The Doctor was in a dangerous mood.

Harper and Danny's Airstream was parked in a cracked and overgrown parking lot next door to Studio 9. It was like a silver Wienermobile, Rory thought. It was up on cement blocks and a set of fold-out stairs didn't touch the ground. Rory noticed all of this at speed, because the Doctor didn't wait for his entourage. He bounded up the stairs with the sonic screwdriver in his hand, buzzed the Airstream's lock and hopped inside.

"Does he always do that?" Harper asked Rory. "Just break into people's houses?"

"He doesn't usually break in," Rory said. "Mostly he just appears."

They came up the stairs at a more sedate pace to find the Doctor frantically pacing the room. "Well!" He gestured at Harper and Danny. "On you go. Start packing and calling people and so on."

But it was the Doctor who was moved to a frenzy of activity. Harper, Danny and Rory stood in the doorway while the Doctor opened every cabinet and sonic-ed under the bed.

The place wasn't so bad, Rory thought. It was smaller than the TARDIS but had the same cozy, almost nautical feeling. It was meticulously clean—not a sock or a book out of place—and Rory could see Harper's touch in the yellow curtains and a vase of black-eyed Susans on the kitchen counter. A king-sized bed took up almost the entire back end of the Airstream, and there was a tiny bathroom behind a door. The Doctor opened that door and stuck his head in, glaring daggers. Clattering noises came from what Rory assumed was the bathroom cabinet.

"Sorry," said Rory.

"It's fine," said Harper, her lips pursed. "We don't have any secrets."

"Yes you do," said the Doctor immediately. His voice echoed in the tiny bathroom. He stuck his head out briefly."I did warn you about winding me up." The door was open but they couldn't see his face as the Doctor rifled through Harper and Danny's private things.

The one thing Rory didn't see was money. After seeing the Sunday setup and the way Danny manipulated the people of Possum Holler, Rory guessed that Harper and Danny were quids in, out and around the corner. But if so, they didn't show it off. The Airstream was well-used. Everything in it was cheap, chosen more for efficiency and durability than looks. You imagined two people living a simple life on the road. What did they do with the money?

The Doctor stuck his head out. He had an armful of amber prescription bottles. He held them up to the light to read the labels. "What is this stuff?"

Harper looked at Danny.

Danny said, "They're my meds."

The Doctor looked at him over the edge of one of the bottles. "Really? What's the matter with you?"

Harper was incensed by his tone. She took a step forward. "There's nothing the matter with him."

"It's all right," said Danny softly. "I have epilepsy. I've had it since I was a kid." He showed his medical ID bracelet.

The Doctor squinted thoughtfully. "Where do you get medicine on the road?"

"The Internet?" said Danny.

"Yeah. OK. You shouldn't do that." The Doctor held up one bottle. "And really stop taking this. It doesn't work very well and in a couple of years they're going to find out it's…"

"What?" said Danny.

"Never mind," said the Doctor. He tossed it in the bin.

"Is that what you wanted?" Harper asked. "A chance to give us medical advice?"

The Doctor put the medicine on the kitchen counter. He was about to look in the cabinets under the sink when he stopped. He slowly turned around to look at them.

"You're not doing it," said the Doctor. "You're not getting ready."

Rory was looking out the tiny windows, like a good soldier. He didn't see anything coming.

"Yeah," said Harper. "I was trying to tell you before. We don't do anything before a storm because…"

Rory leaned on the counter and listened intently, ready for the solution to this mystery.

"Shh!" said the Doctor, cutting her off. "Not yet. Evidence before conclusions."

Rory sighed.

The Doctor went very still for a moment. "Okay! Today we're doing something brand new! Danny." He pointed. "Does your TV studio lock?"

"It's not my…"

"Does it lock or doesn't it?"

"Of course it does," said Danny.

"And it's made of brick."

"Just the frontage," said Danny. "Inside it's all cement block."

"Love it," said the Doctor. "That's better than I hoped. Get those medicines and anything else you'd like to keep and bring it into the studio. Do it right now and fast. Like your lives depend on it."

"Do they?" said Danny.

"Yes."

His tone brooked no argument, and Danny and Harper went to work.

Finding a perch beside Rory in the kitchen, trying to stay out of the way, the Doctor hunched, looked out the window and smiled in anticipation. It was his danger smile, the smile that meant something was coming and it might win this time, which would be an interesting change of pace.

"It's really bad, isn't it," Rory murmured.

"What? Oh. Yes. I think it probably is."

"I left a note for Amy," said Rory. "It said I'd be back soon and don't wait up."

"You want to phone her?"

"No," said Rory. "I'd rather just get on with it."

"Good man," said the Doctor.

"Yes," said Rory darkly. "That's me."

The Doctor watched Harper and Danny. They way they negotiated who would carry what. The intimacy. The Doctor hadn't had that in years. Not with River in prison and Amy and Rory safely embarked on their grown-up lives. He missed it.

"Historical," said Rory, interrupting these sad thoughts.

The Doctor didn't say anything, but he turned his head a little.

"That was the first thing that was weird. The sign."

"Hmm," said the Doctor.

Harper and Danny presented themselves with backpacks over their shoulders.

"That was quick," said the Doctor, sitting up straight. "Accustomed to leaving town in a hurry, are we?" He winked.

"What do we do now?" said Danny.

"We're going inside a cement building," said the Doctor. "We're going to pick a room with no windows. And then we're going to deadlock and barricade the door. Draw your own conclusions about why."

Harper scoffed. "You could just tell us and skip the circus act."

"And ruin the surprise?" The Doctor tutted and shook his head. "I shouldn't think so."

#

Back inside Studio 9, the Doctor rushed to check on the TARDIS. Before Rory could follow him in he turned. "No. Stay here. Protect them. I won't be long."

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"A test!" said the Doctor. "It's all right, Rory. After this we'll all have a talk and I'll tell you everything. I just need to get some readings off the dilator. Two minutes."

Before Rory could object, the Doctor shut the door. Moments later, the engines began to wheeze.

Rory's heart climbed up his throat. His eyes widened. "No." He rattled the door, then banged on it. "Don't you dare. Doctor? Doctor!"

The TARDIS vanished under his hands.

Rory closed his eyes briefly, thinking: every time. Then he set his jaw and turned around.

Harper and Danny were staring at him.

Harper let her duffel bag slip off her shoulder and onto the floor. "What did he mean protect us?" she said. "Protect us from what?"