DISCLAIMER
I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DOCTOR WHO. THIS IS MY OWN LITTLE STORY BASED ON THE ADVENTURES OF DOCTOR 12 WITH COMPANION BILL - AGAIN, ALL COPYRIGHT OF DOCTOR WHO AND THE DOCTOR, THE TARDIS AND EVERYTHING ELSE BELONGS TO THE BBC.
CHAPTER 1:
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
It was a typical Spring afternoon when the peace and quiet of the streets of Hutchinson in Kansas was awoken by the whirring noise of the TARDIS landing in the centre of the town. Just down the road from where the TARDIS had landed was a little bookshop, a cake shop and other various independent shops. The doors swung open and out walked Bill and then the Doctor behind her, both of them smiling.
"So this is Kansas then?" came the question from Bill. The Doctor looked at her and then replied "Well it was the last time I looked. Though saying that, it was different the last time I came. Funny story that actually, it featured a girl called Dorothy.." but then he went quiet as he noticed she was no longer listening to him. "What year are we in? Because you said we were going to be in the future." The Doctor looked a bit sheepish and replied "Ah well, the truth is, it's 1982." "Oh well, I guess it'll have to do." They walked around the centre looking at all the varying shops. The Doctor noticed the cake shop, titled "Bake N Eat 'Em's" which he liked the sound of. "Bill, while we're here, do you want a cake? Everyone likes cake" the Doctor said while gesturing towards the shop. Bill knew where she wanted to go though. "I'd rather go in this bookshop. I wonder if anything we've done in the past will be in one of them?"
"I doubt it, I always make sure that whatever happens, nobody knows I were involved. Because.." Then the Doctor stood still in his tracks, as there above him was the name of the little bookshop. It shocked him for a second, made him happy the next and then he went to a guilt stage along with shame. He couldn't, he really couldn't, step foot inside this bookshop as the name reminded him of the past, his past. "Err..on second thoughts, have you seen the time? We could catch the latest game of basketball by the Dragons if you like? Not real dragons of course but, you know, you can't have everything" The Doctor said with the look of someone who was both reminiscing and pondering. "But I wanted to look in here and besides, I don't even like basketball, I think." Bill replied. She knew that something was bugging him about the name of the shop but really, what could the name Amelia mean anyway? It was just a name.
By the time they walked to the college where the game would be played, Bill couldn't shake the feeling that the Doctor wasn't telling her something. This idea, this thought that he was refusing to tell her just what was on his mind was not just driving her mad but worrying her too. He had always been like an open book with her. Whenever she wanted to know something, he would tell her if she asked but his reaction to just seeing the name above the door just made her not want to ask.
"Here we are, the home to the Dragons" The Doctor proclaimed proudly as they turned up. By this point the darkness was starting to surround them. Bill wasn't really interested about this silly game of basketball. She had to ask, "Doctor, what was it about the name Amelia that made you not want to go in the bookshop?" The Doctor, suddenly angry about the question replied, "It wasn't that, I just wanted to catch the Dragons" However, Bill knew he was hiding something. The game just went on as normal, people scoring baskets and making interceptions but Bill wasn't interested. She needed to know. "Doctor, just tell me. Please, I want to know." The Doctor now knew there were no stopping her so, reluctantly, he decided to tell her. "I used to know someone called Amelia. She got lost, while I say she got lost, the Angels took her and her husband.." Just then a crunching foul by one of the opposition players on the star man for the 'Blue Dragons', James Winheart, caused a time-out and he got carried into the dressing room. "Ouch, I bet that hurt a lot." Came the obvious remark by the Doctor. Bill just replied "But about Amelia, the Angels? Do you mean she died?" "I guess, in a way, she did, eventually."
In the dressing room, James had been left by his coach and teammate to relax his leg. Hobbling, he made his way to the bench and closed his eyes in pain, when he opened them up he suddenly noticed the statue for the team, just stood there looking at him. He didn't know why he never noticed it before. Why does it feel like it's looking at me? I'm sure it's not meant to be starring James just shrugged it off as possible concussion from hitting the floor and tried to rest his leg on the bench. He then got his phone out of his bag and rung up the first number in his phone and spoke to someone on the other end of the phone. He told them about his injury and how he may need to rest it when he returns. After hanging up he turned back around he noticed the Dragon was closer to him still and even had a different look. "Ok guys, I get it, the Dragon statue is alive..ohh I am so scared." Came his best sounding non-panicky voice which was belying his insecurities. James hobbled off the bench and into the doorway but noticed that there were nobody around, the game was still going on and he had no idea who was moving the statue. Then he turned round and the Dragon was looking with a smile on its face. With a loud "Ahhhhh" the lights began to flash and he was gone.
The game was still as entertaining as it was and Bill had all but given up asking the Doctor about Amelia when, the Doctor was sure he saw something in the corner of his eye. Down the corridor where James had been taken when he was injured but he just assumed he was wrong and doubted himself and went back to watching the game with Bill. When the game was over, they slowly walked away from the game as the home team won so everybody was happy. However, as they left, the Doctor thought the Dragon statue that was outside the campus looking a little off. "Bill, do you notice anything strange about that statue?"
"Erm..no..actually now that you mention it. I'm sure it wasn't there before we went in was it?" The Doctor looked unsure and confused. "No, I don't think it was..hmm" He then had the look of someone who was deep in thought and couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. "I need to check something, come along Bill." This almost threw himself as well as Bill as he hadn't said that in a long time. As they approached the TARDIS, Bill went in first but the Doctor looked around and noticed several other statues that he hadn't noticed before. They went in and the TARDIS made its usual whoosing sound and left.
The TARDIS rematerialised in the exact same spot and the Doctor and Bill left. "Doctor, why are we still here?" "Haven't you noticed it's daytime now? Anyway, it's five weeks on from when we left and tell me, do you notice anything different?" Bill then looked round but the only thing she really noticed was some missing posters up on the wall. "There's these?" She said, more in hope that she got the question right than anything. "Oh, I never noticed those, how didn't I noticed those?" They then looked at them and Bill pointed out how one of the posters was of James Winheart, who was the star player for the Dragon's basketball team and the date was from the last game, the game they were at. "I knew there were something funny going at at the game! I knew it" "You mean you know where they have gone?" Came the reply from Bill. "They?" The Doctor was a little confused till he noticed that there were a poster of a girl as well. "Alice Longford, age 22, last seen in the local park walking home at 10pm. Hmm, tell me what you notice about the connections between these two?" "They are missing?" Came the inquisitive question from Bill. "Well yes but look closer. They were both alone at the time and both went missing at night. Coincidence? I think not." The Doctor said as he started walking off towards the centre. Bill just stopped outside Amelia's and said "Shouldn't we ask in here? See if anyone in here knows anything about the two who have gone missing?" "No. We don't need to bother them." The Doctor said sternly but Bill wouldn't listen. "Well I'm still going in." The Doctor just sighed to himself as she went into the shop but still refused to go in, just in case it was THE Amelia that he lost.
Bill went in and spoke to the nice young woman in the bookshop. Her name was Mel, about the same age as Bill and they appeared to be getting on really well. That is until Bill asked about the two people who had gone missing. "Who are you anyway? I don't remember seeing you around here before." Came the passive aggressive response from Mel. Bill then stuttered for a second, "Oh me? I'm.." then the Doctor come in and flashed his psychic paper "This is Bill and I'm John Smith, we're from the FBI. We're looking into the two recent missing cases. How do you know the pair of them?" Mel then let out a little upset noise and excused herself and asked the owner, who was in the back, if she could just nip outside and talk to the FBI about Alice and James. Then all three left the bookshop and sat on the bench outside that was pointing at the TARDIS as the Doctor didn't want to let her out of his sight.
"So who is James and Alice to you?" The Doctor asked. Mel started to cry and Bill put her arm round her and asked "Were you close to them?" Mel then looked tearfully "James is my best friend and Alice is my girlfriend. Do you think they are ok?" The Doctor just matter-of-factly said "If what I think has happened to them, no. I'm sorry but they won't be returning." This caused Mel to cry more and Bill to give the Doctor an angry look. The Doctor mouthed "What!?" as Bill continued to comfort her. However, what Mel said got the Doctor thinking. "Did either of them speak to you before they went missing?" Mel stopped sobbing long enough to say "Yes. James rung me that night to tell me about his injury and me and Alice had just left each other in the park. That was the last time I saw her." This gave the Doctor an idea of just what was happening and he left Bill behind with Mel as he darted off to the TARDIS and then left with the usual whoosing noise again. Then the door opened to the shop as the owner came out just as the TARDIS dematerialised and she stood there watching with a smile on her face. Bill looked at this strange woman who was smiling and laughing at the TARDIS disappearing and questioned her "What are you laughing at?" The woman then looked back at Bill and said, "My name is Amelia 'Amy' Pond-Williams and I used to travel with the Doctor."