Chapter 1

Maria was a simple girl, or so she thought. She knew deep down she was no longer the innocent homeless girl she used to be, but he, the doctor, HER doctor, made her feel like the child she once was. Some days she'd sit in the dark lab, all alone, and wonder what happened to her, who she was, why she wasn't dead. It often occurred to her how many times she had avoided death, how Alfred had took her in when she was on the brink of starvation. She had been convinced she was a goner until he pulled her up off the pavement and took her into his home. He told her she could be part of his family. Family, the thing she'd never had. The thing she'd longed for all her life. It only became clear to her later on that she'd had family all her life.

She had always loved Alfred, from the moment he'd first smiled at her with that smile. He was the only one who even considered taking her in, never mind actually doing so. When she'd first came to the house, he told her to wait in a cell-like structure. This startled Maria, but she followed his orders so as not to lose his trust. She entered the cell and sat down, leaning back against the wall, legs curled up, arms clasped around them. The concrete floor was stained a reddish colour in places, and a stained bundle of cloth lay to her left. Out of curiosity, Maria edged quietly over to the fabric to investigate. She gasped as she pulled back the top layer of cloth. Inside lay a grown man, his skin a tone of violet and his hair slicked back with blood acting as a sort of hair gel. His breathing was raspy and quiet, as if it was slowly fading the longer he lay there wrapped in the linen. Maria's instincts told her to save him. She couldn't leave him there to die. He had little time left as it was, so waiting around wondering what to do wouldn't help at all.

Maria began hastily tearing strips from the linen in which the man lay, and wrapped them securely around the man's wounds. She placed her hands over his chest, checking for his breathing, or a heartbeat, anything telling her he was still living. There was nothing. Maria crawled back over to where she had sat before, tears rolling down her cheeks. She had failed.

Just then she sensed light in the room, she turned her head to notice it was coming from the dead man. His chest seemed to be glowing a faint white glow, it was almost angelic. Maria stared in amazement as the man's chest began to rise, and fall. She scrambled over to him and checked his pulse, it was almost that of a healthy human being. All of a sudden she heard footsteps. Before she could move away from the body the Doctor emerged from the dark passageway from which he had previously left.

He unlocked the door of the cell and upon his entrance he paused. Through his glasses Maria could see his eyes were fixed on the man, who was now breathing deeply with a slight rasp. Her eyes were fixed on him, waiting for a reaction. At first she hoped the doctor would be proud of her, but now she was beginning to doubt this was the case. She braced herself, ready for him to start yelling at her and throw her out of the house for good. Instead he just stood there, finally coming back down to earth to ask her:

'Did…did YOU do this?!'

Maria nodded nervously, not knowing what to think of the Doctor's question.

' He.. he's alive… I was sure he wouldn't stand a chance so I wrapped him up ready to be disposed of, and you healed him? I admire your skills.'

Maria felt her cheeks turn read, she couldn't help looking at the doctor with admiration of her own, after all, she had never been complimented before in her life. The Doctor looked down at her, smiling sincerely.

'You see, I am terribly bad at disposing of bodies myself, and as my subjects often end up passing on it's a job I must take on, as I cannot keep bodies here. Say, I don't suppose you would like to me my assistant? Help me with my experiments? I could do with an extra pair of hands and of course clothes, food and other necessities will be provided for you..'

Maria briefly considered what these 'experiments' could be, but the thought was far outweighed by her longing for decent clothes, fine meals and above all a loving family, even if this consisted of the Doctor alone, even if his wife and daughter didn't like her, she still had him.

'Though she still refused to notice I was there, by her side…'