Sara sat up in bed in her hotel room and felt relief course through her at the sight of the darkened room. 'Just a nightmare,' she thought. The bed beside her had the familiar lump of Jessica huddled beneath the covers.

So she didn't have to fall, she just had to go to sleep in her dream world to wake up in the real world. Maybe she had watched 'Inception' one too many times. Despite the movie's creativity, she could not see using it as a guide for helping to navigate the dream world.

It was to her relief that her whole journey to the Tower of London had been part of the nightmare. Sara got out of bed and went to the bathroom and starting drinking water copiously from the faucet. Strangely the water tasted different, there was nearly a coppery after taste. She tried not to mind.

When she emerged from the bathroom, the lights were on. "Sara, you alright?" Jessica asked.

Sara opened her mouth to answer, but instead stood mute and stunned as she looked at Jessica. The whites of her eyes were gone, the whole of them covered in blackness. They were completely opaque. Those gruesome eyes furthermore were staring at her as Jessica's voice asked innocently, "Sara, what is wrong?"

"Jess, your eyes!"

"Oh that," Jessica shrugged. "They were eaten. You know how your eyes are the first to go."

"Eaten?"

"Come on, Sara, weren't you paying attention? The light got us."

"But you're here!"

Jessica gestured around the room. "We are your echoes, that's all. You brought us here to see. Aren't you curious?"

Sara backed away revolted, "But why?"

Her question was ignored. "You should have warned us, Sara. I was your best friend."

"But I don't know what's going on!"

"Remember a year ago?"

Sara shook her head.

"Come on, Sara, try to remember."

"A year ago?" Sara stammered. "Last Christmas? You were away…"

Jessica advanced on her, "I saw you on the bridge. You wanted to join us. Be an echo." She laughed, "Isn't this your dream come true?"

"No," Sara shook her head in refusal. "This isn't real."

"Now I'm being eaten alive at your expense. You really should see this." Jessica seized Sara's arm, pressing her face close. White tendrils were all around Jessica's face and starting to bore into her skin. Sara could distinctly see them eat away at her friend's flesh and started to gag.

"And you wanted to join us," Jessica laughed. "I'm touched." Sara tried to push away and backed into the door.

"There are still more bridges you can jump off of, we can be eaten together." Jessica smiled, her teeth were missing. "It'll be fun, won't it, Sara?"

It was then that Sara started to scream.

The scream that pierced her throat jarred her awake, and Sara shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. She took a few deep breaths, clutching the heavy feather down comforter in her one hand. I didn't have a down comforter at the hotel. She dropped the bedspread that appeared in a soft shade of blue, her favorite color. How is that possible? Even the color of her comforter at home was white since a neutral tone was a safe choice that would complement other shades in her room.

This clearly wasn't her room. Sara could ascertain that much simply by noting the obvious lack of other furnishing. The room only had the bed that she was lying in and a strange device mounted on the sterile white wall that seemed to be recording various patterns. She was briefly reminded of a heart rate monitor she had so often seen in medical shows on TV, but this seemed far more detailed. Furthermore, it streamed a series of numbers and equations that were above her understanding for only completing business calculus. The light in these quarters was muted and she could hear a fading hum that seemed to emanate from the walls like a pulse. The barely discernible hum seemed to encroach upon her and made her eyelids feel heavy. She tried to shake herself, but the effect was only reduced momentarily before returning. Something in this room seemed to be inducing her to return to sleep.

She refused to slip back into the nightmare.

Getting out of the bed, she tested her legs. She realized parts of her clothing had been removed or cut away, while in their stead, a color set of bandages had been scattered along her legs and arms. She felt a flurry of indignation but then fascination as one bandage caught her notice. Upon first appearance, it was in the shade of slight green but, before her very eyes, the color slowly faded to white. In curiosity, she gently lifted up the bandage that was on her leg. The wound beneath it had vanished without a trace. The other coverings on her skin were working in a similar fashion.

Even while sitting up, the room seemed to emit a vibration that made her drowsy and disoriented. Sara managed to stand solidly on her feet and rushed to the door, only to find to her immense frustration that it was sealed, the doorknob simply wouldn't turn.

She started to pound on it and yell in fury, refusing to be trapped in this room that seemed to want her comatose. She then heard footsteps, and the door slid open as she saw David Tennant. No, his look alike. He was standing in front of her.

His expression was one of sorrow as she frantically gazed passed him to the outer room.

"What the hell is going on? Where did you take me?"

"The one place you would be safe," he attempted to keep a soothing tone in his voice. This would not be an ideal situation for either of them.

His species matcher scan proved conclusively that she was human, yet when he initiated the Advanced Diagnostic Terminal, which he reprogramed for her species, the results proved quite astonishing. He had expected the void matter, since Martha had transmitted UNITS findings to him. Their equipment was still far less advanced then diagnostics available from Gallifrey, but it was able to detect a unique source of energy that resided in the girl. Since she had been unconscious and was in no position to object, he submitted her to various scans in hopes of identifying the source of the energy readings. It was disturbingly inconclusive, he needed more time. It could be a form of radiation that she picked up crossing the void that was inconsistent for humans to ever obtain, if so, he had to study other species to see if a similar pattern could be found. Consulting the Sontarans might prove risky but a clone race had advantages, their medical expertise would be considerable.

Of course, he had to approach them with some accord and not be shot down the moment he showed his face, perhaps there was another alternative.

"What is that supposed to be mean?" Sara tried to push past him, yet he seized her wrists gently and pushed her back in the room.

"It is alright, you're safe here."

"Here? Where is here?"

He raised his eyebrows, "My home."

"Your home," Sara repeated. Suddenly it dawned on her what he was trying to say. "The TARDIS."

"So you know."

"I've seen the seven seasons of the show at home, of course I know."

"You think I'm an actor?"

"Or someone extremely deluded. You've kidnapped me," Sara returned. "I want to go home, this isn't real."

He sighed and took her shoulders in his hands. "Sara," he said gently. "Your home doesn't exist anymore."

Her continual denial wasn't helping matters, he glanced around the room. The Neural Dampener was still activated albeit, the setting was on low. He had hoped by setting her in the sleep room, she would still remain in slumber for several more hours. Even on a low setting, it should have still been sufficient for that purpose.

Then he realized his mistake, he had forgotten to make key adjustments to the Dampener. She must have had nightmares, which would have easily been avoided if he had alter the device to setting eight, which would then suppress them. No wonder she was able to stay conscious.

"No, this isn't real, the Doctor is part of a TV show. How am I supposed to believe you?"

He drew in a deep breath, he knew all too well her pain. Had not his own world been obliterated? The guilt wore on him every day, which made the misery since he said his last good-bye to Donna worsen. So often, he tried to tell himself there was no other way. Rassilon wanted to destroy the time vortex, entire universes would have been destroyed, so that the Time Lords could ascend to pure consciousness. He made a necessary sacrifice for the greater good. Those words seemed so empty now, but he tried to remember the years of war, power had made the council corrupt. The time lock that was put in place during the war on Gallifrey prevented anyone from interceding with the destruction of the planet. It made him heartsick, he had no wish to survive.

He fathomed Sara felt the same way, maybe he could delay until she was better rested. "Maybe you'll want to change and rest, I can-"

She shuddered, "No."

He nodded knowingly, "Bad dreams?"

She winced, "I don't want to sleep. I just want go home."

"I forgot to adjust the settings to inhibit your dreams, my fault really."

She glanced back at the room and then back to the Doctor. "What do you mean? What is that place?"

"A sleep room, it's right off the sickbay," he pointed to the device above her head. "That's a Neural Dampener. Among other things, it induces a sleep state." He gestured to the bed. "You took quite a knock to your head. I promise, no nightmares this time. You should rest and recover-"

Sara looked at him speculatively, "What, for my concussion?"

"Well, yes, with you humans, the mind is a tricky thing and-"

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with doubt. "You lied to me," she said simply.

He was taken aback, "What?"

She shook her head, "River Song was right. That is, if you are who you say you are. A Time Lord has the ability to cure concussions."

He was silent, thinking of River Song. A woman he met only once that didn't hesitate to give her life for his. Of course, he knew that his life would intersect with hers again, but this girl already knew. Wherever she was from, her knowledge was a considerable liability. He was able to cure concussions even without use of the TARDIS. It simply required contact and maneuvering the earlobe to remedy them. But if this girl knew about that, what else did she know?

"Where you are from, what year is it?"

She hesitated, "It's 2014."

Six years, if it was true, she knew six years of his future. The possible consequences could be disastrous. If other species were to so much as to find out about her, she would be taken as a trophy and sold off to the highest bidder. If any of the Daleks were still around, they would mostly certainly use her to create a paradox that could unravel the universe.

"I just want to go home," her eyes were pleading. What could he say? Her reality no longer existed.

"Sara, there is no home." He paused. "Only weeks ago, a race called the Daleks used a reality bomb. It was already weakening the fabric between realities." He took her arm and walked her into the outer sickbay. "You may have seen some signs of it yourself in your dimension. All the realities were bleeding into each other."

Sara shook her head, "I don't remember. It's been a long year."

"I know the feeling. The reality bomb was set off in a small scale on the Dalek ship. There should have been no repercussions on other realities. They were testing the device."

"You mean, all those people that became obliterated onboard the ship." Sara murmured. "Then Donna was in the TARDIS and created your human clone."

"She helped to save everyone in this reality."

"And lost her mind in the process."

"The reality bomb caused cracks in multiple different dimensions. Somehow you radiate a special signature and were made immune as your reality ceased to exist." He paused. "The energy acted like a shell around you, keeping you alive."

He started to pace. "Your reality must move faster then ours. There are billions of parallel universes out there, literally hundreds of billions. They all occupy the same space-time coordinates but exist in a different dimension. They move sideways in time rather then forward and back."

Sara frowned, "No, we moved in time just fine." She jerked away from him and leaned heavily against the wall of the sick bay. "This is ridiculous. I just got my degree, I was on vacation with Jessica, it was normal, and that was all I wanted. Why can't I have that?" She looked up at him, "Can you fix it?"

He gave a sigh. How could he explain this to a human? This one already seemed incredibly volatile. "Sara, you existed in a parallel universe and, in general, they can exist just fine and have no impact on each other. Usually parallel universes are separated by millisecond of time and a nanometer of space."

"So what's the problem? What happened?"

"When the reality bomb was activated and the walls between realities weakened, this universe completely split from yours and our timeline destroyed all time in the parallel reality. Our universe consumed it to exist," he shook his head. "I didn't know."

"They can't be gone. Why am I here? I am part of that timeline, I remember everything."

"Think, Sara, do you remember anything happening to you this past year? Time for you moved more rapidly, you received a high concentration of energy particles which acted as a buffer allowing you to pass through the void." He moved towards her. "That didn't happen overnight. Do you remember feeling odd or really sick? Laid up at all?"

Sara lowered her head, she could hardly process what he was telling her. He was demanding answers. "Sick?" She muttered. "Yes, sick," she said, "I got sick." Pressing her hands to her head, she continued, "They said it was my thyroid, a sudden onset of hyperthyroidism. My metabolism was speeding out of control, they gave me medication. My heart still palpitates, but it's getting better." He gave her a look of consternation. "It was better, it's…" She looked around. "But this can't be happening, my family, my friends…"

She turned away from him, tears started to well in her eyes. She wouldn't allow him to see her cry. "It was nothing! I was going to do all the things I wanted to do and then I saw that light." In fury, she slammed her hand against the wall. "I saw Jessica last night in a dream or a nightmare. She said her eyes were eaten, and she blamed me. It was my fault."

She felt weight of his hand on her shoulder, "I can promise you that nothing that has happened is your fault."

"Then why am I still here?"

He turned her to face him directly. "Because, Sara Thomas, you still have a purpose, and I will help you figure this out. It will be my pleasure."

"Pleasure?" She repeated incredulously. "I just want to go home." She collapsed onto her knees, blinking rapidly. "Why can't I go home?" She whispered. Sara never felt so alone before, yet here she was, in a place that was utterly alien to her, feeling the first tendrils of hopelessness creep upon her. It was impossible. How could she live knowing her family and friends had simply vanished? How could she accept that? "I don't want to be here anymore," she murmured, folding her face into her arms.

"I know," he said. He was kneeling down to face her, his hands still on her shoulders as he pulled her forward, holding her against his chest. She was reluctant at first, nearly pulling away at this strange offer of comfort, but his hands remained firm. Finally, she leaned into the embrace and found that she could not stifle the tears. Distantly, she could hear the two heartbeats, which seemed to confirm her worst suspicions.

"Their eyes," she murmured as the nightmare crept back into her mind. "They were being eaten."

"Never mind, none of it was real," the Doctor answered reassuringly. "They never knew what hit them, I can swear to that."

The embrace continued partially in silence and until her stifled sobs relented. "You didn't let me jump," she whispered.

"You would have died," he released her gently and sat beside her against the wall. "You are my responsibility. Considering your circumstances, I couldn't let you go."

"What about UNIT?"

"We were both right about one thing, UNIT cannot be trusted. Humans," his features betrayed disgust. "If they aren't trying to blow up this planet, then they are picking fights with other species."

"Does that include you?"

"From time to time. I'm often a last resort, they know I don't approve of their methods."

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Sara took a shuddering breath. "Start again?" It was difficult to conceive of a life where she had to rebuild from scratch, but it was feasible. If this wasn't a dream, and she still couldn't rule it out, she would far rather be in surroundings that were familiar to her then this alien environment. "I had a degree in public relations and if I could get documentation here-"

"No, I'm sorry. I need to keep an eye on you. The best way to do that is to take you along."

"Take me along," Sara repeated stupidly.

"On my travels." He seemed nearly excited at the prospect. Sara was horrified. "Think about it, it would take your mind off your friends and family. You can travel to places beyond the scope of your imagination."

"You're the Doctor," Sara said, saying that aloud, trying to come to terms with the word in reality as opposed to fiction. She still felt foolish as if she were losing her senses, perhaps she was the one that had gone insane.

"I'm glad we got the squared away." It was a good sign for him that she was coming to terms with the reality of her situation. He didn't like the idea of having to lock her away onboard the TARDDIS for the next sixty years and if he could get her to agree to accompany him willingly, then such extreme measures would not be necessary.

He couldn't trust Sara to live on her own without interference, she had to be closely monitored. It wasn't just her knowledge about the future, although there were several species that would consider that information alone extremely valuable, but the dense energy inside her had to be observed. Even Jack Harkness and Torchwood didn't have near the expertise needed to handle this situation. Besides, the girl was still a hazard to herself. An emotionally volatile human with all those energy particles who just attempted to kill herself? No, it was out of the question.

She shook her head in adamant refusal, "I just can't. I've seen all of this on TV, whenever you travel, you put everyone in danger. Where you go next…" She trailed off.

"Where I go next, what?"

She shook her head. "You mentioned the reality bomb. In my world, that happened on four years ago on the show."

"You really believe I was on a TV show," he was incredulous.

"As opposed to?"

"A gift, perhaps." He offered, "You could be psychic and not know it."

"With details just concerning your life, how does that make sense?" She continued. "You accepted I was from a parallel world, is it so far-fetched that all of this is part of a TV show?"

He was silent, gazing at her in consternation.

She made a groan in frustration, "I thought you had experience with parallel universes."

"Before the Time War, travel between alternate realities was relatively simple by the other Time Lords." His expression was filled with bitter sadness. "Now, Gallifrey is gone, and it's nearly impossible, so with the billions of realities out there, I haven't been to yours."

She sighed, "So you don't believe me."

"I didn't say that. I'm struggling to wrap my mind around the fact that my life is being used as a form of entertainment."

"I only know pieces about your travels and your life, and I know what the Ood said. You're song is ending, maybe that's why you left Rose with your human counterpart."

It was a sore subject, and the Doctor turned away, "Among other things."

"Sacrifice, then," Sara said.

"You had to mention Rose."

"Unfortunately, I'm psychic," she grimaced, "Or I saw it on TV."

He turned back to her. "Yes, knowing the future, even just my future is dangerous. The information you have is valuable especially in the wrong hands."

She shook her head, "I don't care. What is there left for me to worry about? You had to tell me that my entire universe is gone. Everyone I loved has completely vanished. I just want to go home."

She was retreating again into her denial which he found frustrating. He confronted her, "Jumping off a bridge is not going to get you there."

"This shouldn't be real. I even seen the sets on TV. I've seen the actors and writers interviewed. It's fiction!"

"And yet here you are."

"You already lost three companions. You can't tell me you were looking for another one?"

"You're right, I wasn't."

"And I don't want to be here."

"Sara, this is different. You are too much of a danger to be left unchecked."

"But you don't even know who I am!"

"After running initial tests to try to get a determination, I don't."

"And after you find out, will you let me go?"

"My answer would still be no. There are species that would potentially use you as a weapon, I can't allow it."

Sara backed away from him in shock. The situation was becoming surreal. There was nothing more critical to her then her independence, which this man was now stripping from her.

"I don't understand, I am no one to you. I am nothing."

The Doctor approached her, "From what I've seen, Sara, you are so much more than nothing. I will not allow you to simply throw it away."

He glanced around. "I think a change of scenery is in order. We need a distraction. Has there not been one place in all of time you wanted to visit?"

"A distraction?" Sara asked in disbelief. "I just lost my entire family, you are taking my freedom, and you think taking a trip will make me forget?"

He fell silent and she could see the expression of sadness in his face. For Sara, his sorrow did not suffice. This world, to accept it as real and not fiction, was a complete anathema to her. She refused to be imprisoned in this distorted form of reality. Even if her reality was gone, what did she have to live for, being that her entire universe had been eaten away?

He was approaching her again, and in an act of desperation, she ran past him, out the sick bay door, which was thankfully open, and down the hallway. The corridor went on forever, the hallway had many doors but no access to the core, and it just seemed to continue in an infinite progression. She remembered vaguely about Clara getting lost on the ship and its multiple layers. How would she find an exit if the Doctor wouldn't allow it? The TARDIS, she knew, had a soul, but the majority of the time, the sentience acted in accordance with the doctor's wishes.

Grabbing a doorknob, she took a chance and opened it. The smell of roses permeated the air, it was unbelievable. Right before her lay a vast rose garden with petals of various shades of colors. The air in the room was distinctly more humid as if she had fully stepped into a green house. There was a narrow, cobblestone path through the middle of the garden yet these flowers dominated the entirety of the rest of the area. Deciding quickly, she ran through the rose garden and out the other door. She ended up in a wine cellar, the temperature dropped as she moved past multiple bottles of red burgundy. Must be a favorite. Finding another door, she recognized the library. It was cavernous, there were intricately-carved, gothic columns with shelves upon shelves of differing volumes of books.

"Amazing," she exclaimed. A book on the table caught her eye, 'The History of the Time War' was etched on the front cover embossed in gold. The same book Clara saw. She hesitated before opening the volume with curiosity and leafed through the pages.

A name caught her eye. It was nearly hard to decipher at first, but then she knew with a sinking sensation what it was, who that name was for. It was right there in front of her. Quickly, Sara slammed the book shut, for her own sake, she couldn't let him know she had seen it. Not that the name rolled off the tongue, but it was, regardless, imprinted in her memory.

She backed away from the book and went further into the library and down into the rows. Distantly, she heard him call out, "Sara?" He was getting closer. "Sara, look, there's no use, you will just get lost."

That was reassuring. Empty words as far as she was concerned, he considered her an oddity, something to be locked up and examined. Perhaps slightly better then being vivisected by UNIT but from where Sara was standing, not by much.

She backed further into the row down to the back wall and sank down to the floor, wrapping her hands around her knees. Around her neck, she couldn't help but hold onto the cameo locket her mother had given her from Italy about a year ago. She had always loved cameos, they were so delicate, images drawn on shells. This one had an intricate frame with all her initials and two images from Roman mythos carved on either side. It didn't get erased or eaten, it was here, around her neck. Hopefully, the picture of her family was still intact. She shook her head, surprised she hadn't thought of it before, and struggled to open the clasp. However, to her frustration, it was melded shut.

She tried to determine a way around the fault but the clasp remained secure, despite her prodding, and she felt tears in her eyes. All she wanted was to see the picture of her parents for just a moment. Maybe if they had been eaten out of existence, they could still be in some variation of an afterlife, in heaven, looking down on her, knowing they left a piece of them with her, and now she failed them because their one gift refused to budge.

Deep down, she knew it was a small fault, a clever jeweler could open the locket, but at that moment, it felt like a tragedy. She put her head on her knees and wept again like a small child. She wept for the parents she would never see again, the friends she never got to say goodbye to, and even her co-workers to whom she promised to bring back small trinkets from her trip. They had been good to her and now they were gone, everything had vanished.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," she murmured between her sobs. "I'm so sorry. I should have stayed." She seized a book from a shelf and threw it in her fury and desperate agony. It made a resounding echo across the floor. "I'm alone." Her body trembled. "It's my fault," she whispered. "I left you to die."

"None of this was your fault," a voice said gently. The Doctor had approached her and slowly sat down next to her. "Not a single bit."

He put his arm around her, pulling her towards him, and gently stroked her hair as she huddled beside him. "I told you about Rose."

Sara nodded briefly, she sniffed as she tried to suppress the further torrent of tears. "Bad Wolf Bay," she whispered.

"That's right, you know all about her, all from the telly," he said. "And you know about the Time War."

"I…" Sara swallowed hard. It was a future he hadn't seen. "I can't say." Gauging her words she managed, "You are less then a monster then I am."

He took her shoulders to face him, "Sara, you are not a monster."

"The dream, they were blaming me. It was real, I know it."

"No, Sara." He brushed the hair that had gotten matted to her skin. "That is not how it works, on this, you have to trust me."

Sara glanced down at her hands. "Do you think…?" She paused. Her question might seem trivial. "I mean, I know you say they were erased from existence but do you think they…?"

"They what?"

"They're in heaven? That they are in peace?" There was a desperate edge to her question, she needed some reassurance.

The Doctor took a deep breath and his eyes became distant. "I think there are a lot of things about this universe that I don't understand, Sara. I took Rose to Victorian Cardiff on our second trip where we met Charles Dickens."

"I remember, a little bit."

"There was a woman who was mildly clairvoyant and was able to open this rift, a wormhole so to speak. "

"You mean Gwyneth and the Gelth."

"Yes, they lost their physical forms in the Time War." He shook his head. "I made the mistake of taking pity on them and allowed her to make an opening. She was dead the moment the rift was exposed." He smiled briefly. "We didn't know the Gelth were evil, too many years separated from their bodies."

"She closed the gate while she was already dead."

"Some mysteries of the universe can't be explained, that's why I still travel." He stood up offering her a hand. "And that's why you should too."

She looked at the out stretched hand hesitantly.

"I don't know if I can do this, I'm not a thrill seeker. My family is gone, and I don't even have anything to bury."

"How's this?" He knelt partially down, hand still extended. "I take you to the wardrobe to find a change of clothes." He looked at her critically. "I think I cut those to tatters. You can get cleaned up and get the bandages off. Why don't we start there?"

"No time travel?"

"Not until you're ready, we'll start small."

"You won't let me go," She said faintly, twisting her necklace around in her hand absently. It was strangely ironic that this had happened to her. While, arguably, there were many who would love to be in her position, the cost was far too high. If Sara could get her world back, she would happily trade places with any of them.

"Sara," the Doctor's face was grim, that alone told Sara the answer. "One thing at a time." She reluctantly took his outstretched hand, might as well play along until an opportunity presented itself to extricate herself from this disastrous situation. "Let's just start getting you sorted out." His smile displayed the same nearly playful edge she had grown accustomed to on the show. He pulled her to her feet. "Then we'll see what happens next."

Sara bit back a retort at this remark, she already knew what happened next.