARDIS was going mad.

"... and that's safe, is it?" Rose asks.

"Totally!" the Doctor assures us.

I squeak, covering my eyes with one hand as a section of the console sparks up and explodes. I hiss at a slight pain in my left hand but ignore it as I almost topple over, bumping into the Doctor. "Ok, reasonably..." he corrects quickly, wrapping an arm around me to keep me standing. "Should have said 'reasonably' there!"

"Oh, well I'm glad it's 'reasonably' safe," I roll my eyes, ignoring my face heating up.

The Doctor groans suddenly, hitting the monitor with his free hand, "oh, no, no, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks! Getting away from us!"

"What exactly is this thing?" Rose asks curiously.

"No idea," the Doctor shakes his head. "Lizzie?" he looks down at me.

"Nope," I shake my head.

"Then why are we chasing it?" Rose asks incredulously.

"It's mauve and dangerous and about thirty seconds from the center of London," the Doctor replies, gesturing to the monitor that shows an impending impact in London.

"Well, as reasons go... that one isn't terrible," Rose mutters, making me snort loudly.

I yelp, though, when the TARDIS makes a rough landing and sends us all to the grating floor. "Ow..." I groan, stretching out my body and wincing at the little pains that were mine and the Doctor's. "Alright, Rose?" I ask, getting up to my feet and brushing off my jeans.

"Yeah," she smiles, standing as well and fixing her hair. "You?"

"Yup, brilliant," I beam, turning to the Doctor as he gets up with a small groan. "Alright?"

"Fantastic!" he laughs, rushing to the door with a big, dorky grin.

Rose and I share a look, both of us smiling widely and rushing to the door as well. I step out, looking around the dark alleyway we've landed in. There were shabby-looking buildings all around us and linens out on clotheslines to dry.

"Do you girls know how long we can knock around space without having to bump into Earth?" the Doctor asks, looking around.

"Five days?" Rose guesses. "... or is that just when we're out of milk?" she jokes, making me snort loudly.

"Of all the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow," the Doctor complains with a grimace and Rose rolls her eyes, me giggling. "Must have come down somewhere quite close," he ignores us, walking off. "Within a mile, anyway, and it can't have been more than a few weeks ago; maybe a month..."

"A month!?" I ask incredulously, rushing to catch up and grabbing his hand. "We were right behind it! That's such rubbish!" I complain, Rose snorting as she comes up on my other side.

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place! We're bound to be a little bit out!" the Doctor defends himself with a small pout. "Do you wanna drive?" he rolls his eyes.

"Yes!" I beam, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Can you teach me how to properly fly her? Pllleeeaaaassseee?" I grab his bicep with my free hand and look up at him with my best puppy-eyes.

"Oh, you're done for now," Rose snickers, watching the Doctor melt to my whim.

"Please, Doctor?" I ask sweetly, intertwining our fingers and leaning my head on his arm while I bite my lip.

The Doctor groans miserably, "maybe," he sighs and I cheer, letting go of his arm to punch the air. "That's not a yes, Lizzie," he tells me sternly.

"Pfft! Yes, it is!" I smile widely and he rolls his eyes, Rose snickering more as she nudges my hip with a tongue-in-teeth grin, wiggling her eyebrows. "So! How much is a 'little'?" I ask curiously while I swing the Doctor's and my hands between us.

"A bit," he shrugs, not looking at either of us.

"Is that exactly a bit?" Rose asks, eyebrows raised with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Ish," he replies and rolling his eyes with an exasperated sigh while Rose and I burst into giggles.

"What's the plan, then?" Rose asks excitedly, bouncing slightly. "Are you gonna do a scan for alien tech or something?" she looks over at the Doctor with a wide grin.

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang," the Doctor rolls his eyes, slipping the psychic paper from his pocket. "I'm gonna ask," he shows us.

I pout at the paper, not being able to see anything. Rose tilts her head as she looks at it with furrowed eyebrows, "Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids," she reads.

"It's psychic paper, tells you-" the Doctor starts, putting the psychic paper back into his pocket.

"Whatever you want it to tell us," Rose smirks. "We remember," she bites her lip to keep from laughing while I snort quietly.

"Sorry," the Doctor mutters, a bit petulantly, I might add as we stop and he lets go of my hand to start examining a door.

"Not very Spock, is it?" Rose asks, leaning against the wall and folding her arms. "Just asking?"

"Door, music, people," the Doctor points to the door, completely ignoring Rose. "What do you think?" he kneels down to be level with the lock as he buzzes the sonic at it.

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," Rose pouts down at him, but he just continues to ignore her. "Give us some Spock for once! Would it kill ya?" she nudges his shoulder.

The Doctor turns the sonic off, looking up and eyeing Rose's outfit with raised eyebrows, "are you sure about that t-shirt?"

"Too early to say," Rose looks down at her Union Flag shirt. "I'm taking it out for a spin," she smiles, pulling on it before throwing her arm around my shoulders. "What about Lizzie, then?"

"Oi, leave tiger out of this," I pout, folding my arms over the little kitten face on my tucked-in tank.

The Doctor eyes me up and I blush, elbowing Rose in the side when she snorts quietly. "She looks nice," he waves off, going back to sonicking the door with a small smirk and Rose covers her mouth, nearly losing it and I sigh. "There we go," he smiles, getting the door unlocked and standing, reaching down to grab my hand. "Come on if you're coming! Won't take a minute," he calls over his shoulder as he drags me into the building.

We walk down a dark corridor, following a waiter through a beaded doorway. I look around at all of the people sitting around and I suddenly feel way underdressed; everyone was dressed so nicely and posh. There was a woman singing on a small stage with ginger hair, a beautiful white gown, and a white feather boa.

For nobody else gave me the thrill, when I have found I love you still, it had to be you, wonderful you...

I look over at the Doctor from the corner of my eye; he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, enjoying the music with a smile. It was nice seeing him so content for a moment. I always feel a constant pang of grief from him and it was nice that something as simple as a song could lessen it for a bit.

It had to be you...

The audience and the Doctor clapping snaps me from my thoughts. I blush and wrap my arms around myself as the Doctor rushes up to the stage. I shake my head, leaning against the wall... I seriously need to stop staring.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" the Doctor calls into the mic. "Could I have everybody's attention? Just for a mo? Be very quick, um... hello!" he gives a cheery wave, making me smile. "Um... might seem like a stupid question... but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"

I look around the crowd, expecting at least someone to know something. I frown, though, when the audience eyes him for a moment before bursting into laughter. Ok... not the reaction I was expecting.

"Sorry... have I said something funny?" the Doctor frowns, making the audience laugh even more.

He looks to me with raised eyebrows and I just shrug, not having an answer. I push myself off the wall to look around the room, hoping to find some sort of clue as to why they were laughing and where exactly we are.

"It's just, there's this thing I need to find! Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago!"

A siren goes off suddenly and I frown, looking up... what the hell? The crowd starts to get up, heading for the door and a poster catches my eye. It was of planes in the air, dropping bombs and said 'Hitler will send no warning!' Just brilliant... I look through the crowd at the Doctor and jump up, waving my hand around to get his attention.

"Would've landed quite near here! With a very loud..." the Doctor trails off as he catches sight of me and I point to the poster. "... bang..." he finishes lamely, making a face at the poster.

***

"Rose!" I call when the Doctor and I head outside the building, groaning in annoyance when I don't see her anywhere. "Rose Marion Tyler, where the hell are you?"

"Can't have gotten far," the Doctor shrugs, looking around behind me, totally unconcerned.

I turn to him indignantly with my hands on my hips as I put on a Northern accent. "'Oh, we don't need to check the date, Lizzie, that takes the fun out of it! The not knowing is what makes it an adventure'!" I turn back to search for my baby sister, ignoring the Doctor's snort of amusement. "Well, guess what, big-ears; we've landed in the middle of the bloody Blitz! We could get a bomb dropped on us and Rose is God knows where doing God knows what!" I stop in my tracks when there's a loud meow from beside me and I look to see a small tuxedo cat. "Aren't you handsome," I pick him up and scratch behind his ears, making him purr. "You haven't seen my sister, have you, boy?" I ask jokingly. "Blonde, loud, has a Union Flag on her chest..."

"Nope, he hasn't," the Doctor comes up by my shoulder and runs his hand along the cat's back, making it arch into the touch. "Telepathic," he reminds me as an explanation to my raised eyebrow. "He also very much enjoyed the rambling," he smirks.

"Ha, ha," I roll my eyes, setting the cat down as my cheeks burn slightly.

"You know," the Doctor takes the cat in his arms and continues giving it attention. "One day... just one day, maybe, I'm gonna meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing," he sighs and I can't help my lips twitching up. "Nine hundred years of phonebox travel and it's the only thing left to surprise me..."

"I didn't wander off," I nudge him with my elbow.

"Platform One and Van Statten's Museum," he raises his eyebrows.

"Ok, so I have wondered off before, but I didn't this time," I fold my arms.

"Cause I dragged you with me," he retorts.

"I let you drag me," I counter, smiling up at him.

Whatever the Doctor was going to say next was interrupted by the TARDIS phone going off and I frown, turning to the blue box with furrowed eyebrows, "I thought you said that phone isn't really a phone..." I mutter, walking over with the Doctor right behind me.

"It isn't," he shakes his head as we come to a stop in front of the little compartment on the side of the TARDIS. "How can you be ringing?" he frowns, opening it up to reveal the oldfashioned phone. "What's that about? Ringing?" he takes his sonic out and buzzes it at the phone. "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"

"Hm..." I fold my hands under my chin. "Maybe answer it?" I suggest, smiling up at the Doctor pleasantly.

"Cheeky," he rolls his eyes with a small smirk.

"Old man," I poke his side, giggling when he squirms away.

"Don't answer it!" a female voice grabs our attention and I look to see a girl about my height wearing a huge coat with her dark hair pulled back in pigtail braids. "It's not for ya!"

"How do you know it's not for us?" I ask curiously, watching as she stares at the phone with fearful eyes.

"Cause I do..." she retorts, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm telling ya, don't answer it," she warns.

"Well, if you know so much then tell us this: how can it be ringing?" the Doctor asks turning back to the phone and I watch as the girl runs off quickly. "It's not even a real phone; it's not connected, it's not-"

"Doctor," I interrupt his questioning and he hums, looking down at me as I get a pang of annoyance. "She's gone," I point to where the girl was.

"That's nice of her," he huffs, going back to sonicking the phone. "Giving us an ominous warning and then swanning off," he rolls his eyes.

"As if you've never done the same," I smirk, leaning against the TARDIS as the phone continues to ring insistently.

"Hush, tiny, I'm busy," he waves me off, making me snort.

"You gonna answer it?" I ask, biting my lip as I get an uneasy feeling with the still ringing phone.

The Doctor looks between me and the phone warily before taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze while he puts the phone to his ear, "hello?"

I stand on my tip-toes and pull him forward, making him lean down so I can hear as well. I frown at the static crackling on the other end. "Is someone there?" I ask, getting no reply other than the static.

"This is the Doctor and Lizzie speaking," he calls into the phone pleasantly. "How may we help you?"

"Mummy?" a child's voice comes through and it sends a cold chill down my spine. "Muummmyy?"

"Who is this?" the Doctor asks, running his thumb over my knuckles. "Who's speaking?"

"Are you my mummy?" the child asks and my stomach knots up as I frown.

"Who is this?" the Doctor asks forcefully.

"Mummmyyyy?"

"How did you phone us?" I ask with a slight waver in my voice. "This- this isn't even a proper phone... it's- it's not wired up to anything, it's-"

"Mummy?" the child cuts me off and then the phone goes dead.

I take the phone in my free hand and hang it up while breathing out shakily. "That was... creepy," I mutter, looking up at the Doctor, who was staring at the side of the TARDIS with a thoughtful expression. "Something's not right with that child," I whisper, shuddering slightly; he'd sounded terrified but in a monotone, emotionless way.

"Let's find Rose and then we can figure it out," the Doctor sends me a small smile, squeezing my hand. "Must have to do with whatever we were chasing through the vortex... something inside it, maybe?" he muses, letting go of my hand to open the door to the TARDIS. "Rose? Rose, are you in there?" he calls, getting no answer.

"I'll try and phone her... sooner we find her, the sooner we can figure this out and leave," I pull my mobile out, dialing Rose's number and frowning when it sends me straight to voicemail. "It's not going through-"

There's a loud crash from down the alley, making me jump and nearly drop my phone. The Doctor and I share a look before he grabs my hand and pulls me off in the direction of the noise.

***

The Doctor and I reach a row of houses and there's a woman screaming about the bombs on the other side of a wooden fence. The Doctor hops up on one of the dustbins and then helps me climb up onto the other one. I stand on my tip-toes, barely being able to see over the fence and see a plump woman ushering her young son into a bomb shelter in the garden.

"The planes are coming! Can't you hear them? Into the shelter! None of your nonsense, now move it! Come on, come on! Get in there! Arthur!" she calls, turning to the house. "Arthur! Will you hurry up!? Didn't you hear the sirens!?"

I watch as an equally plump man emerges from the house, wiping his mouth, "middle of dinner, every night!" he complains as he makes his way to the shelter. "Blooming Germans! Don't they eat?" he asks incredulously before turning to the sky. "Don't you eat!?"

The Doctor snorts loudly and I bury my face in his shoulder, trying my best to hide my laughter at the couple as the woman continues to shout at her husband to hurry up. I look up just in time to see the girl who'd warned us about the TARDIS phone stepping into the now empty garden. She looks around a moment and then sneaks into the back door of the house with a large burlap sack. I raise an eyebrow at the Doctor, the two of us sharing a look before hopping down from the dustbins; me with a bit of help.

The Doctor and I sneak into the house, being careful to be completely silent as we watch the girl raid the kitchen. I watch curiously as when she's done stuffing her bag full of canned food and bread, she hurries to the front door of the house, whistles three times and then comes back in. I move to the doorway of the room she steps into, the Doctor right behind me, and see that there was a large family dinner on a dining room table. The girl looks over the meal and, with a smile, begins to carve the turkey.

***

The Doctor and I had moved to a more hidden spot in the house, but where we could still see what was going on. There were more and more kids coming into the house, sitting down at the table and waiting patiently for the girl to get done with her carving. "It's got to be black market! He couldn't get all this on coupons!" one of the boys stares at the turkey in awe.

"Ernie! How many times?" the girl scolds him. "We are guests in this house! We will not make comments of that kind, washing up!"

"Oh, Nancy!" the boy, Ernie groans as the other children giggle.

The girl, Nancy looks down at another boy, "haven't seen you at one of these before," she notes.

"He told me about it," the boy nods to the one beside him.

"Sleeping rough?"

"Yes, miss..." the boy looks down at his lap.

"Alright, then," Nancy smiles softly, picking up a large plate with the carved pieces of turkey on it. "One slice each," she hands it to her left to be passed around the table. "And I want to see everyone chewing properly," she tells the children sternly.

"Hungry?" the Doctor's breath tickles my ear as he whispers.

I fight down a shiver and ignore my face heating up as I mutter a quiet, "s-s-sure," and curse myself for my stupid stutter when the Doctor chuckles under his breath.

I roll my eyes at his entirely too smug expression and fold my arms, walking into the dining room. I sit down in an empty chair, the Doctor taking the one beside me and he takes the plate when it's passed to him. "Thanks, miss," he copies what the children had been saying with a wide grin as he takes a bit of the turkey and hands it to me.

The children collectively gasp and jump backward as they stare between us. "Thanks a bunch, miss," I smile, taking a bit of turkey as well and passing the plate on.

"It's alright," Nancy calls to the children. "Everybody stay where you are!"

"Good here, innit?" the Doctor grins. "Who's got the salt?"

"Back in your seats! They shouldn't be here either," Nancy narrows her eyes.

The Doctor helps himself to some gravy before waving in my face questioningly. I nod, smiling in thanks as he puts some on my plate. I dig in, pleasantly surprised with how good the food is.

"So, you lot," the Doctor leans forward, looking around at the kids. "What's the story?"

"What do you mean?" Ernie frowns.

"You're homeless, yeah?" I ask gently.

"Why do you wanna know that?" the new boy to their group eyes us suspiciously. "Are you coppers?"

I smile a little at that, thinking back when Rose had asked the Doctor if he was police when we met him. My heart aches at the thought of Rose; I really hope she's alright wherever she is. I feel the Doctor's hand on my knee, making my cheeks turn pink as I go back to eating.

"Of course we're not coppers," the Doctor smiles to the kids, giving my knee a gentle squeeze. "What're coppers gonna do with you lot, anyway? Arrest you for starving?" he jokes, making the children laugh. "I make it 1941," he lifts his hand from my knee, checking his watch. "You lot shouldn't be in London; you should've been evacuated to the country by now," he frowns slightly.

"I was evacuated," a boy pipes up. "They sent me to a farm..."

"You came back, though," I point out, leaning forward. "Why?"

"There was a man there..." he trails off and my heart aches as he looks down at his food, pushing it around.

"Yeah, same with Ernie two homes ago," another boy puts in.

"Shut up," Ernie hisses, glaring at him. "It's better than the streets, anyway, better food," he tells us.

"Yeah, Nancy always gets the best food for us!"

"So," I lean back in my chair, smiling up at Nancy. "This is what you do, Nancy?"

"What is?" she snaps defensively.

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal," the Doctor smiles. "Still warm on the table with everyone down in the air-raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town! Puddings for all!" he exclaims happily before becoming serious. "As long as the bombs don't get you," he adds.

"Something wrong with that?" Nancy asks, folding her arms and glaring.

"Wrong with it?" I raise my eyebrows. "You are joking, aren't you? It's absolutely brilliant!"

"I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical," the Doctor muses, making the children frown in confusion, but I put a hand to my mouth to hide the loud and unattractive snort that makes the Doctor send me a wide grin and wink.

"Why'd you follow me? What do you want?" Nancy demands.

The Doctor folds his arms on the table, "I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call," he tells her.

"That's a lot of phones," I snort and the Doctor gives me an exasperated look even as his lips twitch in amusement. "Sorry..." I mutter sheepishly, trying not to smile while the children giggle. "Anyway! You seem to know all about it."

"I did you a favor," she snaps, avoiding my eye. "I told you not to answer it and that's all I'm telling ya," she shakes her head.

"Great, thanks," the Doctor smiles pleasantly. "I also wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack..." he trails off, seeing my raised eyebrow. "I mean a specific one; I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving," he smirks, making the children laugh and I roll my eyes.

"Anyone see a girl like that?" I ask as Nancy makes her way over to us. "It's just that, well, she's my baby sister and-" I stop when she takes the Doctor's and my plates away. "I was eating that..." I frown.

"What've we done wrong?" the Doctor asks indignantly.

"You both took two slices," Nancy scolds us, making the children point to us, laughing.

"Oops?" I try not to smile.

"No blondes, no flags, no sisters," Nancy snaps, setting the plates down. "Anything else before you leave?" she asks pointedly.

"Yup, there is actually," I nod, smiling widely at her exasperated expression; I really like Nancy, but there was something she wasn't telling us and we were definitely going to find out what it is.

"Thanks for asking," the Doctor smiles. "Something we've been looking for: would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb," he reaches into my bag and takes a pencil and sketch-book out, flipping it to a blank page. "Not the usual kind, anyway, wouldn't have exploded," he mutters while he draws. "Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere and it would've looked something... like this," he holds up his rough sketch... really rough sketch of the thing that we'd chased in the vortex.

I tilt my head, watching as Nancy stares at the page intensely with the color draining from her face. Before I can ask about her reaction, there's a knock on the window. All the children gasp fearfully.

"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?" the voice that had phoned the TARDIS phone calls.

My stomach knots up and my heart beats a bit quicker at the sound of the child's voice. The Doctor squeezes my shoulder, getting up and moving the curtain from the window. There was a small boy, about three or four with a gas-mask on standing outside with his hand on the window.

"Mummy?"

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asks quickly.

"Them," Ernie gestures the Doctor and me.

"Nah, they came round the back," Nancy shakes her head. "Who came in the front?"

"Me," one of the boy's whispers guiltily.

"Did you close the door?" Nancy asks urgently and the poor boy just stutters in reply. "Did you close the door?" she presses.

"Mummy? Mummy? Muuuum-my?"

I watch as Nancy rushes to the door and the Doctor and I follow to see her bolt the front door closed quickly. The boy was outside the door, but he wasn't knocking or anything, just calling for his mummy. Nancy stumbles away from the door and looks just as terrified as the children, if not more. What was it about this kid that made everyone so frightened of it... including me. And why was Nancy locking it out if she was taking such good care of the other children?

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

"I suppose you'd know," Nancy scoffs, not taking her eyes away from the door.

"I do actually, yes," the Doctor replies pleasantly and I take his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, making him send me a small smile as he intertwines our fingers.

Nancy looks between us and takes a deep breath, "it's not exactly a child," she tells us shakily and I frown.

"Muuum-my?"

Nancy pushes past us and I watch as she addresses the children that were still sitting around the table, "right, everybody out! Across the back garden and under the fence," she orders and they just stare at her fearfully. "Now! Go! Move!" she orders more forcefully and they scramble to listen. "Come on, baby," she goes over to help a scared little girl. "You've got to go, ok? It's just like a game, just like chasing... take your coat, go on," she ushers her to the door. "Go!" she calls after the children as they run from the house.

"Mummy?" the boy calls and my heart aches at the fear in his voice, but my stomach knots up at the monotone quality of it; how can someone sound so scared and so emotionless at the same time? It was unnatural. The Doctor pulls me closer to him and runs his thumb along the back of my hand in soothing circles, making me calm down slightly.

"Please let me in, mummy," the boy sticks his hand through the letter-box and I notice a dark scar on the back of his hand that looks sort of like a sideways 'y'. "Please let me in, mummy," he begs and I chew on my bottom lip as one part of me wants to run and the other wants to grab the child and hold him close.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asks the child gently.

"Please let me in..."

Something smashes against the door, making me jump and the child withdraws his hand. A shiver runs down my spine at the motion, though; it wasn't as if he was scared by something breaking against his hand... it was almost as if it had angered him with the way he slowly retracted his hand. It was almost threatening.

"You mustn't let him touch ya!" Nancy shouts.

"What happens if he touches us?" the Doctor asks curiously.

"He'll make you like him," she tells us shakily.

"What- what's he like?" I ask hesitantly.

"I've gotta go," she shakes her head, backing away.

"Nancy," I call softly and she looks at me with wide eyes. "What's he like?" I repeat.

Nancy pauses, glancing at the child's shadow outside the door, "he's empty..." she whispers, tears in her eyes.

I jump, turning to a landline when it begins to rings and I tighten my hold on the Doctor's hand. "It's him!" Nancy tells us. "He can make phones ring, he can! Just like that police box you saw!"

I reach over shakily, picking up the phone and holding it to my ear. "Are you my mummy?" the child's voice comes through and my breath hitches in my throat.

The phone gets snatched from my hand and hung up by Nancy. However, the radio in the next room turns itself on and the child's voice calls 'mummy? Please let me in, mummy' over the music. The Doctor pulls me into the room cautiously and a toy monkey with symbals begins to go off with the child calling through it as well. "Oh, my God..." I whisper fearfully at the power of the child while the Doctor picks up the toy with his free hand and watches it.

"Stay if you want to," Nancy runs out.

"Mummy, mummy, mummy!"

The Doctor pulls me back to the front door and the child sticks his hand through the letter-box once again. "Mummy? Let me in... please, mummy?" he begs.

I let go of the Doctor's hand when he kneels in front of the door and I stand slightly behind him. I take a deep breath as I register the worry washing over me, but also very slight fear as the child continues to beg. Tears well up in my eyes at the boy's voice; whatever was inside this child was frightened... or it was just using the fact that it was a child as a way to gain sympathy. I kneel beside the Doctor, "your- your mummy isn't here."

The boy pauses in his pleading, "are you my mummy?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not," I tell him softly.

"No mummies, here," the Doctor smiles. "Nobody here but us chickens," he jokes and my lips twitch up slightly.

"I'm scared..."

"Why are those other children frightened of you?"

"Please let me in, mummy, I'm scared of the bombs!"

"It's alright, sweetheart," I tell the child softly, sharing a wary look with the Doctor.

"Ok... I'm opening the door now," the Doctor says and the child withdraws his hand from the letter-box.

I watch nervously as the Doctor draws back the bolts on the door and opens it, frowning when the child isn't there. "What?" my eyebrows furrow as I push past the Doctor and look around, not seeing the boy anywhere.

"Where'd he go?' the Doctor frowns, coming up beside me and looking around.

"That child is beyond creepy," I shake my head. "I want to help him, he seems so scared but it feels... I don't know, I can't explain it," I mutter, shuddering slightly.

The Doctor brings me into his arms and squeezes me briefly, "come on," he pulls away, reaching down to grab my hand. "Let's track down Nancy and find out what she's not telling us," he drags me off.

***

We had managed to find Nancy again and follow her to train tracks. I watch as she rushes into a small shed and we hurry over, seeing her taking the food she'd gotten from the house out of her bag. She freezes and turns to the Doctor and I. The Doctor was leaning against the doorway, arms folded and ankles crossed, while I stand there with my right hand gripping my left wrist and bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"How'd you follow me here?" Nancy glares.

"I followed him," I correct with a small smile, nodding to the Doctor.

"I'm good at following, me, got the nose for it," the Doctor grins.

"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to," Nancy narrows her eyes.

"My nose has special powers," the Doctor shrugs, a bit smug and my lips twitch up.

"Yeah? Is that why it's, uh..." Nancy trails off and I snort quietly.

"What?" the Doctor frowns, looking between us.

"Nothing," she shakes her head, sharing an amused look with me.

"What?" the Doctor persists.

"Nothing!" Nancy giggles, biting her lip. "Do your ears have special powers, too?" she asks teasingly and I cover my mouth with both hands as a laugh slips out.

The Doctor rolls his eyes, figuring out what she was getting out, "what are you trying to say?" he raises an eyebrow at her, not looking at me as he reaches down and tickles my side, making me squirm away with a giggle.

Nancy shakes her head with a smile, "goodnight, mister, miss," she goes to turn away.

"Nancy," I call after her and she turns back with a sigh. "There's something chasing you and the other children; it looks like a boy, except it isn't a boy and it started about a month back, yeah?"

"That thing we're looking for, the thing that fell from the sky; that's when it landed," the Doctor puts in and Nancy shifts on her feet uncomfortably. "And you know what we're talking about, don't you?"

"There was a bomb..." Nancy admits reluctantly. "A bomb that wasn't a bomb... fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take us there," the Doctor orders.

"There's soldiers guarding it, barbed wire; you'll never get through," she shakes her head.

"Try me!" the Doctor challenges.

"He's got a skill for busting into 'Do Not Enter' areas," I smile.

"... you sure you wanna know what's going on in there?" Nancy looks between us.

"We really want to know," the Doctor nods.

"We just want to help, Nancy, truly," I tell her sincerely.

Nancy eyes for another moment before nodding, "then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"And who might that be?" the Doctor asks.

"The doctor," she says simply, moving out of the shed.

The Doctor and I share a look, "is there another one of you running around 1940s London? Have you been here before... or will you be in your future?" I ask curiously.

"Not sure," he gives a small laugh. "Most likely just a medical doctor, though," he shrugs, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him as we follow Nancy.

***

Nancy leads us to a set of stairs a ways away from the bombsite so we could have a look. The Doctor was using a pair of advanced binoculars; although, they looked sort of... steampunky. There was a military outpost around the crash site with a fence and everything.

"The bomb's under that tarpaulin, they put the fence up overnight," Nancy tells us. "See that building? The hospital?" she points to a large building; isn't that Albion Hospital?

"What about it?" I ask.

"That's where the doctor is; you should talk to him," she tells me and I couldn't help my lips twitching up.

"For now, I'm more interested in getting in there," the Doctor points to the bombsite.

"Talk to the doctor first," Nancy insists.

"Why?" I ask curiously.

"Cause then maybe you won't want to get inside," she shrugs, turning to walk off.

"Where're you going?" the Doctor asks, not turning around to look at her.

"There was a lot of food in that house and I've got mouths to feed," Nancy replies, turning back. "Should be safe enough now," she shrugs.

The Doctor turns to face her, putting his binoculars in his pocket, "the way you look after all those kids; it's cause you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it," he folds his arms, his tone gentle.

Nancy looks between us, tears welling up in her eyes, "my little brother, Jamie," she tells us, her voice thick. "One night I went out looking for food, same night that thing fell... I told him not to follow me, told him it was dangerous; he just didn't like being alone," she wipes at her nose with her sleeve.

"I'm so sorry," I tell her gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm.

"What happened?" the Doctor asks.

"In the middle of an air-raid? What do you think happened?" she scoffs and I squeeze her briefly as she leans into me a bit.

"Amazing," the Doctor smiles softly, breathing out a laugh.

"What is?" Nancy demands with a frown.

"1941," the Doctor replies, looking up at the sky as bombs fall across London. "Right now, not very far from here, a German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominos. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one tiny, damp little island says 'no'. 'No, not here'," he smiles. "A mouse in front of a lion," he looks to Nancy. "You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Of you go, then, do what you've got to do; save the world," he sends her a wide grin.

I pull Nancy into a quick, but tight hug, "be careful, Nancy," I pull away, sending her a soft smile.

"You as well and I hope you find your little sister safe," she smiles and I nod in thanks before she runs off.

I hurry down the steps to stand beside the Doctor, "that was nice," I tell him and he raises an eyebrow questioningly. "What you said, I think it helped her," I smile up at him and he shakes his head with a small smile as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. "Doctor..." I trail off, biting my lip as he hums for me to go on. "You're amazing, too," I wrap my arms around his waist and he tenses up. "I know you have a lot of guilt about what happened to your planet, but I think that you're doing your best to keep going and... that can't be easy, so I just wanted you to know that I think you're brilliant," I smile up at him shyly.

The Doctor slowly relaxes and wraps his arms around my waist, mine going around his shoulders as he lifts me to bury his face in my hair, "you give me more credit than I deserve, but thank you," he whispers, squeezing me before setting me back on the ground.

"So," I pull away slightly so I can look up at him. "Hospital?" I ask, bouncing slightly.

"Come on, tiny," he chuckles, grabbing my hand to drag me away.

***

Getting into the hospital was really easy when you've got a clever alien and sonic screwdriver with you. The Doctor and I walk through the dark corridors, looking into the wards as we go. Every room was filled with patients that were wearing gas-masks, but there wasn't any hospital staff; no doctors, nurses, orderlies, no one. The two of us enter a ward at the end of the corridor that was lit and there were several patients in this one as well. I look over them and notice that there were a few nurses in with the patients... what happened here?

"You'll find them everywhere," a voice draws my attention to the door where an old man with a cane and wearing a lab coat stood watching us. "Every bed in every ward, hundreds of them," he tells us gravely.

"Yes, we saw," the Doctor nods. "Why are they still wearing gas-masks?"

"They're not," the old man shakes his head, making me frown; then... what are the gas-masks? "Who are you?" he eyes us.

"Lizzie Tyler," I introduce myself, rubbing my arm; this place was giving me all kinds of bad vibes and I just wanted to leave to find Rose.

"I'm, uh..." the Doctor falters on his name. "Are you the doctor?"

"Doctor Constantine," he nods. "And you are?" he raises his eyebrows at the Doctor.

"John Smith," I supply, remembering what Rose had read off the psychic paper and the Doctor sends me an appreciative smile.

"Nancy sent us," he adds.

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

"Yes, we were," I nod.

"What do you know about it?"

"Nothing," the Doctor shakes his head. "Why we were asking," he shrugs. "What do you know?"

"Only what it's done," Doctor Constantine gestures around the room.

"These people, were they all caught up in the blast?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowed. "But, then... what's wrong with all the people in the other wards? They can't have all been I'm it."

"None of them were; not a single patient in this hospital was, in fact," he tells us.

"Then what-" my question is cut off by Doctor Constantine coughing harshly. "Are you alright? Do you need some water?" I ask worriedly as he slumps into a chair and he waves me off, holding his hand up.

"You're very sick," the Doctor notes gently, taking a step forward.

"Dying, I should think," he laughs lightly. "I just haven't been able to find the time," he jokes. "Are you a doctor, Mr. Smith?"

"I have my moments," the Doctor shrugs.

"Have you examined any of them, yet?"

"No, we had just been looking around when you found us," I tell him.

"Don't touch the flesh," Doctor Constantine warns and I frown, thinking of what Nancy had said about the little boy; he makes you like him if you touch him.

"Which one?" the Doctor asks, getting his sonic out.

"Anyone," Doctor Constantine tells him seriously.

I glance at the Doctor warily as he goes to examine a patient before turning back to Doctor Constantine, "are you sure there isn't anything I can get for you?" I ask him gently.

"No, thank you, my dear," he shakes his head. "I'm quite alright," he smiles.

"Have you by any chance..." I trail off, knowing it was a long shot. "Have you seen a blonde wearing a Union Flag shirt around?" I ask.

"I can't say that I have, no," he frowns slightly at the odd question.

"Ah, well..." I nod.

"Conclusions?" he turns his attention to the Doctor.

The Doctor runs his sonic over one of the patients, "massive head trauma, mostly to the left slight; partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right; there's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas-mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can't see any burns," he frowns, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Examine another one," Doctor Constantine advises.

The Doctor looks at him before going to another patient and scanning them as well. His frown deepens as he turns the sonic off and spins to face Doctor Constantine, "this isn't possible," he shakes his head, a tiny pang of fear hitting me.

"Examine another," Doctor Constatine gestures another bed.

The Doctor hurries over to another bed and scans the patient, "this isn't possible!"

"No," Doctor Constantine agrees.

"What's not possible?" I ask.

"Come here," the Doctor waves me over and I walk over cautiously. "Tell me what you find," he hands me the sonic.

I frown, but scan the patient and my breath hitches in my throat as the results come into my mind, "oh, God..." I whisper, my stomach knotting up. "It's- it's the s-same," I look over at Doctor Constantine.

"They've all got the same injuries!"

"Yes," Doctor Constantine nods.

"But, that shouldn't be- that can't happen!" I shake my head.

"No," Doctor Constantine agrees.

"Identical, all of them, right down to the scar on the back of the hand," the Doctor mutters in shock, looking around at the patients.

Doctor Constantine moves his hand and it catches my eye that he has a scar on the back of his hand. I freeze, stepping a little closer to the Doctor. Doctor Constantine sees me moving away from him and he gives me a sad smile. I grip the Doctor's hand and he just intertwines our fingers absently. I was scared of what was going to happen... but we did need answers. "How did this happen? How did it start?" he asks Doctor Constantine.

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

"Dead?"

"At first," Doctor Constantine nods. "His injuries were truly dreadful; by the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital," he explains and my eyes widen; it moved that quickly through a whole hospital?

"That's why there isn't any staff..." I breathe out.

"Yes," Doctor Constantine nods. "Physical injuries, as plague; can you explain that?" he asks and neither of us has an answer. "What would you say was the cause of death?" he asks instead.

"But, hold on," I cut off the Doctor as he opens his mouth. "They can't be dead," I shake my head as I let go of the Doctor's hand and pace a bit in front of him. "If the bomb dropped a month ago and they all became like this after a week of being exposed to the first patient that means they've been lying in hospital for three weeks, at least... wouldn't they start to smell if they were dead? But, they don't and they look relatively alive except for being immobile and not breathing..." I mutter, moving my hand to my chin as I tilt my head. "And that boy... he's got that scar on his hand and a gas-mask... but he's walking all over London frightening little kids and calling for his mummy... why isn't he here with the other patients just as immobile as they are?" my eyebrows furrow.

"Observant young thing," Doctor Constantine raises his eyebrows at me.

The Doctor had been watching me, a proud smile slowly forming and I bite my lip, realizing I'd rambled on as I kick at the ground, "any- anyway," I clear my throat. "... they aren't dead, are they?"

"No, they are not," he shakes his head, knocking his cane on a dustbin beside him and the patients all sit up.

I was immediately pulled behind the Doctor, making me stumble a bit at the force. I grip onto the back of the Doctor's leather jacket as I stare at the patients, my breath quickening and my heart pounding in my chest.

"It's alright, they're harmless," Doctor Constantine assures us quickly, making me relax a bit. "They just sort of... sit there; no heartbeat, no life signs of any kind," he looks at them. "They just don't die..."

"Why are they here, though? Why isn't anyone doing anything about it?" I ask, moving to stand beside the Doctor.

"I try and make them comfortable," Doctor Constantine replies. "What else is there?"

"Just you?" the Doctor asks.

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather; now I am neither," Doctor Constantine shakes his head sadly. "But I am still a doctor."

"Yeah... know the feeling," the Doctor mutters, swallowing hard as a strong wave of grief and guilt wash over me.

I wince slightly at the strength of it and take the Doctor's hand in mine, squeezing it gently. He tightens his grip and pulls me a bit closer, so I lean my head on his arm to try and give him some comfort. The Doctor was nine hundred years old; it didn't surprise me at all that he had been a father at some point. What did surprise me, however, is that he'd been a grandfather once before... I mean, I know he's old, but he's too- nope! I stop my thoughts right there as now is definitely not the time to think about how hot I think the Doctor is. My face burns as I bite my lip and I seriously consider just curling up on the floor and dying in a puddle of embarrassment.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb," Doctor Constantine informs us, snapping me from my self-induced mortification.

"Probably too late," the Doctor comments.

"I know," Doctor Constantine nods, coughing. "There are isolat- isolated cases breaking out all over London."

The Doctor steps forward in concern, but I pull him back. "I'm so sorry," I whisper to Doctor Constantine.

I nod to his hand when the Doctor gives me a confused look and he pulls me behind him again. Doctor Constantine sends me a small, sad smile, "yes, you'd better stay back," he nods, coughing again. "But, listen to me... top floor, Room 802; that's where they took the first victim - the one from the crash site, and you must find Nancy again," he tells us.

"Nancy?" I echo with furrowed eyebrows before my eyes widen in realization. "Oh, God..." I mutter, my stomach knotting up.

"It was her brother; she knows more than she's saying," Doctor Constantine nods. "She won't tell me, but she mi... mi..." he gags, clutching at his throat. "M... mu... my..." he gags out his words. "Are... you... my... mum... my?"

Doctor Constantine's face begins to morph into a gas-mask and I watch in horror, a hand to my mouth as tears well up in my eyes. The Doctor turns to me and brings me into his arms, pressing my face against his chest so I didn't have to see. I flinch at the sounds of bones cracking and the sound of Doctor Constatine's gaging and moans of pain. I breathe heavily when the sounds stop, tears rolling down my cheeks, "that was horrible," I whimper quietly, clutching onto the Doctor's jumper and he shushes me gently, stroking my hair.

"Hello?" an American accented voice calls.

I frown, pulling away from the Doctor and wiping my face. "Who the hell is that?" I mutter.

"Don't-"

"Hello?" another call cuts him off and my eyes widen.

"Rose!" I shout, running from the room.

I see my baby sister in the corridor, safe and with some bloke. I don't pay attention to him, though, as I rush over and wrap Rose up into a tight hug, burying my face against her neck. "Where the hell have you been?" I pull away, slapping her arm and she yelps, backing away. "I tried phoning and you didn't even have your mobile on! You! Idiot!" I slap her arm again. "What if something had happened to you? What would I tell mum, huh?" I demand, tears prickling my eyes.

"I'm sorry," she yelps, her eyes wide as she takes in my state. "What's happened?" she asks, pulling me into a hug.

"Been an eventful night so far," the Doctor says from behind me. "You alright?" he asks Rose worriedly.

"I'm fine," she assures us both, pulling away from me and the Doctor pulls her into a quick, tight hug.

"Good evening," the American bloke clears his throat and we all look to him.

I look him over and note that he is... very good-looking with his black hair, blue eyes, chiseled jaw, and gorgeous smile; seriously, is it even legal to look that good? I tilt my head, taking in his outfit. It was a World War II get-up and it fit the man extremely well.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," the man smirks, seeing that I was eyeing him up and I blush, smiling shyly. "Captain Jack Harkness," he introduces, shaking the Doctor's hand before turning to me. "You must be the sister," he looks me up and down appreciatively and my face heats up more as I bite my lip. "I heard all about you on the way over," he takes my hand, kissing the back of it and I get a pang of anger. "Though, Rose here didn't do you justice at all; you're far more beautiful than she described," he winks.

"O-o-oh..." I breathe out, glancing at Rose, who gives me two thumbs up and mouths 'he's single' with a wide grin. "I'm... uh... um... h-hi..." I mutter awkwardly while he smiles down at me in amusement. "S-sorry you had to see that," I bite my lip, rubbing my arm.

"Don't be, it was... entertaining," he smirks.

The Doctor was suddenly right behind me, gripping my shoulder while he glares at Captain Jack and I get a wave of anger. "Thanks for getting Rose here, you can leave now," he tells Jack with a flat tone.

"He knows," Rose cuts in while I glance up at the Doctor; what's his problem? "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents," she tells him pointedly.

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you," Jack sends me another wink, making me smile while my blush gets worse. "You too, Mr. Spock," he smirks, patting the Doctor on the shoulder as he walks into the ward.

The Doctor glares at Jack until he's out of sight, his hand tightening on my shoulder while I get another wave of anger. "Mr. Spock?" he asks, looking at Rose with raised eyebrows as he rubs circles into my shoulder with his thumb and pulls me closer to him, making me frown.

"What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name," Rose retorts, rolling her eyes and folding her arms. "Don't you ever get tired of 'Doctor'? Doctor who?"

"Nine centuries in, I'm coping," the Doctor rolls his eyes back. "Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz! It's really not the time to be picking up boyfriends, Rose," he scolds her.

"Oh, he's not for me," she smirks, sending me a cheeky wink.

I give a quiet squeak, covering my bright red face with my hands. What the hell is she trying to do to me? "Rose!" I groan miserably.

"What? I'm just looking out for my big sister," she smirks. "You could use some stress release," she bites her lip, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, my God!" I nearly cry as the Doctor's hand tightens on me even more. "Can we please move on?" I beg, looking at her from between my fingers.

"Ok, I'll stop," she smiles and I breathe out in relief. "... for now," she smirks and I send her a harsh glare, making her snort. "Listen, though, what's a Chula warship?" she asks.

"Chula?" I frown, the name sounding a bit familiar.

"Yep," she nods, walking into the ward.

***

Stepping into the ward, I see Jack beside one of the patients with some sort of wrist device; vortex manipulator gets whispered in my mind "This just isn't possible," he mutters in horror. "How could this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" the Doctor asks, coming up beside me with his arms folded.

"What?" Jack frowns, turning to us.

"He said it was a warship," Rose puts in. "He stole it, parked it somewhere out there - somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it - unless we make him an offer," she explains.

"Yeah? What sort of warship?" I ask, folding arms and cocking my hip.

"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this!" Jack snaps, getting irritated.

I get a wave of anger, but I beat the Doctor to whatever he was going to say as I glare at Jack, "this-" I gesture around the room, pissed that he could be so unconcerned; his good-looks have definitely worn off a bit. "All started a month ago when that 'warship' fell from the sky! It has everything to do with why these poor people have been turned into these- these things! So, what kind of warship?" I demand.

Jack groans, "an ambulance! Look!" he pulls up some kind of hologram on his vortex manipulator "That's what you chased through the vortex, it's space junk," he rolls his eyes. "I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle - love the retro look, by the way, nice panels - threw you the bait-"

"Bait?" Rose repeats with a frown.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk," Jack explains.

"You said it was a warship..."

"They have ambulances in wars-" Jack mocks patronizingly, rolling his eyes.

"You're gonna need an ambulance in a minute," I mutter under my breath and the Doctor snorts loudly from beside me.

"-It was a con! I was conning you! That's what I am: I'm a con man! I thought you were Time Agents, but you're not, are you?"

"Just a couple more freelancers," Rose scoffs, glaring at Jack.

"Ah... should've known," Jack snorts, eyeing all three of us. "The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain? And what are you supposed to be, hun?" he eyes me up and down. "Cat Burglar?" he bites his lip, holding in a laugh.

"Oi, who do you think-" I jolt forward, hopefully, to slap this arsehole when the Doctor wraps an arm around my waist to keep from doing just that.

"Anyway," Jack smirks and I growl under my breath. "Whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship," he assures us.

"So, it's just a coincidence that this started at the same time, then?" I glare.

"Weirder things have happened," Jack shrugs.

"Want to tell me what's going on here?" Rose asks curiously.

"Human DNA's being rewritten, by an idiot," the Doctor glares at Jack.

"What do you mean?" she frowns.

"We don't know," the Doctor shakes his head.

"It's some kind of virus being transferred through touch," I mutter.

"But why? What's the point?" the Doctor sighs.

"What's wrong with them, though? They've just been left here," Rose goes over by one of the patients. "Why isn't anyone here taking care of it?"

The patients suddenly all sit up and I grab Rose's arm, yanking her up behind me. The Doctor steps in front of us with Jack. The patients move to get out of bed, all repeating 'mummy!'

"What's happening?" Rose asks shakily, gripping the back of my leather jacket.

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

"Brilliant," I bite my lip, watching as the patients slowly move us toward a wall, blocking any way out. "Don't let them touch you," I warn.

"Right... transferred through touch... don't fancy becoming one of them," Rose gives a strained laugh.