A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 2: A Twelve Year Mistake

"You've had some cowboys in here," the Doctor observed as he examined the long, slightly 'U' shaped crack in the wall opposite the door of Amelia's bedroom, Amelia and Olivia standing in the doorway. "Not actual cowboys. Though that can happen."

"I used to hate apples," Amelia said, drawing the Doctor's attention to the two at the door. "So my mum put faces on them."

"She sounds nice," Olivia smiled as they stepped into the room together, Olivia stepping closer to examine the wall and Amelia stopping next to the Doctor to hand him an apple with a smiling face on it.

"I'll keep it for later," he assured her, tucking the apple into his pocket and looking to the crack again.

"Doctor," Olivia called as he stepped closer.

"I know," he hummed, neither one of them looking from the crack. "This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it."

"So where's the draft coming from?" Olivia replied, stepping back when the Doctor pulled out the Sonic to use it on the crack then examined it.

"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey…" he muttered before closing the Sonic and looking to Olivia to ask, "You know what the crack is?"

She shook her head before he looked to Amelia and she shook her head as well, asking, "What?"

"It's a crack," he replied, looking back to the wall and making the girls frown but he hurried toward the wall to touch it, continuing, "But I'll tell you something funny. If you knock this wall down, the crack would stay put because the crack…isn't in the wall."

"Where is it then?" Amelia asked as the Doctor pressed himself against the wall to examine the crack.

"Everywhere," he replied, not looking at her as he ran his fingers along the crack. "In everything. This is a splitting the skin of the world. Two parts of time and space that should never have touched…pressed together. Right here in the wall of your bedroom." He looked to Amelia before pressing his ear to the crack and asking, "Sometimes…can you hear…?"

"A voice," Amelia confirmed when he trailed off as Olivia stepped next to her and placed an arm around her shoulder when she nodded, "Yes."

The girls watched as he frowned, trying to hear through the crack then marched toward the nightstand to pick up a glass half filled with water. He examined it before dumping the water out over his shoulder and a splash came from the hallway as he examined the glass again, the girls staring at him incredulously as he stepped back toward the wall. He pressed the top end to the wall with the bottom of the glass against his ear and listened for a moment.

"Prisoner Zero…" he murmured.

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," Amelia confirmed, drawing his attention to her. "That's what I heard. What does it mean?"

He listened for another moment before pushing away from the wall and staring at it, replying, "It means, that on the other side of this wall, there's a prison. And they've lost a prisoner. And you know what that means."

"What?" Amelia questioned.

"You need a better wall," he replied before waving at Olivia to help him when he stepped to one side of the desk between them and the wall. He waved her toward the other end of the desk and they lifted it to move it aside as he continued, "The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and the wall will snap shut, or…"

The Doctor reached over and took Olivia's hand to pull her with him passed Amelia, making her frown but she didn't pull away as he faced the little girl.

"What?" Amelia prompted. He looked at her and Olivia could see a conflict churning in his eyes as if he didn't want to tell her but he knew he had to.

"You know when grown ups tell you 'everything's gonna be fine' and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?" the Doctor finally asked.

"Yes," Amelia sighed, rolling her eyes before she looked back at the Doctor.

"Everything's gonna be fine," he replied, making Olivia swallow as she felt her heart race and her hand tightened on the Doctor's before he turned to face the crack, pulling her behind him then letting go of her hand to take Amelia's, the Sonic in the other. "Olivia, stay behind me and get Amelia out of here if something happens."

"Like what?" she whispered, staying behind him as she peeked over his shoulder at the wall.

"I have no idea," he replied before aiming the Sonic at the crack.

As the hum sounded, the crack shone with a bright light before slowly opening to reveal a dark room within, a voice clearly heard from it.

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," the deep voice announced, loudly as the Doctor took a step closer. "Prisoner Zero has escaped."

"Hello?" the Doctor called, looking into the gap and Olivia tried to pull him back by the arm he held Amelia's hand with. "Hello?"

"Doctor, don't—"

She cut herself off with a gasp as they all jumped back a step when a huge eye came from out of nowhere and stared at them from the other side of the gap.

"What's that?" Amelia breathed.

Her question went unanswered when a ball of light shot out from the gap and hit the Doctor's pocket making him stumble and fall onto the chair next to him as the gap slowly closed and sealed.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Olivia asked, kneeling next to him.

"I'm fine, Liv," he smiled, digging into his pocket and looking to Amelia as she stared at her wall. "There, see? Told you it'd close. Good as new."

"What was that thing?" Olivia wondered.

"Was that Prisoner Zero?" Amelia asked.

"No," he replied, pulling the Psychic Paper from his pocket. "I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard. Whatever it was it sent me a message."

"Psychic Paper," Olivia nodded in understanding before looking to Amelia and explaining, "It can take a nice little message."

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," the Doctor read aloud from the paper, making Olivia frown at him.

"We already know that," she replied. "Why tell us on the Psychic Paper?"

"Unless…" the Doctor murmured, looking to the door and standing, Olivia standing as well and still frowning at him as he tucked the Psychic Paper away.

"Unless what?" Amelia wondered watching him as well.

"Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here," the Doctor replied, looking around the room.

"But he couldn't have," Olivia argued, gently. "We'd know…wouldn't we?"

The Doctor suddenly shot toward the door and into the hall at the bottom of the stairs leading to the third floor. Amelia and Olivia ran after him, the little girl stopping in front of him and Olivia stepping next to him as he looked down at Amelia.

"It's difficult," he excused. "Barely new. Nothing works yet, but there's something I'm missing…" He slowly turned his head to the right, murmuring, "…in the corner…of my eye."

He stared at the door, both girls frowning at him in wonder before they all jumped when they heard something that sounded like a bell tolling from outside. The Doctor looked away from the door in alarm before looking between the girls with wide eyes and racing toward the stairs leading to the first floor and racing down them, Olivia and Amelia right behind him.

"Doctor, what's happening?!" Olivia demanded as they raced down the stairs and toward the front door.

"I have to get back in there!" he called as they ran out the front door and toward the TARDIS. "The engines are phasing! She's gonna burn!"

"But it's just a box," Amelia replied as he gathered the rope and grappling hook, handing one end to Olivia to have her help him. "How can a box have engines?"

"It's not a box," the Doctor replied, turning to her. "It's a time machine."

He didn't wait for a response as he instructed Olivia where to go, where to wrap the rope and where to tie it down.

"What?" Amelia blurted as she watched them work. "A real one? You've got a real time machine?"

"Not for much longer if I can't get it stabilized," he explained, still hurriedly working. "Five minute hop into the future should do it."

"Can I come?" Amelia wondered, making Olivia freeze as she reached the bottom of the box where the Doctor met her.

"Not safe in there," he explained, helping Olivia up onto the edge where she was preparing to jump back in. "Not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minute. I'll be right back."

"People always say that," Amelia replied, making the Doctor look back at her as Olivia looked to him and he stepped toward the little girl to hunch down and look her in the eyes.

"Am I people?" he asked. "Do I even look like people? Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

He hurried back toward the TARDIS and climbed up next to Olivia before taking one more look at Amelia then looked to Olivia, frowning when he was met with a smile over her lips.

"What is it?" he questioned. She said nothing as she took his hand and he grinned before looking down into the TARDIS and jumping into it, shouting, "Geronimo!"

The doors shut behind them, but they grabbed hold of either side of the railing inside before they landed back in the pool. The Doctor made his way to the console and pushed a lever into place, straightening it out as the engines began, smoke and flames still around them as sparks flew up from the console again.

"Liv! Come help me!" the Doctor called, trying to run around the console as he coughed and she coughed and hacked as well as she made her way to the console to help. "Hold that button down!"

She did as she was told as he tried his best to fly the TARDIS.

"Gonna have to make a slight detour before I go back to get Amelia!" he called over the sparks, making Olivia frown in wonder.

"A detour?!" she snapped before coughing and squeaked with a start when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her from the console toward the door. "What detour?! Where are we going?!"

She was suddenly pulled back against him, making her frown in wonder as his hand remained on her arm and she swallowed when she felt his mouth against her ear…a mouth she wasn't used to just yet.

"You've been wonderful, even now," he murmured, making her frown deepen. "I'm sorry."

The TARDIS door was flung open and she screamed as she was shoved out the door and fell a foot before landing on the grass of her lawn. She looked to the house where her friend and mother lived before whirling around to see the Doctor hanging out of the door of the smoking TARDIS as it hovered unstably above the lawn.

"You are not leaving me again!" she screamed and made a running start before jumping and successfully grabbing onto his ankle, making him shout in shock as he gripped the door to keep himself from falling out. "Help me up!"

"I'm doing this to protect you! Let go of my foot!" he shouted, trying to shake her off, but her grip was tight as the TARDIS wobbled through the air.

"Let me in!" she shouted.

"Let me go!" he shot back.

"Which of those scenarios do you think is more likely to happen?!" she growled, digging her nails into his ankle and he shouted with a start as she glared up at him. "Let me in!"

"Fine!" he snapped, leaning down to grab one of her hands and pull her back in, slamming the door shut behind them and she stood to dust herself off before gripping his tie to pull him an inch away from her face.

"You do that again, and once you're fully regenerated I'll give you a new face!" she ground out before shoving him away as he stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm sick of being left by you! Now let's go back for Amelia!"

The Doctor only nodded before they both headed toward the console and did their best to pilot it again before they finally came to a stop.

"Oh…" he hummed before giving a cough and she frowned at him.

"What?" she questioned, coughing herself.

"I know what it was!" he called, running for the door. "I know what I was missing!"

He grabbed Olivia's hand and they ran out of the door into a now familiar yard, smoke billowing around them before the door shut behind them, but Olivia noticed something was different.

"Amelia!" the Doctor called, running for the front door, Olivia right behind him. "Amelia! I worked out what it was! I know what I was missing! You've gotta get out of there!"

"Doctor, something's not right," Olivia warned as he struggled to get the door open with the Sonic.

"Of course something's not right, Liv," he shot back, not looking away from his work. "Amelia could be in danger!"

"That's not what I mean—"

She was cut off when he finally got the door open and raced in, Olivia racing in right after him.

"Amelia!" he called again, racing up the stairs, Olivia right after him. "Amelia?! Are you alright?! Are you there!"

He stopped at a door near the wall and used the Sonic in it before looking at it then muttering, "Prisoner Zero is here."

"Doctor…"

"Not now, Liv," he replied before calling, "Prisoner Zero is here! Do you understand me?! Prisoner Zero is…"

He trailed off when he heard a thump from somewhere behind him and suddenly saw Olivia fall at his feet, unconscious. He spun around in time to see a cricket bat coming toward his face then his world went black.

Later...

The Doctor slowly awoke, his eyes fluttering open as he lifted his head from a reclined position only to see a policewoman in front of him speaking into her radio about back-up, describing him and Olivia. He looked to his right to see Olivia leaning next to him, her head leaning back on whatever was behind them.

"Olivia—?"

"Oi!" the woman called, as he tried to reach his hand around, but the handcuffs stopped him and he looked to them with wide eyes before looking back at the woman as she continued, "You sit still."

"Cricket bat," he recalled. "You hit me…with a cricket bat."

"You lot were breaking in/entering," the woman replied.

He tried to get to his feet, but he'd forgotten about the cuffs and plopped down onto the floor again.

"Ooh, that's much better," he muttered, looking back at her. "Brand new me. Just what I needed."

"Do you want to shut up now? I've got back up on the way."

He looked to Olivia and lifted his free hand to awkwardly stroke her cheek. He could see her breathing, and he guessed all she would have was a bad headache and a lump on her head but he really wished she would wake up. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He suddenly recalled something and looked back to the woman in front of them.

"Hang on, wait a minute, you're a policewoman," he suddenly realized.

"And you're breaking in/entering," she retorted. "See how this works?"

"But what're you doing here?" he questioned. "Where's Amelia?"

The look on the woman's face dropped from confidence to wonder as she shifted on her feet, asking, "Amelia Pond?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Amelia. Little Scottish girl. Where is she? I promised her five minutes but the engines were phasing. I suppose I must've gone a bit far. Did something happen to her?"

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time," the woman replied, looking him straight in the eye.

"How long?" he demanded.

"Six months," she replied, unwavering.

"Theta…"

They both looked to Olivia as she groaned, waking up and looking to the Doctor with a frown.

"What happened?" she groaned, lifting a hand to her head. "My head hurts."

"Don't move, Liv," he murmured, lifting his free hand to rest it on her cheek when she looked at him and he looked into her eyes. "You don't have a concussion. You'll be fine."

"Where's Amelia?" she wondered, still frowning in pain.

"Not here," the Doctor replied, lowering his hand as he looked back to the policewoman. "Apparently not for six months, which it can't be six months. I said five minutes. I promised."

"I was gonna say something earlier, but you wouldn't listen," Olivia groaned as the policewoman turned to speak into her radio again. "It's daylight outside. If we were back five minutes after we left, it still would've been dark outside."

The Doctor looked to her before looking to the policewoman again and calling, "What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?"

"I don't think she's talking, Theta," Olivia murmured. He looked back at her and grinned, making her frown at him as she muttered, "What?"

"That's twice now," he murmured. "Twice, you've called me Theta. You haven't called me that since I regenerated. I thought you'd never call me that again."

"Of course I called you that," she frowned. "It's like when you call me Liv. You don't think about it, you just do it. It's no big deal."

"Of course it is," he argued. "Of course it's a big deal. It's a very big deal."

"Oi! You two! Stuff it!" the policewoman snapped, making the couple look up at her, Olivia unmoving, even though she wasn't bound in any way. Her head hurt far too much to even think of moving at the moment.

"I need to speak to whoever lives in this house, right now," the Doctor told her as Olivia shifted closer to him.

"I live here," the woman replied, firmly.

"You're the police," the Doctor frowned in wonder.

"Yes, and this is where I live. Have you got a problem with that?"

"Rule of thumb, Doctor, don't anger the woman that handcuffed you to her radiator," Olivia muttered, and frowned slightly when the woman glanced to her with a split second smirk before it disappeared when she looked to the Doctor.

"How many rooms?" the Doctor asked her, making Olivia frown at him but she kept silent.

"I'm sorry, what?" the woman replied in confusion.

"How many rooms on this floor? Count them right now."

"Why?"

"Because it will change your life."

"Five," she finally replied, then pointed to each one as she counted them off. "One, two, three, four, five."

"Six," Olivia finally chimed in, making the Doctor and the woman look at her as she only stared ahead, and the Doctor realized she'd noticed it.

"Six?" the woman echoed with a strange frown as the Doctor only glanced between the two women.

"Look," Olivia breathed, not looking at either one of them.

"Look where?" the woman asked, warily.

"Exactly where you don't want to look," Olivia replied, finally looking up at the woman. "Where you never want to look. The corner of your eye. Look behind you."

The woman slowly turned and shifted on her feet, looking behind her, shaking her head in disbelief as she muttered, "That's…That is not possible. How is that possible?"

"There's a perception filter all around the door," the Doctor explained. "I sensed it the last time I was here. I should've seen it."

"I realized it the moment you asked her to count the rooms," Olivia explained, now looking at him, finding his hand as it sat on the floor and gripping it tightly.

"But that's a whole room," the woman breathed, not looking away from the door. "That's a whole room I never even noticed."

"The filter stopped you from noticing," Olivia explained.

"Something came here a while ago," the Doctor reported. "It was hiding. It's still hiding and you need to uncuff me now!"

She started stepping toward the door as she said, "I don't have the key. I lost it."

"How could you have lost it?!" the Doctor shouted as she stepped closer to the door and Olivia felt around in her pockets. "Stay away from that door!"

The woman stepped as close as she could to the door.

"Do not touch that door!" he called, but she gripped the knob as Olivia shifted to look around their spot, trying to find something, the Doctor leaning in his spot to watch the woman. "Listen to me! Do not open that—"

She turned the knob and opened the door, making him throw a hand up in exasperation.

"Why does no one listen to me?" he demanded, watching the woman step into the room. "Do I just have a face that no one listens to…again?"

"Where is it?" Olivia growled, shuffling on her knees toward the Doctor to shove her hand into his pocket and make him jump as he frowned at her.

"Olivia! Now is not the time for hanky-panky!" he mumbled, but she didn't look away from her work.

"I'm looking for the Sonic," she explained, shuffling around him to shove her hand into his other pocket. "I don't have it, so you must have it."

"My screwdriver!" he called to the woman in the room. "Silver thing! Blue at the end! Where did it go?!"

"There's nothing here," she called from inside the room.

"The perception filter kept you from seeing the whole room, what makes you think you can see the thing that put it there?" Olivia called back, looking around the floor for the Sonic as he looked to the door, waiting for the young woman to come back out as she searched through her hair then her pockets.

"Now please, just get out!" the Doctor called.

"Dammit!" she growled, making him frown at her. "Of all times not to have a bobby pin on me! I could've had you out of these cuffs already!"

"Silver thing…blue at the end?" the woman called from the room, catching their attentions to the door.

"My screwdriver, yeah," the Doctor called back as Olivia continued searching her pockets.

"It's here."

"Must've rolled under the door," he replied.

"Yeah…must've," she called back, unconvincingly, and her next softly spoken words were picked up by his keen hearing. "And then it must've jumped up onto the table."

"Get out of there," he called. "Get out of there! Get out! Get out of there!"

"Why don't you just let me help you?!" Olivia growled, standing and heading toward the room, but the Doctor grabbed her with his free hand and pulled her back, making her frown down at him in disbelief. "What are you doing?!"

"I didn't want her in there, what makes you think I want you in that room?!" he snapped back, keeping a tight grip on her wrist as he called toward the room, "What is it? What are you doing?!"

"There's nothing here, but…" she trailed off, and the Doctor could hear the fear in her voice.

"Corner of your eye," Olivia reminded her before the Doctor tugged her back enough to make her stand next to his cuffed hand.

"What is it?" the woman asked, warily.

"Don't try to see it!" the Doctor warned. "If it knows you've seen it, it will kill you! Don't look at it! Do not…look."

A scream suddenly erupted from the room and both the Doctor and Olivia yelled, "Get out!"

The woman came racing out of the room, the Sonic in her hand and she hurriedly stepped toward the Doctor to hand it to him. He used it on the door and Olivia frowned when she noticed the sounds blipping in and out before it hummed consistently and the door ahead of them locked. The Doctor tried to use it on his cuffs, but it wouldn't work.

"Oh, what's the bad alien done to you?" he groaned.

"Will that door hold it?" the woman hoped.

"Oh, yeah. It's an inter-dimensional multi-form from space. They're all terrified of wood," the Doctor shot back.

The woman glared down at him as she stood to his right, Olivia kneeling on his left, taking the Sonic from him and trying to use it on the cuffs herself.

"It's not working," she ground out in frustration.

"Of course it's not working, Liv. Prisoner Zero got a hold of it!"

"Hey! Tell her off all ya like, but don't get snippy with me!"

"What's that?" the woman questioned, panicking. "What's it doing?"

The two looked to the door to see it glowing around the edges before they both looked back to getting his cuffs off and fixing his screwdriver.

"I dunno," the Doctor admitted. "Run, just go. Your back-up's on the way. I'll be fine. Liv, go with her."

"There is no back-up," the woman snapped, making the couple look up at her with wide eyes.

"No, I heard on your radio, you called for back-up," the Doctor recalled.

"I was pretending," she admitted. "It's a pretend radio."

"But you're a policewoman," Olivia chimed in.

"I'm a Kiss-a-gram!" she snapped, pulling her hat off to let her ginger hair tumble out of it and she tossed it across the room as the two stared at her in disbelief.

The three looked to the door ahead when it suddenly fell forward to reveal a man and his dog on the other side and they took a few steps forward before stopping.

"But it's just…"

"No it's not," the Doctor replied when the woman trailed off. "Look at the faces."

Both women's eyes widened as they watched the man bark at them with the dog's voice.

"What?" Olivia breathed.

"I'm sorry…what?!" the woman snapped looking down at the Doctor.

"It's one creature," he explained, not looking away from them. "One creature disguised as two. Clever old multi-form. Bit of a rushed job though. Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?"

"Don't talk to it!" Olivia hissed, tapping the Sonic in her hand.

"Mind you, where'd you get the pattern from?" he continued. "You'd need a psychic link. A live feed. How did you fix that?"

The man growled like the dog should've been and took another step forward before showing off its real, sharp teeth.

"Stay put!" the Doctor shouted before explaining, "The three of us are safe. You wanna know why?" He tapped the woman's foot, resuming, "She sent for back-up."

"I didn't send for back-up!" she snapped, making Olivia bow her head and shake it as she continued trying to fix the Sonic.

"I know," the Doctor grumbled. "That was a clever line to save our lives. Ok, yeah. No back-up! And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we had, back up, then you'd have to kill us."

"Attention Prisoner Zero," a deep voice called from somewhere far away, making the three freeze as the girls looked to the Doctor. "The human residence is surrounded."

"What's that?" Olivia whispered.

"That would be back-up," the Doctor muttered. "Ok! One more time. We do have back-up and that's why we're safe."

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated," the voice announced making the girls look to the Doctor again with wide eyes each.

"Well, safe apart from, you know…incineration," he added as the man and dog went into the room to the left to look out the window and the Doctor looked to Olivia as she fiddled with the Sonic. "Have you got it working yet?"

"Trying," she replied, tapping it on her hand before trying the button again then tapping it again. "Work, work, work!"

She tried the button again and grinned when the hum sounded, then used it on the cuffs to release the Doctor and let him scramble to his feet.

"Run!" he ordered them, grabbing the woman's hand and pulling her ahead of him before gripping Olivia's hand to drag her behind him. "Run!"

They all rushed out the front door and the Doctor locked it behind them asking the woman, "Kiss-a-gram?"

"Yes, a Kiss-a-gram," she shot back as they turned to head toward the TARDIS. "What's going on?"

"Why did you pretend to be a policewoman?" Olivia questioned.

"You broke into my house! It was this or a French maid! What's going on?! Tell me!" They all stopped at the TARDIS as the Doctor looked over the box and she shouted again, "Tell me!"

"An alien convict is hiding inside your room disguised as man and a dog and some other aliens are going to incinerate your house. Any questions?" the Doctor explained.

"Yes," the woman replied.

"I have questions," Olivia replied.

"Me too," the Doctor replied trying the door, but it wouldn't budge, making him shout, "No, no, no! Don't do that! Not now! It's still rebuilding. Not letting us in."

The girls looked up to the house to see Prisoner Zero barking at them and the ginger woman grabbed the Doctor's arm to pull him away from the TARDIS.

"Come on, you two!" she ordered, grabbing Olivia's hand as well to pull them away, but the Doctor resisted.

"Hang on!" he called, pulling away from her. "Wait, wait, wait! That shed!" He ran toward it to examine it. "I destroyed that shed the last time I was here! Smashed it to pieces!"

"So it's a new one! Let's go!" the woman shouted as Olivia stepped up next to the Doctor.

"Yeah, but it's old!" the Doctor observed, making Olivia look to the woman with a frown and the ginger looked back at her with terrified wide eyes. Olivia realized it as soon as the Doctor said, "It's ten years old! At least!"

He sniffed it then lifted a hand to taste one of his fingers that had touched it, before turning back to the woman, "Twelve years. I'm not six months late, I'm twelve years late."

"Doctor, he's coming!" Olivia called, hearing the dog bark and gripping his arm to pull him away but he wouldn't move or look away from the woman.

"You said six months," the Doctor recalled. "Why did you say six months?"

"We've gotta go!" Olivia tried again.

"This matters," the Doctor told the ginger woman. "This is important. Why did you say six months?"

"Why did you say five minutes?!" she finally shouted at him, making the Doctor's eyes widen at her before glancing to Olivia then the full grown Amelia Pond.

"What?" he breathed.

"Come on," Olivia called, pulling on his arm again.

"What?" he muttered.

"Come on!" Amy shouted at him, taking his other arm.

Both women dragged him out of the yard as he shouted, "What?!"

A/N: reviews?