"What?"

The Doctor looks with alarm at the man who has appeared in her TARDIS. One minute she's fiddling with the controls and the next there's a-a…a human in a tuxedo there! "Who are you?"

"What?" the groom in white repeats.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The Doctor rushes from around the console to snap at him. Her hands are in her pockets but they're just itching for the Sonic.

"What?" the man repeats yet again. Articulate bloke, he is.

"How the hell did you get here?!" The Doctor gives up on speech with the human male. "This is impossible—you're impossible! You're a human; humans can't just pop in! No one can just pop in! What are you? Rift in space; time anomaly?"

"Could you just tell me where I am, please?!" The human man rips at his hair, pulling it at the tips. "Nerys is gonna kill me!"

"Who's Nerys?" The Doctor asks with disdain clear in her voice. "What kind of a name is that?"

"My fiance's name—so where am I?" this groom can switch vocal gears incredibly fast.

"The TARDIS," the Doctor braces herself for the questions coming.

"The what?"

'There it is,' she thinks to herself and repeats: "the TARDIS."

"The what?!"

"You're in the TARDIS, and I'm not repeatin' myself again!"

"Fine; I'll find out for myself!"

"Don't!" before the Doctor can finish warning him the groom is on the ramp. He whips the doors open but thank Rassilon he has the sound of mind to hang onto the doorway. He gawps openly and the Doctor can only roll her eyes before sauntering over smugly. Again, her hands find her pockets. "You're in space - outer space - and in my ship, the TARDIS."

The groom breathes heavily for several seconds. "How am I breathing?"

"TARDIS," supplies the woman to his left in a casual manner, "protecting us."

"And you are," he prompts.

"I'm the Doctor."

"John," says the groom. He moves away from the doors and she - just the Doctor? - closes them. "Why do you say human like it's an exterior factor? Is it?—for you?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nods. She can see the word 'alien' dancing on the tip of his tongue, but to his credit, he shows remarkable restraint in the matter. "You can call me an alien, just this once, if you have to."

John seems to be ignoring, she decides, as he gazes around him. This must seem so different for him, in his blindingly bleached tuxedo. He looks like he's supposed to be a chauffeur for Beverly Hills adolescents. That humorous thought fades as John sees Lee's blazer hanging over the railing. "Was this another human's before?"

The Doctor swallows with painful difficulty.

Lee stood on a transport in The Library, an actual planet of a library. He stood facing his Doctor, the most astounding (Time) Lady he had ever known. This woman took him from a life of incomplete memories and experience. "D-D-Doctor, y-you c-can't l-leave me."

The Doctor wished she could cry. Instead she kept her fingers busy on the controls, knowing this would be the last time she might ever see her dearest stutterer. After meeting such a cure to her cold wrath - and a human one at that - she took him to see the stars. She took him around the world only to lead them to the Library. It was her own fault, she had thought, when Lee was integrated with the coding of the CAL interface. He would never survive outside of The Library again.

"D-Doctor!" Lee persisted, refusing to give up. He knew her well enough to know that she would try to shut her hearts off. For all she boasted about her Time Lady superiority she was awfully human inside, and guilt was a very human burden. "I-I-I lo-l-love y-y-"

"It's okay, Lee," the Doctor tried to force a smile. Of course she knew. This wonderfully human man had taken both of her hearts in each hand and kept them like treasures. And now that they were healed enough to be given over willfully she was losing him. Tears were clouding her vision but never fell. She was in so much pain she wasn't sure if she would even be aware if they did. "I-I…I know, and… "

Lee panicked when light filled his vision. He wasn't done. There was so much more he wanted to say. He wanted to declare his love with this amazing woman everyday for the rest of his life. "D-D-Do-"

The Doctor screwed her eyes shut so tightly it burned. She couldn't watch as Lee faded from sight like a dissolving memory. When she dared to open her eyes again he was gone, forever a string of data in the largest mainframe ever created. This way at least she could give him what he deserved: a normal life, with a family; a woman who could give him a family. Maybe he would even conquer his stutter with all of eternity to spend in that hard-drive.

"He's not human," the Doctor wishes it were sharper, but it's barely a whisper. She takes the jacket from John and lets the ol' girl take it to his old room for her. Under her breath she sighs, "not anymore."

"Doctor," John starts, but wonders how he's supposed to comfort a woman who's not human, barely approachable, and probably not interested in his comfort.

"Where to?" she asks instead.

"I'm sorry," John furrows his brows in confusion.

"Anything you might be running late for, Sunshine?" the Doctor quirks a fine, ginger brow at the man. "Or do you just walk about in prom apparel for the fun of it?"

"Oh," John looks at his own body as if it were covered in paint. Then, with a start, he realizes to what she's referring. "Oh, yes—yes, I do: St. Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick…London…England…Earth!"

"I do," the Doctor rolls her eyes, "what a cliche."

—

"Here!" John declares, practically running out of the TARDIS, only to find that they're on a rooftop. "We…are?"

"Hm, that's odd," the Doctor declares. "She's having some troubles. What's wrong, girl?"

Although all John hears is whirring noises he notices the blue paneling of the weird little box. It looks like an old style police box, from about the 60's. As he peers all around it he looks back inside, where the Doctor croons to the bleeping walls, he notices: "it's bigger on the inside."

"Yup," the box's pilot answers plainly. Her hands are still on the walls, asking what's wrong. "Poor sweetheart, it's like you've swallowed something… "

John turns to ask what the TARDIS has swallowed (moreover to ask how a box swallows anything) when the Doctor is up in his face. She holds what looks like a cross between a pen and a lipstick, that glows blue at the top. "What is it?—what's wrong?"

"You aren't a time anomaly in such a strict sense, but you are anomalous. In fact, you have distinct patterns around your signature that suggest that you're a temporal stitch out of sync with your proper timelines." Although she only looks up a second, she can see John is pulling at some of her words. "Time is different around you and I don't know why yet."

"May I sit?" John begins sitting nonetheless, although the Doctor does follow the movement, still bleeping him.

"Your fiance's gonna kill you for sitting in a white tux," she comments.

"Fiance…Nerys!" he yelps. Still, as his hands pull at his hair and cover his mouth he doesn't exactly leap up into action. "Never mind Nerys, my Mum is gonna kill me."

"If you don't mind me asking," the Doctor begins, still Sonic-ing away. "You don't seem in that big a hurry to get married, so why are you?"

John stretches his legs out a bit. He wishes he were wearing his trainers. Then at least he wouldn't have these damned things pinching his toes. As he leans back on his hands, he doesn't hesitate to delve into the story. "She begged me. Not Nerys, that is, my Mum. She kept telling me to ask Nerys after we started dating. She tells me I'm not exactly one of a kind, so I might as well find someone who's willing to settle for me and grab her while I can."

"Sounds like a sweetheart," the Doctor scoffs. "How long have you and this Nerys been seeing each other?"

"Six months, I think?" John asks more than answers. "I'm a temp where she works and she brought me coffee, flirted, you know, the works. She asked me out and I figured I might as well, and now…here I am."

"Not getting married," the Doctor quips. She sees the sadness in John, though. Even if he isn't that fond of this Nerys, he doesn't deserve any kind of misery over it. Maybe he really is a normal bloke who just wants to be married. The Doctor feels cold bitterness fill her again; she would like to be married as well but time is a cruel mistress, especially to her own kind it seems. "Well, John, there doesn't appear to by any special reason at all for you showing up in the TARDIS."

"Brilliant," he offers in a downhearted, sarcastic manner.

"Where do you work?"

"HC Clements; it does security and keys and the like, but I just work files and stuff. Nerys is Human Resources, so you could ask her," John stands and dusts his butt off a bit. "Time to face the slaughter."

The Doctor stands after him, a brow still cocked in amusement. "Won't be so bad, although you might want to come up with a reason as to why you're showing up with another woman other than 'I beamed into her spaceship for a quick freshening up'."

"Yeah—"

The Doctor sucks in a breath as the same glowing light that brought John to the TARDIS earlier appears again. He has a second to look confused before he's gone in a blink. She pulls out the Sonic and gets a lock; "come on, darlin', Earthboy's on the move."

—

John finds himself not far from where he needs to be married. He is actually witnessing another wedding happen this very second. It's a dark skinned man he can see, and a woman with her hair pulled back, though the vibrant red is still easily visible. She is laughing and cheering, apparently very happy to married. Must be nice, John thinks.

Something's not right, and he blinks again.

When he opens his eyes he's at least a little closer to where he needs to be. He wishes he knew why he keeps phasing in and out of reality, as it seems to be. It never started until today, he notes as he walks in no big rush. Nothing exciting ever happens, he groans. He can already hear Nerys's shrill barks at him, and his Mum biting his ear off about how he's one of one million. Even his name is overly ordinary: John Smith.

What a cliche; that's what the Doctor said. Now, the Doctor: that's an interesting woman. She might be called a spacewoman, John supposes but that's pulling at hairs. Still, she is brilliant. Her flaming hair is most enviable, John finds, having always wanted to be a ginger himself. Her eyes are also striking. They're blue, but he remembers seeing a little golden-amber halo around the pupils, that might have even glowed by themselves if he was imagining things correctly.

John hops up the steps just to find everything looking abandoned. He checks his watch and knows why: he has missed his own , at least he got to be on a spaceship, since today is the day he will be murdered. First Nerys will kill him, then his mother will be next. At least his grandfather will understand, even if he does have Spanish flu at the moment. Poor Gramps, although he didn't like the girl or the wedding from the beginning.

"On the trail we blaze, John Elton?"

John turns to see the Doctor walking as calm as ever up behind him. Her hands are still in her pockets in that jacket of hers. 'Isn't she hot in that' he thinks (and immediately tries to backpedal over). "It's Smith, actually."

"I was making a joke," she clarifies with little laughing at his expense. The man is already walking to his own wedding reception, late, in full dress, there's no need to be cruel. Her left hand fidgets within the pocket. "Anyway, take this."

"Wha—seriously?" John asks in dismay as the Doctor slips a gold ring onto his finger. "Isn't that kind of a slap in the face for everybody?"

"If they moved onto the reception without you with as little thought as I believe, seeing the lack of police, I'd say they won't notice." The Doctor says coolly. Okay, that might have been a little cruel. "Plus, it's a biodampener; consider it an alien medical bracelet. I don't know why time is pulling at the seams around you but until I can, you might as well keep your genetic signature under wraps. Plus, I don't have temporal spanners on me."

"Okay," John glances at the ring curiously. "With this ring I am biodamped."

"'Till death do we part," the Doctor offers with equal sass.

"Here we go," John walks up the stairs to the reception hall. He feels the Doctor still following and feels comforted by at least the moral support. As he opens the door he finds the party in full swing. Nerys is there with three guys hanging off her actual wedding veil. Everyone else is having a grand time until they see him. "You had the reception without me?"

"John, what happened to you?" Nerys asks, without worry.

"You had the reception," John repeats, finally letting some anger leak through. He can't play the nice boy forever, as he clenches his fists and growls through his teeth, "without me?!"

"Hello, there; I'm the Doctor," she declares as she runs up behind him, careful not to stand too close. "I just met John today; told me to come."

"They had the reception without me," John gestures blatantly.

"Rude," the Doctor concurs without shame, while offering him a smile that is consoling and a little jovial.

"It was all paid for, what were we supposed to do?"

"Thank you, Cliff," John glares at an exceedingly ordinary seeming bloke.
"What the hell were we supposed to do?!" an older woman comes storming over. Her hands are flying and her mouth is spouting a million words a minute, most being quite profane. "Where the hell have you been?!"

The Doctor notes that the fast talking woman must be the mother of the equally rapid-tongued John. She's as ghastly as the Doctor imagined her being. Poor John, being bombarded like this. He's gawping again, because, really, what is he supposed to answer. So, the Doctor takes action, bursting into crocodile tears. Everyone freezes and looks at her. "John was so kind to save me from these thugs earlier! They were just ghastly but this wonderful, brave man saved me! He's just brilliant!"

To John's shock the room applauds as the Doctor declares him her hero, lightly touching his arm. She then turns to Nerys and his mother, telling them about how brave he was. As Sylvia quickly takes credit for her son's valiance he catches the Doctor in the corner of his eye, winking at him through her little show. Oh, what a minx, he grumbles in his mind, though he is glad for her quick distracting method.

Soon the party is up and running again and everything seems fine. He is strong armed into several dances with Nerys, most of which are too vulgar for his tastes, but he just makes a fool of himself anyway. Nerys always complained he was too lanky to dance well. At least everyone seems to be having a good time.

The Doctor is leaned against the bar, partaking in some gold old fashioned earthen alcohol. A spacegirl's gotta have her vices, right?—and this is a party. While John was gone she took the time to look up HC Clements; their sole proprietor is Torchwood. She looks around the room and sees a couple dancing comfortably, gazing at each other with besotted eyes. She wants to find it nauseating but she supposes it's actually rather sweet. It doesn't help the painful memory of when she and Lee danced together for the first time. No; she has kept the memories and the bitterness at bay, and she will continue. Besides, as she watches John make some vaguely chicken-like movements, she feels something akin to healing fondness.

A breeze catches the hair on the back of the Doctor's neck. Even under her thick mane of hair they stand straight. She knows that feeling anywhere: temporal wave. She launches herself from the bar, "John!"

Nerys isn't too pleased with how the redhead inserts herself between her and John but doesn't get a chance to complain. John just turns to the woman in earnest intrigue. "Doctor, what is it? Doesn't the biodampener work?"

"Where did you get that ring?" Nerys asks as soon as John has pointed out the gold ring on his ring finger.

"Do y'self a favor, find a new attitude to go with your borrowed time and your old face," the Doctor snips at the bride quite easily.

"What about my something blue?" is all the blond asks in return.

"How about I strangle you, then you'll have the whole set," the Doctor smiles and glares at the woman. Thankfully the blond goes off with a snarl to lick her wounds. "John, a biodampener won't protect against a temporal wave."

"Why is there a temporal wave in the first place?" asks John.

"Someone somewhere is tearing at time and space, and it's reacting to something anomalous going on here." As soon as she has said it it's like a sonic wave hits the reception. Things are knocked over and the electronics all but explode. Many fall to the ground unconscious, others vomit.

"Oh, my God, what's happened to them?" John asks as he and the Doctor both go about helping people. Nerys is looking between the two of them but he snaps at her. "Don't just stand there, help!"

"You guys all right?" the Doctor asks the kids. It breaks her hearts to see them so distraught. They're all in tears, complaining about their tummies and looking horribly feverish.

"You're a doctor, help them!" John urges her.

"I'm not that kind of doctor," she tells him just for the sake of it, but still pulls out her handy-dandy stethoscope. She checks each other kids and moves away when their parents find their feet again.

"Doctor, what was that?" John asks gravely.

"It was a wave in the timeline, like a tidal wave hitting a peninsula beach. Temporal anomalies create ripples in time and dimensions, and sometimes those ripples overlap and create waves of disturbances in time and space. If the events are close enough to each other dimensionally, the wave will be like this. Everyone's a little motion sick but they'll be fine."

"Is it my fault?"

"No, but you do have to come with me," the Doctor grabs his hand and leads him away.

"John, wait; who is that woman?!" Sylvia shouts after her son, who only looks over his shoulder before letting the strange ginger take him away.

—

"So, the best way I can explain is," the Doctor picks up an HC Clements mug, "this is the TARDIS. She's a time machine, she picks up on anomalies: temporal, dimensional, physical, you name it. So, she picks up on your signal." She then picks up a pencil. "You are an anomaly yourself, like a little raft between to oceans. Then, if there are waves on either side of you, where are you gonna end up?"

John watches her pop the pencil into the mug with satisfaction while he is still confused. "I'm a pencil inside a mug?"

"Yup, 4B, John Smith," she nods at him. "You are anomalous, and that led you to me. It's because of another anomaly going on here that you got literally phased into my TARDIS."

"So, that's what we're here to look into?"

"Yep," the Doctor rolls her glossed lips to pop the 'p' sound happily. "I looked up HC Clements, and this brilliant little company is linked to Torchwood."

"What's Torchwood?" John asks as he gets into the lift with the Doctor without hesitation. He figures he has no reason not to stick with the woman who has only been helpful.

"Long story, but Torchwood handles events of the supernatural variety, including aliens, time travel, dimension ripping, the like." The Doctor Sonics the the button they need.

"So, like an entire agency of you?" John smirks a little bit.

"Oi," she chides him but also with a smile on her face.

"So, I'm anomalous, and because of other anomalies I found the TARDIS. And, if HC Clements is connected to this kind of thing, and behind something shifty going on in this building, I might be like…a plot device or something."

"An anomaly can stay stable even through time waves, like you saw earlier. You could literally used as an expeditionary," the Doctor slows her walking. "Isn't that right, Nerys?"

"Oh, look at the clever little ginger doctor," the blond in question steps out. "Figured us all out. How did you know it was me?"

"I could smell your perfume as soon as I stepped off the lift," the Doctor snarks at the woman.

"Nerys?" John squints as if he can't believe his eyes. "You're in on this sci-fi jiggery?"

"My guess is Nerys kept close to you to avoid time wave whiplash while she was working down here." The Doctor spares John a small pat on the arm before turning back to his traitorous fiance. "That hole you've drilled; what's it for?"

"Can't tell you that, gingersnap," Nerys all but spits.

"Nerys, why are you doing this?" John continues to plead.

"Oh, come on, John, why do I do anything? I'm promised more money than you'll make in your lifetime just for bringing you in. Little John Smith, a cookie cutter of a person if ever there was one. I can't believe how easy it was to reel you in like this! Did you even have a clue?"

"I know you would never have the brains to be behind this whole thing so I want to talk to your boss. You know, the one breathing heavily over in the dark corner there." The Doctor cuts off Nerys's rant.

"Oh, the Doctor come at last," a raspy female voice cackles. A red, alien spider creeps out into the open, all crab pincers and thorax.

"What is that?!" John nearly wretches at the sight of it.

"Racnoss," the Doctor supplies as shortly as possible. 'Impossible; the Racnoss have been gone since the dark ages, so what is she? She could be the empress, if there were to be any survivor. So, what does she want, then?'

"I am going to be your ruler, anomalous human," she/that/it/thing hisses at John.

"And there we have it, trying to use you for your temporal stability," the Doctor pulls out the Sonic. "Don't believe them, John, you're more than just a spoon for digging."

"If I go will you leave the Earth in peace?" John asks while also moving in front of the Doctor. He's a toothpick of a man but he is a man, and won't let this thing have her.

"No, John, it's okay, I'm not going anywhere without you." The Doctor can't help but think it's sweet of John to be concerned with protecting her, the naive earthboy. "Especially…now!"

John feels what he recognizes as his kind of spidey-sense. Is another wave coming? No, he blinks and then he and the Doctor are on the Tardis again. He looks around and seeks the Doctor's eyes. "So…Nerys was behind all this. She was using me to block anomaly waves for her spider queen? I guess that's why they call it head of human resources."

The Doctor looks up to where John looks horribly forlorn. His freckly face is ashen. He kicks some dust on the TARDIS floor with his shoe. "I guess it was crazy of me to think that a girl like Nerys would like me."

"Don't say that, John," the Doctor says softly. Her normally booming voice is velvety and gentle now. "You're brilliant; one in a million."

"I feel more like one of one million," John sighs.

"Don't be like that," the Doctor chides him again. She goes over to him, gently taking his hand in hers. "I want you to see something no human has ever seen before—in fact, I've never been here either."

"Where is here?" John asks, though it's pointless. The Doctor opens the doors and he sees the cosmos. The colors are tumultuous, like a glittery sea. "When is here?"

"John Smith, welcome to the creation of the Earth."

John is absolutely in awe. He has never seen anything this beautiful. He has his books and documentaries but he has never seen any of it in person. This is the most brilliant thing he has ever seen. He imagines it is the most amazing thing he will ever see in his lifetime.

The Doctor goes between looking at John and looking out the doors. She is marveling at this. It is a wonder how all the rocks just floating around will gravitate to form Earth. And from Earth, these magnificent humans will make all they are from nothing. Amazing humans like John Smith, she thinks. As she looks over at him, smiling at his wonder, she remembers: this is why I'm so fond of humans. They never cease to be amazed at the universe, no matter how much they themselves amaze her.

"So, what do the Racnoss want down that hole?" John asks quietly.

"We're going to find out," the Doctor and John continue to watch as rocks clump together. Finally, a defined point floats by and she gasps. "The Racnoss' ship became the center of the Earth. They were hiding from war and became the center of the human planet."

"Then why me?" John wonders aloud.

"You are just the anomaly they need. They're resurrecting a ship that runs on energy that hasn't been used since the dark ages, in hopes of rewriting the fall of their empire. They'd need someone as anomalous as you just to survive the time waves." After the Doctor has explained it the TARDIS shakes under their feet. "Dammit—they're pulling us back."

The shaking stops and John steadies himself. "Are we back in HC Clements?"

"Yes, but don't you worry about it," the Doctor puts her Sonic back in her pocket. "Listen, John, I'm going to stop them. I promise I will stop them, but you have to stay safe."

"What are you planning to do?"

"What are you planning to do, physician? My children will be resurrected and our planet can be reborn!" The Empress hisses out, all of her eyes turning every which way. "What planet will you have when this is done?!"

"Oh, the Earth isn't my planet, but that doesn't mean you can have it. No, my planet is gone, although the name carries: Gallifrey." The Doctor stands resolute, facing the Racnoss Empress. "You know of me, and you know of Gallifreyans from the Time War. Listen to me and surrender. I will find a planet for you and your children but you will surrender the Earth. Do you accept?"

"I will have to decline, Doctor of Gallifrey!" the Empress hisses.

"Then what happens is your doing!" the Doctor roars like thunder. She Sonics above her and several of the circular hatches open up, gushing water. "This facility is under the Thames; you and your children are going to drown, Empress of the Racnoss!"

"My children!" the she-beast screams in dismay as her drill hole fills with water. She turns to the Doctor. "Your children did perish! Spare mine! Spare my children!"

The Doctor remains stoic, although the memory burns in her. The fire starts at the roots of her hair and seems to scald her right through her brain into her hearts.

"Doctor!" John shouts over the flow of water. He doesn't know what's happening, but he knows that this Doctor is not like the Doctor he has come to know. This Doctor stands with an inexpressive face, and it scares him. "You can stop now!"

The Doctor feels herself being physically pulled back into the present. She looks towards John and starts moving before she knows. The poor man is soaked to the bone, not that she isn't. She takes his hand and rushes him out, sparing a look towards the Racnoss. Part of her wants to be ashamed of what she has done. She wishes she were more appalled of her genocide, but sometimes it's a kingdom for a country, or a palace for a planet. This hasn't been the first time she has had to commit genocide and she fears it won't be the last. This is the burden of the last Time Lord: the Destroyer of Worlds.

"What about Nerys?" John shouts as they make their way up the ladder.

"Converted to Huon energy for the Empress," the Doctor shouts back at him. "They were going to kill her eventually—they always were."

John follows the Doctor out of the hatch and sits next to her. He breathes in the air, just breathing for the sake of it. "There is a big problem."

"What's that?" the Doctor asks distractedly, again fishing for the Sonic.

"We've drained the Thames," John chuckles. The Doctor finally looks at him. She looks so tired, he finds, and so sad. Her eyes seem so dark, like a person who has had a vivid nightmare. Then she laughs, and he laughs with her. "Could I just go home, now?"

"Come on, Earthboy," she holds out her hand. The two wobble a little, and the Doctor lets John hold her by the waist as she Sonics towards the sky. As that familiar whirring comes she finds her home sweet home. "To Chiswick, John Smith?"

"To Chiswick," he nods. He's just as tired as she looks, he guesses. They're both quiet, but he doesn't know what exactly they would say even if they weren't. What is there to say? The mechanical sound comes again and John looks up. "Here already?"

"She makes good time," the Doctor chuckles a little at her own joke, patting the TARDIS fondly. It hums at her, as if offering a pity laugh. The Doctor follows John to the door and feels her hearts starting to ache again. Not another goodbye, she curses. She doesn't think she's ready to let go of John Smith. "Here we are, then."

"Thank you," John smiles genuinely at her.

"I'm sorry about your wedding," the Doctor offers a bit lamely. When John only shrugs she shakes her head at herself. "What will you do?"

"Lost my fiance, lost my job, and a lot of my sanity in the same day, so," John scoffs. Then he looks intensely at the Doctor. Her bangs are curling slightly from the dampness. "What will you do?"

"Oh, the usual, probably, travelling the universe. I'll see some things, try to meet some people." The Doctor looks at John's gentle smile, more pulled to the left but quirked higher on the right. He has dimples, she notices, and very brown eyes. "You could come with me."

"What?" John asks the overly familiar question.

"Come with me."