Chapter 1

"Doctor? Doctor! HEY SPACEBOY!" Donna Noble's voice shrieked and boomed at the same time as it echoed loudly through the tin-like, expansive corridors. Even the T.A.R.D.I.S. itself seamed to groan with discontent.

"Donna, Donna, calm down. I'm right here. And we're in the middle of nowhere, or everywhere depending on your viewpoint; but my point is where exactly do you think I'm going to go?"

Spinning around she sees no one either in front of or behind her. "Well, where exactly are you?"

"Right here. Geronimo!" The Doctor dropped from somewhere above and landed, rather silently in his red Converse sneakers, right in front of Donna.

"Eeeeaaaahk!" she screamed, deploying the worldwide sign for a heart attack by clutching at her chest as The Doctor switched off his trusty sonic and slid it into his pocket. "Where the …" Her question trailed off as she noticed that there was no opening above her from which The Doctor had just dropped.

"The environmental lyots were in need of a slight calibration. I just popped up to give it a bit of a tweak. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What is wrong? I'll tell you what is wrong, Space boy." Quickly she marched down the corridor towards the control center. "First of all, broadcasting that you are about to materialize from up above by announcing 'Geronimo!' is hardly a fair warning and is very bad etiquette."

"Since, when do you worry about etiqu…?" The Doctor quickened his stride to keep up with his annoyed companion.

"Secondly," she interrupted, stopping shortly and pointing her finger in the air, "were you just crawling on the ceiling or did you just drop through?"

"Well, that's easy to explain," replied The Doctor, stumbling to keep from running into her. "You see…"

"And MOST importantly, you said we were in the middle of nowhere." She changed the direction of her still pointing digit to The Doctors face.

"Yes, and everywhere," he replied with a perturbed glance at the accusing finger. "What about it?"

"Then I guess she came from the 'everywhere' part. You have a visitor." Reaching the control room, Donna drew the finger from direction of The Doctor and pointed haughtily to a young black woman huddled on the floor just inside the open blue police box disguised doors. The bottom half of her dress was sprawled about like a ballerinas' tutu while the dark black bodice was buttoned tightly from her waist to above her neckline, as were her sleeves from shoulder to wrists. Her grey shawl had been abandoned on the floor between her and the starry expanse beyond the T.A.R.D.I.S. She momentarily raised her head just long enough to glimpse the doors with terror before burying her head again in her arms.

As The Doctor stood in shock, he believed he heard her praying.