TW// People on rooftops

—

The Doctor still hasn't woken up. We move him to the Tyler's spare room, change him into some pyjamas and home that the comfort will do some good. So far, nothing.

"Here we go," Jackie says, passing Rose a stethoscope. "Tina the Cleaner's got this lodger — medical student — and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. I still say we should take him to a hospital."

Rose shakes her head vigorously. "We can't! They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race. Now shush!" She places the buds into her ears, resting the chestpiece on one side of his chest. After ensuring that she can hear the heart beating, she moves to the other side. I look to her anxiously and she nods. "Both working."

"What d'you mean, 'both'?"

"He's got two hearts."

Scoffing, Jackie stares at the man in bewilderment. "Oh, don't be stupid."

The girl rolls her eyes. "He has."

"Anything else he's got two of?"

"Leave him alone!"

—

I'm woken by someone gently tapping my shoulder. Startled, I lift my head from the bed, realising that I now sit on the floor beside it. Jackie smiles warmly, giving me a steaming mug. "There you go, love. A nice cup of tea. Hope that's all right."

"Thank you."

"You know," the woman sighs, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, "we never got to talk properly the last time we met. You weren't with Rose and the Doctor the last time they visited."

"No. We didn't meet them that long ago; my friend and I— Well, it's just me now. I don't know if I'll be joining them long term."

She nods slowly. "You got any family to visit for Christmas? I'm sure they'll be missing you. Perhaps we can get you a taxi or something?"

Lowering my gaze, I shrug awkwardly. "I've never properly celebrated Christmas before. It doesn't really exist where I come from."

"Oh my God, are you an alien, too?"

"Yeah. Well, mostly. My father was human, but it's not exactly something I'm proud of."

Her eyes widen in surprise. She opens her mouth but closes it soon after, speechless. "Oh. Wh-What about your mum?"

I take another sip of tea. "I haven't seen her since I was a kid."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Could you get back in touch? I'm sure I've got a phonebook lying around here somewhere, I could help you look for her. Or my friend, Mark, he's good at finding people. Or maybe the Doctor's got some alien tracking thingy. Or you could try-"

"Don't worry. I can't see her. Anyway, I've got more important things to worry about."

A harsh ring from the doorbell breaks through the quiet. Trying my best to send her a grateful smile, I silently motion to the hall.

"I'll leave you in peace," she says. "See if you can wake him. Okay, love?"

I let out a long sigh once the door is completely shut, looking wearily down at the Doctor. "Look, I— I don't know if you can hear me or not. If you can, please give me a sign. Wake up or at least give me a clue so I can help. You were right, I trust you, I really do. I trust you with my life. Ever since the night we met, I knew that I needed you in my life. You and Rose are all I have left. So just wake up, okay? Please?"

—

The front door bursts open. Startled, I jump up from the bed, sprinting into the living room.

"Mum, get off the phone!" Rose yells as she and Mickey burst into the apartment.

"It's only Bev. She says hello."

"Bev?" the girl asks, snatching the phone out of Jackie's hand. "Look, it'll have to wait." She hangs up and turns back to us. "It's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

Mickey frowns. "My mate Stan, he'll put us up."

"That's only two streets away. What about Mo? Where's she living at?"

"I don't know. The Peak District."

"We'll go to Cousin Mo's, then."

Huffing in exasperation, Jackie begins to pace around the small room. "It's Christmas Eve, we're not going anywhere! What are you babbling about?"

Rose opens her mouth to argue, pausing when her eyes land on something in the corner of the room. "Where did you get that tree? That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?"

"I thought it was you."

"How can it be me?" she shouts.

"Well, you went shopping, there was a ring at the door, and there it was."

The girl eyes it warily. "No, that wasn't me."

I frown, glancing between them. "Who was it, then?"

One by one, the tiny star-shaped lights switch on. A shrill song plays, the sections of the tree beginning to rotate. It spins quicker and quicker, heading straight for us. The coffee table is shredded on contact.

"Go on, get out!" Mickey yells, attempting to hold it back with a chair.

Running to the Doctor's room, I ignore Jackie's panicked shrieks. Even now, he's still asleep. Rose pauses in the doorway and shouts for the others, "We can't just leave him! Mickey, come on!"

Reluctantly following the rest of us into the spare room, Jackie cowers in the corner as we try to move the Doctor. I shake him but nothing is enough to wake him.

Glass shatters. The door chips away, blocked by a large wardrobe that the others had used in an attempt to barricade ourselves in.

I snatche the sonic screwdriver from the pocket of his old leather jacket, placing it in his hand.

The wardrobe shatters, wind whipping at my face as the tree draws closer and closer.

"I'm gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!"

There is only one thing I can think of to wake him up. Muttering a quiet prayer, I lean down and whisper in his ear. "Help me."

It's enough. He sits up, aiming his sonic at the tree. It bursts apart in a bright flash, gone.

All eyes are on the Doctor. "Remote control. But who's controlling it?"

And just like that, he's awake. We follow him outside to the walkway overlooking the street below.

Three figures stare up at us. Their red Robes are lined with white fur, their hoods and fake white beards unable to completely conceal their metal faces, painted cheery and pink.

"That's them!" Mickey hisses. "What are they?"

But the Doctor doesn't reply. Instead, he points his sonic screwdriver.

Blue rays of light surround them, rising into the air with a loud whoosh.

"They've just gone! What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver scares them off."

"Pilot fish." There is a confused pause as we turn to the Doctor, confused. "They were just pilot fish."

Without warning, he stumbles back with a loud, trembling gasp for air.
"What's happening?' I ask, trying to steady him.

"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." A wisp of gold light rises from his mouth. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away, so they eliminate the defence — you lot — then carry me off. They could run their batteries off me for a couple of years."

With another pained shout, he falls against the railing. Gasping loudly, Jackie grips onto the front of his dressing gown.

His face contorts into a look of pure agony. "My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need—"

She nods, panicked. "What d'you need? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"I need—"

"Painkillers? D'you need aspirin?"

"I need—"

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol? Liquid paraffin? Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

He gasps for air once more. "I—"

"Is it food? Something simple? A bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up."

Offended, she looks to Mickey. "He hasn't changed that much, has he?"

The Doctor lets yells, falling back against the wall. "We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then- Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?"

Glancing down at the piece of fruit, Jackie shrugs. "That's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

There is a confused pause. "He gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometimes."

I reach out to him, resting my fingers against his temples and applying a little pressure. It takes a moment for him to force his eyes open as the pain fades. "B-Brain... collapsing. But the pilot fish— The pilot fish mean that something— something— something's coming.'

He collapses against me.

—

"He's starting to burn up," I anxiously say, watching Rose dab at his forehead with a damp cloth.

"What do we do? How do we make him better?" she asks.

Meeting her desperate gaze, I sigh. "To be honest, I don't really know."

"Well, what was that thing you did just then? You sort of touched his head and he hurt less."

I sit on the edge of the bed, taking his hand in mine. His eyelids flutter occasionally, his lips forming words that I can't hear. "I was taught some basic stuff at the temple — dressing wounds and treating minor illnesses, but this is different. He's not like the people on my planet. The pressure points seemed to work a little, but I think this is a battle he has to fight on his own. We just need to keep him cool and hope for the best. I'm sorry, Rose."

—

The living room is quiet when we finally leave his side. "It's midnight," Jackie sighs. "Christmas Day. Any change?"

"Only one heart beating now."

Taking a seat on the floor, I gratefully take a mug of tea from Jackie. All I can think about is the Doctor. I want to help him, I want to bring him back, but I can't do anything. The best I can do is sit around, drink tea and act like I know what's going on.

The television catches my interest, bringing me a distraction from my thoughts.

"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One Space Probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet in the next few minutes."

The footage shifts to a press conference. Dozens of journalists shout questions to a nervous-looking man stood at a podium. "Yes, we are. We're back on schedule. We've received a signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."

"But is it true you completely lost contact earlier tonight?" a reporter calls out to him.

"Yes, w-we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it was just a blip, only disappeared for a few seconds. She's f-fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures, transmitted live, any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks."

Mickey's computer beeps. "Here we go, pilot fish." Rose and I rush over to get a look at the screen. "They're scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless, they're just tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

The blonde frowns as an animation plays. "D'you mean like sharks?"

"Big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is we've had them... now we get that."

As the small cartoon fish swims offscreen, a shark speeds towards us, its jaw gaping open to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. My grip on the back of his chair tightens. "Something's coming. How close?"

"I don't know, but the pilot fish don't swim far from the daddy."

"So it's close?"

"Funny sort of rocks," we hear Jackie remark.

Glancing over to the television, Rose and I watch in horror as the static clears. Something is there, something that definitely isn't Mars. "Those aren't rocks."

It almost looks like a face or a mask of some kind, with eyes blazing a bright, angry red. It roars.

—

Mickey as he continues to type furiously on his laptop. "Rose," he calls, "take a look. I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, fast and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what? The Doctor?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us."

A video pops up on the screen. There are four of them, unfamiliar creatures glaring menacingly at us. "Gatz tak ka thaa! Ka zu me fedrok, ka zu me Sycorax!"

He looks to both of us anxiously. "Have either of you seen them before?"

"No."

"Adzeek. Kwadra fi peloodza. Kwadra fi milzon bor. Zu pedra kayi. Zu bandak. Zu masak jal ban kulja jiyi sykora jak. Di-ga gah!"

Rose frowns. "I don't understand what they're saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside my head all the time, wherever I am."

I look to her, my eyes widening in realisation. "When he thought he was going to die back on the Game Station, he said that the Tardis would stop working. What if he's part of it, part of the circuit. If he's sick or broken or— What if it stops the Tardis from working?"

—

I don't sleep that night. I stay by the Doctor's side, his hand clasped tightly in mine as I zone in and out of the mess of thoughts in my head. Nothing works. He just won't wake up.

Early in the morning, panicked shouts can be heard from outside. I reluctantly leave the spare room, following Rose and Mickey outside. A woman stands in the walkway, still dressed in her pyjamas, calling after someone.

"Sandra?" Rose nervously asks.

"He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking. And there's this sort of light thing. Jason! Stop it, right now!"

The man she refers to is moving steadily forwards, his hands hanging limply by his sides and his face completely blank. Sure enough, a blue light flashes around his head, the same light that transported the pilot fish away last night.

It isn't just him, dozens of people in the Powell Estate are doing the same. Following them up flight after flight of stairs, we reach the roof.

"'Di Immortales," I murmur, staring across to the other buildings around us.

They stand right on the edges. There must be hundreds in this area alone.

Mickey meets my terrified gaze. "What do we do?"

"Nothing," Rose quietly replies, staring hopelessly out at the city below. "There's no one to save us. Not anymore."

—

I watch the television from the doorway, hugging myself tightly.

The Prime Minister, Harriet Jones, announced that she would be giving a speech. I'm not quite sure what she thinks she can do. There doesn't seem to be much hope left for any of us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech, I'm afraid that's been cancelled."

Pausing, she looks to someone off-screen. "Did we ask about the Royal Family? Oh... they're on the roof."

"But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request... Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor, if anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor, help us."

Rose's sobs can be heard from the hall and I sigh, furiously rubbing at my eyes as they begin to sting.

"Do you have contact with people on your planet?" Mickey asks. "I know it might sound stupid, but... can you ask them for help? Could they save us?"

His words only make my eyes burn even more, but I keep fighting back my tears. Shaking my head, I focus my attention on the floor. "No. I'm sorry. We're—"

The room shudders violently. Windows shatter and furniture topples, the loud rumbling being enough to drown out our terrified screams.

It's over as soon as it started.

We race out of the apartment, finding the street carpeted in shards of glass and crumbled plaster. A shadow appears in the sky, its massive, rocky structure edged with jagged spikes.

"We've got to get him out of here!" Rose shouts.

Slinging the Doctor's arm over my shoulder, I lift him up with little difficulty.

"Mum, get your stuff and get some food. We're going."

"Where to?"

She freezes, fixing on them with a pleading stare. "The Tardis. It's the only safe place."

"What are we gonna do in there?"

"Hide."

Jackie scoffs, "Is that it?"

"Mum, look in the sky. There's a great, big alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him and seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry."

Mickey frowns, holding up a hand to stop us. "Hold on. Inara, I saw you back in Cardiff, you had plans, strategies to help us get that Slitheen. Can't you do that now? Can't you figure something out?"

My grip tightening around the Doctor, I feel my patience beginning to wear thin. "Will people stop looking to me like I have answers? I don't! Okay? I don't. I'm not the Doctor, I'm not a bloody genius. My people aren't gonna save us, they never will. And he's not waking up. And Jack's gone. And I can't do anything. So let's just do what Rose says and hide."

——————

K

icking the door open, I back into the Tardis with the Doctor still in my arms. Rose helps me lie him down on the metal grating whilst Jackie and Mickey set down the bags of food. "No chance either of you could fly this thing?"

"Not any more," I reply with a huff.

"You did it before."

"I know," Rose snaps, "but it's sort of been wiped out of our heads, like it's forbidden. If we try it again, I think the universe rips in half."

Letting out a weary sigh, I sit down next to the Doctor and try to use the stethoscope again. Only one heart beats. His skin still feels hot.

I tune out while the two argue, taking the Doctor's hand in mine again. My lips gently press against the burning surface of his palm.

It twitches, his fingers curling around mine. I swear my heart skips a beat, my breath catching in my throat. But then it goes limp again.

"Here we go," I finally hear Jackie say, "a nice cup of tea."

"Oh, the solution to everything."

The woman's eyes narrow and she turns to Rose with a frustrated glare. "Now, stop your moaning! I'm going to get the rest of the food."

Mickey scoffs, "Tea. It's like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." He pauses when his eyes land on the surveillance monitor. "How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we can see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What d'you do to it?"

She shrugs in response, moving over and pulling the small lever at the side of it. "I don't know, it just sort of tunes itself."

After a few moments of messing around with the machine, blue symbols appear on the screen, beeping quietly. "Maybe it's a distress signal," I suggest, having left the Doctor's side to sit next to Rose.

She raises her eyebrows, still staring down at the floor. "Fat lot of good that's gonna do."

"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?" Mickey groans.

"Yes."

"Look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking!"

The girl suddenly straightens up, looking around with a confused frown. "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine!"

I follow after her, chuckling softly as I glance over my shoulder at him. "Tell her that yourself."

"I'm not that brave."

I don't get a chance to fully realise the change in our destination until it's too late. Something grabs onto Rose and I, dragging us away. Seeing Mickey run after us, I yell, "The door! Close