*Edited Mar 23rd 2018

Fixed tense changes, though there aren't as many of those now, as well as smoothed out dialogue.

For all the Doctor had been reticent about answering questions the last times I had seen him, it seemed he had moved past that now. I learned that he was a timelord, from a planet called Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I learned that instead of shapeshifting at will, he could only do it when he was in danger of dying. I apparently 'jumped' around his timeline. Jumping back and forth between different hims. He told me that we didn't always meet in the same order, so I had to be careful about what I revealed to certain hims, just like he had to be careful with certain mes. Explains the Spoilers comment I guess.

Several hours later, we had turned back and were slowly ambling in the general direction of the ship.

"-and then the head moose said to me, 'There can only be one!' and tried to swipe the hat from my head with his antlers!" The Doctor explains. "Oi! Don't laugh!" His tone is irritated, but his lips trying to twitch up into a smile ruins the scold.

Not like it would have done anything anyways, I'm laughing so hard at this point that I was nearly crying with it. "I can't believe you tried to get into a hat off with a moose!"

Loosing the battle with his smile, the Doctor laughs along with me. The Tardis comes into view as we round a corner on the path, and he pulls a ordinary key looped on a string out of one of his pockets. "Tardis key." He explains, handing it to me.

I look at the key, then back to him. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You live here, everyone should have a key to their own house." He gestures towards the door, probably wanting me to unlock it. "And you have one in the past, which means you got it from somewhere. Might as well be from here."

Thinking that over, I frown down at the key. "Doesn't that make things complicated?"

The Doctor gives me a confused look. "What are you taking about?"

"You see someone with a Tardis key in the past, so you know you are going to give it to them in the future. What if you don't like that person?" I lift my face to his, frowning at him rather than the key now.

Realization blooms across his face. "Mabel, I'm not giving you the key because I have to. I'm giving it to you because you need it and I'm happy to provide one." His head tilts to the side, eyes studying me.

I shift, uncomfortable with the way he's looking at me. So I ignore it, turning around and unlocking the door, then threading the chain of the necklace over my head and smiling at him over my shoulder. "Thank you for the key Doctor."

"Heh Hem" A female voice comes from near the console. A smile still on my lips, I look over to see a seriously pissed off looking ginger.

"What's the big deal, locking me in the Tardis!" She demands. The Doctor grimaces in her direction.

"I was thinking that you needed a wash and a sleep. Or a sleep and a wash. Anyways!" He dashes towards to console and starts messing with controls on the console once again. "Amy Pond, you are getting married in the morning! And we are going to go pick your future husband up."

Amy's face pales dramatically, but before she can open her mouth and respond the Tardis takes off. I lunge for something to hold onto, I'm kind of getting tired of being thrown around. The Tardis shakes with the landing and the Doctor takes off towards the doors while shouting over his shoulder, "I'll be right back, stay here."

"Doctor!" Amy yells after him, but he is already gone. She takes off towards the door, but I step in her way.

"He told us to stay here." I remind her.

She glares at me, and tries to move around me. Grabbing her arm, I pull her away from the door.

"Hey! I don't know what your problem is, and I honestly don't care." I tell the redhead. "You can glare at me to your heart's content. I only have one question for you."

"What?" She snaps at me.

I tilt my head to the side, going for the question that will cut the deepest. "Do you care for the man you are getting married to 'in the morning'?"

Amy snatches her arm back, face livid. "Of course I care for him!"

"Then stop being stupid." I order, feeling myself starting to get annoyed.

Amy bristles, even her hair is managing to look angry. "Stupid?" She challenges. "You mean the kind of stupid you are? I've seen how you look at him. Don't lecture me about it when you feel the same way!"

I blink at her in astonishment for a second, and she starts to look smug. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I only met the guy twice before, and this is the first time I've seen him like this." I frown at her before sighing. "Look I get it, you're scared about getting married. You don't know if you want to be devoted to one person like that. Instead of trying to get with someone else, you need to sit down and talk with your fiancé about it. All you are doing right now is putting all three of you in a bad position."

There are a couple of seconds of silence before the doors to the Tardis slam open, making both of us jump. The Doctor stumbles in, stopping at the sight of the two of us being in each other's faces. He narrows his eyes at me for some reason, so I shake my head at him. Face falling, the Doctor bounds towards the console and then disappears down a side staircase heading under the console. A man slowly walks into the room, the shirt he is wearing has a picture of both his and Amy's face in a heart. Fiancé I'm assuming. Ouch. The look on his face is despondent.

No one says anything.

To avoid the awkwardness I can feel building up, I offer the man my hand. "Hi, I'm Mabel!"

He jerks a bit, "Mabel? But – that's - I thought you had black hair?"

I groan good naturedly. "Y'mean I go back to black? I liked the orange." I pull my lips into an exaggerated pout, hoping to make him laugh. It doesn't work. "So what's your name?"

Blinking at me in confusion, Amy's fiancé asks, "What do you mean, what's my name?"

Something sparks from under the console, catching my attention. A brief feeling of chastisement comes from the Tardis, which causes the Doctor to grumble and come back up from under the floor. "Time travel Rory. You've met her, but she hasn't met you. Also keep the spoilers to a minimum, no sharing details with her that she doesn't know yet." He chides, waving a finger in Rory's face.

The Doctor spins around, continuing. "Life out there it dazzles. Makes people do strange things. Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. So! I'm sending you somewhere, together."

Amy's brow furrows, "Whoa. What, like a date?"

"Anywhere you want. Any time you want. One condition. It has to be amazing." The Doctor stipulates, coming over to me and stopping. "The Moulin Rouge in 1890. The first Olympic games. Think of it as a wedding present, because it's either this or wedding tokens."

Rory doesn't seem to be paying attention though, finally seeming to notice that he's in a spaceship. The Doctor straightens a bit, looking pleased, walking towards Rory. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

Rory cuts him off. "It's another dimension."

"It's basically another dimension." The Doctor starts, before realizing what Rory just said. "What?"

Shrugging, Rory explains. "After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes-"

"I like the bit when someone says it's bigger on the inside. I always look forward to that." The Doctor cuts in, looking annoyed.

"Hey!" I direct to the Doctor, reaching over and smacking him on the arm.

"So, this date. I'm kind of done running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?" Amy chimes in.

"How about somewhere romantic?" The Doctor smirks, pulling down a lever at the same time, and sending us into space. I reach out and grab the console to brace myself. He nods to a button next to my hand. "Press that."

Hesitantly, I reach out and press it in. The Tardis jerks for a second, but the Doctor grabs my other hand and drags me over to his side of the console, preventing me from falling. We land, and I wonder to myself just where we are now.

Dragging me with him, the Doctor runs up to the doors and throws them open. "Venice!" He exclaims. My mouth drops open in awe.

"Seriously?" I manage to squeak out.

Smirking, he looks down at me and nods.

My eyes widen. "I've always wanted to go to Venice!"

The Doctor taps me on the nose with his finger. "I know, dear."

We move away from the door and walk further out into the town square we materialized in. Rory and Amy following us.

"Venezia. La Serenissima. Impossible city. Preposterous city." The Doctor babbles. "Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly just beautiful. Ah, you got to love Venice. So many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova." Panicking, he checks his watch. "Ooo, that reminds me. 1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for a hundred and forty five years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory echos.

"Long story, we had a bet" The Doctor continues, walking off with Rory and Amy.

I'm stuck where I am. Taking in the sites. Spinning around in a circle, I laugh in disbelief. How is this my life now?

"Oi, now." The Doctor's voice comes out of nowhere. He grabs my hand. "Rule number one, now this is very important so pay attention. Don't wander off."

I frown at him. "I didn't wander off, you wandered off. I stayed exactly where I was."

"I still don't know why the paper said I was your eunuch." Rory states from behind the Doctor, tone upset.

"You have a piece of paper around that says Rory is a eunuch?" Bemused, I look up at the Doctor.

"No, No, No, that would be silly. I have a piece of psychic paper." Pulling a folded black thing that looks vaguely like a flat wallet from his pocket, he offers it to me. "Here see, I can make it say anything."

I open it, and end up laughing in delight. "It says here that you are the king of hats!"

He straightens his bow tie, preening. "Of course I am, that moose had an unfair advantage. It's not fair when you can grow your own hat."

My face feels tight, mouth starting to hurt from the smile that won't stop. "This is seriously so cool. I never thought I would experience anything like this. This is amazing." Spinning around, I try to take in as much of the surrounding area as possible.

"I hate it when he does that." Amy states, catching my attention. Looking around, I notice that the Doctor isn't anywhere. What is it with that man and running off all the time.

Amy directs her attention to Rory. Grabbing his arm and leaning into him. "Want to go explore?" She asks him in excitement.

Backing away quietly, I disappear around the corner before they notice. It will be a nice date for them. Plus, now I can go explore on my own.

I wander around aimlessly for a little while. Everything going pretty well, until I pass by a group of men. One whistles at me and makes a rude gesture with his hand. Rolling my eyes, I do my best to ignore them.

"Girl, my friend here was talking to you." A voice comes from the group I just walked by.

"Rude gestures and catcalling does not make a conversation." I refute, picking up my pace.

"You should be thankful that anyone is even trying to talk to you. With your strange clothes and even stranger hair. You aren't exactly the classical definition of beauty there sweetheart." The man who made the rude gesture sneers at me. I'll call him overcompensation.

I scoff, "And yet, you are the one still trying to get my attention." Turning my back on them, I continue to walk away until a hand reaches out and closes down on my arm harshly. Twisting, I immediately position my shoulder under the arm and twist. Overcompensation shouts as he flies over me and lands on the ground.

I move so I can see both him and his friends. Hands loose and ready by my sides in case any of them try anything else.

"What's going on here?" I hear the Doctor's voice. He sounds harsh and cold, but his hand gently comes to rest on my back. The odds look much better now that he is here.

Overcompensation's mouth flaps up and down for a second without sound before he turns away and storms off, his friends trailing after him.

Tension slides out of my spine and I sag back into the hand on my back. "Thanks." Looking up, I'm taken aback by the hard look on the Doctors face. His jaw works back and forth for a second. A feeling of anger hits me all at once. I flinch away from him and the anger goes away. Shocked, I look at him. "That's you, isn't it?"

He grimaces, but nods. "I'm a touch telepath. Skin to skin contact can let me read surface thoughts and emotions. If someone is feeling a particularly strong emotion I can pick up on that without the contact."

I raise an eyebrow. "Okay, getting that. Doesn't in any way shape or form explain why I'm suddenly experiencing your emotions."

The Doctor raises his hands in supplication. "By communicating with you, the Tardis has activated your latent telepathic abilities. You are starting to pick up on my emotions."

"What?" My mouth drops open in shock. "You say that like you expected it to happen, does it normally happen to your companions?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "No, not all my companions."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Is this one of those spoilers situation you were talking about earlier?"

The look of relief on his face is almost comical. "Yes! Exactly that. Spoilers."

Spoilers huh. I'm starting to get annoyed with that word. I can feel the lines of my face fall into a surly expression. The Doctor notices, of course he does. He always seems to notice.

"Let's go Mabel! There seems to be something odd going on with the Calvierri school here. I had a very enlightening conversation with a man whose daughter was accepted. He told me that she didn't seem to recognize him, and that one of the other girls had a strange animal like face." He starts to walk off, placing his hand on the small of my back to direct me.

Pursing my lips, I ask. "So is this what you do then? Just go from place to place, finding trouble and fixing it?"

"No, no, that isn't what happens. We travel along for the discovery of it. Finding new things, seeing the beauty of it all. Trouble just seems to find us the majority of the time." He responds, waving his one free hand in the air sporadically. I didn't fail to notice the 'we' specification he used.

I feel the lines in my brow start to even out, my annoyance leaving me. I never was one to stay upset for long. "Doctor," I start hesitantly. "How long have you known me? You say 'we' like I am with you all the time. But that can't be possible. You told me you change when you die, comparable to humans, your life must be so much longer. And what about my life? I still have school to finish. People that will notice that I'm gone." I feel his hand clench for a second in my shirt, before he releases it.

Turning to me, it feels like the Doctor is staring into my soul. For the first time since I felt his double heart, I am reminded that he is alien. "Oh, Mabel. Braveheart, Mabel" He reaches up and cups my head in his hands. "I think you already know the answer, you just don't want to admit it. Once you got hit by that car, it started a process that we haven't found a way to stop yet. I could drop you off, and you could go back to school as normal. But before long you would jump back to me. You always jump back to me in the end." He shifts his fingers so they make contact with my skin.

The contact sparks, and I felt his mind briefly press against mine, comfort offered. Comfort which I automatically accept, until sharp blinding pain makes itself known to me.

My legs give out, and I fall to the ground. A noise not unlike a wounded animal unfurls into the air. I feel something hot drip from my nose. The world spins, and I'm unable to tell up from down, until something snaps and reality reasserts itself. Gasping, I pulled in air. The noise dies off and I realize that it had been me making it. "Mabel! There you are, slowly now. Deep Breaths." The Doctor's worried voice reminds me that I'm not alone.

"What the fuck was that." I whisper out of shaky lips. Reaching up and wiping under my nose, my hand comes back red with fresh blood.

"That was me, making a mistake." The Doctor sounds angry. I reach up and grab the front of his tweed jacket.

"I don't understand." I admit to him, head still reeling from the experience.

"I know," He tells me, voice tight. His hands come up to mine and try to remove my hand from his jacket, but I suddenly have a feeling that allowing him to pull away now would be bad.

I tighten my grip instead, pulling him back into crouching in front of me. "You said you made a mistake, what was the mistake?"

The Doctors jaw worked back and forth, before he relents. "I told you your telepathic consciousness was waking up so to speak. When I tried to comfort you earlier, I pushed it took quickly. It's like a muscle, you need to work with it. Think of it this way, a person can't just go from never running a day in their life to suddenly running a marathon." He hangs his head, shame crossing his face. "I'm just used to you being able to feel me. It's been-" His mouth shuts so fast his teeth click together.

Okay then, so I apparently get the hang of it later then. "That's fine," I tell him. "Don't apologize for trying to offer comfort. Maybe next time just don't push so hard?" I offer, as an olive branch.

The Doctor's jaw drops open, and his expression changes rapidly before settling on awe. "Even this young you still know exactly what to say to me. You barely even know me, but you are willing to let me into your mind."

I tilt my head to the side. "I might not know you very well yet, but you haven't done anything to make me think you are untrustworthy. You answered my questions, well mostly. You've healed me and done everything in your power to make me feel comfortable." I shift uncomfortably and attempt to get to my feet. His hands automatically grab my arms and help me up. "I think you do it without even realizing it." I nod down to his hands.

The Doctor looks down at them in surprise. "Besides," I draw his attention again. "You treat telepathy as something common place. That it is something that is normal and expected for you. You said you were used to being able to feel me. I get the feeling that it's kinda like expecting a hug from a friend and getting nothing but a cold shoulder." I shrug. "I don't mind accommodating that. So long as you don't try to eavesdrop on private things!" I say, shaking my finger at him.

"Mabel Falkov." He intones, voice having taken on a strange lilting quality. "Beautiful, kind, Mabel Falkov. My constant. You never stop surprising me."

My brow furrows, "What's with your voice?"

"What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with my voice!" The Doctor pulls back, voice normal again. He reaches into his jacket, rummaging around, arm going down almost to his elbow. Bigger on the inside? Handy that. The Doctor crows in triumph, pulling a washcloth and a bag of fluid from his pocket. Dosing the cloth with the fluid he brings it to my face, wiping across the area where I had found the blood earlier.

"Hey!" I bat at his hands. "Give me that, I don't need you to clean me up like I'm a child." He bats back at me with his free hand, not giving up the washcloth. Cranky now, I ask him. "Why do you even have that stuff in your pockets?"

He smiles faintly. "That's actually your fault. You ended up nagging me into carrying a whole first aid kit. You said, and I quote, 'Stop bellyaching. You have pockets that are bigger on the inside. Just throw a first aid kit in and forget about if you have to, but at least you have it when you need it.' I didn't actually listen to you at first. I was kind of a know it all in that body. But then there was a situation that it could have been useful, and I didn't have one." His face went dark for a second, before he continues in a light tone. "After that, I always carry at least basic supplies with me."

He pulls away from my face at last, folding the cloth, placing it and the liquid pouch back into his pocket. I rub my face with my hands, smacking my cheeks lightly. "How do I look?"

"Amazing." The Doctor answers me. I drop my head, trying to hide my flushing cheeks behind my bangs.

I must not have done a good job, because I see the Doctor smirk. "Ohh! Stop it!" I demand, reaching out to hit his shoulder.

The Doctor allows me to smack him softly, but he grabs my hand before I can pull it back. "C'mon now, we have a creepy school to investigate!" He exclaims, dragging me off into the city.

Eventually we come to a side door, him using the sonic to turn the lock and we head down a creepy looking staircase. At the bottom there is a circular room, with several doors. A mirror is hanging on the wall and the Doctor drops my hand to bound over to it. "Hello Handsome." He says to his own reflection, straightening his bow tie. I roll my eyes at him, and he winks back.

"Who are you?" Several voices say in unison. We both whirl around in shock. The Doctor grabs my arm, dragging me next to him.

I glance from the mirror, which shows nothing besides me and the Doctor, to the girls. The Doctor doing the same.

"How are you doing that? I am loving it!" He exclaims. "You're like Houdini, only five slightly scary girls, and he was shorter. Will be shorter. I'm rambling."

"I'll ask again, signor, signora. Who are you?" The creepy girls ask in unison once again.

The Doctor reaches into his pocket and pulls out an id card, showing it to them. "Why don't you check this out!" They stare at us. He frowns and turns the picture around to look at it. It's a picture of an old man. "Library card. Of course." He glances to me. "You have it. I really need to get a spare. Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen. Ha! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I nod. "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless-"

Cutting him off, the girls continue their creepy 'I am legion' thing. "Leave now signor, signora, or we shall call for the steward, if you are lucky."

"Oohh," The Doctor breaths, sounding delighted. Until the girls hiss at us and bare long sharp teeth in our direction. I grab his arm and start pulling him back towards the staircase. "Wait, Wait!" He directs to me before focusing on the girls again. "Tell me the whole plan!" Gaping at him in frustration, I yank him up the stairs. "I swear, one day that will work!"

"It'll never work," I scoff. "I can't believe you just tried that."

The Doctor just laughs and takes the lead. Closing the door behind us and taking off in another direction. Running, why does it got to be running. Grumbling I follow after him, just in time to see Amy and Rory come out of nowhere.

Amy crashes into the Doctor, and they both start talking at once. "We just met some vampires!" "We just saw a vampire!" "And creepy girls and everything." "Vampires!" Then they start jumping up and down in excitement. Honestly, the pair of them are like children.

Rory chimes in, "We think we just saw a vampire."

Breathless, the Doctor dismisses him. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Amy was just telling me."

"Yeah, Yeah. The Doctor actually went to their house." Amy continues, putting an arm around the Doctors shoulders.

"Oh. Right. Well-" Rory's voice hesitates.

The Doctor brings his hands up and smacks Rory's cheeks. "Okay. So, first we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?" Rory gapes at him.

"How do we do that?" Amy asks, words almost tripping over themselves they come so fast.

Rory seems incredulous. "Back in where?"

"Come and meet my new friend." The Doctor drawls, a pleased look on his face. Taking off with Amy still hanging off of him.

I nod my head in their direction, "Let's follow them before they get into trouble again."

He nods shakily. As we walk in the direction we saw the two trouble makers run off into, I look over at him. He still has the shirt of homage to Amy on under his vest. Amy who is hanging off of another man right now. Ouch.

"Y'know," I start. "This is all really very mad isn't it?"

Rory fidgets for a second before inclining his head. I continue. "It's like you just get swept up in this crazy world of make believe, and then nothing is ever the same."

He narrows his eyes at me, the first sign of defiance I've seen from him so far. Good, he'll need that if he wasn't to keep what he has. "Is this going anywhere?"

"Nah not really," I say to him, watching his face twitch in disbelief. "I just wanted to let you know that there is still some hope. Just because it might seem like there isn't any at the moment, she is just getting swept up into the magic. Once the magic fades, she's going to come back and see what was there to begin with."

Rory looks down, frowning. "But then who's to say she won't get swept up in the next bit of magic that comes along after that?"

I sigh deeply. "That's something the two of you need to figure out together."

"Oi!" The Doctor calls, popping his head around the corner. "What have I told you about running off?"

"Not to," I say to him, and his mouth pops open to no doubt scold me. "I would like to point out that once again, I was not the one who ran off. It was you. Again." His mouth closes again.

"Well." The Doctor straightens his bow tie. "It's right around here." Then proceeds to walk back around the corner again.

Rory makes a strangled noise from beside me. "Is he always like that?"

"You kind of start to get used to it." I tell him.

We head around the corner and get introduced to a man named Guido. He was the one the Doctor had told me about earlier who had enrolled his daughter, Isabella, into the Calvierri school.

Guido brings over a map of the city and starts talking.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in. The House of Calvierri is like a fortress." Guido traces a line across the map with his finger. "But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

Amy shifts, and even before she starts speaking I can already tell I'm not going to like it. "You need someone on the inside." Yep, I was right.

"No." The Doctor immediately responds.

Taken aback, Amy retorts. "You didn't even know what I was going to say."

He glances at her, before looking back down to the map. "Eh, that we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"Oh," she shifted. "So you do know what I was going to say."

Rory speaks from his seat on the barrels next to the table. "Are you insane?"

Amy steam rolls over him. "We don't have another option."

Rory doesn't back down this time though. "He said no, Amy. Listen to him."

"There is another option." Guido interjects, looking awkward. He points to the barrels behind Rory. "I work at the Arsenal. We build warships for the navy."

The Doctor goes over to the barrels and sniffs. His lip curls up. "Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationary from where they work." He points at Guido. "Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosives."

"What do you suggest then? We wait until they turn her into a monster?" Guido asks, frustration clear in his voice.

Amy pipes up again, "I'll be there three, four hours, tops."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." I come over and reach for his hand, trying to offer comfort. He looks down into my eyes, expression sad. "It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." He spins away from me, rubbing his face harshly. "But I have to know. We go together, say you're my daughter." He directs to Amy.

Rory starts, immediately outraged. "What? Don't listen to him!"

Amy scoffs. "Your daughter? You look about nine!"

The Doctor nods, giving her that one. "Brother, then."

Amy shakes her head. "To weird. Fiancé." Oh Amy. I close my eyes, my heart twinging with sympathy for Rory.

Rory voice is frustrated as he speaks. "I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé!"

She seems to understand that she took it a bit to far. "No. No, you're right." She tells Rory.

"Thank you." He responds, hackles lowering.

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it." She continues.

"Me?" Rory echos, but I can tell he already knows where this is going.

"Yeah!" Amy confirms, voice unnaturally high. "You can be my brother."

Looking up at the ceiling, I inhale deeply. Trying to get my temper under control. I can hear Rory in the background asking her why it's okay for him to be her brother and not the Doctor. The Doctor comes over and grabs my hand. I try to send how fed up I'm becoming with Amy's behavior in his direction, headache be damned. I think he gets it, cause he squeezes my hand and nods. I can faintly feel him send exasperation my way.

"The whole thing is mental! There vampires for god's sake." Rory states, the look of someone very close to their limit on his face.

"Hopefully." The Doctor grimaces a bit.

Amy narrows her eyes. "So, if they aren't vampires?"

"If they aren't vampires, then it makes you wonder what could be so bad that they don't actually mind us thinking they are vampires in the first place." I chime in. Though actual vampires would be kinda cool. It always seems to be aliens with the Doctor though.

Rory took Amy to be inducted into the school of creepy vampires, while the Doctor, Guido and I got into his gondola and head towards the secret entrance. It's night out now, and getting creepy. Especially considering that we are heading into the home of supposed vampires.

"She'll be fine," The Doctor tries to reassure Rory.

It doesn't seem to work. "You can promise me that, can you?" He states rather than asks.

The Doctor looks away first and doesn't respond. I glare at Rory for a second, making sure he notices before I shake my head. Rory looks a little ashamed of himself, but doesn't apologize. Ugh, men.

"We're here." Guido informs us, bringing the gondola up next to a staircase. The Doctor grabs a torch from beside the open gate and continues on through. Rory and I follow, peering suspiciously into the darkness.

"Right. Okay, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back." The Doctor whispers back to us. I narrow my eyes at him, ready to argue. Before I can Rory speaks, sounding like it is being forced from him.

"What happened, between you and Amy?" He hisses. "You said she kissed you."

"Now?" The Doctor snaps, glancing at me. "You want to do this now?"

"I have a right to know!" Rory insists, rushing to catch up to the Doctor. "I'm getting married in four hundred and forty years."

The Doctor catches my eyes and mouths 'humans'. "It was nothing." He maintains, answering Rory. "She was frightened, I was frightened. But we survived, you know, and the relief of it, and so she kissed me."

"You kissed her back?" Rory's voice is flat.

The Doctor frowns in confusion, "No, I kissed her mouth."

Ughh, daft alien. Not helping.

Rory is unamused. "Funny."

The Doctor winces, shifting from foot to foot. "Rory. Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you. It should have been you."

"Yeah it should have been me." Rory agreed.

"Exactly. That's why I brought you here." The Doctor states, before a wind rattles though the hall and blows out the torch in his hand. I reach out and grab his arm, shivering from the cold and darkness.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" I ask, voice a little desperate. I'm not feeling the macho man routine in the dark.

Putting an arm around my shoulder, the Doctor hurries us down the hallway. We finally come to a small room. Light just barely coming from a place in the ceiling. Probably the trap door then.

The Doctor gets Rory to lift him up and heaves the trapdoor open. He disappears for a moment before his head and upper torso pop back into view. He reaches down and I jump up catching his hands. He pulls me up like I weigh nothing. It's…surprising attractive. I can see his back muscles flex through his jacket as he pulls Rory up.

"Amy?" The Doctor calls, running back and forth trying to see. "Where's Amy?"

I squint out into the darkness, but beyond our little bubble it's too dark to see.

"I can't see a thing." Rory echos my thoughts, voice turning smug as he pulls something from his pocket. "Just as well I brought this then." He presses something and a little light appears, it's a pen light!

The Doctor pulls a huge light sabre looking thing from his jacket. It's so bright that I turn my face away, blinking frantically to try and clear the spots from my eyes.

"Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight" The Doctor explains.

Despondent, Rory comments, "It's bigger than mine." I hastily avert my face, trying my hardest not to laugh.

Glancing at Rory sharply, the Doctor simply states. "Let's not go there."

I glance around again, now that it seems they are done with the posturing. My vision has mostly adjusted now. Noticing a large chest in the corner, I move towards it. There seems to be something poking out the front? I open it, and proceed to shriek at the sight of a dead, dried up body.

The Doctor immediately materializes behind me, shining his light saber into the chest.

"What happened to them?" Rory whispers, making me jump. Wholly crap, my heart rate is going through the roof.

The Doctor puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. "They've had all the moisture taken out."

Shakily Rory asks, "That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own."

"Yeah," The Doctor confirms, leaning down to take a closer look at the body. "Except these people haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their bodies."

I lean forward, thinking. Taking all the moisture out of a body. Taking all the moisture, out of a body. "We are in a city built basically on the sea. There is plenty of moisture out there. I think you're on to something Rory. You said the vampires take your blood and replace it with their own. What if that's what they are doing here. Sucking all the moisture out and putting their own back in." I trail off, eyes widening in horror.

"Maybe not everyone survives the process." The Doctor finishes, tone serious.

Rory spins around, roughly wiping at his mouth. "You know what's dangerous about you?" He spits out. "It's not that you make people take risks. It's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

"Rory!" I call out, shocked at his behavior. "I understand that you are upset, but that is no reason to take it out on someone else. All night, you've been taking pot shots, and quite frankly I'm getting sick of it." I look over at the Doctor, whose eyes are a little to intent on the dried body. "And you! You are no better. You're purposely egging Rory on."

I reach out and grab Rory, dragging him over to the Doctor. I grab the Doctor as well, making it so that he is on his feet facing Rory. Looking at Rory, I say. "Rory, it's not the Doctor's fault that your fiancé ran off with him on your wedding night. The Doctor didn't know." I look over to the Doctor. "Doctor, there isn't nothing wrong with inspiring people to do better. To make them want to impress you. That is on the other person, and it isn't your fault." The Doctor opens his mouth to argue, and I cover it with my hand. "Ah! I not finished. You've been posturing as well. I don't care if you two never get along, but you are going to at least be civil with each other. Understood?"

The Doctor nods, looking abashed. Rory stays quiet. I look at him, tilting my head to the side. I can tell that my face must be intense, because Rory leans back a bit. "Do I make myself clear?" I ask him again.

"Ye-yes," He stutters out.

"Good." I say, pleased. The Doctor's tongue touches my palm and I squeal, removing my hand. "Uugh, what was that for?"

The Doctor isn't looking at me though, he's focused on something in the darkness.

"Who are you?" Comes the synchronized voices of several people.

"We should run. Run!" The Doctor calls out. We take off in the opposite direction that the voices came from.

The Doctor runs into a box, almost tripping and making a lot of noise. I wince and, predictably, two people run out and block our route. A woman with a large spiky collar and a pretty boy.

"Cab for Amy Pond?" The Doctor asks, voice high.

The woman laughs. "This rescue plan. Not exactly watertight, is it?"

The Doctor brandishes his light saber, "Ah Ha!" He exclaims, as it causes the vampires coming up behind us to back away. Amy and another girl runs in the corridor from the side. From the look of her, I'm going to assume that she's Guido's daughter, Isabella.

"Rory!" Amy exclaims at the same time Rory yells, "Amy!"

"Quickly, through here!" Isabella demands. We all run down the corridor she disappears into.

We make it to a door that has a staircase leading down. The Doctor closing the door behind us, and using his sonic to lock it.

"They're not vampires." Amy says while descending.

"What?" I ask. "What are they then?"

"I saw them. I saw her. They're not vampires, they're aliens." She ignores me and continues to look towards the Doctor.

He laughs. "Classic."

Incredulously, Rory looks back at the Doctor. "That's good news? What's wrong with you people?" I yank on his arm and give him a look. Rory grimaces, but nods.

"C'mon you two," The Doctor calls. "Move."

A noise from behind us lets us know that the alien vampires are closing in. The Doctor brandishes his light saber, driving them back.

We hit a door and Isabella opens it. She stays there, making sure everyone gets a chance to leave. "C'mon," The Doctor calls to her. I can see her move out towards us, but the sun stops her and I can already see what's going to happen. Lunging, I fall short of actually touching her as the other vampires catch up and grab her, pulling her back into the corridor.

The door shuts and I bang on it. "No! You helped us." My hand brushes the metal on the door and my whole body goes rigid and electricity arcs. The last thing I see is the Doctor reaching for me as my eyes close.

I come to awareness slowly. Opening my mouth, I croak out, "Y'know, I'm getting pretty tired of passing out." Immediately, I feel someone come over and grab my hand.

"Hello Mabel," The Doctor says, voice close. A hand reaches up and brushes my hair back. A light flicker of contact, worry, concern, gratefulness that I'm awake.

I open my eyes, and the Doctor slowly comes into blurry focus. "I didn't get a huge headache that time!" The Doctor puts an arm around my shoulders and brings me into a sitting position. Grabbing the glass of water on the table, he brings it up to me letting me have small sips. "Thanks." I croak when I'm finished. "Why do I feel like I got hit by a car again?"

"No, no car again. But you did get hit with enough volts to put down an elephant." He informs me, less than pleased.

I wince, but defend myself. "I had to try Doctor, she was the reason we went in there. And then she helped us escape." My eyes itch as tears rise, and this time I don't try to push them back. I'm under no delusion that they didn't punish her. That she is most likely dead now. "That poor girl."

The Doctor pulls me into his arms and just holds me. Gripping his jacket again, I let myself cry for the girl who was lost. Understanding and comfort streams from his finger tips.

Pulling back, I grab a tissue from the table beside me and wipe my face. I'm sure I look frightful now. "What happened after I got shocked?"

"Quite a lot actually. We figured out they were fish aliens whose planet had died. So they flee through a crack in space and time and end up here. Rosanna, the women in charge, was the mother. She was the one who was transforming the women. It turns out that only the men had survived the trip. They were in the canal, waiting while mummy made them brides." He grimaces, adjusting his position on the side of the bed. "Us messing about made her move up her plans. She had a machine that was going to sink the city. We managed to stop her." Lowering his head, the Doctor closes his eyes. "But she took that as a personal failure and jumped into the canal while wearing the cloaking device. The men in the water didn't recognize her, and she- well she died."

I reach out and touch his hand, trying to send comfort. His eyes open, and he attempts a smile.

"You don't have to smile all the time Doctor," I inform him. "It's okay to not be okay."

"Yeah." He breaths out.

Shifting, I try to move my legs so I can get off the bed. "Ow, ow, fuck." I curse, as my muscles protest the treatment. "Why do I hurt so much?"

Reaching down and ignoring my squawking, he picks me up and starts walking down the hallway. "What? Did you expect to just be able to walk it off?" He asks me wryly. "That was a lot of electricity that got pumped into you."

"I don't know," I grumble, cross. Realizing that even if I struggle he probably won't let me go at the moment, I reach up and link my hands behind his neck. "Where are we going?"

"The kitchen, I can hear your stomach trying to digest itself." Looking down at me, he frowns. "When was the last time you ate anything?"

"I ate-," My forehead scrunches up as I try to remember. "I don't think I've eaten anything since I got hit by the car."

"Mabel!" The Doctor scolds me. "You can't just not eat anything!"

My face falls into a pout. "It's not like I was doing it on purpose. Everytime I get some down time I either get distracted or I catch on fire and I'm somewhere new."

Sighing, he doesn't respond. We enter the kitchen and the Doctor places me on a chair, going over to look into the refrigerator.

Then the Doctor proceeds to make the most delicious omelet that I have ever tasted. "Where did you learn to cook so well?" I ask, an appropriate amount of awe in my voice for the amazingness of said omelet.

The Doctor rests his head on his hand. "Someone's got to make sure you eat. And nothing makes you want to eat more than good food."

Flushing in embarrassment, I defend myself. "Hey! I like food okay?"

He laughs at me, but not in a mean way. His eyes crinkle in what looks to be fondness. "I know."

I finish my omelet, and lean back into the comfortable silence that we seem to have fallen into. The Doctor stares at me, and I stare back. "I'm not entirely sure what to do." I admit to him. "I usually pop off by now."

"Not always." The Doctor informs me as he stands up and grabs my plate, ignoring my gesture to do it myself. Taking it over, he places it in sink and then turns back to me. "You can jump right after, or sometimes right in the middle of an adventure. But just as often you can stay for days, sometimes even months or years."

"Hopefully, I stay for a while this time." I mutter.

And I do, I don't jump for a whole week. It lets me gain my strength back. I get to explore the Tardis! There are so many rooms. On the second day, the Doctor shows me the library, and then has to drag me away 11 hours later because I won't leave. Amy still ignores me, but she doesn't do it as obviously in front of the Doctor. Rory seemed to respect me now. He keeps his conversations civil with the Doctor. The Doctor doesn't try to show off as much in front of Rory either, so I would count that one as a win as well.

It was on the seventh day, just as I was going to find the Doctor, that I felt the warmth start. I look down to see the orange flames start licking their way up my torso. "Doctor!" I yell out. "Doctor!"

There is a crash from the console room, and then the sound of running feet. The Doctor comes around the corner, his voice frantic. "Mabel?"

"I'm leaving again." I stare at him as he reaches over for me, pulling me into his arms. "I don't want to go."

"It'll be okay Mabel." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "Wherever you go, you'll be with me."

The heat rises, flames now surrounding me fully. My vision goes white and I'm transported away again.

I stumble as I feel my feet hit solid ground and frantically reach around me for something to grab onto. Arms wrap around me, and I rapidly blink, trying to clear my vision. "Doctor?"

"Yes, hello Mabel." A familiar voice speaks from behind me, welcome streaming from where his skin is touching mine.

I turn my head and smile up at him, my vision finally returned to me. "Hello." Concentrating, I try sending back welcome as well.

The Doctor beams back down at me, wearing the first face I ever saw him with.