REWRITE THE STARS ― doctor who

the christmas invasion ; part two

Chapter Two : The Christmas Invasion

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ROSE HAD TAKEN TO GIVING CLAUDIA SUSPICIOUS LOOKS and Claudia kept her distance from her and the Doctor, who still lay in bed, now sweating and panting heavily.

Claudia had run across the hall and grabbed her laptop, wanting to delve further into everything the Doctor told her. She tried to ignore the pulling in her stomach, as though tying her to him. She'd only just met him, and yet, she felt as though she'd known him forever. Against all of her better judgement, she trusted the man; even though he'd hardly spoken a few sentences to her.

It was all very confusing and complex. But she didn't want to dwell on that for now, she'd figure it out later. She'd already wrapped up her arm, with a few spare wraps she had in her old hunting bag, and sewed it together sloppily with floss. The trio gave her strange looks, but she ignored them, explaining it was a family military secret. It wasn't that far from the truth.

"It's midnight," Jackie said, handing Rose a cup of tea as Claudia typed away, Mickey peeking over her shoulder. "Christmas Day. Any change?"

"He's worse," Rose answered solemnly, taking a seat on the sofa. "Just one heart beating."

Claudia scoffed to herself. "One heart, this is nuts."

"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's surface in the next few minutes."

"Dean's probably loving this," Claudia murmured with a shake of her head.

Dean always loved space, confessing as children about how desperately he wanted to be an astronaut. He used to tie a blanket around his shoulders racing around the room and making a helmet out of a cereal box. They'd pretend the pillows were clouds and they were walking across them, touching the stars. Sam used to laugh at them and pretend to be a giant alien, tackling them to the ground until they surrendered. Dean always believed in aliens, even as adults, he believed they knew what was on the earth around them, but in outer space? Of course they existed.

Her heart ached and she stopped typing for a moment, tears filling her eyes. She hadn't thought about her childhood for years, and never such a fond memory. Mickey glanced at her worriedly and she shook her head, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Sorry," she muttered, focusing again.

"You alright?" He asked her quietly.

She ignored him, pushing Sam's laugh and the sound of Dean's impala revving out of her mind. That was the past, she was doing something important now.

"...We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now," Daniel Llewellyn, the project manager of 'Probe Guinevere' spoke to the reporters on the television. "I'd better get back to it, thanks."

"Here we go," Mickey pointed at the screen in front of him and Claudia. Claudia stopped scrolling. "Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless, they're tiny."

"It's the things that come afterwards we have to worry about," Claudia added. "That's what he was warning us about."

"But why'd he talk to you?" Rose asked, turning her attention to Claudia.

Claudia shrugged. "He probably thought I was you. He's a bit out of it, from what we saw earlier."

Rose frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as though she didn't really accept the answer, but let it go. Claudia rolled her eyes.