The Second Encounter

"The whole of central London has been closed off as police investigate the fire. Early reports indicate…" Mrs Tohomiko cut off the sound of the television as she walked into the room, talking on the telephone.

"It is even on the television!" She set down a cup of herbal tea in front of Kimiko. "She is lucky to be alive!" She walked back into the kitchen, and her voice went silent to Kimiko's ears. She looked at the withered vine on the table. The spikes had withdrawn. Who was the Doctor? What had he been doing there? Where did he come from?

"Kimiko!" It was Omi. He ran in and looked at her.

"I have been so worried! I cannot believe the was a fire at your place of work! You might have been punching the bag if you were not careful!"

"Kicking the bucket," she sighed. Omi was sweet, sure, but he had no idea about slang.

"That too!"

"Don't worry, Omi, I'm fine," she said.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"Please, tell me what caused the fire!"

"I wasn't in the place, I don't know!" Her mum walked in and held up the phone.

"Kimiko! There's a man from a newspaper who'll give you £500 for an interview."

"Oh, great!" said Kimiko sarcastically. "Give me the phone!" She took it and cut off the call.

"Well, you need some way of making money," sighed her mum, and walked out.

"I am afraid I must leave, Kimiko," said Omi, standing up.

"Take this with you," she said, giving him the vine. "Get rid of it." Omi took it and walked out, dropping it in a bin as he left he building. The bin rattled as Omi walked away.

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The next morning, Kimiko's alarm went off, same as ever, 7:30. No point in getting up. No job to go to. She lay in for the morning, not getting up for a few hours.

"There is Finch's, you could try there," said Kimiko's mum later that morning.

"Oh great," said Kimiko sarcastically. "The butchers!"

"You have to work somewhere, Kimiko," sighed her mum, walking into her bedroom." There was clatter. Kimiko stared at the cat flap as it swung to a stop.

"I thought you said you'd nailed the cat flap shut, mum!" she shouted, walking towards the door.

"I did!" replied her mum.

"Apparently not," she muttered, and crouched next to the flap. She frowned and picked up a screw from the floor. The flap rattled again. She looked at the holes where the screws were, and slowly pushed the flap open. There was a face on the other side. The Doctor.

"Ah!" she cried, and swung the door open. The Doctor stared at her and frowned.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Let's see," said Kimiko sarcastically. "Maybe I live here?"

"What do you do that for?"

"Because I do!" she groaned. "I'm only here because someone blew up my job!" He shook his watch and held it to his ear.

"Must've got the wrong signal," he muttered. "You're not plastic, are you?" He tapped her on the head and she glared at him.

"Nope," he said. "Bonehead. Bye!" He turned to leave but she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house.

"You. Inside. Now," she said simply, and shut the door. She dragged him towards the kitchen.

"Who is it?" shouted her mum.

"It's about last night, he's part of the inquiry!" replied Kimiko.

"She deserves compensation," said Mrs Tohomiko, sticking her head out of her room. He ignored her and walked into the living room. Kimiko was waiting.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Alright," he replied. She walked into the kitchen and switched on the kettle.

"We should go to the police," she said as she made the coffee. He picked up a magazine and opened it.

"That won't last," he muttered. "He's gay, she's an alien…"

"…it's serious, they found a body…" He flicked through a book.

"Sad ending," he muttered.

"…didn't know him that well, but I want to be clear…" He peered in a mirror.

"Jesus, look at my hair…" he gasped.

"…explain everything." She picked up the mugs.

"Have you got a cat?" he asked, hearing a noise behind the sofa.

"No, we used to, but we got strays," she called. He frowned and leant over the side of the sofa. The vine shot up and wrapped around his neck. He grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but he couldn't. Kimiko walked back in with the coffee. She sighed as she saw him.

"I told Omi to throw that out, it was really withered. Stop being stupid." The Doctor finally managed to wrench the vine off. It flew across the room and went for Kimiko. Her scream was cut off as it wrapped around her neck. The Doctor pulled his sword from his belt and slashed at the vine, chopping it in half. It fell to the floor.

"It's okay, it doesn't work I two parts!" he said brightly. He turned and left the flat. Kimiko ran after him.

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"You can't just go!" she said, following him down the stairs.

"Yes I can," he said. "Look – here I am, here I go!"

"But that vine," she said, pointing back at her flat. "It tried to kill me!"

"One hundred percent for observation," he said sarcastically.

"You've got to tell me what's going on!" she insisted, following him down the stairs. He shook his head and opened the door.

"No I don't." She groaned angrily and ran after him.

"Okay I'll tell the police!" she said. "You said if I tell anyone, they'd die. So explain, or I talk." He stopped and smirked at her.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" he asked. She grinned.

"Sort of, yeah." He chuckled and carried on walking.

"Doesn't work," he replied.

"Seriously, who are you?" she asked, walking with him.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor," he replied.

"'The Doctor'?" she repeated. "Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor!" he said.

"'The Doctor?'"

"Hello!" he said sarcastically.

"Is it supposed to sound impressive?" she asked. He grinned.

"Sort of." They laughed again.

"So tell me, are you the police or something?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Just passing. I'm a long way from home."

"What did I do, though?" she asked. "Why are they after me?" He groaned.

"Does the world revolve around you? You just got in the way."

"It tried to kill me!" she shouted.

"It was after me!" he replied. "Last night, I was there, then you blundered in and almost ruined everything. This morning, I was tracking them down, it was tracking me down, and you were caught in the middle."

"So the world revolves around you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Pretty much, yep." She shook her head and groaned.

"So who else is on your side, fighting these plants?" she asked. He thought about it.

"About… no-one." She stopped in surprise.

"You're on your own?" He nodded.

"Who else is there? You lot, you humans, you're no good. You wake up, eat your food, watch TV, go to bed. Not what I need. I'm fighting a war." She grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Start from the beginning."