Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:56:41 EDT
From: J
Subject: DOCTOR WHO, JESSE AND JEREMY 57

"He's left us..."  Jeremy  said.
Jesse looked out,  "Impossible..."
"I know he'd never but he  was there, the TARDIS was there and now they're
not. And I don't even see K9 in  the sky..."  Jeremy scanned the  yellowish,
purple-ish, blue-ish sky as the clouds waned into a darkness...twilight  was here. "
And look..."
"More Cybermen, they're  coming..."
It was true. Masses of  Cybermen were converging on the castle. There were so
many, the boys could not  see the base of the buildings on the streets.
Thousands of metallic legs  pouncing on the streets, the sound of hydraulics
filling the coming night air.  They poured from every street, every angle, every
park, every tree...pressing over  the bodies of  fallen comrades,  crunching metal
and bone under the metal. Passing over the drawbridge. Climbing  the outside
structures.
"We've had it,"  Jesse  stated.
"He'll come back, he'll get  us out,"  Jeremy  said.
"If he does, it might be  too late for you and the baby..."
The boys turned toward the  voice. A Cyber...man? There stood a metallic
creature. Cyberman looking, observing  them. Jesse held the baby closer to him,
taking it out of the basket. Jeremy  stood in front of  them, sword out  again and
hilt held in both hands, raising his arms, bending at the elbows,  ready to
strike.
The Cyberman put his hands  up. "I just want to see..."  It  sounded feminine.
It held its head. "Hold..."
"Are you alright?"  Jeremy  asked.
"That's a stupid  question...look at her..."   Jesse  said.
The Cyber-woman came  closer. It was only a few feet away. Jeremy said, "Stay
back!!! I warn you! I've  killed Cybermen today! Many of them and I won't..."
The creature, built into  one of the most sophisticated Cyberman bodies,
held its sleek, smooth metal  head and then its stomach. It bent over  in pain. "
I was the last one to be converted...I fought them...I tried to hold out  but
failed. I think it's failing...my brain, my bones in side this thing, some of  my
flesh and some of my organs..."
"I'm...I'm sorry,"  Jeremy squeaked out. "I'm so  sorry..."
Jesse looked, "Don't let  her near the baby..."
"Fesh, his name is  Fesh..."
Jeremy turned to look at  Jesse and then quickly he turned back to face the
Cyberwoman. "Are you...? That's  his name. The distress call told us it was. Are
you the baby's robot nanny? But  you said you were...flesh and bone?"
"And blood...some of which is  also in here with me...may  I..."    She moved
closer.
"I'm telling you one last  time..."  Jeremy looked into the eyes  of the
former female. "The Cybermen, they don't have sexes do  they..."
"Look at them,"   Jesse said, "They probably don't  even have sex let alone
sexes..."
"More are coming. They are  coming up the steps. We will all be killed...you
must hide the baby  now..."
"You....you're the mother,  aren't you?"   Jesse moved past  Jeremy.
Jeremy put one hand on  Jesse's arm, "What are you doing?!"   He held the
sword out straight now, in the other hand.  "don't..."
Jesse stared at him and  into his eyes and smiled. He looked at the eyes of
the woman, beneath the  Cyberface plate. "You...you're the mother...all she wants
to do, Jer, is hold her  baby one last time."
Jesse put the baby in the  mother's arms. Her head went down to the baby to
hold him next to her cheek. The  baby laughed. A tear came from the Cyber eye
nearest the baby's cheek. "There is  not much time but..."  she looked at  the
baby again. "He's wonderful. Don't let them get  him."
Jeremy nodded, "We...we  won't...the Doctor'll come..."
"Ahhh, yes, the Doctor, I  knew he would come. It was too late for me. But it
was only about ten minutes  since I hid the baby and the Nanny. Her brain is
very strong. Tell the Doctor it  survives even the metallic death of the Nanny
machine  itself."
The sound of more Cybermen  stomping grew closer and closer. They were coming
up the steps. Jeremy moved to  the door wreckage with his sword ready. The
Mother Cyberman held his arm. Jeremy  looked at her. "What are you doing? Lemme
go. Look, I'm sorry  but..."
"I'm even now fighting my  Cyber control..."  the Mother said,  "Let me hold
them off."
"Listen,"  Jeremy said, "The Doctor'll get us out.  You can come with us.
He can figure out how to  help  you. He's brilliant. He can..."
A row of Cybermen appeared  at the door. The Mother turned to them and ran at
them, screaming. She tackled  five of them down into the stone railway
opposite the door and two more were  brought with them. They all fell over the stone
bridge. Jeremy ran out to watch  the seven Cybermen and one Mother hit the
floor, all sparking, all dying...in  pieces. "NOOOO!"
Jesse moved back into the  room with the baby in his arms again, "Jeremy,
watch out! Behind  you!"
Jeremy was looking over the  edge when more Cybermen came up behind him and
one grabbed the back of his neck  with two vice like hands and held his face
over the edge. Below fires started.  More Cybermen came into the room and
approached Jesse. "Doctor, now would be a  good time!"
"Hand over the  symbol!"
"It's not a symbol or even  an it, he's a baby! His name is Fesh..."
"Not  anymore!"
This leader waved his hand  and various varied Cybermen came past him and
moved at  Jesse.
Between the Cybermen and  Jesse a big blue box started to appear.
"I know that!"  The Cyber Leader, another one, pointed.  "When it appears,
destroy it!"
Jesse wanted to cry out,  "If you know that thing you'd know it was a TARDIS
and that lame brains in cases  like you lot can't destroy it!"  But  he kept
quiet, hoping the TARDIS arrival would distract the Cybermen long enough  for
him to figure out what to do until those doors  opened.
Through the faint  materialization of the TARDIS...for it still looked
ghostlike, Jesse could see the  Cybermen and he looked to the hallway.  Jeremy brought
the sword up in his hand  and sliced the Cyberman holding him up sideways and
in two. Jeremy turned,  kicked it into another one and swung it to slice
through five more. But there  were more.  Jeremy got down on one  knee. "I do not
swear my allegiance to the united fags of Cybermerica."    He brought the
sword up to  the confused Cybermen.
Jesse leaned on the TARDIS  exterior, the back of it. It spun and the doors
opened. The Doctor pulled him  inside. K9 flew outside and began to fire gold
rays and from his posterior he  pooped gold. All the Cybermen in the room fell.
 Jeremy ducked and a Cyberman rushing  him, fell over the edge of the stone
railway and to its death. Jeremy thrust a  straight horizontal stab into the
stomach of another Cyberman and it fell over  the side.  "K9!"
"Batteries limited, Master  Jeremy. Barely recharged. Get inside TARIS
immediately!"
Jeremy ran, "You don't have  to tell me twice."
The TARDIS spun and the  open doors faced Jeremy, who ran full force. He ran
into the open entrance and  as K9 flew inside, covering his rear, farting gold
as more Cybermen ran up the  steps and into the room, Jeremy heard the
comforting sound of the TARDIS double  doors closing. In the darkness between the
exterior and interior, Jeremy ran  full force into the Doctor, "Doctor!"   He
dropped the sword and hugged  him. "I hated to kill but..."
"I know, I know..."  The Doctor said, "I'm too late to save  the mother of
that baby, too. But I'll be damned if I let those Cybermen convert  or hurt that
baby...now let's get inside..."
Jeremy pushed the Doctor  out of the dimensional gateway and into the console
room, "Then where the hell  were you?"
The Doctor fell backwards  and almost into Jesse, who handed the baby over to
the large Benjamie. Jesse  asked, "Yeah, what the fuck?"
"I had to take the TARDIS  deep inside the planet...it was a most dangerous
move."
"Nothing can harm the  TARDIS."
"No but I couldn't be sure  the interior of the planet was safe enough for
you both and inside the TARDIS ...I  couldn't take you there, remember the
properties of the planet, I told you, I  told you it was effecting firepower and
weaponry, Inside the core, I could not  be sure the TARDIS would work well enough
..."
"I wish you had told  us."  Jesse turned the Doctor  around.
They heard pounding outside  the doors of the TARDIS.  "They'll  never get
in,"  the Doctor put his  hands together and clasped them, smiling and looking
sheepish at the same time.  "Let them try."   The Doctor  giggled a bit. "Oh
my giddy aunt, what a day!"
"Doctor, why'd you go  inside the planet?"  Jeremy said,  "What did you do?"

"Most ironic really. I  planted  a Cyberbomb that Adric and  I once
disconnected inside the planet. I'm going to blow it up, take the whole  Cybermen army
with us. That'll teach them to try to convert entire planets,  especially
planets of peace!"
"What? You're going to  destroy an entire planet?"  Jeremy  asked.
"About time if you ask  me,"  Jesse said, "I was beginning  to think you
were some kind of a pansy. All this non violent  shit."
"I know they were once  humans, Jeremy, as you did when you helped me slay
them,"  The Doctor put his head down.
"Doctor, that bomb!"  Jesse said as Benjamie took the baby  into the TARDIS
nursery room.
"Ahh, it'll go off in about  45 seconds,"  The Doctor checked his  wrist
watch.
"The nanny!"  Jeremy said, "We  forgot!"
The TARDIS vanished. It  appeared. The Doctor ran out, slammed the doors. He
ran past Cybermen who turned  to him, stunned. He ran through the courtyard.
Above, Tetsuro and Maeter were in  a platform. They were firing gold guns at
the Cybermen. The Doctor yelled at  them, "Thank you, both but this planet is
about to be destroyed. You must get  away from it!"   He ran to the  destroyed
wooden door to the cabinet and ran inside, A Cyberman reached for him.  The
Doctor grabbed the body of the Nanny robot, and kicked both feet back into  the
Cyberman, kicking it out of  his  area. He landed and took the positronic brain
from the Nanny and ran out.  Another Cyberman landed, having thrown its
entire body at the Doctor and instead  of crushing the Doctor, it succeeded in
crushing the remainders of the Nanny  body. The Doctor ran as blasts came from the
ground. "Oh my ! Oh no, oh  no!"  Cybermen were blasted from the  ground.
The Doctor ran into the TARDIS and slammed the doors. He ran to the  console. "I
have to contain the blast for a bit until that Galaxy Express 999  can get
away!"
"HOW!?"  Jeremy asked, running around the console  with him.
"Hold that down!"
"Okay!"
"Jesse!"
"Yes,  Doctor?"
"Press that  down!"
"Yes!"
"What're we doing?"  Jeremy  yelled.
"Forcefield!"  The Doctor snapped. The boys started to  ask more but he
waved their questions off,   "Hold and press."   He kept running around the
console. K9 flew overhead but had to land.
"Conserving  power."
"They'll be a lot of power  in a minute. Enough to split this planet into
two...!"
The platform Maeter and  Tetsuro were on flew up. It flew into a bottom
compartment of the space train,  GALAXY EXPRESS. Inside, the Conductor looked out
the main engine. He pressed  some buttons and pulled the lever forward and then
back.  The compartment shut, the train shot  ahead of the planet. Maeter and
Tetsuro jumped out of the platform, ran out of  the compartment, into their
usual car. They looked out the window, both  standing. "Sit, Tetsuro, this is
not going to be an easy ride!"
"Hai!"  Tetsuro sat. The shields of the train  shut and the windows were
blocked. The planet exploded and the blasts came from  all sides. The 999 sped
away and the blasts followed the back of it. The back  shook a bit but they rode
it out. A few minor shakes, one which shook  Maeter, who always sat toward
the rear,  off her seat into Tetsuro, who always sat toward the front. Tetsuro,
at first,  seemed crushed and yelled but then he smiled as Maeter's front
pressed into him.  "AYEEE!"  Then he smiled. He shut  his eyes and turned bright
red in the face. His cheeks were still red when  Maeter moved off him.
"Sorry, Tetsuro, she  laughed,"  as she sat back down.  "Journey continues..."

999 moved  away.
The TARDIS hadn't moved in  space when the planet exploded. The planet was
there one second and blown to  bits the next and the next, it was just gone. The
Doctor had closed the scanner  to shield their eyes. Jesse wondered, "Doctor,
that shaking?"
"That's it,"  the Doctor smiled, "It's  gone."
"The train, they got  away,"  Jeremy said as he opened the  screen.  Jesse
moved to it and saw  the Galaxy 999 moving off into space. Jeremy moved the
image of the scanner to  view the area around them, large light rays, cosmic
dust, and gravity  whirlpools.  "Pretty..."
"Wow, the whole planet just  disappeared around us,"  Jesse said,  "This
TARDIS really is indestructible..."
"Yes,"  the Doctor said, "That blast though, the  shaking, I had time to
slow it down for us using the forcefields...but with  the forces around a destroyed
planet,  one should never hang about... time to go I should think..."
Jeremy puffed as the TARDIS  started to vanish from outer space and into the
vortex,  "Doctor, your moves, where'd you learn  them and don't tell me only
from Cleo..."
"Cleo?"   Jesse wondered, "Cleo  who?"
"Cleopatra..."    Jeremy said, as if anyone  who knew the Doctor should know
that, and added, "Of course. Who  else?"
"I learned them from  Xena...a warrior..."
Jeremy was astounded,  "Princess, yeah I know who Xena is! You  knew Xena?"
 he was impressed  and his voice sounded it.  "I always  thought she was a
fictional character..."
The Doctor set the  coordinates after putting the nanny computer brain into
a small breakfront cabinet in the  console room, "Yes, of course, she's myth
in your realm but I knew her in a  parallel universe or two."
Jermey nodded,  "SO that's where you learned to fight  like that?"
"Oh,"  Jesse said, "Those moves? I thought you  meant the ones in bed...sex..."

"So did I,"  the Doctor  said.
Jeremy sighed, "I meant the  way you fought with a baby in your arms..."
"You did the same..."   Quickly, the Doctor moved over to  Jeremy, without
Jeremy realizing it.
"I suppose I did,"  Jeremy put the sword down.  He was tired. Benjamie
brought Fesh back  to them in a new basket and Jesse took the baby with the basket.
Benjamie  left.
"You're marvelous,"  The Doctor tapped Jeremy's  nose...
Jesse smiled. The Doctor  turned to him, "And  you..."
"Me?"
"Yes you! Jesse McCartney!  You..."  the Doctor pointed, almost  manic. "You
did a trick it took me four lives or so to  learn!"
"I did? In  bed?"
"There, too. I'm referring  to the way you used your voice to destroy
Cybermen..."
"Oh, that,"  Jesse puffed, still holding Fesh out of  the basket. "I had a
microphone and sound board..."
"Still. You didn't have  Dame Nellie Melba to teach you. That's who I
learned it from.  "But you...you  were..."
"Yeah...I was. Wasn't I? What  was I?"
"Fantastic!"  The Doctor came to him, patted his head  and kissed his neck.
"Please, Doctor, not, not  in front of the baby..."  Jesse turned  red for
once.
"You like  him?"
"Mmmmmhmmm."
"Will you miss  him?"
"Well, for a time... I  guess....where we taking him?"
"A race of beautiful  people, inside and out...the nanny nurse bot there, I'll
get that positronic brain  into a new robot form and she'll take care of him
as will  they...unless..."
"What?"
"You'll want to stay with  them...with him?"
"It's tempting, cause he's  so cute but..."
Jeremy looked, bit his lip,  "But...?"
"You're both cuter,"  Jesse smiled and tapped the baby's nose.  The baby
giggled.
"Now then, on another  front!"  The Doctor stepped away  from the console. "
You two...you both thought I left  you..."
Jesse didn't make eye  contact and put his head down, up, sideways, "Oh  that
..."
"Yes that!"  The Doctor  yelled.
"Doctor, do calm down,  you're bust your dual  respiratory  bypass system if
you don't,"   Jeremy whispered, "Plus, you shouldn't be yelling around the
baby..."
The Doctor took Fesh from  Jesse's arms, "This baby...has lived through a war...
A war with Cybermen...his  mother's been converted, his entire planet...but you
two, you should have known  better, it's not like I've left you before, have
I...?"
"You have..."   Jesse  said.
"As a matter of fact, you  have,"  Jeremy reminded him, on top  of Jesse.
"Well, yeah, there's  that...On your own planet..."  The  Doctor countered.
"Twice..."  Jesse added. "I know it couldn't be  helped the time we were in
that awful Soylent Green year  2782."
"Oh look, another distress  call..."
Jermey and Jesse both said,  "IGNORE IT!"
The Doctor smiled, turned  to them both, "I know you don't mean that..."
They put their heads down.  "Benjamie can watch after the baby...we'll take
him to the Beautiful People and  I'll build a robot body for him but first...he's
a beacon of hope...a...a "
"Don't say symbol...that's  what they called him..."
"Well then he's hope that  people will soon defeat the Cybermen...even if it
means killing them as I  have."
"We have,"  Jeremy said and nodded to  Jesse.
Jesse nodded, "And we'd do  it again to save him. And not just for others,
for him. For  Fesh."
"Now then,"  with relish, the Doctor looked at the  distress signal and set
the TARDIS...
Later...
"We're  materializing..."
"Doctor!"  The TARDIS appears to be tumbling. Jesse  yelled as he hit the
side wall, "Oh no, not again!"
Jeremy grabbed Jesse's arm  as he fell past him and he held onto a hand hold
on a side computer bank.  "Doctor!!!"
"Hold on, I think we've  landed on a rubbish tip!"  The  Doctor clung to the
console.
"As opposed to being inside  one?"  Jesse yelled and fell away  from Jeremy'
s hand and hit a Sedan chair.
"Jesse, that's most  unfair!"  The Doctor yelled as he  was thrown on the
next rocking motion, away from the  console.
The TARDIS was tipping one  way and then the next as it was on top of a
rubbish tip. In the dark. It went  one way and then the other. It went the other
and rolled top over bottom. Jesse  yelled, "The baby!"
"He'll be allright!"   The Doctor yelled. They all rolled  together into the
middle of the console room and in mid air. As the room righted  itself
sideways, they landed on top of each other. Jesse was on the bottom. He  put his
hands on his chin, on his belly and resigned himself to this. "Doctor, I  did say
I'm versatile, I mean I don't mind being a  bottom..."
"Doctor, the baby, Fesh,  how do you know he'll be alright?"
The Doctor stood up and put  his hand out to help Jeremy up, off Jesse, "
Because Jeremy, my dear boy, the  gravity factor. Haven't you noticed how the
larger devices and furniture never  tumble over..."
Jesse remained on the  floor, "You mean the gravity factor. It holds them
down to the  floor..."
"Well, in the  nursery..."  The Doctor just realized  Jesse's great
intelligence. "Oh, good thinking, Jesse, good thinking. Entirely  my influence of
course but..."
Jesse nodded as if  expecting the Doctor to say that.  He remained on the
floor and holding his chin in his two hand, elbows on  the floor.
"In the nursery, the  gravity is trained to hold everything down."
"Why not do that everywhere  in TARDIS?"
"Because Jeremy, if we did  that, then we wouldn't be able to walk around or
move the slightest object such  as a comb or a..."
"Dildo or condom..."  Jesse threw  in.
"Ahhh, he's safe  then?"
"Benjamie and K9 are with  him,"  the Doctor ran to the scanner  and tuned
it to them looking at the sleeping baby.
"He slept through  that?"  Jeremy drew himself up  alongside the Doctor.
"Yes but we have more  important matters at hand,"  the  Doctor said, "Like
righting the interior. We're not  straight..."
"No shit,"  Jesse said from the floor.  "I'm still trying to figure out how
I'll  tell my mom and dad..."
"They probably know  already,"  The Doctor put  in.
"Think so?"  Jeremy asked. The Doctor hit  a switch and the floor
straightened  itself out.
Jeremy felt the floor  with his feet and a slight jump up and  down and put
his hands out in case he would fall,  "That's great? Is the outside still on a
 slant?"
"Yes, but we have more  important matters at hand,"  the  Doctor changed the
scanner, "Like that..."
Jeremy squinted. Outside  the scanner showed a dark, cloudy night. Almost
glowing blue but getting  blacker. Clouds of white were obscured by larger
unnatural clouds. Clouds one  might see from an industrial plant. The landscape was
not fully solid. It looked  dirty, as though in a giant junkyard in space.
There were remains of buildings,  some looking bombed out. There were also
bodies, mostly men, laying about, some  women and no children were dead as well. "
What awful planet is  that?"
"That? That? That!"  The Doctor looked at his readings,  "Earth...year
3,999,999...just a year or so before the Usirians move the entire  population away
from it in vast rocket ships...to Mars at first, then Pluto, which  to me is still
aplenty  a planet,  demoted indeed. But enough of Pluto, this is  Earth."
"What? That? That's my  Earth?"
Jesse put in, "You own it,  then, do you?"
"Afraid so. Wars, nasty  battles and squabbles but mostly at this time, the
rampant pollution made it  unlivable. All the resources were used up, there was
little food, still I think  human beings return even after this and make a
life here years from then...before  its final end in, oh, about 10,000,000."
"SO that's it then? The  evacuation of the entire Earth?"
"At that time, Jeremy, not  this."
"There's someone alive out  there!"  Jeremy squinted, "There,  see! We have
to help him!"    Jeremy ran to the door but forgot  to hit the control. "
Doc, open the door, will you?"
"NO, no, look at that man,  first, my love..."
Jeremy looked at the  scanner.  "His suit has some kind of  distress signal...
that's what we heard."
"And if you go out  there?"
"He'd die!"   Jesse stood up and looked. The man  on the scanner  was under
some  metallic pole. His body and face were difficult to see. He was in some
kind of  survival suit. "A rocket blasted off from here not too long  ago."
"And he was supposed to be  on it,"  the Doctor pointed, "He's  the only
one wearing a space suit."
Jeremy returned to them,  nearer the scanner columns, "That means the air is
not  breathable?"
"Yes. So no, we can't go  out like this. We'll have to change into my
survival space suits...if we are to  save him."
"No mucking about, his air  supply must be almost gone..."   Jesse said, "No
lying about with your hands on your  chins..."
"I knew a bunch of Chins  once,"  the Doctor said as they  hurried out of
the room toward a wardrobe room.
Later...
"Doctor, this space suit of  yours is absolutely ridiculous!"  Jesse said as
the Doctor put a bubble helmet over his head. It was  attached by two piping
to an oxygen tank on his back.
Jeremy smiled, "Doctor are  you sure they'll support us?"
"Yes, they're a great fit  in the crotch as you can see,"  the  Doctor felt
himself up.
"I mean will they really  keep us alive?"
"Yes, yes, yes,"  the Doctor said, "They're completely  reliable..."
"In spite of looking like  the Mitchellan Tireman's pyjamas?"   Jesse said, "
Come on, let's go save that man!"   Jeremy ran out first.
"Good man!"  The Doctor said and ran out after  Jeremy.
"Me or that man?"  Jesse  asked.
"Come on!"  Jeremy reached back into the room and  pulled Jesse by the
arm---out of the wardrobe room.
The TARDIS had come to rest  on a smaller rubbish heap from the one it fell
from. It was still sideways.  Jeremy, the Doctor, and Jesse came out  of the
doors, Jeremy held Jesse's arm to keep him from falling down the  heap.   Jesse
looked down,  "Thanks,"   he told Jeremy.  "Nice landing,"  he told the
Doctor, who ignored him and  lead the way down.
The Doctor noted, "Haven't  used these suits since that whole thing on the
Moonbase with Polly, Ben, and  Jamie, the real Ben and Jamie, not our man
Friday clone, not that being a clone  is a bad thing...or was it with Charley and
that whole Cybermen in space  thing...Cybermen were on the Moon too then, every
time I use these suits I see  Cybermen...what if they're linked to the Cybermen,
what  if..."
"Doctor, you can just shut  up..."  Jesse said.
At the man, who was on his  stomach, the Doctor put the sonic screwdriver to
work, removing some bits of  metal. "Hold on, mate, hold on, we'll get you
out of  here..."
"Is he alive?"   Jesse  asked.
"Just get this off of  him..."  the Doctor  said.
Jesse and Jeremy heaved but  couldn't move the pole structure. "It's too
heavy..."
"Oh, my, I forgot,  wait..."  the Doctor set the sonic  screwdriver, "Only
works on non living matter just now...try it now..."   he added as his two lovers
just  stared at him.
They heaved and the pole  went flying away from them. The Doctor laughed.
Heavy smoke clouds landed around  them. "Doctor, I can hardly see the TARDIS..."
The man gurgled, "Pollution  clouds..."
"Oh dear,"  the Doctor checked, "His air  supply..."
"Name of an old band!"  Jesse snapped a joke to Jeremy, and  Jesse smiled
proudly...
"It's almost  gone!"
"The band?"  Jesse asked, "Broke up years  ago..."
"Not funny. The oxygen in  the man's tanks..."
"Is gone,"  the man  said.
"Hurry, let's get him  inside!"
They all lifted him up and  moved up the rubbish heap. Around them the
reddish, black sky grew ever more  dark and ever more black. Nothing seemed alive on
the Earth. The boys were glad  once the TARDIS doors shut behind them. The
Doctor ran from  helping the boys carry the tall, thin  man, to the side wall of
the TARDIS...the boys almost dropped the  man.
"Those roundels look  different,"  Jesse  said.
The Doctor took off his  helmet and put it on the console, than back to his
side wall.  "Get him over here, then to  sickbay!"  The Doctor took to a
button series under a roundel at the side wall. He pressed one and a bed came
down from the wall.
"Blimey!"  Jesse said, "Didn't know that was there,  woulda cum in handy in
the past..."
"Very hand---dee,"  Jeremy said.  They put the man down on the bed, which
began to take readings.
The Doctor undid the man's  helmet and took it off.  Underneath  was a dazed,
almost unconscious, short haired black man. Jeremy and Jesse  took off their
helmets and ran to them.  "How is he?"  Jeremy  asked.
The man opened his eyes.  Jesse looked at him, and whispered, "Now I'm not
prejudice in the least but...I  don't usually go for black men but in this case..."

"I can hear every  word..."  the man said.
"Sorry..."
"It's okay, I think you're  hot, too,"   the man smiled.  "Whatever is this
place, though?"
"You...you're not  married?"   Jesse wondered,  more importantly.
"I am. My wife...my wife...and  family,"  he tried to sit  up.
Jesse pouted, "He has a  wife. How wrong..."
"Not just yet, my good  man,"  the Doctor put a hand to the  man's chest and
laid him back down. He took, from another roundel, a small  oxygen mask
attached to the wall. He put it over the man's mouth and turned some  more buttons.
And dials. "Give it a minute."  Soon, the Doctor removed the mask and  put
it back. "Are you any better?"
The man smiled, "Yes, yes,  thanks. Is this a ...no, it can't be. I know what
they look like. This isn't any  Company rocket ship that I can see..."
Jesse started to say, "I  thought you said it was those alien blokes, the
Usiri..."
"Mankind doesn't know about  them being part of the Company just yet so don't
..."  the Doctor pointed to  Jesse.
Jesse put both hands over  his own mouth. "I'm sorry. Thanks for saving me. I
'm Erick by the way. I suppose  I should be happy I'm alive. But never to
see my family again...my wife, my  children..."   He looked glum.  "I'm so
disappointed..."
Jesse frowned, "So am  I..."    Jeremy smiled and  put his hand around Jesse'
s shoulder.
The Doctor moved back,  facing Erick, "Oh don't be so glum, so dire. What
number was their rocket, do  you know?"
"703612,"  Erick said, "But you have a  way?"
Jeremy moved back to the  man, who sat up now, "The Doctor always has a way..."
   He turned to the Doctor. Erick  jumped up. The Doctor was smiling.
Jesse shrugged, "Well,  usually..."
Thousands of rockets.  Headed for Mars and Pluto. Splitting up. The Doctor
watched them on the scanner,  "Mars,"  he shivered, "Plenty of bad  memories..."
Having already changed out  of the Doctor's survival space suit,  Jeremy
rubbed his back, "Easy Doctor, we're here and now, in the present  day future..."
"I know,"  the Doctor smiled, "Some good memories,  there, too...just can't
recall any at the mo...there it  is!"
In a small pilot rec room,  an Indian man and a white American were sitting,
having coffee.  The American consoled the Indian  man.  "We knew someone had
to go out  there and fix it."
"But for it to be  Erick..."
"We couldn't abort the  countdown,"  the American  said.
"I know but to just leave  him and take off, I should report the Captain..."
"Jungo, he had to leave  then and there. That black cloud..."
"I know. It could have  stopped our engines. If only the Company didn't
scrimp so on the security of the  structure..."
"It withstands outer  space..."
"But the corrosive  clouds..."
"At least we know his space  suit will give him some protection..."
Jungo nodded, "Just give  him a slower death. He saved us all. I should have
insisted we go  back."
"Captain Stollen...he'd have  had you shot. It's almost as if...as if he were
taking orders from someone, some  thing else."
Jungo sipped some tea,  "Anyway...it's too late, too late  now...we'll not even
have his body to bury...we'll never see him again..."
As if on cue, the whining  groaning sound came into play. A rectangular
figure tried to materialize in the  far corner of the room. The two men stood up,
dropping their tea cups. "It  sounds like a cow giving birth..."   The American
gasped.
"Or someone stringing  together and mixing up some piano wire!"  Jungo
noted.
TARDIS soon appeared and  out stepped Erick. "Erick!"  Jungo  gasped.
In the TARDIS hallway, just  short of the actual exit outside,  Jesse moved
to go out but Jeremy stopped him, pulled him back by his thin  waist, "Hey, we
don't have to go out, we did our  part..."
"Yeah but still, I might  convince him to try it...just once might be enough
to..."
"Will you stop. I know  you're just teasing..."
Erick came back and pulled  them both out by the arms. "Meet my wife...Jungo."
"Jungo! That...that's your  wife?"  Jesse asked, astonished.
Jeremy smiled, "Well, well,  well, finally. In the future, things are
different..."
"You don't approve?"  Erick  asked.
Jungo hugged Erick some  more and didn't even pay attention.  Jesse
swallowed. Jeremy smiled, "He thought wife meant female...it used to  only mean that in
most places on Earth, in the time we're from. Mostly thanks to  religion and a
man, called, ironically enough, Bush...well, I guess bush is the  opposite of
dick...anyway, it seems Earth has grown up a small bit...you are married  in this
time?"
"Yes, yes, fully married. I  mean...I know it's hard to believe but I guessed
already that you're both...and the  Doctor, time travelers. Human beings from
our...our  past?"
"Well, we are,"  Jeremy nodded, "The Doctor...he's a  different and more
complicated story. He's from the past and the future and he's  not fully human.
Thing is, you are gay...and  married..."
"And have a  family. What kind of family?"  Jesse asked. "You have  kids?"
"A kid is a goat,"  Jungo said sternly.  Then he looked at  Erick,  "The
children! The children will want to  see you."   Jungo said.
"Might be Muslim,"  Jeremy shrugged to Jesse over the goat  thing.
"Fool if he is,"  Jesse  added.
"I have to go see  them,"  Erick said, "My children.  Just in case you're
wondering, Tun and Sela are adopted. But the other  three..."
"Three!"   Jesse  gasped.
"Were conceived in ....alien  ways...within Jungo..."
"So you really are the  wife,"  Jesse said, happy he's  not.
"Yes,"  Jungo said, "Now please, Erick, I've  told them that we...we lost
you. I mean it was three days  ago..."
"Yeah, thanks again, you  lot. Won't you stay?"
"NO!"  The Doctor came out, "I hate to be rude  but we've got some things
to do..."
He pulled Jesse and Jeremy  back inside. Jesse broke free as Jeremy waved
goodbye. "I did want  to..."
Erick smiled and kissed his  cheek, "Jesse, I...I'm loyal to my wife. I mean I
know not all gay people are  loyal and I appreciate your and the Doctor's and
Jeremy's open relationship...and  believe me I was tempted but I love my wife..."

Jungo was not appreciating  any of this, "Can we go see the kid...the children
 now?"
"Sorry, I meant no  offense..."   Jesse bowed,  "Bye..."
"Thanks for bringing him  back,"  Jungo nodded.
"Jesse, come on!"  The Doctor called from the  TARDIS.
"Oh, all go, isn't  it?"  Jesse looked back, and then  turned to Jungo and
Erick, "Take care..."
"Bye."
Jesse ran to the Doctor and  both vanished inside, the Doctor waving quickly
with just a hand visible and not  even his face.  The doors  slammed.  The
TARDIS slowly  vanished.
The American was amazed,  "Amazing!"
Jesse was inside, "What is  it now? Another distress call?"
"NO, no,"  the Doctor puffed, "We've been through  enough. It's time for a
party...a real fun time..."
Jesse and Jeremy looked at  each other, doubting...
"I mean it...let's collect  some friends and find a place to have some fun..."
TBC
oh yeah, Galaxy Express,  Doctor Who, and the Cybermen are all owned by
someone else. No copyright  infringement is meant.