Chapter 1 – Indigestion?

The Tardis groaned as the Doctor ran around the console doing his usual performance. As he sprang around on the balls of his feet, he could tell by the sound that the time rotor was making that something wasn't right. He clambered upon the console and put his stethoscope against the rotor. He muttered, seemingly to himself, "What's wrong with you, hey?" He jumped down from the console and bounced to the monitor. He continued muttering, "well the sensors say that the crystals are out of sync with each other, but the noise suggests you've got indigestion." He looked up to the rotor and began to walk around the base of it. "Have the engines picked up something that doesn't agree with you?" With this question, the Tardis creaked in response, "Aha!" cried the Doctor. With this he bounced back to the monitor and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. He put it to the base of the rotor and activated it. The Tardis began to groan louder, as if it were crying out with pain. The Doctor immediately stopped and looked at the monitor, "I think we'd better pull over and give you a thorough check up.

It was night as Lyla Peters was walking home through snow. At the back of her mind she thought that she could hear a strange noise, a sort of tired groaning with a little wheezing thrown in. As she walked she felt flakes of snow float into her face, as if disturbed by a large gust of wind, but as she looked around, the rest of the snow looked as if it couldn't decide on where to go, as if the wind was coming from many directions. She shrugged this idea off...until she realised that she was in an alleyway, the wind could only come from two directions, in front of her and from behind. She looked at a newspaper as it floated past...it was definitely being blown in several directions. Lyla span on the spot. She could see something fading into existence right in front of her eyes. A blue light was pulsing...THERE, she could hear that sound again, the light was pulsing in time with the sound. More quickly now, the object was fading into a solid mass. This was impossible, surely she must be hallucinating! There was a thud as the object became a solid mass for the final time. She stood looking at the object for a few moments, taking it all in, its blue exterior, the words near the top of it, 'Police Public Call Box'. She took a few steps forward and placed her hand against it. It felt like wood. She pulled her hand back towards her and stepped back. When she reached her original position, the door creaked open and a man with brown hair, wearing a blue suit and a brown overcoat. He didn't seem to notice her as he walked around the outside of the blue box. He put his hand up to it and touched it, just like she had done mere moments before. He appeared to stroke it and then did the most unexpected thing. He put a hand into a pocket and pulled out a stethoscope. He put it on and placed it against the blue wood. He then removed it from his ears and put his right ear against it. It was now that he realised he wasn't alone.

"Oh...erm...hello, I'm the Doctor, how long have you been standing there?" asked the Doctor, worried that he hadn't checked beforehand. He stepped forward and she took a step back. "It's alright, am not going to hurt you..."

"That's what they all say before...well...I don't need to tell you do I!?"

"Before what exactly?"

"Is this a test?"

"Am sorry?" The Doctor was worried now, what did she mean by a test? "Am sorry, I'm not from around these parts, what do you mean a test?" Lyla was hesitant to respond, she wasn't expecting this response, but thinking back to the stories that she had been told...she should be dead by now. The Doctor attempted to continue the communication, "I'm the Doctor, who are you?"

"My name is Lyla, Lyla Peters. I'm a shop assistant."

"Tell me LylaLyla Peters"

"No, just one Lyla"

"Sorry, then tell me Lyla Peters..." Lyla braced herself for the next comment, the Doctor continued, "...what planet are we on?" Out of all the questions that she thought was coming, that was the lowest on the list. She had even expected him to ask if she was human before asking what planet they were on! "Am sorry, what planet?"

"Yes, what planet? I know we're on a planet occupied by humans in the Scorpion nebula, not too far away from San Helios, in fact supposed to be there right now to nudge on wormholes. But the Tardis got a little exhausted or something, I don't know, so I came here. Nearest, safest planet...which would be..." the Doctor looked at Lyla, prompting her to give him the name of the planet. Being hesitant, Lyla fumbled for her transmitter, but something in the Doctor's eyes made her trust him. "Airth, the planet we're on is Airth." The Doctor looked shocked at how similar sounding it was to Earth, he was so shocked that he thought he might have misheard her, it wouldn't be the first time. He decided to clarify, "sorry, did you say Earth?"

"No, Airth"

"Sorry, just that it sounded like a planet that I recently visited."

"You speak of visiting other planets like it is an every day event to you"

"Well I go to other time periods as well..." this was the remark that really made Lyla start listening, the Doctor continued, "...not that long ago I went to see the assassination of Abraham Lincoln!" Lyla was confused, "Am sorry Doctor, Abraham who?" The Doctor, realising what he'd just said, simply responded with "Never mind, another planet, another time. Anyway..." The Doctor closed the Tardis door, realising it was still open, and walked up to Lyla, he offered her his harm to hold in a gentlemanly manner. They began to walk in the snow, the Doctor finished his sentence, "...tell me about your planet!"

As the two walked through the snow, they neglected to notice the figure in the darkness. The figure that, as they rounded the corner, approached the Tardis...