Casino TARDIS part two

Notes: We're going to do a bit of a time warp now and zoom forwards to when Dilys is 18! I know it seems a lot to skip, but the gap is really just her education and the casino getting popular…and who wants to read about school? When she turns 18 however, the TARDIS decides to tell her what perhaps, she should have been allowed to know all along…but who can say how a machine's mind works?

Oh help, I may be turning the TARDIS into Angel One and Angel Two…which of course, none of you will understand. (sigh). Hasn't anyone except me read Earth Search?

Shangri-la-gypsy: Huzzah! My old reviewers are flocking back to me! It's so great to see how loyal a following I've created…we're like the fellowship of the TARDIS or something. I was so nervous posting this because it is completely based on an OC, whereas Stella was more part of a Doctor and Rose adventure, if you get it. So I'm glad you're not finding it annoying, because it was very scary posting this!

Becsy Lexi: And another regular comes back! I love you guys…This is so great! I managed to get people feeling things for Dilys! That's half the battle I guess…if you empathise with a character you like them more and want to know more about them. You won't find out why she was left in this chapter…you'll get a hint in the next one and a full explanation in a future as yet unplanned chapter…but don't worry, you'll find out!

Tear22: I'm so glad you reviewed this Tear! (even though, of course, you've already read it). I'm still waiting on Banshee, but she'll be along soon I guess. As ever, you pack enough praise to inflate my apparently quite large ego (damn the flamer, burn him, curse him…etc etc) and I'm incredibly happy for it! You should be the one called Dilys, you're so loyal! Or…snigger…Dinah…

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"Wake up, Dilly Daydream," aid Sarah, grinning as she brushed past Dilys. Dilys blinked. A man was looking impatiently at her from behind the bar. Dilys got the impression he'd been stood there for a while.

"Sorry," she said to him. You ordered a gin and tonic, right?"

"I hadn't even ordered yet," said the man grumpily "How did you know what I wanted? You bloody psychic or something?" Dilys ignored the question and busied herself pouring his drink. Her first day working as a barmaid and she'd already screwed up. She kicked herself for being so careless as she searched for a glass, wondering where the gin was. Thankfully, she managed to pour the correct drink and handed it to Mr Grumpy. He slapped the money down on the counter and stalked off. She sighed. This was not going well.

"Going for the hippy look today Dil?" said a boy with floppy blond hair who had successfully crept up behind her. Dilys jumped, saw who it was, and shoved him, smiling.

"I've told you not to do that Davey," she said, poking him in the stomach for good measure. He poked her back.

"And I've told you not to call me Davey," he said. "It makes me sound like a toddler."

"That's what you get for acting like one Davey," said Sarah, chuckling as she squeezed past Dilys again. She was extremely busy, which was a good sign. It meant the casino was doing well tonight.

"And what's wrong with my outfit?" demanded Dilys.

"Nothing," said Davey. "I'm sure it was very fashionable in the sixties," he remarked, taking in her floating kaftan and baggy trousers, both ridiculously colourful. Matched with her sandal and long dark hair, she looked like she'd stepped out of another era.

"How come you get to skip lightly around the dress code anyway?" complained Davey, looking despairingly at his royal red shirt and shiny gold trousers.

"I wear the name badge," she replied, pointing to a badge that read 'Dilys Billings'. Dilys had discovered that other people had an irrational need to know her full name, so she had long since adopted Sarah's. Everyone assumed Sarah was her mother, and Dilys didn't set them straight unless they asked. It was easier for them to think that, rather than asking probing questions about her family that, of course, she couldn't answer.

"Huh. Maybe I could get out of the shiny trousers of torment if I sucked up to the boss," teased Davey.

"I don't suck up to her!"

"Whatever," said Davey dismissively. "I came to ask you to take a look at one of the fruit machines; it's on the blink again."

"Sure," said Dilys, squeezing her way out of the cramped bar. "Sue can cover for me. Lead the way."

They set off through the bustling casino. It looked incredibly grand and almost brand new, thanks to the meticulous cleaning staff Sarah had hired. The floors were wooden, with red carpets laid on them leading towards the various games and machines, and huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. It was packed with people, throwing their money away on the whirr of a machine or the click of the dice.

Dilys prised the back off the offending slot machine using one of the various screwdrivers she carried around with her. (lol, none of them are sonic!) "See, here's the problem," she said, pointing.

"Uh…where?" asked Davey, squinting in the general direction.

"Never mind," said Dilys, with a sigh that clearly meant 'you wouldn't understand if I told you.'

So, she set to work reconnecting loose wires and checking fuses. She was the Queen Casino's resident mechanic because of the regular repairs she made to the aging TARDIS. She made so many repairs that she found it increasingly frustrating that the secret of flying her had disappeared with her parents. She fixed the back of the machine into place and straightened up.

Suddenly, she felt a tugging and a whispering inside her mind. The TARDIS. Trying to make contact.

"Dil?" asked Davey, looking puzzled. Dilys ignored him, shutting him out and letting the TARDIS in.

"Today is your 18th birthday…"

Yes, though Dilys. What of it?

"You are an adult now. You are ready to know what I could not tell you before. You were too young. It was not for a child to see. But now you are ready to know what became of your parents. You know the room…"

I'm coming, replied Dilys.

"Dilly, are you OK?" asked Davey, looking concerned as he glanced at her pale face. She was in her world again, the world where she heard things other people couldn't. It had worried him when they were younger, just children at school. Now he was more used to it, but it still creeped him out to see her just blank out like that.

"Can I trust you Davey?" Dilys asked suddenly.

"You know you can Dil," he replied. "What's up?"

"Just…follow me."

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Since she could remember, there had been a room in the TARDIS that Dilys had been unable to enter. As she grew older and more curious, she repeatedly asked the TARDIS what was in it and when she could go inside. The answer was always the same: "When you are old enough." As she grew older still she began to suspect that the locked door held secrets about the parents she had never known.

And now she was 18, an adult. Old enough at last.

And for the first time she was allowing another person who wasn't Sarah into her precious TARDIS. It was risky. But Davey wasn't just another human—he was her best friend excepting Sarah.

And Dilys had a good reason for wanting him there—she was scared. If she was to be given a revelation, she needed support. She needed a companion.

It was terrifying.

Today…today would change everything.

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I keep asking her what's going on, but she's ignoring me. I mean, she's always been quiet but…

Secretive. Dilly's always been secretive. She's always at the casino, every night, but I don't actually know where she lives. She never invited me round when we were kids. Sometimes it feels like she lives at the casino.

I don't know much about her. Only that her parents are…missing? Dead? In prison? It could be any of these. Whatever happened, Sarah brought her up, and that's that.

And I haven't a clue what she's doing now, leading me into that little cupboard that's always locked…why does she have the key? Why…what's in…?

Right.

That's odd.

This must be a dream.

What the hell is that?

I'm begging her to explain, but she's not listening. She can hear me, but she won't listen.

So why am I even bothering to follow her into that…that…overgrown telephone box?

Because I want to take care of her.

Because she's like a little sister.

She looks scared.

Whoa.

It's…it's a lot bigger on the inside…

OK.

The whole world's suddenly gone nuts.

Then again, maybe it was before and I just didn't notice.

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See you next, gentle readers! And don't you dare leave without reviewing! You know what'll happen, don't you? That's right.

POLLINATION!

Crawdie: I'm sure you mean extermination.

Shut up and let me do my Dalek thang.

POLLINATE! POLLINATE! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!