Stranded

by Celestina Van Helsing

*An AU version of 'The Lodger'* When the Doctor and Robyn are thrown from the TARDIS by an unknown force, they need to find its source, and a place to stay. But when they find it, nothing is as it seems... 3rd in a series called 'A Daughter of Time.'

7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Out in the hallway, Sophie was about to enter the flat, but she only just unlocked the door when the lights started to flicker...

"Please, can you help me?" a voice asked from the top of the stairs.

Sophie looked up, to find a little girl, not unlike Robyn, looking down on her from the landing. "Hi," she greeted gently.

"Please," the little girl replied. "Will you help me?"

"What's the matter, my love?" asked Sophie, ascending the staircase. "Help you?"

Oblivious to the goings on in the hall, the Doctor and Craig recovered from both head-butts. "I am never... never doing that ever... ever again!" the Doctor exclaimed, panting and rubbing his head to try and relieve the pain. He turned on his earpiece, and Robyn did the same. "Amy!"

"That's Amy Pond," said Craig, flapping his hand over his mouth in surprise.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us now. Hurrah!" the Doctor replied sarcastically, leaning on the bed frame. "Got those plans yet?"

Amy's clicked and clacked over the keyboard. "Still searching for them," she told him.

The Doctor nodded. "I've worked it out," he said, deciding to update her on his activities. "With psychic help from a cat."

"A cat?" Amy replied, looking at the bell of the gramophone in disbelief.

"Yes," said the Doctor, grinning as he stood up. "I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up," he glanced at Craig, who was looking up at the ceiling frantically, "hence the stain on your ceiling."

"From the ceiling?"

"Well done... Craig," the Doctor replied, then continued, addressing Amy again, "and you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the vortex."

"Lovely," said Amy half-heartedly.

Just then, there was loud crash from up above, and Robyn heard Amy scream as the TARDIS started to shudder and shake itself in to oblivion. "I think it's happening again, Dad!" she cried, as she watched Craig start to repeat saying "People are dying up there! People are dying - People are dying -"

"Amy..." the Doctor said quietly.

"Doctor!"

"People are dying - " Craig shook his head, breaking free of the time loop easily now that he was aware of it. "They're being killed!" he exclaimed, as shock and horror washed over him.

Robyn looked at her father in alarm, her eyes becoming wide and fearful. "Then that means..."

"Someone's up there," the Doctor finished, running from the room, Robyn and Craig hot on his heels.

As she ran through the door that led into the hallway, Robyn noticed something that made her heart leap to her throat. In the key hole was a key... but not just any key... it was one that had a pink, fuzzy, key ring! Amy's voice crackled through her earpiece as she told the Doctor to hang on a moment, and Robyn couldn't help but agree with her. "She's right, Dad!" she cried.

The Doctor wasn't about to wait around when someone's life was in danger. "Craig, come on..." he said, trailing off when he saw the keys. "Someone's dying up there."

Craig looked down at Robyn, and when he saw the key in the door, he knew who was in the upstairs flat. "It's Sophie," he murmured, as the whole thing suddenly became very more personal to him. "It's Sophie that's dying up there... it's Sophie!"

Spurred on by the new information, the three of them ran up the stairs, reaching the front of the upstairs flat. They were about to go in, when Amy suddenly yelled "STOP!" The Doctor stopped dead in front of the door, to Robyn and Craig's alarm. They both wanted to save Sophie, Craig even more so, and the sudden halt was not what they expected.

"Where's Sophie?" Craig cried, not wanting to spend another moment standing around when Sophie was about to killed.

"Wait... wait... wait!"The Doctor waved his hand, wanting quiet so he could listen to what Amy needed to tell them. "Amy?" he said, taking the sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket.

"Are you upstairs?" she asked, gripping the bar underneath the scanner so she didn't fall from all the jolting and shaking.

The Doctor frowned, concerned that she'd be asking such a question. "Just going in," he replied hastily.

"No, but you can't be upstairs," Amy countered.

Robyn snorted, annoyed by the delay. "Why not!" she yelled, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously.

"Of course I can be upstairs," the Doctor replied, becoming more worried by the second that Amy was going to tell him something extremely very not good.

"Come on!" Craig urged, the sound of Sophie's screams resonating in his ears, and the fact that she was so tantilisingly close was not helping matters at all.

"No," Amy continued. "I've got the plans. You cannot be upstairs, it's a one-storey building."

As soon as she heard this, a pit formed in the bottom of Robyn's stomach. There was something very strange going on this entire time, and now they were going to find out exactly what it was, but Robyn was sure she wanted to know... not anymore. She just wanted to save Sophie, who'd been so nice to her while she and her Dad were stuck there. She didn't want her to die, like all those other people that had gone up there... like she almost had. "Why can't we be upstairs, Amy?" she asked hesitantly.

"There is no upstairs!"

The news hit them like a sucker punch to the gut, and the Doctor, Craig, and Robyn looked at each other in shock, and then down at the staircase, which according to Amy's information, did not exist! The Doctor quickly set to work, pointing the sonic at the front door lock, then turning it on, and with a short sharp whirring noise, the lock clicked open, and the three of them finally made their way into the flat.

But, as they soon found, the flat wasn't really a flat at all...

OoOoOoOoO

The Doctor, Craig, and Robyn, stared at the room in horror. It was huge, but not on the scale of the Doctor's TARDIS, to which it paid a fleeting resemblance, and the centre console, which was four coffin-like structures with blue orbs on top, was bathed in bluey-purple light. There was dirt and grime covering the floor, and Robyn suspected it was part of the reason there was a rot patch on Craig's ceiling. The Doctor took Robyn by the hand, their fingers lacing together, and they, and Craig, gingerly stepped into the 'flat'.

Craig was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Dad, what is this?" asked Robyn, tightening her grip. "What's it doing here?"

"Oh... Oh, of course," the Doctor murmured, ignoring the question as he realised what was wrong. "The time engine isn't in the flat, the time engine is the flat!" He looked down at Robyn. "Someone's attempt to build a TARDIS!"

Robyn's face turned pale. "Someone tried to build a TARDIS?" She shook her head, wanting to believe it wasn't true, and then remembered something he'd told her back on their TARDIS. "But you told me TARDISes aren't built," she said. "You told me they were grown, Dad."

The Doctor frowned. "I said it's someone's attempt to build a TARDIS," he replied. "And this one has gone very, very, wrong."

But Craig couldn't believe a word he was hearing, despite the fact that it was right there in front of him as clear as day. "No," he protested. "There's always been an upstairs."

The Doctor looked at him curiously. "Has there?" he replied, hastily adding, "Think about it."

Craig thought quickly, trying to remember if there was ever a time that there wasn't an upstairs flat... and found he couldn't. " Yes... No... I don't..." he spluttered indecisively, becoming angry with himself for not being able to remember such a trivial, yet enormously important, thing.

"How come there hasn't always been an upstairs?" Robyn asked, trying to get everything straight in her head. "And how come Craig can't remember whether there was or not?"

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied. "It's more than a disguise; it tricks your memory."

Robyn frowned. "So it make you think things are to different to how they really are."

"Exactly."

Just then, a scream rang out from across the room, but it didn't take a lot to figure out who it was. Craig was immediately off and running, as Sophie came into view, lightening bolts attached to her fingers and pulling her towards the centre console, despite her attempts to fight it. "Sophie!" he cried. "Oh my god! Sophie!"

"Craig!" Sophie gasped, as he grabbed her and tried to pull her back from the console.

"It's controlling her!" the Doctor exclaimed, racing over to help them. "It's willing her to touch the activator!"

Craig tightened his grip. "It's not going to have her!" he growled, pulling with all his might. He was madly in love with this woman, and he wasn't about to let some rogue... spaceship try and kill her just so it could take off. He wasn't going to let Sophie die, not when she was the one thing in the world he believed worth fighting for.

The Doctor was soon by their side, running the sonic screwdriver over the activator and attempting to free Sophie from its pull, but it wasn't working and soon Sophie's hand touched the orb, turning it from blue to a very angry pink. He tried again, but the sonic still wouldn't work, and cried out in frustration. "Deadlock seal!"

"You've got to do something!" Craig cried, upset that their attempt to save Sophie wasn't working.

Suddenly, the activator went back from pink to blue, and Craig and Sophie fell to the ground as the ship released them. Robyn breathed a sigh of relief, but deep down, she knew they weren't out of the woods just yet. There was still the time engine to sort out, and the fact that it had let Sophie go so easily was very worrying indeed. "Uh... why did it do that?" she asked.

The Doctor was equally surprised. "What? Why's it let her go?" he said, panting from all the effort he'd put in. He looked up, and saw a withered husk lying by the side of the platform, partially entangled by a thick cable. It looked like it had been human, at one point, but to be sure, he decided to get a closer look. He crossed the platform, but as soon as he got near the husk, when a man suddenly appeared behind him, his face hidden in the shadows.

Robyn gasped as soon as she saw the man appear out of nowhere, recognising him immediately, even without being able to see his face. "That's him," she murmured, running to the Doctor's side. "That's the man that I saw when I almost came up here."

"Is that so..." the Doctor replied, looking at the man intently.

"You will help me," said the man. This time it was a statement, not a question, and it sounded like there was no margin for error.

The Doctor held up his hand. "Right! Stop!" He frowned. "Crashed ship, let's see..." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Then it came to him. "Hello," he began. "I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue, please state the nature of your emergency?"

"The ship has crashed, the crew is dead," the man replied. "A pilot is required."

Robyn flinched. So that's what would've happened if she hadn't got away; the ship would've tried to use her as its new pilot, just as it had tried to do with Sophie... just as it had tried to do with all the other people that had been lured upstairs.

"And you're the emergency crash program," the Doctor continued. "A hologram. What, have you been luring people up here so you can try them out?" He scanned the hologram with the sonic screwdriver, and it changed right before his and Robyn's eyes, turning into a young man, a little girl, and then back into the elderly man.

As the Doctor was preoccupied with the hologram, Sophie regained consciousness, to Craig's relief. "What is this?" she asked, looking around the ship in alarm.

The Doctor frowned at her. "Hush," he said, then turned his attentions back to the hologram. "Human brains aren't strong enough, though," he continued, screwing his face up in anger. "They just burn... But you're stupid, aren't you? You just keep trying!"

"Seventeen people have been tried," the hologram confirmed. "Six billion, four hundred thousand, and twenty six remain."

Sophie had managed to get back on her feet now, thanks to Craig, but she was still confused by everything, and more than a little bit frightened that she couldn't remember coming upstairs in the first place. "Seriously, what is going on?"

The Doctor sighed, as he put the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. "Oh for goodness sake... The top floor of Craig's building is in reality an alien spaceship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No? Good."

"Yes, I have questions," Sophie protested, but Craig held her and shook his head, and she backed off.

"The correct pilot has now been found," the hologram announced.

Robyn's heart grew tight in her chest, as she realised what the hologram meant. This was not good, not good at all, and her mind raced as she tried to think of something that delay the inevitable, but nothing immediately came to mind. Something was about to happen to the Doctor, and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.

And the Doctor must've realised the same thing, because he suddenly looked very worried. "Yes," he replied. "I was a bit worried that you were going to say that."

"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" said Amy, confirming their suspicions.

Robyn screamed as lightening bolts shot forth from the console, and all she, Sophie, and Craig could do was watch helplessly as they hit the Doctor full in the chest and forced him to walk toward the activator. As he passed the nearest column, he grabbed a hold of it, slowing the ship's pull over him, but not stopping it completely.

"What's happening?" Amy cried, hearing the commotion.

"It's pulling me in," the Doctor replied, holding on to the column with all his strength. "I'm the new pilot."

Amy hung onto the TARDIS for dear life. "Could you do it?" she asked. "Could you fly the ship safely?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I'm way too much for this ship," he said, his fingers beginning to slip from the column. "If my hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up... the whole solar system does!"

"The correct pilot has been found," the hologram chorused again, and there was nothing more Robyn wanted to do than to tell it to shut up, but that wasn't the most important thing at that moment, as she watched in horror as her father lost his grip on the column and fell to his knees in front of the panel, his face screwing up in pain as he landed, his hand inches from the blue orb.

Robyn ran to her father's side, tears streaming down her face, grabbing his arm and trying to help him break free. "Let him go!" she screamed, tugging at the Doctor's arm with all her strength. "He's not the one that can help you!" She let go of his arm, then fell to her knees as well, grabbing him around his waste and trying to pull him free that way. "Please let him go!"

"The correct pilot has been found," the hologram repeated, Robyn's pleas going unanswered.

"No... worst choice ever, I promise you!" the Doctor cried. "Stop this!"

The TARDIS shivered and shook, creaked and quaked, sparks flying everywhere, and Amy was finding it even harder to stay in control. "Doctor!" she yelled. "It's getting worse!"

The Doctor managed a brief nod, and then looked at Craig. "It doesn't want everyone, Craig," he said urgently. "It didn't want you!"

Then Craig realised why the Doctor thought he was in trouble when he came out of the shower with his toothbrush. "I spoke to him, and he said I couldn't help him!"

"It didn't want Sophie before today, but now it does. Why, what's changed?" The Doctor cried out in pain, as the hologram asserted even more control. "No! I gave her the idea of leaving!" he exclaimed. "It's a machine that needs to leave, it wants people who want to escape. But you don't want to leave, Craig, you're Mr. Sofa Man!"

"DOCTOR!" Amy screamed.

"Craig, you can shut down the engine," the Doctor continued. "Put your hand on the panel, and concentrate on why you want to stay!"

Robyn looked at Craig, the tears flowing thick and fast now. "Save him... please," she begged.

Sophie shook her head. "Craig, no!"

But Craig knew this was his moment. His chance to be a hero, for Sophie, and for a little girl that would lose her father if he touched the orb. "Will it work?" he asked urgently.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment... then cried out, "Of course it's a lie!"

"It's good enough for me!" Craig replied, taking a deep breath and gathering up all the courage inside of him. "Geronimo!" He slammed his hand down onto the orb, and the Doctor was released from the ship's control immediately. He could feel himself burning; the pain in his head was excruciating, and he tried to concentrate on what the Doctor had told him to, but it just wasn't working. The pain was distracting him. He heard Sophie scream his name.

"Craig, what's keeping you here?" the Doctor prompted. "Think about everything that make you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?"

The next thing Craig knew, the Doctor had slapped him. "Sophie!" he gasped. "And I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I love Sophie!"

Hearing this, Sophie gasped with surprise, although there was also a feeling of 'at last!' in the way she looked at him. "I love you too, Craig, you idiot!" she exclaimed, walking over and placing her hand on top of his, so now both rest on the orb. Smoke exploded from the panels, filling the air as the ship overloaded.

Craig smiled with relief, even though the world was falling to pieces around them. "Honestly, do you mean that?"

"Of course I mean it!" Sophie replied. "Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it," Craig assured her. "Seriously though, do you mean it?"

She nodded, smiling stupidly. "Yes!"

"What about the monkeys?"

By now, the Doctor and Robyn were getting fed up with the couple's banter, especially since there was still a ship to disable. "Oh, not now, not again!" the Doctor cried in exasperation. "Craig, the planets about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!"

"Kiss the girl!" Robyn and Amy chorused, and Craig and Sophie happily obliged.

As Sophie and Craig kissed, Craig's hand was released from the orb, and on the TARDIS everything grew still. Amy looked at the scanner and grinned. "Doctor, you've done it!" she cried happily. "You've done it! Oh, now the screen's just zeroes! Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Big yes!"

But the ship started to rumble, and the Doctor realised what was about to happen, as the emergency hologram started to go haywire. "Big no," he murmured.

Craig and Sophie broke apart, looking around in alarm. "Did we switch it off?" asked Craig.

"Emergency shutdown," the Doctor announced, taking Robyn by the hand. "It's imploding, everybody out, out, out!"

The four of them raced out of the ship as fast as they could, and didn't stop until they were out in the street. They looked back up at the top floor of the building, as it reverted back into a ship, then collapsed in on itself, leaving the one-storey flat, Craig's flat, exactly as it was supposed to be. A man with a young baby walked past, completely oblivious to what had just happened, and life went on around them. Not one person, other than themselves, had seen the ship implode.

"Look at them," said Craig, pointing to the man and the baby. "Didn't they see that? The top floor just vanished!"

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied. "There never was a top floor."

Robyn looked up at her father, then at Craig. "We should check to see if the rot is still there," she said quietly. "Because now that the ship's gone, so should the rot."

The Doctor ruffled her hair. "Yes, that's exactly what we should do."

And then it would be time for them to go home.

OoOoOoOoO

Now that the spaceship, and the rot, were proved to be well and truly gone, it was time for the Doctor to disassemble his scanner, while Robyn got packed and ready to leave. Both human and Time Lord went about their tasks in silence, intending to slip out quietly when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, now that Craig had finally confessed his feelings for Sophie, they were going to want some time alone together, weren't they?

Robyn sorted her clothes haphazardly, not really caring what state they were in as she stuffed them into her satchel. She knew the TARDIS would sort them out later. She glanced at the Doctor, who was taking the scanner apart, then bit her lip. I'm not going to cry, she thought to herself. The Doctor is still here, the solar system is still here, so you don't need to get upset...

Too late.

Sinking to the floor, Robyn buried her head in her hands, tears pouring down her face. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to losing her own life, and then to face the possibility of losing her Dad to the same thing... He'd always saved her, but this time, she couldn't even save him! She'd never felt more helpless, or more useless, in her life... If only she were older, or stronger, she could've done something!

Then she felt someone pick her up, cradling her in their arms.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked gently.

Robyn shook her head. "No," she sniffled.

The Doctor nodded. "I didn't think you were." He held her close to him, then took a handkerchief from his pocket, and gave it to her. "Here, use this," he said, smiling slightly. "It's better than my shirt, I'd say."

"Thanks, Dad," Robyn said quietly, then took the handkerchief and blew her nose.

"Now, do you want to tell me why you're so upset?"

For a moment, Robyn was deathly quiet, looking like she was on the verge of tears again. Then she said, "I couldn't save you from the ship, and everyone nearly died."

"But they didn't," the Doctor replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And the solar system is safe."

"I still could've lost you, though."

The Doctor smiled, then kissed her forehead. "If it helps," he began. "You bought Craig time before he put his hand on the panel."

Robyn looked at him in confusion. "I did?"

"You did."

A wide smile crept onto the little girl's face ever so slowly, then she hugged her father tightly, which he eagerly returned. They stayed like this for a few moments longer, then the Doctor gently put her down, and grabbed her bag from the floor and gave it to her. "Time to go?" she asked.

"Time to go," the Doctor confirmed, taking down the final pieces of the scanner. "The TARDIS should've landed by now, so Amy will be waiting for us back at the park."

This seemed to brighten Robyn's spirits a bit more. As much as she liked staying with Craig (at least until he'd nearly thrown them out), she couldn't wait to get home and see Amy again. She strapped the satchel over her shoulder, then took the Doctor's hand, looking around the bedroom one last time. "I'm going to miss this place," she admitted sadly. "And Craig and Sophie too, but I just want to go home now."

"Home?" the Doctor replied, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"The TARDIS, silly."

"Oh, that home."

Robyn laughed, then let go of his hand and hugged him again. "Yes, that home."

Meanwhile, Craig and Sophie were gleefully 'ruining' their friendship. Ever since Craig had confessed his feelings, the two of them hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other! Not that they minded in the slightest, because now they had each other, and they weren't about to let anything stop them from expressing their feelings for each other, not after denying them for so long.

"So have we spoiled our friendship then?" asked Craig.

Sophie smiled. "Totally ruined it," she replied.

"And what about the monkeys? We could save them together, you know." Craig smiled back at her. "Do whatever we want. I can see the point of Paris, if you were there with me."

"First, let's ruin our friendship completely."

Laughing heartily, Craig and Sophie resumed 'ruining' their friendship, as the Doctor and Robyn entered the room. Although he planned to give the keys straight back to Craig, realising he was busy, the Doctor chose to put the keys back on the sideboard instead. Then, taking Robyn's hand again, the two of them went to the door, ready to leave the couple forever.

But Craig had seen them out of the corner of his eye as they were about to leave. "Oi!" he called.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" asked Sophie, as she and Craig joined them at the front door.

The Doctor looked at her sheepishly. "Yes, well, you were sort of... busy."

Craig laughed, then shook his head, picking up the keys from the sideboard, then handing them to the Doctor. "I want you to keep these," he said earnestly.

"Thank you." The Doctor grinned, looking down at Robyn. "Cause we might pop back soon, have another little stay?"

"No, you won't," Craig replied. "I've been in your head, remember?"

"Thank you, Craig."

"Thank you, Doctor."

The Doctor turned to Sophie next, giving her a polite nod. "Sophie."

Now it was Robyn's turn to say goodbye. She stepped forward gingerly, then Craig knelt down and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you, for everything, Craig," she said quietly. "Thank you for letting us stay with you... and for saving my Dad."

"It was my pleasure," Craig replied, hugging her again. "And I'm sorry for not believing you."

Robyn shrugged. "It's okay. I'm used to it." As Craig let go of her again, she turned to Sophie, who also hugged her, which she welcomed and returned with vigour. "Bye Sophie, I'll miss you."

Sophie smiled. "Miss you too, my love," she replied.

The Doctor smiled. "Now then," he began, looking at the happy couple one last time. "Six billion, four hundred thousand and twenty six. That's the number to beat."

Sophie laughed. "Yeah."

The Doctor put his hand on Robyn's shoulder, and gently pulled her away. "It's time to go, Robyn."

Robyn looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, Dad..." She frowned, thinking of something. "Actually, wait one minute." She quickly ran over to the kitchen, then adjusted the letter magnets on the front of the refrigerator so instead of reading 'Craig rocks', they said 'The Doctor rocks'. She grinned. "That's more like it," she murmured. She glanced at the photograph of her Dad that was attached to the fridge with another magnet. "That was the best day ever," she said to herself. "Wish I had a copy of that photo."

"Come along, Robyn," the Doctor called.

"Coming, Dad." She returned to her father's side, and the two of them left Craig and Sophie, and the flat on Aickman Road, for good.

Well... almost.

There were still some matters to attend to in the past, after all.

OoOoOoOoO

"Do you think Craig's going to start looking for a new flatmate?" asked Robyn, as they walked back to the park. "Now that we're gone, I mean."

The Doctor smiled, already knowing the answer to that one. "No," he replied. "I get the feeling that Craig will already have that problem sorted out."

Robyn grinned. "Sophie?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sophie."

"You think they might get married?" Robyn was walking backwards now, looking over her shoulder every so often so she didn't run into anything. "I mean, they're in love, so they might get married, right Dad?" She paused, then stopped suddenly, realising what she was saying, then looked up at her father sadly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Just remembered about you, and Rose."

The Doctor looked down at her, smiling a sad, yet bright smile. "It's all right," he said, crouching to the little girl's eye level. "Yes, Craig and Sophie probably will get married, but you don't have to be sorry for thinking about Rose. I think about her everyday, wondering if she's happy, if she's helping my... brother adapt to life in the parallel universe. I loved her, Robyn, and I still do, but we couldn't be together the way Craig and Sophie can."

Robyn looked down at the footpath. "That doesn't stop me from being sad because the two of you couldn't be together," she said, drawing invisible circles in the concrete with the toe of her shoe. "It's like a fairytale gone wrong," she mused. "The beautiful princess has her prince, but even though he looks like the one she originally fell in love with, has got all the memories and feelings of the one she originally fell in love with... he's not the one she fell in love with, because the one she fell in love with, the one she really wanted... was you."

"At the same time, though," the Doctor countered. "He is me, but he can grow old with her, where I can't. You'll understand, one day," he continued, caressing her cheek. "When people don't believe I'm your father because I'll look more like your brother when you get older."

"You will?" asked Robyn, looking at him in alarm. She didn't remembering him mentioning anything of the sort back at the TARDIS.

The Doctor nodded. "I will," he echoed. "I age, but at a much slower rate than you, so I'll still look the same, for the most part, when you're eighteen, even when you're well into your twenties."

"Does Amy know?"

"Not yet, but she knows I'm an alien, so she understands that I'm... different."

Robyn rolled her eyes. "I know that you're different," she replied. "And I starting to think I know a whole lot of things about you, things that you haven't even mentioned to Amy." She frowned. "What makes me so different?"

"I don't want to tell Amy too much until the right time," said the Doctor, a faraway look in his eyes. "There are things about her life that don't make sense."

"They don't?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, they don't, and I'm still figuring out what, so don't go mentioning it to her at all, understand?"

Robyn nodded. "I understand." She held up her hand, and then crossed her heart with her finger. "I swear I will not tell Amy anything you've told me today." She paused, then hastily added, "Or anything else you intend to tell me before we get back to the TARDIS."

"And what gives you that idea?" the Doctor asked, smiling at her in amusement.

"Why doesn't Amy's life make sense?" Robyn replied. "And you can't get out of telling me, because you promised to tell me everything, but you haven't told me anything about that yet!"

"All right, I'll tell you, but not until after we get back to the TARDIS, and not until after we set everything up here for our past selves."

Robyn nodded, accepting this without reservations. The Doctor would tell her when he was ready, just like with everything else she'd had to wheedle out of him.

They were also at the park by now, and Robyn could feel the presence of the TARDIS in her head before she even laid eyes on it. It called to her, sang to her, stirring feelings inside of her that she couldn't explain, but didn't even want to end if she could help it. Then a wind picked up, and the Doctor held her tightly as the dust began to churn around them, and a grinding, groaning, wheezing and screaming noise filled the air - the sound of the universe, the Doctor had told her, but she knew it was the sweetest of music, and she was sure her father agreed. The blue Police Box faded in and out of existence before their eyes, becoming more and more solid with each passing moment, and Robyn's heart filled with excitement. Home, and Amy, were almost in reach. With a last grinding, halting, screech, the TARDIS pulsed into existence and then landed with a loud *thunk*.

"There she is," the Doctor said proudly, as Amy emerged from the Police Box. "Amy Pond. TARDIS Pilot Extraordinaire."

Amy rolled her eyes at him, but smiled anyway. "Oh, push off," she said. "The TARDIS was stuck. I didn't have to do anything."

"True," the Doctor agreed. "But you would've been flung into the vortex if I hadn't told you about the zigzag plotter." He grinned. "I'd say that counts for something."

Robyn laughed. "I think it does," she said, racing forward to hug the older girl. "We got our home back!"

"Our home?" Amy asked, returning the little girl's embrace eagerly.

"The TARDIS," Robyn said with a sigh, and starting to feel little embarrassed that she had to explain herself again. "The TARDIS is home."

The Doctor smiled. "I'd say that's an accurate description, wouldn't you agree, Amy?" He looked at her pointedly.

"Oh, yeah," she said quickly, holding the little girl's hand. "That's a pretty good way of putting it."

Robyn folded her arms across her chest, knowing when she was being made fun off, even though she also knew that her father and Amy meant well. "Oh, come on," she said with exasperation, "we've got stuff that needs sorting out, or else time will change."

"What is she talking about?" asked Amy, as she and the Doctor followed the little girl into the TARDIS.

"Oh, just a few bits and bobs that need setting into place," the Doctor replied, taking off his jacket and putting it down on one of the seats. He walked around the console and pulled a lever, then walked around and spun another part as he prepared the time-ship to go into flight. "Back in time," he announced. "You need to go to the paper shop and leave that note for us."

Amy smiled. "Right little matchmaker, aren't you?" she said, remembering what the Doctor had done to save them. "Can't you find me a feller?" she asked, as the Doctor picked up a stethoscope and gave the TARDIS a quick check-up.

The smile on Robyn's face as she watched the Doctor work suddenly faded, and she knew if he'd heard what Amy had said... then she was sure he wouldn't be smiling either. But the earpieces of the stethoscope in his ears, there was no way of knowing if he even had heard her, which in hindsight might've been for the best.

"Oh, the rectifier's playing up again," said the Doctor, finishing the check-up. "Hold on." He took off the stethoscope and bounded away from the console, presumably to fix the rectifier. "You write the note," he called back, addressing Amy, "and I'll change that will."

"Have you got a pen?" Amy called back."

"Make sure it's a red pen."

Amy frowned, then folded her arms across her chest. She glanced at Robyn. "Got any idea where he might have a red pen?" she asked.

Robyn thought for a moment. "I think he might have one in his jacket," she replied. "Why don't you try looking there first?"

"That's a good an idea as any," Amy said with a shrug. She moved over to the seat where the Doctor had dumped his coat, sifting through both pockets. While one of empty, the other wasn't...

Amy stared at the contents of the Doctor's coat pocket, an expression of shock passing over her as something attempted to force itself to the forefront of her mind. In her hands she held a red velvet ring box, and inside it, unsurprisingly, was a diamond ring, glittering and sparkling in the light of the Time Rotor. Amy shuddered, like someone had walked over her grave... or someone else's. She got the distinct feeling that someone was missing, and that it had something to do with a crack... then she shook her head, and the moment was gone. She snapped the ring box shut.

Something very, very, weird was going on, Robyn realised, and she suspected this was part of what the Doctor still had to tell her.

There was no way he was getting out of it this time.

OoOoOoOoO

"You remember where the paper shop is, Robyn?" the Doctor asked once the rectifier had been fixed, and they'd landed three days in the past.

Robyn nodded, though why he was asking her such a question was beyond her. "Of course, I do," she replied. "Why?"

"If Amy's written the note, then I want you to take her there."

Amy frowned. "But won't they recognise Robyn when she shows up with you after she's left with me?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he replied. "We've arrived roundabout the time Craig put the ad in the window, which is in the morning, and Robyn and I arrived in the afternoon."

"So, I'm not in danger of meeting myself," said Robyn, working things out in her head. "And there's enough time between me in the past going there in the afternoon with you, and going there now, in the morning, with Amy, that I probably wouldn't be recognised?" She sighed. "Why does time travel have to be so confusing?" she asked.

"Because time's a ball of -"

Amy and Robyn grinned at each other, knowing what he was about to say. "Wibbley wobbley, timey wimey stuff," they chorused, finishing the Doctor's sentence for him, to his annoyance.

The Doctor frowned. "Yes, exactly," he replied. "Anyway, like I was saying, I want you to take Amy to the paper shop, and show her where Craig put that ad."

Robyn rolled her eyes. "You just want us out of the way while you go changing wills," she said, going and getting her coat from the hat stand. "Come on, Amy, I'll take you to the paper shop."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, all right," she replied, hastily stuffing the note into her coat pocket. "Now we can go." She took the little girl by the hand. "See you later, Doctor."

"Don't take too long," the Doctor called after them, but neither girl made any indication that they heard him... or that they were ignoring him on purpose. But he didn't mind, as long as they did what he sent them to do.

As it turned out, the TARDIS had stayed mostly in the same area, so it wasn't hard to figure out which way to go, so Robyn was able to lead Amy in the right direction. They walked down the street, but hadn't gotten very far when Robyn spotted the cat that would help her father spy on the hologram from the time ship. "This way," she said, pulling the older girl over to the cat. "This is the cat that's going to help me and Dad find out about the ship." She petted the cat, stroking its fur from head to tail. "This cat is going to save my life."

Amy smiled. "Then we'll have to ask the Doctor to take us forward in time again, so we can thank it properly."

"Could we?"

"Yeah, it won't take much to convince him," Amy replied.

Robyn grinned. "It is pretty easy, isn't it?"

But her grin soon faded when she realised that Amy wasn't listening to her anymore, instead looking around the street strangely... as if she'd heard someone else speak to her. Robyn looked around as well, trying to work out what the older girl was trying to find... and then gasped.

The Doctor... her father... was standing in the middle of the road. It looked as if he was saying something, but there was no sound coming out of his mouth. When his eyes met her own, they widened, and then he mouthed her name. Now he was calling to her.

He was trying to get her attention, probably hoping that she would get Amy's attention as well.

"Dad?" she breathed. "What are you...?" She watched him turn and look at something behind him, then turn back at her and smile sadly. "Dad," she repeated. "What's happening, why are your clothes different?" A completely unexplainable fear came over her. Why could she see him? Why couldn't Amy see him? And why did it seem like Amy could hear him? Why was he wearing his red shirt, and red bow-tie, when they'd just left him when he was wearing his blue shirt, and his blue bow-tie?

And why did she get the odd feeling that he was leaving her?

She stared at him for a few moments longer, then felt Amy patting her on the shoulder, so she looked away for just a second... but when she turned back...

He was gone.

She stared at the empty spot in the middle of the road now, unable to believe what had just happened. What had she seen? Was something going to happen in the future that brought them back to Aickman Road? Was something going to happen to her Dad on Aickman Road? Would they be able to stop it? She let the questions burn in her head, then felt Amy take her by the hand again.

"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly, leading her down the street. "Who were you talking to?" She frowned. "You look like you saw a ghost."

Robyn was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what she saw. "Maybe I did," she murmured. "Or something from the future." She frowned. "But would you still consider that a 'ghost'?"

"I don't know," Amy replied. "But maybe you should lay off the ghost stories for a while, yeah?"

"Yeah. Maybe I should."

But the sight of her father in the middle of the road, in the wrong clothes, couldn't escape her mind. She thought about telling him when they were finished at the paper shop, but there was something about it that made her realise it was better to keep it to herself. If it really was her Dad from the future, then it wasn't her place to go running about and telling him before it happened in case any of the circumstances changed.

However, deep down inside of her...

She hoped it did.

OoOoOoOoO