THE ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S AMAZING HAND

Chapter Twenty Four

For the longest time, Rose was unable to sleep. The bed was soft and comfortable but she couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to and what happened to them. She hoped they'd had only fled the house and not been killed by the Toclafane.

John lay beside her on the bed, his body resting on the pillow beside Rose. He was awake too. Being part of a time lord, he didn't need that much sleep. He was watching Rose and letting her think for awhile in the hopes that she would soon grow tired and drift off to sleep. After awhile, Rose's eyes finally closed and her breathing evened out as she finally fell asleep. John listened to her breathing while he thought to himself and waited for the sun to rise.

The next morning, Rose woke early, stretched and sat up on the side of the bed. John came over to her side.

Feel better? He signed to her.

"Much better. My feet aren't hurting now."

Good, John signed.

"John, I was thinking about something last night. Ianto said he works with Jack at Torchwood. So you knew him there?"

I knew he worked there but I didn't see much of him since Jack put me in a corner and tried to pretend I wasn't there. I saw him when I played a prank on Jack. Jack blamed Ianto for what I did.

Rose chuckled.

"That wasn't very nice," she teased.

Well, I was upset that Jack imprisoned me in the jar so I didn't care if Ianto got blamed, he signed.

"I can understand that," Rose said, stroking his back.

She picked him up and carried him into the adjoining bathroom. John waited patiently until she got done washing her face and body before he slipped under the tap and washed himself. Rose soaped him down and he finished up.

"Another reason you need to become a whole person is you need someone to help you bathe," Rose said to him.

John nodded. Rose walked over to the linen closet and pulled out a big, pink fluffy towel. She walked over to John, picked him up and lightly dried him off. When she was done, she opened the towel and let him slide out onto the sink counter before she used it on herself.

"Rose?" Ianto called up from downstairs. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, we both are. We're getting ready now."

"Okay, I'll make us a light breakfast and afterwards we'll go find Tom."

"Okay, be down in a minute!" she called.

She smiled at John.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

John gave her a thumbs up. Rose put on her jacket, zipped it up halfway and put John inside it before heading down for breakfast.

After eating a light breakfast of buttered toast and coffee, the three of them headed out. Rose was wearing a pink hoodie and put the hood up to try to conceal her identity while Ianto glanced around, making sure they weren't being followed. On the way they passed by an ASDA and went inside. There were a few people gathering things together so Rose and Ianto made sure to keep out of their way. Ianto chose a black rucksack and began to shop for clothes and supplies while Rose went to find an atlas. On the way there, she saw some winter clothes, hats, scarfs and gloves and had a sudden thought. She took John out, set him on the floor and beckoned to him to follow her. John followed behind while Rose walked over to the gloves. She chose a red pair, separated them and bent down.

"See if you can wear this. It's gonna get colder soon and you need some protection," Rose said.

John flipped onto his wrist and held perfectly still while Rose put the knitted glove on him.

"Okay, now walk around and see if it's comfortable," Rose said when she was finished.

John flipped onto his fingers and walked around in front of Rose while she waited. After a couple of minutes, he flipped back and gave her the OK sign. Rose nodded.

"I'll get you these gloves then," she said.

John gave her the thumbs up and let Rose take the glove off him. He watched while she selected pink gloves, hat and scarf and put them in her rucksack before they walked on. Rose found the atlases and selected a medium sized one that would fit in her rucksack. After that, they went and got a few boxes and cans of food and some toiletries before finally meeting up with Ianto near the front door. Once they had everything situated, they continued on in search of Tom.

"Looks like this is the place," Ianto said after an hour's walk.

The house looked deserted and most of the windows were boarded up. They approached cautiously, John resting inside Rose's jacket. Ianto went up the stairs and knocked on the door. Both of them gasped when it flew open and an emaciated black woman shoved a revolver in Ianto's face.

"Keep moving, whoever you are," she said menacingly.

Ianto and Rose held their hands up.

"My name's Ianto Jones," he said.

"I don't give a damn if you're Rupert the bloody Bear, get the fuck outta here!" the woman growled.

"No, wait, listen. We're trying to stop the Master and we need some help," Ianto said. "We need a way out of the country and we need to speak with Tom Milligan."

The woman lowered the gun slightly but still gave them a wary look.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked.

"You don't. You'll just have to trust us and if the Toclafane come here, you can shoot us," Ianto replied.

The woman looked around for any sign of the Toclafane.

"Get inside and be quiet. I'll tell Tom you're here. Don't touch anything," she said.

They nodded and came inside when she stepped back. Inside the house they saw several other people huddled in the other room, staring at them quietly. The woman closed the door, ordered the others to keep an eye on them and moved past them. Ianto leaned back against the wall beside the door while Rose stood beside him.

"I hope they listen to us before they start shooting," Ianto said to her.

The woman returned a few minutes later with a young man. He was tall, thin with short dark hair and a clean shaven face. He was dressed all in black with a black jacket and trainers.

"Sorry, Miranda's a bit wary of strangers. We're part of the resistance that's fighting against the Master and spies are everywhere. I'm Tom. You're Ianto?"

"Yes, and this is Rose," Ianto said. "We need to talk to you. You have a medical ID?"

"Sure do, it's been a great help. It allows me to travel and spread information about our rebellion without being detected."

"Well, we're traveling and we wanna leave and go to France," Rose said. "Ianto can duplicate a pass but he needs to see what one looks like before he can do it."

"Really? You're that good with computers?" Tom said.

"I'm very good with computers," Ianto replied.

"We might need someone like you," Tom said.

He waved Miranda away and took them back into the kitchen. They sat down at an old wooden table and Tom reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

"So, what's in France?" he said while he took out his ID card and gave it to Ianto. "Toclafane are there as well if you're looking for escape from them."

"We know that but we're trying to find Martha Jones," Rose said to him.

"Uh-huh, who's that? A family member?" Tom said, sitting down beside Ianto while he took his laptop out of his rucksack.

"You didn't get visited by her?" Rose said.

"Nope, not to my knowledge," Tom said. "Don't recall any Martha Jones visiting us. Why? Is she someone special?"

"Well, actually, she's spreading the word about a man called the Doctor and I'm doing it as well so if you don't mind, could you gather everyone together later so I can talk to them?" Rose asked.

Tom shrugged.

"Sure. I'm kinda curious now about this Martha and…the Doctor? Doctor who?"

"He's just called the Doctor," Rose said.

"Uh-huh, well, if you're not spies, you're welcome here. Not sure how you're gonna make it to France but you can rest up here for as long as you need."

"You couldn't take us?" Ianto said, glancing up from his laptop.

Tom scratched his cheek thoughtfully.

"I s'pose I could but you'd have to hide in the back of my truck for safety's sake," he said.

"That's fine," Rose said. "We just need a way to get to France quickly. We think Martha might be there and we want to catch up with her."

"Well, I'll tell you what I can do. I'll take you to Dover. I know someone there who secretly ferries people across the channel and I'm sure he can take you."

"Thank you," Ianto said. "We'd appreciate it."

"What are you gonna do once you find this Martha?" Tom said.

"We're going to go around the world and tell people about the Doctor," Rose said.

"On foot? Are you nuts?" Tom said, staring at her with wide eyes. "Do you know how long that'll take?"

"The Doctor sent Martha to do it so we're going to help her out," Rose said.

"Well, best of luck to you and your feet. I wouldn't do it but if you have the guts to travel the world with the Toclafane flying around, you have my admiration and best wishes for a safe journey. I just hope you can do it and come back to England in one piece."

"Same here," Rose said.

Tom looked at what Ianto was doing. He had a small camera and had taken a picture of his ID.

"You know, I have a couple of extra ones. I can take your photos and glue them onto the front so it looks like they're yours," Tom said.

"Could you do that for us?" Ianto said.

"Sure. It'll save you some time since I guess you're in an enormous hurry here," he replied. "I just hope you can find this Martha before the Toclafane or the Master find you."

"Me too," Ianto said.

After speaking with them, Tom fetched two medical IDs for Ianto and Rose. He used Ianto's camera to take a picture of them and after printing it out, he carefully cut the tiny photos out and glued them on top of the existing photos.

"This man and woman were killed by the Toclafane awhile back," he explained. "I was with them and took their IDs before anyone could get ahold of them."

"Why were they killed?" Rose asked.

Tom sighed.

"They got into an argument with the bloody things. It was near the start of the invasion. Back before we realized that just because you had a pass didn't mean the Toclafane wouldn't kill you if you insulted them and that's what they did. Marie and Clive were flippant towards them because they were being harassed and the Toclafane sliced them to bits. They left me alive so I could go and tell others what happened as a warning. But even though they died, their IDs will still be of some use to you."

He finished his work and handed the IDs to them. Rose and Ianto thanked him and put the IDs in their trouser pockets.

After supper, Rose gathered everyone together in the kitchen and told them about the Doctor and his message. Ianto sat beside her listening quietly while John did the same, snug in her jacket. The rebels and Ianto listened spellbound while she recounted some of the adventures she had with the Doctor and she finished up by giving them all the instruction that Angela gave to her.

"So we're suppose to say the Doctor's name and somehow the world goes back to the way it was before?" Tom said when she finished.

"Yeah," Rose said. "And I know it sounds daft but I've traveled with the Doctor and I've seen incredible things and I don't doubt for one second that he can make it happen."

"And you're supposed to tell everyone you see this same thing?" Tom said.

Rose nodded.

"And so is Martha," she added.

"Well, good luck to ya," Tom said while the rest of the rebels nodded in agreement. "We'll do what you say and say his name at the right time. Hell, we don't have anything to lose anyway."

"Thank you. I guarantee you won't be disappointed if you do this," Rose said. "I know the Doctor and I know he can save us all. I have faith in him."

They all nodded.

"Well, if that's all you need to say then I'm ready to go whenever you are," Tom said to them.

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