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Untitled - TARDIS Big Bang

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"Wouldn't have known that by the amount of effort we went into trying to contact you," Pete said dryly.<br />

The Doctor frowned, and looked at Rose. "What? You were trying to contact me?"<br />

"Well, you didn't think jumping into that contraption and flinging ourselves through the Void was our<br />

Plan A, did you?" Rose asked. "We tried to broadcast a message by hyperwave, but without a lock on the<br />

<strong>TARDIS</strong> we couldn't be sure anything was getting through."<br />

"Huh," the Doctor said, and then his attention shifted suddenly, like he'd just noticed who Pete was<br />

holding against his hip. "Is this Tony, then? The baby? Hello, Tony!"<br />

Tony turned around to look at the Doctor (who had bent down precariously close to his face) and, with a<br />

squeal of baby-babble, made a grab for the long protruding plume of his fringe. The Doctor laughed and<br />

made a half-hearted attempt to dodge, then let Tony smack him in the face with his jammy hands.<br />

(Where had all the jam come from? Had Pete just given him the jar?) Pete huffed and stepped away, so<br />

Tony was out of range.<br />

"You'll be happy to know that the stars are back," he said, struggling to keep on his Serious Business<br />

face. "They reappeared that first night you were gone."<br />

"Wait, how long were we gone?" Jackie protested. "Mickey said it'd only be a couple of hours!"<br />

"You know how the <strong>TARDIS</strong> is, Mum," Rose said. "At least it's the right year this time, yeah?"<br />

"Oi, don't blame the <strong>TARDIS</strong>," the Doctor said. "It's Time that gets all slippery between the worlds. How<br />

d'you think you lot saw the stars going out before the Reality Bomb went off?"<br />

"It's twenty-seventh July now," Pete said; Jackie made angry hissy noises because she couldn't swear in<br />

front of the baby and started fiddling furiously with her mobile. Rose couldn't say she wasn't surprised<br />

herself—she'd let over a week ago, apparently, though it all felt like one long day. Pete added,<br />

"Everything indicates that space is stabilizing—or at least, that's what some very smart people with lots<br />

of letters after their names promise me."<br />

"Oh, it is," the Doctor said, circling around behind so he could continue to make faces at Tony. "The<br />

Reality Bomb is gone, so all the foreshocks will have ceased."<br />

"And you know for certain the threat's neutralized?" Pete asked; he tried to turn to face the Doctor, but<br />

Tony squealed and squirmed every time he tried.<br />

"Pretty certain," the Doctor said, and pulled down the corners of his mouth with both fingers, so his next<br />

words came out sort of lisped. "Seeing as I killed them all."<br />

Tony laughed and reached for the Doctor's hair again, but Pete turned sharply, so the baby's laugh<br />

turned into a protesting shriek. The Doctor straighted up, face falling a bit, and they all stood about<br />

awkwardly for a few moments, nobody speaking (except for Tony's unhappy burbles). Rose wanted to<br />

blurt out they deserved it, they always have, I'd have done the same thing—I have done and I would do it<br />

9

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