Tammie Pond and how she came to be

by GlitterLizard

After the planets appeared in the sky, Tammie met the Doctor. However, he already knew her due to her mysteriously appearing in his past. Her future self is in danger and the Doctor doesn't know if he can get to her in time. He tries his darndest to make sure she will be safe, but in the end, not all moments in time can be rewritten. This is how she became, 'The girl who survived.'

1. Massive, metal, mantarays

Hi, reviews are always appreciated. :3

EDIT: I've basically rewritten this chapter, because I wasn't happy with it, so check it out if you want. :)

---

Alyssa Winters and Tammie Stanfield. Best friends since the first year of Secondary school. They were in college together, both for art, and they lived together in a flat, in Brixton, London. They spent almost every waking moment together. If Tammie ever imagined what it would be like to have a sister, she would envision it would be like her relationship with Alyssa. She was her rock. Whenever she would have a panic attack or her anxiety would kick in for no reason at all, she would be there to help her through it. Whenever she was upset, she knew just what to say or do to make her feel better again. In return, she did the same for Alyssa. They knew each other like the backs of their hands. She didn't know what she would ever do without her... but she found out. She found that she could barely cope. Until that is, the Doctor entered her life, but that would come later, like a lot of things.

It had been eight months, eighteen days since the planets appeared in the sky, and those... things had arrived to rake havoc on the world. Eight months since Alyssa died. No... Eight months since Alyssa was murdered by that thing that called itself a Dalek. She was gone, and Tammie didn't know what to do, other than carry on without her. She just did her usual routine. That's all she could do. She dropped out of college a few months back, so there wasn't a distraction there, or anywhere for that matter.

For the first few weeks, she hid away in her flat, just grieving over the loss of her only friend. Reality soon hit her in the face though, and she knew she had to go to work, otherwise, she would end up out on the streets. Her job was at the Greenleaf cafe, down town. It was difficult working there, after what happened. Most times she was there, another memory would pop up of Alyssa. They spent most of their time there, after all. Be it when they both worked there, or when they had homework to do, or if they were just simply hanging out. It was their meet up place after school, and their place of escape when they were cooped up in their flat for too long.

The cafe was run by Alyssa's parents, Rob and Ashley. She hated the way they would look at her after Alyssa's death. The glares and the side eyes, the hatred and the disappointment. It made her feel sick. The two people, who once called her family, despised her. They blamed her for their daughter's death, of course, they would. Tammie was alive, but their little girl wasn't. She understood that. She blamed herself for it as well. The Dalek was after her, after all... Yet they still let her work there. That was something she didn't understand.

One of the most constant thoughts in her mind was that she had to find another job. Another place to live. That she couldn't stay there anymore. It was hurting her so damn much. She had lived in that area for her whole life, ever since she was brought to the orphanage, near by, as a baby. Her whole life was there, that's why she had to move. She couldn't take walking past the park, that they spent time together as teens. She couldn't take staying in the same flat, that she had once shared with her best friend. She couldn't take the looks that Alyssa's parents, Alyssa's other friends, or anyone that ever knew her, gave her anymore. It was the same faces over, and over again. Their expressions filled with hatred, or distaste, or fake concern. It was killing her, and she didn't know how long she could take it.

---

That day was like any other day, but that's always the way, isn't it? To her at the time, the only thing different about that day was... well, it was her last day working at the Greenleaf cafe. She felt a little bit of weight lift off her shoulders as she gave Ashley her resignation two weeks prior, but she still felt exhausted. She still had to find another job and another flat somewhere, which just added more stress.

Tammie exhaled roughly as she thought about it, and put her apron on one of the hooks, for the final time. As she passed Rob, to go and get her things before she left, she could feel him glaring at her, but she just ignored him as she usually did. When she got to her locker, she quickly put on her dark green safari jacket, and her black finger-less gloves then made her way to the exit. She let out a sigh of relief as she left, and didn't bother to turn around to look back at the building, that held so many memories for her.

It was around seven thirty at night, as she made her way home. It was dark, but the many lights from the buildings, cars, and street lamps made up for that. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her MP3 player and earphones, put one in each ear, and hit play. Music filled her ears and she felt herself relax a little, though it didn't last long.

Her stomach started to growl, and her legs and head began to ache, as she made her way through the streets of London. Right... I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast... or was that yesterday? She didn't really care all that much though. Eating was the least of her problems, at the moment.

Great, I'll have to take the bus. Don't really feel like passing out in the street right now. She sighed through her nose and closed her eyes for just a second, when her shoulder bumped into a strangers arm, "Sorry. Wasn't looking where I was going." She apologised as she glanced up at the man's face, which was contorted into confusion, and then an expression she couldn't quite read. At least he isn't angry or insulting me like some people would. She smiled as best as she could, which ended up more like a grimace, and turned back in the direction she was headed, yet only took one step forward. Maybe he would know? Better to ask than look like a complete idiot. She turned again, feeling slightly dizzy as she did so, pulled one earphone out, so she could concentrate on what he was going to say, and spoke, "Hey, sorry to bother you and all," The man that she had bumped into hadn't seemed to have moved, he was just sort of... staring at her, "but... could you tell me which bus it is to get the closest to the Oak estate? I'm kind of terrible at that stuff. Aly-" Tammie stopped herself short, as she realised what she was saying. Aly always knew which bus to take, knew it so I didn't have to bother. Another little thing that she would do so I wouldn't stress out as much. This guy doesn't need, or want, to know about all of that. She shook her head slightly, and apologised again, "Sorry, never mind."

She went to turn around again, when the stranger in the bow tie stopped her, by gently placing a hand on her shoulder, with a concerned look in his eyes, "Hey, no, it's okay T-" This time it was him who cut himself off, with a small clearing of his throat, "It's... it's bus 200 you should take. Great bus really. Superb bus!" He let out a quiet 'ha' as he stared at her with a grin, before he clapped his hands together and peered over his shoulder, spotting said 'superb bus'. To Tammie, it looked like he might have seen something or someone else, from the way he sputtered out a goodbye, "Ah, here's your bus now. Gotta dash, but see you soon," he grinned once again, but only for a split second as if he realised something. He started to wave his hands about as he continued, "Uh, maybe I mean, you know... small world... and all that lovely jazz." He did some jazz hands just to add an effect to it, which made her lip quirk up ever so slightly, without her realising. He did notice though. He gave her a cheery smile, before he, once again, peered over his shoulder.

"Thank you, and, uh, yeah. See ya." She paused as she noticed something. She didn't really know why she said it, but she did, "Uh, nice bow tie by the way." It kind of suits him. The floppy haired man gave her a goofy grin, and adjusted said bow tie, with a quiet, almost fond, laugh. She couldn't help but smile back, which surprised her. She hadn't smiled properly in months. She had faked plenty of smiles, but sometimes she didn't even have the energy to do that. She tried time and time again to smile genuinely, but she just didn't have it in her. She even watched comedy shows to try and lift her spirits up, and not even a quirk of the lip appeared, but a stranger in a bow tie... that's what was finally able to make her smile properly. Then again, she always did see the good stuff in the little things. Seeing someone else happy, or proud of themselves... it made her happy. One step at a time, I guess.

The double-decker bus pulled up just a couple feet from where they were stood, and with the smile that had lessened slightly, she said goodbye to the slightly strange, but kind, stranger one more time, before making her way over to the big red bus.

She didn't know it, but as she hopped aboard, the strange man smiled at her fondly and whispered to himself, "Don't you worry, Tammie. You'll feel more like yourself soon," He sighed, with a smile, and turned to head back to the Tardis with a small chuckle that escaped his lips, "Tammie Pond. The incredible, wonderful, Tammie Pond. Oh, the places you'll go... The girl who survived." He grinned once more, before he entered those famous blue doors.

Just as Tammie obtained herself a seat, near the back of the bus, a taller woman than herself, with dark long hair, came onboard. She didn't pay all that much attention to the people around her, or when the woman sat in the seat in front of her, she just focused on the music that was playing in her left ear, having turned it down a bit on her MP3 player, and watched as people passed by in the street. Her thoughts were occupied by that stranger. He seemed to be nervous, but happy at the same time, so... havous... nerppy...? Whatever. She scrunched her nose up at herself. He was weird, sure, but it was almost as if he knew me... Kind of like a proud teacher or something, at least if the look in his eyes is anything to go by... Speaking of his eyes, they looked old, like he has definitely been through the ringer a couple of times.

As she leaned her head against the window, with her brows furrowed, confused in whatever was going through her head, a man in a trench coat had sat down next to the woman in front of her, just as the bus started moving, and said something that made her nervous... Very nervous. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Happy Easter." He exclaimed, with a grin on his face, as Tammie could feel her throat close up and her eyes widen. She willed herself to stay calm as she continued to stare out of the window. That's what that thing said. The Doctor... It can't be... Right?

---

Tammie's voice came out as a whisper, 'Y-you... you just... What?' She shook her head, as she tried to think, but that was impossible for her at that moment, given what had just happened. 'H-how do you know my name?'

'You know the Doctor! You are Tammie Stanfield!' The Dalek spoke, as Tammie's panic went sky high, and their words overlapped each other.

'A-and y-you just shot her... Why? Why would you do that?!' She screamed, as tears poured out of her eyes. It didn't feel real. None of it felt real.

'Daleks do not answer humans! You know the Doctor!' It aimed its weapon at her again, and demanded an answer, 'Where?! Where is he?! Where is the TimeLord?!' Its voice increased in volume, and sounded more screechy, as it continued.

'I-I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any doctors...' She looked over at Alyssa, seeing her just lay there, eyes closed, like she was peacefully asleep, but she knew she wasn't. 'Aly... A-Alyssa... P-please... Please, don't be d-dead, please... Y-you can't be...' She whispered, as the Dalek scanned her before it spoke again.

'No...' It said darkly, 'But you will!' It then flew back out of the, now smashed, window it came through, and left Tammie alone. She slowly fell to the ground next to her only friend, her only family in the universe, and wept uncontrollably. It didn't feel real to her, but she knew it was.

When the world moved once again and was put back into place, she didn't cheer like everyone else, she just cried and held on to the only person who mattered to her. The only person who ever gave a damn about her.

---

"How about you, do you want some?" The man leaned over the seat, with a half-eaten chocolate egg in his hands, and a grin. His eyes were shining like a kid's at Christmas would, though she didn't really know what that was like personally.

Tammie looked over at him, with hesitant eyes, and quietly declined the offer, even if she was starving, before she looked back out at the city of Brixton again. She didn't see, but his face fell slightly, before he turned back to the other woman, and started a conversation with her. Stop it. That thing could have been on about any kind of doctor. Just calm down. She sighed quietly, as one of her hands reached up to rub her left shoulder, a nervous habit of hers, which the Doctor noticed out the corner of his eye.

"The funny thing is, I don't often do Easter. I can never find it. It's always at a different time. Although, I remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was-" Suddenly, a beeping could be heard, and she glanced over at him, "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me," he said, as he passed over his chocolate egg to the lady next to him, "Actually, go on, have it. Finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth." Okay... She shook her head minutely as she continued to stare out the window, when her ears perked up. She could hear sirens, but it was pretty normal being in the city, so she just ignored it. He pulled out a device of some sort, with a bunch of little lights, from his coat pocket, and then continued talking, "Ah. Oh, we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange." He lifted the device to his ear, and Tammie glanced at him with curious, sea foam green eyes, before setting them back on the scenes that passed them by outside.

The woman sitting next to him looked slightly nervous, peeked out the window, and muttered something under her breath that Tammie didn't hear. She glanced at the both of them, out the corner of her eye, as she wondered what the device he held in his hands was. It didn't exactly look like something someone would just carry around with them.

The bus entered a tunnel when the spiky haired man started to talk again. "Rhondium particles, that's what I'm looking for. This thing detects them. Look, this should go round, that little dish there." What particles? What's he on about? She thought to herself. She couldn't help but over hear what they were saying, considering they were right in front of her, and they weren't exactly speaking quietly. Anyway, it was a good distraction from other things that were on her mind.

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?" Ah, so those sirens are after you then?

"Ah, the little dish is going round." Good for you, sir.

"Fascinating." Oh, was that a hint of sarcasm I hear? Her inner thoughts for their conversation almost made her chuckle, now that would be a surprise.

The little dish suddenly began to spin faster. "And round. Whoa." The device sparked, which made her jump in her seat a little.

The man stood up, as a lady at the front of the bus said something, and he apologised. Tammie was more focused on whatever that thing did, or was supposed to do anyway. "Can't you turn that thing off?" The woman in front of her voiced, before he turned to face her, and asked for her name. "Christina."

"Christina," He glanced at the brunette sitting behind her, before he continued, "Tammie, hold on tight. Everyone, hold on!" He shocked her with what he said, but she wasn't able to question him, as there was a sudden jolt that sent everyone flying. Tammie tried her best to hang onto the railing in front of her, as the windows shattered, sparks flew, and a bright light appeared. Someone from upstairs fell down to the bottom floor, and everyone was shouting or screaming. The light increased in brightness until it just stopped.

She was still in her seat but was also definitely panicking. What the hell just happened? How does he know my name? Questions and flashbacks about that day kept appearing in her mind, and she felt like she couldn't breathe, but at the same time, she felt like she was breathing a little too much. She felt her heart beat rapidly against her rib cage and could feel her hands trembling, as they held onto the railing in front of her. Something she knew all too well as a panic attack. It wasn't her first since Alyssa's death, nor would it be her last, but it still felt horrible each and every time it happened. At least when Alyssa was alive she would be there to help her through it and make it less troublesome. Now though... she didn't have anyone.

The Doctor, who had stood up by now, noticed they were definitely not in London anymore and was curious to find out where they were. Before he did though, he saw Tammie, with her hands still gripped to the railing, so tight that her nails were digging into her palms, and her head down facing the floor, breathing far too fast for his liking. He moved towards her, as most of the others left the bus, going to take a look at where they were. He bent down next to her, with a frown, and placed a hand on her back, which she flinched at. "Tammie, you have to slow down your breathing, okay? In and out. In and out. That's it. Keep going." He stated calmly, trying to get her breaths back to a regular pace.

She knew she had to listen to him, otherwise, it would take longer for the panic to subside, so she took in breaths as slowly as she could, thinking about how Alyssa would calm her whenever she had them in the past. He rubbed small circles into her back, as she calmed down a bit, whispering to her that it was going to be okay. After a moment, she lifted her head up, and gently let go of the railing, but she still wasn't quite ready to look at him yet. "H-how do you know my name?" She asked, shakily, still trying to get her head in order. Not 'where are we?' or 'what the hell just happened?' but 'how do you know my name?' was the most prominent question at the front of her mind at that moment. She turned her head to face him, and he really didn't like how terrified she looked.

He looked into her eyes, and she noticed that they seemed old... very old, but kind. She thought they looked similar to the stranger she met, which confused her as they looked nothing alike. He sighed gently and gave her a comforting smile. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later, okay? Promise. Let's just find out where we are first, hm?" She still looked afraid, but she nodded slowly. He smiled at her, helped her up, and guided her off the bus.

When she saw the sand and the three Suns in the sky, she felt like she was going to faint. Although that could've been the dehydration, and lack of food talking.

The Doctor's voice seemed to startle everyone out of their stupors as he said, "End of the line. Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton." No way, I would've never of guessed. She winced, as her brain tried to get caught up with what was happening. The Doctor patted her back, and walked a little ways away from the rest of the group, with Christina following after him, curiosity laced in her eyes.

After another minute of being in complete awe of it all, the lady with the short blonde hair, who was previously sitting at the front of the bus, spoke up, "It's impossible. There are three Suns. Three of 'em." Tammie could feel her headache getting worse, as her legs started to sway.

Why? Why did it have to be today, and why did it have to be this bus? She wasn't exactly surprised in a sense. A lot of strange things had happened on Earth, some quite recently, others not. The ATMOS devices in everyone's cars that released toxic gas. The Sun going funny a couple years previous. The ghosts that turned out to be metal men a year before that, and the past Christmas'... Oh, the past Christmas'... The Titanic falling from the sky the year before. The massive star-like web thing shooting at the city below. The massive spaceship in the sky where about a third of Earth's population was hypnotised into almost killing themselves, who were all A positives... Alyssa included... Earth was a hotspot for aliens and things to go wrong...

"Like when all those planets were up in the sky." A young man said all of a sudden. A chill went up her spine at the mention of that day, and her eyes locked onto the Doctor. He was on the ground picking up some sand and observing it. He glanced in her direction and she quickly turned her head away from him, as she instantly grabbed her left shoulder. It can't be him, right?

"But it was the Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" Another young guy said, the one that fell down the stairs.

"Oh man, we're on another world." The other guy replied.

Tammie sighed, as she glanced around. She was taking in her surroundings, but not getting much information about the place, considering there was just sand everywhere. Oh, joy... I mean it is amazing and all, but... This can't be good, right? One minute we're in London, the next... who the hell knows? I don't see anything other than sand. She thought as she glanced around again, still nervous about everything that was going on at that moment. Her eyes always seemed to go back to the Doctor every so often.

The bus driver said something, but Tammie wasn't paying attention to him and the other passengers, as she was more focused on the Doctor. She just kept thinking about the same few things over and over, again and again. That day. How did he know her? And how much her head hurt. She grabbed her left shoulder more tightly as it started hurting as well. It always hurt, but more so now for some reason. Ever since she could remember, her left shoulder had hurt her. It was a pain she could deal with though, most of the time she barely noticed it. It was just... there... and it was an almost fuzzy feeling sometimes.

As she was lost in her own thoughts, the young man saw the Doctor and Christina a small ways away. "Hold on a minute. I saw you, mate." Barclay started, which pulled Tammie back into what was happening, and looked over at the two, who were now wearing sunglasses and standing, "You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Oh, humans on buses always blaming me." He complained but put his hands up. "Look, look, if you must know, I was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby." That's a pretty weird hobby... "But it was a tiny little hole. No danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it." He replied, looking at the bus.

"But then where is it? There's nothing. There's just sand." The bus driver stated, glancing around the place. He's got you there.

Still massaging her shoulder, she followed everyone, as the Doctor walked to his right, and picked up a handful of the sand that was all around them. "All right. You want proof? We drove through this." He threw the sand in his hand in front of him, and a transparent wibbly thing appeared for a moment before it faded. It was like when someone threw a pebble on a lake, and it skipped across the water. Only vertical, and a lot bigger.

Christina questioned what she had just seen, though she was definitely calm about it, "And that's?"

"A door. A door in space." He stated.

"Like a wormhole?" Tammie asked, not so sure of herself. That's what it sounded like to her anyway, she had watched her fair share of sci-fi films after all.

The Doctor grinned at her, "Exactly. Except not 'like' but is." She pouted ever so slightly, but quickly stopped, hoping he didn't notice, but he did. Smarty pants. And he definitely knew that he was by the way he gave her a cheeky grin.

The bus driver spoke up rather excitedly, and walked towards the Doctor, "So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?"

"The bus came through, but we can't." Well yeah, the bus is proof enough for that. She thought as she glanced back at it. It was barely holding together from what it looked like, and almost the whole top floor of the bus was crushed, like someone had dropped a container on it or something.

The driver either ignored what he said completely or didn't process it properly, because he then started to head for the wormhole while saying, "Well then, what are we waiting for?" The Doctor tried to stop him, but he didn't listen, "I'm going home, mate!"

"No, I said don't!" He shouted, but he was too late, as he walked through it.

All they could hear was his screams of pain and saw him briefly burning, just seeing his bones, then nothing. Just bones... like when that Dalek shot Alyssa, and she saw her skeleton for a few seconds before she collapsed on the floor in front of her. No... no, no, no, no, no...

She was barely listening to what everyone was saying around her. She was just staring straight ahead at the portal, stepping back a few paces, as her vision started to blur and darken, and her head went spinning out of control until she passed out. Thankfully, someone caught her before she fell.

---

Tammie woke up on the bus with a small groan. She gently sat herself up and gripped her head, which didn't appreciate her getting up apparently, and turned to see everyone's eyes were on her. Well, that's not creepy or nerve racking, even if they do look concerned. "Uh... Hi." She barely got out of her mouth, before she cleared her throat.

"Seems that sleeping beauty's awake. I'll go over the points I've already said with you later. You've only been out for ten minutes, so you haven't missed much." Christina stated, making her confused, but she nodded anyway. Who put you in charge? Points? What is she, a drill sergeant?

She kept talking, as the Doctor leaned over the seat from behind her, and passed her a water bottle and a granola bar. Where did he get them from? "Here, you're dehydrated, those Suns, the heat, and..." He trailed off, as he studied her face, "When was the last time you slept?" He asked, out of nowhere quietly, trying not to disturb Christina's speech. She just stared at him blankly, as she tried to get her head into gear. Why would he ask her that?

Although, she'd only been getting a few hours a night, sometimes every other night, these past eight months. She had even passed out on the sofa when she got home from work a few times. She was exhausted, but she never wanted to sleep. The nightmares she would have always kept her awake anyway.

What confused her though, was the concerned look he was giving her. Sure, people would be concerned that someone had just fainted, but he was looking at her like she would fall apart at any second. She almost did. She had been bottling everything up, not being able to tell anyone how she felt, not being able to have a shoulder to cry on, and for someone to tell her that everything was going to be okay. It was all on the tip of her tongue. Just something about the look on his face... It made her want to tell him everything, how scared she really was, but she stopped herself and turned to look at the front of the bus. Though she still continued their conversation.

"Last night." Lie. "I'm fine, I just... I've had a bit of a weird day, being on another planet and all." Partial lie. He just hummed, with furrowed brows, and sat back in his seat, with his feet up, glancing out the window. Why does he care anyway? She took a sip of the water he gave her, put the granola bar in one of her jacket pockets, which laid on the seat next to her, someone obviously took it off me to cool me down a bit, and then concentrated on the woman standing at the head of the bus.

"Point five. The crucial thing is, do not panic." Yeah, 'cause that's definitely not happening. "Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels." I'm guessing that's the three Suns beating down on us, mixed with the panicking, no? She had gotten very sarcastic lately. "We don't need to add anymore. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina." She then pointed over towards the Doctor, "This man is apparently the Doctor." Who smiled with a 'hello'. "And you?" She asked, glancing at the young guy near her, who waved with a nervous smile.

"Nathan." He stated, which began everyone introducing themselves.

"I'm Barclay."

"Angela. Angela Whittaker."

"My name's Louis. Everyone calls me Lou. And this is Carmen."

She then turned to Tammie. "Sleeping Beauty?"

"Jeez, you collapse one time." She muttered, causing the Doctor to snicker before he skillfully covered it with a cough. She didn't look back at him, but she could feel her lip twitch up, ever so slightly. "Tammie. Tammie Stanfield." She stated, with a fake, but what she hoped looked like a genuine, smile.

"Is that short for Tamitha or Tamara?" Christina asked, curiously.

She wrinkled her nose slightly, thinking back to how one of the adults at the orphanage constantly used to call her Tamitha, in that screechy tone of hers. That woman was always pissed, no matter what anyone did to try and make her happy. "No, it's just... it's always been, Tammie." She replied, though grimaced shortly after, "Please don't call me Tamitha..." She murmured, under her breath. The Doctor heard, however, and smirked, as he stared out the window, recalling when she told him about that same woman a long while ago.

Christina just smiled, and continued, "Noted. Excellent. Memorise those names. There might be a test. Point seven. Assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor."

The Doctor, who was still looking out the broken window, turned his head at the sound of his name. "I thought you were in charge?"

"I am. And a good leader utilises her strength. You seem to be the brain box. So, start boxing." She grinned. Nice play on words...

At those same words, he jumped up on the back of his seat, and explained, "Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

Carmen suddenly spoke up, as she pointed a finger behind her, "No, it wasn't. That thing, the doorway? Somebody made it for a reason."

"How do you know?" He asked with a curious tone, and she seemed to go a bit shy, but Lou looked at her proudly.

"She's got a gift. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery twice a week."

Christina gave them a look. "You don't look like millionaires."

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift." That's so sweet and modest. Tammie smiled ever so slightly at the thought.

"Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?" The Doctor asked, putting his hand behind his back, with three fingers up.

"Three." He then changed it to four. "Four." Tammie's eyebrows raised in surprise. Wow. Awesome! A real-life psychic!

"Very good. Low-level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun?" He then plopped back down in his seat, facing her. "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me, what's out there?"

Her expression shifted. She was scared, almost terrified. "Something, something is coming. Riding on the wind, and shining."

"What is it?"

"Death. Death is coming." That sentence put everyone into a panic. Tammie though, strangely enough, remained calm. She just stared blankly at the floor. She realised she didn't care if she died there. She didn't have anyone back home. The only person who would care would be her landlord because he wouldn't get that week's rent. But then she looked around and saw the people who were scared out their wits. They had families, most probably anyway, and friends who would care. We've got to get back. Somehow. We've got to. She looked in front of her, where Angela was starting to cry. She frowned, leaned forward, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Angela, we are going to get home, okay? Somehow we will." She whispered to her, as the terrified woman just looked at her with disbelieve. She gave it all she had to give her a smile. Alyssa was always the one that was better at comforting people... God dammit stop. Just then the Doctor spoke up.

"Alright now, stop it. Everyone stop it!" His voice raised slightly to get everybody's attention, then when everybody had stopped, he moved to be in front of Angela, who was still crying. He gave Tammie a small smile, who was rubbing small circles on the woman's back, before he spoke again. "Angela, look at me. Angela? Angela? Answer me one question, Angela. That's it. At me, at me. There we go. Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" She said dismissively.

"Answer the question." He said calmly.

"Just home." She stated.

"And what's home?" He questioned.

"Me and Mike. And Suzanne. That's my daughter. She's eighteen."

"Suzanne. Good." He then moved back to his seat, as Tammie patted her shoulder gently, before sitting back herself, seeing that she had calmed down a small bit. "What about you?" He asked, aiming the question at Barclay.

"Don't know. Going round Tina's." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

"Not yet." He replied with a grin, and the Doctor gave him one back.

"Good boy. What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash. I lost my job last week. I was going to stay in and watch TV."

"Brilliant. And you two?" He asked the couple on the seat opposite his own.

"I was going to cook." Lou started.

"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up." Carmen finished.

"What's for tea?" He asked curiously, as Tammie glanced at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"Oh, that special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy, Mmm." He said getting distracted, and then faced Tammie. "Tammie?"

She didn't know where he was going with all of it, but went along with it anyway, "Just coming home from my last day at work. I was just gonna play some video games or something."

"Ooh, love a good video game." He said, with a goofy smile, which made her lip twitch up again. "What about you, Christina?"

"I was going... so far away." She said almost disappointingly. Well, you got your wish. Pretty sure we're not even in our solar system anymore.

"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Video games. Mike and Suzanne, and poor old Tina." He recited, glancing at Barclay with a hint of amusement in his eyes at the last one.

"Hey!" Barclay said, with a laugh.

"Just think of them. Because that planet out there, all three Suns, wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing, compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that, because we're going to get there. I promise. I'm going to get you home." He held each of everyone's gazes before he settled on looking at Tammie, who dropped her gaze after a moment. Okay, he has definitely done this before. He just gave these people hope... he just gave me hope. There was a pause, his words sinking into everyone's minds, before he quickly spoke again,"Right then, plan time. We need to get this bus to back up and reverse it into the wormhole. You two, tear off of a couple of seats and bring them out." He said, pointing to Barclay and Nathan, then looked over at Angela with a smile. "Angela, mind driving?" With that, he jumped up, glanced at Tammie with the same smile, and walked out the bus. Christina was hot on his tail, shortly followed by a curious Tammie, who grabbed her jacket and put it over her arm.

The Doctor quickly went to the back of the bus and had a look at the tyres, as Tammie stood next to Christina and took a sip of her water. "How are you feeling?" She asked the smaller brunette.

Tammie glanced up at Christina, then back down, "Uh, yeah, fine. A small headache, but I can deal with it." She then turned to the Doctor. "Thanks, for the water and granola bar by the way... Where did you get them from?" She asked, with her brows furrowed.

"Oh, you know, I always carry some, just in case." He gave her a small grin, which the two ladies both raised an eyebrow to, but didn't say anything more about it.

Tammie then asked Christina if she could hold her bottle, and jacket for a second, while she re-did her ponytail, as it had come loose earlier on. "I feel like I'm a personal coat rack today, with all the holding I'm doing."

She just gave her a small smile. This is the most I've smiled in a long time. Must be the people. I haven't spoken to anyone other than customers at the cafe, and that's never exactly a conversation. "Sorry." She waved her off though, as she passed her back her things. The Doctor glanced at them, looking like he was going to speak, before Barclay and Nathan came out, with parts of a couple of seats from the back of the bus.

"Here we go." Barclay said as he stepped out. The Doctor walked over to them and took the one from him.

"That's my boys! See, we lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and we reverse into it." He explained, passing the one he was holding to Nathan, who went and did just that.

Christina turned to Barclay, "Let some air out of the tyres. Just a little bit. It spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip against the sand."

The Doctor pointed at her. "Oh, that's good." Yeah, that is good. The three of them looked at her impressed.

"Holidays in the Kalahari." She explained.

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep." Barclay pointed out, extending the word 'deep'.

"Then start digging." With what? Tammie thought, as Barclay expressed the same thing. Christina then opened her backpack, and pulled out a small shovel, as Nathan came back over. "With this." She stated, passing it to the Doctor, who then passed it to Barclay, who grinned.

"Got anything else in there?" The Doctor asked curiously, sharing a look with Tammie. She then pulled out an axe. Okay... Please don't tell me she's a murderer or something... Then again that axe is a little on the small side... Then again, it could still probably kill someone...

"Try that." She said as she passed it to Nathan. "It might help with the seats." He smiled, as he gave her a 'thanks' then headed towards the door.

The Doctor looked her up and down before Angela called out. "I can't find the keys!"

As the Doctor rushed off to tell her that buses don't have keys, Tammie questioned Christina, while she took another sip of her drink. "So, you an archaeologist, or something?"

She smirked at her. "Or something."

"As long as you're not a murderer, then you're okay with me." She said, starting to wonder if she actually was.

Christina laughed a little before saying, "Don't worry. I wouldn't hurt a fly." Tammie just smiled, relieved, as the bus let out an awful sound. Ooh, somethings wrong with the engine. The Doctor came back over to them, and they headed for the back of the bus.

As the Doctor lifted the hatch up, a small bit of smoke came out, and Tammie cringed as she saw the engine was covered in sand. "Oh, never mind losing half the top deck. You know what's worse?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer. "Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

Christina walked around to the side and asked, "Anyone know mechanics?"

Barclay got up from where he was digging the front left wheel out of the sand, and stated, "Me. I did a two week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it but-"

The Doctor interrupted him, as he came from behind the bus, and Tammie followed him but stopped when he moved away from the bus, "Off you go then. Try stripping the air filter. Fast as you can. Back in two ticks." He brushed off his hands and started to walk into the distance, with Christina following after him. Tammie started to head back on the bus. Maybe I can help Nathan with the seats, or I could start digging while Barclay is busy stripping the air filter. I've got to keep myself busy with something.

"Wait a minute. You're the man with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight." Christina said, before he suddenly stopped, almost as if he had just remembered something, and turned around.

"Tammie, you coming too?" He asked, and she stared back at him, slightly stunned. She couldn't help but feel that small, almost childish, thought in the back of her brain. It's a planet! A real, alien planet and he's asking if you want to explore it!

"Huh?" The words came out of her mouth before she even thought about it fully, "Yeah. Sure." She called back, barely keeping the excitement from her voice, but from the look on his face, he had definitely heard it. She caught up with them, as they started walking again, and sand was kicked up by her combat boots.

They walked for a long while. On the way, Christina explained the points Tammie missed out on, and she began to feel slightly better after eating her granola bar and taking sips of water. When she had just finished her drink, the Doctor spoke up, aiming it at Christina, "Easier if you left the backpack behind."

"Where I go. It goes." Must have something precious to her in there then. Tammie thought absentmindedly.

"A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and scared by the sound of a siren." So, he noticed that too then. "Who are you?"

"You can talk. Let's just say we're three equal mysteries." She's got you there, you are definitely a... Wait a sec... Three?

She rose a brow at her, as she said, "Hey. Don't bring me into this... And anyway, I'm not exactly a 'mystery'." Tammie used air quotes as she spoke, when she almost tripped over herself. Damn sand. The Doctor thought otherwise though. She was definitely still a mystery to him in a small way. Especially this younger version of herself. She was so quiet.

Christina just hummed, before the Doctor spoke, "We make quite the team."

"I don't know about that quite yet. Come on then. Tell me. If Carmen's right," Christina started to ask, as they stopped at the top of a dune, "if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know, but every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet right now." He replied, looking off into the distance.

"And do you think we can?" She asked.

"I live in hope." He stated, with a positive air about him.

"That must be nice." Christina said, as Tammie hummed in agreement, looking over the desert with sad eyes, not noticing how the Doctor looked over at them both. Christina continued and put a hand up for him to shake, "It's Christina de Souza. To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza." They shook hands, before she shook Tammie's hand as well, who stood on her left side. That's a mouthful.

"Ooh, that's handy, because I'm a Lord." Tammie rose an eyebrow at that. Really?

"Seriously? The Lord of where?" Christina asked, not quite believing him.

"It's quite a big estate." Avoiding the question, are we?

"No, but there's something more about you. That device you were carrying, and the wormhole. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place like..." She trailed off, and Tammie furrowed her brows.

"Like?" He questioned, turning to face her.

"Like you're not quite..." Oh... Oh! Tammie's eyes widened in realisation.

"No... You're not..." Tammie whispered, with a small grin on her face. I mean, it does make sense. In more ways than one. Especially if it is the same guy that... that thing was on about.

"Anyway, come on. Allons-y." He said, walking forward again, trying to get the attention off of himself, and also trying to hide a grin. The two women looked at each other, one with a quizzical look, the other with a grin that was slowly growing, before heading after him.

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar." Christina replied.

"Oh, we were made for each other!" The Doctor exclaimed, walking backwards for a moment.

"Language never was my strong suit in school," Tammie muttered her thoughts aloud. "something about going into a nightmare?" She asked Christina louder, so she could hear her.

She repeated herself, but in English this time. "'Yes, but not if we go to a nightmare.'"

Tammie nodded in understanding, as the Doctor asked, while he still stared ahead of them, "Tammie, how old are you?"

"You do know it is rude to ask a lady her age." Christina stated, as Tammie wrinkled her nose.

"I'm barely a lady. I just turned 20 a couple weeks ago, why do ask?"

"Hm? Oh, just wondering, that's all." He quickly got those words out, as they reached the top of another dune. Tammie went to question him, but he spoke again, "Ah, don't like the look of that."

Tammie stared in front of her, easily distracted by what she saw. It was kind of hard to see, but there was a storm coming towards them. A massive one too. "Storm clouds... Must be hundreds of miles away, right?"

"But getting closer." The Doctor agreed.

"If that's a sandstorm, we'll get ripped to shreds." Comforting, Christina, comforting...

"It's a storm. Who says it's sand?" He said with his eyebrows raised, as he faced the two. They then turned and started to run, back towards the bus. "Either of you got a mobile on you by chance?" He asked as they ran. Christina shook her head, as Tammie replied.

"No, I left it at home. Of course, I would... Wait, why do you need a phone?!" We're not exactly in range. He didn't answer her, as they kept running, Tammie almost tripped up multiple times in the process. Sand was not her friend. I swear that it's meant to be easier to walk/run in boots, not more difficult!

As they got closer to the bus, the Doctor called out to Barclay. "Where's your phone?"

"What?" He asked, still fixing up the engine. Nathan was doing his best to dig the wheels out.

"Your phone." He said now a lot closer and hopping on the bus with the three of them following. "Where is it?"

"There. There on the seat." He pointed out.

He picked up said phone, as Christina spoke up, "You're hardly going to get a signal. We're on another planet." He pulled out an object that looked similar to a screwdriver, with a blue light at the end of it, when he pushed a button, and aimed it at the phone.

"Oh, just watch me." He said with determination. "Right. Now, bit of hush, thank you. Got to remember the number, very important number." He pressed in the numbers, and the phone started to call, as Tammie sat down in one of the front seats nearest the door, to catch her breath. God, that was a lot of running. Well, not really but still, my head is spinning. I'm going to narrow it down and say it's either the dehydration or the adrenaline... Or both.

A male voice came through the phone, which surprised Tammie. How did he...? What? "Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" Ha! Somehow I don't think that was the important number. Don't think they'd be able to deliver this far out anyway.

"And again. Ah, seven six, not six seven." He said, slightly frustrated with himself, as he reentered the number, now in the correct order.

"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce." The Doctor looked like he was going to speak, but the male voice on the phone continued, "Please select one of the following four options."

"Oh, I hate these things." He complained.

"If you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person. I saw it on Watchdog." Angela explained, as the Doctor sat down on the opposite side to Tammie, a few seats down.

"Thank you, Angela."

"UNIT helpline. Which department would you like?" A female voice came through. UNIT... I think I've seen a few of them about now and again.. whenever there's been alien encounters and such.

He then turned serious. "Listen. It's the Doctor. It's me." After a little talk, and wait, of getting through, to whoever it was he wanted to get to, another female voice came through.

"Doctor? This is Captain Erisa Magambo. Might I say, sir, it's an honour."

"Did you just salute?" He said, almost in a teasing manner.

There was a slight pause, before she answered, "No." Oh, she totally just saluted. Tammie thought, with a smirk.

"Erisa, it's about the bus. HQ said you're at the tunnel, yeah?" The Doctor continued, after glancing at Tammie, with a small smirk of his own. Did he just read my mind or something?

"And where are you?"

"I'm on the bus. But apart from that, not a clue, except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous." He got up and moved to the opposite side he was on, and looked out of the window, as Angela sat down in a seat in front of Tammie.

"A body came through here. Have you sustained any more fatalities?" She questioned. Tammie frowned as she said that. We didn't even know that guy's name...

He sat back down again, as he talked, "No, and we're not going to, but I'm stuck. I haven't got the Tardis, and I need to analyse the wormhole." The what? What the heck is a Tardis?

"We have a scientific advisor on site. Doctor Malcolm Taylor. Just the man you need. He's a genius."

"Oh, is he? We'll see about that." Rude. He winced slightly and glanced in Tammie's direction, as if he just read her mind again, which confused her. He hadn't though. He was just remembering whenever she said that he was being rude in the past. She rose a brow at him, when he glanced back at her again, as they waited for Erisa to get to Malcolm, which he gave an innocent smile back to. What was that about?

"It's the Doctor." They heard Magambo say.

A new voice spoke up, which Tammie realised was the scientist guy, "No, I'm all right now, thanks. It was just a bit of a sore throat. Although, I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice."

"It's the Doctor." She said more clearly.

There was a long pause before he replied, "Do you mean... the Doctor Doctor?" Said Doctor rubbed his eye, with his spare hand.

"I know. We all want to meet him one day, but we all know what that day will bring." Oh, famous huh? What does that mean though? 'We all know what that day will bring.' Definition of ominous.

"I can hear everything you're saying." The Doctor said, and there was a small exhale of excitement on the other end of the call before Malcolm spoke again.

"Hello, Doctor? Oh my goodness!" He said rather loudly that he had to pull the phone away from him a small bit.

"Yes, I am. Hello, Malcolm." Well, someone's got a fan.

He laughed slightly, before continuing, "The Doctor. Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you. I mean, I've read all the files." A big fan. Files though? Who is this guy?

"Really? What was your favourite? The giant robot?" He asked proudly. W-what? "No, no, hold on. Let's sort out that wormhole. Excuse me." He got up, moved to the front of the bus, and sat in the driver's seat. Christina also got up from her seat, which was opposite Tammie's, backpack in hand, and walked over to him so she could listen in.

Tammie, on the other hand, just stayed where she was, and got more comfortable in her seat, with her back facing the window, her feet on the seat, her arms over her knees, as she draped her jacket over her shoulders and tried to relax a little. How this day has turned... I don't see why she wants to listen in. He's obviously just talking sciencey stuff anyway. Though, from what I've seen of her, even just in the past half an hour-ish of knowing her, she seems the curious type. I mean I am too, but her even more so. After about a couple minutes or so, he got off the phone and headed for the door. "Barclay, I'm holding on to this." He said as he ran out, Christina hot on his heels.

"You better bring it back." He called out to him. I might as well stay here, doubt they would need me to join with whatever they're doing out there. I'd probably just get in the way, anyway.

The Doctor thought otherwise though, as he went up to the window she was at. "You too, Tammie."

She jumped and her heart nearly thumped it's way out of her chest, when he spoke near her ear. She turned around to face him, with a hand over her chest and wide eyes. He, on the other hand, was grinning. "Jeez, don't do that!"

"Sorry, come on." With that, he walked away, as she tried to slow down her heart rate. Okay, guess I am going with them then... and he is so not sorry.

She narrowed her eyes half-heartedly at Barclay, who was doing his best not to laugh, then stood up and joined the duo. When she had caught up with them, once again, she whacked the Doctor on his arm, albeit wasn't hard. "That was for making me jump." She stated as she pointed an accusing finger at him, while she was trying to hold back a smile.

"Ow, I said sorry." He said, with his hands up, but amusement was held in his eyes, as she just rolled hers. When they had, eventually, reached the dune they were on before, he started taking photos of the storm, "Send this back to Earth. See if Malcolm can analyse the storm." Tammie squinted her eyes at it, as Christina explained what she was seeing.

"There's something in those clouds. Something shining. Look." That's what Carmen said, something that was riding on the wind and shining.

"Like metal." He stated, still focused on the phone.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina asked. Well, we are on a different planet, in a different part of the universe maybe... Anything could be possible, right? Hey, it could rain Coca Cola for all we know. Suddenly there was a noise, like a clicking almost. "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on. Busy." The Doctor replied, still fiddling with the phone. Tammie though, turned around and spotted a creature. It was a humanoid fly. Aaand it was holding a gun. Well, it definitely looked gun shaped anyway.

"There was a noise, sort of... Doctor." Oh, so she's spotted it too, lovely.

"Yeah... You know about point 5, Christina? So not happening." Tammie muttered out nervously.

It started to head towards them, and the Doctor put the phone away, while he studied the creature. He put his hands up in front of the two protectively, as they raised their hands up slightly as well, and began using his vocal chords in the same way the fly thing was. "That's wait. I shout wait, people usually wait." Okay. This guy is full of surprises.

"You speak the language?" Christina asked, surprised herself.

"Every language." Tammie glanced at him, with an eyebrow raised, before she quickly moved her eyes back to the alien nervously, who chittered. He spoke in the language again, before explaining, "That's begging for mercy."

The fly guy then pointed the gun forward in a 'move' like fashion. I understand that. And Christina did too. "That means move."

"Oh, you're learning." He joked, as they began moving in a line, Christina up front, Tammie and the Doctor in the middle, and the fly creature at the back.

She felt herself panic, as they walked further, and she could feel her shoulders tense. The Doctor must have sensed that as well, because he began to walk by her side instead of behind her.

"You feeling okay?" He said under his breath, trying not to get the attention of the others.

She glanced at him, before staring ahead again. "Yeah, just... I've not exactly had the best experiences with aliens... ah, sorry, I didn't mean- It's just-" She cut herself short, as she realised that she was just about to pour everything out to him. This is neither the time or place to be talking about this. We're being kidnapped for crying out loud! Stop doing this to yourself. Stop thinking about her! She closed her eyes in frustration for a moment, and the Doctor was about to say something, but thankfully Christina spoke up, oblivious to Tammie's inner turmoil.

"These fly things, they must be responsible. They brought us here." It was then that she saw the giant... well, spaceship in front of them. How did I not see that before? It was in bad condition too. It was split in half, like it had crashed or something.

The Doctor looked at Tammie in concern for a moment more, before he answered her. "No, no, no, no, no. Look at the ship. It's a wreck. They crashed, just like us." He glanced at Tammie, but saw that she was focusing on the run down ship in front of them, so left that conversation he wanted to have with her for a later time.

When they eventually reached the ship, Tammie instantly put her jacket on. Jeez, it's cold. She couldn't help but look around in wonder though, even if it was a wreck with pipes and wires dangling down from the ceiling, it was a spaceship! A spaceship, from space! A spaceship, from a different part of the universe entirely! She didn't know whether to be terrified or excited. At the moment, the two emotions were in a tie.

"Oh, but this place is freezing." Christina complained.

"Hmm, the hull's made of photafine steel." Everybody slightly jumped as steam burst out of a pipe, before he continued, "Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since I've met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes."

"That's how I like things, extreme." Is she seriously... flirting?

They walked a little further before the Doctor spoke up. "Oh, this is beautiful. Intact it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer." He complimented, as he glanced around like Tammie, taking everything in.

"I'll remember that as I'm slowly being tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship." They wouldn't do that... Would they? And nervousness takes the wheel! The Doctor glanced at Tammie, with a torn up expression, as if he was reminded by something from Christina words, but when she went to look at him, he quickly moved his gaze elsewhere.

They stopped as another one of the creatures, very similar to the one who had brought them here, came over and started talking to the other. He then pressed a purple device he had on his jumpsuit, and the Doctor explained. "Oh, right, good. Yes. Hello. That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Still sounds like gibberish to me." Christina complained, giving him a look.

"He did say, 'he can understand us.'" Tammie muttered, still scared about this whole situation.

"It doesn't work the other way round." He then began to translate what the aliens were saying to the two women, "'You will suffer for your crimes,' etcetera. 'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race.' Tritovores. They're called Tritovores. 'You came here in the two hundred to destroy us.' Sorry, what's the two hundred?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.

"It's the bus." I'm starting to think that I wasn't even on the right bus. "Number two hundred. They mean the bus." Christina explained to him.

"Oh. No, look. I think you're making the same mistake Christina did." He then introduced the trio with extended arms, while grinning, "I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is Tammie and Christina. The Honourable Lady Christina. At least I hope she's honourable. We got pulled through that wormhole. The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

The two talked amongst themselves, then they slowly lowered their guns. "What are they doing?" Christina asked cautiously.

"They believe me."

"What, as simple as that?" Christina looked at him with a disbelieving expression.

"I've got a very honest face." He started, "And the translator says I'm telling the truth. Plus the face." Uh huh. "Right. So, first things first." He got back on track and headed towards the console of the ship.

Tammie started to feel a bit better knowing that they weren't going to hurt or murder them, but still felt a small bit anxious.

"There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?" One of the Tritovores spoke, and from the Doctors face, it wasn't exactly good. "Oh, they've lost power. Hmm, the crash knocked the main line crystallography out of sync. But if I can jiggle it back." He kicked the machine in front of him, making it light up, and the Tritovores clicked. "I thank you. Yes, I am. Frequently." If she wasn't in the wrong head space, she would've probably chuckled at the way he said that. "Okie Doke, let's launch that probe." He flicked one of the many switches, which sent out said probe, as the Tritovores messed with some buttons for a hologram to pop up in front of them.

The Doctor put on his glasses and sat on a crate in front of the hologram, which was a Nebula of some kind. Christina and Tammie sat down as well, one on either side of the Doctor, as he explained what they were seeing. Tammie was in awe. "The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted." He said turning towards Christina. "So far away. The planet of San Helios." The hologram shifted into a planet, similar looking to Earth. Wow. It's beautiful.

Christina pointed towards the hologram, "And that's us? We're on another world." She said excitedly, with a grin.

"We have been for quite a while." He said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I know, but seeing it like that..." She trailed off, letting the Doctor speak up.

"It's good, isn't it."

"Wonderful."

"It's fantastic." Tammie almost whispered, still in awe. She had always loved space and the wonders of what could be out there, and now, here she was... in another part of the universe. Hundreds of thousands of millions of miles away. Even if they were in danger, and would possibly die, she was still enthralled by all of this. Her eyes wide in wonder, and her mouth ever so slightly opened in amazement.

The Doctor saw her face and smiled. He knew that face well. Not necessarily hers personally, but just in general. Whenever he had a companion and they saw a new world, a new species, or sometimes anything remotely new to them, not from Earth, they had that face. He saw it on Tammie's face more than anyone though. Even though she was around him for, at the most, ten minutes at a time, if it was something new or something she hadn't seen before, or even if she had seen it before, her face would light up just like it was now. She faced him when she noticed him looking at her, and grinned before the Tritovores said something that caught his attention.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb." That is a lot of people. This world must be a lot bigger than Earth then.

"By waste matter, you mean..." Christina began to say.

"They feed off what others leave behind... from their behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies." Hey, I'm not judging.

"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them." Christina quipped.

The hologram changed once again, this time to a city. Beautiful. "San Helios City." The Doctor stated.

"That's amazing. But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?" Christina asked him.

"Thousands of times."

"That Lordship of yours. The Lord of where, exactly?"

"Of Time. I come from a race of people called TimeLords." He said, and Tammie's eyes widened, but this time it was out of fright. That's another thing that Dalek said, 'TimeLord.' That was the proof she needed to know. He was who that thing was on about.

She glanced at him, before speaking under her breath. "So it is you." Now, is this a bad thing or a good thing? I mean he seems nice enough, and he's helping us out with getting back home but... I don't know... What did that thing want with him? And then there's the thing with him knowing who I am, apparently.

He must've heard her though, because his head turned so fast towards her, he most probably almost got whiplash. "What?"

Christina didn't let him get an answer though, "You're an alien?" She asked surprised.

He paused, noticing Tammie looked slightly scared, while she looked off to the side as she rubbed her shoulder. He knew it as a nervous tick of hers, but he couldn't exactly do or say anything about it now, so he turned to face Christina again and replied, "Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either."

"You look human."

"You look TimeLord." They stared at each other for a moment, as Tammie calmed herself down. "Anyway..." They all turned to face the hologram. Awkward.

"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us." Christina stated with a grin.

"I don't think it's that simple." The Doctor said, looking at the hologram with a thoughtful face. One of the Tritovores spoke up, then headed towards the controls, and the hologram shifted from the city into the desert. "We're in the city right now." Tammie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"But it's sand. That first image, the temples and things, what's that then, ancient history?" Christina asked, getting worried, at the same Tritovore clicked again.

"The image was taken last year." He translated.

"It became a desert in one year?" She really does love questions, doesn't she? Then again I am definitely confused as well so...

The Doctor grabbed some sand, that was on the floor, and let it run through his fingers. "I said there was something in the sand. The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die." He sounded and looked distraught, as the last bit of sand fall to the floor.

A whole planet just... And poor Carmen, that must be terrible for her. Tammie looked distraught herself, though Christina just grabbed her hair and looked disgusted. "But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people. Oh, that's disgusting. Oh." Really? One hundred billion people are dead and all you care about is your hair!

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios." He said solemnly, either not hearing what she said or ignoring her.

"Yes, but in my hair." Tammie looked over at her, with narrowed eyes, and was about to have a go at her for not respecting the dead, when the Doctor's, well Barclay's, phone rang.

"Malcolm, tell me the bad news." He said as he lifted the phone to his ear. Tammie couldn't hear what was being heard on the other side but got the gist of the conversation from his facial expressions and answers. It wasn't exactly good. He lifted his hand that wasn't holding the phone to his face and rubbed his eye. "How can it get bigger by itself?" He exhaled quietly before saying, "Good work, both of you." There was yet another pause, before the phone beeped, "Oh, sorry. Call waiting. Got to go." He pressed the button and answered, "Yeah?" After whoever it was, which Tammie was guessing someone from the bus, said what they said, he looked worried and asked, "Why, what's happened?" A moment later he started to put the phone away from his ear, and Tammie could just about hear the person on the other side.

"-never going to move." It was Nathan and those words didn't exactly sound promising either.

"What is it, what's wrong? Doctor, tell me." Christina demanded, while he just stared straight ahead with a blank look.

"Doctor?" Tammie called his name timidly, as she put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her, and she could see the worry in his eyes, but there was something else too, like he wanted her to say something, but she didn't know what that would possibly be.

"Doctor, tell me. What did he say?" Christina asked again, but he didn't answer her, just stared at Tammie, who was trying to come up with the right words, until a loud beeping sound came from the controls, and the Tritovore spoke.

"It's the probe. It's reached the storm." He translated.

"What's he saying?" Tammie asked him, with her brows furrowed.

"It's not a storm." Video footage from the probe came on, and there were flying... things everywhere.

"It's a swarm. Millions of them." Christina gasped, as they all stood up.

"Billions." He stated before they suddenly lost the footage. "Oh, we've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten." He said, fed up.

"How far away is that swarm?" She asked nervously.

"A hundred miles. But at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes." Okay. That's definitely worrying. The Tritovore clicked, and the Doctor answered. "No, no, no, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole."

"They're heading for Earth?" Christina exclaimed.

The Doctor turned to the Tritovore and stated, "Show the analysis." One of the creatures showed on the hologram, the full body turning in a circle.

"They're like massive, metal, manta rays." Tammie said so quietly, they barely heard her.

"Incredible. They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world. Start the life cycle all over again." The Doctor explained.

"So, they make the wormholes?" Christina questioned.

"They must do."

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they a hundred miles away?"

"Because they need to be?" He said, not so sure. "No, that's bonkers. Hang on." He paced a little, before speaking again. "Yes. Do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet. Round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, till they generate a rupture in space. The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all that rips the wormhole into existence. " Oh, wow, that's clever. Tammie thought as she began to understand.

"And the wormhole'a getting bigger?"

"Because they're getting closer." The Doctor and Tammie finished together, giving each other grins.

"But how do they get through? Because that wormhole's a killer. We've seen it."

"No, no, no, look." The Doctor pointed towards the hologram, "It's like Tammie said, see the exoskeleton."

"Metal?"

"They've got bones of metal. They eat metal and extrude it into the exoskeleton. So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe. Perfect design." Yeah. Even though they might probably kill us. I got to admit they are pretty awesome. Then again I really like manta rays, so I'm slightly biased.

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert. So why exactly are you smiling?" Christina questioned.

He took off his glasses slowly, and answered, "Worse it gets the more I love it."

"Me too." Christina agreed.

"Yup." Tammie grinned, popping the p. I think it's the adrenaline. It's terrifying, but it's amazing at the same time. The Doctor grinned as well, before heading towards the console.

"How did you know they were made of metal?" Christina asked Tammie, while the Doctor and the Tritovores talked.

"Well, earlier on the Doctor said it was like metal in the clouds, plus it looked like metal to me on the analysis, just a guess that's all." Tammie replied with a small smile. Christina hummed then turned to face the three aliens with a thoughtful look. Okay... She furrowed her eyebrows at her.

Christina put her foot on top of the crate, they were previously sitting on, and spoke, "The thing is, Doctor, you're missing the obvious. We came through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?" Wait... Is she trying to impress him or something? Tammie raised a brow. It's a fair point though.

"Ah, good question." He turned around to speak to them, but quickly turned back around to say, "What a team." He then spoke to the Tritovores once more, "Like she said, why did you crash?" One of the Tritovores clicked and ran ahead, and the trio followed him. After a little jog, they reached a room with a massive hole in the middle. "Oh, yes, Gravity well. Look, goes all the way down to the engine." Tammie took a peek, being careful of her footing, as the Doctor continued. "So what happened?" The Tritovore explained to the Doctor what happened, and he translated, "He says the drive system stalled. Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky. But what caused that?"

The Tritovore just shrugged his shoulders. "Which means no idea." Christina said drily.

"Yeah." He then looked down into the hole, and back up to the Tritovore. "But wait a minute. That's a crystal nucleus down there, yes? And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact? Oh, yes. That's better than diesel." He said as he jumped down from the raised platform around the hole.

"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" Christina questioned.

As he looked around the room, he answered her. "I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough." He then walked over to a screen next to the Tritovore and started to press buttons.

"How does a crystal drive a bus?" That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. What's the punchline? Like a... geode? Eh, I'm bad at this.

"In a super clever outer-spacey way. Just trust me" Surprisingly... I do. He managed to get a picture up on the screen of the crystal. "There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well." He faced the Tritovore and asked, "Have you got access shafts? All frozen? Well, maybe I can open them." He then noticed a couple ear pieces on the side. "Ah! Internal comms. Put that on." He passed one to Christina, and put the other in his ear as he grabbed, a shocked, Tammie's hand and headed towards the door, with the Tritovore following after them. "You stay here. Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens." He told Christina as they left.

As they ran towards the control room, Tammie couldn't help but think of something. It's like he doesn't want me to leave his side or something. Like he's worried about me... Why would he be worried about me?

They reached the control room and himself and the Tritovores started messing with wires at the console. "If I can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance... Christina? If you see a panel opening in the shaft, let me know." Tammie couldn't hear what Christina was saying on the other side, but she could tell nothing was happening as they kept on messing with wires and such, herself passing some over to the Doctor, which the Tritovore on her right passed to her. "Anything now? Any sign of movement? How's that? Any result?" Jeez, how many ways are there for saying that. "Why, what do you mean?" He blew a quick breath into the port of the device he was holding, before he looked up, "Christina? Christina!" He dropped the device he was holding, grabbed Tammie's hand again and began to run to the engine room.

As they headed into the room, they saw Christina on the edge of the hole, with a harness on, connected to a winch she had set up. "The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything." She turned her head to look at them with a smirk and then fell into the shaft.

"No!" The Doctor called out as they reached the hole themselves, looking down to see her. He let go of Tammie's hand and quickly got out his sonic screwdriver, then pointed it up towards the pulley. "Come on, come on, come on, come on. That's better." He then walked over to the screen where the Tritovore stood, and Tammie followed him. On the screen, there was footage of her hanging there with a blue, crackling, light below her. "You're about to hit the security grid. Look." She looked down and Tammie could tell she looked slightly worried as her lips moved. "Try the big red button." She did so, and the electricity went away. "Now come back up. I can do that." Tammie held back a chuckle. I would like to see that. "Slowly." He stated with a tone to his voice.

She headed down, head first, and the Doctor walked over to the edge of the hole, talking to her again, "Quite the mystery aren't you. Lady Christina de Souza, carrying a winch in her bag." He then sat down with a forlorn look on his face. "I had this friend, once. She called me spaceman." Had. So, does that mean she died? Or maybe they fell out or something... Tammie frowned slightly, then walked over and sat down, near him. He glanced at her and she gave him a small, what she hoped was, comforting smile, which he returned. "Well, a little blue box." He continued, "Travels in more than space. It can journey through time, Christina." Time travelling spaceship, maybe? I'm not completely surprised about that, considering he was saying that he is a Lord of time earlier on. "Oh, the places I've been. World War One. Creation of the universe. End of the universe. The war between China and Japan." That's awesome...

He noticed something in Christina's backpack and glanced up at Tammie, then back down. She rose a brow at him, as he continued, "And the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD." He picked up a cup trophy of some kind, and Tammie stared at it in shock. That's... That's the cup of Athelstan! She was confused, but then... Oh, that makes so much sense. The tools. The dressed all in black. The winch and harness. The wanting to keep her backpack by her at all times. The curiosity. The police being after her. She's a thief! "But I don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?"

There was a pause and the Tritovore spoke up, looking curious about the object the Doctor was holding.

"It's the Cup of Athelstan, it was given to the first King of Britain as a coronation present from, uh, Hywel, the King of the Welsh." Tammie explained to the Tritovore, as the Doctor looked impressed. She looked over to him almost shy. "I remember that from history in secondary school. My teacher never did like the set topics the school gave her... She liked to do her own thing."

The Doctor smiled and hummed, "Good teacher, I like her. But," He paused, carrying on the conversation with Christina, "it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief." There was a short pause, "Don't tell me you need the money." A longer pause, "No, no, no, no, no. If you're short on cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this? That's a lifestyle." Christina said something akin to 'I take it you disapprove?' And the Doctor replied. "Absolutely. Except. That little blue box, I stole it... from my own people." Well... if you didn't then you wouldn't have been here, saving our lives.

Suddenly there was a loud roar that came from below. What the hell was that? She looked at him, worried, and he looked back at her the same.

"We never did find out why the ship crashed. Christina, I think you should come back up." She, on the other hand, must have thought otherwise, "Careful. Slowly. Have you got an open-vent system?" He asked the Tritovore, who was now standing in front of them. It chittered and answered him with a nod. "Thought so." Tammie looked at him with questionable eyes. Gonna share with the class? He faced her and explained, as well as to Christina. "It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft." Her faced paled. Oh, so that means at least one of those things is on board. Great. "It got trapped in the vents, caused the crash. Christina get out."

He stood up with Tammie and was about to use his sonic to get her back up, when she must have said something. "No, it's dormant because it's so cold down there, but your body heat is raising the temperature." Tammie went over to the screen next to the Tritovore, when the Doctor spoke again. "Not just the crystal. I need the whole bed, the plate thing." There was a small pause and then the Doctor soniced the pulley, so she could get up and out of there. "Come on, come on, come on, come on." He then came over to the screen, still using his sonic, "It's going to eat its way up." They saw her reactivate the security grid on her way up, stunning or maybe even killing the creature, as Tammie and the Doctor went back over to the hole. "Ooh, she's good." Yeah, go, Christina! When she reached the top they both pulled her over, "That's it, that's it, that's it. We've got you, we've got you."

The Tritovore grabbed the crystal from her and clicked.

"Isn't she just." The Doctor said with a smile. Christina got out of her harness, grabbed her backpack, and they all rushed back to the control room, where the other Tritovore was. "Commander? Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us." He clicked, and the Doctor continued, "Oh, don't be so daft. A Captain can leave his ship, if there's a bus standing by." He said while holding the crystal in one hand.

There was a sudden bang, followed by a screech, and Christina spoke up worried, "What the hell was that? Is this place safe?" They all looked around, as they heard it again, "It's the creature. It's not dead."

The Tritovores chittered, and the Doctor brought up something that Tammie didn't want to be true. "Maybe you didn't hit just one of them. If you hit a swarm?"

"Do you mean if there's more on board?" Christina almost shouted.

"This ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure, all around us." Sand and dust fell from the ceiling, as there was another bang. "And those things wake up hungry. Commander, you've got to come with us right now."

"Come back to Earth. We'll find you a home." Christina said, while Tammie nodded, agreeing with her.

"And that's the word of a Lady. Come on." The four of them started to head towards the door, but one of the Tritovores stayed, and headed towards the console, just as the manta ray crashed through and it ate him. Oh, no... And it is a lot bigger than I thought they were. The commander raised his weapon at it, as the Doctor shouted out, "No, don't!" But he didn't listen, and he got eaten by it too. "There's nothing we can do. Run!" He grabbed Tammie's hand, as she was just standing there in shock, and booked it.

They ran through the ship and outside as fast as they could, Tammie trying her best to keep upright and not trip. Thank you adrenaline for being a thing. The Doctor got a call and he answered it, but hung up soon after, "Not now, Malcolm!" They eventually saw the bus in sight, as Nathan and Barclay headed out.

"At last. Where've you been?" Nathan exclaimed, with exhaustion. Tammie didn't blame him, when they were meeting aliens and such, they were just sat there in worry.

"Get inside. Get them sitting down." The Doctor quickly said and they hurried in, while the trio stopped outside, and Tammie caught her breath. I really need to work on the running thing... Jeez, I'm out of shape... "Now then, let's have a look."

He grabbed the crystal out of the clamps, as Christina asked, "So what does that crystal do?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't need the crystal." He threw it over his shoulder, and Christina gasped, as Tammie rose a brow.

"I risked my life that." She said frustrated.

"No, no. You risked your life for these. The clamps." They went around the bus, and he attached a clamp to each of the wheels. "One there. One there. One there. And one there." Then they hurried onto the bus, and the Doctor sat down in the driver's seat, before he put the final clamp on the steering wheel.

"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?" Christina asked in a hurry.

"Yeah, something like that. I just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?" He asked.

She bent down to get it out as she answered, "Funnily enough." She passed it to him, as Tammie put her jacket off and tugged it around her waist. Ugh, running, plus heat, plus dehydration does not add up well.

The Doctor, in return, passed her the phone and asked her to hit redial. She held it up to his ear as he began to hit the clamp in place. "Malcolm it's me." He looked up, with confusion written on his face before saying, "Ready for what?... I'm trying to get back, but listen, there might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole." A grin slowly formed on his face. "Oh, Malcolm, you're brilliant." There was a pause, and he looked frustrated. "Sorry, got to go." He then motioned with his head for Christina to hang up and she did. He fiddled with it a bit more, trying to move the wheel, but it wouldn't budge, and sparks started to fly off it. "Oh, it's not compatible. Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?" Christina questioned.

"I need something non-corrosive. Something malleable. Something ductile." He paused and faced her. "Something gold."

"Oh no, you don't." She said defiantly, as Tammie frowned at her.

"Christina, what's it worth now?" Come on Christina. It's us or the cup.

Barclay came up next to them and showed him his watch. "Hey, hey, use this."

The Doctor looked at it, before looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "I said gold."

"It is gold." He said defensively.

"Oh, they saw you coming." He turned to Christina again, as Barclay began to head back to his seat, disappointed. Tammie patted his shoulder, as he went past, and gave him a small smile. "Christina." She stared at him for a second, before reluctantly pulling it out of her backpack.

"It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful." She passed it to him, as he promised.

"I promise." He glanced at Tammie, with a certain twinkle in his eye, before he placed the cup on the side... and hit it multiple times with the hammer.

Christina looked in disbelief, as Tammie let out a small chuckle, before covering it with a cough and looked away, hiding her smirk behind her hand. "I hate you." Christina stated, as he kept on hammering away and melding the two together, also hiding a smirk, until he finished. Did I just laugh? I actually just laughed. Been a while since I did that...

"This is your driver speaking. Hold on tight." He said, still fiddling with a couple buttons.

Barclay spoke up, "But what for? What's he doing?"

Christina turned to him, as did Tammie, "Do as he says." She then turned back round to him, as Tammie grabbed onto the pole near the door. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer her though, just started up the bus. "Come on. That's it. You can do it, you beauty. One last trip." The bus started to rise up and into the air as everyone, except him of course, looked around in surprise.

Tammie could hear the reactions of everyone who was sat down and looked over at the Doctor, with a small laugh. We're flying. We are actually, truly flying. This is incredible!

He glanced at the two women and stated, "Anti-gravity clamps. Didn't I say? Round we go." Everybody held on tight, as he turned the bus around.

Carmen called out from the back of the bus, "Doctor, they're coming!" Tammie looked out the back window and there they were, the swarm was close behind them. She faced the front again, as Christina talked again.

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Oh, yeah, that's a thing.

"Only one way to find out. Next stop..."

"Planet Earth!" Christina exclaimed.

"Old London town!" Tammie joined in, as the Doctor grinned and drove into the wormhole.

Everyone screamed as they went through it once more, with the bright light in tow, and then they were back. The bus lifted up and into the air once more, flying above London.

"It's London!"

"We're back home."

"He did it. He did it!" Barclay, Angela and Nathan all shouted out in joy. Tammie grinned, while her head was still going around a mile a minute, and she looked out the window. Though the happiness was short lived, as gunshots went off. Three of the rays had gotten through.

The Doctor picked up the phone again and redialled Malcolm, "Malcolm, close that wormhole." He paused for an answer, and when he was going to speak again he looked at the phone, "He hung up on me." He looked at them in disbelief and phoned him again.

"Got you back for earlier." Tammie said with a wide smile.

He just rolled his eyes playfully, "Malcolm!" He put the phone away from his ear, "He's hung up again." He pressed redial and quickly spoke, "Malcolm, listen to me!" Tammie and Christina shared a look, before he continued. "I need that signal. We've got billions of those things about to fly through... Loop it back through the integrator, and keep the signal ramping up... Five hundred Bernards! Do it now!" Bernards? Never heard that type of measurement before.

More gunshots went off and Nathan called out, "Doctor, it's coming for us." Sure enough, one of the rays was headed for the bus.

"Oh no, you don't." The Doctor turned the bus, hitting the metal manta ray with the tail end of the bus.

Christina faced him after they were in the clear, and said, "Did I say I hated you? I was lying." She grabbed him by the front of his suit and pulled him towards her to kiss him. Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting that. With all the flirting and such. Everyone started clapping and cheering, while Tammie just smiled, and stared out the window.

When she pulled away, he looked shocked, but quickly recovered. "Do not stand forward of this point." He nodded, with a smile, as Tammie gave him a two fingered, mock salute. "Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred." He started to land the bus, dinging the bell on the way down, and as he did, applause could be heard. They landed and everyone cheered, thankful that they were on the ground and home, safe. Tammie, Christina and the Doctor shared a smile, then she let go of the pole she had been hanging onto, and put her jacket on once more.

They all headed off the bus, and as they did, a UNIT soldier stood there. "Welcome back. If you could step away from the bus, just to be safe. As fast as you can, thank you. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken to debriefing." Great. Tammie frowned, as the Doctor pulled out a wallet and showed the soldier something.

"I don't count."

Christina called out to him, as he walked forward. "No, but Doctor?"

"With me, thank you." The soldier escorted the two to the side, where people in white protective coveralls scanned everyone with Geiger counters and other devices.

Tammie glanced over to the Doctor, who was currently being hugged by a man in a lab coat. That must be Malcolm. He glanced over in Tammie's direction and grinned, before the Doctor said something that made his attention go back to him. She looked at the person in front of her, who was scanning her, then she looked back over there and a lady, in UNIT uniform, came over to him as Dr Taylor walked away. Magambo? Maybe? Her uniform looks high rank, anyway.

The Doctor then looked over in their direction and glanced at Tammie, who smiled at him slightly, then turned to face the person who was scanning her again. When she looked over once again, he was headed towards a police box. The little blue box... After a moment or two, Christina spoke up, "That's quite enough of that." She ran towards the Doctor, but Tammie stayed where she was. After another minute of being scanned, they were all escorted forward.

Tammie saw Christina being taken away in handcuffs, by the police, and almost ran into Carmen when she stopped in front of the Doctor. She went to go around her and Lou but was stopped by a gentle hand on her arm. Carmen smiled at her, and let go before speaking to him. "Doctor? Take care now." Why does she want me to hear her say goodbye to him?

"You too. Chops and gravy, lovely." He said with a smile.

"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir." Tammie furrowed her brows in confusion.

The Doctors face fell, and he questioned her in concern, "What do you mean?"

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark... And then, Doctor? Oh... But then... he will knock four times." Tammie could see the colour almost drain from his face. What does that mean? She then turned to Tammie and gave her a small smile. "And, Tammie, dear?"

"Uh, yes?" She said, confused and nervous.

"You will meet your parents soon," Okay, now the colour in my face is draining away. "and... Oh, you have so much more inside than you realise." She said happily, before turning and leaving with Lou. Tammie just stared at her back, confused, before taking a glance at the Doctor, who had turned away, to sonic Christina's handcuffs, and slowly moved forward, next to the group again.

So, I'm going to meet my parents for the first time and... maybe the second thing was to just boost my confidence up or something. She was dragged out of her thoughts, by Christina running towards the bus, with the cops chasing after her.

"Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" One of them shouted, but it was too late, she had hopped on the bus and closed the doors. The bus started up, and Barclay began to laugh, as did Tammie. Try not to get yourself in too much trouble, wherever you go next, Christina.

"Go on." Angela said, as the bus flew over near the Doctor, and the doors opened.

She couldn't hear what they said, but the doors soon shut again and the bus began to fly away. Everyone looked up and cheered as the bus flew off, into the distance.

Tammie looked over to the Doctor and she saw him heading into the police box. She pondered for a moment, before she called out to him, "Doctor! Wait a sec." She jogged over to him, and he stuck his head out of the door, before he walked out.

"Tammie I-" He looked sad, but she didn't wait for him to finish.

"I just wanted to say thank you." He looked surprised. "You saved our lives, which I kinda get the feeling you do often and... you even made me smile today. Hell, you made me laugh, which... is a first for a long time. So, just... thank you, Doctor." She grinned up at him, and he gave her a small smile in return, before her head started to ache again and her legs started to wobble a bit. "Ow, okay that's the adrenaline wearing off." She said with a small smile, as she lifted a hand to her head. "Anyway, I hope I see you again... Only, maybe without the almost dying part." She smiled, and he did the same, but it failed slightly. He looked off to the side for a moment, his face contorted, and she went to turn away but stopped when he spoke.

"I can give you a lift home if you want? That way you won't have to suffer the endless questions they're going to ask you. And you should be getting some rest as soon as possible." He gave her a pointed look, and she rolled her eyes before she smiled slightly.

"You don't have to. I'm kind of used to answering questions now, anyway..." She said the last part quietly, thinking about all the questions Alyssa's parents asked her afterwards, and the police, and everyone who was ever close to her. 'Why didn't you save her?' 'Why wasn't it you who died?' 'What do you mean she jumped in front of you?' 'Why would she want to save you?'

The Doctor looked at her quizzically, before her legs almost gave out, as her head started to spin. He caught her before she could fall, and said, "Well, that answers that question." as he stood her up straight.

"No, no. It's okay. I'm fine just... not a really good flyer, that's all." She lied lamely, not looking at him in the eye.

"Tammie. I know you don't like asking for help, but please, it's just a trip home." He stated sternly. Now it was her turn to look at him quizzically.

"How do you know me?" She asked confused. He said he would tell me later, this is later.

He looked at her for a second, wondering how he was going to tell her, before he replied, "If you come with me into the Tardis, I'll explain... as much as I can anyway." She stared at him for a second and thought about saying no a second time, before she had another head rush.

"Yeah, okay." She said, as she grabbed her head, and closed her eyes. The Doctor guided her in, and as she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Oh... Wow. This is... This is..." She looked over to him, as he smirked. He forgot this was the first time she had been in the sentient machine. She laughed slightly, before saying those oh, so famous words, "It's bigger on the inside... Oh, she's beautiful..." She stated, as she walked slowly closer to the console and glanced all around her, spinning in a slow circle. The Tardis hummed in appreciation. It was a weird thought, but it felt like home. "I think this is the biggest smile I've ever had." She looked at the Doctor again, who gave her a grin.

"Take a seat before you faint again. And, uh, could you give me your address?" She did as he said, still smiling and giddy, and then they were off. He moved around the console, pushing buttons and flicking switches, she had to hold on to the jump-seat tightly as it took off, and after a few seconds he sat down beside her. "Here we are. Back home." He said with a grin. Hers though slowly faded. Yeah, back home. Back to normality. "Tammie? Everything okay?" He asked with concern.

She stood up suddenly and decided that she should leave before he asked more questions. She could deal with not knowing how he knew her, she'd obviously find out eventually. "Yeah, I'm fine. I should get going. Thanks for the lift." She hadn't gotten far though, just a few steps towards the door, before a hand was placed on her shoulder.

The Doctor moved so he was in front of her, but she didn't look at him. "Tammie, wha-" He paused as he took in her face, "You're scared... Why are you scared?"

She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes as he asked that. I...I... I don't... Why does he care? No. No, don't you dare! Don't you dare cry, you've done enough crying! Just leave. Go out those doors and forget about today. Forget that you had an amazing adventure, and that you had fun, and laughed, and smiled. Forget it and get on with your life. You're miserable, boring life, on your own. That's what you deserve. She died because of you! Why should you be happy? You're best friend is dead! That thing was after you, but she was the one who died! Go back to reality! He doesn't care, why would he? You don't even know him! She couldn't help all of those negative thoughts from happening, she had kept it inside for so long, she couldn't deal with it anymore. Today she had seen a glimpse of herself. The version of herself before Alyssa died. The happy, childish, fun loving, caring, goofy, girl she was. She didn't want to go back to being that sad and depressed person, with no one around but her own thoughts. She just wanted to be Tammie again... She wanted Alyssa there with her again... The dam broke; one tear started to fall after the other, and the Doctor just held her.

He rubbed circles into her back and began to whisper to her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay, Tammie. Let it out." He rested his head on hers, with furrowed brows, wondering what got her so upset, but then he remembered what the older version of her had said.

---

'The next time you'll see me, it'll be when I first met you. A long while before what's happening now happens. I just want you to know that, I'm quite different from who I am now... I lost the only person I was close to back then, and I didn't have anybody else... Her name was Alyssa. Alyssa Winters.' And with that she gave him a smile and zapped off, appearing back in that white room that she called Hell.

---

"Is this about Alyssa?" He whispered. She froze in his arms, her hands grabbed his jacket more tightly, and he second guessed himself. She didn't know him like he knew her yet. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but you told me her name. The future you, a few years older than you are now. It's complicated but... for some reason in your future, you time travel back to me. You're only there for a few minutes before you go, but the last time I saw you, you said that you lost someone... Alyssa Winters. That's how I know you." He slowly let go of her, and she looked up at him with confusion and sadness in her eyes.

"W-why do I do that? I-I mean why would I just... pop in for a few minutes and then go away?" She asked after a minute, still calming down.

He stared at her for a moment, running his hand through his hair in slight frustration, not at her, but at the situation in her future. He didn't know where he was when what happened to her happened, but he didn't like it one bit. "I-I can't tell you... I'm sorry Tammie, but if I do, then it could cause a paradox. Even what I just told you was dangerous." It could technically, but that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to tell her. In all honesty, he was terrified about what would happen to her in her future. Terrified of what he does to get her into that situation. He thought that he obviously would do/did something to get her into that situation, but that wasn't the case at all. It wasn't his fault.

She nodded in understanding, "It's okay, I get it. I've watched and read enough sci-fi stuff to know that you don't mess with things like that." She smiled slightly, before explaining her side of the story, as she sat back down, "Aly... Alyssa was my best friend. She saved my life." She glanced at the Doctor who was leaning against the console, before staring down at her hands, "I don't know if you were there or not, but eight months ago-" She took a deep breath before she continued, "Eight months ago Earth had moved, and there were a bunch of planets in the sky. There were these... aliens, Daleks... One of them smashed through our flat window and said my name, said that I knew you, and... it raised its weapon at me, but Aly jumped in front of me and she... That thing killed her." Her voice broke as she said those last few words. "It was going to kill me, but it k-killed her instead. She was the only person who ever truly cared about me, but now... I haven't got anyone."

That hit the Doctor right in his hearts. He knew what that felt like. He was on his own right now. As much as it hurt him though, he couldn't let her stay with him. A future him, sure, but not this him. Not now. He knew he was going to die, and that the Master would somehow be apart of it, but he couldn't let her be there for that. Also, to know that the Dalek was after her because of him... he didn't even know what to think. She was there. The future her. He saw how terrified she was during it, but she never said anything... not about Alyssa anyway. He walked over and squatted down in front of her. "Tammie... I'm sure you've got someone." He said, grasping at straws.

She just shook her head, "I really don't. I never knew my parents. I grew up in an orphanage. The only friend I ever made was Aly, and her parents..." She sighed through her nose, before she continued, "Putting it bluntly, they hate me. I don't really blame them though." She said with a bitter laugh. "Everyone else I know, they aren't exactly close so... no, I don't." She sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. "I'm sorry, you don't need to hear all of this. You've probably got somewhere to be anyway." They both stood up, but before she could leave again, he hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Tammie, I really am." He wasn't just sorry for Alyssa, he was being sorry for not being there in the future, about the Dalek being after her, about anything and everything.

She gingerly hugged him back, and replied, "It's not your fault. It's just... one of those things, that's all... but, thank you. Really, thank you."

He squeezed her tightly before he let her go and looked down at her, with a smile. "No. Thank you, Tammie Stanfield. For today, and for what's to come." She chuckled at that, before he gave her a piece of paper from his pocket. "Here's my number, just in case. Ooh and here." He pulled out another water bottle and passed it to her. He gave her a smirk, as she looked at him in shock.

"How does that even... Are you Mary Poppins or something?" She asked incredulously.

His smirk grew wider, as he replied, "What? They're bigger on the inside." She just laughed again and thanked him for it. "Oh, that's enough thanks, go on. I'll see you soon, maybe. Never know when your future self is going to pop up."

"Oh yeah, that would be bad if I met myself." He just smiled and they said their goodbyes, he told her to get some rest, and as she opened the doors to leave, she looked around one last time, then once at him, with a grin, and left. She stepped into the living room of her flat and her grin started to fade, just like his was, but turned around to see the blue box disappearing with that amazing sound she would hear again and again in the future. Her future that is. And what an amazing, although terrifying at times, future that was going to be.

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EDIT: It probably isn't edited to the best of degrees, but it's the best I could do so... meh.