AN: Hi guys. Thank you for clicking on this story, I really hope you'll like it. English is not my first language and this is my first story ever so if you see any mistakes please bear with me, and any constructive criticism is very welcome. Any and all reviews will be much appreciated and... that's it. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them. Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who or it's characters.

CLAIMER: I do own Katherine and a really old and slightly usless laptop.

Prologue

The Katherine really hated university. Oh, she loved learning and finding out new information. She loved grasping new concepts and revelled in the satisfaction of finally mastering a difficult lesson, but the one she was hearing at the moment was boring her to tears. The new astrophysics professor had potential and his teaching style was actually rather good but the so called challenging stuff the advanced class was working on at the moment was something she had mastered in her first year at the Academy, when she was barely more then a time tot. She knew she wasn't being exactly fair, as she had the unfair advantage of having a few more centuries of experience then the other students had and her brain was far more developed then theirs was ever going to be, but she was so bored and hadn't had a good nights sleep for over two years -she had the right to be a bit grouchy. She practically ran out of the classroom as the bell rang, checking her phone when it vibrated in her pocket. The screen flashed a dull white under the black letters of the message from Mickey.

I nd Rose Traf sq till 2. if u wnt c y.

Katherine rolled her eyes both at her friend's atrocious spelling and his obvious reluctance at her coming. She debated going for a moment, just to spite him, but figured she'd better leave the lovebirds alone. Another hour third-wheeling and constantly being reminded that her other half wasn't with her was the last thing she needed. Besides, Rose and Mickey had only recently gone from being best friends to couple and were just figuring out how they worked. Katherine would just be in the way. Decided, she crossed the road to the bus station and typed back.

Can't come. I'll see you tonight.

Katherine smiled as she saw her bus coming -miraculously- on time and jumped in. Ignoring a leering teenager at the doors she rushed to an empty seat, pulled on her headphones, and settled in for a 40 minutes long ride to the Powell Estate.

∽··∽

"Katherine! Rose! Are you home?"

Katherine looked up from the book she was reading and marked the page she was on with a beautiful feather. Both the book- Inkheart- and the feather were birthday presents she got two weeks ago. The feather was from Jackie, along with a big bar of dark chocolate- though that was long gone- and the book from Rose. When Katherine read the book title she couldn't help but laugh -though not because she had wanted to buy the book herself as she told Rose. When it was time to decide what her name would be before the Naming Ceremony, she was torn between Ink- because she loved writing, and Katherine-the name she'd read meant pure. She had decided on Katherine when her father died just two weeks before the ceremony, wanting to be reminded of him. He used to say she had the purest hearts on Gallifrey, even turning it into a term of endearment-Purest of Hearts. Oh, her mother had been so angry at her for choosing an Earth name and not a respectable, Gallifreyan one-like her classmate at the Academy, Romanadvorandrelundar, did- but she wasn't the only one. Ushas had chosen the Earth name Rani which meant queen, and since her mother had a soft spot for her, she eventually allowed it (not that Katherine would have listened to her had she forbidden it).

Somehow Rose not understanding the irony made it all the funnier. Mickey had -in typical Mickey fashion- bought her a knife sharpener, one that was easier to handle than the usual big stick of metal. "So you don't have to ask me to sharpen your knives every time you want to slice something." was the explanation for the gift. Katherine thought it was cute, but she made sure to make him sharpen at least one knife whenever he came over to the Tyler's flat all the same.

"I'm in my room!" Katherine yelled. Katherine Smith was the name she had always used as an alias, but never for such a long time. It will be three years next weak. Three years that would have been pure torture had it not been for Rose, Jackie and Mickey. They were horrifying as they were, and at times Katherine was sure the pain and emptiness would swallow her whole, but the wonderful humans were the light that kept the worst of the darkness away. She still had nightmares, and some days she barely could make herself get out of her bed, but it was better than the terrifying emptiness that was her life before Jackie Tyler invited her for dinner, claiming she was far too skinny. Three years were hardly anything to the usual Time Lord standards, but somehow living on Earth made it seem like it's been centuries, not years. As it was, it's been so long that she's been pretending to be human; sometimes she forgot Katherine Smith was just an alias and not her real identity.

She checked the clock and reluctantly changed from her comfy t-shirt and shorts into blue jeans and a white shirt- her work uniform minus the green apron. She had to be at Manny's by 4 o'clock, so that gave her about half an hour. She pulled her hair into a quick ponytail and ran out of the flat with a kiss and a yelled "Bye!" to Jackie.

∽··∽

It seemed the day was destined to be the slowest and most boring day of the year, and Katherine spent most of the day staving off boredom and -previously happy, but now tortuous- memories in turns. There was an itch at the back of her mind- a phantom pain that seemed stronger today than it usually was- at the place where her Bond used to be. It was with a sense of déjà vu that she rushed out of the restaurant and went for a walk.

The hours were the only good thing of Katherine's boring waitressing job. Her morning shift was from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with an hour long break at eleven, and her afternoon shift started at 4 and ended 11 p.m. with a break at 6 p.m. That meant she had an hour of freedom before she had to head back to Manny's .

The air was wonderful – just warm enough to not be cold- and the wind wasn't so strong it would be a bother. Katherine took a deep breath as she roamed the streets of London. She walked with no real direction, being just careful enough as not to go too far and not have enough time to go back. The itch in her mind turned to tugging and Katherine cautiously followed it, not allowing the small spark of hope to develop into something more. It would inevitably end in another heart break.

She turned left at a crossing, passing by a corner shop, and abruptly stopped. Sitting there, in a niche between a shop and a hair salon was the TARDIS. Katherine's TARDIS. A woman with two children passed by, not even giving it a glance. A gentle –joyful, Katherine realised- tug on her consciousness shook her out of her stupor and she ran the few steps separating her from the wonderful time machine. As she laid a hand on the worn wooden door –and before she could reach for the key hanging on a chain under her shirt- the door slid open.