"I'm sure she'll forgive you," the Doctor offered. "The two of you seem close.

Ami sighed and nodded. "We are. I can't believe I did that to her. I love her like she was one of my own kids; she just sometimes makes me crazy."

"Yes, well, children will do that to you from time to time. How many have you got?"

"Three. Jasmine's thirteen, and waiting for us at home. Then there's Lydia, seventeen, and Luke, who's eleven. They're both at Hogwarts this year. Their only year together at school," she said, a bit sadly.

"And their father?"

"My Lucas," she breathed with a tiny, wistful smile. She closed her eyes, as if to ward off the pain, and flatly stated, "He died almost nine years now, in the battle at Hogwarts."

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor declared, understanding her pain all too well.

"Thank you. I'd say that it's okay, but I've never been much of a liar. And I've had no end of grief from my people for that – a cat who's honest," she gasped, feigning shock. Her wry grin disappeared as quickly as it had come. "I still feel as though half of me has been ripped away, you know? But I'm surviving."

"I know a little about surviving. Bit different from living," the Doctor observed, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

Ami nodded, the despair showing for a moment before she shoved it away. "I know. I'll keep going as long as the children need me, but I'm afraid to face the day when they don't."

"You don't think you'll fall in love again?" the Doctor asked, thinking of Jackie. However many men Rose's mum dated, he doubted she'd ever really gotten over losing Pete either.

"I doubt it. It wouldn't be the same if I did, I know that. The love of your life, that only happens once. You have to grab on to that and hold on for dear life. You can't know how much time you've got together."

The Doctor thought of Rose as he nodded at Ami's statement. In all his long life, he had never known anyone like Rose and knew he never would again. But he didn't know if he was brave enough to really let her in, despite the glimpse he'd once had of their future. He was so afraid, more so than when he'd ended the Time War – at least then he had thought he'd die with them. He was terrified to outlive Rose, afraid that he'd just give up, as Ami clearly feared she would one day soon. He wondered what he'd do. Would he refuse to regenerate the next time he lay dying? Would he even find it in his hearts to care about the fate of the universe when she was gone?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ami asked gently, when he'd been silent for some time. "I'm a good listener and I won't judge."

"Later. Later I might actually take you up on that, but for now our cover story." In an instant, his forced the pensive mood away, and called up a manic grin that nearly reached his eyes. "It seems there was a terrible gas leak in the kitchens. The kids were gotten out safely, but the other teachers were still inside, checking for stragglers. K-9, think you can explode the Krillitane oil? That is a substance no one should get their hands on."

"Affirmative, master," K-9 intoned with a wag of his tail.

Ami chuckled. "You have just made yourself Venus' hero. Seriously, though, I agree. An explosion's probably the only thing for the situation. All that computer equipment should be destroyed. My daughter will be upset, though. She literally asked Venus not to blow up the school."

"Well," he offered, beginning to enjoy the banter, "You can tell her honestly that Venus didn't blow it up. Little robot dog did it. Now forgive me, this is going to sound terribly…well, presumptuous, and probably rude."

She looked amused. "What?"

He thought for a moment, but there was simply no way to ask that wasn't rude. "Yes, well, you, Venus and Rachel…what are you?"

She still looked amused, at least. "Huh. Yeah, a little rude. Though blunt works there as well."

"Sorry, it's just, you're clearly not wizards, and look at me, using wizards in a sentence like it's normal. So, you're clearly not…that, and you didn't realize aliens existed, but I distinctly heard, well overheard, well eavesdropped." He flashed a nervous grin, and then plunged ahead. "Anyway, Venus called you a cute kitty and you called her, what was it? You called her a Crinos Garou, and then a big Chihuahua. That bit I just do not get."

"It's a weird visual, isn't it? Venus has an unusual birth defect. She has no body hair whatsoever. She's the only person I've ever known who wears fake eyelashes because she needs them to protect her eyes. As a child, she actually wore goggles to keep stuff out of them. As for what we are, Rachel and Venus are both Garou and I'm Bastet. We're shapeshifters. They're wolves; I'm a leopard."

"This must be the most bizarre day of my life. And that is saying something. You're telling me that you're shapshifters, but you're from…here."

"Well, California actually. Venus and I are from the Bay area and Rachel's from LA. And yes, I know you meant Earth. You don't know much about this planet, do you?"

"I know everything!" was the indignant, and slightly squeaky, reply. "Well, I thought I did anyway."

"Well, the Garou, the Bastet, and the other changing breeds, we've been here as long as humans, some of us longer if you believe the stories. Homo erectus had barely been supplanted by Homo sapiens when our histories began. Our people are guardians, eyes, warriors, the memory of Gaia. I see from the look that you've heard the word before; the New Agers do love that one. But Gaia is the Earth's true name, her spirit if you will. And…"

She paused and seemed to be listening to something as her eyes grew distant. When she spoke again, it was as though she'd gone into a trance. "Doctor, last of the ancient order of the Lords of Time, your legend is old as the universe itself. Surrounded by friends, and yet so alone. So many faces you have worn, and yet the same man have you been. Over and over, through all of Gaia's history, protecting above all else this one small world and her people, for you are drawn here, by an ancient and powerful intuition…" Ami shook her head and stopped speaking.

"No, don't stop. What were you going to say? What intuition? Tell me!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry," she offered a bit lamely. "Sometimes an Ancestor hijacks me. That was the seer."

"But why'd she stop?" he asked, not really believing what she was telling him, but certain somehow that what he'd just seen was real.

"He, actually, and I don't know. Maybe he realized it wasn't the right time for you to know. Seers can be obnoxious like that, only telling you what you need to know," Ami explained.

"But I already knew all that stuff about me," the Doctor almost, but not quite, whined.

"Yes, well, I didn't. Maybe the message was about you, but not only for you. My Ancestors can talk to me in my head; if it were only for me, he'd have spoken to me only. And do you actually believe a word of what I'm saying to you?" she finished wryly.

"Not entirely, no," the Doctor replied uncomfortably.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to prove what I can, and convince you of what I can't. I love a challenge," Ami replied, the ghost of a twinkle in her eye.

A low whirring sound reminded them that K-9 was still with them. "Master, my laser is fully charged."

"Right, then," the Doctor acknowledged. "Shall we continue this conversation at your flat?"


Even though Rose ran to catch up to Venus, the woman had already disappeared into a flat by the time Rose crossed the street. And Mickey caught up with her, breathing only a bit heavy, just after Rose rang the doorbell.

A young girl cracked open the door and warily asked, "May I help you?"

"Yes, thanks. Are you Jasmine? We were helping your mum and her friends over at the school. I think your mum's almost done, but Venus got upset and ran off. I just wanted to find out if she was okay."

Jasmine stared at them for a bit; Rose thought the girl was about to tell them to shove off, but then she opened the door properly and stepped back. "She went out back. She'll probably be in the hot tub. That's where she usually winds up after a fight," she told them, pointing toward the back door. Then she looked out the front door as Rose and Mickey walked past her.

"Uncle Sev came!" she cried and tore off toward the school. Rose and Mickey watched, bemused, as the girl raced toward the unsuspecting form of Severus Snape. Just before Jasmine reached him, Rose gave the front door an almost violent shove, and it slammed shut.

"What's that about? I wanted to see that," Mickey complained, opening the door back up. "Aw, it's no good, we missed it. She's just talking to him now."

"Good. I'm not sure I could've taken the shock of seein' Severus Snape play with a kid," Rose replied with a shudder.

"You heard Venus, though. He's got kids. He'd better be okay playin' with 'em. Having met his wife, I'm not sure I like his chances if he crossed her," Mickey pointed out with a grin.

"Yeah, and it's bad enough just knowing. I can't bear to see it as well. Now come on if you're comin'. Let's see if Venus is alright."