When Teresa landed, she almost went flying right into the Tardis console. She had been on an adventure with Rose and Ten, involving a one-eyed hag, a four-legged chicken, and a toothbrush. Yes, a toothbrush. It sounded hilarious, but it was actually terrifying and she had honestly feared for her and her friends' lives as they'd sprinted as fast as they could for the Tardis.

Of course, that was when the light had wrapped around her, dragging her away right when they'd spotted the Tardis across the salt-concentrated ocean and started to run over the top of the sea. Now that was another sentence you didn't say every day. All in all, Teresa was completely out of breath as she clung onto the side of the console, stopping herself from barreling right into it as the light released her. Although she didn't quite manage to stop herself from smacking her leg into the console.

The blonde girl rubbed her knee absently, wincing slightly as she glanced around curiously. It was probably going to bruise but as she took in her surroundings she quickly forgot about the pain. A different kind of worry gripped her as she looked around the dark Tardis. It was lit only by dim, blue lights from the console and time rotor itself, and from the faint light she could just make out the futuristic design that indicated this was Clara's Eleven. But why was it so dark?

"Terry?"

Teresa whipped around, startled, to see the Doctor looking up at her in surprise from his spot on the bottom step in one corner of the room, dropping the book he had been reading onto his lap.

"Doctor?" Teresa asked worriedly as she glanced around. "What happened?"

His face dropped, the surprise fading away and his expression sinking into despair. Teresa took a step towards him in alarm, her eyes examining him as sharply as they'd examined the Tardis. She took in Amy's round spectacles perched on his nose, the purple, velvet waistcoat, and noticed his missing bow-tie.

"Oh, Doctor." Teresa sighed as she realized when this was, walking over quickly and meeting his sorrowful green eyes. She bent down to hug him and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down onto his lap as he set his book aside.

"I'm so sorry, Doctor." Teresa murmured as she hugged him gently, but he shook his head, burying his face into her neck.

"Please." He whispered brokenly. "Just for now… call me by my name. The name you know, and have always known."

She paused in surprise at the request. But she would never deny him anything when he sat there looking so sad, so Teresa leaned in, bending her head so that her mouth was right by his ear as she murmured softly: "I'm sorry, Theta."

It was his turn to pause before he clutched her even tighter and pushed his face into her hair. Teresa raised her hands, brushing her fingers softly through his hair as she whispered small words of comfort for the broken-hearted Doctor.

"Theta," Teresa murmured at last, "how long has it been?"

He remained silent, and she nudged him gently, asking: "Theta?"

"About… a year…" He sighed, and she nodded.

"And you've been alone the whole time?" She asked sadly, and he sighed again.

"Yes." He murmured. "It was the longest that you were away."

"I'm sorry." Teresa said guiltily. "I would never have wanted you to be alone at a time like this… I'm sorry, Theta."

"It's not your fault." He murmured as he sighed into her hair. "You're here now… and that's all that matters. That's all I ever need."

She frowned, but at that moment the phone rang.

"Theta?" She asked when he made no move to answer it.

"Theta." She chided, and he sighed. Grumbling a little, he lifted his head from her shoulder and reached over with his longer arm to grab the receiver irritably.

"Yes? What?" The Doctor answered snappishly as he wrapped his other arm around Teresa's waist tightly. "I'm busy."

Teresa raised a brow, leaning in next to the Doctor's face as she tried to listen to whatever the caller was saying.

"Since when were you 'busy' as of late?" Madame Vastra's voice asked scathingly.

"Since now." The Doctor answered a little sharply, and there was a slight pause.

"Is your angel back then?" Vastra asked, sounding a little surprised and before the Doctor could reply- or make an excuse, which was more likely- Teresa called into the receiver: "Hello, Madame Vastra."

"Angel!" The Doctor whined while Madame Vastra replied coolly: "Ah, Terry. Glad to hear you are back."

"I'm sorry." Teresa apologized. "I hope you know I wouldn't have left the Doctor alone if I could."

The Doctor smiled just slightly at last, his eyes softening as he nuzzled his head into Teresa's hair once more. She pushed him slightly away as Vastra answered: "Oh, I know."

"Was there a point to this?" The Doctor asked, sulking after Teresa nudged him away again.

"Yes." Vastra replied coldly, but Teresa could hear a slight excited tone beneath her calm attitude. "Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow."

Teresa's eyes lit up while the Doctor sighed in annoyance.

"I gave her the one word test." Vastra continued and the Doctor groaned: "That's always pointless."

Teresa elbowed him, and he glanced at her in surprise. She shook her head at him, nodding at the phone expectantly and he huffed.

"Fine. What did she say?" He asked with a bored sigh.

When Vastra didn't answer immediately, he demanded impatiently: "Well? Well?"

"Pond." Vastra finally replied and Teresa smiled just slightly to see the look of utter shock cross the Doctor's face.

His head lifted from where he'd placed it on her shoulder once more, and he took off the spectacles he'd been wearing. Teresa watched him with soft eyes as he stared at the glasses while Vastra continued on the phone: "Strax has already suggested where to start investigating."

The Doctor appeared to have gone into numb shock, so Teresa took the phone, saying softly: "He'll be there."

"Very well." Vastra answered firmly.

"Oh, and Terry?" Vastra called just before the blonde girl was about to hang up.

"Yes?" Teresa asked in surprise, and Vastra said softly: "It is nice to hear you again."

Teresa looked at the phone in surprise, before a smile appeared on her face.

"Me too." She answered quietly, choosing not to mention that this was her first time actually meeting them. Because when you really thought about it, she knew them anyway.

Vastra hung up and Teresa turned to look at the Doctor. He was watching her now, his expression conflicted and Teresa's face softened.

"Doctor," she said seriously as she took the Doctor's face between her hands, "you can't stay up here alone forever. Amy and Rory wouldn't want you to do that."

"I wouldn't be alone." He answered softly. "You'd be here with me."

"Except for when I'm not." She pointed out.

The Doctor's face filled with infinite sadness, and Teresa hugged him impulsively.

"Theta," she murmured, choosing to use his Academy name in the hopes of getting through to him better, "I'd stay with you forever if I could, but we know I can't."

His hands wrapped around her tightly, and he buried his face in her hair once more as she continued: "I know it hurts, and I'll probably cry my eyes out when I get to that farewell, worse even than when I watched it back home because now they're my best friends too."

His breathing hitched, but Teresa continued softly: "But I know it'll get better, and I don't regret meeting them. Them, or anyone else- Rose, Martha, Donna… River."

The Doctor sighed, and Teresa encouraged: "It was worth the pain to have all the happy memories. And trust me when I say this isn't it. There is so much more to the universe, even than you've seen so far; things to discover, people to meet."

He remained silent, so Teresa nudged him back so that she could look him straight in the eye.

"And I don't think the universe is a cruel place- not if it let me meet you." She said honestly.

He blinked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as she said softly: "Yes, there have been hard times and this is one of them… but I wouldn't have given it up or changed it for the world."

He examined her, and she met his gaze squarely as she hoped her words got through to him. The Doctor finally smiled a little, and though his eyes were still filled with sorrow, his gaze was soft and filled with warmth once more.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" He asked softly, and she replied bluntly: "You saved the universe a billion times. Question is," her voice turned a little teasing, "what did I ever do to deserve being able to be here with you?"

He chuckled, and then surprised her as he hugged her warmly.

"You were you." He murmured in her ear. "Just you… and that was more than anything I could have asked for."

She blinked in surprise as he let go, but he just smiled at her before he kissed her forehead softly.

"Come on, then." He said determinedly. "Let's go take a snoop."

He made to leave, grabbing a top hat and the dark purple cashmere coat he would take to wearing from now on. But even though she had a certain fondness for the look- as she did for all the Doctor's outfits really… except maybe Nine's leather jacket- she coughed for his attention.

"Hem, hem."

The Doctor glanced over in surprise, and Teresa held up a hat she'd pulled from the console's hat drawer that Sexy had been kind enough to move closer.

"Why not make it a good show while you're at it?" Teresa suggested, and the Doctor's eyes finally lit up with a hint of excitement as he reached over to take the deerstalker from Terry's hands.


"Good afternoon." The Doctor called as he strode into the 'Great Intelligence' Institute. "I'm here to see Doctor Simeon."

"Er, I'm sorry, sir, Doctor Simeon doesn't take callers-" The servant began as he blocked their further entry into the house.

"Well, I'm not a caller." The Doctor replied airily as he twirled his cane and Teresa suppressed an amusement snort.

"Go tell your master, Sherlock Holmes is here to see him." The Doctor told the servant dramatically, raising his brows as he stared at the other man from beneath his deerstalker as he placed a pipe in his mouth.

The man's eyes widened in surprise, awe, and panic, and the Doctor winked at Teresa as the servant dashed off down the corridors. Teresa giggled quietly as the Doctor smirked, before he tugged her along with him.

"Come on, before we lose him." He said as they followed the servant quickly deeper into the house.

"Easy for you to say, you're not dressed in heels and an overly frilly petticoat." Teresa replied dryly as she tried her best not to trip on the poofy, dark-purple Victorian dress.

"Well, if it helps, you look lovely." The Doctor answered as he took her hand.

She raised a brow, and he shrugged, so she grinned as she held onto him and used him as a support to keep her balance as they dashed off down the corridors. The servant disappeared behind a large mahogany door, presumably into Simeon's study, and Teresa shared a grin with the Doctor. They had him. The Doctor strode ahead, flinging open the study door as Teresa followed behind him.

"Oh, nice office." The Doctor commented as he looked around with interest.

He wrapped an arm around Teresa's shoulder as the pair walked inside, noticing Simeon standing in the centre of the room beside a large glass globe filled with snow.

"Big globey thing." The Doctor continued as he walked confidently towards Simeon. "Now, shut up, don't tell me! I see from your collar stud," he pointed his cane at Simeon, "you have an apple tree and a wife with a limp. Am I right?"

"No." Simeon said flatly as Teresa rolled her eyes.

"Do you have a wife?" The Doctor asked, undeterred, making Teresa chuckle as Simeon repeated monotonously: "No."

Simeon began to walk towards the pair as Teresa raised a brow, her face rearranged in a cool expression while the Doctor tried: "Bit of a tree? Bit of a wife? Some apples?"

The servant was standing to the side, glancing between the strange pair and Simeon as he rubbed his hands anxiously. Simeon continued to walk coldly over to the Doctor and Teresa, as the Doctor whispered: "Come on, work with me here."

"I enjoy 'The Strand' magazine as much as the next man," Simeon said flatly as he stopped before the Doctor, "but I am perfectly aware that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character. Get out!" He snapped.

The Doctor ignored him, turning abruptly to the servant as he asked, pointing his cane at the man: "Do you have a goldfish named Colin?"

The servant paused, as though thinking, before replying: "No."

"Thought not." The Doctor said easily as he turned back to Simeon.

"Is it called 'Watson'?" Teresa asked suddenly, and they all stared at her in surprise as the servant replied numbly: "Yes."

"Thought so." She commented, and the Doctor asked in surprise: "How'd you know that?"

"Lucky guess." Teresa answered airily. "That, and the monocle and curved moustache, paired with his excitement to meet Sherlock Holmes."

The servant blinked in shock while Simeon's glare intensified and the Doctor ignored them as he said to Teresa with a smile: "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

She grinned back, and the Doctor turned back to the irate Simeon, declaring loudly: "See? She's my clever friend, her name's Irene Adler."

Teresa raised a brow as Simeon watched them, unimpressed while the Doctor turned away, saying: "Now, oooh."

He noticed something on the study desk and snatched up a card as he declared: "I see this is one of your business cards. It says so on the front."

"Who are you?" Simeon asked flatly as he snatched the card from the Doctor, crumpling it and tossing it to the side in his irritation. "And what are you doing here?"

The Doctor's face remained unchanged as he lifted his other hand to show Simeon another business card- the one Madame Vastra had given them. Simeon's eyes narrowed slightly while the Doctor crumpled that card, his face darkening as he briefly showed his true emotions. The servant flinched, but after another look at Simeon, he back out of the study.

"This." The Doctor answered darkly as he tossed the card and let go of Teresa.

He dashed towards the globe, yelling: "Wakey, wakey!"

Simeon spun around sharply, his eyes following the Doctor and then widening in horror as the Doctor began to smack his cane against the globe. Teresa just watched patiently as Simeon hurried back to the globe, grabbing the Doctor's cane and stopping his actions.

"That is highly valuable equipment." Simeon told the Doctor sharply. "You must step away now."

The Doctor just met the other man's glare evenly, his eyes narrowed, but he was distracted as the snow spoke at last.

"We are the Intelligence."

"Oooh." The Doctor murmured. "Talking snow."

He glanced at Teresa briefly, a smile flitting across his face as he said quietly: "I love new things."

She grinned back, and the Doctor glanced back at the snow as it said sharply: "You are not of this world."

"Takes one to snow one." The Doctor joked, turning to Simeon as he laughed at his own joke. Simeon remained unimpressed while Teresa wrinkled her nose unappreciatively, and the Doctor's laugh trailed off.

"Right," he muttered as his face became serious once more, "let's see."

He pulled away from Simeon, starting to pace around the globe as he listed: "Multi-nucleate crystalline organism with the ability to mimic and mirror what it finds. Looks like snow." He smacked his cane on the glass again, making Simeon flinch. "Isn't snow."

He smacked the glass again as he came around full circle, and Simeon grabbed the cane again as he insisted: "You must leave here now."

"Shut up," the Doctor replied flatly as he pulled away again, "I'm making deductions. It's very exciting. Now," he turned back to the globe, "what are you, eh?"

Simeon turned away in apparent anger and irritation while the Doctor continued: "A flock of space crystals? A swarm?"

Simeon slyly walked over to the wall, softly ringing a hidden bell as he called for his servants while Teresa leaned casually back on the study desk.

"The snowmen are foot soldiers, mindless predators." The Doctor continued. "But you, you're the clever one. You're Moriarty."

Simeon edged slowly back into the room, moving to stand before the study doors with a smug expression on his face. Teresa's eyes lifted to the ceiling while the Doctor continued to say to the snow: "So, you turn up on a planet, you generate a telepathic field to learn what you can-"

"Sweetie." Teresa called nonchalantly, and the Doctor pointed his sonic over his shoulder at the study doors, not even bothering to glance back as he locked the doors.

Simeon stared in confused shock, while the Doctor continued as though without interruption: "-And when you've learnt enough…"

He bent down to examine the snow thoughtfully as he asked rhetorically: "What do you do?"

He suddenly turned back to face Simeon as he pointed out, thinking aloud: "You can't conquer the world using snowmen. Snowmen are rubbish in July."

He turned back to the globe, tapping it with his cane again as he said: "You'll have to be better than that. You'll have to evolve."

Teresa smiled as someone began banging on the door, before the servant called: "Sir, it appears to be stuck!"

Teresa chuckled while Simeon stared, before demanding the pair: "What have you done? Have you locked the doors?"

Simeon turned, grabbing the study doors and pulling on them as he tried to open it while the servant called again urgently: "Sir?!"

"You need to translate yourself into something more, well, human." The Doctor continued to the snow, ignoring Simeon and the commotion the servants were making.

"Kick it down." Simeon ordered as the doors didn't budge, while the Doctor continued thoughtfully: "To do that you'd need a perfect duplicate of human DNA in ice form."

He turned to Teresa, puzzled, as he asked aloud: "Where do you find that?"

Teresa smiled and tapped the desk she was leaning on as she answered nonchalantly: "Think."

"Sir?" The servant called again desperately, and Simeon ordered sharply as he continued to tug futilely on the door: "Get in here, quickly!"

The Doctor's eyes had dropped to where Teresa's fingers were tapping as she continued, quoting: "'It's the new sexy.'*"

The Doctor saw what was right beside Teresa's hand and he grinned.

"I've got a master key somewhere, sir." The servant called as he tried to get the door open while the Doctor bounded down towards Teresa.

"You're a naughty woman, Miss Adler." The Doctor smirked as he grabbed the scrapbook that was lying on the desk, and Teresa laughed as she returned: "You're welcome, Mr. Holmes."

The Doctor grinned before he opened the scrapbook, muttering: ""Now, let's see. Most opened file," he tossed the book into the air, "most viewed page."

The book landed with a thump, open on the page where the spine was most bent from repeated perusal. Simeon turned in alarm as the Doctor chided, his eyes quickly scanning the page: "You know, you really should delete your history."

He smacked his cane on the article in the top right corner, entitled 'Tragedy at Darkover house-'

"-Governess frozen in pond." The Doctor read aloud in a murmur. He grinned slowly as he lifted his eyes to meet Teresa's before he glanced over at Simeon.

The door rattled again as Simeon stared at the Doctor with wide eyes as the latter smirked: "Gotcha!"

"Got it, sir!" The servant called, and Simeon quickly turned to call sharply: "Get in here!"

The Doctor lifted a hand to Teresa without a word and she took it quickly, both of their eyes shining with excitement.

By the time the servants entered and Simeon turned back around, the pair were already gone, the French windows in the far side of the room swinging slightly in the breeze in the only sign of their departure.

* Quoted from BBC Sherlock. Yes, I couldn't resist.