A/N: I've had to split Fred's diary up into two chapters as I seem to have wittered on a bit more than I intended! I really hope you enjoy these entries; there are two in this chapter and there will be three in the second part (but they're shorter). So if this goes on too long, but I wanted to give plenty of background to Fred's character and the role she played as the Doctor's companion. Anyway...onward!

A big thank you to MayFairy, Brownbug, DancingQueen411, Abigailmaryjanesimpson and chibiwolfgurl for their reviews! You guys are the best!

The Diary: Eight Months – Ten Months

Amy turned the page and read the first entry...

Eight months

I've decided that I'm going to keep note of the time in months rather than writing the date as the date varies so often.

So, we've just returned from exploring the planet Shoctari and defending it from the threat of an alien invasion. All in a day's work. It was bloody freezing but the Doctor didn't seem all that affected, rushing about all excited, wearing no more layers than usual and prodding things with the sonic. I told him he'd catch a cold but, of course, he didn't listen. We spotted a huge silver dome half buried in the snow and I found the door to let us in which was sealed but the Doctor managed to sneak us in with the sonic.

When we got inside, it was warm and amazing! There was so much sleek technology; sliding doors and holographic computers. But there were bodies of the Shoctari people everywhere, like something had broken in and slaughtered them all. I know it sounds wrong, but it was kind of exciting knowing that danger wasn't far away. The Doctor looked far from excited when he saw the bodies though. He just seemed angry and upset which made him look even more attractive.

Amy raised an eyebrow. Did this Fred and the Doctor have a...thing? She read on.

He didn't say much as he walked around each dead Shoctarian; he just looked at each of their faces and I could see hurt in his eyes. I felt ashamed of my excitement straight away and I knew that we'd have to sort it...the Doctor wouldn't have left any survivors to fend for themselves against their enemy.

We managed to locate a few survivors at the centre of the base, barricaded in a control room where holographic computers covered the walls and surveillance screens hung from a pillar in the centre of the room. They were all so scared and were so glad when the Doctor promised we would help them. The Shoctari are funny creatures, they're short (about my height) and are an odd yellowish colour with four arms and big dark eyes. Despite their odd looks, they're were really lovely to us and were quick to offer us the little supplies they had as a reward for our help. I assured them it wasn't necessary and the Doctor immediately started quizzing them about what happened to the base.

They told us that they hadn't seen their attacker, but there had been an odd shimmer in the air and gun fire and their fellow Shoctarians were killed around them. They had fled to the control room to protect the base and the technology the base was working on. It turned out that locked deep beneath the base, there was some sort of beautiful ethereal creature whose power the Shoctarians had been trying to harness to return some sense of normal weather to their planet. However, the ethereal had turned rather sour after being temporarily imprisoned in the dark cell beneath the base.

"So these attackers, they want the ethereal back?" I asked as the Doctor prodded at the computers.

The chief Shoctarian nodded. I turned the Doctor.

"So what do we do now? What's the POA?"

"POA? Oh, plan of action! Right! In the general scheme of things, we need to resolve this disagreement between the planet's people and the attackers. First, we need to find out who these attackers are."

The Doctor proceeded to grab my arm and announce to the room of Shoctarians: "We're popping out! Don't mind us! Just going for a little look around."

We exited the control room and wandered along the silver corridor. The whole base was very open plan; there were platforms and steps rather than corridors and rooms which meant there were very little places the Shoctarians could have hid when the attack had begun. We walked around for ages while the Doctor mulled over the situation out loud. Just as I was starting to get bored, the Doctor grabbed my arm and nodded toward something on the level below us.

It was the odd shimmer in the air, the one the Shoctarians had told us about! We stayed very still and quiet as we watched it move along the lower platform.

"What is it?" I whispered to the Doctor.

"I don't know yet. I can't use the sonic or we'll be detected. It looks like some sort of spirit."

As we watched it, it realised that it wasn't exactly gliding like you would expect a spirit to. An idea struck me. I knew it'd be risky and might not even work, but it was useless just crouching down watching it. I found a piece of a dead Shoctarian's gun and threw it right at the shimmer. It hit it right in the middle and there was a flash of something dark before it returned to being nothing more than a blur. Then there was gun fire. We ran back as fast as we could to the control room.

Once inside, the Doctor rounded on me and the Shoctarians watched, partly entertained, party alarmed.

"What did you think you were doing? You could've been killed!"

"So could you!" I responded without really thinking.

"And that makes it better?"

"Alright, sorry! It was a risky move but at least we now know it isn't a spirit."

The Doctor looked at me but said nothing for a moment. "Yes, how did you know that?"

"It may be a very stereotypical view of a spirit, so I apologise for any prejudice here, but I thought spirits were meant to glide. That blur was very...ploddy."

"Oh, yeah! He was a bit wasn't he?" The Doctor was about to turn to the Shoctarians but he grinned and said, "Ploddy. Ha!"

"Doctor!" Alright, so I was a little embarrassed. Ploddy isn't exactly a real word but he makes stuff up too you know!

"No, no, no! I like ploddy. I might use it. Anyway!" He turned to the Shoctarians. "I have good news! I think I can sort this with some good old fashion talking. All we need to do is get the ethereal to tell the attackers that there is no need to come and claim her as she is no danger here. She isn't in any danger is she?"

"No!" The Shoctarian chief confirmed. "None at all. We just need to extract samples from her. That way, we are hoping to create our own system and she will be free to go."

"Right. Excellent! One thing though," The Doctor pursed his lips. "Why did you kidnap her? Why not just – ooh, I don't know! – ask her?"

The Shoctarians looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. The Doctor sighed.

"Hmm. Maybe pleasantries are a bit old fashioned here. Right! POA!" He winked which immediately made everything a bit more fun. "Fred. I need you to have a good old natter to the ethereal. We need to convince her that these lot mean her no harm and just want her help."

"Even though they kidnapped her and locked her in a vault?"

"Yes, well. I didn't say it was going to be easy. I shall be trying to get one of these blurry things to strike a conversation instead of shooting everything they see."

When the Doctor rushed off, I was left with the Shoctarians who opened the hatch for me to climb down and gave me all the passkeys to the several doors between to control room door and the ethereal's vault. After that, they gave me nothing more than a good luck and promptly sent me on my way. Why were we helping them again?

It took me ages to get to the ethereal; there were so many ladders and doors and passkeys to deal with. Once I finally got inside the vault, I saw the ethereal. She was so pale and glowing she almost looked like a beautiful ghost. The image was shattered though when she glared at me and muttered under breath. When I asked her what she said, she told me she was cursing my soul. It wasn't off to a good start. I could only hope the Doctor was having more luck. I asked several times for her name and she finally told me:

"Periess." She said with another glare. Who would have thought that ethereals could be so sulky?

I said hello and told her my name. She turned her back on me and faced the wall. My patience was already running out but I knew I had to get her in a better mood; the Doctor's life depended on it. After much coaxing, she agreed to listen to what I had to say. I told her the story of why she was captured and what the situation was amongst the Shoctarians. She softened a little. I saw that she was weakening and really piled on the gloom about all of the dead.

"Oh, poor things!"

"Yes! They really are lovely!" I assured her. "They just needed your help and...well, went about it the wrong way. They meant you no harm. Now your protectors are killing them. Please will you come with me and tell them there is no need?"

At last she agreed and her bad temper was gone. We travelled back along the ladders and corridors I had come down in silence. Suddenly she said,

"Why are you here? It should not be your time."

"What?" I asked, hoping that this wasn't another mood coming on.

"This is not your time, Winifred. You are not meant to be here. You time should be over. The red girl should be here. Why is she not?"

"I'm sorry?" I pushed the final hatch door which opened up into the control room. I ignored the Shoctarians' gasps of surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about, Periess."

Her eyes searched my face, as though she were reading. "Be careful, Winifred. Your desire for excitement will lead you astray. Joining one side may mean you cannot also join the other."

I blinked. I had no idea what her words meant but I knew they weren't just nonsense. I pushed them away, knowing that it really wasn't the time. One of the Shoctarians managed to get the Doctor up on one of the surveillance screens. He was indeed talking to the attackers who had removed their invisibility covers. They had the Doctor back against one of the platform railings.

"Come on. We don't have much time!"

I led Periess to her protectors. They immediately stopped when they saw her.

"Leave him." She said simply. "Leave this place. They need me here. Go. I am at peace here."

They looked at each other before grumbling, lowering their weapons and leaving. One of the soldiers approached Periess. She stroked his face and smiled. I suddenly felt like I was intruding and looked away. The Doctor did the same.

"We will be united soon, my love." She was saying. "Go! I am needed here."

He obeyed and they all left.

There was a moment of silence before the Doctor said, "Well. That's that, I suppose."

Amy laughed. "That's so him!" She muttered to herself.

After that, we ensured that the Shoctarians and Periess were well aquatinted before bidding them farewell. As we were leaving, she called:

"Remember what I said, Winifred. You cannot have it all."

When were outside in the freezing once again, the Doctor asked me what she had said. I shrugged and said that she had let out a stream of nonsense when we were leaving the vault. I could tell he didn't believe me but he didn't push it. Instead, he looked around at all the snow.

"Come on! Snowman!" He knelt down in the snow and began scooping it up in his bare hands. I laughed.

"Doctor! Get up! I told you! You'll get a cold!"

"Nonsense! I'm a time lord, I don't get colds."

So that was today's events! Wow, I rambled on quite a lot didn't I? Sorry about that, future me. It's quite nice writing everything down! I don't think I'll write this much next time though. It's all a bit long winded otherwise isn't it? Oh, I have to go! The Doctor's calling for more tea. He caught a cold. Quelle surprise! I told him! It's like looking after a toddler.

Amy chuckled. She could imagine the Doctor cuddled up under a blanket, demanding that tea be brought to him. She couldn't help but let her mind linger on 'the red girl'. Was that her? What did Periess mean? She frowned and flicked to the next entry, hoping for some answers.

Ten Months

I haven't been very good at keeping a diary have I? I've left out two months! Well, it's a bit hectic around here so I'll just have to write when I can. Today, the Doctor surprised me with a visit home. It was so good to see my family and friends again but it made me realise how much I love being here. I can't imagine going back to my old life again!

My parents insisted that the Doctor stay for tea with my older brother and his fiancée. Despite everything I've seen on my travels, my mum (in her Sunday best) sitting next to Doctor around the dining table and offering him more gravy was one of the most alarming things I've ever seen. The Doctor was in his element though, flattering my mum, talking gadgets with my dad and eating everything he could get his hands on. My Nan arrived after dinner and remembered him from the first time we met. She hugged him and he winked at her, making her blush and shriek. God, he's such a flirt.

But of course, just because I was home, it didn't mean that the Doctor wasn't finding trouble to get us firmly stuck in. My mum casually mentioned that there had been a bit of trouble across the road. One of our neighbours had gone missing only to return three weeks later acting very oddly. The Doctor got all excited about this and announced that he was going over there take a look. Just as we were about to leave, my mum said she was coming too. The Doctor hesitated.

"It could be dangerous, you know."

She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand and bustled out the front door. We followed behind her and the Doctor said, "I see where you get your stubbornness from now."

Cheeky. My mum knocked on the door.

"Hello Rachel!" She said to our neighbour. When mum first told us about Rachel's disappearance, I thought she was just exaggerating, but when Rachel answered the door, she did seem different. Her appearance as exactly the same but her eyes...there was something in her eyes that didn't look the same. "Can we come in?"

Rachel plastered on a smile and stepped aside to let us in. "Who is your friend, Fred? Have you got a steady boyfriend at last?" There may be something wrong with her, but she still managed to speak to me in that same patronising tone. I smiled falsely and entered her house, the Doctor behind me. "Um, excuse me!" I heard Rachel say.

The Doctor was about an inch from her face, squinting at her face.

"What are you doing?"

"Just...checking you're alright. Hello. I'm the Doctor. Nice to meet you, Rachel."

"Oh. Hello."

Ten minutes later we were all sat in the living room drinking tea. I glanced at my mum who was perched in an armchair by the window opposite Rachel. The Doctor and I sat between them on the sofa, legs pressed together and feeling well and truly awkward. Well, I was. The Doctor didn't seem bothered.

"So. Where did you get to, Rachel?"

"What?"

"When you disappeared. Where did you go?"

"Doctor," my mum began cautiously.

"Just making conversation." The Doctor said as though butter wouldn't melt. "So, what happened?"

"I – I don't remember." She took a sip of her tea and winced.

"Are you sure? You were gone for three weeks weren't you? Awful long time to not remember anything."

"Well, I don't remember."

"I don't believe you." The Doctor said plainly. "In fact," he stood suddenly, put down his tea and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "I'm not convinced you are Rachel."

"I don't understand." Rachel stood to look at the Doctor, an odd look on her face. My mum was watching fascinated. "Who are you?" Rachel asked him.

"You know who I am. So I suggest you tell me what you're doing here and I can get you on your way again."

"Oh, thank goodness! I can take this atrocious skin off at last!" She raised her hand and pressed it to her forehead and unzipped her skin. Yes, I said/wrote unzipped. My mum screamed as Rachel's skin fell to the floor to reveal a tall green alien with huge black eyes.

"Hello, Doctor." The alien hissed.

"Doctor?" I asked tentatively, very aware of my mum's presence. "What is it?"

"She's a Slitheen. What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"You know what we want, Doctor. We want to expand. Raxacoricofallapatorius cannot contain our tribe. We need room. We want this planet."

"You can't. You know that. Billions of people inhabit this planet and you cannot wipe them out because you want more room."

"You are wrong, Doctor." The alien laughed. "Do you know why I chose this woman as a skin? Her home has a transmitter." The Slitheen gestured to the back garden. Outside, there was a pylon. "I have been customising it. Once I activate it, I will call the rest of my tribe and tell them that I have found a planet ready for habitation. This will be our world, Doctor."

The Siltheen exited the back door and made her way towards the pylon. The Doctor and I immediately started after her, the Doctor pulling out the sonic. My mum scurried after us crying:

"Winifred Knight! If this is one of your silly games...!"

I ignored her as we ran through the kitchen. I was about to follow the Doctor out of the back door but he told me to "Get some vinegar!"

I was about to question his logic, before realising there was no time. I raided the cupboards, letting food and cupboards pour out over the floor. I found some at the back of a deep cupboard and clutched it in my hand with a cry of triumph.

"Oh, Winifred! Look at the mess you've made!"

"Mum! Really not the time!"

We found the Doctor in the garden, trying to reason with the Slitheen. "Please," he was saying. "I don't want to hurt you. There are plenty of planets in this universe without a population."

"It is this one we want Doctor. We are not fools. There must be a reason why you defend this planet so fiercely."

"The people!" The Doctor exclaimed, anger bubbling just below the surface. "The human race is incredible. I defend this race, these people, their ways. They're beautiful and yes – sometimes they make mistakes – but they are so pure. They have no desire to overtake the universe. They just want to get on with their lives. Leave them. They mean you no harm; so I must insist that you not harm them. Or I will have to harm you."

The Slitheen laughed. "That is a lovely speech, Doctor but you are not armed. Your screwdriver will not stop me."

The Doctor eyed his screwdriver before placing it back in his pocket. "No. I don't suppose it will. This will though."

I took it to mean that that was my cue to waft my vinegar. I stepped forward, not feeling particularly safe with only bottle of vinegar as defence.

"Stop this now." The Doctor said. "Stop this now and no one gets hurt."

"No, Doctor. You will not hurt me. Your last regenerations did not hurt us."

The Doctor faltered. I knew he was torn. He wasn't naturally prone to violence.

"Well guess what?" I said stepping close to the Slitheen. "I will hurt you. And I have no qualms about hurting you to save this planet."

"Friends of the Doctor do not hurt us."

"Yes they bloody do." I threw the vinegar at the Slitheen, hoping that was how the vinegar should be used. The Slitheen writhed and screamed before there was an explosion and I ducked just in time. There was silence as we looked at the remains of the Slitheen.

"You killed her." The Doctor said, not meeting my eye. "You killed her."

"Yes, I did." I was trying to convince myself that I really had more than anything else. But I didn't feel any remorse. I knew I should but I found I didn't want to feel any.

"Why? Why did you have to kill her? She had a life, she – "

"Don't you dare!" I was angry, I couldn't help it. "You told me to get the vinegar! Why would you have said that if you weren't willing to kill her yourself?"

He didn't say anything because he knew I was right. There was a tense silence before my mum said from behind us,

"Is this one of those prank shows? Am I being filmed?"

And I couldn't help it. I laughed. The Doctor chuckled too but there was a darkness in him that I knew he couldn't cover again for a while. I linked arms with my mum and led her back through 'Rachel's' house and across the road.

"Now, Mrs Knight." The Doctor said, his voice returning to normal. "What was it you said earlier about trifle? I do love custard."

We ate dessert back in my family home with the rest of our family and, naturally, it all came out. I told them the truth about my travelling: I wasn't just going across Europe with the Doctor. When I finished my dad laughed. My mum said,

"Shhh, Andrew! She's not lying. That Rachel was an alien. I saw her skin come off. Terribly gruesome. Now who's for more cream?"

I was completely baffled by her calm air. The Doctor excused himself and I watched him go back across the road and into 'Rachel's' house. I knew he was dissembling the transmitter. I took the opportunity to catch up with my family properly and I wanted just an hour where I could pretend that it was an ordinary day. Of course, I couldn't because they kept asking me questions.

When we got back to the T.A.R.D.I.S, things were odd between us. The Doctor spoke to me fine, but there were long pauses between our conversations. Usually, the Doctor filled any silence with a stream of nattering and nonsense. Instead, he's leaving silence hanging heavy in the air and it makes me squirm.

But I still don't regret what I did.

Amy understood the Doctor's behaviour; she knew he hated any violence, however necessary. She liked the sound of Fred's family, they sounded like the sort of people you needed to be there for you when you travelled with the Doctor. Amy suddenly felt very lucky to have Rory. He gave up his life on Earth to be with her and she was extremely grateful.

She shook herself. Before she became too soppy, she turned to the next entry which was a little shorter...

Hope you enjoyed that and the diary style is alright to read.

Part 2 is coming soon...I promise!

Please review! I'll give you all fish fingers and custard!