ignite ➝ Doctor Who¹

XXXXVII

"And as for Penelope; she was just grateful for the elevator music."
— Penelope Adaams, Doomsday

Jackie continued to cry.

Jasper tried to recall his training.

Penelope felt nothing.

Was this it? Dying at the hands of the Cybermen with a man she just met and her best friend's mother. Why can't she feel anything. Fear, panic, worry, peace. Nothing? Why is she given nothing in the face of death. Why isn't anything making it easier for her.

Then it was over. The Cybermen were shot from behind, exploding a shower of sparks over the three of them. Jasper pulled Penelope down so that she was with Jackie, and covered them both.

Once it cleared, Jackie stood up first, looking over to see who had saved them. She started to talk to whoever it was as Jasper helped Penelope up. He holstered his gun and checked her over as she kind of stood there dazed, her emotions flooding back to her. "Ma'am are you okay?" She smiled at him, a little distracted.

"Jasper I think we've gotten to the point where you can call me Penelope." He nods, continuing to check her over, not knowing if she had hit her head or hurt her arm. "I'm okay. Are you?"

"Yes ma'am." She gives him a look, starting to get some sensation back. "Penelope."

"Thank you." She looked over to the group of people and nearly froze. It was the Doctor, obviously, who was watching her and Jasper closely, and Mickey Smith, who was beaming at her when their eyes finally met. There was also Pete Tyler, who was hugging Jackie so tightly it made her heart hurt. But amongst them was Garrick. The man she had tried so hard to forget, someone she had forgotten. He smiled at her, and waved. He was happy to see her. God does she wish that she had stayed with her aunt.

Before she knew what was happening, the Doctor started walking away from them, down the corridor. She's sure he has a plan and she doesn't want to get in the way of that, but wouldn't he normally say hello. Check her over, ask if she was okay? Hold her and tell her it was okay and that he wouldn't let anything else happen.

"Penelope?" Jasper was looking at her, gun back in his hands, unaware of what she was currently going through. "We're moving. Let's go."

"Right, of course." She shook her head. She can ask him about that later, maybe it was just Jasper. In her defence, she thought she was going to die and as much as she wanted to believe he would turn up, it was looking unlikely. Maybe she should've just treated him as an Agent and not as a person? Would that have avoided this?

Together, they walked past the reunited Tyler family, and Penelope sped up a little to get a hug from Mickey. "Hi Penelope."

"Hi Mickey. How have you been?"

"Good, good. How about you, the Doctor treating you alright?" She smiled and pulled back from the hug.

"Always. Look at you, all in black with a gun, I wouldn't have recognised you."

"And look at you Adaams, you stood up to a Cyberman. Girl I grew up with wouldn't have even left the house."

"I guess we've both grown then."

The Doctor ran back down the corridor, holding something heavy in his hands, smiling towards the group. "I got them!" Penelope squinted at him, knowing something was off.

"Were you shot at?"

He barely even looked at her.

What had she done?

The other group of Torchwood soldiers from both this world and the parallel world came up to them, and Penelope waved to Jake. They started to explain what had happened. The Ark - which was a new word to Penelope - and the Daleks had gone up into the sky. They had also mentioned Time Lord science. Which severely confused the Doctor. "We've got to see what it's doing. We've got to go back up. Come on! All of you. Top floor!" Jackie stopped him.

"That's forty five floors up! Believe me, I've done them all." Jasper nodded along with her, not that he had done as many floors as her. Jake gestured with his head to the lift at the end of the corridor.

"We could always take the lift." Everyone agreed and piled into the lift. The Doctor was right at the back, and he would never admit it, but he watched Penelope closely as she interacted with Jake and that Torchwood Agent. He knew what he was feeling was wrong. He was angry. She had been approached by Torchwood but never told him. According to Yvonne, she had been asked to work for them, but that was never mentioned either. If she had said anything at any time this might have been avoided, this might have been okay. He doesn't know how to stop being angry and he doesn't think he will be. As long as this turns out okay they will be fine.

And as for Penelope; she was just grateful for the elevator music.