The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Seven

Paramedics rush in, taking Lazarus' body out. The Time Lord, and Sophie exit the building. Martha rushes up, pulling the Doctor in for a hug. "Are you alright?"

"Course I am, I'm always alright."

Jack comes jogging up the stairs, his bow tie untied, the top button of his shirt is unbuttoned, his jacket abandoned somewhere, with his sleeves rolled up. He grins upon seeing the Gallifreyan, hugging him. He then moves over, scooping Sophie up, spinning her around.

The Doctor unties his tie, unbuttoning his top button as well. Francine Jones comes marching over, and the Doctor smiles jovially at her, "Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat."

The woman slaps him, hard, right across the face. He reels back, his hand rising to his cheek. Martha glares at her mother, "Mum, what are you doing?"

"Always the mothers, every time," the Time Lord grimaces.

"He is dangerous. I've been told things."

Jack rolls his eyes, "I told you he will keep your daughter safe. You hit him again, and I will be forced to arrest you on charges of assault against a government element."

"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction."

"This isn't his fault!" Martha argues, "He saved us, all of us!"

"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place," Leo adds, "I'd say technically, it's her fault."

Tish elbows Leo in the ribs, rolling her eyes. Behind them, a large crash is heard. The Doctor whips around, rushing for the crash. Sophie doesn't hesitate to follow him, Jack right beside her.

They skid to a halt by the ambulance, the doors on the back wide open. Martha and Tish join them a few moments later. There are two corpses in the back of the ambulance, neither one that of Lazarus. The Time Lord sighs, "Lazarus, back from the dead. Should have known, really."

Jack reaches into his pocket, handing the Doctor his sonic. The Time Lord scans around the room, trying to find Lazarus' DNA trace.

"Where is he?" the Captain asks.

The sonic starts beeping more furiously, and the Time Lord nods at the building in front of them, "That way. The church."

"Cathedral," Tish states, "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

The Doctor shrugs, nodding. He runs for the church, the rest of the group following him. As they step through the door, Martha surveys the room, "Do you think he's in here?"

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" the Doctor asks her.

The group cautiously approach the altar. Lazarus shivers in front of it, shrouded in a red blanket. The professor hears them approach, turning to look at them. "I came here before, a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."

The Doctor walks around in front of him, "The Blitz."

"You've read about it."

Jack walks over to join the Time Lord, "We were there."

"You're too young.

"So are you," the Doctor reminds him.

Lazarus starts to laugh, but his body begins to make loud, rather painful sounding, cracking noises. "In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."