A/N: I've been reading back a bit and I hope that the Doctor and Ashley's relationship isn't coming across all shippery o.O Because I don't want them to come across like that. They have a relationship more along the lines of the Doctor and Donna. I don't know if it's just me but I got a bit bewildered for a moment there... Might be the drugs xD

(I don't take drugs really. Only on Mondays)

Oh, and I know NOTHING about horses or riding horses. I couldn't even think of what a saddle was called when I wrote this. So... sorry :P

Chapter Four

Death is Golden

It was already leaning towards late afternoon. The sun was beginning to turn the sky a deep red and the evening breeze was picking up. The dark brown stallion the Doctor rode trotted obediently up the side of the mountain, kicking up little clouds of dust with each step. The Doctor pulled on the reins and gently told it to stop, then pushed his hat back on his head.

'There we go.' He beamed when he noticed the horseless wagon by a stream. 'Knew we'd find something up here.'

There was a snort and a whinny from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ashley frantically trying to get the small horse she was sitting on to go in the right direction. Her face was almost white and she was pulling on the reins frantically.

'That way you stupid horse.' She hissed. 'After those two. You're lucky I don't turn you into glue or something.'

The Doctor laughed at her and then climbed down off his own horse. He patted its neck, to which it responded with a shake. Pushing his hands in his pockets, he made his way over to Ashley. 'Need some help?'

Ashley frowned. 'Bloody stupid things these are.' She grumbled. 'I'd have better luck riding a unicycle.'

The Doctor stopped beside her. 'You've just got to be stern.' He told her, and then smacked the small horse's hide. It neighed loudly, and ran up the rest of the mountain side.

'Whoa!' Ashley cried, pulling on the reins when she almost tumbled off. 'Oh Christ! Stop you stupid animal!'

The horse trotted in a circle, and then eventually came to a stop by the Doctor's horse. Laughing, the Doctor jogged after it. Ashley had her foot tangled in one of the stirrups.

'You know, it's funny,' she scowled at him as he offered her his hand. 'Every time we land somewhere, I find a new reason to hate you.'

'Aw you love me really.' The Doctor beamed as he helped her down.

She landed with an 'Oof' and pushed him away. 'You're just trying to get me killed.' She pointed a finger at him and narrowed one eye. 'I'm onto you matey.'

The Doctor just laughed and headed towards the lonely wagon. Ashley brushed the dust from her dress and grimaced at the small horse before following him. He hopped up onto it and climbed inside.

'Don't think this has been here long.' He announced from inside. 'The uncovered bread is still fresh. I would say there were two people up here.'

Ashley peered around the side of the wagon towards the stream. She noticed something and raised her eyebrows. 'Well one of them is still here.'

The Doctor poked his head out and looked around. When he saw the man lying by the stream, he hopped down from the wagon and jogged over. Ashley followed, having to hold her dress up to prevent her from stepping on it. The Doctor rolled the man over on his back and frowned.

'Is he… uh, you know?' Ashley asked, leaning over his shoulder.

'Yup.' The Doctor replied. 'But that's not the weird thing. Give me your hand.'

Ashley allowed him to take her hand, but when he pushed it towards the dead man she snatched it back. 'No way.' She shook her head. 'I'm not touching the dead bloke.'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'He's not going to bite you know.'

Ashley crossed her arms stubbornly. 'Then you've never seen Night of the Living Dead.'

The Doctor frowned and took her hand. She tried to pull back, but as soon as her hand touched the man's chest she stopped struggling. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion, and pressed down.

'Okay… I haven't felt many dead bodies in my time but I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to feel like concrete.'

The Doctor nodded. 'This man is completely solid.' He knocked on his chest, resulting in slight thumping sound. He felt the man's arms and legs, with the same result.

'So what do you think happened to him?' Ashley asked, pulling her hand back and subconsciously wiping it on her dress. 'Did he drink some quick drying cement?'

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and scanned the body. 'Well there was definitely something alien here.' He glanced around at the wagon and the stream. 'The question is what kind of alien.'

Ashley made a 'pfft' sound and straightened up. 'There are no aliens in the Wild West.' She told him. 'Just crazy paralysed guys who build giant steam-run spiders. But we don't have to worry about them because Will Smith sorts it out.'

The Doctor eyed her for a moment. 'I keep forgetting just how weird you are.'

Ashley beamed and half curtseyed. 'Thank you, sir.'

The Doctor half smiled and then turned back to the man. He leaned over the body and lifted his eyelids. 'Oh now that is just fantastic.'

Ashley peered over him curiously. 'What is?'

'Look at that,' the Doctor said, leaning to the side so she could see the man's solid gold eyeballs. 'One hundred percent solid gold. This man's insides, all his organs, muscle tissue – you name it – all of it has been turned into solid gold.'

Ashley smirked. 'So he's really got golden balls, eh?'

The Doctor shook his head at her. 'Bad taste.'

Her smile faltered. 'Sorry.'

'Well at least we've narrowed it down.' The Doctor said, standing up and dusting off his hands. 'It's an alien who can turn peoples innards into solid gold.'

'Do you know of any aliens that can do that?'

'Nope.'

'Well it's not really narrowing it down, is it?'

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders and pushed his hands in his pockets. 'Well at least we know what it can do.' He turned and headed back towards the horses. 'I think we should try and find out who was up here with him first. There's only a hundred people in this town. Shouldn't take too long.'

'Here.' Ashley said, standing up with a photograph she had just pulled from the dead man's pocket. 'This will probably help.'

The Doctor looked back and waited for her to reach him. He peered at the photograph. One of the men in it was the dead man. The other was a slightly younger, but similar looking man with shaggy hair and light stubble on his chin. He took the photo and waved it slightly.

'You just raked through his pockets?' he asked.

Ashley blinked. 'They do it on TV all the time.'

The Doctor pointed the photograph at her. 'You watch too much TV.'

'Well it helped, didn't it? I saw that fella going into the saloon just as we were leaving earlier. My guess is that he'll probably still be there.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Well done then.' He pushed the photo in his pocket and continued towards the horse. He paused before he climbed on. 'Do you just want to ride with me?' he half smiled.

Ashley half shrugged. 'We'll probably get back to town quicker. I'll break my neck if I try to go back down the mountain on that thing.'

The Doctor laughed and helped her up onto the bigger horse. She looked terrified, but calmed down a little when the Doctor climbed on behind her and they began to trot back down the hill. The smaller horse followed automatically.

'Just promise me one thing.' Ashley said nervously.

'What's that?'

'Don't make it run.'

The Doctor smirked, and then flicked the reins with a shout. Ashley squealed as the horse galloped full speed down towards the town.