Sara and Tara sat atop a knoll, watching the Pict village below. It was the 2nd century in Scotland. She had never been this far back in Earth's history, and the first thing she noticed as they walked away from the TARDIS was how quiet it was. There weren't any planes flying overhead, no cars or anything else mechanical. She had never traveled to extremely isolated areas of Earth in her present, but she imagined those places all that could be heard was the wind, insects, and birds.

"So… If I'm to understand this correctly," Sara began, "This tribe guards some kind of door—"

Tara corrected her. "Interdimensional portal."

"Let's go with door. I understand that."

"Okay."

"And there's these things that live behind the door, and if they come out they could eat the sun?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"And you're sure we're still on Earth in the far past? Not some other planet?"

Tara chuckled. "I am sure."

"How could anything eat the sun? The sun is thousands of degrees or something like that."

"It is five thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight Kelvin."

"Tara, I train horses, not study the sun; it's very hot, okay?"

Tara smiled. "Okay."

"How can something eat the sun if it's so hot?"

"That I do not know. Not yet, anyway. But they can, and they would if this tribe wasn't here to stop them."

"And so, in a few days, there's going to be a Roman army come in here to invade, and one of the Pict is going to let one of these things out? And The Doctor and Bill come back and fix this, and no one ever learns of it. Right?"

"Yes. She lets it out to defeat the Romans. And they don't come back here to fix it, exactly. It starts out as a disagreement between them about a historical event – what happened to the ninth legion of the Roman army specifically – and so they come back to prove they're both right, which, it turns out, both are incredibly wrong."

"Huh." Sara pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Even Earth can be strange, I guess."

"Can it? I hadn't noticed."

Sara narrowed her eyes into a fake glare. "Are you teasing me?"

Tara smiled again. "Maybe a little."

Sara smiled and shook her head. She heard someone say something nearby and turned her head. She didn't see anyone, just a large black crow on a rock. She looked back at the village.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard a voice mangle the word, "Stranger."

She looked for the voice again. Tara started giggling, bringing her attention back to her.

"What?"

"You haven't figured it out who keeps saying that, have you?"

"You hear them too?"

"Of course I hear it."

"I said them, not it."

"It, not them," Tara corrected her.

"What is it then?"

Tara looked back, where the crow was. "The crow."

Sara glanced at it, then back at Tara. She waited for the joke to drop, but Tara didn't hint she was just kidding.

Incredulous, Sara asked, "The crow is talking?"

"Yes."

"Crows can't talk. Parrots can talk, but not crows."

"Many birds speak, including crows."

"You mean they can be taught to sound like they're talking, but they don't actually understand what they're saying. They can't have a conversation with a human."

"No. I mean crows can have conversations with humans. They have their own language, and it's very close to what English sounds like. They don't have as extensive of vocabulary as humans, so it does require filling in the blanks quite often. But they can have a conversation with a human and understand what's being said."

"That crow is talking?" Sara pointed at it.

"Yes. Listen." Tara turned her head toward the crow. "Friend," she said.

The crow tilted his head, eyeing the two of them. "Stranger," it came back.

"Friend. No stranger."

For a moment, it stared at them, then came back with, "Stranger," and flew away.

Tara leaned toward Sara. "Do not ever make a crow or raven mad."

"Why?"

"They tell their children about it, and they can go for generations hating you. And if it's something incredibly awful, they can even go generations holding a grudge against your generations."

Sara laughed. "What can a crow do?"

"They can put holes in roofs, radiators, claw faces, eat food stores…"

"I take it they aren't big on apologies, then."

"Sometimes, but usually not."

"So, they're elitists?"

Tara thought for a moment. "Perhaps."

The two laughed at that thought.

Sara asked, "Can they still talk? Are they talking back home right now?"

"They are."

"Why haven't I ever heard them?"

"Over the decades, humans have conditioned themselves to tune them out."

"It doesn't make them mad that humans ignore them now? I mean then. Or is it in the future? Time travel grammar never gets less confusing."

Tara laughed at her friend's joke. "I don't know. I've never asked one."

"Hm. I guess I'll have to listen more when I get back. Tara, I want to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."

Tara didn't answer right away.

"Tara."

She looked at Sara and smiled. "It's about the Jackson's murder, isn't it?"

"The Doctor said he tried everything he could to save them, but it came down to them or me. Is that true? Did he try everything?"

"Yes. He ran every simulation he could to try saving both the family, even one member of the family and you. The result was always the same – all of you died. The only way he could save you was to not tell you and not save them. He was not lying, Sara."

"He ran simulations? He didn't actually go back in time or whatever he does to try saving them?"

"You know so little about how things work for Time Lords. They can travel through time and dimensions within their mind, leaving their body in one place as they do it. They can see every possible outcome. As soon as he saw this event happen in your timeline, he did go to other times and dimensions, and he calls that simulations. He really did try to find an alternative." Tara smiled, tilting her head. "He'd never admit, not even to me, but I think you've become one of his few, close friends. You're always there when he needs you – except for adventuring. But I think that's why he likes you. You are consistent and steady. Time Lords aren't known for those qualities."

"They're flitty, Time Lords are." Sara picked at the grass at her feet. "And what about Ben Jackson's will?"

"What of it?"

"Did he change it?"

Tara didn't answer. Sara looked up, seeing she was smiling.

"No. Benjamin Jackson changed his will after his first child was born. When she was thrown from the horse, it was your quick actions that saved both Jeremiah and Mary. You got them to the hospital and stayed with her while she delivered her son, and never left her side until Ben arrived. I think the two of them thought of you as a daughter, not as much an employee."

Sara looked down at the ground, pulling more grass up and forming a wad in her hand. She shifted, sitting cross-legged. Three crows flew past overhead, cawing. She listened, trying to understand them, but she didn't hear any words.

"They're telling others about some food they found, if you're wondering," Tara told her.

Sara smiled. She looked down at the Pict tribe. "Tell me more about the Pict."

Tara began storytelling, entertaining Sara until The Doctor called for her.

#

The TARDIS appeared in the New York words, in the same place it always did to pick up Sara. But Sara wasn't waiting today. Tara appeared outside and waited for a several minutes before disappearing. The door opened, and The Doctor walked out. Tara joined him.

He stated the obvious, "She's not here."

"Yes, I know, Doctor. I also tried her locket. It's in her bedroom, and she wasn't there."

"Can't you sense her?"

Tara shot glowered. "On a planet of humans, Doctor? Do I really have to answer that?"

"No. Of course, you can't. Well, she's not here. Let's go." He stepped back inside, grabbing the door to shut it.

"Doctor!"

"I have things to do today."

"You can go check the farm. If she's not there, we'll leave."

"I'm in a rush."

"You are always in a hurry. Please?"

He looked cross for a moment, but he could never refuse that distressed look Tara got when she was worried.

"Fine." He walked away.

"Thank you!" she called after him.

He was gone for two hours. When he returned, Sara was with him. The two were talking quietly, but the conversation ended before they reached Tara.

"Where were you?" Tara asked.

"I was in the middle of negotiations."

"Negotiations for what?"

"She was negotiating with crows," The Doctor answered as he went inside. "Come on, ladies. I have things to do, people to see, timelines to fiddle with."

Sara giggled. "They were eating out of the hay field near the barn and making a horrid mess. I wanted them to move to the other end. He talked them into it. I have to build them a roost when I get back, but that's a small price to pay."

"I thought you couldn't speak to them."

"I'm learning. He did most of the talking this time. It was entertaining. The hired help thinks I'm daft talking with birds, but they don't know anything."

"You are daft trying to negotiate with crows."

"I got what I wanted."

"Maybe. Just don't go back on your word."

"I won't, mum! Bossy are ya?"

Tara laughed.

"This millennium, if you don't mind, ladies," The Doctor called from inside.

Sara walked inside as Tara disappeared.

The TARDIS whirred away.

#

Sara slouched in an armchair, staring at the railing of the mezzanine. Below her, The Doctor was fiddling with the TARDIS controls.

"Do you think they will honor the agreement?" Sara asked.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"The crows. Will they honor their agreement? Tara didn't seem so sure when I told her."

"Yes."

"How can you be sure?"

"They pride themselves on being fair and honest. If you keep your side of the agreement, they will keep theirs."

"This is going to be hard to explain to anyone."

He smiled. "As are most arrangements with unknown species. But I thought it was particularly kind of you to offer them a roost in return for staying at the bottom of the field. They were pleased to have a roof for the coming winter."

"Is that what the squawking was? Excitement? It sounded like someone being killed."

He laughed. "Just remember, they know you can understand them now. They will expect your attention when they want it. Try not to ignore them, or they will become offended."

"I'll try."

"How is your farm coming along?"

"It's okay. I still can't convince myself to move into the main house."

"That could take time."

"Or never. Maybe I should just rent it."

"That is an option. You do know the crows were so agreeable because Ben often talked with them."

Sara sat up in the chair, smiling. "He did?"

"Yes. I saw him several times talking to them. He was very discreet about it. That's why they were so agreeable."

"If that's what you call agreeable, I'd hate to see what disagreeable is."

"Pecking your eyes out and eating your entrails."

"Doctor!"

He laughed. "More like stealing your food and flying close enough to scare you."

Sara picked up a pillow nearby and threw it at his head, hitting him. He glanced back at her with a smile.

"You're home again."

She got up and walked over to the door. She turned at the door, watching him. He noticed and stopped what he was doing.

"Yes?"

"I've wanted to say… I'm sorry I was so mad at you for saving my life. The whole moment was just… Overwhelming. I'm sorry I took it out on you."

"It happens all the time. No need to apologize."

"That right there is why I must apologize. I'll always wish they could have been saved, but I believe you when you said you couldn't do anything. I trust ya." She thought a moment. "Just not for adventurin'."

He smiled at her, and she returned it.

"I will see you later. Or maybe it's before." She turned and walked out the door. "Time travel is always so confusing."

He chuckled, then began working the controls to take him and the TARDIS back to the university. Tara appeared next to him.

"You know, humans, Time Lords, even TARDIS, can have more than one friend, don't you?" Tara asked him.

"I didn't know that. Thank you for reminding me."

She laughed at his sarcasm. "When will you admit that my friend is your friend too."

"She'll always be an acquaintance."

"What is so wrong with letting yourself have a friend?"

"My friends get hurt and die. Yours don't. So, she will never be my friend, and we keep things the way they are. Do you understand, Tara?"

Tara's smile fell away. "Yes. We keep things the way they are."

"Now, can you go finish those repairs?"

"Yes, Doctor." Tara vanished.