A/N: I know it's a bit unusual for me to update this soon, but I just love writing this story.

Thanks for all of you who reviewed the last chapter, I hope you'll all continue to do so in the future too! As I've said, I really love reviews and they give always brighten up my day. It also gives me reason to keep going, since I know there are people who really want to read more of this story.

Warnings: Some strong language in this chapter. Mentions of slash (men/men relationships), spoilers for Doctor Who seasons 1-6 (new series) and Torchwood seasons 1-4.

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or Doctor Who.

Chapter 3: Important questions

"Anyhow, to put this simply, there's no such things as aliens in my universe."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose up higher that Susan had ever seen before. "Impossible," he said, in a tone that held no argument. "There's always other alien races than the humans in the universe."

Susan shook her head. "No, actually I'm pretty sure there isn't any in my universe, since the first thing we were taught in astronomy class was: 'There has been no known sign of any intelligent life or life of any other kind on the other planets we know of'," she recited with quotation marks. "It always annoyed me, as I had been a Whovian for a few years before my first astronomy class."

The Doctor blinked. "A... Whovian?" he asked, hesitating if he even wanted to know.

"Yep," Susan said and grinned. "As in 'Doctor Who fan'."

"Doctor Who?" Martha asked, frowning. "What is that?"

Susan giggled. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain to you two, but basically, Doctor Who is a TV- series about The Doctor," Susan said, looking pointedly at the Doctor, "And his companions."

"You're serious, aren't you?" The Doctor said and stared at her. "There really is a whole TV show about me."

"I'm never Sirius," Susan said, trying to keep a straight face. The Doctor grinned at that. "But yes, there really is. And that's not all, your show has been running in the UK since the 1963 until they canceled it in the 1989. There was a movie in 1996, but it wasn't very successful. However, BBC restarted the series with a whole new look and actors in the 2005, starting with the 9th Doctor's adventures."

The Doctor made a face, clearly remembering that reincarnation and his lack of hair. "And was that successful?"

Susan raised her eyebrow. "What do you think?" she asked sarcastically. "I'm not a exactly 40 years old or anything, nor do I hold a secret passion for the 60's scifi series."

The Doctor muttered something.

"What was that?" Susan asked, eyebrows still raised.

"Nothing," the Doctor answered quickly and coughed. "Very well, this is all very interesting. Are you saying that you knew what was going to happen because you've seen all this happen in an episode of 'Doctor Who'?" He made quotation marks, making Susan laugh at his expression.

"Well, technically yes," she said, but then her expression turned thoughtful. "But obviously I wasn't a character, and now that I've kind of changed things I have no idea what will happen."

The Doctor turned serious at that. "About that, yes," he said and eyed Susan. "What exactly made you open the fob watch?"

Susan scratched her neck nervously under his gaze. "I'm not sure what you were thinking when you used the Chameleon Arch, Doctor," Susan said, her voice squeaking a bit at the last word, as she felt giddy about talking to the Doctor himself. "But I'm pretty certain that you didn't want anything to happen to the people around you."

The Doctor frowned, not really getting what she was trying to say. Susan hastily continued. "It's just, if you were to be kept hidden in the watch for the next two days, some people in here would have died because of that. The family is on their way here, right now."

The Doctor's face darkened. "And they would do what?"

Susan hesitated for a moment. "They are going to take four of the villagers to use their bodies to move around looking for you," she said. "And then they would find John Smith, threaten to kill his friends if he didn't gave the Doctor to them."

Martha gasped. "That's horrible!"

"Would he do it?" Doctor asked, making Susan to look at him. "Would John Smith give the watch to them?"

Susan shook her head. "He wouldn't really have the choice. One of the students took the watch for safekeeping and hid it until it was time. Then he went to John Smith and gave it to him. Nurse Redfern..." Susan paused.

The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully. Susan collected her courage and looked him straight in the eye.

"In the end, Nurse Redfern and Martha talked him into opening the watch, as they both realize that there wouldn't be a world for John Smith to live in if they allowed the Family have a Time Lords life energy. Then you went to the Family's spaceship, pretending to be John Smith and gave them an empty watch, at the same time pushing some buttons to make their ship self-destruct. You ran away as they realized the scam, and they followed," Susan told.

Then she looked back to Martha, not capable of looking at the Doctor anymore. "In the end none of them are killed," Susan said, with almost a whisper. "You're so angry with them... You don't give them that chance."

The room was silent. Martha stared at Susan and Doctor with wide eyes.

"I think I know what you mean," The Doctor said after a while.

Susan looked back at him. He was being completely serious. "Yes, I think you do," she answered. "But what should we do now that you're back before you should?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "Before I should?"

Susan nodded. "Well, yes. I mean, in the TV show you're still John Smith at this point. I've changed the history," she said, and then her eyes widened. "Oh my god, are we going to die now?"

The Doctor looked amused. "What?"

"Is those huge reaper thingys going to eat us now?" she squeaked. "Oh, god, I completely forgot about that, I'm sorry..."

"I don't think so," the Doctor said, still eyeing Susan with an amused expression on his face. "History isn't written in stone, you know that, don't you?"

Susan stared at him. "But it's you! Are you sure this isn't any huge fixed point in time and now I've completely destroyed your future or something and the reapers are going to eat us and oh god."

Martha was just staring at Susan with a blank expression on her face.

"Susan," the Doctor said and grabbed her shoulders. "We're not going to die. This is all fine," he said. "You can't be sure of what is meant to happen to us just because you saw it on TV."

Susan swallowed and stared at him, half aware of the hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Because if you die because of this or Martha dies or something happens then it's my fault because I've changed things! And besides, everything else this far has been happening exactly like in the series!"

The Doctor shook his head. "I am absolutely sure we're going to be fine," he said. "It was my choice to change into a human, and now I can see that it was a bad one. I'm thankful you've helped us."

Susan let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she opened them again. "Awh, no, anyone would have done the same," she said, now staring at the hands from the corner of her eyes. "I'm just glad you're not angry with me."

The Doctor raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Angry people are scary," Susan quipped. "I'd rather have people hugging each other than fighting or anything. If I could, I'd like to please everyone." A picture came to her mind and she quickly shook her head. "Well, obviously not anyone, it would be kind of pointless to be nice to people who already hate me or something, well I guess it would make sense, if it would change their minds or..."

She noticed that both Martha and Doctor were staring at her.

"Oh," Susan said. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of rambling about random things."

Martha hid a smile. "I know someone who does the same, too," she said and glanced at the Doctor, who raised his eyebrows.

Susan blinked at the Doctor, who was still holding her shoulders. "Are you going to let me go or are you waiting for a hug or something?" Because she definitely would do that.

He let go like his hands were burning, and Susan pouted. "Rude."

"Sorry," he mumbled and ran his fingers through his hair. Susan eyed the hair with rapt interest. Oh my god, she so wanted to do that with her hand. "I guess we'd better go back to the TARDIS and try to figure out a plan."

Martha blinked. "You don't already have one?"

Susan nodded in agreement, eyeing the Doctor absentmindedly. "You probably do, don't you?"

The Doctor just grinned. "Now, telling you wouldn't be any fun at all, would it?"

The Doctor wrote a hasty letter to the headmaster, saying that John Smith resigned and left back to his home town with his sister and servant. They left the school and headed back to the TARDIS.

Half an hour later, Timothy Latimer came to see John Smith and found the letter. Just as he was going to leave to give it to the headmaster, he noticed a fob watch on the floor. It was a curious little thing with strange markings on the backside. Feeling like he might need it some day, he pocketed the thing and kept it.

"Doctor, I only now just remembered!" Martha yelled just as the Doctor had taken the TARDIS key from her and was going to insert it into the lock.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, looking back at her.

"Earlier today, Susan opened the TARDIS doors without a key!" Martha said excitedly.

The Doctor stopped dead and whirled to face Susan, who was scratching her neck. "What!"

Susan coughed. "Well, she let me in."

The Doctor walked right in front of her. "What?"

"She's highly telepathic, you know."

"What?"

Susan tried to keep a straight face. "You do know that you're saying that often, right?"

"How? I've never..."

Susan sighed. "You're always underestimating her, Doctor. She's a really bright TARDIS," she said, still amused at the Doctor's baffled expression. She decided not to mention the fact that he could open her with a snap of his fingers, since that line belonged to River Song, and she really didn't want to steal it.

"What exactly did you do?" Doctor asked, looking at Susan with rapt interest. "Can you do it again?"

Susan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I only did it because I wanted to convince Martha about my intentions, and since the TARDIS is highly telepathic, I just told her I wanted to help you. There's really no use of doing it again, since you're here and we can just open the doors with a key."

The Doctor stared at her for a while. "That's just amazing," he said. "I've never heard of anything like that happening, ever."

Susan was tempted to poke out her tongue. "Well, maybe she just likes me."

The Doctor shook his head, amused, and opened the doors with the key. They stepped inside, and he immediately ran to the console to turn the power fully on. Then he disappeared to change his clothes.

Three minutes later he returned to the console room with his brown coat and converse shoes. Martha was sitting on the only seat available, but Susan was still standing.

Susan stared at him for a minute before taking out her digital camera. "Do you mind? I really love that outfit."

The Doctor grinned and stopped. Susan took the picture and put the camera back to her shoulder bag, gleefully humming.

The Doctor worked with the controls for a few minutes before he looked back at Susan. "No comments? No 'it's bigger on the inside'?" he asked, finally realizing that he had a new person with him.

Susan grinned. "I was already here, remember?" she giggled. "And besides, the only thing I could say about her is that she's beautiful."

The Doctor nodded, approving. "That she is."

Susan patted the console a few times herself, before her eyes widened and she looked back at the Doctor. "Doctor, there are many kind of alternative universes, right?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "Yes, apparently."

"So there could be like universes where other TV shows or books were real?"

The Doctor thought about if for a moment before nodding. "I think so."

Now it was Susan's time to manhandle the Doctor. She grasped the front of his jacket and shook him gently. "Doctor, this is a question of utmost importance."

The Doctor blinked at her. "What is it?"

Susan stared at him, unblinking. "Is Twilight real?"

The Doctor made a face. "You mean that horrible piece of literature written by that -"

"Yes, yes, that one."

The Doctor didn't miss a beat. "No."

Martha laughed at their expressions, the Doctor looking sour even at the mention of Twilight and Susan looking gleeful as the Doctor put her fears to rest.

Susan finally let him go and coughed. "Sorry, it's just a very frightening image, that kind of world being real:"

Doctor nodded seriously. "I understand."

"What do we do now?" Martha asked and rose from her seat. "If we're not staying here, I really want to change my clothes."

The Doctor looked thoughtful and he glanced at Susan. "You said that they would arrive here tomorrow?"

Susan nodded. "Yes, tomorrow evening, when it's getting dark. They land on a field not too far away from the school."

The Doctor pulled a few levers and danced around the console. Susan heard the engines start purring. "I think we should go there then," he said, not looking at Susan or Martha. "I'll take care of them alone."

Susan bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

"If what you say is true, they don't deserve a chance to chase me," he said. "I'll go to them."

Susan and Martha exchanged glances.

He guided the girls to the kitchen and told them to stay there until he came back. Martha had just changed her clothes, and was glaring at him the whole time until he left. Susan felt a bit doubtful about the whole thing. But they soon forgot about it as they made tea and started talking.

"So how long have you traveled with him now?" Susan asked and took a bite out of a biscuit. "I know some of the things you've done, but not nearly all of them. And I've actually got no idea how long the time is between every episode."

Martha counted back the days in her head. "I think it's been a little over three months, since we were her for two months," she said. "Gosh, it's really hard to keep count with all the time traveling."

Susan giggled. "I'd imagine so. I'm not even sure how old I am right now. When I left it was summer 2012, and I arrived in February 2008."

Martha whistled. "I see how that would be a bit complicated," she said. "How old are you anyway?"

Susan smiled. "How old do you think I am?" She really loved asking that.

"Hmmm," Martha said, eyeing her carefully. "I'd say you can't be older than 20."

Susan nodded. "Good guess," she said. "I actually turned 19 last month."

Martha raised her eyebrows. "Congratulations," she said.

"Thanks," Susan said and sighed glumly. "I don't really celebrate getting older. You know, after you turn 18 it just means you're getting older and then before you know it, you're married with kids and a husband who doesn't care about science fiction." She grinned suddenly. "Or, in this case, doesn't care about the universe."

Martha laughed. "Yes, I know the feeling," she said. "After experiencing these kind of things with the Doctor, I wonder how anyone would want to part with this."

Susan became somber quickly. "It's no all fun you know," she said pointedly, thinking back to what the Doctor was probably doing right now. "Sometimes people actually die and he has to face the consequences."

Martha stared at her and nodded. "Is that why you decided to help us?"

"Partly, yes," Susan said slowly. "That and because I couldn't just let all those people die. And because Nurse Redfern would have fallen in love with him, with a man she couldn't have."

Martha looked down.

Susan bit her lip. "It's not you, you know," she said. "He really just doesn't care for domestics. His whole race is gone and he knows there's no chance for him to get a family he needs. So he has friends. A lot of friends. And they are his family."

Martha looked up and smiled bitterly. "I'd suppose you would know about that too," she said.

Susan smiled softly. "You would have told John Smith, if I hadn't done this," she said. "You would have said it to him just to get the Doctor back."

Martha's eyes widened. "What happened afterwards?"

Susan sighed and shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "It just got awkward for a while, then you both forgot about it."

"What got awkward?" the Doctor asked from the doorway, making Susan and Martha jump in their seats and turn to look at him. Their eyes widened.

"Nothing," Susan said quickly. "You're done?"

The Doctor nodded. "All taken care of," he said, hands in his pockets.

Susan recognized his expression and bit her lip. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Sooo, what's the plan next?"

Martha smiled at Susan's nonchalant tone and glanced pointedly at the Doctor.

The Doctor pulled his left ear nervously. "Well, I guess, if you wanted to, you could..." The Doctor said and coughed. "You could come and travel with us."

Susan's eyes widened and she rose up form her chair. "What?"

"Well, I could take you back to the year you came from, but that would be a bit dull, wouldn't it?" the Doctor said, rambling. "Not to imply that your life is dull or anything, but well, if you're a fan and I'd imagine you'd like to take a trip or few..."

Susan tacked him into a bear hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"

The Doctor awkwardly patted her back. "You're welcome."