!EDITED! 

A/N: was 9264 words, is now 13710 words! :) Which I'm putting just cause I can! XD Anywho, this sort of took on a life of its own while I was editing and well... yeah. If you're a rereader, you'll notice quite a few changes, but most of the dialogue and ish stayed the same! :) If you're a first-time reader, then just ignore that and I hope you enjoy the story! :) All rights of Doctor Who sadly go to BBC; I only own Lizzie, any other characters I may add in the future, and my storyline. Any wording or phrasing or anything that needs fixing PLEASE let me know! *begs profusely*

Quiet music was playing in my room as I add the finishing touches to my sketch of a Judoon with his helmet under his arm. My little sister hadn't come home yet and I was trying not to have a panic attack; drawing calms me. I hardly ever worry about Rose being late, but the shop where she works at had been blown up and it was all over the news that a body was found. Mum and I tried phoning her, as well as Mouse, with no luck.

I hear the front door slam open and my breath hitches in my throat. Closing my sketch-book, I turn off the music and head out of my room. Rose was caught up in a suffocating hug by mum in the living room and I rush over, hugging Rose from behind. "We were so worried!" I bury my face against her neck, a few tears spilling from my eyes as I hold her tightly. "Mouse is in a state, phoning me up every ten minutes to see if I've heard from you," I tell her, my voice muffled.

"You could've been dead!" mum cries, squeezing us both against her.

"Mum... Lizzie... can't breathe..." Rose chokes out.

"Sorry," I mutter, pulling away with my cheeks going slightly pink.

"I'm not," mum holds her even tighter, making Rose groan. "You had Lizzie and me worried sick! They found a body, said so on the news!" she pulls away and slaps Rose on the arm, making her yelp and jump back. "Don't know why you pay for that damn phone if you can't even use it!"

I sit on the sofa, drawing my knees up and wrapping my arms around my legs while I snicker quietly at Rose's put-out expression. "Alright, I should've phoned!" she dodges mum's next slap.

The landline rings and mum rushes to answer it, saving Rose from any more abuse. I send Mouse a text that she was home and then watch Rose carefully as she sits down beside me. I notice for the first time that she has a dummy arm with her. "Rose," I frown and she hums in reply, chewing on the thumbnail of her free hand while she watches News 24 absently. "What have you got that for?"

Rose jumps and looks down at the arm in her hand as if she just now realizes she has it. My frown deepens when she throws it on the armchair as if it were going to strangle her. "I'll explain later," she whispers, not moving her eyes from the TV.

Reporter - The whole of Central London has been closed off as police investigate the fire. Earlier reports in the...

The rest of the report was drowned out by mum walking back in, the phone between her cheek and shoulder. "I know, it's on the telly! It's everywhere! She's lucky to be alive!" she hands Rose and I each a mug of tea. "Honestly, it's aged her! Skin like an old Bible! Walking in now you'd think I was her daughter!"

I smile into my mug, trying not to laugh, and Rose backhands me in the arm. I look over at her innocently as I take a sip of my tea and hum under my breath. Rose rolls her eyes and grabs a magazine off the coffee table, kicking her feet up and crossing her ankles.

"Oh, and here's himself!" mum scoffs, walking into the kitchen.

Mouse runs into the living room and slips - almost falling - as he skids to a stop when he sees Rose. I snicker at his face as he wobbles on his feet with both hands out, trying to regain his balance. "I've been phoning your mobile, you could've been dead!" Mouse exclaims as he comes over and squeezes his way in between Rose and me. "It's on the news and everything! I can't believe that your shop went up!" he pulls Rose into his arms.

"Ugh, get your arse off me, Mouse," I groan as he pushes me into the side of the sofa.

Mouse looks behind him, down at me and then grins sheepishly. "Sorry, Bird," he moves to where we could all sit more comfortably. "But are you ok?" he turns to Rose worriedly.

"I'm alright, honestly, I'm fine!" Rose waves him off, setting her magazine down. "Don't make a fuss," she pleads, making a show of begging.

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know!"

"What was it though? What caused it?"

"I wasn't in the shop, I was outside, I didn't see anything..." Rose trails off, messing with her fingers.

I raise an eyebrow at her evasiveness - what could have happened that she doesn't want Mouse to know? I mean, I get mum, but him? Rose sees my look and folds her arms, nodding in the direction of my room. I roll my eyes and take a sip of my tea. Mum walks back in, holding the phone out to Rose with a wide grin. "It's Debbie on the other end, she knows a man from the Mirror! Five hundred quid for an interview!"

"Oh, that's brilliant! Give it here!" Rose smiles, taking the phone and I smirk when she immediately hangs it up and sets it on the coffee table.

"Mum, give her a bit, yeah?"

"Well, she's got to find some way of making money!" mum retorts, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out," she looks down at Rose with her hands on her hips before she answers the phone when it rings, heading to her room to talk. "Bev! She's alive! I tell ya, sue for compensation! She was within seconds of death..."

"I swear, that phone's gonna be the death of her," I shake my head, smiling.

Mouse takes hold of Rose's mug, making her pout. "What're you drinking? Tea?" he makes a face after he sniffs it. "No, no no, that's no good, that's no good," he shakes his head, setting her mug on the coffee table. "You're in shock, you need something stronger," he tries to pull her up off the sofa.

"I'm alright," Rose smiles, grabbing onto me and pulling herself back down.

"You deserve a proper drink," Mouse insists. "You, me and Bird, we're going down the pub, my treat," he smiles down at Rose and wiggles his eyebrows enticingly. "How about it?"

Rose and I share a look, both of us trying to hide our smile. "Is there a match on?" Rose asks.

"I'm just thinking about you, babe!" Mouse protests, sitting back beside Rose and grabbing her hands, looking at her with his most innocent expression.

I lean forward, putting my chin on his shoulder. "There's a match on, ain't there," I smirk, winking at Rose's smile when Mouse squirms under scrutiny.

"Well, that's not the point," Mouse huffs, pushing me off him to stand. "We could catch the last five minutes," he tries.

"Go on, then," Rose waves him off. "I'm fine, really, go," she smiles when he goes to argue. "Get rid of that," she gestures to the dummy arm.

"What about you?" Mouse turns to me with a pleading look. "Come on, when's the last time you went down the pub with me?"

"Couple weeks back, I think," I guess, not really remembering or caring. "I don't want to go out," I shrug.

"Fine," Mouse pouts then turns to Rose and points to his lips with a smile.

Rose rolls her eyes, smiling as she leans in and kisses him. I wrinkle my nose as Mouse cups her face and brings her closer. "My innocent eyes!" I shriek dramatically, covering them.

"Shut it, Bird," Mouse pulls away from Rose with a smirk, pinning me down and tickling my sides.

"Ah! Mouse! Stop it!" I scream in between laughs. "I give! Snog her all you like!" I squeak as tears start to form and he gets off, pushing me down into the sofa more. "You two are so mean," I 'sniffle' as he and Rose snicker.

Mouse laughs, leaning down to kiss the top of my head and I beam up at him. As he goes to walk away, Rose puts out a leg to trip him up. Mouse rolls his eyes, laughing sarcastically and shoving Rose down, making her laugh. Picking up the dummy arm, he waves it at us. "Buh-bye!" he calls in a funny voice.

"Bye!" Rose and I giggle.

Mouse pretends to be strangled by the arm on his way out and I snort loudly, shaking my head.

Reporter - Fire then spread throughout the store... there is very little chance of saving the infrastructure...

***

Rose and I sit cross-legged on my bed; music playing, nail polish spread out, and my door shut. "Ok, spill," I give Rose a pointed look, picking a color and shaking it.

Rose tells me everything about what had happened tonight while we did each other's nails. Apparently, she'd gone down to the basement to give the lottery money to Wilson and she wound up in the room where they keep all the shop dummies and clothes. The dummies had started walking about and she thought it was some joke gone wrong. Then, some man came and got her out, pulled the arm she had brought home with her off one of the dummies, told her Wilson was dead, and then waved a bomb in her face after getting her out of the building safely. The thing about the man I found strange was that he'd introduced himself as 'the Doctor'... what sort of name was that?

"Wait, he said these things were living plastic?" I ask, blowing on my wet nails.

"Is that even possible? Science-wise or... or dream-wise?" Rose asks hesitantly, blowing on her own wet nails.

"Rose, you know I don't put much stock into my dreams..." I sigh, wrapping my arms around myself and looking away from her.

The truth was, that I really did believe in the things I dreamt about. I've had the dreams all my life; aliens, other planets, a shadow man that has a horrible feeling of pain that comes with him... like this crushing guilt and all-consuming grief.

"I know you don't like talking about it," Rose scoots closer to me and grabs my hand, squeezing it in comfort. "But, you're the only person I know that could have an answer... have you ever dreamt of something like that? Anything?"

I sigh heavily, standing up and grabbing one of the sketch-books that were covering my desk. "Yes, I have," I flip through my sketches to find the right one. "They're called Autons; living plastic that's controlled by the Nestene Consciousness," I explain while she looks at the sketch, running her finger over the outline of a vat of what looks like molten lava. "But, it's just one of my dreams, it's not real," I shake my head, flopping back down on my bed. "Maybe it was students, I could see someone doing something like that," I suggest.

"That's what I said, but that Doctor whatever said they weren't," she murmurs, flipping through my sketch-book. "What's this?"

"He could've been lying," I roll my eyes. "Maybe he's doing an experiment. See how different people react to shop window dummies coming to life," I chuckle, looking to see she was pointing at a Cyberman. "Oh... you don't want to know about them," I say seriously, face paling as I shiver.

"Why don't you have what it is written under it?" she asks, laying back and holding the sketch-book above her.

"Because you don't need to know what they are or anything about them, not ever," I lay back beside her, moving my hand in the air to watch the effect the light has on my freshly painted nails.

***

Rose's stupid alarm went off at 7:30 this morning and woke me up. I swear, I'm going to dismantle the bloody thing. Since I was up and there was no way I was going back to sleep, I get up and ready for the day. I head into the kitchen and smile when I see mum at the dining table in her pink silk dressing gown. "There's a kettle on," she tells me.

"Yes!" I smile widely. "Thanks, mum," I kiss her cheek and head into the kitchen to fix me up a cup of tea.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," mum smiles, sipping her own tea as I sit across from her.

"Honey," I sigh happily as I sip mine. I love honey in my tea. "I'm so glad I've got a free day today," I lay across the table and mum rolls her eyes, chuckling softly.

I was going to the University of London and I didn't have any classes today, which I was extremely happy about. I look over my shoulder when Rose shuffles into the room with a rats nest for hair. "Nice bed-head," I smirk, not looking up at her as I take another sip of my tea.

"Bite me," Rose mumbles, slapping me upside the head.

"What? I said it was nice," I smile up at her innocently and she rolls her eyes as she sits down heavily. I sigh and pull out a sketch-book from the bag I always have with me.

Mum then decides to start in on Rose. "There's Finches... you could try them, they've always got jobs," she tries to encourage her.

"Oh, great, the butchers," Rose groans, grabbing an apple off the table.

"They aren't that bad," I roll my eyes. I had worked there for a couple summers and it was a pretty decent place with good pay.

"It might do you good! That shop was giving you airs and graces," mum scolds Rose, who rolls her eyes as she rolls the apple between her hands. "And I'm not joking about getting compensation! You've had genuine shock and trauma!" she gets up and starts to her room, still rambling on. "Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!"

"Arianna is Greek, mum!" I call to her, shaking my head.

"I know she is, but that's not the point, it's a valid claim!"

"She's absolutely mad," I smirk.

"I heard that Elizabeth Mae!"

"Good, you were meant to!" I shout, winking at Rose as she laughs quietly.

"What's that?" Rose asks, moving her chair closer to mine and leaning her head on my shoulder to look down at my drawing.

"It's a Sontaran, they're a clone race obsessed with war... they have a vent on the back of their necks that makes it impossible to turn their back on an opponent cause if you hit it, they get knocked out," I explain quietly, glancing at her.

"It looks like a potato," she looks at me with her bottom lip between her teeth as she tries not to laugh.

I tilt my head to the side as I consider the sketch. "It sort of does," I giggle, shaking my head before I frown when there's a rattling sound from the front door. "Mum, you're such a liar! You said you had that cat flap nailed shut! Do you want to get strays!?"

"I did it weeks back!" mum defends herself.

"Thinking about doing it and actually doing it are two very different things!"

"I'll check it out," Rose sighs, getting up and heading to the door. "It's about last night; he's part of the inquiry, give us ten minutes," I hear her say after a minute.

What the hell? I frown and put my sketch-book back into my bag before walking to the front door to see what's going on. I stop in my tracks when I see a very handsome man that's about a foot taller than me and looks to be in his mid-thirties...  maybe early forties? His dark brown hair was cropped short and he has big ears with a big nose to match, although they suit him well along with his light blue eyes. I look over his appearance and see he was wearing: a worn leather jacket, a burgundy v-neck jumper, black uniform pants and black leather boots.

"She deserves compensation," mum's voice knocks me back into reality and my cheeks burn slightly at realizing I'd been checking the man out.

"Huh, we're talking millions," the man smirks and I note his strong Northern accent as he leans against mum's doorframe, folding his arms.

"I'm in my dressing gown," mum clears her throat and I wrinkle my nose... really mum!?

"Yes, you are," the man replies, seemingly oblivious as to what was happening.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom," mum lowers her voice and I try not to gag.

The man looks around himself and seems to take in the fact that he was technically inside her room. "Yes, there is," he nods.

"Where anything could happen," I hear mum trying to be seductive.

The man pauses and straightens as he eyes mum and his face scrunches up in slight disgust. "No," he gives a firm shake of his head.

I snort quietly but freeze when the man turns his attention to me. I watch his eyes widen slightly as he takes in my form, making my cheeks heat up and my heart beat a little quicker. "H-hi... I'm Lizzie, um... Rose's sister," I mutter shyly, rubbing my arm.

The man's eyes snap up to mine like he didn't realize he was eyeing me up and he frowns. "Sister?"

I raise an eyebrow at his incredulous tone. "Got a problem with that?" I fold my arms, cocking my hip to the side.

"No, you just don't exactly look alike," the man shrugs with an amused smile.

"I'm adopted," I shrug, turning and walking into the living room where I flop down on the sofa, getting my sketch-book back out.

Pete and Jackie Tyler had found me on their doorstep when I was just a baby. The only things I had with me in the basket were a necklace with a long chain that I wear tucked out of sight and a small note:

Run, you gorgeous girl and remember...

Mum and dad never did find out who the note was from and no one ever came to claim me. After about six months of searching for my parents with no results, they adopted me. I've always been grateful to have a real family, even if my adoptive father did die when I was just three. They took me in and gave me a proper home, and mum's done a damn good job raising Rose and me all on her own.

"You met Lizzie?" Rose asks and I look over to see the man had followed me in and he replies with a 'yes', flashing me a grin that makes my heart do an odd flip. I look down quickly. "Don't mind the mess," she picks up a few things, sending me a look that says she totally saw that and I stick my tongue out, my face burning. "Do you want a coffee?" she asks, heading into the kitchen.

"Might as well, thanks! Just milk," the man smiles, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets while he looks around.

"Lizzie?" Rose calls through the serving hatch.

"No, I've still got my tea!" I flip to my sketch of the Sontaran to continue it.

"We should go to the police, seriously, both of us," Rose mutters from the kitchen.

"So," I look up at the man, who was flipping through a magazine. "You're the bloke who blew up the shop?"

The man, or what was it Rose had said he called himself? The Doctor? Either he was ignoring me or he didn't hear me because he mutters to himself, "that won't last, he's gay and she's an alien," as he shakes his head and I frown slightly before waving it off, thinking he was just joking or... maybe he was mad?

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong," Rose continues, not realizing that he wasn't paying her any more attention than me.

The Doctor flips through my copy of The Lovely Bones and I blink at the speed. "Sad ending," he comments and I frown at the accurate statement. How did he read it that fast? Maybe he's read it before?

I shake my head and narrow my eyes when he tosses the book over his shoulder without care. "Are you even listening to Rose?" I raise an eyebrow when he glances at me.

"Course I am," he retorts, smiling cheekily and picking up a pack of cards, beginning to shuffle them. "Luck be a lady!" he hums to himself, sending a smug wink at me.

I can't help the unattractive snort that leaves me when he fumbles a second later and the cards go flying everywhere. "You know, it's quite rude to come over to someone else's place and make a mess," I smile, laughing quietly.

"Sorry about that," he murmurs with a sheepish smile, looking around at all the cards and rubbing the back of his neck.

I shake my head, giggling slightly, but stop when there's a scuffling sound from behind the sofa. "What?" I frown, sitting up on my knees to look behind it.

"What's that, then? You got a cat?" the Doctor asks, suddenly serious as he comes over and leans on the sofa to have a look as well.

"Not anymore... we did have," I mutter, reaching down and picking up the dummy arm from last night with a frown. "I thought Mouse chucked this out," I turn it in my hand.

I gasp when the arm flexes in my hand and then flies in the air. The arm grabs a hold of the Doctor from around the neck and my eyes widen when he starts to make choking sounds. "Oh, my God!" I hurry and try to help him pry the fingers open.

"There's these strays, they come in off the estate..." Rose comes in with two mugs of coffee in her hands.

"Rose!" I groan in annoyance, still trying to help the Doctor whose face was starting to turn purple.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out," Rose frowns when she sees what's happening, but not realizing the seriousness. "Lizzie, don't encourage him," she rolls her eyes and I huff, giving an apologetic look to the struggling Doctor. "Honestly, give a man a plastic hand... anyway, I don't even know your name, Doctor... what was it?"

"Come on," I groan, giving one more hard tug on the arm and smiling when it comes free but because of course, the arm flies to me and grabs a hold of my face. "Really!?" I scream when it squeezes painfully and I try to pry it off.

"Hold on, just a tick," the Doctor hurries to help me out.

"What the hell!?" Rose shrieks.

In the struggle of getting the arm to let go of me, the Doctor and I wind up on the coffee table with him on top of me. I squeak loudly when the glass shatters from underneath our combined weight and I feel as if the wind got knocked out of me. I groan in pain, feeling myself being lifted up and set onto the sofa. There was a whirring sound and some sort of blue light shining in my face before the hand lets me go. I try and control my breathing as I stare at the device in the man's hand he was pressing against the arm's palm. It was a sort of silver tube... thing and it had ceramic-like material on it as well with a black end and blue light at the tip.

Rose rushes over and wraps an arm around my shoulders. "You alright?" she asks worriedly, looking me over.

"Fine," I nod, wincing at the pain in my back and frowning slightly when I feel this sort of... secondary pain that didn't feel like my own.

"It's alright, I've stopped it," the Doctor assures us, but I notice his furrowed eyebrows as he looks me over from the corner of his eye. "There you go, you see?" he tosses the arm to Rose and she fumbles to catch it. "Armless," he smiles.

"Thanks for that," I breathe shakily as I stand and the Doctor sends me a wink, making my cheeks turn pink.

Rose, however, wasn't amused. "Do you think?" she hits the Doctor on the shoulder with the dummy arm.

I frown when I feel a small pain in my shoulder... exactly where Rose had hit the Doctor. It didn't really hurt, but it was a bit odd feeling a pain that shouldn't be there. I shake it off, though, probably just my imagination.

"Ow," the Doctor whines, shooting Rose a glare as he rubs his sore shoulder. "Give me that," he takes the arm from Rose and whacks her in the side with it, making her give an indignant squeak and I snort loudly. "Bye, then," he grins widely at the two of us before running from the flat.

Rose and I share a look before we jump up. I grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder and the two of us hurry off after the Doctor, who was already heading down the stairs of the estate. Blimey, he's fast.

"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off!" Rose yells after him.

"Yes I can!" the Doctor retorts. "Here I am, this is me, swanning off! See ya!" he smiles over his shoulder cheekily.

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill my sister!"

"Ten out of ten for observation," the Doctor praises condescendingly.

"Oi, don't patronize her!" I glare at his back. "You can't just walk away after that, it's not fair!"

"You've got to tell us what's going on," Rose demands.

"No I don't," the Doctor scoffs, stepping out of the estate, having reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Alright, then," Rose steps out behind me and folds her arms, putting her intimidation face on. "I'll go to the police, I'll tell everyone," she falls into step with the Doctor. "You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed-"

"Thanks for telling me, then," I glare as I step up on the other side of her, slapping her arm.

"Shut up," she rolls her eyes. "So, your choice," she looks back at the Doctor, who was watching us with an amused smile. "Tell us, or I'll start talking," she threatens and I couldn't help but snicker at her trying to be scary. She was like an adorable angry bunny.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" the Doctor raises an eyebrow.

"Sort of," Rose deflates, kicking at my leg and I squeak, dodging her and hiding on the other side of the Doctor.

"I'm not sorry for laughing," I stick my tongue out at her and she rolls her eyes, huffing.

"Doesn't work," the Doctor smiles, sending me an amused smile. "And you told her," he gestures to me.

"So, you did hear me and just chose to ignore me," I accuse, looking up at him with my arms folded.

"Yep," he grins, completely unabashed and I roll my eyes.

"She's my sister," Rose cuts in. "Of course I told her, and I needed her um... her help," she glances at me.

"What sort of 'help'?" the Doctor stops walking so he could face me and I blink up at him like a deer in headlights.

"U-um... I-I-" I stutter, my face burning as I look between the Doctor and Rose, making him raise an eyebrow. "I have these d-dreams about these... well..." I rub my arm. "Aliens," I whisper, looking away from the two and ignoring Rose's wide-eyed look. I never told anyone about my dreams but I felt I could trust the Doctor. Like I should tell him, no, like I needed to tell him.

"Aliens?" the Doctor asks and I glance at him, only to look away again when I see his frown.

"Y-yeah..." I murmur, reaching into my bag and pulling out my sketch-book, once again having this feeling of needing to show him as I hand it over.

"You drew all these?" the Doctor asks and I look back up to see him flipping through the sketches with a small smile.

"I did, yeah," I nod, folding my arms as my face burns brighter and I was still ignoring Rose's shocked expression.

"Who's this?" he asks, pointing to a sketch of the shadow man. He was standing on a planet with two suns and red grass and silver-leaved trees.

The feeling that I usually associate with the shadow man overwhelms me and I wince, reaching up to rub my temples. "That's the man who pops up in my dreams," I mutter, shaking my head slightly. "I don't know who he is and he's only ever shown as a sort of shadow..." I trace the outline of him, the feeling of pain and grief and guilt staying.

"Do they all have names and descriptions written underneath, except him?" the Doctor asks, his eyebrows furrowed as he looks between the sketch and me.

"Uh... yeah, yes they do," I nod. "But, I mean, they aren't real... just in my head," I smile awkwardly up at him.

"Do you mind if I hold onto this for a bit?"

"Sure?" I frown, confused as to why he wants it. "I've got plenty more, but as I said: it's just in my head... I'm mental," I look away, smiling bitterly and Rose smiles sadly, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers.

"So, then, tell us," Rose steers the conversation away from me and I squeeze her hand in thanks. "Who are you?"

"I told you! The Doctor," he reminds her, walking off while he still flips through my drawings.

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose asks for further explanation.

"Just the Doctor," he replies.

"The Doctor," she mutters slowly, completely not believing him.

"Hello!" he smiles, waving cheerily.

"Hi," I giggle, waving back.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Sort of," he smiles.

"Doesn't work," I smirk, making him roll his eyes.

"Come on, you can tell us, we've seen enough," Rose tries to convince him. "Are you the police?" she asks, making me snort loudly.

I blush when the Doctor looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "You don't look like police..." I try to explain, biting my lip.

"You're right, I'm not," he smiles, turning his attention back to my sketch-book. "I was just passing through... I'm a long way from home," he murmurs and I frown as the feelings of pain, grief and guilt grow stronger.

"But what have I done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?" Rose asks.

"Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves round you!" the Doctor scoffs, rolling his eyes. "You were just an accident, you got in the way, that's all," he waves off.

"It tried to kill me last night and Lizzie this morning!" Rose exclaims.

"It was after me, not you!" the Doctor argues. "Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing," he ignores Rose's indignant squeak. "This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down... the only reason it fixed on either of you is that you met me," he explains.

"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves round you," Rose rolls her eyes.

"Sort of, yeah," the Doctor grins.

"You're full of it!" I accuse, laughing quietly.

"Sort of, yeah," he winks at me and I bite my lip, my cheeks going pink.

"But, all this plastic stuff, who else knows about it?" Rose asks.

"No one," the Doctor says simply.

"What, you're on your own? There's no one helping you?" I ask and once again the pain gets worse.

"Well, who else is there?" the Doctor scoffs quietly. "I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!" he rolls his eyes and I frown. That doesn't sound exactly fair.

"Ok, start from the beginning," Rose takes the arm off him with her free hand. "If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that," she glances at me, squeezing my hand. "But if we do... how did you kill it?"

"He didn't kill it," I shake my head, shrinking down a bit when the Doctor looks at me with raised eyebrows. "S-sorry..." I murmur, looking away.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm," the Doctor explains to Rose and I can feel his curious gaze. "I cut off the signal, dead, well, not really dead... more sort of disabled," he mutters.

"So, that's radio control?" Rose asks curiously.

"Thought control," I shake my head, wincing that I did it again and decidedly ignoring the Doctor's even more curious gaze.

"Are you two alright?" the Doctor asks, looking between us when Rose wraps her arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah," Rose answers for the both of us, squeezing me quickly. "So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story," the Doctor shrugs as I mutter, "Nestene Consciousness," and I cover my mouth, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath.

"How do you know that?" the Doctor asks, stopping and eyeing me as he folds his arms.

I glance at him and sigh, stepping away from Rose. I grab my sketch-book from him and flip to one of the drawings I have of the Nestene; it was an Auton standing over the Consciousness. "One of my dreams..." I murmur as I hand it back to him.

"But what's it all for?" Rose cuts into the awkward atmosphere. "I mean, shop window dummies... what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" she jokes, making me snort loudly.

"No," the Doctor laughs.

"I know," Rose smiles, rolling her eyes.

"It's not a price war," the Doctor smiles, making us laugh, then he becomes serious. "They want to overthrow the Human Race and destroy you," he tells us.

"Aren't you cheery," I roll my eyes and he grins down at me.

"Do you believe me?" he eyes us both.

"Yes," I say before I could stop myself and his grin widens, but it falters when Rose answers, "no," a second later.

"But you're still listening," he points out.

Rose grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop, the Doctor walking on, completely oblivious to us. "Really, though, Doctor," she calls after him and he pauses. "Who are you?"

The Doctor turns to us, "do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" he asks, walking back over to us and slipping my sketch-book into his jacket pocket... how did it fit in there? "It's like when you were a kid; the first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still... I can feel it," he takes both our hands in his and I glance down at my small hand in his large calloused one, making my heartbeat pick up and my face burn. "The turn of the Earth," he continues in a soft voice, his eyes meeting mine. "The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it," he looks between us. "We're falling through space, you and me... clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go..." he drops our hands and I bite my lip at the loss of warmth. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Lizzie and Rose Tyler," he takes the arm off Rose and waves it in our faces. "Go home," he turns and walks away.

Seeing him walk away? It makes my heart ache and my stomach knot up. I feel a pang of sadness and guilt that wasn't my own, not really understanding any of it. I frown when tears well up in my eyes. I jump slightly when Rose grabs my hand and starts to pull me away. I hear a sound like mechanical groaning; this wheezing, whooshing noise. Pain runs through my head and my heart beats faster. I turn, running back to the corner, but I slump when I see nothing there.

***

Getting back to the flat, I see that mum had left to God knows where. Since Rose went off to Mouse's and I had nothing to do, I go to my room and get out one of my sketch-books. I hurry to draw a sketch of the Doctor, trying to get every detail exactly right. I wasn't about to listen and forget him, not a chance in hell. I try and get his eyes right, but I can't get the impossibly old and intelligent quality they have to them. Who is he? What is he?

My phone goes off, snapping me from my thoughts, and I look to see a text from Rose:

Get your arse outside, I found some bloke on the internet with information about the Doctor. You can thank me later! ;) Mickey's giving us a lift. -Rose :)

Be right there! -Lizzie :P

***

I was sitting in the back of Mouse's yellow bug, rolling my eyes at how he was acting. If he was going to be like this, I would've just told Rose we could walk. "You're not coming in!" Rose groans. "He's safe, he's got a wife and kids!"

"Yeah, but who told you that? He did," Mouse argues. "That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say!"

"I'll have Lizzie with me," Rose rolls her eyes, gesturing to me with her thumb.

"Yeah, that makes me feel loads better," Mouse scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Instead of just my girlfriend getting murdered, my best mate can go with her!"

I smile widely, "if anything happens, we'll scream and you can run in to be our knight in shining armor," I lean forward to kiss his cheek, sticking my tongue out.

"Ugh," Mouse jerks away from me. "Why have you always got to lick me!?" he wipes at his face. "This isn't funny," he rolls his eyes as Rose and I laugh, me leaning against the back seat with my arms around my waist.

"We'll be fine," Rose smiles, leaning over to kiss Mouse quickly before the two of us get out of the car.

I look over my shoulder at Mouse to see him with a deep scowl on his face. I bite my lip, sending him a heart symbol and he narrows his eyes at me, smiling despite himself. I blow him a kiss and loop my arm through Rose's, who was snickering under her breath. When we get to the door of this Clive bloke's house, Rose knocks on the door. A boy who looks about eleven opens the door and eyes us both."Um, hello," Rose smiles. "We've come to see Clive? Me and him have been emailing," she stuffs her hands in her pockets.

"Dad!" the boy calls over his shoulder. "It's some of your nutters!" he wrinkles his nose at Rose and me.

I bite my lip, folding my arms and kicking at the ground as the boy walks off. Rose nudges me and I look to see her flipping the kid off behind his back, making me snort quietly. A second later, a heavyset man comes to the door. "Sorry," he nods in the direction of his son. "Hello, I'm Clive, obviously," he smiles, shaking our hands.

"Hi, I'm Rose," she smiles. "This is my sister... she's, uh, interested in the Doctor as well," she explains.

"Hi... Lizzie," I give a small wave, smiling shyly.

"I better tell you now," Rose cuts in. "My boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill us," she laughs, Clive joining in as I roll my eyes with a smile.

"No, good point, no murders," Clive smiles and sends a wave out to Mouse, who gives him a scowl with narrowed eyes.

"Who is it?" a woman, I assume Clive's wife, calls from upstairs.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor! They've been reading the website," Clive calls over his shoulder. "Please, come through, I'm in the shed," he motions Rose and me inside.

***

The first thing I see when we enter the shed is papers and files covering everything. Not that I have much room to talk considering every space of my desk and a couple boxes under my bed were taken up with sketch-books. But this... this was like a shrine to the Doctor. I wonder if he knows there's people that are obsessed with him?

"A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive, I couldn't just send it to you," Clive's voice brings my attention away from the posters and maps and diagrams. "People might intercept it if you know what I mean," he glances at us, rifling through one of his files. "If you dig deep enough, keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place; political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just 'the Doctor'. Always the Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son, it appears to be an inheritance," he explains. "That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" he points behind us.

I look back to see a blurry photo of the Doctor on his computer screen. "Yeah," Rose and I confirm.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year," Clive rifles through his file a bit more before pulling out a stack of photos. "The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original..." he shows us the photos one by one, each getting further out and my eyes widen at the last one.

"But that's-"

"November the 22nd, 1963," Clive nods. "The assassination of President Kennedy."

"Must be his father..." Rose mutters as I grab the photo, looking at it.

"He looks exactly the same, though," I shake my head. "I mean, spatial genetic multiplicity is possible... but to happen in the very next generation, that's not possible," I mutter, my eyebrows furrowed.

I frown when there's silence and my eyes widen when I realize I'd said that out loud. I bite my lip, shrinking down a bit as Clive stares at me, blinking slightly. "Anyway..." he clears his throat and Rose gives me a sympathetic smile as I wrap my arms around my self. "Going further back... April 1912," he puts a photo album in front of us. "This is a photo of the Daniels family, Southampton, and friend," he points to a photo of a family by the Titanic with the Doctor who was wearing a time period appropriate suit and neckerchief. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World on the Titanic; and for some unknown reason, they canceled the trip and survived. And..." he shows us a sketch of an island with the Doctor in his leather jacket. "1883; another Doctor and look, the same lineage, he's identical. This one washed up the coast of Sumatra on the very day the Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He has a storm in his wake and he has one constant companion."

"Who's that?" I couldn't help but ask, my eyes wide at the intensity of him.

"Death," Clive replies and my heart starts to beat a little faster. "If the Doctor's back... if you've seen him... then one thing's for certain, we're all in danger. If he's singled you out, girls... if the Doctor's making house calls... then God help you," he shakes his head, putting his file and album up.

"Who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose asks.

"I think he's the same man," Clive tells us seriously and I couldn't help but agree... I just didn't know how it was possible. "I think he's immortal... I think he's an alien from another world," he looks between us.

***

Back out at the car, Rose was rolling her eyes, "alright, he's a nutter! Off his head! Complete online conspiracy freak! You win!" she gets in the front.

"Oi, you do realize I have dreams about aliens!" I glare at her, getting in back. "Doesn't that make me a nutter?"

"You don't have a creepy shed-shrine to them," she retorts. "Only reason you draw 'em is cause the dreams give you headaches and it helps," she smiles softly and I lean back, folding my arms. "What're we going to do tonight?" she looks between Mouse and me. "I fancy a pizza," she mutters thoughtfully.

"Fine with me," I shrug.

"Pizzaaa! P-p-p-pizza!" Mouse stutters and I frown slightly as I eye him.

"Or a Chinese," Rose continues.

"Pizza!" Mouse repeats more firmly.

"You alright, Mouse?" I ask, eyebrows furrowed.

Mouse ignores me and drives off. I grip my seat as he drives across the entire street. I mean, he's not exactly the best driver, but this is ridiculous.

***

In the pizza restaurant, the three of us were sat at a table and I was watching Mouse carefully. He wasn't acting himself and Rose barely seems to notice, too caught up in figuring out a job she could do. "Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen," she mutters before grimacing. "That's it, then? Dishing out chips?"

"You could do A Levels," I try to encourage her, not looking away from Mouse.

"I don't know," she sighs. "It's all Jimmy Stone's fault... I only left school because of him, and look where he ended up... what do you think?"

"I think you should go back to school," I look over to see her rolling her eyes. "No, I'm serious, there's no reason you can't."

"I'm not as smart as you," she points out.

"Who is?" I mutter bitterly, picking at my jacket sleeve. "You're more than brilliant, Rosie," I glance at her with a small smile.

"Oh, shut up," she rolls her eyes, smiling as she slaps me upside the head. "And don't call me that," she narrows her eyes playfully.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" Mouse cuts in.

"I'm sorry, weren't we talking about me for a second?" Rose asks, put out as she leans back in her chair, folding her arms.

Mouse just continues, ignoring her, "because, I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Is he something to do with that?"

"No..." Rose trails off, glancing at me.

"Come on," Mouse smiles a creepy sort of fixed grin, making me scoot my chair closer to Rose.

Rose bites her lip, looking between Mouse and me, "... sort of," she concedes.

"What was he doing there?" Mouse asks and I frown at his persistence; he didn't care about the Doctor when he was driving us to Clive's.

"I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm not," Rose shakes her head. "Because I know it sounds daft but... I don't think he's safe... he's dangerous," she mutters quietly, leaning her arms on the table.

"You're right," I agree and she smiles at me. "That does sound daft," I roll my eyes and her smile drops.

"Really? Cause he pops up and my job gets blown up and we get attacked," Rose argues. "You heard what Clive said!"

"Thought he was a nutter?" I smirk, making her scoff and roll her eyes. "Look, that wasn't his fault... and he did save both of us," I retort, making her roll her eyes again.

"But you can trust me, sweetheart!" Mouse smiles at Rose. "Babe, sugar, darling, sugar," his voice glitches and Rose and me share a wary glance. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really wanna do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart," his voice glitches again.

"Mouse, are you sure you're alright?" I ask, growing more and more worried.

"Yeah, what're you doing that for?" Rose frowns.

"Your champagne," a waiter holds out a bottle to Mouse.

"We didn't order any champagne," Mouse waves him off, grabbing Rose's hand. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Ma'am, your champagne," the waiter holds the bottle out to Rose.

I roll my eyes at the bloke's insistence and look up to tell him to bugger off. My eyes widen when I see it was definitely not a waiter, but the Doctor. He grins widely and sends me a wink, holding his finger to his lips.

"It's not ours..." Rose waves off, not realizing who was behind her. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?" Mouse asks forcefully, tightening his hold on Rose's hand.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" the Doctor whines slightly and I raise my hand slowly, making him snort.

"Look, we didn't order i-" Mouse rolls his eyes, looking up. "Ah, gotcha," he smirks, seeing the Doctor.

The Doctor grins in reply, beginning to shake the bottle of champagne, "don't mind me, I'm just toasting the happy friends... on the house," he releases the cork and it hits Mouse square in the forehead.

I blink in shock and disgust when his skin stretches to absorb the cork, he chews for a moment and then spits it out. "Oh, my God! You're an Auton!" I grab Rose's hand and pull her up and behind the Doctor with me.

"Anyway," 'Mouse' mutters like that didn't just happen.

The Auton stands and holds out his hands and I watch in shock as they turn into clubs. Rose screams, gripping my jacket when the Auton smashes the table. The Doctor jumps forward and grabs the Auton in a headlock, yanking his head off.

"You pulled his head off!" I gape at him.

"Yup," the Doctor grins, throwing me the head and I fumble to catch it.

I look down at the head as it opens its eyes, "don't think that's gonna stop me," he warns and I yelp, throwing the head back to the Doctor, who laughs.

Everyone starts running about, screaming, as the Auton's body starts smashing other tables. The Doctor, however, was watching everything with a wide, psychotic grin. He's completely barmy! A small smile of my own starts to form before my thoughts are broken by the fire bell going off.

"Everyone out! Out now!" Rose shouts to everyone.

I shake my head and usher a few people to the exit. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Rose, the Doctor, and I run through the kitchen and out the back exit, the plastic Mouse body right behind us. The Doctor locks the door with his tube thing. I grab it when he's done and look it over. "What is this thing? Some sort of probe? Multi-purpose tool? Spacey screwdriver thing? How did you use it to cancel the signal out from that Auton's arm this morning?" I fire off, pressing the button and smiling when it lights up and whirs, not noticing the Doctor's look of surprise and amusement.

"Open the gate!" Rose screams before he can answer me and I look over to see her banging on a pair of padlocked gates. "Use that tube thing, come on!"

"What, this? This is a sonic screwdriver," the Doctor corrects her calmly and takes it from me, shoving it in his pocket.

How the hell is he so calm? I grab his arm, making him look down at me, "use it," I tell him.

"Nah," he smiles down at me, releasing his arm from my grasp and putting his hand on my lower back. "Tell you what, let's go in here," he leads me over to a Police Box.

"But... that's a Police Box..." I frown. "What's that even doing here? They haven't been around since the sixties," I mutter, ignoring that the Doctor's hand was still on my lower back as he pulls out a key, unlocking the box.

"Take a look," he smirks, nodding inside.

I walk in and stop in my tracks, my breath hitching in my throat as I stare in awe. The inside was huge! The room was rounded with a console in the middle with all different sorts of controls, golden structures that look almost like glittery coral were around the room, hexagonal... things with round lights covered the walls, there was an upper level with ladders leading up to it and there was a soft teal glow that was coming from a rotor in the middle of console that went up to the ceiling. It was a bit messy, wires covering the floor and leading up to the upper level, but it was the most beautiful things I've ever seen. "It's... it's bigger on the inside..." I murmur, looking at the Doctor who was smirking as he hooks the Auton head up to the console. "The inside's a different dimension to the outside, yeah? I never thought... I mean, transdimensional engineering's impossible..." I breathe, still looking around, trying to take in every detail.

"Not for my people," the Doctor smiles smugly before blinking in shock. "Wait, what? How did you..."

"Is it alien?" I ask excitedly, not even noticing that I was rambling a bit as I bounce up and down.

"Yes," he shakes his head, chuckling softly.

"This is so... it's just so brilliant!" I squeal, smiling so hard my face hurt as I run my hand along the console, jumping when a loud hum sounds.

"She likes you," the Doctor smiles and my eyes widen even more.

"You have a transdimensional sentient ship!?" I gape at him. "Who the hell are you?" I breathe, making him laugh while he works. I rush over to the door, sticking my head out, watching Rose scream at us and pull on the gates. "You have got to see this!" I beam.

Rose stops screaming and turns to me with a frown. I motion her inside and she huffs, running over. Taking two steps in, Rose blinks in shock, before running right back out. "Does that happen often?" I turn to the Doctor, giggling.

"Oh, yeah," he grins.

I walk back over to the console and watch him work. "What're you doing, then?" I ask. "Wait, no... let me guess," I mutter, biting my lip as I fold my arms, trying to think. "You're trying to trace the signal to the original source, yeah? Trying to find the Nestene? But couldn't you have used the arm you took this morning? No... that wouldn't have been strong enough... you'd need something more complex to get an accurate enough location, am I right?" I ask, looking up at him before scooting away and making myself smaller at his expression. I'd been so excited by the ship and the Auton and just being near the Doctor... which was weird, I'd let my mouth run off. "I-I-I-"

"It's gonna follow us!" Rose's shout makes me jump and I look away from the Doctor to see her run back in and slam the door shut.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried," the Doctor scoffs and I glance over to see him go back to hooking the head up. "Now, shut up a minute," he gives Rose a pointed look.

"No need to be rude..." I mutter quietly, kicking at the grated floor.

"You can shut up, too," he tells me and I look up at him indignantly. "You were right, by the way," he smiles before I can say anything. "The arm was too simple, but the head's perfect," he works quickly and my cheeks burn as I remember my little moment. "I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source, just like you said," he sends me a wink and I blush even more, looking down. "Right," he straightens, looking between Rose and me. "Where do you want to start?"

"Um... the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose asks, still looking around the place in shock.

"Yes," the Doctor nods simply.

"It's alien..." Rose mutters.

"Yup," the Doctor nods again, hands behind his back.

"Are you alien?"

"Yes," the Doctor nods yet again and Rose just stares at him. "Is that alright?" he frowns, glancing at me with a hesitant expression.

"Yeah," Rose blurts while I nod quickly.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S," the Doctor says.

Time And Relative Dimension In Space gets whispered in my mind. This happens a lot, me knowing things. I used to blurt out the answers, but I've learned to hold it back better... sometimes at least. Being around the Doctor seems to have muddled my filter a bit.

"That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space," the Doctor continues.

Rose puts her hand over her mouth, letting out a sob and my heart sinks to my stomach. I was so excited and distracted that I'd completely forgotten about Mouse... my best friend! How could I be so awful as to forget that my best friend had been replaced with a plastic replica? I rush over, bringing Rose into my arms and she buries her face against my neck, crying.

"That's ok," the Doctor tells her patiently. "Culture shock; happens to the best of us," he smiles and I send him a glare, which he frowns in confusion at.

"Did they kill him?" I ask and the Doctor's frown deepens.

"Mickey?" Rose cries, pulling away from me. "Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

The Doctor blinks in realization. "Oh... didn't think of that," he mutters awkwardly.

"He's my boyfriend and Lizzie's best mate!" Rose snarls at him, glaring harshly as she grips my hand. "You pulled off his head! They copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just going to let him melt!?"

"Melt?" the Doctor asks as I look to see the head bubbling and melting. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he starts running frantically around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"What're you doing!?" Rose demands as the TARDIS shakes and I grab a hold of Rose with one hand, the railing with the other.

"Reviving the signal, it's fading! Wait, I've got it..." the Doctor looks at the little computer monitor on the console and he groans in frustration. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he rushes around the console again. "Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!" he flips a lever and the shaking stops before he runs out the door without a word.

I follow quickly and blink as I look around... we're... we're at the Thames. I mean, I sort of guessed that it was a spaceship by the name but this was insane! Brilliantly bonkers! I walk around the TARDIS, running my hand along the wooden exterior, trying to think of every possible way it could fly... no, wait, not fly, I shake my head. Some sort of dematerialization? Causing it to travel through a wormhole? A vortex maybe?

"You can't go out there, it's not safe!" Rose yells, running out, only to stop and look around in shock.

"I lost the signal, I got so close," the Doctor mutters, running his hand over his hair and I feel a wave of annoyance rush over me, making me frown.

"We've moved! Does it fly?" Rose asks, walking over to the Doctor.

"Disappears there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand," the Doctor waves her off.

"Don't talk to her like she's stupid, you arse," I glare at him and he looks at me in slight shock. I ignore him as I move over to Rose and take her hands, putting them palm up. "Picture a wormhole, yeah... well, I think vortex is probably more accurate, but I'm not entirely sure," I frown slightly. "Anyway," I shake my head and point to her right hand. "The TARDIS is here and it dematerializes and goes through the vortex," I move my finger between her hands and point to her left. "Then it rematerializes here... understand?" I ask, squeezing her hands.

"So..." Rose looks between her hands, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "It doesn't really fly? It disappears and transports through the... vortex-thingy and then reappears where the Doctor wants it to?" she asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Exactly! See: more than brilliant," I beam, turning to the Doctor with a smug look, only for it to fall when he was looking at me like I'd grown another head. "U-uh," I bite my lip and look at Rose, silently begging for a subject change.

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose," Rose frowns.

"Once the head melted the signal would've been lost and the body wouldn't have been able to stay animated. It would have melted at the same time," I shake my head, cringing slightly when the Doctor gives me the same look and I realize I did it yet again. "S-s-sorry..." I mutter, rubbing my arm.

"Are you going to witter on all night?" the Doctor eyes Rose. "At least Lizzie knows what she's talking about," he gestures to me.

"You complete and utter-!"

"I'll have to tell his mother..." Rose's soft mutter stops me in the middle of my insult and my stomach knots up when I realize I'd forgotten about Mouse... again. "Mickey!" she snaps and I look to see that the Doctor had been giving her a look of confusion. "I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!" she yells, making me feel even guiltier. "You were right, you are alien," she glares and starts to walk away.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-" the Doctor scoffs and I wince when I feel a strong pang of anger that wasn't mine... ok, I'm officially losing it.

"Yeah, he's not a kid," Rose interrupts, folding her arms.

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?" the Doctor shouts.

"Who the hell are you calling a stupid ape!?" I glare at him at the same time Rose screams, "alright!?"

"Yes! It is!" the Doctor glares at her, ignoring my comment.

The three of us quiet down and Rose and I both share a look of complete disbelief while the Doctor breathes heavily. "If you are an alien... then how comes you sound like you're from the North?" Rose asks after a minute, making me snort loudly.

"He's an alien with a bigger on the inside spaceship and you're asking about his accent?" I ask, nudging her teasingly.

"What? It's a valid question!" she nudges me back, laughing.

"Lots of planets have a North," the Doctor mutters indignantly, folding his arms and looking away.

"Look, you hurt his manly alien feelings," I smile, poking the Doctor and making him snort quietly as he squirms away from me.

"You're a little bit cheeky, aren't you?" the Doctor smirks down at me.

"Oh, you have no idea," I smile widely, bouncing on my toes.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose asks, making me turn to her in time to see her sly smile and my face burns red.

I open my mouth before snapping it shut when I see the Doctor looking at me. I bite my lip and wrap my arms around myself, but he just smirks and gestures for me to tell her. "U-um... it's a telephone box from the fifties and sixties... sort of like a temporary holding cell," I explain awkwardly.

The Doctor's smirk widens as he walks over to the TARDIS. "It's a disguise," he pats the side fondly, making me smile.

"Ok..." Rose pulls me over to the Doctor. "This living plastic, what's it got against us?"

"Nothing, it loves you," he smiles, leaning against the TARDIS with his arms folded. "You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth... dinner!" he exclaims cheerily, miming eating.

"Lovely," I smile over-enthusiastically, making Rose and the Doctor laugh. "Any way of stopping it?"

The Doctor, smiling widely, takes a long tube from his jacket pocket that has some sort of blue liquid in it. "Anti-plastic!"

"Anti-plastic..." Rose frowns, unsure.

"Anti-plastic!" the Doctor laughs, running his finger along the tube and I giggle quietly. "But first I've got to find it," he frowns suddenly, looking up and around. "How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hold on... hide what?" Rose asks, frowning at the subject change.

"The transmitter," the Doctor retorts and sighs when Rose's expression doesn't change. "The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal," he explains.

"What's it look like?" Rose asks.

"Like a transmitter," the Doctor replies bluntly and I slap his arm, making him glare at me but I frown down at my own arm at feeling a sharp sting where I had hit the Doctor. What the hell? "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London," he mutters, snapping me from my thoughts to see him pacing around in frustration. "A huge circular metal structure... like a dish... like a wheel, close to where we're standing... must be completely invisible," he frowns and I notice him standing in front of the London Eye that was on the other side of the Thames, Rose and me sharing a look. "What?" he looks between us and Rose nods to the Eye, making the Doctor turn around and then back to us, completely not seeing that what he needs is literally right behind him. "What?' he asks, looking behind him again and still not seeing it. "What is it? What?" his eyebrows furrow and I giggle, pointing behind him and he looks one more time. "Oh..." he breathes, looking back at Rose and me. "Fantastic!" he breaks out in a huge dorky grin that makes my heart flutter a bit, but I squeak when I'm suddenly pulled off. I look down to see the Doctor had grabbed my hand and was dragging me behind him with Rose following after us.

***

On the other side of the embankment, right in front of the London Eye, the three of us stop and look around. "Think of it," the Doctor mutters. "Plastic, all over the world... every artificial thing waiting to come alive; the shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"

"The breast implants..." Rose smirks and I snort loudly before wrinkling my nose.

"Oh, God... that means that-"

"Please, don't finish that sentence," the Doctor grimaces, making Rose and I snicker. The Doctor shakes his head with an amused smile. "Still... we've found the transmitter, the Consciousness must be somewhere underneath," he murmurs thoughtfully.

Rose runs over to the railing and leans over it, "what about down here?" she calls, pointing down.

The Doctor pulls me over and I frown, looking down and noticing that he hadn't let go of my hand. I slowly pull it away and stuff it in my pocket, not noticing his slight frown as he flexes his own hand. (a/n: I picture in Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen where Mr. Darcy touches Elizabeth's hand for the first time. I love that scene, it makes me squeal a bit... anyone else... no? *laughs awkwardly* sorry, I'll leave now...) I move over beside Rose and look down to see a manhole cover below us.

"Looks good to me," the Doctor smiles, making me jump slightly.

Rose glances at me and wiggles her eyebrows, smirking, and I curse under my breath at how perceptive she is... damn her. The three of us head down the steps to the manhole. The Doctor pulls the cover off and red light and smoke come pouring up from the hole. The Doctor climbs down, then me, and then Rose and I look around to see a small chamber with pipes everywhere. The Doctor goes over and opens a large metal door and leads us into another, larger chamber. We head down some steps and I look down to see a huge, orange, wobbling mass of molten plastic that looks exactly as it does in my dreams. Rose grabs my hand and squeezes it and I realize I had frozen in shock. I bite my lip, tears welling up as emotion overwhelms me. I wasn't mad... they were real... my dreams were really, actually, properly real!

"The Nestene Consciousness," the Doctor explains softly, glancing at me. "That's it, inside the vat; a living, plastic creature."

"Well, then, tip in your anti-plastic and let's go," Rose motions him forward.

"It's living, Rose," I frown, folding my arms. "He's not gonna just kill it... right, Doctor?" I look up at him.

"I've got to give it a chance," he confirms, making me smile.

The Doctor leads us down another flight of stairs and places his hands on the railing, leaning forward slightly. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation," he addresses the Nestene and I frown slightly when that sounds extremely familiar, but I shake it off... now's not the time.

The Nestene wobbles around a bit, making a garbling noise. I assume this was how it communicated and that the Doctor could understand it since he smiles. "Thank you, that I might have permission to approach?" he asks and the Nestene garbles in what appears to be an allowance.

I feel Rose slapping my arm over and over. "What?" I turn to her with a frown and she just points down to the landing below us. "Mouse!" I smile widely, running down the steps to him.

"Oh, my God! Mickey!" Rose beams, following after me. "It's ok! It's alright! We're here!" she slides down on her knees when we reach him and pulls him into her arms. "Are you hurt?" she asks worriedly, pulling away and looking him over. "Oh, my God! I thought you were dead!" she cries and pulls him back to her.

"That thing down there," Mouse whimpers, clutching onto Rose. "The liquid, it can talk!" he shakes against Rose and I rub his back soothingly.

"You're stinking," I wrinkle my nose at the smell coming off him. "Doctor, they kept him alive!" I smile up at him as he comes down the steps.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility; keep him alive to maintain the copy," the Doctor waves off, not really caring.

"You knew that and you never said?" I glare at him.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" the Doctor smirks and my glare hardens. "You didn't know?" he raises an eyebrow.

"I was thinking of other things!" I defend myself.

"So was I," he shrugs.

"You- but I- that's- that's just not even the point," I splutter and his smirk widens as he sends me a cocky wink, making me growl under my breath.

"Hush, now," he chuckles, heading down to the platform just above the Nestene and I just gape at him in indignant shock. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" he asks, making the Nestene wobble. "Thank you," he nods with a grin. "If I might observe: you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology; so, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" he asks cheekily and I couldn't help the giggle that slips out, making the Doctor grin widely over at me, but he rolls his eyes when the Nestene garbles and he turns back to it. "Oh, don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" he scoffs and the Nestene rears its head I blink in shock... it's head? angrily. "I... am... talking!" he shouts over the noise, making the Nestene quiet down and I bite my lip, eyeing the Doctor's intimidating stance. "This planet is just starting! These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk," and the attractiveness of that was just completely removed. Why did he have to call Humans stupid? "But they're capable of so much more! I'm asking you on their behalf: please, just go," he pleads with the Nestene

My eyes widen when I see two Autons approaching the Doctor from behind. "Doctor!" Rose and I shout, making me jump slightly... I may have slightly forgotten her and Mouse were here.

The Doctor looks behind him too late and the Autons grab a hold of him. One of them reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the tube of blue anti-plastic, making me groan. There is no way that's good.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it," the Doctor yells, but the Nestene wasn't buying it apparently as it garbles angrily. "I was not attacking you! I'm here to help! I'm not your enemy! I swear, I'm not-" he pauses when the Nestene roars. "What do you mean?" he frowns and two doors slide open to reveal the TARDIS... ok, I know that's not good. How did that even get down here? "Oh, oh no, honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship," he admits and the Nestene screeches loudly. "That's not true! I should know, I was there! I fought in the war! It wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" he cries desperately, his voice cracking.

My heart aches at the raw emotion in his voice. I suck in a breath at the strong wave of grief and guilt that washes over me, leaning forward and gripping the railing as I whimper quietly in pain.

"What's it doing!?" Rose shouts, not noticing my current state.

"It's the TARDIS!" the Doctor thrashes against the hold on him from the Autons. "The Nestene has identified its superior technology! It's terrified! It's going to the final base! It's starting the invasion! Get out, girls! Just leg it! Now!"

"Not bloody likely!" I shout down, reaching up to rub my temples.

"Mum!?" I hear Rose yell and I look over and see her with her mobile out. "Where are you, mum?" she asks after a pause. "Go home! Just go home, right now!" another pause. "Mum!? Mum!" she puts her phone back in her pocket.

"Is she going home?" I ask Rose anxiously.

"No, she hung up! She's gone shopping!" she exclaims.

There's a shudder in the chamber and blue electric currents branch out from the Nestene, going up through the ceiling. "It's the activation signal!" I call down to the Doctor.

"It's transmitting!" he nods, still fighting against the Autons.

"Any ideas?" I ask hopefully.

"The end of the world..." Rose whimpers and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close and rubbing her arm.

"Get out, girls! Just get out! Run!" the Doctor yells desperately.

"Oh, shut the hell up! I'm not about to leave! The stairs have gone, anyway!" I call down, grabbing Mouse's hand and dragging him and Rose to the TARDIS. "I haven't got the key," I groan when I try to open the door with no luck. "Come on... TARDIS?" I ask, rubbing her door with my thumb, remembering that she's sentient. "Please, open up, girl?" I ask softly and smile when there's a click and the door opens. "Ha, she really does like me!" I beam, shoving Rose and Mouse inside and shutting the door.

"Lizzie!" Rose bangs on the door and I smirk when I hear another click - clever spaceship.

"Bird, you're gonna die!" Mouse beats on the door.

"Lizzie! What the hell are you doing!? Get out of here!" the Doctor shouts, the Autons starting to push him toward the edge of the platform.

"Just leave him!" Mouse calls through the TARDIS doors. "There's nothing you can do!"

"Lizzie, get in here!" Rose screams.

I look around frantically, trying to find something to help the Doctor and I grin when I see an axe and a chain. I rush over and grab the axe. "I've only ever had one friend my whole life," I murmur, bringing the axe down on the chain. "Everyone thinks I'm mad and just loves to remind me of the fact," I bring it down again. "But I'll tell you something I have got," another swing. "Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team... mum made me join with Rose, thought it'd help me make friends," I roll my eyes and grab the chain when it comes loose. "I got the bronze!" I swing across the gap over the Nestene.

I scream as I swing back past the Doctor, kicking out and landing a blow to one the Autons and it stumbles over the ledge, falling into the Nestene. The Doctor throws the other one into the Nestene and it starts to turn blue, writhing and screaming in pain. I close my eyes as I swing back to the Doctor again, hearing him shout my name. I crash into something hard, feeling arms wrap around me, and I open my eyes slowly, looking up at the Doctor's grinning face. "Alright?" he asks, chuckling lightly.

"That was bloody amazing!" I beam, bouncing slightly... which was a bit awkward since the Doctor's arms were still around me, and he laughs loudly.

The two of us look over the ledge when the Nestene screams louder. "Now we're in trouble," the Doctor grins down at me.

"I'm sorry, were we not in trouble before right now?" I snort.

"Fair point," the Doctor concedes and then seems to notice that he still has a hold of me, pulling away slightly with an awkward sort of laugh and my face turns beet red. "Come on, then," he grabs my hand and pulls me to the TARDIS.

The Doctor ushers me in the door and I yelp, stumbling back as I'm tackled by Rose and Mouse. I blink in shock, hearing them shouting over each other about how I'm stupid and reckless and that I could've gotten myself killed.

"Sorry?" I frown, reaching up to pat their heads and hearing the Doctor laugh.

***

The Doctor lands the TARDIS and Mouse stumbles out the door backward, looking absolutely terrified. Rose goes over to comfort him while I pull my mobile put, phoning mum. "Lizzie? Lizzie!" she shouts when she answers. "Don't go out of the house, it's not safe! Is your sister with you!?" 

"Yeah, we're safe, don't worry," I laugh in relief before hanging up. "Mum's fine!" I call to Rose and she slumps in relief.

"A fat lot of good you were!" she laughs, slapping Mouse on the arm.

"Absolutely no help, Mouse!" I laugh.

Mouse whimpers again, making me roll my eyes. I turn to the Doctor, who was leaning against the TARDIS. "Nestene Consciousness?" he clicks his fingers. "Easy," he smirks.

"You were useless in there, you'd be dead if it wasn't for me," I tease, biting my lip with my hands behind my back.

"Yes, I would, thank you," he smiles sincerely, making me blush. "Right then! I'll be off!" he claps his hands and I frown, my heart aching. "Unless, uh... I don't know... you could come with me," he offers, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You want m-me to come?" I ask, looking at him hopefully.

"This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge," he smiles widely.

"Don't! He's an alien! He's a thing!" Mouse yells from beside Rose.

"That's rude, Mouse, you're just as much a thing," I scold, turning back to the Doctor with a huge grin on my face.

"He's not invited," the Doctor glares at Mouse before smiling back at me. "What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere," he shrugs.

I look at Rose and Mouse and then back at the Doctor, my heart skipping a beat at the hopeful smile he was giving me. "Yes," I nod quickly before I can chicken out. "Are you kidding!? Absolutely!" I beam, bouncing up and down.

The Doctor beams right back, shaking his head as he chuckles. "Rose?" he asks and I turn to her hopefully.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asks.

"Yeah," the Doctor nods with a small smile, not even trying to hide the fact.

Mouse puts his arms around Rose's legs, making me snort and she looks down at him biting her lip. "Yeah, I can't... I've um... gotta go and find mum and um... someone's gotta look after this stupid lump..." she laughs, patting Mouse on the back. "So..."

My smile fades, but it comes back as the Doctor grabs my hand and yanks me over to him, making me squeak in surprise. "Ok, see you round," the Doctor shrugs. "Come on, Lizzie," he smiles down at me, pulling me into the TARDIS.

"Tell mum... tell her I've gone traveling," I smile at Rose, closing the door.

She smiles sadly and I frown... she really wants to come... what was stopping her? I turn around and grin at the Doctor, who grins back as he starts the engines, the time rotor moving up and down... time... "Doctor?" I ask, going over to the console and standing beside him and he hums in response, raising an eyebrow. "Rose has always wanted to see the future..." I look up at him pleadingly, biting my lip. "Please?" I give him my best puppy-eyes.

The Doctor looks at me and winks as he stops the engines, making me beam when he goes over and holds the door open, "by the way... did I mention, it also travels in time?" he grins and comes back in, leaving the door ajar.

I was grinning so wide I thought my cheeks were gonna crack. I bounce with excitement and the Doctor comes back over, smiling widely at me. 

"Thanks," I hear Rose say and I look outside to see her and Mouse standing there.

"Thanks for what?" he asks, completely confused.

"Exactly... I love you," she kisses him quickly and runs into the TARDIS with a huge smile on her face.

"Eep! My eyes!" I exclaim dramatically.

"Shut it, Lizzie," she laughs, smacking my arm as the Doctor chuckles.

A/N: Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! :) Drop a comment or vote or if you're a ghost reader, then just enjoy! :*