WRAITHS OF THE RIPPER

A/N: I'm basing Eleven's persona off Jim in The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow of the North.

Chapter Seventeen

It took a bit of doing and some raised eyebrows but John, Rory, Amy, Rani and Jack managed to get the two Doctors into a lodging house for a night. They had to explain to the elderly proprietor at the desk that the two Doctors were dead drunk and needed a place to stay the night. They also dealt with a bit of racism when the man inquired about the "Darkie" the moment he saw Rani. Amy explained that she was her and Rory's adopted daughter. The man then asked them how that could be since both Amy and Rory weren't much older than she was.

"She was adopted from the slums as a teenager, is that alright with you, sir?" Amy spat out while Rani glared at him.

After that, the man shut his mouth and booked them in for the night. The men carried their friends upstairs to the meager rooms while Amy and Rani followed them. The beds were simple wooden beds with straw mattresses and a battered goose down pillow but they managed to get their shoes off and get them into bed.

"We have two rooms," John said to them. "So Rory, you take the women into the other room and I'll sleep on the floor in here. Tomorrow, we'll start searching for a house near the Thames so we can ask to go into Whitechapel for our patrols.

They agreed to let John take the TARDIS to Whitechapel and hide her there, just in case they needed to use her in an emergency. John beckoned to Rory to follow him after Jack wished them luck and they went back downstairs. The TARDIS was parked next to the boarding house, safely hidden in the shadows between it and a pub. There was piano music coming from the pub along with raucous laughter and loud talking. A side window cast a bit of light onto the blue box as they quietly went inside her. John closed the door when Rory was inside. He looked up at the console. The women were waiting there, sitting while River stood and waited. John beckoned to Rory and they walked up the steps.

"You are in charge of the telepathic cicuirt, Rory. Guard it well," he said, glancing at Rory as he knelt down.

He opened a panel under the console and reached up inside the hole, feeling around until he found what he was looking for.

"Sorry, old girl, we have to do this," John said, patting the rim with his free hand before he pulled the circuit out.

Immediately, the lights dimmed a bit and the telepathic bond that was inside every one of their heads cut out, leaving an unsettling nothingness inside their minds. John made a face at the suddenly void in his mind and he felt the TARDIS becoming a bit less welcoming, more like a machine now than it ever was. He held up the circuit and showed them. The thing resembled a tiny TV tube and it was glowing faintly.

"I can give you a box to put it in so it doesn't get broken but keep guard over this," John said.

"I will," Rory said, taking it from him.

"Okay, so the TARDIS can still take you to Whitechapel but she's basically a machine now until we put that circuit back inside her," John said to everyone. "I'll take you there and hide the TARDIS once everyone's ready and then get a hanson cab back to the boarding house."

He took Rory to one of the cupboards and found a small box with cotton inside it that would fit the tube. He grabbed a bit of twine from the top shelf and found some scissors in a drawer in a little bureau that was also inside it. They put the tube inside and tied the twine around it, making sure it was secure. When they were through, Rory put it in his bigger on the inside pocket.

"I don't know you but I know the Doctor chooses his companions with care and you're a good man, Rory. The Doctor entrusted you with this and I can see it'll be in safe hands."

Rory nodded and thanked him. John clapped him on the shoulder before they left the cupboard.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

John flew the TARDIS to the heart of Whitechapel after letting Rory go back to the boarding house. Everyone stepped outside and watched while John set a time delay of two minutes on the console, giving him time to get outside before the TARDIS skipped a second out of sync with time. He stepped outside and shut the door before taking Rose in his arms and kissing her.

"You lot be careful," he said to them. "Jack, watch over them."

"Yes, mon Capitan!" Jack said with a salute.

"And you, watch yourself, I don't want you coming back to me in a coffin," he said to Rose.

"Same here, you're in just as much danger as we are," Rose said.

John nodded and reached into his pockets. He pulled out two red velvet bags and handed one to Rose and one to John.

"These bags are full of shillings and pence," he said to them. "Oughta be enough to buy you room and board so you can have shelter and food while you're out here but don't let anyone know you have that much money or you'll have more than the Ripper at your throats."

They heard a wheezing and watched while the TARDIS dematerialized into thin air.

"Right, that's taken care of," he said. "If you ask me, I'd suggest starting your search for Mary Ann Nichols at the Ten Bells in Spitalfields. It's on the corner of Commercial and Fournier Street and according to Ripper lore; some of the victims frequented it. Christ Church is across the street from it and I'd check that as well since I believe they allowed some of the women to spend the night there. I'm sure they have lodging around there as well. I believe that's two streets down to the east of here. I tried to land the TARDIS close to it so it won't be a long walk for you. We'll be back to check on you even if we aren't given a beat here. Good luck."

He kissed Rose's lips and cheeks and wished everyone one last good luck before he walked off in search of a cab.

"Right, 'ores!" Jack said with a Cockney accent. "'ere's what we're gonna do. We're gonna get out there and shag ourselves senseless for all shillin's you can get!"

"We?" Sarah Jane said. "Does that include you, Mister Punter?"

"Yes, because I be a bit 'orny as well, Misses Bangtail," Jack said while the women giggled. "I have to have a bit of a'right meself!"

"He'll be doing more shagging than we will," Rose said to her friends.

The older women laughed when Jack bonked her on the head with the tip of his walking stick.

"None of your gob, 'ore!" he said to her. "You get out there and get a bit of crumpet for me. What'd I pay you for?"

"I keep telling you, Mister Punter. You don't pay me, I pay you," Rose said.

"Well, I'm new to this pimp profession, still learning the ropes," Jack said with a shrug. "Now… have you all taken your oh my God, I'm stinking drunk pills?"

They nodded.

"So why aren't you acting drunk then?" Jack said. "And to be honest, me 'ores, you're a bit too clean and respectable looking for the likes of Whitechapel. Dirty yourself up a bit," he said, pointing to the grim on the pavement.

He watched while the women took a bit of dirt and grim and put it on the exposed parts of their skin. Jack looked them over, took in their new dresses with clean shawls and nice hats and shook his head.

"Gotta rip those a bit, ladies," he said, pointing to their clothes, "You're supposed to be impoverished whores wearing castoffs and anything you can find. You're too clean and too neat. Look around you. See?" he said, pointing to a drunken, disheveled woman staggering along the pavement across the road. "I have spent time in the slums before so I do know what sticks out like a sore thumb."

He watched while the women dirtied their clothes and tore rips in them. When they were looking a bit more disheveled, he nodded his approval.

"Right, me 'ores! Now we proceed to the Ten Bells for a bit of investigation!" he said to them before they headed east in search of it.

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