amberfocus | Hunger Moon: Chapter Eight

Accusations Fly

Rose punched the alarm code into the system and slammed into the house. “Mum?” she called out. “Mum!”

“Rose!” She heard the sounds of footsteps running towards her and her mother appeared in the kitchen. “Have you seen the twins? They’re not in the house anywhere. They didn’t go out to the TARDIS, did they?” Her mother was frantic with worry.

“No,” Rose said. “Are you sure they’re not here?”

“I’ve checked every room, Rose. They’re not. I was hoping they’d snuck out to be with you.”

“No. There’s no one else in the TARDIS. Even the Doctor’s not there,” Rose said. “I was just looking for him when I heard you screaming.”

“Are you sure? That ship is huge, they could be…” Jackie trailed off at Rose’s insistent shaking of her head.

“The TARDIS would have told me,” said Rose. “What about their tree house?” asked Rose. “Did you check there? It wouldn’t be the first time they’d snuck out there at night.”

“No, I’ve just checked all the rooms in the house,” Jackie said.

“Including the servant’s quarters?” Rose asked.

“Yes. Wilson checked them all. They aren’t in the house.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to go check the tree house,” Rose said and with a nod from Jackie and a quick rummage in the junk drawer for a torch, Rose ran outside. She turned on the flashlight and fastened it around her wrist with its Velcro straps. It was Torchwood issue and strapped firmly in place, shining ahead of her as she climbed the ladder at the base of the twins’ tree house.

She heaved herself up through the hole in the floor and shone the light around the first room. It was empty. “Sarah? Kyle?” she called out. There was no answer but she had to be sure. They could both sleep like the dead and might not have heard her. Quickly she went through the curtain that divided the front room from the sleeping room with its little camp cots and sleeping bags. She shone the light on each bed but they were both empty.

Rose knew it had been a long shot, but her heart still sank with disappointment as she surveyed the little luxury playhouse Pete had put in the tree when the twins were five. He’d rented a crane and a construction crew to do it. It was a far cry from the cardboard refrigerator and washer and dryer boxes she and Mickey had played in the year she’d turned five. Still, she didn’t begrudge her siblings their more privileged upbringing. She had had a lot more freedom to roam than the twins ever had.

Her mother was waiting in the kitchen, dressing gown pulled tight about her. She shook her head. “They aren’t there. I’m sorry, Mum. You’d better call Dad. He can get Torchwood on it.”

“Torchwood?” Jackie looked horrified. “You think I should get Torchwood involved in this?”

“They’re good at rescue and recovery,” said Rose. “Far better than the police. They’ll find them.”

“I don’t want Torchwood in my house. The kids are afraid of them,” said Jackie.

“The twins aren’t here to be afraid of them,” reminded Rose.

“I’m aware of that,” snapped her mother. Rose took a deep breath, picked up the phone and handed it to her mother.

“Call Pete,” she said. “Then if you still feel it’s necessary, call the police.” Numbly, Jackie did what Rose advised.

Pete came home immediately and when he slammed through the front door of the house the look on his face was furious. “Where the hell are they?” he demanded. His eyes went immediately to Rose and she took a step back.

“I don’t know,” Rose said. “How would I know?”

Pete gave her a grim look before turning on Jackie. “How could you lose them?” he demanded.

“I didn’t lose them. They were asleep in their beds when I went to sleep,” Jackie said. “Don’t you dare accuse me of negligence, Peter Tyler!”

“Well, they didn’t just get up and walk out, did they?” Pete snapped back. “Have you checked the security tapes?”

“Wilson’s doing it now,” said Rose.

“Wilson’s done it,” said Gregory Wilson, walking into the kitchen with a heavy look on his face. “Come and see what I’ve found. You’re not going to like it.”

They followed Wilson in to the surveillance room and he brought up an image on the screen. “That’s your husband, I think,” said Wilson pointing to the monitor. Rose watched as the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS and started pacing around the house. He walked around it several times looking lost in thought. At one point his head snapped up and he looked towards the side gate. He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and the tip flared blue. Then the image went blank.

“There’s nothing after that for twenty minutes and then recording resumes,” said Wilson. The images flashing across the screen were of a quiet house with nothing of incident until Rose emerged from the TARDIS forty minutes later.

“So the Doctor saw something,” said Rose. “Someone must have broken in and he went to stop it and got caught up in it or something. He may be lying in the bushes injured. I should go look.”

Pete caught her arm. “Are you telling me the Doctor’s missing?” he asked.

“Not missing,” said Rose looking down at the hand that was clutching her arm a little too tightly. “He just wasn’t in the TARDIS when I woke up and she said he’d gone outside.” Pete’s fingers dug into her arm and Rose winced. “Ouch, let go. You’re hurting me.” She shook off Pete’s grip.

“I think it’s pretty clear here what’s going on,” said Pete. “Your Doctor took our children.”

Rose turned horrified eyes on Pete. “There is no way. He would never, ever do that!” She glanced over at her mother and realized with horror that Jackie’s face was covered with doubt. “He wouldn’t,” she insisted.

“But you don’t know that, do you, Rose?” Jackie said. “You’ve only known him four weeks. What do you really know about the man? He isn’t your Doctor, he’s different. A different man. How do you know he wouldn’t take the twins?”

“Because I know him,” insisted Rose.

“How can you? How can you really know him in four weeks time? Just because the sex is good between you doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy,” Jackie pressed on.

“He’s my husband!” Rose said. “I trust him with my life.”

“Do you trust him with the lives of Kyle and Sarah?” Pete snapped.

“Yes,” she said. “He didn’t do this. You have to believe me.” Pete turned away from her. “Mum?”

“How can I? You’ve shown such bad judgment in the past when it comes to any version of the Doctor. This one, well I think you’ve misjudged him. He must be bad,” said Jackie.

“No. He’s not bad anymore than Pete is!” said Rose.

“Don’t compare your father--.”

“But he’s not my father, is he?” snapped Rose. “He’s just like my husband. He’s a different man. Yet you trusted him from the start. Enough to conceive Kyle and Sarah the night you met him! Why can’t you trust that I know this Doctor is a good man?”

“Because my children are missing!” yelled Jackie as she lost control of her emotions in her fear for the twins’ safety. “My children are missing! Your husband is missing! I may not have a genius level IQ but I know enough to put two and two together and come up with four when I see it!”

“He wouldn’t do this! He’d never do this!” Rose yelled back. “You don’t know him.”

“You don’t know him!” fired back Pete.

“I do. I do know him. He wouldn’t--.” The sound of the TARDIS dematerializing stopped her mid-sentence and the expression on both her parents’ faces darkened in horror. Rose didn’t know what was going on but she was sure, one hundred percent sure, that her husband had not kidnapped her brother and sister.

“He didn’t.”

“He did,” said Jackie.

Pete looked at her grimly. “If any harm comes to those children,” he said in a vicious tone as his eyes raked accusingly over Rose, “I will kill your husband myself. And you…you will not be welcome in this house again.”

Rose turned to her mother but Jackie refused to meet her gaze. Her mum walked over to her dad and took his hand. “Mum?”

“You better hope you’re right, Rose.”

“But I’m your daughter!”

For a moment Jackie’s face softened. Pete bit out, “But you’re not mine.” He pulled Jackie closer and she buried her face in Pete’s shirt. He stared at Rose with hard eyes, eyes Rose didn’t recognize.

Rose blinked back tears and reached for the link in her mind, found the little silver light and made it flare out strong. “Doctor!” she cried out mentally. “Doctor, I need you!” As she gave her psychic shout she glanced back at Pete. For a moment, some trick of the light made his face appear to ripple, but it was gone within a second. Very slowly his lips began to turn upwards in a grin. It chilled Rose to the bone.

The TARDIS materialized in the living room of the safe house and the moment she did, Mickey was leaning over the back of the couch clutching his stomach, pointing at the ship and laughing. The Doctor frowned down at Mickey but all the man could manage was, “Pink!” before he was off again.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and strode over to his ship. “All right, you’ve made your point already. You can go back to being yourself any time now. I apologized.”

“In point of fact, you really haven’t,” the TARDIS said.

“I’m sorry,” he said putting one hand on the door. “Really, I am. Rose and I will never…” He trailed off and glanced at the three very interested observers. “Do that, there, again. Now, will you please turn back?”

Mickey snorted as he sussed out just exactly what the word ‘that’ meant and Suzie asked him, “Why exactly is he talking to that box?”

“Because she’s his ship and she’s alive,” said Mickey.

“Kind of small, isn’t she?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Well?” asked the Doctor.

“Don’t have time for it at the moment, but later on I will. Now aren’t you in danger? Why did you summon me?” the TARDIS asked.

“I’m not the one in danger. But there’s a chance Rose is, so I brought you to me to keep her safe,” the Doctor explained.

“Doctor, Rose isn’t on board,” the ship said.

“She woke up and went looking for you. I told her you’d gone outside. She heard a scream from the house and went inside. A few minutes later her father came home and then you called me here.”

“Pete’s there? At the house? With Rose?” The Doctor was unlocking the doors immediately.

“Yes.”

“Go with him, Mickey,” Jake said. “Suzie and I can protect the kids but the Doctor might need help.”

“Yeah,” said Mickey. He hurried after the Doctor. “Nice dust ruffle,” he said, smirking at the pink lacy thing surrounding the console.

“Shut it,” said the Doctor.

“Right,” said Mickey, but the smirk didn’t leave his face as the Doctor programmed the coordinates and the TARDIS headed back to the Tyler Manse. The little hop didn’t take more than a couple of minutes and then the ship was appearing in the same spot in the back garden it had vacated moments before. Without a word the two men dashed out of the TARDIS and into the house.

Rose threw herself into the Doctor’s arms, feeling relief in every inch of her bones as his arms tightened around her. She buried her face in his shirt, her fingers fisting in his leather jacket and trying to pull him even closer.

“What the hell have you done with my children?” Jackie shouted advancing on the Doctor. She raised her hand threateningly.

“Mum, he didn’t take them.” Rose whirled on her mother. “Tell her, Doctor,” Rose ordered, backing into the Doctor until her back was flush against him. She spread her arms out in front of her husband, blocking him from Jackie’s reach.

“I didn’t take your children,” the Doctor said with mild surprise.

“They’re missing and you were gone,” Jackie accused.

“What’s going on?” the Doctor asked Rose through their mental link.

“The twins have gone missing and Mum and Dad think you took them,” Rose explained.

The evil smile on Pete’s face got larger and this time when his skin rippled the Doctor and Rose both saw it. So did Mickey. “That’s not Pete,” Mickey declared. “That’s one of those Monoc’teru.”

“What?” Jackie backed away from Pete.

“Look at him, he’s responding to your telepathic link. You were using it, right?” Mickey asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do it again.” The Doctor murmured something telepathically to Rose and Pete’s face rippled yet again. “Look at him. He’s one of them. No wonder Pete’s been acting so strange. It’s a shape-shifter,” Mickey said.

“Jackie, come away from him!” ordered the Doctor.

“What?” Jackie was very confused and starting to look frightened for herself at last.

“Mum, that’s not Dad!” Rose said. “It’s…it’s an alien.”

“What?”

“Bit slow on the uptake, your mum,” groused the Doctor.

Mickey pulled a gun out of the inside of his coat and leveled it on the thing that was not Pete. “Get away from her,” he said. The not Pete dropped his arms away from Jackie and then shimmered and disappeared.

“Someone better explain to me right now what’s going on!” Jackie said shrilly. Her eyes took their turn boring through every other set of eyes in the room. The three of them moved together into a cohesive bunch under her glare. “Well?” she said crossing her arms and tapping one foot impatiently. “I’m waiting.”

Ch. 9: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/42713.html

Current Mood: giddy
Current Location: home
Current Music: Hilary Duff (I blame the kids)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

nattieb.livejournal.com

What an action packed chapter. I didn't think they would be back for Rose so soon and evilPete would be exposed. I love this chapter though and I can only imagine the hurt that Rose experienced or still will knowing that her own mother didn't trust her, no matter what was going on.

Now back to the twins, and off to find Pete, right?

From:

Not Rose-Colored Glasses

Hunger Moon: Chapter Eight

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