Winter Rose, Book 1

You Kiss This Man!??

After taking a quick look around the room the Doctor came upon the bodies of the secretary and the Prime Minister himself, causing Win to sigh and look away. She honestly felt sick enough having watched all the alien experts die. She didn't need to be trapped in a room with two more people she couldn't save.

"What was his name?" The Doctor asked, referring to the secretary as he carefully moved the bodies into a cosset so they wouldn't have to see them the whole time they were stuck there. Harriet looked over at the Doctor and sighed sadly.

"I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a coffee. I never asked his name." She looked down, disappointed in herself. The Doctor nodded solemnly and gently laid the man's body down next to the Prime Ministers before closing the closet and beginning to scan the room with his sonic.

"So," Win turned to Rose and Riley with a raised eyebrow. "How exactly did you end up being chased around Downing street by a Slitheen?"

"It was my fault, actually." Harriet spoke up before either Rose or Riley could say anything. "After you and the Doctor went to the meeting I brought them here and showed them the skin suit I had found left by the Slitheen. We then discovered the Prime Minister's body and the young man joined us. Then came that woman, I believe her name was Margaret, I think, she shed her skin and strangled the poor man before we could even try to stop her. Finally that electricity appeared and we ran. That's how you found us." Win hummed thoughtfully.

"Right! What have we got? Any terminals? Anything?" The Doctor asked as he stopped scanning around with his sonic.

"No, this place is antique." Rose sighed.

"What I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?" Riley asked from where he was leaning against the large table.

"He's too slim. They're big old beasts, they need to fit inside big Humans." The Doctor pointed out.

"But the Slitheen are about eight feet tall, how do they squeeze inside?" Rose exclaimed, her brow pinched in confusion.

"That's the device around their necks. Compression field." He explained. "Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field, could fit a size smaller." Rose remarked, but Win frowned at her along with Harriet.

"Excuse me, people are dead! This is not the time for making jokes!" Harriet scolded Rose sternly.

"Sorry," Rose responded apologetically. "You get used to this kind of stuff when you're friends with him." Rose pointed to the Doctor who had got back to scanning everything.

"Well that's a strange friendship." Harriet stated before turning to Win. "and what of you? You're supposed to be a Seer! Why didn't you do anything to stop this?!" She demanded and Win grit her teeth.

"It's not a perfect sight, Harriet, I can't see everything! And even then I have no control over what I see and what I don't! Do you think I would have done nothing to save the others if I'd known what was going to happen?!" Win snapped, causing the older woman to take a few steps back. The Doctor turned from his scanning to pull Win into a hug which she very much needed at that point. Win sagged in his arms slightly, not wanting the others to know how much she just wanted to sit down and cry.

"Harriet Jones," The Doctor murmured. "I've heard that name before, Harriet Jones. You're not famous or anything are you?" Harriet looked sadly at the white haired woman the alien man was comforting.

"Hardly." She replied softly, already regretting what she'd said to the woman. She shouldn't have accused her, she hadn't the right as she didn't know what had happened with them. The Doctor hummed in thought, resting his chin on Win's head as he gently rubbed her back.