!EDITED!

A/N: sorry this took so long... :/ was 6378 words, is now 8357! :D

It really was amazing, traveling with the Doctor in the TARDIS, but Rose and I both wanted to see mum. So, the Doctor was taking us home for a visit. The three of us step outside the TARDIS and I look around at the Powell Estate; it was so odd being home after everything we've done so far.

"How long have we been gone?" Rose's question snaps me from my own thoughts and I turn to see the Doctor leaning against the TARDIS, his arms folded and ankles crossed.

"About twelve hours," he smiles, making Rose and I laugh at the absurdity of it.

"Oh!" Rose beams, looping her arm through mine. "Right, we won't be gone long," she assures him.

"We're just gonna pop in, see mum and then we'll be ready to leave again," I smile.

"What're you going to tell her?" the Doctor asks curiously.

"I don't know!" Rose laughs. "We've been to the year five billion and only been gone, what? Twelve hours?" she smiles, making the Doctor snort.

"Saw Charles Dickens on Christmas surrounded by ghosts?" I raise an eyebrow, biting my lip to keep from laughing.

"No, I'll just tell her I've spent the night at Shareen's," Rose shrugs, scratching the side of her nose.

"I'll just tell her I went round to Mouse's and fell asleep, I'm always doing that," I shrug, ignoring the tiny pang of anger that hits me and the Doctor's raised eyebrow. "See ya later!" I beam, dragging Rose off.

Rose, however, stops and turns us back to the Doctor, "don't you disappear," she points to him sternly with her free hand and the Doctor puts on a mock-offended expression, making us giggle before we run off.

***

"We're back!" Rose calls as we step into the flat, setting her keys on the little table by the door. "I was with Shareen, she was all upset again!" she rolls her eyes.

"I crashed at Mouse's!" I call, hanging my bag up and looking around for mum. "Are you in?"

Mum walks out of the kitchen, carrying a mug of tea or coffee or something, wearing her dressing gown. I smile widely, "so, what's been going on, then? How've you been?" I ask, my smile fading a little when I see her pale as she stares between Rose and me. "What? What's that face for?"

"It's not the first time we've stayed out all night," Rose frowns, sharing a look with me.

"It's you," mum whispers, dropping her mug on the floor and making me jump when it shatters.

"Of course it's us!" I frown.

"Oh, my God!" mum cries. "It's you! Oh, my God! My girls!" she runs forward, throwing her arms around Rose and me.

"Mum, what's-" I stop when I see fliers covering the table all with 'Have you seen Lizzie and Rose Tyler?' on them and a photo of Rose and me, smiling with our arms around each other.

The three of us jump when the door slams open and I look to see the Doctor running in, "it's not twelve hours," he pants, guilt washing over me. "It's um... twelve months; you've been gone a whole year," he smiles sheepishly, breathing out a laugh. "Sorry..." he rubs the back of his neck.

***

Mum had completely lost it after the Doctor had come in. She was shouting, demanding an answer as to where we've been for the past year and who the hell the Doctor was. What were we supposed to say? 'Oh, don't worry, mum, this is just the alien with two hearts and a time machine that we've been traveling with! We've actually only been gone for a couple days even though for you it's been an entire year! Absolutely nothing odd or barmy going on!' Yeah, that'd go over brilliantly. So, not getting an answer other than traveling from either of us, mum phoned the police.

Rose and I were sitting on the armchair, me on the arm, and the Doctor was leaning on the wall behind us, trying not to get in the way of mum's ranting. I flinch back as mum has a go at us, chewing on my bottom lip and Rose sinks down into the armchair, biting her thumbnail.

"The hours I've sat here!" mum shouts, pacing around in front of us while the policeman takes notes in his little book. "Days and weeks and months all on my own! I thought the both of you were dead! And where were you? Traveling! What the hell does that mean? Traveling? That's no sort of answer!" she glares and then turns to the officer. "You ask 'em! They won't tell me! That's all they say: traveling!"

"That's what we were doing..." I try to tell her.

"When your passports are still in the drawer!?" mum scoffs, folding her arms. "It's just one lie after another! And don't think you've still got school to go to, they took your scholarship away! It's gone! Kaput! How could you be so irresponsible!? Going off with a man and dragging your little sister into it!" she lays into me and I look down, tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm s-sorry," I whisper, picking on the end of my jacket.

"Mum, that's not fair!" Rose grabs my hand, squeezing it. "I wanted to go, it wasn't Lizzie's fault! And we meant to phone, we did! We just... forgot..." she falters slightly and I wince at how awful that sounds.

"What, for a year?" mum demands, her glare hardening. "You 'forgot' for a year and I am left sitting here? I just don't believe you! Why won't you tell me where you've been!?"

"Actually, it's my fault," the Doctor steps forward, making my eyes widen and I shake my head furiously at him. "I sort of um, employed the girls as my companions," he goes on, completely ignoring me.

"Oh, God..." I groan, my face burning when I see mum glare accusingly at the Doctor. "That makes it sound like we're-" Rose puts her hand over my mouth, shaking her head at me now.

"When you say 'companion', is this a... sexual relationship?" the officer asks, his eyebrow raised as looks between the three of us.

"No!" the three of us exclaim together, me stuttering a bit as my face burns more.

"Then, what is it?" mum asks, advancing on the Doctor with each sentence. "Because you, you waltz in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, they vanish off the face of the Earth! How old are you, then? Forty? Forty-five? What, you find one on the internet? Find out there's two of 'em? Think you hit the lottery with that, did you? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?" she snarls.

"I am a doctor!" he tries.

"Prove it! Stich this, mate!" mum glares, drawing her hand back and slapping the Doctor across the face.

I yelp quietly, grabbing my cheek as the Doctor groans in pain. "Mum, you didn't need to slap him," I shake my head, getting up.

"I'll do what I like!" mum shouts, narrowing her eyes at me. "He took my daughters away from me! I've got a right to do whatever I damn well please to him!" she stomps off to the kitchen.

"I'll go... calm her down," Rose mutters awkwardly, getting up and hurrying into the kitchen after mum.

I sigh, going over to the Doctor and moving his hand to check his cheek. I hiss slightly at the angry handprint forming, but it didn't look too bad. "Ow," he whines with a slight pout, pulling away from me.

"It doesn't even hurt, ya big baby," I tease, making him pout more and I snort quietly. "You alright?" I ask, brushing my thumb along his cheek gently and then blushing when I catch myself, pulling my hand away.

"Are you?" he shoots back, wiping a tear away; I hadn't even realized I'd been crying.

"I feel so awful," I admit, wrapping my arms around my waist.

"Enough to stay here?" the Doctor asks.

"No!" I deny immediately and then blush at how quickly it came out and how almost... desperate it sounded. "I mean-" I clear my throat, my face turning a darker red when the Doctor smiles down at me in amusement, raising an eyebrow. "N-no... I d-don't want to s-stay..." I try to say normally, cursing my stupid stutter.

The Doctor brushes a loose curl behind my ear, "I'm sorry," he mutters, pulling me into a tight hug as a wave of guilt is sent over me.

"I-it's fine..." I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my ear on his chest to hear his dual heartbeats. "Although, it's technically your fault," I smile and he whines in protest, going to pull away. "I don't blame you," I giggle, tightening my arms around him. "Can't do anything about it now, anyway," I sigh.

***

Mum and Rose were in the kitchen, hugging and crying, making my heart tighten at the sight. "I'm sorry, mum," my voice cracks and I rush over, joining their hug. "I missed you so much," I snuggle into mum's side, tears running down my cheeks.

"Do you know what terrifies me?" mum asks after a minute, pulling away and looking between Rose and me. "Is that you still can't say... what happened to you, girls? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweethearts? Where were you?" her voice cracks.

"I'm sorry..." I repeat, Rose and I pulling mum back into a hug; there was no way we could tell her.

***

After showering and changing, Rose and I went up to the roof and found the Doctor leaning against a short wall with his arms folded. Rose hops on the wall and sits, cross-legged, and I lean on it next to the Doctor, laying my head on his arm. "We can't tell her, we can't even begin," Rose sighs, playing with the laces on her shoes. "She's never gonna forgive us," she shakes her head.

"Wow, thanks, Rosie, you really know how to cheer a girl up," I roll my eyes, making her nudge my shoulder with her foot for using the name and the Doctor chuckles quietly. "We missed a year... was it good?" I look up at him.

"Middling," he shrugs, making me giggle slightly as my head bounces with the movement.

"You're so useless," Rose rolls her eyes.

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you gonna stay here now?" the Doctor asks her and then smirks down at me. "Already know Lizzie doesn't want to," he snorts when I groan, burying my bright red face against his arm.

"I'm sure she doesn't," Rose snorts loudly and I groan in annoyance again. "But... I don't know; we can't do that to her again, though," she sighs.

"Well, she's not coming with us," the Doctor mutters seriously and I lift my head up, making eye contact with Rose before we burst out laughing.

"Oh, God no," I shake my head, the Doctor laughing as well.

"No chance," Rose agrees.

"I don't do families," the Doctor denies and I get a wave of grief.

I reach down and take his hand in mine. The Doctor tenses for a moment before intertwining our fingers and squeezing my hand. I lean my head back on his arm and squeeze it back.

"She slapped you!" Rose laughs, leaning back on her hands.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother," he huffs, making me frown... did he just say?

"Your face!" Rose snickers.

"It hurt!" the Doctor whines, grabbing his cheek with his free hand.

"You're so gay!" she exclaims and he rubs his face, put out.

I let go of his hand and step away so I could see him properly, "when you say 'nine hundred years'..." I trail off.

"That's my age," he shrugs, raising an eyebrow when I bite my lip.

"You're-" I clear my throat slightly. "You're nine hundred years old?"

"Yes," he smirks, looking thoroughly amused.

"Mum was right, Lizzie, that is one hell of an age gap," Rose smirks as well and I shrink down as my face burns, the Doctor chuckling. "Every conversation with you just goes mental," she sighs, hopping off the wall. "There's no one else I can talk to," she shakes her head.

"Once again: thanks," I roll my eyes.

"You know what I mean," Rose waves off. "We've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and we can't say a word! Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet Earth who knows they exist!"

"I would very much like to point out that I've had dreams my whole life about 'aliens and spaceships and things' and the only people I could talk to were you and Mouse," I mutter, looking down and kicking the ground with the toe of my shoe.

Right as I say that, an extremely loud horn sounds. The Doctor yanks Rose and me down as a spaceship flies right over our heads. The three of us watch in open-mouthed shock as it flies, well, more like crashes, with a trail of black smoke following it. The ship crashes into Big Ben and then curves, landing in the Thames. I frown slightly, though; it looks sort of like a crash that you'd see on the telly or something. The Doctor looks down between Rose and me as we stand, bursting out into a gleeful laugh before he grabs my hand. I yelp, grabbing Rose's hand as I'm dragged off.

***

There were people everywhere in the streets; soldiers, police officers, pedestrians trying to get a look. "It's blocked off," the Doctor notes 'helpfully'.

"Really? We hadn't noticed," I smirk up at him.

"Cheeky," he pokes my side, making me squeak when it tickles.

"Old man," I smirk, snorting when he pouts.

"We're miles from the center," Rose cuts in, sending me a sly smirk that causes my cheeks to go pink. "The scene must be gridlocked; the whole of London must be closing down."

"I know, I can't believe I'm here to see this! This is fantastic!" the Doctor beams.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" I ask, looking up at him suspiciously.

"Nope!" he laughs, completely enjoying himself.

"Do you recognize the ship?" Rose asks.

"Nope!"

"Do you?" she turns to me and I shake my head. "Oh, I'm so glad I've got you," she folds her arms, rolling her eyes playfully.

"I bet you are!" the Doctor beams, making Rose and I snicker quietly. "This is what I travel for, girls! To see history happening right in front of us!"

"Well, let's go and see it!" Rose smiles. "Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS!"

"Better not," the Doctor shakes his head, making Rose's smile falter. "They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London; don't want to shove another one on top," he explains.

"But, yours looks like a big blue box," I point out.

"Yeah, no one's going to notice," Rose agrees.

"You'd be surprised," the Doctor retorts seriously. "An emergency like this? There'll be all kinds of people watching; trust me, the TARDIS stays where it is."

"So, history's happening and we're what? Just stuck here? Like... like normal people?" I pout, folding my arms and wrinkling my nose.

"Yes, we are," the Doctor smirks down at me.

"That's rubbish!" I whine, making the Doctor snort even as I get a small pang of grief.

"Well, since we're being normal, rubbish people," Rose snickers. "We could always do what everybody else does," she offers and the Doctor frowns down at her questioningly. "We could watch it on TV," she elaborates and he was the one to wrinkle his nose this time.

"You were wrong, Lizzie," he mutters, making me look up at him. "This is rubbish," he huffs, making Rose and me laugh quietly as he shuffles off.

***

Back at the flat mum had phoned a bunch of people around the estate for a 'welcome home party' for Rose and me and to celebrate the aliens. I was sitting on the arm of one of the armchairs, trying to make myself as unnoticeable as possible while the Doctor sat in it, watching News 24. Rose was sitting on the sofa and Ru Chan, the woman from next door was sitting across from her, laying into us both; I was ignoring her, though.

Newsreader - Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene.

Reporter - The police urge the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family.

The Doctor leans forward on his elbows, flipping the channel to an American one.

Newsreader - The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American air space have been grounded.

Back to News 24.

Reporter - The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find.

Back to the American channel and I roll my eyes at his inability to stay on one station.

Newsreader - The President will address the nation live from the White House. But the Secretary-General has asked that people watch the skies.

My attention is drawn to mum when she hands me a mug of tea and I smile in thanks. I take a sip and sigh in contentment at the taste.

"Honey?" the Doctor asks, smiling and I nod, blushing slightly that he'd remembered.

Mum watches the two of us with her eyebrows raised, "I've got no choice!" she exclaims, turning to Rose and handing her a mug as well. "Either I make him welcome, or I run the risk of never seeing either of you again!"

I lean my head on the Doctor's shoulder, feeling extremely guilty as I sip my tea. I snort, though, when the Doctor reaches up and pats my head. Behind me, I could hear mum and Ru having a go at Rose angrily; pretty sure I heard my name in there somewhere as well.

"Oi, I'm trying to listen!" the Doctor calls back and I roll my eyes, poking his side and giggling quietly when he squirms.

Newsreader - His current whereabouts. News is just coming in, we can go to Tom at the embankments.

Reporter - They've found a body.

I lift my head off the Doctor's shoulder at that, my eyes widening. I lean forward, watching as they zoom in on the spaceship, showing a body being taken away on a gurney.

Reporter - It's unconfirmed but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore.

"Oi, textbook!" a very familiar voice calls and I freeze completely. "Why don't you tell us what them aliens are, eh?" I try to ignore her and watch the news as a small wave of anger washes over me, the Doctor clenching his fist on his knee. "Textbook, I asked you a question! What sort of spaceship is that, then?"

"It has a slipstream engine, you can tell by the-" I stop myself, covering my mouth as the people around the flat start laughing.

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" mum snarls, going up to Amber, the girl who had spoken.

"Get the hell out, you bitch! You weren't invited!" Rose shouts, going over and pushing her back.

"Oh, come on, Liz! It was only a bit of fun!" Amber laughs as I get up and push past everyone, tears prickling my eyes.

I get to my room and slam my door shut, locking it. I sit on my bed and pull my knees up, wrapping my arms around my legs as tears stream down my face. Why did she have to be here? Why does she always have to try and get me to have an episode? Why can't she just leave me the hell alone?

I hear a knock on the door and look at it, "Lizzie?" the Doctor calls softly.

"Go away!" I shout, my voice cracking horribly.

I hear the whir of the sonic and my eyes widen. I shoot up and run to my desk, trying to gather and hide as many sketchbooks as I can. Tears run down my face as I begin to hyperventilate and I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel hands grab mine gently. "I-I-I-" I stutter, not looking at the Doctor. "I-it's n-not... I-I'm not-"

"Hey, come here," the Doctor pulls me into his arms and I choke out a sob, wrapping my arms around his waist tightly and burying my face against his chest. "Who was that?" he asks quietly after a few minutes of just holding me and he moves us to sit on my bed, keeping his arms around me.

"Amber," I sniffle, tightening my hold on him. "Her mission in life is to make mine a living hell; she always tries to get me to ramble on after she found out about my knowledge and saw one of my sketches... I didn't want-" I cut off, my voice cracking.

"Didn't want what?" the Doctor asks, reaching up to stroke my hair and I just shake my head, listening to his hearts. "Can't help if you don't tell me, Lizzie," he nudges my shoulder lightly.

"... I didn't want you to see how much the dreams affect me... to see just how mad I am," I mutter quietly, not moving my head from his chest so I didn't have to look at him. "I didn't want you to leave me like everyone does when they find out," I admit barely above a whisper, my voice cracking.

The Doctor pulls away from me and curls his finger under my chin to force me to look at him, "I won't leave unless you want me to; you're clever and fantastic!" he grins, wiping my tears away and making me give a very unattractive and watery snort as I blush.

"Thank you," I smile shyly, wrapping my arms around the Doctor's neck.

"I can throw her into a black hole if you like," he offers, wrapping his arms around my waist and I giggle, shaking my head.

I jump away from the Doctor when my door opens and see mum standing in the doorway, eyeing the Doctor as he tries not to laugh. "She's gone," she tells me gently.

"Good," I nod, standing up and pulling mum into a tight hug. "Thanks, mum..." I whisper, kissing her cheek.

Mum pulls away and brushes my hair from my face, "you're welcome, sweetheart," she smiles sadly.

***

I sit on the sofa, pulling the Doctor down beside me. "Are you alright?" he whispers in my ear, intertwining our fingers.

"Y-yeah..." I mutter, blushing as a shiver runs down my spine.

I hear the Doctor chuckle quietly and my face turns beet red and I refuse to look at him, making him chuckle more; stupid alien. Rose comes over and plops herself on the other side of me, leaning against my side and laying her legs over the arm of the sofa. "Amber's gonna have a black eye," she leans her head back, smirking up at me.

"Should match her black heart well enough," I snort, making Rose laugh and the Doctor snort. "Thanks, Rosie," I smile, kissing her forehead and she rolls her eyes at the name.

Newsreader - Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown.

***

I was almost asleep when I'm jolted to the side. My eyes snap open and I frown at the TV changing channels quickly. I snort, though, when I see the Doctor wrestling with a little boy, who for the life of me I can't remember his name, over the remote. "A little help here?" the Doctor asks when he sees me watching.

"Nah, I think you're doing fine on your own," I smirk, biting my lip to keep from laughing when he grumbles under his breath.

"Fat lot of good you are," the Doctor glares at me when he finally gets the remote back from the kid.

"Sorry?" I giggle, making him elbow me.

I elbow him back and the kid giggles as we have a silent elbow fight; which, might I add, I totally won!

Reporter - We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body has been brought here, Albian Hospital, the roads closed off- it's the closest to the river.

The little boy hops off the Doctor's lap and I snicker when he stands in front of the telly. "Go on!" the Doctor tries to shoo him off and the kid puts his head down dejectedly, starting to walk off.

"Come here, sweetheart," I scoop him up in my arms and set him on my lap. "You can sit with me, yeah? Ignore big-ears over there," I smirk, making him giggle as I wrap my arms around him and lean my chin on his shoulder. "He's grumpy in the evenings; old age and all that," I snicker when the Doctor shoves my shoulder with a pout and I stick my tongue out at him, not noticing Rose's huge grin as she watches us or mum's worried expression.

***

I had gotten up to get some wine when I see the Doctor sneaking out of the flat. I share a look with Rose and we both nod before following him outside. "And where do you think you're going?" Rose calls, making him freeze.

"Nowhere!" the Doctor exclaims quickly, turning around. "It's just a bit too human in there for me; history just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price," he scoffs, making me roll my eyes. "I'm off on a wander, that's all," he waves off.

"Right," I nod slowly, folding my arms. "There's a spaceship crashed in the Thames and you're just 'wandering'," I raise an eyebrow.

"Nothing to do with me!" the Doctor protests. "It's not an invasion! That was a genuine crash landing; angle of descent, color of smoke, everything! It's perfect!" he grins and I frown slightly; that's about what I had thought when it first happened... it was too perfect.

"So..." Rose trails off, her eyebrows furrowing.

"So, maybe this is it!" the Doctor beams. "First contact! The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race! I'm not interfering, because you've got to handle this on your own," he shakes his head. "That's when the Human Race finally grows up! Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay... well, Lizzie's still tiny," he smirks, making Rose laugh and me shout in protest. "Now you can expand!" he laughs and I roll my eyes with a small smile. "You don't need me! Go and celebrate history; spend some time with your mum," he turns to walk away.

"Promise you won't disappear?" I couldn't help but ask despite what he'd said earlier.

The Doctor stops in his tracks, turning to me as he feels in his pockets, "tell you what," he smiles, pulling out two keys on chains. "TARDIS keys; about time you girls each had one," he drops one in both of our outstretched hands.

"I- this is... thank you," I smile up at him, my cheeks turning pink when he sends me a wink before walking off.

I turn to Rose to see her smirking widely and she wiggles her eyebrows teasingly. I blush more, rushing inside the flat with her laughing behind me.

***

I was sitting in Rose's lap on the armchair with a glass of wine. The two of us share a look, rolling our eyes when everyone raises their own glasses. "Here's to the Martians!" mum toasts.

"They're not Ice Warriors," I mutter under my breath.

"The Martians!" everyone but Rose and me toast as well.

The whole flat becomes silent all of sudden and I frown, looking up. My eyes widen when I see Mouse standing in the living room doorway, staring at Rose and me in shock. I set my glass down and slap Rose on the arm over and over. "What?" she snaps, swatting my hand away, but going quiet when she sees Mouse. "We were gonna come see you," she mutters quickly, the both of us scrambling to our feet.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology," Ru puts in pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Rose mutters quickly.

"I'm so sorry, Mouse," I bite my lip, shuffling on my feet.

"Not you," Ru retorts, making me frown and I see her giving mum a look.

"It's not my fault! Be fair, what was I supposed to think!?" mum defends herself, giving Mouse a hard look.

***

In the kitchen, Rose and I were leaning on the counter and mum was sitting in a chair while Mouse has a go at us, "you disappear, who do they turn to? Your boyfriend and best mate! Five times I was taken in for questioning, five times! No evidence; of course, there couldn't be, could there! And then I get her, your mother!" he points to mum, who rolls her eyes, folding her arms. "Whispering round the estate, pointing the finger, stuff through my letter-box; and all cause of you two!"

"I'm sorry, Mouse, really I am," I try with tears prickling my eyes and he just huffs, folding his arms as he looks away from me.

"We didn't think we'd be gone so long," Rose explains quietly.

"And I waited for you, Rose! Twelve months," Mouse's voice cracks. "Waiting for you, Bird and the Doctor to come back!"

"Hold on," mum cuts in sharply. "You knew about the Doctor? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Yeah, yeah, why not, Rose?" Mouse raises his eyebrows, shutting the serving hatch and door. "Huh, Bird? How could I tell her where you went?"

"Tell me now!" mum demands.

"I might as well, cause you're stuck here!" Mouse smiles, making me frown. "The Doctor's gone; just now, that box thing just faded away!"

"What do you mean?" Rose asks while I just stare at him, feeling like my heart's been ripped out; but... I can still feel him.

"He's left you! Some boyfriend he turned out to be!" Mouse taunts Rose with a mean grin.

"Don't be daft, Mickey, he's Lizzie's boyfriend," Rose rolls her eyes.

"Bird hasn't dated in years," Mouse scoffs.

"Shut the hell up, both of you!" I snap, running from the flat after grabbing my bag.

***

I skid to a stop outside the estate where the TARDIS was. Yeah, keyword: was. Where did he go? Why did he lie and say he was just off on a wander? Did he go check out the spaceship? Why didn't he bring me with him?

"He wouldn't just leave, he promised," Rose shakes her head from beside me.

"Oh, he's dumped you both!" Mouse grins, his hands on his hips. "Sailed off into space! How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings!"

"But he would have said," Rose argues, glaring at him.

"What're you two chimps going on about?" mum asks, coming up to us. "What's going on? What's this Doctor done now?"

"He's vamoosed!" Mouse laughs.

"He's not!" I snap, pushing him back. "Cause he gave me this and gave Rose one as well!" I show him my TARDIS key and he just shrugs, not caring in the least. "He's not my boyfriend, Mouse! He's so much better than that! A hell of a lot more important than some stupid boyfriend! He's-" I'm cut off when my TARDIS key warms up in my hand and I look down to see it glowing.

"I said so," Rose smiles and I look to see her TARDIS key doing the same thing.

The whooshing, wheezing sound of the TARDIS engines start up and she begins to materialize in the alleyway. "Mum!" Rose turns to her urgently. "Mum, go inside!"

"Mum, don't just stand there, just go inside! Just, mum, go!" I try, but she stays frozen in place, watching the TARDIS appear in front of us. "Blimey..." I sigh.

"Uh? Uh?" Mouse points to the TARDIS meaningfully.

"How'd you do that, then?" mum asks in awe, staring at the blue box and I share a wary glance with Rose before we head inside.

***

"Alright, so I lied!" the Doctor waves his hands, standing by the monitor. "I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake! I thought so, it's just too perfect; I mean, 'hitting Big Ben' come on! So I thought let's go and have a look-" he cuts off with a small grunt when I crash into his back, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Could've said so, you stupid idiot," I mutter, leaning my forehead against his back.

"Sorry..." he squeezes my hand as I get a small pang of guilt.

"Our mum's here," Rose cuts in as I let go of the Doctor, leaning against the console beside him.

"Oh, that's just what I need," the Doctor groans miserably. "Don't you girls dare make this place domestic," he points between Rose and me sternly.

"You ruined my life, Doctor," Mouse comes up behind him, glaring at the Doctor when he spins to face him. "They thought Rose and Bird were dead! I was a double murder suspect because of you!"

The Doctor sighs, turning his head to me, "see what I mean? Domestic," he huffs, making me roll my eyes.

"I bet you don't even remember my name!" Mouse accuses.

The Doctor sends me a wink, "Ricky," he smirks and I bite my lip to keep from laughing at Mouse's indignant expression.

"It's Mickey!"

"No, it's Ricky," the Doctor insists.

"I think I know my own name!"

"You think you know your own name?" the Doctor scoffs. "How stupid are you?" he eyes Mouse with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, that's enough," I cut in, putting a hand on the Doctor's arm and he backs down with an eye-roll. "Mum!" I call after her when she runs from the TARDIS.

"Mum, don't!" Rose calls. "Don't go anywhere!" she points to the Doctor. "Don't start a fight!" she points to Mouse. "Watch 'em," she adds to me before running out after mum, only to come back in a second later. "That was a real spaceship?" she asks, coming up on the other side of the Doctor.

"Yep!" he smiles, turning back to the monitor.

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it then? Are they invading?"

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert," Mouse mutters, looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Good point!" the Doctor praises condescendingly. "So, what're they up to?"

***

The Doctor was lying beneath the grating floor, his feet propped up while he works. I was sitting on the grating and watching, dangling my feet over the edge. I'd been shocked and angry to find out that whoever these aliens were had stuck bits on a pig's brain and made the poor thing crash into the Thames.

Mouse comes up behind me and looks down at the Doctor, "so, what're you doing down there?"

"Ricky," the Doctor looks up at him, but his words were muffled by the sonic in his mouth.

"It's Mickey," he corrects and I sigh, leaning back against Mouse's legs.

The Doctor takes the sonic from his mouth, rolling his eyes, "Ricky," he repeats firmly. "If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not..." Mouse admits.

"Shut it, then," the Doctor rolls his eyes, putting the sonic back in his mouth and I push him in the stomach with my foot, making him swat it away.

"Some boyfriend you've got, Bird," Mouse scoffs, walking over to Rose, who was sitting on the jump-seat.

"H-he's n-not my boyfriend..." I mutter under my breath. "So," I get the Doctor's attention. "What are you doing?" I ask curiously.

The Doctor takes his sonic from his mouth again, smirking up at me, "patching in the radar," he tells me.

"So you can follow the flight the spaceship took?" I make sure.

"Yep!" he grins. "Want to help?" he asks, scooting over to make room for me.

"Really?" I ask, my eyes widening and he snorts quietly, grabbing my hand and making me squeak as he yanks me down beside him. "I could've gotten down here on my own," I roll my eyes with a smile.

"Wouldn't have been as funny," the Doctor shrugs, grinning widely. "Now, take these two wires and twist 'em together," he hands me the wires and I do as told and then he buzzes the sonic at them. "Alright, place 'em... here..." he takes my hand, moving it to where he wanted the wires and I bite my lip, my face going pink.

I plug the wires in, trying to ignore my frantically beating heart. I yelp, though, when my hand gets shocked and the wires spark up. The Doctor hisses, shaking out his hand, but grins, "got it! Haha!" he cheers, hopping out of the grating and then helping me as well before he starts to drag me over to the monitor.

"Why are you always dragging me everywhere?" I ask, shaking my head with a small smile.

"You're small and portable," the Doctor shrugs, making me give an indignant squeak. "Besides," he leans down to my ear while he presses something on the monitor. "You love it," he whispers with a smirk, my face turning bright red; mean, that's what he is! An evil and mean... attractive alien. "Lizzie and me patched in the radar," he laughs under his breath when I jump at the fact Rose and Mouse were beside us; Rose with a wide smirk and Mouse with narrowed eyes at the Doctor. "Looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship," he explains. "Here we go... hold on... come on!" he whacks the side of the monitor and I stroke the console with my thumb when the TARDIS gives an angry beep. "That's the spaceship on it's way to Earth, see?" he points to a little radar image on the monitor of the ship, well, dot flying around the Earth. "Except... hold on... see, the spaceship did a slingshot round the Earth before it landed," he explains as the radar shows just that.

"What does that mean?" Rose asks, looking between the Doctor and me.

The Doctor gestures to me and I shrink down a bit, wrapping my arms around my waist. I pull on a loose curl, my face going red when the Doctor's gesture becomes more insistent and he gives me an encouraging smile. "It..." I clear my throat slightly. "It means that the spaceship came from Earth to begin with... it went up and then came back down; the aliens, whoever they are, have been here for a while..."

"The question is: what have they been doing?" the Doctor muses, squeezing my shoulder.

***

The Doctor was flipping through news channels on the monitor with Rose beside him and Mouse behind Rose. I was sitting on the jump-seat with a sketch-book in my lap, drawing a Rutan; glowing, green jellyfish-like aliens that have been fighting the Sontarans for over fifty-thousand years.

"How many channels do you get?" Mouse asks.

"All the basic packages," the Doctor answers absently.

"You get sports channels?" Mouse asks, making me snort quietly as I glance up to see the Doctor roll his eyes.

"Yes, I get the football," the Doctor sighs, annoyed, and he sends me a look and I just stick my tongue out, Rose snickering beside the Doctor.

"Hold on, I know that lot," the Doctor points to the monitor and I get up to look at the monitor, seeing a group walking into 10 Downing Street.

Reporter - It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists, those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space.

"UNIT! United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, good people," the Doctor explains, folding his arms.

"How do you know them?" Rose asks.

"Cause he's worked for them," Mouse puts in and we all look at him. "Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor," he smirks. "I read up on you. You look deep enough on the internet... and in the history books, and there's his name; followed by a list of the dead," he glares harshly.

I get a wave of anger, guilt, and grief from the Doctor and scowl, "shut up, Mouse," I snap, making him look at me in shock, but I ignore him as I reach down and grab the Doctor's hand, squeezing it.

The Doctor breathes out, intertwining our fingers, "that's nice, good boy, Ricky," he sends him a glare.

"If you know them, why don't you go and help out?" I ask gently.

"They wouldn't recognize me, I've changed a lot since the old days," the Doctor shrugs and I frown slightly; how much could he have changed? "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge," he lets go of my hand and starts messing about with the controls on the console. "There's aliens and fake aliens out there; we want to keep this alien out of the mix," he points to himself. "I'm going undercover... and uh, better keep the TARDIS out of site," he rubs the back of his neck. "Ricky!" he claps him on the back as he passes him. "You've got a car! You can do some driving," he grabs my hand, pulling me over to the door.

"Where to!?" Mouse asks incredulously, scowling at the name.

"The roads are clear; let's go and have a look at that spaceship," the Doctor grins.

"Ooo, yay!" I beam, bouncing slightly and making him and Rose laugh.

***

Outside, the four of us are immediately caught up in a bright spotlight from a helicopter above us.

Loudspeaker - Do not move!

Police cars and soldiers surround us, aiming their guns at us. Mouse makes a run for and two soldiers chase after him. "No!" I hear mum scream and see her being held back by other soldiers. "Lizzie! Rose!"

"Mum!" I jolt forward, but the Doctor grabbing my wrist and yanking me back stops me.

Loudspeaker - Raise your hands above your head! You are under arrest!

The three of us raise our hands, Rose scooting closer to me. The Doctor, however, grins up at the helicopter, "take me to your leader!" he calls up gleefully, making Rose and I laugh.

***

"This is a bit posh," Rose comments as were ushered into a really nice black car. "If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I'd have done it years ago," she smiles as the Doctor and I get in, me in between them.

"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted!" the Doctor beams.

"But... they said we were under arrest..." I frown before shaking my head. "Doesn't matter," I sigh. "So, where are we being escorted to, then?"

"Where'd you think?" the Doctor raises his eyebrows between Rose and me, rolling his eyes when he just gets blank looks in reply. "Downing Street!" he laughs.

"You're kidding!" Rose gapes at him.

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?" I make sure, my eyes wide.

"That's the one!"

"Oh, my God!" Rose grins widely, laughing. "We're going to 10 Downing Street?" she asks and the Doctor nods, still beaming away. "How come?"

"I hate to say it: but Mickey was right," the Doctor admits, making me roll my eyes; now he can say his name?" Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times and I've been uh... noticed," he tells us sheepishly.

"Can't imagine why you'd be noticed," I tease, making him roll his eyes and nudge me with his shoulder.

"Now they need you?" Rose asks, grinning between us.

"Like it said on the news: they're gathering experts in alien knowledge," he retorts. "And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" he looks between us expectantly.

"Patrick Moore?" I ask with a completely serious expression, making Rose cover her mouth to hide her giggle.

"Apart from him!" the Doctor pouts, folding his arms.

"Don't you just love it," I smirk.

"I'm telling you, Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table!" he smiles. "Who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should we know?" Rose snorts loudly. "We missed a year thanks to you," she reminds him, narrowing her eyes playfully and the Doctor rolls his eyes as we snicker.

***

The car stops at 10 Downing Street and there're paparazzi and police officers everywhere. The Doctor gets out and waves at the crowd, smiling maniacally as he goes. I get out and wave shyly before wrapping my arms around myself. Rose comes over and puts her arm around my shoulders, ushering me into the building. "Oh, my God" she whisper-shouts excitedly.

"I know," I whisper-shout back, bouncing up and down.

***

Inside the lobby of number 10, there were experts crowded around the small room, mingling with each other. I was staying off to the side with the Doctor and Rose, trying not to get much notice in the full room. "Ladies and gentlemen, could we convene?" a man with black hair moves through the crowd. "Quick as we can, please! It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times!" he approaches us and hands an ID card to the Doctor. "Here's your ID card... I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance," he apologizes sheepishly.

"I don't go anywhere without them," the Doctor replies immediately, slipping his ID card on.

"Except when you're on a 'wander'," I remind him sweetly, poking his side.

"Oi, button it," he narrows his eyes as he squirms away from me.

"You're the code nine, not them," the man, who judging by his ID card is named Indra, cuts in awkwardly while Rose snickers. "I'm sorry, Doctor... it is the Doctor, isn't it?" he asks with a slightly awed tone. "They'll have to stay outside..."

"They're staying with me," the Doctor repeats, his voice taking on a more stern tone.

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in," Indra sighs. "I can't let them in and that's a fact," he shakes his head.

"It's alright, you go," I put my hand on the Doctor's arm, making him look down at me while a middle-aged woman comes up to us and starts complaining about something.

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asks, looking between Rose and me.

"Yeah," Rose nods. "They're the experts; you should hear what they have to say," she shrugs.

"I suppose so," the Doctor sighs. "Don't get into any trouble," he warns us.

"Doctor," I gasp, putting my hand over my heart. "We would never even dream of getting into trouble," I shake my head, Rose giggling beside me.

The Doctor chuckles, patting my head before heading inside the conference room with the other experts.

"I just need a word in private!" the woman was shouting.

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it!" Indra snaps, taking a hold of mine and Rose's arms. "I'm going to have to leave you girls with security," he tells us apologetically.

"It's alright, I'll look after them," the woman cuts in, giving the man a tight smile. "Let me be of some us," she starts to lead Rose and I away, making us share confused glances. "Walk with me... just keep walking..." she murmurs as we walk past the guards at the door to the lobby. "That's right... don't look round! Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North," she flashes us her ID. "This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right? He kn-knows about aliens?" she asks, fumbling over her words as she shakes slightly.

"Why do you want to know?" Rose asks gently.

Harriet breaks down into tears and Rose holds onto her upper arms, rubbing up and down soothingly. I rub her back as she sobs, "hey, it's alright... let's go in here, yeah?" I lead her into the empty cabinet room.

***

Harriet had taken something out of the cupboard to show us. I was thoroughly disgusted and horrified; I mean, what other reaction would you expect when you see a skinsuit with a zip around the forehead."They turned the body into a suit!" Harriet cries. "A disguise for the thing inside!"

"It's alright!" Rose tries to soothe her, her face a nice shade of green. "We believe you, it's... it's alien," she swallows thickly, trying not to look at the skinsuit. "They must have some serious technology behind this..."

"I'll say," I snort, using a pencil to lift up the suit bit. "It's completely cleaned out..." I wrinkle my nose as my stomach churns. "Anway," I shake my head, moving away from it. "If we could find what they're using, then maybe we could use it to stop 'em... I don't know," I sigh, Rose and me beginning to search the room, but I scream and jump back when I open up a cupboard and a body comes falling out. "Oh, my God! Is that...?" I gasp, backing up and stumbling into Rose.

"Harriet, for God's sake!" Indra comes barging in. "This has gone beyond a joke, you cannot just wander-" he cuts himself off when he sees the body lying on the floor. "Oh, my God! That's the Prime Minister!"

"Oooh!" a voice coos and the four of us turn to see... Margret Blaine?

I quickly pull Rose behind me and she grips onto the back of my jumper, staring at the older blonde warily.

"That's impossible! He left this afternoon! The Prime Minister left Downing Street! He was driven away!" Indra shouts, staring between Margaret and the late Prime Minister, completely and utterly baffled.

"And who told you that? Hmm?" Magaret continues to coo with a sick grin. "Me!"

Margaret raises her hand to her forehead, stroking the hair there before she pulls it to the side. There was a zipper on her forehead that she begins to open slowly, releasing a blindingly bright blue light. I watch, completely transfixed, as she starts to remove her skinsuit. Underneath was a huge, slimy-looking green alien with a baby-like face; big, round and black eyes; longs arms, ended in long fingers with equally long, sharp talons; not to mention that she was also naked except for a device around her neck.

Compression field... is whispered in my mind.

Margaret roars loudly when she's finally free of her suit and she grabs Indra by the throat, pushing him up against the wall. Before I could even react to that, though, when there's a searing pain that runs through my entire body; like being electrocuted... not that I've ever actually been electrocuted, but I imagine it feels a hell of a lot like this. I scream out, falling to my knees and clutch my head as tears of pain well up. I lean my forehead against the carpeted floor as Rose and Harriet cry out my name.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! :*