It was a dreary Saturday afternoon when Ginger stepped out of the cab onto Bannerman Road, all her bags in tow. She insisted on being let out a few doors over, just so she could have time to decide against it as she walked up to the house. As she entered the yard, the front door opened. Her first instinct at seeing the Doctor emerge from the open door was to try to hide, but too late - he turned his head and spotted her.

He had a million questions for her, but the one that he ended up asking was: "You alright?" She was standing there shivering in her black trench coat, looking smaller and paler than ever before.

"Fine, what's it to you?" she grumbled, defensively.

The exchange that came next was entirely in Harry Potter movie quotes, so to the reader who isn't on their frequency it would sound like gibberish.

"Whatchu doing down there?" he said. Translation: "What are you doing here?"

She picked up on it, with the slightest bit of relief. "Fell over." Translation: "Just happened to be in the neighborhood."

"Whatchu fell over for?" Translation: "Yeah, why's that?"

"I didn't do it on purpose." Translation: "Just sort of ended up here, don't make it a big deal."

He opened the door, holding it open for her. "Well come on then. Let's not wait for the grass to grow."

She hesitated, so he returned to the real world. "Did you want to come inside? I was just leaving, but...Bit cold out here."

"No, no," Ginger said, trying to brush it off like this wasn't a big deal. "It's fine, I was just...I was in the neighborhood and got lost and now I know where I am so I'm going." She turned to leave.

"You were here to check on Alex."

She stopped, without turning around. "No I wasn't. Really. What's there to check on?"

"You were worried," he said. "Funny, that, because you don't call, you don't write...If you'd waited another day it would've been two weeks. But you turn up here out of the blue anyway. You refuse to give us any point of contact with you, but you turn up here entirely on your own schedule. Silly Rabbit, full of surprises. You don't need to confirm that you cared enough to drop by, but do you want to come inside? See for yourself?"

She considered this before turning back to face him. "I'll come in, but only because it's cold out here and I could use a cuppa."

…

They found Alex sitting at the kitchen table studying.

"Sorry, we must have the wrong house," Ginger said, trying to break the ice. "We're looking for Alex, not Hermione Granger."

"Oh for God's sake," Alex said. "I've told you all I'm fine over and over again and now you're dragging her into this?"

"Yeah that's what I said," Ginger said, totally throwing the Doctor under the bus in an attempt to make it seem like it wasn't her idea to come there. "But he insisted. So what is it you're fine with, exactly?"

"Everything," she said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, there's nothing to not be fine with. Got to study for exams, though, so this is kind of a bad time."

"Alex, dear-" Sarah Jane said, coming in the room. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize Ginger was here."

"I'm not staying long," Ginger said.

"Alex, you have a phone call," Sarah Jane said, a bit nervously.

Alex sighed. "On the house phone?"

Sarah Jane hesitated. "Yes."

"Is it Jack?" she asked. When Sarah Jane didn't immediately answer she sighed and said: "Pathetic. I refuse to take his calls on my phone so he tries to get at me through Sarah Jane. Tell him I'm busy."

"Don't you think-?"

"No," Alex said, firmly. "Got more important things to do than make him feel better."

Sarah Jane hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something else before she left the room.

"So you two aren't speaking?" Ginger asked.

"Not so much," Alex said, as if bored by the topic entirely.

The Doctor decided to change the subject. "You know what? We should get out of here. You've hardly done anything except school in the past couple weeks, so you could use some fun."

Alex hesitated. "Doc, that's nice and all, but I really think I should study for exams. I'm trying to be a grown up and focus on my future."

The Doctor took her textbook from her and tossed it aside. "That's boring! It's Saturday, you're young, you need to loosen up a bit!"

Alex was mildly annoyed by this. "Loosen up?"

"Besides," Ginger cut in, jumping on the bandwagon. "We're children of the post 9/11 world. We know there's no future. Have fun while you can. I don't wanna be told to grow up! And I don't wanna change, I just wanna have fun!"

Alex sighed. "Is that some kind of reference?"

Ginger looked at her incredulously. "It's classic Simple Plan! From the Scooby Doo movies! You really need to brush up on your early 21st century, kid. That's just sad."

"Fine, you want Simple Plan?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "How about 'I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare?'"

"Okay, fair," Ginger nodded.

"Look, alright, I've got an idea," he continued. "If you insist on doing something intellectual, then I might have just the field trip for you."

"Ugh, fine," Alex said, sensing there was no getting out of it.

"What about you, Ginger, you in?" he asked, grinning eagerly at her.

She couldn't help but slowly smile back. "Only if you take us somewhere warm."

…

"A carnival?" Alex asked, exasperated and annoyed. "Carnivals aren't intellectual, Doctor. I'm trying to be grown up and responsible now, and you bring me to a place for children."

"Why would you want to be grown up or have responsibilities?" Ginger scoffed. "Sounds boring. But I do agree, Doctor. Carnivals are lame."

"This one isn't!" the Doctor said, as if wounded that they didn't understand. "The Carnival of the Mind was a week-long experiment in California in 2050. I've always wanted to go, but never had the right company. All the games are supposed to be trivia games and logic puzzles!"

Ginger thought that sounded fun. "Lame," she said, out loud.

"Come on, give it a try, it'll be fun!" he insisted.

Ginger and Alex exchanged a look. "Alright," Alex acquiesced.

…

The Carnival was massive, full of booths peddling not just games but different wares and food stuffs. There were even rides to choose from.

"Ooooh they have candy floss!" Alex said. "Can we have some?"

"Ew no, gross," Ginger said, making a face.

"You don't like candy floss?" Alex asked, still in disbelief over the incredibly specific things Ginger didn't like.

"Not when you call it that."

"What should I call it?"

"Cotton candy," Ginger said. "Obviously. Cotton candy sounds like eating a cloud. Candy floss sounds like something a mad dentist gives to a child to keep them subdued."

"Reminds me of the first time we met," the Doctor said to Alex. He was glad to see this got a bit of a chuckle out of her.

"With those mad dentist aliens?" Alex said.

"You were madder than they were," he reminded her. "Pretending to be Torchwood. Bold move for a 15-year-" He stopped, seeing that the look on her face had faltered. "Sorry. Shouldn't've mentioned Torchwood."

She waved this off. "It's alright. I'm over it already."

"You could try calling him?" the Doctor offered, tentatively and not for the first time.

"Who?" she played dumb.

"You know who."

"Voldemort?" Ginger offered.

"I'm not ringing him," Alex said, stubbornly. "Don't need to. Don't need more lies. It's all useless, dealing with people. Humans are liars."

"Not all of them-" the Doctor started.

"Doc, you're lying already," Ginger laughed. "Alex is quite right, it's in human nature."

"Says the Queen of Lies," Alex said, dryly.

"What does that mean?" Ginger asked, tilting her head.

"Lying about being Scottish this whole time," Alex pointed out.

"Well come now," Ginger said. "I don't remember ever saying I was Scottish. Just had the accent and said I lived in Edinburgh. And, hey, I did live in Edinburgh! Moved there for a year when I turned 18!"

"Still feels like a lie of omission," Alex replied.

"Fair enough," Ginger said. "Yeah, kid, you're probably right. If there's anything the X-Files taught me, it's that you should trust no one."

"Don't know about that," Alex said. "But I learned something similar from House."

…

Instead of earning a bunch of tickets or tokens, each guest was issued a guest card that tallied the points they won electronically. These points could be traded in for regular carnival prizes or…

"A familiar?" Ginger asked. "Like...a witch's familiar?"

"It's a digital hologram," the helpful android at the booth said. "It takes on whatever form is most pleasing to the person who won it. It's a personality reflection that will help you in your games. But you have to unlock it."

"Cool, like in a video game," Alex said, looking excited by the prospect. "I want one."

"How does it work?" Ginger asked, already suspicious.

"You must press your hand upon the scanner," the robot said. "The AI will do a scan to determine the proper companion for you. It will appear through an established psychic link with its master which it will be able to use to covertly communicate."

"Like it's inside your mind?" Ginger asked, apprehensively. "Don't think I like the sound of that. My mind isn't hospitable or capable of sustaining life, human or otherwise."

…

The games turned out to be really fun. The Doctor and Ginger had the most fun with the trivia games, but Alex struggled a bit more with those. They played a couple of logic and strategy puzzles, which were much more up Alex's alley, but Ginger sort of just blundered through them making obvious mistakes.

"You know you don't have to make a snap decision," the Doctor said, pointing this out. "These kind of games encourage more thought and attention to strategy."

"Oh I don't strategize!" Ginger scoffed. "Why act on logic when you can act on pure instinct?"

"I mean…" the Doctor said, trying to think of a way to put it delicately. "You might want to focus a bit on logic."

Ginger raised her eyebrows. "And why's that?"

"Because your pure instinct kind of sucks," Alex said, bluntly.

"Well it's gotten me this far, hasn't it, Mitchell?" she laughed.

"You're really good at these!" the Doctor said to Alex, immensely proud of how she excelled at the last game they'd played.

"Yeah, well, logic puzzles are kind of my thing," she said, trying to seem humble but not succeeding very well. "I play a lot of video games. But more important than me kicking ass at that game was Ginger getting completely demolished! It's good to find something you're not good at!"

"Alright, cocky!" Ginger exclaimed, amused. "But I still kill at trivia."

…

"You look like you're feeling better," the Doctor said, while Alex took a minute away to hop to the bathroom.

Ginger raised her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean the direct sunlight still makes you look ghostly, like you hopped out of the 'By the Sea' scene from Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd," the Doctor said. "But you're seeming more yourself."

"I wasn't myself?" she asked, tilting her head.

He shrugged, not really knowing how to put into words what he was thinking. "The last few times I've seen you, you've been sort of...off. I don't know how else to say it."

She struggled to find words herself. "I don't know what to say. It's this time of year. I'm not sure if I'm less like myself during winter or if the real me decides to come out."

"What does that mean?" he asked, concerned.

She was on the brink of saying something before she shook it off and smiled. "Tell me more about you, though. You're ridiculously good at pretty much all of these games."

"Ah, well, if you want to be a Time Lord then you have to go to school for several centuries and perfect the art of strategy," the Doctor said.

"Wait, you have to go to school to be a Time Lord?" Ginger asked. "I thought that was your species."

"Well, yes and no," the Doctor said. "Gallifreyan is the official species, but Time Lord is a title earned by those who go through training on how to see timelines and manipulate them using time travel technology."

"I see," Ginger said. "And you said 'centuries'? That's an exaggeration, no?"

He laughed. "No, it's not."

This time she was prepared to believe him. "Alright, I'll bite," she said. "How old are you, really?"

"It's not polite to ask a lady how old she is," the Doctor said.

"Thought you were a lord," Ginger teased back.

"My species doesn't experience gender the way humans do," he explained.

"I can see that," she said, fascinated. "You could be female on the inside. But you didn't answer my question."

"I'm pushing a thousand, at this point," he replied.

"Nuh-uh," she scoffed. "Really?"

"Really really," he replied, with a grin.

"And how do you...I mean, how is it even possible to live that long?" she asked, sort of in awe.

"I've got several horcruxes, myself," he said, earning a punch on the arm from her. "It's a whole lot of boring physiological processes. Would take too long to explain."

"Wow, that's wild," Ginger replied. "Like I'd heard the term 'Time Lord' and thought you were real self-important, but living like that...all of time and space at your fingertips with no bounds...That's the closest thing to being a god, isn't it? You could really do anything. Especially now, as no one is around to stop you."

"Sorry about that," Alex said, popping back up before he could answer. "There was a queue."

…

They played more games and Alex won her familiar. It was a tiny Skitty and Alex was so excited to have this little companion that she quite forgot she was cross.

Even Ginger couldn't help but smile down at the pint-sized creature, but she attempted to veil her curiosity as much as possible. "So this is one of them pokechus?" she asked, mainly to try to get a rise out of Alex.

But she didn't even seem to notice. "Skitty's my favourite," she cooed, crouching down to get a closer look. "A precious little baby, yes you are!"

The Skitty swished its pink flower-shaped tail from side to side, staring back at them all with narrow but bright silvery eyes. It seemed to be smiling.

"It's pretty cute," the Doctor conceded. "You always did strike me as a cat person, Alex. You too, Ginger, honestly."

Ginger put her hands on her hips. "Cats like their space, same as I do. And they don't care what people think of them, just do their own thing. Same as I do," she added, quieter. "But anyway, what's so special about it?"

"Nyeh!" the Skitty squeaked, quite suddenly, beaming and showing four tiny fangs.

In response, Alex started bouncing on her heels, flapping her hands and making a noise not unlike that of a steam kettle. The Skitty danced on its paws for a few moments then began running in a circle, apparently chasing its own tail.

"Oh," said Ginger, exchanging an amused glance with the Doctor. "I guess that explains that, then."

…

"Woah," said the Skitty, expertly clambering from the stall sideboard to Alex's arm, and finally up to her shoulder where it perched - like a true familiar. "You're really good at this, aren't you. Have you been practicing?"

Alex shrugged her other shoulder in a bid to not shake off her new companion. "I just… play video games. They have this kind of thing in them sometimes. Like sliding puzzles, that sort of thing."

"You solved it pretty quickly, huh? You're getting lots of points! That means you're smart!"

Alex chuckled a little. "It really doesn't."

"Sure it does!" The Skitty flashed a smile and stood to place its front paws on top of Alex's head, watching her instruct the hand-sized robot on which boxes to push. Fascinatingly, it really felt like it held some sort of weight. "Do you play games a lot?"

"Quite a bit, yeah."

"With friends?"

Alex felt a pain inside herself at the subject, but refused to get too distracted from the puzzle. She swallowed back a sharper response. "...Sometimes. Usually prefer to be on my own for this stuff, though."

"Why?"

"I guess it lets me enjoy it more when I can just be quiet and focus."

"Why?"

"My friends can be sort of… bossy? That sounds bad, I don't mean it like that. They like helping, and I appreciate that, but they can also help a bit too much, sometimes. Like backseat driving. Think they know what's best for me better than I do," she added softly to herself.

"Why?" the Skitty asked again, draping its tail across the back of Alex's neck.

"Because…" Alex sighed, shaking her head. "Is this because you're my familiar, you asking a lot of questions? Since I normally ask a lot of questions?"

"...Sort of." The Skitty jumped up onto Alex's head fully, startling her for a moment before it leapt nimbly back down onto the stall. It sat down and looked solemnly up at Alex. "We're linked now, right? That's why I look like this. But it doesn't mean I know everything about you now. That's a little thing called privacy, which people generally like to have. I'm asking you about you because I'd like to know about you, on your own terms. You have to let me in," it smiled. "Then it's fair, right? No planetary rights laws broken!"

Alex felt a little chill down her spine at that. "Wow. I guess I never considered the legal aspects of it. But that kind of makes sense. Can't just drop a download button into everybody's brain. That's what Ginger was afraid of. It'd never be allowed if there weren't terms and conditions."

"Exactly! Oh, but that makes it sound like this is purely a contract or a business venture. That's not it at all! I'm just here to help!"

"Kind of like… a virtual customer service?"

"Slightly simplifying, but yeah!" the Skitty giggled. "I do kind of have to up-sell. But I try to keep it to things I think you'd actually like."

"Like Siri," Alex grinned. "That's a good point, actually, now I think about it. Do you have a name?"

The Pokemon dipped its head to one side. It didn't respond, just looked faintly confused.

"You know. To address you for commands and stuff. Asking you questions. Like... 'Hey Google, what's the capital of Mozambique?'"

"Maputo," it said. "Previously named Lourenço Marques after its first known navigator. I don't think so. User point-purchase Carnival of the Mind holograms are usually given affectionate designations by the individual user. It's not essential, but if you're looking for ideas, the most common variations from one to ten are Dear, Kiddo, Boy, Girl, Slave, Hey Good Looking, Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17-"

"That's fine, thanks," said Alex, quickly. "How about something nice and simple?"

"Chris, and… Oh. Like what?"

Alex considered. "Well…"

...

Usually when it came to trivia games, there was an even tie between the Doctor and Ginger, so they decided to pool their resources and play a team game. They called themselves the Space Aliens and won by a landslide, making Ginger get so excited that she jumped up and down.

"I thought I was an atheist until I realized I'm a God!" she exclaimed, excitedly.

"Good line," the Doctor said, appreciatively. "Is it borrowed?"

The way Ginger rolled her eyes then wasn't her usual sarcastic, annoyed way, but was with something like being amused. "What, you don't know Watsky, Time Lord? You're way out of touch with the millennials! Good thing I was there for music and pop culture trivia!"

"Hey don't claim this victory all for you!" the Doctor protested, amused. "I got those last few bonus questions that you totally blanked on!"

"I didn't blank!" Ginger scoffed. "I'm just not into Star Wars! But fine, you got that, I'm fine admitting that! As long as it meant we won!" She laughed. "Alright, Time Lord. You can be a winner too. The Time Lord Victorious!"

"The what?" Alex laughed, incredulously.

"I dunno!" Ginger giggled. "Think that's Doc's new emo name. Cool, huh?"

"Not really," Alex giggled. "Bit try-hard."

"That's what makes it so emo!" Ginger shot back, grinning. "Alright, Time Lord, I'm hungry. Let's get funnel cake!"

"Funnel cake!" squeaked Alex's holographic companion. "Yes, let's eat funnel cake! And muffins!"

"Yes," Alex groaned good-naturedly, "we'll get muffins, because I called you Muffin. That's very funny, just like I said the first four times." She turned back to the others. "Learning AI. Humour heuristics lack an expert system. She's doing her best."

…

Alex was really attached to her little familiar already and they kept going off on their own little conversations while Ginger and the Doctor had time to just stand by. Alex had won another huge round of points from a puzzle that ran like a giant board game, so she went to one of the booths to claim her prize while the Doctor and Ginger agreed to meet her in a few minutes in front of the funnel cake booth.

"I'm just still not over it," Ginger said, as they were walking.

"Over what?" the Doctor asked.

"Just...I've always thought immortality seemed like a curse or a burden," she replied. "On me, it would be. But for you...you have all that extra time to experience all the media and learn everything there is to learn and do everything there is to do...The Laws of Time are yours and they obey you."

"I don't want them to obey me," the Doctor said. "I try to stay out of their way, honestly."

"That's why it's good that it's you, if it's anyone," Ginger said. "With anyone else in the universe - including me - I'd say that's too much power for anyone to wield. But with you..."

It dawned on the Doctor then. "Are you trying to say that you trust me?"

Ginger realized it then too. "No," she scoffed. "That's...completely ridiculous. But the point still stands. You're kind of a super hero. The Time Lord Victorious. That's who you are. You're not like the rest of us who just have to settle for less and get by on surviving. You're not just surviving, you're winning."

The Doctor made a decision then and crossed in front of her, blocking her path.

"What are you doing?" Ginger asked, exasperated. "It's not wise to get in between a girl and her funnel cake, you know."

"I'm going to ask you this one more time," the Doctor said, so seriously that it stopped her in her tracks. "I promise I won't ask you again because if I keep asking it's going to start seeming like harassment and I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I'll take the hint. But even though I won't ask, the offer will always still be open and you can take me up on it at any time."

"What are you on about?" she asked, eyes wide as saucers.

"Come with me," he said.

"What?" she laughed, relieved it wasn't something more serious.

"I'm serious," he replied. "I want you to come with me and travel. You're not happy wherever it is you are when you're not hanging out with us, that much is obvious. You're bored - Underjoyed, if you will. You've said you're a restless person. That you don't feel like you fit anywhere and you want to get out where it's less suffocating. You come with me and be in a world of pure imagination, if you want, and for free too! Just say yes. But if you say no, I promise not to bother you about it again. The offer will always stand."

She was still not letting herself believe it. "This is a completely platonic offer, right?" she asked. "No funny business or strings attached?"

"Completely platonic," he replied. "I want you to be comfortable."

She was so tempted. "And every day will be like this?"

"It very well could be," he said, grinning. He extended his right hand to her. "Just take my hand. Live while you can..."

"Gods and Goddesses, Doctor," Ginger laughed. "Are you quoting Vanessa Carlton?"

"Please come with me," he said, in a sing-song voice. "See what I see."

"Alright," she said, unable to stop laughing. "Fine, I will! As long as you promise to stop singing that. Maybe it's time I took my feet off the ground."

"So is that a yes?" the Doctor asked, sort of taken off guard by her agreement. "You're in?"

She shook her head in a bemused sort of way. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm in. But I have conditions. I have...rules."

"Yeah?" he asked, amused and relieved. "Name them."

"Well for starters," she said. "I don't want to be a companion."

"What?" he asked, thoroughly taken off guard.

"Don't like the way it sounds," she admitted. "Sounds kinda shady, not in the way I like. I know that it's sort of your thing with the people you travel with, but I like to sort of go against the grain."

"Don't like the way it sounds? It just means travelling companion. Someone who's a friend."

"No it's…the word's changed somewhat now. Words, unlike people, do change in meaning - any linguist will tell you that."

"If this is a feminist thing, you don't have to be my companion. I can be your companion."

The way he wasn't getting her meaning seemed oddly endearing. "Alright, maybe the word didn't enter general consciousness outside of the nerd world but...Have you ever seen Firefly?"

"I'm sure you know I have."

"Alright, well-"

"For God's sake, Doc," Alex exclaimed, having overheard this last bit of the conversation with some amusement. "She's saying it makes her sound like a prostitute!"

"Alright, fair enough, any other demands?" he asked.

"Yes, actually, and this one is the most important," Ginger replied. "Do you have wifi?"

…

"So how come you don't like talking about your friends?" Muffin asked.

Alex blinked. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just something I noticed while we talked. You clam up a little whenever they're brought up." She leaned closer to Alex's face conspiratorially. "Are you guys fighting?"

Alex sighed. "We're not… fighting. As such. It's complicated. Kind of going through some stuff at the minute. You wouldn't understand. And I don't want to complain, anyway."

"This is your day, and I'm your interface. You can talk about anything you want. No one but us would ever know."

Alex laughed. "My feedback isn't going into some computer bank in an office on some other planet or something? So people can guess what I might want for Christmas?"

Muffin just swished her tail patiently. Alex sighed again.

"It's… stupid. My unc- my friend was hiding something from me. Something very important. I'm upset at him about it."

"Why?"

"That again? Because I don't know if we can be friends anymore. Now I don't even know if we were really friends in the first place. He might not have even wanted to be around me at all."

"Oh."

"Exactly."

Muffin seemed to consider this concept. "Why?" she finally asked.

"How the hell should I know? There are… a lot of reasons why someone wouldn't want to be around me."

"Like what?"

Alex stopped and stared, annoyed now. "I don't know! Like I'm not very clever! For one example!"

"But you are."

"You're saying that to make me keep playing, though. That's your job. You're even the one who told me that."

"Alex." The Skitty looked hard at her face. The effect was very odd combined with its adorable and cartoony appearance. "You are smart. You earned just as many points here as the Doctor and Ginger. And you did it by yourself. The Carnival of the Mind has acknowledged you as worthy. Isn't that good?"

Alex shuffled her feet and shrugged, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I don't know what these friends of yours really think of you, but I want you to know that I like you just the way you are. You are open, and honest, and smart and capable. You can adapt. Those are all very good qualities to have. Qualities that ought to be shared."

...

"Congratulations!" the android at the prize booth said. "You've all won enough points to unlock the Fun House and Mind Maze! That unique experience is rarely achieved except by our most skilled patrons!"

"A fun house and a maze?" Alex asked. "Bit lame. Can we play more games instead?"

"Young miss, this is no ordinary fun house," the android protested. "It is filled with unique challenges and puzzles created by AI specifically to unlock you hidden psyche. It is a tunnel of self exploration on a level heretofore unseen."

"Oh I don't much like the sound of that," Ginger replied, apprehensively. "I'd rather keep my hidden mind locked, if it's all the same."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Whatsamatter, Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?"

She felt all at once competitive and rushed with fondness at one of her favorite Spaceballs jokes. "Certainly not!" she protested. "Fine, I'm in if you're in."