Disclaimer: - see previous chapter -


CHAPTER TWO

WHERE ARE WE NOW?" asked a very unimpressed Amy after they stepped out of the TARDIS. They just left the mystery girl in the photo's room and appeared inside an abandoned and very much dilapidated building.

"According to the TARDIS we are in North America still, same city as we were a few minutes ago but in the year...oh, interesting," the Doctor's voice trailed off as he continued to stare at the monitor reading everything that the TARDIS was feeding him.

Amy poked her head back into the TARDIS, a frown creasing her forehead as she waited for the Doctor to elaborate. When he didn't she stepped back inside the blue box, closing the door after her, and walked up to the console.

"What's so interesting?" she asked.

"We didn't travel that far forward in time."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," said Rory sounding a bit worried as he watched the Doctor's reaction carefully.

The Doctor ignored Rory's comment and continued talking as if the male nurse hadn't spoken.

"It seems the TARDIS took us just a couple of hours – and blocks – away from where we original were," he said.

"Strange," Amy frowned. "Why would the TARDIS do that?"

"I don't know," the Doctor began to walk around the console, fiddling with every knob, lever and other doohickeys he could get his hands on.

"Why did the TARDIS land us in an abandoned warehouse?" Rory questioned.

"I don't know."

"How are we going to find this girl in the photo?" it was Amy who asked.

"I don't know," answered the Doctor again.

"How—" Amy and Rory started at the same time, but both were stopped from further opening their mouths and voicing out their questions when the Doctor stepped away from the console, hands raised and his voice raised as well and said, "I don't know!"

Amy and Rory were both taken aback by the Doctor's sudden temper flare. They quickly clamped their mouths shut, exchanged a quick look at each other then turned their attention back to their companion.

"Doctor, do we even have an idea as to who that girl is in the photo and what has happened to her? Are we even close to finding out what this entire mystery is all about and why she wants you find her and save her?" it was Amy who dared voice out the question.

Before the Doctor could reply, somebody rapidly rapped on the TARDIS door causing its three inhabitants to jump in surprise.

"Somebody's outside," whispered Rory.

"Yes, that's pretty obvious observation, Rory," Amy hissed at her husband.

"I'm just saying," he argued.

The Doctor didn't want to hear the couple argue any more so he left them both crowding by the console while he went to answer whoever was knocking.

"Doctor!" Amy exclaimed in alarm when she saw what her friend was doing. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Answering the knock, what does it look like I'm doing?" was the Doctor's nonchalant reply.

"Are you insane? What if the person standing on the other side a mugger?" Amy hissed.

"Uuhh...I don't think they would bother to knock if they're muggers, Amy," Rory pointed out.

"Thank you, Rory!" agreed the Doctor then quickly left the other male to deal with his not-so-happy wife. He didn't want to involve himself in the argument that was sure to follow after what Rory just said, choosing to side with the Doctor and pointing out the flaw in Amy's claim. He could hear the couple arguing in the background, but he didn't pay them mind when he reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

"About time you answered," snapped the hooded figure dressed from head to foot in black. The figure took advantage of the Doctor's momentary shock and entered the TARDIS before the Doctor had the chance to block the way.

Amy and Rory stopped their arguing and stared at the newcomer. Both of them walked slowly towards the railing, their eyes not straying away from the figure still clad in black.

"Doctor?" Amy called out to the man still standing by the open TARDIS door, his mouth agape as he watched the figure in black waltz in to police box like he damn owned it.

"Aren't you going to close the door, Doctor?" asked the figure.

The Doctor's mouth opened like a fish out of water. He wasn't sure what to say or how to say what was on his mind. He had a gazillion things running through his head, but none of them wanted to pass through his lips. He knew he was starting to look like a complete idiot and the TARDIS door was still wide open. He did the only thing he knew he'd be able to do without opening his mouth and that was to close the TARDIS door and marched up to where the figure in black stopped. He didn't say anything just yet. He took a step back and looked the figure up and down as he walked around the figure. Once he finished his quick assessment he stopped right in front of the figure, his hands twitching to shove off the hood over the figure's face.

But he didn't do it. He surprised himself that he was able to hold himself back.

"Who are you?" the Doctor questioned, his tone calm but with a hint of distrust if one knew how to listen to the Doctor's tones of voices.

The figure in black remained still for a couple of heartbeats. The Doctor wasn't sure if he was looking at the figure straight in the eye or not. He was about to demand that the figure answer him when he saw the figure's hand whip up and pull the hood back that was covering its head and face.

Amy gasped when she saw what the hood revealed.

Rory and the Doctor stared in enthrallment at the sight before them.

Underneath the hood was a woman with skin as pale as snow and eyes as blue as the summer sky. Her lips tinted a blood red and her hair as black as midnight. She was a looker albeit on the pale side. She looked young too, but not as young as Amy was. If Rory would hazard a guess he'd say she was somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties. But the Doctor knew she wasn't as young as she appeared. His attention was focused on her eyes, seeing the hundreds of years mirrored behind those bright blue orbs and told a different story.

"Thank you for coming, Doctor," the woman replied, a relieved smile cracked her stoic face. She didn't say more after that.

The Doctor was momentarily confused by what she said. He didn't know what she was talking about, then his mind snapped back to the real reason why he was here.

"It's you," he said, his eyes moving up and down the pale-faced woman once again.

"Who is she?" Amy prodded.

"Yes, it is me," the woman nodded.

Amy frowned and turned to her husband. "Is she the girl from the photo?" she asked.

"Uh-a-apparently so," Rory stammered, his eyes straying back and forth between the stunned Doctor and the pale-faced woman.

Amy's frown deepened and she turned back to look at the woman. "She looked different from the photograph," she commented.

"The photo was probably taken years ago," Rory excused.

While the couple discussed the possibility of the mystery woman standing in the TARDIS with them was the same mystery girl in the photograph the Doctor found in his pocket, the Doctor and the woman stood facing each other without saying anything.

"Why did you call me?" the Doctor asked after a while.

"You're the only one who can help me," the woman answered.

"Help you how?"

"Help me escape," she announced.