Amy was wiping down the wooden counters at the bar she now worked at. They were trapped in Tortuga in the early 1600's; the TARDIS was in nowhere in sight. They had been like this for a few weeks or months, time passed so quickly for them. Amy was having some fun being able to dress in old kinds of dresses and be able to have a job as a barmaid. BK on the other hand was having a tough time with the dresses, being a tomboy for most of her life. Rory was a doctor… or the closest thing the town had to one. Really, one could just own a saw and say they were a doctor, but Rory was the only one that people actually went to in this little town called 'Bull Fish Village'.

The Doctor had been missing for a few days; he went off to check for his TARDIS, and hadn't come back. The three he left behind didn't really worry all that much. BK had been the one to console the others, if the Doctor couldn't come back before Cloudo finds a way to bring BK back; Cloudo would help them look for him, any dimension, pocket dimension, and timeline. That had easily taken the fear from the other two.

BK was having trouble lately; she hadn't slept in three days. It was beginning to show, she had bags under her eyes and the villagers were beginning to think that she was a siren on land. They thought that since she could swim, sing, and fight off pirates that had come ashore one night, that she was a siren. The men of the village hadn't seen a woman who wasn't a mother fight before that night.

When a child came up and asked her if she was, she laughed and shook her head before she said cryptically, "No, little one. But sometimes I wished I was." The little girl and nodded and ran to her mother. After that, even though the villagers believed her a monster, they started to be nicer, and friendlier. It helped that the only competent doctor was her friend and his wife was the friendliest and feistiest barmaid in the village. BK had brought in some money telling stories and singing songs to pirates that passed by. Surprisingly, they loved her quotes from Monty Python. Who knew?

The village had strange things going on, people disappearing and turning up on slave ships carrying prisoners (A/N most slave ships going to the New World in this time carried criminals) that passed by old and crippled and swimming to shore. Stories and songs were a comfort that the villagers relished. And any laugh was a joy that no one needed to be denied. She usually sings and quotes in the bar. The pirates that sailed here, normally, just come for the hookers, but lately they have coming to the bar. BK has been protecting Amy, redheads beware.

BK also being raised on the water of Florida, she can fish. Well, any kind of fishing, net, spear, stick, or the rods. Her uncles' taught her well. Supposedly, that's why people believe her to be a mermaid or siren, she could catch more fish than anyone, or so they said. She has been called 'BK' to her face, but to her back 'Siren' has been more talked about. It reminded her of her old schools. All five of them, however, she was happy.

She rarely got to be so close to where she was raised. To a Karce who hasn't been officially put on holiday, their spheres that keep them alive and sane create pocket dimensions. Dangerous little things. Or big, depending on how close to their home dimensions. BK had barely thought about the possibility of one, she knew she wasn't even near the first dimension. However, as time went on, and rumors of more people disappearing began to surface, and when she met a Ronald Harman who she named 'Ginger', she realized much more was at work.

"Amy," BK had been at the bar, drinking some sweetly, spiced rum, when she smelled something wrong, it smelled like sweat, spiced apples, and salt, with some chlorine (a common smell with people born near the first dimension, but not actually in it). She knew that smell; she turned and saw an old friend. Raven had come. Without looking away she said quietly, "I got to see an old and close friend, wait here and don't come to the table."

Amy who looked up had cocked her head in confusion and then nodded. BK hadn't really talked about her past, much to the annoyance of Amy and her hubby. As she watched BK slowly get up from the wooden stool and bar, she saw her walk over to a couple of pirates. One had his face turned down, but he had a bandana over his long, black hair. It wasn't until he looked at Amy that she saw his eyes. Electric, unnatural blue. She knew then that he was either an alien or a Karce. She kept her promise and looked away. But not before thinking, 'Old friend? With those hot looks? Ha! It was more like the Adonis of her past.'

"Raven." BK had come to the table and sat down, practically pushing a completely drunk pirate off his chair and sat down in front of the black haired man. "I knew you were stationed at the sixth naval order, but really? A pirate? What have you done to get this mission? Dated the wrong girl?" BK had a smile on her face. It was a warm smile; familiarity was just roaring off her.

The unnatural eyes looked up from his drink, a two fanged smile shone from his own mouth with the same familiarity. "BK, how are you? Heard about the holiday mishap, what are you doing here?" they were whispering now in the old Morphric tongue. The language and dialects of the Karce. "Old friend, did you hear about the issues here? You're supposed to be on holiday, and this is a navel matter."

"Well then, this must be good, because, you're on land. And showing your true eye color, so that means it's a rebellion matter. Oh, this is juicy, what is it? It's been almost four years since I had a real adventure!" she was bouncing up and down now, Raven blushed a bit when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra or bandages or a corset, well with BK's hatred for corsets, he could understand, however the bras or bandages, not so much. He was shy like that. She always found that cute. "Don't blush, you're a sailor, and you know what I always say, 'Sailors will kiss anyone.' So, stop acting like we're still pups in the Pack."

"Your father always said that to you so you wouldn't marry a sailor. Being raised in the first dimension's Florida." His fangs had elongated as his smile widened into a grin, practically an instinctual action. It was true; she always had a thing for the sailors, fishermen, or any guy with a ship. When her father found out he drilled that into her head, he knew what sailors were like. She smirked and nodded. She then noticed what he was wearing.

He had on the bandana Moon had given him when he went under her care; it was dark blue, with Morphric writing all over it, but to people who can't read it, it looks like triangles embroidered with electric blue thread. They were quotes from his home dimension's famous people from England. He was raised in his Britain after all. So, he could keep a bit of his home with him as he grew up with Moon and Cloudo. He had on his favorite pair of boots. Cotton pants that were pretty loose on his thin but muscular waist. And a shirt and vest on him. He looked like the proper pirate. Easily blending in to the background and chasing away unwanted eyes scanning for easy pickings. She then realized that around his arm was a leather cord. The one she gave him when they were in the Cages. "You still have it."

"Why would I get rid of it?" he had on that cute look of confusion. They were like a brother and a sister, only closer. They were Cage Mates. Such a bond that would be closer has not existed. Staying in the Cages for so many years together can do that to people. Cage Mates can legally be considered close to married, but not legally Mates or spouses. They just had similar benefits.

"Thank you." She said, and smiled a quiet, small, sad smile. He returned with his own. BK had cleared her voice and asked again, "Why are you here?"

"Ask him." Those two words were spoken in Gaelic. TARDIS or no TARDIS, she could understand. She turned to the quiet man who hadn't left the table when she came and spoke in another language with his crewmate. Her dark brown eyes surveyed the ginger man. At those words the ginger had looked up. His eyes were scared and he had been staring at his left arm. It was under the table, but she could tell he was favoring it.

"What happened there, boy?" she spoke quietly and motherly in Gaelic. He was like a scared child when he looked at his arm. "Come on, you can show me."

Green eyes flashed a bit of yellow when he looked up again. Horror washed over BK's sunburned and freckled face. She got up without a word and slapped Raven's face. She then stormed out of the bar. And then she walked out of the village towards the hills that graced the landscape up north, determined. She knew the symptoms and she was angry with herself that she hadn't seen it before tonight.

Back in the bar the patrons were separated into two different groups. The people were watching two people. The villagers were watching Amy, and the visitors (Pirates) were watching their crewmate. Villagers were watching Amy because they knew her temper; the men winced and looked down after they sent an apologetic look to the blue eyed stranger. The pirates looked at said man thinking that he was going to kill the reddish brown haired girl who stormed out of the place. Only one group was right, and let me tell you, it wasn't the visitors (Pirates).

"Whot the 'ell 'appened 'ere?!" the redhead had her accent as thick as her anger. She clomped over to the man and slapped him too. "Get out of my bar!" when he didn't get up she snatches his vest and pulled him out of the bar. The low yell of the owner of the bar hadn't been heard by her, but to Raven he could hear it loudly, it's my bar! It ain't yours, ye mad Scottish woman!

"What did you say to her, hmm? I haven't seen a reaction like that from her in… well, ever." She had pushed him to the ground. He wasn't fighting her like she was used to from the villagers, which just made her even angrier.

"Eh, she's just pissed at not being told. I've seen it, but never was the one that she slapped... or hit in the head with a wrench." The last part brought a smile at his face; one Amy suspected meant an inside joke. At his response Amy got even angrier, she then kicked him in the ribs. Or at least she tried. He had grabbed her ankle and held it with such a grip and a sneer on his face it shocked her out of her anger. He was getting annoyed, too. He had a long and painful day. Hell, it was a painful month for him. His eyes started glowing a blue light.

"What do you mean?" she had a fearful look on her face and a fearful sound in her voice. At her voice he quickly blinked and the light was gone. He then let go of her ankle and got up himself. His hands in his pockets and a fake smile on his face, he was ready to not explain to this human. He opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it and walked away with a playful smirk on his face.

"Nothing." He called over his shoulder.

"What is with you Karce never telling us anything, important or not?!" Rory had witnessed the entire thing and had run to the front of the bar to check on his wife. At the word 'Karce' Raven had stopped and his body tensed. His anger was back and gone was his fierce playful prankness.

He turned to the couple and saw the male in front of the female. He made a sneer and showed his fangs. Rory just fidgeted, he didn't run, or cry in surprise or fear likes most men of this place. He just stood there, protecting his mate and wife. Because of his guts, Raven gave the man his props and with a silent male respect and a short nod he walked away from the other male. Amy sighed and turned to go to the bar to collect her pay for the night. When she was done she ran back out with her skirt in her hands and followed Raven into the night air. Rory, being Rory, had followed his wife with an exasperated sigh.

BK had finally got to the hills. And started to sniff the air. She knew that Raven would come over to where she was in a snap. It was their nature to stay with one another when they could. Cage Mates normally did. But, that's not why she ran away. She ran out because she caught a glimpse of the ginger's arm. It was old, like a ninety year old's arm. When his eyes flashed Sphere yellow, she knew he had been poisoned by a pocket dimension. He was born here, but his arm wasn't his age. Aging trouble happens if there is a pocket dimension and some other things that are unique to each pocket. That young ginger must have put his arm into the pocket.

That would explain all of the disappearances. Why they come back home. The slave ships keep excellent records and then threw them overboard for being stole ways. They would still have the strength of their real age for about forty-eight hours after leaving. This would explain how they were able to swim all the way over back to land without them drowning. So, what the heck created the pocket dimension here? She knew it wasn't her. Raven came looking for it, so it could rule out him. This is so frustrating. BK couldn't believe that she was this rusty; normally she could figure these things out in a snap.

As she was trudging over the hills she finally found the issue. She saw a small yellow shimmer in the air. She sniffed and smelled the strange herbal scent of the pocket. BK put her index finger in the shimmer and nothing changed, but her nail. It grew a little bit. She smiled. It was a natural one. For Karce or long aging beings all that changes is fingernails and hair. The hair and nails grow, but that's about it. But for everyone else, it just ages your body.

By the time that she sat down she could smell Raven coming up the hill along with her Scottish friend and her poor hubby. Raven knew that they were close to her. He could always tell when someone was her friend. When she saw him coming up and holding Amy who had obviously slipped and ripped her dress and some skin. She could tell he was disappointed. Raven had a thing for red heads. By now he should know she was married. Karce looked at marriage and mateship as a very sacred rite.

"Hello, sailor." She said sitting down with her legs outstretched and her bare feet showing. Something she couldn't do in the village. Their obsession with modesty of the feet being really enforced. She was used to being barefoot normally, so the past weeks were a bit hard on her poor feet. "How was the walk up?"

"Depressing." He mumbled, she knew he was being sarcastic. He always had mood swings. Ever since they got out of the Cages he had been so easy and so hard to piss off. It was kind of an easy challenge. No matter how much that sounds like an oxymoron, it really isn't. "You found it?" when she nodded he looked around and dropped Amy into her husband's hands. "I have been trying to sniff it out for weeks. It keeps moving around the last few islands that I went to. It's like something keeps trying to escape. And the something keeps trying to stay inside at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Rory had asked the question, but as usual he was just ignored. Probably because the explanation would be too long. BK had been annoyed at the idea that something wanted to leave and another thing kept it in there. Normal pocket dimensions were rare, but this one had something in it. It was a pocket to another pocket, the pocket inside must have the things inside it.

Not wanting to waste anymore time or patience, BK just jumped into the shimmer disappearing from sight and smell. Raven who was left to babysit the humans was more annoyed that he couldn't physically get into the shimmer without it moving away from him. He tried when he saw her jump in. Then he turned around to the humans, he noticed that Rory was washing Amy's cuts and wrapping them up. When he pulled out a yellow sphere and broke it a deck of cards were in his hands. "Anyone up for poker?"

The word 'sure' was echoed through the hill as Amy shuffled the deck and they all waited for the pocket dimension to birth out BK.

~!~!~!~

Water hit BK's sunburned face. It was cool and refreshing on the skin. The smell of pine and honeysuckle was everywhere. BK knew that this place had yet to be truly touched by any of mankind. The place was wild. And the air was suppressing. Not light with joy or bittersweet feelings. It was a hard place. The pines were huge, reaching past the clouds that poured their kind tears on her burned body.

Her dress started to get heavy and her skin felt much better. She smelled herself and realized the honeysuckle smell was from the rain. It made her a bit woozy, a poisonous, yet healing rain. She had encountered things like that before; however, it was never this strong and naturally occurring. In a way this was what she loved, seeing new sights, looking at all of creation. Mankind needed to come here when they were stronger.

Mankind didn't just involve humans, though; they were the ones to coin the term. Mankind involved any sentient non-animal life forms that had souls. Karce science found out that the humans taken from the first dimension and scattered into most other dimensions evolved into the other life forms. Everything came from the first dimension. That is why it was called the first.

The ground was dry and warm. It felt of sand, but it looked like regular dirt with red and purple grains mixed into it. This place was strange, even by her standards of strange and beauty. The wood on the pines were smooth and hard. Like silk wrapped around granite. The small pebbles on the ground smelled faintly of cucumber and sulfur… and… blood. It was then that she realized that mankind had come here. But, one that wasn't peaceful. Nor was it one that worked for its food.

The trees were wildly grown; the sky had no symbol of civilization, no tell that anyone anytime had worked the land. She could tell that the only fires here were started by lightning. And there wasn't one kind of hutch. This was a hunting ground… BK gulped. It was a hunting ground for sport. At this thought she picked up her wet heavy skirt and ran towards the one thing that felt right.

She could smell something of old books. Books meant some form of mankind, maybe the one being hunted. She only hoped that the visitors that hunted here were on vacation. Her feet pounded the dry ground as she breathed in the poisonous rain. She felt stabs of pain in her arms showing her that the weapons she normally hid inside her skin were coming out and would be available if she stayed here or somewhere like here.

She didn't want to stay. There was a reason she chose a coyote to be her symbol and her shape shift form. They could survive such harsh environments, but this place was too harsh, she knew that this was the closest to an oasis here; poison rain and all. She had started to get a bit dizzy when she felt the rain go into her eyes. Her hair that had grown a few inches from the shimmer barrier became a bit heavy. She shook her head and closed her eyes for a second as she ran, which turned out to be a bad idea.

Her foot caught a branch that fell and she tumbled down to a grassy, purple hill. And through another shimmer; she felt her breathe leave her body and she felt like she was choking on the smell of honeysuckle. She opened her eyes and found herself in a dank area of the forest. This was a protective barrier, covering around… the TARDIS?!

Coughing out some blood that her body put the poison into to expel it, she felt a bit better. The TARDIS hummed a bit and the light on top flashed somewhat. She knew the TARDIS was a kind of mankind, even though it was technically a plant. The only plant that was a part of mankind known to her. Her soaked dress felt twenty pounds heavier as she got up to walk over to it and open the door. When she did she smiled and thanked the ship.

"Where's your pilot?" she was panting and trying to catch her breath. She was still coughing up some blood when she got into the main room and piloting part. She looked around for any sign of the Doctor, but couldn't find any. It wasn't really all that bad until she noticed some hair on the ground of the living room. He came through, and obviously cut his hair.

With another cough she exited and went into the hallway. The TARDIS would take her to where she needed to go. After a while she found a frustrated Doctor in his personal library looking over a few books. BK smiled as he turned and ran to hug her. As he embraced her she couldn't help but feel her heart pumping a bit faster. Could be the poison leaving. She thought about it and ignored it.

"Please, help me." Doctor whispered in her ear. He was a bit taller than her five foot seven inches. Standing at six foot he had to bend down to whisper to her ear. "I can't move the TARDIS out of her protecting field. I'm so sorry I couldn't come back to get you all. She wouldn't let me leave. It's been two days." BK hugged him back and sighed. Of course she couldn't leave. She needed a bit of a bump. And the two days thing, she should let Amy tell him about it.

"She needs a bit of an extra boost to leave this place," BK started. Ships and people needed spheres to help them escape places like this. It was easy to get in, but to leave was a different story. It was one of the first things in survival class that she learned with Cloudo. "Take a red sphere, the one that I gave you years ago, and put it into one of the buttons on the panel, that should help her."

"Are you sure?" he grabbed her hand and pulled her across the hallways to the front room. She laughed and nodded as he pulled her across the halls. When they got to the room he grabbed the red sphere from a chest on the wall and threw it to BK. She caught it in mid air and slapped it onto the consol. It broke into many pieces that looked like red glass; this would only work a few times, if not this one time. The pieces were absorbed and then the floor began to shake.

"She's getting the bump; it's time to leave this godforsaken place!" BK had a smile on her face as she started jumping up and down. The Doctor joined her at her obvious joy. And they jumped around together as the TARDIS did all the work. BK's hair, now down to her mid back was flying all around her as she danced and jumped. Her dress was drying and twirling around her. She looked like she was dancing the Dance of the Time Vortex from his home planet.

"We are leaving and… whoa!" the Doctor was about to go on in detail about what they were doing until she pulled him in and they danced. She led him around the console and they twirled. She was so happy to leave the poisonous rain and pines. He laughed as he saw her smile. Her smile could lift his hearts at any time. Her eyes were old, but her smile was true. Something he couldn't do all the time that she could. "Watch this!" he said as he started to drive the TARDIS out of there.

~!~!~!~!~

"Fold." Rory was losing, again. He already lost his vest to Raven who had taken all his coins. Raven had been winning, obviously, and Amy was somewhere in between. Amy was pretty good and distracting men and was also pretty good and bluffing. So, it was pretty good and no wonder why she was still in. Also, it could have been that her hair was distracting Raven, whenever she flicked it behind her ears or shoulders.

When they heard the familiar wheezing sound the two companions jumped. Amy grabbed Raven and pushed him to the bushes. And into the bushes they all leaped. The TARDIS landed upside down where they were sitting not a few seconds before. After a few seconds it disappeared and landed right side up five feet to the left.

A sick looking BK came out of the wooden door holding her stomach. "Good driver my ass." She muttered in her other hand. The Doctor came out soaking wet and had a slap of red on his face. "I told you to move it three feet past the largest pine tree. But no! You had to flip us over and fall into the pool!" BK had her hand off her mouth now and was pointing an accusatory finger at the bewildered Time Lord.

"It wouldn't be as much fun." It was the only answer that she got. He said it completely seriously and was acting like it was nothing.

Amy, Rory, and Raven were looking at the sight. Raven was used to BK, but not the Doctor, so, this was barely new to him. "Tall, dork, and handsome, huh?" he meant it as a joke, but when Amy nodded her head completely seriously he could help but be reminded of BK. Amy had a smile on her face and nodded like a freak. Rory was still watching the Time Lord and the Karce who were now in a playful slapping fight.

This was their life now. It will get weirder, Rory was sure. He had a feeling. His feelings, though rare, were almost never wrong.