Time Lady and her Time Lord

by loulouflowerpower

10/OC-Time Lady. The Doctor and the Hatter have managed to survive The-Year-That-Never-Was, growing even closer as their friendship has reached a new height. Martha Jones has left them and Donna Noble has arrived, but is it possible that Donna has already met the Hatter from when she was still human? What does that mean for the Time Lady? Sequel to The Time Lady and two Time Lords.

1. Chapter 1Voyage of the damned part 1

Disclaimer: I'm afraid that I don't own Doctor Who, or any of its wonderful characters, I only own my OC Time Lady, the Hatter.

First off, I suggest that you read the first two stories of this saga to fully understand what is happening and more about the Hatter. If you have any questions about her past, then feel free to PM and I'll be more than happy to help, or give you vague answer if I can't tell you fully without revealing something that might be important later :)

Just as a reminder on what the Hatter looks like: the Hatter is currently in her 10 incarnation after being shot on the Valiant, she has straight blonde hair with a side fringe, baby blue eyes, about 5'9 in height, is quite pale, like all of her past incarnations, high cheek bones, thin but not over the top thin, and has a light Scottish accent.

She has yet to choose her chosen outfit but it will make its first appearance in Partners in Crime :)

Voyage of the damned, part 1.

The Doctor and the Hatter quickly set to work using various controls on the console, tossing the life preserve out of the way when it got in the way as they pushed the ship away, materializing within the main ship.

The Doctor took the Hatter hand and pulled her toward the doors, opening them and peeking out to find that they had materialized inside a supply closet. They stepped out of the TARDIS, looking around the small space before opening the doors and walking out into a large room, decorated with Christmas things, wood-panelling, and palm trees dotted the room, men and women walking around, dressed in 20th century clothing.

The Doctor and the Hatter glanced at each other before moving further into the room, eyeing the people walking around as a band played a slower version of 'Jingle Bells' at the front, people talking and laughing. They walked further, eyeing two golden angels garbed in white. The Hatter jumped back into the Doctor's chest as one of the angles suddenly moved, revealing themselves to be robots.

"Hey, are you alright?" the Doctor asked softly, putting a hand on her arm to steady her, looking at her, clearly concerned. He had noticed that ever since she had regenerated, she had seemed jumper then her last body, something that made upset to think that it could have been carried over by her last incantations fear of regenerating.

"Yeah, just took me by surprise," she shook her head, casting the robots a slightly uneasy look as she passed them, making her way toward a large window, looking out of it.

"Right…" the Doctor blinked, coming up behind her to look outside, finding himself staring at the Earth as they floated above it in space.

"Lovely," the Hatter remarked, blinking slightly as she hadn't expect that. Ever since she regenerated, her mind seemed to be taking longer than usual to spot things that weren't right, hence, not realising that the gold angels were really robots, "We're on an intergalactic cruise ship. At least we don't have to worry about getting sea sick".

The Doctor gave her a sideways look, "Sea sick?"

"My seventh body wasn't very good when it came to the ocean," she grimaced, thinking back, "Flying through time and space, sure but put her on a boat…" she shivered, "Until that adventure, I didn't even think that Time Lords could get sea sick. Boy was I proven wrong".

The Doctor opened his mouth but he was cut off by the loudspeaker suddenly announcing, "Attention all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas".

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?" the Hatter sighed, glancing at the Doctor standing beside her, exchanging looks before they turned and began making their way back toward the TARDIS.

…

The Doctor was standing in the console, fiddling with the cuffs of his black tuxedo while he waited for the Hatter to finish getting changed, something that seemed to be taking forever seeing as this was the first time this body had been given the chances to change, even if it was for something that she wasn't likely to wear on a daily bases.

He leaned back on the console, giving up on his cuffs when he caught sight of the Hatter walking toward him, she stopped when she noticed him staring at her, his mouth half hanging open as he took her in.

She was dressed in a TARDIS blue, knee length dress with a gold embellished neckline and waistband, matching blue platform heels, and on top of her head was a blue, netted veil hat that was adorned with defined swirls. She had put her hair up in a fishtail bun at the base of her neck, red lipstick, gold eye shadow, and the same earrings that she wore when she went to Lazarus Labs, a sliver clutch bag, and her Gallifreyan necklace.

"You…wow…" he breathed, staring transfixed at her, unable to look away.

"Thank you," the Hatter blushed, brushing a bit of her fringe away as she looked him up and down, "You look very handsome yourself, or though…" she frowned, walking forwards and picked up the ends of his bowtie, "Shouldn't this be tied around your next, not left hanging there?"

"I was waiting for you," the Doctor smiled, "It didn't seem right without you fixing it for me".

"You can be such a child, sometimes," she said fondly, shaking her head before setting to work tying his tie, smoothing his shoulders and lapels down before stepping back, giving him a small nod, "There, that's much better".

"We don't have to do this now, you know," he told her, looking concerned, "We could always do this later".

"Too late, I'm already dressed," she shook her head, "It already took me twenty minutes to pick this dress out, let alone everything else".

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself…"

"I won't," the Hatter cut him off, "And even if I do, I'm in safe hands, Doctor".

The Doctor smiled, linking his arm through hers as they walked back outside the TARDIS and back to the main hall, looking around as the Hatter noticed a small screen. She pointed it out to the Doctor and walked over to it, pressing a button and watching as the video started.

A bald man with an extremely thin moustache popped up on screen, sitting behind a desk, "Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, the fastest, the farthest, the best. And I should know because my name is Max," he smiled widely at the camera, revealing a gold tooth that glinted brightly in the light, before the screen faded and was replaced by the cruise line logo.

"Oh dear," the Hatter sighed, eyeing the screen in disbelief, turning around to find the Doctor fiddling with his tie and making her roll her eyes, "Stop it," she told him, batting his hands away and straightening it, making him grin at her, "Now, don't play with it or I won't be very pleased with you," she warned, stepping back and giving him a look.

"Maybe that's what I'm trying to do because you're cute when you're angry".

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, "Watch it, your treading on thin ice, mister. Don't forget, two can play at that game".

The Doctor mimicked her, "Yes?"

The Hatter's eye lit up as she smiled wickedly at him, she cast a glance around the room before nodding to a man standing on the other side, chatting to one of his friends, "See him? I'll walk right over there and start flirting with him, shouldn't be too hard with this new body…"

"Don't you dare," he wrapped his arm around her waist, passively and pulled her closer to him, leaning down so that their faces were only inches apart, "You're not going anywhere".

"Spoil-sport," she sighed before laughing, making him give her a confused look, "You didn't actually believe me, did you? I was only joking; I could never do that to you. I love you too much".

The Doctor blinked, "Good," he shook his head and started walking toward the reception, keeping his arm around the Hatter as they walked.

"Merry Christmas, Sir, Ma'am," a steward greeted as they passed.

"Merry Christmas," the two Time Lords smiled back, laughing together merrily.

They continued walking into the ballroom, passing by a man with slicked back hair and dressed in a tuxedo, talking quite loudly into a communication device, "It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got vone," he was saying into the device, his voice taking on an edge as he spoke again, "Now do as I say and sell!"

"Charming fellow," the Hatter remarked quietly as the man walking away, watching him go with a slight frown on her face.

"Never mind him," the Doctor shook his head, pulling her over to one of the robotic angels, "Evening," he greeted it, nodding, "Passengers 57 and 58. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be…"

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information," the angel robot replied.

"Good," the Doctor nodded, exchanging looks with the Hatter, "So, um…tell me, 'cos I'm an idiot…"

"You do seem to have your moments," the Hatter remarked, dodging out his way as he tried to flick her nose.

He shook his head, turning back to the robot, "Sorry, but where are we from?"

"Information: the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt," it told them, the Hatter cast her eye around the room again, this time looking quite impressed, "The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures".

"The Titanic…" the Hatter said slowly, tilting her head to the side as she exchanged looks with the Doctor, "I'm just curious…who thought of the name?"

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth".

"Did they tell you way it was famous?" the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows at the Host.

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, president of Max…Max…Max…" it began repenting Max over and over, becoming more high-pitched as its head jerked.

"Ohh, bit of a glitch…" the Doctor remarked, reaching inside his jacket to pull out his sonic but paused when the Hatter touched his arm, gesturing with her head over to a steward who came running toward them.

"Sir, we can handle this," the man told them as he reached them a moment later, waving to a couple of other men who hurried over and began switching the robot off, dragging it away, "Software problem, that's all," the steward told the two Time Lords, looking slightly tense as he tried not to show it, "Leave it with us, Sir, Ma'am. Merry Christmas".

"Merry Christmas," the Hatter nodded, giving him a friendly smile as he nodded, hurrying after his team as they dragged the robot out of the room as quickly as they could. She looked at the Doctor, arching an eyebrow, "Is it just me or did he seem a little too stressed over just a glitch?"

"And here I was hoping that we could have a normal trip without getting into trouble," he sighed, making her laugh, "What? I did. This is the first trip we've been on in over a year; I wanted it to be special".

"Every trip with you is special, sweetheart," she smiled, giving him a small wink as she kissed his cheek before rubbing the red lipstick mark away with her thumb, making him shack his head.

The Doctor linked his arm through hers again and they set off, walking around the room when a crash of something glass shattered close by, making them stop and turn to see the man from earlier with slicked back hair, glaring at a young blonde women dressed as a waitress, holding a tray of drinks with one that she had accidently dropped on the floor.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going!" the man shouted at the women, "This jacket's a genuine Earth antique".

"I'm sorry, Sir," the women said, kneeling down to start picking up the broken glass.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart," the man glared at her, looking down at her, "Staffed by idiots. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain," he sent her one last glare before turning on his heel and storming off.

The Hatter gave him a cold look as he passed before hurrying forward and kneeling down to help the young women, "Careful," she gave her a friendly smile, making the women blink in surprise at someone coming to help her, "I would hate to see you get yourself hurt while you're just trying to do your job. Let me help".

"Thank you, Ma'am," the women smiled gratefully at her, still slightly taken aback, "But I can manage".

"I don't doubt that for a moment," the Time Lady said kindly, continuing to help pick up pieces of glass, "I'm the Hatter, by the way," she nodding to the Doctor who had kneeled down beside her and began helping, "And he's the Doctor," she looked back at the women, "May I ask you who you are, seeing as you now know us?"

"Astrid, Ma'am," she smiled; using her free hand to shack the Hatter's outstretched one, "Astrid Peth".

"Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth," the Doctor gave her a smile, shaking her hand after the Hatter, "Merry Christmas".

"Merry Christmas," Astrid blinked, surprised by how kind they both were, "You both enjoying the cruise?"

The Doctor looked around, smiling as he looked at the Hatter, "Um…yeah, I suppose. I don't know. Hatter, what do you think so far?"

"I've found it fun," she nodded, smiling as she looked around before back to them, "So, what about you, Astrid?" the women blinked again as they stood, "It's a long way from home, Planet Sto".

"Doesn't feel that different," Astrid shook her head, leaning closer to them and saying quietly, "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travelled all the way here…and I'm still waiting on tables".

She shook her head and walked away, the Doctor and the Hatter following after her, "No shore leave?" the Doctor asked her.

"We're not allowed," Astrid sighed, picking up a couple of glasses that had been left behind on a table by the window, "They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and always dreamt of…" she shook her head, looking embarrassed, "It sounds daft…"

"Not at all, it sounds brilliant," the Hatter smiled at her, turning to look outside the window with a slightly wistful look, "You dreamt of another sky with a new sun, breathing new air, seeing new life. The entire Universe is just teeming with life. Why stand still when there's so much out there to see?"

The Doctor smiled at her, knowing that she was thinking of when she was a kid, dreaming of travelling the Universe, just like he used to.

Astrid blinked a few times, coming out of the trance that she had been put under while the Hatter had been talking, looking back at them, "So…you travel a lot?"

"All the time," the Doctor grinned, putting his arm around the Hatter, "Just for fun".

"Well, that's the plan," the Hatter rolled her eyes, "More often than not, we're running for our lives but there's nothing better. Well, maybe saving the day…"

"Must be rich, though," Asrid remarked at the Hatter trailed off.

"Haven't got a penny," the Doctor told her, leaning forward and whispering, "Stowaways".

"Kidding?" she stared at them.

"Seriously," the Hatter grinned, giving her a small wink.

"No!"

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor nodded, smiling at her reaction.

"How did you get on board?"

"Accident," the Doctor explained, rubbing the back of his neck slightly, "We've got this, sort of, ship thing. I was just rebuilding her…"

"He means, his ship," the Hatter cut in, giving the Doctor a look.

"Left the defences down," he continued, shaking his head at the Hatter's words. He had always thought of his TARDIS being there's, seeing as they were together when they first snuck inside, "Bumped into the Titanic. Here we are. Bit of a party, we thought 'why not?'"

"I should report you," Astrid told them, making them both grin.

"Go on then," they said in unison, knowing full well that she wouldn't.

Astrid hesitated, glancing behind her before back to them, looking slightly worried, "I'll get you two a drink…" she whispered, "On the house," she added before walking off, passing a table with a group of first class passengers who were laughing and pointing at a table across from them, were a large couple, dressed in purple western customs were eating.

The Hatter frowned at the laughing group, before snatching the Doctor's hand, making him wince and look at her in concern, "What's wrong?" he asked, thinking it was something to do with her still regenerating.

"Sorry, I just had to grab your hand to stop myself from walking over to those fools and giving them a piece of my mind," the Hatter replied, taking a deep breath as she noticed his still concerned face, "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong aside from my temper being tested. You know how much I hate bullying".

"Well, why don't we go and say hi?" the Doctor suggested, grinning at her in a way that made her realise he was up to something but before she could ask, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the couple.

"Just ignore 'em," the man told the women sitting beside him.

"Something's tickled them," the Doctor remarked, pulling out a chair across the table from the couple for the Hatter before taking a seat himself, eyeing the still laughing group.

"They told us it was fancy dress," the women told them, gesturing to her clothing, "Very funny, I'm sure".

The Hatter grabbed the Doctor's hand under the table and squizzed it gently but firmly. She knew what it was like to be bullied, how horrible it could make you feel. She had spent most of her childhood being picked on by her older cousins and still hadn't forgotten how lonely she had felt because of it.

The Doctor cast her a worried look, noticing how upset she was but trying to hide it from him. He too knew what it was like to be bullied as a child, his own cousins hadn't been the kindest towards him, nor had his fellow class mates because they thought he was odd or just stupid, when the truth was that he was smarter then most of them, only he chose not to show it, knowing that the High Council would try to get him to work for them.

"They're just pickin' on us because we haven't paid," the man added, putting a hand on the women's arm as he looked back to the Time Lords, "We won our tickets in a competition".

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystall in 'By the Light of the Asteroid,'" the women told them, smiling, "Did you ever watch…"

"That's the one with the twins, yes?" the Hatter asked, titling her head to the side.

"The Hatter's brilliant at shows like that," the Doctor remarked, shooting her a grin as she blushed, "I've given up watching them with her because she's even quicker than me when she wants to be".

"Says motor mouth," the Time Lady rolled her eyes, giving him a slightly amused look as he flicked the tip of her nose.

"That's it," the women nodded, confirming the Hatter's question, "Oh, it's marvellous".

"Probably not good enough for that lot," the man shook his head, gesturing to the still laughing table, "They think we should be in steerage".

"Can't have that, can we?" the Doctor commented, winking at the Hatter as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out his sonic, crossing his arm and aiming the sonic through it. The champagne sitting in the middle of the groups table cork popped off, spraying the group with the liquid, causing some of the women to yelp.

"Did…did you do that?" the women asked, looking at him as the Hatter covered up her delighted smile with her hand.

"Maybe," the Doctor grinned, tucking the sonic away as he noticed the smile on the Hatter's face. Rassilon, he loved it when she smiled, especially when she was smiling at something he had done.

"We like you," the women laughed, pointing at the Hatter as she noticed her trying to cover up her smile, "And you".

"We do," the man nodded, smiling at them.

"I feel honoured," the Hatter said honestly, smiling at them as the Doctor grinned broadly.

"I'm Movin Van Hoff," the man introduced himself, reaching out and shacking the Doctor's hand, and then the Hatter's, "This is my good women, Foon," he smiled, gesturing at the women sitting beside him.

"Foon," the Doctor repented, shaking Foon's hands, "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is…well, my good women, the Hatter," he smiled, putting a gently hand on the Hatter's hand as she shook Foon's with her other.

"Your good women, hey?" the Hatter said telepathically to the Doctor, raising her eyebrows with an amused look.

"Yep," he replied back, grinning madly.

"Ooh, I'm gonna need a Doctor by the time I'm finished with this buffet," Foon remarked, nodding to the pile of food sitting in front of them, "Have a buffalo wing," she nodded to the Time Lords, "They must be enormous, these buffalo, so many wings".

The Doctor smiled and picked up a wing, holding it toward the Hatter who took it gratefully as she hadn't eaten anything in the last 24 hours, not to mention that the regeneration hadn't helped.

"Attention please," the loudspeaker announced just as the Doctor and the Hatter began eating, "Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7".

"Red 6-7," Foon said, pulling out a red ticket and looking at it, "That's us," she stood and looked at the Time Lords, the Hatter still nibbling away at her wing, "Are you Red 6-7?"

The Doctor shrugged, grinning, "Might as well be," he stood and held out his hand to the Hatter, "Come on, Hatter".

"But I'm hungry," the Time Lady whined, standing up reluctantly as she cast a longing look toward the food, "I haven't had anything to eat in hours. Days even".

"When we get back to the TARDIS, I'll make you whatever you want," the Doctor smiled, putting his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, "We can snuggle up in your room…" the Hatter raised her eyebrows at that but didn't interrupt, "Then we can eat something while watching whatever you want…"

"Sherlock?" she asked hopefully.

The Doctor groaned, "Really? You want to watch Sherlock again?"

"Of course," the Hatter grinned, "Sherlock never gets old. I can watch that pool scene with Moriarty having that show down with Sherlock and John a thousand times and I will still love it. Not to mention Benedict Cumberbatch…"

"I thought you were supposed to be convincing me, not giving me a reason to delete every episode on the TARDIS database," the Doctor cut in.

"Yeah, good luck with that," the Hatter rolled her eyes, looking amused, "In case you haven't noticed, the TARDIS happens to be a fan of Sherlock. I'd watch what you said, sweetheart".

"Just my luck to end up with a TARDIS that sides with you," he muttered, sighing and holding up his hands, "Alright, we'll do whatever you want," he slowly smiled, leaning closer and whispering her ear, making her shiver, "But don't think for a moment that you've won. Not yet".

She swallowed, quickly nodding as she looked around and spotted Foon and Morvin about to walk away, "Hey, just remind us," she said to them casually, trying to make out that they had just forgotten, "But…where are we going?"

Morvin shook his head at them, laughing, "We're going to Earth," he put an arm around Foon and headed off, leaving the Time Lords to hurry after them.

They walked only a short distance, just across the room to where an older man, going slightly bald, dressed in a tweed suit was holding up a red sign with '6-7' written across it, "Red 6-7!" the man called, loudly, "Red 6-7. This way, fast as you can".

The Von Huffs hurried over to the man, the Doctor and the Hatter following after them as Astrid approached them, "I got you those drinks," she told them, smiling as she carried a tray with two drinks on it.

"And we've got you a treat," the Hatter grinned as the Doctor took the tray from her, sitting it aside as the Hatter grabbed Astrid's arm, "Come on".

"Red 6-7 departing shortly," the man called again.

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and showed it to the man, "Red 6-7s plus one".

The man frowned slightly, looking at the paper before nodding, "Uh, quickly, Sir, and please take three teleport bracelets if you would.

"I'll get the sack," Astrid whispered to the Time Lords as they slipped the bracelets on their wrists.

"Oh, come on," the Hatter smiled, passing her one of the teleport bracelets, "Live a little, just for one night. Think of it, a brand new sky".

Astrid looked at her for a moment, glancing down at the bracelet before taking it and slipping it on.

"To repeat, I am Mr Copper, the ship's historian," the man standing in front of them introduced, "And I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled by good King Wenceslas," the Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks, frowning, "Now human beings worshipped the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary," the Doctor and the Hatter's eyebrows rose, eyeing the talking man with odd looks, "And every Christmas Eve the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey," the Time Lords blinked at that, "They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner…like savages".

"Excuse me," the Doctor cut in, frowning, "Sorry, sorry, but, um…where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics," Mr Copper told him, seeming to be trying to get off the topic, "Now stand by…"

"And me!" a tiny red-skinned alien with small spikes along his head appeared, running toward them, "And me! Red 6-7!"

"Well, take a bracelet, Sir," Mr Copper said, gesturing to them in front of him.

"Um, but, um, hold on, hold on," the Doctor stepped forward, eyeing the tiny alien, "What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta," the red-skinned alien replied, making both Time Lords blink as how fast he said it.

"Okay, Bannakaffalatta…" the Doctor nodded slowly, "But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late night shopping, tons of people. He's like a walking conker. No offence," he quickly added at the look the Hatter gave him, "But you'll cause a riot 'cos the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties…" and without any warning, the entire group was transported down to Earth, finding them in a compliantly empty street, "Oh…"

"Something's wrong," the Hatter frowned, looking around the deserted street, "Why isn't there anyone around? There's not even a cat or dog!"

"Now, spending money," Mr Copper said, holding up a card that resembled an Earth credit card, "I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to be tickets or, uh, stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef' but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing…"

"The Hatter's right, it should be full," the Doctor nodded, moving closer to the Hatter as he cast a look around the street while some of the others began walking away, "It should be bust. Something's wrong".

"But it's beautiful," Astrid breathed, staring around in awe.

"Really?" the Doctor asked, turning to look at her as the Hatter continued to frown at the empty street, feeling uneasy, "Do you think so? It's just a street. The pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand…"

"But it's a different planet!" Astrid said in amazement, gesturing around herself, "I'm standing on a different planet. Th…there's concrete…and shops, alien shops, real alien shops! Look, no stars in the sky. And it smells…" she took a deep breath, "It stinks!" she gasped, looking delight as she turned to them, "This is amazing! Thank you!"

She ran forward and pulled them both into a big hug, almost causing the Doctor and the Hatter to hit their heads into each other in her excitement.

"Yeah?" the Doctor grinned, laughing as the Hatter joined in, forgetting for a moment about her concern with the street being empty, "Come on then, let's have a look," he grabbed the Hatter's hand and led them across the street to were a newsagent's booth was, an old man with a slight beard sat, bundled up in thick coats sat behind it, "Hello there! Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Oh ho, scared!" the man told them.

"Right, yes," the Doctor nodded, slowly frowning as he glanced at the Hatter, "Scared of what?"

"Where have you been living?" the man gave them looks, "London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?"

"Why?" the Hatter frowned, titling her head to the side.

"Well, it's them, up above," the man shook his head, pointing toward the night sky, "Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof," he nodded to a small television set beside him, showing different clips from the past few years on the news report, "And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames".

"This place is amazing," Astrid breathed as the Hatter shivered, remembering that trip with the Racnoss and almost being eaten alive. At least the night ended on a happier note with the Doctor giving her old pendent.

"And this year," the old man continued, shaking his head, "Lord knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me…and Her Majesty," he stood proudly and looked at the small TV.

"Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear," a male news reporter announced as they looked at it.

"God bless her!" the man said proudly, saluting the screen, "We stand vigil".

"Well, between you and me," the Doctor nodded, "I think Her Majesty's got it right," the Hatter face palmed, seeing were this was going, "Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about…"

Suddenly, before he could finish, they were teleported away and back to the ship.

"I was in mid-sentence!" the Doctor grumbled at Mr Copper, clearly feeling quite annoyed at be interrupted.

"When aren't you in mid-sentence?" the Hatter asked playfully, nudging his side as he pouted.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Mr Copper apologised, explaining, "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets…"

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta," the chief steward said, appearing in front of them as the group began handing there bracelets back to Mr Copper, the Hatter discreetly pulled Astrid behind her and the Doctor before anyone could see her, knowing how much trouble it would course, "We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, free drinks will be provided".

The man walked away as Astrid stepped around the two Time Lords, grinning, "That was the best, the best!" she quickly handed them her bracelet before hurrying away and back to work.

The Doctor and the Hatter smiled after her, shaking their heads as they approached the chief steward, handing the bracelets to them as the Doctor asked, "What sort of power fluctuation?"

"Not to worry, Sir, Ma'am," the man gave them a tense smile, "Enjoy your evening," he nodded to them before turning and walking away.

The Doctor sighed, if only people would say what was really happening, maybe, just maybe he would be able to stop it before anyone got hurt…or worse. He shook his head and looked at the Hatter who was smiling as she watched everything going on around them.

Foon and Morvin as they tucked into more food a couple of tables away, the chief steward who was eyeing the Hosts wearily, the rude slicked back hair man who was playing roulette, and going by his grin, winning. Bannakaffalatta who was dancing around on the dance floor, and Astrid who was smiling over at them while she severed drinks, the band continuing to play in the background.

"Care to dance?" the Doctor asked, holding out his hand for the Hatter to take as she glanced at him.

"Shouldn't we be working out why the steward seems so nervous about those angels?" the Hatter asked, titling her head as she raised her eyebrows at him, "Because I for one know that whenever you wear that suit, something always happens. It's like it's cursed of something, if I believed is curses that is".

"And what happened to you never wearing heels again?" he asked, giving her a look, "I thought you called them 'death traps' and complained the entire time about how much you hated them".

"New me, new rules," she shrugged, looking down at her shoes, "Besides, I think they're starting to grow on me. Maybe I should think about wearing a pair of boots with a small heel on them, small enough that I can run but big enough to know that I'm wearing them," she looked thoughtful, slowly nodding, "Yes, I like the sound of that".

The Doctor shook his head, looking at her, amused, "Is that a yes for dancing or…"

"Doctor," the Time Lady sighed, "I would love to but we have to find out was going on, we've wasted enough time. The sooner we find out, the sooner we can have some time together," she gave him a small smile, leaning up to whisper in his ear, "After all, we do have a lot to catch up on after an entire year apart".

The Doctor shivered and swallowed hard as his mind raced with idea's, most of which he knew wouldn't happen for a while yet but they were still nice to fantasy about. Again. The Hatter looked at him and hid her smirk, having a good idea what was going through his head, not that she was really ready for anything like that, not for a little while at least but it was nice to tease the Doctor, something that she had always gone out of her way to try and do.

She continued to smirk; shaking her head as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a screen set into a gold frame were a video of Max Capricorn was playing on a loop, "…and I should know because my name is Max," the Hatter rolled her eyes at the screen as the Doctor slipped on his glasses, pulling out his sonic and flashing it at the frame while she kept an eye out, "The fastest, the furthest, the best…my name is Max".

The video faded as the Doctor changed the settings on his sonic until the screen switched to show the ship's inner computer from the bridge. The Doctor and the Hatter looked at each other, eyes widening as they realised that the ship's shields were offline.

"Oh dear," the Hatter breathed, quickly peering around to look outside the window only to see a couple of meteors flying toward them, "I don't believe it," she gasped, looking at the Doctor, fearfully, "The Captain, he's sabotaging the ship!"

The Doctor blinked, staring at her in alarm as he flashed his sonic at a wire, activating the communication device, "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the Captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in…" he glanced at the Hatter.

"West 0 by North 2," she told him, not looking away from the window as she listened.

"West 0 by North 2," the Doctor repented into the comm.

"Who is this?" the Captain demanded.

"Never mind that," the Doctor shook his head, "Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding!"

"You have no authorization," the Captain replied, sounding quite annoyed, "You will clear the comms. at once".

"Yeah? Just look starboard!"

Two stewards suddenly appeared and grabbed hold of both the Doctor and the Hatter, "Come with me, Sir, Ma'am," the chief steward said, leading them out of the room and through the reception, despite their protest.

"Just listen to us!" the Hatter tried, struggling to get out of their grip, "You have a rock storming heading straight toward us and the shields are down!"

Up ahead, the Doctor managed to twist out of the two stewards holding him and run up to the stage, shouting to everyone, "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb…" one of the robot angels covered his mouth from behind, allowing the steward to grab hold of him again while the entire room stared at him, forcibly dragging them out of the room.

"Please, everyone just look out the windows!" the Hatter shouted desperately as she dragged from the room, looking over her shoulder she caught sight of Astrid, Foon, Morvin, and Bannakaffalatta hurrying after them, "If you don't believe us, then check the shields yourself!"

"Sir, I can vouch for them!" Astrid called, catching up with them as they were dragged down a hall, leaving people to stare after them, compliantly confused.

"Look, Steward, they've just had a bit too much to drink," Morvin tried, hurrying after them with his wife just behind him.

"Sir," Mr Copper called after them as they past, following after them, "Something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports are down".

"Not now!" the chief steward shouted at Mr Copper, pulling the two Time Lords down a maintenance corridor while the others continued to follow after them, still trying to reason with the stewards.

"The shields are down," the Doctor tried again, trying to look over his shoulder to see the Hatter, hating the thought of her being accidently hurt when this was supposed to be a fun trip, "We are going to be hit".

Yet again, he was ignored as everyone began talking at once when a voice suddenly cut them all off, "Oi!" they turned around to see the man with his hair slicked back walking after them, "Steward! I'm telling you the shields are down!"

"Listen to him!" the Doctor and the Hatter pleaded, "Listen to him!"

A moment later the meteoroids hit the ship, sending them all to the floor. The Doctor grabbed hold of the Hatter, using his body to protect her from harm as soon as he was free from the stewards. They all stayed huddled on the floor for a few minutes until things slowly calmed down.

The Doctor quickly stood, gently pulling the Hatter up with him as she quickly smoothed down her dress, "Shh," he shushed them, listening carefully, "It's stopping".

The Hatter winced as she rubbed her arm, glancing at it to see a large gash on it from where she had been cut by a piece of metal. The Doctor looked around, helping Astrid to stand before he looked over and noticed her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, hurrying over to her and grabbing hold of her arm as soon as he saw it.

"I'm fine," the Hatter shook her head, pulling her arm away as she held it up. Slowly, a golden glow surrounded the gash before it disappearing, not leaving a trace of it ever being there, aside from a bit of blood on her dress, "See? All better," she smiled up at him, "I'm still in my regeneration cycle".

"Never do that again," the Doctor sighed in relief, kissing her before turning back to the others, looking at all the destruction around them, "Bad name for a ship," he remarked, "Either that or this suit is really unlucky".

"I told you it was cursed," the Hatter commented, walking away from him and kneeling beside one of the stewards and checking his pulse. She waited a moment, sighing sadly as she looked back up and shook her head, confirming that he was dead.

"My name…is Max," one of the video terminals continued to say in the background, still on its loop, "My name…is Max. My name…is Max…"

"Ev…everyone…" the chief steward said, standing up shakily as the Doctor walked over to the terminal and turned it off, "Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatts, I must apologise on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners. We seem to have had a small collision".

The Hatter raised her eyebrows as Morvin said exactly what she had been thinking, "Small?" he cried.

"You know how much I paid for my tickets?" the man with the slicked back hair shouted, glaring at the steward.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen…" the man tried again, but everyone started talking over him, arguing with each other.

"Enough!" the Hatter shouted loudly over everyone, making them all turn to stare at her, the rude man blinked, looking outraged, "Ladies and gentlemen and…" she trailed off, eyeing Bannakaffalatt, "I'm sorry, do you mind if I call you Fred? It's just that your name is almost longer then my name back in school before I shortened it…"

"No, Bannakaffalatt!"

The Hatter winced slightly at the high pitch tone, "Right, sorry," she shook her head, giving the Doctor a small glare as she noticed his amused look at referencing something he had once said to their old friend, and Time Lady, Romana as she turned back to the steward, "You can continue now".

"Um, thank you," the steward blinked at her, looking back to the group, "Thank you. I…I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise Liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive".

"Are you alright?" Astrid asked as she noticed Mr Copper was still sitting on the floor, holding his handkerchief to a cut on his head. She walked over to him and kneeled beside him as the Doctor and the Hatter walked over, the Hatter gently examining the injury.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship," the steward continued talking, "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the…the situation," he turned and began opening the hatch.

"No, don't open it!" the Doctor and the Hatter shouted in unison, jumping up.

But it was too late, the hatch flew open and the steward was pulled out into space before he really knew what had happened. Everyone grabbed hold of something, mainly a piece of piping along the side of the wall to secure them from being sucked out to. The Doctor managed to make his way toward the comms., pulling out his sonic and reactivated the oxygen shields. Immediately the hatch sealed.

"Oxygen shield stabilized," the computer announced over head.

The Doctor quickly ran over to the Hatter, checking her over before helping her to stand from where she had fallen on the floor when the shield was reactivated, "Are you alright?" he asked her, looking concerned.

"All good," she nodded, breathing deeply before frowning as she touched the back of her head to find that her bun had fallen out, somehow she had managed to keep her hat on, "Should have known that would happen," she shrugged and looked around at everyone, "Is everyone alright? No one hurt?"

"Astrid?" the Doctor turned to her, not taking his hands away from the Hatter's.

"Yeah," she panted, holding a hand to her throat.

"Foon?" he turned to the others, "Morvin? Mr Copper? Bannakalatta?"

"I still think Fred would be easier," the Hatter muttered to herself so no one but the Doctor and her could hear.

"Yes," Bannakalatta said as the others nodded.

"You," the Doctor said, nodding to the slicked back hair man, "What was your name?"

"Ah, Rickston Slade," the man told them.

"Are you alright?" the Hatter asked him.

"No thanks to that idiot".

"Mr Slade," the Hatter said in a cold voice at the same time that Astrid gasped, looking appealed, "The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot," Rickson shrugged.

Astrid gasped again as the Hatter moved forward, fully intending to give him a piece of her mind but was held back by the Doctor, "Alright, calm down," he called to the group, casting the Hatter a slightly concerned look, this new body of hers seemed to have a shorter temper then the last, "Just stay still, all of you. Hold on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the open hatch, looking out as Astrid join them.

"What happened?" Astrid asked them, "How come the shields were down?"

"I don't think it was an accident," the Doctor sighed.

Astrid frowned and followed were they were looking, gasping as she looked out into space to see the dead bodies of guests and stuff members, pieces of the ship floating among them, "How many dead?"

"We're alive, try to focus on that," the Hatter said gently, turning to look at her as she placed a hand on her shoulder, sensing how upset the young women was, "I know it may sound cold, but when this is over, everyone on the board this ship will be remembered. I will personally see to that".

"We will get you out of here, Astrid," the Doctor nodded, putting one of his hands on her other shoulder, "We promise. Look at me. I promise," Astrid looked at them both, nodding, "Good. Now…" he began looking around, "If we can get to reception, we've got a spaceship tucked away. We can get on board…"

"Um, Doctor?" the Hatter cut in, grabbing his arm and tugging him back over to the hatch, pointing out.

"Oh," he blinked, his mouth dropping as he realised what she was trying to show him.

"What is it?" Astrid asked, looking out but unable to see what was wrong, "What's wrong?"

"That's our spaceship," the Doctor nodded, pointing.

"His spaceship," the Hatter corrected.

Astrid shook her head, looking confused, "Where?"

"There, that box," he nodded again, watching sadly as the TARDIS floated into view, moving toward the Earth, "That little blue box".

"That's a spaceship?"

"Oh dear," the Hatter hid her smile.

"Oi, don't knock it!" the Doctor exclaimed, shooting her a look.

Astrid didn't take any notice of him, "It's a bit small".

"A bit distant," the Doctor replied, frowning, "Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be…"

"The Earth," the Hatter finished, watching as the TARDIS flew closer to the Earth. They stood by and continued watching before the Hatter shook her head, turning around and walking over to the comms. device, pulling out a couple of wires, flashing the sonic that she had stolen from the Doctor at them.

"Hey, when did get that?" the Doctor asked, patting down his suit.

"I have my ways, sweetheart," the Hatter replied, sending him a small wink as she finished connecting a wire, standing up and pressing a button, "Deck 22 to the bridge," she called into the comm., "Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there? Hello?"

There was no reply for a moment, just static before a voice replied, "This is the bridge".

"Oh hello, sailor," the Doctor sighed in relief, stepping forward to stand beside the Hatter, "Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air," the voice, a young man, told them, "The oxygen field is holding. But the captain….he's dead. He did it…" his voice trailed off, breaking, "I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try".

"We know, everything is going to be alright," the Hatter told him gently, "Just take a couple of deep breaths," she paused for a moment, listening, "Good, now, no one blames you for anything that's happened. Not at all. Remember that. Now, what's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame".

"Lovely to meet you, Midshipman Frame," the Hatter smiled, "I'm the Hatter, just the Hatter. Can you tell myself and my friend's, what is the state of the engines?"

"They're um…hold on…" there was the sound of him groaning loudly, clearly in pain.

"Have you been injured?" the Hatter asked, exchanging concerned looks with the Doctor.

"I'm alright," Frame told them, "Oh my Vot. They're cycling down".

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah".

"Oh dear," the Hatter gasped, her eyes widening in horror, "The moment they're gone, we lose orbit".

"The planet".

"Oh yes," the Doctor nodded, running a hand through his hair, "If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth".

"Not if we have anything to do with it," the Hatter cut in, confidently, "Midshipman, listen carefully. I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core".

"This is never going to work," Frame told them.

"Your right," the Hatter agreed, "But it will work long enough for the Doctor and I to get to the bridge. Good luck," she pressed a button, turning off the comm., turning around to face the others.

"We're going to die!" Foon cried.

"Are you saying that someone's done this one purpose?" Mr Copper questioned them as everyone began panicking again.

"We're just a cruise ship!" Astrid shouted, terrified.

"Okay, okay," the Doctor called to them, stepping forward with his hands up to try and silence, "Tch, tch. First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B…"

"I think you mean two," the Hatter told him quietly.

"Yes, two," the Doctor gave her a smile, turning back to the group, "We're going to reach the bridge. Three or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little 'IV' in brackets they use in footnotes: why? Right then, follow me…or us".

"Hang on a minute," Rickson called, making the two Time Lords turn back to the group, "Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor," he told them very seriously, "I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborus. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below".

"Yeah," the Hatter nodded, staring at the Doctor, slightly dazed, "What he said, only add Time Lady and 902. It's my birthday next month".

The Doctor sent her a wide smile, quickly turning serious again as he turned back to the group, "You got a problem with that?" he demanded.

"No," Rickston blinked at them both, almost gaping.

"In that case, Allons-y!" the Doctor grinned, grabbing the Hatter's hand again and setting off down the hall, leaving the rest of the group to follow.

So, what did you think? I wonder, will the Hatter be forced to break her number one rule? What about the Doctor, why is he being slapped? And who by? And the Hatter's sweet tooth makes an appearance. I have a link on my profile for what the Hatter is wearing. I hope you liked it, please review :)