The Time of Angels, Part 1.

The Doctor and the Hatter strolled through the museum set in the middle of a very large, medieval church, there arms linked together as they made their way past several glass cases with old artefacts inside, pointing out a few as they passed. The Time Lady had even pulled out a white paper bag full of jelly baby's, happily snacking on them as if the whole thing was like watching a movie.

"Sure you don't want one, Amy?" the blonde asked, offering the bag back towards Amy, who was trailing behind them with a mildly annoyed look on her face. She had been sulking ever since they arrived, having wanted to see a planet, "No one could possibly eat a jelly baby with a frown," she continued with a grin.

"Wrong!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, pointing to an artefact in a case as they passed it.

"So is that one," the Hatter nodded across to another object within the same case, popping another sweet into her mouth, "Why is it that they always get the dates wrong?" she shook her head, sounding slightly amused, "Still, they did get the location correct".

They moved further through the church, the Doctor throwing the Time Lady a bright smile, "I love museums," he remarked happily, "Did I ever tell you about the time…"

"You hid inside a Daleks case?" she finished, making him pout slightly, "Yes, sweetheart, you've told me that story many times before," she laughed, reaching up to lightly pat his cheek.

"Yeah, great," Amy sighed loudly from behind them, rolling her eyes, having already learnt that unless she cut them off quickly, they would just end up turning into a flirting, banter filled fight, "Can we go to a planet now?" they moved across to another case, ducking slightly to get a closer look inside, "Big spaceship, Chuchill's bunker…you promised me a planet next," she threw the blonde a pointed look.

The Doctor glanced up at her, shaking his head, "Amy, this isn't any old asteroid," he informed her as they moved on to another case, "It's the Delerium Archive, the final resting place of the Headless Monks".

"It also happens to be the biggest museum ever," the Hatter added, a note of excitement entering her voice, despite most of her past trips going to museums ended with her leaving in hysterical laughter after finding a large portion of the artefacts incorrectly dated or labelled, "Ooh, that one's mine!" she cheered, pointing over to a circular, metal object in a nearby case.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, looking over towards it.

"I have no idea, I just recognise the design," she replied, shrugging slightly, her happiness of seeing something of her past not in the slightest bit effected by her lack of knowledge, "I'm sure it was supposed to be something at one point, but I probably never got around to actually doing anything with it, and just left it behind somewhere," she tilted her head thoughtfully, "It was during my anything circular is better phase, which also went along with my shiny is a must phase"

"Second body?"

She flashed him a fond smile, nudging his side lightly, "You know me so well, sweetheart".

Amy sighed heavily again, catching there attention, "You've got a time machine," she pointed out as they moved on to another case, "What do you need museums for?"

"Wrong!" the Doctor called, pointing across to an object in a case, sounding annoyed as they stepped over towards it, "Very wrong! Ooh, one of mine!" another object caught his eye and they moved across to another case, "Oh, and one of ours," he gestured between himself and the Time Lady, looking quite proud of himself as he nodded over to another object.

"Oh, I see," Amy commented, casting them both a teasing look, "It's how you keep score".

The Hatter opened her mouth to reply, when something caught her eye in the next case over that made her eyes widen, her mouth suddenly going dry. Hardly seeming to even realise what she was doing, she walked over to the case, circling it slowly, her eyes fixed on the large box within the display, covered with dust and stone, and symbols etched into the very metal along the side of the box.

"Doctor…" she breathed, her eyes fixed on the symbols.

Immediately, the Doctor felt alarm and worry run through him, and he quickly left the case he had been examining, hurrying to her side, taking her hand. He followed her gaze and his own eyes widened, taking in the symbols.

Amy, who hadn't notice there reaction, joined them, looking down at the box from the other side of the case, "Oh great, an old box," she muttered, obviously not impressed as she looked through the glass.

"It's from an old star liners," the Hatter told her, her eyes still fixed on the symbols, "It's called a Home Box".

"What's a Home box?"

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes," the Doctor explained, pointing down to the box through the glass as Amy put her elbow on the glass, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, "Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the flight data".

"So?" she sighed, shaking her head, not seeing what was so special about it.

"See those symbols engraved in the metal?" the Time Lady glanced across to her, tracing the pattern of the symbols along the top of the glass absently with her finger tip. The Doctor couldn't help but stare at her as she did so, swallowing slightly, "That's not just ordinary writing," she continued, a small smile spreading across her face, "That's Old High Gallifreyan. The lost language of the Time Lords," she paused, "Well, almost lost, save for the Doctor and I, Martha Jones, and one or two of my past companions".

She still recalled vividly how the Doctor had practically begged her to learn Old High Gallifreyan with him during their school years. He had always been far more interested in languages then she had been, not to mention more talented in that department, but she simply couldn't refuse when he made the argument that she would be able to read the ancient volumes housed within her families House that were written completely in the ancient language. Not to mention it allowed them to pass on messages to each other without anyone else being able to read what they had written, which had come in handy quite a bit, especially during the time that the Doctor had begun making his plans to leave Gallifrey with Susan.

"Anyway," the Doctor cleared his throat, forcing himself to pull his eyes away from where she was still tracing the symbols. He was almost positive she was doing it on purpose just to distract him, "There were days, there were many days," he looked back to Amy, his tone serious, "These words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple gods".

"What does this say?" Amy questioned, suddenly seeming excited.

The Hatter coughed, struggling to hold back a laugh as the Doctor grimaced slightly, "'Hello, sweetie and honeykins,'" she replied, breaking to a highly amused smile, "Well, obviously, these exact words wouldn't burn stars, topple gods, or even raise up empires".

"I don't know…" the Doctor shot her a sideways, teasing look, "…maybe 'honeykins' would".

"Whatever you say…'sweetie,'" she smirked, nudging his side playfully.

"No, don't," he groaned loudly, sighing, "I prefer your nickname for me".

"I seem to recall you whining about it at first when I called you by it in front of the Master".

"I was a teenage boy, no teenage boy wants to be called 'sweetheart' in front of their friends. That's like…getting kissed by your Mum at school…" he frowned slightly, looking a little unsure, "…I think?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "I was your friend and yet you had no problem with me calling you by it when it was just us".

"You were a special case, even back then," he replied, giving her a wide smile, and quickly kissing her cheek.

"You do remember that I only called you that as a joke at first, yes?"

"And now look at us," he smirked, giving her a wink, before clapping his hands together as he looked back across to Amy, who had watched them with a look crossed between amusement and disgust, "Now, then," his eyes twinkled as he reached inside his blazer, pulling out his sonic, and flashed it across the lock on the case.

Almost at once, an alarm began blearing throughout the room, and they quickly grabbed the box, the Doctor tucking it safely under his arm, and they raced back to the TARDIS at the other end of the room as two security guards appeared from another section of the museum, chasing after them.

"You couldn't have given me enough time to disable the alarms, I suppose?" the Hatter called, pulling out her key, slipping it into the lock, glancing back behind her towards the quickly approaching guards.

"Ah…" he gave her a slightly guilty look.

She rolled her eyes fondly, "Oh, never mind".

She pushed the doors open and ran inside, followed by Amy, and the Doctor. They ran up to the console and the Doctor sat the Home Box down on the console as the Hatter set them off into the Time Vortex, before moving around to help him to plug the device into the console.

Amy watched them curiously, moving to stand beside the Doctor, "Why are we doing this?" she asked them.

"Because someone on a spaceship twelve thousand years ago is trying to attract our attention," the Doctor answered, talking fast as he plugged in the last wire, glancing at the Hatter, "Let's see if we can get the security playback working".

They looked up to the monitor above the console, watching as grainy, black and white footage began playing with a slightly younger looking River Song, appearing to be wearing a floor length gown and sunglasses, holding a small gun. She looked straight at the camera, lowering her sunglasses, and winked before walking out of view.

The Time Lords and Amy exchanged a quick look, the Hatter looking more amused then anything, since she couldn't help but feel as if that was something she might have done…without the gun part, of course. Oh, and probably the floor length gown, if she could help it.

The Doctor adjusted one of the plugs and the footage changed to show River with her back to the camera, standing beside a large, circular door.

"The party's over, Doctor Song…" a man's voice remarked from off the screen, "Yet still you're on board".

Slowly, River calmly turned around to face the camera, "Sorry, Alistair," she said to the man, smiling slightly, "I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you know what's down there?" she raised her eyebrows, "Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination".

"Wait till she runs," the man obviously ordered someone, no doubt soldiers or guards, "Don't make it look like an execution".

River, not seeming the least bit concerned, simply checked her watch casually, "Triple seven, five, slash, three, four, nine by ten…" she began rattling off, the Time Lady slowly broke into a smile as the Doctor glanced at her, doing a double take when he caught sight of her smile, "Zero, twelve, slash, acorn," she smirked up at the camera, patting her hair, "Oh, and I could do with an air corridor".

The Hatter quickly moved around to the side of the console, typing the coordinates in, and setting the air corridor up.

"What was that?" Amy asked, frowning over to the Hatter, looking confused, "What did she say?"

"Coordinates," the Doctor told her, stepping around to the blonde with a small frown of his own, "Hatter, what are you doing?" he sighed, his eyes narrowing slightly, "This is River, I don't trust her".

"Well, until I'm proven otherwise, I do," the Hatter replied, giving her a small smile before shaking her head at him, "Oh, sweetheart, stop it," she scolded lightly, giving him a stern look, "You might not trust her, but she's asked for our help, and we don't just walk away, Doctor".

"I just don't like the idea of someone who knows our future being around us. And we don't even know her, she could be anyone to us. I don't trust her".

"Believe me, I'm well aware," the Time Lady remarked, patting his arm comfortingly, flashing him a small smile, "But sometimes you just have to have a little blind faith in people," he went to open his mouth, ready to argue, and she quickly placed a finger on his lips, "Doctor, don't bother," she said sternly, fixing him with a look, "River went to all this trouble to get our attention, she wants us for something, and we are going to find out what that might be. Besides, it might be a good adventure".

He groaned slightly, shifting on the spot as she removed her finger, "Ooh, why do have to use that tone?"

She blinked, looking confused, "What tone?"

"That one," he waved his hand around her, "The bossy, authority sounding one," she raised her eyebrows at him, giving him an almost teasing look, "I never can resist when you use that tone".

She reached up and slowly adjusted his bowtie, smirking, "Is that so, sweetheart?" she asked, her tone sounding innocent.

Amy cleared her throat loudly, making them both jump, "Do the two of you ever stop flirting?" she huffed slightly, crossing her arms across her chest, "I thought you were supposed to be doing something about that woman?"

The Hatter blushed and cleared her throat, taking a step back from the Doctor, who ran a hand down his own, pink face, "Sorry, Amy," she nodded over to her, giving her a small smile, "I'm afraid that we're still not very used to having someone travelling with us," she quickly turned back to the console, finishing typing the rest of the coordinates in.

"Like I said on the dance floor," River commented over to the recording, "You might want to find something to hang on to!" the sound of something rapidly beeping sounded and she blew the man a mocking kiss, just before the door behind her burst open, sending her flying out into space, ending the footage.

The Time Lords danced around the controls, materialising in space a short distance from the ship that the Home Box had belonged to, right in River's path.

"Mind getting the door, Doctor?" the Time Lady flashed him a bright smile as she pulled a lever, "We've got a visitor".

The Doctor ran down the console stairs and across to the doors, opening them, and reaching out, pulling River in…only to end sending them both sprawling on the floor from the force, River landing on top of the Doctor with a loud gasp.

"Doctor?" Amy frowned, crossing her arms again as she looked over to them. She couldn't help but feel a small flicker of jealous as she looked at them. With the Hatter, it was different, the Time Lady had been there ever since they had first crashed into her garden shed as a little girl, and they were married, so while all that flirting and little kisses she had noticed was a little annoying, she understood, but this new woman was a complete unknown to her. She couldn't help but feel just a little bit possessive.

"River?" the Doctor eyed her, carefully helping the woman climb on to her feet almost at once as the Time Lady jogged down the steps to join them.

River, the moment she was back on her feet, whirled around to look back outside the doors, watching as the ship flew off, "Follow that ship!" she called.

The Hatter spun on her heel, racing back up to the controls, "On it!" she announced, pulling a lever, sending them off.

The Doctor closed the doors before either himself or River could end up being tossed out into space as the TARDIS began jolting around. River grinned, somehow managing to run up to the console in her very high, red heels, and quickly hugged the Time Lady, much to her surprise, and kissed her cheek.

"I didn't doubt you for a second, honeykins," she assured her, giving her a wink, seeming amused by the other woman's startled expression as she stepped around to the monitor, and slipped off her heels, hanging them on the monitor as if she did such a thing every other day.

The Doctor joined them, eyeing River warily as they began working at the controls, while Amy stood back, holding onto the railing as she watched them with a small frown.

"They've gone into warp drive!" River informed the Time Lords, looking up at the screen, "We're losing them! Stay close!"

"We're trying!" the Doctor shouted, a touch of annoyance in his tone as he pulled a lever.

"Use the stabilisers!"

"There aren't any stabilisers!"

"And he wonders why he never passed his TARDIS examination," the Hatter rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but she looked more amused then anything as she shot him a look around the Time Rotor.

River shook her head, "The blue switches!"

"Oh, the blue ones don't do anything, they're just…blue!" the Doctor replied, shrugging.

"Yes, they're blue!" she rolled her eyes at him, moving around towards the switches, "Look, they're the blue stabilisers!" she hit the switch and everything stopped shaking, the TARDIS falling silent almost at once. She smirked, glancing at the Doctor, who was staring at her, "See?"

"Yeah, well, it's just boring now, isn't it?" he threw her a look before grabbing the switch, shaking it slightly as he glared down at it, "They're…boring-ers! They're the blue boring-ers!"

The Hatter laughed fondly, moving around to him, patting his arm soothingly, "Oh, stop fussing, sweetheart," she scolded lightly, glancing over to River, "He got this way with Romana, too".

Amy stepped closer to the Time Lords, casting River a curious look, "How come she can fly the TARDIS?" she questioned in a low voice.

"You call that flying the TARDIS?" the Doctor threw River a glare, not bothering to lower his own voice, looking affronted, "Ha!" he scoffed loudly and flopped down onto the jump seat just off to the side of the console sulkily, "And you," he suddenly pointed at the Hatter, giving her a accusing look.

The Time Lady raised an eyebrow at him, moving to lean against the railing by his seat, "Yes, sweetheart?"

"You're supposed to be on my side," he leaned towards her, whispering.

She laughed, quickly covering it up with a cough as she leaned down to him, their faces inches apart, "Would a kiss make you feel better?" she asked. He grinned and went to kiss her, but she drew back, laughing as his eyes widened, "Maybe when you've stopped sulking," she shot him a teasing look as she straightened.

"You…but that…" he opened and closed his mouth, waving a hand around at her, "That's cheating!"

"Well, you would know all about cheating, wouldn't you? You knew you should have gone that snake while we were playing that game of Snakes and Ladders the other night. You just thought I didn't notice".

"Okay," River suddenly called through the room, having watched them with a soft smile, but she knew very well that unless she caught there attention, they would just go on for hours. She looked up at the monitor, "I've mapped the probability vectors," she began as the Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, "Done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and…" she hit a switch, looking back up to the room with a small, smug smile, "…parked us right alongside".

"Parked us?" the Doctor repeated, frowning at her as the Hatter looked almost impressed, "We haven't landed".

"Of course we've landed," she replied, moving the monitor around as the Time Lords and Amy stepped around the console to see for themselves, "I just landed her".

"But…" he glanced at the Hatter and Amy, "…it didn't make the noise".

"What noise?"

"You know, the…" he mimicked the wheezing, raspy sound that the TARDIS made, actually doing a rather good impression.

River fixed him with a look, "It's not supposed to make that noise," she pointed at him, "You leave the brakes on".

"I've been telling him for centuries, River," the Hatter cut in, shaking her head, looking amused, "But he never listens. I've given up, to be perfectly honest".

The Doctor looked at her, "Your TARDIS made the same sound!"

"My TARDIS was supposed to sound like that, sweetheart".

He opened and closed his mouth for a moment as all three woman raised their eyebrows at him, "Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise," he eventually told them, "I love that noise, and don't pretend like you don't!" he added quickly, giving the Time Lady a pointed look.

"Which is why I haven't touched the brakes," the Hatter agreed, giving him a small smile.

"Knew it," he took her hand, glancing at Amy, "Come along, Pond, let's have a look".

The Time Lords began heading over to the doors, "No, wait!" River shouted over to them, turning back to the monitor, "Environment checks".

"Oh yes, sorry," he exchanged a look with the Hatter, both looking amused, "Quite right," he looked back over to River, who had her eyes fixed on the screen before her, "Environment checks," they stepped over to the door and he pulled it open, sticking his head out before looking back up to the console, "Nice out".

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt," River ignored him, her eyes still fixed on the screen, "There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest that…"

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System," he cut in quickly as the Time Lady smiled slowly, "Oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft band, eleven hour day, and…" he made a sweeping gesture to the Time Lady.

The Hatter leaned around him, sticking her head out the doors, taking a sniff of the cool, slightly salty air, before looking back inside the console, "And chances of rain later," she added brightly as Amy and River looked over towards them.

River shook her head at them, glancing at Amy, "They think they're so hot when they do that," she remarked to the red head.

The Time Lords exchanged a look, closed the doors, and jogged back up to the console as Amy eyed River, "How come you can fly the TARDIS?" she asked her.

"Oh, I had lessons from the very best".

"Well, yeah…" the Doctor smirked smugly, flopping back down on the jump seat.

"It's a shame you were busy that day, Doctor," she continued and he lost his smug look, "Good thing I had the Hatter," she shot the Time Lady a smile, making her laugh, nudging the Doctor's side, "Right, then," she turned back to the monitor, grabbing her heels, and began heading for the doors, "Why did they land here?"

"Ah, but that's the thing," the Hatter watched her, "The ship didn't land".

"Sorry?"

The Doctor stood, following after her as Amy hurried behind him, while the Time Lady didn't even bother moving, "You should've checked the Home Box," he told her, "It crashed," River opened the door and stepped out, and he slammed it behind her, giving Amy a look as he passed her, stepping back up to the console.

Amy frowned at him, "Explain!" she demanded, marching after him, "Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?"

He began fiddling with the controls, "It's a long story and we don't know most of it," he replied, waving his hands around before he began typing something into the controls, "Off we go!"

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go".

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Are you basically running away?"

The Hatter laughed, strolling around the console to join them, "That's exactly what he's doing," she agreed, giving the Doctor a teasing look.

Amy smiled, giving the Doctor an almost mocking look, "Why?"

"Because she's the future," he argued, glancing at the Hatter. While he might have loved how kind she was to others, she did have a weakness for wanting to trust people, even when they might not have given any reason to trust them. She had come a long way from when she was a child, but she still tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, which only made the possibility that she could get herself hurt or even worse, all the more possible. And that only made him even more protective over her, even though he knew she hated it, and that she was more than capable of protecting herself, he still would never forgive himself if anything was to happen to her, "Our future," he sighed slightly.

"Can you run away from that?" she questioned.

"I can run away from anything I like…except for the Hatter," he flashed the blonde a broad smile and a wink, "Even in the old days we still managed to run into each other accidently".

"Oh, as if you would ever want to try running away from me," the Hatter laughed, giving him another teasing look as she nudged his side, before fixing him with a sharper look, "And to be perfectly honest, I am rather curious to know just why River would be chasing that ship," she finished, her tone turning sterner as she spoke.

Amy's eyes widened in realisation, "Hang on, is that a planet out there?" she pointed over towards the doors, cutting in before the Doctor had a chance to argue again.

"Yes…" he replied, narrowing his eyes carefully at the red head, "Of course it's a planet".

"You two promised me a planet," she grinned excitedly, pointing at them, "Five minutes?" she pleaded hopefully.

The Doctor looked at the Hatter, who shrugged, giving him a cheeky smile, "Well, I did promise her," she began, giving him a pointed look, "And I always keep my promises, sweetheart".

He looked back and forth between both women, already knowing that he had lost, seeing as the Time Lady would just walk out those doors with Amy, regardless of what he said, "Okay," he sighed heavily, fixing Amy with a firm look, "Five minutes".

"Yes!" Amy cheered, practically jumping on the spot, before running for the doors as the Hatter laughed.

The Time Lady grabbed the Doctor's hand, pulling him after the red head, "But that's all," he continued quickly, "Because I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything…"

They opened the doors and stepped out onto a beach where black smoke filled the air, bits of debris scattered around them, some of it still burning as they looked up to a high cliff were a city seemed to have once been carved into the very rock. Parts of it had gone up in flames from where the ship had crashed into the very heart of what was once probably a beautiful city.

The Hatter sighed as they all stared up at the burning ship, glancing warily at the Doctor, "Consider yourself dragged into something, sweetheart," she remarked quietly to him as they approached River.

"What caused it to crash?" River asked them, looking up at the ship with a small frown, "Not me".

"Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it," the Doctor informed her, shaking his head, "According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors".

"A phase shift would have to be sabotage," she reached inside her small handbag, pulling out a device, "I did warn them".

"About what?" the Time Lords shot her a curious look.

"Well, at least the building was empty," she continued, ignoring there question, "Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries," she held up the device towards the ship and began fiddling with buttons.

The Doctor and the Hatter eyed her for a moment before stepping back over to Amy, who stood a short distance away from them, "Aren't you going to introduce us?" the red head gave them a pointed look, glancing over to River.

The Doctor sighed, "Amy Pond, Professor River Song," he introduced quickly.

"Doctor…" the Hatter groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. She had no idea about what River knew or didn't know yet, but going around, blurting out information like that without knowing for sure, was not the best approach to take in a situation like this one. She supposed that the remark River had made to her about the Doctor controlling his mouth like the TARDIS was proving correct.

"Ah!" River gasped, whirling around to look at him, "I'm going to be a Professor some day, am I?" the Doctor cringed at his slip, shooting the Time Lady an apologetic look as she shook her head at him, "How exciting!" she laughed as she turned back to look at the crashed ship, going back to what she had been doing, "Spoilers!"

"Doctor, I think in future you should leave the introductions to me when it comes to River," the Time Lady muttered to him, giving him a look.

Amy leaned closer to the Time Lords, her eyes fixed on River's back, "Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that?" she lowered her voice, "She just left you two a note in a museum!"

The Doctor held a finger to his lips, making a 'shh,' sound, before wondering a short distance away, looking around as the Hatter simply looked amused.

"Two things always guaranteed to show up in a museum," River commented, having heard Amy, "The Home Box of category four star liner and, sooner or later…" she turned, throwing both Time Lords a smirk, "Them," she glanced at Amy, "It's how they keep score".

"I know," Amy laughed, stepping beside her as the Time Lady coughed, blushing.

"It's hilarious, isn't it? And don't even get the Hatter started on fictional characters."

"I'm not that bad!" the Hatter exclaimed, shifting uncomfortably on the spot, "I've just…offered a few suggestions…"

River shot her an amused look, "Alice in Wonderland?"

"That was Alice's fault," she avoided her and Amy's eyes, mumbling as she ducked her head, "I was too busy fangirling".

The Doctor laughed sarcastically, strolling back over to them, "We're nobody's taxi service!" he pointed sternly at River, who simply smiled, looking more amused then anything, "We're not going to be there to catch you every time you feel like…like jumping out of a spaceship!"

"And you are so wrong," River replied, smiling calmly, "The Hatter will always be there, and you never can resist whatever she wants," the Doctor glanced at the Hatter, who gave him a wink, looking highly amused, and he smiled slowly back, knowing that it was true. She only had to look at him too make his resolve falter in most cases, "There's one survivor," River continued, looking back up at the ship, "There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die," she glanced back to the Time Lords as they looked at her curiously, smirking as she looked at Amy, "Now he's listening!" she held the device up to her ear and spoke into it, "You lot in obit yet? Yeah, I saw it land," she began wondering away from them, "I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal," she paused, holding up the device as she looked back to the Time Lords, "Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon".

The Doctor sighed and reluctantly reached inside his blazer, withdrawing his sonic screwdriver, and flashed it in River's direction. She smiled broadly back to him and gave him a small curtsey, before continuing with what she was doing.

"Ooh, Doctor," Amy laughed, leaning closer to him with a teasing tone, "You sonicked her!" she smirked, before stepping away from them, looking curiously at River was doing.

The Hatter sent her a small, amused smile, turning to the Doctor, "Dear me, sweetheart, you ought to be careful," she remarked in the same teasing tone as Amy, giving him a mock pout, "You wouldn't want to make me jealous, now, would you?"

"Dear, I'm almost positive there's nothing that would make you jealous," he told her, shaking his head.

"Well, perhaps I just trust you and our relationship to much too ever feel threatened by another woman?" she suggested, tilting her in.

He gave her a soft smile, taking her hand, and placing a kiss on it, "Good, because there's only ever been you, and there will only ever be you for me".

"Well, I would hope so, sweetheart, since I feel the exact same way".

"We have a minute!" River called over to them, heading back over to them, "Shall we?" as she reached them, she slipped the device back inside her handbag, and pulled out the TARDIS shaped diary, only it wasn't quite as old as when they had last seen it, "Where are we up to?" she flipped through a couple of pages, "Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

Amy stepped over to her, eyeing the book, "What's the book?" she asked.

"Stay away from it," the Doctor warned her, refusing to even look at the book's cover.

The Hatter gave River a small, apologetic look, "I'm afraid not, River," she said to her, inwardly wincing. She could only imagine how hard it must be for River, knowing herself and the Doctor so well, and yet, herself and the Doctor barley knowing her.

"What is it, though?" Amy questioned, frowning over at the Time Lords.

"Her diary," the Doctor answered.

"Our diary," River corrected.

"It contains her past, but the future to us," the Hatter explained, to Amy, who still looked confused, gesturing to herself and the Doctor, "You see, with time travel we don't meet in the right order, and this is River's way of keeping track".

Suddenly, four columns of swirling dust, looking similar to small tornadoes appeared on the sand a short distance from them, and as the dust cleared, it revealed four soldiers in desert camouflage with guns. One of the men, an older looking man, approached River.

"You promised me an army, Doctor Song," the man remarked to her, giving her a look.

"No," River smirked at him, holding her book to her chest, "I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor and the Hatter," she nodded over to the Time Lords, who stepped forward.

The Doctor gave him a slightly mocking salute as the Hatter tipped the brim of her hat to the man.

"Father Octavian, sir, ma'am," the man, Octavian introduced himself, shaking the Doctor's hand, and then the Hatter's, "Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command," the Time Lords exchanged a quick look, their eyes drifting up to the crashed ship, "The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation," he raised his eyebrows, following there gaze, "Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

River turned to them, "Doctor, Hatter, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

Both Time Lords heads snapped around to look at her, their eyes widening in alarm as they tightened their grip on each other's hands. The Hatter took a deep breath, glancing warily at the Doctor, "I swear, if I end up in another mini dress by the end of today, I won't be happy".

Despite the situation, the Doctor couldn't help but burst out laughing, his eyes drifting down to her legs. He remembered vividly some of those mini dresses and skirts she had been forced to wear, not to mention watching her throw each and single one into a black hole the first chance she got.

"Doctor," she said sharply, snapping his attention back to her, "Eyes up here, thank you," she pointed to her face, giving him a look.

He coughed and nodded quickly, "I was just…admiring your boots, dear".

"Yes, I'm sure you were," she scoffed, exchanging a look with River, who looked highly amused.

Night quickly fell and the rest of soldiers arrived with plenty of equipment, and began to set up camp the moment they had landed at the base of the cliff. The Time Lords walked behind Octavian with their arms linked, Amy right behind them as they moved through the camp, past soldiers as they finished setting up large lights.

"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship," Octavian began, glancing back to them, "Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drivers," he led them over to were a table had been set up with some equipment scattering the top, "According to this…" he withdrew a small device from his pocket, similar to River's, holding it out for the Time Lords to see a diagram of what appeared to be multiple layered structure, "Behind the cliff face there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple," he continued, putting the device away, "We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up".

"Oh, good," the Doctor nodded, looking up at the cliff, clutching the Hatter's hand tighter.

He frowned at him, "Good, sir?"

"Catacombs, probably dark ones," he looked at him, his hearts racing, trying to think of another way to get around having go inside, because it was certainly the last thing he wanted to do, let alone for the Hatter to be there, too. The Hatter moved closer to him, trying to give him a comforting look, and he squeezed her hand, "Dark catacombs," he sighed sarcastically, "Great".

"Technically, I think it's called A 'Maze of the Dead…'"

The Hatter winced, sending the man a quick look as the Doctor tensed even more, "Ah, could you maybe…stop talking now?"

"Father Octavian?" one of the cleric's called.

Octavian glanced over to the cleric, nodding, before looking back to the Time Lords, "Excuse me, sir, ma'am," he turned and walked away.

The Doctor waved him off, hardly listening as he pulled his sonic out, flashing it at a couple of bits of equipment, just trying to find some way to distract himself. The Hatter gave him a concerned look.

"You're letting people call you 'sir' and 'ma'am,'" Amy remarked, eyeing them, "You never do that," when they didn't respond, she sat on the table beside the equipment, "So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now that's interesting…" the Doctor frowned slowly, looking across to her as the Hatter picked up a piece of equipment, turning it over in her hands, "You're still here," he continued to Amy, leaning towards her, "Which part of 'wait in the TARDIS till we tell you it's safe' was so confusing?"

She mock pouted at him, "Ooh, you are Mister Grumpy Face today," she broke into a grin.

"Amy, you have no idea how serious this situation really is," the Hatter sighed, casting her a sharp look, but it was broken when she tilted her head thoughtfully, giving her a small smile, "Though, I am somewhat inclined to agree with you".

"Hatter, not helping," the Doctor groaned slightly, and she sent him an apologetic look. He turned back to Amy, "A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and right now one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and we're supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and the Hatter's sense of humour…"

"Hey!" the Time Lady nudged his side, knowing that was about her remark just before.

"…and a torch," he went on, sending the blonde a quick smile before turning serious again, "And, assuming we survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in our faces, do something incredibly clever which we haven't actually thought of yet. That's our day. That's what we're up to," he raised his eyebrows at Amy, "Any questions?"

Amy eyed them carefully for a moment, "Is River Song like…" she awkwardly shifted, glancing at the Hatter, "Your wife?" both Time Lord's mouths fell open, "It's possible, right?" she added quickly, seeing their reaction, "Marriages brake up all the time. She's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you," she nodded to the Doctor, who was opening and closing his mouth wordlessly, "I've only seen the Hatter do that. She's kinda like, you know, 'heel, boy!'" she smirked at him.

The Time Lords looked at each other, completely shocked by her question, "No!" they exclaimed, looking back to Amy.

The red head shifted again, but she couldn't help but ask. She wasn't really sure why she felt the need to ask in the first place, she had seen the way they were with each other, which was a little sickening, to be honest, and how happy they both seemed, but at the same time she felt like she needed to make sure.

She had Rory back at home, who she loved and was supposed to be getting married to, but at the same time there was also the Doctor, who, while very obviously married, just had something about him that pulled her in. She had tried hard to remind herself about Rory and the Hatter, and yet she still felt a sense of attraction towards the Doctor that just didn't seem to want to leave her, and that feeling only seemed to grow the longer she spent around him…though, she did have to admit that having his wife along with them did help to remind her about her own commitment to Rory, and stop her from doing anything she might regret. But how much longer would that last?

"Well…I know you might not like to think about it, but it could be possible…" she began slowly.

"Actually, it's not," the Hatter told her, shaking her head, growing more amused as her shock subsided, unlike the Doctor, who was staring at Amy as if he thought she was insane, "You see, we're not just married, we're United".

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"In a way, yes. On Gallifrey, Time Lords would marry, and then once one of the couple regenerated…you do remember what I told you about regeneration, yes?" she paused, glancing at her, and Amy nodded, "Good. Well, if one of the couple regenerates, then by Gallifreyan law the marriage would end, but most of the time they would just end up remarrying. Old habits. But with a Uniting ceremony, the marriage can't be broken, not by divorce, nor even by death. It's forever".

"Which is why we're positive River's not my wife," the Doctor cut in, saying the words quickly with a small grimace, "A Union outweighs any other wedding. Besides," he smiled broadly as he looked at the Time Lady, kissing her hand, "There's only been one person for me".

Amy looked at them closely, before frowning slightly, "So who's River to you, then? Is she…some sort of relative?"

The Time Lords exchanged a quick look, and the Doctor sighed slightly, rubbing his face, "Yes," he commented, making Amy's eyes widen, "You're right…I'm definitely Mister Grumpy Face today".

Amy smiled, laughing slightly as the Hatter nodded in agreement, kissing his cheek almost sympathetically.

"Doctor and Hatter!" River suddenly called, waving her hands around to catch their attention from where she stood in the doorway of one of the transportable units that the clerics had brought with them. She had changed out of the gown and into some camouflage gear, putting her curly hair up into a ponytail. The Doctor sighed, ducking his head, "Hello, you two?"

"Oops," Amy grinned, giving the Time Lords a mocking look, "Her indoors!"

"Father Octavian!" River added, before stepping back inside the unit.

"We had better see what's going on," the Hatter glanced at the other two, fixing the Doctor a pointed look when he started to look sulky again, "Oh, stop it, Doctor," she scolded him lightly, pulling him towards the unit, Amy following behind, just as Octavian headed inside the unit.

"Why do they call him 'Father?'" Amy asked, watching the man ahead of them.

"He's their Bishop, they're his Clerics," the Doctor replied, shrugging, "It's the fifty first century. The Church has moved on".

They entered the unit and they were immediately greeted by a screen at the other end of the small room with a quite grainy black and white recording of a Weeping Angel, facing away from the camera with its face covered as River stood by the screen, holding the remote.

River glanced at them and Octavian, "What do you think?" she nodded to the screen as the Time Lords approached it, eyeing the recording, "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board," she informed them, "Sorry about the quality. Its four seconds. I've put it on loop".

"Yeah, it's an Angel," the Doctor nodded, looking back to the screen, watching the recording loop back to the start, "Hands covering its face".

"You've encountered the Angels before?" Octavian looked at the Time Lords curiously.

"Once, a little while ago," the Hatter replied, sighing slightly, "We were on Earth at the time," she cringed, shifting slightly on the spot, "Like I said earlier, if I end up in another mini dress like last time, I'm really not going to be happy".

"It wasn't all bad," the Doctor gave her a bright grin, wrapping an arm around her waist, "We had our first proper date, remember?"

"Ah, yes, how could I forget?" she laughed, shaking her head as she recalled the date in question, "You set fire to the table cloth and we ended up being chased out of the restaurant by an angry owner, and then we got shouted at by a policemen when we were at that park, because you were tickling me".

He blushed slightly, "Well…at least it was memorable?" he tried, shrugging a little guiltily.

"It most certainly was," she agreed, struggling to hold back another laugh as she cleared her throat, forcing herself to grow serious again, "But the last time we came across the Angels, they were just scavengers," she told the others, "Hardly surviving".

Amy frowned at the screen, "But it's just a statue," she shook her head.

"It's a statue when you see it," River explained to her.

"Where did it come from?" the Doctor nodded to the Angel, glancing over to River.

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since. Dormant all this time".

"Perhaps," the Hatter tilted her head, a small dark smile crossing her face as she looked back to the screen, "But there's a big difference between being dormant and patient, and personally, I know which one I would go for".

"What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?" Amy looked to River, still frowning.

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen," River told the red head, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. The Hatter nudged his side sharply, giving him a look, "So legend has it".

"It's not just a legend, it's fact," the Time Lady cut in, still giving the Doctor a look that clearly said to behave, "It's called a quantum lock, which means that the Angels literally cease to exist before the eyes of any living creatures," she paused before adding, recalling how they had tricked them the last time, making them look at each other, "Including themselves".

"They're just stone," the Doctor continued, "The ultimate defence mechanism".

"What, being a stone?" Amy raised her eyebrows a little dubiously.

"Being a stone…until you turn your back," he looked over to the humans, giving them a smile, but it quickly faded as he turned, his arm still around the Time Lady's waist, and they walked out of the unit, "The hyperdrive would've split on the impact," he remarked back to Octavian and River, who followed after them.

"I'm afraid it's not going to be very pretty," the Hatter nodded, looking up to the crashed ship with a small frown, "The entire ship is going to be flooded with drive burn radiation, crackled energy, and we can't forget gravity storms," she winced slightly, but the Doctor seemed almost cheerful, "All of which makes it deadly to practically any living thing".

"Deadly to an Angel?" Octavian asked, sounding hopeful.

"Dinner to an Angel," the Doctor corrected, shaking his head as they paused, "The longer we leave it there, the stronger it will grow," a thoughtful look crossed his face, "Who built that temple? Are they still around?"

"You said it was the Aplans, didn't you, River?" the Time Lady looked back to her, vaguely recalling her mentioning it when they first stepped outside to see the crash.

River looked up from her device that she was fiddling with, "Yes, indigenous life form," she nodded to her before turning her attention back down the device in her hands, "They died out four hundred years ago".

"Two hundred years later, the planet was terraformed," Octavian added, making the Time Lords look back to him, "Currently there are six billion human colonists".

"Whoo!" the Doctor exclaimed as the Hatter smiled fondly, "You lot, you're everywhere. You're like rabbits!" he laughed slightly, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, "We'll never get done saving you".

"It's amazing we even managed to have a honeymoon when you think about it," the Hatter commented, sounding amused, "At this rate, we'll never be bored".

He smiled softly at her, pulling her closer to his side, and placed a kiss to the top of her head, his eyes twinkling, "I, for one, am very glad we did have a honeymoon".

She laughed, giving him a teasing look, "Oh, believe me, I know you are, sweetheart".

"Sir, ma'am, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population…" Octavian began, clearing his throat.

"Oh, there is," the Doctor cut across him, growing serious once more, "Bad as it gets. Bishop, lock and load!"

"Verger, how are we doing with those explosives?" he called to his men, setting to work, "Doctor Song, with me," he walked past the Time Lords.

"Two minutes," River waved him off and looked back to the Time Lords, "Sweetie, honeykins, I need you!" she told them before jogging over to a table covered with equipment.

The Doctor frowned, glancing the Hatter, "'Sweetie?'" he repeated, looking mildly annoyed.

"Oh, stop it," the Hatter scolded lightly, giving him a small, amused smile, "I think it's nice she's given us nicknames, and your one fits you well," she winked at him, "I've always thought you were sweet".

He grinned, lifting his chin a little high, "Yeah, I am a bit," he agreed smugly.

She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his arm, "Egotistical idiot".

"Oh, so I'm not just an idiot, I'm egotistical too?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Sadly, yes".

"Well, do you know what?" he bopped the tip of her nose, making her squirm in his arm, "I'm your egotistical idiot, dear".

She mock sighed, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

He pretended to gasp at her, looking highly offended, "The things you say to me…"

"Oh, I know. I have no idea why you put up with me, sweetheart".

"Well, you do have some redeeming qualities. Plus, you always have a bag of jelly babies on hand".

"So basically, I married you because of your adorable pout when I tease you, and you married me because of my sweet tooth?" she tilted her head at him, struggling to hold back a laugh.

He paused, actually seeming to be considering what she had said, "That sounds about right, yeah," he nodded after a moment.

Unable to stop herself, she burst out laughing, "You know what, we're both idiots," she giggled, kissing his cheek fondly as he broke into his own broad smile, "That's the real reason we married each other. Idiot magnetism, that's what we have".

He laughed along with her, his eyes twinkling again, "That explains a lot".

The Hatter took a couple of calming breaths, trying to compose herself, before fixing the Doctor with a less stern look then she would have normally have given him, "Well, never mind that," she shook her head and began to pull him over towards River, "We had better focus, Doctor, and see what River wants".

He sighed slightly but nodded, knowing that she was right, though, while they had been joking around with each other, it had lightened the situation slightly. He supposed that was probably the reason why they tended to banter with each other far more then they usually would the more dangerous the situation was…but then again, perhaps that was just them, and the situation really didn't matter that much at all. That seemed highly likely.

The Time Lords made their way over towards River as Amy stepped into the doorway of the unit, her arms crossed, "Anybody need me?" she called, "Nobody?"

"Sorry, Amy, be with you in a moment," the Hatter looked over towards her, giving her a small smile, "We've been summoned".

The red head sighed and stepped back inside the unit as the Time Lords reached River, who held out an old looking book towards them, "I found this," she told them as the Doctor took it, eyeing it closely, "Definitive work on the Angels. Well, the only one. Written by a madman, it's barely readable, but I've marked a few passages".

The Doctor flipped through a couple of pages, "Not bad," he remarked, passing the book to the Time Lady, who did the same thing.

"A little slow in the middle, though," the Hatter shook her head, "Kind of felt like the romantic subplot with his girlfriend was a waste of time, but then again, I've never been a fan for romantic stories," she sighed slightly, making a face, "To much angst, not enough comedy and action".

He laughed, nodding in agreement before he frowned, realising they had missed something, "No, hang on!" he grabbed the book from her, quickly flickering through the pages, "Wait, wait, wait…" he sniffed the book.

"Doctor Song?" Amy's head popped around the edge of the unit's doorframe, looking over to them, "Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?"

"No, just the four seconds!" River called back to her, and Amy frowned before disappearing back inside the unit.

"This book is wrong," he muttered, turning the book over in his hands, glancing at the Hatter, "What's wrong with this book? It's wrong".

"Let me take a second look," the Hatter took the book, holding it closely to her face as she slowly flipped through the pages, forcing herself to read at a slower pace, looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary, "Perhaps we missed something…this is just another reason I dislike romantic subplots," she grumbled slightly.

River reached inside her bag and pulled out her TARDIS shaped diary, opening it, before pausing to watch them, "It's so strange when you go all baby face," she commented, an almost amused look on her face, "How early is this for you two?"

"Very early," the Doctor replied distractedly, his eyes on the Time Lady as she continued her examination of the book.

"So you don't know who I am yet?"

"I have my suspicions," the Hatter admitted, briefly glancing over the book to her, eyeing her carefully. She had many ideas of just who River Song might be to herself and the Doctor, but that didn't mean she couldn't be completely wrong. She supposed that she wouldn't know for certain until they found out themselves.

The Doctor turned to River, narrowing his eyes at her slightly, "How do you know who we are?" he questioned, "We don't always look the same".

"I've got pictures of all your and the Hatter's faces," River explained, smiling as the Time Lady's eyes widened, her eyes snapping back down the book in her hands, "You never show up in the right order, though," she added, "I need the spotter's guide…"

"That's it…" the Time Lady breathed, meeting the Doctor's eyes, "Pictures!"

His own eyes widened in realisation, looking down to the book in her hands as it hit him, too, "Why aren't there pictures?" he grabbed the book, quickly flickering through it himself, "This whole book, it's a warning about the Weeping Angels, so why no pictures?" he frowned deeply, turning the book over in his hands, "Why not show us what to look for?"

"There was a bit about images," River reminded them, "What was that?"

"Of course!" the Hatter exclaimed, plucking the book from the Doctor's hands, quickly flipping back through the book until she found the correct page, "Ah, here we go…'That which holds the image of an Angel…'" she suddenly paled, her eyes snapping up to meet the Doctor's and River, looking horrified, "'…becomes itself an Angel,'" she finished, swallowing.

"What does that mean?" she shook her head, "'An image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel'"

Before the Time Lady could answer, Amy suddenly cried, "Doctor, Hatter!" they whirled around at the sound, looking over towards the unit, "It's in the room!"

"Amy!" the Time Lords shouted urgently, racing over towards the unit, only to find that the heavy metal door was closed.

"Doctor!"

"Are you alright?" the Doctor called through the door, banging against it as the Hatter pressed her ear against it, trying to listen, "What's happening?"

"It's coming out of the television! The Angel is here".

"Amelia, listen, keep your eyes on that Angel!" the Hatter instructed her quickly, trying to keep her voice calm, so not to frighten Amy, who was already growing more panicked. The Doctor grabbed his sonic and flashed it at the keypad, "Just keep watching it, because as long as you're looking at it, the Angel can't move!"

River watched the Doctor trying to sonic the controls, "What's wrong?" she asked, knowing that the door should have unlocked by now.

"Deadlocked," he sighed heavily, sounding frustrated.

She moved over to the keypad, pressing the buttons, "There is no deadlock".

"Well, there is now," the Hatter said, one hand moving to toy with her bowtie as she exchanged a quick, very worried look with the Doctor, "Amy, don't blink!" she shouted through the door urgently, "Don't even blink! You have to keep looking at the Angel!"

"Hatter!" Amy yelled.

The Time Lady jumped down the small step of the unit and ran over to the side of the unit, grabbing a panel, and pulled it open as the Doctor joined her.

"What are you doing?" River looked over to them.

"Cutting the power," the Doctor told her, catching on to what the Hatter was doing as he and the Time Lady frantically began pulling out wires, "It's using the screen, we're turning it off!"

The Hatter plugged one of the wires into the panel, almost growling in frustration, "No, it's no use!" she groaned loudly, shaking her head, "The entire system has been deadlocked…" she paused, looking thoughtful, "Perhaps there's a way to do it from the inside, not that, that helps us from here".

"There's no deadlock!" River insisted.

"There is now!" the Doctor snapped.

"Help me!" Amy practically begged, sounding fearful.

The Time Lords ran back up to the door, "Can you turn it off?" the Doctor asked.

"Doctor!"

"Please, the screen, Amy!" the Hatter called to her, "Try turning the screen of!"

"I tried".

"Try again, but don't take your eyes off the Angel!" the Doctor tried.

"I'm not!"

He ran back down the side of the unit, trying to find another way to get inside as River stepped beside the Time Lady, aiming her little gun at the metal of the door, trying to cut through.

"Amelia, each time the Angel moves, it's going to be faster!" the Hatter warned her loudly, glancing at what River was doing with a small frown, positive that wouldn't work, but if it made her feel better…, "Don't blink, whatever you do!"

"I'm not blinking! Have you ever tried not blinking?" there was a short pause before she called back, sounding even more panicked, "It just keeps switching back on!"

"Yeah, it's the Angel!" the Doctor remarked grimly, fiddling with the wires again.

"But it's just a recording…"

"No, because anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel!" the Hatter shook her head, despite knowing that Amy couldn't see.

The Doctor glanced over to the door, frowning as he caught sight of what River was doing, "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm trying to cut through," River replied, "It's not even warm".

"There is no way in! It's not physically possible!"

She sighed and stepped back, looking frustrated herself as the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. The Hatter swallowed, trying to think desperately of something, anything that might possibly save Amy.

"Doctor, Hatter…" Amy called, sounding even more afraid then before, "What's it going to do to me?"

"Amy, just keep your eyes fixed on it!" the Hatter shouted through the door, exchanging a fearful look with the Doctor, forcing her voice to sound calm, "Just keep looking at it!"

"Just tell me".

The Doctor darted back over towards the table, grabbing the book, and running back over to the Hatter, frantically flipping through it.

"Tell me. Tell me!"

His head snapped up to meet the Hatter's eyes, "Amy, not the eyes!" he ordered, "Look at the Angel, but don't look at the eyes!"

"Why?"

River look over to them worriedly, "What is it?"

The Hatter swallowed, leaning closer to the Doctor to see the book, "'The eyes are not the windows of the soul,'" she began to read aloud quickly, "'They are the doors. Beware what may enter there'".

"Hatter, what did you say?" Amy asked sharply.

"Not the eyes!" she shouted, turning back around to face the door as the Doctor grabbed his sonic again, trying to use it on the keypad once more, "Don't look at the Angels eyes!"

"No, about images. What did you say about images?"

River moved closer to the door, calling through, "'Whatever holds the image of an Angel, is an Angel!"

"Okay…hold this…" there was a pause as they listened intently, "One," she began to count, "Two, three, four…"

Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting against metal sounded, and the doors unlocked. They threw open the door and burst into the room, just as the screen turned off as Amy stood before it, holding the remote. The Hatter immediately moved to Amy's side, looking at her in concern

"I froze it," she told them, still sounding slightly panicked as the Doctor hurried past both women, and over to the screen, pulling the power supply, giving it a sonic, "There was a sort of…blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip," she continued, looking at the Hatter, who gave her a bright, proud smile, "It wasn't the image of an Angel any more. That was good, yeah?" she began breathing slightly heavier, glancing at the Doctor, "It was, wasn't it?" she smiled slowly, "That was pretty good".

"That was amazing!" River grinned, moving towards her.

"It certainly was," the Hatter agreed, pulling Amy into a hug, "A Time Lord couldn't have done it better, and I don't often get to say that," she added happily as she let go of her, stepping back with a small smirk, "Oh, my parents would have killed me for that remake".

"Oh, I bet," River commented, sending her an amused look, and wrapped an arm around Amy who, still looked a little shocked.

"Thanks," Amy smiled broadly, glancing at the Doctor, who was checking the results on his sonic, "Yeah, I kind of creamed it, didn't I?"

"So it was here?" she looked at the Time Lords as the Hatter joined the Doctor, checking the results herself, "That was the Angel?"

"That was a projection of the Angel," the Doctor informed them, sticking the sonic back inside his blazer, "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant".

An explosion sounded from outside and the Time Lords ran over to the door, sticking their heads out to look.

"Last one positive!" one of the clerics reported to Octavian.

Octavian nodded to him and turned towards the unit, "Doctor!" he called, catching sight of them in the doorway, "Hatter! We're through!"

The Time Lords exchanged a quick look before turning back to Amy and River, "Now, we're in trouble," the Hatter remarked to them, a strange mixture of excitement and grim resignation crossing her face, before she and the Doctor linked arms, stepping outside.

Too much flirting/banter? I was sick when I wrote this chapter and writing banter made me feel better, so I apologise if I went a bit over the top with it. Next chapter, we've got an angry Hatter, why is the Doctor getting hit on the back of his head? And those statures are really making our Time Lady edgy for some reason…

Tell me what you thought, please review :)

Guest reviews:

Guest: I've got the first chapter of the Second Doctor's episode written up and about a thousand words thus far for the second chapter. At the moment it will either be three to four parts for each of the three episodes, but that could easily change, since Classic Who seems to have a lot more dialog then Modern Who…or maybe that's just in my head? I can't tell. Thanks for the review :)

GuestCat, (chapter 4): Hello, lovely to hear from you again. I've never actually read Alice in Wonderland book, I've only seen the 2010 movie and the mini-series 'Alice.' I'm so glad that you like the story, and happy holiday. I hope you enjoy yourself. Thanks for the review :)