THE ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S AMAZING HAND
Chapter Twenty Seven As the boat continued to sail across the English Channel, Rose and Ianto gradually went back to sleep while John kept watch over them. About two hours after they fell asleep, John heard a plunk on the top of the tarp followed by Charles's soft cursing. Another plunk followed and another before John realized it was starting to rain. Ten minutes later, it was raining hard and John could hear the distant boom of thunder. "Bollocks!" Charles said, "what a night for this to happen." Another crack of thunder woke Rose and her eyes snapped open. John went to her side and lay there while Rose stroked his back. A lightning flash revealed that Ianto was now awake and staring at them quietly. The storm was now raging above them and the boat rocked back and forth as water hit the sides and sloshed over the sides and hit the top of the tarp. Both Rose and Ianto groaned when some of it seeped through the gaps of the tarp and made the bottom of the boat even wetter than it was. "I would suggest getting up but I have a feeling we'd be out of the frying pan and into the fire then," Ianto said when they heard another thunder boom. "I just hope we don't sink or Theodore and Charles don't get struck by lightnin'," Rose replied. "It's okay, we've got the boat under control!" Theodore called to them. "Nothing to worry about." Both Rose and Ianto gasped when the boat rocked violently in the waves. "If this is nothing to worry about, I'll hate to see what it looks like when we do have to worry," Ianto said. Both of them tried to keep steady while John climbed back into Rose's jacket. "Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick," Rose said as the boat rocked violently. Then finally, they heard the thunder starting to soften and the boat went from violent jerks to a soft rocking as the storm went away. Both of the breathed a sigh of relief and John patted Rose's chest in a soothing gesture. Rose reached in and stroked his middle finger. "Good job you don't have a mouth on ya," Rose said. She felt him vibrate and her heart leapt knowing she'd just made him laugh. He came back out of her jacket and gingerly walked around, hating the feel of the wet wood on his fingertips. The storm had passed and now the boat gently rocked and they could hear the soft slosh of the oars going through the water. "You alright under there?" Theodore called out. "Yeah, you?" Ianto said. "We're wet and a bit shaken but we'll survive," Charles replied. "We're just about to shore now. So try to relax. You'll be in France before dawn." Charles was a bit off the mark. They arrived on the shores of France just after dawn. John went back into Rose's jacket when Charles and Theodore untied the tarp and let her and Ianto out. Once that was done, they pulled the boat further up onto the beach. "Passports?" Theodore said, holding out his hand. He chuckled at the shocked look on his passenger's faces. "Only joking," he said. "But welcome to France. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for." "Yeah, same here," Ianto said. They shook his hand and Charles's hand, put their rucksacks on their backs and started to walk away. "You know, Paris is pretty far and it'll take time. I could drive you there if you'd like," Charles said. "Would you please?" Rose said, walking up to him. He chuckled. "Certainly Lassie," he said. "I would be happy to drive you." "Won't you get stopped though?" Ianto asked. "Nah, got a forged medical pass of me own. I'll be fine. You, however, must go back under the tarp again." "Lovely," Ianto said to Rose. After getting into the back of the truck, Charles drove off while Theodore waited in a nearby cave for him to return. "Kinda gettin' used to this tarp travel," Ianto said as he and Rose lay on their sides facing one another. "Wouldn't mind going the whole way like this." "Same here. It beats walkin' any day." "How are your feet holding up?" "They don't hurt anymore and I don't think I have any blisters." "Good, because if we're gonna do this. We'll need our bodies in prime condition," Ianto replied. Suddenly, the truck jerked to a stop and both of them gasped when their bodies jerked along with it. "What was that for?" Ianto shrugged. Then they both heard voices. Several angry voices yelling at them in French. Rose cursed wishing she had the TARDIS around to translate. "They want Charles to take the tarp off. They think he's hiding food back here," Ianto said softly. "You know French?" Rose said softly. Ianto nodded and listened to a male voice who was screaming at Charles. "He wants Charles to show them what he's hiding or they'll kill him," Ianto said softly. Rose felt John stir and begin to come out of her jacket. "No, John, stay in there where it's safe," Rose said, slamming her hand against her jacket. She sensed John's frustration and felt him squirm under her firm grip but she couldn't risk it, she had no idea how many there were out there and the last thing she wanted was John to hurt or taken away somewhere. Then suddenly the tarp was thrown off and both Rose and Ianto blinked as the morning sun hit their eyes. They saw five men and women standing around the truck staring down at them in confusion. "qu'est-ce que c'est ?" one of the men said, pointing to them. "He said what is this?" Ianto said to Rose. "Ils sont des passagers." Charles replied. "He told them we're passengers," Ianto said to Rose. "Nous avons besoin de nourriture. Donnez-nous la nourriture," the man said. "We need food. Give us food," Ianto said to Rose. Rose's heart went out to them. She sat up and opened up her rucksack while the men and women watched eagerly. She handed the man a couple bags of crisps and a plastic bottle of tea. She gasped when the man snatched it from her hands and seconds later, a fistfight broke out as the five hungry people fought over them. "Donnez-moi cela, enculé!" a woman screamed as she punched one of the men when he finally got a hold of one of the crisp bags. Rose looked at Ianto. What'd she say?" Ianto gave her a ruthful smile. "Give me that, fucker," he said to her. "Non, non," Charles said, walking to them, waving his arms around. "Arrêtez! Veuillez arrêter!" "No no, stop, please stop," Ianto said. They gasped when one of the women punched Charles in the face and he reeled back. "Suit yourself, mates," he said, heading for the truck. He quickly threw the tarp back over and hastily tied it down while the five people fought. By the time they realized what was going on, he had started it up and was speeding off towards Paris. "Here we are, Paris, or what's left of it," Charles said when he threw back the tarp. Rose and Ianto stood up, turned and gasped at what they saw. Just like London, Paris was in total ruin. Houses were bombed out, rubble was everywhere and the top half of the Eiffel Tower was missing, leaving only a strange metal structure jutting up into the sky. "Been workin' on that for some time," Charles said, pointing to it. "They're dismantling it to build something. Can't tell ya what though." "Missiles, the Master's makin' missiles," Rose said to him. "What? Are you serious? You mean he's gonna finish the job and destroy the rest of the world?" "No, I think he's gonna make war with other planets," Rose replied grimly. "That's why we have to stop him." "Aye and I hope you can," Charles replied. He helped them down out of the truck. "Wait a tic," he said. He reached into the truck, grabbed a pen and a pad of paper and scribbled down an address. "This is a friend of mine named Collette. She lives near here so you won't have far to walk. I would take you further but I have to get back to Theodore before he's discovered by the Toclafane." "Thank you so much," Rose said. "Yes, we can't thank you enough," Ianto added. "Not a problem, I just hope you succeed with your mission. I wish you both the best of luck and be sure to punch the Master in the face for me." They both smiled and nodded. They stood back, watched as Charles climbed into his truck and waited until he was on his way before both of them turned and headed into Paris.
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