Chapter One
Madman from a Box

Lucy had been fairly ordinary, as she knew perfectly well. She was pretty and came from a well-to-do family, and she had a good job as an interior decorating consultant. Or she had been ordinary. Now, standing on top of the world with Harold Saxon and watching the Toclafane pour out of the sky, she knew she was anything but.

"Harry, I'm so proud of you!" she whispered, running her hand along his arm. He smiled down at her and then kissed her on the mouth.

"It's all ours," he said. "This whole world... all the worlds. We'll rule them together."

It was the same thing he had said, the first time he took her across the universe, across time itself. Oh, how she remembered that day...

She heard a strange sound, one she couldn't place, as she unlocked her car. A whirring, engine like noise, and then a muffled bang. Looking around, she saw a blue box; smoke was coming out of it. The door opened and a man stumbled out, coughing and cursing. He kicked the box and looked around; then a smile settled on his face and he laughed. It wasn't an infectious laugh, but more of a triumphant one. Lucy looked at him wide-eyed. Then he saw her.

"Hello," he said, coming towards her. She wondered if she should be alarmed; but he was smiling and looked friendly enough.

"Hello," replied Lucy. "I'm Lucy Redward. What's that box?"

"Harold. Harold Saxon." He held out his hand. "I'm Harold Saxon, by the way. Not the box. I mean, I'm not the box. Or, no wait, the box isn't me..." his face went white and he stumbled forward. He would have fallen if he hadn't caught himself on her car.

"Are you alright, Mr. Saxon?" she asked.

"Yeah... yeah, fine, just... disoriented. I'd forgotten how it feels, regeneration and Tardis travel and..." he cut off suddenly and went into a spasm, clinging to the car door. Lucy looked around wildly and dug in her purse.

"I'm calling the hospital," she said. "You need help."

"No no no no!" he straightened and looked fairly normal again. "Don't do that. Don't you ever do... that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to become Prime Minister!"

He's really messed up. "Well, if you're sure everything is fine..."

"It is. I am. I is. It am." Again he stopped short. "Sorry." He ran his tongue over his teeth. "Still getting used to everything. It's been a long time since this happened."

"So this is normal?"

"Perfectly normal, it will stop after a while. What I need is food. Do you have food anywhere?"
"We're in the middle of London..."

"Right, I know, I know. Take me to a place where I can get food. Hurry it up!"

He slid into the passenger's seat and stared at her with an almost wild look in his eyes; then the look was gone, replaced by a charming smile. He began to drum his fingers on the dashboard. "Come on, Lucy."

"Ms. Redward," she corrected lamely.

"Ah, single are we?"

"All right, I'll get you to a restaurant."

She got behind the wheel and drove without looking at him. He didn't talk, or do much of anything, until she stopped at a small cafe.

"Perfect," he said. "I've got to eat. That'll make me feel better. Eat. Ate. Eaten. Aten... no, that's not right. Will eat. Have eaten. I ate. He ate. She ate. They ate... Ow!"

He got out, pale and shaking, and stumbled like a drunk to the cafe. Once inside, he ordered a heaping plate of spaghetti and eight pieces of toast, which he proceeded to devour right in front of her. She watched in astonished silence until he was scooping up the last bit of sauce onto the last bite of bread. Then he sat back and sighed.

"There. I feel almost right again. You, Ms. Redward, are a lifesaver."

She just stared at him.

"Strange first date, eh?"

"Date?"

"I've got a better one planned." He drummed his fingers absently on the table, tap tap taptap. Tap tap taptap. "Meet me back here tonight at ten."

"What?"

"For a date. You and me. Handsome man and pretty woman. Go on, you know you want to!"

"Where will you take me?"

"Oh, Lucy, farther than you could imagine." He leaned forward and whispered, "To the end of the universe." Tap tap taptap. Tap tap taptap.

"Well, then," Lucy leaned back. "If you insist on being mysterious. My life has been far too dull; spice it up for me. I'll be back at ten."

"Oh, you bet you will." He looked into her eyes, and too late she saw what he was going to do. His lips met hers and his hand was at the back of her neck. A shock, almost electric, went through her and she jerked back. "You wouldn't dare disappoint me."