Ties Between Freedom and Love

✦25✦ - The Empty Child

Chapter Twenty-Five
The Empty Child

*---*---*---*---*---*

Emma stumbled into the control room the next morning, afternoon, night? It was hard to tell, traveling through time and space. She was pleasantly sleeping before a shaking and trembling feeling woke her up. She grabbed the first thing she saw, which was; a Union Jack T-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of combat boots. Rose ran in after her wearing something pretty similar, except with a grey hoodie and black t-shirt.

"What the hell is happening?" Emma shouted.

"It's mauve," the Doctor called back as the TARDIS spun around wildly.

"Mauve?" Rose repeated.

"Universally recognized color for danger," he explained as a bump sent all three of them jerking back and forth.

"What happened to red?" Emma questioned before she tripped and caught herself on the edge of the console.

"That's just humans," the Doctor replied. "By everyone else's standards, red's camp," he pushed a few buttons before twisting one of the black dials. "Oh, the misunderstandings! All those red alerts, all that dancing... it's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS." He looked at Emma, "Wherever it goes, we go! Sorry, we'll have to take a raincheck on the 16th or 12th century."

Emma shook her head as she swayed forward when another bump hit. "It's fine. But is that safe?" she asked as he pulled down a lever.

"Totally."

Part of the console exploded. Sparks flew out and Emma and Rose yelped as they jumped back in surprise.

"Ok, reasonably. Should have said reasonably there," he admitted. "No, no! No! It's jumping time tracks, it's getting away from us!"

"What exactly is this thing that's getting away from us?" Emma questioned, returning to his side beside the console.

"No, idea."

"That's comforting," she retorted.

"Then why are we chasing it?" Rose asked.

"It's mauve and dangerous," he replied like that answer in itself should have explained everything. "And about thirty seconds from the center of London," he added, shooting them a glance.

"WHAT?!"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

*---*---*---*---*---*

"D'you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?" the Doctor questioned as the trio climbed out of the TARDIS.

"Five days?" Rose asked, "or is that just when we're out of milk?"

Emma laughed while the Doctor shook his head, "All the species in all the universe, and it has to come out of a cow!"

"What's wrong with cows?" Emma inquired. "What have they ever done to you?"

"Easy girl," he warned, smiling when she giggled. "Must've come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile anyway," he said as they started walking down the alleyway they appeared in. "And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago, maybe a month."

"A month?" Rose exclaimed.

"We were right behind it," Emma protested.

"It was jumping time tracks. It was all over the place. We were bound to be a little bit out," he told them before looking at Emma, "Do you wanna drive?"