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Aickman Road, in Colchester, Essex, was a quiet little street, where nothing, absolutely nothing, ever happened. Nobody came, and nobody left, and the people already there just lived their lives from day to day. Craig Owens was one such person, currently living by himself in the floor level flat at number 79a Aickman Road. He used to have a flatmate, but somewhere along the way, an elderly relative neither of them had heard of left his flatmate a great deal of money, so he had since moved out, leaving Craig with the difficult task of finding someone to live with him. And he had another problem... well two, but one was more important than the other.
There was a girl, someone he worked with, that he cared for very deeply, but just couldn't find the words to express how he felt. And he was scared that she'd reject him; he had no ambition, nothing that he felt worth doing if it meant leaving Colchester... and her. He'd even given up a better job, with an even greater pay packet than he already had, just so he could stay with her.
And then there was the rot. The patch on the corner of the ceiling had started off quite small, well, as far as Craig could remember it. The rot had always been there, and he'd always been meaning to call someone to come and get it fixed, but then he'd always forget about it, getting distracted by something else. So, the rot stayed, and it grew, and it grew, but nothing, as usual, was ever done about it.
Until the day the Doctor arrived at Aickman Road.
Not that he was actively trying to get to Aickman Road, but the TARDIS was being her usual temperamental self and refusing to do what he wanted. Once the time ship materialised, a little girl, only eight, or nine, years of age, stuck her head out of the front door, looking around excitedly. "Where are we, Dad?" she asked, briefly returning to the safety of the Police Box, but remaining by the door. "Is the fifth moon of Cyndacalista supposed to look like Earth?"
Amy, who remained by the console, raised her eyebrows. "Well?" she said, looking at him in annoyance. "Are we on the fifth moon of Cyndacalista or not?"
The Doctor sighed. "All right, all right, I'll take a look outside," he replied, heading to the front door. "And you check where we are on the scanner."
"Okay, Doctor."
He quickly joined Robyn, for this was the little girl's name, at the front door, and opened it. He leaned out, surveying the area, then sighed again. "No, Amy, it's definitely not the fifth moon of Cyndacalista," he said, squinting into the distance. "I think I can see a Ryman's." But before the Doctor could get back inside, a small explosion, and a sudden rush of energy, pushed him out of the TARDIS. Robyn cried out in alarm, as she too, was caught in the blast, and both father and daughter landed on the grass. The TARDIS continued to dematerialise before their eyes, and Amy was still inside!
Sparks flew as Amy held on for dear life, using the bar underneath the scanner screen to hold herself up as the time ship shook. "Doctor!" she called, though she was really not sure whether the Doctor could hear her. "It's saying we're on Earth, Essex, Colchester." As the shaking stopped, or at least slowed, Amy stood, backing away from the console. "Doctor? It's taking off again." She frowned. "Doctor, can you hear me?"
"AMY!" the Doctor cried, as Robyn rolled off of him.
But she was gone... and they were stuck.
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