CHAPTER 29

The Doctor watched Dorian out of the corner of his eye as Ella's bedroom door slammed shut. It was cruel to tease her, he knew that, but Ella was so much like her mother that in some obscure way it fascinated him. Seeing her fiery temper reminded him so much of how angry Amy could get when she was annoyed.

Dorian's arrival had been a bit of a surprise – it was unusual for the TARDIS to have visitors, especially uninvited ones. Not that he wasn't welcome – once the Doctor had gotten over the initial shock of seeing the young man peering bemusedly out from behind the console, he found he was rather enthusiastic. The recent arrival of Amy and Ella had reminded him of how lonely he had been for seventeen years, and with this in mind, the Doctor was running on a 'the more the merrier' policy.

He had not seen Dorian for many years. The son of an old Prydonian Academy classmate, the last time the Doctor had seen Dorian and his mother was just before the events of The Last Great Time War. The Doctor had presumed they had both died in the War, but clearly Dorian had survived, judging by his sudden appearance in the TARDIS.

Amy had taken it rather well, considering the Doctor himself was so baffled by Dorian's unexpected arrival. Her first reaction, when she had turned around to see the boy standing in the middle of the TARDIS's floor, had been to grab the tomato ketchup bottle from the table in an attempt to find some sort of weapon to fight this intruder. Fortunately the Doctor had grabbed her hand before she had thrown the glass container. "I would rather you didn't throw that," he had said. "I got it imported directly from 18th Century Tuscany."

Once Dorian had deemed Amy sane enough to approach, the Doctor had greeted the boy like he would have greeted Dorian's mother, once upon a time. They had chatted away for most of the night, but the Doctor was careful not to mention one topic in particular. Now, however, he felt it was time his questions were answered.

"Dorian," he began, trying to keep his face neutral whilst inside he was preparing himself for the worst. It was too much to hope that Dorian had not escaped alone. He would not be able to face the boy if he knew that his mother had been killed because of his own actions. "Dorian, where is your mother?"

Bracing himself, the Doctor looked for a sign on the boy's handsome face, but to his astonishment – and very little could astonish the Doctor – it broke into a wide, mischievous smile.

"Well," Dorian grinned. "If my calculations are correct…she's right outside the door."