Trial and Error 1 City Rock

by Sophia C Fox

Without Rose the Doctor is feeling incredibly lost, when some strange occurances draw him to the 21st Century, Plymouth to be precise. A city is being wracked by random earthquakes.

Trial and Error

BOOK ONE: City Rock

Alone. That one word summed up everything the man who was sitting in a bizarre room felt. He looked worn and stern, brown hair sticking out all over the place, hazel eyes full of sorry. His long fawn-coloured coat brushed his ankles, the tie around his neck was hanging limply passed an open collar of a white shirt that wasn't tucked in. The brown suit jacket was half done up, the only seemingly suitable clothing were the trouser part of the suit, slightly worn at the knees, but there were no creases. Although, they sat rather oddly on bright white sneakers.

"Where should we go then old girl?" he spoke aloud.

The strange thing was, there was no-one in the room. In fact, the room wasn't a room, but some kind of control panel. There was a tube glowing in the middle, with panels, monitors, levers and buttons surrounding it on a dusty copper-coloured base. Around it, the floor was a metal grid, the walls were curved, the same dull copper, with the strangest 3-D circles sticking out of the walls, like a demented wallpaper. Up until recently, the TARDIS; for that was what the strange thing was called; would be filled with the sounds of laughter and joking, the man, the Doctor, teasing his cockney Companion, Rose Tyler. But she was long gone, in a whole new world. The Doctor would never see her again, and that was why he was so tired. At least he knew she was alive, and would be safe now.

"Find anything interesting?"

The answer came in a slow, low, methodical beeping, like a metronome, and a green light flashing on the panel. The Doctor, curious, picked himself up from the step and walked over. Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, a graph of what appeared to be some wavelength or other showed up. Where it was, he didn't know, but there was something making the balance irregular, and that was all the information needed to convince him it was there that he should go.

"OK then."

The tube started up, pumping up and down, the engine of this odd vehicle. A sound almost like a siren let people know it was landing, and the Doctor hovered over the monitor, trying to work out where he might be.

The sun was setting over a bustling city. Buildings reached in to the sky, cars, buses and taxis made their way down the roads. The streets were thronged with people, all going to their next destination, meeting up with friends, cooking dinner for families. There was just one area in the whole place that was relatively quiet. The harbour. The water was still, boats moored for the night. It had been a clear day, and the dark reds and oranges reflected on the surface.

Two people were walking along it, deep in conversation that was hushed so as not to disturb the few other people there. Teenage girls. Both were slightly shrouded in shadow, but you could make them out well enough. One had long blonde hair, with pink streaks in it. Her eyes were a clear blue, and she had on a black t-shirt with a diamante cherub outline, black jeans, and black Doc Martins, with black fingerless gloves. The other was a few inches shorter, dark brown hair with blonde, red and auburn highlights, and light green eyes. She was slightly less intimidating, a white vest top, a checked blue shirt with three-quarter sleeves, mid-blue jeans with the hems rolled up and black sneakers. Two dozen bangles jangled on one wrist, and a silver charm bracelet full of charms, was wrapped around the other.

"And then what happened?" asked the blonde.

"No clue." Shrugged her friend. "All I remember is orange."

"Yeesh. No wonder you turned to writing Val. Your dreams would make excellent stories."

"Wouldn't they though?"

Val grinned at her companion, and the two girls walked along the harbour in a comfortable silence. The one dressed from head to toe in black looked at the watch on her wrist, and pulled a face, before looking apologetically up.

"I guess I better go. See you tomorrow?"

"Same time, same place." Came the reply. "Later Helen."

Helen winked and gave a thumbs up, Val gave a small smile and a wave, and Helen turned down another road, retreating in to the distance. The girl left behind kicked a stone, scuffing her sneaker against the ground and walked on by herself. She had a gentle manner, a kindness about her that even strangers tended to pick up on. She stopped and frowned as she heard something she couldn't quite place in the distance. Turning to look over her shoulder, she tried to see if she could see what was making it.

Instead, she saw a man suddenly appear from behind a building, and come towards her deliberately. She gave a small gasp and then turned on her heel, walking briskly away. The man sped up too. Val started walking even faster, and still his footsteps were behind her. Panicking, she broke in to a run, only to have him chase her.

"Wait! Hold on!" he called.

Val knew better than to hang around strangers, especially in an isolated setting such as an abandoned harbour where night was rapidly closing in. She pretended she hadn't heard him, and acted as if she had suddenly remembered something important, which was the reason she ran.

"Stop! Please! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm just lost!"

OK, now she felt dumb. Here she was worried she was going to be mugged, or worse, and it was just a tourist looking for directions. She slowed down and knelt down to do up her lace. Not that it was undone. He caught up with her and she looked up at the figure standing over her, in all his long-coated glory.

"Sorry, didn't realise you were talking to me. I'm late to meeting my dad."

It was a blatant lie, and both of them knew it, but it made Val feel better. Less ridiculous anyway. She stood up and looked at him, tilting her head in a gesture that meant she was waiting for whatever question he wanted to ask,

"Can you tell me where I am?" asked the man.

"Um…" Val eyed the boats, "The Harbour?" He must know that much…unless he was particularly stupid.

"I got that…but, I mean, where am I? As in place? A City, obviously…but what one?"

"You really don't know?" the teenager raised an eyebrow.

"Really truly. Had a bit of a heavy night out with my friends…they thought it'd be funny to set sail. Can't remember much."

"This is Plymouth."

"Plymouth? Really?" he raised his eyebrows in amused impression. "Could be worse. One more thing…"

"Yes?"

"What's the year?"

"God. Maybe you should stick to water, or coke. 2022?"

"Right…" he trailed off. "Thanks, um…?"

"Valerie."

"Valerie. Nice name."

"Thanks, I guess."

It was clear to Val, being the perceptive girl she was, there was something else he wanted to ask, and wasn't sure how to. She could almost hear the cogs in his brain whirring for words to put his question in. Figuring she would be kind to him, she stretched before addressing him again.

"Anything else?"

"Er, well, actually…"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really want to be in the city by myself in the dark…"

"OK, I'll spit it out."

"Please, don't."

The man smiled. "Hm, touché. I was just wondering. Has anything, happened lately? Anything strange, or unusual?"

Valerie narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You are joking right?"

"Um, no? Should I be?"

"How long have you been out?"

"No idea."

"The earthquake? Two weeks ago? 6.2. Half the east side of town got shaken to pieces, and my school is closed for summer early due to damage. Amazingly no deaths though."

"An earthquake? In Plymouth?"

"You asked about unusual things. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Right…well, I'm perfectly healthy, so if you excuse me, I must go."

Valerie turned and started walking away, but the Doctor jogged to catch her up and stop her. She looked at him again, getting increasingly agitated at this peculiar man that was going to end up making her late home, her parents would not like that, not in the slightest. They were very protective of her.

"At least let me escort you home, least I can do."

"Dude, I don't know you. For all I know you're a psycho killer who's only placid now because your hammered."

"I'm not, honest. Look at my face, it's an honest face, right?"

Valerie raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down, as he shot her a dazzling grin. She sighed and rolled her eyes, shrugging. She figured she might as well just keep walking, he was going to follow her whether she liked it or not. If only Helen was there. She was much more of a conversationalist. As it happened, she didn't really need to start a conversation, as he kept asking about all the details of the earthquake, where the epicentre was, how much damage, who was the prime minister, what time did it happen, and some institution called Torchwood that Valerie had only heard stories about. Although it did pique her interest, because that was the day sixteen years ago that had seen earth caught in the middle of a war between two powerful races of aliens, the day she was born, 8th July, 2006.

She listened to him patiently, amazing herself that she was so interested in his stories. With just a few pauses, space for her to ask a question, he told her all about things she could never dream of, and she had no idea why of all people, it was her that he decided to blurt everything to; and though she didn't know it; he was equally surprised at how readily he trusted this calm, intelligent, teenage girl. It was like she had cast a spell, and he couldn't stop himself. However, he figured she probably wouldn't believe any of it.

"I was born then." muttered Valerie.

"Sorry?"

"July 8th, that's my birthday."

"Really? That's interesting. Very interesting."

"Is it?"

"Of course. Pivotal point in history."

"How do you know all this stuff? Who those creatures were? Why are you here, in Plymouth, of all places?"

"I've done a lot of research, I know how things work. As for being in Plymouth, no idea. I was hoping you could help me with that one."

"Me? Why me?" Valerie looked astonished.

"Why not?"

Damn she hated that answer. There was no retort for it. She should have planned in advanced. But then again, how exactly could you plan for a man who drunk himself in to a stupor, didn't even know what year it was, let alone the city, turning up and asking you about earthquakes? The mismatched pair of strangers made their way through the crowds to a street of terraced houses, quite nice ones too. Gardens front and back, and space for a car on the road in front. The Doctor smiled as he saw the street name. Rose Lane, how appropriate. Valerie noticed his glance and frowned, what was so interesting about a street? She shrugged and headed to the end terrace. By now the streetlights were on, and as she walked up the drive to her home, with the Doctor close behind, a woman appeared at the door, looking frantic. She had long auburn hair and worried green eyes. She saw Valerie and ran forward, flinging her arms around an embarrassed girl's neck.

"Valerie! Thank heavens you're home! I was getting so worried!"

"Mum, I'm only fifteen minutes late."

But her answer was muffled by the tightness of the hug, and then a man with brown hair, blue eyes, and built like a wrestler or something appeared at the door. He looked less worried than her mother, but was still slightly edgy. You could tell.

"Valerie Felicia Sterling! Where have you been!" he boomed.

"Valerie Felicia?" the Doctor mouthed behind her, smirking. She glared at him.

"I'm sorry I'm late dad, only by fifteen minutes. I lost track of the time."

"Oh, it doesn't matter sweetheart, you're back now." Cooed her mother.

Valerie mad an apologetic shrugging motion to the Doctor as she stood by her parents. The woman looked at the Doctor curiously, and the man was instantly suspicious of him, peering at him. Although the Doctor was tall, he still towered over him.

"And who's this?" asked the man.

"This is…um…" Valerie stuttered.

"James McCrinnon, sir." he offered his hand.

"He's just been asking about the earthquake, I figured you two would know more." Valerie shrugged.

"Are you the police, or a scientist or something?" the man was still unconvinced.

"Scientist. Definitely scientist. May I ask your names?" the Doctor said, oh-so-politely.

"I'm Meredith, this is my husband Stephen. I see you've met our daughter Valerie. Thank you for walking her home safely…"

"My pleasure Mrs Sterling." The Doctor grinned.

Valerie was trying very hard not to laugh as her mother all but swooned at 'James' charm, and her father bristled like a male peacock showing off his tail. She managed to stop her giggling however, if barely, as a border collie came bounding out of the house and hugged her waist with its front paws.

"Hey Bunny." She said with a smile, petting her.

"Do come on in Mr McCrinnon, maybe we can help you out."

"That'd be lovely, thank you."

So in they went, Meredith, having finally released her daughter, escorting the Doctor, Stephen glowering behind them, and Valerie with a huge grin on her face behind them, with Bunny padding along beside her. They walked in to a hallway with a staircase directly in front of them, the floor was polished wood, the walls were a warm terracotta, and the smell of baking came through the kitchen. The party headed to the living room, which was huge, the same polished wood, but with a patterned rug on the middle of the floor, and golden yellow walls.

The Doctor smiled, it was exactly how he expected a family house to be, it felt right. He found himself gazing at hundreds of photographs of the family throughout the various years. He saw one with Valerie, taken quite recently it looked like, and a girl of about seven on her lap, they were both grinning away, and the younger girl had the auburn hair of their mother, and green eyes matching her sister. Valerie appeared by him, and smiled.

"That's my baby sister Charlie. She's in bed now." she explained. Bunny was suddenly sniffing around the Doctor, and Valerie looked acutely embarrassed. "Bunny! Knock it off!"

She pointed to a dog bed in the corner and Bunny gave a woof of disapproval, but then licked her hand and went to curl up in it, hugging a toy rabbit. Meredith came through with four steaming mugs, and set them on a coffee table. Valerie sat on a squishy burnt orange sofa by Stephen, who smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. Meredith sat in the chair next to them, and the Doctor opposite.

"So, Mr McCrinnon, what is it you'd like to know?"

"What did the reports after the earthquake say? Did it give specifications as to where it might have come from? I mean, Plymouth isn't near any edges of tectonic plates, as far as I know."

"That's the thing see Mr McCrinnon…" began Meredith.

"Please, James." The Doctor smiled.

"Um, James. They don't know what caused it. There's been a million speculations…"

"Such as?"

"Everything from something in space passing close by and disrupting earth's orbit temporarily, to another alien invasion." Cut in Stephen, much to everyone's surprise.

"But the centre point was here, in Plymouth." Finished Valerie. "We don't know why. We've got nothing special, like London or Blackpool."

"Do you have any more ideas? No-one here has worked anything out yet." Queried Meredith.

"I might do…but I'm not sure yet. Thank you, you've been helpful." The Doctor finished off his drink and got up. "But I best be going, let you settle down."

He got up to leave, as did Stephen, Meredith and Valerie. But he motioned to Mr and Mrs Sterling not to worry, and they sat back down again. However, Valerie, with Bunny close behind, walked him out of the room and in to the corridor. She stopped at the step of the front door as he stood on the pathway.

"What're you going to do now?" asked Valerie, keeping her voice quiet. "There's something you're not telling me."

"You're very perceptive, I'll give you that. But what you don't know can't hurt you." Was the equally hushed reply.

"What's going on, Doctor?" she asked, not giving up just yet. "Are we in trouble? Is there going to be another attack?"

"Not if I have something to do with it. You should go in, your parents will be waiting."

Valerie pointedly closed the front door behind her, remaining on the porch way. The Doctor grinned, she reminded him a lot of many of his friends gone by. "If there's a threat out there that could hurt Charlie, I have a right to know what it is. I'm her big sister, I have to protect her."

"I understand that, very noble. But I'm not sure what's going on yet. The best thing you can do is go home, stay with your family. Some of us aren't fortunate enough to have one."

Valerie looked solemnly at the ground. She shivered slightly in the cold, and she could see her breath, but she looked back up and met his eye without flinching.

"All those things you told me…" She began.

"Stories. You'd best forget them, ignorance is bliss. Don't even know why I told you. No offence, but we're complete strangers."

"Alright, fine. I will. But Doctor…"

"Yes?"

"Take care, ok?"

The Doctor smiled. "You too."

Valerie nodded. The Doctor waved and headed down the path, in to the night. The porch light clicked on as Valerie watched him until he was around the corner, out of sight. She looked down at Bunny, who woofed and wagged her tail, and shrugged. With one last glance, she went back inside, and closed the door.

The Doctor was puzzled. There had been half a dozen people in the harbour that night, he could have asked any of them for a location. But something had drawn him to Valerie Felicia Sterling. A kind of mutual understanding, they had something in common, if they didn't know what.

He wouldn't normally just prattle on about all the journeys he'd been on with various companions to a complete stranger, at risk of them being an enemy. But her manner, there was an honest and trustworthy air about her. Something just compelled you to tell her your life story. Then there was the business of the earthquake, in southern eastern England, in the year 2022. What it was he didn't know, but he figured that he should check out the part of the city that had the most damage. What was it Valerie had said? East? Looked like that was where he was going.

That night, Valerie went to bed with her mind whirring. Who was he? Where did he come from? How much did he know about the earthquake? Why did she feel like she already knew him? She had a secret, a huge one that no-one apart from her parents knew. The Doctor seemed to have one too, Valerie could feel it. She stared up at her ceiling, where plastic stars were glowing in the dark, and then the dream came again.

Valerie was standing in a cavern. It was almost some kind of cave, only above her there was open sky, rusty coloured sky, with four moons, that she could see. The ground around her was a rusty red. The walls seem to close in around her, and the cavern shrank, until she was suddenly standing on a platform of sandy rock, looking down at the people below her.

That's him. She thought.

She knew she was dreaming, and the man from tonight was in the middle of the ground down below, shouting something at someone. But like the dreams before, all the other figures were silhouettes. The cavern began to shake and rumble, cracking and splitting up. A baby cried, and then everything went black.

Waking up with a start she stared in to the blackness of her room. There was something tugging at her quilt. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she focused on her sleepy little sister, and realised the shaking from the dream hadn't stopped. Charlie looked scared, standing in her pink heart pyjamas with fluffy pink bear slippers.

"Vivi!" cried Charlie. "It's happening again!"

"Shh, come on sweetie, we'll be ok."

She swung herself out of bed and grabbed Charlie's hand. Bunny was howling away downstairs, and Valerie heard her bound up them and burst in to her room. She waved Charlie under her desk, following on her own hands and knees. Bunny lay across their laps, and both girls hung on to her furry neck, closing their eyes. Things toppled over, books fell on the floor, a flowerpot fell off the step outside and smashed. The streetlights flickered and went off, so did her digital alarm clock, car alarms outside wailed, shop sirens pieced the night.

It lasted about five minutes.

The Doctor had been caught out in the quake. He had taken cover in an underground path built under the road for pedestrians. He couldn't see it, but he heard the remainder of three or four buildings collapse, bricks and rubble crunching together. The second it was over, he ran out to survey the damage. One of the already partially destroyed shops lay a pile of dust and glass, the building by the side had lost the top right corner, a power line had come down, and electricity surges had blown out the streetlights strung across the pavement. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the Sterlings. He ran back the way he had come to go and see if they were ok.

He dodged passed and weaved around homeowners who had come out to inspect the damage and gossip to their neighbours. It was the same all through the city, and round to the area where the family lived. The Doctor came to Rose Lane, and the picture was just what he expected. All the neighbours had come out in their pyjamas, talking to each other and switching off car alarms. He caught sight of Valerie, who was holding a girl he presumed to be Charlie, that had fallen asleep in her sister's arms. Stephen was helping an older man across the street lift up some heavy pottery, and Meredith was going around seeing if everyone was ok. Valerie looked up, and saw the Doctor. She sighed with relief and he walked over.

"I was worried about you." She hissed, "Last I knew you were wandering around outside. This answer your question about what happened? Luckily it was 5.2 this time. Not 6.2. What is going on?"

"I'm started to get an idea." He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Listen, Valerie. I might need your help with this."

"Tell me what to do, I'll do it." She said immediately, "I want Charlie safe."

"I'll see you later then. I'm glad you're ok."

"Feeling's mutual. Don't ask me why I 'm so concerned about a stranger though. Even I don't know the answer to that."

The Doctor nodded and walked down the rest of the street, leaving Valerie to put her sister to bed whilst their parents helped the neighbours.

There was one thing, that neither the Doctor or Valerie knew. That was, what was happening in Plymouth 2022 was happening everywhere, all throughout time and space. Just two weeks ago, regardless of the year, decade, or even century, never mind galaxy, earthquakes were springing up from nowhere. Now, you would think, would you not, that if it had been going on all throughout time, it would be reported all throughout time. But the problem was, no-one could work out what to report, apart from damages and injuries. Strangely, and luckily, it was also the case that no-one died because of any quakes, not a single fatality, just cuts, bruises, the odd broken bone.

"The end is nigh!" cried some monks in 11th Century Spain.

"Judgement is upon us!" declared more than one Roman Emperor.

"We are forsaken!" wailed nuns in 19th Century Italy.

"What the is going on!" demanded 21st, 22nd and 23rd Century Earth.

It was not just Earth, nor the Milky Way that voiced their concerns. Not human nor alien could put their finger on the disasters destroying towns and cities, leaving people homeless, starving, injured. But alive. The most sceptical of people were researching the bible, the most faithful of people were turning to science for some light on the subject. Even between them, they couldn't understand what was happening. There was only one person that stood a chance, and he was stuck in the 21st Century, that was quite literally, falling down around his ears.

"I don't know what's going on Mackenzie." said a blonde-haired, green-eyed, fawn-clothed archaeologist to his female counterpart.

"I don't think anyone does Nikolai." Conceded the black-haired, blue-eyed woman, in a similar uniform. "We just have to wait it out."

The two of them were interrupted by a startled cry from across the camp, one of the tour guides in the desert was suddenly stuck in place as he held a piece of slate. Everyone ran over to try and help. But another earthquake set off around them, and everyone was obscured by a sandstorm.

After the night's excitement, it would be no surprise if everyone slept until noon in the Sterling household, or in fact, any household in the city. For a majority, this was indeed the case. But as a digital clock's bright green numbers were announcing 05.04, its owner stared up at the ceiling, hair spread around her like a halo. She had slept for about three hours after the earthquake, and her little sister Charlie was curled in to her, with their border collie asleep on the floor by the bed, having taken up camp to defend her mistresses.

Who is the Doctor? What's going on? Why might we be in danger?

Those were only a very small selection of the menagerie of questions going around Valerie's head, that had kept her awake since 4.15. She wanted to get up and go out, do something meaningful with her time. But could she slip away without waking up Charlie and Bunny? She knew she had to at least try. She carefully sat up, gently easing very slowly away from her sister. She clambered off the end of her bed to avoid stepping on Bunny, although she tucked Charlie in again before heading to her wardrobe.

What am I meant to wear for this exactly? No skirts, obviously. Not that I wear them anyway. Long arms and legs? But it's so hot…gawd, I dunno.

Eventually she settled on a black vest top and her well worn, but much loved, jeans, that were decidedly raggedy at the bottoms. She was a nice average 5'5", but it would appear that shops still decided every woman had legs up to their elbows. After rootling around for socks and her hair brush in the almost-dark, she stared in the mirror of her dressing table, and what she saw astonished her. Had she always been so pale? Her hair didn't half look a mess, and her eyes seemed to stand out more than she'd noticed before. She looked positively scared. It was then, she realised that she was.

I must be off my rocker.

She found herself smothering a fit of giggles. Out of all the people she knew, and they wouldn't mind backing her up on it, she was the mature one, the sensible one, looking out for everyone else and always thinking things through. Yet here she was, twenty passed five in the morning, up and dressed, wanting to go and find a strange man she had met just the day before. How very Helenish of her. She loved her friend dearly, they'd been like sisters since day one, but she was a very vivacious, and sometimes naïve person. Probably why they got on well. The maternal Valerie (thanks to her baby sister) keeping wild-child Helen on the straight and narrow.

Her heart suddenly sunk with a thump, as she realised she hadn't called her to make sure she was ok. Normally the first thing she would do was call Helen on her palm pilot, but with so many other things going on, it had totally slipped her mind. Slipping her feet in to her sneakers, and sticking some gum in her pocket, she grabbed her handheld off the side table.

ViviStar: Hel? Sorry I didn't ask before, but are you ok?

HellEngel: I would be. Had someone not set my handheld off at…god, what is the time?

ViviStar: Um…

HellEngel: 5.25 in the bloody morning! Argh!

ViviStar: Sorry, I was worried…

HellEngel: Yea, I know, sorry. But I'm ok, promise. You?

ViviStar: Kinda shaken (no pun intended!) But yea. Char was terrified though.

HellEngel: She would be, bless her. It's wicked weird, huh?

ViviStar: I know. One was bad enough. Two is just…well. Anyway, I have to go now. Glad you're ok!

HellEngel: You too, laters hon xxx

ViviStar: wavehug

A thought suddenly struck Valerie as she flicked the little computer shut and stuck it in her pocket. Would there be a later? She damn well hoped so. The pair of them had made plans for when they left school. Travel the world on a cruise ship, see all the touristy sights, and then find out what real life is like by visiting some of Valerie's many relatives in pretty much every country. In Europa anyway. She swallowed the lump of dread rising in her throat, grabbed a light jacket and silently crept out of her room, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath and eyed the staircase a few metres in front of her. She had grown up in the house, but stairs were hazardous in the dark even so.

And why am I doing this again?

But she knew she was doing it for the sake of her family, and because she might be able to actually do something of use. She headed to the front door, and then suddenly, guiltily, remembered Meredith and Stephen. Her parents. She quickly whipped out her pilot again.

I've gone out, don't worry about me. I'll see you later. Love Valerie xx

She printed off her note and stared at it. There was that word again. Later. Not now, not soon, but sometime in the future. She stuck it on the notice board in the hallway. Quickly checking the time (5.45) she grabbed her keys off the hook and then let herself out of the front door, as she padded in to the cold, dark street, that had been her home for sixteen years.

The Doctor had taken the time after the earthquake, knowing that no-one was badly hurt, to do a little investigating around the country. He was unsure what use his exploits would be to him, but all he had found out was that Plymouth was the only place to have an earthquake. The next cities and towns over didn't get so much as an aftershock. They only knew there had been one because the news reporters had updated their various communication devices immediately. They weren't even very impressed at that, considering the time they had been told. They felt bad for Plymouth, sure, but did they really need to wake up little Sid and Nancy to tell them no-one had been particularly harmed? It had taken an age to get them asleep.

In his TARDIS, the Doctor was pacing to and fro, in a motion that would surely make anyone watching him sea sick. Oh well, it was just him and his machine, so he need not worry about that. On the computer screen there were a cluster of different graphs and charts, and a constant line monitoring the area around Plymouth. Everything seemed perfectly normal, which was why it was infuriating not knowing why it wasn't.

"So…all I've got is, Plymouth has had a couple of earthquakes, no-one nearby felt a thing, there are no plates to cause them anywhere close, and I'm no closer to working out what caused the waves that caused the earthquakes." He muttered to himself. "Fantastic." He rolled his eyes.

After he had seen the Sterlings were safe he'd gone back the east side of town. Using his handy sonic screwdriver he had managed to get some sort of reading that might trace where the earthquakes began, and he managed to follow it for all of five minutes before it vanished in to oblivion, much to his annoyance. All he knew was something was giving off something that rebounded off somewhere to go back to somewhere else. How terribly helpful. He rubbed his eyes in exasperation.

He had even gone out in to space to see if there was anything there, but nothing was visible. Of all people, he knew that not seeing something didn't mean it didn't exist, but he wasn't even getting so much as a slight murmur of anything unusual. Oh happy days. It would appear that solving this mystery can only be done by the help of a sixteen year old girl who had no idea what was going on, but ;the Doctor had worked out; played a big part in it.

"Miss Sterling, I do believe there's something you're not telling me." He grumbled.

Although, in all fairness, there were rather a lot of things that he was not sharing either. He told her the stories, about aliens and robots and monsters, but that was all they were, stories. To that girl, the Doctor was an alcoholic with a very large imagination, not the last of a time-travelling race of people who held the power of time and space in their hands, and sentenced the one person he loved to a lifetime in a world of de ja vu.

"Wherever you are Rose Tyler, I hope things are less confusing for you."

For all he knew, they might not be, but there was no way of checking any more. He hadn't seen her for sixteen years, but every day he wondered how she was, if she and Mickey every got married, maybe had a child. He pondered about the baby Jackie had been carrying the last time he spoke to Rose. It'd be about the same age as Valerie now. Although, additionally, it might not even be born yet, he knew time never travelled in a straight line. He was so deep in concentration he went to lean on the railings by the door, and missed, falling on to them, and almost going over. Thank goodness no-one was there to see that.

"Well, there goes my self esteem." He rolled his eyes.

He picked himself up and straightened his jacket, running his hands through his hair so it stuck up at all angles. Deciding he better go back to where the action was, he wandered out of the door of his TARDIS, and in to the street, where any passer by would just see a blue police box from the 1950s. Slightly odd place to have one, but to each their own.

Back in the city, where the collapsed buildings were, it was light outside, about six o'clock at a guess, the sun wasn't shining yet, and it was still quite cold and misty, courtesy of being a coastal city. The Doctor wrapped his coat around him to stop the cold, and picked up a piece of one of the ex-buildings, scanning it with his screw driver. Unsurprisingly, he got absolutely nothing. He walked on, and tripped over another piece of rubble, and stumbled forward, catching hold of a streetlight to steady himself. There was a sudden shuffling, his arrival had obviously startled someone.

Oops he thought.

He turned around to apologise, and instead ended up grinning. A teenagers was sitting on the ground, looking a little dishevelled, although, compared to some girls he'd seen, she could be worse. She was leaning against a doorway, and had two polystyrene mugs in her hands, steaming in the cold morning air.

"I got you a coffee. You like coffee right? I mean, it's great to sober people up, stop hangovers. Not that I'm suggesting you're drunk…, but you might have some experience, I know I have…although this time it's for the cold, and…and I'm rambling." She blurted.

The Doctor laughed and accepted a drink as she scrambled up. "I do like coffee, thanks."

"Thanks." She blinked, "Um, I mean, you're welcome." Then she grinned apologetically, "I'm not much of a morning person."

"That makes two of us then. Wait, is this a mocha made with hazelnut coffee, one sugar, plenty of cream, and extra foam?"

"Um, yes. My favourite."

"Then I must say, you have very good taste. Cheers!"

"Cheers, I guess?"

The Doctor grinned and clunked his mug against Valerie's, who smiled, before he proceeded to take a sip, and burned his tongue, choking with the surprise.

"Freshly made by the way…" Valerie gave a cheeky grin.

"Now you tell me." He rolled his eyes, and winked.

As the two of them walked through the streets littered with the debris of the previous night, and a fortnight ago, they attracted a few peculiar looks from suspicious early birds, largely of the over 60, naturally loathing of all teenagers variety. It was obvious what they were thinking. A man walking around in the early morning with an impressionable teenage girl who he must be corrupting. The Doctor saw the looks, and turned to his young friend for an explanation.

"Oh, don't you know how things work here?" she whispered to him.

"Afraid not."

"Well, we're alone, and I'm up before noon when I don't have school, so of course we must be having a sordid affair behind your charitable Women's Institute wife and your three adorable kids' backs."

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor looked astonished.

"Millbay. Gone but not forgotten."

"Right." Said the Doctor, as if he knew exactly what Valerie was talking about.

As they walked, Valerie told him any extra details she could remember about each earthquake. There was no more detail that she could provide than before really, and he looked so crestfallen, she wanted to tell him all about her bizarre dreams. Orange and earthquakes, each time she had dreamt about those two things there had been the afore mentioned disasters, or something else had happened. Nothing more than the odd lamp flickering out, or a fuse blowing, a TV randomly changing channel…but the timing is impeccable.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"You're not from earth, are you?" she suddenly asked.

Well, that was it. He had been found out. Not quite sure what had given him away. Of course, not knowing the city or the year was a bit strange, but how would she draw the conclusion that he was an alien? Not impossible, however. She had been born on Doomsday after all, it was hard to hide aliens from her. He stared at the floor as they walked in silence, and threw his empty cup in a nearby bin.

"No, I'm not." He sighed, resigned. Then he looked up at her, remembering Torchwood, and for a brief second, fear flickered in his hearts. "You're not going to turn me in are you?"

Valerie looked almost insulted she was so shocked. "Why the heck would I do that?"

"To keep Charlie safe." He countered,

"What good is it going to do either of us if I turn in the one person who might know what's going on in to the authorities?"

"I guess."

"Besides." She continued after a pause, "I don't know why, but I feel like I've known you my whole life, and something in me wouldn't let me betray you, even if I wanted to."

The Doctor stared at her. "Thank you."

Valerie just nodded, remaining silent. Then she abruptly froze mid-way to reaching out to the bin, woozy. She went to tunnel vision, and everything seemed far away and metallic, tinny. It was her dream again, she was on the platform looking down, then the platform began to judder and give way. The girl snapped back to reality, meeting the concerned look of the Doctor. She was pale, sweating. Without delay, the shaking carried on, just a vibration running through her.

"Run." She croaked.

She legged it back the way they had come. There was no way of telling where the pair might be going, Valerie didn't know herself, and the earthquake started, like this mysterious girl knew it would, the Doctor called out to her, but she couldn't work out what he was saying, so just turned to look at him, and he motioned down a side street, where they had come across each other, with the coffee. In disbelief she stared at him as he motioned to a rickety wooden box.

By now the quake was in full swing, not nearly as strong as the others, but enough to make you lose your footing, and shake some parts of buildings away. As it happened, Valerie tripped and went flying, crashing in to a stone post and bashing her head. Dazed, she got unsteadily to her feet, wobbling towards the Police Box the man currently helping her stand up straight was so insistent on going in.

"Valerie, you ok!"

"That depends. Which one of you is asking that?" Valerie clumsily smiled in answer.

The Doctor steadied the girl as he pushed open the door of the TARDIS, and she was so confused, she didn't even notice it was bigger on the inside, as she promptly fainted on to the floor. The Doctor looked at her, terrified. He had no idea how to deal with people, that had been more of Rose's department. He saw the cut above her eye and used his screwdriver to stop it bleeding. She brushed her hair back from her face as the shaking began to reside. She had known it was going to happen, but neither of them knew why.

Valerie was back on her stone pedestal. Only this time, everyone could see her, as there was a spotlight over her, dazzling her, and giving her an ethereal glow. But she couldn't see anyone but the Doctor. The silhouettes were just shadows, although thousands of pairs of eyes looked at her, and on the other side, as she turned her head away from them, thousands of lights blinking. She peered through the light, trying to glimpse the Doctor. He stared at her and pointed at her, yelling something to the shape beside him, but all Valerie could hear was utter silence, until one word broke it.

"Justice!"

The Doctor yelled, and the next thing she knew, there was a shot, and a pain in her heart, she toppled off the pedestal, and as she was falling, woke up.

"Get away from me!" she yelled, still half in dream world.

The startled Doctor jumped in alarm as Valerie sat bolt upright, looking terrified and thunderous, all at the same time. Was she talking to him? She didn't seem to be, she had yelled at something that she thought she had seen in front of her. Coming back to earth with a bang, she blinked from her place on the floor, and then looked at the Doctor.

"What happened?" she asked, for she genuinely couldn't remember.

"You fell, during the quake…hit your head." Explained the Doctor. "Nasty bump on the noggin."

Valerie nodded and slowly picked herself up, clearly oblivious to the fact she'd bellowed at the Doctor. She looked down, and saw herself standing on metal grids, looking up and around at the unreal room she was in, in total bemusement.

"Where am I?"

"Welcome to my world." He paused, "Well, my spaceship at any rate."

"Space ship?" Valerie obviously couldn't comprehend.

"You found me out, remember? I'm not from Earth. I'm from here."

"You never struck me as the mad scientist type. I always thought more accountant by day, punk rocker by night." Grinned Valerie, ever so tongue-in-cheek.

"Really? Punk Rocker?" the Doctor was intrigued.

"It's always the quiet ones." She conceded. Then carried on in all seriousness. "So, these quakes, really are alien?"

"To a degree, I believe so. But I'm not sure on what scale, or from where. Which is where you would come in." he met her eye unblinkingly.

"Me?" Valerie returned the steady gaze, dubious.

"You know when these quakes are going to come, don't you? You told me to run, at least five minutes before it started."

Valerie stared at the ground, scuffing her sneaker on to the metal. She refused to answer, knowing she would sound a freak, and the Doctor took it as confirmation. He knew there was something different about her, the first time he met her, just last night in the harbour, although it felt like a week ago. He looked at her emotionlessly, before asking her an ambiguous question, so she wouldn't feel so awkward.

"What time is it?"

"Ten to nine." She replied instantly.

The Doctor checked his watch, and she was on the dot. He knew full well she hadn't seen a clock before hand, and she wasn't wearing one anywhere. Her palm pilot was still closed in her pocket. She looked up at him nervously, and he smiled reassuringly, incredibly interested.

"How long has this been going on?"

"As long as I can remember."

"How does it work exactly? Do you dream something, or does something whisper in your ear?"

"A bit of both. Mostly I just know." She shrugged. "Can't normally do it on demand though."

"Just if it directly relates to you?"

"More often than not." Valerie nodded.

"What do you really know about these earthquakes?"

"They follow a pattern, the number on the scale, and the location of the centre point. The timing isn't consistent though."

"And what is the pattern then?"

"It's always something point two. 6.2, 5.2, 4.2. The centre points are equidistant from each other, directly in the middle of the south, east and west points of the city." She rattled off, well versed.

"And how many people have you told?"

"Two or three. When people came around asking questions. They never believed me though, because I couldn't prove what I knew, or how I knew it.

The Doctor was by now leaning against the bars. Valerie was standing limply in front of him, like she was on trial. In a way she was, being asked to prove her case in point without evidence, in front of somebody she didn't know. It was grossly uncomfortable, and she absolutely loathed being the centre of attention, even though it was only one person focusing on her. Her secret was out, but in consolation, so was his. The two of them made a right pair, one time-travelling alien with two hearts, and one teenage girl born on Doomsday who happened to be psychic.

"Is it fair to assume…" began the Doctor. "That if you know exactly where the epicentre was in each incident, you can guess where the centre point of the north is? Then in turn, the centre point over all?"

The red-head nodded. "I know where it is, and where the next quake should be. But I don't know when it will be."

"Show me?"

"We'll need to hurry if we're going to catch the bus."

"No need."

The Doctor grinned at her, and jogged over to the control panel. Valerie followed, intrigued. She watched him type something in to a computer and flip a lever. The engine in the middle started pumping, catching her unawares, and she let out a yelp, which the Doctor laughed at. He spun a wheel, flipped a switch, and leaned casually against a bar as his comrade stared open-mouthed at everything.

Valerie had seen a lot in her life, being born on Doomsday of all days, but not even in the strangest of dreams she had could she have imagined watching a computer monitor of space, when she was in it. She stared at the Doctor, although dared not lean on anything or touch even the railings by the door, just in case she got left on Pluto or something.

"I'm guessing that's not a screensaver." She mumbled.

The Doctor grinned at her, respecting how calm she seemed to be in the face of something so extraordinary. Of course, that was on the outside. On the inside she was sorely tempted to jump out of the space ship and hope she woke up from a dream, preferably on the right planet. Why in her right mind had she jumped on in to a time travelling machine with a strange man?

"Nope. Make quite a nice one though. Right, northern Plymouth, brace yourself."

"For what?" she exclaimed, voice surprisingly high pitched.

With a thud, the TARDIS landed, and Valerie went flying backward, looping her arms around the bar to keep herself vaguely upright. She looked at the Doctor, flabbergasted, as he grinned and offered a hand to help her up, which she, all be it reluctantly, accepted.

"That." Came the reply.

Valerie gave a shaky nod as the Doctor opened the door for her, glancing reproachfully at the room she was leaving. She poked her head around the door first, breathed in the fresh air, took a deep breath and walked out. She took a moment to get her bearings. They were in an alley of some sort, and she could see a road she recognised at the end of it. She wandered out in to it, she stared up at the corner of a road, where a marble column stood, surrounded by wreaths, a female angel on the top, and a list of name after name after name. Tears pricked the back of Valerie's eyes, as the Doctor came and stood by her, staring up at the monument.

"Doomsday?" he whispered.

"Doomsday." Valerie nodded.

The Doctor peered at the plaque standing in front of it, a small black metal thing, and read out.

"The Lady Justice"

In faith she watches,

In hope she stands,

In love she lives,

In justice she perseveres.

"Are you ok Valerie?" said the Doctor kindly.

She nodded, brushing tears away, "When I was born, they all died."

The Doctor knew just how his young friend was feeling, survivor's guilt. Most people who were alive when hundreds of others were dead got it. With the Doctor however, it was different, he was responsible for those hundreds of others, directly responsible. Valerie straightened herself up, and turned to the Doctor.

"This is where it will be. Can you stop it?"

"I don't honestly know, but I'll try."

"What's been causing it?"

"Some kind of shockwaves, that don't originate from Earth."

"So we're just caught in the middle?"

"Pretty much."

"Story of my country." Valerie rolled her eyes.

The desert was, as its name would suggest, deserted. There were strange mounds in the sand after the storm had subsided, equipment, vans, tents, people; and a gaping hole to the right. Not so much a hole as a huge crater, and suddenly, the edge of it started moving. One of the shapes became more human as she dragged herself up out of the sand, as it fell away from her. Mackenzie. Looking around, she could barely see or breath. Sand clogged everything, and she was sure she could see someone's hand a few feet away from her.

"Hello?" she rasped. "Is there anyone else here?"

"Mackenzie!" came a voice from what sounded like miles away.

In fact, it was about 6 metres, and Nikolai was emerging from the pit too, in a similar state to Mackenzie. Their hair was matted, their skin scratched, and they were both parched to an unbelievable degree. Nikolai however, seemed better off than his brunette friend. He dragged himself up, and half ran, half fell to her side, clutching a piece of slate. The two embraced.

"Thank god you're alive!" he exclaimed. "I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"Lose your head?" spluttered Mackenzie with a tired smile, leaning her head on his shoulder, she could barely keep upright.

"Lose everything." He cooed.

"What did you get?" croaked the woman.

"Just this."

He held up a piece of shattered slate, about palm sized. The language was Latin, although he could translate, what he could made no sense without the rest of the pieces, and heaven only knew where they were.

"Beyo

A chi"

"What is it?" asked Mackenzie.

"You're the computer whiz. Come on. There must be something left, somewhere…"

Nikolai hefted Mackenzie to her feet, and supported her with an arm around her waist, and her arm around his neck. The pair staggered through the sand to the last known site of their van, currently a rectangular mound of desert.

Valerie and the Doctor were sitting in a café. After Valerie had relived the day everyone in the universe dreaded, her birthday, she had needed a caffeine hit to perk her up. The Doctor was only happy to oblige, although she had to pay for it anyway. She ordered the same as they had before, and sat on a table by the window. She jumped as her palm pilot beeped at her.

"Excuse me." She whipped it out of her pocket

HellEngel: Where r u?

ViviStar: Monument Street

HellEngel: Why on earth would u want 2 go there? It always makes u cry.

ViviStar: Would you too, if you celebrated those deaths.

HellEngel: Knock it off Val, u know u couldn't have done anything.

ViviStar: Yea, but still. Anyway, what's up?

HellEngel: I should b asking u. Mere rang me up frantic about 9, asking if u were with me.

ViviStar: Oops, sorry.

HellEngel: Did u leave a note?

ViviStar: You know I always do.

HellEngel: She said something about a Doctor. U sick or something?

ViviStar: No, I'm fine. Just helping with research, the earthquakes.

HellEngel: Since when have u been Miss Geography?

ViviStar: Never, but tell her I'm fine, don't worry about me? I have to go.

HellEngel: OK, fine, but u so owe me a pack of Maltesers.

ViviStar: Deal. Thanks Hel, love ya!

HellEngel: U 2. xx

She put it away, and preceded to turn it off, looking apologetically at the Doctor. He shrugged to show he didn't mind, and drunk his coffee, blowing on it first, which Valerie had to laugh at. The Doctor nodded at her pocket.

"What's that then?"

"Palm pilot. Everyone has one."

"What happened to mobiles?

"They went out in 2012. People found getting around the Olympics was much easier without them, they were too limited."

"May I?"

"Sure."

Valerie nodded and handed over the pilot, watching the Doctor inspect it with curiosity. He remained silent, apart from the odd "beautiful" or "fascinating" thrown in. She couldn't really understand why he was so intrigued by that of all things, he had his own space ship! That was pretty impressive technology. He gave an appreciative nod, and handed it back over. His counterpart could still see the monument, and in her head she was wondering when the next quake was meant to hit. She was amazed it had stood perfectly for the last two. But something told her the third would be the strongest yet.

"How do we stop it?" she asked abruptly.

"By breaking up the waves." Replied the Doctor.

"And how do we do that?"

"By working out when they're coming."

"Can you work it out?"

"That's where you come in."

"Me?"

"Hopefully."

"You want me to predict when the wave is coming?"

"I thought something like that, yes."

"But I can't do it on command…" she said wide-eyed.

The auburn-haired girl looked panic-stricken. No way could she manage to pull that off, she had no control what so ever. Her hand, resting on the table, had gone cold with fear. The next thing that happened took both of them by surprise. The Doctor reached over, took her hand, and stared straight at her.

"So, I have to estimate when a wave is, and how strong it's going to be…else the world is screwed? No pressure…"

"None at all."

Then, with the Doctor holding her hand, not in a romantic way, but a supportive friend one, Valerie knew that she could do it. She would do it. It was the something meaningful in her life she had been looking for.

It was 1.30pm, and Valerie had been away from home for seven and a half hours. She had left her parents a note, as she always did, but Meredith was still worried. Never before had she woken up to find only one of her daughters in the house, well, except before Charlotte had been born, but that was different. Her oldest was always so mature and responsible, and the red-headed woman could not comprehend why she had gone gallivanting off with that Doctor.

She hadn't even gone to see Helen, and that never happened. Since they met they had seen, called or messaged each other every single day. She paced around the kitchen, busying herself with pasta, as Stephen watched her, frowning with the stress of not knowing exactly where Valerie was.

"It's so unlike her Stephen!" cried Meredith. "I don't understand!"

"That Doctor of hers has something to do with it, and that's all I know. Just wait until I get my hands on him." He growled.

"Genie says she's probably just acting out or something." Continued Meredith, "But she's always been so happy and mature!"

Genie was short for Genevieve, Helen's mother. With their daughters so joined at the hip, each parent had found themselves interacting an enormous amount with the other. It was a relief they got on so well, they had to keep up with the girls some how. They had moved over from Romania when Helen was born, the same year Valerie was. Genevieve and Marcus, her husband, couldn't stand living in the same place that had them seeing the deaths of their friends and families. All they had left was each other, and the baby.

"We've always known she was something different Meredith. Since we first laid eyes on her. You couldn't expect her to just stay merrily out of harm's way in the city her whole life, not when something like this has come along."

"I know, she's such a special girl. I'm sure she can look after for herself, but I can't not knowing."

"Neither can I Meredith."

Stephen laid a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. At that point, Charlie came bounding in with Bunny yelping excitedly by her. Charlie was holding a tennis ball, and Bunny was chasing her laughing and squealing little mistress through the house to retrieve it. Stephen turned, without much of an expression, apart from a slight smile. Meredith did the same.

"Careful Charlie honey, mummy's cooking." Announced Meredith kindly.

"Is it ready yet? Where's Vivi? I haven't seen her all day."

"It'll be done in a few minutes. Vivi's gone out to help someone. She'll be back soon."

"Ok!"

Charlie gave a toothy grin, although her two front teeth were missing, and ran out of the door and in to the garden, Bunny close behind. When they were out of ear shot, Meredith turned to Stephen.

"She better be anyway. I can't bear to think how Charlie would react if something were to happen…"

"Nothing is going to happen."

Nothing indeed. The Sterlings had no idea what was going on down Monument Street, or what would go on, soon.

It was a melancholy walk as the pair of them made their way back to the TARDIS. Neither of them really knew what to say next. What was there to say? Predict or die? Somehow, that probably wouldn't help much. Valerie followed the Doctor in to his machine, and looked at him, then looked down for a minute, thoughtful, before asking something.

"Can you take me home?"

"Home?" the Doctor asked with curiosity.

"Yea. I mean, of course I'll help you with these things, but my mum'll be worried, and Charlie'll sulk if I don't play with her for at least an hour every day." Valerie smiled slightly at the last bit.

The Doctor nodded, understandingly. If he had a family, he'd want to spend time with them. "OK, sure. I don't want to upset them."

Valerie shot him a grateful grin as they went to the alley where the TARDIS was heading. As they approached, Valerie almost stood on something, and it blew up in her face. Startled, she caught it, pulling it away from her face so she could actually read what it said. She frowned, it was some Chinese symbol or other, and underneath it, strangely enough, was a line of Latin.

"ille volo servo omnis"

She raised an eyebrow and handed it over to the Doctor, who frowned, then folded it up and stuck it in his pocket, Valerie shrugged and made her way in to the TARDIS, her companion close behind. He glanced out in to the alley, looking to see if something was there, before following her and closing the door. The Doctor programmed in their destination, and with a whir of the engine, the peculiar blue box disappeared from sight.

They landed in the back garden of the Sterling's house. With the noise it made, the pair of them were sure the whole street would come running, but thankfully, not even the family did. Valerie waved over the Doctor as she walked down the path in their long yard and went in through the back door, that led in to the kitchen. There was no-one in it, and the girl shrugged, heading for the Living Room.

"Hello?" she called.

She peered around the door, and was greeted by Bunny howling with delight, and Charlie flinging her arms around her sister's waist. Stephen was standing by the fire place, looking grim, and Meredith was perched on the edge of the chair. Also there was Helen, who was busy packing up some playing cards, having been given the task of entertaining Charlie.

"Vivi!" cried the youngster, "Where did you go! I wanted you to do my hair!"

"Sorry sweetie." Apologised Valerie, "I had some errands to run."

"For nine hours and fifteen minutes?" asked Helen under her breath, asking over. "Who are you?"

Helen had zeroed in on the Doctor, who was remaining respectfully outside the door, not wanting to interrupt the family reunion. Valerie looked sheepish as her best friend glared at him, and waved him forward. Reluctantly, he came further in. Charlie hid behind Valerie and Bunny was all over him.

"This is Doctor McCrinnon." Introduced the red-haired teen, "Doctor, this is my best friend Helen." She nodded at the blonde. "I've been helping him research the earthquakes." She offered by way of explanation.

Helen still didn't look convinced, not even offering a smile, and Valerie cleared her throat, rather embarrassed, She looked over at Meredith pleadingly, her mother always knew what to do. Meredith noticed the glance and stood up, smiling, she motioned for all those standing to sit, and took orders for any drinks people might like. Valerie slipped out behind her as she went to the kitchen to help out.

"Thanks mum." She said gratefully.

"Where were you?" Meredith replied, trying not to sound cold, but clearly not happy.

"I was everywhere, showing the Doctor around, where the quakes were and what buildings had been damaged."

"And why, of all people in Plymouth, is he asking you all of this?"

"I was the first person he ran in to."

"Where's he from exactly? He just turned up out of nowhere in the city, and ran in to you by chance at the harbour."

"He's from a long way away mum. I know it's unlike me, but I know I can trust him. It's one of those things…"

At that Meredith turned and regarded her eldest carefully. She knew about her 'abilities' and how good a judge of people she was, but it didn't make the woman any less worried that her teenage girl could decide whether to like someone or not quick as a flash. In a way, she supposed, she was jealous. There were a few times it had been a bad judgement call on her part. That wasn't the only reason she was reluctant to let her go off with someone. There was another, a more selfish one. She didn't want to lose her daughter. Since the very beginning Meredith had always known where she was and when, and if she didn't, it just took a quick note to find out. She knew how lucky she was to have Valerie of all the teens out there.

"He thinks I can help it stop happening." Said Valerie quietly, pouring milk in the cups.

"Does he?"

Valerie nodded, but they both knew that was the end of the conversation. Between them they carried out six steaming beverages and gave them out to those there. There was the age-old small talk and chit chat, followed by the odd awkward silence. Then something happened.

Sitting sandwiched between Helen and the Doctor, possibly to keep the pair of them separated, Valerie honed in on the grandfather clock by the wall. The sounds around her died to a distant drone, and the hands on the clock seemed to spin at a hundred miles per hour, before it stopped at 9.35 exactly. The image imprinted on her mind, and then she blinked, shaking it off. She turned as someone said something, and the next time she looked at the clock, it was different.

"Val? You ok?" asked Helen.

"9.35." was the quiet reply.

"9.35?" Helen wasn't the only one looking at Valerie strangely. Although the Doctor looked concerned and alert as opposed to worried.

"I just remembered I have something to do then. Not that I can remember what." She quipped, trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

So, 9.35 it was. The time when the last wave would hit the city. Too bad they didn't know how strong it would be. No worries. The Doctor had a plan, as always. Well, sort of one anyway. As he all but frog-marched Valerie out of her house (making some random excuse like they should go and check records) he practically ran in to his TARDIS, and a puzzled youth followed him. They had over six hours to do what needed to be done. She came to the conclusion it must be tricky work. Not that she was surprised, it was stopping the desolation of a population after all. The two of them charged in to the TARDIS, and Valerie was instantly given a length of cable, some kind of plug and a metal box to hold.

"Um…and these are?"

"Going to help us."

"Right."

OK, at least she knew not to ask any questions when he was working. She watched as he whipped out a pair of glasses from his top pocket, an a screwdriver from another, holding a pencil in his mouth, and some little monitor in his hand. He held the screwdriver to the box, and much to her surprise, it lit up and buzzed. Her eyes widened and she peered in for a closer look. The Doctor caught the glance and grinned up at her.

"DIY with kick."

"I see that."

When he was done twiddling the dial, he put it in his pocket, and typed in another location on his computer, central western point. They got out to find themselves in a dreary part of the city, by an old lighthouse, that was definitely on its last legs. The glass was mostly smashed and section of the wall had crumbled. The duo exchanged a look, both feeling sorry for it, even though it was a building.

"I remember a school trip here, about ten years ago. It's amazing what time can do." Noted Val.

"It really is." Agreed the Doctor mutely. If only she knew.

Valerie turned to him for instructions, holding up the things she was holding in a universal signal of confusion. He led her over to the lighthouse, and got out his screwdriver. Holding it down to the ground he adjusted the settings. With the push of a button, a hole had been made in the dirt and grass at the base of the lighthouse. Taking the box from a relieved holder (it was not light) he put it in the hole, and connected the wires in an order no human being could even begin to follow, and then promptly covered it all over again.

"And what'll that do?"

"Hopefully stop the city being destroyed. In part."

"Oh, right. That's good then."

"Very good. Next stop?"

"Oh, ugh." Groaned Valerie, "School."

She pulled a face that the Doctor just smiled at, before grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the TARDIS, that was one place she really did not want to have to go back to, at least until September.

On the other side of town, a boy with messy brown hair, in need of a cut, and grey eyes, sat in his room listening to his CD player, with the volume on maximum, and reading a book, attempting to drown out the sound of his older sister Kayleigh and his mother arguing. Since his father had been killed, shortly after he was born, that fateful July 8th, it had just been his mother, his sister and him.

Having been forced in to the position of man of the house from a young age, he had developed a tolerance of people and a quiet, observing nature that people warmed to. But he was incredibly shy and unsure of himself. He never dared take a risk or step out of line, partly because he didn't want to anyway, and partly because he wouldn't know how to.

"Wonder who it is this time." He thought out loud.

As long as he could remember Kayleigh and Lyn's relationship had been rocky. They were always arguing or disagreeing with each other over something, but since Kayleigh had hit thirteen (when he was eleven) it had been stuck at an all time low. "Teen angst." His mother called it. He wasn't much of a rebellious sort; the most outrageous thing he'd done was stay out half an hour passed curfew; but Kayleigh could sulk, pout and scream her head off enough for the pair of them. Lately the ranting had been about Kayleigh's various boyfriends, none of who Lyn approved of.

"ADRIAN!" hollered a voice from downstairs.

Adrian winced as his mother beckoned. Looked like she wanted him to play father again. Sighing, he got up and headed down in his whit t-shirt, baggy jeans, and holey socks, brushing his hair back with tension, so it stuck up everywhere. Wearily he made his way to the living room, where he saw his mother and sister standing side by side, both blonde, both with thunderous green eyes, both pairs of which immediately rounded on him.

"What ever makes you think my sixteen year old brother will be able to talk me round better than you can?" Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"What's the problem this time?" ventured Adrian.

"Well." Began Lyn, in ranting mode, "Your sister tells me that there is a party tonight that everyone is going to, and she can't possibly miss it else it will be the end of her life."

"Um…right…" Adrian was cautious, this was an old argument,

"So." His mother snapped. "What do you know about Billy Manilow?"

His brother is lucky not to be called Barry? Thought Adrian.

The name rang a bell, but Adrian had to wrack his brain to place it. Manilow…Manilow. Then he got it. A guy in the same year as his sister had been, only older, having been held back by abysmal exam results. Not the nicest of people. But his parties were legendary, everyone who was anyone went, and if you didn't, you didn't get actively picked on, you were just sort of left out, because it was all people talked about for weeks.

"Oh, that party." Agreed Adrian after a moment. "Yea, it's a tradition. At the end of every year the Manilows let Billy invite some people around to kick off summer."

Lyn pursed her lips, it obviously wasn't the answer she wanted, "And will there be adult supervision?"

Adrian nodded, "Oh, yea. There's always loads."

He wasn't lying, really. Everyone eighteen and over was legally an adult. He could see Kayleigh's face start to break in to a triumphant smirk and waited for the fireworks that would probably come from him daring defy his mother and side with his sister. Well, not to much siding with her, as backing up her information. Neither of them expected what came next.

"Fine." Said Lyn, sighing resignedly, "You can go." Kayleigh was obviously going to say something, but Lyn cut her off. "On one condition. Adrian goes with you."

"What!" came the unified cry of the siblings.

"You heard me. All for one and one for all."

Lyn primly turned on her heel and left her two teenage children staring after her. It wasn't that the pair didn't get on, Kayleigh would choose her brother over her mother in a second, it was just that they were very different people. Adrian was not a party boy, Kayleigh was a party addict. One was quiet, the other loud, one straight As, one straight detentions.

"Oh, great. What are we gonna do?" grumbled Kayleigh. "No offence, I could do a lot worse by brothers than you, but turning up to the Manilow's party with a relative as my date?"

"Not to mention the fact, I kind of hate parties." Agreed Adrian.

"Well, how about you don't come? We just leave together. We can meet up after, I'll fill you in so if mum asks you can answer." Suggested Kayleigh.

"You read my mind."

The answer was pretty obvious, and the siblings nodded before parting, Kayleigh heading upstairs to change her clothes a dozen times, and Adrian out of the front door to grab his bike, he really needed to get out for a bit, away from all the oestrogen in the house. Much as he loved his family, they didn't half give him a migraine.

Walking out in to the warm afternoon sunshine with his bike in tow, he looked around to try and figure out where he wanted to go. He finally decided he would go and check out the damage in the city, thanks to the earthquakes that had suddenly materialised.

The route he took turned out to be the one he always used on the way to school, when it was open, not closed for repairs courtesy of a random seismic wave deciding to put in an appearance. He turned the corner, and almost cycled into a most peculiar box. A blue one, with a phone on the outside, and a light on the top. He frowned. A police box? From the 1950s? In 2022? Maybe the school were doing something about history, it was the kind of random thing they decided would help put them on the map and further educate their students.

People are weird.

As he biked on, he stopped, as he saw movement in the corner of his eye. If he wasn't mistaken, he wasn't the only one surveying the damage. There was a man rummaging through the rubble of what used to be the teachers' offices. The boy tensed, this looked awfully suspicious. A strange man, who seemed to be wiring something up to the school. Adrian was tempted to run forward and stop him, when another person appeared.

"How much longer do I have to pull this thing?"

That voice was familiar, and the sound of it tied his stomachs in a not. Valerie Sterling. The sweet, funny counterpart of his ex-girlfriend Helen. The girl he'd really wanted to end up with when he started talking to them. He'd admired her as long as he could remember, well, since the family moved from London when he was nine. What was she doing with this person? What was she pulling? Adrian was tempted to call the police…but surely if they meant any harm, they wouldn't do it in broad daylight in a public place. He debated whether or not to go over. Eventually deciding he'd carry on like nothing had happened, he got on his bike and rode down the path, where they couldn't miss him. He pretended to only just notice the girl, and called over.

"Hey?"

The pair stood to attention, alarmed, and looked around, before Valerie smiled at him, all be it sheepishly, as they made quick work of moving together so they stood in front of whatever they were fixing up.

"Hello, Adrian. What brings you here?" she asked perfectly pleasantly.

"Just had to get out of the house."

"Ah, Kayleigh?"

Adrian nodded and stopped, walking his bike over, completely forgetting what had been going on now he had the chance to speak to the friendly redhead who still looked innocent as ever.

"As always. Looks like I'm going to the Manilow's party."

Valerie raised an eyebrow, "Manilow?" then she grinned, "You never struck me as a party guy."

"I'm not." Said Adrian glumly, and then suddenly flashed scarlet with embarrassment. "I mean…um, yea, I like to have fun…parties can be great…but it's the Manilows…" he trailed off.

Valerie laughed, not mockingly, but in a friendly way. "Don't worry, I'm not either."

"R…right. You not going then?"

Valerie pulled a face. "Not if I can avoid it."

"Lucky for some." Adrian grinned. "So, what are you doing?"

"Oh, um, this is Dr McCrinnon…I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce you."

The Doctor stepped forward and offered a hand, which Adrian shook, although it seemed very professional and adult for his liking. But he was raised a gentlemen, and nothing would change that.

"Miss Sterling is helping me take some readings…for research, in to the earthquakes?" explained the once silent man.

"Really! Cool. I've always liked Geology."

"Uh, yes, right…Geology." Valerie nodded. "Anyway, don't want to keep you from your party. Catch up later? If you can get away?"

"That'd be great."

Adrian grinned. Valerie had just asked him to hang out, and they hadn't really spoken to each other since he and Helen broke up. It was a perfect way to find out what was really going on with that girl, and her Doctor.

"Friend of yours?" smirked the Doctor as Valerie side with relief after Adrian had left.

"Yea, sort of." She gave a sheepish grin. "Remember I was telling you about Helen?" she nodded in the direction Adrian had gone, "Ex-boyfriend of hers, one of the few I actually got on with."

"Name?"

"Adrian Harkness." She smiled.

As Valerie turned back to the rubble to plug in the wire, the Doctor's eyes widened. Harkness? Talk about coincidental. Or just plain odd. He pondered whether he was a relation of the Captain he had come across. Oh well, best not say anything. He could tell that although his new friend was open minded, some of the things he told her about, especially the year before and after she was born, it was a little hard to handle; and he hadn't even mentioned Rose yet.

"I think this one's about done. Have I wired it up ok?"

The sound of her voice snapped the Doctor out of his thoughts about Rose, and it took him a moment to register that an answer was required. He looked over the girl's work, and smiled, impressed. Obviously a fast learner, everything was perfectly in place. Her gave a thumbs up and she beamed. There was a pang in the Doctor's heart all of a sudden.

She looked so gentle, trusting and open. Here was a girl who was a genuinely nice person, never got in to trouble, loved her family and friends, and was wise beyond her years. Yet he'd come on to the scene and dragged her away from all that, and in to who knows what danger. But she didn't care, all she thought about was keeping her little sister safe.

"Doctor?" frowned Valerie, concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The Doctor put on a smile, "Just thinking of something."

"I don't have a penny, will a cent do?"

"Sorry?" the Doctor looked puzzled.

"For your thoughts." She grinned.

"Ah." The Doctor nodded, smiling again. "It's ok, just, haven't slept very well?"

"You know a good cure for that?" Valerie had a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Um…?"

"Coffee."

In a flurry of movement, the Doctor found himself being dragged by the hand down a road passed the school. Anyone seeing them now didn't see a risqué affair between two normally respectable human beings, but a happy younger sister dragging her brother to the places he'd missed whilst he was away. They didn't think twice, they knew each other, and were attached to any passer by in the street. No chance in hell they would think the pair of them met less than a day ago, under extraordinary circumstances.

"Here."

They came to a stop outside a vendor, opposite a fountain in the older parts of the city, and the woman behind the counter's face lit up as she saw Valerie, a loyal customer who had even helped out when they were short-staffed, at no extra cost. She was petite, with caramel-coloured skin, long black hair, and blue eyes. The woman waved and Valerie returned the gesture.

"Two hazelnut mochas, one sugar, plenty of cream, and extra foam please." She rolled off, well-versed.

"As ever Miss Sterling." Came the distinctly Spanish accent. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Dr McCrinnon. Dr McCrinnon, meet Esperanza Mercedes. Yes, like the car."

"Hi." The Doctor smiled brightly.

"Hola señor." She purred.

"Anna, you're married." Scolded the teen playfully.

Esperanza rolled her eyes, "So I'm told."

"Thanks Anna." Valerie handed over the exact change, took the coffees, and waved. "Hasta mañana amigo." She added.

Esperanza nodded, and the two headed back the way they had come, to the TARDIS, one almost downing the coffee in one, the other looking at it with hesitation, more proof that he was turning a pleasant young lady's life upside down, and she was asking no questions. Just two more places to go, it shouldn't take too long, one would hope.

Time was marching, a fact Adrian was all too aware of as he finally resigned to return home at 6.30, so he had a little time to prepare for the party, to at least look like he was going. Wearily, he chained up his bike and headed in to his house, and up the stairs. The second he got to the top, he was commandeered by Kayleigh, much to his astonishment. The two never went in to each others rooms. It was an unwritten rule. Now he was being dragged in to one that smelled of aloe vera and talcum powder.

"Kay? What's the big idea?" he asked, utterly bewildered.

"You're a guy." Kayleigh said, giving her brother the once over. "More or less."

"Thanks." Adrian rolled his eyes.

"I need you to tell me what these outfits are saying."

"Come again?" her baby brother blinked. "I wasn't aware they had mouths."

"Oh, look, funny's cousin. Not funny. Just help me, ok?"

"Aye aye Cap'n." Adrian saluted.

Well, this was the pinnacle of embarrassment. His eighteen year old sister was in just a dressing gown (Adrian hastily stared intently at the floor) and he was stuck in her room, with no way of escape, as she had closed the door. The first thing she came out in was a glittery pink top, a denim mini, and strappy black sandals.

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world…" he muttered tunelessly.

"So that's a no then."

She disappeared and reappeared again, in the same kind of top, only purple, with black jeans, and black boots. Adrian nodded a 'not bad' although advised against the glitter. He wasn't the most up to date of people, but those sparkles were more primary school disco.

"Have you got that light blue sleeveless thing?" he suggested apprehensively. "With the cross over at the top?"

Kayleigh nodded and once again was sucked in to her walk in wardrobe, meanwhile, Adrian was considering jumping out of the window at the fact he paid attention to his sisters wardrobe. Best not spread that around, he already wasn't exactly in the 'popular' clique. She came out once again wearing a strapless sky blue top with an overlapping bit to just above her stomach. She gave a twirl, and Adrian nodded.

"Um…white belt?" he nodded at the one hanging over the chair. He slapped his forehead. Why did he know these things?

Kayleigh turned to look at it, and frowned, before nodding and smiling, picking it up. She buckled it and turned to Adrian, grinning, who gave her a shy thumbs up. It was still weird doing this, but he didn't mind spending time with his sister. She could be a very nice person, when not around their mother. Even stuck up for him a few times at school.

"That is?" he ventured.

"Yep." Kayleigh nodded, "Thanks." Adrian turned to leave, "Wait, one more thing!"

She walked over to where Adrian had just turned from getting the door handle. She held up a black leather chain with a coin-shaped pendant on it, and a butterfly engraved on it. She handed it over, and held her hair up so Adrian could clip it on for her. As the two of them stared at the mirror in front of them, Kayleigh said something that surprised the both of them.

"You know. I don't remember dad much. But I imagine he would be a lot like you."

Adrian was taken aback, not in a bad way, it was just the two of them never shared any sentiments about their father killed on Doomsday. He offered a smile and a nod as Kayleigh walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, before he went out of the door. As Adrian made his way to his own room to at least change his shirt, he caught sight of himself in the window.

"Really? Dad?" he thought aloud.

An hour later, the siblings were in the kitchen, waiting for their mother to stop talking so they could actually leave. Don't drink too much Kayleigh, don't drink at all Adrian. Keep an eye on your brother, keep an eye on your sister. No hanky panky, and I want you both back by midnight. Kayleigh yawned and tapped her foot impatiently, Adrian just stood with his hands in his pockets. Finally, they were able to make a swift exit, and all but ran out of the door, Kayleigh was driving. Adrian wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing yet. They pulled up at a house a couple of miles away, and the bass was already making the windows vibrate. Adrian dragged himself out glumly, whereas Kayleigh all but jumped out of the car in excitement. She locked it and her brother turned to her.

"I've arranged to meet up with a friend? If that's ok. I have my pilot if you need me. Meet you here about midnight?"

"Really?" Kayleigh looked amazed, her brother had his own party to get to. "Well, ok then. I have mine too. Take care, k? Midnight."

Neither of them was sure whether to hug or not, so they just gave companiable smiles and walked off in their separate directions, not wanting to ruin the other's fun.

At the same time, to make up for that morning, Valerie and "James" were back in the Sterling's house. The atmosphere was very different. They were taking advantage of the warm, still quite light evening, and were sitting outside in the garden, having a barbeque. It was Meredith, Stephen, Charlie, Valerie, the Doctor, Helen and a brown-haired woman, a little on the round side, with a kindly face and dark brown eyes, Helen's mother Genie. Her father was working, else he would be there as well. During the day, Valerie had asked Helen's permission to ask Adrian around too, and he would probably be joining them a bit later on.

"I remember that." Genie giggled. "The pair of you were about six or seven, and you found an old CD in our boxes. The Spice Girls?"

"Ah, I remember them." Meredith agreed.

"Way before our time…" Helen hastily explained to the Doctor. "Popular band, 90s."

"I recall." The Doctor grinned and nodded.

"Well, these two little divas, along with three of their friends, decided to give us parents a performance."

Valerie groaned, and both girls sunk in to their chairs and stared at the ground. One of these days, they would learn not to let their mothers reminisce. Ever. It went on to talk about failed handstands, and cartwheeling in to a sofa, not to mention very high hair, and rather too much body glitter. At least they could carry the tune, their saving grace. The Doctor was laughing, whilst the two girls flushed beetroot, and Charlie, sitting confused on Stephen's lap, looked at him for an explanation. Each minute that passed, the Doctor couldn't help being a little envious. He had a family once, but they'd never done anything like that together.

"Hello?" came a voice from the gate.

It was Adrian, complete with a packet of After Eights he'd grabbed from the corner store just before it closed. He was very lucky, in that this house was closer to the Manilow's than his own, so he could get back just walking for about fifteen or twenty minutes. How backwards. His mother thought he was at a wild party, when in reality he was at a family barbeque. He was rebelling against rebelling. Only Adrian could get away with that.

"Hi Adrian!" came Valerie's enthusiastic voice, waving him over.

"Hey Val." He smiled. "Helen, Mr and Mrs Sterling, Mrs Foster, Dr McCrinnon, Charlie…wow. Full house."

"Lovely to see you again Adrian." Smiled Genie. "Please, call me Genie."

Adrian settled in quite happily, as he was handed a burger and a hot dog, and Charlie immediately made a beeline for him, and sat next to him, telling him all about the games she had been playing at school. The mothers and the daughters exchanged amused looks. Someone had a little crush. Valerie took the initiative to play some music on her palm pilot, hooking it up to extra portable speakers.

Charlie, Helen, Adrian and Genie were quite happily playing a game of snakes and ladders, Stephen was keeping an eye on the barbeque, and Meredith was clearing things no longer needed up. The Doctor was sitting on a swing seat with a drink in his hand, although he wasn't touching it. Valerie went over and sat by him.

"Are you ok Doctor? You look worried. I don't mean about earthquakes." She added.

The Doctor nodded. "Yea. I was just, thinking about my own family."

Valerie's face lit up, "Really? That's great, you have any brothers and sisters?"

"Yes, I had several." His face darkened at the 'had'

"What happened?"

"Something like Doomsday…I'm the only one left…" he said sadly.

"Oh my gosh, that's horrible!"

The Doctor looked at the ground, and found himself with Valerie's arm around his shoulders, who didn't really get in to a habit of hugging people, she just never really felt the need to. The Doctor stared at her wise, sympathetic green eyes with his own mourning hazel ones. She understood him, perfectly. It was a mystery as to why, but it was definitely there.

"You must miss them."

"All the time."

"If its any consolation, you can share mine." She offered. "I know its not the same…but you won't have to be alone…"

"Thank you Valerie." He smiled tiredly.

"No problem Doctor. I'll always be here if you need me. Strange as it sounds coming from a person you met yesterday."

"I might as well have known you all my life…and that's a long time."

"Like wise. Of sorts." She winked. "I'm only sixteen."

The Doctor's envy dissolved, replaced by a calm certainty. He couldn't let her do it. He couldn't put her in the danger of what was to come. It wasn't fair, and he couldn't justify it for the greater good. She was part of the greater good. He'd known from the second he laid eyes on her. Valerie Sterling had a bright future in front of her, dazzlingly so. So did Charlie, Helen, and Adrian. No. He refused to get them involved in this fight.

"I think I need another drink." He said.

Valerie grinned and stood up, heading for the table, and taking the Doctor's glass with her. She filled it up with grapefruit juice, and passed him it. The man nodded gratefully, at a complete peace of mind since he knew what he was going to do. He would find an excuse, and break up whatever wave that would wipe out the city himself, and no one would risk themselves apart from him. It was quarter to nine now. Just over 45 minutes. Plenty of time to get away. He hoped. The opportunity would come sooner than he expected.

"Oh, heavens. It's way passed your bed time Charlie. We'd better tuck you in." Meredith hurried over to her sleepy youngest daughter.

"I'll do it." Volunteered Valerie.

She went on over and picked up Charlie. She excused herself, telling the Doctor she would be back before he knew it, and he nodded as the two girls, Helen in tow, she wanted to help too, headed back inside the house. The Doctor sat down by Stephen and Genie, Adrian nearby. Genie turned to him.

"So, Dr McCrinnon. We haven't heard much from you. Any kids of your own?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "No." he said sadly, "Not that I know of." He added the end bit with a grin, not wanting to dampen the party.

"Well, that's a shame. Fine young man like yourself."

The Doctor looked a bit embarrassed, and Meredith shrugged apologetically at him, standing behind Genie. Adrian suddenly saw the time, and stood up so quickly, the others started.

"Oops, sorry." He apologized. "But I just realised the time. I should probably head back. It's been great though, thank you so much for having me."

"You're welcome any time Adrian. Are you ok getting back? Stephen can give you a lift?" offered Meredith.

"No, no. Thank you anyway, I left my bike down the street." He lied. "Thank you again. Will you tell the girls I said goodbye?"

"Certainly. Take care."

Adrian nodded and waved at everyone, heading back out of the garden and in to the street. At the house, the Doctor stood up, deciding to follow suit, he excused himself and passed on his regards to Helen, Valerie and Charlie. Then he went to his TARDIS again. This time, he didn't look back.

The Manilow's party was in full swing. The music blared out of open windows and doors, crowds of people stood in every room in the house, and the garden was packed to bursting. There was shouting, bad singing, shrieking, and a lot of drunken banter. It had been going for about an hour and a half, since 7.30, and already there were people falling over themselves, or in a heap on the grass. The neighbours were despairing, although they expected the gathering once a year.

As Adrian stopped jogging from the barbeque, he froze outside the gate. He didn't want to go any further. Especially as just a few feet away there was a girl barely standing upright, supported by two of her friends, and waving an empty bottle of Southern Comfort around, whilst singing along to the music.

What does she look like? He thought to himself.

Then he caught a glimpse of a white belt, and blonde hair that had wrestled out of its clip fell in front of her face. One of the other two, a young man, perfectly sober, with curly black hair, an athlete's body and blue eyes turned to the other, a girl with bright red hair, freckles, grey eyes, and fair skin.

"Who did she come with Holly?" yelled the boy over the music.

"Her brother I think." Shouted the girl back.

"Where the hell is he? Not much of a chaperone!"

"He's just a kid though. Some deal or other, she couldn't come unless he did too."

Oh my god.

"Kayleigh?" cried Adrian.

He sprinted forwards, knocking a few people out of the way, although they were so out of their heads they didn't notice, and one even stumbled and fell on his face. Adrian grinded to a halt when he came to Kayleigh, Holly, and guy he recognised from school, Dean, one of her newer friends. He looked up at the two of them, wide-eyed.

"Hello Adrrrriannn…" slurred Kayleigh, "Wherrrve ya been!" before she promptly collapsed on to him.

"How much has she had?" Adrian asked the other two.

The two shook their heads and shrugged.

"No clue." Chirruped Holly in her usual somewhat high pitched squawk.

"But at least 4 or 5 mixers, and that bottle was full when she grabbed it." Added Dean.

"Oh crap." Adrian blew his hair away from his face, his arms occupied with holding Kayleigh somewhat up right. "She's supposed to be driving us home!"

"Well that's out of the window." Said Holly dryly.

"No kidding." A despairing Adrian replied.

Adrian couldn't hold up the weight of his sister any more, and knelt on the floor, laying her head in his lap as she flopped down as well, and wrestling the bottle out from her fingers, passing it to Holly. Now what was he going to do? His mother was going to kill the pair of them, her for drinking herself unconscious, and him for not being around to watch her. He was close to tears, and Dean obviously noticed.

"Tell you what. I'll take you both." He offered.

"Really?" Adrian couldn't believe his luck. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely. This isn't my scene anyway. I was expecting something less out of control."

"That's the Manilows for you." Piped up Holly. "I'll come with you. Not my first choice either."

Dean nodded, and weaved his way through the crowd to let his friends know he was going, whilst Adrian and Holly stayed with an out cold Kayleigh. Adrian was edgy, he was never the one that dreaded facing their mother, because he wasn't usually the on in trouble.

Valerie had heard the sound of the TARDIS leaving, and was filled with a mixture of sadness and anger. He'd just left her here, after all the preparation she had gone through to help out. At the time she was reading a story to Charlie, and she visibly winced, causing Helen to ask what was wrong. Valerie had declined to answer.

Now it was just Valerie, Stephen, Meredith, and Bunny lounging around in the living room, a comfortable silence in which all three of them were reading their own material. Well, apart from Bunny, who was just gnawing a rubber bone at her mistress' feet. Genie and Helen had since left to return to their own house.

As the minutes ticked by, Valerie kept warily looking at the clock, 9.35 edging ever closer. She couldn't properly relax, despite appearances. She trusted the Doctor to save them. She just wished she knew where he was.

"I think I'm going to have a drink." Announced Meredith, "Would either of you like one?"

"No thanks, I'm ok." Answered Valerie.

"Tea would be good, if you're making some." Replied Stephen.

Meredith nodded and left her husband and daughter sitting together. She wondered if she should go and tuck Charlie in, and decided she would after the drinks were made. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, making tea, and coffee, pouring wine. Her mind wandered back to the mysterious doctor. She had spotted him talking to Valerie in the garden, looking down about something, but she hadn't heard what they had been saying.

Maybe he was just worried about more earthquakes or something…

Many things about him puzzled her. He was a Doctor, studying the recent activities in the city, but he didn't say where he came from, who he was doing the research for, why he was doing it. So many questions, and no chance to ask them, as Valerie always intercepted or changed the subject. It wasn't like her, so Meredith had let it slide, but she still wanted to know. Without realising it, she'd already made two mugs of tea, so she headed up the stairs to say goodnight to Charlie.

In the other room, Stephen kept glancing up at his daughter, and frowned slightly, as every time he did, she was nervously eyeing the clock. What was she up to? Must be thinking about that doctor again. Stephen was respectful, but he still didn't warm to him that much, Valerie hanging around with him the whole day had switched Stephen in to protective father mode.

"Are you alright?" he ventured.

Valerie looked up with a start, "Sorry? Oh. Yea, I'm ok thanks. Just a bit distracted."

Stephen nodded, accepting the excuse, and went back to his newspaper, as Valerie felt like she was about to fall asleep.

He had done it for her own good. She had been left behind because it was too dangerous to take her along. Although he still felt guilty for doing it, he kept repeating those excuses to himself, as he waited in the TARDIS, fifteen minutes before Valerie had predicted the wave would hit. He paced backwards and forwards, although his monitor was on a slide show of what the people he had met today were doing. Helen and the Fosters, Adrian, a girl presumably his sister, and a couple of friends of theirs, Esperanza the coffee girl, and of course, Valerie and the Sterlings.

One day, and he'd been introduced to eleven very different people, and a dog. He had become quite attached to the city of Plymouth. If the sample he had been lucky enough to encounter, if not in person, was anything to go buy, he would like to visit it again. It was nothing like London, or Cardiff, where he had spent a lot of time recently, it had a different energy, like he was on the same wavelength of the place.

Better start it up

With ten minutes to go, he turned some dials, adjusted a satellite, programmed a machine, and turned some levers. Hopefully, the brunt of whatever the heck it was would hit the TARDIS, that was shielded for the entirety of the city, the reason for the boxes, they transmitted the defence he needed. With one last glance at the citizens, he turned the monitor off.

Slowly, the Doctor became aware of the gentle vibrations in the floor of his time machine. Taking their time, they became more pronounced, building up to a shaking, the Doctor looked at the clock, three minutes…two. The shaking was causing things that were not attached to move and slide, 5 seconds, 4…3…2...

And almighty crashed beat down up on the TARDIS, and the Doctor was sent flying across the ground. Having heard the crash before the ground started moving, everyone was running around to find their friends and family. Genie, Helen, Kevin (the father) and their two cats all ran and hid in the cupboard under the stairs, not daring to breath as their house was shaken to its very core. Esperanza, and her husband Quanito watched from under the table as their life style and their business clattered to the ground and hurled itself around.

The shaking in the TARDIS was optimum, and as the Doctor woke up, having been temporarily knocked out, he watched with utter horror as two of the levers shook out of place. He scrambled up, running to reset them, but the vibrations knocked him off his feet.

Adrian, Holly, Dean and Kayleigh had started driving faster to get away from anything that could fall. Charlie was protected in the middle of her family, Bunny at her feet. Stephen, Meredith and Valerie were covering her with themselves. Valerie realised in terror that something had gone wrong. She screamed as their house started crumbling, the ground underneath them cracking.

At the same time, a huge split appeared in the middle of the road, flinging Dean's car head over heels in to a power line, that crashed down on them, the last thing Dean heard was a shriek from Kayleigh, the walls of Esperanza and Quanito's house cracked and fell apart, plastering them with debris as the roof caved in, but they didn't let go of each other.. Alarms were going off everywhere, triggered by the shocks.

Valerie threw herself over her family as a ton of bricks crashed on to her, and their house collapsed, along with most of the terrace it was on, and buildings throughout the entire city.

The Doctor was resigned to the floor, too shocked to even cry. He never got things wrong. He always saved everyone. It was what he was meant to do. How dare a shockwave take that away from him. As abruptly as it began, the earthquake subsided. He ran out of the doors of his TARDIS, and tripped over the remains of a house. He looked around in revulsion. Coffee was scattered all over the place. He saw a familiar arm, and a patch of dark hair underneath everything.

He turned and ran through the city, and it was the same. Collapsed building, wrecked houses, smashed cars, caved in roads. A few streets along he caught sight of an unmistakeable figure, face down, with blonde hair spread out all over the place, and a man and woman nearby. The Doctor felt physically sick, but he refused to stop. It was like running through a war zone, only both sides were no-man's land. He saw an upturned car blazing underneath a sparking power line, a smashed Southern Comfort bottle thrown a few feet across the ground.

No no no no no no NO! the Doctor raged.

He kept moving, he had to see them. The streets all looked the same desolate, torn monstrosity. His vision was spotted with black spots, and his muscles, chest, and both hearts, were burning with effort. He tumbled over the remains of a street sign, it was broken in half, and there was just one word on it. Rose.

He froze in terror, it had definitely been a terrace once upon a time. Now it was just bricks and rubble, a mound of it. Fearfully, dilatorily, he walked down the path, and stopped. The wall had fallen down, and he could see a swing seat laying on the ground. He walked up to the gate, and opened it. It fell off its hinges, and clattered to the pavement. Pacing across the path, he stood on something, and it cracked. Jumping, he stepped back, and looked down, picking up whatever it was. What it was made him gag, and he almost passed out. Through shattered glass, two smiling faces beamed up at him, a teenager with a younger girl on her lap. Tears rolled down the Doctor's cheeks as he clutched it, cutting his hand on the glass, and not caring.

"I'm so sorry. I let you down Valerie…I killed you…just like I killed my family…you offered me yours, and that's how I returned the favour."

She was only sixteen, just a kid, but now all their bright futures were extinguished. Because the Doctor had failed. They were all dead.

The Doctor looked numbly around his TARDIS. He'd taken the photo of Valerie and Charlie, as a bitter reminder of what happened when things went wrong, and so he could at least have a little part of his friend with him, they had really connected, and the Doctor didn't want to let that go. He stared at his screen, at all the wreckage. Now what? Where did he go? What if something like that happened again? What was it that caused the earthquake in the first place? He looked at that photo and decided something. He would repair the damage he'd done. He had to, and he was determined to.

Making his mind up, he set the course of his TARDIS for the day before, when he first met the red-haired teen. Maybe he could find her and send her and her friends and family away before the earthquake, just in case things went wrong again. As it landed, he took a deep breath and stepped outside, on to what he hoped was the harbour.

The cool night air blew across his face. It was later than before. He hoped he hadn't missed her. Looking around, he realised with rising dread that there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. Not even cars, or people heading out to clubs. There was no sound at all. Everything looked peculiar in the dark. Drained of all colour, the only glimpses were the watery orange of the street lights.

Now, where the heck did I end up?

He noticed that there were no boats in the harbour, and the water just seemed like an inking, unending blackness. He worked out the time as midnight. Talk about cliché. A breeze ruffled his coat as he walked along the pavement, an atmosphere that reminded him of horror movies, and he daren't make a sound.

"Talk about PG 18." He muttered.

He suddenly noticed that at the end of the harbour, the lights weren't working, apart from one that was buzzing on and off, clearly the bulb was coming to the end of its life. Then he saw it. A dark shape, seeming to stare at him. He ran forward, could it be? He froze abruptly. Just one of those telescopes you found at resorts, looking out across the harbour and beyond. He walked backwards, and tripped over a loose rope. He fell backwards, landing on his wrists, wincing as they jolted. He looked up, and saw something behind him.

"Valerie!" his voice echoed around the ghost city.

Looking upside down, he could see her, dressed completely in black, black t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, black jeans, black sneakers. Her skin had an eerie, ghostly paleness, and her eyes looked impossibly dark. As he picked himself up, she smiled.

"Welcome to No Man's Land."

"OK, and where exactly is No Man's Land? Are you really Valerie?"

"Where is No Man's Land? Nowhere. Hence the name. Yep, I'm Valerie alright. What's left of me."

"What's left of you?" the Doctor looked wary.

Valerie grinned, and asked him if he noticed a distinct lack of everything in the city. He gave the obvious answer, and she went on to explain. The earthquake had caused ripples through time, and because he had tried to go back when they were still going, he had been caught in one. It wasn't a parallel universe, just a place in the universe where only certain people went, the chosen few, per say.

"And who are those people?" he asked.

"Those who are to stubborn or too confused to die, unfinished business if you like."

"And what category do you fall under?"

"All three." Valerie laughed wryly.

"So you remember then, don't you?"

"Kind of hard to forget." And then, she promptly punched him on the arm.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed. "What was that for!"

"Leaving me behind." Smirked Valerie.

"Oh…um, sorry about that." Then he was taken quite by surprise as she suddenly flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. She was freezing cold, but it was definitely Valerie. He returned the gesture with a smile. "And what was that for?"

The girl grinned and released him. "Finding me again."

Together they walked the length of the desolate harbour, the only noises for hundreds of miles around were their footsteps. Neither of them knew what to say, one torn between life and death, the other lost in a loophole of time and space. Talk about an oddly matched pair. The Doctor turned to Valerie, asking her if she knew how to fix this. The best guess either of them had was to set up those machines again, and wait for that time once more.

"Is there really no-one else here?" the Doctor couldn't quite believe it.

"Nope. Just little old me. Where is it we need to go? School and the lighthouse for a start. Got the stuff you need?"

"Yea, in the TARDIS…wait. No it isn't," he suddenly realised with agitation, "It's back in, well, Plymouth."

"Ah. Well. Never mind. We'll go and check the places anyway, see if there's anything else we can do."

"You're optimistic."

"You kind of have to be when you're floating between life and death." She pointed out. "Come on!"

She grabbed his hand and ran to the TARDIS, pulling the Doctor along with her. He didn't bother asking how she knew exactly where the machine was. Much to his astonishment, when they got to that wooden blue box, the Doctor didn't even need to open it. The door flew open as soon as Valerie came on the scene. He stared at her. The TARDIS was telepathic…maybe it knew something that he didn't. Valerie went in first and waited for him to follow. It was all very strange, he was supposed to be the fearless leader, the Time Lord. Obviously wanting to be alive again had made Miss Sterling more confident.

"How did you…?" he began.

"You're talking to a girl who was crushed by a house in an earthquake. Do you really want to ask questions?"

Then something equally odd happened. Valerie just had to look at the TARDIS. The door slammed shut and it started off, knowing exactly where they were bound. This would take some getting used to. He'd never had someone who got on so well with the TARDIS with him before.

Valerie wasted no time in getting out of the TARDIS when it landed. She had an air about her that told you she knew exactly what she was doing and why, and although her attire made her look like a fallen angel of sorts; which wouldn't be too far wrong really; she still had an energy and life about her, despite the stone coldness, that she couldn't even feel. However, she paused, stunned for a second, as she saw someone sitting on a bench near the collapsed corner of the school. Someone with messy brown hair, wearing a smart black shirt with a grey dragon embroidered on one side, black jeans, and black boots.

"Adrian!" cried Valerie.

"Val!" he looked bemused.

"Guess you're not the only stubborn one around." Pointed out the Doctor.

But the girl was way ahead of him, she ran forward, meeting Adrian half way, and they hugged each other like they were worried that if either one let go, the other would disappear forever. The Doctor watched them from the distance, this was one reunion he didn't play a part in. There was the usual exchange of how are you, what happened, what are you doing here. Before Adrian said something.

"I remembered that I saw the two of you here, doing something. Then I found this."

He walked over and pointed to the black box on the ground, wired up and ready to go. The Doctor's face lit up, and Valerie shot a pleased look at his enthusiasm as he double checked everything.

"Fantastic! They must have been very well grounded."

"Time Lord technology." Winked Valerie.

"Time Lord?" a baffled Adrian asked.

"That's me." Nodded the Doctor.

"Travels through space and time in a handy little machine." Explained Valerie. "And don't say you don't believe me, we're both dead, yet here we are holding a conversation."

"Oh, I believed you. Just wanted to make sure the name was right. So, you're not a doctor after all?" queried the boy.

"Oh, I'm a doctor alright." Announced the Doctor.

"He's the Doctor." Declared Valerie.

"Code name?"

"Of sorts." The man nodded.

"We should go. We have three more places to check out." Valerie had noticed the time on the clock in the bell tower.

The Doctor was the one waiting for an answer this time. It would appear, time went much more quickly in No Man's Land than the real world, because there was so much surging through it, and everything needed to be fitted in. Well, that was a development. They had much less time to do what they needed to than would have been preferable. Oh well, such was life. Well, after life.

"What the hell is this place?" yelped Adrian as Valerie and the Doctor led him in to the TARDIS.

"The afore mentioned space ship thing." Answered the female.

"Riight…" nodded Adrian slowly.

"Oh, and something else." Valerie suddenly remembered.

"Crap. What?" Adrian paled. Well, he would have, if he wasn't already sheet coloured.

"9.35 in the morning this time."

"Say what?" Adrian frowned.

"Earthquake."

"How did you…?"

"Seriously, don't ask."

Everything was in place, and thank anything out there for that, because time was rapidly closing in, and the three people in the TARDIS were all to well aware of it. Adrian was sitting nervously on the railing by the door, Valerie was pacing up and down, and the Doctor was transfixed by his now repaired monitor. Despite their longings, both teenagers had resisted the urge to visit their abandoned homes, or see if their families happened to be around. The Doctor admired their self control. He suddenly realised it was about time to leave the grey, dead world behind them, and head above it, hopefully defending it successfully this time. His compatriots both crowded around the monitor as well, watching it leave the atmosphere of everything they knew behind in absolute awe.

"Wow." Breathed Adrian.

"Took the word right out of my mouth." Agreed Valerie.

The Doctor watched his charges with a smile, grateful to finally have someone to s how so many different things again. He missed Rose terribly, and all his other companions as well, he thought back over them whilst they reached their target, and the TARDIS jolted to a halt. That meant it was about to happen.

"Brace yourselves." Whispered Valerie.

It came just as the Doctor had suspected, a low humming that turned in to a vibration. Valerie and Adrian exchanged a stricken glance. Would it work? How was it meant to go? There were so many questions, about what was happening, if they'd done things right, but the Doctor was tensely calm, waiting for something. Then it came. The TARDIS began to rock and shake, causing an unprepared Valerie and Adrian to stumble. Wobbly, they honed in on the screen in front of them, flicking over the bare city.

Then it got more violent, and they could barely keep upright. The Doctor was hanging on to the control panel so tightly his knuckles were white. Adrian tripped and fell, landing on the floor, and Valerie grabbed a hold of the Doctor, the nearest thing to her. He watched all the controls quickly as things fell over and the shaking became a roar, and then it happened. A wire sprung loose, and a dial was knocked off its course.

The Doctor hurried forward to get it, but he wasn't quick enough. So Valerie sprung forward, and latched on to the control panel. She grabbed the wire and fumbled with it, taking half a dozen attempts to reconnect it as her arms were shaking so badly. She kept hold of it with one hand, and gripped the dial with the other. As something flew out of somewhere, she ducked to a kneel on the floor, still holding the controls. Adrian hurried forward, grabbing her waist to steady her, and the Doctor covered both of them as they ducked underneath him.

"Just hold on Val!" cried Adrian.

"It'll be over soon!" promised the Doctor.

Valerie just nodded, gritting her teeth. The hand on the wire was burning with the energy shooting through it, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was completing a circuit that was keeping a huge electromagnetic shield above their heads up. If she let go, no matter how much her fingers and arm hurt, they would all be doomed.

"What up there is so strong it's causing energy enough to rebound and cause an earthquake?" cried Valerie.

"I don't know." Admitted the Doctor. "All I know is that we can reflect it, not where it originates from."

Gradually the shaking resided, but Valerie daren't let go of the wire and dial, just in case. She was well versed at predicting the worst case scenario. Finally, it faded to a rumble, and she could let go, the circuit would hold. She winced as she whipped her hand away from the wire. She looked at it, and saw the palm was all burned, two scorch marks running from one side to the other, just under her fingers, and in line with the base of her thumb.

"Is that it?" croaked Adrian. "No after shocks?"

"No after shocks." The Doctor shook his head.

The Time Lord set his ship to landing, and it stopped with a thump that caused them all to stumble, but they managed to keep upright. The trio hesitatingly headed over to the door, the Doctor in the lead, Valerie holding her burned hand across her body, and Adrian keeping in step behind. As they all stood next to each other on the ground outside the TARDIS, they stared in awe at what was happening. A gust of wind blazed through the whole city, the sun and moon were put on fast forward, and colour slowly leaked back in to their surroundings, Valerie and Adrian included. Valerie's t-shirt glamoured in to a dark purple, her jeans dark blue, although the sneakers and gloves remained black. Adrian's shirt turned navy with a silver dragon, jeans charcoal, and only the boots remained black. Colour rushed to their skin, and they looked at each other, touching hands. Warm. They grinned.

"Alive." The teenagers chorused.

"I should hope so." Added the Doctor.

Cars and people appeared in the streets, like nothing had gone amiss, and it was daylight. The church clock struck two in the afternoon. The Doctor picked up a newspaper from a stand that materialised by them, the date showed one day after the earthquake that had ripped the city to shreds. Valerie turned to her chaperones.

"You know what I really want?"

"No?" Adrian stared at her.

"A nice fresh hazelnut mocha." Came the answer.

"One sugar, plenty of cream, and extra foam," harmonised Valerie and the Doctor.

She practically skipped down a now familiar path to the Doctor, weaving through people, smiling at and greeting the odd few, round the corner, and to the best coffee stand in the city. Esperanza's face lit up as she saw her favourite customer, and two friends obviously with her.

"Make it three Señora." winked Valerie.

"Of course Señorita." grinned Esperanza.

The first thing the three of them did take advantage of the bright day, and instead of using the TARDIS, they walked the couple of miles to Adrian's house. The second they arrived, a figure darted out of the front door and attached itself to Adrian. The Doctor looked at Valerie for an explanation, and she mouthed 'sister'.

"Oh my god Adrian! Where have you been!" cried Kayleigh.

No-one had a clue what had gone on in the time they were, absent. But apparently, in this reality, Adrian had dragged Kayleigh home kicking and screaming from the party, with help from Dean and Holly, and managed to keep their mother off his sister's back. Then he'd just vanished for a while, and Lyn and Kayleigh were stricken.

"Um, sorry I worried you…" blurted Adrian, "I just…felt like going out for a bit…and I ended up meeting Valerie on the way."

"Don't you dare apologise!" scolded Kayleigh, "I know I've been unbearable, and I'm so sorry. I realised that when I woke up and you were gone. I never got a chance to thank you for stopping me before something worse happened…I'm lucky to have you."

Tears trickled down her eyes and Adrian tentatively hugged her, not really sure how to deal with it, he wasn't too confident when it came to females, especially ones he was related to. The notion was backed up by the appearance of Lyn, who made a beeline for her two children and wrapped her arms around both.

"There aren't enough gods to thank for sending both of you home safely…" she murmured.

Valerie and the Doctor exchanged glances, and nodded, slowly backing away. Valerie gave Adrian a wave, and the remaining two headed away in a different direction, this time to Valerie's house. Both of them were wondering what was waiting for her when she arrived, as the last couple of days were a complete blank in this world, once time had caught up with itself. The Doctor felt a certain sense of relief and calm as they walked down the streets that had previously been ravaged, to find them all perfectly whole and happy, no sign of anything out of the ordinary. They turned a corner on to Rose Lane, and a smile lit up Valerie's face. When they came to the end terrace, someone was out working in the garden, trimming back the roses and small willow. It wasn't who the Doctor expected. It was Stephen. He heard them, and turned around, wiping sweat away from his forehead with a handkerchief. He raised an eyebrow at Valerie.

"You took your time. I don't think I could of kept your mother pacified for much longer." He straightened up. He nodded at the Doctor. "Doctor. Thanks for escorting her home."

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor was puzzled.

"You remember, don't you?" Valerie said wide-eyed.

"Kind of hard to forget."

"That's what I said." she grinned.

Then she hugged him, a rare occurrence, but they were both more than happy to see each other again. She didn't even wonder why Stephen remembered everything, which was peculiar. A loud barking behind them alerted them of the presence of Bunny, who threw herself at Valerie, yipping and barking happily. Did she remember as well? Charlie turned up dressed as a pirate, and Meredith was close behind, holding an eye patch, Helen a bandana. All three beamed when they saw Valerie, but they couldn't get very close, Bunny was licking her from head to toe

"Hello there." said Meredith with a small smile as she saw the Doctor. "Who are you then?"

"This is Doctor McCrinnon." introduced Valerie, "He's visiting the city and I offered to show him around."

"Oh, so that's where you've been." Meredith seemed to accept it, much to everyone's surprise.

"I told you she was fine Meredith." added Stephen.

"Yes, well, a mother worries." smiled his wife.

Valerie stood in the middle of her family, and came to a decision. She turned to Meredith, trying to find the right words to tell them what she was going to say. Something the Doctor had said on their walk from Adrian's house had stuck with her, and she eventually just decided to dive in.

"Mum?" she ventured.

"Yes sweetie?" acknowledged Meredith.

"You remember the first time you saw me..?"

Meredith frowned, this topic didn't often come up. "Yes?"

"You know what I'm getting at, yes?"

"I think so…"

"The Doctor here. He's an extraordinary man. I mean that in the literal sense."

Valerie met her mother's eye, and an understanding passed between them. Meredith knew what she was saying, Valerie knew what she was saying, Stephen had known before both of them. Not that he was letting that slip. Charlie and Helen looked on, stumped. The Doctor was equally befuddled.

"He can help me, and I can help him." finished the girl.

Meredith paled. Know she new exactly where this was heading. Her oldest daughter had always been a very special child, more than anyone outside of the family knew. Except, now it would seem that this Doctor had figured it out as well. Finally, she sighed, giving in to the inevitable. She nodded, managing to stop herself from crying. Her daughter wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her, and kissed her on the cheek.

"What's going on Vivi?" asked Charlie.

"Vivi's going on a holiday Charlie." Stephen picked the girl up.

"Wait, what!" exclaimed Helen.

Valerie looked at her, "Don't worry, you'll still be able to talk to me." She patted her pocket, where her palm pilot was resting.

About half an hour later, Valerie was in her room, a small suitcase packed on her bed. She'd changed out of the clothes she materialised in. Now it was a long light blue t-shirt, with a golden eagle across one shoulder, jeans with the bottoms rolled up, and navy sneakers. She stared in to the mirror, and noticed there was something different about herself. Her eyes sparkled, and she seemed to ooze confidence and calm, totally at peace with everything. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, let our a yelp, jumping backwards.

"What the hell?" she cried.

"Who are you?" came a stunned voice. From the mirror.

"I'm Valerie. Who the hell are you !"

It wasn't her own reflection in the mirror now. Instead, a girl a few years older stared back, fairly long bleach-blonde hair, the same hazel-green eyes as Valerie, wearing a plain black t-shirt, and the same charm bracelet on her right wrist that Valerie had on her left.

"I'm Rose."

The two girls stared at each other, before the image fizzled away, and her own large, haunted eyes regarded her. She blinked and shook her head. She must be over tired. Dying and coming back to life was bound to play havoc with your mind. She turned and closed her case, after slipping a hairbrush in to eat, the image of that girl nagging the back of her mind. Rose. Who was Rose? Not to mention, why was she in Valerie's mirror?

She picked up her case and went out of her room, giving it one last glance, before she closed the door, and headed down the stairs. Out in the garden, Meredith, Stephen, Helen and Charlie were staring at a blue box from the 1950s, and the Doctor was waiting by the door.

"What took you so long?" the Doctor looked at her.

"Day dreaming." grinned Valerie. That's what she'd put the vision down to.

The Doctor took her suitcase from her, and with a few last minute hugs, kisses, and promises to write, phone, instant message or die she left the garden, and walked in to the TARDIS. She put her suitcase down, and gave the Doctor a mischievous smile.

"Looks like you're stuck with me." She quipped.

"There are worse things."

The Doctor walked over to the control panel, and started the engine, he leaned back on it and regarded his new companion with a newfound curiosity.

"You're not a teenage girl from 21st Century Plymouth, are you?" it wasn't a question.

"You're not a Doctor from Earth, are you?" she winked.