A/N: We're back to Nine, my fantastic Doctor who was the first one to steal my hearts. ;D

I believe that fluff was requested, so I grant your wishes. Here is a disgusting amount of Diana/9 fluff with best friend bonding with Rose and Jack. By the way, let's say hello to Captain Jack and Mickey for the very first time.

I'm American, by the way, so my understanding of British restaraunts and basically anything not clearly specified in either Doctor Who or BBC Sherlock is severly lacking. Credit goes to grapejuice101 for helping me decide what episode to use and giving me ideas. Credit also goes to StoriesUnleashes for being an incredible fan and giving me wonderful suggestions and ideas.

"Wha'?"

Jack appeared just behind the Doctor, a smirk on his face. "Well," the captain started smoothly, "who's this lovely looking stranger?"

I smiled a little. "What?" I asked in confusion.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms, bumping Jack with his shoulder. "Jack's tryin' to be funny. It's not working."

"Oh, come on, Doctor. She doesn't mind."

"I really don't," I agreed.

Raising his eyebrows, the Doctor tilted his head slightly. "What? Of course you do."

I blushed a little and looked down at the floor. "He's Jack Harkness and he's flirting with me. No one ever flirts with me."

His Northern accent grew stronger and he crossed his arms over his chest again. "I can flirt with you, y'know. I'm actually quite good at it."

"Are you?" I asked with a shy smile, glancing up at him through my bangs.

"Yeah."

I laughed and tucked a few strands of hair behind my left ear. The Doctor had a lopsided grin and his eyes were shining mischievously. We continued to smile at each other and look away every few seconds until Jack put an arm around the Doctor's shoulders and pushed him forward.

I put my arms out in front of me to keep him from falling on top of me. He stumbled and fell forward. His arms came around my waist and held me in limbo between himself and the ground. He just managed to keep his balance by spreading his legs and hanging over me.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I-It's fine," I answered softly.

"Aw, now isn't that sweet?" Jack asked innocently as he leaned against the doorframe.

Rose's voice answered back, "Is what sweet?" She approached us and stopped short. "Oh. I see."

"Jealous?" Jack questioned.

The Doctor moved his legs so he wasn't straddling me and helped me stand straight. I moved my arms away from his chest and looked down at the floor, trying to hide my blush. Rose giggled and watched as the Doctor brushed past me towards the console. I stayed where I was, debating whether or not I should follow the Time Lord or stay with Jack and Rose.

"Not exactly," Rose answered. "Wouldn't mind if you did somethin' like tha', Jack."

She winked at the captain, then stepped past him and linked her arm with mine. I stumbled backwards and turned around so I was facing the right direction. We sat down on the jump seat, with the Doctor standing a few feet away at the console as he switched the dematerialization lever.

"Did you just flirt with Jack Harkness?" I questioned. "The Captain Jack Harkness?"

"Yeah." She flashed me her signature tongue-in-teeth smile and laughed. "He gets sorta stunned every time."

"Do you like him? Like, like him?"

"Maybe," Rose said with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"Really? Oh my God, you would be so cute together."

She put a finger over her lips and leaned in closer to me. "Shh! I don't want them to hear."

I laughed. "I wish I could flirt with the guy I like. I try and then I get nervous and I worry that maybe he doesn't feel the same. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah. But if you don't worry about it, it's really easy."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Of course. I've been doin' it easily for years now. Practice makes perfect, after all."

The TARDIS let out her grinding noise that told us that she'd landed. The Doctor turned to Rose and I, resting his hands on the console as he leaned back. "We'll just be here for a day so the old girl can refuel."

"How's the TARDIS going to do that?" Rose asked curiously.

The Doctor explained how the rift had come to be and why the TARDIS needed rift energy to refuel. Rose smiled when she understood completely and nodded. "That's so brilliant!" she said.

"Thanks, Mickey. You're fantastic."

Rose ended the call and put her phone in her back pocket. She smiled and gave me a hug. Confused, I returned the hug and awkwardly patted her back.

"I get to see Mickey again," she said excitedly as she pulled away.

"Do you miss him?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. I mean, the Doctor's brilliant and so's Jack, but I miss my family and friends sometimes."

"Are you and he...? Well, do you still like him? Or do you like Jack or...?"

"Or?"

"Do you like the Doctor?"

Rose started laughing. She looked at me, then at the Doctor, then back at me. "Oh, Diana," she said, "you're funny. Of course I don't."

"You don't?" I asked incredulously.

"No. He's a great friend and all, but I don't have any sort of... feelings for him. If you're worried about it or somethin'-"

"I'm not."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "When we were in World War II, you seemed... I don't know, different."

"I probably was."

"Have you... done that thing of yours? Where you sort of disappear?"

"Probably," I said slowly.

"Ah. That makes much more sense."

The Doctor suddenly let out a yelp. I jumped to my feet and hurriedly went to where he was lying underneath the console. A metal toolbox was resting at his feet and he was splayed on his back, his long legs bent, and his leather jacket off. I watched in silence as he slowly inched towards me, eventually coming out from unerneath the console and managing to sit up.

"What are you lookin' at me like tha' for?" he asked me.

I blinked rapidly and looked away from his face to the metal grating. "Nothing. I wasn't... looking at you." I cleared my throat and cautiously looked back into his blue-gray eyes. "You made a noise. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Bumped my head."

"Do you need some help? What are you doing?"

The Doctor looked up at me for a few seconds, then rubbed his hand over his lower jaw. He patted the floor next to him and nodded his head encouragingly. "Sit next to me. I'll show you."

I quickly sat down next to him and crossed my legs. He gestured for me to lie down and did so after I was comfortable. He pointed to a wire above our heads and looked back at me. "This," he started to explain, "is one of the wires that connects the dematerialization lever to the main engine. It runs from here all the way through the heart of the TARDIS and to the enginge."

"Where's the engine?"

"Beneath the heart of the TARDIS."

"Convenient."

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah. I think so."

"So what are you trying to do?" I asked, leaning closer to him so I could see the specific wire better.

"The other wires have been sparking and I don't know why. Nothin's gotten under there and I certainly haven't done anythin' to the old girl. Now this wire's perfectly fine, but the others," he continued with a gesture to the tangled mess of multi-colored wires, "are actin' up. I'm trying to fix them."

"Is there any way I can help?"

"Sure. Can you grab the isomorphic wire analyzer?"

I tilted my head to the side and laughed awkwardly. "Uh, what does it look like... exactly?"

"Long metal thing about this big." He indicated the size with fingers and then looked back up at the wires. "Blue knobby thing at the end, looks a little beat up."

I shuffled out from under the console and sat up, leaning over his legs to look into the toolbox. Once I grabbed what I assumed was the necessary tool, I lay on my back again and handed it to him. "Is this it?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem."

The Doctor held the tool above his head and pressed it against one of the tangled wires. Then he copied the action to a few of the other wires before lowering the tool and handing it to me. "Could you get me the electric atomizer? It's pretty small, black, pointy on one end. Has a movable magnifying glass on the other end."

I was able to find the atomizer relatively quickly and handed it to the time Lord as I lay on my back again. When he held it up, I took a breath and quickly asked, "Are you being nice?"

"What?"

I moved so that I was resting all my weight on my right arm and was facing the Doctor head on. "You could do this without me help. You wouldn't have to explain anything or wait for me to get the right thing. So are you being nice to me?"

"You were curious," he answered with a shrug. "Thought I'd show you what I was doin' since you were interested. And besides, I wouldn't want Jack botherin' you or somethin'. I'm much more fun, anyway."

Smiling, I bumped my hand against his shoulder. "You're full of it."

"But you love it."

"Nah."

Suddenly, pain twisted its way up my legs and I gasped. Feet stepping on my calves and ankles made me jerk forward and bring my knees in, accidentally kicking the Doctor in the thighs. He let out a strange word that sounded suspiciously like an alien curse and sat up to inspect his legs. In doing so, he hit his forehead against the bottom of the console and fell into his back. I leaned over him and put a hand over his forehead.

"Doctor? Are you okay?"

"Rassilon, what was that?"

I quickly slid out from under the console and saw Jack and Rose standing casually nearby. They were both avoiding my gaze and trying to hide their smiles. Sliding back under the console, I leaned over the Doctor again and smiled. "Jack and Rose were playing a trick on us, it would seem."

"Some trick."

"I'm really sorry I kicked you."

He groaned and shut his eyes. " 's alright"

"Diana?" Rose called. "Could I steal you for a mo?"

"Sure." Without even thinking about it, I kissed the Doctor's cheek before sliding away. "Don't hurt yourself again."

Once I was standing, Rose looped our arms together and started pulling me through the console room doorway. We were almost out of earshot when I heard a loud thud and the Doctor cry out in pain. I looked over at Rose, who giggled, and then laughed.

"Why do I have to change my clothes?" I asked Rose as I looked through the rack of shirts in front of me.

" 'cause I've been dyin' to give you a wardrobe makeover for a while."

"Is that an insult?"

"Diana, your style of clothes is perfectly fine. I just love doin' clothes and make-up for all my girlfriends. Don't you?"

"I was never really into that."

She hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I think I remember you sayin' somethin' like that before."

"Well, can't I just wear some nice jeans?"

Rose laughed and appeared at the end of the isle of clothes I was standing in. She had a collection of clothes in her hands an a grin on her face. "Come on, then. Let's get you dressed."

"Please tell me you don't have a skirt picked out for me."

"You don't like skirts?"

I rolled my eyes. "Have you seen my thunder thighs, Rose? They're probably bigger than Arnold Schwartzennegger's and they're not made up of muscle."

"Don't say tha' about yourself!" she scolded. "You're beautiful."

"Yeah, you can say that 'cause you're my friend and you're skinny."

"And 'cause it's true. Now hush and try these on."

I grabbed the clothes and hurried to the dressing room close to the edge of the enormous platform the wardrobe rested on. I stripped River's clothes off my body and folded them neatly, reminding myself to give them back the next time I saw her. Then I looked at the clothes Rose had chosen for me. She had picked a slightly loose, purple v-neck, a silver and gray scarf with long tassels at the ends, and a jeans skirt.

"I'm not wearing the skirt," I said as I pulled the shirt over my head.

"I'll find some jeans for you, then."

Less than a minute later, Rose knocked politely on the dressing room door. I cracked opened the door and stuck my arm through the opening to grab the jeans. Then I put then on and tied the scarf around my neck in what I called the "Sherlock style".

When I stepped out of the room, Rose squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. She hugged me and laughed. "You look so cute!" she exclaimed as she tugged on my arm. "Now you need a jacket!"

"Can it be black leather? Please, can it be black leather?"

"Yes, yes! Now let's hurry up so you can stun those boys!"

The TARDIS helped us pick out the right jacket by gently flashing her lights when I put on a few different jackets. Then I decided between the final two choices and slipped the jacket on. Rose grinned, offering me two thumbs up, and the TARDIS whirred excitedly.

I smoothed my hands down my sides. "Think I look okay?"

"Of course!" Rose responded. "You look great. Oh, and I found these while I was looking for a scarf for me. Whaddya think?"

She handed me a pair of black, wide heeled boots with a small heel and that weren't too fancy or too casual and reached an inch above my ankles. I smiled and grabbed the shoes, hastily sliding them on. "They're fantastic. I love them." They gave me almost an extra inch of height and were just right for me.

I took a deep breath and walked out of the wardrobe room with Rose behind me. We stayed silent during the walk back to the console room. While we were walking, I tugged my Gallifreyan pendant out from underneath my scarf and let it rest on top of the silver fabric. My confidence built just by looking at the necklace and I was sure that the Doctor and Jack would appreciate my new look.

I pushed the console room door open and stepped through the doorway nervously. Jack's voice suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence. I looked up from the floor to the captain's face and smiled. He raised an eyebrow and smiled in return.

"Looking good," he commented with a wink.

The Doctor, who had been crouching behind the console, stood and looked at me with a wide-eyed smile. His gaze moved up and down my face. "You look fantastic!" he said with a complimentary tone. "And a bit more like I'm used to."

"Thanks," I answered softly, tucking some hair behind my ears.

There was a knock on the TARDIS door. Rose sat up a little straighter and smiled excitedly. Jack stood from his crouching position by the console and walked down the ramp to open the door. "Who the hell are you?" he questioned sharply.

I walked away from the Doctor's side and stood next to Jack, standing just behind him so I could see Mickey and he could see me. Mickey's face had darkened in frustration and he furrowed his eyebrows together. "What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you're selling, we're not buying."

"Jack," I said scoldingly. "Be nice."

Mickey shoved his hand against Jack's chest and pushed past him. "Get out of my way!" I jumped back so he wouldn't walk right over me and watched him head towards Rose.

Jack looked down at me and walked back up the ramp to where he'd been standing earlier. "Don't tell me. This must be Mickey."

"Here comes trouble!" the Doctor said sarcastically, looking away from his repair for a moment. "How're you doing, Ricky boy?"

"It's Mickey!"

Rose shook her head, accompanied with her beautiful smile. "Don't listen to him, he's winding you up."

"You look fantastic."

The two hugged and laughed. I returned to my spot next to the ladder the Doctor had climbed and looked up at him, not terribly interested in Rose and Mickey's reunion. He smiled down at me and gave me a thumbs up.

Jack looked up from his work and said, "Aw, sweet, look at these two. How come I never get any of that, Doctor?"

"I'm taken," he replied.

"And what about you Diana? You wanna give me some of that cute stuff?"

I blushed and looked down at my feet. "Oh, I don't know, Jack. I'm not that kind of girl."

"You're such hard work," the captain said jokingly.

"But worth it, I should hope."

"I can go anywhere now," Rose said, holding up her passport.

The Doctor shook his head. "I told you, Rose, you don't need a passport."

She scoffed and put the passport in her pocket. "It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything."

Mickey's eyes seemed sadder than they were before and I knew he was disappointed that Rose didn't want to stay in England with him. "Sounds like you're staying, then." When Rose didn't answer, he continued. "So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there-"

"Oi!" the Time Lord protested.

"Look in the mirror."

I playfully smacked the Doctor's calf and grinned. "I like your big ears, Doctor," I assured him. "Don't you worry."

Still upset by Mickey's insult, he climbed down the ladder and walked over to join the other three. "Are you saying I'm not handsome?" he asked.

Rose started talking and kept Mickey from answering. "We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions."

"The rift was healed back in 1869," the Doctor added.

"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth," Rose continued, "because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it."

Jack jumped in and added, "But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race-"

"But perfect for the TARDIS," the Doctor finished for him. "So just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and-"

"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation."

Rose nodded and hit the back of her hand against my arm lightly. I smiled and said, "It's like filling her up with gasoline. Like a car. Sort of."

"And off we go!" Rose shouted, lifting her arms in the air.

"Into time!" Jack continued.

"And space!" we all finished simlutaneously, highing fiving one another, laughing, and giving hugs.

Mickey stared at us and shook his head slightly. "My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

The Doctor put an arm aroud my waist and smirked. "Yeah."

Rose and I looked at each other and laughed. "Yeah," we answered in unison.

Jack put his hands on his hips and whipped his head back dramatically. "Yep!"

The Doctor then moved his arm and walked over to the console, looking over everything. "She looks fine. I think she can refuel on her own for a little while." He grabbed his leather jacket and put it on, then slipped the headlight off. He motioned for all of us to leave theTARDIS and came up behind me at the rear. "Should take another twenty four hours, which means we've got time to kill."

Mickey pointed as the rest of us stepped outside. "That old lady's staring."

We all looked to see an elderly woman sitting on a metal bench and staring at us. Jack snickered and put his hands in his pocket. "Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box."

Narrowing his eyes, Mickey asked, "What are you captain of, the Innuendo Squad?"

Jack made a gesture with his hands that I didn't understand or recognize, and then started to walk away. I started to follow with the Doctor close behind when Mickey waved his arms.

"Wait! The TARDIS. We can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"

Turning around, Jack stopped walking and nodded curiously. "Yeah, what's with the police box? Why does it look like that?"

"It's a cloaking device," Rose answered proudly.

For some reason, her attitude annoyed me. I loved Rose to death and thought she was beautiful, fun, and caring, but she was suddenly acting like she knew everything there was to know about the Doctor and the TARDIS. Jealousy reared up in my chest and I pressed my lips together in frustration. Before the Doctor could finish his first sentence, I interrupted him.

"The TARDIS has thing called a chameleon circuit. It's part of a disguise she has to help her blend in. When it's working, it scans the surrounding area and finds something that's inconspicuous and disguises itself as that. So if we were in Ancient Egypt or something, it would probably disguise itself as a statue of a god or goddess or a sacred animal. Once the Doctor tried to fix it and it disguised itself as an organ. Which was aboslutely hilarious to watch. But he reversed it back to a telephone box because the disguises started to get ridiculous."

The Doctor nodded with a smile. "Exactly right. But a very long time ago, before even all of that, I landed in the 1960s and the TARDIS disguised itself as a police box. The circuit got stuck and I never fixed it."

"So it copied a real thing?" Mickey asked. "There actually was police boxes?"

The Doctor nodded again. "Yeah, on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came, like a little prison cell."

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?" Jack questioned. "I mean, wouldn't it be more convenient? I'm sure it won't turn into an organ again."

"I like it, don't you?" the Time Lord asked, affectionately running a hand along the wood paneling.

"I love it," Rose said.

I smiled and rested my hand on the door. "I think she looks beautiful as a phone box."

Mickey shook his head. "But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"

"Ricky, let me tell you somethin' about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town, what do they do? Walk past it. Now, stop your naggin'. Let's go and explore."

"What's the plan?" Rose questioned.

"I don't know. Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind's comin' from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe."

The Doctor held his hand out and looked at me with a half smile. I returned the smile and slowly laced our fingers together. His smile turned into a grin and he tightened his fingers around mine. "Where would you like to go, Diana?"

"I don't know. I've never been to Cardiff before."

"Would you like to play tourist?"

I laughed. "I'd love to."

Jack came up to my other side and grinned. "Hey, you got a phone?"

I shook my head. "No. Not yet, at least. The Doctor promised to get me one at some point. I completely forgot about it until now, actually."

"You don't have one?" the Doctor questioned. I shook my head in response. "Well then let's take care of that. Can't have you without a mobile, now can we?"

He tapped the tip of his forefinger against my nose and smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I laughed and nodded.

The trip to the nearest place that sold cell phones was a very interesting journey full of birds that attacked us, angry homeless people, and a run-in with someone who looked eerily like Toshiko. But the return trip to the TARDIS was perfectly normal and relaxing. The Doctor had bought the best and most technological phone he could find in the year 2006 and then promised to get me an iPhone 20 once the TARDIS was refueled.

By the time about two hours had passed, we'd been through the Wales Millenium Center, where I had all but fainted after realizing that professional musicians performed there. Rose and Mickey stayed close together and held hands when they thought none of us were looking. Jack stayed close to the Doctor and I, commenting on our habit of hand-holding and joking that we were a cute couple.

"Stop it, Jack," the Doctor scolded. "Diana doesn't like it."

"She's blushing. Which means that I'm right and you two are a couple."

"Or she's embarassed that you're makin' fun of her."

"Well?" Jack asked.

I raised an eyebrow and gave Jack a curious look. "Well what?"

"Are you a couple?"

I looked up at the Doctor and thought over the question. I certainly wouldn't mind being the Doctor's girlfriend, but the very idea was almost unthinkable. He was a Time Lord and I was a human and even if he had fallen in love with a human once before, he knew it wouldn't last. There was no way that a relationship with the Doctor would ever work. Especially if he was in love Rose. I could never compete against Rose for a man's affections. How could I possibly win against the beautiful young woman who was petite, bouncy, flirtatious, gorgeous, and everything else that any man could want?

"Diana?" the Doctor asked softly.

I blinked and raised my free hand over my eyes to block the sun. "Yes?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Just thinking," I answered with a blush.

"I noticed."

"You did?"

He looked away with a shake of his head. "Nevermind."

"So?" Jack asked.

"Jack, be logical," I snapped. "If the Doctor's going to like anyone out of all of us, it's going to be Rose. And that's not bad. They'd be cute together."

"We would not," the Doctor scoffed.

"You would and you know it," I retorted, looking up at him again and smiling. "I don't mind if you like her. Not that my opinion matters, but... You'd honestly be a cute couple."

He looked away and sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it."

I bowed my head and my smile melted away. I had upset the Time Lord and now he didn't even want to look at me. Pulling my hand from his grasp, I stepped away and crossed my arms over my chest like I always did when I was nervous. Jack looked from me to the Doctor and then back to me.

"Who wants some lunch?" he asked.

Half an hour later, the five of us were in a restaraunt. When we had first come in, I was the first to sit down and waited for one of them to take the seat beside me. But Jack, Rose, and Mickey seemed to have made a silent agreement not to let me sit next to anyone other than the Doctor. Rose had taken the seat in the booth aross from me and was next to Jack, Mickey had pulled up a chair and placed himself at the end of the table, and the only seat available was the seat next to me. So the Time Lord had taken it and smiled half-heartedly at me.

"Sorry for earlier," I mumbled as the others looked over their menus. "I wasn't trying to upset you."

"You didn't know any better," he answered lowly, picking up his menu.

"Anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Say you're the most beautiful girl in the universe and never say that Rose and I are a couple again."

I blushed and laughed, glancing at the menu in front of me. "I think I can manage that."

"Then say it."

I looked up from my menu and stared at him in shock. He was still casually looking through the different meal options and ignoring my stare. "What?" I whisper-shouted.

"You heard me perfectly well."

"You're not serious-"

"I'm completely serious."

Holding my menu in front of my face so the others didn't see, I quickly mumbled, "I'm the most... beautiful girl in the universe."

My face felt like it was on fire. I wanted to rush to the bathroom and splash water on my face so the redness would lessen, but I was stuck between the glass window and the Doctor and asking him to get up would just draw more attention to me than I was willing to bear.

"Are we ready to order?" Rose asked. "I'm starvin' and I just want fish 'n' chips."

"Sounds good to me," the Doctor said. "Five orders of fish and chips, it is."

"I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks-"

"You're lying through your teeth!" the Doctor said as he laughed and shook his head.

Rose pushed her scarf down from her mouth. "I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word - bonkers!"

Jack smirked and rolled his shoulders. "I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy."

The Doctor hled his hand out in front of him. "How could you not know it was there?"

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked-"

"Naked?!" Rose repeated incredulously.

"Jack, you were not," I said slowly. "Were you?"

He ignored our questions and comments and continued with the story. "And I'm like, 'Oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me!' And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say-"

"I knew we should've turned left!"

Mickey snickered and I leaned against the Doctor as I laughed. His shoulders shook as he laughed and he looked down at me with his eyes shining. "That's my line!" Jack protested as the rest of us continued to laugh.

Rose shook her head. "I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?"

While she was talking, the Doctor stood and walked over to the other side of the room, snatching a newspaper from a stranger's hands. I blocked out what Jack was saying and walked over to stand by the Doctor. He finished reading the article when I reached him. Looking from the paper to me, he sighed and I saw that his eyes were a little sad. Jack, Rose, and Mickey noticed the mine and Doctor's absence and silently asked what was wrong.

"And I was havin' such a nice day," the Doctor said as he held up the paper, a picture of Margaret the Slitheen on the front cover.

"What do we do?" Rose asked worriedly.

The Doctor folded the newspaper and stuffed it in his coat pocket. "We go find the mayor of Cardiff."

Jack, Rose, and Mickey kept out of their seats and rushed towards the door. I grabbed the Doctor by the collar of his jacket, took the newspaper out and returned it to the man he had taken it from. The man smiled at me and I smiled in return.

"Sorry about that, sir. He's from the North."

"Oh, hush, you," the Doctor said with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed my hand and started to pull out with him. "Come on."

I laughed and squeezed his hand. He looked down at me as we exited the restaurant and grinned. Warmth bubbled up inside my chest when his eyes gazed softly at me. I could feel my cheeks turning red and wished that I didn't have such an enormous crush on him.

The Doctor instructed us that we were going to the city hall to "visit The Lord Mayor" and that we had to hurry. As we were walking, I felt a hand slip inside my back pocket. I whirled around and moved to hit whoever was trying to steal my phone, but realized that it was only Jack.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

"Borrowing your phone."

"Why?"

"So I can give you my number."

The Doctor released my hand and reached behind me, taking my phone out of Jack's hand and returning it to me. "She doesn't need your number, Harkness."

"I think she does."

"And I think she doesn't."

I leaned against the Doctor's arm and placed my hand over his chest. "I just need my Doctor's number. In case of an emergency. And if my captain would like to add his number, then who am I to stop him?" Jack smirked and reached for my phone. I stopped him and smiled. "However, I think the Doctor should do the honors. After all, he bought it for me."

"Right you are, Diana," the Doctor replied as he took my phone.

When he was done, Jack snatched my phone out of his hands and quickly put his number in. "Don't forget to call me," he said with a wink as he returned my phone to my hands.

"Yeah, yeah," the Doctor sighed. "Stop that, Mr Innuendo."

"That's me."

We walked into the city hall with phones out and determined expressions. Rose's braided hair was mostly untouched my the wind, but my hair had been thrown every which way but the gusts of wind outside. I was grateful that I had decided to wear a jacket, even if it got too warm under the sun.

The five of us climbed the stone steps in the entrance and stopped at the top. "According to intelligence," Jack started, "the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?"

"What about me?" I asked.

Jack grinned. "You can either chose me or Doctor Big-Ears over there."

"Not even a choice, I'm afraid." I patted the Doctor's arm and smiled.

"Excuse me," the Doctor interjected. "Who's in charge?"

Rolling his eyes, Jack put his hands in his waist. "Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir."

Nodding, the Doctor looked straight ahead. "Right, here's the plan." He paused and then smiled. "Like he said. Nice plan. Anythin' else?"

"Present arms," Jack ordered.

"Ready," the Doctor called as he pulled a mobile out of his coat pocket.

"Ready," I repeated as I held my new phone in the air.

Rose, Mickey, and Rose all dis the same thing. "Ready. Speed dial?"

"Yup," the Doctor and I said simultaneously.

Rose nodded. "Ready."

Mickey waved his phone. "Check."

Flashing us all a devilish smirk, Jack pointed his fingers at us and winked. "See you in hell."

"Allons-y!" I called as the Doctor and I started walking up another flight of stairs.

"Allons-y?" the Time Lord repeated.

I smiled and shrugged. "I know someone who says that a lot."

He ignored my comment and kept his grip on my hand tight. "Now, keep your phone handy. We might have to run."

"Gotcha."

"And let me do the talkin'."

"Why? I can handle talking."

"If you want to, go ahead."

"Thank you!" I said excitedly, standing on my toes to kiss his cheek, and then raced up the stairs.

He ran up after me laughing, trying to grab my hand and pull me back but I kept dodging out of his grasp. His hand finally caught my jacket and he pulled me down a few steps into his arms. Breathless, I pressed my hands against his chest and gazed up at him.

We stared at each other for what felt like a wonderful eternity until Rose's voice floated up the stairwell. "Snog later, you two!"

I notice then how close our faces were to each other's and pulled away in embarrassment. The Doctor's cheeks turned red and he moved his hands from my waist. "Come on," he encouraged as he sauntered past me.

I watched him walk away and quickly followed. Maybe we really could have something, I thought hopefully.

"Hello."

The young man looked up from his paperwork and smiled politely. "Good morning. How may I help you?"

I smiled and clasped my hands together. Attempting the best British accent I could manage, I said, "I'm Diana Scott. I've- I mean, we have come to see the Lord Mayor."

"Have you got an appointment?" the man asked.

I shook my head. "No, we're just friends of hers."

The Doctor slipped an arm around my waist and smiled. "Me and my girlfriend. Bit of a surprise. Can't wait to see her face."

"Well, she's just having a cup of tea."

"Just go in there and tell her the Doctor and Diana would like to see her."

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor and Diana."

"Hang on a tick."

The young man opened the door and stepped in. I looked up at the Doctor and poked his chest. "Girlfriend?" I questioned.

"Like you mind."

The sound of a tea cup smashing on the floor came through the door. The young man slipped out of the room again and closed the door behind him nervously. "The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by," he said. "She'd love to have a chat, but, er, she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?"

I pulled my phone out of my back pants pocket and pressed the speed dial number for Jack. "She's climbing out of the window, isn't she?" the Doctor asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes, she is."

The Doctor shoved past the man and grabbed my free hand by the wrist. Jack answered the phone almost immediately and I told him that Margaret was headed out of the building.

"What direction?" he asked.

I repeated the question to the Doctor and answered loud enough for Jack to hear, "North."

"On my way," Jack answered before hanging up. "Over and out."

The man came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back. "Leave the Mayor alone!" he cried.

I threw my elbow backwards into his stomach and rushed forward into the balcony. I ran to the right where a maintenance ladder was propped against the balcony. The man had startled wrestling with the Doctor, but the Time Lord yelled for me to go after Margaret.

I climbed down the ladder as fast as I could go without falling and then ran after Margaret. "God, I wish I hadn't worn these damn shoes," I muttered in frustration as I ran after the Slitheen.

Margaret wasn't very far ahead of me and I was able to catch up to her quickly. I saw her fumbling with a pendant as she ran and knew it was her teleportation device. I was only a few feet behind her and could almost grab her coat. Up ahead, I could see Rose running towards us. Then Jack came running from the side. She turned around and ran right into me, knocking us both to the ground.

Her pendant fell from her hands by my face. I kneed her in the stomach and got to my knees so I could grab the pendant. Growling, she grabbed me by the hair and snatched her teleport out of my hands. I screamed and pushed her off of me, but she pulled me with her. She managed to pin my arms to my stomach with her legs and attach her earrings to the pendant. She pressed the button and we were both transported. We rolled together on the floor for a few seconds before we were suddenly transported back to Earth.

"Get... off... me," I grunted as we struggled with each other.

"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports," I heard Rose say a short distance away.

I knocked the pendant out of Margaret's hands with my head and thrashed my body back and forth until she moved off me. I elbowed her in the arm and snatched the pendant off the floor a solo second before she did, tucking it into my bra with a triumphant expression.

"You annoying little pest of a human," Margaret hissed. "That won't stop me."

"Oh, but I will," the Doctor added. "And even if you do get your hands on that brooch, it won't do you any good. I can keep bringing you back to Earth all day."

"This is persecution," Margaret hissed as she stood up. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

The Doctor quirks an eyebrow. "You tried to kill me, my Diana, and destroy this entire planet."

"Apart from that."

Jack rushed past the Slitheen and knelt next to me. "You okay?"

I nodded and gripped his arm so I could stand. "The adrenaline's already wearing off. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Well, it was pretty sexy seeing you get all feisty."

I blushed and waved my hand absently. "Yeah. Anything you say, Jack."

"Anything?"

The Doctor had refused to let go of my hand on our way back to Margaret's office. He checked my neck and head, wanting to make sure that I wasn't hurt. I had assured him that I was fine and smiled to prove it. He pulled me into a hug and sighed into my hair.

Margaret, of course, found his display of worry disgusting and sneered at us. The Doctor and I ignored her and stayed close together even after we were safe and sound in Margaret's office.

"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped." The Doctor observed Margaret's reactions carefully, his fingers still laced with mine. "Your family gets killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

Margaret narrowed her eyes and sighed. "A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways."

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift."

"What rift would that be?" the Slitheen asked innocently.

Jack held his hands out to demonstrate his explanation. "A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go-" He made a sucking noise and then an explosion with his mouth.

The Doctor lifted his chin, his eyes cold and calculating in Margaret's direction. "This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity."

"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked. "Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

Margaret rolled her eyes. "We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh." She stopped and stared straight ahead blankly. "I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that?" Mickey asked. "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"She's got a name, you know."

"She's not even a she, she's a thing," Mickey retorted.

I held my free hand up and interrupted, "As evil she may be, Mickey, she does have a name and we should call her by it. It's only... proper. What is your name, Margaret? Your Raxacoricofallapatorian name."

"Blon is my first name."

"She's clever," the Doctor muttered as he smiled coldly at Blon.

He released my hand and reached for the power plant model on the table in front of us, pulling the middle section out of the model and turning it over. The flimsy pieces of model building flew across the table and onto the floor.

"Fantastic," the Doctor murmured as he stared at the elaborate electronics on the underside of the board.

I recognized the name of it just before Jack said it out loud, the sound of whirring echoing in my ears as the recognition faded away.

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asked excitedly.

The Doctor grinned "Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Oh, genius!" The captain turned back to Blon and pointed to the extrapolator. "You didn't build this?

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering," Blon tried.

"No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you."

"I bet she stole it," Mickey accused.

"It fell into my hands."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Is it a weapon?"

"It's transport," Jack explained. "You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard," I added once he finished.

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah."

Blon hissed. "And it would've worked. Id have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilization."

Mickey shook his head. "You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?"

"Like stepping on an anthill," Blon said as she walked around the edge of the table.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had walked across the room to look at a sign hanging on the wall. "How'd you think of the name?" he questioned.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

Blon shrugged. "I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?"

"Blaidd Drwg," the Doctor muttered.

"What's it mean, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf." He looked at me with worry in his eyes. "I've heard that so many times before. Always the Bad Wolf."

I nodded. "In your third incarnation, Doctor. At the UNIT hospital. I sang to you while you were sleeping and you muttered something about 'the Bad Wolf's music' before falling asleep."

"Yes, and in my eight incarnation. When we went to Italy. Do you remember?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"I didn't think much about it, but the restaurant was called 'Bad Wolf' in Italian. And I've heard in other places, too. Once on Gallifrey a very long time ago. And on other journeys you haven't been on yet. Everywhere we go. Two words following us, Diana. Bad Wolf."

"How can they be following us?" I asked. "I mean, for such a long time..."

The Doctor shook his head and smiled. "Nah, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do." He looked Blon in the eye and said, "We're going to take you home."

"Hold on," jack protested. "Isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?"

"No," I said. "It's not. Raxacoricofallapatorius has the death sentence."

"The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal," Blon continued. "According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death."

"Not my problem," he said in a deathly calm tone.

By the time we reached the TARDIS, the sun was ready to set. I tugged on the Doctor's arm and made him pause for a moment. "Look at the sunset," I told him as he looked curiously at me. "Isn't it beautiful? You take it for granted when you're running all over the universe saving people's lives, but when you come back to Earth and you look at all the incredible stuff this planet has to offer... It really makes you stop and think, doesn't it?"

He looked from me to the sun and nodded. "You're right. It's beautiful."

We watched until the sun disappeared completely and the rest of the daylight started to fade. Then he unlocked the TARDIS doors and ushered the rest of his crew inside.

"This ship is impossible," Blon said in admiration of the TARDIS's design. "It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret," the Doctor sneered.

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

The Doctor pressed his lips together. "Don't worship me - I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters." He snapped out of his sad and reminiscent mood and looked over at Jack. "Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

I wasn't interested in the conversation ahead and decided to leave the console room for a little while so I could be alone with my thoughts. The memory of Susan's horrible death still burned in my mind and haunted me. My wonderful day spent with the Doctor couldn't chase away the realization that I'd let his daughter be killed, sacrificed for millions of strangers.

I wandered through the halls until they became somewhat familiar. The coral and orange had turned to white roundels and I was able to find my bedroom with ease. Once I stepped inside, I looked at my walls decorated with childish posters and felt like screaming. I had a bed and a home and a life ahead of me and Susan was dead.

I reached for my Star Wars poster and pulled it down. It didn't feel like part of me anymore for some reason. Then I did the same with every poster that wasn't related to Doctor Who. In the end, I had twelve posters rolled up on the floor by my bed. All that remained were two framed pictures of my best friends from my home universe, six mini posters of various Doctors and companions, and three regular sized Doctor Who posters.

"I didn't save Jabe," I said to myself as I sat down on the edge of my bed. "Or Susan or that man on the ark in space who saved the Doctor's life or Ransome. What's the point of me if I can't save anyone important? I just get myself hurt or in trouble."

Across the room, my poster of Nine stared sweetly at me with his sonic screwdriver held in front of him. I smiled sadly at him. "Doctor, I wish I could tell you what happened. I want to tell you and just cry until I fall asleep and I want you tell me it wasn't my fault. But you can't because it hasn't happened for you yet. And I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop it. I wanted to. I tried to. But I screwed up."

I buried my head in my hands and cried loudly, not caring if anyone could hear me. Only a minute later, there was a knock on my door. I sniffled and looked up. "Who is it?"

"It's Jack."

"What do you want?"

"I heard you crying. Are you alright?"

I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "Not really. But I can't tell you because I don't want to change future things more than I have already."

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Jack opened the door and sat next to me on the bed, putting a hand on my knee. "What's bothering you, kiddo?"

I blurted out my worries before I could stop myself. "I tried to save someone and instead of saving her, her friend replaced her and knocked us all out and sacrificed herself. I was going to take her place and let myself be the one that was killed, but she died right in front of us."

"Can I ask who it was?"

I swallowed and whispered into his ear, "The Doctor's daughter."

"Oh."

"But he can't know. It hasn't happened for him yet. It won't happen for a few more years. He cannot know, Jack."

"I understand. I swear not to tell."

"But, it was my fault. It has to be. I tried to save her friend and then she knocked me and the Doctor out. She killed herself to save millions of people and now she's stuck in a false life in a computer where she can never be with her father and he can never see her again. It all but broke him when she died. I didn't even know her but..., I had this strange feeling in my chest. Like a part of my soul had died. I know that's really stupid, but when she died I felt so empty even though I didn't know her. I felt like I'd lost something."

"Try and rest maybe," Jack suggested. "I've lost so many people, Diana, and I kind of understand how you feel. And if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. Alright?"

I smiled and nodded. "Alright."

He kissed my cheek and wiped my tears away with his thumb. "The Doctor misses you already. So let's get out there before he hurts himself."

"Okay," I said with a half-hearted laugh.

Jack guided me through the doorway into the console room. "Found her," he said playfully.

The Doctor looked up from the console. "You alright, Diana?"

"Yeah. Jack and I were just talking."

"That all you two were doing?" he asked quickly.

"You jealous?" Jack asked. " 'cause I can share."

"Boys," I stated quickly, "I'm not being shared by anyone."

"Fantastic. I get you, then," the Doctor said with a grin.

"Oh, can't you do all this disgusting flirting somewhere else?" Blon asked with a roll of her eyes.

"You don't have much of a choice, do you, Blon?" Jack snapped. "You're a criminal. This is what you deserve."

I looked at the Doctor and wondered what he was thinking. Technically he was a criminal, both in his mind and in the minds of others. Were memories of the Time War floating through his head? Was he remembering the War incarnation of himself? Or maybe he was just thinking about when the TARDIS would be ready to leave?

"I gather it's not always like this," Blon hissed with a knowing smirk, "having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them."

Jack shook his head. "Don't answer back. That's what she wants."

"I didn't, though. What about you, Blon? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs." Jack and he Doctor snickered behind their hands. "It wasn't funny."

"Sorry... It is a bit funny."

Blon smiled and laughed a little. Then she sobered and cleared her throat. "Do I get a last request?"

"Depends what it is," the Doctor replied.

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine."

"Is that what you want, a last meal?"

"Don't I have rights?" she questioned.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, like she's not going to try to escape."

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough," the Doctor answered icily.

Blon smiled wickedly and raised an eyebrow. "I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind," the Doctor warned.

"Prove it."

Jack explained the special handcuffs he had on his person when the Doctor brought up escaping again. Satisfied the she couldn't escape with Jack's handcuffs, the Doctor smiled.

"Blon, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage. Works for me."

I approached the Doctor with a small smile. I wrapped my arms his waist and pressed my head against his chest. He exhaled slowly and put his hands on my hips. The leather of our jackets squeaked as we tightened our arms around each other.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

"I will," he said.

I looked up at him. "And you know what sort of defenses Raxacoricofallapatorians are capable of having as a last resort?"

"Yes."

"And don't let her guilt you into or anything or use your past against you. She would do something like that if she had to."

"I know." He kissed my forehead and smiled. "Stop fussin'. I'll be fine. Stay with Jack and don't leave the TARDIS until we come back."

"Cross my heart," I promised.

"Don't wait up," he called as he escorted Blon out of the TARDIS.

During the hour that Rose, Mickey, and the Doctor were gone, Jack and I amused ourselves with whatever we could find. I took a twenty minute nap, then tried serenading Jack when he got bored of finishing the TARDIS repairs. He even harmonized with me on a few Disney songs that I was surprised he knew. Then I taught him Rock Paper Scissors and we played it for about five minutes.

The TARDIS started shaking and I hit myself on the head for being so stupid. I had completely forgotten that Blon's extrapolator would cause the potential explosion to happen. Jack and I rushed to where the extrapolator was plugged into the console and unplugged it. We were stuck wondering what to do when Blon and the Doctor rushed into the TARDIS.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Time Lord shouted.

"It just went crazy!" Jack insisted.

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!"

There was a loud explosion outside the TARDIS, startling all of us. Jack pointed to the extrapolator and shook his head frantically. "It's the extrapolator! I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the TARDIS. I can't stop it!"

"Never mind Cardiff," the Doctor said as he ran to the console, "it's going to rip open the planet."

I suddenly remembered that Rose was still outside and ran to the TARDIS doors. I opened them as Rose came up to them. She stumbled inside as the doors slammed behind her, without me even touching them.

"What is it?" she asked as she ran up the ramp. "What's happening?!"

"Oh, just little me," Blon snarled. She ripped the right arm off her human body suit and waved her real arm around. She turned to me and wrapped her claws around my neck. I gasped and kicked frantically when she lifted me off the ground. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise!"

"You let her go," the Doctor ordered as his eyes turned harsh and cold. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, in the contrary, Doctor. I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet."

Blon tightened her grip on my neck when Jack hesitated, which made me choke and gasp desperately for air. He quickly put it by her feet and she stepped on, smiling. "Thank you. Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station," Rose said.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you."

I tried to find a place to rest my feet so my neck wasn't holding my weight anymore. Mentally, I was trying to speak to the TARDIS. I begged her to open her heart to Blon and help her so that I wouldn't be strangled to death. The ship heard me and opened her console to the Slitheen before he was supposed to, her beautiful white light shining on both of us.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart."

"So sue me," Blon snapped.

"It's not just any old power source," the Doctor replied. "It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe. And she's telepathic. I'll bet you anything that my Diana called out to her and that she answered. The two best and brightest girls in the universe."

Blon sneered. "You sicken me."

"The heart of the TARDIS. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul and you've tried to hurt the people it loves most."

Blon's grip on my throat loosened just as I started to run out of air and I took a great gasp of precious air. "It's so bright," she whispered.

"Look at it, Margaret."

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

I turned to look at the light of the TARDIS and felt at ease, like I was physically, mentally, and emotionally free of every care in the universe. The ship was reading my thoughts and my soul, learning my greatest desires and my greatest fears. She sang to me through my mind and called my name. I sang back and smiled as a tear fell down my cheek. Then she put me to sleep.