7. After the Diner.
They step out of the Surbiton Diner into the last minutes of sunshine of the day.
"There's just time for me to walk you to your apartment and for me to run to mine before dark," Simeon says.
"If we go to Nolland, we can come back tomorrow morning, bright and ready for work," Chloe says, hopefully.
Simeon laughs. "That sounds wonderful."
"Hold my hand," Chloe requests. It feels like a romantic moment for Simeon, the sun is setting gradually behind them as they survey their environment and each other.
This feels like a beautiful, special request to Simeon. His heart leaps as he reaches for Chloe's hand.
As Simeon holds Chloe's hand she thinks of the beautiful planet of Nolland as she presses the button on her wristwatch to activate it...
Apart from a nearby building disappearing in the dusk, nothing much else changes, except it's warmer, as if a warm weather front just gently passed over them. It's still evening.
Simeon continues to hold Chloe's hand and he turns towards her and puts his arm around her and kisses her.
It's a lovely moment for them both, but neither of them have needed to notice the change of planet.
Chloe breaks their kiss first. "It's a beautiful sunset tonight," she says.
Simeon turns to follow her gaze but instantly he knows that isn't the Gallifreyan sun!
"What just happened?" he says. "That's not our sun on Gallifrey." He becomes agitated.
Chloe knows what's happened. "We're on Nolland," she says.
"How can we be on Nolland?" Simeon asks simply. Now he's agitated because something has happened, and he doesn't know how!
"We came here by my Wristwatch Tardis," Chloe says. She's excited but also cautious.
"A, erm, what?"
"I built a Tardis in my wristwatch," Chloe says giggling.
The evidence is there for Simeon to see. The sunset is clearly unlike any he's seen before. Two suns are disappearing over the horizon fast.
Practical considerations flood back into Simeon's head. He was geared up to walk Chloe back to her apartment before running to his. Clearly that's not going to happen.
"Where will we sleep?" he asks.
"Anywhere at all," Chloe says. "The ground is beautifully soft and dry to lie on. That's why I brought us here. We can just sleep, relax and go back to Gallifrey whenever we want."
It sounds idyllic.
"Treat it as a sort of holiday," Chloe says. She giggles again as she watches Simeon grappling with what's happened.
"I've never expected a Tardis to be used to go on holiday," Simeon says. "I always imagined they would be used strictly for business; whatever that is."
His regimented world of work, sleep and work again feels like it's falling apart around him. Maybe he just needed a holiday, even if this planet looked rather like his own in the near darkness, except for the binary star.
Chloe selects a random place and sits down. She knows Simeon will have lots of questions once he's processed all of what she's said.
Simeon sits down as darkness falls rapidly. "Shall I sit here?" He doesn't want to encroach on Chloe's space and is keen to be the proper gentleman.
"Yes, that's fine," Chloe confirms. "We must sleep until morning, then we can chat and have as much time as we want before returning to Gallifrey. I'll introduce you to some of the local inhabitants tomorrow." She giggles at the thought of Simeon meeting the sun-loving morphing balls who are the local inhabitants here – the Nolls.
As night has already rapidly progressed and made everything completely black, there's nothing more to do but to sleep.
Simeon reflects on this new change. Maybe it will all be clearer in the morning. .
Morning on Nolland.
As fast as the suns had disappeared, they appear again in the morning. .
Chloe and Simeon awaken. Both have slept well.
"Is there any breakfast?" Simeon asks hopefully.
"Only what I brought here in my bag," Chloe says. "I knew it was a possibility we might come here, so I packed a few things."
She produces a few things to eat from her bag and they sit and eat a simple short breakfast.
Now it seems like a good time to talk.
"You mentioned you built a Tardis in your wristwatch?" Simeon asks tentatively.
Chloe shows him her wristwatch. "I have to think of a place I've been to before, or which I've programmed with spacetime information, then I press the button, and wherever I'm thinking of, I'll be there."
"Did you come to Gallifrey on it?"
"Yes, I've been to Gallifrey a few times now, what with organising the job."
"So, didn't the Doctor bring you to Gallifrey?"
"Actually, he said something that started me making the Wristwatch Tardis. So, you could say he brought me to that point, but it was this wristwatch that actually physically brought me to Gallifrey."
"Are there any other things I should know about you?"
"Lots, probably," Chloe says carefully. "But let's just take one step at a time."
"How long should we stay here?" Simeon asks.
"I have enough food for a lunch, and only a very small afternoon tea but that's more of a snack. Then we should return. We can go back to the same moment we left after spending a day here."
"Then I can walk you back to your apartment and run to mine. That's what I was expecting," Simeon says, now hoping his expectations aren't going to disintegrate again.
"Yes," Chloe says. "And still get to work on time in the morning."
"Wow!" Simeon says.
Chloe feels this is such a great opportunity to have a really good friend looking out for her, but she now wants more than that.
"There are so many things I should tell you, but all in good time; as we get to know each other better."
"What's that white ball over there?" Simeon asks. "I'm sure it wasn't there earlier."
"Meet one of the local residents – the Nolls," Chloe says. "I haven't given them all names, but they can act very individually. They roll around, they like to be petted, they don't understand anything I say, but I'm working on it."
"You've been here before often, then?" Simeon asks. It seems as if Chloe has been here lots of times.
They spend a pleasant leisurely day on Nolland; Chloe wants to return to the same time on Gallifrey as they left. She wants to set off just one Nolland day later - from the same time of day as it had been on Nolland when they arrived. Chloe lowers Simeon's expectation that they will definitely resume just when they hope to - she hasn't perfected the control she has over her Wristwatch Tardis.
As dusk approaches they kiss and cuddle. Chloe reaches for her wristwatch and thinks of Gallifrey, just around the time they left there, and presses the activation button...
A building appears in the near darkness. A couple nearby disappear in the gloom. That must be them leaving for Nolland, Chloe thinks as they set out on the short walk to her apartment.
Will they make it to work on time the next day?