Continuing from 'The Doctor Dances - Part IV'

✧

WHEN LILY, ROSE, AND NANCY REGROUPED WITH THE TWO MEN, the ambulance was now open with an alarm sounding. "It's empty!" Jack exclaimed. "Look at it!"

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter?" The Doctor asked. "Bandages? Cough drops?" He spotted the ginger. "Lily?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

She thought for a second and then snapped her fingers. "Nanogenes!"

"It wasn't empty, Captain." The Doctor told Jack. "There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

Jack finally got it, bringing a hand up to his forehead. "Oh, God."

"Getting it now, are we?" The Doctor asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gas mask."

"And they brought him back to life?" Rose walked over so she was closer to her sister. "They can do that?"

"What's life?" The Doctor started pacing. "Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship." He looked at Jack. "This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's a gas mask and what's a skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. "

"Because you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

"I didn't know!" Jack protested.

The Doctor started checking the ambulance. "Lily! Rose!" Nancy cried out for them as patients started to crowd them from the other side of the gates.

Lily pulled Nancy and Rose behind herself, backing them up. "It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?"

"The ship thinks it's under attack." The Doctor explained. "It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."

"But the gas mask people aren't troops!" Rose shouted, moving to Lily's side and grabbing a fist full of her jacket.

"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, program you."

"That's why the child's so strong," Lily said, finally understanding. "Why it could do that phoning thing."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes." The Doctor confirmed. "All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

"Why don't they attack?" Jack asked.

"Good little soldiers." The Doctor spoke. "Waiting for their commander."

"The child?"

"Jamie," Nancy muttered.

"What?" Jack looked at her.

"Not the child." She corrected, quite angry. "Jamie."

"So how long until the bomb falls?" Lily asked Jack.

"Any second," Jack replied tensely.

"What's the matter, Captain?" The Doctor teases. "A bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy!" Nancy cried.

"I know." The Doctor replied gravely.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy."

"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

"So what're we going to do?" Rose asked.

The Doctor sadly shook his head. "I don't know."

"It's my fault," Nancy whispered.

"No."

"It is." She argued back, tears running down her cheeks. "It's all my fault."

"How can it be your-" The Doctor asked. His eyes started to grow big as he realized something. "Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?"

Lily looked at the Doctor, frightened. "Doctor, that bomb." She reminded him. "We've got seconds."

"You can teleport us out, right?" Rose asked Jack.

"I can't hold you all at the same time!" He retorted. "The nav-coms back online anyways. Going to take too long to override the protocols."

"Jack!" The Doctor called to the Captain. "It's volcano day. Do what you've got to do."

"Jack?" Lily asked.

Jack gave her a wink and then vanished.

"How old were you five years ago?" Lily turned back to the Doctor, still with Nancy under her arm. "Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway." Lily's breath lodged in her throat when she realized what he was saying. "He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

Lily and Rose looked up to see the gates opening and Jamie, leading the gas mask, not just the patients but various other dressed people like soldiers, towards them. "Are you my mummy?" He asked

"He's going to keep asking, Nancy." He told her gently. "He's never going to stop."

"Mummy?"

"Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands." She looked at the Doctor, complete fear in her eyes. "Trust me and tell him."

Nancy looked up at Lily, tears welling up in her eyes. Lily gave her a nod of confidence and let go of her, giving her access to approach Jamie. Rise took Nancy's place, Lily hugging her to her side tight.

"Are you my mummy?" Jamie asked, looking up at Nancy. "Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"Please work," Lily whispered.

"Yes." Nancy nodded. "Yes, I am your mummy."

"Mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

It kept repeating the same sentence no matter what Nancy told him. "Are you my mummy?"

"He doesn't understand." The Doctor told the sisters. "There's not enough of him left."

"I am your mummy," Nancy said fiercely. "I will always be your mummy." She knelt in the dirt, becoming at eye level with the young boy. "I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry." When she embraced her son tightly Nanogenes began surrounding the two of them.

"What's happening?" Rose pulled a little away from Lily and spoke to the Doctor. "Doctor, it's changing her, we should-"

"Shush!" He told her, starting to approach them slowly. "Come on, please." His eyes couldn't be wider. "Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out!" He begged the little robots. "The mother, she's the mother! It's got to be enough information. Figure it out!"

"What's happening?" Lily asked.

"See?" He gestured to the mother and child as the Nanogenes started to disappear. "Recognizing the same DNA." Jamie let Nancy go. Whatever happened took a lot of energy from her as she stumbled a smidge. The Doctor walked closer to them. "Oh, come on!" He begged. "Oh, come on. Give me a day like this! Give me this one!" The Doctor lifted Jamie's gas mask and both of the sisters cried in rejoice. "Ha-ha!" The time lord laughed and lifted Jamie, giving him a tight hug. "Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music - you're going to love it!"

"What happened?" Nancy wondered.

"The nanogenes recognized the superior information, the parent DNA." He exclaimed, resting Jamie on his hip. "They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!"

"Oh, Jamie!" Nancy sighed and hugged her son once the Doctor put him down.

During all the laughter, Lily looked up seeing the bomb getting closer. "Doctor, the bomb!"

"Taken care of it."

"How?"

"Psychology."

Lily braced herself for the bomb that was still heading this way, but when she saw Jack's ship catching it in its beam she let go of Rose and laughed. That laugh got louder when she spotted Jack straddling the bomb. There was no telling when he got there but she was just so happy to see his grinning, dimpled face. "Doctor!" Jack yelled, waving to them from feet in the air.

The Doctor shouted back, grinning ear to ear. "Good lad!"

"The bomb's already commenced detonation," Jack informed them. "I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."

"Change of plan." The Doctor shook his head. "Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"

After giving him a nod, Jack looked at the ginger. "Lily?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at her favorite con man.

"Goodbye." Jack gave her a sad smile and then disappeared, only to reappear shortly after. "By the way, Rose?"

Her eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

Jack grinned. "Love the shirt!"

Rose gave him a mirroring grin in return, looking down at her shirt.

After he disappeared for a final time, the Doctor stepped forward and summoned all the Nanogenes to him. "What are you doing?" Lily asked him, seeing the robots surrounding him.

"Software patch." He replied, watching the gold specks. "Going to email the upgrade." He was all smiles when he tossed a wink in the sisters' direction. "Watch this." He threw the Nanogenes into the other gas-masked people, and they all fell to the ground. "Everybody lives, girls!" He let out a triumphant yell as everyone took off their gas masks, returning to their original selves. "Just this once, everybody lives!"

✧

After the trio said their goodbyes to Nancy and Jamie, they stepped into the awaiting TARDIS. Lily was the last one in, closing the doors behind her. "History says there was an explosion here?" The Doctor told them with a shrug and a sly smirk. "Who am I to argue with history?"

"Usually the first in line," Rose replied, hopping onto a railing.

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. His grin never left his face. "The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off because I just told them to." Lily watched in amusement as he started to dance around the console like a little kid. "Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

"Look at you." Lily shook her head with a smile. "Beaming away like you're Father Christmas."

"Who says I'm not? White teddy bear when you were eight?"

Lily's jaw nearly dropped. "What?"

"And everybody lives, girls! Everybody lives!" He continued running around, switching dials on the console panel "I need more days like this."

"Doctor?"

"Go on, ask me anything!" He encouraged her. "I'm on fire!"

"What about Jack?" Lily asked. "Why'd he say goodbye?"

✧

After the TARDIS materialized into Jack's ship, she saw from where she stood him leaning to look at them down his corridor. "Hurry up, Harkness!" He obeyed her, ran inside, and stepped up to where Rose stood, watching them. Lily was in the process of teaching the Doctor to dance.

The first few attempts had many misshapes but he finally started to get the hang of it. In the same position they were in at the storeroom, Lily guided a confused Doctor. "Okay. And right and turn." They moved through it, and Rose started to burst out giggling. He was actually in fact not getting the hang of it. "Okay, okay," Lily cringed away and ran a hand through her hair. "Try and spin me again, but this time don't get my arm up my back." She gave him a warning finger. "No extra points for a half-nelson."

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff." He grumbled and looked down at his feet.

Rose laughed. "Yeah? Maybe in another life."

Lily looked at her. "Or another regeneration."

Ignoring her, the Doctor looked up at Jack. "Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draft." After Jack followed his orders the Doctor moved to send the TARDIS into motion. "Welcome to the TARDIS!" The lights lit up and the sounds were music to Lily's ears, as always.

He took a look around the room with a low whistle, clearly very impressed. "Much bigger on the inside."

"You'd better be." The Doctor retorted.

With the Doctor's attention elsewhere Lily, still in his jacket as he told her to keep it cause it looked better on her, held out a waiting hand to Jack. "Care to cut in, Jack?"

"Lily!" The Doctor's exclamations from the other side of the TARDIS gained her attention. "I've just remembered!"

She looked at him and dropped her hand. "What?"

A few key clicks and music filled the console room, sending the Doctor into a lighthearted jig. "I can dance!" The Doctor rejoiced. "I can dance!"

"Doctor, I thought Jack might like this dance?" Lily suggested with an amused grin as the Doctor started dancing closer to her.

"I'm sure he would, Red." He took her hand. "I'm absolutely certain." With a gasp from Lily, the Doctor pulled her towards him. "But he'd have to stick with Rose."

Rose laughed and grabbed Jack's hand. "I'm fine with that!"

As Jack and Rose danced around the console, the Doctor and Lily followed suit. He twirled her around making her squeal with delight. Lily gleefully giggled when he dipped her, seeing an upside-down Jack and Rose laughing along.

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- Author's Note -

Gosh, I love this two-parter. Fave episodes of the season, by far! And that's interesting cause I started this re-write with no season one favorite, haha

I have to say before writing this I didn't see the Ninth Doctor as a 'jealous person' when it came to Lily? But as I wrote these two episodes it came so easily! So, I don't know ;)

Like how he reacted to Jack calling Lily 'Red' ?? His nickname for her?? ;)

I love you guys- hope you are doing well and being safe in this terrible world we escape from on here, haha! <3

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Question of the Day

QOTD ~ What do you think of Lily so far??

Kayleigh's answer ~ Can't answer cause I'm bias xD

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Please leave your wonderful comments below and don't forget to vote :)

- Kayleigh