Kathryn eventually stopped rolling. She flopped onto her stomach, coughing and spitting out chalk paste. Her eyes were full of the white powder, so she fumbled blindly through her bag for her metal water bottle. She finally located it and un-screwed the lid, pouring it into her mouth and rinsing. She then proceeded to gulp down half of it before pouring part of what was left over her face.

Kathryn was in the process of wiping her face off with an equally filthy shirt when she realized that someone was watching her. She looked up to see a man standing only a few feet away. He was rather attractive, with sandy blond hair and green eyes, though she guessed his age to be about 40. He was giving her the most curious look.

Kathryn sniffed, then met his eyes with a determined glint to them. "Kathryn Trouble Moore, Chalk Inspector," Kathryn said, telling the first story that came to her head. "Did you know that a school this size is required to have a grade of at least A-2? This dust is at best A-6. I'll have to fine you for it."

The man gave a quick blink. "You'd have to speak to one of the M.C.s about that. I'm just a first-year professor."

Kathryn shrugged. "Nah, too much bother. Besides, I was lying. I don't even know if chalk has grades."

The man scowled. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I was in the area and decided to pop in." Kathryn wrinkled her nose. "Sort of. My flight instructor decided that this would be a good place to come and thought it would be funny to push me out the door for an impromptu roll down Chalk Hill." She tilted her head to the side. "What's your name, stranger?"

The man blinked again. Kathryn thought it looked more like a nervous twitch. "Robert Whiting."

Kathryn waited for a beat. "What, no string of impressive letters?"

"They become redundant very swiftly, and letters have less meaning here than they do in most places." He still seemed wary of Kathryn's presence. "Why are you really here?"

"Visiting. My guardian suggested it, so we decided to stop in for a spell. Hey, where do they park aircraft around here? Or spaceships."

"Twenty miles to the North at the Space Center."

Kathryn thought about that, then shook her head. "Nah, he'd be closer. I'll find him at some point."

"Not much of a guardian if he allows you such freedom at your age," Whiting said. He looked Kathryn up and down. "How old are you? You're a bit young to be looking at universities, much less this one."

"I'm fifteen."

"Fifteen!"

"Don't knock it!" Kathryn admonished. "Short of acne, fifteen's a great age, especially if you've already graduated from high school."

Whiting seemed to warm a little towards Kathryn upon receiving that piece of information. "Really? Then someone like you must have already thought of what you want to do with your life. Tell me—" he said, motioning for her to follow him—"what's your focus?"

"I've got a Bachelors in Evolutionary Linguistics," Kathryn told him. "Well, almost. One week out I got permanently sidetracked."

"Sidetracked?"

"Yeah…long story," Kathryn said, then changed the subject. "Anyway, I still like language, but right now you could say I was in Temporal Physics and Navigation. Oh, and history. Heavy on the history. Stuff with computers. But mostly temporal stuff."

"The Temporal Arts?" Whiting confirmed, sounding suspicious. "How were you able to procure a license to study Temporal Arts at fifteen? Most can't secure it until twenty-one at the earliest."

"In my life, it's a sort of a must," Kathryn said. "See, I didn't even know time travel existed, and then the Doctor showed up and—"

"The Doctor?"

Kathryn nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, the Doctor showed up and then he decided to teach me—"

"Pardon me, but you did say the Doctor?"

Kathryn looked at Whiting curiously. "Yeah, but don't all you people here have doctorates in something?"

"Yes but…but the Doctor? As in the Man with the Blue Box?"

Kathryn nodded again, slower this time. "Yes. I'm traveling with the Doctor. Why? Have you heard of him?"

Whiting's eyes widened in amazement. "Heard of him? He's a legend! Everyone on Atlantis knows who the Doctor is! He's is the biggest thing since Quantum Physics were disproved! He's the only man—"

"Disproven," Kathryn cut in, correcting the excited man's grammar.

"To ever complete seven degrees in the same year, and then turn down the position of Head Master of Craft!" Whiting continued. "He founded the Temporal Arts here on Atlantis, was the first student to ever teach here, he's created elements, and provided science with accurate drawings and descriptions of species long gone. There's an entire building dedicated to him, and the Temporal Focus Campus in the Northern Hemisphere was created to honor him!"

Kathryn's hand was suddenly seized by the excited forty year old. "And you say he's here? On Atlantis?"

"He'd better be," Kathryn said, pulling her hand away. "Or I'm going to have a few sharp words for him."

Whiting had a sudden look of realization. "You're one of the people who travel with him, aren't you? A member of the Temporal Elite?"

"A what now?"

"The Temporal Elite," Whiting repeated, emphasizing the title. "How did you ever manage it? It must be a highly selective society. How did you ever find it?"

"I shot the Doctor," Kathryn said drolly. Whiting stared at her for a moment, then laughed.

"I'm sure. But you really must tell me what happened! How do you get the position?"

Kathryn opened her mouth to answer, then decided against it. She needed to find the Doctor and she knew that if she stared answering questions now, they would never stop coming.

"Is there a particular place that the Doctor would land around here?"

"Near his museum," Whiting answered immediately. "He has a parking space there."

"I'll make you a deal," Kathryn said suddenly. "Take me there and I'll introduce you." Kathryn smiled inwardly. She'd just push all these crazy fans over on the Doctor. It would inflate his ego, but they'd probably leave sooner.

"Done," Whiting said. "This way." He took off at a run, which Kathryn easily kept pace with.

The word had already spread around the campus. A huge crowd of students, none of them under their mid-forties, were packed around the area. Jumping up, Kathryn could just make out the top of the TARDIS above the mob.

Knowing perfectly well what was going on, she tapped a nearby student on the shoulder. "What's up with the mosh pit?" she asked. The woman looked at her like she had an extra head (though in fact the woman had two).

"Haven't you heard?" the right head asked incredulously. "It's the Doctor! He's back!"

The left head peered at Kathryn. "What are you doing here? You're far too young to attend Atlantis."

"Me?" Kathryn asked innocently. "I'm here on visit. My ride is up there, if you'd let me through."

The woman's four eyes blinked, stunned. The left head looked at Whiting while the right head continued to stare at Kathryn.

"She's one of the Temporal Elite!" Whiting blurted with excitement. Several other students turned to stare at Kathryn, all of them talking.

"A Temporal Elite?"

"Can't be; she's so young!"

"Others have been younger."

"From all over time as well. She could be from the future."

"Appearances can be deceiving."

"If she's with the Doctor, why is she here instead of over by him?"

"It's not up to you to question space-time, or how to keep it in order!"

"She's covered in chalk dust. There might have been something over by Chalk Hill."

"How did you meet the Doctor?"

"Were you selected by your overall training, or does the Doctor choose you based on a specific category?"

"Did you school somewhere specific before joining the temporal elite?"

Kathryn felt closed in, suddenly surrounded by adults questioning her about things she had no answers for. Not having any other option, she shouted out,

"Doctor! You'd better get your striped suit over here or one of your fans is going to get hurt!"

Fortunately, Kathryn had used a language that had gone extinct before Earth had hit the Middle Ages, from a planet near the polar center of the universe, and TARDIS had been kind enough not to translate, so no one actually knew what she said. However, the general message was clear enough and the crowd parted as if by magic. There was a now a clear path from Kathryn to the Doctor. He looked up and over at her, smirking teasingly when he saw her chalk coated state.

"Did you have a fun trip?" he asked, grinning. Kathryn walked towards him with firm strides. Whiting had the sense to stay behind.

"No I did not, thank you very much," Kathryn said, still using the same language as before. The Doctor noticed that the TARDIS wasn't translating and fell into the same tongue.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Did you plan this?" she accused, gesturing around her at the masses. "I'm not big on crowds; someone usually ends up missing a limb or with all the energy sucked out of their body."

"You'll just have to make sure you keep your gloves on," the Doctor said in reference to Kathryn's permanent energy absorption. "As to the crowd, I was sure no one would remember me. It's been a bit since I was last here."

Kathryn looked pointedly at the large letters over the building behind him. "Time Lord Hall: The Life of the Doctor."

The Doctor didn't even look surprised. "Kind of nice actually; I hadn't realized I was so popular."

"Do you know what they're calling me?" Kathryn asked, not pausing for a reply. "A member of the Temporal Elite."

"Has a nice ring to it."

"The Temporal Elite? Doctor!" Kathryn exclaimed. "No! They think I joined a club and went through tests to get my 'position.'"

"You do and it is," the Doctor said plainly. "I chose who travels with me with care Kathryn."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Right. You asked me because I made no logical sense to you and still don't."

The Doctor's eyes twinkled. "Yeah, there's that too."

Kathryn sighed. She never could stay upset at the aggravating man for very long. "Okay, fine. Let's just keep this to less than three days, yah?" She nodded at the TARDIS door. "If you'll let me past, I'll get showered and changed. I'll be out in fifteen minutes and you can shield me from the worst of the pests." She snapped her fingers, remembering. Pointing down the aisle that was still open, she singled out Whiting.

"By the way, that's Robert Whiting. No idea what he does, but I promised I'd introduce you if he showed me to your parking spot. Which is nearly disturbing that you have one."

The Doctor chuckled as Kathryn vanished inside the TARDIS.

*Constructive criticism welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*