Chapter 6

The bed felt… weird.

There was a presence next to her and it was comforting but not… right . Rose opened her eyes and saw Jack lying next to her. Immediately, all the images from yesterday rushed through her and she sat up with a gasp. How had it all gone wrong so fast?

"You OK?" Jack asked,

"The Doctor…" Rose whispered, "Jack, I need him. What do I do?"

The time agent put a comforting arm around her waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Talk to him, hun," he said, firmly, "it's all you can do. You need to tell him what you told me last night. It's the only way,"

"I guess," Rose sighed,

"Do it after we've taken care of the Gwarf, OK? Come on, we'd better get ready. The Slitheen will be here soon."

Rose nodded and let Jack pull her out of bed.

Fifteen minutes later, Rose entered the kitchen where the two men were already having breakfast.

"About time too!" Jack joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere, which had suddenly gotten significantly heavier.

Rose smiled weakly and looked at the Doctor who stared back, his usually warm brown eyes empty, despairing and full of pain and regret. "Hi," she said, quietly,

"Morning," he answered, equally as quietly,

"What's the plan then?" asked Jack,

"The Slitheen will be arriving very soon and then they said they'll be setting up a trap. They said they might need us to help as well," the Doctor replied,

"OK," Jack nodded, "Let's get going then!"

A great rumbling noise announced the arrival of the Slitheen's spaceship about an hour later. The three companions walked swiftly outside and observed the ship. It was extremely similar to the spaceship that had crashed in London in 2006. It wasn't really that surprising- it must be a Slitheen model. The door rolled open and about seven of the familiar Slitheen came out; green, tall and reeking of calcium decay. Rose immediately recognised the one she had known as 'Margaret' during their previous meetings at the front of the group.

"Greetings to the family Slitheen," said the Doctor, "May I introduce my companions Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness,"

"Good morning," 'Margaret' replied, "Shall we get on with the arrest?"

"Of course, we believe they will be in the centre of the forest near their power source."

Jack snorted. " Their power source indeed!"

The Doctor shot him a half exasperated, high amused look and led the Slitheen into the forest. Jack and Rose tailed behind them, keeping a sharp lookout. It didn't take long to reach the area where Jack's ship had crash landed and mysteriously disappeared. As they got closer, they slowed down and tried to move quietly, which was understandably difficult for the bulky Slitheen.

"They're not here yet, ma'am," said one of the guards,

"Take cover and we'll wait. Surround the area," 'Margaret' instructed.

The green aliens moved into position.

"Shin up a tree, you two," the Doctor advised, "it might get a bit dangerous down here,"

"Can you give me a leg up, Jack?" Rose asked, dubiously staring at a rather tall tree.

Jack looked at the Doctor whose face had suddenly closed down even further before replying, "Sure. You going to climb one, Doctor?"

"Nah," the Doctor said, watching Rose scramble up the tree with Jack's help, "I'll be fine down here,"

"Please," Rose said, her white face peering down nervously from amongst the branches.

The Doctor held her gaze for a moment before shinning a smaller tree so he could get down easily if necessary. Rose heaved a small sigh of relief and clutched tightly to the trunk of her tree. Meanwhile, Jack clambered up a tree close to Roses'.

"You OK, there?" he called.

Rose nodded tightly.

"They're coming," warned the Doctor, "get ready everybody!"

The next five minutes were a blur. The bluey-green Gwarf entered the area and looked around.

"Let us begin," they chanted.

Immediately, 'Margaret' stepped out followed by her guards.

"As President of Raxacoricofallapatorius, I demand you cease this illegal activity and allow yourselves to be apprehended and returned to your home planet," she said.

The Gwarf had frozen at her entrance but had begun to relax throughout her speech and finally burst out laughing.

"Darling cousin, as tempting as your offer sounds, we're afraid we're going to have to turn you down on that,"

"You don't have any choice," 'Margaret' said, sharply, "my guards will arrest you shortly and you will be escorted back to Raxacoricofallapatorius,"

"Well…" the Gwarf sneered, "you could do that but you may have a problem,"

"And what would that be exactly?"

"Well, your guards aren't likely to arrest us… when they're on our side…"

" What ?" 'Margaret' demanded.

The effect was immediate. The Slitheen guards seized their leader who screamed. One of the Gwarf pulled a sort of lever that was hidden in some tall grass and the forest floor seemed to roll back. Both Jack and Rose gasped as a large metal object rose from a deep pit into mid-air.

"That's my spaceship!" Jack hissed, "The dirty buggers did nick it!"

"Come my brothers and loyal cousins," drawled what appeared to be the Gwarf leader, "Our plan for universe domination is in action!"

Loud cheers rang out as the Slitheen threw their president down the hole in the ground.

"I demand you cease this activity!" she hollered, as she fell,

"Stop it!" the Doctor commanded, springing down from his tree, "In accordance with the Shadow Proclamation, you will stop your actions."

The enemy howled with laughter. "We do not care for any Shadow Proclamation. We will not stop. And you cannot stop us, Doctor ."

One of the Slitheen got the Doctor in a tight grasp around the neck, from which he tried unsuccessfully to struggle free.

"Say goodbye to your accomplices, Doctor," said the aliens, "you won't be seeing them again!"

Rose screamed as two Slitheen began to bend the trees over whilst another two easily grabbed her and Jack and began to pull them away with no problems despite their violent struggles.

" ROSE !" screamed the Doctor, frantically trying to move the Slitheen arm around his neck. He stared desperately as his love was taken away, her face full of fear, while he could do nothing. That sight burnt into his soul. "Let her go! She's got nothing to do with this!"

"Shut up," was all the aliens would say before throwing him down the pit with 'Margaret' and sealing the roof over them, leaving them in the dark. Seconds later, the Doctor heard Jack's 'borrowed' spaceship taking off.

He sighed and rubbed his wet eyes with his hands. What a mess. He was stuck in a hole with a Slitheen, and Jack and his precious Rose were in the enemies hands, only God knows where. He had to find her immediately. He knew Jack could take care of himself. Rose could too, to some extent but he knew she would need him. And he needed her too.

"I'm really sorry about this," 'Margaret' suddenly said, "I can assure you I had no idea my brothers would betray me and do this."

The Doctor sighed. "I should have expected it." He placed his face in his hands and thought. Then, he jerked up and scrambled through his pockets before grinning triumphantly. "The stupid, stupid idiots!" he said, "They left me with my sonic screwdriver!"

He turned to 'Margaret'.

"President Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, will you help me?"