A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 35: A Suitable Cover

"I don't think this is it, Doctor," Olivia reported as the TARDIS settled when they landed, Amy and the Doctor with her at the console.

"It must be," he argued, frowning at the console. "I put the coordinates in properly…didn't I?"

"Maybe we took a wrong turn?" Amy wondered as the Doctor and Olivia both headed toward the door.

"We'll check," Olivia assured her as the Doctor opened the door and leaned out to look around.

"No, it's definitely not the Fifth Moon of Sinda Callista," he admitted as Olivia nearly pressed herself against him to look around as well, making him step forward a bit. "I think I can see a Ryman's."

"Looks like Earth," Olivia frowned, glancing around.

Both were suddenly thrown forward and onto the ground when the TARDIS door slammed shut and the whirring of its engines sounded.

"No!" Olivia shouted, seeing the TARDIS take off as she rolled onto her back, lying next to the Doctor.

"Amy!" the Doctor shouted and they both watched the blue box disappear completely with wide eyes before looking to each other with the same expression and he breathed, "Well…this isn't good."

"Oh, ya think?!" Olivia shot back, shooting to her feet and dusting herself off as the Doctor stood as well, doing the same. "Well now what? Amy's on the TARDIS, which has obviously rebelled against you. What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing!" he snapped defensively, turning to pace. "I did nothing! How do you know it wasn't something you did, eh?!"

"Don't pin this on me! I'm always nice to the old girl, and you know it!"

"Right!" he barked before he stopped pacing and ran a hand over his face in exasperation before lowering his tone as he continued, "This is getting us nowhere. We need a plan."

"Alright," she nodded in agreement as he resumed pacing in front of her. "Will the TARDIS come back?"

"Of course she will," he replied, still pacing. "We just have to figure out what's going on here before she'll come back. Something scared her off and we need to figure it out. So, first thing's first…" He pulled the Sonic from his inside jacket pocket and its whirring sounded through the park as he said, "This way!"

He grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her toward the street, both being led by the Sonic Screwdriver until they reached a block of flats. He snapped the Sonic open to read his results with a frown then looked up at the building as he tucked the Sonic away.

"Well…that's a problem, isn't it?" he muttered, making Olivia frown at him.

"What is?" she asked, glancing at the building before looking back at him.

"The readings coming off the second floor of that building are…astronomical," he explained, not looking away from the building and she could tell the wheels in his head were turning before he looked back at her. "We'd better head into town for some rent."

"Rent?" she frowned in absolute confusion as he turned and pulled her back down the street and deeper into town until he stopped at a cash machine.

"Right," he hummed looking at it before looking at her and asking, "You know how to get money out of this, right? Good, do that, I'll get a bag. Be back in a jiff."

"Wait, Doc—!" Olivia tried stopping him but he was already hurrying off, making her sigh in exasperation when she looked back at the machine.

Usually she would just type in her serial number and the amount she need right into it and the machine would do what it needed to. But this was a new year, a different place. Who knew what the thing would do if she did that. Glancing around the thankfully empty street she pulled out her Sonic and used it on the machine. It instantly began spitting out the notes inside, making her hurriedly gather them into her hands. A moment later the Doctor was by her side, a bag in his hands as he placed it under the slot where the money was spilling out.

"You used the Sonic on it, didn't you?" he smirked as the bag filled.

"Shut up," she muttered. "How much is that?"

"Not sure," he shrugged, before taking her hand and leading her back down the street. "That building's looking for a lodger. I say we give it two."

"We need a cover," Olivia told him, making him frown.

"What for?" the Doctor wondered.

"Saying you're the Doctor and I'm your Companion isn't really gonna fly."

"Why not? That's what I am and that's what you are?"

"But what's our relationship? Friends? Cousins? Brother and sister? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Husband and wife?"

"Why do we have to have a title?"

"Because pretty much all human couples do. Jeez, now I know why Jack hates titles. They are annoying."

They soon climbed the few steps to the door of the building they'd stopped at and the Doctor rang the doorbell as Olivia looked up at it.

The Doctor lowered his arm from Olivia's shoulders to grip her hand and drag her toward a shop on the street to look at the paper hanging in the window. They both read it silently and Olivia frowned in disbelief.

"I'm getting that feeling again," Olivia murmured, looking to the Doctor and it was then that she noticed something in his left ear that looked like a hearing-aid before the door opened.

"I love you," the man blurted, a set of keys with a fluffy pink keychain in his hand and it was obvious the Doctor and Olivia were not the people he was expecting to be at the door.

"Well, that's good, 'cause we're your new lodgers," the Doctor replied without missing a beat. He reached out and took the keys, adding, "Do you know, this is going to be easier than I expected."

"But I only put the advert up today," the man frowned at them. "I didn't put my address."

"Well, aren't you lucky we came along? More lucky than you know," the Doctor replied, looking up at the second floor again before he referred to the advertisement, saying, "Less of a young professional, more of an…ancient amateur, but, frankly, I'm an absolute dream. We both are. Aren't we, darling?"

"Hang on, mate, I don't know if I want you two staying," the man warned before snatching the keys back from the Doctor. "And give me back those keys! You can't have those!"

"Yes, quite right," the Doctor replied, calmly before handing him the bag. "Have some rent. That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell. Come on, Liv!"

"Uh…wait—!" Olivia was cut off when the Doctor pulled her through the two doors and she gave the man an awkward smile as she was dragged passed him.

"Don't spend it all on sweets," the Doctor warned him, looking up the stairs they stopped in front of and the door at the top of them. "Unless you like sweets. I like sweets."

Olivia sighed, bowing her head in her hand as the Doctor finally let her other hand go and stepped toward the man to leave air kisses on either side of his face.

"That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it?" the Doctor asked no one in particular then glanced between the door at the top of the stairs and the man as he spoke. "I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor, I don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. Still don't know why. Oh! And this is Olivia Felton! She's a dream too. Though she's prettier, and doesn't talk as much."

"Oh, my God, you're an idiot," Olivia sighed, her head still in her hand.

"Craig Owens," the man finally introduced himself before asking, "The Doctor?"

"Yup," the Doctor nodded.

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but can I just ask, who lives upstairs?" Olivia asked.

"Just some bloke," Craig replied as the two turned back to him.

"What's he look like?" the Doctor asked, making Olivia frown at him but she said nothing else.

"Normal," Craig shrugged. "He's very quiet." A loud bang came from upstairs as if to prove him wrong and he added, "Usually."

The Doctor, still holding Olivia's hand, dragged her through the door to the left of the stairs.

"Sorry, who are you again?" Craig questioned as the Doctor pulled Olivia into the kitchen/sitting room. "Hello? Excuse me!"

"Ah," the Doctor hummed as he stopped next to the sofa and Olivia's eyes shot wide when she saw a dark spot on the ceiling that was spreading across it and down the wall. "I suppose that's dry rot?"

"Or damp, or mildew," Craig replied, unsure.

"Or neither," Olivia blurted, she and the Doctor still staring at the stain.

"I'll get someone to fix it," Craig assured them.

"No, I'll fix it," the Doctor objected. "I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister. No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister."

"I have to say this is the cutest parlor I have ever seen," Olivia smiled warmly, stepping toward the kitchen and pulling the Doctor with her by the hand.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, pulling Olivia into his arms to hold her from behind. "You're obviously a man of impeccable taste. We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can."

"You haven't even seen the room," Craig realized.

"The room?" the Doctor frowned.

"Your room."

"My room? Oh, yes! My room, my room. Take me to my room."

"Our room, Doctor," Olivia whispered.

"Yes! Our room. Sorry, Liv."

"So…you're married?" Craig wondered.

Olivia and the Doctor spoke at once…

"Yes." Olivia nodded.

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

Craig frowned at the two before Olivia stepped forward with a smile, out of the Doctor's arms to take his hand.

"We're newly-weds," she lied, smoothly through a smile. "Still getting used to the idea. This is just a temporary living situation until everything's sorted with our flat in London."

"Right," Craig nodded before waving them to follow him and he led them to the room, letting the Doctor pull Olivia by the hand into the room ahead of Craig. "Yeah, this is Mark's old room. He owns the place. Moved out about a month ago. This Uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money in the will."

"How convenient," Olivia muttered as the Doctor let her hand go and pushed on the bed before looking around it.

"This'll do just right," the Doctor nodded. "In fact—"

He was interrupted by the sound of more banging and crashing from upstairs, making Olivia gasp and look to the ceiling, latching onto the Doctor's arm with a start. He looked up at the ceiling as well and lifted his index finger to his mouth to lick it and hold it up as if testing the air of the room.

"No time to lose," he muttered as Craig frowned at him. "We'll take it. Ah! You want to see our credentials."

He pulled the Psychic Paper from his jacket as Olivia let him go and he held it up.

"There…" he began. "National Insurance Numbers…" He held it behind it back to switch hands, holding it up again, "NHS numbers…references."

"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?!" Craig wondered in disbelief as he tucked the Psychic Paper away again.

"We're his special favorites," the Doctor confirmed with a smirk before pressing a finger to his mouth in a sign that it was a secret then asked, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Hungry, Liv?"

The Doctor grabbed Olivia's hand again to drag her out the door, down the hall and into the kitchen.

"I haven't got anything in," Craig reported, following them into the kitchen where the Doctor rummaged through the fridge.

"You've got everything I need for an omelet," the Doctor objected as he shut the fridge and took a pan to set it on the stovetop, Olivia stepping toward the counter to pull herself onto it and watch him, giggling when he cracked an egg in the pan. "Fines herbes! Pour deux!"

"Trois, Docteur," Ollivia pouted, drawing their attention to her. "Vous oubliez toujors moi." (You always forget me)

"Sorry, Liv," the Doctor smirked at her French and she winked back at him.

"Craig, who's the girl on the fridge?" Olivia asked, making his frown disappear as he looked to her and the Doctor still cooked.

"My friend, Sophie," he replied.

"Girlfriend?" she wondered.

"Friend who's a girl," Craig corrected with a smile. "There's nothing going on."

"Ah," the Doctor nodded. "That's completely normal. Works for us, right, Liv?"

"We met at work about a year ago at the call center," Craig went on.

"Oh, really?" the Doctor replied, grinding some pepper into the omelet. "A communications exchange? That could be handy."

"Yeah, firm's going down, though," Craig replied. "The boss is using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do. I got a plan all worked out, but I'm just a phone drone. I can't go running in, saying I know best."

Olivia frowned as she watched the Doctor toss some sliced ham into the omelet then squeeze some mayonnaise into it as well, making her blanche.

"Why am I telling you this?" Craig wondered. "I don't even know you."

"Well, I've got one of those faces," the Doctor replied, mixing the omelet. "People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around."

"It's true," Olivia nodded when Craig looked to her.

"Right," he nodded then asked her, "Where's your stuff?"

"Don't worry," the Doctor assured him when Olivia opened her mouth to reply then frowned at him as he said, "It'll materialize, if all goes to plan."

"He means our stuff is on its way," Olivia corrected, but Craig was still frowning at her in wonder.

"You sound American," he noticed. "How did you two meet?"

"Oh, he pretty much just…dropped out of the sky, really," she smirked and the Doctor turned around with a grin for her, giving her a wink before turning back to mixing their omelets.

"You seem so comfortable with each other," Craig noticed.

"We've been living together for a while," Olivia smiled as the Doctor finished their omelets and began preparing their plates.

"Here you are," he grinned, handing plates to Craig and Olivia. "Bon appétit!"

Later...

"That was incredible!" Craig sighed as he sat on the sofa after polishing off his omelet, the Doctor sitting in the armchair next to him with Olivia sitting across his lap. "That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris," the Doctor replied as Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck. "Eighteenth century. No, hang on." He looked to Olivia, asking, "That's no recent, is it? Seventeenth?"

Olivia shook her head, glancing from him to Craig as he frowned.

"No, no, no, twentieth," the Doctor resumed. "Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?" Craig wondered.

"Actually…they never really stop," Olivia replied, making the Doctor frown up at her but she only shrugged, rubbing her thumb over her ring on her middle finger to find their telepathic connection and tell him, "We're supposed to be normal, remember?"

"Ever been to Paris, Craig?" the Doctor asked and replied to Olivia, "Normal is boring. And you lie very well…too well."

"Nah," Craig replied, fiddling with the keys in his hand. "I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveler."

"I can tell from your sofa," the Doctor nodded, making Craig and Olivia frown at him in wonder.

"My sofa?" Craig echoed.

"You're starting to look like it," the Doctor replied, making Olivia give a silent gasp and smack his chest, in turn making him grunt and pout up at her, rubbing his chest where she'd hit him.

"Thanks, mate. That's lovely," Craig laughed, sarcastically to Olivia's relief. "No, I like it here. I'd miss it, I'd miss…"

"Those keys?" the Doctor noticed when he trailed off, making Olivia frown at Craig's hand where he held the fluffy pink keychain.

"What?" Craig frowned in wonder, looking to the keys.

"You're sort of…fondling them," the Doctor replied.

"I'm holding them," Craig argued, standing from the couch and leaving the keys on the arm of it.

"Right," the Doctor replied skeptically as they watched Craig head back toward the kitchen.

"Anyway…" Craig explained, snatching something from the cabinet near the door and holding them up. "These are your keys."

"We can stay?" the Doctor wondered, excitedly as he and Olivia stood to head toward him, all three grinning.

"Yeah," Craig chuckled. "You're weird and you can cook. It's good enough for me. Olivia, I'll have another key made for you, if ya like?"

"Oh, no, don't worry about that," Olivia smiled with a dismissive wave. "He and I don't really go anywhere without each other, one set of keys is fine."

"Right," Craig nodded, holding the keys out and explaining, "Outdoor…front door…your door."

"My door," the Doctor grinned, taking the keys. "My place. My gaff!"

"Our gaff, darling," Olivia reminded him with a smile. "Our, remember? What yours is mine. What's mine is yours."

"Yes, of course, sorry, dear," the Doctor replied before grinning again, "Ha, ha! Yes! Me with a key. I mean us…us with a key."

"And listen," Craig began. "Mark and I, we had an arrangement where, if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, ok?"

Craig gave a wink which the Doctor returned and Olivia couldn't hide her snicker, knowing what Craig meant, but knowing the Doctor had no idea what Craig meant.

"Why would I want that?" the Doctor asked, making Olivia give out a snicker and she slapped her hand over her mouth to suppress it when the Doctor frowned at her.

"Well, in case you and the Mrs. want some time alone," Craig replied, drawing the Doctor's gaze back to him. "Night in, that sort of thing."

"Oh, I will," the Doctor replied, seeming to understand him but Olivia gave a frown at him. "I'll shout if that happens. Yes. Something like…" He trailed off before shouting, "I was not expecting this!"

Olivia bowed her head in shame before lifting it as he continued, "By the way, that…" He pointed to the stain on the ceiling, advising, "…the rot…I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it."

The Doctor patted Craig's arm before taking Olivia's hand and heading toward the hallway, leading her toward their room.

"Well, that went well, I think," he grinned, shutting the door behind Olivia as she strolled in. "Now, about this lying you've been doing a lot of…"

"You refused to think of a cover for us, so I had to think of one to make at least some of our life seem normal," she retorted, stopping at the foot of the bed and plopping down onto it. "They're half lies, anyway."

"Still…the fact that you did it so easily makes me wonder…have you ever lied to me?" the Doctor mumbled as he stepped in front of her, their gazes meeting.

"Theta," Olivia breathed, standing and cupping his face in her hands, never taking her gaze from his. "Even if I lie to you, you see right through it. There's never been a lie that I've gotten passed you, no matter how hard I try."

He gave a huge grin, making her giggle as he pulled her close to plant a kiss to her lips.

"Time to call Amy," he smiled, tapping the earpiece in his ear.

"Are you saying that's a Bluetooth?" she frowned in wonder as he wrapped his arms around her, over her arms and turning to fall back on the bed, making her give a squeak of surprise before giggling when they landed and bounced on the mattress.

"Earth to Pond, Earth to Pond. Come in, Pond," he called, still holding Olivia as they both now lay on the bed. He suddenly cringed and Olivia heard feedback from the earpiece, making her frown in wonder as she shifted to lay on his chest and he shouted, "Can you not wreck my new earpiece, Pond? How's the TARDIS coping?"

Olivia twirled her fingers over his chest and down his torso when he paused, making him take her hand to stop its trail downward and she couldn't help but giggle.

"Ooh, nasty," he murmured, making her frown up at him but she soon realized he was speaking to Amy through the earpiece. "She's locked in a materialization loop, trying to land again, but she can't."

He paused again and looked at the ceiling before replying, "I don't know what it is yet. Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big."

"How big?" Olivia whispered, still looking at him, now with wide eyes as he looked back at her.

"Scary big," he replied, pausing again and replying, "No! I'm not scared! It's just not as simple as going upstairs and sorting it, Pond. I can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it, and it is vital that this man upstairs doesn't realize who and what I am. So no Sonicing." He pointed at Olivia, telling her that applied to her too and she pouted as he continued, "No advanced technology. I can only use this 'cause we're on scramble. To anyone else besides Liv hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish."

Olivia sat up on the bed with a sigh and the Doctor sat up as well, standing and moving around the room to examine all the things in it.

"All I've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?" the Doctor continued, turning to smile at Olivia as she snorted.

"I hate it when you say that," she muttered, shaking her head.

"So you're both just gonna be snide?" he retorted, picking up a pair of aviators and trying them on. "No helpful hints?"

Olivia couldn't help but giggle as she watched him step toward a mirror and pull the shades down his nose to look over the lenses at her through the glass, giving her a wink as he responded to Amy on the earpiece.

"Bowties are cool," he said after a moment, making Olivia's smile widen, knowing Amy had told him to get rid of the bowtie. He pulled the aviators off, tucked them away into his jacket pocket and went to the bookcase to examine the books. Come on, girls, I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do."

Olivia thought for a moment, trying to remember what Aaron used to do, and knowing Amy was probably listing things for him.

"I could do those things," the Doctor replied, flipping through a book. "I don't, but I could."

Crashing from upstairs suddenly made Olivia jump and stare at the ceiling as the Doctor tossed the book he was looking at on the floor and stare up at the ceiling as well, moving to the center of the room.

"Hang on," he said, still looking up. "Wait, wait, wait! Amy?"

"Doctor, what are the clocks doing?" Olivia asked, making him frown at her as she stared at one of the clocks. The arms were spinning out of control.

"Interesting," he replied, looking at his watch as it did the same thing. "Localized time loop. Time distortion. Whatever's happening upstairs is affecting you, Amy." He whirled around to look at Olivia as she looked to the clocks when they resumed their normal function then watched him and after a pause he answered Amy's unheard question, "My end's good."

"Should we be worried?" Olivia wondered.

"No, not really. There's nothing to worry about. Amy, just keep the zigzag plotter on full. That'll protect you."

Olivia stared at him suspiciously at his answer as he started pacing while there was a pause.

"Amy, I said the zigzag plotter!" He paused for a moment. "You're standing with the door behind you?" He stopped pacing and after another pause he took two steps to his right, instructing, "Ok, take two steps to your…right and pull it again."

He nodded and stepped toward the bed to sit next to Olivia again, saying, "Now, we must not use the Sonic. I've got work to do. Need to pick up a few items."

He tapped his earpiece, Olivia assuming he hung up on Amy, then he leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to her cheek, smiling, "Sleep tight while I'm out. I'll be back by morning."

"Theta, you're lying about there not being anything to worry about," she murmured, making him sigh as he lifted a hand to her cheek to stroke it with his thumb.

"Yes, I am," he admitted. "Because I don't know what's causing this just yet and I need time to find out and the two of you to remain calm. Can you do that for me?"

"I can try," she murmured, making him smile gratefully and she couldn't help but smile in return.

"Thank you, Liv," he whispered before placing a tender kiss to her lips.

"You're welcome, Theta. How come I wasn't affected by that time loop thing? Shouldn't I not have noticed anything?"

"Ah, well, you're out of your respective time, aren't you? Lots of things don't affect you when you're out of your own time."

Olivia nodded, recalling that was the reason Jack hadn't been affected when the entire human race had been turned into the Master.

"Sorry it's not a better honeymoon…Mrs. Sigma," he smirked.

She giggled then nodded, "Mrs. Sigma…I like it. You just be home in time for breakfast, Mr. Sigma. I'm cooking this time."

"Smashing," he grinned before turning to head out the door, keys in hand.

A/N: oh, i just couldn't resist! reviews?