This original story idea is not mine, it is adopted from Mystic Lover of the fairytale. I do not own Doctor Who

Luke was standing right next to the door when the TARDIS materialized, excited for what they were going to do next.

He poked his head out to see-

'Luke! Are we on the Fifth Moon of Cindie Colesta?' The Doctor called from behind him, running up to the doors.

Luke stepped outside. 'No, we're not on the Fifth Moon of Sinda Callista.'

The Doctor popped his head out. 'Oh, yes. We're not! I think I can see a Ryman's-'

Boom!

Luke was knocked onto the ground by the Doctor. He rolled onto his back to see the TARDIS doors close and dematerialize, sending leaves flying everywhere. Inside, Amy's confused voice protested against whatever had just happened.

'Amy!' Luke shouted. 'Doctor!'

The Doctor glanced up as the TARDIS disappeared. 'Amy! Amy!'

There was no reply.

'Amy!' the Doctor called again. 'Amy.' He laid on the ground. Luke could see the shock on his face.

'What was that?' he asked, getting to his feet and staring at where the TARDIS had just vanished. 'Where did they go?'

The Doctor got up. His face crossed with worry.

Luke and the Doctor walked up to the address on the letter Amy had somehow sent them from the future.

'Shouldn't we have waited a little?' Luke asked. 'I mean, didn't he just put the advert up two hours ago? He might think we're thieves or something.'

The Doctor smiled. 'No, he won't. Why, do we look like robbers or something?' He gestured to his expensive tweed tailcoat and bowtie.

Luke laughed. 'Oh, you've got a point there.'

The Doctor knocked on the door of the two-storey building, he stepped back and waited for someone to answer the door.

Inside someone began "I love you" repeatedly. Luke's mouth twitched in a smile as a plump middle-aged man opened the door. 'I love you,' he confessed. His face turned to confusion as he saw the Doctor and Luke standing at his door.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow happily. 'Well, that's good. Because we're your new lodgers. Do you know, this is going to be easier than I expected.' He plucked a pair of keys with a fluffy pink keyring from the man's hand.

The man-who Luke presumed was Craig-looked at the two of them back and forth. 'But, I only put the advert up today.' Suspicion flashed across his face. 'I didn't put my address.'

The Doctor smiled as if nothing was out of the ordinary. 'Well, aren't you lucky we came along? More lucky than you know. Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur, both of us, that is. But frankly-' he pulled Luke into a closer view of Craig- 'We're an absolute dream.'

'Hang on a minute, mate. I don't know if I want you staying. And give me back those keys. You can't have those,' he said, taking the keys out of the Doctor's hand.

The Doctor plucked the keys back. Luke said, 'It's nice to meet you, sir.'

Craig looked at Luke and back at the Doctor. 'Is he your son? I mean, even if I do let you in, the advert was for one person-'

'Ah, this is just my nephew.' the Doctor waved off Craig's disapproval. 'But really so, you're quite right.' Misunderstanding Craig's point, the Doctor handed him a paper bag. 'Have some rent.'

Craig took it and peered inside to see lots of twenty-pound notes together. Luke gave a half-nervous half-reassuring smile at him, despite the Doctor's confidence that they didn't look like trouble.

'That's quite a lot, isn't it?' the Doctor chattered, 'Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell.'

'That's a lot,' Luke confirmed.

Craig looked like he wanted to protest further as the Doctor and Luke walked into the hallway.

'Don't spend it all on sweets, unless you like sweets. I like sweets.' The Doctor turned around as if just remembering something. He kissed the air a few inches away from Craig's cheeks. Craig looked weirded out by the Doctor's chosen greeting.

'That's how we greet each other these day, isn't it?' the Doctor asked Luke.

'That's what they do in Europe,' Luke answered. Craig looked more comfortable when Luke shook his hand.

An electric buzzing noise suddenly caught Luke's attention. He turned around to see nothing but the upstairs light flickering.

'Anyways,' the Doctor said, looking back and forth from the lights to Craig. 'I'm the Doctor-' Glance back, and back at Craig. 'Well, they call me the Doctor-' Glance, and back. 'I call me the Doctor. Still don't know why.'

'Craig Owens,' Craig introduced. 'The Doctor?'

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed.

'Who lives upstairs?' Luke asked. 'The lights are blinking a little.'

'Just some bloke,' Craig answered, sounding slightly unsure.

'What's he look like?' The Doctor questioned.

'Normal, he's very quiet.' A crash from upstairs cut him off. 'Usually,' Craig added. 'Sorry, who are you two again? Hello?'

Craig followed the Doctor and Luke as they walked into his flat. Up in a corner of the ceiling, was a stain.

'Ah,' the Doctor said, examining the large stain. 'I suppose that's dry rot?'

'Or damp,' Craig volunteered, 'Or mildew.'

'Back in my old house the shower caused the ceiling to stain,' Luke said. 'It looked kind of similar. Have you been up there?' he asked Craig.

'No, he never seems to want to talk to me,' Craig said. 'I'll get someone to fix it.'

'No, I'll fix it. I'm good at fixing rot,' the Doctor said.

'He's like the Rotmeister,' Luke piped up, grinning as the Doctor shot him an unamused look at the name.

'No, don't call me that, I'm the Doctor, not the Rotmeister.' He looked around Craig's flat. 'This is the most beautiful parlor I've ever seen,' he complimented. '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, and it's a one-person room,' Craig pointed out.

'Our room?' the Doctor wondered.

'You know, our room,' Luke said.

'Oh, yes!' the Doctor snapped his fingers as if just remembering. 'The room, our room. Don't worry, Craig. Luke's just living with me for the time being. Take us to our room.'

Craig, seeming more comfortable with them, led them to a spare bedroom. Inside, a single bed sat in a corner. Diamond-patterned wallpaper and light beige curtains gave the room an 80s decor.

'I like the wallpaper,' Luke commented.

'Thanks, but there's only one bed,' Craig said. 'How're you going to-'

'Ah, don't worry about that,' the Doctor said. 'A good lodger always has a plan.'

Craig looked skeptical but let it go for now. 'This is Mark's old room, he owns the place. Moved out about a month ago. This uncle he never even heard of died and left a load of money in his will.'

'That's convenient.' The Doctor looked around the room. 'This'll do just right. In fact-'

A crash upstairs interrupted the Doctor. He licked a finger and held it up in the air, testing it.

'No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah, you'll want to see my credentials.' The Doctor fished the psychic paper from his pocket. 'There.'

Craig looked impressed and slightly jealous as the Doctor showed him his "titles". Luke stuck his hands in his pockets, wondering how Amy was doing. He hoped that she had the TARDIS under control. Well, as much control as someone could. He remembered all the times Sarah-Jane told him about wanting to go somewhere in the TARDIS and opening the doors to find themselves far away from where they'd planned to go.

'So, are you hungry?' the Doctor's voice brought him back. 'Craig? Luke? I'm hungry. Who wants lunch?'

Luke adjusted his earpiece after brushing his hair behind his ear. He hadn't had a haircut in ages and thick strands of brown concealed the earpiece. It was after dinner and he and the Doctor were lying around their almost-bare bedroom.

The Doctor jumped on the bed, adjusting his own earpiece. 'Earth to Pond,' he tested. 'Earth to Pond.'

'Amy?' Luke tried. 'Are you there?'

'Luke! Doctor!'

The Doctor and Luke both screwed their faces up from the massive feedback came through the earpiece.

Amy lowered her voice. 'Sorry.'

'Can you not wreck our new earpieces, Pond?' the Doctor grumbled.

Amy's voice came though huffily. 'So how're you two holding up Tardis-less?'

'Alright,' Luke answered, watching the Doctor jump up and down on the bed from his corner. 'Craig thinks we're weird but okay.'

'How's the Tardis coping?' the Doctor asked.

There was a shuffling sound from Luke's earpiece. Then Amy's voice came from about a distance away from other end. 'See for yourself.'

There was some mechanical noises that only the Doctor could decipher. He stopped bouncing on the bed like a kid. 'Ooo, nasty,' he remarked.

'What's going on with her?' Luke wondered.

'She's locked in a materialization loop,' the Doctor answered. 'Trying to land again. But she can't.'

'Hm.' The distance between Amy's voice and the other end of the earpiece was removed. 'And whatever's stopping her is upstairs in that flat. So, go upstairs and sort it.'

'We don't know what it is yet,' Luke said. 'But anything that can stop the Tardis from landing is really big.'

'Scary big,' the Doctor added.

'Wait,' Amy cut in. 'Are you scared, Doctor?'

'We can't go up there until we know what it is and how to deal with it,' the Doctor said, jumping on the bed again. 'And it is vital that this man upstairs doesn't realize who and what we are. So no sonicking. No advanced technology. We can only use this because we're on scramble. To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish.

'So now all I've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?'

Luke rolled his eyes as Amy scoffed. 'Have you seen you?' she asked sarcastically.

'So you're just going to be snide.' The Doctor said. 'No helpful hints? Luke? What do humans do?'

Luke shrugged. 'Get a job. Pass driving tests. Act mature.'

Luke could almost hear Amy laugh. 'Hmm, well, here's one. Bow tie, get rid!'

'Bow ties are cool,' the Doctor insisted stubbornly. 'Come on. Amy, Luke. I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do.'

'They watch telly, they play football,' Amy suggested. 'They go down to the pub.'

'I could do those things.' The Doctor jumped off the bed. 'I don't, but I could.'

Luke laughed at Amy's groan at the Doctor. Suddenly, a crash interrupted their conversation.

The Doctor glanced up at the ceiling. 'Hang on! Wait, wait, wait. Amy?'

'Amy?' Luke tapped his earpiece. He could hear her screams and the Tardis going into some sort of turbulence. 'Are you okay?'

The Doctor glanced at all the clocks in the room. Luke, seeing him, examined his wristwatch. To his surprise, the two hands were running around like crazy. 'Interesting,' the Doctor commented. 'Localized time loop.'

Amy's voice came back, she still sounded like she was struggling with the Tardis. 'Ow, what's all that?'

'Time distortion,' the Doctor replied. 'Whatever's happening upstairs is still affecting you.'

Amy's voice returned, sounding like the Tardis had calmed down a little. 'It's stopped. Ish. How about your end, boys?'

'Our end's good,' Luke answered.

'So doesn't that sound great, but nothing to worry about?'

'No, no, no. Not really.' The Doctor began pacing around the room. 'Just keep the zigzag plotter on full. That'll protect you.' He paused as Amy winced. 'Amy, I said the zigzag plotter.'

Amy hollered, 'I pulled the zigzag plotter.'

Luke listened as the Doctor guided Amy around the Tardis controls. He got up from the corner he sat in, dusting himself off. Amy protested as the Doctor and Luke said goodbye.

The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver and tossed it in the air before shoving it back in his pocket. 'Ah, come on, Luke. We've got some things to pick up.

Luke decided cats were one of his top ten favorite animals. The stray he and the Doctor had encountered the night before was on his windowsill, enjoying as he scratched behind its ears.

'So,' he began awkwardly. He wasn't the one who talked to animals. The Doctor was the one who spoke Cat. 'Seen anything weird around town lately?'

The cat didn't reply.

Luke sighed and smiled as the cat licked his hand. 'The Doctor's going to play football now.' He paused to hear the Doctor, Craig talk with a woman called Sophie and laughed. 'Amy's going to be happy. Anyways, the Doctor said we need to make this scanner thing to help us solve what's going on. Did you know, I've always gotten the impression Mum only talked to animals because of him.' He petted the cat's head. 'Guess I was right. Okay, goodbye. I have to go now.'

The cat jumped out as Luke closed the window and the Doctor burst through the door of their room.

'Luke!' he shouted, wearing a football uniform. 'Come on! Time to play hockey-no, soccer! No wait, that's America. Football! Yes, that's the one.' He grabbed Luke's hand and rushed out of Craig's flat. 'Time to be a normal bloke!'

After they arrived at Craig's football team, Luke and Sophie cheered the Doctor on as he played football like a professional. After the game, Luke was standing next to the team, laughing at Sean's confused expression at the Doctor after he'd confused "annihilation" for being literal. His carefreeness faded as Craig opened a can.

Instead of being hit it the face with the spray of soda, the foamy liquid froze in midair before being...resprayed. From the same can. And the same spray.

Luke quickly glanced at the Doctor. To his relief, unlike everyone else, the Doctor was also not trapped in the strange time loop that only replayed a single second. The Doctor examined the team's recurring expressions before quickly walking away.

Luke followed suit, tapping his earpiece. 'Amy? Are you there? It's happening again.'

Feedback cackled in Luke's earpiece as Amy's voice came on. It sounded like she was struggling with the Tardis again. 'Yes! Hello.'

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. 'Oh, thank heavens. I thought the Tardis had been flung off into the vortex with you inside it, lost forever.'

Luke whirled around, giving the Doctor a horrified stare. Amy didn't sound so comforted by the Doctor's statement either. 'What, you mean that could actually happen? You've got to get me out of here!'

'How're the numbers?' the Doctor asked.

'All fives.'

'Ah, that's good. Fives.' The Doctor smiled at Luke. 'Still, it means the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry. So, just hang on, okay? We've got some rewiring to do. Come on, Luke.'

Amy's protests rang into silence as Luke and the Doctor turned to see the time loop suddenly disappear and Craig finally get sprayed with the soda.

6:30AM.

Luke rolled over and groaned. He put his arm over his face to shade his eyes from the light that shone through the window as the Doctor opened the curtains energetically.

'Wakey, wakey! Come on, Luke! Up and at em!'

Luke opened his eyes and squinted at the clock. 'It's six-thirty in the morning, Doctor. I didn't even wake up for school this early.'

The Doctor clapped his hands. 'We need to make breakfast. And then Craig goes to work. What do you humans usually eat for brekkie? Green ham and eggs?'

Luke groaned again and sat up, yawning. 'That's Roald Dahl. But Mum always liked toast and jam.'

The Doctor jumped in excitement. 'Alright, bacon and eggs and jammed toast it is. Jammed toast. Ooo, doesn't that sound fitting? Except it's not really jammed, but still, you get the point. Anyways, later!'

Luke got up, stretching. Ten minutes later, he opened his door to hear the Doctor's leaderlike rambling from Craig's room. 'I told you not to touch it. Look, what's that? It's an unfamiliar and obviously poisonous substance. Oh, I know what'd be really clever, I'll stick my hand in it. Come on, Craig, breathe!'

Luke quickly rushed through the ajar door to see the Doctor hitting an unconscious Craig's chest. 'What's wrong with him?'

The Doctor thumped his fists onto Craig's chest again with all his timelord strength. 'Come on, Craig, breathe!' he yelled. 'Thems are healthy footballer's lungs!'

Luke's wide eyes focused on a green streak running along the inside of Craig's forearm. He gasped in realization. 'He touched the weird stain, didn't he?'

The Doctor grunted as he hit him again. 'Luke! Perfect timing, go to the kitchen and get the largest teapot you find, will ya? Make tea! And also fill it up with every teabag you find in the place. Every teabag, got that?'

'Yep-got it!' With that, Luke hurried into the kitchen, popping the kettle and hunting through every cupboard for teabags. He poured the hot water into the large commemorative Royal Wedding teapot he found as soon as the kettle popped, followed by quickly dumping the gathered potful of teabags into it.

The Doctor didn't look up as Luke reentered Craig's bedroom with the tea. The timelord grabbed the teapot from Luke and gently poured it in Craig's mouth. 'Right,' he muttered. 'Reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules.'

Luke didn't realize he was tensed up until Craig's eyes flickered open. The Doctor poured more tea in his mouth. 'Right, Luke, you stay here and watch him-do not let him do anything else like touching that stain. And on no account are you going to work,' he said as Craig protested. 'You need rest.'

After some protesting from Craig, he drifted back to sleep. The Doctor sighed and began fumbling though Craig's work things. 'Okay, Luke. I'm filling in for Craig at his work today. See you in a few hours.'

2:30PM

Luke had decided to leave Craig in his bedroom. He doubted that the man could do anything dangerous when he was asleep.

The Doctor had finished building the device in their room, and Luke had to constantly duck under the "arms" every time he entered. At least it didn't make any noise as he drifted off to sleep. He didn't notice Craig hurrying out of the house some time later, anxious to get to work.

6:32PM

The door swung open, startling Luke awake. 'What's g-Doctor? Craig?'

The two ignored him. Luke jumped up from the bed as Craig stormed into the room, pointing at the device wildly.

'Me and you, and Luke, it's not going to work out,' Craig hollered. 'You've only been here three days. These have been the three weirdest days of my life.'

'You're days will be a lot weirder if I go,' the Doctor protested.

'Craig, we're like you,' Luke tried as Craig began to rant on about their duo weirdness. 'We can't see the point of anywhere else. London's brilliant. Where else can we go?'

The Doctor nodded in agreement with Luke. 'Exactly. It's not like we can go to the seventeenth century anymore. Madrid? Ha, what a dump. We need to stay.'

'No, you need to leave,' Craig insisted.

'We can't go, Craig!' The Doctor exclaimed.

The Doctor and Craig went back and forth like that for a few more seconds before the Doctor grabbed Craig by the shoulders and told him to shush. Luke took a hesitant step back as the Doctor banged their foreheads together. The two stumbled and gripped their heads like they were having migraines.

Craig straightened up clumsily, eyes wide. Luke grimaced, the corners of his mouth tugging into an awkward smile, recognizing the blinding spark in his eyes like every time someone was about to say "It's bigger on the inside".

The Doctor pressed his hand against his own forehead and nodded as Craig pointed at him exclaiming out loud. It seemed to Luke that the Doctor had automatically shared information from his own head to Craig's. Craig pointed at Luke. 'And you're a artificially-created hu-'

The Doctor grabbed Craig's shoulders again. 'Yes. And now shush. Right, okay. Specific detail.' Both men yelled in pain as the Doctor headbutted him again.

Craig resurfaced from whatever the Doctor was showing him. He pointed frantically at him and Luke again. 'You-you saw my ad in the paper shop window!'

'Yes, with this right above it.' The Doctor fished the letter Amy sent them from the future out of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. 'Which is odd, because Amy hasn't written it yet.'

'Time travel,' Luke said. 'It's possible.'

Craig prodded the device. 'That's a scanner. You used non-technological technology of Lammasteen!'

The Doctor slapped his hand over Craig's mouth. 'Shut up!'

Despite the situation, Luke couldn't help grinning at their reactions. 'Okay, so now we all know about...what's really going on.'

The Doctor nodded, then winced at the movement. 'My spy had provided very tattletale-like information to me. And I know exactly what's going on now.'

Luke blinked. 'What spy?'

'Oh, yes. You weren't awake for that.' The Doctor winced and rubbed his forehead. 'I am never, never doing that ever, ever again.' He tapped his earpiece and Luke did the same. 'Amy?'

Craig gaped. 'That's Amy Pond.'

'Got these plans yet?' The Doctor asked.

'Still looking for them,' Amy's voice replied.

'I've worked it out, with psychic help from a cat. So, he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain on your ceiling, Craig.'

'And also disturbs the Tardis!' Luke snapped his fingers.

'People are dying up there?' Craig gasped. 'People are dying.'

Suddenly, the hands on Luke's wristwatch began to spin rapidly. As well with al the other clocks in the room. 'Another time loop,' he realized. 'Someone's up there.'

The three rushed out of the room. As they saw the front door, they froze at the sight of the familiar set of fluffy pink keys in the keyhole. 'Sophie,' Craig recognized. 'It's Sophie that's dying up there! It's Sophie!'

Amy's grunts rang through Luke's earpiece as they started to run up the stairs, halting them in their steps. 'Wait! Are you upstairs?'

'Yeah,' Luke replied. 'Just going up.'

'But you can't be upstairs.' Amy's voice struck fear in Luke. Why couldn't they be upstairs? Was there something horrifyingly disturbing there?

'Of course we can be upstairs,' the Doctor insisted. 'Why can't we be upstairs?'

'No, I've got the plans. You cannot be upstairs. It's a one-storey building. There is no upstairs.'

Luke, the Doctor and Craig slowly turned around to look at each other then at the flight of stairs below them before they all ran up into the second flat that somehow wasn't a flat.

Craig looked more puzzled at the dimly lit mechanical inside of what was obviously a spaceship to the Doctor and Luke. 'What? What?'

The Doctor looked around. 'Oh, of course. The time engine isn't in the flat.'

'The time engine is the flat,' Luke finished.

'Someone's trying to built a Tardis,' the Doctor realized.

Craig furrowed his eyebrows, trying to process the information. 'No, there's always been an upstairs.'

The Doctor glanced sideways at him, as if testing him. 'Has there? Think about it.'

Craig squinted at the floor, doubtful. 'Yes. No. I don't-'

'Perception filter.' Luke snapped his fingers. 'It's like a mental and cognitive disguise. Tricks your memory and senses.'

Suddenly, a scream from the other side of the central console echoed off the walls. 'Sophie!' Craig yelled as the three ran for the source of the screams.

As they bolted to the central console, Luke's eyes widened at the sight of Sophie was being dragged by blinding lashes of electricity spiderwebbed around her hand towards a dome-shaped control. Her struggles to free her hand were futile as they rushed towards her, yelling.

'It's controlling her,' the Doctor mused. 'It's willing her to touch the activator.'

'That's not going to have her,' Craig growled. He and Luke gripped around Sophie's wrist, trying to yank her arm back from the activator as much as they could.

The Doctor scanned the activator with his sonic screwdriver. 'Ah, deadlock seal.'

With a beep, the bright lashes released Sophie, sending her, Craig and Luke stumbling backwards on the ground. The Doctor moved towards an old man that had suddenly appeared. Hologram, Luke thought.

'You will help me,' the man said.

'Right. Stop.' The Doctor examined the man. 'Crashed ship. Let's see. Hello, I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue. Please state the nature of your emergency.'

'The ship had crashed. The crew is dead. A pilot is required,' the man stated.

'That's a hologram,' Luke said. 'Right?'

'Correct.' The Doctor scanned the old man with his sonic screwdriver. 'And you've been luring people up here so you can try them out?'

The hologram of the old man flickered into the image of a young man and a little girl, all the while blurting out 'You will help me. You will help me,' in computerized versions of their voices.

Sophie sat up, staring at the hologram and the Doctor. 'Craig, what is this? Where am I?'

'Hush. Human brains aren't strong enough,' the Doctor continued. 'They just burn. But you're stupid, though. You just keep trying.'

The hologram reverted to the image of the old man. 'Seventeen people have been tried. Six billion four hundred thousand and twenty remain.'

'Seriously,' Sophie called as Luke and Craig helped her to her feet, all three watching the Doctor and the hologram's words. 'What's going on?'

The Doctor's eyes were fixed entirely on the hologram. 'Oh, for goodness sake. The top floor of Craig's building is in reality an alien space ship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No? Good.'

'Yes, I have questions,' Sophie protested.

'The correct pilot has been found,' the hologram announced.

'Yes, I was a bit worried that you were going to say that,' the Doctor said just seconds before the same whips of energy latched onto him, pulling him towards the console.

'He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?' Amy yelled though Luke's earpiece.

The Doctor struggled, trying to pull his hand away from the activator with fruitless attempts. 'The correct pilot has been found,' the hologram declared. 'The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found.'

'Doctor, what's happening?' Luke shouted, running towards him to help pull his hand away.

'It's pulling me in,' the Doctor yelled. 'I'm the new pilot.'

'Could you fly the ship safely?' Amy barked.

'No, I'm way too much for this ship.' The Doctor tried to yank his hand back again as the hologram kept repeating itself. 'My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does. No, worst choice ever,' he shouted at the hologram. 'I promise you, stop this!'

Amy's screams rang through Luke's earpiece again as his wristwatch twirled again. The Doctor dug his feet into the floor. 'It doesn't want everyone,' Luke mused quickly. 'Craig, it didn't want you. If it did you'll probably be dead by now.'

Craig ignored that last part. 'I-I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him.'

'It didn't want Sophie before but now it does.' The Doctor grunted as his hand was barely an inch away from pressing the ultimate red button of doom. 'What's changed? Argh. No. No, I gave her the idea of leaving. It's a machine that needs to leave. It wants people who want to escape. And you don't want to leave, Craig. You're Mister Sofa Man!'

Amy's yells mixed with the noises of the Tardis going into turbulence again. The Doctor continued quickly. 'Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay.'

Craig stared straight at the Doctor as Sophie protested. 'Will it work?'

'Yes,' the Doctor insisted.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes.'

'Is that a lie?' Craig asked.

The Doctor screwed up his face as the lashes pulled his hand closer and closer to the activator. Luke tightened his grip on the Doctor's wrist desperately as they both yelled, 'Of course it's a lie!'

Craig grimaced. 'It's good enough for me. Geronimo!' He slammed his hand down on the nearest control panel, yelling as smoke began to come off his hand.

Luke and the Doctor stumbled backwards as the Doctor's hand was released. Amy's screams buzzed through their earpieces. The two time-travelers rushed towards Craig. 'Craig,' the Doctor said. 'What's keeping you here? Think about everything that makes you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?

Craig yelled out as smoke billowed from his hand. 'Sophie! I don't want to leave Sophie. I can't leave Sophie. I love Sophie!'

Sophie's eyes twinkled with emotion. 'I love you too Craig, you idiot.'

Amy shouted as the hands of Luke's wristwatch twirled again. Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes as Craig and Sophie stared at each other, unsure if the other really meant it. Amy's groan of disgust made Luke smile slightly.

'What about the monkeys?' Craig brought up.

The Doctor groaned. 'Oh, not now, not again. Craig, the planet's about to burn. For God's sake, kiss the girl!'

'Kiss the girl!' Amy's voice added.

As the couple kissed, Craig's hand was released from the activator. Amy's voice came through again, from the sound of it, the Tardis was functioning smoothly. 'Doctor? Luke? You've done it! You done it. Now the screen's just zeros. Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes. Big yes!'

Luke barely had time to grin before the hologram began to flicker and blurt 'Help me. Help me. Help me,' continuously and quickly. The Doctor edged back. 'Big no.'

Craig stared at the console. 'Did we switch it off?'

'Emergency shutdown. It's imploding,' the Doctor cried. 'Everybody out! Out! Out!'

The continuous repeating of the holograms requesting help disappeared as they rushed out of the flat. Just as Luke span around, sunshine bathing his face, the entire top floor and roof morphed into the Timeship before flying away, leaving no trace of its existence. A man carrying a child walked straight past the one-storey flat as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Sophie and Craig gaped at him. 'Look at them,' Craig said. 'Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished.'

'Perception filter,' Luke explained. 'There never was a top floor.'

Everything around them was as calm as the day before.

Luke was waiting for the Doctor to return in the Tardis. He'd said goodbye to Sophie and Craig-the newly cheery couple-after disassembling the device he and the Doctor had built in their bedroom.

That was the first house he'd lived in for a while. Sure, the Tardis was home, but it wasn't like before with neighbors and the flowers he used to water. Since his mum, Sarah-Jane Smith, died he'd gone off with the Doctor and his companion at the time. Donna Noble was gone now, though. But Luke was still there with Amy Pond, the girl who had waited fourteen years for her Raggedy Man to return to her.

Amy jumped into his view, making him look up from his thoughts, startled. 'Sorry,' she said, grinning. 'So how were those three days?'

Luke grinned back. 'You tell me. I talked to a cat.'

Amy cocked her head. 'That spy the Doctor mentioned?'

'Yep. Only I don't speak Cat. But for some reason it paid more attention to me.'

The two laughed at that before Amy asked, 'So where is he?'

Luke shrugged. 'Saying goodbye or something. He had to return the keys.'

'Ah!' The Doctor pushed open the doors to the Tardis. 'Back in time. You need to go to the paper shot and leave that note for me,' he told Amy.

Luke jumped up, remembering the letter. 'Oh yeah! That.'

Amy straightened up. 'Right little matchmaker, aren't you? Can't you find me a fellow?'

'Oh, rectifier's playing up again. Hold on,' the Doctor said. 'You write the note and I'll change that will.'

'You got a pen?' Amy asked, walking up to the main console with Luke.

'Make sure it's a red pen,' the Doctor called as he walked away.

'Then we go to where we first saw Craig's ad,' Luke said as Amy fumbled through the Doctor's jacket pockets.

'Hey.' Amy's voice sounded cautious and confused. 'What's this?'

Luke peered at the thing she showed him in her hand. The opened lid of a red box revealed a ring. A wedding ring to be specific.

'Huh,' Luke muttered, staring at it. 'Strange thing for him to keep in his pockets.'

Amy didn't say a word.

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