Here's the next chapter for you :) hope you guys like it! and thanks to all those who reviewed!


I popped up lying on the back seat of some sort of double-decker bus, without my arm cast, and feeling better now that I'd had a chance to let everything out. I had stayed an extra day or two with Amy and Rory and the Eleventh Doctor, and had used that time to get in some exercise and food before I'd popped off again. I had been teasing the Eleventh Doctor too, so my clothes were a bit punkish—having found out he gets worried when I dress like a punk—but I personally didn't mind the torn up jeans with chains, the high top sneakers, white shirt and black leather jacket. I felt rather comfortable, actually, and perked up when I heard a familiar voice.

"Ah! Oh, we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange."

I poked my head up and grinned upon seeing the familiar brown spiky hair of the Tenth Doctor, making my way up behind him and snatching the chocolate Easter egg that he'd given to the woman beside him.

"I hope you're not talking about me." I chuckled, earning a surprised look from him, before a grin broke out on his face.

"Oh, Alex, I could never be talking about you." He pulled my head down and kissed me right there, before pulling away and holding up the gadget he had. "Have you seen my gizmo?"

I blinked at him, red creeping up my face from the kiss he'd just laid on me—in public, no less—and dropped my forehead onto the back of his seat.

"P-Please don't do that. A-A-At least not without a warning first."

He chuckled, flicking the top of my ear lightly. "Oh, I can't do that. Then I wouldn't get to see your ears turn red!"

"Doctor." I groaned, lifting my head and resting my chin on the back of his seat, waving a hand at the object in he was holding. "Stop teasing me and explain what's up with the gizmo."

He continued to grin happily as he shook it and pulled out a long antennae. "Rhondium particles. That's what I'm looking for. This thing detects them." He then began flicking the little dish on it. "The little dish should go round. That little dish there."

The woman beside him spoke before I could and I settled for checking through my black notebook to figure out where and when I was at. Let's see. Bus… some rhodium gizmo… police… I looked up with furrowed brows, just realizing now that my ears were picking up the sound of police sirens. Police? I glanced back and, sure enough, police were following us a ways back. I probably should've been concerned, but it wouldn't be the first time police were involved with the Doctor around, so I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my search. Police… some new chick… Ah-ha! Here we go. This is right after… My face slowly slipped into a frown and I felt my heart ache for what had probably happened to Donna not too long ago. But hasn't happened for me yet and the Doctor hasn't said anything... Focus, Alex. Focus on the here and now. So I did, reading over my notebook to refresh my memory as to what was going to happen and if I would do anything.

I was still hesitant on that part. Technically, I could stay silent and do nothing, but the bus driver died in this episode. He might have a family, kids, grandkids even. Who am I to decided whether he lives or dies though? I put my book away, downtrodden by my own thoughts, when I spotted the Doctor standing; a woman in front of him scolding him.

"Excuse me, do you mind?"

"Sorry, that was my little dish." He apologized as Christina—the woman who he sat next to—got angry.

"Can't you turn that thing off?"

He turned to her. "What was your name?"

"Christina."

"Christina, hold on tight." He then sat down and turned to the other passengers as he gripped a pole. "Everyone, hold on!"

I did as he said and braced myself against the bus's side and the seat I was on, just as the bus jolted violently and continued to shake as sparks flew and windows broke.

"What's going on?!" I heard someone ask, just before a bright light filled the bus and I felt sick suddenly as my shoulder burned and I slid to the gap between the two seats until the shaking stopped and the burn in my shoulder went away. Light filled the bus now and I slowly pulled myself up and headed through the isle as the Doctor headed outside, mouth agape. Sand blew lightly across my face as I squinted and walked out with him.

"End of the line." He tucked his hands in his pockets and Christina came out behind me as I kicked at the sand a bit. "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

Most of the other passengers came out of the bus too, shocked into silence, but I saw two others still sitting inside. I glanced at the Doctor, but he was still looking over the horizon, so I headed back in to see the older couple sitting there.

"I'm not going out there." The woman said. "They're still calling. All around us. The voices are crying."

"What voices, sweetheart?" The man asked her as I came closer.

"The dead. We're surrounded by the dead."

He went over and sat beside her, comforting her, before he caught sight of me and frowned. "And what do you want? Sitting here spying on us?"

I lifted my hands and shook them, a friendly smile on my face. "No, sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you and despite my appearance, I'm actually a good person. I was just curious, you know?" I gestured to the woman. "She's got a gift, yeah?"

The man furrowed his brows and nodded. "Yes. Since she was a little girl, she saw things."

I nodded and pointed to myself. "I'm kind of special too. Carmen, right? Carmen and Lou?"

The man was shocked, but nodded. "Yes, but how did you—"

"Special. Like I said." I smiled, heading over and putting a comforting hand on top of Carmen's. "This may sound odd, but I sort of know the future of certain events. This one in particular, so I kind of get what you're going through."

The woman turned to me and gave me a small smile and a nod as she looked at me; her eyes practically looking through me. "You are such a kind soul." Her smile dropped though, into a sadder one. "But your gift comes with a price. Such a heavy price."

"But I'm strong." I said, managing to hold up my grin. "And I only make promises I can keep. So I just want to promise you that we'll be safe. Alright? Trust me?"

She nodded, though her husband was reluctant, and I bid them farewell as I headed back outside again. I spotted the Doctor off a ways playing in the sand with his glasses on, and Christina standing nearby. I then watched as she put on sunglasses and he sonicked his glasses to tint the lenses. I rolled my eyes. Show off. I took off my jacket and tossed it in through one of the broken windows as one of the passengers approached the Doctor angrily.

"And here we go." I muttered, heading over with the others as well.

"I saw you, mate. You had that, that thing. That machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Oh, humans on buses. Always blaming me." He complained, before holding his hands up in surrender before anyone else could make another claim. "Look, look. If you must know, I was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. Alex here can vouch for me." He pulled me over and gave my shoulders a squeeze as I smiled and jabbed a finger in his ribs.

"Yup! He's weird though. I'll warn you all about that."

"Ow!" He complained, pouting. "I'm not weird."

I gave him a look and he sighed, reluctantly nodding.

"Aright, yeah, I can be a bit weird sometimes."

I continued to give him a look and he sighed.

"Fine. I'm weird most of the time."

I nodded and he cleared his throat, going back to what he'd been talking about as I crouched on the floor and picked up a hand full of sand, letting it fall through my fingers with a sad look. Poor people. Didn't know what hit them until it was too late.

"The hole though, was a tiny little thing." The Doctor explained to the group. "No danger to anyone. Suddenly, it gets big, and we drive right through it."

"But then where is it? There's nothing. There's just sand." The driver questioned.

"Alright." The Doctor walked over to the back of the bus, the group and myself following. "You want proof? We drove through this." He took his own handful of sand and threw it into the air, causing a ripple to appear in the air.

"And that's…" Christina questioned.

"A door. A door in space."

"So, what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?"

"The bus came through, but we can't." The Doctor said as I got ready to interfere with what was about to happen.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" The driver went to head towards the door and the Doctor panicked.

"No, no, no. Don't!"

"I'm going home, mates!"

"No, don't!" The Doctor shouted, just as I grabbed the man and flung him harshly to the ground; the man landing with an 'oof' and everyone looking at me in shock.

"W-What—"

I stared down sternly at the man before looking up at everyone else. "Before the rest of you get any stupid ideas, I want you all to look at the bus." I pointed at it and they all looked, timidly. "You see that damage? That bus was protecting us. You run through this thing…" I tossed a hand over my shoulder. "And you get all of that power thrown at you. You wanna know what'll happen? You'll die. Plain and simple. You end up as a pile of bones on the other side of that." I gave the man at my feet a look. "I'm sure your family would rather have you alive than dead."

"H-How did you know I had family?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Lucky guess." I walked away from him then and headed towards the bus; the passengers giving me a wide girth after that.

I felt bad about it, not really wanting to get on everyone's bad side, but I had to be a bit blunt or else they wouldn't of listened. I just hope they get the hint and don't try anything stupid. I sighed and pulled at my shirt, flapping it to try and cool myself off with the sun beating down on me like no tomorrow. I'm definitely going to get sun-burnt. Pale complexion always came with a price and that was no tanning. I sighed and started skimming through my black book once more, trying to figure out what the group did to move the bus so I could at least attempt to start.

"Gotta start digging first." I muttered quietly, heading for the tires and digging with my hands after finding nothing useful in my pockets.

I listened in though, to the group behind me, just keeping an ear out for anything I needed to know.

"So the bus was like a Faraday cage?" Christina questioned the Doctor, but another younger man spoke up.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah? Safest place is inside the car, because the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school." He explained.

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus… The Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open." The woman argued, but the Doctor gave it a look.

"Well, slightly different dynamics with a wormhole. There's enough metal to make it work, I think. I hope… Alex?"

I perked up at the sound of my name and looked over my shoulder with a nod. "Yup. It'll hold up."

He smiled at me kindly, nodding back and gesturing at me as I went back to digging. "There, see? Perfect."

Christina frowned. "Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands, correct?"

"I'd say nine and a half tons, but the point still stands. Yes." The Doctor said, and she smiled.

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline." She started to dig through her bag. "Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Yes. At last. Thank you. So—"

"Well, thank goodness you've got me. Everyone do exactly as I say. Inside the bus immediately." Christina cut him off, taking charge, but the younger man was still hesitant.

"Is it safe in there?"

"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower." She countered, turning to the others. "Come on. All of you. Right now." She turned to the Doctor then as I shook my head with a chuckle. "And you, the Doctor."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, heading in himself as I brushed off my hands of the sand and chuckled at him as I followed him onto the bus.

"What's wrong then? Get all your thunder stolen by some woman?"

He smirked at me, nudging my side with his elbow. "Happens all the time, I think. What with you around."

"Oh, I should think so."

We both chuckled and I happily sat beside him as Christina came in and began spouting out different 'points' that were to be remembered. I could hardly remember what she was blabbing to us and instead, settled myself down and re-read my black book on the episode until she got around to 'Point Six'.

"Team identification. Names. I'm Christina. This man is apparently the Doctor." She said, gesturing to him as he smiled at everyone and I smacked his feet from off the chair. "And beside him is…"

I perked up, taking off my own set of glasses and putting on a friendly smile, despite the shifty glances aimed my way. "Alexander Holmes. Just call me Alex."

"Alex then. And you?" She turned to the younger man from before, who waved a hand briefly with a hint of nervousness.

"Nathan."

"I'm Barclay." Said the man who'd accused the Doctor earlier.

"Angela. Angela Whittaker." The women who scolded the Doctor about the sparks from his dish said.

"My name's Louis. Everyone calls me Lou. And this is Carmen." The older man from the couple I spoke to earlier said, introducing himself and his wife.

"Ah, and I'm Burton Miller. Burney's fine though." The driver said, waving a hand around, though wincing upon catching my eye and quickly turning away.

"Excellent." Christina smiled. "Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point seven—"

I rolled my eyes and went back to my book, silently questioning how many of these points there were as she went on.

"—Assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor."

He gave her a look. "I thought you were in charge."

"I am. And a good leader utilizes her strength. You seem to be the brain box. You and your partner there. So, start boxing."

I raised a brow at being called his partner, but had to shift when he moved and sat on top of the seat we were on.

"Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, i-it wasn't." Carmen argued. "That thing? The doorway? Someone made it for a reason."

"How do you know?" He asked, curious, I suppose.

"She's got a gift." Lou explained, nodding to me. "Like your companion. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery twice a week."

Christina gave him a look. "You don't look like millionaires."

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift."

The Doctor decided to try and prove this. "Tell me, Carmen, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, three fingers behind his back.

"Three."

He then changed it to four.

"Four." She answered exactly and he smiled.

"Very good. Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun." He hopped back down on his seat, facing her. "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me, what's out there?"

"Something. Something is coming." She said, looking nervous. "Riding on the wind and shining."

"What is it?" He pushed and she answered.

"Death. Death is coming."

"We're going to die." Angela cried, worry seeping into everyone at Carmen's ominous words.

"I knew it, man. I said so." Barclay grumbled.

"We can't die out here. No one's going to find us." Nathan worried.

"This isn't exactly helping." Christina complained, trying to help, but doing no good.

"You can shut up too. We're not your soldiers."

"That's not doing any good."

"Quiet." Lou asked, seeing his wife getting uncomfortable.

"Will we be bones? Like Alex said?"

I could feel the drumming acting up with all the built up tension in the bus and kneaded my temples with the knuckles of my fingers, before snapping.

"Oi! Shut up, all of you! What's arguing going to do?! Huh?!"

They all went quiet as I sighed and lightened up, turning to Angela as she cried. I got up and headed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Angela, can you do something for me? It'll be really easy, I promise."

She continued to cry and I just went on speaking.

"Can you tell me where you were going? When you got on this bus, where were you headed?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" She cried and I shook my head.

"Just tell me."

"H-Home."

"What's at home, Angela?" I asked, squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

"Me and Mike… And Suzanne. That's my daughter. She's eighteen."

I nodded, giving her a comforting smile and turning to Barclay. "What about you then, huh? Where were you headed?"

"Don't know. Going round Tina's."

"Girlfriend?" I questioned and he smirked.

"Not yet."

I grinned. "Ooh, sounds fun. What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash. I lost my job last week. I was going to stay in and watch TV."

"Love me some TV." I beamed at him, settling back in my seat as everyone grew more comfortable. "Lou, Carmen? What were you two up to?"

"I was going to cook." Lou replied.

"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up." She smiled.

"What's for tea?" The Doctor asked, seeing where I was going with all of this.

"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"More special that what I usually get." I joked, tossing a thumb the Doctor's direction. "Hardly ever get a good meal out of him."

"Hey now! Hard to do with you popping off all the time." He smiled, and I turned to Burney.

"Burney? You have anything going on tonight?"

"I-I was, um, going to finish my shift then head home to my wife, Jeanette. We were going to watch a movie together before bed."

I nodded and turned to the last one. "Christina?"

"I was going… so far away." She replied and I gave her a small smile, turning to the group.

"Far away, chops and gravy, watching TV, Mike and Suzanne, Jeanette and a movie, and poor Tina."

"Hey." Barclay piped in as I sent him a smirk.

"You lot should think of them. Think about all of that stuff you were going to do, because who cares about that stupid desert planet out there with three suns and wormhole and junk? You guys have food and homes and people waiting for you. I'll bet, if you guys hang onto that, we'll be back in no time. Because I don't make promises I can't keep, you see? And I promise, we'll all get back just fine. Maybe some sand in our shoes and dirty, but what's a little dirt, huh? Now what do you say we get our butts in gear and start movin' this bus, yeah?"

They nodded and I got up with a stretch tossing a thumb to the seats.

"You think some of you guys couple pull off a couple of seats? Only need two, but they can help with moving the bus."

"I'll do it."

"I-I can help too." Nathan and Barclay offered and I grinned, patting their shoulders as I headed out of the bus, giving the Doctor a glance.

"You coming then, Doctor?"

He grinned and bounded out of his seat, following me out with Christina following.

"That was smart thinking, Alex." He smiled, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close as I chuckled and shoved him off.

"Oi, down boy. I just figured out I liked you a few jumps ago. And, for the record, I wasn't really thinking. Sort of stole the idea from what you were supposed to do and just put my own little twist on it. You know how I get with crying people."

"Mm, just can't stand a good crying woman, can you?" He said, ignoring my protests and nuzzling his nose into my hair as he kissed my temple.

"Neither can you." I quipped back, managing to get out of his grip and catching Christina's watchful look. "You got a shovel in that bag?"

Her eyes widened before quickly narrowing and she nodded. "Yeah. Hold on a tick."

She dug through it and passed me a spade as I gave her an innocent smile and went about digging the sand from around the back tires of the bus. Barclay and Nathan came back outside then, both with a part of a seat.

"Here we go."

"That's my boys!" The Doctor chirped happily, taking a seat from Barclay and explaining what they were going to do. "See, we lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and we reverse into it."

"Let some air out of the tires. Just a little bit. It spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip against the sand." Christina instructed and the Doctor smiled.

"Oh, that's good."

"Holidays in the Kalahari." She smirked back.

"Got anything else in there?" He then asked her, gesturing to the backpack she had.

She pulled out an axe and handed it to Nathan. "Try that. It might help with the seats."

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to try starting her up?" Burney called out and the Doctor rushed over.

"Yeah. Try it."

He nodded and tried to start the bus up, but there was a weird grinding noise and I lifted my head.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Yeah, you're right about that, Alex." He headed over with Christina and caught sight of the smoking engine at the back of the bus; Burney following after them and wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "Oh, never mind losing half the top deck. You know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

"Do you know mechanics?" Christina asked Burney and he shook his head.

"No, sorry. Only know the basics."

Barclay was prepared though and hurried up. "I do. I did a two week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but—"

"Off you go then." The Doctor said and I called out to Barclay.

"Try stripping the air filter!"

"On it!"

I passed the shovel to Burney then and gave him a small smile as I pat his shoulder. "Do what you can. Don't push yourself though."

"Where're you going?"

I tossed a thumb over at the Doctor with a slightly annoyed look. "Got to keep an eye on him. He tends to get into trouble."

He nodded in understanding and I bounded off after the Doctor and Christina, glad that my little display in the bus gave me a bit of trust back from everyone and more than glad that I ended up with a Doctor who liked me. And this episode's not too bad. Just the whole flying death rays. And the fly people. Wonder how that's going to go down, much less if there's anything I can do to help them. With how the others reacted to the alien planet, I doubt their reaction to fly-like aliens will be good.

"Easier if you left that backpack behind." The Doctor mentioned to Christina, who glanced at me as I caught up and shaded my eyes with my hand.

"Where I go, it goes."

"A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

"You can talk. Let's just say we're three equal mysteries."

"We make quite the couple." The Doctor said and I rolled my eyes in a vain attempt to ignore the stirring in my stomach.

"We don't make any sort of couple, thank you very much. Don't think your partner would agree to that either way." She gave me another look, but I continued to stare straight ahead as we all stopped at the top of a dune. "Come on, then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know, but every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet right now."

"For good reason." I muttered under my breath, catching the Doctor's brief glance my way.

"And do you think we can?" Christina asked, bringing his attention back to her.

"I live in hope." He replied, before smiling and nudging me. "And Alex has promised we can, so we've got luck on our side."

"That must be nice." She said, earning a look from the Doctor before she went on and stuck out her hand. "It's Christina de Souza. To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

"Ooh, that's handy, because I'm a Lord."

I kicked his leg and gave him a look, silently telling him to behave and he chuckled back a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Seriously? The Lord of where?"

"It's quite a big estate." He said, avoiding the question.

"No, but there's something more about you." She glanced at me. "The both of you. That device you were carrying and the wormhole and Burney. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like…"

"Like?"

"Like you're not quite…"

"Anyway, come on. Allons-y." He said, walking off and avoiding her question game.

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons ver un cauchemar." (Yes, but not if we go towards a nightmare.)

"Oh-ho! We were made for each other." The Doctor grinned, walking backwards for a moment and I stuck out my foot, tripping him and making him sputter in the sand as I looked down at him with a raised brow.

"You shouldn't walk backwards, Doctor. You might trip."

He winced, seeming to have caught what I was really trying to tell him and nodded, picking himself up and brushing off his clothes. "Right. Sorry."

"Mhmm." I hummed, heading off again with my hands in my pockets as we climbed up a taller dune; stomach burning in jealousy.

Once at the top though, the Doctor became worried.

"Ah, don't like the look of that."

"Storm clouds. Must be hundreds of miles away."

"But it's getting closer and we don't know how fast they're going." I said, shielding my eyes with my hand once again; not knowing that I'd slipped up.

"They?" The Doctor questioned and I winced.

"Spoilers."

He nodded in understanding, though he seemed a little hesitant, and his gaze narrowed at the approaching dust cloud.

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It's a storm. Who says it's sand?" The Doctor responded, before we headed back to the bus; running this time.

Once there, the Doctor called out to Barclay and the others outside.

"Does anyone have a mobile phone?!"

"Yeah, I do. What'cha need it for?" Barclay answered, but the Doctor didn't stop as he hurried onto the bus.

"Emergency!" He scanned around as I picked up Burney's forgotten shovel and waited for the Doctor to come back outside, digging the sand from around the wheels.

He was taking a rather long while and I wiped sweat from around my eyes as it dripped down my face. I could already feel my skin getting burned up my arms and the back of my neck and face, but there wasn't much I could do there and I could feel a headache forming from dehydration and my chest was aching as well. Finally, the Doctor came out of the bus with Christina and called out to me.

"Come on, Alex! You're with us!"

I sighed, passing the shovel to Nathan to continue digging and ran after them as we trekked over the dunes once more. I was breathing a bit hard once we reached the crest of a dune for the Doctor to take pictures of the sand storm and plopped myself down on the sand as I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to control my breathing.

"Send this back to Earth. See if Malcolm can analyze the storm."

"There's something in those clouds. Something shining. Look." Christina said.

"Like metal."

"Why would there be metal in a storm?"

"Alex, anything you could… Are you alright?" The Doctor asked me then.

"Just a headache." I lied. "Sorry."

"No. No, no, no, no." He knelt down beside me and passed Christina the phone to keep taking pictures as he tilted my head up and using his thumb to lift my eyelid a bit and check me over. "I know when you're lying, Alex, as good as you think you are. So I know it's not just a headache… You're dehydrated."

"I'm fine." I pressed, pushing his hand away as he scanned me over with his sonic screwdriver.

"No, you're not. You're really dehydrated…" He grabbed my arm and looked at it closer with a frown. "…and sunburned pretty badly. And you're starting to develop heat exhaustion. That's not good. What have you been doing?"

"Helping." I frowned at him and he sighed quietly, taking off his brown jacket and draping it over me to shade me from the sun.

"Always worrying about others before yourself, aren't you? Use my coat. Stay out of the sun and don't get up just yet. Okay? Sit for as long as you can before we head back to the bus where you can rest a bit more." He pointed a stern finger at me. "No more working, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Alright." I consented, but he gave me a frown.

"I mean it, Alex. You're body's still working overtime to try and grow that second heart and heatstroke is one of the last things you need to deal with. It could interrupt what you're body is trying to do which could cause—"

"Okay. Okay." I said, sighing softly as I realized that something minor like this could possibly kill me with the changes my body was going through. "I got it. No work, no sun, resting."

He looked me over, making sure that I was actually going to listen, before he nodded and stood back up; resuming what he was doing. I sat there for a while more, eyes closed as I let my mind drift, before I heard a strange noise.

"Did you hear something?" Christina asked, and I peeked an eye open.

"Hold on. Busy." The Doctor muttered, trying to send the pictures.

"Doctor, you might want to stop being busy." I grumbled, getting up. "We have company."

He turned and spotted the gun wielding fly alien as it approached us, and he pulled Christina and I behind him before responding to it in clicks and guttural noises.

"That's wait. I shout wait, people usually wait."

I sighed. "I don't know how you've lived this long."

He smiled a bit as Christina spoke.

"You speak the language?"

"Every language." He confirmed, before speaking to the alien once more. "That's begging for mercy."

The alien—a Tritovore, I remembered—gestured with it's gun.

"That means move." Christina said nervously, making the Doctor nod back.

"Ooh, you're learning."

We were turned around and led by gunpoint off the dune and through the sand once more; the Doctor keeping an arm on my lower back to help me along.

"These fly things—"

"Tritovores." I cut Christina off.

"What?" She gave me a confused look and I sighed.

"They're called Tritovores and before you asked, no. They're not the cause of this."

"And how would you know all of this?"

"I've got a gift." I drawled out. Or a curse. "And if you don't believe me, well there's the proof." I pointed out towards the large ship that had been broken in two. "Their ship's a wreck. They've crashed just like us."

Once we entered, I relaxed greatly at the cooler temperature on the inside of the ship, letting out a sigh and passing the Doctor's jacket back to him.

"Oh, but this place is freezing!" Christina complained.

"Mm, the hull's made of photafine steel. Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since I met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes."

"That's how I like things. Extreme." She flirted back and I groaned.

"Oh, enough with the flirting. What is it with you and the bantering? Are you sure you're not some hormonal teenager, Doctor?"

"Just having a little fun, Alex."

"Uh-huh. I'll remember that the next time Jack's around. Me and him can go and have a little fun too." I quipped back, making him whine.

"Aw, come on, Alex!" He then quickly tried to change the subject and distract me. "Look at this ship! It's beautiful. Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer."

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured." Christina grumbled. "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well designed spaceship."

There were two Tritovores now and they chattered at us as one turned on a purple device on his overalls.

"Alright, good. Yes. Hello." The Doctor nodded, before explaining to Christina. "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Not the other way around though." I said, before she could ask.

The Doctor then began translating what the Tritovores were saying.

"'You will suffer for your crimes' etcetera. 'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race. You came here in the two hundred to destroy us'. Sorry, what's the two hundred?" He asked, but Christina responded before I could.

"It's the bus. Number two hundred. They mean the bus."

"Oh. No, look. I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor by the way and this is Alex and Christina. The Honorable Lady Christina. At least I hope she's honorable."

I struggled to hold in a snort.

"We got pulled through that wormhole. The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

They lowered their weapons and Christina gave them a look.

"What are they doing?"

"They believe me." The Doctor explained.

"What, as simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face."

"Please." I muttered, looking past him and over at her. "The translator says he's telling the truth, that's all."

"Plus the face." He whined, before getting back on track and moving towards the console of the ship. "Right. So! First thing's first. There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?"

The Tritovores clicked and his expression dropped.

"Oh. They've lost power. Hm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of sync. But if I can jiggle it back…"

He kicked it and the machine came back to life, the Tritovores really pleased and obviously complimenting him.

"I thank you. Yes I am. Frequently."

I leaned towards the Tritovore that complimented him and gave it a look. "Don't encourage him. His ego's already big enough."

"Are you going to be picking on me this whole trip?" The Doctor asked and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Are you going to be flirting this whole trip?"

He gave me a look then. "Are you jealous, Alex?"

Heat traveled up my neck and face, and I turned away in embarrassment. "S-Shut up! I'm not!"

He chuckled and shrugged. "Okey doke. Anyway, let's launch that probe."

He did so and then came over and grabbed me, pulling me down onto his lap as we sat and watched a hologram of what the probe was seeing; Christina sitting next to us. I was sitting stiff as a board though, until he started massaging my shoulders.

"Come on then, Alex. Relax a bit. You act like I'm going to eat you." He chuckled as I practically melted under his fingers.

"Wouldn't put it past ya." I muttered, before he started speaking about the image in front of us.

"The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted. So far away." He said to Christina as the image zoomed in. "The planet of San Helios."

"And that's us? We're on another world."

"We have been for quite a while." He said, wondering why she was acting so surprised now.

"I know, but seeing it like that…"

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful." She breathed out, before the Tritovores clattered away again.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

"By waste matter, you mean…"

"They feed off what others leave behind… from their… behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies."

"Rude." I muttered, eyes having slipped closed as he kneaded at the nerve cluster in my left shoulder.

"Charming." Christina grimaced. "Just remind me never to kiss them."

The image changed then, from the planet to a large city.

"San Helios City."

"That's amazing." Christina said, glancing at the Doctor. "But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times."

"That lordship of yours… The Lord of where, exactly?"

"Of Time. I come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're an alien?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to kiss me either." He felt me stiffen, and promptly pressed a bit harder on my shoulder to help relax me. "Alex does that enough."

"Hm." I hummed. "And before you ask, no. I'm not alien. Just a human who's… working on it, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story, short." The Doctor said, taking over before I could groan and complain about explaining the whole thing again. "Her entire biological system is changing because she was brought to this world in a different way that normal and bounces through my time-line. The energy collected, spread out, and is now trying to help the body compensate by changing a few things. Her second heart's nearly done cooking."

He pointed at my chest and I smacked his hand away, peeking an eye open to give him a look.

"Being rude again. And how come you didn't tell me earlier that it was nearly done? Thing's been aching for ages."

I rubbed that side of my chest with a frown and leaned back, allowing him to wrap his arms around my stomach as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Sorry. Bit preoccupied with the wormhole."

"But you look human." Christina piped in, looking at us confused.

"You look Time Lord." The Doctor said back, locking gazes with her for a moment before turning back to the image on screen. "Anyway."

"So, if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us."

"I don't think it's that simple." He listened as one of the Tritovores clicked. "We're in the city right now."

"But it's sand. That first image, the temples and things… What's that then, ancient history?"

The Tritovore clicked again.

"The image was taken last year."

"It became a desert in one year?"

I shifted and got up, not really liking this bit and the Doctor leaned over and picked up some sand from off the floor.

"I said there was something in the sand... The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people. Oh, that's disgusting. Ooh."

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios."

"Yes, but in my hair!"

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Not because of the idea of sand in my hair or clothes, but because she thought the idea of it in her hair was gross. A whole planet turned to dust, and she was worried about her hair.

"Alex? You alright?"

"No." I shook my head with a bitter chuckle. "No, and things are about to get much, much worse."

His phone went off and he picked it up, keeping his eyes on me as he spoke to Malcolm on the other end.

"Malcolm, tell me the bad news."

I couldn't hear what was going on, on the other end of the phone, but I knew the gist of it and had begun pacing as I tried to think. Alright, come on, brain. Ignore the drumming, ignore the jealousy, push past the anger and think. What can I tell him? There's a partial swarm of those rays in this ship. They're hibernating up until Christina goes down there. They wake up, a Tritovore goes back for something and gets eaten, which causes the other to try and save him, also gets eaten. I can stop that. No problem. I grimaced and pulled a hand through my hair. I hope. But then what? We go back to the bus, hook it up, use the gold, fly it out, we're fine. But what about what happens on the other side? Malcolm he's threatened, right? And three of those ray things get through. If I can take the phone and redial the moment we're out, then maybe—

"Alex."

I turned to find the Doctor standing before me looking worried.

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

I nodded, face determined now. "Yes. We can fix everything if we can get down to the crystal nucleus in the gravity well. That'll move the bus, but there's a problem." I winced, hoping that giving him all of this information now wouldn't screw things up like it did with the Krafayis.

"What, Alex? I'll need anything you can give me."

I-I can't tell him they're in the ship now. Christina is listening in and for all I know, that would make her back out. I shook my head. "I can't explain everything right now, but we need to get down there."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's do that then."

The Tritovores nodded and one started to lead us there, but Christina spoke up in confusion.

"Now, hold on a minute. We don't even know what we're up against."

I groaned and dug through my pockets, pulling out my notebook and flipping to the page of this episode, showing her an illustration I'd lamely done based on my memory of the metal ray's we were up against.

"That. Is what we're up against. It's not a sand storm outside, it's a swarm of these things. They eat everything and then loop around the world they're in until they pick up enough speed to rip a hole in space."

"But the wormhole's a killer. We've seen it." She argued and I groaned, trying to think.

"Yeah, but they take everything they've eaten and use it in their exoskeleton. They have shells made of metal that make it capable for them to get through the wormhole unharmed."

"But these Tritovores… they crashed, right? They didn't come through the wormhole."

"Ooh, good question." The Doctor nodded.

"Something about stalling." I muttered, glaring down at my notebook, before tucking it away once more. "I can't tell you how it stalled. Not yet. It's too early."

"You're changing things." The Doctor said, voice suddenly going serious and I hesitantly nodded.

"Technically, I-I'm only changing one thing and I'm giving us more time for the rest. I'm just moving things along a little faster in the hopes that not even one of those things will make it through."

"Are you saying more than one of those things will get through? To Earth?" Christina questioned in disbelief.

I nodded, reluctantly. "Three. Three are supposed to get through before the wormhole gets closed. T-They're… shot down and killed. I-I just figured… Sorry. Never mind. I-It'll sound stupid."

The group stopped at the gravity well and the Doctor handed everyone an internal comm to keep in contact, only to pause with his hand in mine when he handed me one. I didn't understand why, but Christina seemed to bring it up for me.

"You're… You're trying to save those things out there? The things that ate this entire planet and turned it into sand? Those things?"

I pulled away from the Doctor, embarrassed and feeling rather idiotic. "I-I said it was stupid. I just… They're a swarm, right? They're not super intelligent or anything. They're just running on instinct. They don't know what they're doing. They don't know it's wrong. How can you punish something… kill something just for doing what it needs to do in order to survive?"

She went quiet, just sort of staring at me and trying to figure me out, until the Doctor spoke up from beside me.

"Alex, you asked for a warning."

I furrowed my brows and turned to him. "Wha—"

I was cut off as he put a hand on my face and kissed me, leaving me blinking in shock and confusion as he pulled away with a grin.

"There it is."

"W-Wha—"

"Ah!" He cut me off, holding up a finger as he looked down the gravity well. "I did give you a warning."

My face heated up, knowing he was right, but I was still lost.

"B-B-But why?"

He smiled over at me happily. "Because you always do something I never expect and it only makes me love you more."

I didn't know my face could get redder than it already was, but it did and I brought the back of my hand to my mouth as I turned away. "U-Um… A-A-Alright."

"Right then. Gravity well. Goes all the way down to the engine. So, we need to get down there and get the crystal nucleus. As long as it's intact, it's better than diesel."

"What? You can use the crystal to move the bus?"

The Doctor looked at me as I nodded, still in a bit of a daze after what he'd done. "Looks like it. The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?" Christina asked.

"In a super clever outer-spacey way. Just trust us." He then turned to me. "Where's the crystal?"

"It's at the bottom."

The Doctor nodded and turned to the Tritovore that came with us. "Have you got access shafts?"

The alien clicked to him.

"All frozen? Well, maybe I can open them." The Doctor turned to Christina and I. "You two stay here. Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens."

The Doctor ran off with the Tritovore and I took a deep breath before turning to Christina.

"Can you get it?"

She turned to me, confused as she sat on the edge of the gravity well. "What?"

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Look, I can see the future, yeah? But also the past. I know you're a thief and I know you have a harness in your bag, so do me a favor. Show off."

She raised a brow. "Show off?"

I rolled my eyes. "Good God, do I really have to explain it? You're trying to impress him, yeah? The Doctor. He's interesting. Clever. You're clever too. I know what happens when you put two clever people in the same room together. You want to be better than the other. So show off. Show him you can be just as clever and ridiculous as him and get that crystal."

"Christina? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know." The Doctor's voice came over the comm and she turned it on briefly.

"Nothing yet."

She then turned it off and approached me, making me stiffen as she looked up at me with a grin.

"Y-You're not going to kiss me, are you?" I questioned hesitantly with a slight wince and she gave me a look.

"But we're both women."

"Wouldn't be the first time." I chuckled nervously, feeling sweat drip down the back of my neck despite the freezing temperature; mentally screaming at myself for practically flirting with her.

"Hm…" She hummed, looking amused. "You're pretty interesting too, you know. Clever, smart, hard working, caring to a fault, cute too."

"T-Thanks?" I stuttered out, hoping that this wouldn't end up being yet another woman who kissed me.

She pat my cheek though, making me flinch. "Maybe next time."

I let out a shaky sigh of relief as she started setting up her harness and turned back on her comm.

"Anything now?" The Doctor asked once I too turned mine back on.

"Afraid not." Christina replied, tying up her hair.

"Any sign of movement?"

"Nope."

"How's that?"

"Nothing."

"Any result?"

"Not a dickie bird... So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done."

"Why? What do you mean?… Christina? Christina! Alex, stop her!"

I winced. "Um, yeah… about that…"

"Dammit, Alex!"

"Sorry." I muttered as Christina spoke; standing on the edge of the gravity well.

"The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything."

"No!"

She dove off the platform just as the Doctor showed up and I pointed at the pulley as he hurriedly dug out his screwdriver and tried to stop it.

"Come on. Come on, come on, come on."

The pulley ground to a halt and we all let out a sigh of relief.

"That's better." He said, glancing in exasperation at me. "A little warning next time, Alex."

"H-Had to happen. Sorry." I said quietly, head bowed, but he ruffled my hair and I felt glad knowing that he wasn't holding it against me.

"I decide when I stop, thank you." Christina's voice rang through the comms and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You're about to hit the security grid. Look."

"Excellent. So what do I do?"

"Big red button." I told her, hearing the smirk in her voice.

"Well done."

"Now come back up. I can do that." The Doctor ordered and before I could tell him no, Christina answered.

"Oh, don't you wish."

The Doctor gave me a glance as if asking if this was okay and I nodded with a small smile.

"Slowly." He begrudgingly gave in.

"Yes, sir."

The pulley started moving down again, much slower this time, and the Doctor spoke up to pass the time.

"Quite a mystery aren't you, Lady Christina de Souza." The Doctor said, moving to sit beside me on the edge of the gravity well; putting an arm around my waist and making me stiffen for a second before relaxing. "Carrying a winch in her bag."

"No stranger than you and Alex, Spaceman."

The Doctor flinched, pulling me closer and I gave him an apologetic look, but instead of getting upset, he smiled a bit and rested his head on mine.

"We had this friend once. She called me 'Spaceman'. Though technically it's Alex's fault. She started it and it just sort of stuck."

"And was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"

"Well, a little blue box. Travels in more than one space. It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places I've been. The places we've been." He said, giving me a small smile, before I nudged Christina's bag to him for him to look through. "World War I, creation of the universe, end of the universe, the war between China and Japan, and the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD." He picked up the golden goblet and looked it over. "But I don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?"

"Excuse me, a gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions."

The Tritovore clicked at us and the I explained, having looked up things about the cup before back in my world.

"It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh."

The Doctor nodded, removing his hand from me as he looked over the cup and I stood up to pace quietly. "But it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years. Which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief."

"I like to think I liberated it."

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks." She lied.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. If you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this? That's a lifestyle."

"I take it you disapprove?"

"Absolutely… Except… That little blue box. I stole it… from my own people."

"Actually, she stole you." I corrected, earning an amused look from him as Christina spoke.

"Good boy. You were right. We're quite the team."

A screech rang out and the Doctor quickly set the goblet back into the bag as he looked around and Christina panicked a bit.

"What the blazes was that?"

"Um, that would be the other bit I didn't tell you." I muttered, earning a scared look from the Doctor. "The reason the ship stalled."

"I can see it." Christina said, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention as I cringed and bit my bottom lip.

"Bird in the engine?"

His eyes widened in understanding and he quickly brought a hand up to his comm. "Christina, you need to hurry."

She spoke then, voice quiet. "One of the creatures."

"It got trapped in the vents, caused the crash." The Doctor explained. "Christina, get out."

"It's not moving. I think it's injured."

I shook my head and the Doctor nodded. "No. It's dormant because it's so cold down there, but your body heat is raising the temperature."

"I tend to have that effect." She joked. "Almost there."

I spoke this time. "We need the whole thing, Christina. Not just the crystal."

It took a moment of tense silence, before she finally spoke.

"I've got it!"

The Doctor used his sonic on the pulley and quickly pulled her up, but we could hear the ray following her.

"Come on, come on. Come on, come on, come on, come on. It's going to eat it's way up."

"Trust her, Doctor." I said, looking down the well nervously, hoping that things were still going to be alright. "She's clever."

"You bet I am, sweetheart." Christina responded, reminding me of what she'd said earlier and making me duck my head out of the Doctor's eyesight to hide my embarrassment.

There was a zapping noise and screeching, and the Doctor grinned.

"Ooh, she's good."

She then reached the top and the Doctor grabbed a hold of her.

"That's it. That's it. I've got you. I've got you." He pulled her over to the side so she could stand and be unhooked from the harness, and she passed the crystal nucleus to the Tritovore as it clicked and he smirked as he responded to it. "Isn't she just."

Once she was unhooked, we all hurried to the console room and the Doctor spoke to the Tritovores.

"Commander? Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us."

The alien was reluctant.

"Oh, don't be so daft. A captain can leave his ship, if there's a bus standing by." The Doctor said, trying to convince him.

There was a bang and I spoke this time, moving to the front.

"Um, did I mention? There's sort of more than one of those things on board."

"There's more than one on board?" Christina asked in worry.

I nodded and the Doctor began rambling an explanation.

"The ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure all around us." We all flinched back as there was a loud bang from above us and sand fell. "And those things wake up hungry. Commander, you've got to come with us, right now."

"You have to." I agreed, trying to think up a good reason. "We can take you back home. Please."

The Doctor nodded towards me. "And that's the word of a lady. Come on!"

One of the Tritovores hurried along, but as the other went to go back to the panel, I grabbed him and pulled him away with brute strength; just as a ray fell through the ceiling. The Doctor looked at me with wide eyes, but I pushed the Tritovore in front of me with his companion and shouted.

"Go! Run!"

And run we did. The five of us hurried outside and began our mad dash to the bus, trying to ignore the screeching of the rays behind us. As we ran over a dune though, the Doctor's phone went off. He answered it.

"Not now, Malcolm!"

He quickly hung up and as we reached the bus, we ignored the shocked looks from Nathan and Barclay at the Tritovores.

"W-W-What are those things?!"

I groaned, shoving the two of them inside with the Tritovores behind me as the Doctor began putting the clamps on the wheels. "I'll explain later! Get inside!"

"W-With them?!"

"Yes! Believe it or not, humans aren't the only species in the universe. Now get inside!" I forced both men inside and got the Tritovores on board too, turning to the worried looking people in the back and shouting to get their attention.

"Oi, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once! Yes, they're flies! They're an alien species called Tritovores! You will respect them and treat them as any other human being or I will personally make sure you accidentally get dropped off outside, got it?!"

They all nodded fearfully and I sighed, grinding my knuckles against my temples as the drumming grew too loud to ignore and the Doctor and Christina climbed on board.

"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?"

"Yeah, something like that." The Doctor responded, before noticing me. "You alright there, Alex?"

"Just got the drums to deal with."

"Remind me later and I'll give you a trick for that!" He called out, before going back to the problem at hand. "I just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Funnily enough." Christina said, pulling one out, before he handed her the phone.

"Phone. Phone. Phone. Press redial."

She did and held it to his ear as he struggled to get the clamp on the wheel.

"Malcolm, it's me… Ready for what?… I'm going to try to get back, but listen. There might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, before the Doctor finished his phone call and I took the phone from Christina with a smile.

"Sorry. I'm going to need that."

She gave me an odd look, but the Doctor spoke up and distracted us.

"Oh, it's not compatible. Bus, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?"

"I need something non-corrosive. Something malleable. Something ductile."

"Something gold?" I said nervously, eyeing Christina as she gave me a disbelieving look and turned back to the Doctor.

"Oh no, you don't."

"Christina, what is it worth now?"

I didn't even look behind me and just held up a hand to Barclay. "No, your watch won't work, Barclay. It's not real gold."

"B-But… How did you even—"

I gave him a look over my shoulder and wrinkled my nose in annoyance. "I'm clever." I then turned to Christina. "Christina?"

She reluctantly pulled out the cup and handed it to the Doctor. "It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise." He said, flipping it over and then taking the hammer to it.

"I hate you." Christina grumbled as I hummed beside her, redialing and holding the phone up to my ear.

"Tell me about it. Rule number one: the Doctor lies."

"Doctor?"

"Hello, Malcolm. Yeah, not the Doctor. Sorry. You in there too, Captain… oh, what was it again? Something complicated starting with an 'M'."

"Magambo. And who is this?"

"Ah, right. Alexander Holmes. You can call me Alex, although my nickname might be better suited for this. Um, the Seer? Does that ring any bells for you?" I asked, scratching my head and giving the Doctor a glance as he worked. "I sort of pop around a lot, so I can't remember whether UNIT's been… informed of me, per say."

"We have." The Captain stated, voice serious. "What is it you need?"

"Glad you're cooperating. Have to say, that's a first. Last time I was around people like you, I was imprisoned for a week. But back to business then. No guns, Captain. I really don't like guns. Put it away, and I can promise you everything will turn out fine. Surely you know how my promises work."

There was a bit of silence, before I heard a sigh of relief on the other end and I smiled.

"Good! See, now here's the thing—" I was cut off as the Doctor spoke over the intercom of the bus loudly.

"This is your driver speaking. Hold on tight."

I wrapped my arm around a pole nearby and chuckled into the phone. "Sorry about that. I'll have to make it quick. Wait for my signal and when I give it to you, close the wormhole. No rushing it, Captain. You rush it, and things might just go south. You get me?"

"… Loud and clear, ma'am." She replied and I scowled.

"Don't call me 'ma'am'. If you have to call me anything, I'd rather 'sir', or Alex, is fine. Formalities not really my thing." I rambled, nervousness eating me up inside as the Doctor got the bus up into the air. "On my signal though, Malcolm, but you have to change something first, or it's not going to work. Loop the signal back through the integrator and keep it ramping up by 500 Bernards. I'll be dramatic with my signal and say 'now' in a really loud voice, okay? You won't miss it."

I held the phone to my chest to muffle the sounds of shock from the people in the bus now that we were up in the air; putting away my black book that I'd gotten out with the info for Malcolm as the Doctor turned us around.

"Doctor! They're coming!" Carmen shouted and I looked back and actually felt a bit of relief that the rays were just a bit further than they would've been in the show.

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina asked and the Doctor grinned as I nodded behind her.

"Only one way to find out. Next stop!"

"Planet Earth!" Christina finished and he drove the bus into the wormhole.

The whole thing shook violently and a bright light eventually lit up the whole bus, before we flew right out of the wormhole and into London air. I pulled the phone from my chest and shouted into it over the noise.

"Now, Malcolm! Do it now!"

"Yes, Alex!" I heard him call back and I grinned as the Doctor flew the bus around a bit.

"Oh, you're such a show off!" I called to him, looking down as pride welled up in my chest at seeing no rays or soldiers shooting. "It worked. Haha! It worked! Not a single one got through!"

When I turned to the Doctor though, my smile dropped at seeing him and Christina kissing. That sick feeling from back with River twisted my stomach and I swallowed thickly, trying to say something, but unable to. She pulled away though and the Doctor caught sight of me, looking worried.

"A-Alex, I-I-I—"

Christina rolled her eyes though, and grabbed my shirt. "Oh, stop it."

She forced her lips to mine then and my eyes widened as she pulled away and she smirked as she pat my cheek.

"We even?"

I blinked, not knowing what else we could possibly be, and nodded before the Doctor cleared his throat and gave her a look.

"Do not stand forward of this point." He nodded towards the line on the ground, before speaking to the others behind us through the rearview mirror. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Tritovores. You have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred."

He rang the bell and landed the bus before the group of soldiers, who applauded as the Doctor sonicked the doors and the passengers exited. A soldier stood outside talking about debriefing, but the moment the Tritovores, the Doctor, and I stepped out, the Doctor flashed his psychic paper.

"The four of us don't count. I'm dropping these two off back home the moment I can." He said, gesturing to the Tritovores.

From there, I led the two after the Doctor, assuring them that they'd be taken home as soon as the Doctor finished talking with Malcolm and the Captain, who saluted the two of us once she'd sent Malcolm away.

"Doctor, Seer. I salute you whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

The Doctor nodded, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "They'll start again. Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault. It's their natural life cycle." He gave me a squeeze and a smile as I smiled back. "But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets. Closer to home, Captain…" He nodded towards Barclay and Nathan. "Those two lads. Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job. Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

"I'll see what I can do." She said, eyeing the Tritovores behind us. "And them?"

The Doctor glanced at them and then back at her with a grin. "I'll take them home, soon as I get back to my ship."

She smiled slightly. "I've got something for you."

A couple of men pulled the cover off a large object to reveal the Tardis and he grinned as did I.

"Ah, better than a bus any day! Hello!" He greeted her, walking over with me and the Tritovores as he brushed her off a bit and I put my hand on her side with a small smile as she hummed quietly to me.

"Hello, Sexy."

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham palace."

"Oh, she doesn't mind." The Doctor said with a smile, before nodding to the Tritovores. "You two can go ahead and wait inside, if you like. The controls are locked, so you won't accidentally send yourself off into space. Bathroom's down the hall, third left, second right, seventh door down on the right."

The Tritovores nodded and went inside the ship and the Captain looked at us both and held out her hand to shake.

"Till we meet again, Doctor. Seer."

"I hope so." The Doctor replied as I gave her a small smile and shook her hand as well.

The Captain headed off and the Doctor turned back to stroking the Tardis as I gave him a look.

"Should I leave you two alone?"

He made a face. "Oi. It's not like we're doing anything naughty. You're the one who kissed a girl."

My face lit up a bright red. "S-Say's you! Last I checked, you flirt with Jack all the time! And every other woman who pops up with a pretty face and a clever head."

"You flirt with him too!" He chided back, though a small smile was on his face. "If you're really that jealous of a blue box, we could always go and do something else. Just us."

I smacked his arm with a face. "Down boy. Only just confessed a few trips ago, remember? Keep it in your pants."

He wrinkled his nose, making a face. "What a mouth! Who taught you those things?"

"Pft, like you'd know." I chuckled, before we both turned to see Christina by us.

"Little blue box. Just like you said. Right then. Off we go. Come on, Doctor. Show me the stars."

His smile fell and I took a step back, leaning up against the Tardis with my hands crossed over my chest as he responded.

"No."

"What?" She questioned, smile falling off her face.

"I said no."

"But I saved your life. And you saved mine."

"So?"

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison."

The Doctor took in a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah."

"But you were right. It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure and today with you and Alex… I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. We're made for each other. You said so yourself. The perfect team."

When his serious gaze didn't change, her frown grew.

"Why not?"

"People have traveled with me and I've lost them. Lost them all. Never again."

"But what about Alex? You take her with you."

I shook my head and walked up beside him, catching his sad look. "No. I just pop up around his time-line. He doesn't have a choice to take me or not and he's lost me once before too." I pulled my shirt away to show the bullet scar left behind from 'The Doctor's Daughter'. "I just got lucky. I came back. And even then, I've met versions of him who wished I hadn't shown up. Things don't always go the way we want them to."

"Lady Christina de Souza." A voice said as a group of police officers walked up. "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison. Take her away."

She was led away in handcuffs and Carmen approached us both.

"Doctor? Alex? You take care now."

"You too. Chops and gravy, lovely." He smiled, though I could tell that he wasn't completely happy.

"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir."

"What do you mean?" He asked, quickly getting serious.

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor? Oh, but then… he will knock four times." She turned to me then, and I stiffened. "And you, Alex. You are so kind and brave, but you too will be tested when it returns. You will have to choose your song. A song with two endings. The Silence will be coming for you soon."

I took a hesitant step back, face pale at the prediction and not really catching the concerned look the Doctor gave me. She walked off then and he placed a hand on the small of my back, making me jump.

"You alright?"

I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but I saw how afraid he was of his own prediction and I felt selfish. He was worrying over me when he should be concerned about himself.

"No." I finally said. "I'm not, but I will be." I gave him a small smile. "Right? Because you'll be around to fix it. And I'll be around to help you too."

He smiled back and kissed my forehead like Eleven and Twelve always did, pulling back and holding my gaze.

"Should I do anything about Christina?"

I gave him a look. "Your choice, Doctor. You can't always rely on me to make your decisions for you, you know."

"Yeah." He hummed, before moving past me, just as my shoulder ached and my breath hitched at the pain.

I heard his sonic and knew he'd let Christina go, before he spotted me and gave me a sad smile.

"Off you pop then?"

I smiled a bit back. "Looks like it."

"Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there! Stop her!" A man shouted as Christina rushed past us and to the bus.

"Behave." I chided him with a smile. "No more flirting."

He chuckled and put his hands on my waist, pulling me close. "No more women." He teased and I laughed, before deciding, what the hell and kissed him.

We pulled away after a moment and I just grinned up at him as he smiled down at me, and I disappeared; glad that I'd been with him this time around. With a Doctor who cared.


Sneak Peak:

Whatever it was, ignored my pathetic attempts at a threat and moved a little closer so that part of it was in the moonlight filtering in from the boarded-up window. Except, the red skinned creature wasn't an it, and my heart ached and leapt up into my throat as I slowly lowered the book.

"D-Doctor?"