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Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, the BBC does. I do own Addie, Lilly, and the plot of this story!

Chapter Four

"Lovely, isn't it?" said Addie while looking out on the city from the edge of her balcony. She sat on the thick railing, her feet dangling four stories in the air above the street. Some people would call her crazy for risking her life as she was yet she did it all the time.

She didn't have to look back to know her sister had slipped through the sliding glass door. Lilly had never been one to be subtle when it came to sudden appearances.

"You're going to leave me aren't you?" whispered Lilly. Addie looked over her shoulder seeing her lighter haired adopted sister huddled in a plaid blanket to ward off the cold of London. Her eyes were slightly red rimmed, her cheeks puffy, and her lips swollen from having been tugged by her own teeth over the last couple of hours.

With a heavy sigh, Addie swung her legs back over the railing and landed gracefully on her bare feet. She embraced her sister in a tight hug feeling the younger girl shake as she began to sob quietly. The girl clung to her sister for several minutes while Addie soothed her the best she knew how. That involved whispering soft words and rubbing her back. "I'm not leaving for good Lilly, you know this."

"I can come with you." The girl said hopefully, no strength in her voice.

"Come now love, you know that isn't possible. You scream at spiders and jump at the shadows." Addie ran a hand over her sister's hair giving the end a playful tug.

Lilly snorted into Addie's shoulder. "So do you."

"Yes but I've had the reason to jump at shadows and freak out over spiders. You've got nothing to fear from them. What happens when you learn what lives in those shadows? You wouldn't be able to live with the knowledge I carry. I don't mean to insult you Lil but you know this as well as you know I'm not human." She released her sibling to look at her at arms length. While there was only a handful of years separating the two in age, Lilly looked so much younger in Addie's eyes. Maybe it was the fact that she had seen more of the world and universe that the girl had, or maybe it was the sheer number of times her life had once been on the line. Yet for whatever reason Addie knew that Lilly was a child to her, just as she was a child to her long gone people. "I'll come back, often. So often you'll be wishing I wasn't around. Plus I'll always have a phone and you can reach me whenever you need me wherever I am."

Lilly ran her thumb under her eye, swiping away tears, trying to look strong. "What about work Addie?"

Addie smiled now, sensing that they were going to be okay. "The advantages of working for a nursing agency is the fact that I can take off whenever I want to. I don't work constantly, I've taken weeks off at a time before. I'll always be registered at the agency so whenever I come back I can work. I've got enough money saved away from working as well as the money—well gathered from my years traveling. Every month you get a transfer for my part of the rent and bills. You're completely covered Lilly, if that is what's worrying you."

Lilly shoved at her sister now, nearly sending the taller woman falling onto her backside. Instead Addie fell harshly into the railing hearing the groan of her weight hitting the wood. Her mind flashed to horror movies and the victim falling to his or her death on a rickety balcony. However, showing little fear of what happened to be frolicking around her mind, she simply righted herself to stare at Lilly. "What was that for?"

"You know bloody well I don't care about the money. I just don't want you to leave!" The girl shouted before storming back into the flat, slamming the sliding glass door as well as she could. The frame rattled and the glass shook but it managed to stay in place, just as the railing hand when she had been shoved into it.

"Dammit," Addie cursed as she fussed with the door which had gotten stuck at being moved with such force as being slammed. "Open up!" she shouted at the door until finally she just beat at the metal frame hoping that it would release allowing her access to the flat. It wasn't until she saw the Doctor through the glass flip the lock that she realized Lilly had managed to lock her outside.

Addie had a flash of anger but quelled it by reminding herself that Lilly was having a hard time dealing with the fact that her sister was leaving her behind. Lilly had only been eleven years old when Addie arrived, it was only logical that a girl that young grew attached to the only sibling she ever had, even if she was adopted. They had rarely been apart for more than a couple of weeks, and usually they were only a couple of miles apart. They had even been sharing the flat since Lilly was sixteen and going to get her A levels.

"Girl's got a bit of a temper," the Doctor stated obviously.

"Just a bit," Addie mumbled locking the door shut behind her before closing the blinds. "She's upset, doesn't want me to leave."

"Speaking of which, are you ready to go?" he asked, hands in his pockets rocking back on his heels as if impatient to be staying in one spot for so long. Addie had to agree with that emotion wholeheartedly.

She smiled solemnly and nodded. "Yeah, just give me a moment with Lilly. I'll meet you inside. Kiva settled?"

"Running around her new home," there wasn't much emotion there, just a dull tone that had her laughing.

She reached up to kiss him lightly on the cheek when her laughter settled. "I know you don't like cats, not now that is. So thank you for putting up with her for my sake."

He shrugged and said simply, "Hasn't tried to claw me up, suppose it isn't that bad."

"Couldn't hurt a fly, that cat. Lazy too." She smiled then shooed him off towards the TARDIS which sat in the living still, a large hulking blue monster that screamed for her to hurry up or be left behind once more. "Be back in a moment," she called jogging towards the other side of the flat. She knocked on Lilly's door.

When she got no response she tried the handle finding it locked. "Lillian let me in! I need to speak with you." She pounded once on the door.

"Just go! I don't care anymore." Came a sobbing voice from inside. It made her heart break just a little but then she remembered how Lilly had tired to lock her out of the flat and the sadness turned into a form of low level pity. The girl was twenty one, not even a girl any longer but a woman.

"I'll break the door down if you don't open up right this second Lillian Marie!" Her tone came out harsher than she actually intended.

There was shuffling on the other side, a curse and then the click of the lock being twisted. "What?" Lilly asked with puffy eyes and a red tipped nose. "I thought you were leaving."

"I was Lilly, still am. Right now in fact. I wanted to make sure you know that I love you and that this hurts me as well." Addie tried to reach for her but Lilly moved out of reach. "You don't want to believe me that's your fault but I'll be back like I said. Call me if you need to talk. You won't even know I'm gone."

Lilly choked out a sob. "I've been around you for ten years of my life! How can I act as if you haven't just up and left? What do I say to mum and dad? Your friends? Just can't say she's off traveling through time and space now can I?"

Addie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Tell them I've gone away for a bit, that I needed a break from the monotony of my daily life. Besides, I don't have many people I call friends. Rose is gone and Micky, well he's God knows where with that wife of his. Never really did have anyone close to me besides them and you." She held out her arms for a hug.

It took a second but Lilly finally gave in and hugged Addie tightly. "Keep safe and come back with stories."

Addie let out a wild laugh. "Oh the stories I'll have for you."

"I love you."

Addie felt her own trail of tears slide down her cheek. "I love you too Lilly. I've got to go," they released one another. Lilly kissed her sister on the cheek before the darker haired of the two smiled, turned away, and walked back down the hallway.

Knowing herself all to well, and that if she turned back now she'd decided to stay, Addie just rushed towards the front doors of the TARDIS pushing her way inside. She slammed them shut behind her, sliding down them until she was sitting on the ground with her knees to her chest, tears staining her cheeks.

"Are you—"

Cutting the Doctor off before he could finish the questions, she choked out, "Just go. Now." While she felt the rumbling of the ship beneath her she laid her head on the tops of her knees and took a deep breath. She remember only two times where her emotions had gotten the better of her in such a way. The first was right after the Doctor had left her stranded on Earth, though at the time it was for her own good. The second was when she had lost Rose. She loved Lilly and she felt terrible to be leaving her behind yet at the same time she felt so much more free. Conflicting emotions for a very emotional situation. It never ended well.

Thankfully she wasn't going to have to dwell on her emotions.

"No. No, no, no. NO!" She heard the Doctor screaming just as she was tossed violently sideways into one of the railings. She felt the sting of forming bruises on her hip as she hit metal. As she heard the sound of the TARDIS doing something odd, she hauled herself to her feet, falling backwards against the doors when the ship lurched once more. She cursed as the Doctor screamed and rushed around the console. Barely two minutes into her first trip on the TARDIS and suddenly things were going wrong.

"What the hell?" she called as she took long strides to get to the console. She fell to her knees several times but managed to get to the point where she was gripping the console for dear life. "Did you do something?"

"I didn't do anything! Just tried to get her into the vortex!" He whacked a mallet on something causing a high pitched hissing noise to join with the ringing and buzzing of something going wrong.

Addie growled low in her throat. "Hitting her isn't going to help any! When was the last time you fixed anything?" she asked as she rocked to the side nearly falling over but managing to stay solidly on her feet.

"I don't remember!" A plumb of smoke burst forth causing both of them to cough wildly.

Rolling her eyes and raising her shirt over her mouth to block the smoke, she slide down so that she was effectively straddling the console with both her legs while sitting down. She wiggled her fingers into one of the panels, the one exuding the horridly coloured smoke, and pulled it off tossing it to the side. She found a fried wire. She coughed twice realizing that the dark smoke was tinting her clothing and skin. She mentally cursed.

"Sonic!" She raised her hand into the smoke filled air and waited until she felt the weight of the sonic screwdriver in her hand. She had her own somewhere in the ship, she just had to find it. For now his would do to fix the wire which she was nearly a hundred percent sure was the cause of the problem.

"You actually remember how to work it?" he asked surprised as he pressed another button causing her to slam forward, knocking her head into the console. Hearing her curse, he peaked over and saw her eyes burning while a small line of blood bloomed from the wound found in the darkened area where her head had struck the metal. She was going to have a knot and a bruise but it didn't look like the gash was anything but a minor scratch. "Sorry," he shouted over the ringing in her head and the ship they were currently in.

She swiped at the blood with her free hand which caused her to slide sideways as another violent shudder rocked the TARDIS. She readjusted herself in front of the panel once more. "I will kill you if I die," she murmured as she found the right setting on the sonic which fused the two ends of the fried wire in a temporary fix. Within moments the rocking ship became stable and the smoke started to clear. The ear ringing bells of the TARDIS, once alerting it's driver to danger, stopped leaving the console room deafeningly silent.

"You really need to make sure you keep up with some basic repairs. The brake wire burnt itself up. I fixed it for now but if I were you I'd replace it. Sooner rather than later," she finished by slapping the panel back into place using the edge of the control table above her head to pull herself up to her legs.

"Welcome back," he said with a goofy grin.

"Thanks," she murmured back. Despite her soft tone her smile was just as goofy as his. Somehow facing the threat of the ship crash landing gave her a sense of giddy happiness.

"So," he started twirling around the console. "Where would you like to go first?" His tone was happy, excited. It managed to pull her away from the annoyance of having been tossed around like a sack of rice and the sadness of leaving her sister behind.

Tugging at a thick lock of her hair she gave him a hesitant glance. "Could we, um, just stay in the vortex for a little while?" She hated herself for sounding so timid as she asked.

The Doctor deflated visibly but gave her a bobble of his head to let her know that it was perfectly fine if she wanted to stay put for a little while longer. She felt bad that she was taking the fun out of her finally being back on the TARDIS to travel with him but she needed some time. "It's just I want to get situated here. Reacquaint myself with the ship and everything on her." She finished rather lamely, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sure, sure. Take your time. I'll just, tinker about I suppose. Let me know when you're ready." She smiled brightly at his response and simply slipped into one of the various halls threading their ways through the infinite space that was the place she had called home for so long.

Running her hands lightly along the walls she felt the hum of the living machine beneath her skin. "Haven't changed much old girl," she whispered into the air knowing the ship could hear her, could feel the rampant emotions flowing through her mind and body. She felt a slightly deeper hum, felt it straight to her core. Her smile softened. "I've missed you too, girl."

Winding her way through the halls, she passed room after room. Some of the rooms where labeled, some where not. She passed the music room, the library, the pool, the kitchen, the tennis court, and even the Doctor's room. At that door she took a moment to run her hands along the golden wood. The last time she had been on the ship the door had been black. Apparently the door changed with each regeneration. She found this odd and interesting at the same time.

Continuing on, Addie kept her hand on the wall as she carefully padded her way down the halls, her bare feet warming with each passing step. That was one of the many things she loved about the TARDIS, the warmth of the mental, the living essence of the ship they called home. She chuckled when she felt the vibrating hum of the ship laughing at her. Rolling her gray eyes she simply slapped the wall lightly while putting one foot in front of the other in a long search for her room.

She was lead through the labyrinth of halls, yard after yard of endless hallways which would leave even the most sane person insane. Yet she found it to be alluring, peaceful like the sound of classical music rolling through an empty room. Like a form of white noise which could lull even the loudest child to sleep. This was why she walked on. On and on, until her memories merged with the present, until she was nothing but a walking time line.

She could hear the laugh of her childish self playing tag with the Doctor through these halls. In fact she saw the ghostly image of herself at maybe ten years old running down the hall, shouting and laughing and calling for the Doctor to catch her if he could. That childish laughter was like warm honey, a fond memory of her past she would always turn to.

As the halls dragged on, the images and memories advanced to a sullen preteen yelling and slamming things. When those images faded they turned to ones of her right before she left. Tears running down her face, sobs echoing down the hallow halls. That memory struck home, slapped at her face like an insult. With a small shake of her head the images cleared and her mind was back in the now. Her twenty five year old self walking slowly down the halls in which her life had been lived. She had grown up with these halls and she held out a little hope that she could continue to grow in these halls.

It was then, when she made that final fleeting hope, that she came to stand in front of her door. A pale purple monstrosity that had her laughing brightly even as the color shifted in front of her eyes until it turned into a bright emerald green affair with her name now sprawled out in the beautiful script of her people along with the bright hand writing of her own in English.

Addie grabbed the polished silver handle, twisting and pushing inwards revealing a room that was completely familiar to her, as the door had been moments ago. The room was deep, with the two farthest corners set-in with window seats under towering wooden built in bookshelves. The walls were all purple. Her bed was a large wrought iron affair with a flowing canopy, set against the back wall, covered in purple as well. She cringed at the color, so annoying now.

Like the door, right before her eyes the room changed to what she wanted, to what she saw in her mind's eye in the very moment. The walls, except for the one at the back of the room, turned from that horrid feminine purple to a soft gray with undertones of green, almost a laurel tone. The back wall turned emerald. Her bedding turned soft gray with hints of green stitched designs. The drapery turned black, see-through but dark nonetheless. Her dressers, which had been off white in color turned to cherry oak, the book shelves were suddenly completely filled and the walls where left bare for whatever she wished to put up. Even the flooring had changed into a soft gray carpet.

Thanking the TARDIS, she made her way to the bathroom. It was done in white and gray, offset with splashes of green and black. Besides the now changed colors it was exactly like it had been ten years ago. Smiling to herself she exited the bath and walked to her bed. Sitting down she noted that her bags were in the corner, stacked neatly as if waiting to be put away.

That was what she did. Within two hours her clothing was put away, pictures were hung on the walls and placed on the dressers. Her cameras were put where she wanted them, safe and sound away from harm. Kiva's things were stashed and her toys thrown about for the cat to play with.

At the thought of her cat she searched for Kiva for a second, finding the feline under the bed hiding. She cooed softly to the orange ball of fur to try to sooth her but only received a low growl in return. Addie figured she'd get used to the surroundings soon enough and left the room, making sure the door was closed behind her.

She began once again to thread her way through the never ending halls of the ship. This time, however she managed to find herself in the console room in a few minutes. She saw the Doctor sitting on the jump seat staring at the console as if it had done something annoying, which most of the time it did.

This gave her the moment to take him in. He was taller than he last regeneration, thinner by far. His hair was brown and stuck up everywhere in a dark mess that made her smile. His eyes, she had noted before were brown too, chocolate she realized now that she thought about it. He wore tighter fitting suit, a tie, converse shoes, and at the moment a pair of tortoiseshell frame glasses. The long light brown trench coat he had been wearing earlier that day was tossed over a railing behind where he sat. Overall he looked younger, yet she knew the age that was hidden in that body, the knowledge in his mind.

"Something the matter?" she called trying to jar him from his contemplative thoughts as she waltzed in. When he didn't respond, just continued to look at the controls, she leaned her backside against the console right in his line of sight.

The sudden appearance of Addie caused the Doctor to finally notice her. "Well hello."

"Hello again," she chuckled brightly. "How long was I gone? Felt like years."

With a shrug of his thin shoulder he smiled and said, "Could have been. Time works weird in the vortex."

"Don't I know it. Doesn't feel like I spent ten years of my life here. Felt like just a blip in time." she whispered in a reverent sort of way. It never ceased to amaze her how time flowed more like a river on loop rather than a straight line of progression. "Ten years on Earth felt like eternity. I don't know how people, how my parents even, could stand such a boring A to B kind of existence." She shuddered at the thought of having to spend her whole life without knowing what was really out there in the universe. Humans befuddled her.

He gave a smile. "Humans, they don't know what they're missing."

"But I did," her voice was still soft, as if in she happened to be in a Church and was scared of raising her voice. With a shake of her head she continued on to a different subject. "So tell me, what had you staring aimlessly at the controls? She giving you an issue again?"

Sighing, the Doctor ran his hand through his already messy hair. "She's always giving me problems." He kicked the console for effect which did nothing but make Addie laugh. He was sounding like a sullen teenager who couldn't get their first car to work properly.

"What is it this time?"

"Nothing in particular," he said, still with a sullen facial expression.

Addie made sure she had that little glint in her eye, the one that said she was ready to cause some hell and have an adventure. The Doctor had always said it was a dangerous look. Lilly had said so too at some point in the past. There were so many people who had told her that the look she had when about to get into trouble was a truly stunning and frightening gorgeous look.

"Is it possible to go somewhere now then?"

He jumped to his feet, his brown eyes taking on the same glint as her eyes had. He looked right at her, asking the silent question of if she was ready or not. "Where to Addie?" He jumped around her to the controls, his hands already flying over and tugging at different things.

A giggle and roll of her eyes later she was seated on the jump seat watching him watch her for a moment. "Surprise me," she said. "You were always good at doing that." With that being said she watched as he grinned wildly, slapped a few buttons and slammed a lever down. The Doctor didn't have to tell her to hold on as she felt the rock of the TARDIS and, knowing what was to come, gripped the edges of the seat as the ship was directed through the vortex and then thrown from it.

That was something that she enjoyed about having known the Doctor for a while. He didn't need to tell her what was going to happen, he just expected her to know and act accordingly. This trust in each other is what had saved her young life many times in the past and she had a really strong feeling it would save the both of them in the future. So for now she held on for dear life as the TARDIS gave a violent lurch nearly throwing her into the console. Instead of squeaking or screaming, she let out a wild laugh, a laugh of pure joy, joy so bright it burned as large the star at the center of the solar system in which Earth belonged.

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