In the town of Hawkins, Indiana, things were quiet. Peaceful. The town that had been rocked by the sudden disappearance of a young boy and then his just as sudden return had long returned to normal (the event having took place twelve long years ago), becoming just another dot on the map where not many things happened.

The only thing not quiet about the town, in fact, were the roosters cawing in the morning, and caw they did. On a twenty-one-acre property not far from the town, however, the distant cawing was quiet, barely little than a quiet echo originating from far in the distance.

On this twenty-one-acre property stood a house. A bit big for just two people, but more than large enough to hold the future.

In this house's kitchen, stood Jane. Holding a bowl, mixing icing for a tin of cupcakes. She'd discovered a sort of hidden talent for baking, and her skills as such spread quickly throughout the town. When you needed a cake made at the last minute, she was the go-to-gal.

Jane abruptly stopped her mixing, setting the bowl on the counter, doubling over as she felt a kick come from her abdomen. "WILL!"


Will Byers rode his bike (As in, motorbike. A Ducati!) up to the house, calm, serene. At only the age of twenty-four, he was living a life most other people, let alone men, could only dream of. His dream house, his dream career, and his dream woman… he was the luckiest man in the entire world, he counted.

"WILL!" Jane shouted from inside. "IT'S STARTED!"

Lucky… except for the fake contractions.

Will hopped off the bike, running inside.

"Ah!" He grunted, stubbing his toe as he ran in. "Okay, I'm here!" He heaved, running into the kitchen. He ran over, falling to his feet.

"False alarm." His wife calmly replied, balancing the bowl of icing on her pregnant belly, eating a bit of the substance off the spoon.

Will looked at her for a moment. "What?" He asked.

Jane shrugged. "I don't know what it feels like." She tapped Will's nose with the spoon. "Haven't had a baby before, remember?"

Will sighed, but smiled as he got to his feet, a metallic warping and scraping building up outside. "Oh…" He groaned.

Jane's eyes went wide, as the sound registered in her ears, and she looked up. "No…"

"I know!" Will said, going to grab a cupcake out of the tray. "I hate leaf blowers, just use a rake!"

"No!" Jane shot to her feet, setting the bowl down. "It's-"

The scraping ceased with a thud, as the TARDIS materialized outside in the back garden, windows and signage glowing a welcoming orange.

"It's him…" Jane breathed with a smile. "He's here."

Will dropped the cupcake and ran outside.


The TARDIS door was pulled open quickly, the Doctor poking his head out, looking down at the flowerbed he'd inadvertently landed on. Taking a step out onto one of the stones, it gave way, and the Doctor fell, just barely keeping his balance.

The Time Lord could hear a door open and shut, and the Doctor's head shot up. "Ah, Willy!"

The Byers man came walking out, long hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Doctor!" Will recognized, throwing up his arms. "Oh…" He gulped, looking to the flowers. "Jane is going to kill you."

"Where is she?" The Doctor asked, looking around.

"Oh, she'll need a bit longer." Will pointed to the house.

"Whenever you're ready, El!" The Doctor called, waiting patiently.

The door opened, and she came waddling out.

"Oh, wahey!" The Doctor pointed.

"Hey!" Jane beamed, running over to the Doctor, pulling him into a hug.

"You've swallowed a planet!" The Doctor pulled back, looking down at her.

"I'm pregnant." She informed him with a smile.

"You're huge!" The Doctor remarked.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant." Jane giggled.

"When worlds collide!" The Doctor pointed between her and her husband.

"Dad, I'm pregnant." She repeated.

"Oh, look at you both!" The Doctor pulled both of them into hugs. "Ten years older! I'm so proud!" He released them, looking between them.

"It's so good to see you again, dad." Jane smiled.

The Doctor looked the woman up and down. "…are you pregnant?"


"Ah, Hawkins." The Doctor remarked as they walked down the road of the town square. "Lovely as ever… a bit emptier than I remember."

"Yeah, well, everybody sort of packed up and left after the lab got exposed." Will explained. "How'd you think we were able to get all that property for so cheap?"

"I imagine you became a lady of the night." The Doctor retorted.

"Ha!" Jane laughed.

The three came to the small park in the center of town, sitting down on a bench.

"Well…" The Doctor kicked his legs. "I wanted to see how you were. I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS, you know. 'Specially not my little girl."

"Aunt Sarah would beg to differ." Jane retorted.

"Yeah, well…" The Doctor sniffed. "So, what is it you two do around here?"

"Well… We have comic books." Will said. "She writes them, I do the drawings, it's good. Lots of money."

"Comic books, nice…" The Doctor repeated quietly, nodding, as the birdsong began to grow louder. "Lots of flashy pictures… and sound…"

The Doctor's eyelids drooped, as the three of them fell to sleep.


"Effects!" The Doctor's eyes snapped open, the Time Lord lying on the console room floor. "Ah, yes!" He shot to his feet, as El and Sarah Jane started blinking sleep out of their eyes as well. His eyes locked on the little girl sitting in the seat, looking down at herself in confusion. "Oh, thank God, I had a terrible nightmare about you!" He pressed a relieved kiss to her forehead. "But it's okay now, we're all safe… Blimey." He turned back to the console. "Never dropped off like that before. But I am getting on a bit, really, don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console? Red flashing lights… bet they mean something."

"Um, dad…" El walked over. "I had a dream too."

"That generally happens when you're asleep." The Doctor replied, keeping focused on the console.

"Yeah, but it was weird." El replied. "I was old, and…" She stopped for a moment, before puffing up her cheeks, and holding her arms out a little way from her stomach.

The Doctor glanced up at her. She had the same dream. The Doctor stood up, looking the girl over.

"And you were married…" The Doctor said, "To-"

"Will." El finished.

"Will?" Sarah Jane questioned.

"Will Byers from Hawkins, hang on." The Doctor turned to her. "You're not having the same dream?"

Sarah Jane looked contemplative for a moment. "No… none of that's ringing any bells."

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head, throwing up his hands. "Alright, look, it doesn't matter. We all just probably had some kind of psychic episode. That sort of thing's bound to happen when you have two extremely strong psychics in close proximity to each other. That, or we just jumped a time track." The Doctor clapped his hands, going back to the console. "Forget it. We're back to reality now."

Birds began to chirp, and Sarah Jane and El looked up.

"Birds…" El's eyebrows knit together.

Their eyelids all drooped, and they dropped to the floor.


"Ah!" Will suddenly jumped out of sleep. "Sorry! God, I must be overdoing it…" He rubbed his eyes, as the Doctor shot to his feet, walking around.

The Time Lord checked his clothing. Blue. He only wore the blue shirt, braces, and bow tie every other day. But thinking back, searching through his memories, he had a clear memory of the lead up to now.

"El," He turned to her, "What were you dreaming about?"

Jane frowned, rubbing her stomach. "Well… we were back on the TARDIS with Aunt Sarah, and I was a-"

"Kid again." The Doctor finished, turning back around. "The same dream, exactly the same."

"Hold on," Will pushed himself up, as Jane did the same. "The same dream?"

"Yeah, the same…" Jane frowned. "Hold on, can't you remember?"

"He wasn't there." The Doctor replied, tossing a stone up and down. "Sarah Jane couldn't remember this either, remember?"

"No." Jane replied. "Why do dreams have to fade so quickly?"

"Doctor," Will rubbed his head, "What's going on?"

The Doctor stood, checking the signs. Text never stayed the same in dreams.

"Is this a Time Lord thing because you've showed up again?" Jane asked.

"Listen to me. Trust nothing." The Doctor advised, looking around. "From now on trust nothing you see, hear, or feel."

"B-But…" Jane stammered, looking around. "We're awake!"

"You thought you were awake on the TARDIS too." The Doctor retorted, examining the area.

"But we're home." Will said.

"Yeah, and El and I are on the TARDIS too." The Doctor replied, pushing past the two. "Trouble is, which is which? Which is dream, and which is reality? Hold tight… this is going to be a tricky one."


"Augh!" El gasped in surprise, the TARDIS shaking as the engines ran.

"This is bad!" The Doctor shot over to the console, trying to work the controls. "I don't like this!" He kicked the console, causing the shaking to stop. "Ack!" The Doctor grunted in pain, clutching the foot he used for the kick as he hopped around. "Never use force! You just embarrass yourself!" He grabbed the railing. "Unless you're cross, in which case… always use force!" He moved to walk down the steps to the underside of the console.

"Should I go and get the manual then?" Sarah Jane inquired. That was always the time-tested method of figuring out problems with the TARDIS when she was on board.

"Threw it in a supernova!" The Doctor replied.

El tilted her head. "Supernova?"

"Exploding star!" The Doctor simplified. "And I threw it in there because I disagreed with it!"

Sarah Jane huffed, shaking her head. She figured that was going to happen eventually, knowing the Doctor she traveled with. The woman shook her head, rubbing her temples.

"I don't understand," Sarah Jane began, "If whatever's causing this is causing you and El to dream about the future, why aren't I a part of it?"

"If we are dreaming about the future!" The Doctor retorted, limping back up, handing El and Sarah Jane tools. "We could still be in Hawkins, dreaming about this! For all we know, she could be giving birth!" He pointed between them. "Trust nothing about anything!" He repeated, going back over to the console.

The moment the Time Lord touched the controls, the engines stopped, and the ambient humming of the TARDIS's generators cut out as well, the entire room going dark.

"…Doctor?" Sarah Jane inquired, as El grasped onto the Doctor's hand.

"She's dead…" The Doctor whispered, looking up in the darkness. "The TARDIS is dead."

Birds began to chirp.

"Ah, El…" The Doctor pointed to her. "Remember, this is real. Sarah Jane… Whatever you're dreaming about… it isn't real… either…"

The three dropped.


The Doctor stood, watching a group of schoolers go walking down the street, as snow fell in the town square, Jane and Will laying on each other on a nearby bench.

The two's eyes snapped open, and they looked around.

"Okay, this is the real one." Jane proclaimed. "Definitely the real one."

The Doctor spun on his heel, looking at Will. "Where were you?"

Will looked taken aback for a moment. "Sorry?"

"El and I," The Doctor pointed, "We were back on the TARDIS. Where were you?" He pressed.

"I-I was a kid again." Will answered, stammering. "Back in '83."

The Doctor let out a frustrated grunt, as he turned back around, waving his hand in front of his face.

"What are you doing?" Jane inquired.

"Checking for motion blur, pixilation." The Doctor answered. "We could be in a computer simulation." The Time Lord turned, giving a quick tug on Will's hair. "Don't think so, though."

"Oh, hello Mister Byers." An old woman greeted politely, as she passed the group on the street.

The Doctor glanced at Will. "How does she know you?"

"Oh, well…" Will humbly and bashfully shrugged. "The comics Jane and I make kind of put Hawkins on the map. We're sort of town celebrities now."

"Interesting." The Doctor remarked.

Will recoiled just slightly. "Interesting?"

"Your dream house, your dream wife, your dream job…" The Doctor looked Will up and down, bobbing. "Maybe this is your dream, what's that?" The Doctor suddenly snapped his fingers, pointing to a building across the way.

"Orphanage." Jane answered.

"Orphanage…" The Doctor's eyes narrowed, looking to the building, and the children looking back out. "Why would Hawkins, a town in the middle of nowhere and with a population so low the passenger manifest of most crew ships beat it out, have an orphanage?" He wondered. "There's something here that doesn't make sense… let's go poke it with a stick!" The Doctor grinned, running off that way, Will charging to keep up.

"Guys, the running!?" Jane called. "Seriously!?"


The three walked into the playroom of the orphanage, the Doctor looking around.

"Misses Byers!" A kid about eight years old hopped up and down excitedly.

"Hiya, Peter." Jane smiled gently in response. "How're things?"

"Great!" The little boy beamed. "Are you here to read to us again?"

"Not today, I'm afraid." She answered.

A little girl, only about seven, walked up to the Doctor, holding up a wooly sweater that looked like she had made it herself, blue with pink lettering across the back. "Can I borrow you?" She asked politely. "You're the right size."

The Doctor blinked, but knelt accommodatingly, looking at the girl. "Kind of in a hurry to move on, freak psychic schism to sort out…" The Doctor looked into the little girl's eyes, and his narrowed. He recognized eyes like that. "Oh… you're incredibly old, aren't you?"

The little girl just stared back, as birdsong began to fill the three's ears once more.


"Okay." El drew in a breath. "Hate this. Dad, stop it."

The Doctor took something off the console and ran up the stairs.

Sarah Jane's teeth chittered. "It's bloody cold in here."

"The heating's off!" The Doctor responded. "Put on a jumper, that's what I always do! By the way, El, don't believe that sweet little girl act!"

El tilted her head. "Act?"

The Doctor didn't offer her an answer. "Everything's dead. Sensors, core power, we're drifting." He walked back down from the upper level. "Someone, something is overriding my controls!" He shouted frustratedly.

"Well," A man suddenly materialized at the top of the steps. "That took a while." He was wearing what looked like a deliberate imitation and exaggeration of the Doctor's clothing, an oversized bow tie fixed around his neck. "Honestly," He shook his head, coming down the steps. "I'd heard such good things. The Oncoming Storm, the Last of the Time Lords, him in the bow tie."

The Doctor glared at the intruder as he made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Who are you? How did you get into my TARDIS?"

"What shall we call me?" The intruder smacked his lips. "Well, if you're the Time Lord… Let's call me the Dream Lord."

"Nice look." The Doctor said.

"This?" The Dream Lord looked down at himself. "No, I'm not convinced… bow ties? Seriously?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, reaching into his pocket, before throwing a ball at the Dream Lord.

The Dream Lord flickered, shimmering, before becoming steady again. "See, I would be impressed, but it's all there in the name, isn't it? Dream Lord… spooky, not quite there." He flickered, appearing across the console room. "And yet, very much here!" He said loudly, the others jumping.

"I'll do the talking, thank you." The Doctor glowered. "Sarah Jane, want to take a guess at what he is?"

"Dream Lord…" Sarah Jane began. "He… creates dreams, controls them?" She suggested.

"Oh, and what about the munchkin?" The Dream Lord asked. "Doesn't she get a guess? In fact, I'd go so far to say that this is all about her. The lab freak who ran away with an idiot in a box… didn't your mother ever teach you about stranger danger? Oh, wait!" The Dream Lord flickered, appearing back at the other end. "No, I've seen your dreams… Blimey, I could cry. If I had tear ducts. And a capacity to care."

"Where'd you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" The Doctor growled. Messing with El was the first, and last, straw.

"Me?" The Dream Lord scoffed. "Oh, you're on shaky ground."

"Am I?" The Doctor asked in response.

"If you had any more tawdry quirks, you could open up a tawdry quirk shop!" The Dream Lord retorted. "The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student! I'm surprised you don't have a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are!" The Dream Lord mocked, before looking away. "Where was I? …ah, right." He flickered, appearing on the upper level. "So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. One's real, the other's fake. Oh, and to make things more interesting, in both worlds you have to face a deadly danger, but only one of those dangers is real. Tweet tweet, time to sleep." The Dream Lord said, as birdsong began to fill the room. "Oh…

Or are you waking up?"